Govt to offer steady supply of residential land in 2013: analysts

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SINGAPORE: The government is expected to offer a steady supply of land for residential developments in the first half of 2013.

Property-watchers said the sites offered this year have seen strong interest from developers, pushing land prices up by an average of some 10 per cent on-year.

To meet demand, the government has ramped up its land sales programme this year.

For both the first and the second half of 2012, it offered sites which could yield more than 14,000 private homes.

Of those, about half were placed under the Confirmed List, and the remaining under the Reserve List.

Analysts said the demand has been strong, with an average of 6 to 8 bids per site for land plots costing above S$200 million.

New land supply is expected to be on tap in the first six months of 2013 as well.

Nicholas Mak, executive director of SLP International Property, said: "The government is likely to offer about the same number of development sites on the Confirmed List with about another 12 to 15 other development sites on the Reserve List.

"The number of private homes that can be potentially be developed on these Confirmed List sites will probably be 6,500 to 7,500."

Under the Reserve List system, a site will only be put up for tender if the developer's minimum bid price is acceptable to the government.

Analysts said there will likely be sites for more executive condominiums, private homes and mixed developments.

Some of these sites could be in Woodlands, Jurong Lakeside and the north-eastern part of the island.

Chua Yang Liang, head of research at Jones Lang LaSalle, said: "Your Punggol, Sengkang belt coming down downtown, that area is likely to see significant proportion of overall sales, and the state will continue to use the sale programme to drive urbanisation in these areas."

Some analysts said the price gap between land prices under the government land sales programme and collective sales has narrowed somewhat this year and it could spur more activity in the enbloc sales market in 2013.

Donald Han, special advisor at HSR, said: "The pace of price increase that we saw, about 10 to 15 percent in the last 12 months for just government land sales of sites.

"That narrowing factor would moved some developers from GLS market to look at collective sale market.

"(Developers could look into the collective en bloc sale) as a purpose of land banking, rather than the GLS (which is) more for immediate turnaround, and sell into the market place)."

Analysts expect prices for government land to continue to increase, but at a slower pace next year.

- CNA/lp



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New anti-China Asian trilateral grouping emerges; India, Indonesia, Australia to hold talks

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NEW DELHI: India, Indonesia and Australia will form the first "troika" to confer on the Indian Ocean, a first step towards a trilateral grouping in Asia. This new engagement is believed to be significant as all three countries seek to hedge against possible Chinese expansionism.

Peter Varghese, Australian high commissioner and new foreign secretary, said Canberra would be taking charge of the Indian Ocean regional grouping next year, and an India-Australia-Indonesia trilateral would be one of the early deliverables. Talking to TOI on the eve of his departure, Varghese said, "We will have a troika with Indonesia, the incoming vice-chair. This will be a good window to do things, to push practical agenda for IORARC."

The Indian Ocean is proving to be an important strategic outreach for India, as well as Australia, which now focuses more on what it calls the "Indo-Pacific" rather than East Asia. It has created convergences between India and countries like Australia in ways that would not have happened earlier.

Varghese said, "I think we are in a qualitative new space in the (bilateral) relationship. We have now cleared the obstacles that were holding the relationship back. The students' safety issue, while we don't want to be complacent about it, I think is behind us. The uranium issue is now resolved. We've now got some clear air in the relationship."

India is looming higher in the Australian mindset. India, as Varghese points out, is not only the source for the largest number of legal migrants into Australia, it's also one of the greatest sources for skilled labour. The Australian government's recent white paper places a big emphasis on the India relationship. For the first time, both countries are working on geo-political and security issues — the two nations have quietly launched a bilateral dialogue on East Asia.

The big thing, Varghese says, will be an India-Australia approach towards building up the East Asia Summit into an important element of a regional security architecture. "This is a time of some fluidity strategically in Asia, and it's very instant. We are trying to create institutions that help us manage what is going to be a historic transition in the region. The history of Asia is not strong on institutions. It offers a good prospect to get a single institution that can deal with big economic and strategic issues in an integrated way. Australia and India have common objectives."

