Latest news with #AmandaHeng
Straits Times
3 days ago
- Business
- Straits Times
NTT DC Reit opens 3 per cent above IPO price on SGX debut
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox SINGAPORE - NTT DC real estate investment trust (Reit), the largest Reit listing on the Singapore Exchange's (SGX) mainboard in 10 years, made a lukewarm debut on July 14. The counter opened at US$1.02 at 2pm, slightly above its initial public offering (IPO) price of US$1. It peaked at US$1.03 about five minutes into trading, before falling back to US$1.02 after 46.6 million shares changed hands at 2.30pm. NTT DC Reit's primary backer NTT Ltd is part of Japan's telecommunication giant Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Group. It is the third pure-play data centre Reit listed on SGX, after Keppel DC Reit and Digital Core Reit. It comprises six operational data centres in the US, Austria and Singapore, which are together valued at around US$1.57 billion (S$2 billion). NTT DC Reit's trading debut came four days after its IPO closed with enthusiastic support. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Singapore Singapore to train more aviation and maritime officials from around the world Singapore Special edition SG60 Nets card now on sale for $10 Singapore 18 years' jail for woman who hacked adoptive father to death after tussle over Sengkang flat Life Pioneer performance artist Amanda Heng to represent Singapore at 2026 Venice Biennale Business Singapore's economy sees surprise expansion in Q2 despite US tariff uncertainty: Advance estimate Singapore Jail for woman who opened bank accounts that received over $640.7m, including scam proceeds Singapore Driver assisting with police probe after e-bike rider injured in hit-and-run accident in Hougang Sport After Olympic heartbreak, Singaporean swimmer Chantal Liew turns pain into inspiration It offered 599.89 million units altogether, with around 569.9 million units for institutional and international investors, and 30 million units for the public in Singapore. The public tranche of 30 million units, priced at $1.276 per unit, was about 9.8 times oversubscribed. Overall, the IPO was about 4.6 times oversubscribed. NTT Ltd remains the largest stakeholder with a 25 per cent stake, followed by Singapore's sovereign wealth fund GIC, which has a 9.8 per cent stake. NTT DC's listing comes at a time when SGX is beginning to see stronger interest from firms keen to list here after a sluggish first half in 2025. Local software firm Info-Tech Systems debuted on the mainboard on July 4. Local interior fit-out firm Lum Chang Creations also launched its IPO on July 9, and is expected to begin trading on the Catalist board on July 21. Investors can also look forward to another listing, after mainboard-listed accommodation provider Centurion Corp announced its spin-off Reit, Centurion Accommodation Reit , on July 14. Its $1.8 billion portfolio comprises 14 properties in Singapore, Australia and the United Kingdom.
Straits Times
3 days ago
- Business
- Straits Times
South Korea preparing to order airlines to check fuel switches on Boeing jets
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox Fuel switch locks have come under scrutiny after a preliminary report into the crash of an Air India Boeing 787-8 jet in June mentioned a 2018 advisory from the FAA. SEOUL - South Korea's transport ministry is preparing to order all airlines in the country that operate Boeing jets to examine fuel switches in accordance with a 2018 advisory from the US Federal Aviation Administration, the ministry's foreign media spokesperson said on July 14. The spokesperson did not give a timeline for the checks. Boeing did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Fuel switch locks have come under scrutiny after a preliminary report into the crash of an Air India Boeing 787-8 jet that killed 260 people in June mentioned a 2018 advisory from the FAA. The FAA advisory recommended, but did not mandate, operators of several Boeing models, including the 787, to inspect the locking feature of the fuel cutoff switches to ensure they could not be moved accidentally. Reuters reported on July 13, citing a document and sources, that the planemaker and the FAA have privately issued notifications to airlines and regulators that the fuel switch locks on Boeing planes are safe and checks are not required. The Air India preliminary report said the airline had not carried out the FAA's suggested inspections as the FAA's 2018 advisory was not a mandate. But it also said maintenance records showed that the throttle control module, which includes the fuel