The_King

It crime city for a reason

1st: thick goo like saliva veggi 2nd: flatten chicken 3rd: rice bucket 4th: string like tapeworm with skin 5th: sea roaches( eat dead stuff? 6th: sea roaches (eat dead stuff)

Shhhhhh I waiting for ww3

A while back, it was speculated that Don Don Donki will be opening a new outlet in Northpoint City. The rumours came about after Cold Storage’s departure from the Yishun mall. Don Don Donki Announcement Turns out the rumours are true – Don Don Donki Singapore revealed a teaser on Facebook earlier today, confirming the new opening in Northpoint City. Additionally, fans will also be able to stand a chance to win exclusive VIP passes to skip the queue and receive welcome goodie bags on opening day. A Facebook user has also spotted the new renovation hoarding being put up in basement 1 of the mall, the same space occupied by Cold Storage supermarket previously. Photo: Michael Lee on Facebook The new store, which will be their 14th in Singapore including the upcoming one in Jewel Changi Airport, will likely be safari-themed since the social media teaser and hoarding designs feature a number of animals in an open landscape. Don Don Donki @ Northpoint City is scheduled to open in the 4th quarter this year. Stay tuned for more updates once the official opening date has been announced.

https://www.facebook.com/100000021667627/videos/468483561321956

(Singapore, 23rd) Singapore Hougang Zacai Restaurant did not have a starting price for 10 years ago. During the epidemic, its business dropped by 20%. Now it has no choice but to increase its price. But the customer shouted: still cheap. The "Jinhua Food Shop" located downstairs in Block 6, Hougang Avenue 3, has been in business for more than 10 years. It opened in the market in the early years. Now it has its own storefront. Because of its affordable price and good taste, it is very popular among diners. The owner of Zacai Restaurant, Guo Fucai (59), said in an interview that he learned how to cook and run the Zacai rice business from his mother since he was a child. Now the restaurant prepares at least 25 dishes every day, and each dish is sold out quickly. He also said that at first it was the employees in the neighborhood who came to visit, and later it was the surrounding residents who came to the door one after another, and diners praised his dishes as home-cooked, which made him very proud. "Shin Ming Daily" reported three years ago that the price of meat in the store is 1 yuan, while the price of vegetables is 5 yuan, and the rice is not worth the money. Unless you ask for additional rice, you need to pay an additional 3 yuan to 5 yuan. , so the price of 2 dishes and 1 meat is only 2 yuan. Based on the belief of small profits but quick turnover, the store relies on door-to-door customers. Although the profit is not high, it has been maintained for many years. However, according to the new menu prices posted by the store, 1 dish and 1 meat are now 2 yuan, and 2 dishes and 1 meat are priced at 2.5 yuan. The store prepares at least 25 dishes every day. Guo Fucai was reluctant to disclose the details of the starting price, but revealed that due to the epidemic, the business of the store dropped by 20% during this period, which made him feel a little pressure. However, he said that it is not easy for everyone to make money, and he will stick to it to the end and keep prices as low as possible. When the reporter visited yesterday, the interviewed diners said that although the price is higher, the price here is still very cheap compared to other restaurants that sell mixed vegetables. Regular customers move out of Hougang but still return to patronize There are regular customers who have moved out of Hougang, but returned to patronize because of the cheap and delicious food. It was observed that at least 30 people lined up outside the store during lunch time, and the cheap price of "1 yuan for 1 chicken wing" also attracted many diners. The "1 yuan for 1 chicken wing" (about RM3.2) attracts many diners. Mr. Huang (60 years old) said: "I think the rice here is soft and sticky, and the chicken wings will not get tired after eating too much." He has been patronizing for more than 12 years. Although he has limited mobility now, he has moved out of Hougang because of the cheap prices and delicious miscellaneous vegetables. Wu Shan (64 years old) comes to Zacai Restaurant almost every day to buy chicken wings, and said that her family especially likes the fried chicken wings here. "It's only 1 yuan here, which is 50 cents cheaper than some stores."

