Quoteworthy: "As a base from which to run a business it’s very, very poor today" — James Riley, CEO of hotel chain Mandarin Oriental, lamenting Hong Kong’s strict travel restrictions.
GST hike needed to ‘build a better Singapore for tomorrow’: Lawrence Wong
The impending hike in Singapore’s goods and services tax (GST) is necessary to “build a better Singapore for tomorrow”, says Minister of Finance Lawrence Wong in a Facebook post on Feb 9.
Wong’s post comes at a time when Singapore is at a “critical turning point” amid the Covid-19 pandemic.
“To do so, we will need to invest more in our people and our social infrastructure. The GST increase will help generate the revenues we need for this purpose,” he adds in a video clip that accompanied the post.
The additional revenue from the GST will go towards supporting Singapore’s growing healthcare needs and helping the nation to take better care of its seniors.
See also: How will the Fed rate cuts affect me?
“I know many of you are concerned about the cost of living and this is why we will have a comprehensive set of measures in place to cushion the impact of GST on lower-income and middle-income households, as well as retirees,” he says.
For instance, a couple earning $5,000 a month with two children will receive around $6,500 in benefits under the Assurance Package, says Wong.
This works out to around 10 times the extra GST they have to pay per year, he adds.
See also: MAS set to hold monetary policy as inflation persists
“Besides these transitional offset measures, we will also permanently enhance the GST voucher scheme to better support our lower-income families.”
More details will be shared in the upcoming Budget, which will be delivered in Parliament at 3.30pm on Feb 18. — Felicia Tan
Man faces two charges under SFA for fraudulently inducing others to deal in shares
A man has been charged for offences under the Securities and Futures Act (SFA) on Feb 9, says the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS).
The investigation was jointly conducted by the central bank and the Commercial Affairs Department (CAD) of the Singapore Police Force (SPF).
Kenneth Goh Jia Poh has been accused of making false statements in two Telegram chat groups to induce others to trade in multiple securities listed on the Singapore Exchange (SGX).
The statements were made between July and August 2020.
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Goh is also accused of engaging in a conspiracy with another person to make similar false sentences in the same Telegram chat groups.
Goh faces a total of two charges under section 200(1)(a) of the SFA. The two charges comprise one count of making false statements and one count of conspiracy to make false statements to induce others to deal in securities.
He was previously charged for earlier offences relating to false trading and unauthorised use of trading accounts under the SFA on April 8, 2021.
If convicted, Goh faces imprisonment for a term which may extend to a maximum of seven years, or a fine of up to $250,000, or both, for each charge under section 200(1) (a) SFA.
On Dec 10, 2020, the Singapore Exchange Regulation (SGX RegCo) had warned the public of “possible market misconduct activities” using Telegram chat groups and other channels where investment strategies are discussed.
Wrongdoers in these channels may engage in “pump and dump” schemes where they would promote interest in a particular security for their own benefit, wrote the market regulator in the statement.
Wrongdoers, who usually work alone or in groups, would encourage other members in the chat group to trade a particular security. When more members are incited to trade, thus raising the price of the security, the wrongdoers would then sell shares in that security that they had accumulated earlier, at a higher price. — Felicia Tan
Investments in Singapore’s FinTech industry hit five-year high in 2021 at US$3.94 bil: KPMG
Investments in Singapore’s FinTech industry hit a five-year high in 2021, with 191 deals valued at US$3.94 billion ($5.3 billion), according to KPMG’s Pulse Fintech 2H2021 report.
This is a 59% surge compared to the transaction value recorded in 2020 at US$2.48 billion across 139 venture capital, private equity and M&A deals.
KPMG attributed the surge to Singapore’s measures to boost the capital market, including the special purpose acquisition company (spac) listing framework introduced to position the country as a “choice location” for fast-growing companies and unicorns to go public in.
Singapore also saw record levels of investments in cryptocurrency and blockchain, with US$1.48 billion transacted across 82 deals in 2021 compared to the US$109.75 million recorded across 26 deals in 2020. The surging investment and deal activity reflect growing recognition for the potential role of crypto and its underlying technologies in modern financial systems, said KPMG.
This trend is mirrored in global investments in the crypto and blockchain space, which rose dramatically to a record high of US$30 billion in 2021, compared to US$5.4 billion in the preceding year. Across Asia Pacific, crypto and blockchain deal value rose to US$3.14 billion last year from US$386.28 million recorded in 2020.
KPMG noted that cryptocurrencies are expected to receive continued attention from regulators in Singapore, as the city-state tries to balance the benefits of financial innovation with any inherent risks associated with the space.
This will include considerations on how infrastructure can be secured to protect the large amount of capital deployed in the crypto market, as service providers aim to scale and innovate to attract more consumers into this market.
“Given how many banks are beginning to see the major limitations inherent in their legacy architecture and technologies, we are also expecting a surge in investment into banking replacements to help them rethink core banking services,” said Anton Ruddenklau, KPMG International global FinTech leader.
Although payments remain the hottest area for global FinTech investment in 2021, Singapore’s payment space fell behind crypto and blockchain investments at US$628.41 million.
There was, however, a nine-fold increase in payments-related deals locally, up from US$60 million in 2020. The payments space is made robust with continued interest in areas like “buy now, pay later”, embedded banking and open banking aligned solutions.
FinTech funding in Asia Pacific grew to US$27.5 billion overall in 2021. Other countries that saw record high FinTech investments last year include India and South Korea at US$7.2 billion and US$3 billion, respectively. — Khairani Afifi Noordin
Former Midas CEO Chew charged
Patrick Chew Hwa Kang, former CEO of Midas Holdings, has been charged on Feb 10 under the Companies Act for “failing to use reasonable diligence in the discharge of his duties as a director of Midas”.
If convicted, Chew faces a jail term of up to 12 months or a fine of up to $5,000.
Midas Holdings was a popular stock, with investors taken in by its business of building parts used by China’s fast-growing highspeed rail industry.
However, the company soon lost control over its operating subsidiaries based in China, with reports surfacing in early 2018 of a web of loans and guarantees that have been made involving Midas’ chairman-cum-largest shareholder Chen Wei Ping and parties related to him.
The deals came to light only after lawsuits commenced in China against Midas’ subsidiaries from creditors.
In an unprecedented move, Chen was removed from his position by the Singapore Exchange.
In a statement by the Singapore Police, the charge relates to Chew’s failure to exercise reasonable supervision over the financial affairs of Midas’ subsidiaries, namely Jilin Midas Aluminium Industries (JMA) and Luoyang Midas Aluminium Industries (LYMA).
“Chew had allegedly ceded control of his legal representative stamps for JMA and LYMA, which were then used to enter into loans or stand as loan guarantors in the name of the two subsidiaries.
“The value of these loans and guarantees amounted to RMB159.5 million ($32.7 million) and RMB264.5 million respectively.
“Midas subsequently announced their discovery of these loans and guarantees, entered into between 2015 and 2017, in February 2018,” adds the police.
