Average electricity consumption rises in June
By Chng Kheng Leng and Sara Grosse
POSTED: 03 Jul 2013 9:03 PM
The average electricity consumption in June has increased as compared to May, but Singapore Power said there is no evidence that it was due to the haze.
SINGAPORE: The average electricity consumption in June has increased as compared to May, but Singapore Power said there is no evidence that it was due to the haze.
According to Singapore Power, the average electricity consumption of domestic customers in June 2013 was 520.23 kWh, compared to May, which was 509.57 kWh.
Based on statistics over the past four years, consumption in June tends to be higher. This is likely due to the hot weather during the month.
Electronic stores MediaCorp spoke with said they received about 30 per cent to 50 per cent more requests for aircon installations in June.
Aircon servicing companies also saw an increase in requests last month.
According to Gain City, it saw double the requests for aircon servicing, while Absolute Solutions saw 40 per cent more servicing requests.
Stan Toh, operations manager at Absolute Solutions, said: "We would actually recommend our customers to do a three-month normal servicing. And at the same time, we also recommend them to keep their temperatures at 25 degrees Celsius. They should also be using an inverter unit. If they do all the above, they can actually look at up to S$350 savings in their electricity bill per year."
- CNA/xq
- wong chee tat :)
Wednesday, July 3, 2013
India no longer call-centre capital of the world
India no longer call-centre capital of the world
By Avneet Arora
POSTED: 03 Jul 2013 11:19 AM
India was, at one time, considered the call-centre capital of the world, but it has since lost its status to the Philippines. Some analysts are of the view that India can regain its status, with government support and by giving people the right training.
NEW DELHI: If you call customer service, it is more likely now that you will end up speaking to a Mike in Manila, rather than Dhruv in Delhi.
Once considered the call-centre capital of the world, India has lost out to the Philippines. In five years, 10 per cent of India's share of global outsourced voice-related services was lost to the Philippines.
And the reasons for this hang up are many -- industry experts said Filipinos have better communication skills, and they speak English in a way that can be better understood by more people.
Dheeren Singh, manager at GNXT Recruiters, said: "If I talk about the problems, the problem is communication, their accent. People from other countries are not able to understand. Apart from this, our government is not helpful at all. Infrastructure is a problem as well."
High costs of land and office rental have also put pressure on the business process outsourcing (BPO) industry in India. Call centres are especially vulnerable, since a typical business will need space for 150 to 200 employees.
Staff attrition is high, and companies said they lost many international clients because they do not have enough qualified people for the job. Part of the reason for that is low salaries and late night shifts.
Mr Singh added: "Women and youth, they don't want to get into BPOs because it is a very tough job. We have seen many incidents in the past as well, where a girl is working at night and she doesn't feel safe, so people don't want to join BPOs. They have other industries, which is in the daytime -- they prefer to join those sectors."
Still, there are some who believe the call centre industry can return to its high-growth days -- with government support, better infrastructure and training facilities.
DS Rawat, secretary general of the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India, said: "I think we have a bright chance if we concentrate on three things -- strengthen our infrastructure and create world-class infrastructure, particularly in the states; we create the Human Resource Development centres; and we really need to become aggressive to bring some of the top companies."
Many companies dealing in BPO are starting to move away from voice-related services -- partly because it is not easy to change the Indian accent, but also because it will be hard to compete with the Philippines, which has a well-educated workforce and cultural affinity to the US, where many of the calls originate.
- CNA/ac
- wong chee tat :)
By Avneet Arora
POSTED: 03 Jul 2013 11:19 AM
India was, at one time, considered the call-centre capital of the world, but it has since lost its status to the Philippines. Some analysts are of the view that India can regain its status, with government support and by giving people the right training.
NEW DELHI: If you call customer service, it is more likely now that you will end up speaking to a Mike in Manila, rather than Dhruv in Delhi.
Once considered the call-centre capital of the world, India has lost out to the Philippines. In five years, 10 per cent of India's share of global outsourced voice-related services was lost to the Philippines.