https://www.zaobao.com.sg/realtime/singapore/story20220713-1292490

The Court of Appeal has reinstated a suit by Lawyers for Liberty (LFL) against the Singapore government over the city-state's attempt to enforce a draconian internet law against the Malaysian rights group. Three panel judges today overturned a Kuala Lumpur High Court decision in 2020 striking out LFL’s suit against Singapore Home Minister K Shanmugam, paving the way for the suit to be heard in Malaysia. LFL's suit revolves around Singapore's issuance of a correction direction under its Protection from Online Falsehoods and Manipulation Act (Pofma), after the group published shocking details of instances of prisoners being executed in a brutal and unlawful manner at Singapore's Changi Prison. - Advertisement - Shanmugam had instructed LFL to amend the statement published on its website, a move condemned by the group as "outrageous". "Singapore has no business interfering with the freedom of speech of Malaysian citizens making statements within our own country," LFL had said. LFL then proceeded to file a civil suit against Shanmugam, which failed after it was struck down. The suit sought a court declaration that Singapore has no jurisdiction to enforce its law on LFL. The appeals court decision today means that Shanmugam must now appear in the Malaysian court to fight the suit. The panel judges today were Yaacob Sam, Vazeer Alam Mydin and Mohd Nazlan Ghazali. LFL was represented by Gurdial Singh, Latheefa Koya, Shahid Adli and Abraham Au, while Suzana Atan acted as counsel for the government. https://www.malaysianow.com/news/2022/07/20/suit-against-singapore-minister-to-be-heard-in-malaysia-after-lawyers-group-wins-appeal

SINGAPORE - The Central Narcotics Bureau (CNB) arrested 100 suspected drug offenders in an islandwide bust between July 18 and 22, seizing drugs with a street value of about $470,000. The areas covered during the operation were Boon Lay, Changi, Sengkang and Toa Payoh. Cash totalling $63,097 was also seized. In one of the raids, CNB officers targeted a residential unit in the vicinity of Sumang Walk and arrested a 56-year-old Singaporean man on July 19 for suspected drug trafficking offences. About 66g of heroin and 16g of Ice were seized, along with drug paraphernalia and cash amounting to about $4,327. On July 21, CNB officers arrested four male foreign nationals, aged between 22 and 30. One was caught after a short chase. The officers seized packets of Ice, cannabis and Ecstasy tablets from a 29-year-old, while another packet of cannabis was recovered from a 30-year-old. CNB said that before their arrest, the men were believed to have discarded a package in the vicinity. The package, which contained cash amounting to $14,630, was later retrieved. The 29-year-old was taken to his hideout in the vicinity of Lorong 9 Geylang, where more drugs were recovered. A 35-year-old foreign male national, who later came to the residential unit, was also arrested for suspected drug offences. In total, 239g of Ice, 9,317g of cannabis, 174g of Ecstasy tablets and 111g of heroin were recovered. Cash amounting to $34, 530 was also seized. In another operation on the same day, CNB officers arrested a 46-year-old Singaporean woman and a 41-year-old male foreign national in a private residential area in the vicinity of Haig Road. About 7g of Ice and cash amounting to $15,940 were recovered from the woman, while cash amounting to about $8,300 was recovered from the man. The suspects were escorted to their hideout in the same vicinity, where Ice, cannabis, ketamine, Ecstasy tablets, an LSD stamp and drug paraphernalia were recovered. Another package containing a small packet of Ice was later seized. In total, 335g of Ice, 18g of cannabis, 103g of ketamine, 62g of Ecstasy tablets, one LSD stamp and drug paraphernalia were recovered. The cash seized came up to $24,240. Investigations into the drug activities of all the arrested suspects are ongoing.

