Live Streaming
Program Highlight
Company Profile
International News (6893)
January
In surprise move, Singapore tightens monetary policy on inflation risks
Written by Nur Yasmin
Singapore's central bank tightened its monetary policy settings on Tuesday in its first out-of-cycle move in seven years, as global supply constraints and brisk economic demand elevate inflation pressures across the region.
The city-state's trade-dependent economy is highly susceptible to swings in global inflation and the central bank's sudden move comes as price pressures ring alarm bells for policymakers elsewhere in Asia.
Selena Ling, head of treasury research and strategy at OCBC, said she expects the central bank to tighten again in April, describing Tuesday's move as only a "slight tightening."
"If they had announced a more aggressive tightening today, then that would have dampened expectations for April," she said.
The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), which manages monetary policy through exchange rate settings, said it would slightly raise the rate of appreciation of its policy band.
The width of the band, known as the Nominal Effective Exchange Rate, or S$NEER, and the level at which it is centered will be unchanged.
The MAS, which typically holds scheduled policy reviews twice a year, once in April and then in October, last surprised with an off-cycle move in January 2015 when it eased its policy after a collapse in global oil prices.
Last year, many Asia-Pacific economies largely shrugged off inflationary threats that had rattled policymakers in Europe and the United States but that thinking now appears to be shifting.
Australia's core inflation flew to its fastest annual pace since 2014 in the December quarter, data showed on Tuesday, challenging the central bank's benign interest rate outlook.
In Japan, a country renowned for its stubbornly tepid price growth, policymakers have also acknowledgedcreeping inflation pressures.
Elsewhere, investors expect the U.S. Federal Reserve to raise its benchmark interest rate in March with the central bank likely to step up its rhetoric against inflation at its meeting this week.
Singapore's policy move comes just a day after data showed core inflation in the city-state climbed in December by the fastest pace in nearly eight years.
"This move builds on the pre-emptive shift to an appreciating stance in October 2021 and is appropriate for ensuring medium-term price stability," the MAS said, referring to its tightening move late last year.
The central bank is due to review its stance in April, when it was widely expected by economists to tighten again.
The Singapore dollar strengthened to 1.3425 versus the U.S. dollar, its highest since October 2021.
'DOUBLE TIGHTENING'
Singapore's bellwether economy is expected to grow 3-5%, unchanged from earlier forecasts.
"2022 will be year of double tightening for Singapore - both fiscal and monetary levers will grind tighter," said OCBC's Ling.
The MAS expects Singapore's economic recovery, which has so far been led by the trade-related and services sectors, to extend to the domestic-oriented and travel-related sectors this year as COVID-19 restrictions are eased.
Singapore has vaccinated 88% of its 5.5 million people against COVID-19 and 55% have received booster shots.
The MAS forecasts core inflation to be 2.0–3.0% this year, from the 1.0–2.0% expected in October. Headline inflation is expected to be 2.5–3.5%, from the earlier forecast range of 1.5–2.5%.
"While core inflation is expected to moderate in the second half of the year from the elevated levels in the first half as supply constraints ease, the risks remain skewed to the upside," the MAS said.
Singapore will release its annual budget on Feb. 18, when the government is expected to announce the timing for an anticipated hike in goods and services tax.
The city-state's economy grew 7.2% in 2021, its fastest pace in over a decade, rebounding from a record 5.4% contraction in 2020. The government has spent more than S$100 billion over the last two years to cushion its economy from the impact of the pandemic.
Instead of interest rates, the MAS manages policy by letting the local dollar rise or fall against the currencies of its main trading partners within an undisclosed band.
It adjusts its policy via three levers: the slope, mid-point and width of the policy band. (Reuters)
January
Australia buys copyright to Aboriginal flag, making it free to fly
Written by Nur Yasmin
The Australian government said on Tuesday it had acquired copyright to the Aboriginal flag so it can be freely used, resolving a commercial dispute that had restricted sporting teams and Aboriginal communities from reproducing the image.
The Aboriginal flag has been recognised as an official flag of Australia since 1995, flown from government buildings and embraced by sporting clubs.
After a deal negotiated with its creator, indigenous artist Harold Thomas, the flag can be used on sports shirts, sporting grounds, websites and in artworks without permission or payment of a fee, the government said on the eve of the Australia Day national holiday.
