Sinkieland's valuable trade partners

[Jar Jar Binks]

This thread is bookmarked for further additions as i find more.

Why u cannot offend Sinkieland's valuable trade partners including China, Russia, North Korea and many more....

Their (usually all lowercase alphabets characters) clones from the PAP IB will harass u either by stalking or profanities over the reputation system.

Only i am resilient and able to hit them back with my army of clones.

http://www.sammyboy.com/showthread.php?199329-Photo-PRC-woman-urinated-onto-MRT-seat-and-scolded-Singaporean-for-staring&p=2108727#post2108727

No, it's because the PAP govt is humji when it comes to foreigners. The pappies don't want to make it a diplomatic issue and incur the wrath of Sinkieland's valuable trade partners. Let's not even talk about urinating... many foreigners eat on board an MRT train, yet no one enforces the laws. If you put up laws that you would not enforce, why bother at all?

___________________________________________________________

Mapletree sees opportunities in China property market despite challenges

Celebrating 10 years operating in the mainland market, Singapore-based Mapletree is focusing its China expansion on coastal cities under the leadership of regional CEO Quek Kwang Meng

PUBLISHED : Wednesday, 10 June, 2015, 4:00am
UPDATED : Wednesday, 10 June, 2015, 4:00am

Daniel Ren in Shanghai [email protected]

Shoppers ride the escalators at VivoCity shopping mall in Singapore. VivoCity is Mapletree's retail brand, which is also established in other cities in China, as well as in Vietnam. Photo: Reuters

Quek Kwang Meng joined Mapletree in March 2012 as regional chief executive officer for China and India.

He is now leading business expansion efforts in the two key markets, with direct responsibility over the group's non-reit assets.

Before joining Mapletree, Quek was the global co-head and managing director for real estate investments in Citi Private Bank, and prior to that he served as managing director with CapitaLand Financial.

Could you tell us your geographic focus and expansion plan in China?

Mapletree will continue to focus our investments and evaluate opportunities in the existing first- and second-tier cities. Although we are seeing challenges in the residential and retail markets in China, we believe opportunities still exist. Therefore, we are still evaluating projects and expanding, and remain selectively focused on specific asset classes and micro-markets where we continue to see growth.

How will Mapletree take advantage of China's urbanisation drive to seek further growth?

We'll be very much in line with China's urbanisation drive. Why we concentrate on the coastal cities is because we feel that most of the Chinese population would want to migrate to the coastal cities where they can get the jobs.

2015 is the 10th anniversary for Mapletree since you entered China in 2005. Could you brief us on Mapletree China's achievements in that time?

Our China presence has grown in the last decade from when we first entered China with investments in logistic properties. Our business has since expanded into industrial, office, retail and mixed-use developments in various China cities including Shanghai, Beijing, Guangzhou, Foshan, Ningbo, Tianjin, Wuxi, as well as Hong Kong.

Presently the region houses over S$10 billion in assets under management for the group.

There's heated competition among commercial properties in China. How does VivoCity compete in the market and what do you think is the key to success here?

VivoCity is Mapletree's retail brand and is based on the successful attributes of VivoCity Singapore. Today, the brand is also established in other cities in China, such as Xi'an and Nanhai, and similarly also in Vietnam.

The success of VivoCity in Singapore is primarily because the mall constantly seeks to deliver a vibrant and stimulating experience as a one-stop lifestyle and retail destination for families and individuals alike. It features wide and open spaces to enhance the shopping experience, and entertainment and relaxation features.

VivoCity Shanghai is designed with an expansive 10,000 sq m landscaped garden that includes a children's playground and a modern amphitheatre. Like VivoCity in Singapore, it will host an eventful calendar of plays, cultural performances, fashion shows and live concerts for consumers in Shanghai.

What's the significance of Mapletree Business City Shanghai and VivoCity Shanghai project to Mapletree China?

The combined project constitutes our largest single investment in China to date. China has undergone rapid economic growth in the past 10 years, and given Shanghai's status as the financial and trading centre of the country, the intense urbanisation and the robust business expansion the city has undergone is set to continue. We believe these trends will continue to drive occupancy and rents in the traditional CBD areas.

Could you share with us your view on mainland China's private equity real estate funds?

The private equity market in China is still growing. There are polices that have been introduced which need more time to mature and be tested. While this can present challenges, it also means that there will be plenty of opportunities ahead. As such, we are still viewing this market positively.

