Singapore's work pass tightening may push up business costs; balance needed to draw skilled talent

SINGAPORE – Singapore will need to strike a balance between ensuring it remains entrenched as a global financial and manufacturing hub while soothing the disquiet among locals over competing for jobs with foreigners. While reiterating their commitment to Singapore and their own fair hiring practices, local and foreign companies, chambers of commerce, trade bodies and experts hoped the new employment […]

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Chinese ports choke over 'zero tolerance' Covid-19 policy

BEIJING (REUTERS) – Several Chinese ports are facing congestion as vessels due to call at Ningbo are being diverted and cargo processing is slowed partly due to stricter disinfection measures under China’s “zero-tolerance” coronavirus policy. On Tuesday (Aug 17), more than 50 container vessels were queuing at Ningbo port, China’s second largest marine centre, Refinitiv data showed, up from 28 […]

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Product development jobs, carbon services to emerge from S'pore's sustainability push: EDB chairman

SINGAPORE – The Republic’s push for sustainability is set to create new types of jobs in research and development, product development, related manufacturing activities and carbon services, said Singapore Economic Development Board (EDB) chairman Beh Swan Gin. The alternative proteins industry is an example of an area with much room for growth, he said. “Many of the companies setting up here […]

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Beijing owns stakes in ByteDance, Weibo domestic entities, records show

SHANGHAI (REUTERS) – The Chinese government has taken stakes in Chinese entities owned by tech companies ByteDance and Sina Weibo, corporate records showed, amid a widening regulatory crackdown on the industry. News of the stakes and the board seat was first reported by The Information on Monday (Aug 16). WangTouZhongWen (Beijing) Technology, which is owned by three Chinese state entities, […]

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US job growth exceeds forecast as unemployment rate falls

NEW YORK (BLOOMBERG) – US employers added the most jobs in nearly a year and the unemployment rate declined faster than forecast, showing the labour market is making more robust gains toward a full recovery as the economy strengthens. Payrolls climbed by 943,000 last month after an upwardly revised 938,000 increase in June, a Labour Department report showed Friday (Aug […]

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UPDATE 2-German bonds catch safety bid, yields tumble to March low

* Euro zone periphery govt bond yields tmsnrt.rs/2ii2Bqr (Updates prices, adds new quote) MILAN, July 19 (Reuters) – German bond yields tumbled on Monday to the lowest since late-March as concerns over the economic impact of surging Delta coronavirus cases drove investors to stampede into safe-haven assets. Countries worldwide are extending or re-introducing activity curbs in response to the rising […]

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Big tech supports global tax, but wants digital services levies axed

WASHINGTON (REUTERS) – US tech giants could benefit from the agreement of the Group of Seven rich countries’ agreement to create a global minimum 15 per cent corporate tax rate if the final deal also scraps increasingly popular digital services taxes, according to industry lobbyists. The deal, reached on Saturday (June 5), was designed to reduce companies’ incentives to shift […]

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China's trade boom continues in May on strong global demand

BEIJING (BLOOMBERG) – China’s exports continued to surge in May, although at a slower pace than the previous month, fuelled by strong global demand as more economies around the world opened up. Imports soared, boosted by rising commodity prices. Exports grew 27.9 per cent in US dollar terms in May from a year earlier, the customs administration said on Monday […]

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