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[COVID-19 Virus] The Sinkies are fucked Thread.
- Thread starter zhihau
- Start date
Sinkees are very happy to be farked.
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Those celebrities that open eateries really kum-lan this time. Their fame is useless in this instance.
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Expats in Singapore, Hong Kong Watch With Envy as World Opens Up
Singapore and Hong Kong tightened borders for more than year
Restrictions extended while larger economies begin to reopen
U.S., EU Take Steps to Aid the Travel Revival
Singapore and Hong Kong, among the world’s most open economies, have practically shut their doors for more than a year to keep Covid-19 in check. But as the U.S. and Europe emerge from the pandemic, the cities’ businesses and expatriates are starting to question whether they’ve been too slow to reopen.
At stake are their reputations as top business and finance hubs in Asia, with Singapore’s reach stretching from India to Australia and Hong Kong as the gateway to mainland China. Tighter borders and quarantines, along with sustained local lockdowns, are taking a toll.
For Singapore, the extended closure has diminished its stature as host for high-profile global events and a travel hub via one of the world’s top-rated airports, particularly after winning plaudits for its early handling of the virus. The World Economic Forum’s annual gathering, planned for the city-state in August, has been nixed, as has this year’s Formula One race for October.
Hong Kong has the added pressure of Beijing’s tightening grip. A survey by the American Chamber of Commerce last month showed more than 40% of its members might leave Hong Kong, highlighting concerns over a China-imposed national security law and the handling of the pandemic.
The next three to four months for Singapore will be a “tipping point,” said Juliet Stannard, director of Citiprop Property Management, who has 21 years’ experience in the city’s real estate market. Expats may depart in the next six months if vaccinations and travel re-opening don’t go as planned -- a danger she believes the government fully recognizes.
If the government doesn’t meet its vaccinations goals, “they know their international reputation will be tarnished,” Stannard said.
Government Targets
Singapore aims to vaccinate 75% of the population by October
Sources: Bloomberg, Singapore Ministry of Health
Note: Historical vaccination percentages calculated using Singapore MOH vaccination figures and resident population over 12 and all non-residents. Monthly percentages based on last reported vaccination number per month, June data as of June 14.
Amid the efforts to reopen, Singapore sees the economy growing 4% to 6% in 2021 after last year’s 5.4% contraction, its worst performance since independence more than a half-century ago. Hong Kong’s government is forecasting growth of 3.5%-5.5% this year.
In both cities, fewer people are arriving to replace those who’ve left, said Lee Quane, regional director with ECA International, which specializes in mobility. A reversal of that trend looks unlikely given ongoing restrictions and quarantine rules, while rival centers like New York and London open up.
“These are likely to be detrimental to both Hong Kong and Singapore attractiveness, and possibly hinder companies’ ability to attract staff to relocate to these locations into 2022,” Quane said.
Singapore Relaxes Covid Rules in Stages
A closed exercise studio in the Singapore business district in Singapore, on June 14. Photographer: Wei Leng Tay/Bloomberg
A big worry for foreign workers in both cities is how and when they’ll be able to return to Singapore or Hong Kong if they travel abroad, an especially fraught situation for those with virus-stricken families back home. If they are allowed back in, they could face quarantines of as long as three weeks.
Rabab Ahmed, 39, and her consultant husband weren’t able to travel to New York from Singapore when his mother passed away from the virus in April 2020, nor for her brother-in-law’s wedding because of the latest restrictions imposed in May.
“If Singapore denies us a re-entry, we’d be screwed,” said Ahmed, an English-language teacher who moved to Singapore in December 2019, just as the pandemic was taking hold. “We are discussing that if it doesn’t get better by end of year, we’d move back to New York.”
Singapore says any easing of restrictions will depend on the pace of vaccinations: It aims to fully inoculate half the population by the end of August, and reach 75% by October. So far, it’s about 35% of the total population, according to Bloomberg calculations.
