TR EMERITUS

PAP ministers who have a penchant for indulging in shameless self-praise have taken their "art" to new heights this time by trumpeting their "accomplishments" to the international community. NTUC Secretary-General and PAP minister without portfolio Lim Swee Say will be sharing his unique "upturn the downturn" experience at the International Labour Organization's annual meeting in Geneva next month. Mr Lim coined the term in the midst of Singapore's recession as an "encouragement" to Singapore workers to accept pay cuts in order to help the economy tide through the difficult period of time. PAP leaders even sang an "upturn the downturn" song during a NTUC conference last year to spur Singapore workers on: While Mr Lim did not reveal that if he would be singing the song at the ILO meeting, he has expressed his intention to share Singapore's experience in coping with the downturn:   "This year, three countries have been invited to hold a special session for the International Labour Congress and these countries will represent Asia, Europe and Africa. From Asia, Singapore will be invited to share its experience in coping with the downturn. In other words, what we have done in Singapore not only benefited workers, at the same time it has attracted attention from all over the world," he was quoted as saying in Channel News Asia. PAP MP and NTUC Deputy Secretary-General Halimah Yacob is equally proud of Singapore's experience: "We wanted to make sure that the experiences such as these could be shared as there would always be new people coming on stream - human resource practitioners, union leaders, and also new staff. It will also be useful material for overseas institutions. For the union leaders and others in the IR community, it is an important reference material of how they could look at other ways of resolving disputes." It is unlikely that the Singapore experience will be applicable elsewhere as no other government in the world has the "fortune" of the PAP in having the trade unions completely under its control. There are no independent trade unions in Singapore to fight for the interests and rights of Singapore workers. The only trade union, NTUC is a pseudo-PAP organization which is always led by a PAP minister. As such, there is really no need for the PAP to step in to "resolve" any disputes between the employees and workers since the trade union movement is no more its own "labor" wing. Furthermore, repressive laws are put in place to outlaw strikes, protests and rallies thereby curtailing the civil liberties of Singapore workers. With the PAP calling all the shots, it is hardly surprising that Mr Lim is able to "upturn the downturn" at the expense of Singapore workers without sparking off massive strikes commonly seen in other developed countries.   Please join our Facebook page here and invite your friends to do so to create awareness of the current affairs affecting Singaporeans. Please use our online web form to contact us.  Read More →

Singapore's biggest sovereign wealth fund, GIC, said it converted its UBS (UBSN.VX) notes into ordinary shares, suffering a paper loss of about $5 billion. The Government of Singapore Investment Corp [GIC.UL] had invested 11 billion Swiss francs ($10.22 billion) in mandatory convertible notes in UBS to support the Swiss bank during the financial crisis. GIC did not provide more details, but a filing it made to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission early last month showed the original conversion price would be 47.7 Swiss francs, two-thirds more than UBS's last share price of 15.86 francs. GIC had earned about 2 billion francs from a 9 percent coupon over the last two years, which partially compensated for the sharp erosion in UBS' share price. "GIC confirms the conversion," a spokeswoman for the Singapore wealth fund said in response to Reuters' queries. The filing had said GIC would exchange the mandatory convertible notes for 230.7 million ordinary UBS shares on March 5. GIC would have a stake of 6.6 percent in UBS after conversion, making it the Swiss bank's biggest shareholder. GIC, led by Deputy Chairman Tony Tan, is becoming active again in global markets after its portfolio shrank by more than a fifth in its last financial year as it was hit by the financial crisis that drove down the value of its financial holdings. A market recovery helped it recoup half its portfolio losses in March-September last year, and GIC recently profited from a well-timed sale of part of its Citigroup (C.N) stake after it converted its preferred shares into stock. GIC's recent investments have been diverse, ranging from the hotel industry and China property developer Longfor (0960.HK) to a videogaming firm, but are in line with a recent statement that it is not pursuing geographical targets. Source: Reuters  Read More →

Oil spilled from a tanker collision off Singapore's shore reached a naval base but has so far spared the rest of the city-state's coast, authorities said on Wednesday. Officials have deployed oil dispersants, 15 boats, 120 personnel and 3,300 meters (10,800 feet) of containment booms in a bid to keep the oil from damaging Singapore's east coast, a popular beach and park area. "Small patches of oil and sheen were sighted at Changi Naval Base," the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore said. "Other than this, the oil slick has not affected Singapore's coastlines." About 18,000 barrels of light crude oil spilled from the Malaysian-registered tanker MT Bunga Kelana 3 after it collided with the St. Vincent's and The Grenadines-registered bulk carrier MV Waily early Tuesday in the Singapore Strait about eight miles (13 kilometers) southeast of Singapore's east coast. The port authority and the National Environment Agency confirmed local press reports that east coast residents complained of a foul oil smell Tuesday. "Some of the lighter portions of the oil could have evaporated and caused a smell that was detected by some members of the public," the port authority and environment agency said in a joint statement. It wasn't toxic, they said. Malaysian coast guard Commander Abdul Hadib Abdul Wahab said Tuesday that any environmental damage would be "very minimal." The MT Bunga Kelana 3 was built in 1998 and is owned and operated by AET Tanker Holdings (AET), a subsidiary of MISC Bhd. Malaysia's state oil and gas company Petroliam Nasional Bhd. is MISC's biggest shareholder. MISC owns a fleet of 44 petroleum tankers. Source: Reuters  Read More →