Fast rail link: Jurong East picked for S'pore terminal

Both countries also agree original completion target date of 2020 unrealistic

By

Lee U-Wenleeuwen@sph.com.sg@LeeUwenBT

Mr Najib and Mr Lee at a press conference after their retreat on Tuesday. They reaffirmed that both countries are "fully committed" to the project's success. 

PHOTO: AFP

6 May5:50 AM

Singapore

THE terminal stations for the planned high-speed rail linking Singapore and Kuala Lumpur have finally been confirmed, but the leaders of the two countries revealed that the ambitious 350km project will not meet its original 2020 deadline.

The Republic's terminal will be at Jurong East in the Jurong Lake District, said Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong on Tuesday at the end of his retreat with Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak.

Basing the station there dovetails with Singapore's overall plans to transform the area into the country's second central business district, he said at a joint press conference at the Shangri-La Hotel.

"The terminal will change the face of Jurong and create opportunities for our citizens and businesses, draw the people of Singapore and Malaysia closer together, and connect our businesses with opportunities," said Mr Lee.

Once the project is operational, it will be able to shuttle passengers from Singapore to the Malaysian capital in just 90 minutes, compared to a four to five-hour journey if one was to drive.

Malaysia had earlier identified its terminal stations - Bandar Malaysia in Kuala Lumpur, Seremban, Malacca, Muar, Batu Pahat, and Nusajaya in Johor.

While Singapore had been mulling three possible sites for its lone terminal - the other two being Tuas West and the city centre - it didn't come as too big a surprise that Jurong East eventually got the nod.

In April last year, Mr Lee had told a group of newspaper editors at the Istana that Jurong East was a "very attractive" option that the government was considering.

On Tuesday, Mr Lee explained that having the terminal in the city centre would be too costly and very difficult to construct due to the density of the area. Tuas would have been the "easiest" option but there are too few businesses located in that industrial area.

"In Jurong East, you have businesses, population and a regional centre that's already developing," said Mr Lee. "There are hotels, factories, shops and restaurants. Everything is in Jurong East."

One key issue that the two governments now need to work on is a new target date to complete the high- speed rail, after both Mr Lee and Mr Najib said doing so by the year 2020 was "unrealistic" given the current circumstances.

Officials on both sides will soon meet to discuss how best to structure the multi-billion-dollar project. The two premiers, who reaffirmed that both countries are "fully committed" to the project's success, hope that an agreement can be worked out by the end of this year, including a consensus on the timeline.

Mr Najib pointed out that the actual construction would take five years, in addition to a year to carry out the tender process and another year to design the high-speed rail link.

This could mean that the first trains could be up and running only by 2023 at the earliest, assuming Singapore and Malaysia can reach an agreement later this year. "This is a very complex project. There are many dimensions to it. We have to study it very carefully, but expeditiously at the same time," said Mr Najib.

Progress was made on some aspects of the project, with agreement reached on several issues such as the dual co-located Customs, Immigration and Quarantine configuration, the frequency bands to be reserved for the rail's operations, and locating the depot and stabling facilities in Malaysia.

During the half-day retreat, one of the top items on the agenda of the two leaders was how to improve connectivity between their countries.

Another major joint project is the rapid transit system linking Johor Bahru and Woodlands, which is targeted to be in operation by 2019.

Singapore's terminal station will be located at Woodlands North on the Thomson-East Coast Line near Republic Polytechnic. Malaysia has yet to announce where it wants to build its terminal, but Mr Najib said a decision will be made by the time the leaders have their next retreat in Malaysia in 2016.

"Once the two terminals are decided, then we can discuss the connection, whether it should be a bridge or a tunnel or some combination (of both). We are ready to progress as soon as both sides are ready," said Mr Lee.

The two premiers also discussed the so-called "friendship bridge" - a new bridge that Malaysia has proposed building in order to ease congestion at the checkpoints.

Mr Lee noted that this project needs to be studied carefully as the existing links are maxed out over time and the demand for capacity grows.

"Singapore is happy to enhance connectivity with Malaysia. The more convenient it is for people to move back and forth, the more benefits there will be for both sides," he noted.

