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April
Singapore's hot housing market faces risk of cooling curbs
Written by Nur Yasmin
Ishwinder Kaur and her husband spent more than two years looking to buy their first home in Singapore, hoping property prices would dip during the hunt.
The couple finally bought their apartment in December after prices rose in all but one quarter last year, even as the city state posted its worst recession during the COVID-19 pandemic.
"We got really worried because we saw that people were snapping up homes left, right and centre," said Kaur.
House prices rose again in the first quarter, with the private home market up 3.3%, its steepest rise in nearly three years, fueling expectations the government is likely to intervene soon to calm the market.
Driven by low interest rates, confidence in property's long-term safety and a fear of missing out, the boom is putting buyers increasingly at odds with the government, which has been warning that purchasers should exercise caution.
Authorities in Singapore, where real estate is a safe haven investment for wealthy foreigners, keep close tabs on property prices to ensure housing remains affordable for locals and stays in step with economic fundamentals.
They began advising prudence late last year, with Senior Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam warning again in April that home buyers should exercise caution given the risk of rising interest rates. Instead, some buyers are trying to get ahead of any intervention, further driving up sales.
"Considering that only property value seems to be growing steadily, and extra stamp duties may kick in soon to cool the market, it is better to invest in a new house at this time," said sales engineer Faye Zhou, who is looking for a condominium.
Government tools to cool the market include boosting stamp duties on foreign buyers and investors with multiple homes, or increasing the proportion of downpayments. It can also increase land supply through tenders.
Private home prices fell 11.6% from a 2013 peak over a span of 15 quarters after the government took steps to curb a housing market boom as Singapore emerged from the global financial crisis.
The government last tightened curbs in 2018 after prices rose about 9% over a year and analysts expect it to act again as the city-state's economic recovery from the pandemic is uneven and near-term wage growth remains muted.
Foreign demand is also returning, according to property consultants OrangeTee, helping boost sales of luxury homes to their highest since the third quarter of 2017.
Total transactions in the first quarter nearly doubled from a year ago, touching their highest in at least two years.
The housing loan booking at DBS Group (DBSM.SI), Singapore's biggest bank, has been at record levels.
"Some of it is because of people's view that you might see some cooling measures. So people are trying to get ahead of that," CEO Piyush Gupta said in the bank's results call with reporters.
INVENTORY SQUEEZE
Further out, supply is set to tighten in both the private and public housing markets due to pandemic-driven delays in construction.
The inventory of uncompleted homes with developers is dwindling and had fallen by 40% as of the first quarter compared with two years ago.
Developers will likely seek to acquire land to replenish their inventories, either sites from the government or existing apartments blocks that can redeveloped. Analysts expect intense competition for land, which may, in turn fuel further price rises.
Property in land-scarce Singapore has long attracted the super-rich from around Asia, with political uncertainty in rival Hong Kong helping boost that appeal.
And even if prices fall in the near-term from recent highs, buyers are confident they will not stay low forever.
"Property prices in Singapore will certainly still grow steadily in the long term ... there's limited land but more people are coming into Singapore," said Sky Chen, a 30-year-old architect who bought his apartment in November. (Reuters)
April
EU ready to help restore democracy to Myanmar - high representative
Written by Nur Yasmin
The European Union is ready to offer its support to all parties to help restore democracy in Myanmar, the bloc's high representative told ASEAN states on Friday.
Southeast Asian leaders said after an emergency ASEAN summit last week that they had reached consensus with Myanmar's junta on ending violence there. read more
"The European Union stands ready to support ASEAN... in facilitating a constructive dialogue with all key stakeholders with a view to bringing Myanmar/Burma back to its democratic path," the high representative said in a statement published on Friday.
