In The News

IT Firms in for Rough Ride Despite Rebound

Ho Ka Wei December 4, 2003
The demand to be constantly connected is growing, and so is the market for wireless technology and other mobile applications. This trend, coupled with increased business spending on IT technology, has some analysts predicting a rebound in the sector. Singapore alone is expected to see a 5 percent growth in IT spending next year. And, globally, businesses are continuing to outsource IT services...

Goh Urges Portugal to Renew Old Ties

Tan Tarn How December 4, 2003
Seeking to build on linguistic and historical ties to Portugal, Singapore's Prime Minister, Goh Chok Tong, visited Lisbon to expand bilateral relations. "We welcome you in Asia, like you are welcoming us in Europe," Tong said. Singapore is already one of Portugal’s biggest investors, although trade between the countries has so far been modest. Being at the forefront of an economic...

India Plans Free AIDS Therapy

Amy Waldman December 1, 2003
On the eve of an election day in India, the government announced plans to provide free antiretroviral therapy to H.I.V.-positive new parents and H.I.V.-positive children in the six states most affected by the disease. This is part of a larger initiative spearheaded domestically by Sushma Swaraj, India's Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare, and internationally by organizations like...

Teochews Can Take Pride in Successes

Lee Hsien Loong November 24, 2003
Since at least the 1800s, Chinese immigrants speaking the Teochew dialect have moved to many regions of Southeast Asia in search of a better life. Many of them have become the most successful groups in their adopted countries, says Singapore's Deputy Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. Sometimes they seem "more than proportionately represented" in top-notch positions such as the Thai...

Developing Nations Begin to Embrace Internet Commerce

Bod Tedeschi November 23, 2003
Though the internet has long served the needs of businesses large and small in developed nations, it has struggled to make a broad impact in the developing world, where the internet remains inaccessible to many. Global e-commerce revenue will reach upwards of $4 trillion this year, over 95% of which will come from transactions in industrialized countries. However, as this article reports, a...

Crunch Time for Thai Fishing Fleet

November 22, 2003
Over the past 19 years, thousands of Thai fishing trawlers and fishermen have been arrested for poaching in the waters of other countries in the oceans off Thailand's coast. The introduction of the dragnet in 1960 allowed Thai fishermen to net large amounts of fish every hour. But the increased catches soon caused a depletion in supply, which forced trawlers further out from shore and into...

Asean-China FTA must get priority, says Singapore Prime Minister

Loh Hui Yin November 21, 2003
At the end of a six-day visit to China, Singapore’s Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong announced that he would not pursue a bilateral trade agreement with China until Beijing finalizes a free trade agreement with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean). The China-Asean agreement will enhance economic integration between the regional grouping and the mainland, while allowing for bilateral...