Writing in the Sydney Morning Herald on Tuesday, Thomas said he first made the black, yellow and red flag to lead a demonstration in 1971, and it had become a symbol of indigenous unity and pride.
"The flag represents the timeless history of our land and our people’s time on it," he said in a statement.
The government has paid $20 million to Thomas and to extinguish licences held by a small number of companies which have stirred controversy since 2018 by demanding payment for the flag's reproduction.
A parliamentary inquiry in 2020 said the licence holder had demanded payment from health organisations and sporting clubs, which could lead to communities stopping using the flag to avoid legal action.
Prominent Aboriginal Australians including former Olympian Nova Peris led a "Free the Flag" campaign.
Minister for Indigenous Australians Ken Wyatt said the flag had become an enduring symbol for Aboriginal people.
"Over the last 50 years we made Harold Thomas' artwork our own - we marched under the Aboriginal flag, stood behind it, and flew it high as a point of pride," he said in a statement.
"Now that the Commonwealth holds the copyright, it belongs to everyone, and no one can take it away."
Australia Day celebrations, marked with a national public holiday on Jan. 26, have become controversial because the date is seen by indigenous Australians as marking the invasion of their land by Britain.
It is the date a British fleet sailed into Sydney Harbour in 1788 to start a penal colony, viewing the land as unoccupied despite encountering settlements.
There has been debate over whether to move the national holiday to another date. (Reuters)
January
Australia marks two years since first COVID case with another high death count
Written by Nur Yasmin
Australia on Tuesday recorded one of its highest number of deaths in a day from COVID-19 as an outbreak of the highly-infections Omicron variant tore through the country which marked two years since its first infection of the coronavirus.
Though Australia's states and territories are refraining from a return to the lockdowns which have defined the country's pandemic response, the most populous state, New South Wales, extended a mask mandate by a month, an example of the continuous disruption brought by the virus.
The same state, which came out of more than three months of hard lockdown in October, had vowed never to return to social distancing measures since its population had met a target of more than 90% vaccinated. Omicron has since seen the country's COVID-19 death and infection rates double in weeks.
The country recorded 75 deaths the previous day, short of its highest daily total of 80 the week before but among its worst of the pandemic. Most of the deaths were in NSW and neighbouring Victoria, home to the cities of Sydney and Melbourne and two-thirds of the Australian population.
Still, the authorities said the Omicron flare-up appeared to have peaked. Daily case numbers were up on the previous day, but hospitalisations appear to have steadied as more Australians receive their booster, they said.
The state of South Australia recorded five deaths but its lowest number of daily infections since the start of the year and "we're absolutely delighted with that figure", premier Steven Marshall told reporters.
"We are tracking extraordinarily well."
About two dozen COVID-19 cases were meanwhile recorded on an Australian warship headed for coronavirus-free Tonga, which was hit by a massive volcanic eruption and tsunami on Jan. 15. The authorities said the ship would continue with its mission safely. (Reuters)
January
U.S. carriers in South China Sea, Taiwan reports further Chinese incursion
Written by Nur Yasmin
Two U.S. aircraft carrier groups have entered the disputed South China Sea for training, the Department of Defense said on Monday as Taiwan reported a new Chinese air force incursion at the top of the waterway including a fearsome new electronic warfare jet.
The South China Sea and self-governing Taiwan are two of China's most sensitive territorial issues and both are frequent areas of tension between the United States and China.
U.S. Navy ships routinely sail close to Chinese-occupied islands in the South China Sea to challenge Chinese sovereignty claims, as well as through the Taiwan Strait, to Beijing's anger.
The U.S. Department of Defense said the two U.S. Navy Carrier Strike Groups, led by their flagships USS Carl Vinson and USS Abraham Lincoln, had begun operations in the South China Sea on Sunday.
The carrier groups will carry out exercises including anti-submarine warfare operations, air warfare operations and maritime interdiction operations to strengthen combat readiness, it said in a statement.
The training will be conducted in accordance with international law in international waters, the Department of Defense added, without giving details.
"Operations like these allow us to improve our combat credible capability, reassure our allies and partners, and demonstrate our resolve as a Navy to ensure regional stability and counter malign influence," it quoted Rear Admiral J.T. Anderson, commander of the strike group led by the USS Abraham Lincoln, as saying.
