Real estate developers raised these concerns after the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) announced additional tariffs to be levied on imported steel products as of Tuesday.

This is a temporary safeguard measure against inexpensive imports that were said to be threatening the domestic industry.

Under the new decision, the import tax imposed on steel billets would increase from 10 per cent to 23.3 per cent while the tax imposed on long steel products would rise to 14.2 per cent from below 5 per cent.

With the new tariff, steel prices are expected to increase by three per cent.

Nguyen The Diep, deputy chairman of the Ha Noi Real Estate Club, said the prices of steel and cement account for 40 per cent of a real estate project’s construction costs, and thus the hike in steel prices will definitely lead to a surge in house prices.

Property developers whose projects are in the first stage of construction would be the most affected, Diep said.

Nguyen Viet Hai, general director of the VIC Investment Joint Stock Company, said that over the past few days, the company had to purchase steel at higher prices.

Steel is the most important material for construction projects, and the hike in building costs would force investors to adjust prices for the final products to gain profits, Hai said.

However, housing developers are unsure how long the price hike will last.

Hai said that decisive factors involving house prices were not only materials, but also labour costs and demand. In addition, the safeguard measure will only be in effect until October.

When prices increase, demand might fall because people tend to wait until prices drop, he said.

Economic expert Ngo Tri Long said the rise in house prices is predictable, but how long the steel price hike would affect the market is hard to say because it depends on the relationship between supply and demand.

Four Internet service providers (ISPs) have recently introduced 10Gbps home fibre plans, quintupling the previous top broadband speed for Singapore homes.

At these speeds, users can download an entire 50GB Blu-ray disc in under a minute. Other benefits touted by ISPs include streaming multiple ultra-high-definition 4K videos at the same time without lag and smooth online gaming.

Singtel started the trend last month with a 10Gbps home fibre plan that costs $189 a month.

Currently, M1, Singtel, SuperInternet and ViewQwest offer 10Gbps high-speed fibre plans priced from $189 to $218 monthly with a one- or two-year contract. In comparison, 1Gbps fibre plans start from $39.

These 10Gbps plans promise maximum download speeds of between 8Gbps and 10Gbps.

Upload speeds top out at between 2.5Gbps and 10Gbps.

Vincent Low, chief strategist at Akamai Technologies, said that Internet speeds continue to improve because consumers demand higher-quality videos. Those who use streaming video services or video conferencing will enjoy a better viewing experience with a 10Gbps connection, he said.

Senior analyst Clement Teo of market research firm Forrester feels that ISPs are offering such high-speed plans because the present fibre infrastructure is already capable of these speeds. “It is better to have the highway (10Gbps) ready as it can stimulate interest and lead to new apps,” he said.

ViewQwest chief executive Vignesa Moorthy echoed the view, saying “there is in reality very little real-life advantages of having a 10Gbps line over a 1Gbps line today because 1Gbps is fast enough for the vast majority of consumers” but he added that “new applications will emerge that can take full advantage” of 10Gbps speeds.

HARDWARE AND APPS PLAYING CATCH-UP

The lack of applications and the need for specialised computers and networking hardware to utilise a 10Gbps connection are reasons cited by MyRepublic and StarHub for not launching 10Gbps fibre plans yet. A spokesman for MyRepublic said that “consumer home connectivity solutions cannot support 10Gbps and will likely remain so for the near future”.

Similarly, StarHub said it will expand its fibre broadband offerings when “devices that support higher speeds become affordable for the mass market”.

Users need a high-end computer with a 10GbE Ethernet adapter to enjoy 10Gbps speeds. These computers, which can cost around $3,000, are unavailable from consumer PC manufacturers. Subscribers have to upgrade their computers or build a custom system. In addition, wireless speeds currently top out at around 1Gbps, so one cannot get 10Gbps speeds on a mobile device.

To address the PC hardware issue, ViewQwest partnered local PC builder Aftershock to launch 10Gbps-ready computers.

But there are no 10Gbps home routers in the market yet.