Last week's East Asia summit showed how the forum can be easily hijacked by territorial disputes. Varghese observes, "The next EAS will be held in the background of a number of concerns about what is happening in relation with territorial disputes in the region. It would be a natural thing for the EAS to discuss that. We all want to see those issues resolved in a way that uphold certain core principles, the most important of which is the peaceful resolution of disputes and also a resolution which respects international law, freedom of navigation and freedom of the high seas."

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Space Pictures This Week: Space "Horse," Mars Rover, More

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Record Powerball Jackpot to Grow Even Bigger

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The jackpot for Wednesday's Powerball drawing now stands at $425 million -- the richest Powerball pot ever -- and it's likely to get even sweeter.


"Back in January, we moved Powerball from being a $1 game to $2," says Mary Neubauer, a spokeswoman for the Iowa lottery. "We thought at the time that this would mean bigger and faster-growing jackpots."


It's proved true. The total, she says, "has been taking huge jumps -- another $100 million since Saturday." (The most recent drawing, on Saturday night, produced no winning numbers.)


Until now, the biggest Powerball pot on record -- $365 million -- was won in 2006 by eight Lincoln, Neb., co-workers.


In Photos: Biggest Lotto Jackpot Winners


Lottery officials in Iowa, where Powerball is headquartered, have started getting phone calls from all around the world. "When it gets this big," says Neubauer, "we start getting inquiries from Canada and Europe from people wanting to know if they can buy a ticket. They ask if they can FedEx us the money."






Don Smith/The Record (Bergen County)/AP Photo











Powerball Drawing No Winner; Jackpot Grows to $425 Million Watch Video









Powerball Fever: Millions Chase the Chance to Hit Jackpot Watch Video







The answer she has to give them, she says, is: "Sorry, no. You have to buy a ticket in a member state from a licensed retail location."


About 80 percent of players don't choose their own Powerball number, opting instead for a computer-generated one.


Asked if there's anything players can do to improve their odds of winning, Neubauer says no -- apart from buying a ticket, of course.


Lottery officials put the odds of winning Wednesday's Powerball pot at one in 175 million, meaning you are 25 times more likely to win an Academy Award.


Skip Garibaldi, a professor of mathematics at Emory University in Atlanta, provides additional perspective: You are three times more likely to die from a falling coconut, he says; seven times more likely to die from fireworks, "and way more likely to die from flesh-eating bacteria" (115 fatalities a year) than you are to win the Powerball lottery.


Segueing, then, from death to life, Garibaldi notes that even the best physicians, equipped with the most up-to-date equipment, can't predict the timing of a child's birth with much accuracy.


"But let's suppose, however, that your doctor managed to predict the day, the hour, the minute and the second your baby would be born," Garibaldi says. The doctor's uncanny prediction would be "at least 100 times" more likely than your winning Wednesday.


Even though he knows the odds all too well, Garibaldi says he'll usually play the lottery. "When it gets this big, I'll buy a couple of tickets. It's kind of exciting. You get this feeling of anticipation. You get to think about the fantasy."


So will he be purchasing two tickets for Wednesday's Powerball? "I can't," he tells ABC News. "I'm in California" -- one of eight states that doesn't offer Powerball.



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More public companies in the Philippines eyeing Singapore market for funds

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SINGAPORE: More Filipino companies may be looking at the Singapore market to raise funds, with some eyeing a dual listing while others an initial public offering (IPO), say analysts.

Public companies in the Philippines that seek to list on the Singapore Exchange (SGX) usually do so to raise their profile and broaden their investor base.

Filipino food producer Alliance Select Foods International is seeking to list on Singapore's SGX-Catalist board in 2013, a move that will make it the first publicly-traded Filipino company to debut in Singapore.

Alliance Select Foods International was incorporated in 2003 and listed on the Philippines Stock Exchange in 2006, with Singapore investors forming its largest shareholders.

