Singapore is most open economy

Singapore leads the world as the most globally connected economy, after edging out regional rival Hong Kong, according to an inaugural study.

The key factor that drove the Republic to the top of the list compiled by Ernst & Young and the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) was the far-reaching tentacles of trade.

The Globalisation Index 2009 said the "movement of goods and services" in Singapore relative to total output outshone all comers.

With total trade volume of more than 300 per cent of output - since many goods are simply turned around at Singapore ports - the Republic attained a score of 9.59, the highest of all 60 economies. Hong Kong registered 8.66.

This criterion measures the volume of a country's trade as a percentage of its gross domestic product (GDP) - a measure of economic output - and other factors such as trade openness, and any trade barriers, as rated by EIU analysts.

The world's 60 largest economies studied were ranked using five criteria - openness to trade, capital movements, exchange of technology and ideas, labour movements, and cultural integration.

Four Singapore think-tanks among Asia's top 30

The S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS) has been ranked third-best among more than 1,000 Asian think-tanks in a study conducted last year by the University of Pennsylvania.

Three other Singapore think-tanks also snagged top 30 positions in a ranking of 40 leading Asian think-tanks.

They are the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy (seventh), Singapore Institute of International Affairs (15th), and Institute of Southeast Asian Studies (29th).

The Global "Go-To Think Tanks" ranking was the fourth since 2006 by the University of Pennsylvania's Think Tank and Civil Societies Programme. It aims to identify top think-tanks through surveys with over 300 scholars, policy-makers and think-tank experts.

The criteria includes academic reputation, success in generating innovative policy ideas, and access to elites in the areas of policymaking, media and academia.

Foreigners team up with Singaporeans to help in Haiti

What started out as a modest relief team composed of seven Singaporeans has grown into an international medical mission of sorts, as they have teamed up with volunteers from Taiwan, Indonesia, Canada and the United States.

Since the first team arrived in Haiti on Jan 18, CityCare volunteers have been running a makeshift clinic at a church in Carrefour, near the capital Port-Au-Prince.

They have since treated more than 700 injured Haitians.

Singapore to host global tax forum

A major tax summit involving representatives from more than 90 countries will be held here later this year.

The Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes monitors and evaluates the international standard on how tax information is shared across borders.

This will be the Global Forum's first meeting after it became a stand-alone body last year.

Finance Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam said: "Singapore is pleased to host the Global Forum at an important time - as it puts in place an objective peer review process aimed at monitoring the implementation of the internationally agreed standard for exchange of information. Singapore has been working actively with others to institute this process."

Nanyang Business School ranked 27th in the world

Nanyang Business School (NBS) has largely held its ground in the Financial Times' ranking of the top 100 full-time global Master of Business Administration (MBA) programmes in the world.

The list is based on three criteria: career progression of alumni, international and gender diversity, and how well ideas are generated in the course.

NBS leapt to 15th position, up from 71st, in terms of career progression. This measures the seniority of alumni and the size of companies they work for, compared to their standing before their MBA.

It also excelled in terms of international mobility - whether alumni are employed in different countries today compared to before - of its graduates, ranking 13th for this criterion.

The FT survey spelt out the dollar gains to MBA holders. On average, NBS MBA alumni saw a 109% increase in their salary post-MBA, raking in US$110,567 (S$155,048).

Scientists find flower power

Scientists have found a long-sought-after gene which controls when plants flower. The discovery, reported in Molecular Cell journal, could lead to a greater yield of crops such as rice and to faster-growing flowers such as orchids.

PhD student Wang Yu, who was at the National University of Singapore (NUS) but is currently at the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*Star), started out studying how a similar gene in humans affects cancer and Alzheimer's.

Singapore is the world's second largest exporter of orchids, which can take anything from three to five years to bloom. But through the discovery of this gene, Prof Yu, 38, has managed to speed up the process.

And NUS Assistant Professor Liou Yih-Cherng, who was in charge of the original work on the gene in mammals, said: "Knowing how this gene functions in plants helps us understand it better in humans and could lead to drug development for diseases such as cancer and Alzheimer's."

The Straits Times (Jan 16, 2010)

New study links gene markers to heart disease

A Singaporean-led team of scientists from Cambridge University has achieved a breakthrough in linking a set of DNA markets found in humans to a person's increased propensity for heart disease.

