Fare review committee headed by former judge Richard Magnus

 A 13-member committee has been selected to review the way public transport fares are adjusted.

Headed by former judge Richard Magnus and comprising of parties from the Public Transport Council, Land Transport Authority and academia, the committee will review the effectiveness of the current fare adjustment formula and propose improvements to the formula and the overall framework for fare adjustments.

The committee is expected to complete its review and present its recommendations to the Minister for Transport in early 2013.

PUB to embark on 4 new drainage projects to prevent flooding

 National water agency PUB will go on four new drainage projects to improve protection against floods. These include projects at Marymount Road, Queen Astrid Park, Benoi Road and Wan Lee Road.

Works at Marymount Road will start this month and involves the construction of a drain which runs under the road at the junction of Marymount Road and Bishan Street 21.

The new drain will run alongside an existing one and these are expected to alleviate floods by improving the flow capacity of the drainage system serving the area.

As excavation on the road will be carried out, traffic will be diverted in stages to facilitate the construction.

Offshore services provider Swiber said on Monday its joint

Offshore services provider Swiber said on Monday its joint
venture firm, PT Rajawali Swiber Cakrawala, had won a contract
worth around $175 million from an oil major for offshore
engineering, procurement, construction and installation works in
Indonesia.    
      The scope of work for Swiber's consortium partner, PT SMOE
Indonesia, is worth about $63 million. PT SOME Indonesia is a
unit of Singapore's Sembcorp Marine.    
       
PT BERLIAN LAJU TANKER TBK     
Berlian Laju Tanker (BLT), Indonesia's largest oil and gas
shipping firm listed in Jakarta and Singapore, said on Friday
FTI Consulting had stepped down as an advisor for the company's
restructuring.    
      After announcing a debt standstill, BLT had contracted FTI
to oversee its restructuring in January as mandated by major
banks.   

DBS said its target price of S$0.43 is pegged at six times Kreuz's 2012 fiscal year earnings, which it said is at a "conservative" 10 percent discount to the firm's Singapore-listed small-cap offshore services peers.

The buoyant offshore market is likely to drive good order flows for Kreuz, leading to a compound annual growth rate of 15 percent for 2011-2013 fiscal year net profit, said DBS, adding that catalysts should come from new order wins in the near term.

SIA takes bold gamble with new budget carrier

Singapore Airlines is planning to establish a new no-frills, low-fare airline operating widebody aircraft on medium and long-haul routes.

“The new airline is being established following extensive review and analysis. It will enable the SIA Group to serve a largely untapped new market and cater to the growing demand among consumers for low-fare travel,” Singapore Airlines said.

Operations are expected to begin within one year. The airline will be wholly owned by Singapore Airlines, but will be operated independently and managed separately from SIA.

“We are very excited about what our new low-fare subsidiary will offer to consumers. We are seeing a new market segment being created and this will provide another growth opportunity for the SIA Group,” said SIA CEO Goh Choon Phong.

SIA, one of the world's most profitable premium airlines, surprised the industry on Wednesday by announcing plans to tap into the region's growing appetite for budget air tickets on medium- to long-haul destinations.

The sector is currently dominated by neighbouring Malaysia's AirAsia X, which was was launched four years ago and flies to 14 cities including London, Tehran, Paris, Seoul and Tokyo as well as destinations in China, India and Australia.

SIA said it aims to launch its wholly-owned but independently managed low-cost operation within one year using wide body aircraft.

The announcement came amid intensifying competition in first and business class travel, with rivals such as Hong Kong's Cathay Pacific and Gulf carriers like Emirates and Etihad muscling into SIA's premium turf.

The company is yet to be named but they feel that it will help to stimulate demand for long haul flights in the budget travel market which is something which has happened in the short haul market in Asia recently. They feel it will provide a significant opportunity for growth for their company. They are not abandoning the rest of the company either, as this new branch will not compete against their current businesses. Further details including the name, management team and routes will be be announced later.

They will use Singapore Airline fleet to start with and then make further decisions with regards to long term fleet in the future. Their competition in AirAsia has reported on their Twitter site that he is not worried about the new business, in fact he says they should be worried as he feels they should not be trying to enter a market they know little about. It is unlikely that the company will be a failure though as SIA has done extensive research and are a well established company.