"Singapore is a regional hub for finance especially in ASEAN. We felt very strongly because of our strong Singapore based shareholders, we felt that it was natural for us to seek a dual listing here in Singapore," said Jonathan Dee, president and CEO of Alliance Select Foods International

"The interest rate in Singapore is (also) much lower than that of the Philippines… we chose the Catalist primarily because of our size. Our market cap today is 50 million dollars and so Catalist would fit perfectly with that," he added.

Experts also said that it was time for local investors to start looking at investment opportunities in the Philippine stock exchange, as the Filipino market gains attention in the international arena.

The Philippines' stock market is Asia's 12th largest with a market capitalisation of about US$212 billion.

"There are international investors, especially banks, which are actually overweight in the Philippines in terms of their Asia exposure, primarily because they see Philippines as a re-flation story," said Daryl Liew, head of Portfolio Management at Reyl.

"It's pretty much a domestic consumption play which is a pretty hot theme at this point in time. And actually if you look at the stock market performance, the Philippines stock market is probably the best stock market performance year to date," said Mr Liew.

"Last I checked it's up about 27 per cent, which is higher than the Thai stock market, the Indian stock market and the Hang Seng," he added.

Some public companies in the Philippines are already popular with international institutional investors.

Once the Philippines stock exchange is connected with the ASEAN trading link, analysts say these new linkages will help elevate its profile as well as increase retail investors' interest in Filipino public companies.

The ASEAN trading link comprises seven exchanges in six countries, with the Singapore Exchange and Bursa Malaysia being the first two exchanges to connect in September 2012. The stock exchange of Thailand followed suit on 15th October.

- CNA/jc



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Congress in habit of denigrating institutions: BJP

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NEW DELHI: BJP today hit out at Congress after former CAG official R P Singh did a volte-face on his claims on the national auditor's 2G report, saying the ruling party is in the habit of damning and denigrating institutions whenever it stands embarrassed.

"This has become the habit of Congress party. Whenever it embarrasses them or whenever they are in trouble, they try to damn the institutions. They have done the same thing earlier also. You are all aware, denigrating and destabilising the institution from time to time is the old habit of Congress party starting from the Emergency times," BJP leader Venkaiah Naidu said.

He cited the examples of the government expanding institutions like the Election Commission and said it was attempting to do so for the CAG and even the PAC.

Naidu also criticised Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for starting the criticism of CAG and undermining the Public Accounts Committee when he questioned the figures reported in the CAG report on 2G.

"On the first day the Prime Minister said that these figures are disputable and we will challenge it before the Public Accounts Committee. PAC is an independent body of Parliament. The Prime Minister is saying what the PAC is going to do?," Naidu said.

"This is unfortunate. The Congress is totally exposed. Congress should reply to the nation on this issue," he demanded.

The BJP leader said the ruling party should have taken care before raising fingers at institutions like the CAG on the basis of claims by retired officials like R P Singh, who has made a U-turn on his allegations.

He said the government's attempts to denigrating institutions is "not a small issue, it is a serious matter."

Former CAG official R P Singh had yesterday said, "I knew the content of the report...There was a written order. I had to comply. There is no scope for refusing. You would earn wrath," he said.

Singh said there "is no tradition of disagreeing or opposing orders of CAG in my department".

He had also said that he was misquoted by a newspaper that PAC Chairman Murli Manohar Joshi sought to influence the CAG report on 2G whilst the report was being prepared. PTI

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Distant Dwarf Planet Secrets Revealed

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Orbiting at the frozen edges of our solar system, the mysterious dwarf planet Makemake is finally coming out of the shadows as astronomers get their best view yet of Pluto's little sibling.

Discovered in 2005, Makemake—pronounced MAH-keh MAH-keh after a Polynesian creation god—is one of five Pluto-like objects that prompted a redefining of the term "planet" and the creation of a new group of dwarf planets in 2006. (Related: "Pluto Not a Planet, Astronomers Rule.")

Just like the slightly larger Pluto, this icy world circles our sun beyond Neptune. Researchers expected Makemake to also have a global atmosphere—but new evidence reveals that isn't the case.