An activist monitoring group says more than 750 people have been killed by security forces in Myanmar since army generals unleashed lethal force in the face of sustained protests against their Feb. 1 coup. (Reuters)
April
Myanmar seeks murder, treason charges against protest leader; air strikes in east
Written by Nur Yasmin
Jakarta. Myanmar authorities are seeking to file charges of murder and treason against one of the main leaders of the protest campaign against military rule, the state broadcaster said on Wednesday.
Wai Moe Naing was arrested on April 15 when security men rammed him with a car as he led a motorbike protest rally in the central town of Monywa.
Myanmar Television, in its main evening news bulletin, broadcast a list of charges being sought against him, including murder and treason, that it said had been filed with police.
Wai Moe Naing, a 25-year-old Muslim, has emerged as one of the most high-profile leaders of opposition to the Feb. 1 coup that overhrew an elected government led by Aung San Suu Kyi.
It is not clear if he has a lawyer.
Pro-democracy protests have taken place in cities and towns across the country since the coup, with Monywa one of the main centres of opposition.
The military has cracked down with lethal force on the protesters, killing more than 750 people, an activist group says. Reuters is unable to confirm the casualty toll.
Fighting has also intensified between the military and ethnic minority Karen insurgents in the east with more air strikes sending villagers fleeing into neighbouring Thailand, Thai officials said.
Earlier on Wednesday, Myanmar's pro-democracy unity government, formed to oppose the junta, ruled out talks on the crisis until all political prisoners are released.
The 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), alarmed by the turmoil in one of its members, has been trying to find a path for Myanmar out of the crisis and held a meeting on Saturday in the Indonesian capital with the leader of the junta, Senior General Min Aung Hlaing.
The pro-democracy National Unity Government (NUG), which includes members of parliament ousted by the coup, was not invited to the talks. It said ASEAN should be engaging with it as the legitimate representative of the people.
"Before any constructive dialogue can take place, however, there must be an unconditional release of political prisoners including President U Win Myint and State Counsellor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi," the NUG prime minister, Minister Mahn Winn Khaing Thann, said in a statement.
There was no immediate comment from any senior ASEAN official, and a spokesman for the Myanmar military did not answer calls seeking comment.
AIR STRIKES AND REFUGEES
Win Myint, Suu Kyi and others have been detained since the coup, which the military launched as her government was preparing for a second term after sweeping a November election.
The military said it had to seize power because its complaints of election fraud were not addressed by an election commission that deemed the vote fair.
The Assistance Association for Political Prisoners advocacy group says more than 3,400 people have been detained for opposing the coup.
ASEAN leaders said after the weekend meeting that they had had reached a "five-point consensus" on steps to end violence and promote dialogue between the Myanmar rivals.
But the junta declined to accept the ASEAN proposals, saying it would consider them "when the situation returns to stability" and provided the recommendations facilitated the military's own roadmap.
Protesters marched in support of the NUG in the second city of Mandalay, the Myanmar Now media outlet reported.
There was no report of violence at the protest but two small bombs - one in Mandalay and one in the main city of Yangon - later wounded several people, media reported.
There was no claim of responsibility.
Karen insurgents captured Myanmar army posts near the Thai border on Tuesday in some of the most intense clashes since the coup which included air strikes by the military.
More air strikes on Wednesday, with warplanes and helicopters, forced about 100 villagers to the Thai side of the border, Thai authorities said.
The Karen and other ethnic minority forces based in frontier regions have supported the largely urban-based pro-democracy opponents of the junta.
Clashes have also broken out in Chin State, which is on the border with India, between anti-coup activists and security forces. Myanmar Now reported 30 government soldiers were killed in four days of clashes there. (Reuters)
April
U.S., Japan and South Korea eye foreign ministers' meeting in May-media
Written by Nur Yasmin
Jakarta. The United States, Japan and South Korea are arranging a meeting of their foreign ministers during the G7 meeting in the United Kingdom next week, the Yomiuri Shimbun reported on Thursday, citing multiple government sources.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi and South Korean Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong are expected to affirm their cooperation on dealing with North Korea's nuclear and missile development, according to the newspaper article.