And the reasons for this hang up are many -- industry experts said Filipinos have better communication skills, and they speak English in a way that can be better understood by more people.
Dheeren Singh, manager at GNXT Recruiters, said: "If I talk about the problems, the problem is communication, their accent. People from other countries are not able to understand. Apart from this, our government is not helpful at all. Infrastructure is a problem as well."
High costs of land and office rental have also put pressure on the business process outsourcing (BPO) industry in India. Call centres are especially vulnerable, since a typical business will need space for 150 to 200 employees.
Staff attrition is high, and companies said they lost many international clients because they do not have enough qualified people for the job. Part of the reason for that is low salaries and late night shifts.
Mr Singh added: "Women and youth, they don't want to get into BPOs because it is a very tough job. We have seen many incidents in the past as well, where a girl is working at night and she doesn't feel safe, so people don't want to join BPOs. They have other industries, which is in the daytime -- they prefer to join those sectors."
Still, there are some who believe the call centre industry can return to its high-growth days -- with government support, better infrastructure and training facilities.
DS Rawat, secretary general of the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India, said: "I think we have a bright chance if we concentrate on three things -- strengthen our infrastructure and create world-class infrastructure, particularly in the states; we create the Human Resource Development centres; and we really need to become aggressive to bring some of the top companies."
Many companies dealing in BPO are starting to move away from voice-related services -- partly because it is not easy to change the Indian accent, but also because it will be hard to compete with the Philippines, which has a well-educated workforce and cultural affinity to the US, where many of the calls originate.
- CNA/ac
- wong chee tat :)
One year jail for man who tried to outrage younger friend's modesty
One year jail for man who tried to outrage younger friend's modesty
By Claire Huang
POSTED: 03 Jul 2013 6:12 PM
A young man who used criminal force to try and outrage the modesty of his junior has been given a year's jail.
SINGAPORE: A young man who used criminal force to try and outrage the modesty of his junior has been given a year's jail.
22-year-old Rayson Leong Wai Wung had forced his 18-year-old male friend to touch his private parts.
The incident happened on 15 August 2012 at the accused's residence in Rivervale Crescent.
Leong and the victim were friends as they were from the same secondary school.
In mitigation, Leong's lawyer said that her client is unlikely to re-offend.
She added that Leong has been accepted by a Korean university to study music and urged the district judge not to "extinguish his hope".
But the judge said that the crime was pre-meditated as Leong had planned his move.
What made it worse, said the judge, was that force was used and that there was a struggle.
- CNA/xq
- wong chee tat :)
By Claire Huang
POSTED: 03 Jul 2013 6:12 PM
A young man who used criminal force to try and outrage the modesty of his junior has been given a year's jail.
SINGAPORE: A young man who used criminal force to try and outrage the modesty of his junior has been given a year's jail.
22-year-old Rayson Leong Wai Wung had forced his 18-year-old male friend to touch his private parts.
The incident happened on 15 August 2012 at the accused's residence in Rivervale Crescent.
Leong and the victim were friends as they were from the same secondary school.
In mitigation, Leong's lawyer said that her client is unlikely to re-offend.
She added that Leong has been accepted by a Korean university to study music and urged the district judge not to "extinguish his hope".
But the judge said that the crime was pre-meditated as Leong had planned his move.
What made it worse, said the judge, was that force was used and that there was a struggle.
- CNA/xq
- wong chee tat :)
Landed property market slows down due to cooling measures
Landed property market slows down due to cooling measures
By Wong Siew Ying
POSTED: 03 Jul 2013 6:52 PM
Analysts said the sales activity in the landed property market has slowed in recent years as a result of the government's many cooling measures.
SINGAPORE: SINGAPORE: Analysts said the sales activity in the landed property market has slowed in recent years as a result of the government's many cooling measures.
Property agency HSR Property Consultants said the total number of transactions in the first half of this year was 737, a fall of nearly 49 per cent on-year as of June 14.
However, the proportion of buyers with HDB addresses has stayed fairly stable at around 20 per cent.