I know what you mean. I just not interested

I need more la. So expensive now

Honest Illustrations Show What Happens Behind Closed Doors In Every Relationship 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

KUALA LUMPUR, July 22 — An Arowana fish store in Bangkok, Thailand has garnered a sudden interest from the public after they decided to put women in bikinis alongside their Arowanas (dragon fish) in their fish tanks. This is after a 26-second video uploaded by Facebook user Ratchatapan Chiaochan showed a couple of women in bikinis kneeling in the fish tanks while welcoming guests with music blaring in the background. “The fish here are really beautiful,” Ratchatapan captioned his Facebook post. Ratchatapan’s video, which was uploaded on Wednesday, has been viewed over seven million times with over 19,000 likes and has been shared over 44,000 times on Facebook. The post has also garnered over 15,000 comments from fellow fish enthusiasts who were amused. As it turns out, the fish store, Arowana Mall, was celebrating the grand opening of their store located at Chatuchak Market. A few Thai models were seen promoting and posting about the grand opening of Arowana Mall on Facebook as well According to the Arowana Mall website, they claimed to be the largest dragon fish farm in the world with 1,800 ponds including four fish farms in Malaysia. The company also exports their dragon fish to other countries which includes South Korea, Japan, China, Vietnam, Australia as well as Canada. Such marketing techniques don't always work in Thailand as it was previously reported by portal Newsflare in 2021, that a Thai woman was arrested and fined by the authorities for wearing bikinis to sell her watermelons by the roadside. https://www.facebook.com/bigbigmr/videos/3307247472878699

https://store.epicgames.com/en-US/p/tannenberg https://store.epicgames.com/en-US/p/shop-titans-d95c1c

SINGAPORE — A civil trial between gaming hardware maker Razer and its information technology (IT) vendor over a cybersecurity breach, which led to the mass leak of Razer customers’ data, came to an early end on Friday (July 22). A former employee of the vendor, French multinational firm Capgemini, had conceded in his evidence on Thursday afternoon that he was the one who caused the breach, which happened on June 15, 2020. Before this, Mr Argel Cabalag consistently denied his culpability, but capitulated when he was shown material from a report prepared by Razer’s independent expert. Razer is suing Capgemini for at least US$7 million (S$9.85 million) in losses, largely comprising loss of profits from its online website. The trial began in the High Court on Wednesday last week and was set to continue until next week, but Mr Cabalag’s concession meant that more forensic experts, who were set to testify as to who had caused the breach, did not need to appear. Friday’s hearing ended with Mr Cabalag being further questioned by lawyers representing Razer and Capgemini. Justice Lee Seiu Kin then directed both parties to file closing submissions, after which he will rule on whether Capgemini is liable to pay damages. The case first surfaced in September 2020 when an independent security researcher revealed that a leak had exposed the confidential personal information of about 100,000 Razer customers. No sensitive data such as credit card numbers or passwords were exposed. However, order details, customer and shipping information could have been leaked, the company previously said. Razer had engaged Capgemini as its IT solutions provider and agreed to implement the ELK Stack platform in its internal IT system. The ELK Stack platform collects and processes large volumes of data from multiple sources, storing it in one centralised data store. Experts appointed by both companies agreed that a security misconfiguration — security settings for the ELK Stack being manually disabled — led to the cybersecurity breach on June 18, 2020. Mr Cabalag then admitted on Thursday that he was responsible for the breach. The day before, he had viewed copies of log entries and snapshots taken from the ELK Stack from the day of the breach. Capgemini also informed him that its forensic expert found no evidence of tampering for these log entries. The report by Capgemini’s expert did not contain the log entries that the report prepared by Razer’s expert did, Mr Cabalag told the court. He said that he did not recall inserting a “#” command, which disabled the security settings of the Kibana application — one of the components of the ELK Stack. It provides search, viewing, analysis and data visualisation capabilities for data stored and indexed in Elasticsearch, which forms another part of the ELK Stack. Mr Cabalag’s move allowed unauthenticated access to the Kibana application. Razer contends that Capgemini breached its contractual obligations, such as ensuring that its IT systems were secure and making sure that its personnel — including Mr Cabalag — had the appropriate and adequate skill, qualifications and experience. Razer also claims that Capgemini was liable for the breach through its negligence, having owed Razer a duty of care as the subject-matter experts in the IT field.