Recently many companies are hoping to adopt an asset light business model in their operations, and this will also boost the importance of private equity.

Mapletree employs an asset-light business model that combines real estate capital management, development and investment skills to deliver consistently high returns from its portfolio. We'll continue to use our asset-light business model to chase growth in China.

Will Mapletree invest more in the logistics segment in China?

In terms of logistics business, we follow the needs of our existing customers. We'll invest in places where our customers go. We would like to expand our logistic businesses in China.

What's your take on China's reit market?

We are quite optimistic that the Chinese government will work out more specific reit policies and they will come out in the near future.

What's the biggest difficulty in doing business in mainland China now?

The difficulty in doing business in China now is the rising cost and high taxation. Margins are continually being squeezed, and companies need to look at cost-cutting measures to improve their margins.

 

[TIEPILOT]

Singapore shipping firm blacklisted by US for allegedly helping North Korean company smuggle weapons

PUBLISHED : Friday, 24 July, 2015, 3:53pm
UPDATED : Friday, 24 July, 2015, 3:53pm

Associated Press

Antiquated military equipment was discovered in two containers aboard the North Korean-flagged freighter Chong Chon Gang in 2013. Photo: AP

A Singapore-based shipping company has been blacklisted by the US for allegedly supporting a North Korean firm accused of illicit weapon shipments.

The financial sanctions were announced by the US Treasury Department against Senat Shipping Company and Senat’s president, Leonard Lai, and on a vessel, “Dawnlight”, in which the company has an interest. US persons are prohibited from doing business with entities on the blacklist.

Treasury said Senat has ties to Ocean Maritime Management Company, or OMMC, a North Korean firm that operated a ship, the Chong Chon Gang, seized by Panamanian authorities in 2013 for carrying undeclared military equipment from Cuba, hidden under a cargo of sugar. It said Senat arranged the purchase, repair, certification, and crewing of vessels for OMMC.

“Arms shipments transported by OMMC serve as a key resource for North Korea’s ongoing proliferation activities. Sales from these shipments contribute to North Korea’s other illicit programmes,” Acting Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Adam J. Szubin said.

“We are working to make it as challenging as possible for North Korea to continue its unlawful behaviour by actively targeting anyone or any business that supports these illicit arms transfers,” he said.

Treasury also added to its sanctions list aliases of the North Korean firm, which it said has continued to operate through front companies and representative offices despite being sanctioned by both the United States and the United Nations in July 2014.

A UN report in February found that in the months after the sanctions were imposed, 13 of the 14 ships controlled by OMMC changed their owners and managers, “effectively erasing” the company from a database kept by the International Maritime Organisation.

International aid-for-disarmament negotiations with North Korea have been stalled for seven years. Despite a gradual tightening of international sanctions during that period, there’s little sign it has succeeded in curbing North Korea’s nuclear and ballistic missile programmes.

 

[KimJongUn]

​

 

[Revenge]

Tiongs Partnership

​

 

[Boba Fett]

​

 

[Jar Jar Binks]

How China's Singapore-like plan will 'boost growth' by shaking up state-run behemoths

Long-awaited blueprint to expected to ring greatest changes to sector in a decade

PUBLISHED : Saturday, 08 August, 2015, 7:04pm
UPDATED : Sunday, 09 August, 2015, 2:48am

Keira Lu Huang
[email protected]

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang (left) presides over a symposium attended by multiple ministries and key state-owned enterprises in Beijing in April this year. The Communist Party first outlined plans for the SOE overhaul two years ago. Photo: Xinhua

The State Council has finally approved an ambitious – and long-awaited – blueprint to overhaul China’s sclerotic state-owned enterprises in a Singapore-inspired quest for desperately needed new growth, sources close to the decision-making process said.

The shake-up is expected to be the biggest of its kind in more than a decade and once it’s done two new Temasek-style sets of companies will channel funds to SOEs and pressure them to turn a profit.

In return, SOEs will be able to make more of their own business decisions and their boards of directors will be able to hire and fire managers.

But party leadership sent by the State Council’s State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission (Sasac) to SOEs remains unchanged.

The new system will aim to put greater distance between government and the day-to-day commercial operations of state firms, with the Sasac no longer directly intervening in the running of most SOEs.

The Communist Party first outlined plans for the overhaul at its agenda-setting annual plenum two years ago but progress was stalled by vested interests in the firms and various government departments.