Staring at a Star

An international team of astronomers was able for the first time to probe Makemake's physical characteristics using the European Southern Observatory's three most powerful telescopes in Chile. The researchers observed the change in light given off by a distant star as the dwarf planet passed in front of it. (Learn how scientists found Makemake.)

"These events are extremely difficult to predict and observe, but they are the only means of obtaining accurate knowledge of important properties of dwarf planets," said Jose Luis Ortiz, lead author of this new study and an astronomer at the Instituto de Astrofisica de Andalucia, in Spain.

It's like trying to study a coin from a distance of 30 miles (48 kilometers) or more, Ortiz added.

Ortiz and his team knew Makemake didn't have an atmosphere when light from the background star abruptly dimmed and brightened as the chilly world drifted across its face.

"The light went off very abruptly from all the sites we observed the event so this means this world cannot have a substantial and global atmosphere like that of its sibling Pluto," Ortiz said.

If Makemake had an atmosphere, light from the star would gradually decrease and increase as the dwarf planet passed in front.

Coming Into Focus

The team's new observations add much more detail to our view of Makemake—not only limiting the possibility of an atmosphere but also determining the planet's size and surface more accurately.

"We think Makemake is a sphere flattened slightly at both poles and mostly covered with very white ices—mainly of methane," said Ortiz.

"But there are also indications for some organic material at least at some places; this material is usually very red and we think in a small percentage of the surface, the terrain is quite dark," he added.

Why Makemake lacks a global atmosphere remains a big mystery, but Ortiz does have a theory. Pluto is covered in nitrogen ice. When the sun heats this volatile material, it turns straight into a gas, creating Pluto's atmosphere.

Makemake lacks nitrogen ice on its surface, so there is nothing for the sun to heat into a gas to provide an atmosphere.

The dwarf planet has less mass, and a weaker gravitational field, than Pluto, said Ortiz. This means that over eons of time, Makemake may not have been able to hang on to its nitrogen.

Methane ice will also transform into a gas when heated. But since the dwarf planet is nearly at its furthest distance from the sun, Ortiz believes that Makemake's surface methane is still frozen. (Learn about orbital planes.)

And even if the methane were to transform into a gas, any resulting atmosphere would cover, at most, only ten percent of the planet, said Ortiz.

The new results are detailed today in the journal Nature.


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President Obama Prepares for Cabinet Shuffle

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Nov 26, 2012 6:45am







ap barack obama hillary clinton ll 120514 wblog President Obama Prepares for Cabinet Shuffle

Carolyn Kaster/AP Photo


As President Obama prepares for his second term, preparations have begun for the traditional shuffling of the Cabinet.


Top priority for the president: filling slots for those top officials heading — if not running — for the door: Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Secretary of the Treasury Tim Geithner.


To replace Clinton, Democratic insiders suggest that U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Dr. Susan Rice is the frontrunner, with Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., also a viable candidate.


Rice has been harshly criticized by Republicans for the erroneous comments she made on Sunday news talk shows after the attack on the U.S. compound in Benghazi, Libya, comments that were based on intelligence reports that falsely blamed the attack on a protest against an anti-Muslim video. When the president, during his recent press conference, offered a vociferous defense of Rice, many of those close to him began to suspect he was tipping his hand as to what he might decide.


To replace Geithner at Treasury, White House chief of staff Jack Lew is thought to have the inside track if he wants it, with other possibilities including Neal Wolin, the current deputy secretary of the Treasury and Lael Brainard, current under secretary of the Treasury for international affairs.


Other informed sources suggest that there is consideration being given to a business/CEO type such as investor Roger Altman, former Time/Warner chair Richard Parsons, and Facebook’s Sheryl Sandberg.


Those are the two most pressing jobs to fill, with Clinton exhausted from a long stretch in government — eight years as first lady, eight as senator, and four as secretary of state — and the president having personally promised Geithner’s wife that he could leave as soon as possible after the election.


Any of the business/CEO types being discussed for treasury secretary could also serve as secretary of commerce, a position that for the Obama administration has proved as troublesome as the role of drummer in Spinal Tap. Jeff Zients, the acting director of the Office of Management & Budget, is said to be under consideration.


