A*Star team creates smallest workable gear

The Straits Times

SCIENTISTS in Singapore have earned a place in the record books after creating the world's smallest workable gear.

The molecule-size device is up to 100,000 times smaller than the width of a human hair and could pave the way for new technologies. The invention will receive a mention in Guinness World Records' next edition.

It is developed by a seven-man team from the Institute of Materials Research and Engineering, which is part of the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*Star).

The scientists used a machine called a scanning tunnelling microscope, more commonly used to view materials at an atomic level. They took advantage of an electrical connection between the molecules and the tip of the microscope to manipulate the gear.

Their research was first published in science journal Nature Materials in 2009. Project leader Christian Joachim, an A*Star visiting investigator from French Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, had said then: 'Making a gear the size of a few atoms is one thing, but being able to deliberately control its motions and actions is something else altogether.'

So far, the device has not been used to develop any products as the next largest gear is too big for it. Research is ongoing to create intermediate gears.

The scientists believe their discovery has the potential to be used in supercomputers. One of the most advanced now is the size of a refrigerator.

The team is also part of a group trying to create a computer chip 1,000 times smaller than a grain of sand. This project, worth €10 million (S$17 million), is a collaboration between the institute and scientists from the European Union.

Computer chips are currently made by using optical beams to etch grooves on their parts. Experts say the chips can shrink for only another 10 to 15 years before the width of the beam prevents any further miniaturisation.

To solve this problem, the group aims to build a chip from the atom up instead. They hope to create a prototype by 2015.

NUS bags grant for toilet that recycles faeces

Twenty-two universities submitted proposals and eight, including the National University of Singapore (NUS), have received the nod from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to fine-tune their ideas.

The NUS team - the only team from Asia - won a US$280,500 (S$337,700) grant from the foundation last month to come up with a toilet that would cost less than five US cents a user a day.

The competition is intended to benefit the 2.6 billion people, or 40 per cent of the world's population, who have no access to safe and reliable toilets.

The teams will work on their projects for a year and the prototypes will be judged by the foundation in August next year.

Up to three prizes of between US$40,000 and US$100,000 will be awarded.

The foundation is headed by Microsoft founder Bill Gates and his wife, as well as his father.

The NUS team submitted a proposal for a toilet that turns faeces and urine into fertiliser and drinking water.

The communal toilet, expected to serve up to six households, separates faeces and urine and transfers the faeces to a collection point for drying and burning to be used as fertiliser.

Heat from the burning powers a desalination system that extracts water from urine.

The water is disinfected to make it drinkable.

Left-over liquid from the urine is concentrated so it can be used as fertiliser.

Project leader Ng How Yong, an associate professor at the NUS engineering faculty and director of the Centre for Water Research, said the toilet would be especially useful in rural areas that depend on agriculture.

He hopes that it can be implemented in developing countries such as India and Bangladesh as well as those in Africa.

Other finalists include Stanford University in the United States, the University of Toronto in Canada and the Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology.

Their ideas include a solar-powered toilet that generates hydrogen and electricity, and a toilet that produces charcoal, salt and clean water from waste.

The competition is part of the foundation's US$42 million programme to improve sanitation in developing countries.

The World Health Organisation estimates that 1.8 million people die each year due to diarrhoea-related diseases, mostly caused by poor sanitation.

Children under five years old make up 90 per cent of the fatalities.

It added that improving sanitation can reduce assaults against women which take place in dimly lit and unsafe outdoor toilets.

The Straits Times, 19 August 2011

NTU students to launch satellite Velox-I

IT WILL be a big lift for Singapore when the second locally made satellite - and the first to be built by students - is launched in 2013.

Called Velox-I, it is being put through its paces by Nanyang Technological University (NTU) engineering students in the Undergraduate Satellite Programme (USP) that was started in April last year.

Unlike a typical satellite that can weigh more than 1,200kg, Velox-I is made up of two tiny satellites, one weighing 3.5kg and the other 1.5kg.