Details of the blueprint are still scant but it is expected to change the way SOEs – which account for a quarter of the mainland’s economy – are supervised and financed to give them more flexibility to make their own operational decisions.

It will also elaborate on the previously released principles to push for mergers of some state firms to enhance competitive power in global market, cut perks for top executives, and give private capital more room to invest in SOE projects and offshoots.

It was hoped the changes would light a fire under the state sector to counter a slowdown in economic growth, analysts said, adding that policymakers were keep to push ahead despite the strong internal opposition.

State-run food and commodities giant, Cofco, which makes many brands of oil and other cooking staples, is one of two SOEs to be overhauled. Photo: Xinhua

A government source told the South China Morning Post that “ state-owned capital operating companies” would be set up to allocate state funds to monopolistic SOEs in mission-critical sectors, and will manage investment, financing and construction with the state-owned capital.

Capital investment companies would also be created to allocate state funds to market-driven SOEs and mainly manage the SOEs’ stock rights rather than run the industry directly.

According to the principle released after the party’s third plenum, the two new sets of companies could be formed through one SOE or bundling several to be restructured into one investment company.

Sasac could be left in charge of several vital companies but the top leadership had still not made a final decision, the source said.

“Nevertheless, under the new system, the source of funding will be clearer than ever and the capital investment and operating companies will have to generate certain returns to preserve and increase the value of state assets.”

Li Jin, Sasac’s leading expert studying SOE reform, said the restructure would cut government intervention and give SOEs more scope to chart their own commercial course.

“It’s an efficient way to separate political and business goals,” said Li, who is also deputy head of the think tank, the China Enterprise Reform and Development Society.

One SOE executive said the new companies were modelled on Temasek, Singapore’s government-owned investment company. Under the new system, SOEs would be under the pressure to perform and be more attractive to private sector investment.

“It will introduce a significant change to state-asset management and give private money a chance,” the executive said. “The market and the SOEs’ performance will determine where the capital flows.”

The Port of Qingdao is an extra-large state-owned enterprise ranking among China's top 500 enterprises. Photo: EPA

The concepts have already been given trial runs in more than a dozen provinces over the last six months and two central government SOEs – State Development and Investment Corp and food and agricultural commodities conglomerate Cofco, (China National Cereals, Oils and Foodstuffs Corp) – will be among the first to test the waters under the new regime, according to Xinhua.

Li said it was likely that SOEs would be grouped into various industries and each would have its own rules for privatisation.

“Once the overall blueprint is released, guidance on changes in specific areas will come out,” he said.

Hang Seng Bank senior economist Andy Yao Shaohua said developing mixed ownership was key to the future of state enterprises.

“Introducing private capital can rebalance the status quo because now the proportion of state-owned shares is still too high,” Yao said.

Nevertheless, the changes to the massive state sector – which encompasses enterprises and employees – will not be easy, if precedent is any guide.

The last time the party sought to reinvent state-owned enterprises on such a vast scale was in the late 1990s under the stewardship of then premier Zhu Rongji .

Between 1998 and 2002 Zhu took a huge gamble on social stability as about six million people lost their jobs during a restructuring drive that shut down thousands of state firms.

Li, from the China Enterprise Reform and Development Society, said the dust had still not settled over the proposed changes.

“There will be disputes everywhere since the plan will change the current distribution of power, money and resources," he said. "There are disputes between state departments, within SOE management, between government agencies, and between central and local state-owned enterprises.”

The blueprint is expected to be discussed by party leaders gathering at the seaside resort of Beidaihe, government sources said.

 

[Boba Fett]

China's Alibaba to launch Asia-Pacific cloud services operation in Singapore, heating up rivalry with Amazon

PUBLISHED : Wednesday, 19 August, 2015, 5:22pm
UPDATED : Wednesday, 19 August, 2015, 5:22pm

​Bien Perez
[email protected]

As cloud computing gathers steam, Alibaba seems set on making Singapore a new hub in Asia-Pacific for its related services. Photo: Handout

Alibaba Group, the world's biggest e-commerce services provider, is opening a new data centre in Singapore next month as it sees the island state as a hub for expanding its cloud-computing business across the Asia-Pacific market.

That launch would signal a strong challenge to Amazon, which was first to establish a regional cloud operation in Singapore for subsidiary Amazon Web Services in 2010.

The new Singapore data centre for Aliyun, the company's cloud-computing arm, follows its recent initiatives in California's Silicon Valley and Dubai, the most populous city in the United Arab Emirates. The news was announced Wednesday.