‘Agile, Calibrate’
“We have to stay agile and constantly calibrate our pandemic-related measures according to the evolving situation domestically and internationally,” Jillian Lim, executive vice president of Singapore’s Economic Development Board, a government agency, said by email. “Our top priority is to keep people in Singapore safe.”
Hong Kong authorities “are constantly reviewing the situation and are aware of issues raised by international business on the need to facilitate international business travel and meetings,” the government said by email. People have left the city for various reasons including the Covid situation, which isn’t unique to Hong Kong, but it continues to attract overseas talent and significant inflow of investment, it said.
Elsewhere in Asia-Pacific, Australia, where roughly 30%, or 7.5 million residents, were born overseas, pressure is building on the government to articulate a plan for opening international borders. The nation’s biggest business lobby has called on the government to start opening from this month, while the boss of Australia’s second-largest bank, Westpac Banking Corp., said the country must find a way to “live with” the virus for some time.
“Closing ourselves off to the world for years and relying on lockdowns when outbreaks occur is not sustainable,” Peter King wrote in a column last month.
relates to Expats in Singapore, Hong Kong Watch With Envy as World Opens Up
A Moovaz packer loads household items into a truck in Singapore, in 2020. Source: Moovaz
Junxian Lee, co-founder and chief executive officer at Moovaz, a Singapore-based international relocation company, saw the flight of expats last year as visas expired and some returned home to retire early or be near family. While Moovaz is seeing some inbound demand thanks to Singapore’s early Covid-era success, the company’s 80% year-on-year revenue boost is largely due to increased demand for departures, Lee said.
Singapore has seen a drop in the foreign workforce over the past year. At the end of 2020, the number of Employment Passes, which are issued for higher-skilled roles that pay at least S$4,500 ($3,360) per month, slipped 8.6% from the previous year, according to Ministry of Manpower data. The total foreign workforce, including lower-skilled and household workers, fell almost 14% to about 1.23 million, following a 3% gain in 2019.
Foreign Labor Drop
Singapore's foreign workforce thinned in 2020 across permit types
Source: Ministry of Manpower
Notes: Data are as at year-end. MoM refers to the permits listed above as, respectively, Employment Pass, S Pass and Work Permits (for foreign domestic workers and the other semi-skilled sectors)
But firms aren’t ready to uproot just yet, particularly given Singapore’s reputation for open and fair business, as well as safety and quality of life.
“The impact of a slow vaccine uptake is that the next few months become a real test of whether Singapore can stay nimble enough to limit any serious damage to its business-friendly reputation and role as an international trade and finance center,” said Arv Sreedhar, Singapore-based managing director at investment firm Atlantic Partners Asia.
In a potential sign of progress, Hong Kong is moving toward shortening quarantines for most fully vaccinated travelers who pass antibody tests, a person familiar with the matter said Thursday, easing a border policy that had been criticized as among the strictest in the world.
Trending Up
Over 24% of Hong Kong's population have received their first injection
Source: Bloomberg News, HK Census and Statistics Dept
Once the pandemic is tamed, public sentiment will change, according to Robert Chipman, chief executive for Hong Kong with the global relocation service Asian Tigers Group.
“The border issues, as annoying as they are,” Chipman said, “are transitory.”
— With assistance by Juliette Saly, Melissa Cheok, Faris Mokhtar, Kevin Varley, Chanyaporn Chanjaroen, Nabila Ahmed, and Ailing Tan
Singapore and Hong Kong tightened borders for more than year
Restrictions extended while larger economies begin to reopen
U.S., EU Take Steps to Aid the Travel Revival
Singapore and Hong Kong, among the world’s most open economies, have practically shut their doors for more than a year to keep Covid-19 in check. But as the U.S. and Europe emerge from the pandemic, the cities’ businesses and expatriates are starting to question whether they’ve been too slow to reopen.
At stake are their reputations as top business and finance hubs in Asia, with Singapore’s reach stretching from India to Australia and Hong Kong as the gateway to mainland China. Tighter borders and quarantines, along with sustained local lockdowns, are taking a toll.
