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Straits Times
11 hours ago
- Business
- Straits Times
COE prices fall across the board except for motorcycles; Cat A records biggest drop
This is the second consecutive tender exercise where COE premiums for cars fell. ST PHOTO: TARYN NG COE prices fall across the board except for motorcycles; Cat A records biggest drop SINGAPORE - Certificate of entitlement (COE) premiums fell for all categories except motorcycles at the latest tender on June 4. The largest drop was in Category A, meant for smaller and less powerful cars and electric vehicles (EVs). At $96,999, the premium was 5.4 per cent lower than the $ 102,501 at the previous exercise. For Category B, meant for larger and more powerful cars and EVs, the premium was $ 113,000 , down 3.4 per cent from $ 116,988 recorded at the last tender on May 21. This is the second consecutive tender exercise where COE prices for cars fell, although pr emiums are still higher than a year ago. The price of an Open category (Category E) certificate was $ 113,900 , 3.5 per cent lower than the $ 118,010 at the last exercise. Although Open category COEs can be used to register any vehicle type other than motorcycles, they are almost always used for bigger and more powerful cars. At $ 62,000 , the commercial vehicle (Category C) COE premium was 1.9 per cent lower than the previous price of $ 63,189 . The motorcycle (Category D) COE premium bucked the trend, climbing 3.4 per cent to $ 9,000 , from $ 8,707 . Lee Nian Tjoe is senior transport correspondent at The Straits Times, where he also oversees the Motoring section. Join ST's WhatsApp Channel and get the latest news and must-reads.
Straits Times
25-05-2025
- Business
- Straits Times
Businesses call out "unsustainable rent hikes"
Mr Melvin Koh (left), owner of Nicher, says his rent will go up 15 per cent, while Ms Grace Huang, co-founder of Neue Fit gym, says her rent has already gone up by 57 per cent. PHOTOS: TARYN NG Rising rents put the squeeze on small businesses in Singapore: Should the Govt do more? SINGAPORE – The clock is ticking for Nicher, a bakery serving French pastries and coffee at The Brooks, a mixed-use development near Sembawang Road. The bakery's owner, Mr Melvin Koh, 39, has decided to sell the business when his lease expires at the end of June. The former pastry chef with Marina Bay Sands says his lease will go up 15 per cent from his current rental of $5,000 if he chooses to renew it, which will make running the business unsustainable. 'Rent takes up at least 50 per cent of my total operating expenses,' said Mr Koh. 'Costs of ingredients and labour are also rising.' Mr Koh, who was charged a monthly rental of $4,500 when he started his business in 2022, is just one of a number of business owners across the island who are struggling with rising rents. The rental squeeze has driven some businesses to write publicly about their woes on social media, drawing public attention to the issue. One such business is Flor Patisserie, a cake shop in Siglap Drive. Chef-owner Heidi Tan said the landlord is raising the rent by 57 per cent, from $5,400 to $8,500, and that she intends to move out by early July. In an Instagram post on May 7, she had said rent was 'one thing that kills', calling on the Government to do more to support small businesses. On May 22, The Straits Times reported that at least five shophouse businesses in Siglap Drive have closed or are about to close because of rental hikes since 2024. Ms Grace Huang, co-founder of Neue Fit gym at Kallang Wave Mall, took to Instagram on April 30 to share her struggles with rent hikes. The 42-year-old said the lease for her 372 sq m unit will expire in December and she fears that the rental will go up. Other sports tenants around her have faced rental increases of about 20 per cent. Since she started the gym in 2018, her rent has gone up by about 57 per cent, including through the Covid-19 pandemic. She pays more than $20,000 monthly now. 'Rent makes up about 30 per cent of our total monthly overheads, which is a huge burden for any small business,' she said. 'It's money we could be using to grow our programmes, support our team, or improve our members' experience.' She employs 10 full-timers, including national athletes who have themselves trained other current and past Team Singapore representatives. Ms Grace Huang, co-founder of Neue Fit Gym, said rent has already gone up by about 57 per cent since she started the gym in 2018. ST PHOTO: TARYN NG 'We are a sports business in a sports mall, in what's meant to be Singapore's sporting district – and yet, we're struggling to feel supported,' she said, calling it disheartening. Business owners say rising rents are choking out small businesses here which often do not have pockets as deep as chain stores and global brands, and are less able to cope with sudden hikes. Experts ST spoke to also painted a picture of a retail environment where landlords hold most of the cards. Ms Huang said landlords should consider tenants' business performance, or how they contribute to the space, when deciding on their leases, and not apply the same rental models across the board. The Government could also consider targeted rental relief or grants for certain businesses, such as those in health, sports and wellness in the sports districts, she said. When contacted, a Kallang Wave Mall spokesperson said the current lease with Neue Fit began in 2017 and was subsequently renewed in 2022 based on 'negotiated and mutually agreed rental terms and tenure'. 