Alibaba's new data centre is just the latest for Aliyun, its cloud-computing arm, outside the Chinese mainland. Photo: EPA

Ethan Yu Sicheng, a vice-president at Aliyun, said there was healthy demand for cloud-related data management services in Singapore "because of the ease of doing business there, the comprehensive transport and telecommunications connections, and robust intellectual property regime".

"The city-state is a natural springboard into the Asia-Pacific region, not only for us, but for our target audience," Yu said.

The initial focus for Aliyun will be to serve the cloud-computing needs of Chinese companies which are expanding their businesses into Southeast Asia.

Aliyun, which had 1.8 million customers as of June 30, is the leading provider of cloud-computing services in mainland China.

The company said it picked Singapore because of the ease of doing business there, its respect for intellectual property rights, and the convenient logistics and telecoms it offers. Photo: AP

Cloud services enable companies to buy, lease, sell or distribute software and other digital resources online, just like electricity from a power grid. Data centres host and manage cloud services and applications.

In July, New York-listed Alibaba revealed plans to invest as much as US$1 billion to build up Aliyun's network of data centres around the world.

Alicia Yap, the head of China internet research at Barclays, said in a report that Alibaba management was keen to invest in technology upgrades and new staff for Aliyun.

A survey by private equity firm North Bridge said the global cloud computing market is predicted to be worth more than US$150 billion this year.

Founded in September 2009, Aliyun has existing data centres in Hangzhou, Qingdao, Beijing, Shenzhen and Hong Kong.

 

[eatshitndie]

if tiong ports keep blowing up with toxic chemical spills there's nothing much they can do with trade. :p

 

[Boba Fett]

if tiong ports keep blowing up with toxic chemical spills there's nothing much they can do with trade. :p

Absolutely. SG shop is a joke... and nothing good to shop there hahaha

 

[FlyOnTheWall]

Where is that online persona / clone yellowarse??? For all your PAP IB failed antics, i will hit them back by at least 10 folds

​

 

[eatshitndie]

don't forget india is also a "valuable" trade partner of sg, after the signing of ceca.

at a time when even jim rogers, formerly bullish on india, is pulling out of india, sg sovereign wealth fund and glc's are doubling down in that chobolan ghetto cunt of a cuntry.

https://ankushtiwari.wordpress.com/2015/09/03/jim-rogers-exits-india-investments/

 

[FlyOnTheWall]

How China's Singapore-like plan will 'boost growth' by shaking up state-run behemoths

Long-awaited blueprint to expected to ring greatest changes to sector in a decade

PUBLISHED : Saturday, 08 August, 2015, 7:04pm
UPDATED : Tuesday, 11 August, 2015, 6:15pm

Keira Lu Huang
[email protected]

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang (left) presides over a symposium attended by multiple ministries and key state-owned enterprises in Beijing in April this year. The Communist Party first outlined plans for the SOE overhaul two years ago. Photo: Xinhua

The State Council has finally approved an ambitious – and long-awaited – blueprint to overhaul China’s sclerotic state-owned enterprises in a Singapore-inspired quest for desperately needed new growth, sources close to the decision-making process said.

The shake-up is expected to be the biggest of its kind in more than a decade and once it’s done two new Temasek-style sets of companies will channel funds to SOEs and pressure them to turn a profit.

In return, SOEs will be able to make more of their own business decisions and their boards of directors will be able to hire and fire managers.

While party leadership in SOEs, sent by the State Council’s State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission (Sasac) and the central organisation department, remains unchanged, Sasac will no longer directly intervene in the running of most SOEs.

The new system will aim to put greater distance between government and the day-to-day commercial operations of state firms, with the Sasac no longer directly intervening in the running of most SOEs.

The Communist Party first outlined plans for the overhaul at its agenda-setting annual plenum two years ago but progress was stalled by vested interests in the firms and various government departments.

Details of the blueprint are still scant but it is expected to change the way SOEs – which account for a quarter of the mainland’s economy – are supervised and financed to give them more flexibility to make their own operational decisions.

It will also elaborate on the previously released principles to push for mergers of some state firms to enhance competitive power in global market, cut perks for top executives, and give private capital more room to invest in SOE projects and offshoots.

It was hoped the changes would light a fire under the state sector to counter a slowdown in economic growth, analysts said, adding that policymakers were keep to push ahead despite the strong internal opposition.