For Singapore, the extended closure has diminished its stature as host for high-profile global events and a travel hub via one of the world’s top-rated airports, particularly after winning plaudits for its early handling of the virus. The World Economic Forum’s annual gathering, planned for the city-state in August, has been nixed, as has this year’s Formula One race for October.
Hong Kong has the added pressure of Beijing’s tightening grip. A survey by the American Chamber of Commerce last month showed more than 40% of its members might leave Hong Kong, highlighting concerns over a China-imposed national security law and the handling of the pandemic.
The next three to four months for Singapore will be a “tipping point,” said Juliet Stannard, director of Citiprop Property Management, who has 21 years’ experience in the city’s real estate market. Expats may depart in the next six months if vaccinations and travel re-opening don’t go as planned -- a danger she believes the government fully recognizes.
If the government doesn’t meet its vaccinations goals, “they know their international reputation will be tarnished,” Stannard said.
Government Targets
Singapore aims to vaccinate 75% of the population by October
Sources: Bloomberg, Singapore Ministry of Health
Note: Historical vaccination percentages calculated using Singapore MOH vaccination figures and resident population over 12 and all non-residents. Monthly percentages based on last reported vaccination number per month, June data as of June 14.
Amid the efforts to reopen, Singapore sees the economy growing 4% to 6% in 2021 after last year’s 5.4% contraction, its worst performance since independence more than a half-century ago. Hong Kong’s government is forecasting growth of 3.5%-5.5% this year.
In both cities, fewer people are arriving to replace those who’ve left, said Lee Quane, regional director with ECA International, which specializes in mobility. A reversal of that trend looks unlikely given ongoing restrictions and quarantine rules, while rival centers like New York and London open up.
“These are likely to be detrimental to both Hong Kong and Singapore attractiveness, and possibly hinder companies’ ability to attract staff to relocate to these locations into 2022,” Quane said.
Singapore Relaxes Covid Rules in Stages
A closed exercise studio in the Singapore business district in Singapore, on June 14. Photographer: Wei Leng Tay/Bloomberg
A big worry for foreign workers in both cities is how and when they’ll be able to return to Singapore or Hong Kong if they travel abroad, an especially fraught situation for those with virus-stricken families back home. If they are allowed back in, they could face quarantines of as long as three weeks.
Rabab Ahmed, 39, and her consultant husband weren’t able to travel to New York from Singapore when his mother passed away from the virus in April 2020, nor for her brother-in-law’s wedding because of the latest restrictions imposed in May.
“If Singapore denies us a re-entry, we’d be screwed,” said Ahmed, an English-language teacher who moved to Singapore in December 2019, just as the pandemic was taking hold. “We are discussing that if it doesn’t get better by end of year, we’d move back to New York.”
Singapore says any easing of restrictions will depend on the pace of vaccinations: It aims to fully inoculate half the population by the end of August, and reach 75% by October. So far, it’s about 35% of the total population, according to Bloomberg calculations.
‘Agile, Calibrate’
“We have to stay agile and constantly calibrate our pandemic-related measures according to the evolving situation domestically and internationally,” Jillian Lim, executive vice president of Singapore’s Economic Development Board, a government agency, said by email. “Our top priority is to keep people in Singapore safe.”
Hong Kong authorities “are constantly reviewing the situation and are aware of issues raised by international business on the need to facilitate international business travel and meetings,” the government said by email. People have left the city for various reasons including the Covid situation, which isn’t unique to Hong Kong, but it continues to attract overseas talent and significant inflow of investment, it said.
Elsewhere in Asia-Pacific, Australia, where roughly 30%, or 7.5 million residents, were born overseas, pressure is building on the government to articulate a plan for opening international borders. The nation’s biggest business lobby has called on the government to start opening from this month, while the boss of Australia’s second-largest bank, Westpac Banking Corp., said the country must find a way to “live with” the virus for some time.