It’s too flip to refer to it as a consolation prize, but informed sources say that — with Defense Secretary Leon Panetta also planning on leaving — Kerry could be offered the position secretary of defense if he wants it, though the Massachusetts senator has suggested he only wants State. Another option, Michelle Flournoy, a former under secretary of defense for Policy, would be the first female to serve in that position. There was some discussion of National Security Adviser Tom Donilon moving across the river, but it seems clear, sources say, that he’s staying where he is.


If Lew leaves to take the position at Treasury, some possible replacements for him as chief of staff include deputy National Security Adviser Denis McDonough or Vice President Biden’s former chief of staff Ron Klain. Tom Nides, deputy secretary of state for management and resources, has also been discussed.


President Obama’s senior adviser David Plouffe has also long discussed leaving the White House. There are many options to fill his shoes, including the elevation of communications director Dan Pfeiffer. Also possible: bringing back former press secretary Robert Gibbs, or former deputy chief of staff/campaign manager Jim Messina. Another option might be to bring in some of the people who were part of the messaging shop in the campaign — David Simus, who served as director of opinion research for the campaign, or Larry Grisolano, who did ads for campaign.


– Jake Tapper



SHOWS: World News







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Climate skeptic group works to reverse renewable energy mandates

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The Heartland Institute, a libertarian think tank skeptical of climate change science, has joined with the conservative American Legislative Exchange Council to write model legislation aimed at reversing state renewable energy mandates across the country.


The Electricity Freedom Act, adopted by the council’s board of directors in October, would repeal state standards requiring utilities to get a portion of their electricity from renewable power, calling it “essentially a tax on consumers of electricity.” Twenty-nine states and the District of Columbia have binding renewable standards; in the absence of federal climate legislation, these initiatives have become the subject of intense political battles.

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SMTOWN Live World Tour in Singapore electrifies fans

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SINGAPORE: It was a sell-out concert for the SMTown Live World Tour III last Friday.

About 25,000 tickets were sold with prices ranging from S$168 to S$268.

The star-studded show, which cost some S$5 million to put together, featured eight iconic Korean pop acts: Kangta, BoA, TVXQ, Super Junior, Girls' Generation, SHINee, f(x) and EXO.

Organised by Korean record label SM Entertainment, the concert was held at the Float@Marina Bay for the first time in Singapore.

The stage took more than 200 people and 96 hours to set up.

For local K-pop fans, SMTOWN might have well been the concert of the year.

There were earlier reports of fans who queued for days to get a good vantage point of the stars at the mosh pits.

"Even though you don't understand the language, you can actually follow the music," said a fan.

"I also love their songs, because it's catchy and fun to listen to and I never get bored listening to them," said 11-year-old Jannah, a fan of the artistes.

Some international fans had also travelled to Singapore to see their idols.

The stars themselves were thrilled to be in Singapore although they were one-and-a-half hours late for their press conference.

"It's been almost 10 years since I was in Singapore in 2003 for MTV Music Awards in Asia," said BoA. "So I'm very happy to be back in Singapore and I can't wait to see all of my fans, of course."

"I think Singapore is such a beautiful place and this is the first time for us here. We want to thank all the fans that came to the airport," said Kris from the boy band EXO.

Stars also shared their memorable experiences backstage, showing that preparations are not always all work and no play.

"Backstage, be it seniors or juniors, we'll always chat, and encourage each other in their performances," said Victoria, the leader of girl group f(x).

"There was once we had a chance to have a drink with our senior, Yunho (from TVXQ), and he got a little bit tipsy after a few drinks," revealed Super Junior member Donghae.

"After that, he did this dance move which was really fantastic, which we'll like to show you one day. It is not a charismatic sort of dance move, it is something you can't imagine him doing."

The mood was electrifying as fans screamed and cheered throughout the four-hour long concert.

The heavy rain towards the end of the concert did little to dampen fans' spirits.

The artistes performed a whopping 50 songs with slick dance moves and ended the concert by performing together and mingling with the fans.

- CNA/xq



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