SINGAPORE’S international visitor arrivals slipped in April from March’s Taylor Swift-induced high, marking the lowest number of arrivals in the year to date. The city-state welcomed 1.36 million tourists last month, based on the latest figures from the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) on Thursday (May 16). This was a fall from 1.48 million in March, when American pop star Taylor Swift performed six shows at the National Stadium, and K-pop group Shinee also staged a one-night performance at Singapore Indoor Stadium. It was a weaker performance than the first two months of the year, when Singapore recorded 1.44 million visitors during each month. British band Coldplay played several shows in the Republic in January, while Chinese New Year celebrations fell in February, along with the start of the Singapore-China mutual 30-day visa-free scheme. Indonesia overtook China to become the top source of arrivals in April, with 243,893 visitors, up from...

MANILA, May 16 (Xinhua) — The approved foreign investments into the Philippines in the first quarter of 2024 reached 148.43 billion pesos (roughly 2.59 billion U.S. dollars), marking a 63.6 percent decrease year over year, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said on Thursday. The statistics agency said Singapore posted the highest investment commitment, amounting to 70.06 billion pesos (1.22 billion dolla Source link

FROM contemplating closure about a decade ago, Hocklim Engineering has since transformed and thrived, thanks to innovative solutions. The family business was founded in 1988, with a focus on civil engineering works. Some 20 years later, in the face of tough competition, founder Chua Chiang Hock considered winding down the company. But Chua Yuan Shen was unwilling to let his father’s hard work go to waste. He decided to continue the family legacy – and now heads it as chief executive officer. Source link

(Photo credit: Shawn Dowd/Rochester Democrat and Chronicle / USA TODAY NETWORK) LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Brooks Koepka was considered one of the heavy favorites heading into the Masters last month. But the five-time major champion never threatened, shooting nine-over par and finishing tied for 45th at Augusta. His poor play led to him recently saying he was “embarrassed” by his play. “Everybody put in a lot of hard work,” Koe Source link

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BEIJING, May 15 (Xinhua) — The following are the central parity rates of the Chinese currency renminbi, or the yuan, against 25 major currencies announced on Wednesday by the China Foreign Exchange Trade System: Currency Unit Central parity rate in yuan U.S. dollar 100 710.49 Euro 100 771.29 Japanese yen 100 4.5676 Hong Kong dollar 100 90.955 British pound 100 897.50 Au Source link

SINGAPORE’S life insurance industry recorded nearly S$1.4 billion in weighted new business premiums for the first quarter of 2024, representing a 32.2 per cent year-on-year increase to mark the sector’s strongest Q1 performance since the Covid-19 pandemic. On Tuesday (May 14), the Life Insurance Association, Singapore (LIA) said uptake of single-premium policies grew 46.4 per cent to S$500.4 million for the quarter. It attributed this to a less volatile macroeconomic environment amid a pickup in Singapore’s economy. Total weighted premiums for annual premium policies grew 25.2 per cent year on year to S$866.5 million, which LIA observed to reflect a “sustained trend where meeting protection needs are being prioritised in Singapore”. This is further evidenced by a 42 per cent increase in sales of non-participating products over the quarterly period, added the association. LIA president Dennis Tan said: “The life insurance industry is starting the year positively by focusing and...

BEIJING, May 14 (Xinhua) — The following are the central parity rates of the Chinese currency renminbi, or the yuan, against 25 major currencies announced on Tuesday by the China Foreign Exchange Trade System: Currency Unit Central parity rate in yuan U.S. dollar 100 710.53 Euro 100 769.51 Japanese yen 100 4.5752 Hong Kong dollar 100 90.962 British pound 100 895.38 Aust Source link

AHEAD of the redevelopment of Singapore’s city ports as part of the Greater Southern Waterfront, the authorities are studying the area’s structures and buildings to see if they can be used to enhance the future development’s character. Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) chief executive Lim Eng Hwee told The Straits Times (ST) in an interview that “the old port and some of the infrastructure do bring some value to the area”, adding that structures are being studied to see if “one or more can be retained, integrated and made very interesting”. While Lim did not name the buildings under study, heritage experts have said that these could include Prima Flour Mills – Singapore’s first flour mill, which commenced operations in 1963. Situated adjacent to Keppel Terminal, Prima Flour Mills – owned by developer Mapletree – is able to receive wheat grains directly into its silos from bulk carriers, saving Prima...

BEIJING, May 13 (Xinhua) — The following are the central parity rates of the Chinese currency renminbi, or the yuan, against 25 major currencies announced on Monday by the China Foreign Exchange Trade System: Currency Unit Central parity rate in yuan U.S. dollar 100 710.30 Euro 100 768.29 Japanese yen 100 4.5867 Hong Kong dollar 100 90.889 British pound 100 893.54 Austr Source link