News Highlights Monday 28 April 2008

Jurong hospital will be ready by 2015
The new public hospital in Jurong will be ready by 2015 and follow the Changi General Hospital model of co-locating with a community hospital. The proposed Jurong General Hospital will have a capacity of 550 beds, while the adjacent community hospital will have 200 beds. A site in Jurong East has been allocated for the hospital. It will be within walking distance from the Jurong East MRT Interchange and Jurong East Bus Interchange. The development will form part of the larger Jurong Lake District Plan.

- The Business Times, P9




More Japanese firms set up regional HQ here
More Japanese companies have capitalised on Singapore's growth as a global business hub to set up regional headquarters (RHQs) here in the past two years. Some 58% of 227 Japanese companies polled in the survey in October and November last year indicated they had RHQ functions here, against 45% in April-May 2005. Of those which have RHQ functions here, 84% said Singapore is not only a favourable location but it is considered as a comparatively better location, up from 75% two years ago. The value of Singapore to Japanese companies is getting higher. 78-79% of the Japanese firms indicated that higher wage increases and rising rentals of residential properties could pose problems in maintaining or expanding their RHQs here. Some 69% of the Japanese companies also cited the hike in office rentals as a likely stumbling block.

- The Business Times, P3




S'pore among top picks for Japan's foreign firms
Foreign companies in Japan have picked Singapore as one of the most strategically important for business. Singapore was among six Asian countries singled out by 10% or more of 864 Japan-based foreign companies polled in September-October last year. The leading reasons offered for rating Singapore strategically important were factors relating to the business environment.

- The Business Times, P3




S'pore to be manufacturing hub for Lanxess
Germany’s Lanxess - which is building a mega 400 million euro (S$845 million) synthetic rubber plant on Jurong Island - is considering even more chemicals manufacturing projects here. Singapore could also eventually evolve as its Asian headquarters for butyl rubber. When its Jurong Island plant starts up in 2011, Singapore will play an integral role in Lanxess' latest China strategy to increasingly cater to the country's growing demand for green products.

- The Business Times, P9




InfoPrint maps a bigger Asian future
Asia’s booming business landscape and the resulting increase in demand for digital office printing has prompted a new printer maker to ramp up its regional operations through boosting its headcount and setting up a new Asian base. InfoPrint Solutions last week established a new Asia-Pacific headquarters in Singapore. The US-based company is a joint venture (JV) formed by software giant IBM and Japanese office equipment major Ricoh.

- The Business Times, P29




BT to increase its investment here
Singapore’s Next Generation National Broadband Network (Next Gen NBN) and the Intelligent Nation 2015 (iN2015) projects are key to British Telecom's (BT) business and continued investment here. British telco group's plans for further increasing its investment in Singapore includes boosting headcount here by 50% over the next two years, which will add 450 new staff to BT's current staff strength of 900 in Singapore by 2010.

- The Business Times, P30




China's credit curbs could spark rise in bad loans
China's credit curbs may result in rising bad loans in the second half of this year. If the current degree of tightening is maintained, banks will continue to face tight liquidity, their asset quality may worsen and then their non-performing loans may rise in the second half. To cool investment and keep inflation in check, Beijing raised interest rates six times last year. So far this year, it has raised the proportion of deposits that banks must place at the central bank three times, following 10 increases last year. The central bank has also ordered banks to limit the increase in new lending this year to about last year's level of 3.63 trillion yuan (S$706 billion).

- The Straits Times, H16