Landed properties account for about five per cent of total residential units in Singapore and analysts said the limited supply of such homes make them attractive to investors and home buyers.
While most of the units are bought by high net worth individuals, analysts said one in five buyers own public housing flats
Donald Han, special adviser at HSR Property Consultants, elaborated: "This year, we have a HDB addressee who bought a property located in Windsor Park, Upper Thomson. He spent about S$25 million and that transaction was done sometime in January this year.
"One of the second highest transactions from that base was Oei Tiong Ham Park. It was bought by another HDB buyer at a price of S$20 million in April this year."
Still, HSR said about 90 per cent of buyers with HDB addresses bought landed homes priced between S$1 million and S$5 million.
Some analysts said buyers with HDB addresses only make up a small portion of buyers of expensive landed homes and it is also common for the investment to be shared among 10 to 20 people.
By and large, analysts said most HDB upgraders are expected to buy mass market condominiums as they offer more attractive yields compared to landed homes.
HSR said yields for landed homes can range from one to two per cent while that of non-landed private homes can hover at three to four per cent.
However, the rising prices of suburban homes could put off some buyers.
Alice Tan, associate director and head of consultancy and research at Knight Frank, explained: "Mass market private homes for the non-landed category have risen by 10 per cent for the past year. However, landed home prices have only risen by four per cent over the same period.
"Home buyers who have more cash on-hand after making profits from their earlier property investments would start to see landed homes as a better value proposition compared to non-landed homes."
Ms Tan said the Jurong district is most popular with HDB upgraders. The district contributed to 57 per cent of total landed property transactions for the past year. This is followed by Yishun and Sembawang which accounted for 44 per cent of the transactions.
Overall, HSR said both transaction volume and sales value of landed homes have been declining in the past years.
The number of transactions in the first half of this year fell some 67 per cent to 737, compared to the same period in 2011.
Total sales have dropped over 70 per cent to nearly S$500 million.
Looking ahead, analysts said sales are likely to slow further following the introduction of new curbs on property loans on June 29.
Knight Frank expects the price increase in landed homes segment to stabilize with a one to two per cent on-year increase by year-end.
- CNA/fa
- wong chee tat :)
By Wong Siew Ying
POSTED: 03 Jul 2013 6:52 PM
Analysts said the sales activity in the landed property market has slowed in recent years as a result of the government's many cooling measures.
SINGAPORE: SINGAPORE: Analysts said the sales activity in the landed property market has slowed in recent years as a result of the government's many cooling measures.
Property agency HSR Property Consultants said the total number of transactions in the first half of this year was 737, a fall of nearly 49 per cent on-year as of June 14.
However, the proportion of buyers with HDB addresses has stayed fairly stable at around 20 per cent.
Landed properties account for about five per cent of total residential units in Singapore and analysts said the limited supply of such homes make them attractive to investors and home buyers.
While most of the units are bought by high net worth individuals, analysts said one in five buyers own public housing flats
Donald Han, special adviser at HSR Property Consultants, elaborated: "This year, we have a HDB addressee who bought a property located in Windsor Park, Upper Thomson. He spent about S$25 million and that transaction was done sometime in January this year.
"One of the second highest transactions from that base was Oei Tiong Ham Park. It was bought by another HDB buyer at a price of S$20 million in April this year."
Still, HSR said about 90 per cent of buyers with HDB addresses bought landed homes priced between S$1 million and S$5 million.
Some analysts said buyers with HDB addresses only make up a small portion of buyers of expensive landed homes and it is also common for the investment to be shared among 10 to 20 people.
By and large, analysts said most HDB upgraders are expected to buy mass market condominiums as they offer more attractive yields compared to landed homes.
HSR said yields for landed homes can range from one to two per cent while that of non-landed private homes can hover at three to four per cent.
However, the rising prices of suburban homes could put off some buyers.
Alice Tan, associate director and head of consultancy and research at Knight Frank, explained: "Mass market private homes for the non-landed category have risen by 10 per cent for the past year. However, landed home prices have only risen by four per cent over the same period.