North Korea test launched two suspected ballistic missiles into the sea near Japan in March, underscoring steady progress in its weapons programme.
This month, Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga said he and U.S. President Joe Biden agreed to insist that Pyongyang abide by United Nations resolutions on its nuclear arsenal and missiles.
The United States is taking the lead in arranging the trilateral talks on the sidelines of the G7 foreign ministers' meeting, to be held May 3-5, the Yomiuri reported its source as saying.
Mogi and Blinken are also expected to hold a meeting, but it is unclear whether bilateral talks between the Japanese and South Korean foreign ministers will take place, the newspaper said. (Reuters)
April
Pakistan sees record COVID-19 deaths as officials consider stricter lockdowns
Written by Nur Yasmin
Jakarta. Pakistan recorded more than two hundred COVID-19 deaths in a day for the first time since the start of the pandemic on Tuesday, as the government said it was considering stricter lockdowns.
A total of 201 new deaths were recorded on Tuesday, bringing the country's overall death toll from the virus to 17,530, according to the National Command Operation Center (NCOC), which oversees the government's pandemic response. The previous highest daily death count was 157 recorded on April 23.
A total of 5,292 new cases were reported on Tuesday, bringing the total cases to 810,231 in the country of more than 220 million people.
The national posititivity ratio, the number of infections among those tested, was 10.8%. The death rate, the number of infections resulting in fatalaties, hit the highest point since the start of the pandemic, reaching around 2.2%.
Only around two million vaccinatations have been administered in Pakistan, and the country has struggled to procure supplies to cover enough of its population.
Officials have said health care facilities are at risk of being overwhelmed. Pakistan has very limited health resources, with ventilators and oxygen in short supply.
Around 6,286 COVID-19 patients were being treated in 631 hospitals on Tuesday, and more than 70% of ventilators and oxygenated beds were occupied in hospitals in many major cities, according to the NCOC.
On Monday, Pakistani army troops were deployed in 16 major cities with high positivity rates, to assist civilian law enforcement in enforcing measures meant to curb the spread of the coronavirus, including the wearing of masks in public and the closing of non-essential businesses after 6pm.
Stricter measures were taken in a handful of cities with the highest positivity rates this week, and on Tuesday Health Minister Faisal Sultan warned such steps could be extended to other areas if the public did not heed advice on social distancing, wearing masks, and other precautionary measures, especially during the holy Islamic month of Ramadan with the upcoming Eid holiday next month.
"Please keep your Ramadan and Eid simple this year, so we can fight this disease and get through this difficult situation," Sultan said.
The southern province of Sindh announced intercity transportation will be halted starting April 30, and remain in place through May 17, just after the Eid holiday. (Reuters)
April
India’s coronavirus infections cross 18 million; record number of daily deaths
Written by Nur Yasmin
Jakarta. India's total COVID-19 cases passed 18 million on Thursday after another world record daily infection as gravediggers worked around the clock burying victims and rows of funeral pyres were built in parks and parking lots.
India reported 379,257 new COVID-19 cases and 3,645 new deaths on Thursday, according to health ministry data. It was the country's highest number of deaths reported in a single day since the start of the pandemic.
The world's second-most populous nation is in deep crisis with its hospitals and morgues overwhelmed and healthcare professionals struggling to cope with the pandemic.
Mumbai gravedigger Sayyed Munir Kamruddin said he and his colleagues were working non-stop to bury COVID-19 victims.
"I'm not scared of COVID, I've worked with courage. It's all about courage, not about fear," said the 52-year-old. "This is our only job. Getting the body, removing it from the ambulance, and then burying it." read more
Each day, thousands of Indians frantically search for hospital beds and life saving oxygen for sick relatives, using social media apps and personal contacts. When hospital beds become available, especially in intensive care units, they are snapped up within minutes.
"The ferocity of the second wave did take everyone by surprise," K. VijayRaghavan, principal scientific adviser to the Indian government, was quoted as saying in the Indian Express newspaper.