SINGAPORE: Jetstar Group said on Friday (Jul 22) that it has "no intention of moving" to Changi Airport's Terminal 4, after the airport operator announced that 16 airlines will relocate progressively. The company said the decision to move was made unilaterally by Changi Airport Group (CAG). Jetstar Group mainly operates out of Terminal 1 at Changi Airport, with limited arrivals at Terminal 2. In a statement issued slightly over an hour after CAG officially announced Terminal 4's Sep 13 opening date and the relocation of 16 airlines to the terminal, Jetstar said: "We are extremely disappointed that the Changi Airport Group (CAG) has chosen to unilaterally announce a plan to relocate the Jetstar Group to Terminal 4 at Changi International Airport, before any agreement has been reached." CAG had said that Jetstar Group will move to Terminal 4 on Oct 25, joining airlines such as AirAsia Group, Cathay Pacific and Korean Air. "A joint study was only agreed to be undertaken last week and this announcement completely disregards that agreement and the impact a move would have on our customers, our people, and our operations," said Jetstar. "While we remain committed to working with CAG, today’s announcement by the airport ignores our concerns and goes against the spirit of the long-standing partnership we have built over the years. "Until an agreement is reached, we have no intention of moving and have informed CAG of that fact." CAG RESPONDS TO JETSTAR In response to Jetstar's statement, a CAG spokesman told CNA that the group's engagement with the airline regarding the move was not recent and had begun in 2019. The discussions had commenced before the COVID-19 crisis as Changi Airport was experiencing tight capacity during peak hours, CAG said. "The best solution was to move Jetstar to T4 which would provide headroom to support Jetstar's and other airlines' growth at Changi, while at the same time ensuring that passenger experience is not compromised," the spokesman said. With air travel resuming, CAG said there was an urgency to "rebalance the airport's traffic across its terminals quickly" to meet the expected air traffic demand in the upcoming end-year holiday season. The group added that it had explained to Jetstar that relocating to Terminal 4 was the only option that would allow the airport to optimally use its aircraft gates. "With 17 gates to support narrow body aircraft, T4 is a very good fit for Jetstar which currently operates predominately narrow-bodied aircraft," the spokesman said. "To facilitate the relocation, CAG has also accepted Jetstar's suggestion to form a joint taskforce to ensure a smooth transition for Jetstar to operate in T4." 16 AIRLINES RELOCATING TO TERMINAL 4 Terminal 4 was opened in 2017 with a capacity of 16 million passengers per year. It suspended operations in May 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Reopening the terminal will add to Changi Airport's capacity, "ensuring that the air hub can meet the increasing demand for air travel and support airlines’ plans to launch more flights", CAG said on Friday. Sixteen airlines will relocate to Terminal 4 in September and October, starting with Cathay Pacific and Korean Air on reopening day, CAG said. AirAsia Group will follow suit on Sep 15, while Cebu Pacific, Juneyao Air, Jeju Air, Bamboo Airways and HK Express will do so on Sep 20. Vietnam Airlines, VietJet Air and Thai VietJet Air will move two days later, followed by Jetstar Asia Airways and Jetstar Airways on Oct 25. Source: CNA/ta(ac)