State-run food and commodities giant, Cofco, which makes many brands of oil and other cooking staples, is one of two SOEs to be overhauled. Photo: Xinhua

A government source told the South China Morning Post that “ state-owned capital operating companies” would be set up to allocate state funds to monopolistic SOEs in mission-critical sectors, and manage investment, financing and construction with the state assets.

Some market-driven SOEs would be changed into state-owned capital investment firms to allocate state funds and mainly manage the SOEs' stock rights rather than run the businesses directly. Sasac could be left in charge of several vital companies but the final decision had yet to be made, the source said.

Under the reform guidelines released after the party's third plenum in late 2013, the state-owned capital investment companies could be formed through transforming one SOE or restructuring several SOEs, while the state-owned capital operating companies will be mostly established from scratch.

Sasac could be left in charge of several vital companies but the top leadership had still not made a final decision, the source said.

“Nevertheless, under the new system, the source of funding will be clearer than ever and the capital investment and operating companies will have to generate certain returns to preserve and increase the value of state assets.”

Li Jin, a leading expert studying SOE reform at Sasac's think tank, the China Enterprise Reform and Development Society, said the restructure would cut government intervention and give SOEs more scope to chart their own commercial course.

"It's an efficient way to separate political and business goals," Li said

One SOE executive said the new companies were modelled on Temasek, Singapore’s government-owned investment company. Under the new system, SOEs would be under the pressure to perform and be more attractive to private sector investment.

“It will introduce a significant change to state-asset management and give private money a chance,” the executive said. “The market and the SOEs’ performance will determine where the capital flows.”

The Port of Qingdao is an extra-large state-owned enterprise ranking among China's top 500 enterprises. Photo: EPA

The concepts have already been given trial runs in more than a dozen provinces over the last six months and two central government SOEs – State Development and Investment Corp and food and agricultural commodities conglomerate Cofco, (China National Cereals, Oils and Foodstuffs Corp) – will be among the first to test the waters under the new regime, according to Xinhua.

Li said it was likely that SOEs would be grouped into various industries and each would have its own rules for privatisation.

“Once the overall blueprint is released, guidance on changes in specific areas will come out,” he said.

Hang Seng Bank senior economist Andy Yao Shaohua said developing mixed ownership was key to the future of state enterprises.

“Introducing private capital can rebalance the status quo because now the proportion of state-owned shares is still too high,” Yao said.

Nevertheless, the changes to the massive state sector – which encompasses enterprises and employees – will not be easy, if precedent is any guide.

The last time the party sought to reinvent state-owned enterprises on such a vast scale was in the late 1990s under the stewardship of then premier Zhu Rongji .

Between 1998 and 2002 Zhu took a huge gamble on social stability as about six million people lost their jobs during a restructuring drive that shut down thousands of state firms.

Li, from the China Enterprise Reform and Development Society, said the dust had still not settled over the proposed changes.

“There will be disputes everywhere since the plan will change the current distribution of power, money and resources," he said. "There are disputes between state departments, within SOE management, between government agencies, and between central and local state-owned enterprises.”

The blueprint is expected to be discussed by party leaders gathering at the seaside resort of Beidaihe, government sources said.

 

[FlyOnTheWall]

Everytime the PAP IB fails, there will be backlash

http://www.techgoondu.com/2013/02/22/singapore-firm-to-produce-dual-screen-yotaphone/

http://www.gsmarena.com/yota_yotaphone_2-reviews-6959.php

 

[Jar Jar Binks]

Ni na bei chee bye PAP IB, i swear to give u shameless clowns a run for your money.

Alipay expands to Japan and Singapore

Staff Reporter 2015-10-02 09:59

A Sa Sa cosmetics store in Hong Kong offers special discounts to customers using Alipay. (Photo/CNS)

Alipay, the payment arm of Chinese e-commerce giant under its subsidiary Ant Financial, has expanded its services to Japan and Singapore to allow Chinese tourists to pay with their Alipay accounts, reports our Chinese-language sister paper Commercial Times.

Ant Financial and Japanese advertising and HR company Recruit Co jointly announced that 176,000 stores in Japan would accept Alipay as a payment method. Chinese tourists visiting the country can pay for items from their Alipay accounts by scanning in-store QR codes with their smartphones.

Consumer electronics retailer Big Camera, department store chain Parco, duty-free stores and shopping malls will be the first to offer Alipay as a payment method. The service will eventually be adopted by all of Recruit's outlets across Japan including restaurants, hair salons and clothes shops.