Slated to be launched in India or the United States in early 2013, it will have an NTU-designed camera with high-resolution, image-capturing capabilities and be able to conduct quantum physics experiments during its orbit.

The Velox-I project, which includes a student-built ground station on campus that picks up signals from space, has a budget of more than US$300,000 (S$366,000).

'This is not just a prototype, it's going to be up there in space and it's still hard to believe that students such as ourselves are a part of it,' said Mr Tan Chun Kiat, 25, a recent NTU aerospace engineering graduate who had been involved in the project, at the university's unveiling of the satellite yesterday. 'What if there were technical faults during orbit? What if it couldn't withstand the temperatures? We were apprehensive, even nervous, at the beginning, but having it come together piece by piece has been a great and challenging learning experience.'

The team has conducted multiple vibration and space simulation tests to ensure that the contraption can withstand forces up to 10 times that of gravitational force during launch.

The first made-in-Singapore satellite - the 105kg X-Sat - was launched on April 20 after a nine-year collaboration between scientists and engineers from NTU and Singapore's defence research body DSO National Laboratories.

X-Sat has been monitoring environmental changes with images of erosion, forest fire and sea pollution.

Only two other countries in the region - Indonesia and Malaysia - have their own satellites in space.

'We wanted to work on something smaller, not only to lower costs but also to ensure it could be launched in a shorter period of time,' said Associate Professor Low Kay Soon, 49, director of NTU's Satellite Research Centre.

'A smaller and cheaper satellite would also mean we could take more risks in experimenting with its capabilities and be able to test it locally.'

Students get to work with industry partners such as the US Air Force Academy and University of Tokyo.

The USP, which takes in about 50 second- to final-year students annually, is the only space programme of its kind here as space science is a relatively unexplored field. NTU is considering developing the nation's first space engineering courses if interest grows, said Prof Low.

Said Ms Luo Jia Yu, 24, a mentor from NTU's engineering master's programme: 'I had always wanted to venture into space science as it's a mysterious and intriguing world, and this was a rare chance for me to get a taste of it.'

Singapore teams impress at international science competitions

Lin Zhaowei

The Straits Times20 July 2011

SINGAPORE has scored its best-ever showing at two major science competitions for pre-university students, coming in joint-first in the International Physics Olympiad and third in the International Biology Olympiad.

In the nine-day physics competition that ended on Monday, the five-man Singapore team shared top spot with traditional powerhouses China and Taiwan as well as relative newcomer South Korea.

All four countries came away with five gold medals each.

Last year, the Singapore team came in seventh.

Almost 400 pre-university students from 84 countries took part in this year's event held in Bangkok. Winners had to score in both written and practical tests.

The Singapore team comprised Raffles Institution (RI) students Kang Zi Yang, Li Kewei, Lin Jiahuang and Lin Sen, and NUS High School of Mathematics and Science's Tan Zong Xuan. They are all in their final year of study.

It was led by Associate Professor Rajdeep Singh Rawat from the Natural Sciences and Science Education department of the National Institute of Education at Nanyang Technological University, and Associate Professor Chung Keng Yeow from National University of Singapore's physics department.

Mr Li, 19, said the victory showed that the team's hard work over the past seven months had paid off.

'We were very happy because we knew this had never been done before (by a Singapore team),' he said.

'Although the team spent the entire June holidays preparing for the competition and ended up lagging behind in our school work, it was worth it,' added the physics whiz who hopes to enrol in the Massachusetts Institute of Technology for undergraduate studies.

Prof Rajdeep, involved in training the Singapore delegations for the past eight years, said this year's team was 'fantastic' because the members were very motivated.

In the International Biology Olympiad, held in Taipei from July 10 to 17, Singapore improved from its ninth placing last year.

Hwa Chong Institution's Javan Lee Tze Han, NUS High's Hong Xinyuan and RI's Jin Chentian came away with gold medals while Michael Sia Zhen Wei of Anglo-Chinese School (Independent) bagged a silver. They are all final year students at their schools.