SINGAPORE, 22 July 2022– Changi Airport Group (CAG) today announced that operations at Terminal 4 (T4) will resume on 13 September 2022, following a more than two-year hiatus due to the Covid-19 pandemic. With a capacity of 16 million passengers per annum, the reopening of T4 will add to Changi Airport’s capacity, ensuring that the air hub can meet the increasing demand for air travel, and support airlines’ plans to launch more flights. Over the next two months, CAG will conduct various operational readiness trials with the airlines and airport partners to ensure the smooth restart of operations in T4. Opened in 2017, T4 is Changi’s newest terminal with 21 contact gates[1]. It won the President’s Design Award Singapore for its innovative redesign of the airport experience. The Fast And Seamless Travel (FAST) check-in process in T4 was also conferred the Techblazer Award for best adoption of technology for a Smart Airport. Airlines moving to T4 Sixteen airlines will relocate to T4 progressively. Cathay Pacific and Korean Air will begin flight operations in T4 on 13 September 2022, followed by AirAsia Group on 15 September 2022. Cebu Pacific, Juneyao Air, Jeju Air, Bamboo Airways, and HK Express will do likewise on 20 September 2022. Other airlines such as Vietnam Airlines, VietJet Air and Thai VietJet Air will move to T4 on 22 September 2022, with Jetstar Group relocating to T4 on 25 October 2022. Please refer to the Annex A for the list of T4 airlines and their relocation dates. T4’s high degree of automation throughout the airport journey from check-in to boarding, will enable airlines to benefit from productivity gains. T4 also has sufficient narrow-body boarding gates to facilitate the operations of airlines with predominantly narrow-body planes in their fleet, reducing the need for bussing operations. Ensuring a smooth travel journey Shuttle bus services on both the landside and airside will provide connection for passengers and visitors between T4 and the other terminals. Besides taxi and private-hire vehicles, T4 will also be served by public buses (service numbers 24, 34, 36 and 110). As T4 has been designed to facilitate self-service processing, passengers can look forward to a seamless journey from check-in to immigration, and finally at boarding. They can also look forward to shopping delights and delectable F&B choices when the terminal reopens. More details on the options available will be shared closer to T4’s reopening date. CAG is also working with the lounge operator at T4 on suitable arrangements to cater to the needs of passengers. Mr Tan Lye Teck, CAG’s Executive Vice President of Airport Management, said, “The reopening of T4 will provide Changi Airport with much needed capacity to enable our airline partners to continue to grow and ride the wave of travel recovery, as well as support their business and operational needs. “As we gear up to serve more passengers during the peak year-end holiday season, the high degree of automation at T4 will help us overcome the challenge of a tight labour market. CAG will work closely with our airline and airport partners on trials and system tests over the next two months to ensure that all resources are in place for the smooth passage of passengers. We look forward to welcoming passengers again in T4.” High resolution images are available here. Please credit the images to Changi Airport Group. [1]17 for narrow-body aircraft and 4 for wide-body aircraft

Singapore, Singapore — Singapore hanged a convicted drug trafficker on Friday, the fifth execution in the city-state since March, after a court rejected a last-ditch appeal and despite pleas for clemency. The spate of hangings — which included the widely criticized execution of a mentally disabled man in April — has prompted growing calls for Singapore to abolish the death penalty. But the city-state, which has some of the world’s toughest anti-drugs laws, insists it remains an effective deterrent against trafficking. On Friday, Singaporean man Nazeri Lajim was executed in prison, the prisons service said in a statement to AFP. The 64-year-old was convicted in 2017 of possessing over 33 grams (1.1 ounces) of heroin “for the purpose of trafficking,” Singapore’s drug enforcement agency said. This was enough “to feed the addiction of about 400 abusers for a week,” it added. An appeals court on Thursday rejected a last-gasp plea, in which Nazeri appeared via video link, to stay the execution. Prominent local rights campaigner Kirsten Han told AFP that Nazeri had spent most of his life struggling with drug dependency, starting from the age of 14. “If we really cared about the well-being of people who use drugs, we would have given Nazeri and others like him meaningful support and space for recovery,” said Han. “Instead, he was punished with incarceration over and over again throughout his life.” After a hiatus of more than two years, the city-state resumed executions in March with the hanging of a Singaporean drug trafficker, and activists fear more will be carried out in coming months. FILE PHOTO An activist holds a candle during a vigil against the impending execution of Malaysian national Nagaenthran K. Dharmalingam, sentenced to death for trafficking heroin into Singapore, outside the Singaporean embassy in Kuala Lumpur on November 8, 2021. (Photo by Mohd RASFAN / AFP) The execution in April of Malaysian trafficker Nagaenthran K. Dharmalingam sparked international outrage due to concerns that he was mentally disabled. In a recent BBC interview, Home Affairs and Law Minister K. Shanmugam defended Singapore’s position on the death penalty, saying there was “clear evidence that it is a serious deterrent for would-be drug traffickers.” The United Nations, however, says that globally, the death penalty has not proven to be an effective deterrent and is incompatible with international human rights law, which only permits capital punishment for the most serious crimes.

