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CNA
a minute ago
- CNA
COE premiums for cars mostly unchanged; prices up for commercial vehicles and motorcycles
SINGAPORE: Certificate of Entitlement (COE) premiums closed mostly higher in the latest bidding exercise on Wednesday (Jul 23). For Category A cars, or those 1,600cc and below with horsepower not exceeding 130bhp, premiums closed at S$101,102 (US$79,115), unchanged from the last exercise. Premiums for larger and more powerful cars in Category B fell slightly to S$119,101 from S$119,600. COEs for commercial vehicles, which include goods vehicles and buses, rose to S$68,600 from S$66,689 in the previous bidding exercise. Motorcycle premiums closed at S$9,511, up from S$9,389 in the last exercise. Open category COEs, which can be used for any vehicle type but end up being used mainly for large cars, rose to S$120,000 from S$118,500. A total of 4,480 bids were received, with a quota of 3,059 COEs available.
CNA
32 minutes ago
- CNA
Jersey sales surge for Arsenal, Newcastle United and AC Milan ahead of Singapore friendlies
SINGAPORE: Jersey sales of Arsenal, Newcastle United and AC Milan in Singapore have jumped by more than 20 per cent as football fever hits town. Local fans told CNA that they are excited to welcome the teams, with many hoping to catch a glimpse of their favourite players and even score autographs during their visit. These European clubs are in Singapore this week for two pre-season friendly matches at the National Stadium. SURGE IN SALES Arsenal will take on Italian giant AC Milan on Wednesday (Jul 23), before taking Premier League rivals Newcastle on Sunday. Sports store Weston Corp has been accelerating preparations this week, including for an AC Milan event in Singapore on Tuesday, geared up to welcome both players and fans. It said that pre-season tours such as these often bring a surge in foot traffic and sales. 'Every time there's a pre-season (tour here), we do see an uptick in business,' said Mr Ami Chopra, sales director of football at Weston Corp. 'When those jerseys launch, you do see a slight, significant increase. Come closer to the date, people (feel like because their) team's playing, they need to wear something,' he added. 'So usually (because of) impulse buys, (we) will have quite a big spike in sales.' The store will also run pop-up booths offering exclusive gear on match days, with extra staff on hand to meet the expected rise in demand. BRINGING PEOPLE TOGETHER For Newcastle fan Terence Ong, buying jerseys is a ritual. He has amassed 85 Magpies shirts in his collection since the 1990s, including the Carabao Cup winners' print this year to celebrate the club's first domestic trophy in more than 70 years. The local fan club NUFC-SG has also produced a special tee to mark Newcastle's visit. 'I think the club is realising now that there is an untapped market in Asia,' said Mr Ong, who is a committee member of the fan club. 'I like to think that it shows a trend that they want to engage the Asian fans a lot more,' he added. 'And for us, getting our fellow official supporters clubs down from the other parts of Asia itself represents more than just strengthening our bonds, it also gives all of us a chance to show Newcastle United the power or the strength of the Asian fan base here.' For him and Singapore's 2,000-strong Toon army, football is also about bringing people together. Plans for food drives and football clinics are in the pipeline to use sports to give back to the community. For Arsenal fan Shaiful Rahman, he is looking to connect with fellow supporters from other Asian countries for the game. 'The main excitement for us is when we organise a fan party for all the regional friends who are coming to Singapore,' said the president of the Official Arsenal Singapore Supporters Club. 'It's kind of like a form of appreciation for them taking the trouble to fly here and getting to know each individual supporters club.' He noted that there is also a deeper purpose behind it all, adding: 'It's the networking, getting to know each other, being Singaporean, supporting one another. I think that is the key to it.'
CNA
32 minutes ago
- CNA
South Korea sees record birth rate growth for Jan-May
SEOUL South Korea registered record birth rate growth during the first five months of the year, a statistics agency official told AFP on Wednesday (Jul 23). The country has one of the world's longest life expectancies and lowest birth rates - a combination that presents a looming demographic challenge. Seoul has poured billions of dollars into efforts to encourage women to have more children and maintain population stability. "The number of newborns for the January-May period stood at 106,048, a 6.9 per cent increase, the highest growth rate since such data collection began in 1981," said Kang hyun-young from Statistics Korea. The surge follows South Korea's first annual increase in the number of births in more than a decade, driven by a rise in marriages. In 2024, the number of newborns rose by 8,300, or 3.6 per cent, to 238,300 from the previous year. April in particular saw a spike, with year-on-year growth reaching 8.7 per cent and the number of births totalling 20,717 that month. The latest figure marks a sharp turnaround from early 2024, when the number of births for the January-May period dropped by 2.7 per cent from the previous year. The fertility rate, or the average number of babies a woman is expected to have in her lifetime, for May stood at 0.75. The country needs a fertility rate of 2.1 children in order to maintain the country's population of 51 million. At current rates, the population will nearly halve to 26.8 million by 2100, according to the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington in Seattle. MARRIAGE CORRELATION The increase is attributable "to a rise in the number of women in their early 30s, leading to an overall increase in marriages", Kang told AFP. "In South Korea, there is a strong correlation between marriage and childbirth, which has driven the increase in births during the first five months," she added. In 2024, the country saw a 14.8 per cent on-year increase in the number of marriages, with more than 220,000 couples tying the knot. Many government benefits designed to support child-rearing do not cover parents who are not legally married. Analysts say there are multiple reasons for the low birth rate, from high child-rearing costs and property prices to a notoriously competitive society that makes well-paid jobs difficult to secure. The double burden for working mothers of managing the brunt of household chores and childcare while also maintaining their careers is another key factor, they say. In a bid to reverse the trend, the South Korean government offers cash subsidies, babysitting services, and support for infertility treatment. Neighbouring Japan is grappling with the same issue - it has the world's second-oldest population after Monaco, and the country's relatively strict immigration rules mean it faces growing labour shortages.
