SINGAPORE (Reuters) – Singapore’s long-ruling People’s Action Party (PAP) swept back to power as expected in the most contested general election since independence, but the opposition made historic gains in what both sides called a landmark vote.

Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said it was a watershed election and indicated it could bring change in the city-state, one of the wealthiest and fastest-growing nations in Asia but tainted by criticism of political restrictions and little tolerance of dissent.

This year the opposition put up candidates for 82 of 87 seats in parliament, the most constituencies it has ever contested. In 2006, just over half the seats were contested.

“It marks a distinct shift in our political landscape,” Lee told an early morning news conference Sunday. “Many (Singaporeans) wish for the government to adopt a different style and approach.”

“Many desire to see more opposition voices in parliament to check the PAP government.”

Lee was among the winners as state television announced that the PAP had secured 81 of 87 seats in parliament. The six seats that went to the opposition was the highest number it has ever taken.

Foreign Minister George Yeo was among the PAP’s losers as part of the team defeated by the opposition Workers’ Party in a five-member constituency.

SINGAPORE (Reuters) – Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong has made a rare apology for mistakes his government may have made ahead of the toughest general election his People’s Action Party (PAP) has faced since coming to power in 1965.

The PAP will contest 82 of 87 parliamentary seats, up from just 47 of the 84 seats in the last parliament, in Saturday’s polls which come amid opposition irritation at higher housing prices and over-crowding on trains and buses caused, critics say, by lax immigration policies and an influx of foreigners.

Several ministers have also come under fire for their reluctance to acknowledge such problems.

“If we didn’t quite get it right, I am sorry but we will try and do better the next time,” Lee told a rally on Tuesday in the city-state’s central business district, newspapers said.

Later he repeated: “Well, we’re sorry we didn’t get it exactly right, but I hope you’ll understand and bear with us because we’re trying our best to fix the problems.”

Chua Mui Hoong, a deputy editor at the pro-government Straits Times newspaper, said the speech was like no other from a PAP minister in recent years.

“Mr Lee’s speech was remarkable for its public mea culpa. And it was remarkable for its — there is no other word for it — humility,” she wrote in a commentary.

SINGAPORE, April 27 (Reuters) – Singapore’s economy is likely to grow at the higher end of the official 4-6 percent forecast this year, while inflation will ease after peaking at 5.2 percent in the first quarter, the country’s central bank said on Wednesday.

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), in its latest half-yearly macroeconomic review, also warned of rising wage costs in services as the banking and tourism sectors continue to add staff.

“The tightness in the labour market is reflected in the rising, or near record high, vacancy rates in several services sectors, which suggests that firms are finding it difficult to fill available positions,” MAS said.

“Inflows of foreigners… will generally be lower than in past periods of economic expansion as the government tightens its policies on immigration and low-skilled foreign workers,” the central bank added.

Singapore’s economy expanded 14.5 percent last year, helped by a recovery in Asian economies and a surge in immigration over the past five years. The government is, however, slowing the pace at which foreigners are able to work in Singapore due to rising unhappiness among locals.

The ruling People’s Action Party (PAP), which has controlled Singapore since independence, is currently contesting general elections on May 7. [ID:nL3E7FI1MP]

MAS said resident wage growth in Singapore could come in slightly lower than the 5.6 percent recorded in 2010, although it will significantly stronger than the historical average of about 3.3 percent a year.

SINGAPORE (Reuters) – The odds are always stacked against opposition candidates in Singapore elections and for Nicole Seah, a political novice contesting in the backyard of a popular former prime minister, they should be overwhelming.

But are they? The winsome 24-year-old is already the city-state’s second-most “liked” politician on Facebook and she enjoys a higher profile than many seasoned campaigners. She has clips on YouTube and is avidly discussed in blogs.

As Singapore gears up for elections on May 7, no one is sure how social media like Facebook, YouTube and Twitter will affect the outcome. What is clear is these outlets are sharply different to the pro-government local newspapers and TV.

“What used to be mere coffee shop talk can now enter the public discourse, for better or worse,” says Cherian George, associate journalism professor at Nanyang Technological University.

