Daily Debrief: What Happened Today (Jun 17)
Singapore private club 1880 suddenly closes, going into liquidation
[SINGAPORE] Private members' club 1880 suddenly announced its permanent closure effective Tuesday (Jun 17), with its holding company 38 Degrees and operating company 1880 Pte Ltd placed into provisional liquidation.
Indonesia seizes 11.8 trillion rupiah from Wilmar Group in palm-oil graft case
[JAKARTA] The Indonesian Attorney General's Office (AGO) has seized approximately 11.8 trillion rupiah (S$928 million) from five defendants involved in a corruption case related to crude palm oil (CPO) exports, involving subsidiaries of the Wilmar Group.
'Significantly higher costs': Great Eastern suspends pre-authorisation certificate for admission to Mount Elizabeth hospitals
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[SINGAPORE] Insurer Great Eastern (GE) has temporarily suspended pre-authorisation certificates for Mount Elizabeth Hospitals from Tuesday (Jun 17).
Singapore's key exports chart surprise 3.5% slide in May as front-loading cools
[SINGAPORE] Economists believe that front-loading activity may have started slowing down, after Singapore's key exports declined 3.5 per cent on the year in May after April's surge.
CAG calls for pre-qualification of main contractors for ground transportation centre in Changi
[SINGAPORE] Pre-qualification of main contractors for the ground transportation centre at Changi East development is open, the procurement portal of airport operator Changi Airport Group (CAG) showed.
Should we expect Singapore-based companies to list here?
[SINGAPORE] Last month, reports emerged that fast-fashion retailer Shein intends to list in Hong Kong after its initial plan to do so in London was scuttled over concerns about its labour rights track record.
Family offices look to raise allocations to non-US, developed markets equities: BlackRock survey
[SINGAPORE] Family offices are raising their portfolio allocations for non-US developed market equities as tariff tensions and concerns about a US economic slowdown are prompting many to diversify, a BlackRock survey has found.
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Independent Singapore
2 hours ago
- Independent Singapore
SIA and Garuda Indonesia deepen partnership with more flights, miles, and lounge access for travellers this August 2025
Photo: FB screengrab/ Singapore Airlines SINGAPORE: This month, travellers flying with Singapore Airlines (SIA) and Garuda Indonesia can book flights from both airlines in a single itinerary for travel between Singapore and Indonesia. The cooperation includes joint sales of fare products, additional codeshare destinations, and reciprocal lounge access for frequent flyer members, according to a joint press release from both airlines. The expanded codeshare arrangement will give Garuda passengers access to SIA flights to Bengaluru, Kolkata, Delhi, and Malé in the Maldives. Meanwhile, SIA passengers can connect to Garuda Indonesia flights from Denpasar and Jakarta to Labuan Bajo, Lombok, and Manado. Existing codeshare routes between Singapore and Denpasar, Jakarta, and Surabaya, as well as SIA flights to London (Heathrow), UK, and Mumbai, will remain. In addition, starting mid-August, GarudaMiles and KrisFlyer members will have reciprocal lounge access when travelling between Singapore and Denpasar, Jakarta, or Surabaya. This includes access to Garuda Executive lounges in Denpasar and Jakarta and KrisFlyer Gold lounges in Singapore for members with GarudaMiles Platinum or KrisFlyer Elite Gold status and above. Meanwhile, business class passengers on both airlines are invited to the Business Class SilverKris lounges in Singapore and the Garuda Executive lounges in Denpasar and Jakarta. See also What's next for beleaguered smartphone giant Huawei? Members can also earn and redeem miles on the new codeshare routes under the frequent flyer partnership launched in February 2025. SIA increased its Singapore–Jakarta flights to nine per day in May 2025. On the other hand, Garuda plans to increase its Jakarta–Singapore services from six to seven flights daily in the fourth quarter of the year, pending regulatory approval, with further increases under discussion. /TISG Read also: Singapore Airlines tops Travel + Leisure's 2025 international airlines list again () => { const trigger = if ('IntersectionObserver' in window && trigger) { const observer = new IntersectionObserver((entries, observer) => { => { if ( { lazyLoader(); // You should define lazyLoader() elsewhere or inline here // Run once } }); }, { rootMargin: '800px', threshold: 0.1 }); } else { // Fallback setTimeout(lazyLoader, 3000); } });
