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SingTel layoffs part of a lean and mean strategy? A renewed focus on core competencies seems to be the driving force behind its new 500-staff retrenchment. “In Singapore SingTel was in the spotlight after announcing it was laying off around 500 staff as part of a restructure. But they will be offered jobs at a Chinese subcontractor to SingTel instead,” IG Markets reported in its evening update. TELECOM & INTERNET
M1 to raise prices of 4G services Retail users may also avail of these services come 2H12. According to CIMB, M1 noted no competitive flareups in the mobile space. Instead, it has withdrawn unlimited data offering on 3G services to customers, hoping to better monetise data traffic.
According to CIMB, DBS’s GTS Head Tom McCabe explained why the business became a key growth driver for the group. GTS contributed 14.2% of 2011 group revenue and 15.2% of PPOP. The change started in 2010 when management realigned its sales focus, workflows and processes; recruited
FINANCIAL SERVICES
Citi, JP Morgan and StanChart losing to DBS in SME transaction banking: CIMB CIMB claims DBS’ transaction business which account for 14% of revenue is growing at the expense of rivals. 6 SINGAPORE BUSINESS REVIEW | APRIL 2012
talent and deployed new technology. RETAIL
Singapore posts deteriorating consumer confidence Singaporeans showed strong declines in consumer sentiment compared to the previous six months. According to a
release, consumer confidence among developed markets in Asia/Pacific has dropped as concerns about slow growth spread across the region, according to the latest MasterCard Worldwide Index of Consumer Confidence. AVIATION
Singapore Airlines ranks 14th in Asian monthly carrier performance Only 82.92% of its flights were on time in March relative to better-performing Japanese and regional airlines. J-Air topped the monthly rankings with 91.58% on time flights, which are described as flights taking off with less than 15 minutes delay. Japan Air muter and Hokkaido International Airlines rounded up the top three, according to a new report from FlightStats.
HR & Education
2 in 3 Singaporeans polled strongly support foreign worker reduction policies: survey The government’s moves to reduce foreign hires received broad support in a new poll. Only 68.1% agreed or strongly agreed that it is necessary to reduce the inflow of foreign workers. Meanwhile, just 69.4% were in favor of introducing a calibrated reduction in Dependency Ratio Ceilings in the manufacturing and services sectors. These two polices, which were announced during the Budget 2012 announcements last month, received the least amount of support from poll respondents, according to REACH in a recent survey of 868 respondents aged 18 above.