More companies are set to freeze wages over the next year as business confidence weakens due to ongoing economic uncertainties, a Singapore Business Federation (SBF) survey released on Thursday (Aug 28) has found. Business satisfaction with the current state of the economy has slipped to 33 per cent, from 35 per cent the previous year; more companies are now expecting conditions to worsen than improve (*see amendment note) over the next 12 months. This growing pessimism is translating into more cautious wage policies. The share of businesses planning to freeze wages rose to 41 per cent, from 35 per cent; those intending to bump up salaries fell to 59 per cent, from 64 per cent in last year’s survey.   The wage freeze trend is being driven primarily by smaller firms, with 43 per cent of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) planning to hold wages steady, against just 28 per cent of large companies.     Just over half of companies increased wages in the past year and plan to continue doing so over the next 12 months, with banking and insurance firms alongside manufacturers leading the way in salary hikes. In contrast, businesses in the real estate activities, and construction and civil engineering sectors are intending to maintain a wage freeze. Tariff impact, business worries The perceived impact of US tariffs on Singapore businesses has eased: the proportion rating the effects as “negative” fell to 59 per cent in July, from 81 per cent in April. Still, overall business confidence weakened in the second quarter, with the Business Sentiment Index slipping 1.1 points to 55.4, from 56.5 in Q1. At the sector level, hospitality, administrative support services and IT firms remain the most pessimistic about prospects, while health and social services and education businesses are more upbeat.     Rising manpower costs remain the top workforce challenge for businesses, though the proportion citing this as a concern eased to 65 per cent, from 75 per cent in 2024. Upskilling and reskilling difficulties have emerged as the second-biggest challenge, with nearly half of businesses (47 per cent) now flagging this as a concern, up sharply from 25 per cent previously. Meanwhile, worries about foreign manpower policies that drive up costs have moderated to 45 per cent from 53 per cent, but still rank among the top five workforce challenges. Hiring outlook and retraining Hiring intentions have weakened, with 36 per cent of businesses expecting to expand headcount over the next 12 months, down from 40 per cent in 2024. However, this trend varies by company size. Large firms have become more optimistic about hiring, with 41 per cent planning to expand headcount, compared with 35 per cent before. In contrast, SMEs have grown more cautious, with hiring intentions dropping to 36 per cent, from 42 per cent last year. As for workforce development, the survey found that only 18 per cent of businesses have fully embraced skills-first hiring practices. Many cited uncertainty over whether candidates with adjacent skills can perform required tasks and concerns about additional training needs as reasons for not adopting these practices. Companies want more support to adopt such practices, with 44 per cent seeking financial grants and 33 per cent calling for skills-based recruitment portals to better match employers with jobseekers. Two-thirds of businesses trained or upskilled staff in the past year, down from 71 per cent in 2024. Cost concerns topped the list of training barriers (48 per cent), alongside worries about having insufficient manpower to cover for staff undergoing training (48 per cent). Other challenges include difficulty measuring returns on training investments (31 per cent), and fears that employees may leave before training benefits materialise (31 per cent). The survey also found that three in 10 businesses implemented job-redesign initiatives, primarily targeting productivity and innovation improvements (63 per cent), followed by digitalisation (40 per cent), sustainability (34 per cent) and internationalisation (15 per cent). Employee resistance to change (42 per cent), however, remains the biggest obstacle to these initiatives, along with the need to upskill staff to meet new or revised job scopes (29 per cent) and resource constraints (27 per cent). Low-wage workers While wage raises are not expected on the whole, 66 per cent of businesses still intend to raise lower-wage workers’ salaries in the next 12 months, up from 64 per cent last year. More large companies (69 per cent) plan to increase wages for lower-wage workers than SMEs (65 per cent). Separately, 57 per cent of businesses have adopted the National Wages Council’s recommended wage increase for lower-wage workers, up from 51 per cent in 2024. Among companies that did not follow the recommendations, the most common reasons cited were that they are already paying lower-wage staff at market rates (42 per cent), poor company performance (36 per cent) and concerns about rising business costs (34 per cent). The adoption of the Progressive Wage Model (PWM) among businesses has declined to 32 per cent, from 39 per cent previously. Companies that have implemented the model cite high adoption costs that hurt competitiveness and difficulties in finding time for workers to attend training as the main challenges. Beyond financial support, businesses are seeking more accessible training options, practical guidance on implementing PWM requirements and recognition as PWM employers.    

