Australia competition watchdog OKs SGX-ASX merger

Australia's competition watchdog on Wednesday said it would not oppose a proposed US$8.3 billion merger between the Australian and Singapore stock exchanges.
In a move which brings the merger one step closer, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission said the planned merger between the Singapore Exchange Limited and Australia's ASX Limited was unlikely to result in a substantial decrease in competition.

"In Australia, SGX does not compete with ASX for trading, clearing or settlement services,' it said in a statement.

"ASX and SGX do compete for listing services, but only to a limited extent."

Comments
Weisiang: Heaving a sigh of relief, another obstacle cleared for the Singapore Exchange as plans to take over the Australia Exchange(ASX)which has been receiving in much scrutiny and criticism. I was in fact awed by the notion of taking over a foreign exchange, which is seldom or rather rarely known of.

This merger, would put Singapore as a real contender in the world map in the financial sector, not as a red dot, but a country that is competent in ability. How I wished, that I could be born a generation earlier, spearheading this project.

But what sparked me was whether my generation, under much media accusations of being weaklings would be competent enough to step on the platform our forefathers build to bring Singapore to even greater heights.

Chrystal:
I think that it would be quite difficult for Singapore Exchange to be able to merge with the Australia Exchange. Singapore is only a small red dot and I am sure that most of the foreigners will look down on us and doubt the capability of our stock market. However, I feel that if we really were to be able to clinch this deal, it would greatly benefit the stock exchange of Singapore. Moreover, I feel that this would be another great opportunity for Singapore to unveil our ability in maintaining as one of the top financial hubs in the world despite being so small. We should also make use of this chance to show the others what we are capable of.

Zeena:
News like this would definatly bring a significant boast in Singapore economy. It means that now countries would not still see Singapore as a small red dot. We have manage to bring our financial status to a global level. Though i feel that with such a huge merger in the way Singapore would be thrown into the lime light for fiancial status more could be done to further improve the economy of the country. Who won't want a better Singapore for our future generation?

WeeSoon: I agree with what Chrystal have said bout Singapore being just a small red dot. Why would a big country like Australia have thier sight in Singapore Stock Exchange. However on the other hand, if we were to merge with the Australian Exchange market, it would help by letting many other countries know about our little red dot. Australia stock exchange is said to be well known and if we were to merge together with them, not only would it boost our reputation, but also further bring ties with the two countries, which is also another good thing. Therefore i feel that if this merge were to success, it would really benefit Singapore alot.

Koofang: I agree with Zeena about how this news would help Singapore in the economy by gaining more recognition from people all around the world and also letting them know the existence of Singapore. Known as the little red dot, most people look down on us, doubting our capabilities in letting Singapore soar high. Like what Chrystal said, this is definitely a good opportunity to let this people see that we have the ability to bring Singapore to even greater heights even though we're just a small island.

Singapore Red Cross reports woman for pocketing $90,000

THE Singapore Red Cross Society has revealed that it has made a police report accusing a woman employee of misappropriating about $90,000 since February.

According to a Straits Times report today, discrepancies in finances surfaced last Wednesday during an internal audit.

The report also said that the employee was an administrative assistant with the finance department. She started as a temporary staff in 2009 and was made a permanent staff last December. She was believed to have taken the money over the course of this year.

When she was confronted, the employee admitted guilt and "left the office shortly after", said the report.

The Red Cross Society has been advised by the Comissioner of Charities to stop all fund-raisng activities until internal investigations into a misappropriation of funds have been done and additional safeguards are in place,

A Red Cross spokesman told ST that it has no more fund-raising activities this year but would continue to provide disaster relief.

The relief agency and charity receives donations in response to appeals for relief efforts.

Red Cross secretary-general Christopher Chua issued an open apology to all donors yesterday.

This is the first such incident at the charity since it begun in 1949 as part of the British Red Cross Society.

Comments
Wei Siang: Perhaps this is another case of the NKF saga where employees given the trust failed miserably in the responsibility bestowed upon them. If corporate companies has in place security measured to prevent employees, it is even a greater must where non-profit organisations like Red Cross should have implemented these policies to prevent embezzlement from their own employees.
On top of all these, organisation should also emphasize to key appointment holders that has access to corporate finances the consequences of misappropriating corporate funds.

WeeSoon: Could this be another NKF saga? Just like WeiSiang mention, employees were given the trust, however they choose to misuse this trust for thier own benefits. To me, the Red Cross is always a respectable non profit organization which help many countries when in time of need. Till now it still is, as i choose to believe that the organization is meant to help others. However the employee may not have this mindset therefore i would not blame Red Cross however would blame it on the employees.

Koofang: Another case of employee misappropriating funds? I agree with what Weisiang and Weesoon said. These employees take the trust that their employers gave to them for granted and use it for their own benefits. I think all companies should now start to step up their security to prevent more such cases from happening. From my impression, Red Cross is an organization that provides help to people in need. Isn't it an irony that such acts are happening in the organization? Although the employee may have her own reasons for committing that mistake, we should not forgive such acts. Hence, I urge all the companies and organizations to enforce stricter rules to make sure that every employee take responsibility in what they are assigned to do.