Singapore 'will likely overtake Las Vegas'

SINGAPORE'S two casinos, in operation for just over a year, are poised to overtake a name synonymous with gambling the world over: Las Vegas.

Their stunning success was highlighted by Mr Frank Fahrenkopf, president of the American Gaming Association, on the sidelines of a gaming conference in Macau yesterday.

Mr Fahrenkopf predicted that the casinos at Resorts World Sentosa (RWS) and Marina Bay Sands (MBS) would see combined revenues of US$6.4 billion (S$7.9 billion) this year, up from US$5.1 billion last year.

The revenue for Las Vegas last year was US$5.8 billion.

Macau, with about three dozen casinos, is the world's largest gaming hub after leapfrogging Las Vegas in 2006.

The Chinese city, which attracts a large number of wealthy players from the Asian region, raked in US$23.5 billion in casino revenue last year. The figure is expected to grow by between 25 per cent and 50 per cent this year, said Mr Fahrenkopf.

It is going to be an extremely good year in Singapore and Macau, he was quoted as saying by Associated Press.

If Mr Fahrenkopf's prediction about Singapore is accurate, the world's second-largest gaming hub after Macau would also be in Asia.

Extracted from The Straits Times, 8 June 2011

Singapore an 'ideal vantage point' for German firms

SINGAPORE'S considerable economic clout and reach into South-east Asia makes it an ideal vantage point for German companies, visiting German Chancellor Angela Merkel said yesterday.

Following discussions with Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong shortly after she arrived here, the German leader said she also saw a need to enhance cooperation between the European Union and Asean.

'We see it as a vast potential that has yet to be fully realised,' she said after their hour-long meeting at the Istana.

'The relationship between the EU and Asean needs to be further developed because these are two economic regions that wield quite considerable economic clout and therefore lend themselves ideally to cooperate even more in the future.'

PM Lee, recalling that he was Dr Merkel's first foreign visitor in 2005 when she became Chancellor, said he was pleased to welcome her, in turn, as his first foreign guest following his May 7 re-election.

Dr Merkel arrived from India for a two-day visit, and also called on President S R Nathan and met former prime minister Lee Kuan Yew yesterday.

PM Lee hosted an official dinner in her honour at the Istana last night.

Today, she will deliver the 31st Singapore Lecture, organised by the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies. A special orchid hybrid will also be named after her.

PM Lee said they had a 'very good discussion', and added that the visit showed the strength of bilateral relations.

Her visit was also a clear indication of Germany's interest and resolve in strengthening its investments, ties and engagement in South-east Asia and Singapore, he added.

Bilateral trade reached $20.5 billion last year. Germany was thus Singapore's largest trading partner in the EU, just as Singapore was Germany's largest trading partner in Asean.

Some 1,200 German companies are based here and with a considerably high level of direct investment.

During their talks, the two leaders exchanged views on Singapore, Asia and Europe, as well as broader issues of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank and financial market regulations.

PM Lee said there was more scope to build on the relationship with Germany, including in areas such as research and development and green technology.

Dr Merkel announced a new exchange programme that will allow scientists to work in research centres on both sides.

An extract from Straits Times Article dated 2 June 2011

Singapore set to overtake HK in size of economy

SINGAPORE'S economy looks set to surpass that of its long-time regional rival Hong Kong this year for the first time.

Powered by a robust Singapore dollar and an exceptionally strong economic rebound last year, the Singapore economy is now the larger of the two, a Bank of America (BoA)Merrill Lynch report showed yesterday.

For the first three months of this year, Singapore's gross domestic product (GDP) was US$63.9 billion (S$79.1 billion), exceeding Hong Kong's US$57.9 billion economy by about 10 per cent.

If this trend continues, Singapore's economy is likely to grow bigger than Hong Kong's for the whole of this year, said BoA's Dr Chua Hak Bin.