Independent Singapore
6 hours ago
- Independent Singapore
‘I feel stuck' — Singapore woman says ex-husband left her with S$230k debt
SINGAPORE: A 24-year-old woman has expressed her frustration on social media after her 30-year-old ex-husband left her with a mountain of debt totalling S$230,000. Posting on the r/singaporefi forum, she shared that in the early days of their relationship, everything seemed fine. 'Everything was okay,' she wrote. 'I had my own savings. I was happy.' Both of them were working; she was earning around S$4,000 after CPF, and they were living peacefully with their child at her mother's home. However, a few months later, she discovered that her ex-husband had lied about having a job. At the time, he tried to reassure her by saying 'he was going to start a business.' Believing in him and wanting to be supportive, she lent him money and even took out 'unsecured loans' in her name for his business. These loans eventually added up to S$145,000. And since he always paid her back on time at first, she thought everything was under control. Unfortunately, that couldn't have been further from the truth. She later learned that her ex-husband had approached her brother to borrow S$43,000, supposedly to 'top up' their BTO payment — something that left her stunned, as they had never even applied for a BTO flat in the first place. On top of that, he had taken out loans from illegal moneylenders, which she only discovered after receiving threatening messages demanding that she repay S$2,700. He had also borrowed money from other family members and even reached out to their friends for cash. 'The money he borrowed from our friends was his plan to scam them that he would do investments with great returns etc, he used my NRIC to create new phone lines from SingTel and StarHub (delivered to my house, so not much verification needed) then sell off the phone., he used my Grab PayLater account for his transport and it increases from there bit by bit,' she shared.w The woman clarified that she had been in the dark about all of this, as much of her attention went into her medical treatment. 'He was trying to cover another hole by digging another hole, and for you guys that might think, why didn't you know about all of this, it's impossible you're his wife! I had to quit my job because I was admitted to the hospital because my blood was toxic, so I had to do kidney dialysis, so I've been in and out of the hospital.' The woman said that her ex-husband, amidst all the turmoil, asked for a divorce 'because he said he wants to file for bankruptcy so no one can claim him.' As her ex-husband 'ran away like a coward' and left her to bear all of it, she eventually fell into a depression, and had to see a psychiatrist last month. Unfortunately, the woman shared that even to this day, the people her ex-husband borrowed money from have not stopped chasing her for repayment. Despite making it clear that she was unaware of many of the loans and is in no position to settle the debts immediately, she said they continue to contact her regularly. 'They still ask me every single day when I can pay them back because the reasoning for the owed amount was that 'he borrowed for us.' [They're] growing impatient even though I've said that I'm in no position to pay everything back immediately,' she wrote. See also Morning Digest, Dec 4 'There's line of creditors always calling me debts are a total of S$230,000. S$100k+ DCP and the rest are just family, friends, GPL, phone lines. I feel stuck, I've been actively searching for a job but I'm left with no answers and my freelance jobs only earn me about S$2.7k (NO CPF),' she continued. The woman also wrote that she's putting her story out there to serve as a cautionary tale and so that others can 'feel better about their financial situation.' She ended her post with a firm message to her ex-husband, writing, 'What would you do if you were in my situation and knowing that my ex-husband is always on Reddit, so Joshua, if you are seeing this, don't run away from the mess you created.' 'Karma always finds a way to deal with those who deserve it.' Since the post went up two days ago, many Reddit users have taken to the comments section to criticise her ex-husband for his actions and apparent lack of accountability. 'Joshua, if you are here reading this. Man the heck up and take responsibility,' one user wrote. 