The Macau Metro Monitor, August 30th 2010
LEVEN DOWNPLAYS COTAI DELAYS Macau Daily Times
Sands' Acting CEO Leven still hopes to open sites 5 & 6 before 4Q 2011 as "there is much we can do to catch up." Sands has warned that the delayed opening will only be viable “once we have sufficient labor to ramp up our construction activity to requisite levels”.
"THOSE WHO ARE NOT HAPPY CAN GO BACK HOME:" MACAU LABOUR AFFAIRS HEAD macaubusiness.com
Shuen Ka Hung, the director of the Labour Affairs Bureau said, "If the worker thinks the conditions that the employer is offering them are not sufficient or if they feel they are being mistreated, they can always go back to their homeland to find another job." Mr. Shuen said that the Macau government believes it is possible for both the employers and the workers representatives to reach a “basic consensus” over the imposition of a minimum salary, which would include imported workers, in Macau by next year.
NEW MEASURES TO COOL SINGAPORE PROPERTY MARKET Channel News Asia, WSJ, Bloomberg
The Monetary Authority of Singapore, the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of National Development said in a joint statement that the government will introduce three new measures to "temper sentiments" in the private property market and "encourage greater financial prudence among property purchasers." The new measures are: 1) raising the holding period of the seller's stamp duty from one to three years; 2) LTV limit for those with more than one outstanding housing loan will be lowered from 80% to 70%; 3) minimum cash payment increased from 5% to 10%. Singapore’s property market would form a bubble if the current momentum continued, said Mah Bow Tan, Minister of National Development. The measures will take immediate effect on August 30.
Meanwhile, Prime minister Lee said Singapore would limit its number of foreign workers to a third of the working population. About 80,000 foreign workers will be added in 2010, fewer than the 100,000 estimated earlier, he said. Mr. Lee also said the two IRs have helped add 20,000 jobs and will contribute tax revenues to the government's coffers.