The major benefit for Chinese tourists is not having to exchange currency and worrying about exchange rate losses. The aforementioned stores will also offer special discounts to shoppers paying with Alipay.

In Singapore, Ant Financial is parterning with Universal Studios to allow visitors to the theme park to buy tickets, make purchases on Online-to-Offline platforms with Alipay and even find their way around the theme park through an intelligent map. Ant Financial also plans to offer technology solutions such as facial recognition and mobile payments to transform the Universal Studio park into an intelligent theme park.

Hong Kong cosmetic retail chains Sa Sa International's 100 brick-and-mortar stores in the special administration region have also started to accept Alipay since August.

Marriott International's 4,300 hotels will accept Alipay as a payment method by the end of next year, Alipay has anounced.

The payment service has been taken up in many countries around the world in recent years, though South Korea and Thailand have restricted the service to online shopping.

Alipay's partnership with Taiwan's Uni-Hankyu Department Store also encountered a setback in January last year when Taiwan's Financial Supervisory Commission ordered the department store to stop accepting Alipay payments on the grounds that it had not been approved by Taiwanese government and violated the country's laws on electronic stored value cards. The department store had accepted Alipay payments from three mainland Chinese tourists on the single day of its operation.

 

[yellowarse]

don't forget india is also a "valuable" trade partner of sg, after the signing of ceca.

at a time when even jim rogers, formerly bullish on india, is pulling out of india, sg sovereign wealth fund and glc's are doubling down in that chobolan ghetto cunt of a cuntry.

https://ankushtiwari.wordpress.com/2015/09/03/jim-rogers-exits-india-investments/

Jar Jar the PAP IB turns a blind eye towards S'pore's more than cozy relationship with India, because he's Indian. But he goes on a rampage against China. Good that you note his double standard.

By the way, a quick search of Singapore's principal trading partners shows the following:

Top 5 Export destinations of Singapore	China (14%), Malaysia (12%), Indonesia (12%), Hong Kong (7.4%), and Australia(6.0%)
Top 5 Import origins of Singapore	China (12%), Malaysia (10%), South Korea (8.4%), United States (7.1%), and Japan (6.3%)

Funny how Jar Jar the PAP IB chooses to focus all his ammunition on China while conveniently forgetting about the other top trading partners. The silence is deafening.

 

[Cylon]

You can try very hard to defend yourself and rope in other countries but u already lost the argument . As long your childish PAP IB continues to abuse the reputation system with profanities on my clones and other anti PAP forummers, there will be no truce to this.

You can sing until the cows come home and i will tell u to do this Hahahaha

http://i.imgur.com/Ey1uF.jpg?1?8683

Jar Jar the PAP IB turns a blind eye towards S'pore's more than cozy relationship with India, because he's Indian. But he goes on a rampage against China. Good that you note his double standard.

By the way, a quick search of Singapore's principal trading partners shows the following:

Top 5 Export destinations of Singapore	China (14%), Malaysia (12%), Indonesia (12%), Hong Kong (7.4%), and Australia(6.0%)
Top 5 Import origins of Singapore	China (12%), Malaysia (10%), South Korea (8.4%), United States (7.1%), and Japan (6.3%)

Funny how Jar Jar the PAP IB chooses to focus all his ammunition on China while conveniently forgetting about the other top trading partners. The silence is deafening.

 

[yellowarse]

You can try very hard to defend yourself and rope in other countries but u already lost the argument .

Lost the argument? It's your thread, and you titled it 'Sinkieland's valuable trade partners'. So where are the other 'valuable trade partners' like Japan, Malaysia, Australia and the US?

You're not interested in S'pore's trading partners, are you? You're just interested in bashing China, while pretending that Singapore is not a strong ally of the US and anchoring the nuclear option right here in the heart of SE Asia.

Your slip (and BS) is showing, dude. That's the trouble with the lot of PAP IB – all hot air and venom but no brains.

 

[ThrillSeeker]

Let's see how much fug should be given to this. Patience is the key to wait for replies....

We shall see the reactions from the PAP IB clones whenever sinkieland's valuable trade partners get their desserts.

 

[Hound]

Another crony of the PAP.....