"While we were all aware of second waves in other countries, we had vaccines at hand, and no indications from modeling exercises suggested the scale of the surge."
India's military has begun transporting key medical supplies, such as oxygen cannisters, across the country and will open its healthcare facilities to civilians. Hotels and railway coaches have been converted into critical care facilities to make up for the shortage of hospital beds.
India's best hope to curb its second deadly wave of COVID-19 was to vaccinate its vast population, said experts, and on Wednesday the country opened registrations for everyone above the age of 18 to be given jabs from Saturday.
But although it is the world's biggest producer of vaccines, India does not have the stocks for the estimated 800 million people now eligible for inoculation.
Many people who tried to sign up for the vaccinations said they failed, complaining on social media that they could not get a slot or they simply could not get online to register as the website repeatedly crashed.
"Statistics indicate that far from crashing or performing slowly, the system is performing without any glitches," the government said in a statement late on Wednesday.
The government said more than 8 million people had registered for the vaccinations, but it was not immediately clear how many had got slots.
DEATHS LIKELY UNDER-REPORTED
Only about 9% of India's 1.4 billion population have received one dose since the vaccination campaign began in January with health workers and then the elderly.
While India's second wave of infections has overwhelmed the country's health system, its official death rate is below that of Brazil and the United States.
India has reported 147.2 deaths per million population, according to the Reuters global COVID-19 tracker, a much lower figure than Brazil and the United States, which reported 1,800 and 1,700 deaths per million population respectively.
However, medical experts believe India's true COVID-19 numbers may be 5 to 10 times greater than the official tally.
"India’s COVID outbreak is a humanitarian crisis," U.S. Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren said on Twitter.
"I’m leading a letter to @moderna_tx, @pfizer, and @jnjnews to find out what steps they’re taking to expand global access to their vaccines to save lives and prevent variants from spreading around the world."
The U.S. State Department issued a travel advisory on Wednesday against travel to India because of the pandemic and advised its citizens to leave the country.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been criticised for allowing massive political rallies and religious festivals which have been super spreader events in recent weeks.
More than 8.4 million eligible voters are set to vote on Thursday in the last phase of an eight-part election in the eastern Indian state of West Bengal, even as the state witnesses a record rise in coronavirus cases.
"The people of this country are entitled to a full and honest account of what led more than a billion people into a catastrophe," Vikram Patel, The Pershing Square Professor of Global Health in the Department of Global Health and Social Medicine at Harvard Medical School, said in The Hindu newspaper.
AID STARTS ARRIVING
India expects close to 550 oxygen generating plants to come in from all over the world as aid starts pouring in, Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla said on Thursday. read more
Two planes from Russia, carrying 20 oxygen concentrators, 75 ventilators, 150 bedside monitors, and medicines totalling 22 metric tonnes, have arrived in the capital.
The United States is sending supplies worth more than $100 million to India, including 1,000 oxygen cylinders, 15 million N95 masks and 1 million rapid diagnostic tests, the White House said in a statement on Wednesday. read more It said the supplies will begin arriving on Thursday.
The United States also has redirected its own order of AstraZeneca (AZN.L) manufacturing supplies to India, which will allow it to make over 20 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine, according to the White House.
India will receive a first batch of Russia's Sputnik V vaccine against COVID-19 on May 1. Russia's RDIF sovereign wealth fund, which is marketing Sputnik V globally, has already signed agreements with five leading Indian manufacturers for over 850 million doses of the vaccine a year. read more
Bangladesh on Thursday said it will send about 10,000 vials of injectable anti-viral, oral anti-viral, 30,000 PPE kits, and several thousand zinc, calcium, vitamin C and other necessary tablets to India.