“Whether it will have any impact and to whose benefit is anyone’s guess.”

The People’s Action Party (PAP), which has ruled Singapore with an iron grip since independence in 1965, usually wins elections by a huge margin. But at the last election in 2006, when it won 82 of 84 seats, Facebook, YouTube and Twitter either did not exist or were in their infancy and confined to the West.

According to the government’s Info-communications Development Authority, 81 percent of Singapore households had access to the Internet at the end of 2009.

SINGAPORE (Reuters) – Singapore’s next general election will be on May 7, about eight months ahead of schedule, as Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong seeks to cash in on stellar economic growth in the wealthy city-state.

His People’s Action Party (PAP), which has ruled Singapore since independence in 1965, is virtually certain to be returned to power for another five years.

The PAP won 82 of the 84 contested seats at the last elections in 2006 but some analysts say its win may not be as overwhelming this time as Singaporeans fret about inflation and the increasing gap between rich and poor despite booming growth.

“The post-1965 generation of Singaporeans are now as old as 46 and they form a large portion of eligible voters above 21 years of age,” said former newspaper editor and banker Mano Sabnani.

“They will support good candidates who stand in the coming general election, be they from the PAP or opposition parties.”

Singapore’s gross domestic product (GDP) grew 14.5 percent last year and it is fast becoming a major global centre for private banking.

Last year, Singapore’s two casinos started operations with huge success, and the city runs the world’s only night-time Formula One Grand Prix.

SINGAPORE, April 19 (Reuters) – Singapore took a step closer to becoming a financial hub to trade using China’s renminbi, following in the footsteps of rival Hong Kong, which has seen explosive growth in its own offshore yuan market in the past year.

China’s central bank is considering naming Bank of China or Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) as a central clearing institution for yuan-denominated trade in Singapore, Singapore’s Straits Times reported on Tuesday.

The development in the city state noted for being a major trade redistribution center in Asia along with news on Monday that China and New Zealand set up a 25 billion yuan bilateral currency swap deal were signs the world’s second largest economy is keen on speeding up the international use of its still unconvertible currency.

China began allowing its currency to be used to settle international trades in 2009 through a scheme involving several Chinese cities along with Hong Kong, Macau and various Southeast Asian countries, including Singapore. The scheme was extended to the rest of the world in 2010.

Hong Kong is, however, currently the only place outside China where yuan trades can be settled via a Chinese bank. That is one of the main reasons why CNH, or offshore yuan in Hong Kong, trading volumes have surged and are expected to hit $1 billion a day this year.

“China needs more such centres after first data showed a slowdown in the pace of shift of China’s trade to yuan, and Singapore needs the ability to clear trades in order to compete with Hong Kong,” said Dariusz Kowalczyk, a senior economist and strategist at Credit Agricole in Hong Kong.

“Such a development would be in line with our expectation of China establishing more yuan offshore centres to speed up the process of yuan internationalization.” he added. <^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Chin ‘s web of currency swap deals: [ID:nL3E7FI0L6] China may permit yuan FDI this year: [ID:nL3E7FJ01W] CNH market developments and news:

SINGAPORE, April 18 (Reuters) – Black River, the private equity arm of U.S. agribusiness and trading giant Cargill , is raising a $400 million fund to invest in firms that will benefit from rising Asian demand for meat and vegetables.

The proposed Black River Capital Partners (Food) Fund, which has already received about $200 million in commitments, expects to invest about half the money in China, where people are eating more protein and fruits and less cereal and tubers.

“GDP growth is driving food consumption in emerging markets (and) the demand for safe and high quality food, against a backdrop of outdated production methods and fragmented industry means high margin revenue opportunity for leading players,” Black River said in presentation notes seen by Reuters.

“Recent surveys indicate more than 96 percent of (Chinese) consumers are very concerned about food safety and 75 percent of interviewees expressed a willingness to pay extra for safer food,” it added.

Black River’s Singapore office could not be reached for comment.

The price of grains and other agricultural commodities have risen in recent months, pushing up inflation in many developing countries and raising concerns about possible food shortages.

