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Archive for September 24th, 2008

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Hotel rooms still available along Singapore F1 circuit area

Posted by luxuryasiahome on September 24, 2008

The Singapore F1 tickets are fast selling out, but fans can still catch the action from some choice locations.

Hotels along the circuit are seeing high demand but rooms with a circuit view are still available, if you’re willing to pay.

Offering a bird’s eye view of the race, the Swissotel is probably the place to be during the F1 weekend.

The hotel is also home to three major F1 teams – Ferrari, BMW and Honda. And because some teams are still operating on European time, the hotel needed to make adjustments.

“(It’s) not just checking our facilities, housekeeping is also very important, to make sure individuals are not disturbed too early in the morning. A number of our restaurants and bars have shifted the times, and we’ve extended breakfast into brunch now, until lunch time to accommodate those who get up later,” said Aiden Mcauley, general manager of Swissotel The Stamford.

The hotel is dedicating 220 rooms over 10 floors to the F1 teams, and there’s still room for more.

“Over Formula One, we’ll be touching 90 per cent, which is great. We’ve exceeded what we thought we would achieve. We thought we would do a low 80, but to be reaching 90 per cent is strong indeed,” said Mcauley.

Fullerton Hotel, situated at the corner of the track, offers a great view of Turn 13. So it’s no surprise that the rooms have been filled to capacity.

Over at the Ritz Carlton, their 608 rooms have been fully booked in the last two months leading up to race weekend. Most are staying at least 4 nights.

And it’s the same happy situation over at the Conrad.

Hotels with rooms still available include the Mandarin Oriental, Marina Mandarin, Pan Pacific and Raffles Hotel, with Mandarin Oriental and Marina Mandarin about 80 per cent full.

But it will cost at least S$1,750 a night, and rates are not expected to come down. That is because some observers believe the track side hotels have hit their targets with their high room rates.

Many hotels have a minimum stay requirement, some of up to five nights. And this strategy may be working, instead of having lower room rates and filling every hotel room in the circuit area.

But there’s hardly a spillover effect for hotels further away but still within the town area.

Rendezvous Hotel said they are about 70 per cent full.

Further away, hotels and resorts in Bintan said they are filling up but there are still plenty of rooms available.

Source : Channel NewsAsia – 24 Sep 2008

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Singapore one of top cities for SMEs looking for financing

Posted by luxuryasiahome on September 24, 2008

Singapore is one of the top locations in the world for new small and medium enterprises (SMEs) looking for financing. This is according to a new study by MasterCard Worldwide.

The study shows that Tokyo and Singapore are ranked in the top four out of 53 leading global cities in the potential size of its SME financing market.

Tokyo is second while Singapore is ranked fourth.

In the Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa region, the countries hold first and second spot respectively.

Walt Macnee, president, Global Markets, MasterCard Worldwide, said: “Despite today’s challenging economic environment, there are still sizeable and profitable business opportunities available in the global SME financing sector for financial institutions.”

The study shows that cities where there are dense concentrations of SMEs with limited access to financing from local banking systems show the greatest profit potential.

“The SME sector in Singapore presents an opportunity in developing new revenue streams and helping to advance the economy…Singapore also ranks number two and is one of the top centres based on service enterprises, which are generally smaller and less capital intensive,” said Kevin Mellyn, global solutions leader, Payments Strategy, MasterCard Advisors LLC, who headed the study.

It is estimated that financing SMEs is worth US$5 trillion in global revenue opportunities for financial institutions.

Source : Channel NewsAsia – 24 Sep 2008

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Singapore voted as country with least burdening taxes in survey

Posted by luxuryasiahome on September 24, 2008

Privately held firms have voted Singapore as the country with the least burdening taxes in the world, according to a business survey by accounting and consulting group Grant Thornton International.

The survey found that 40 per cent of all privately held businesses in Singapore feel that there are no burdening taxes in the country.

According to Grant Thornton, this shows companies here are maintaining a positive view of Singapore’s tax regime, and are remaining confident of the country’s growth momentum despite the current turmoil in global financial markets.

“Fundamentally, taxation issues are a major concern for privately held businesses in Singapore looking for expansion. They seek meaningful tax incentives to invest in new markets,” said Mr Kon Yin Tong, partner with Foo Kon Tan Grant Thornton, the Singapore member firm within Grant Thornton International.

The report found that the most burdensome domestic tax for privately held businesses are taxes on business profits and employment taxes.