"Home buyers who have more cash on-hand after making profits from their earlier property investments would start to see landed homes as a better value proposition compared to non-landed homes."
Ms Tan said the Jurong district is most popular with HDB upgraders. The district contributed to 57 per cent of total landed property transactions for the past year. This is followed by Yishun and Sembawang which accounted for 44 per cent of the transactions.
Overall, HSR said both transaction volume and sales value of landed homes have been declining in the past years.
The number of transactions in the first half of this year fell some 67 per cent to 737, compared to the same period in 2011.
Total sales have dropped over 70 per cent to nearly S$500 million.
Looking ahead, analysts said sales are likely to slow further following the introduction of new curbs on property loans on June 29.
Knight Frank expects the price increase in landed homes segment to stabilize with a one to two per cent on-year increase by year-end.
- CNA/fa
- wong chee tat :)
US Immigration Bill poses dilemma for India's IT companies
US Immigration Bill poses dilemma for India's IT companies
By Madeeha Mujawar
POSTED: 03 Jul 2013 10:38 PM
At least 11 million illegal immigrants now have a chance to become US citizens after the US Senate approved the landmark Immigration Bill last week.
NEW DELHI: At least 11 million illegal immigrants now have a chance to become US citizens after the US Senate approved the landmark Immigration Bill last week.
While that will be good news for the 250,000 undocumented immigrants from India, the clauses relating to non-immigrant visas are causing great anxiety for the US based operations of India's IT companies.
This is because many of their Indian workers are visa holders.
For Indian IT firms, their US operations are major revenue generators but more than 70 per cent of their employees in those US facilities are foreign workers - mostly from India – holding H-1B company sponsored, temporary work visas.
The new Immigration Bill seeks to reduce this number to 50 per cent by 2016 forcing Indian IT firms to hire employees locally in the US.
It will also prohibit any company with more than 15 per cent of its workforce holding H-1B visas from placing those workers at client sites. Analysts say will really hurt Indian IT firms.
Ajay Srinivasan, director of industry research at Crisil Research, said: "I think it will have a very immediate impact because 15 per cent is a very low number. And if you are having more than 15 per cent of your total employees in US on H-1B visas, you cannot actually deploy anybody to work at client sites nor can you contact for the services of these employees. I think that is probably the most damaging provision."
The bill also seeks to increase fees for H-1B and the less restrictive L1 visas making it costlier for companies to hire foreign employees in the US and closing the gap a little between the cost of foreign and US workers.
Sudip Bandopadhyay, CEO of Destimoney Securities Private Ltd, said: "By employing and resourcing in India, these IT companies are saving on cost and increasing their profitability. And because the employees are based in India, they are able to quote a lower cost for their US clients."
If the bill is passed, the additional costs may be pass on to the consumer.
"American employees would need to be paid at least 50 to 60 per cent more than what Indian companies currently pay the Indian employees who are on H1B visas," said Mr Srinivasan.
He added: "Secondly also it may be more difficult to get the right talent locally in America so because of that, it will be a challenge both in terms of finding the right people and secondly, the cost element of it."
IT Industry body NASSCOM has criticized the bill saying it fails to recognize the vital services that global IT companies deliver - the innovation and competitiveness they have spurred in thousands of US businesses and the investments these global IT services companies make in the US.
Voices across the industry are demanding a relaxation in certain provisions that may harm the overall revenues of IT firms.
At the moment, the domestic IT industry is anxiously awaiting the final version of the bill and pinning its hopes on those lawmakers who have already expressed their reservations against it.
- CNA/fa
- wong chee tat :)
By Madeeha Mujawar
POSTED: 03 Jul 2013 10:38 PM
At least 11 million illegal immigrants now have a chance to become US citizens after the US Senate approved the landmark Immigration Bill last week.
NEW DELHI: At least 11 million illegal immigrants now have a chance to become US citizens after the US Senate approved the landmark Immigration Bill last week.
