News Highlights Sat 15 March 2008

Job growth in S’pore higher than in developed nations
Singapore stands out among developed countries in achieving GDP and employment growth, according to data released by the Manpower Ministry yesterday. Comparing to job growth in advanced economies such as Britain, US, Hong Kong and Japan which is typically around 3% or lower, the number of jobs in Singapore grew by 9.4% last year and 7.6% the previous year. A record 234,900 jobs were created last year, surpassing the Government’s own projections.

- The Straits Times, H4



SC Global is title sponsor for F1 support race
Luxury residential developer SC Global Development is sponsoring the Singapore F1 race – officially named “Porsche SC Global Carrera Cup Asia – Singapore 2008”, and it will take place before the inaugural 2008 F1 SingTel Singapore Grand Prix as a support race. This means that during the Singapore race, all 18 Porsche cars in the competition will have SC Global name plastered on the front windscreen. No mention was made of the sponsorship amount, but within motorsport circles, a title sponsorship is understood to typically pay a six-figure sum.

- The Business Times, P2


Earnigns rise but productivity dips for first time in 6 years
Labour productivity slipped 0.9% in 2007 while real earnings rose 4%. Employment jump by a record 234,900 trimming jobless rate to a decade low of 1.6%, according to MOM. Of the new jobs created last year, 144,500 went to foreigners. As at December 2007, there were 900,800 foreigners working in Singapore, or one in three of the 2.73 million persons employed.

- The Business Times, P2



Economy scores top marks in Bertelsmann ranking
Singapore’s economy has been ranked the most successful among 125 countries worldwide, outperforming all its Asian counterparts. Singapore was ranked 23rd internationally, ahead of India at 25th and China at 85th. Regionally, Singapore was 3rd after Taiwan at 1st and South Korea at 2nd place. Bertelsmann’s latest Transformation index ranked 125 states on the basis of development, management and market economy. The report stated Singapore as a highly developed and successful free-market economy, enjoys a remarkably open and corruption-free environment, stable prices and per capita GDP equal to that of the four largest western European countries.

- The Business Times, P7



CAI targets global portfolio of 10 airports
Changi Airports International (CAI) expects to have a global portfolio of about 10 airports and investments of US$1 billion in airport equity in about five years. Yesterday, CAI was named the 2008 Asia-Pacific Airport Investment Company of the Year at the Frost & Sullivan Asia Pacific Aerospace & Defence Awards ceremony. CAI has been aggressively expanding across the Middle East, India, Russia, Vietnam and China.

- The Business Times, P7