Singapore developer CapitaLand takes the long-term view on China

Company bullish on long-term growth prospects in real estate sector despite the recent market fluctuations

PUBLISHED : Tuesday, 22 March, 2016, 10:10pm
UPDATED : Tuesday, 22 March, 2016, 10:10pm
Daniel Ren

Lim Ming Yan, 53, is president and chief executive of Singapore-based CapitaLand.

He was the chief operating officer of CapitaLand from May 2011 to December 2012 and chief executive of Ascott, the world’s largest serviced apartment operator – owned by CapitaLand – from July 2009 to February 2012.

Before joining Ascott, Lim was the chief executive of CapitaLand China Holdings from November 2000 to June 2009, responsible for growing CapitaLand into a leading foreign real estate developer in China.

Amid China’s economic slowdown, is CapitaLand still bullish on the business outlook for the country?

We have been dealing with property development businesses in China for more than 20 years and we always take a long view. We are still bullish on China’s market and it’s not unusual that the market witnesses short-term fluctuations. In terms of economic forecast, China, as one of the world’s largest economies, remains attractive given a projected 6.5 per cent to 7 per cent annual growth. The growth will appear to be just relatively smaller than in previous years.

Could you elaborate on your expansion plans in China this year? What’s your plan for increasing the land bank here?

We are still optimistic about long-term property development in China’s first- and second-tier cities. More infrastructure projects will be built in the future and new hub cities will come into existence. Opportunities will also arise from the efforts on the massive redevelopment of some old cities. For CapitaLand, we will continue to focus on developing large-scale mixed-use complexes in top-tier cities. We will actively seek to secure new projects to develop mixed-use projects. In the next two years, several projects that are under construction now will be completed. We not only build, but manage our properties. After our Raffles cities in Chongqing, Shanghai, Shenzhen and Hangzhou are put into operation, we will continue to manage the projects.

Competition in the top-tier cities is believed to be cutthroat due to short supply of land in prime locations. How will CapitaLand enhance its competitiveness.

It’s certain that competition is heated. CapitaLand focuses on five major urban clusters and mixed-use complexes. A lot of developers can handle pure residential properties, but mega mixed-use projects are beyond their reach because they have a higher threshold for developers. In Shanghai, for example, some of the commercial projects require developers to own 100 per cent of the properties after development. The requirement will kick out the developers without an operating system. CapitaLand’s advantage lies in its overall strength including development, management and finance. CapitaLand is confident that we can secure good locations in first-tier cities despite the fact that land supply is tight.

CapitaLand is also embarking on a “go-digital” campaign to expand businesses. Can you share details of the plan?

O2O (online-to-offline) businesses started to develop quickly in 2015. The O2O market in China is expected to post an annualised 30 per cent growth in the coming years. Internet-related businesses in China now account for 7 per cent of the nation’s gross domestic product. Internet technologies help shopping malls and retailers accurately spot their customers and potential customers. They are of great benefit to commercial businesses as data analysis enhances operational efficiency. Retailers can understand the demands from their customers before sending them relevant shopping information and discount coupons. We are still in an early stage of embracing the internet to improve our businesses. CapitaLand is not a technology firm but we believe that, by making the most of technological innovations, we will eventually create a new business model.

Will you partner with leading internet firms to develop the businesses?

We need to work with external companies, including home-grown and international IT giants, to better use the internet to fine-tune our services. With the internet, the use of retail and office space can be more flexible. We must adapt to new situations to provide proper properties for clients.

What drove CapitaLand’s decision to invest in internet businesses and do you think e-commerce will rival shopping centres?

I think it’s necessary to invest in IT. We must take a long view and it’s obvious that internet technologies can’t be ignored at present. We are studying how to meld internet technologies into our businesses. It’s quite likely that the marriage between the internet and our property businesses will create new growth engines for CapitaLand in future. Physical stores won’t survive alone, neither with e-commerce. After all, you have to have a channel that can facilitate direct communication with customers. The two should be combined.

What’s your take on the development of real estate investment trustsin China? Will CapitaLand consider issuing reits here?

Reits is a good financial product and it’s also a good investment tool for investors. For CapitaLand, issuing reits that are backed by our mature commercial properties not only reward investors with a stable and long-term return but also help us raise funds to replenish new projects. If conditions are ripe in China, we will consider listing reits here. China has yet to create a transparent legal framework for reits since the current rules and regulations are not complete.

Have CapitaLand’s China businesses been affected by the economic slowdown?

The negative impact does not appear to be big. I believe our businesses here will maintain stable growth in the next few years.