An all-you-can-eat $10 halal buffet at month-old Onz Buffet Restaurant by Bijan at mixed-use development Grandlink Square in Paya Lebar has gone viral. What started as a one-month trial for halal-certified catering and events space company Bijan, quickly became something bigger.  For just ten bucks, diners enjoy free-flow access to about 14 rotating dishes at lunch (11am to 2pm) or dinner (5pm to 8pm). There are a mix of local and international flavours — from different types of biryanis to their popular fish curry. CEO of Bijan, Amaran SK, tells 8days.sg that they originally expected about 40 diners per meal — but on a recent Sunday, they ended up serving more than 500 people. Sundays at Paya Lebar often draw a large Indonesian and Filipino crowd, so the kitchen added their native dishes like nasi uduk and chicken adobo to the usual spread. It turned out to be a hit. Amaran adds: “We want to break the mindset that halal food is only for Muslims,” noting that their customers come from all races, with vegetarian options also on the menu. How does the eatery manage to stay profitable at just $10 per head? Read on. No part of this story or photos can be reproduced without permission from 8days.sg. 1of10 Photo: Instagram/jimmyfooddiary Owns the space where restaurant sits Amaran tells us that Bijan started off as a restaurant years ago, but soon closed during the pandemic, later pivoting into event space rental, management and catering for Muslim weddings and other large-scale events. The company owns three large event spaces that serve as ballrooms at the basement of Grandlink Square that seat between 150 to 400 pax each.    Incidentally, the company also owns a shop space on the ground floor of the same building. “We didn’t know what to do with it, so we decided to run a buffet there to test out our catering dishes [to see which ones were popular],” Amaran shares.  This might explain why the company can afford to charge just $10 a person for an all-you-can-eat buffet — it does not have to pay rent for its restaurant space, the biggest cost for most eateries. In fact, its parent company charges for usage of its event spaces downstairs. 2of10 Photo: Google/Vincent “There’re definitely people who take advantage of the all-you-can-eat deal” Amaran reveals that the buffet has been profitable, albeit just enough. While profits aren’t enormous, Bijan is already considering opening more $10 buffet outlets if business continues to grow, he says. Subsequent calls by 8days.sg to clarify if this meant the company owns more shop spaces elsewhere went unanswered.  What Amaran did say: “Our [event] catering prices usually start from $10 per pax too. We import ingredients to manage costs”. 8days.sg’s calls to follow up on why imported food costs less went unanswered after our initial chat.    What about folks who have stomachs that are like bottomless pits? “There are definitely people who take advantage of the all-you-can-eat deal, but there are others who eat modest portions, which balances things out,” says Amaran. We’re told that the company's idea for the buffet restaurant came on a Friday and just three days later, Onz Buffet opened for business. The no-frills, non-air-conditioned setup features your standard chafing dishes lined up along a counter, plastic chairs and wooden tables. 3of10 Initially started as a one-month trial for catering biz  The buffet started out as a one-month trial to test 60 new dishes from their 200-strong menu — but it took off almost immediately. “We didn’t do any advertising, but people started sharing it on social media and the turnout was huge,” says Amaran. 4of10 Since opening on 28 July, the crowd just keeps growing. What began as a cosy 40-seater soon spilled outdoors and into their basement ballroom venue, squeezing in up to 70 diners at a time. The restaurant doesn’t take reservations, but there usually aren’t long queues as most people eat quickly and go — though there have been times when they’ve had to turn customers away. 5of10 Desserts that come with the $5 add-on Photo: Google/Joanne Choo Add $5 for dessert and air-con  While the standard buffet goes for $10 per person, you can top up $5 for a “premium” version, which gets you desserts like ice cream and cakes, plus the perk of air-conditioned seating at Bijan’s event ballroom in the basement of the building. 6of10 For $15 instead of $10, you get to dine in this air-conditioned space  Photo: Google/Joanne Choo Food not topped up quickly enough, complain netizens However, some netizens point out that the restaurant does not replenish the dishes after they run out. A Facebook comment by Aloysius Yeo reads: “They do not top up the food. So if you miss being earlier, you eat the leftovers.” In response to that, Amaran says, “Our central kitchen is located in Bedok. We can deliver the food over to the restaurant when it runs out.” Our advice? Go early.   7of10 Photo: Google/PK Lai Rubbish bags filled with leftovers weighed Interestingly, the restaurant staff weighs rubbish bags of uneaten leftovers after each buffet session to monitor wastage. “We weigh the rubbish bags to [gauge] if that day’s menu is good or not,” says Amaran. “If a dish is often left untouched, it means it’s not as good,” he explains of how they decide which dishes to keep or discard on their catering menu. He notes that carbs like mee goreng or bee hoon goreng don’t fare as well, while meats and seafood are usually wiped out first. On average, the bags amount to about 10 to 15 percent of the total food served per buffet, a number Amaran notes is “a healthy amount [of wastage]” for most buffets. 8of10 A Google reviewer's plate from the buffet Photo: Google/Joanne Choo Biryani and fish curry especially popular  Onz Buffet’s star dish is its biryani, which comes in different styles — Indian, Pakistani and Arab — and is usually served on Fridays, when Muslims traditionally enjoy biryani after their prayers. “There was once an Arab customer who came down just for the biryani — he separated the meat and sides and only ate the rice,” Amaran chuckles. 9of10 Photo: Google/Vincent “It’s really, really worth it” The affordable buffet has caught the eye of Makansutra founder and food critic KF Seetoh, who posted his review on Instagram. He approves of the fish curry: “Wow! The tamarind and sour raw mango bits are in there.” Of the mutton biryani, he declares that its standard is that of a good hawker stall. “I don’t know how you do it, but congratulations,” he tells the buffet restaurant. “It’s a great idea to help Singapore fight through this high cost of living era. It’s really, really worth it!” Check out their Instagram page for their daily rotating menu. 10of10 Photo: Instagram/jimmyfooddiary The details Onz Buffet Restaurant is at Guillemard Rd, Ground Floor, 511 Grandlink Square, S399849. Open daily 11am - 2 pm; 5pm - 8pm. More info via website and Instagram.   

S$0.004     worthless

Entertainment company mm2 Asia : 1B0 0% on Monday (Sep 1) announced that Cathay Cineplexes will undergo voluntary liquidation. This comes as the struggling cinema chain is unable to continue operating as a going concern. Cathay Cineplexes faced multiple payment demands from landlords of its outlets over arrears and other monies owed over recent months. “Cathay Cineplexes had attempted to negotiate amicable resolutions with the various creditors, but (it) was unable to arrive at mutually agreeable restructuring outcomes of its payment obligations owed to these creditors,” mm2 Asia said.   The board of Cathay Cineplexes will proceed with a creditors’ voluntary liquidation of the cinema chain, after determining that it is “no longer feasible” to continue operating as a going concern, the media company said. Shares of mm2 Asia closed Friday 20 per cent or S$0.001 lower at S$0.004.   https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/cathay-cineplexes-undergo-voluntary-liquidation

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