Both M1 and Singtel will lend a 10Gbps optical network router to each subscriber.

However, ViewQwest’s 10Gbps subscribers will have to fork out around $1,500 for a suitable router. SuperInternet, too, does not provide a router.

Given the prohibitive cost and its niche applications, Teo expects 10Gbps fibre to be some way off reaching mainstream adoption.

Hijup.com recently released its exclusive collection for London Fashion Week, where it was given space to exhibit its collections at the international fashion showcase.

Muslim fashion designer Dian Pelangi paraded her collection on the fashion show catwalk alongside London-based designer Edda Gimnes of Norway and Fengyi Tan of China.

“I thought it was just an exhibition, but it turned out I got an offer for a fashion show. I was really surprised,” said Dian.

Dian has been collaborating with students from the London School of Fashion — Nelly Rose and Odette Steele — training them in traditional clothing making techniques.

The results had been presented during Jakarta Fashion Week and later found their way to Fashion Scout in London Fashion Week with the support of the British Council.

Dian found the council’s support really helpful. “At the time when people have Islamophobia due to terrorism, they present Islam through a different approach: through fashion,” said Dian.

Muslim fashion has become a growing industry with Muslim consumers spending some US$230 billion on clothing, according to the 2015-2016 State of the Global Islamic Economic Report. It has been estimated the figure will increase to $327 billion by 2020.

The report also mentioned the Indonesia Islamic Fashion Fair and Dian Pelangi as key players in the global Muslim market, luring big brands like H&M and DKNY to join the trend.

HijUp founder Diajeng Lestari said the presence of international brands, like Dolce & Gabbana, could be used to create awareness of Muslim fashion trends.

She saw London as the center of fashion that embraces multicultural lifestyles.

HijUp, she said, is currently studying the market and investors to discover the possibility of opening up a warehouse, conducting promotions and seizing the market.

“One of the Indonesian government’s visions is to make Indonesia the capital of the Muslim fashion industry. This is our progressive movement before others move ahead more quickly,” Ajeng said.

She has much confidence in London’s Muslim market as Britain is home to more than 3 million Muslims, 5.4 percent of the population of England and Wales.

With the concept of bringing Muslim fashion online, Ajeng sees the potential in London’s middle class, HijUp’s target market.

“The middle class will want products that fit their needs. Indonesian style is influencing Muslim communities. We inspire each other,” said Ajeng.

Ajeng launched HijUp in 2011 after observing the ever-increasing market demand for trendy Islamic clothing.

As a hijab-wearing woman herself, she came up with the idea of developing a business platform that would connect Islamic fashion designers with their target customers at more affordable prices than by having to rent a physical store. In London, a soft introduction of Hijup.com was recently held at the HijUp International Meet Up and Trunkshow in London, which was attended by UK, Moroccan, Somali and Indonesian Muslim fashion bloggers.

The event included a discussion between HijUp designers Dian Pelangi, Zaskia Sungkar, Jenahara, Restu Anggraini, Vivi Zubedi and the founder, Ajeng.

Each of the designers promoted her own signature style — Dian Pelangi with her traditional and bohemian style, Zaskia Sunkar through her mix of modern and traditional looks, Vivi with ethnic and bohemian abaya, Jenahara with contemporary Muslim wear that could also be used by non-hijab-wearing women and Restu brought in a premium women’s collection.

H&M’s Muslim model Mariah Idrissi complimented the unity of Indonesia’s Muslim community, saying that as a country with the world’s biggest Muslim population, Indonesia can build a support system to succeed together in the Muslim fashion industry.

UK blogger Zinah said the gathering was quite a rare mix because it was hard to get Muslim bloggers together in London with the challenges mostly coming from people’s competitiveness and their busy schedules.

In the discussion, the bloggers stated their admiration that the Hijup designers found their way to be creative within the box of rules from the Islamic clothing requirements.

The designers stated that they agreed to show the beauty of Islam through fashion designs that represent their identities as Muslims, which sets them apart from international brands’ approaches to fashion.