By comparing tissues from a set of patients with healthy and disease-stricken hearts, the team led by Singaporean Roger Foo found that a specific region of the human DNA in people with sick hearts contained certain "marks", whereas the healthy hearts did not.

The finding could potentially lead to new ways of treating heart disease, as well as identify its links to factors such as diet and the environment, said Dr Foo.

The findings were published in the journal PLoS ONE this week.

The Straits Times (Jan 16, 2010)

Braces that are almost invisible

A local start-up, BioMers, developed translucent braces and retainers in late 2008.

Nanotechnology was used to create a polymer composite wire that works as well as metal wires currently used in braces. Its latest products come coloured, as these are more popular with teens around the world.

Some local dentists are already carrying the products, which are only slightly more expensive than current aesthetic braces.

Singapore-made wireless camera memory card

A made-in-Singapore product will allow photographers to transfer their images and videos wirelessly.

The FluCard, announced by Trek 2000 - the local company which patented the now-ubiquitous ThumbDrive portable USB flash drive a decade ago - is a storage card with built-in Wi-Fi connection.

The FluCard, developed by Trek's engineers over six years at a cost of US$6million, will go on a sale in Singapore within the next couple of months.

Already the FluCard has attracted the attention of Japanese tech giant Toshiba Corporation.

The Straits Times (Jan 21 2010)

Singapore to lead anti-piracy flotilla off Somalia

Singapore will lead an international flotilla of ships to watch over the pirate-infested waters off Somalia.

Rear-Admiral Bernard Miranda and 28 other Singapore navy, air force and army servicemen will lead the Combined Task Force 151 in the Gulf of Aden and its surrounding waters until March, commanding six vessels from various countries.

They will coordinate counter-piracy operations with naval forces from the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO).

Six other navy personnel from Australia, France, New Zealand, Saudi Arabia and South Korea make up the rest of the 35-man command team.

This is the first time a Singaporean is leading a multinational peace support mission since 2002, when a Singaporean army general headed a United Nations peace support mission in Timor Leste.

The Straits Times (Jan 21 2010)

Singapore to help boost eco-tourism in Johor

Singapore is lending Malaysia its expertise in developing green reserves for eco-tourism.

The tourism agencies of both countries have started a joint feasibility study to look into how an attraction like Singapore's Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve in Kranji can be replicated across the Causeway.

The joint feasibility study, expected to be completed in 2010, is the first such venture into the tourism sector.

The first mention of the collaboration between Singapore and Malaysia in this area came from Minister for National Development Mah Bow Tan in 2009, when he gave an update on Singapore's involvement in Iskandar Malaysia, a project to develop southern Johor's economic corridor.

Singaporean is top debater in global contest

24-year-old Singaporean Li Shengwu graduated five months ago as the top economics student at Oxford University. He was crowned Best Speaker at the just-concluded World Universities Debating Championships in Turkey.

Mr Li, a master's student in economics at Oxford, took the top individual honour at the event - known colloquially as the "Worlds" and regarded as the most prestigious debating tournament in the world.

He is the third Singaporean to receive the award, cementing Singapore's status as a debate powerhouse. Since 1981, when the competition began, all Asian winners have been Singaporean.

Country-wise, Singapore is ranked fourth in terms of Best Speaker winners, behind Australia, Canada and England.

That is very good for a country of five million, the competition's unofficial historian, Mr Colm Flynn, noted.

The first Singaporean Best Speaker winner was Ms Chitra Jenardhanan in 1995. Representing Nanyang Technological University, she was also the first woman and the first Asian to take the trophy.

In 2003, Dr Tan Wu Meng, representing Cambridge University, won it.

Singapore leading development of Index on Cities' Biodiversity

National Development Minister Mah Bow Tan arrived in Brazil on 3 January 2010 for the second Curitiba Meeting on Cities and Biodiversity which begins on Wednesday.

Mr Mah will speak on the development of the Singapore Index on Cities' Biodiversity, and encourage cities to participate in its testing and refinement.

Singapore is leading the development of the index - the first that will enable cities to monitor their biodiversity conservation efforts.