Singapore

Japan and Cambodia agreed Saturday to reopen borders to their expatriates as early as next month on condition they self-quarantine for 14 days and take other precautions against the novel coronavirus. Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi agreed on the policy with Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen during a meeting in Phnom Penh, according to the Japanese Foreign Ministry. It is the third such agreement Japan has struck this month as Tokyo looks for ways to gradually relax immigration restrictions imposed on nearly 150 countries to slow the pandemic. The other two deals were reached with Singapore and Malaysia. Motegi aims to clinch similar travel resumption agreements with Laos and Myanmar, which he will visit on the final two stops of his four-nation tour through Tuesday. Before Cambodia, ...

SINGAPORE: Total merchandise trade in Singapore declined by 15.2 per cent in the second quarter of 2020, following a slight growth of 0.5 per cent in the previous quarter. Official data by Enterprise Singapore also showed on Tuesday (Aug 11) that non-oil trade declined by 3.3 per cent, after the previous quarter’s 4.4 per cent increase. Oil trade fell sharply in the second quarter, by 61.9 percent, compared to the 15.9% drop in the first quarter. (Graphic: Enterprise Singapore) On a quarter-on-quarter seasonally adjusted basis, total merchandise trade decreased by 14.3 per cent in Q2 2020, after the previous quarter’s 0.1 per cent growth. Non-oil trade declined by 7.7 per cent, while oil trade contracted by 50.6 per cent. On a year-on-year basis, non-oil exports (NOX), which inc...

Singapore on Friday said it would reopen its borders to visitors from New Zealand and Brunei from next month, in the city-state's first steps towards resuming leisure travel since it sealed its borders to control Covid-19 outbreaks. The city-state, which currently only allows official and business travel to selected countries, also said it would allow students to travel for study overseas if distance-learning was not available. The measures would take effect on Sept. 1, with various restrictions, the health ministry said. Singapore sealed its borders in March and subsequently went into a two-month lockdown as mass outbreaks in cramped migrant worker dormitories emerged. Those lockdown measures were lifted in June and the travel and tourism hub — facing its worst recession in history — ...

SINGAPORE: Fresh graduates will have more job and training opportunities with the introduction of four new SkillsFuture work-study programmes unveiled at the virtual SkillsFuture work-study fair on Wednesday (Aug 12). The programmes, introduced by the Institutes of Higher Learning, will offer Singaporeans more than 140 places over the next two years. Among these is the first SkillsFuture work-study degree programme by the National University of Singapore (NUS), in partnership with SkillsFuture Singapore and Sea Limited - a Singapore-based global consumer internet company. Minister of State for Education and Manpower Gan Siow Huang said on Wednesday the Government has set a target of making work-study opportunities available to 12 per cent of each cohort by 2025. Speaking at the vir...

SINGAPORE: A particular quote by painter Vincent Van Gogh resonated with cyclist Steve Tee during the uncertainty of what he calls the "COVID-19 period". "He said something like: 'For my part I know nothing with any certainty, but the sight of the stars makes me dream.' And I realised that our (star) is the Paralympics, so I cannot lose sight of it," Tee told CNA. "We are still continuing to work on it and at the same time, we keep our fingers crossed, hope for the best and prepare for the worst." Tee, who will represent Singapore at next year's coronavirus-postponed Paralympics, was one of the athletes recognised for their achievements and contributions at the Singapore Disability Sports Awards on Friday (Aug 7). He was nominated for the Sportsman of the Year award, which was won ...

SINGAPORE: Transport giant ComfortDelGro posted a net loss of S$6 million in the first half of the year amid "massive" destruction brought on by the COVID-19 outbreak. With governments around the world imposing lockdowns and other restrictions to stem the spead of the outbreak, demand for taxi and public transport plunged, contributing to a 20.8 per cent fall in first-half revenue, said ComfortDelGro in a stock exchange filing. Group revenue came in at S$1.53 billion between January and June this year, compared with S$1.93 billion in the same period last year. "The first six months of 2020 have been nothing short of catastrophic," said ComfortDelGro chairman Lim Jit Poh. "If not for governmental reliefs, that loss would have been S$66.1 million," he said. In comparison, the group ...

SINGAPORE: Minister for Foreign Affairs Vivian Balakrishnan and US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Tuesday (Aug 4) agreed on the importance of ensuring that COVID-19 vaccines will be made available globally. Singapore's Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) said, in a telephone call that Dr Balakrishnan received from Mr Pompeo, the two discussed collaboration in the research and development, manufacturing, and distribution of COVID-19 vaccines. They also talked about the possibility of leveraging the strong US commercial presence in Singapore, including in pharmaceuticals, said MFA in a press statement. The statement added: “Both sides welcome the new areas of bilateral cooperation in infrastructure and trade as well as customs facilitation which will increase bilateral trade and st...

The Japanese government on Wednesday announced it will partially roll back entry restrictions as part of its coronavirus countermeasures on foreign nationals, allowing students and business workers with valid legal status to be gradually readmitted to the country. The rule change will affect just under 200,000 foreign nationals seeking to enter Japan. Those eligible will comprise about 103,000 permanent residents, long-term residents and spouses of Japanese nationals or permanent residents. Those permanent residents as well as long-term residents had been able to return to Japan if they had left the country before the ban was introduced or on humanitarian grounds, such as a relative’s death or a health emergency. But with this announcement, about 88,000 high-skilled workers and students ...