Singapore blocks Allianz-Income deal with Insurance Act amendment; Olympians and Paralympians honoured in Parliament: Singapore live news

Hong Kong has leapfrogged Singapore as having the world’s freest economy, according to a new report.

Hong Kong’s score of 8.58 edged out Singapore’s 8.55 in Fraser Institute’s latest Economic Freedom of the World report, covering 2022.

“Despite this reversal in the ranking, Hong Kong’s rating continues to fall precipitously from 9.05 in 2018 to 8.58 in 2022 – nearly half a standard deviation decline in just four years,” noted the report.

Switzerland (3rd), New Zealand (4th), and the United States (5th) rounded out the top five nations.

The annual index attempts to measure the degree to which the policies and institutions of countries permit people to make their own economic choices.

They use 45 data points – organised into five broad areas – to construct an overall index. Areas include Size of Government, Legal System and Property Rights, Sound Money, Freedom to Trade Internationally, and Regulation.

You find out more by reading the full Economic Freedom of the World report here.

Chick-fil-A is coming to Singapore – and this time it’s not going to be just for a pop-up event.

The American fast-food restaurant chain, which enjoys a cult following for its chicken sandwiches, is set to open its first store in Singapore in late 2025.

The launch will actually mark the brand’s first entry into Asia.

Back in June 2024, they held a pop-up event in Singapore to “help introduce the brand to the community and gain a nuanced understanding of preferences in the region.” More than 1,000 people showed over three days.

“The profound love that Singaporeans have for food as well as the city’s strategic position as a gateway to the Asian market make it the ideal choice for Chick-fil-A’s first permanent restaurant in the region,” said Chick-fil-A’s Chief International Officer, Anita Costello in a statement.

“We are grateful for the overwhelming support and positive response from Singaporeans so far and we look forward to serving them in 2025,” she said.

The Singapore restaurant will be opened under a franchise model, backed by a US$75 million (S$98.5 million) investment over 10 years.

Chick-fil-A (Asia) is currently accepting expressions of interest for individuals who are interested in becoming the first independent Chick-fil-A franchise Owner-Operator in Singapore.

Taiwanese diva A-Lin is returning to Singapore next year for two shows.

She will be performing at Sands Grand Ballroom in Marina Bay Sands on 28-29 March 2025 as part of her Show Time tour.

Tickets for A-Lin's upcoming concert will cost between $28 and $288 (VIP category) with general sales starting from 10am on Friday.

But for die-hard A-Lin fans, you may want to check out priority or pre-sale options which are available from noon today (17 October).

Tickets can be purchased at Marina Bay Sands' official website as well as BigTix and Book My Show.

Last year, A-Lin bagged the Best Female Singer (Mandarin) award at the Golden Melody Awards. The singer had lost in the category four times in the past but finally won the accolade for her tenth album, 'Link'.

Liam Payne, who rose to fame with boyband One Direction, has tragically died at the age of just 31.

Payne was found dead in Buenos Aires, Argentina on Wednesday (16 October) after falling from a hotel balcony.

Police said Payne fell from the third floor of the Casa Sur Hotel in Palermo resulting in “extremely serious injuries.” His death was confirmed at the scene.

The Associated Press were able to obtain an emergency call by the hotel manager who was frantically explaining a situation about “a guest who is overwhelmed with drugs and alcohol ... He’s destroying the entire room and, well, we need you to send someone, please.”

Payne gained success in the music business as part of the five-member group One Direction which grew in popularity due to the ‘The X Factor’ reality show.

He pursued a solo career after the group disbanded in 2016 and recently released a single called ‘Teardrops’ in March.

Payne had a 7-year-old son Bear Grey, with his ex, Girls Aloud singer Cheryl.

In addition to his son, he is survived by his parents, Geoff and Karen Payne, and his two older sisters, Ruth and Nicola.

Some of Singapore’s greatest current athletes were honoured in Parliament on Wednesday (16 October).

More than half of the 33-strong group of athletes who represented Singapore so valiantly across the Paris Olympics and Paralympics were in attendance.

“We paid tribute to our Olympians and Paralympians today in Parliament. They have given their best on the world stage, pushing beyond limits and inspiring us all,” said Singapore Prime Minister Lawrence Wong.

Minister for Culture, Community and Youth Edwin Tong moved a motion in Parliament to honour our Team Singapore athletes. In his speech he laid out six key strategies to bring Singapore to the next level of sporting success.

“These include expanding opportunities for all to reach their aspirations in sports, strengthening our high performance sport system, building an inclusive sports system through the Disability Sports Master Plan, and making Singapore a hub for world class sporting events,” Tong said.

Multiple MPs spoke during the sitting, voicing their support for the motion including Workers’ Party MP Jamus Lim (Sengkang GRC) who also called for equality in monetary rewards for Olympic and Paralympic medallists.

A Paralympic gold under the Athletes Achievement Awards (AAA) scheme is $500,000 while an Olympic gold medallist under the Multi-Million Dollar Award Programme (MAP) is $1 million.

“The government will continue to invest in sporting excellence and support our athletes to fulfil their aspirations,” PM Wong said.

“To our athletes, their families, and team officials, thank you for representing Singapore with passion and grit. We salute you,” he said.

Singapore has amended the Insurance Act (16 October) which will see the need for the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) to consider the views of the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth (MCCY) when an application for regulatory approval involves an insurer that is either a cooperative or linked to one.

This allows the government to block German insurer Allianz’s proposed $2.2 billion acquisition of a majority stake in Income Insurance. NTUC Enterprise – a cooperative – is a majority shareholder of Income.

Singapore’s government felt it wouldn’t be in the public interest for the deal to go ahead – at least in its current form – as it wasn’t satisfied Income could continue to fulfil its social mission.

“We will be amending the Insurance Act to allow MAS to consider the views of MCCY and to withhold approval if it is in the public interest to do so, for applications relating to an insurer that is either a Co-op or linked to a Co-op,” said Minister for Culture, Community and Youth, Edwin Tong.

“MCCY is responsible to ensure that Co-ops continue to uphold their social mission to benefit Singaporeans, as they seek to do well. There is strong public interest in protecting the social missions which cooperatives serve,” he said.

Tong added: “This is why we have intervened in the proposed transaction.”

Allianz announced plans to buy at least 51% of Income from NTUC Enterprise Co-operative in July.

The deal was heavily scrutinised as some worried it could lead to higher insurance premiums which would not benefit the middle to lower income Singapore workers the firm was supposed to serve.