Last week, the World Bank warned higher global food and energy prices are affecting a larger swathe of developing countries than at the beginning of the year, threatening to push more people into poverty. [ID:nWALEFE768]

SINGAPORE, April 13 (Reuters) – Target Asset Management, one of Singapore’s most successful boutique fund managers, is launching a new $500 million Asia ex-Japan equity fund after founder Teng Ngiek Lian decided to stay in business and not retire as planned.

Teng, whose Target Asia Fund delivered an almost 10-fold return during its 14-year existence, said in July last year that the firm will wind down its operations as he wanted to retire. [ID:nSGE66S0H1]

The firm has since returned all the money in that fund and Teng is now looking to raise a maximum of $500 million for his new Target Value Fund which will invest in Asian companies that are out of favour with investors.

About 10 percent of the money will come from Teng and his managers.

“We have just begun to launch the fund. The first close will be at the end of May and we should be able to start investing in June,” Teng told Reuters in an interview.

Unlike his previous fund which sought to beat the MSCI Asia ex-Japan Index , Teng said the new fund will aim for absolute returns over a three-year period. Investors who withdraw their money within three years will have to pay a penalty that will be reinvested in the fund.

“There is no deliberate attempt to play dirty or set a new watermark,” he added, pointing to the new high reached by the Target Asia Fund just before it was wound up.

SINGAPORE, April 11 (Reuters) – Singapore has the financial infrastructure to become an overseas trading centre for the Chinese yuan, but political considerations will prevent the Southeast Asian city-state from challenging Hong Kong’s supremacy in this area.

Singapore, Asia’s largest foreign exchange trading centre after Japan, is where the likes of Citigroup and Standard Chartered base their biggest Asian dealing rooms.

Singapore is also the region’s trading hub for many of the commodities that China imports and more than 3,000 mainland firms operate in the city.

The Wall Street Journal, citing unnamed sources, reported over the weekend that China is weighing steps to expand trading of its currency outside the mainland and may select Singapore as a second yuan-trading hub after Hong Kong.

Analysts said that while Singapore will likely grab a large slice of the fast-growing offshore yuan business, the People’s Bank of China (PBOC) will ensure that Hong Kong, a special territory of China, remains the paramount centre.

“Singapore, for the foreseeable future, is unlikely to overtake Hong Kong as the primary offshore RMB trading hub,” said Singapore Management University’s Bernard Lee, a former managing director at U.S. fund manager Blackrock.

“Hong Kong, being part of China, is the place where PBOC can afford to do some experimentation in liberalising the RMB in a controlled manner. A lot of Chinese manufacturers have long-term sales contracts denominated in U.S. dollars. If the RMB appreciates too fast, there is a credible risk that some of those factories may be forced out of business.”

NUSA DUA, Indonesia, April 8 (Reuters) – Southeast Asia’s stock exchanges announced plans on Friday to market themselves jointly to international investors and said they were confident that a venture to allow trading between some of them would be ready before the end of the year.

“Bursa Malaysia , Singapore Exchange (SGX) and the Stock Exchange of Thailand have already committed to being the first group to establish the linkage,” Indonesian Finance Minister Agus Martowardojo told reporters.

“The Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) is considering joining the linkage at the same time at the end of 2011.”

He was speaking on the sidelines of a meeting of finance ministers from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), a group comprising Indonesia, Thailand, the Philippines, Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei, Vietnam, Cambodia, Myanmar and Laos.

“Currently, the world perceives ASEAN as small, fragmented economies without the depth and strength of those offered by China or India. (But) ASEAN’s $1.8 trillion economy is larger than India’s and is 40 percent that of China,” Martowardojo added at the launch of a campaign by the region’s exchanges to promote themselves to international investors.

The initiative includes a commitment by the bourses to market the region collectively under the ASEAN brand and the launch of a website that will help investors track the largest Southeast Asian firms from a single access point.

When the electronic trading link is eventually in place, a broker working on one of the signatory exchanges will be able to trade in stocks listed on the other bourses without having to go through an intermediary, encouraging the cross-border buying and selling of shares in ASEAN countries.