The survey also reported 97 per cent of privately held businesses in Singapore see tax issues as significant factors when they decide on where to establish an overseas operating base. This result is higher than the global average of 77 per cent.

Source : Channel NewsAsia – 24 Sep 2008

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Lower top bids expected for Mountbatten site

Posted by luxuryasiahome on September 24, 2008

Analysts also doubt need for more transitional offices

A 15-YEAR leasehold transitional office site in Mountbatten Road, launched yesterday, is expected to fetch top bids that are 15-40 per cent lower than a nearby site sold in January this year, according to some property consultants.

Some analysts again questioned the need for the government to keep releasing transitional office sites, given that a substantial supply of Grade A office space will be completed from 2010.

Separately, a UBS Investment Research report dated yesterday says that a 1.5-6 per cent cut in the number of jobs in Singapore’s financial industry could lower UBS’s forecast of monthly prime office rents from $16.20 per square foot (psf) currently to $8.60-9.50 psf in 2012 – a 41-47 per cent slide. This is more pessimistic than an earlier UBS forecast of a 34 per cent fall to $10.50 psf by 2012.

UBS also cited Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) data showing that median office rents in the CBD had fallen in July. Monthly median rents in the Raffles Place, Tanjong Pagar and Cecil Street areas are now $12.50 psf, $7.28 psf and $6.50 psf, compared with $14.98 psf, $7.49 psf and $6.65 psf in June.

Cushman & Wakefield managing director Donald Han reckons that the highest bid for the Mountbatten Road plot will be $55-59 psf per plot ratio (ppr) – about 15-20 per cent less than for the earlier plot, which fetched $69.17 psf ppr. He said that the latest plot is farther from the future Mountbatten MRT Station – compared to the earlier plot which is just next to the station – and that sentiment in the office market is weaker now.

CB Richard Ellis executive director Li Hiaw Ho puts the range of top bids at $40-50 psf ppr – a 28-42 per cent decline from the price fetched by the nearby plot. Mr Li bases his estimate on the assumption of average gross monthly rent of $5 psf for a new office development on the site and a 10 per cent annual net return for the investor, given the short period of 13-14 years to recoup the investment.

Jones Lang LaSalle’s South-east Asia research head Chua Yang Liang reckons that demand for the latest site will be lukewarm given the spate of negative news in global financial markets.

Cushman’s Mr Han says that the plot is also less attractive than another transitional office site in Mohamed Sultan Road launched for tender last month by URA. ‘The Mohamed Sultan site is in a superior location, given its proximity to the CBD, although it has a narrow configuration which could make it harder to maximise the net lettable area and floor-plate efficiency for a new development,’ he said.

URA has launched eight transitional office sites since it introduced the scheme in July last year.

‘Such parcels on short 15-year leases were mooted primarily to cater to the office supply shortage situation prevalent a year ago. However, market fundamentals have changed since,’ CBRE’s Mr Li said.

‘Based on our estimated average annual demand for office space of 1.6 million sq ft, combined with the 1.7 million sq ft and 2.8 million sq ft that will come on-stream in 2009 and 2010 respectively, there is no supply crunch in the near future. We believe the government should review the necessity of launching more transitional offices in the immediate future.’

Agreeing, Savills Singapore’s director of marketing and business development Ku Swee Yong said: ‘By the time a development on the Mountbatten Road site launched today is completed, say in Q2 2010, there would be a large supply of Grade A office space in prime locations. We can say the objectives of the transitional office space programme have been met.’

Source : Business Times – 24 Sep 2008

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S’pore govt land sales in FY2007 double to $12.4b

Posted by luxuryasiahome on September 24, 2008

The total is $2b shy of FY1997’s record sales of $14b

The government sold some $12.4 billion worth of land in the financial year ended March 31, 2008 – double the sales of $6.2 billion achieved in the previous year.

The numbers mark a steady increase for 10 straight years now, ever since the property slump in 1997-98. But the $12.4 billion value is still around $2 billion shy of the record achieved in total state land sales during the property boom in the 1997 financial year. Then, the state netted about $14 billion.

The Singapore Land Authority (SLA), which appoints agencies to conduct state land sales, announced the figures yesterday in its annual report. The private sector contributed the bulk of revenue, accounting for a record $10.4 billion of land sales.

Top deals included the purchase of a land parcel at Irrawaddy Road by Parkway Holdings for $1.25 billion in February 2008, and the sale of the iconic South Beach site, which was snapped up by a consortium comprising City Developments and overseas partners Istithmar (part of the Dubai World Group) and United States-based Elad Group for some $1.69 billion in September 2007.

