SINGAPORE (Mar 11): “Meat eaters crave meats, and I think they want to feel less guilty about the meat that they crave.” — David Lee, chief operating officer and chief financial officer of Impossible Foods, a company that makes plant-based meat products.
Huawei files complaint in US federal court over ‘unconstitutional’ restrictions
Huawei Technologies has filed a complaint in a US federal court to seek a declaratory judgment that the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) restrictions targeting it are unconstitutional. The information and communications technology infrastructure and smart devices provider is also seeking a permanent injunction against these restrictions.
“The US Congress has repeatedly failed to produce any evidence to support its restrictions on Huawei products. We are compelled to take this legal action as a proper and last resort,” says Guo Ping, Huawei’s rotating chairman.
According to the complaint, Section 889 of the 2019 NDAA not only bars all US government agencies from buying Huawei equipment and services, but also bars them from contracting with or awarding grants or loans to third parties who buy Huawei equipment or services, without any executive or judicial process.
“Section 889 is based on numerous false, unproven and untested propositions. Contrary to the statute’s premise, Huawei is not owned, controlled or influenced by the Chinese government. Moreover, Huawei has an excellent security record and program. No contrary evidence has been offered,” says Song Liuping, Huawei’s chief legal officer.
Huawei says estimates from industry sources show that allowing the group to compete would reduce the cost of wireless infrastructure by between 15% and 40%, and help North America save at least US$20 billion ($27 billion) over the next four years.
US military commander reports rising Chinese military activity in South China Sea
Admiral Philip Davidson, the commander of US Indo-Pacific Command and top American military officer in the region, says there has been a rise in Chinese military activity in the disputed South China Sea over the last year.
“There has been more activity with ships, fighters and bombers over the last year than in previous years, absolutely,” Davidson tells reporters in Singapore on March 7.
This comes a week after US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in Manila assured the Philippines that a defence treaty would apply if its vessels or planes are attacked in the South China Sea.
China’s targeted defence spending has been lowered to a 7.5% increase in 2019, compared with a projected 8.1% increase a year ago.
However, observers say that even with the reduced growth trajectory, the projections are seen as consistent with President Xi Jinping’s plans to grow and advance the military.
Asia’s billionaire population projected to hit 1,000 within five years
A third of the world’s billionaires is expected to come from Asia by 2023, according to the 2019 Wealth Report by London-based real estate consultancy Knight Frank.
The total number of billionaires in the region is projected to rise above 1,000 in the next five years, from 787 billionaires in 2018. According to the report, there were 452 billionaires in Europe and 631 in North America.
India is forecast to have the world’s biggest growth in billionaires, followed by the Philippines and China.
“Despite a darkening economic outlook, wealth creation will remain a constant in 2019,” says Liam Bailey, Knight Frank’s global head of research.
MND to relax CPF loan restrictions on older HDB resale flats by May
National Development Minister Lawrence Wong says the ministry is looking to relax Central Provident Fund (CPF) loan rules on the purchase of older HDB resale flats.
Speaking in Parliament on March 7, Wong said the Ministry of National Development (MND) will announce the changes soon for implementation in May this year.
Currently, there is a restriction on the usage of CPF for flats with less than 60 years of lease remaining.
When assessing how much loan to extend for the purchase of such older flats, some banks also take reference from these restrictions and reduce the loan quantum.
“The focus should not be on the remaining lease of the flat. What we want to ensure is that buyers purchase flats with leases that are long enough to last them for life,” says Wong. “And if that is done, then we can relax CPF usage rules, even if the remaining lease is less than 60 years.”
This comes after MND in August last year said it was exploring the viability of allowing buyers of shorter-lease flats to use more of their CPF funds for the purchase.
Restrictions placed on buyers’ use of CPF funds have fuelled growing concerns among flat owners over the depreciating leases of older flats and the difficulty they have in selling their flats.
Ageing Singapore set to raise retirement, re-employment ages
Minister of Manpower Josephine Teo says Singapore may raise its retirement and re-employment ages as citizens enjoy more years of good health and demonstrate sustained productivity at work.
Speaking in Parliament on March 5, Teo said this comes after a working group comprising individuals from the government, labour unions and private sector in the city state reached a consensus on the matter.
However, the exact timing of the changes and by how much have yet to be determined. “We should carefully consider the timing and pacing of these moves,” Teo says. “Countries looking to raise their retirement ages typically make their intentions known five to 10 years in advance.”
According to Teo, a higher retirement age will motivate both workers and employers to invest in skills upgrading and job redesign for older workers. She adds that increasing the re-employment age will afford companies the flexibility to reset employment terms, such as salary and job scope, to cope with business uncertainties.
Symantec says espionage group Whitefly behind SingHealth cyber attack
Cybersecurity company Symantec has identified espionage group Whitefly as the perpetrators of a cyberattack on SingHealth in July 2018.
Dubbed the worst cyberattack in Singapore’s history, the breach saw 1.5 million patient records — including those of Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong — being illegally accessed and stolen from the database of Singapore’s largest group of healthcare institutions.
According to a new research report by Symantec, Whitefly has been launching targeted attacks against many organisations in the healthcare, media, telecommunications and engineering sectors.
Symantec researchers note that the SingHealth breach was not a one-off event, but part of a wider pattern of attacks against organisations in the region.
“The wider pattern of attacks refers to the fact that we now know multiple organisations in Singapore were targeted by Whitefly. There is some evidence linking Whitefly to attacks in Southeast Asia, Russia and the UK,” says Dick O’Brien, principal editor of Symantec’s Security Response division.
“It is possible that Whitefly could be one team in a broader organisation,” he adds. “Based on its tactics and targets, our best assessment is that Whitefly is a state-sponsored espionage group.”