"It's not just business, but also the people-to-people links. Also, it's for recreation and pleasure. You can go up, stay there for the weekend, have a meal and come back. These require very convenient inter-connects. An additional link, whether in the form of a friendship bridge or some other link, I think it will be helpful.
"

Australia central bank cuts rates to record-low 2% to spur sluggish economy

PUBLISHED ON MAY 5, 2015 12:50 PM

 2 15 0 0PRINTEMAIL

 

Pedestrians crossing a road in the Sydney CBD on March 3, 2015. Australia's central bank cut its cash rate a quarter point to an all-time low of 2.0 per cent on Tuesday, aiming to spur a sluggish domestic economy while keeping downward pressure on the local dollar. -- PHOTO: AFP 

SYDNEY (Reuters) - Australia's central bank cut its cash rate a quarter point to an all-time low of 2.0 per cent on Tuesday, aiming to spur a sluggish domestic economy while keeping downward pressure on the local dollar.

The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) made the announcement following its monthly policy meeting. A Reuters poll of 27 analysts had found 20 expected a cut this week.

Canada posts record trade deficit in March on lower energy prices

Greg Quinn, Bloomberg
9:11 AM, E.T. | May 5, 2015
Economy

Follow this

LIGHT CRUDE JUN5Stock data delayed up to 20 minutes

$60.82

$1.89

3.21%

chart type: 1year

See Full Stock Page »

Canada’s merchandise trade deficit reached a record in March as the value of energy exports declined and imports of consumer goods increased.
The $3.02 billion deficit broke the old record of $2.87 billion set in July 2012, Statistics Canada said Tuesday in Ottawa. The shortfall exceeded the highest forecast of $1.33 billion in a Bloomberg economist survey with 15 responses, which had a median forecast predicting the trade deficit would narrow.
Canada’s trade balance has been dominated by crude prices that collapsed more than 50 percent drop in the second half of last year, turning the nation’s surplus of $2 billion into six straight deficits. Exports outside the energy industry such as automobiles and machinery will help overcome the shock of last year’s drop in oil prices in the next few months, Bank of Canada Governor Stephen Poloz told lawmakers last week.
Energy exports fell by 8.9 percent to $6.89 billion in March, including a 29.7 percent drop in refined petroleum products to $855 million, Statistics Canada said. Energy prices declined 7 percent and volumes fell 2.1 percent. From 12 months earlier, energy exports were down by 43.7 percent.
Imperial Oil Ltd., the Canadian oil-sands company owned by Exxon Mobil Corp., reported on April 30 first-quarter profit fell by more than half as crude prices tumbled. Capital spending in Western Canada’s energy industry will fall 33 percent to $46 billion in 2015, the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers said on Jan. 21.
Excluding energy, exports rose by 2.4 percent in March, including an 11.7 percent gain in automobiles and parts to $6.6 billion. Total exports rose 0.4 percent in March to $42.5 billion, and were down 3.1 percent from a year earlier.
Imports gained 2.2 percent to a record $45.5 billion, as consumer goods jumped by 7.9 percent to $9.98 billion. Goods brought in from China rose 28.1 percent to $4.12 billion.
The volume of exports advanced 1.9 percent and import volumes rose 1.5 percent, Statistics Canada said. Volume figures adjust for price changes and can be a better indicator of how trade contributes to economic growth.
The agency revised the February deficit to $2.22 billion from $984 million on updated energy figures. The revisions increased the size of deficits over the past four months by $2 billion.

Warren Buffett to auction another charity lunch

6 May12:07 AM

[NEW YORK] Billionaire investor Warren Buffett has once again agreed to have lunch this year with the winner of an auction to benefit a San Francisco charity.

The 16th annual auction to benefit Glide, which provides food and services to the poor and homeless, will be held on eBay from May 31 to June 5, the charity said on Tuesday.

Past auctions have raised about US$17.8 million, including a record US$3,456,789 from an anonymous bidder in 2012. Last year's winner, Andy Chua from Singapore, bid US$2,166,766.

Other winners have included hedge fund manager David Einhorn of Greenlight Capital, and Ted Weschler, now a portfolio manager at Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc. Weschler won two auctions, bidding US$2,626,311 in 2010 and US$2,626,411 in 2011.

As in past years, this year's winner and up to seven friends will have a private lunch with Buffett at the Smith & Wollensky steakhouse in Manhattan.

The auctions began in 2000 after Buffett was introduced to Glide by his first wife, Susan, who died in 2004.

Glide was co-founded by the Rev Cecil Williams, a community leader and longtime pastor at Glide Memorial United Methodist Church in San Francisco's Tenderloin district. "Glide helped me understand just how much a life can be transformed by unconditional love and some real material help," Buffett said in a statement provided by Glide.

Buffett is worth about US$71.8 billion, ranking third worldwide, Forbes magazine said on Tuesday. He has run Omaha, Nebraska-based Berkshire for 50 years.

REUTERS