The public sector accounted for the remaining $2 billion of land sales.

The year was marked by ‘urgent strong demand’ for land for office, hostel, international schools and other commercial uses, SLA said.

‘2007 was a busy year,’ said chief executive Lam Joon Khoi in the annual report. ‘We achieved high levels of operational output across all functions.’

The government agency has been working to release state properties for adaptive interim development. For example, it has launched eight transitional office sites since July 2007.

There were also other signs that FY2007 was a boom year for the property sector. During the year, SLA launched 78 tenders, which works out to one tender every 4.5 days – an 8 per cent increase from 2006. The number of tenders awarded also increased by 56 per cent.

And with the strong growth in the property market, SLA registered a high volume of 537,600 instruments and caveats lodged for HDB and private properties during the year. By contrast, some 380,400 instruments and caveats were lodged in FY2006.

SLA also said that on the back of the property boom and strong demand for state properties, its operating income achieved an all-time high, increasing by 14 per cent to $100.9 million from $88.6 million a year ago.

SLA’s total operating surplus for the year ending March 31, 2008 was $17.1 million – slightly under the surplus of $17.2 million reported for the previous financial year.

SLA also said that it managed some four million sq m in total estimated gross floor area of state properties as at March 31, 2008, which is a new high. This translated into an occupancy rate of 87 per cent.

Source : Business Times – 24 Sep 2008

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Only 3 of 11 trackside hotels booked fully

Posted by luxuryasiahome on September 24, 2008

Just days before the Formula One race kicks off, a majority of the 11 trackside hotels are still not fully booked.

Still, there is a silver lining. For some of them, business has picked up strongly of late as the race date gets closer.

The Conrad Centennial and Ritz-Carlton Millenia were the first to fill their rooms for the F1 race weekend several months ago. The Fullerton Hotel will also be running a full house.

Other hotels such as The Raffles Hotel and the Pan Pacific – both declined to comment on occupancy rates – still have rooms available this weekend, as does the Marina Mandarin.

However, a spokesman for the Raffles Hotel described occupancy as ‘healthy’ and said that it would only be able to take ‘very limited last minute requests’.

Initially, hotels had doubled and in some cases even tripled their room rates for the F1 period. This was done in part to offset the tax being levied on them by the government. Non-trackside hotels are required to pay 20 per cent of room rate takings, and trackside hotels 30 per cent.

When demand for the hotel rooms at these inflated rates proved softer than anticipated earlier this year, some hotels had to revise rates downwards but it may not have been enough.

‘We are rather disappointed with occupancy rates,’ said Peninsula Excelsior Hotel’s general manager Daniel Chia, who declined to reveal actual figures.

Others, such as the trackside Carlton Hotel – which also has availability – chose to remove a stipulated minimum number of nights when it came to bookings for the race weekend.

The Swissotel and The Fairmont are currently running occupancies of over 90 per cent, with bookings slightly stronger for the former. ‘We expect both hotels to be full by the end of the week,’ said Belladonnah Lim, Fairmont’s director of marketing communications.

In the last week or so, last-minute bookings have been streaming in for both hotels, she said, adding that bookings jumped 5-6 per cent over a period of five days or so.

In addition, Raffles City Convention Centre has eight function rooms which have either partial or full views of the track – 6 of which have been snapped up as hospitality suites so far.

The Mandarin Oriental is about 80 per cent full and has remained so in recent weeks. The hotel has not lowered its rates ($1,750-$2,250) since it first launched them.

However, most of its guests are checking out by Monday morning – after the Grand Prix – which suggests that Singapore GP season might not be a good enough reason for visitors to stay beyond the weekend.

Source : Business Times – 24 Sep 2008

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Tenant upset by closure

Posted by luxuryasiahome on September 24, 2008

THE closing of roads leading to the SingTel Singapore Grand Prix circuit has upset some shop and restaurant tenants at Suntec City and Marina Square.

Many of the them told The Straits Times that business has nose-dived owing to the inconvenience following the road closure. Others blamed the slower economy.

Several roads, such as Beach Road and Bras Basah Road, had sections closed since yesterday in preparation for the weekend’s F1 race.

Said Adelina Kamarulzaman, 25, and a store manager at the Build-A-Bear-Workshop at Suntec City: ‘On a normal weekday, we carry out about 20 transactions.