switches, was replaced in 2019 and 2023 on the plane involved in the crash. REUTERS Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Singapore Singapore to train more aviation and maritime officials from around the world Singapore Special edition SG60 Nets card now on sale for $10 Singapore 18 years' jail for woman who hacked adoptive father to death after tussle over Sengkang flat Life Pioneer performance artist Amanda Heng to represent Singapore at 2026 Venice Biennale Business Singapore's economy sees surprise expansion in Q2 despite US tariff uncertainty: Advance estimate Singapore Jail for woman who opened bank accounts that received over $640.7m, including scam proceeds Singapore Driver assisting with police probe after e-bike rider injured in hit-and-run accident in Hougang Sport After Olympic heartbreak, Singaporean swimmer Chantal Liew turns pain into inspiration
Straits Times
3 days ago
- Straits Times
Seoul's summer too hot to handle, even for mosquitoes
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox The mosquito populations may rise in the fall however as temperatures drop. The number of mosquitoes in Seoul has more than halved over the past decade, with experts pointing to extreme heat and a shortened monsoon season as key factors behind the sharp decline in mosquito activity. According to statistics provided by the Seoul Metropolitan Government, up to 62,351 mosquitoes were collected through monitoring in June. The city government noted that this was a 56 per cent decrease compared to its data from 2015, as the city saw up to 139,928 mosquitoes in the same month. The recent figure is also lower than the mosquito count observed at the same time in 2024, which saw 68,462 mosquitoes. Between June 17 and 19 — when high temperatures hovered near 37 deg C in the capital city — mosquito monitoring devices set up at 55 sites collected 6,233 mosquitoes, roughly averaging 2,000 mosquitoes per day. According to the city government, this is a 20 per cent decrease compared to the same three-day period last year, which saw a daily average of up to 2,590. The decrease in mosquito numbers has been attributed to cutting-edge pest control technology. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Singapore Singapore to train more aviation and maritime officials from around the world Singapore Special edition SG60 Nets card now on sale for $10 Singapore Same person, but different S'porean Chinese names? How have such naming practices evolved? Business Singapore's economy sees surprise expansion in Q2 despite US tariff uncertainty: Advance estimate Life Pioneer performance artist Amanda Heng to represent Singapore at 2026 Venice Biennale Singapore Jail for woman who opened bank accounts that received over $640.7m, including scam proceeds Singapore Driver assisting with police probe after e-bike rider injured in hit-and-run accident in Hougang Sport After Olympic heartbreak, Singaporean swimmer Chantal Liew turns pain into inspiration For example, in districts such as Gangnam-gu in southern Seoul and Nowon-gu in northern Seoul, drones have been used to spray insecticide in areas inaccessible to vehicles, such as parks. LED traps that attract insects, mosquito traps, as well as automatic repellent dispensers, have also been installed across Seoul to manage the summer pests. Besides advanced pest control strategies, experts say the biggest factor behind the decline is the sweltering heat. Seoul has consistently reported record-high summer temperatures in recent years, with each year surpassing temperature records set in the previous year. 'With high temperatures during the day hovering close to 37 deg C and tropical nights being consistently observed in Seoul, mosquitoes are finding it difficult to survive,' Professor Park Hyeon-cheol from Pusan National University's Department of Life Science and Environmental Biochemistry told The Korea Herald. 'Mosquitoes are normally active in temperatures ranging between 25 deg C to 28 deg C, and once such temperatures exceed 32 deg C, their survival becomes unlikely.' Prof Park added that fewer mosquitoes may be observed during this summer in particular, as the monsoon season was noted to be particularly 'dry.' The monsoon season has not been officially declared over in Seoul. However, according to the Korea Meteorological Administration, on Jeju Island and in the southern parts of the country, it lasted just 15 days and 13 days, respectively. This is less than half the duration recorded a decade ago, when monsoon seasons lasted for 30 days on Jeju Island and 36 days in the south. 'The lack of steady rainfall limits the formation of puddles, which are breeding grounds for mosquitoes,' said Prof Park. 'And even when it does rain, Korea also often sees sudden, intense downpours, which wash away mosquito eggs and larvae before they have a chance to hatch and develop.' While the number of mosquitoes may decline during the summer season, higher mosquito numbers could be seen in the fall. 'A decline in mosquito numbers may be observed in the summer due to high temperatures,' Prof Park explained. 'However, as temperatures get relatively cooler, mosquito populations may rise from beginning to mid-September, with some continuing to be active into early winter.' THE KOREA HERALD/ASIA NEWS NETWORK