While that will be good news for the 250,000 undocumented immigrants from India, the clauses relating to non-immigrant visas are causing great anxiety for the US based operations of India's IT companies.
This is because many of their Indian workers are visa holders.
For Indian IT firms, their US operations are major revenue generators but more than 70 per cent of their employees in those US facilities are foreign workers - mostly from India – holding H-1B company sponsored, temporary work visas.
The new Immigration Bill seeks to reduce this number to 50 per cent by 2016 forcing Indian IT firms to hire employees locally in the US.
It will also prohibit any company with more than 15 per cent of its workforce holding H-1B visas from placing those workers at client sites. Analysts say will really hurt Indian IT firms.
Ajay Srinivasan, director of industry research at Crisil Research, said: "I think it will have a very immediate impact because 15 per cent is a very low number. And if you are having more than 15 per cent of your total employees in US on H-1B visas, you cannot actually deploy anybody to work at client sites nor can you contact for the services of these employees. I think that is probably the most damaging provision."
The bill also seeks to increase fees for H-1B and the less restrictive L1 visas making it costlier for companies to hire foreign employees in the US and closing the gap a little between the cost of foreign and US workers.
Sudip Bandopadhyay, CEO of Destimoney Securities Private Ltd, said: "By employing and resourcing in India, these IT companies are saving on cost and increasing their profitability. And because the employees are based in India, they are able to quote a lower cost for their US clients."
If the bill is passed, the additional costs may be pass on to the consumer.
"American employees would need to be paid at least 50 to 60 per cent more than what Indian companies currently pay the Indian employees who are on H1B visas," said Mr Srinivasan.
He added: "Secondly also it may be more difficult to get the right talent locally in America so because of that, it will be a challenge both in terms of finding the right people and secondly, the cost element of it."
IT Industry body NASSCOM has criticized the bill saying it fails to recognize the vital services that global IT companies deliver - the innovation and competitiveness they have spurred in thousands of US businesses and the investments these global IT services companies make in the US.
Voices across the industry are demanding a relaxation in certain provisions that may harm the overall revenues of IT firms.
At the moment, the domestic IT industry is anxiously awaiting the final version of the bill and pinning its hopes on those lawmakers who have already expressed their reservations against it.
- CNA/fa
- wong chee tat :)
Scheduled Maintenance - POSB
Scheduled Maintenance - POSB
- wong chee tat :)
| Service | Scheduled Maintenance Date | Expected Downtime | Remarks |
| iBanking | 06 Jul 2013 | 0000hrs to 1200hrs | System Maintenance
|
| 06 Jul 2013 | 0100hrs to 0500hrs | System Maintenance
| |
| 06 Jul 2013 | 0500hrs to 0800hrs | System Maintenance
| |
| 06 Jul 2013 | 1100hrs to 1200hrs | System Maintenance
| |
| 07 Jul 2013 | 0200hrs to 0740hrs | System Maintenance
| |
| 07 Jul 2013 | 0336hrs to 0346hrs | System Maintenance
| |
| 07 Jul 2013 | 0730hrs to 0740hrs | System Maintenance
| |
| 14 Jul 2013 | 0000hrs to 1200hrs | System Maintenance
| |
| 14 Jul 2013 | 0200hrs to 0245hrs | System Maintenance
| |
| mBanking | - | - | - |
| iB Application | - | - | - |
| iB - Trading Services | - | - | - |
| D2Pay | - | - | - |
| Phone Banking | - | - | - |
| NETS | - | - | - |
| Passbook Update | - | - | - |
| Automated Teller Machine (ATM) | - | - | - |
| Cash Deposit Machine | - | - | - |
| Coin Deposit Machine | - | - | - |
| Cheque Deposit Machine | - | - | - |
| POSB Print | - | - | - |
| AXS D-Pay | - | - | - |
| Branches and ATMs Locator | - | - | - |
| Token Registration | - | - | - |
| Telebet | 06 Jul 2013 | 0215hrs to 0230hrs | System Maintenance |
| e-Commerce on 3D Secure Websites | - | - | - |
- wong chee tat :)
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