“Closing ourselves off to the world for years and relying on lockdowns when outbreaks occur is not sustainable,” Peter King wrote in a column last month.
relates to Expats in Singapore, Hong Kong Watch With Envy as World Opens Up
A Moovaz packer loads household items into a truck in Singapore, in 2020. Source: Moovaz
Junxian Lee, co-founder and chief executive officer at Moovaz, a Singapore-based international relocation company, saw the flight of expats last year as visas expired and some returned home to retire early or be near family. While Moovaz is seeing some inbound demand thanks to Singapore’s early Covid-era success, the company’s 80% year-on-year revenue boost is largely due to increased demand for departures, Lee said.
Singapore has seen a drop in the foreign workforce over the past year. At the end of 2020, the number of Employment Passes, which are issued for higher-skilled roles that pay at least S$4,500 ($3,360) per month, slipped 8.6% from the previous year, according to Ministry of Manpower data. The total foreign workforce, including lower-skilled and household workers, fell almost 14% to about 1.23 million, following a 3% gain in 2019.
Foreign Labor Drop
Singapore's foreign workforce thinned in 2020 across permit types
Source: Ministry of Manpower
Notes: Data are as at year-end. MoM refers to the permits listed above as, respectively, Employment Pass, S Pass and Work Permits (for foreign domestic workers and the other semi-skilled sectors)
But firms aren’t ready to uproot just yet, particularly given Singapore’s reputation for open and fair business, as well as safety and quality of life.
“The impact of a slow vaccine uptake is that the next few months become a real test of whether Singapore can stay nimble enough to limit any serious damage to its business-friendly reputation and role as an international trade and finance center,” said Arv Sreedhar, Singapore-based managing director at investment firm Atlantic Partners Asia.
In a potential sign of progress, Hong Kong is moving toward shortening quarantines for most fully vaccinated travelers who pass antibody tests, a person familiar with the matter said Thursday, easing a border policy that had been criticized as among the strictest in the world.
Trending Up
Over 24% of Hong Kong's population have received their first injection
Source: Bloomberg News, HK Census and Statistics Dept
Once the pandemic is tamed, public sentiment will change, according to Robert Chipman, chief executive for Hong Kong with the global relocation service Asian Tigers Group.
“The border issues, as annoying as they are,” Chipman said, “are transitory.”
— With assistance by Juliette Saly, Melissa Cheok, Faris Mokhtar, Kevin Varley, Chanyaporn Chanjaroen, Nabila Ahmed, and Ailing Tan
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Will be funny if th signboard fell on his headTong Fong Fatt loves to display them.
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21 COVID-19 cases detected in 9 households at 119 Bukit Merah View
19 Jun 2021 11:04PM (Updated: 19 Jun 2021 11:10PM)SINGAPORE: The Ministry of Health (MOH) said on Saturday (Jun 19) it had detected a total of 21 COVID-19 cases in nine different households at 119 Bukit Merah View.
The detection came amid an investigation into likely COVID-19 transmission in the vicinity.
As of Saturday, a total of 70 COVID-19 infections had been linked to the Bukit Merah View Market and Food Centre cluster.
COVID-19 viral fragments were also found in wastewater samples collected from some blocks in the vicinity, said MOH.
READ: 5 new COVID-19 cases linked to Bukit Merah View cluster, bringing total tally to 70 infections
To ringfence possible cases, mandatory polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing will be conducted for all residents of blocks 116, 117, 118, 119, 124A, 124B, 125 and 126 Bukit Merah View from Jun 20 to Jun 21.
Voluntary PCR testing for visitors and those who have interacted with residents of these blocks will be conducted concurrently.
The ministry said leaflets had been distributed and SMS notifications sent to residents to provide them with more information.
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soon angmokio and bishan
They need to Activate Mobilization of NSmen.
Need exit permit to leave bt merah?
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Bt Merah is giving Yishun a run for its money. ward of Lky and his protege ccs.
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K L N
I can always phone my God-father Putin to send a few battalions of Spetsnaz here.
Or the Sinaloa Cartel Sicarios.
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PAP happy now?
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Bukit HitamBukit Merah variant.
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