APAC urged to reduce nontariff barriers

The Asia-Pacific countries should reduce nontariff trade barriers and focus on strengthening regional connectivity to facilitate trade within the region, concluded participants at an international conference.

The conference –Asia Pacific Trade Facilitation Forum 2012- was co-organised by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) and Asian Development Bank (ADB) in Colombo by the end of October.

Senior minister of the International Monetary Cooperation of Sri Lanka, Sarath Amunugama, proposed in his inaugural address, developing and increasing regional connectivity to maximise trade within the Asia Pacific region given the on-going economic slowdown in Europe and the U.S.

The opening ceremony was also addressed by Mahbubur Rahman, President of the International Chamber of Commerce of Bangladesh (ICCB), who focused on e-trade for SME (small and medium enterprises) integration in regional or global value chains.

In addition, Rahman made an observation on the efforts of the UNESCAP and the ADB in supporting paperless trade for the prospective SMEs using IT and other electronic devices. Since many of these seldom keep records, transact business informally and are not ordinary users of IT, he stated that it would not be sensible to promote paperless trade for them. Instead, he suggested improving their environments so they can graduate to being SMEs with formal records, systems and IT facilities. He pledged to be cautious and ensure security in paperless trading as it involved trillions of dollars of business transactions.

In addition, Rahman made an observation on the efforts of the UNESCAP and the ADB in supporting paperless trade for the prospective SMEs using IT and other electronic devices. Since many of these seldom keep records, transact business informally and are not ordinary users of IT, he stated that it would not be sensible to promote paperless trade for them. Instead, he suggested improving their environments so they can graduate to being SMEs with formal records, systems and IT facilities. He pledged to be cautious and ensure security in paperless trading as it involved trillions of dollars of business transactions.

The forum was attended by more than 200 government officials, traders, public and private service providers, leaders from central Asia, South and Southeast and East Asia plus the South Pacific.

STB Launches Tender for Creative, Media, Digital and Digital Production Agency Partners

The Singapore Tourism Board (STB) launched an open tender exercise for creative, media, digital and digital production agencies to join efforts with STB in building destination brand. The appointment consists of a two year contract which would take effect on April 2013, allowing the option to extend the agreement for another two years depending on performance.

In the past year, STB has steered its marketing strategy towards a consumer-centric approach, developing market-specific schemes and campaigns to address the evolving needs of consumers from Singapore's key tourism markets.

In essence, the goal of STB with this initiative is to attract agencies who can deliver solutions based on in-depth market knowledge and consumer understanding, have proven track records in building global brands, enjoy a strong network and presence in STB's key markets, and are committed to develop a reciprocally favorable long-term partnership with STB.

"We have deepened our understanding of consumers in our key markets, allowing us to develop relevant and appealing campaigns according to the needs of our visitors. Partnering strong creative, media, digital and digital production agencies will thus enable us to continue this emphasis on visitor-centricity in our marketing efforts," said Sophia Ng, Assistant Chief Executive, Marketing Group of the Singapore Tourism Board. "We see this as a partnership; beyond planning and executing campaigns, we want to work with agencies in building a strong Singapore destination brand."

STB's binding agencies are: creative agency Bartle Bogle Hegarty (BBH), digital agency XM Asia (XM), and media agency Mediaedge: cia (MEC). All of them are allotted on a two + two basis with contracts that conclude in March 2013. They can also take part in the tender exercise.

Wealth down, but Singaporeans are still among the richest

Singaporeans figure as the world's eighth richest while the number of millionaires living in the country is expected to rise some 60% to 249,000 over the next five years, informed The Business Times.

Despite the fact that the city-state's total wealth this year slipped by 2.5% or US$25 billion (S$30.76 billion) to US$1 trillion (S$1.23 trillion), Singapore continues to be the third richest in Asia and eighth globally, a recent Credit Suisse wealth shows.

However, Singapore has experienced a drop in comparison to last year when it ranked second behind Australia and was the fifth wealthiest at a global scale.

This fall is allegedly due principally to a decline in household financial assets measured in US dollars. The study defines household wealth as all assets –physical, property and financial – minus debt.

During the time studied, the Singapore dollar went down 4.3% and domestic stock market capitalisation fell by 8.2%, at the time home prices increased 2%. As well, the number of millionaires in Singapore fell by 9% to 156,000 from 165,000.

However, this hold-up is circumstantial as Credit Suisse predicts that in the next five years, Singapore millionaires will soar over 60% to 249,000 as a result of positive forecasts and on-going wealth growth.

"Singapore is a well-managed economy with high savings rate, and we are confident that the conduct of economic and exchange rate policy would sustain medium-term economic growth," said Chew Soon Gek, Head of Strategy and Economic Research, Private Banking Asia Pacific at Credit Suisse.

Recession fears decrease as Singapore's inflation eases

Recession worries in Singapore have been reduced after a new study showed that the city-state's inflation decelerated to some extent in October as the cost of housing rose at a slower pace.

According to a Reuters news agency poll, inflation in the country "probably slowed slightly in October," which has caused analysts and government officials to be positive that the city-state will escape a recession that has been troubling the economy in recent months.

However, the study warns that rising prices will remain a primary task for policymakers as the country's economy continues to head to a slowdown.

Singapore's consumer price index (CPI) rose by 4.6% in October from a year ago, marginally below September's 4.7% pace but considerably above past levels of 2-3%, according to the median forecast of 12 economists.

Core inflation –which excludes the cost of cars and housing as they are more influenced by government policy- possibly edged down to 2.3 per cent year-on-year from September's 2.4 per cent. The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) carefully examines the core figure when settling policy.

"Headline inflation probably eased to 3.6 per cent in August, helped in part by a high base last year for transport and housing," Bank of America Merrill Lynch said in a note to clients. "The lower inflation reading will likely give the MAS room to ease policy at the October meeting."

Over the past two years, Singapore has been suffering from greater inflation than usual mainly due to a spike in housing rents and car prices amidst a slow economy. Additionally, the manufacturing sector had already suffered a slowdown in production and exports over the past few months, which accentuated worries that Singapore was facing a recession.

Measures to make it harder for firms to hire low-cost workers from abroad have led to a tight job market which has also fostered inflation by pushing up the cost of services such as healthcare and cleaning services.

Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said that he is confident the city-state will avoid being the first major Asian economy to fall into recession this year as there are positive job numbers in the city.