Germany will send 120 ventilators to India on Saturday, followed by a mobile oxygen production facility next week, its defence ministry said. (Reuters)
April
Japan business leaders suggest ways for govt to speed up vaccination rate
Written by Nur Yasmin
Jakarta. Japanese business leaders and a Nobel-prizewinning biologist called upon the government to reform its vaccination programme, including allowing drive-through inoculations, as the nation struggles to contain a resurgence of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Japan has secured the largest quantity of COVID-19 vaccines in Asia, as it gears up for the summer Olympics. But it has inoculated only 1.6% of its population so far, the slowest among wealthy countries.
Government data on Wednesday showed that Japan has only used about a fifth of the coronavirus vaccine doses it has imported so far, underscoring logistical hurdles such as a shortage of medical staff. read more
Twenty-four business leaders, including e-commerce group Rakuten's (4755.T) CEO Hiroshi Mikitani, and Nobel-winning stem cell biologist Shinya Yamanaka said a bolder and coordinated effort was needed to speed up vaccinations.
"The government and local administrations must not be constrained by outdated thinking and must make effective use of private sector expertise," they said in a statement on Wednesday.
They urged the government to simplify vaccine application procedures, quicken administration of vaccines by allowing them to be done using a drive-through system and large-scale facilities, and seek the cooperation of medical experts.
The proposals also called for the government to manage vaccination records to encourage residents and visitors from outside Japan who have been inoculated to resume economic activities.
Japanese government officials were not immediately available for comment on Thursday, a national holiday in Japan.
Rakuten's Mikitani, who is also the representative director of the Japan Association of New Economy, has said it was "too risky" to hold the 2020 Tokyo Olympics this summer, as Japan struggles with a nascent fourth wave of the pandemic. read more
Supporters of the proposals included the Japan Medical Association President Yoshitake Yokokura, furniture chain Nitori Holdings Co's (9843.T) CEO Akio Nitori and Takeshi Niinami, head of Japanese beverage group Suntory Holdings. (Reuters)
April
Moderna boosting COVID-19 vaccine capacity, targets up to 3 billion shots in 2022
Written by Nur Yasmin
Jakarta. Moderna Inc (MRNA.O) said on Thursday it is boosting manufacturing capacity for its COVID-19 vaccine and expects to make up to 3 billion doses in 2022, more than twice its previous forecast.
It also said it is increasing its expectations for 2021 vaccine production to between 800 million and 1 billion shots, raising the bottom of its range from 700 million.
The final number of inoculations will depend on how many are lower-dose formulations for boosters and immunizations for children. Moderna shots currently deploy 100 micrograms of vaccine substance but some future shots may use only 50 micrograms.
"As we look forward to next year, we just see so much need for primary vaccine, we are hearing it all over the world, and also boosters," Moderna President Stephen Hoge said in an interview.
"So depending upon... how much the ordering that happens is third doses or pediatric doses at 50 micrograms, we could see up to 3 billion doses," he added. Moderna had previously said it expected to make 1.4 billion shots in 2022.
Moderna also said new data suggests its shots can be stored safely for up to three months at refrigerator temperatures, making it easier to get them to hard to reach areas that may not have access to freezers.
"That might be a breakthrough that really matters in 2022 in Africa and across lower and middle income countries," Hoge said.
Wealthy governments have been trying to stock up on COVID-19 shots from Moderna and Pfizer Inc (PFE.N)/BioNTech SE (22UAy.DE) after safety concerns and production problems temporarily sidelined vaccines from AstraZeneca Plc (AZN.L) and Johnson & Johnson (JNJ.N). read more
But even as rich countries speed up their vaccine rollouts, other parts of the world are facing sharp upticks in cases and struggling to acquire needed shots.
India has recorded more than 300,000 cases each day and more than 2,000 deaths in the past week. Fewer than 10% of its more than 1.3 billion citizens have received one dose and only around 20 million are fully inoculated against the virus.
Moderna expects to double output at a drug substance plant in Switzerland run by Lonza Group AG (LONN.S) and boost production in a Spain-based facility owned by Laboratorios Farmaceuticos ROVI SA (ROVI.MC) more than two-fold. U.S. plants will also raise output by more than 50%.