‘On Monday, we had only eight. And we have not had a single sale today.

‘Usually, by this time (2pm), we would already have five transactions.’

To add to their woes, four birthday parties scheduled at the store during the weekend, plus another one on Friday, were all cancelled.

She said that customers cited road closure as the reason for the change in plans.

Francis Lee, 25, a sales executive at a handphone shop in Suntec City, also noted a downturn in business.

He said: ‘Since Monday, business has slowed down. The crowd has gone down by about half.’

Its patrons usually consist of churchgoers. But the store will have to do without them this Sunday as the New Creation Church will be moving its services to the Singapore Indoor Stadium at Kallang.

Lee said: ‘Every weekend, there are about 20,000 churchgoers. Although we can’t say that everyone will come to our shop, they form a large part of the crowd.’

Deacon Matthew Kang confirmed that the decision to switch its services elsewhere was due to the inconvenience caused by road closure.

Student teacher Jasline Ang, 24, is one churchgoer who will divert from her normal routine of eating, shopping and catching the occasional movie at Suntec City. Instead, she will be going to Kallang’s Leisure Park this weekend.

Another shopper, Lim Siew Kiang, 20, will also be avoiding the Marina area and turning to malls like VivoCity.

Still, some tenants in the area can count on office workers for support.

When The Straits Times went to Suntec City and Marina Square over the past two days, many office workers were seen there during lunchtime.

Bank employee Eugene Tian, 31, whose office at the Centennial Tower is a short walk away from Suntec City, is one such patron.

He said: ‘The road closure does not bother me. I come here for lunch every day.’

A check at Suntec City’s Food Republic indicated brisk business, with some patrons resorting to using tissue paper to reserve seats.

However, most of the restaurant tenants at Suntec City expressed concern.

Said Jinger Ban Dan, 36, a supervisor at Kenny Rogers: ‘It’s been really quiet today. We had fewer than 80 customers during lunchtime.

‘Usually, we have about 120 customers on a weekday.’

Over at Ichiban, senior assistant manager Moon Hung, 30, said: ‘Our takings during lunch today were about $500 less than a normal weekday.’

While some tenants are not expecting business to pick up, others are hopeful that the 40,000 tourists expected to be in Singapore for the F1 race will have the cash registers ringing soon.

Hung said: ‘We have strengthened our manpower because we heard that the hotels around this area are fully booked.

‘We hope business will improve during the coming days.’

Assistant manager at Marina Square’s Gain City Ho Eng Keng, 52, added: ‘We have to be optimistic. Hopefully, more tourists will come to Singapore during race days, and shop for electronics such as cameras and handycams.’

BUSINESS AFFECTED

‘There was no business on Monday. The tourists never came. Today’s takings – only $18 so far.’ - SUSAN NEO, sales assistant, on business at her jewellery and accessories store, in the early afternoon

‘This is the first time F1 is in Singapore so we don’t know what to expect. This month’s takings have been the lowest of the year so far. I just hope that this weekend will be better, especially when people have gotten their pay.’ – ALMA GABRIEL, restaurant supervisor, on the effect on the food business

‘I’m not sure. It’s either going to be very good or very bad. F1 ticket holders will either be going to just watch the race or may shop and eat before and after the race.’ – KEITH LEE, owner of a push-cart shop, on whether there will be an upturn in business during race days

‘Staff members have been standing around doing nothing.’ - JASMINE WONG, manager of a restaurant, on the poor business

‘This month, business has dipped by 20 per cent. It may not be because of F1, but rather, purchasing power has been affected.’ – EDMUND PEK, who works in a push-cart shop selling personalised items

‘We usually have some reservations, but there’s been nothing so far today.’ – SEBASTIN CHACKO, restaurant captain

‘Since Monday, business has started to slow down. The crowd has gone down by about half.’ – FRANCIS LEE, sales executive, on business at his mobile phone store

‘We have to be optimistic. Hopefully, more tourists will come to Singapore during race days.’ – HO ENG KENG, assistant manager at Marina Square’s Gain City

‘We have strengthened our manpower because we heard the hotels around this area are fully booked. We hope business will improve during the coming days.’ – MOON HUNG, senior assistant manager at a restaurant

Source : Straits Times – 24 Sep 2008

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SLA’s land sales double to $12 billion

Posted by luxuryasiahome on September 24, 2008

10-year high comes in year marked by mega deals, strong demand

THE property market’s bull run might have stopped but not before sending land sale revenue at the Singapore Land Authority (SLA) to a 10-year high of $12.4 billion.

