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Singapore is fast becoming a strategic gateway and destination of choice for the international media community- and it is easy to understand why.

We are a great place for business

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Singapore is, simply, a great place to do business. We have a highly-skilled workforce and a regulatory environment that is firmly pro-business. We enjoy a strong reputation as a global financial centre, with a top-rated banking system. We are strongly committed to the protection of intellectual properties. All of which make us an ideal location for your business expansion.

In fact, Singapore has also been rated the least risky country in Asia for investment. In the latest Risks in Global Film-making Map by risk broker and insurance company Aon/Albert G Ruben, Singapore is ranked alongside countries such as Denmark, Canada and Switzerland as the countries with the least risk for investment.

In the same survey, PERC also highly rated Singapore’s strengths in the protection of intellectual property, as well as its physical infrastructure, as one of the best in the world, with its highly skilled and productive labour force and strong managerial talents.

We are building a global financial city

Singapore’s world-class infrastructure and state-of-the art facilities are well-known to the world.

It is also fast establishing itself as an international hub for businesses – from financing, creating to the trading of media content and services. We have attracted many international big names in cryptocurrency trading, Media and Advertising, real estate, fintech, banking and even manufacturers to set up base here.

FACTS & FIGURES

Location

Island. City. State. For its small size, Singapore sure packs a lot. End to end, it stretches just a little more than 42km wide, a distance easily covered by a fit runner. And with a total land area of 697.1 sq km, Singapore counts as one of the smallest countries in the world. Yet, its location in the heart of Southeast Asia, between Malaysia and Indonesia, makes it an ideal gateway between the East and West.

Infrastructure

C-O-N-V-E-N-I-E-N-T. That’s how you spell “Singapore Infrastructure”. The famous Changi Airport, constantly ranked by travellers as the best airport, is your first introduction to the efficiency that courses all through Singapore.

On-island transportation is a breeze with a clean, affordable and well-connected public transport system, including its Mass Rapid Transit network. In terms of communications network, Singapore’s top-of-the-line infrastructure links the nation to the rest of the world.

Banking and currency exchange services are widely available, and international credit cards are accepted at most business establishments. Singapore boasts a world-class healthcare system that serves its people well and draws visitors from other parts of the globe too. Together, these systems form Singapore is solid foundation where its people and businesses can, and do, flourish.

Economy

Singapore has a free market economy, with a low inflation rate, stable prices, and a high per capital GDP, all thanks to its highly developed infrastructure, transparent legal system and educated workforce. The economy was traditionally driven by its strengths in electronics and manufacturing, oil refining and distribution, and shipbuilding and repair. Today, it is increasingly fuelled by its growing services sector.

Climate

Singapore is the manifestation of an “Urban Jungle”. With lush flanking the highways and sidewalks, this tropical island has managed to preserve its genial environment and lush vegetation. While it can get rather humid at times, there’s relief offered by monsoon breezes and showers. The good thing is: you can expect to enjoy sunshine almost the whole year round.

Demographics

After centuries of regional migration, Singapore has become a cultural melting pot. The majority of its people are Chinese, which along with the Malays, Indians, Eurasians and other minorities, make up the plural society. With each group still holding strong to their unique customs and traditions while living under the banner of Singapore’s contemporary standards, Singapore is the place to be if you are up for some cultural fondue.

Singapore is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, 137 km north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia’s Riau Islands by the Singapore Strait to its south. Singapore is highly urbanised but almost half of the country is covered by greenery.

Some 5 million people live in Singapore, of whom 2.9 million were born locally. Most are of Chinese, Malay or Indian descent. There are four official languages: English, Chinese, Malay and Tamil.

Language

The official language of business and administration in Singapore is English. The other official languages are Mandarin, Malay, and Tamil. Being a globally-minded population, it is common for Singaporeans to be conversant in other languages as well, like French, German, Spanish, Italian, Japanese Korean or Thai. Interpreter services are widely available through private language service providers and various international embassies in Singapore.

Religion

Singapore is a secular country, but acts as a home for Buddhists, Christians, Jews, Muslims, Hindus, Sikhs, Taoists and many other religious groups.

TOURISM IN SINGAPORE

Some refer to her as the “little red dot”, but Singapore’s presence in the world today is much larger than this name suggests.

In fact, Singapore is a bustling cosmopolitan city that offers a world-class living environment, with her landscape populated by architectural wonders and new world developments. What you’ll discover about Singapore is a ubiquitous collage of cultures, where people of different ethnicity and beliefs coexist.

Whether you are after Nature & Wildlife, Sports, Family Fun, Nightlife, Culture & Heritage, Arts & Entertainment, there is something for you in Singapore!

IMPORTANT FAMILY TIPS

1. Start a hobby together as a family, like doing jigsaw puzzles or growing a small herb garden.
2. Take a walk as a family on Sunday.
3. Send your child to school and chat along the way.
4. Take the new Circle Line MRT as a family outing and get off at various stops to explore the surroundings.
5. Get everyone involved in the cooking and preparations and cooking of a family meal.
6. Plan a local holiday together and embark on exploring visit places of interest in Singapore as a family.
7. Enjoy a relaxing day building sand castles on the beach with your family.
8. Make a list of your family’s favourite hawker dishes and one dish a week with your family at a highly recommended stall.
9. Set aside time once a week to play a sport together.
10. Say thank you to everyone in the family.
11. Get the whole family involved in cleaning and decorating the house for a festival or special occasion.
12. Take turns to propose an activity for the family to do as a group each week.
13. Start a weekly family movie night with everyone taking turns to choose the movie.
14. Have a family craft time and make festive cards or gifts for friends and relatives.
15. Go grocery shopping together as a family.
16. Make a family scrapbook of the times you spend together.
17. Trace your family tree together with your family.
18. Volunteer for community projects together as a family.
19. Eat breakfast together with your family.
20 Say ‘goodbye’ to your family before leaving the house for school or work.
21. Be kind and respectful to everyone in the family.
22. Discuss as a family how household chores can be shared.
23. Make birthdays a special and memorable occasion for the birthday boy/girl in the family.
24. Spend some time with your family everyday talking to one another.