'Such a development would have been seen as far-fetched a decade ago, given Hong Kong's geographical advantage, being next to mainland China, against Singapore's more volatile and marginalised neighbourhood,' he said.

Singapore's economy was just half the size of Hong Kong's a decade ago but a combination of factors such as a strong Singapore currency and new engines of growth has propelled the Republic ahead of its rival.

The Singapore dollar has appreciated by some 23.3 per cent against the Hong Kong dollar, which is pegged to the US dollar, over the past 10 years.

Another factor accounting for the shift has been the emergence of new growth engines for Singapore such as high-end manufacturing and the casinos, said Dr Chua.

While Hong Kong did not choose casinos, Singapore's gamble on the integrated resorts has paid off.

Tourism revenue soared to $18.8 billion last year, up 47 per cent from $12.8 billion in 2009. Singapore's gaming market will likely reach $7 billion to $8 billion this year, exceeding the market size of Las Vegas, noted Dr Chua.

Dr Tan Khee Giap, co-director of the Asia Competitiveness Institute at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, also pointed out that a key advantage Singapore has over Hong Kong is its flexibility.

He noted that Singapore has always recovered faster and stronger than Hong Kong whenever both are hit with recessions.

Last year, Singapore rebounded from one of its worst recessions, in 2009, by growing 14.5 per cent, the second fastest rate in the world.

'This is due to the fact that we have tools like exchange rate policies and a pro-active Government which implements innovative policies like Jobs Credit to help the economy recover faster,' he said.

'So it's no surprise that we have caught up with them.'

This achievement is all the more impressive given that Hong Kong does not spend on things like defence, which takes up a significant chunk of the Singapore Government budget, said Dr Tan.

This means that Singapore has come into its own, despite the fact that it does not have mainland China as a hinterland, as Hong Kong does, said Dr Tan.

But OCBC economist Selena Ling cautioned that using GDP as a gauge to compare both is not entirely useful.

She noted that Hong Kong has, for some years, been seen to be part of a sub-set of China while Singapore stands on its own.

'So the models are different and I'm not entirely sure if people still compare the two the way they did in the 1990s,' she said.

Likewise, as a financial hub, Hong Kong's stock market is much larger than Singapore's and the Hong Kong stock exchange has been attracting big name listings in recent years, said Dr Chua.

'On that front, Singapore has some way to go,' he said.

The Straits Times

28 May 2011

Finance Minister Tharman tipped to chair IMF committee

Singapore Finance Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam is the favourite over South African Pravin Gordhan to head the International Monetary Fund's (IMF's) International Monetary and Financial Committee (IMFC), IMF board sources told Reuters.

The finance ministers of Singapore andSouth Africa have emerged as the only contenders to chair the IMF's main advisory committee, the sources said on Tuesday.

They added that an announcement was expected as soon as tomorrow if the fund's managing director, Mr Dominique Strauss-Kahn, can narrow the selection to one. Failing that, the outcome will be determined in a secret vote by the IMF board members.

It would be a first time for either an African or Asian country to hold the post.

Several sources said Mr Strauss-Kahn favoured Singapore because of the IMF's recent push to get Asia on its side as the fastest growing part of the world economy.

Mr Strauss-Kahn has also tried in recent months to put the Asian financial crisis finally behind the IMF, whose invasive policy prescriptions have long been blamed in the region for exacerbating the 1997/1998 meltdown.

The IMFC seat was left vacant last month by Mr Youssef Boutros-Ghali, who was replaced as Egypt's finance minister in a Cabinet shake-up amid protests to topple long-time leader Hosni Mubarak.

Mr Domenico Lombardi, a former executive board member at the IMF, said that by choosing Singapore, the IMF would bring Asia further into its fold at a critical time in the global economy, when world finance leaders are focused on overhauling the international monetary system and tackling trade and financial imbalances.

The IMF has just completed a series of reforms to give emerging market economies in Asia and elsewhere a greater say in the institution by boosting their voting power.