Its bumper result for the 12 months ended March 31 was a twofold increase from the $6.2 billion in 2006 and is just shy of the 1997 record of $14 billion.

This Beach Road site, bought by a City Developments-led group at $1.69 billion, is one of the deals that helped SLA to its bumper result. — PHOTO: URA

Some of the mega sales that added to the stellar figures included a plum site at Beach Road, bought by a City Developments-led consortium for $1.69 billion, and a 1.7ha site on Irrawaddy Road sold to Parkway Novena for $1.2 billion to build a private hospital.

SLA’s annual report, released yesterday, showed that land sale proceeds from the private sector hit a record high of $10.4 billion – well up on the $3.5 billion for 2006 and the $6.9 billion posted in the 1997 property boom.

Land sales to the public sector dropped slightly to $2 billion, from $2.7 billion in 2006.

The financial year was marked by strong demand for land for offices, hostels, international schools and other commercial uses.

The agency rolled out 78 tenders for such interim uses – about one every 4.5 days and 8 per cent up on 2006.

SLA’s operating income hit a record at $100.9 million – a 14 per cent increase from a year ago. Its total operating surplus was $17.1 million.

The gross floor area (GFA) of SLA- managed state properties also hit a record of 4.02 million sq m, translating into an 87 per cent occupancy rate of all existing state properties.

SLA said the largest use – at 1.7 million sq m GFA – of its state properties is by social and civil institutions, including voluntary welfare organisations, and for the arts and recreation purposes.

It also injected about 122,000 sq m of space to ease the office crunch and awarded more than 40 properties for educational uses.

‘The potential for good rental yield has drawn many new and experienced investors to bid for state properties,’ said SLA chief executive Lam Joon Khoi.

Mr Lam added that SLA has developed an integrated registration system for private and HDB properties.

This will extend search facilities, currently available only for private properties, to HDB flats.

For the coming year, SLA said it will focus on a new initiative: Establishing a national spatial data infrastructure.

It will develop a geographic information system that will coordinate and manage land data and data exchange across all the public agencies.

SLA chairman Greg Seow said the initiative is ’significant as it aids in both strategic planning and operations for the appropriate agencies’.

‘It will also demonstrate a government-wide approach to problem-solving and resource-sharing,’ he added.

More details on this initiative will be released later.

Year of records

~ Land sales jumped to $12.4 billion, from $6.2 billion in 2006
~ Land sales to private sector at a record $10.4 billion, eclipsing 1997 property peak of $6.9 billion
~ Operating income rose 14 per cent to $100.9 million from a year ago
~ Operating surplus at $17.1 million
~ Agency fees from SLA’s land business group contributed $61.6 million, from last year’s $54.8 million
~ Rental collections for state land and properties rose to $550.5 million – $36 million higher than last year
~ Title registration grew 17 per cent to a record $4.3 million

Source : Straits Times – 24 Sep 2008

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Flats near city cost up to 50% more

Posted by luxuryasiahome on September 24, 2008

Central, Bukit Merah and Queenstown among popular HDB estates

IF YOU want to live in an HDB flat close to the city, be prepared to pay as much as 50 per cent more than if you choose to stay out in the sticks.

Prices for resale flats in estates near the city such as Central, Bukit Merah and Queenstown have left the rest of the country behind in recent years, according to new HDB data obtained by The Straits Times.

And what is particularly striking is how fast that price differential has widened.

PropNex chief executive Mohamed Ismail pointed out that in 1996, the difference between inner city flats and the national average was only around 11 per cent. Now it is around 50 per cent.

Take a four-room flat in Bukit Batok. In 1996, it sold for an average of $252 per sq ft (psf), while a similar one in Queenstown was sold for $280 psf.

The HDB’s latest second-quarter data shows that the Bukit Batok flat would now sell for about $303 psf while the Queenstown flat commands $458 psf.

The price gulf will only widen, say analysts, given the shortage of prized flats, and factors like increasing transport costs that make people more inclined to live closer to their place of work.

In the long run, ‘unless there’s a successful decentralisation strategy, the gap is unlikely to narrow’, said Mr Colin Tan, head of research and consultancy at Chesterton International.

About 52,000 HDB flats, or 6 per cent of total supply, are in inner city areas.

The new HDB data puts in stark terms how prices can differ.

January to July figures showed that resale prices of four- and five-room flats in estates near the Central Business District were about 48 to 52 per cent higher than the national average.