“We have Islamic values and we know what we want,” said Jenahara.

HANEL, specialing on electronics, information technology service, construction and real estate, will offer more than 19 million shares in an initial public offering (IPO) on the Ha Noi Stock Exchange on April 14.

The shares, representing a 9.94 per cent stake in the company, will be offered at a starting price of VND10,000 (US$0.43) each.

After privatisation, VietTien will be Hanel’s biggest shareholder. VietTien will hold 36 per cent of Hanel shares, while Sebrina will hold 25 per cent. The HanoiPeople’s Committee will hold 29 per cent of Hanel’s shares.

Sebrina Holdings has been operating for more than 20 years. It’s a multi-asset class family office established in Singapore, diversified investments in oil & gas, quant trading, real estate and venture capital.

VietTien was founded in 2004. It focuses on services including air conditioning and mechanical ventilation, fire prevention, plumping and sanitary and machinery installation and maintenence.

Hanel has nine subsidiaries and five associated companies, including HanoiTelecom, which owns telecom provider Vietnamobile, and Daewoo Hotel on Nguyen Chí Thanh Street in Hanoi.

Hanel has also built many real estate projects in Long Biên District in east Hanoi.

By the end of 2014 Hanel’s total assets were valued at VND2.902 trillion, with an after tax profit of VND120.28 billion.

Baiduri Bank CEO Pierre Imhof said giving Brunei-based investors access to US stock markets – the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), NASDAQ and the NYSE MKT (AMEX) – will give Baiduri’s clients more options to diversify their portfolios.

“No other international financial market comes close to the size, accessibility, transparency and liquidity of US stock markets and this is true also in terms of market capitalisation. It represents the biggest single concentration of wealth in history,” he said in a speech delivered at yesterday’s securities trading seminar.

Gavin Chia, manager of corporate development, securities and wealth management at the Singapore-based Phillip Securities, said many clients are keen to trade in the US bourse owing to its volatility and high activity.

“It gives clients choices especially because the Singapore and Malaysia markets can be quiet sometimes. The US stock market gives people an alternative and is the most active market in the world,” he said.

Baiduri Capital’s stock trading portal started operations in June 2015 and gave clients access to trade in Singapore, Malaysia and Hong Kong exchanges. Chia said opening the US stock markets to local investors will also help Baiduri Capital attract more clients.

“Some of the clients say that they wouldn’t open an account with Baiduri until they have access to the US stock market. So that’s why we are working closely with them and now we managed to make this possible,” he said.

From today until September 18, clients can get a 20 per cent discount for tariff charged for trades done on US stock exchanges.

About 150 Baiduri Capital customers attended the seminar that was held at The Empire Hotel & Country Club. Baiduri Capital Directors Ti Eng Hui and Pg Azaleen Pg Dato Hj Mustapha and General Manager Peng Eng Soon were at the event.

But the company has not divulged how much stake it has sold to them or the price of the shares.

Pham Thanh Duc, the company’s CEO, said: “Finding the right partners is important for MoMo.

“We are very pleased to announce Standard Chartered Private Equity has become MoMo’s strategic investor together with our existing shareholder and strategic investor Goldman Sachs, who previously invested $5.75m in our company in 2013 and also participated in this round of equity financing.

“We will accelerate MoMo’s rapid growth by continuing to invest in the launching of new products and services, expanding bank and merchant connectivity, and extending the nationwide installation of MoMo point-of-sale terminals at retail outlets.”

MoMo is Viet Nam’s leading mobile e-wallet and over-the-counter remittance and payment platform, processing millions of transactions for a customer base of over 2.5 million.

With over a million mobile e-wallet customers, it provides a smartphone-based application that offers more than 100 services, including money transfer, bill payment, collection and disbursement, and mobile commerce.

It has a physical network of over 4,000 OTC agents in 45 provinces where banking services and smartphones are less prevalent.

Bert Kwan, head of ASEAN at SCPE, will join the company’s as a director.