Mr Lombardi said Singapore was regarded as a key bridge between East and West, an important factor when it came to addressing tensions between the United States and China over such things as trade imbalances.

'Singapore is uniquely placed to facilitate a dialogue between the US and China,' he added.

On the other hand, if South Africa led the IMFC, it would be a 'great achievement for sub-Saharan Africa', Mr Lombardi said. 'This would go a long way in the long journey initiated by (former IMF chief) Michel Camdessus that sought to make low-income countries regular, fully fledged members of this institution.'

The IMF's advisory committee officially meets twice a year - during the IMF meetings in the spring and autumn - to discuss the direction of the institution. It comprises finance ministers and central bank governors from 24 countries.

The new chairman will take over at a time of heightened uncertainty in the world economy, with protests sweeping the Middle East and North Africa, and Japan's devastating earthquake and tsunami.

Singapore scores in tourism rankings

THE little red dot is shining bright on the world stage again.

For the second time in five years, Singapore's travel and tourism sector has emerged as the 10th most competitive out of 139 economies ranked by a World Economic Forum (WEF) report.

This puts it at the top of theAsia-Pacific region for the first time - ahead of Hong Kong, which came in 12th, and Australia, which fell from 2009's ninth spot to 13th this year.

Despite lacking in human and natural resources, Singapore pulled itself into the top 10 by having top-notch workers and efficient air and ground transport systems.

The report, comprising more than 500 pages, also gave the nation top marks for its safe environment and its rules and regulations which, it said, are conducive to the development of the travel industry.

Switzerland, Germany and France topped the rankings, with Switzerland having stayed in first place since the first report in 2007.

In appraising the 139 countries, the WEF considered 14 areas relating to travel and tourism including policy, rules and regulations, transport infrastructure, and human and natural resources.

NUS ranked 27th in the world by academics

THE National University of Singapore (NUS) has been ranked the 27th best in the world and third best in Asia by academics asked to pick the top universities in their disciplines.

A total of 13,388 experienced academics in 131 countries were asked to rate universities around the world according to how good they thought their research and teaching were.

The results, published yesterday by Britain's Times Higher Education magazine, reveal that US institutions were most highly regarded, taking seven of the top 10 places.

Harvard University was first, followed by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in second place. In total, 45 US universities made it to the global top 100.

Two British universities, Cambridge and Oxford, made it to the top 10 and a dozen more were in the top 100.

Japan's Tokyo University was the only Asian university to make it to the top 10, followed by Kyoto University, at 18th.

All in, Asia had 15 universities in the top 100 table, including Nanyang Technological University (NTU) which was placed in the 91st to 100th band.

NUS president Professor Tan Chorh Chuan said: 'We are delighted to be placed among the best universities in the world by our peers. This latest ranking is a positive affirmation from the international academic community of the world-class quality of education and research being produced at our university.'

NTU's chief planning officer and registrar Chan Kwong Lok said: 'NTU is pleased that despite our short history, globally we stand alongside universities that have centuries worth of research.'

In recent years there has been a proliferation of university league tables, which have become important marketing tools for attracting the best students and academics. But this latest ranking is different in that it measures how universities are regarded, rather than how they actually performed.

Each institution's rank was based on the number of times it was nominated as 'the best' in its field. There were two categories: research and teaching. Research was given twice as much weight as teaching when it came to working out the final score.