'For a unit above 4,000 sq ft in size, the rental rate is well within market range,' the spokesperson said, adding that formal discussions regarding future rental rates for the current unit have not started yet. Escalating rents Ms Sulian Tan-Wijaya, executive director for retail and lifestyle at Savills Singapore, said many malls are owned by real estate investment trusts (Reits) where there is little room to reduce rents or incentivise desirable brands with lower rents. Prime city or suburban malls still enjoy high occupancies. For every space vacated by a weak operator, there will be more than one newcomer vying for that space, she said. Shop units owned by private strata owners were probably acquired at high prices with mortgages to service. Owners facing higher interest rates will be less likely to lower their rents, she added. She pointed out that one reason international brands can afford higher rents is that they benefit from strong supply chain networks, which bring down their costs. According to Knight Frank Research, as at the first quarter of 2025, prime retail rents in a basket of malls within the prime central region have increased by 11.8 per cent in the post-pandemic period, while prime suburban retail rents rose by 5.8 per cent. These gains follow a sharp drop in the pandemic years of 2020 and 2021, when prime retail rents fell by more than 20.2 per cent in the central region and by 8.7 per cent in the suburban region. The retail sector is expected to remain challenging in 2025, with rents likely to ease and stabilise within a modest growth range of 1 per cent to 3 per cent over the course of the year, said Knight Frank head of retail Ethan Hsu. While there have been calls for the Government to intervene to stabilise rents, Mr Hsu cautioned that intervening in market forces could lead to unintended consequences such as reduced investment in commercial property, or a decline in the quality of retail spaces due to decreased spending on maintenance. At the moment, the Code of Conduct for Leasing of Retail Premises – which landlords must voluntarily adopt – sets out leasing principles when drawing up contracts and a framework for resolving lease disputes. Space for government support? But Mr Hsu acknowledged that there could be scope for the Government to do more. 'For instance, the Government could consider managing the supply of F&B spaces within specific geographic areas to prevent market saturation and cannibalisation within a designated zone,' he said, adding that this will help food and beverage businesses survive better amid limited demand in the small local market. Another measure that could be considered is a tax similar to the additional buyer's stamp duty on chain F&B brands that expand too rapidly within a short period, he said. This could help moderate F&B growth to a more sustainable pace. The Singapore Tenants United For Fairness (SGTUFF), a group of more than 600 front-line business owners across the food and beverage, retail and services sectors, said targeted regulatory mechanisms could protect the viability of small businesses while balancing the interests of investors. Unregulated rent increases contribute to inflationary pressures, pushing up business costs and consumer prices, said SGTUFF in a social media post on May 2. The group argued for some form of rental regulation, including a tiered rent cap system based on attributes such as property size and location, and incentives for landlords who offer long-term and stable leases. Brand strategist Debbie Yong proposed piloting rent stabilisation in selected districts earmarked for cultural and entrepreneurial preservation. Another way is to strengthen the Code of Conduct for Leasing of Retail Premises by turning it into enforceable legislation, she said, adding that it would be a practical first step towards rebalancing the power dynamics between landlords and tenants, without compromising long-term growth. Ms Yong added that the rise in commercial rents is having a chilling effect on creativity and innovation in the F&B and retail sectors. 'As consumers, we ultimately suffer from lack of diversity and vibrancy in our dining and retail landscape,' she said. 'That, in turn, further dampens domestic demand, creating a downward spiral that undermines the very ecosystem we're trying to grow.' Join ST's WhatsApp Channel and get the latest news and must-reads.