Frozen chicken from Indonesia weighs about 2- 2.3 kg while those from other countries weigh about 1.5-1.6 kg. ST PHOTO: KELVIN CHNG SINGAPORE - A new farm to supply fresh chicken to Singapore could be up and running in Batam if there is healthy demand over the next year. Mr Suryo Pratomo, the Indonesian Ambassador to Singapore, said on Thursday (July 21) that he has talked to some producers in Indonesia who are looking into setting up the farm. They hope to have an understanding of the demand in Singapore by next year so that they can determine if they should set up a farm, he said. Issues like the size of the farm would have to be decided. "If we can set up the farm in Batam, it will not take a long time to bring live chickens to Singapore," he added. Last month, the director-general for animal husbandry and health at Indonesia's Agriculture Ministry, Dr Nasrullah, told The Straits Times that a team from the Singapore Food Agency (SFA) was in Indonesia on June 14 to assess some farms, slaughterhouses and processing facilities. Mr Suryo was speaking to reporters at Leong Hup Distribution's fully automated warehouse in Fishery Port Road, where the first shipment of frozen chicken from Indonesia arrived on Sunday. Mr Suryo said the consignment of 50 tonnes of frozen chicken came from Jakarta. The Straits Times understands that they have already been sold out, with chicken rice stalls forming the bulk of the buyers. More shipments are set to arrive in the weeks ahead. Mr Suryo said he expects a total of 1,000 tonnes of frozen chicken to arrive in Singapore by the end of the year. For comparison, Singapore imported close to 73,000 tonnes of chicken from Malaysia in 2021. On June 30, the SFA approved Indonesia as a new source of frozen, chilled and processed chicken meat for Singapore, joining a list of more than 20 accredited countries such as Brazil, Thailand and Australia. Previously , Indonesia had exported only salted eggs to Singapore. This came after Malaysia banned the export of whole chickens from June 1, in a bid to stabilise price and supplies in the country. Wet market poultry sellers in Singapore had to turn to selling frozen chicken. Prior to the ban, 34 per cent of Singapore's chicken supply came from Malaysia, with most chickens imported live and slaughtered here. Although Malaysia has since allowed exports of kampung and black chicken, the more common and affordable broiler chicken - which makes up the majority of Singapore's imports from Malaysia - remains banned. Dr Koh Poh Koon, Senior Minister of State for Sustainability and the Environment and Manpower , who was at the Leong Hup Distribution facility, said the authorities are monitoring the demand for Indonesian frozen chicken and will step up imports if needed. Dr Koh Poh Koon (second from right) visited importer Leong Hup Distribution Pte Ltd to observe the arrival of the shipment on July 21, 2022. ST PHOTO: KELVIN CHNG Mr Alfred Leek, procurement director at Leong Hup Distribution, said the frozen chickens from Indonesia are bigger - 2kg to 2.3 kg - than those his company imports from United States, Thailand, Brazil and Argentina, which are about 1.5kg to 1.6 kg. It takes four days for the frozen chicken to be shipped from Indonesia, compared to 30 to 60 days from the United States, Brazil and Argentina. Mr Leek said that the batch from Indonesia is the first time frozen chickens are being brought in with the head and feet intact. "The industry now has a new option," he said. Professor William Chen, director of Nanyang Technological University's food science and technology programme, said the chicken export ban from Malaysia has helped Singapore look for new sources more proactively. He added: "Having frozen chicken from Indonesia opens a new supply source as Indonesia has not been a main supplier of chicken to Singapore so far."