Both carrier groups were reported on Sunday by the U.S. Navy to have been exercising with Japan's navy in the Philippine Sea, an area that includes waters to the east of Taiwan.
The news of the U.S. operations coincides with Taiwan reporting the latest mass incursion by China's air force into its air defence identification zone - 39 aircraft - in an area close to the Taiwan-controlled Pratas Islands in the northern reaches of the South China Sea.
Taiwan on Monday reported a further 13 Chinese aircraft in the zone, with one, an anti-submarine Y-8, flying through the Bashi Channel which separates Taiwan from the Philippines and connects the Pacific to the South China Sea, according to a map provided by Taiwan's Defence Ministry.
The ministry added that two Chinese J-16Ds took part in the mission, though kept close to China's coast, a new electronic attack version of the J-16 fighter designed to target anti-aircraft defences of the sort Taiwan would rely on to fend off an attack.
China has yet to comment, but has previously said such missions are aimed at protecting its sovereignty and to prevent external interference in its sovereignty claims over democratically-governed Taiwan.
Security sources have previously told Reuters that China's flights into Taiwan's defence zone are also likely a response to foreign military activity, especially by U.S. forces, near the island, to warn that Beijing is watching and has the capability to handle any Taiwan contingencies.
Taiwan calls China's repeated nearby military activities "grey zone" warfare, designed to both wear out Taiwan's forces by making them repeatedly scramble, and also to test Taiwan's responses.
The South China Sea, crossed by vital shipping lanes and also containing gas fields and rich fishing grounds, is also claimed by Taiwan, while Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and the Philippines claim parts. (Reuters)
January
Western diplomats begin humanitarian talks with Taliban in Norway
Written by Nur Yasmin
U.S. and European diplomats began talks with representatives of Afghanistan's Taliban rulers on Monday on how to alleviate the country's humanitarian crisis.
With millions of Afghans at risk of starvation this winter as poverty deepens, Norway is facilitating the meetings.
Norway and its NATO allies do not formally recognise the Taliban-led administration that seized power last year, but see talks as a necessity, given the depth of the crisis. read more
"We will continue clear-eyed diplomacy with the Taliban regarding our concerns and our abiding interest in a stable, rights-respecting and inclusive Afghanistan," U.S. special representative Thomas West tweeted on Sunday.
Britain, France, Germany, Italy and the European Union, as well as Norway, joined the meetings.
Oslo's invitation was criticised by some Afghan exile groups as well as Norway's right-wing opposition Progress Party, which said any cooperation with the Taliban would only serve to strengthen the militant group's position.
But Norwegian Foreign Minister Anniken Huitfeldt said Afghanistan's 39 million people were being overwhelmed by an economic collapse, the COVID-19 pandemic and drought.
"One million children may die of hunger if aid does not reach them in time, and an unfathomable 97% of the population may fall below the poverty line this year," she said.
The Taliban delegation, led by acting foreign minister Amir Khan Muttaqi, will not be granted meetings with Huitfeldt or other cabinet-level ministers, but may meet with a junior minister, Norway has said. (Reuters)
January
Australia COVID-19 deaths mount as return to school threatens new Omicron peak
Written by Nur Yasmin
Australia recorded another surge of COVID-19 deaths on Monday as an outbreak of the highly contagious Omicron variant peaked, and authorities warned numbers could rise further when schools return from end-of-year holidays next week.
The world No. 13 economy is trying to strike a balance between reopening after two years of movement restrictions and coping with the highest numbers of deaths and cases of the pandemic.
Authorities say a rollout of a vaccine booster will reduce deaths, and point to a stabilisation in hospitalisation numbers as a sign the flare-up has reached its worst.
The country on Monday reported 58 deaths, most of them in its three most populous states - New South Wales, Victoria and Queensland - in line with the previous day's count but still among the highest of the pandemic.
The total number of new cases, 40,681, was well below peaks nearly three times that amount earlier this month.
"Our assessment indicates that the spread of COVID virus is slowing, our situation is stabilising and while we expect to see an uptick in transmissions associated with schools going back this could be mitigated by the actions of you as individuals," NSW Chief Health Officer Kerry Chant told a news conference.
"Getting those boosters will help us," she added.