Straits Times
25-05-2025
- General
- Straits Times
Some 1,500 join charity walk to raise more than $320,000 for the deaf community
Minister for Law and Second Minister for Home Affairs Edwin Tong (second from left) with participants at the charity walk on May 25. ST PHOTO: TARYN NG Some 1,500 join charity walk to raise more than $320,000 for the deaf community SINGAPORE - As a D eaf student in a mainstream secondary school in the 1990s , Ms April Chia struggled to communicate with her peers, who did not know sign language. Unfazed, Ms Chia continued attending workshops for deaf individuals by the Singapore Association for the Deaf (SADeaf), which her parents had taken her to when she was a child. She also received help from SADeaf's resource teachers, who are specially trained to provide sign language interpretation and address the learning needs of Deaf students. Deaf, with a capital D, refers to people with hearing loss who use sign language as their preferred communication mode, and identify as members of the Deaf community. Such programmes and resources helped her to become more confident and made her more comfortable to express herself, said Ms Chia, who is in her 40s . Some three decades later, Ms Chia, who recently landed a new job as a public servant, has come full circle and teaches sign language and serves as a community interpreter at SADeaf. Programmes by SADeaf that Ms Chia has engaged with throughout her life will get a boost following the association's fund-raising of more than $320,000 through a charity walk – with 3km and 5km routes – along Marina Bay and Gardens by the Bay on May 25. SADeaf, which marks its 70th anniversary this year, estimates that there are about half a million people here with some form of hearing loss. Ms April Chia said the programmes and resources by the Singapore Association for the Deaf helped her to become more confident and made her more comfortable to express herself. ST PHOTO: TARYN NG Besides deaf education courses, the charity also provides sign language interpretation and employment support – among other services – to people with hearing loss. Speaking through an interpreter, Ms Chia told The Straits Times: 'SADeaf has helped deaf people like me enjoy more equal access to information. 'When I take my parents to the doctor, having an SADeaf interpreter by my side allows me to get fuller details and makes me feel more included compared with when the doctor has to communicate with me in writing.' Addressing about 1,500 participants before he flagged off the walk, Minister for Law and Second Minister for Home Affairs Edwin Tong thanked SADeaf for its work in raising awareness and advocating for the deaf community over the last seven decades. He added that everyone in society – not just the deaf community – has a role to play in building a more inclusive Singapore. 'All the plans, all the programmes that we have won't take us very far if you and I are not invested, (if) we are not aware, and we are not inclusive,' said Mr Tong. At the event, participants wore T-shirts with the Singapore Sign Language (SgSL) alphabet emblazoned across the back. Participants wore T-shirts with the Singapore Sign Language alphabet emblazoned across the back. ST PHOTO: TARYN NG SgSL, which contains uniquely Singaporean signs and colloquial expressions, is the native sign language recognised and used by the deaf community here. During the walk, participants tried their hand at learning basic SgSL phrases like 'wow' and 'Marina Bay Sands' with the aid of signboards at different points along the route. The association's executive director Josh Lye said sign-ups for SADeaf's SgSL classes have increased over the past three years, particularly in the last year. In its 2023-2024 financial year, SADeaf had more than 3,000 students, both deaf and hearing, in its SgSL classes, up from about 2,700 in the previous financial year. Mr Lye said SADeaf plans to open more classes to meet the growing interest in SgSL, including from beyond the deaf community. Ms Rashidah Zulkifli, a senior sign language interpreter at SADeaf, pointed to the video-relay service launched by SADeaf in December 2024 as another example of the inroads made in promoting accessibility for deaf individuals. The service connects deaf individuals with interpreters on video conferencing platform Zoom to help them communicate with banks, hospitals or businesses over the phone. However , the 33-year-old interpreter expressed that more needs to be done to 'create a society where deaf people feel more included, not just accommodated,' such as by providing sign language interpretation at more events, the creation of more media content, and