Zeena:

i feel that sure cases should not be categorize into cases such as those of NKF. The employee involve is jus a staff working in red cross unlike that of NKF and Ren Che in which those involve are high fliers of the organization. However this is still a blow to the Singapore community. Kind hearted souls who have donated money into such organization would feel cheated and thus decrease or stop donating funds there. This would cause the organization problem as their funds come mostly from this kind hearted souls. I feel that stricter funds control and policies must be implemented so as to restore the trust of the community towards this organization.


Chrystal:
Do non-profit organisations really exist? People ask for donations everywhere but we really do not know which one can we trust. Donors' trust has been betrayed time over time and which charitable organisation can we really trust? Our hearts soften whenever we see the less fortunate people and we would like to just do a small part to help them. However, do they really get the money we donate? Nobody knows. Therefore, I feel that it is understandable why Singaporeans tend to hesitate whenever they are approached by people asking for donations. Thus, I agree with the rest in saying that stricter laws should be implemented. Perhaps the government should take control over all charitable organisations to ensure that the less fortunate really do benefit from the donations.

'Bat man' update: Police report lodged but not by driver

THE driver who was allegedly threatened by another motorist with a wooden bat has yet to make a police report. But someone else - an eyewitness - has already done so.


On Friday, The New Paper reported on an incident that happened last Sunday along Upper Changi Road, outside Palmwoods condominium.

The incident, which showed a driver of a car aggressively approaching another motorist with what looked like a baseball bat, was recorded on a video clip of slightly over a minute long.

It was posted on citizen journalism website Stomp on Thursday.

It is understood that the Stomp contributor, Kum, made a police report on Friday.

A police spokesman reiterated its call for the motorist who was allegedly threatened with the bat to come forward, saying: "The aggrieved party should lodge a police report so that police can look into the matter and take action accordingly."

It's a similar call made by several members of the public and netizens.

One netizen, Getrealz, posted his comments addressed to the threatened motorist on Stomp: "We are waiting for you to report this case to the police so that action will be taken.

"Everything is prepared for you already - there are evidence and witnesses. What are you waiting for? Friends and relatives of this driver...come on, hurry up, call him."

Comments:
WeiSiang: This episode of road rage is definitely a torn in the flesh in Singapore's "affluent" society. To be tops in academic excellence, business practices just to name afew, but severely lacking in proper social etiquette spells out future troubles of the social fabrics of the society Singapore has in store.


What was heartening is that, there are numerous netizens are rallying behind the victim, encouraging him to report the case to the police. This shows that the citizens of Singapore still has the sense of justice, standing up even for the justice of others, in this case, strangers.


WeeSoon: I agree with WeiSiang that this " a torn in the flesh in Singapore's affluent" society." As Singapore is consider one of top image country to many others, however we still isn't perfect when it comes to social etiquette. Such incident happen many times and i do feel that the government should enforce stricter rules to reduce such incident. Making Singapore a even better place not only for the citizen living in it, but also for others to look at us.


Koofang: Violence seems to be very common among Singaporeans nowadays. As what Weesoon had mention, Singapore is considered to be one of the countries with top image to the others. Therefore, we should take notice of how we portray ourselves to others. We don't want foreigners to say that the good reputation we get for having good image is fake right? So in order to preserve our reputation, the government should enforce stricter rules on behaving crudely and showing violence in public. The most important thing is that we ourselves should take care of our own image and act like how we're suppose to be like in public.


Zeena:

I agree with what the rest have said. This is really a thorn in upholding the image Singapore is trying to portray. However i feel that there must be some reason in why the guy has not reported the case to police. Maybe he was in a wrong at first thereafter provoking the other guy into take out a baseball bat as a weapon or it's just a case of not wanting to blow up the matter as no harm was done. Yes that guy was in the wrong bringing out a baseball bat but have you gave it a thought that he might be the one being threaten? We must not sterotype people. Those who have tattoos and look agressive might not always be the one who is in the wrong. However no matter wat the real reason behind this situation is, its still wrong to portray this kind of image in public. The problem could have been solve in words not in brawls.

Chrystal:
I agree with what the others have said as well. Singapore has been well-known for her level of security and low crime rates. However, "Low crime doesn't mean no crime!" Although the crime rates in Singapore has always been relatively low, I feel that we should not take it for granted. We should always be mindful of the acts we display in public and be considerate to others. Moreover, I feel that for a country to continue prospering, the citizens should play a part as well. The image of a country will be best portrayed through the acts of its citizens. Civilised citizens are essential in the improvement of the country as a whole. For example, this incident may only be a little act of a fellow Singaporean. However, it clearly reflects on what the society in Singapore is becoming of. Therefore, I feel that we should always be mindful of what we do as it may not only affect ourselves but the reputation of our country as well!