Popular locations include Smith Street, Tanjong Pagar Plaza, Cantonment Close, Jalan Membina and Stirling Road.

While a four-room flat commands an average price of $295 psf islandwide, this shoots up to $437 psf in city areas – a 48 per cent jump.

Similarly for a five-roomer, the average price of $303 psf spikes 52 per cent to $461 psf nearer the city.

The resale market is the obvious way in but homebuyers also have a chance via the HDB’s balloting exercises.

These are wildly popular, as offered units are in highly coveted central locations surrounded by amenities – and are priced with the HDB’s market subsidy.

In January, in the HDB’s latest ballot, 278 flats in Bedok, Clementi, Queenstown and Jurong West received a staggering 9,901 applications.

The price range for four-room flats was $141,000 to $398,000, the five- room units cost $218,000 to $532,000 and the executive flats $333,000 to $470,000. Prices depended on location and features of the units.

Some homebuyers, however, have baulked at the high cost of new flats.

Auditor Ho Koon Woei, 31, said he noted the new flat prices increasing at least $100,000 on average in mature towns in the last two years.

‘Such a hike in prices in a short timeframe makes it more unaffordable for first-timers,’ he said.

The HDB has not held a ballot since January, but analysts expect prices of any upcoming new flats in central areas to match the market prices.

While private home prices lost steam and inched up just 0.17 per cent in the last quarter, HDB resale prices rose 4.5 per cent.

Some, such as Mr Tan, feel that the HDB ’should be mindful that it does not add to the escalating price trend’ in the resale market.

The HDB’s new flat prices would effectively set a price floor – a level at which resale flats will not be sold below.

And if resale flats are priced above new flats, and new flats are pegged to market rates, there is a danger of a price spiral, he added.

‘In the pricing of its flats, it should err more towards affordability rather than market pricing,’ said Mr Tan.

However, this does not mean that the HDB should offer such low prices that it affects market prices, say analysts.

‘If prices are excessively cheap, that will affect the existing prices of city properties,’ said Mr Ismail.

Ultimately, he feels demand for city properties will price flats accordingly.

On a psf basis, HDB flats at premium prices are still far cheaper than private homes in the city, which are priced from $1,000psf upwards, he pointed out.

‘I wouldn’t be surprised if in the next 15 years, the premium of a city HDB flat achieves 100 per cent more than a flat in suburban areas.’

Source : Straits Times – 24 Sep 2008

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S’pore ranks among the world’s least corrupt nations

Posted by luxuryasiahome on September 24, 2008

Denmark, Sweden and New Zealand share the honour of being the world’s least corrupt countries, ahead of Singapore in fourth position and Finland and Switzerland in joint fifth, an international watchdog group said in its annual survey.

Somalia is perceived as the world’s most corrupt country followed closely by Myanmar, Iraq and Haiti, according to Transparency International’s (TI) annual Corruption Perceptions Index released yesterday.

The annual index measures perceived levels of public sector corruption as seen by business people and country analysts in 180 countries.

Somalia, the east African nation without a functioning government since 1991, scored just 1.0 on TI’s scale, which ranges from zero, which is highly corrupt, to 10, which is very clean. Myanmar, which received international condemnation for its heavy-handed crackdown on protests in last September, was on 1.3 points, as was Iraq, five years after a United States-led invasion toppled Saddam Hussein.

The places where officials were seen as least likely to line their pockets were Denmark, Sweden and New Zealand ˜ all shared first place with a score of 9.3 points ˜ ahead of Singapore with a score of 9.2 in fourth, and Finland and Switzerland with 9.0 in joint fifth.

Last year, Denmark, Finland and New Zealand shared the top spot.

TI also separately ranked the countries surveyed by region and Singapore was ranked second among a total of 32 Asia-Pacific countries and territories.

With 22 out of the 32 countries in the Asia-Pacific scoring below 5, TI said the scores indicate a serious corruption problem in these countries’ public sectors.

The watchdog added that corruption and the lack of transparency, particularly in political financing, remain serious challenges across the Asia-Pacific region.

TI was also critical of some wealthy nations that registered significant drops in the global rankings, such as Britain which dropped to 16th in the rankings from 12th last year, and Norway which slipped to 14th from ninth.

In addition, TI highlighted the weakening performance of some wealthy exporting countries in reining in what it described as “the questionable methods of their companies in acquiring and managing overseas business”.

Source : Today – 24 Sep 2008

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