More than nine in 10 Australians aged over 12 have had two doses of coronavirus vaccine - a statistic health experts say has kept the country's death rate relatively low - but far fewer have had a third dose which is seen as a guard against Omicron.
Though all Australian states are resisting a return to lockdown, most have reintroduced social distancing measures and mandatory mask-wearing to slow transmission. But they are divided on whether and how to manage a return to school after lengthy periods of remote learning.
Students in NSW and Victoria will have to wear masks and receive regular rapid antigen tests when they return to in-person classes next week. Queensland however postponed the return to school to Feb. 7 to avoid a spike in transmission.
"The peak does not mean the end," Queensland Chief Health Officer John Gerrard said, warning of a "possible extension of the peak" when schools return. (Reuters)
January
Two U.S. carriers enter S.China Sea, to 'counter malign influence'
Written by Nur Yasmin
Two U.S. aircraft carrier groups have entered the disputed South China Sea for training, the Department of Defense said on Monday in what a senior commander said was to reassure allies and demonstrate resolve to "counter malign influence".
The disputed waterway is one of many areas of tension between the United States and China, which claims a large swathe of the waters and has built military bases on artificial islands there.
U.S. Navy ships routinely sail close to these islands to challenge Chinese sovereignty claims, to Beijing's anger.
The U.S. Department of Defense said the two U.S. Navy Carrier Strike Groups, led by their flagships USS Carl Vinson and USS Abraham Lincoln, had begun operations in the South China Sea on Sunday.
The carrier groups will carry out exercises including anti-submarine warfare operations, air warfare operations and maritime interdiction operations to strengthen combat readiness, it said in a statement.
The training will be conducted in accordance with international law in international waters, the Department of Defense added, without giving details.
"Operations like these allow us to improve our combat credible capability, reassure our allies and partners, and demonstrate our resolve as a Navy to ensure regional stability and counter malign influence," it quoted Rear Admiral J.T. Anderson, commander of the strike group led by the USS Abraham Lincoln, as saying.
Both carrier groups were reported on Sunday by the U.S. Navy to have been exercising with Japan's navy in the Philippine Sea, an area that includes waters to the east of Taiwan.
The news of the U.S. operations coincides with Taiwan reporting the latest mass incursion by China's air force into its air defence identification zone in an area close to the Taiwan-controlled Pratas Islands in the northern reaches of the South China Sea.
China has yet to comment, but has previously said such missions are aimed at protecting its sovereignty and to prevent external interference in its sovereignty claims over Taiwan.
The South China Sea, crossed by vital shipping lanes and also containing gas fields and rich fishing grounds, is also claimed by Taiwan, while Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and the Philippines claim parts of it. (Reuters)
January
Navratilova says Tennis Australia capitulating to China over Peng
Written by Nur Yasmin
Martina Navratilova said Australian Open organisers were cowardly to prevent fans from wearing shirts bearing messages of support for Chinese doubles player Peng Shuai at the Grand Slam.
After video emerged of security officials and police instructing fans on Saturday to remove shirts with the slogan, "Where is Peng Shuai?" on them, Tennis Australia (TA) defended its stance by saying the tournament does not allow political statements. read more
TA's position dismayed 18-times Grand Slam winner Navratilova, who said the national governing body was giving in to China and placing sponsorship money ahead of human rights concerns.
"I find it really, really cowardly," she said on the U.S.-based Tennis Channel. "I think they are wrong on this. This is not a political statement, this is a human rights statement.
"(Tennis Australia is) just really capitulating on this issue ... letting the Chinese really dictate what they do at their own Slam. I just find it really weak."
Tennis Australia reiterated its stance on Monday, adding that Peng's safety remained its "primary concern".
"We continue to work with the WTA (Women's Tennis Association) and the global tennis community to do everything we can to ensure (Peng's) well-being. Our work is ongoing and through the appropriate channels," a spokesperson said in a statement to Reuters.
Peng's situation became a matter of concern in November when she alleged that a former Chinese vice premier, Zhang Gaoli, had sexually assaulted her in the past. After that post, she was absent from public view for nearly three weeks.
Last month she said she had never accused anyone of sexually assaulting her, and that a social media post she had made had been misunderstood. read more
The WTA suspended tournaments in China due to its concerns over Peng's safety.
