Daily Debrief: What Happened Today

Sing dollar too strong: DBS currency strategist

The Singapore dollar (SGD) is too strong as the greenback continues to struggle and is becoming oversold, said Philip Wee, DBS Bank senior currency strategist. Year to date, the SGD has gained over 6 per cent against the US dollar (USD), and with the Thai baht are the two strongest South-east Asian currencies.

EntrePass scheme enhanced to attract global startup talent

The EntrePass scheme - a work visa for foreign entrepreneurs keen to start a business in Singapore in areas such as deep technology - will be enhanced to attract global startup talent starting on Aug 3, said the Ministry of Manpower (MOM), the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI), Spring Singapore and Startup SG in a joint statement.

GIC leads US$220m funding round for Chinese P2P firm

Chinese peer-to-peer lending platform Dianrong said on Wednesday it raised US$220 million from a group of investors led by Singapore sovereign wealth fund GIC Pte Ltd, looking to step up research of new technology as it expands across China and explores ventures in other countries in the region.

Competition appeal board upholds financial penalty for IPP

The appeal of IPP Financial Advisers to seek a substantial reduction in the financial penalty imposed by the Competition Commission of Singapore (CCS) has been dismissed by the Competition Appeal Board (CAB). IPP was ordered to pay the financial penalty of S$239,851 imposed together with interest and costs of the appeal.

MOH provides additional funding to develop TCM sector in Singapore

To further develop the Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) sector in Singapore, the Ministry of Health (MOH) will set aside additional funding for TCM research, and the skills development of TCM professionals, said Senior Minister of State for Health Chee Hong Tat. He was speaking at the Convocation of the Nanyang Technological University-Beijing University of Chinese Medicine (NTU-BUCM) Double Degree Programme on Wednesday.

Workplace fatalities, injuries down in first half of 2017; occupational diseases up: MOM

There were fewer workplace fatalities and injuries in the first half of 2017 compared to the second half of 2016, but the number of confirmed occupational disease cases has gone up, according to a statement by the Ministry of Manpower on Wednesday.

The STI Today

Singapore stocks finish mixed as banks push STI higher

A quiet session on Wednesday ended with the Straits Times Index (STI) rising 10.6 points at 3,348.8, thanks mainly to rises in all three banks. Reaction to Wall Street's fresh all-time high on Tuesday was relatively muted, though this was to be expected since stocks here had already risen on Tuesday in anticipation of the US market rallying that day.