raising awareness of interpretation as a viable professional career. Ms Rashidah Zulkifli pointed to the video-relay service launched by SADeaf in December 2024 as another example of the inroads made in promoting accessibility for deaf individuals. ST PHOTO: TARYN NG A study by the National Council of Social Service revealed a decline in positive attitudes towards people with disabilities here in 2023, largely due to a dip in positive sentiments at the workplace. Calling on employers to give deaf individuals an equal shot, Ms Rashidah said: 'Employers play a big role in giving deaf people ways to contribute instead of assuming they cannot help.' Participants of the charity walk , which was sponsored by property agency ERA Singapore, also set a new record in the Singapore Book of Records for the largest mass walk in SgSL T-shirts. SADeaf was established by the government in 1955 to oversee the welfare of the deaf community in Singapore. After its formation, SADeaf called for deaf individuals to register themselves with the association as it studied plans to build a school for deaf children staffed by specially-trained teachers. In 1963, it opened the Singapore School for the Deaf for deaf children aged six to 16. It then started the Vocational Institute for the Handicapped for deaf students aged between 16 and 21 to learn basic technical skills in 1975. Moving forward, SADeaf will work on supporting the growing number of seniors who are hard of hearing as Singapore's population ages, said Mr Lye. 'We have about 400,000 to 500,000 seniors who already have hearing loss. That number doubles by 2030, so we don't have a lot of time to address it... and we will work with our partners to address this.' Wong Yang is a journalist at The Straits Times, covering housing, property, land use and community stories. Join ST's WhatsApp Channel and get the latest news and must-reads.
Straits Times
24-05-2025
- Health
- Straits Times
TV chef Martin Yan's secret to good health? Drink soup every day
At 76, TV chef Martin Yan is still travelling, teaching and cooking. ST PHOTO: TARYN NG SINGAPORE – When TV chef Martin Yan sits down to a meal at home, he starts with soup . Slow-simmered clear soup, the energetic 76-year-old believes, is the key to staying healthy. The Guangzhou-born chef, who has hosted Yan Can Cook on American public television since 1982, was in town recently to speak to healthcare professionals. Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Straits Times
22-05-2025
- Business
- Straits Times
Singtel launches $2b share buyback as full-year profit swells to $4.02b on one-off gains
Excluding one-off gains, Singtel's underlying net profit rose by a 9 per cent to $2.47 billion. ST PHOTO: TARYN NG Singtel launches $2b share buyback as full-year profit swells to $4.02b on one-off gains SINGAPORE - In its first such move, Singtel on May 22 announced it will buy back up to $2 billion in shares over three years, as it reported net profit jumped four times to $4.02 billion. However, in announcing its full-year results for the financial year ended March 31, the telco noted that underlying net profit rose by a more moderate 9 per cent to $2.47 billion. The big boost to net profit came from a net exceptional gain of $1.55 billion, mainly from the partial divestment of its Comcentre headquarters, compared to a net exceptional loss of $1.47 billion a year ago. Singtel also noted that net profit would have increased 11 per cent year-on-year if currency fluctuations were taken out of consideration. It said the underlying net profit - which the group's core dividend is based on - was driven by robust performance from its Optus unit in Australia, technology consultancy NCS and regional associates Airtel and AIS. Operating revenue remained steady while earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation grew 5 per cent. Earnings before interest and taxes at Optus saw a 55 per cent increase from improvements in its mobile business and cost management, Singtel said. Continued inprovements in delivery margins and cost optimisation also drove NCS' earnings before interest and taxes up 39 per cent. Singtel proposed a dividend of 10 cents per share, comprising 6.7 cents in core dividend and 3.3 cents in a value realisation dividend introduced in May 2024 to return excess capital to share holders. Meanwhile, funding for the share buybacks will be underpinned by excess capital from the group's asset recycling proceeds, Singtel said. In May 2024, Singtel set a mid-term asset recycling target of $6 billion under its Singtel28 growth plan which it is now raising to $9 billion. Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
