Location: Southeastern Asia, islands between Malaysia and Indonesia Southeastern Asia, islands between Malaysia and Indonesia

Capital: Singapore

Total Area: 647.5 sq km'

Population: appox. 4,436,0004,436,000

Languages: Chinese, Malay, Tamil, EnglishChinese, Malay, Tamil, English

Currency: Singapore Dollar (SGD) Singapore Dollar (SGD)

Independance Day: 9 August 1965 (from Malaysia)

Date Joined: 1965

Head of Government: Prime Minister Hon Lee Hsien Loong (since 14 August 2004)



President

HE Halimah Yacob


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Prime Minister

Hon Lee Hsien Loong


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YOCOMM NEWS


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F1’s Singapore GP cancelled for second year in a row

Formula One's Singapore Grand Prix has been cancelled due to safety and logistic concerns connected to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.

The race was scheduled for 3rd October and would have served as the 16th round of the global motorsport series' 2021 championship.

According to BBC Sport, Formula One is considering Turkey, China and a second race at Austin in the USA as replacements for the Singapore event.

In a statement on behalf of race organisers Singapore GP Pte Ltd, deputy chairman Colin Syn said: “Given the evolving and unpredictable pandemic situation around the world, it has become increasingly challenging to stage a complex multi-faceted event for tens of thousands of local and overseas spectators.

“We understand that our fans were looking forward to another edition of the Formula One Singapore Grand Prix. To cancel the event for a second year is an incredibly difficult decision, but a necessary one in light of the prevailing restrictions for live events in Singapore."
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SPORTSPRO
Singapore's microbial data added to the global atlas of microbes

 To understand the diversity of life that is invisible to the naked eye, scientists have been collecting samples of microorganisms in cities around the world.

A team of around 30 scientists from the Agency for Science, Technology and Research's (A*Star) Genome Institute of Singapore has been collaborating with scientists in 60 cities, such as Paris and New York, to collect samples from public spots like subways, benches and parks to build a global atlas of microorganisms.

More than 4,700 samples, collected over three years, have been analysed so far. And from these, over 10,000 viruses and 1,000 bacteria have been newly identified.

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The Straits Times
Singapore Fintech Firm Nium Expands in U.K. Before Pursuing IPO

Nium, a Singapore-based fintech startup backed by state-owned investor Temasek Holdings Pte, agreed to buy payments firm Ixaris for an undisclosed amount to expand in Europe before pursuing an initial public offering in the U.S.

All of Ixaris’s 86 employees in London and Malta will join Nium, according to an emailed statement from Nium on Monday. Ixaris, based in London, is best known for introducing Europe’s first virtual prepaid card in 2003. An e-money licensed entity in Europe, the firm helps airlines and online travel agents reduce surcharges and earn rebates.


Nium is broadening its geographic reach before targeting an IPO in the U.S. in 18 to 24 months, Chief Executive Officer Prajit Nanu said in an interview. The company expects to announce an acquisition in India in about six weeks and another deal before the end of the year.
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Bloomberg
Singapore maintains 2021 GDP forecast at 4% to 6% due to ‘heightened uncertainties’ from COVID-19

SINGAPORE: Singapore has maintained its growth forecast for 2021 at a range of 4 to 6 per cent in view of “heightened uncertainties” arising from the COVID-19 pandemic, the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) said on Tuesday (May 25).

The forecast will be reviewed again in the next quarter when there is “more data and greater clarity” over the global and domestic economic situations, it added.

The decision comes despite data showing the economy putting up a stronger-than-expected showing in the first quarter of the year.

Gross domestic product grew by 1.3 per cent year-on-year between January and March, propped up by gains in the manufacturing, finance and insurance, and wholesale trade sectors.

This was much higher than the advance estimates of 0.2 per cent growth and marked Singapore’s first quarterly expansion since the pandemic erupted a year ago.