Straits Times
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Straits Times
Pioneer performance artist Amanda Heng to represent Singapore at 2026 Venice Biennale
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox Amanda Heng will be the most senior artist to stage a solo at the Singapore Pavilion at the Venice Biennale. SINGAPORE – Pioneer performance artist Amanda Heng, 73, is Singapore's pick for the prestigious Venice Biennale in 2026, the Singapore Art Museum (SAM) announced in a statement on July 14. She will be the most senior artist to stage a solo at the Singapore Pavilion in Venice, and only the second woman artist to do so, after Shubigi Rao in 2022. Heng will collaborate with curator Selene Yap for her presentation at the 61st International Art Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia, which will take place from May 9 to Nov 22. Dr Eugene Tan, co-chair of the commissioning panel and director of SAM, said of the panel's choice of Heng: 'Her sustained and evolving practice offers compelling ways of engaging the world through the body, performance and lived experience. Her work resonates with the urgencies of our time while being grounded in personal truth and poetic clarity.' Singaporean artist Amanda Heng (right) will collaborate with curator Selene Yap for her presentation at the 2026 Venice Biennale. PHOTO: SINGAPORE ART MUSEUM Heng left her job as an income tax officer in 1986 to pursue art. She co-founded The Artists Village – Singapore's first art colony, in a converted chicken farm – in 1988 and Singapore's first artist-run women collective Women In The Arts in 1999. She was conferred the Cultural Medallion in 2010. She is best known for her long-running performance works dealing with sociopolitical issues through everyday acts such as walking and conversing. In Walking The Stool (1999), Heng took her studio stool for a walk in public as a way of questioning Singapore's decade-long restrictions on performance art. That same year, she performed Let's Walk, leading participants in walking backwards with a high-heeled shoe in their mouth, as a comment on women's progress in society. Her participatory performance Let's Chat (1996) – presented in malls, markets and museums – offered an intimate space for the public to talk while peeling bean sprouts over tea. Another long-running project, Singirl, invited women to submit images of their bare bottoms as a comment on the demure image of the Singapore Girl. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Singapore Singapore to train more aviation and maritime officials from around the world Singapore Special edition SG60 Nets card now on sale for $10 Singapore Same person, but different S'porean Chinese names? How have such naming practices evolved? Business Singapore's economy sees surprise expansion in Q2 despite US tariff uncertainty: Advance estimate Singapore Jail for woman who opened bank accounts that received over $640.7m, including scam proceeds Sport After Olympic heartbreak, Singaporean swimmer Chantal Liew turns pain into inspiration Business From wellness zone to neurodivergent room: How companies are creating inviting, inclusive offices Singapore Swift action needed to stop vaping's slide from health risk to drug epidemic Performance artist Amanda Heng in a video footage capturing her walking backwards, barefoot, with a high-heeled shoe in her mouth. Let's Walk (1999) was a statement on how women are constrained by having to conform to a certain ideal of how they should look. PHOTO: AMANDA HENG This will be the 12th year Singapore is participating at the prestigious event in Venice which showcases contemporary art from all over the world. The Singapore Pavilion has spotlighted artists such as Robert Zhao Renhui (2024) and Charles Lim (2015). It is commissioned by the National Arts Council and supported by the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth. The 2026 theme is In Minor Keys.
