He immediately got in line and waited patiently for his turn to receive a free Egg McMuffin with a Rp 10,000 (less than US$1) package of harsh browns and a cup of coffee.

The fast food company was handing out 160,000 Egg McMuffin for free through outlets across the country on Monday to celebrate what it calls National Breakfast Day. The annual event applies a ’first come first serve’ system, which explains the long queues early in the morning. Egg McMuffin was chosen for its protein, fiber, calcium, iron and vitamins as a suitable item of a healthy breakfast, the company claimed.

McDonald’s Indonesia marketing and communication director, Michael Hartono, said the event aimed to build awareness on the importance of breakfast.

“Entering the fourth year of McDonald’s National Breakfast Day, we also want to introduce people to having breakfast at our restaurant,” said Michael.

To entertain queuing customers, cheerleaders and a marching band were present at Sarinah and McDonald’s own employees could be seen dancing at the restaurant. Some lucky customers also received gifts according to their line-up number.

Although the event was scheduled to finish at 11am, the last piece of Egg McMuffin was handed out by 9am.

An official from the Ministry of Public Works and Transport, who asked not to be named, told Vientiane Times on Monday parts of Road No. 13 North through Vientiane province are breaking up following damage during last year’s rainy season but there were plans afoot to remedy the situation.

“We have a plan to alter parts of Road 13 North and Road 13 South to make them into two- and four-lane highways starting from Vientiane,” he said.

Right now, a study on toll-way development has finished and the ministry is assessing the pros and cons of upgrading the arterial highway to cater for the increasing traffic volume.

Road 13 North may be rebuilt from the Sikeut junction in Vientiane to the bus station in Vangvieng district, a distance of 142 kilometres.

Under consideration is a plan to make 57km of the road, running from the Sikeut junction to Phonhong district in Vientiane province, into a four-lane highway, followed by an 85km two-lane stretch from there to Vangvieng, all of which would be asphalted.

On Road 13 South, the starting point is identified as the Dongdok intersection in Vientiane with redevelopment all the way to Sivilay village in Borikhamxay province, a total length of 141km.

Meanwhile, a 100-km section between the Phoupha area in Phonhong district and Kasy district in Vientiane province is proving quite problematic for m otorists.

The poor condition of the road is causing distress to travellers, who are jolted unpleasantly as they pass over the many bumps.

Every year sections of various roads and bridges around the country are damaged by floods and landslides as a result of torrential rain.

Roads also rapidly deteriorate due to the frequent passage of heavy trucks carrying timber, cement, rocks and other loads.

According to the Vientiane provincial Public Works and Transport Department, the current problem has occurred because of the age of the road. It was also built to withstand only loads of 9 tonnes per axle, but many trucks carry heavier loads.

More than 40 per cent of people aged 65 to 69 were still working last year, compared with just 24 per cent in 2006, according to the Ministry of Manpower (MOM).

Government policies, a tight job market and a rise in life expectancy and healthy years are among the factors for the increase.

Take, for instance, the requirement for companies to rehire workers aged 62 to 65. Senior Minister of State for Health Amy Khor, who is on the Ministerial Committee on Ageing, told The Straits Times: “Nearly all who approached 62 are offered re-employment.

“Most do not suffer any cut to their basic pay if they continue on the same job with the same job scope and responsibilities.”

In 2014, 98 per cent who continued working beyond the age of 62 did not suffer any basic wage cut, with about 10 per cent earning higher wages.

Life expectancy here has been going up by about three years every decade and, in 2014, life expectancy was 80.5 years for men and 84.9 years for women.

As people live longer, they worry about whether they have enough for retirement, said David Ang, director of consultancy Human Capital Singapore.

With an income, they remain financially independent and do not have to rely on their children. This helps their self-worth.

Many also realise that working even part-time keeps them socially and mentally engaged, said Singapore Management University labour economist Hoon Hian Teck.

Most employed Singaporeans and permanent residents over age 60 work as cleaners, labourers, machine operators, and service and sales workers, according to MOM statistics last year.

The government has also made it more affordable for companies to hire older workers, said Professor Hoon. Government subsidies for companies that hire workers aged 65 and above “send the message that companies can productively hire (seniors) in an increasingly labour-scarce economy”, he said.

The Workfare Income Supplement, introduced in 2007, has also added to the incomes of older, low-wage workers.

Labour economist Walter Theseira of SIM University said: “Income for older workers is higher now than it was in the past.”

According to MOM, the median gross monthly income for resident workers aged 60 years and older increased from S$1,160 (US$842) in 2006 to S$2,000 last year.

Because of the tight job market, employers have “to seriously consider older workers” as it is getting harder to employ foreign labour, said Professor Theseira.

Last year, one in four people aged 65 and above was employed. In 2006, this was 13.8 per cent.

Ang predicted that by the next decade, the employment rate for senior citizens “will hit 30 per cent easily”.

With the changing demographics, companies have to adapt to remain productive. Jobs are being redesigned and more companies are looking to design more senior- friendly workplaces, he said.

“The trend is to reduce fatigue, while maintaining productivity,” said Ang.

Cleaner Lee Kiong Mei, 67, a widow who has been at her job for five years, said that staying employed gives her purpose and makes her feel financially independent.

She said: “My children have their own families, and living expenses can be expensive. I don’t want them to worry about me. Besides, I am happy at my job. I won’t know what to do if I have no work. I am afraid that if I stop working, I will fall sick.”