Moderna's two-dose vaccine uses messenger-RNA technology that programs cells to build immunity to the novel coronavirus.
The U.S. drugmaker said it would begin making investments this year and that production boosts would start in late 2021 and carry into early 2022.
Moderna said it is in advanced talks for additional deals with other manufacturers to help make its shots. Moderna earlier this month announced shot production deals with Sanofi SA (SASY.PA) and Catalent Inc (CTLT.N). read more
The company would need regulatory sign-off to start shipping vaccine at the higher, refrigerator-level temperatures.
So far, Johnson & Johnson and AstraZeneca have been the only major global drugmakers with authorized COVID-19 shots that can be stored without a freezer.
Both companies have faced production problems and reports of severe side effects that have slowed uptake of their vaccines.
Moderna Inc said on Wednesday the U.S. government had agreed to increase the contract for the company’s COVID-19 vaccine by $236 million to roughly $1.25 billion, to include additional costs related to the shot’s studies. (Reuters)
April
OIC secretary general extends condolences over submarine incident
Written by Nur Yasmin
Jakarta. Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Secretary General, Dr. Yousef bin Ahmad Al-Othaimeen, sent a letter of condolence and sympathy to Indonesian President Joko Widodo following the sinking of the KRI Nanggala-402 submarine.
Dr Al-Othaimeen expressed sincere condolences to the president and people of Indonesia as well as to the bereaved families of the 53 crew members of the submarine and prayed to Allah Almighty for His vast and endless mercy to be granted to the souls of the deceased, according to a statement received in Jakarta, Wednesday.
The KRI Nanggala-402 submarine went off the radar on Wednesday (April 22) during live torpedo training exercises off the Indonesian holiday island of Bali.
The 40-year-old submarine was found disintegrated into three pieces on the sea bed after five days of search efforts. All 53 crew members of the vessel are confirmed dead.
Indonesia's Navy officials spoke of having received signals from the submarine more than 800 meters deep early on Sunday.
An underwater rescue vehicle, loaned by Singapore, was sent down to obtain visual confirmation of the wreckage.
Built in Germany in 1977, KRI Nanggala was refitted in South Korea in 2012..
Neighboring Singapore and Malaysia as well as the United States and Australia were among the nations that extended assistance to look for the submarine, with nearly two dozen warships deployed to scour a search zone spanning some 10 square nautical miles. (Antaranews)
April
Washington helping Kabul replace departing U.S. contractors -envoy
Written by Nur Yasmin
Jakarta. The United States is helping to find replacements for American contractors who provide vital services to the Kabul government but must leave Afghanistan under a 2020 agreement, U.S. peace envoy Zalmay Khalilzad said on Tuesday.
"The Afghans ... with our help are looking for others to be able to provide that service to them," Khalilzad told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. "We're obviously very sympathetic to them to find alternatives."
The February 2020 deal reached by the Trump administration with the Taliban required the departures by May 1 of all U.S. troops and non-diplomatic civilian personnel, including U.S. contractors.
U.S. President Joe Biden delayed the pullout while his administration reviewed the agreement and Afghanistan policy.
He decided earlier this month to begin the withdrawal and complete it by Sept. 11, the anniversary of al Qaeda's 2001 attacks on the United States that triggered the U.S.-led invasion that year.
The departure of thousands of American contractors, especially those serving the Afghan security forces, has raised concerns among some U.S. officials about the ability of the Afghan government and military to sustain critical functions.
U.S. Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction John Sopko told Congress in March that the departure of U.S. defense contractors may be "more devastating" to Afghan forces than the troop withdrawal.
Some of the deepest concerns involve the Afghan air force, for whose U.S.-made Blackhawk helicopters and C-130 cargo planes Pentagon contractors provide 100% of the maintenance. (Reuters)