SPORTS POLITICIZATION
Zhang has not commented on the matter. China has not directly commented on Peng's initial post, but said after the WTA's move that it is against making sport political.
"China has always opposed the politicization of sports, such behaviour is unpopular and will not succeed," China's foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian reiterated on Monday, referring to the Peng shirts at Melbourne Park.
French player Nicolas Mahut slammed TA's response on Twitter: "What lack of courage! What if you did not have Chinese sponsors."
Baijiu distillery Luzhu Laojiao and Chinese mattress company De Rucci are sponsors of the year's first Grand Slam.
On Monday, Peng supporters in Australia said they were planning to hand out 1,000 "Where is Peng Shuai?" T-shirts at Melbourne Park this week after raising more than $10,000 on a GoFundMe page.
"We can see how many match-goers that they can stop," activist Max Mok told Australian ABC Radio.
TA said security officials will continue to enforce its policy at Melbourne Park.
"The policy will continue to be applied in relation to any items that compromise the safety and comfort of AO fans," the organisers said. (Reuters)
January
Some Hong Kong civil servants, bankers to work from home as COVID spreads
Written by Nur Yasmin
Hong Kong has told some civil servants to work from home from Tuesday, and some banks have given similar instructions to staff following a spate of COVID-19 infections in the Asian financial hub a week before the busy Lunar New Year holiday.
Health authorities said there were 109 new cases on Monday, out of which 98 were locally transmitted and five were untraceable. Daily cases hit an 18-month high of 140 on Sunday, fuelled by an outbreak in a congested public housing estate.
Responding to the latest covid scare, the government said in a statement on Monday that some employees would "work from home as much as possible" and warned that individual departments might have to cut back temporarily on some public services.
With the Lunar New Year holiday looming, Hong Kong has locked down thousands of people in the Kwai Chung estate for five days. About 35,000 face some curbs and must have daily tests, leader Carrie Lam said over the weekend after a visit.
The situation is testing Hong Kong's "zero-COVID" strategy to eliminate the disease, with schools and gyms already shut, restaurants closing at 6 p.m. and many major air links severed or disrupted. There was only a "slim chance" that city-wide restrictions could be lifted on Feb. 4 as had been planned, Lam has said.
Last week authorities stirred outrage with an order to cull more than 2,000 hamsters in dozens of pet shops, after tracing an outbreak to a worker in a shop where 11 hamsters tested positive.
EMERGENCY MEASURES
Some companies have begun to enact contingency measures as the transmissions ripple across the city into hospitals, schools and government offices. Standard Chartered (STAN.L) said in a statement on Monday that it encouraged all Hong Kong colleagues to work from home, when possible, with staff in critical functions to split teams.
Its branch in the covid-hit Kwai Chung area was temporarily closed. The move follows UBS Group AG's (UBSG.S) decision to shift to work-from-home operations for all except a minimum number of staff who have essential tasks to be completed in the office, according to an internal memo seen by Reuters.
Just over 70% of Hong Kong's 7.5 million population have been double vaccinated, a far smaller percentage than in similar cities like Singapore, which has 90% vaccinated.
And with the majority of elderly remaining unvaccinated, authorities in Hong Kong are especially cautious of spiraling Omicron transmissions. (Reuters)
January
Indonesia reopens islands to Singaporean tourists
Written by Nur Yasmin
Indonesia opened up two islands close to Singapore to visitors from the city-state on Monday, officials said, as part of calibrated moves to reboot its tourism sector while controlling the spread of COVID-19.
Singaporeans can visit Batam and Bintan islands approximately 15 km (9.32 miles) and 30 km away respectively providing they are vaccinated against COVID-19, they undergo tests and have insurance coverage, authorities said.
The two islands were hugely popular vacation spots among Singaporeans prior to the pandemic.
The move follows Indonesia's reopening of its holiday island Bali to foreign tourists in October.
It was not immediately clear how the arrangement will be implemented in both countries.
Singapore has made no announcement of the sea route reopening and its transport authority did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Monday.
Indonesia's Coordinating Minister of Economic Affairs Airlangga Hartarto said the process could take time.
Once Asia's COVID-19 epicentre, Indonesia has seen a rise in infections lately following months of containment, including from the Omicron variant. It reported its first two Omicron-related deaths on Saturday. (Reuters)