外国专业女性 首选移居我国

新加坡是外国女性的首选移居地点，接受调查的外国专业女性一致表示，会介绍他人迁移本地工作。

这主要是因为她们认为我国犯罪率低、有税务优惠、生活优雅以及本区域有许多个人发展的机会。

这项名为“2011年环球专业人士流动性报告”的调查由环球专才招聘公司Hydrogen Group委任ESCP Europe商学院一个咨询小组进行。有2637名来自85个国家，并拥有至少学士文凭的专业人士接受调查。

Hydrogen亚洲区主管Abigail Waudby指出：“新加坡有很强的文化包容性，新来的外国雇员也受到热烈欢迎。我们的女受访者反映，生活方式以及能多快适应环境，对她们来说，重要性不亚于薪金获得提高。”

在总体排名方面，新加坡与加拿大同列第5大最受男女专业人士欢迎的移居地点。榜首是美国，下来依次是英国、澳大利亚和瑞士（Switzerland）。

Singapore flying Asia's flag at GAR arbitration awards

STARS of Singapore's arbitration scene will for the first time compete against the world's best, at the industry's top awards ceremony today.

Their presence at the event illustrates how the Republic has grown into a major global player in the booming industry - which helps firms resolve disputes without going to court.

Singapore is also flying the flag for Asia, as in three of the categories it is the only Asian country represented.

Senior Counsel Michael Hwang is among the seven nominees from around the globe for the arbitrator of the year award, while Rajah Tann's Chong Yee Long is up for advocate of the year.

An arbitrator judges a dispute between two parties while an advocate represents a party.

Mr Hwang and Mr Chong are the only Asian lawyers shortlisted in their respective categories. Also shortlisted is the Singapore International Arbitration Centre (SIAC), for institution of the year.

And Maxwell Chambers, which is only a few years old, is in the running to receive the award for 'most significant development' of the year because of its recent impact on the industry. It is the only Asian firm nominated in this category.

The inaugural awards event will be held in Seoul, South Korea.

It is hosted by the London-based Global Arbitration Review (GAR), a worldwide industry reference publication. The GAR100 lists the top arbitration firms each year. Local heavyweight Rajah Tann is the only Asian law firm to make it to the list for the last two years.

Maxwell Chambers chief executive Ban Jiun Ean said yesterday that the 'nominations for such prestigious awards show that Singapore is making quite a mark on the international arbitration scene'.

He added: 'It is clear recognition that the standard of international arbitration here is as good as can be found anywhere in the world.'

SIAC chief executive Minn Naing Oo added that the centre has one of the fastest growth rates of any institution in this arena.

The SIAC is up against established giants such as the Paris-based International Chamber of Commerce and the London Court of International Arbitration for the institution of the year award.

'The GAR nomination confirms global recognition of SIAC's status as a premier institution and we are proud to have received this accolade,' said Mr Minn.

Mr Hwang, 67, is a former Law Society president and current chief justice of the Dubai International Financial Centre.

Mr Chong, 46, said yesterday: 'Singapore is almost the only flag-holder from Asia for the named categories and it makes me very proud.'

The other Asian flag-holder is Hong Kong. Its International Arbitration Centre was nominated for institution of the year.

Yesterday, Law Minister K. Shanmugam said Singapore's success came from its reputation as a neutral venue and the way the SIAC attracted leading arbitrators from various international jurisdictions, which 'helped to lend depth of expertise'.

The SIAC has also streamlined its rules to 'ensure arbitration cases are resolved effectively and efficiently'.

Singapore to help Honduras set up economic zones

Singapore will help Honduras set up special economic zones (SEZs) in the Central American country under an agreement signed yesterday.

The Honduran economy is based mainly on agriculture but it plans to develop SEZs in various locations and wants to utilise Singapore's expertise in establishing these areas.

The first step was taken when the Singapore Cooperation Enterprise (SCE) inked a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with visiting Honduran officials, including President Porfirio Lobo.

It will involve the SCE working with private and public sectors here in collaboration with the Honduras government.

They will undertake feasibility studies to identify potential SEZ sites and plan their development.

Singapore will also help out with advice on best practices in areas of governance and commerce for the export-oriented zones.

The SCE is an agency jointly set up by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ministry of Trade and Industry to respond to the many requests from overseas to tap on Singapore's development experience.

Financial Times ranks 2 Singapore MBA programmes among top 35

The National University of Singapore (NUS) Business School's MBA programme achieved 23rd position in the latest ranking of the top 100 full-time global MBA programmes by the London-based business newspaper, Financial Times (FT).