SINGAPORE: The Singapore dollar has been growing in strength and trading at record levels against several currencies. For instance, the Japanese yen. At the start of the year, one Singapore dollar would get you about 85 yen. This rose to an all-time high of 99.71 yen on Thursday (Jul 21) – marking an increase of about 17 per cent from the start of the year. The Singapore dollar also broke its record against the Malaysian ringgit on Thursday as it touched 3.2062, up 4 per cent from about 3.08 at the start of January. The local currency has been strengthening against the euro and the pound as well, touching historical peaks last week. Wall Street Journal data showed the euro trading at S$1.4297 on Thursday, just shy of the S$1.3969 low on Jul 14. At the start of the year, one euro could get S$1.5352. The pound also saw its worst day against the Singdollar on Jul 14, hitting a record trough of S$1.6587. It started the year above S$1.80. Meanwhile, the Singdollar is trading at multi-year highs against regional peers such as the South Korean won and the Thai baht. What’s behind the Singdollar’s outperformance against these currencies? A stronger currency is obviously good news for those looking to travel, but are there implications for businesses and the broader Singapore economy? We ask the experts. WHAT’S HAPPENING? A divergence in global central bank actions and country-specific factors have swayed the performances of various currencies. It all starts with a more hawkish US Federal Reserve whose aggressive rate hikes have boosted the US dollar. Investors seeking a haven from global economic uncertainties have also flocked to the greenback, further fuelling the dollar’s ascent against other currencies. For example, the euro fell below parity against the greenback on Jul 13 for the first time in nearly 20 years. Europe’s single currency has recovered to 1.0176 on Thursday afternoon but remains down against the US currency by more than 10 per cent down year to date. “The starting point of understanding all these currency movements is the Fed and its rate hikes due to inflation. Then you look at the other countries to see who has or has not matched the United States in terms of rate hikes,” said DBS Group’s senior foreign exchange strategist Philip Wee. This monetary policy divergence is perhaps most stark in Japan, where an accommodative policy stance remains firmly in place due to economic concerns. The Bank of Japan (BOJ) on Thursday left its rock-bottom interest rates unchanged, reiterating that the recovering economy still needs support. With the BOJ remaining an outlier among its peers, the yen will likely continue to underperform, said MUFG’s senior currency analyst Jeff Ng. In Europe, a precarious growth outlook had kept central bankers dovish until Thursday when the European Central Bank took the first step to raise interest rates for the first time in 11 years. The euro has also been pressured by Europe’s front-line exposure to the Russia-Ukraine war. The war has sparked an energy crisis, alongside fears of a potentially long and deep recession in the region. Some global banks are forecasting a recession for the euro area as soon as the third quarter. Likewise in the United Kingdom, inflation at a 40-year high and a recession risk have added to the downward trend in the pound. The recent resignation of Prime Minister Boris Johnson has deepened the uncertainty hanging over Britain’s economy, said Mr Wee, whose current estimates for the pound entail the scenarios of an economic hard landing and political crisis. For other countries such as India and the Philippines, currency weakness can also be attributed to their own widening trade deficits amid elevated commodity prices, according to Mr Ng. Back home, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has tightened monetary policy four times in about nine months, with the latest on Jul 14 being an off-cycle surprise to re-centre the mid-point of the Singapore dollar nominal effective exchange rate policy band “up to its prevailing level”. Altogether, Mr Ng noted that the Singdollar has appreciated about 4.4 per cent against a basket of currencies since the MAS’s first move in October last year. Most economists believe that further tightening is in store if inflation in Singapore continues to heat up. Meanwhile, continued growth in the Singapore economy has given the local currency some additional upward momentum against regional peers, Mr Ng said. “The key manufacturing sector continues to be supported by electronics. Modern services like financial services are also doing quite well, while those that were previously hit by the pandemic are on the way for recovery,” he added. “The economy still doing