On a quarter-on-quarter seasonally adjusted basis, the economy grew by 3.1 per cent between January and March, also surpassing the advance forecast of 2 per cent growth.
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CHANNEL NEWS ASIA
Triterras Acquires Invoice Bazaar

 Triterras Inc. (Nasdaq: TRIT, TRITW) (“Triterras” or the “Company”), a leading fintech company for trade and trade finance, today announced that it has executed definitive agreements in connection with its previously announced Letter of Intent for the acquisition of Invoice Bazaar, an established provider of supply chain finance services and e-commerce financing in the Gulf Cooperation Council markets. The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions.

Invoice Bazaar’s 3 member founding team based in Dubai will be joining the Company’s existing Leadership Team.

Under the terms of the transaction, Triterras will pay shareholders of Invoice Bazaar up to $8 million USD over the next two years, subject to the achievement of certain revenue milestones. The Company anticipates that the transaction will be accretive to earnings within one year post close.

“This transaction is a truly transformative moment for our Company as it brings together a strong origination team in the Middle East along with an innovative financing solution for merchants to certain e-commerce companies,” said Srinivas Koneru, Chairman and CEO of Triterras. “Triterras now has an exceptional team located in the strategically important Middle East region, with licenses to operate immediately. Invoice Bazaar’s capabilities in supply chain finance, receivables financing, and e-commerce supplier financing complements our Kratos platform and provides a blueprint for rollouts into other geographies.”
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WWW.GLOBALNEWSWIRE.COM
WEF Cancels Singapore Meeting as Pandemic Haunts Global Event

The World Economic Forum canceled the annual meeting it was planning to hold this August in Singapore, citing “tragic circumstances unfolding across geographies” and an uncertain travel outlook due to the pandemic.

The WEF said its next annual event will take place in the first half of 2022. The location will be determined “based on an assessment of the situation later this summer,” it said on Monday. The decision follows a recent surge in Covid-19 cases in Singapore. The Geneva-based organization said the “differing speeds of vaccination rollout and the uncertainty around new variants combine to make it impossible to” hold a meeting on a global scale.

The onset of the pandemic forced the WEF to scupper its plans several times. It finally settled on Singapore, long one of the world’s success stories in containing Covid-19.
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Bloomberg
Nomura to launch electronic FX trading engine in Singapore The launch of the FX pricing engine in Singapore by Nomura comes as part of a regulatory scheme to make the region a trading hub.

Investment bank Nomura has launched an electronic foreign exchange pricing and trading hub in Singapore with the support of the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS).

The launch comes as part of a wider regulatory initiative by MAS to attract some of the largest banks to Singapore in a bid to make it a major trading and corporate treasury hub.

Nomura joins a growing list of some of the largest market participants to have launched an engine in Singapore as part of the scheme including Northern Trust, Goldman Sachs, ?JP Morgan,?BNP Paribas,?BNY Mellon,?Deutsche Bank,?Barclays?and Macquarie.

“As a global financial services group with a strong presence in Singapore, we are fully committed to supporting the city-state’s development as a major global FX hub,” said Rig Karkhanis, deputy head of global markets and global head of FX and emerging markets at Nomura.

“This initiative, which is expected to go live later this year, will help support our clients with better infrastructure for execution, improved access to liquidity and effective price discovery.”
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WWW.THETRADENEWS.COM
A Singapore-EU digital agreement could help align standards for digital vaccine certs: Gan Kim Yong

SINGAPORE - A digital agreement between Singapore and the European Union could help align standards for digital vaccine certificates and so facilitate cross-border travel, said Trade and Industry Minister Gan Kim Yong on Tuesday (May 25).

It could also enable mutual recognition of digital identity regimes and allow businesses to easily verify cross-border customers, said Mr Gan.

The minister was speaking at the Sweden-South-east Asia Business Reset Summit 2021 at Capella Hotel. 

The agreement could help Singapore and European countries, including Sweden, seize new growth opportunities in the digital economy, which will support overall economic recovery from the pandemic, said Mr Gan.

"Emerging from the Covid-19 crisis, we need to double down on digitalisation and digital trade. These present significant opportunities for investment and development, and provide the tools needed to adapt to new ways of working, post-Covid-19," he said.
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The Straits Times
Newspaper and Printing Presses Act will apply to news entities after restructuring

The Newspaper and Printing Presses Act (NPPA), which regulates the print media in Singapore, will apply to news entities under the new company to be set up after Singapore Press Holdings (SPH) restructures its media operations.