This is the programme's highest-ever rating by a major agency and the highest FT ranking ever achieved by any Singapore MBA programme. The NUS MBA was ranked 35th in 2009 but was left out last year due to a technicality.

The MBA programme of the Nanyang Business School (NBS) - part of Nanyang Technological University (NTU) - also made the honour roll but fell six spots from last year's 27th place to the 33rd.

Its MBA alumni, however, had the highest average salaries among those who attended programmes here.

Measured three years after graduation, the NBS alumni have an average salary of US$104,952 (S$134,000), trumping by a slim margin the NUS Business School's US$100,456.

It was also ranked 69th in The Economist's Top 100 MBA ranking last year, making it the highest-ranked here.

NUS' post-MBA salary increase of its graduates stood at 140 per cent, compared with the 125 per cent for the 22 higher-ranked schools.

This means that a student's pre-MBA salary of, for example, $45,000 would have jumped 140 per cent to $108,000 three years after graduation.

Over 90% of Singaporeans happy with quality of life

Commissioned by Reach, the Government's feedback arm, the survey last year saw more than 90 per cent of the 2,013 respondents express satisfaction with their overall quality of life, compared to 2009.

When asked if they were satisfied with the way Singapore was being run, 96 per cent of respondents, who were aged 17 and above, said 'yes'.

A high percentage were also satisfied with the Government's economic policies, the quality of the public service, their living environment and issues such as the education system.

Singapore could become launch pad to space

A French aerospace giant wants to make Singapore a launch pad for commercial space flights.

European Aeronautic Defence and Space (Eads), a leading defence and military contractor, is working on the ambitious plan, which it hopes will eventually rival British billionaire Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic, which is to launch the world's first commercial space flight this year.

Mr Hugues Laporte-Weywada, Eads senior vice-president for international sales and marketing for the Asia-Pacific region, said a detailed feasibility study was done here last year, with positive results.

First, he said, there is a readily available pool of people in the region with deep-enough pockets to pay the €200,000 (S$350,000) it will cost for an hour-long ride into space.

Secondly, the infrastructure to house the planes and take-off site are available.

Singapore third on globalisation index

Singapore is third in a ranking of the world's most globalised economies, trailing Hong Kong and Ireland.

The Ernst Young's Globalisation Index 2010 found that the Republic continued to perform strongly in terms of openness to trade and capital movements, with improvements also seen in cultural integration.

Singapore posted reduced scores, however, in the areas of labour and technology compared with the year before - when it had claimed top spot in the index's inaugural 2009 survey.

The index measures the world's largest 60 economies according to their degree of globalisation relative to their economic output or gross domestic product. It has five criteria: openness to trade, capital movements, exchange of technology and ideas, labour movements and cultural integration.

Singaporeans No. 2 on CNN's 'coolest' list

Singaporeans have been named the second 'coolest nationality' in the world by travel website CNNgo - and it all has to do with the Republic's burgeoning geek culture.

'With its absurdly computer-literate population, Singapore is geek central and its people can therefore claim their rightful place as avatars of modern cool,' wrote Mr Barry Neild, the author of the report, which was published last Friday.

Brazilians clinched top spot as the coolest people on the planet. The Jamaicans came in third, followed by the Mongolians, the Americans and the Spanish.

The report proclaimed geeks as no longer the laughing stock in a digital age where 'old school notions of cool have been rebooted'.

And the travel website's Singaporean icon of cool? Twelve-year-old primary school pupil Lim Ding Wen, who was the world's youngest iPhone application developer at the age of nine.

He developed a drawing application called Doodle Kids which lets users draw on the touchscreen of the iPhone using their fingers.

He was ranked alongside other icons of cool such as Spain's Oscar-winning actor Javier Bardem and the United States' actor and sex symbol Johnny Depp.