relatively well is another reason for Singdollar’s outperformance against most currencies.” That said, the local currency remains largely on the backfoot against the turbocharged US dollar. Even after the jolt from MAS’ latest tightening move, the Singdollar last traded at 1.3938 against the US dollar on Thursday afternoon, down about 4 per cent year to date. THE WINNERS AND THE LOSERS OF A STRONGER SINGDOLLAR? An appreciation in the Singdollar against most currencies means that for those drawing up travel plans to destinations such as Europe or Japan, the exchange rates will be in their favour. Theoretically, importers or businesses with operations overseas may also reap some benefits while exporters, on the flip side, could be in for some pain. But experts told CNA that the effects may be less clear cut this time. For one, Mr Ng pointed out that much of international trade remains priced in US dollars. “So while the Singdollar may have gained against other currencies, weakness against the US dollar still means that any potential benefit will be mitigated.” Agreeing, Mr Ang Yuit, vice-president of the Association of Small and Medium Enterprises, said while there may be some “positive help” when it comes to offsetting supply chain costs, any benefit from a firmer Singdollar this time round will “be more targeted” based on where a company sources for raw materials, bases its production and eventually sells its products to. “Currency fluctuation and its impact on businesses is not that simple and straightforward,” he said. “Take for example a garment business which most likely has its production based in Vietnam and then exported elsewhere. In this case, the Singdollar going up does not really help the company much, apart from allowing them to invest or hire more in Vietnam for example.” On exports, Minister of State for Trade and Industry Alvin Tan said in a Parliamentary speech that a stronger Singdollar is “not expected to have a significant negative impact”. This is because Singapore’s exports are primarily dependent on demand, rather than the exchange rate. They are also “high value-added products and services, where demand is less sensitive to price and therefore, exchange rate changes”, he told the House in May. CIMB Private Banking economist Song Seng Wun cited the strong performance in Singapore’s non-oil domestic exports thus far, noting that it would be “hard to say there’s a blanket impact” on the country's exporters. Nonetheless, some negative repercussions can still be gleaned from the MAS’ annual report released this week, said Mr Song. The central bank recorded a loss of S$7.4 billion in the last financial year, citing lower investment gains on the country’s foreign reserves and a stronger Singdollar. This means that companies with operations overseas but report earnings in the home currency will face similar negative foreign exchange translation effects. “Let’s say you are a hospitality operator with many hotels in different parts of Europe and Japan. As long as you report your earnings in the Singapore dollar, you will get the currency translation losses,” the veteran Singapore economy watcher explained. In addition, a stronger Singdollar may throw up some hurdles for the recovery of the local tourism sector, as foreign holidaymakers opt for cheaper destinations, said Mr Ng. More generally, currency movements also signal broader shifts or concerns in the world economy. “The fear is that with central banks going for monetary policy tightening and other uncertainties remaining, there might be a recession around the corner and an impending slowdown in global demand, which for open economies like Singapore, won’t be so good news,” Mr Song said. A TURNING POINT LATER DOWN THE ROAD? Things could be changing, according to Mr Wee, who foresees a “turning point” soon for the US dollar's rally. “Dollar strength has been riding a lot on safe haven flows so far, without really reflecting the deterioration in the US economic numbers. Also normally, when you get into the second half of the rate-hike cycle, the market will start thinking about the impact of the hikes and the recession risk in 2023.” Further, more global central banks are now catching up with monetary policy tightening. “The inflation problem started out as a supply-side issue but supply chain disruptions, as we are hearing, are easing. The problem is now demand-side (factors) like wages and corporate pricing ... and that has prompted other central banks to jump in with bigger hikes,” said Mr Wee. Mr Ng also reckoned that the Singdollar may run out of strength against other currencies next year when economic prospects dim in face of possible economic slowdowns in the US and China. Source: CNA/sk