All of SPH's current management shareholders have also agreed to become founding members of the new company limited by guarantee (CLG), said Communications and Information Minister S. Iswaran on Monday (May 10).

He said: "This will ensure that our local news media will remain in the hands of trusted institutions with a long-term stake in Singapore.

"In due course, the membership will be expanded to include newer and more diverse institutions as stakeholders of the CLG."

The 1974 Act imposes restrictions on the ownership and control of local newspaper companies. Among other things, such firms are obliged to issue two classes of shares: ordinary and management.

While each ordinary shareholder can generally not hold more than 5 per cent of a newspaper company's shares, management shareholders have 200 times the voting power on resolutions relating to the appointment or dismissal of a director and any staff member of such companies.
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The Straits Times
Asia-Pacific markets trade broadly higher, oil prices climb

Stock markets in Asia-Pacific were broadly higher on Monday, shrugging off the weaker-than-expected April U.S. jobs reports; while oil futures advanced.

South Korea's Kospi was one of the largest gainers, rising 1.63% to close at 3,249.30 in the first session of the week. In Japan, the Nikkei 225 rose 0.55% to end the session at 29,518.34 and the Topix jumped 0.99% to 1,952.27. 

Greater China markets were mixed. The Shanghai composite inched up 0.27% to 3,427.99, while stocks in Shenzhen jumped 0.19% to 2,243.91 at the close. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index fell 0.3% in late Monday trade.

Last week, the widely watched U.S. jobs report for April came in below expectations. The report showed U.S. employers added 266,000 net payrolls last month and the unemployment rate rose to 6.1%.

James Cheo, Southeast Asia chief investment officer at HSBC Private Banking and Wealth Management, said the U.S. jobs report wouldn't hit investor sentiment.

"I think in terms of the jobs recovery it's going to be extremely fragile ... but I think the trajectory is still a jobs improvement so I don't think it changes very much the investment thesis, the economic recovery is still very strong," Cheo told CNBC's "Squawk Box Asia" on Monday.
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CNBC
Bloomberg New Economy Forum will be held in Singapore in November, Tesla's Elon Musk to attend

SINGAPORE - The Bloomberg New Economy Forum will be held in Singapore from Nov 16 to 19 this year, and gather top businessmen and government leaders to discuss global challenges and solutions.

The elite conference, which went virtual last year because of the Covid-19 pandemic, has Tesla chief executive Elon Musk on its list of high-profile guests.

Speaking to The Straits Times on Tuesday (May 4) from his office in New York, Bloomberg Media's global CEO Justin Smith said the good experience when Singapore hosted the inaugural forum three years ago, coupled with the country's stringent health protocols, made it an easy decision to hold the event here again. "We felt very comfortable that the Singaporean Government had a strong handle on these issues, and could deliver on the safety concerns of global leaders coming to Singapore," he said.

The forum - launched by US media mogul Michael Bloomberg in 2018 - was relocated to Singapore from Beijing that year amid the fallout from the United States-China trade war. China hosted the forum in 2019.

Mr Smith said the Republic's tradition of innovation was another major draw.
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The Straits Times
Temasek-backed payments firm Flywire makes US IPO filing public

Payments firm Flywire on Monday (May 3) made its paperwork for a US listing public and revealed a 38 per cent surge in revenue in the latest quarter as it benefits from strong remote working trends due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Flywire had confidentially filed to go public in March and could seek a valuation of as high as US$3 billion (S$4 billion) when it sets terms for the offering, Reuters reported in January.

The Boston-based company, which was founded in 2011 and focuses on payments in the education, healthcare and travel sectors, is looking to ride on rising interest in the fintech space. 

Earlier this year, big fintech companies Affirm Holdings and Social Financial chose to go public, seeking to make the most of the roaring market that has shown a great appetite for new offerings since last year's pandemic-induced lows.

Private fintech companies have also raised fresh capital at high valuations recently. Digital payments giant Stripe became the most valuable United States start-up at US$95 billion after its funding round in March.
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The Straits Times
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