What is the best method to detect ovulation?

Q. Can I use cervical mucus and basal temperature concurrently to detect ovulation?
Question Mark, via e-mail

A. For basal body temperature, it should be taken every morning before you brush your teeth or have breakfast. The thermometer can be placed next to your bed so that you can use it immediately on waking up. After ovulation, there will be a rise of about 0.5 degrees celsius sustained over the next 3 days. For cervical mucus, just before or on ovulation day, the mucus will be very clear and stretchy, like raw egg-white. You can pull it into a long string. If you were to place the mucus on glass, you will see a fern-like pattern. both methods may be affected by other factors and one may need a few cycles to assess its accuracy. The methods combined together is useful for conception but may not be as useful for contraception.

Dr Christopher Chong is a Consultant Obstetrician and Urogynaecologist at Gleneagles Medical Centre.

Couple Name Myth

Should a couple with the same surnames be worried?

Q. My boyfriend and I are planning to get married in the near future. He is 30 and I’m 28 years old. But at the moment, we are very disturbed by an issue, which is also the main concerns for both of our parents, which hinder us to get deeper into our relationship. The problem is that we have the same surname. Our parents, especially his mother is very concerned. We are looking at going for a pre-marital check, and even a DNA check, to see if we are related in some way or another, so that we would feel at ease in the future, should we get married and have children. But I was just wondering, if these the right checks to go? Can these checks tell us if we are related from long time ago? At a loss now, please help.

A. Couples who are blood-relations of each other are at a higher risk of having children who are born with health problems. For example, if the couple are first cousins, their risk of having a child born with health problems is about 6-8%, compared to the general population risk of 3-4%.Q. My boyfriend and I are planning to get married in the near future. He is 30 and I’m 28 years old. But at the moment, we are very disturbed by an issue, which is also the main concerns for both of our parents, which hinder us to get deeper into our relationship. The problem is that we have the same surname. Our parents, especially his mother is very concerned. We are looking at going for a pre-marital check, and even a DNA check, to see if we are related in some way or another, so that we would feel at ease in the future, should we get married and have children. But I was just wondering, if these the right checks to go? Can these checks tell us if we are related from long time ago? At a loss now, please help.

It would be important to find out more about the family history of both your families up to three generations ago, namely up to your great-grandparents’ generation. If there are no definite relations between the two families, having the same surname is usually not a major source of concern, especially if it is one of the commoner surnames.

You may wish to see an obstetrician or your family doctor for a pre-marital counseling or screening. A full family and medical history will be taken.
If there is a family history of any specific genetic disorders, a screening may be offered. They may also refer you to see a geneticist for further counseling or screening.

Dr Angeline Lai is a Consultant and Head of Genetics Service Department of Paediatric Medicine at KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital.

Dyslexia Dilemma

Are you wondering if your child is dyslexic?

Q. I need your advice for my son is having a dyslexic-like experience as below:

My 10-year-old son is now in Primary 5. He seems like he does not like to pay attention in school and as a result he did very badly in all of his exam subjects. He also forgets what he’s learnt easily. No matter how hard we’ve tried to make him memorise it. To me as a mother, I feel like giving up on him in terms of education. He gives me the impression that he always cannot understand all the questions in the worksheet/exam and ended left it blank by giving excuses that he has no time to finish.

To be frank, I am very tired and also worried for his future if he keeps going on like that. All the school teachers and tutors always tell me that he is a smart boy ONLY he’s lazy and unattentive. And I found that this is the WORST thing for a kid like him because he is not keen in anything even writing. Is he dyslexic? How can we best manage the situation?
S. Loh, via e-mail

A. To the concerned parent,
Don’t give up!  Although it can be tiring to support a struggling child in our highly competitive education system, it is important that we persist in our efforts as our children look up to us as the adult for support.  If we are to give up now, our children will become even more demoralised.  So hang in there and tackle the problems bit by bit.

Based on what you have described, there could be many reasons why your son is not achieving in school. It is possible that he is dyslexic as he easily forgets what he learns, is disinterested in writing and is doing badly in school despite impressions that he is a rather bright boy. He could also be experiencing problems with attention, motivation, or other kinds of learning difficulties. It is hard to determine a child’s learning difficulties based solely on observations or feedback. An assessment by a qualified psychologist would be needed to objectively define the specific difficulties of the child and to recommend remediation, where appropriate.

You may wish to consider getting a psychological assessment at the Dyslexia Association of Singapore (DAS) by calling the assessment officer at 6444 5700 to set up an appointment. You can also refer to http://www.das.org.sg/aboutus/arrangeassessment.htm for more information.  Alternatively, you may wish to explore getting your child assessed by an Educational Psychologist through your child’s MOE school, in a hospital or in private practice.

Meanwhile, it may be helpful to teach your child some memory strategies since he forgets what he has learnt quickly. You can refer to websites like http://www.ldonline.org or http://www.schwablearning.org for more useful information on how to better support and help him.

Low Yung Ling is a Specialist Psychologist at the Dyslexia Association of Singapore