Lien Aid gets China charity award

A Singapore non-profit organisation has been awarded one of China's top charity awards for bringing much-needed water and sanitation to more than 30,000 Chinese in drought-prone rural areas.

Lien Aid, a collaboration between Lien Foundation and Nanyang Technological University, received the Global Charity Award in the Great Hall of the People yesterday at one of China's major events of the year honouring philanthropic work.

Held by the Chinese ministry of civil affairs and the prestigious Soong Ching Ling Foundation, the ceremony honoured more than 50 individuals and organisations for their contributions to Chinese society.

Lien Aid, the only Singapore recipient at this year's awards, was ranked by popular vote as an outstanding contributor among the top non-profit organisations for its 14 projects in Yunan, Sichuan and Shanxi.

Singapore 2nd Country to legislate re-employment

That is official, after Parliament yesterday passed the Retirement and Re-employment Act.

Singapore is now the second country in the world - after Japan - to legislate re-employment, and the first to spell out eligibility criteria, a dispute-resolution mechanism and penalties for errant employers.

To qualify for re-employment, workers must be medically fit and have at least satisfactory work performance. The onus is on employers to prove that a worker is not eligible for re-employment.

HK, S'pore best governed Asia-Pac economies: Index

HONG Kong and Singapore are the best governed economies in the Asia Pacific in terms of their openness to international business, a new index has found.

Singapore-based consulting firm Vriens Partners' inaugural Good Governance for International Business index in Asia Pacific for 2010 saw Hong Kong in top spot with Singapore a close second.

In all, 18 economies were ranked for the index, which was based on surveys of 100 business leaders from the various economies.

The Republic was praised for its 'openness to international trade and business, good local infrastructure, public sector quality and effectiveness and favourable taxation policies'.

It was ranked first in fiscal and monetary administration, and public sector quality and effectiveness, second in taxation, corruption and openness to international trade, and fourth for rule of law.

While lauding Singapore's successful transformation into a regional hub for multinational corporations, Vriens Partners also highlighted the Republic's restrictions on foreign investments in areas such as telecommunications, domestic media and financial, legal and professional services.

Singapore patently ahead in Asian tech innovation

The number of high-tech breakthroughs by Singapore researchers helped the country beat 12 other regional markets in terms of patent quality, according to the second Asia-Pacific Intellectual Property Scorecard released yesterday at the Global IP Forum.

The Republic also took top spot in 2004 in the first study carried out by the National University of Singapore's Entrepreneurship Centre.

The research team analysed patents filed annually with the United States Patents and Trademark Office (USPTO) by 13 markets, including China, Japan, South Korea and Singapore, said the centre's director, Professor Wong Poh Kam.

USPTO data was used as 'the US is the biggest market in the world'.

The team also examined data from the European patents office and found largely similar trends.

Quality was calculated based on how many times local patents were cited by other patents.

In particular, Singapore's patents in two technological classes, electronics and infocomm technology, were among the most highly cited in the region, said Prof Wong. This is at least in part due to the country's focus on these two fields.

Half of the 622 patents filed by Singapore inventors were in the electronics field, like semiconductor chips, and a quarter were in computers and communication products, like wireless antennas.

Only 1 per cent were design patents protecting the look of, say, a toy, shirt or the casing of a new media player, Prof Wong said.

In terms of quantity, Singapore's 622 patents put it in seventh place in the region. The 622 figure accounted for 0.32per cent of the 192,000 patents granted worldwide in 2009.

United States patents accounted for about half of the global total, and Japan, one-fifth.

Singapore's relatively small contribution was a function of its small population, said Prof Wong.

But, on a per capita basis, it did better, garnering nearly 134 patents per million people. This placed it in fourth place in the region - behind Taiwan (358.7), Japan (303.9) and South Korea (201.7).

The number of Singapore patents is also rising, albeit at a relatively slow clip of 8 per cent annually, making it ninth in Asia.

To boost R D, the Government said last September that it would set aside $1.6 billion to fund R D projects in the next five years.