Singapore Financial News

In recent years, India has elevated to a stage where it has acquired the status of having the world’s largest overseas diaspora, with approximately 32 million NRIs and OCIs. Amongst the broad spectrum of India’s NRI network, Gulf countries continue to acquire the largest concentration, along with other countries like Singapore, the US, Canada, the UK, etc. With a plethora of NRIs moving abroad in search of better job opportunities and education, it is important to note that NRIs are taxed in India on the income generated within the country itself.

DigiFT, a Singapore-based fintech company, has made a foray into the digital asset realm with the launch of the its US Treasury bill depository receipt (DR) tokens. 

Singapore is focusing on increasing its hospitality infrastructure such as hotel rooms, according to a senior tourism official here. Before the pandemic-induced lockdown, Singapore had received 1.4 million tourists from India in 2019. It then recovered to 1.1 million in 2023. With two offices in Mumbai and Delhi, the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) promotes Singapore attractions as a holiday destination aggressively in India, Poh Chi Chuan, Executive Director of Exhibitions & Conferences at the STB told PTI. Singapore is building infrastructure for tourists and business travellers such as 9,000 new hotel rooms that are being added to about 72,000 existing rooms.

Singapore’s first ministerial corruption case has expanded with more charges being filed against a former transport minister

In recent years, India has risen to a position where it boasts the world's largest overseas diaspora, comprising approximately 32 million NRIs and OCIs. Among the diverse Indian NRI community, the Gulf countries remain the most concentrated, followed by countries like Singapore, the US, Canada, and the UK. As a significant number of NRIs move abroad in pursuit of better job opportunities and education, it's crucial to understand that they are taxed in India based on income generated within the country.

External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar emphasized the enduringly positive relationship between India and Russia, highlighting that both nations have consistently prioritized each other's interests. “I will ask myself...Has Russia helped us or harmed us?...

The World Happiness Report 2024, a partnership of Gallup, the Oxford Wellbeing Research Centre, the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network, and WHR’s Editorial Board, is out. Mint evaluates its metrics to explain why it may not be the final word on happiness. India is ranked 126 out of 143 nations surveyed.

There is a rising chorus of voices, mostly from the Global South, calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and the urgent provision of aid to a population that is facing imminent famine. Is anybody listening? Singapore’s foreign minister Vivian Balakrishnan is the latest to intervene, telling Israel that it had “gone too far" in its war against Hamas in Gaza. “I have communicated that both to the prime minister, to the foreign minister, and to the other Israelis whom we have met," he said last week on Wednesday.

Jaishankar said on Sunday that «a terrorist is a terrorist» in any language and one should not allow terrorism to be excused or defended because of a different explanation of it. Jaishankar's remarks came during his interaction with the Indian community members in Singapore. Responding to a question on how Indian officials approach sensitive and linguistically different topics with their global counterparts, the minister said that in diplomacy, different countries bring their own cultures, traditions and sometimes their language or concepts to debate. «It's also natural that there will be different viewpoints. And what diplomacy is about is to find a way of reconciling it and coming to some kind of agreement,» he said.

Holika Dahan, a bonfire is lit to symbolize the victory of good over evil, commemorating the legend of Prahlad and Holika from Hindu mythology. People gather around the bonfire, offer prayers, sing hymns, and perform rituals to seek blessings and protection from negative energies. Holika Dahan is celebrated with enthusiasm and joy across India and among Hindu communities worldwide.

Muntingia calabura) and was useful for growing fast. It would give green volume and shade while slower-growing plants came up. It seemed a stopgap tree, not worth taking that seriously. Within two years it was full-sized, with abundant leaves and, soon, small white-petalled flowers. The surprise was the small red fruits that followed, really like tiny cherries. The tree produces almost continuously, but only a few ripen every day. We find them shaken off by the wind on the ground below. When I was told they were edible, I had little expectation. Many plants have edible fruit, in that they won’t poison you, but that doesn’t really make them worth eating. The fruits tend to have wincingly bitter notes or tannic aftertastes that leave your mouth puckered. Some, like wax or rose apples (Syzygium samarangense) have pleasantly crunchy textures, but little taste. And then there are the sour fruits beloved of Indian school kids, like starberries (Phyllanthus acidus) or bilimbi (Averrhoa bilimbi), which are refreshing on a hot summer day, eaten with salt and washed down with lots of water, or made into a pickle, but that’s about it.

S Jaishankar has reiterated India's firm stance on the territorial integrity of Arunachal Pradesh during his visit to Singapore, strongly opposing China's claims over the northeastern state, as per an ANI report. Speaking at the Institute of South Asian Studies of the National University of Singapore, Jaishankar dismissed China's claims as "ludicrous," affirming that Arunachal Pradesh is an integral part of India based on its status within the country, not on external assertions. Responding to recent assertions by China, he said that India has consistently rejected such claims, reiterating that Arunachal Pradesh is an inherent part of the nation.

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Saturday dismissed China's repeated claims on Arunachal Pradesh as «ludicrous» and asserted that the frontier state was a «natural part of India». In probably his first public comments on China's frequent claims on Arunachal Pradesh and its opposition to Indian leaders visiting the state, Jaishankar said it was not a new issue. «This is not a new issue. I mean China has laid claim, it has expanded its claim. The claims are ludicrous to begin with and remain ludicrous today,» he said in response to a question on the Arunachal issue after delivering a lecture at the prestigious Institute of South Asian Studies (ISAS) of the National University of Singapore (NUS) in Singapore. Jaishankar, who is here on a three-day visit, emphasised that Arunachal Pradesh was a «natural part of India.»

Arvind Kejriwal, alleged conman Sukesh Chandrasekhar said the Delhi Chief Minister's arrest shows that "truth has prevailed". Asked about Kejriwal's arrest by the Enforcement Directorate in the excise policy-linked money laundering case, Chandrashekar told the media, "Truth has prevailed, I welcome him to the Tihar jail," says conman Sukesh Chandrasekhar when asked about Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal's arrest by ED in the policy-linked money laundering case." Chandrashekhar had in a letter to Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) leader K Kavitha, asked her to “come clean" in the Delhi excise policy case and not shield Kejriwal. The letter came on March 19, a day after the ED alleged that Kavitha paid ₹100 crore to top Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leaders to get benefits of the new Delhi excise policy.

SINGAPORE—Apple has held preliminary talks with Baidu about using the Chinese company’s generative artificial-intelligence technology in its devices in China, the latest example of the iPhone maker’s efforts to widen its AI capabilities. The U.S. tech giant has been exploring using external partners to help accelerate its AI ambitions.

By Rae Wee

Leading Singapore-based Web3 gaming company, Affyn, has unveiled Buddy Arena, the highly anticipated MOBA game with Web3 functionality. The mobile version of Buddy Arena is now available globally, alongside the introduction of their groundbreaking multi-chain ecosystem and innovative Omnia Sync Technology , significantly enhancing the gaming experience for players worldwide.

By Alden Bentley, Alun John and Tom Westbrook

A Communist Party newspaper says Vietnam’s Vice President Vo Thi Anh Xuan will be acting president after the previous president’s resignation

By Emily Chow and Jeslyn Lerh

Kyle Davies, the founder of collapsed crypto hedge fund Three Arrows Capital (3AC) says he has nothing to apologize for in a new interview on the latest episode of Unchained.