'You are a father and a husband. It's never too late to make things right and take some accountability for your poor decisions. There is a long way to go in life, and it's still not too late to own up!! Don't make your wife and your child the victim here.' Another user commented, 'Joshua, karma always finds a way to deal with those who deserve it, regardless of religion.' A third said, 'There's a lot of horror husband stories but this is one of the worst I've ever heard. I am in admiration of the way you are handling all this stress. Definitely go after him for alimony and child support in the divorce. Demand that your 'alimony' be the amount of debt repayment he incurred.' A fourth added, 'You're way too young to be facing something like this. Sorry to hear this, and sorry your pos husband did this to you. Hope you can work your way out slowly and take this as a lesson, you still have a much, much brighter and long future ahead.' In other news, a domestic helper from the Philippines has reached out online for advice after a difficult first week on the job in Singapore, saying she has been overworked and sleep-deprived while caring for an elderly man. In her post, the helper shared that she spends the entire day cleaning the house and attending to the elderly man's needs, with no proper breaks. Her only time to sit, she said, is during meals. 'My only time to sit down at daytime is my mealtime, and at night I don't have enough sleep,' she wrote on the Direct Hire Transfer Singapore Maid / Domestic Helper Facebook group. 'I get up every 1 or 2 hours to help Grandpa's urinal. I'm overworked here at my employer's house.' Read more: Maid says she's overworked and sleep-deprived after just one week caring for elderly man in Singapore
Business Times
7 hours ago
- Business Times
China state media asks Nvidia to prove H20 chips are secure
[HONG KONG] China state media is calling for Nvidia to prove that its H20 chip is secure, saying it cannot allow flawed chips into the country. China's top Internet watchdog summoned Nvidia representatives earlier this week to discuss what Chinese officials called significant security vulnerabilities in the H20. The Cyberspace Administration of China said that Nvidia would need to explain potential security risks and provide documents as needed, citing comments by US lawmakers about the need to install tracking capabilities on advanced chips being exported. 'As soon as 'backdoors' in chips are triggered, we can encounter a 'nightmare',' the People's Daily, a mouthpiece for the Chinese Communist Party, said in a commentary on Friday (Aug 1). 'We need to maintain the security of the cyberspace and we cannot allow 'infected' chips to be put to work.' More scrutiny of the artificial intelligence (AI) chip would throw a wrench China's already-contentious trade talks with the US. Santa Clara, California-based Nvidia had designed the H20 to comply with US export controls on its technology, and the company was hoping to start sales after the US granted a license. 'Cybersecurity is critically important to us,' Nvidia said on Thursday. 'Nvidia does not have 'backdoors' in our chips that would give anyone a remote way to access or control them.' US and Chinese officials met in Stockholm this week to discuss trade terms in talks that Chinese state media said that 'deepened mutual trust', though the two sides still have several disagreements over the potential new tariffs. The warning in People's Daily may signal that Chinese officials don't find H20s, which are less powerful than Nvidia's most high-end chips, to be worthy offerings. The Trump administration in April barred Nvidia from selling H20s to China in an escalation of the ongoing tech war between the world's two largest economies. Trump officials then pledged to lift those restrictions in July as part of a trade deal for China to allow more sales of rare-earth magnets needed to make a range of high-tech products. US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick had touted the resumption of sales of the H20 as a breakthrough that came from bilateral discussions in London, framing it as a concession to China. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, meanwhile, said earlier this week that the magnet issue has been 'solved'. However, it is unclear whether Nvidia has received licenses to resume shipping those semiconductors. Nvidia boss Jensen Huang himself recently concluded a high-profile visit to Beijing, where he feted national Chinese champions such as DeepSeek and celebrated the country's rising prowess in AI. The billionaire had denied Nvidia installed backdoors in its product, saying that would not make business sense. BLOOMBERG