Speaking at the conference held by the UBM Asia and Joint Graduate School of Energy and Environment in Thailand, they said that hydropower still remained the main energy source while other types of renewable energy, including solar, biomass, wind, biogas, ocean energy, geothermal and solid waste, had not been used although they have vast potential.

Professor Christoph Menke, Senior Energy Policy Advisor GIZ in Southeast Asia, said Asean countries had only US$2.4 trillion in total GDP.

The countries produce a total of 35GW of renewable energy.

“When we talk about renewable energy in Asean, we are talking hydropower,” said Menke, predicting that Southeast Asia, the key pillar of Asia’s growth, will be an increasingly important influence on world energy trends.

Statistics in 2013 show that the total power generation in Asean was 814,629GWh.

Only 20 per cent, or 163,533GWh, was renewable energy.

Southeast Asia’s energy landscape is set for major change, with energy demand growing by 80 percent from today through 2040, accompanying a regional economy that will more than triple in size and population, rising by 25 percent to 760 million.

By 2040, the region requires only 55 percent as much energy per unit of GDP as it did in 2013, but much more could be done.

Rising imports have sharpened focus on economic and security aspects of energy use.

The power sector will shape the energy outlook for Southeast Asia as electricity demand will almost triple by 2040, with the shift towards coal set to continue 400 GW of additional power generation in Asean.

The share of coal in power generation will rise from 30 per cent to 50 per cent, contrary to the trend seen in most other parts of the world, while that of natural gas will decline from 44 per cent to 26 per cent.

“So far, there is nearly no solar energy produced in Asean,” Menke said.

Huynh Kim Tuoc, director of HCM City Energy Conservation Centre, estimates that Vietnam’s total electricity generated from renewable energy will increase to 101 billion KWh in 2020, 186 billion HWh by 2030, and 452 billion KWh by 2050.

Electricity generated from small hydropower plants is 1,670MW in the country.

Small hydropower plants contribute over 94 per cent of energy of Vietnam. Other types of renewable energy such as wind energy and solar energy are not significant, Tuoc said.

Vietnam plans to increase the renewable energy rate by 4.5 per cent by 2020 and 6 per cent by 2030.

This would open more opportunities for private investors to invest in equitised SOEs in Vietnam, he said.

The deputy PM who is also Head of the Steering Committee for Enterprise Renovation and Development, made the request while chairing a conference in Ha Noi on Thursday, to take suggestions from policy-makers on a draft decision to revise Decision 37/2014/QD-TTg on criteria and classification of SOEs to Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung at an early date.

The draft decision aims to minimize the state ownership in SOEs. Currently, the State still holds a large amount of shares that will reduce the attractiveness to investors. It is attributed to the unchanged corporate governance such as management of road maintenance, waterways, seaports, and public interest.

Besides, the change in the regulations on SOEs has also led to the change in the content and structure of categories or types of SOEs.

Contents of the draft decision in place of Decision 37 will have five new points. Accordingly, only first-tier companies can operate in the form of a holding company instead of two tiers as earlier to match new provisions in the Law on State Capital Management and Use. The draft narrows SOE classification criteria, divided into three groups: Wholly State-controlled fields, fields and branches with 65 per cent of State stake, and fields with 50 – 65 per cent of stake.

The draft decision requires the government to own 100 per cent stakes in companies only in 14 sectors and industries, down from the current 16.

They include defence and security; production and distribution of industrial explosives and toxic chemicals; the national power grid; and nuclear power plants and hydropower plants of exceeding importance for socio-economic development or related to defence and security. The draft decision also includes management of rail infrastructure and transport; flight protection; maritime protection; and post and telecommunications; in addition to lottery; publishing; and preferential loans for socio-economic development.

The areas that go out of the list are management and protection of watershed forests, protective forests, special forests, and production and supply of toxic chemical substances.

Remarkably, the draft decision has also moved ‘Oil and natural gas refining,’ ‘air transport’, and ‘cigarette production’ from the list of SOEs where the State holds from 65 per cent to 75 per cent of stake to SOEs where the State keeps between 50 per cent and 65 per cent of stake. The draft has also eliminated some sectors where the State holds the stake such as rubber and coffee trees grown in localities disassociated with national defence and security tasks.

It means that if the State does not keep controlling shares, private businesses will have more chances to be owner of businesses.

Also at the conference, relevant ministries and agencies agreed with suggestions from the Ministry of Planning and Investment to continue minimising the number of SOEs. However, representatives from other ministries and agencies wanted the draft decision to clearly define which sector needed to be equitised and which sector that should be 100 per cent owned by the State.

At the conference, the Deputy PM said any ministries or provinces wanted to have State controlling stakes in some sectors. They needed to submit their plan to the prime minister for consideration so as to ensure flexibility in equitisation and the disinvestment process.

There was no need to quickly minimise the controlling stake in businesses involved in national defence and security. It should be done gradually, Ninh said.

According to the ministry of planning and Investment, between 2016 and 2020, 378 SOEs are expected to be restructured.

Despite these challenges, the company’s revenues have remained resilient – until now.

For the first time in five years, M Metal will likely experience a drop in earnings this financial year, says managing director John Kong.

“We are squeezed on both ends. On one end margins are down, but on the other I can’t hire more labour. We have not laid off people, instead we have frozen employment. I don’t want to retrench staff because if I do it affects their entire family,” says Kong. “So we’ve cut down our operating hours, cut down on some overtime.”

His woes reflect a slowdown spreading across the Singapore economy. Mounting global uncertainties – over the fate of economies like Europe and Japan as well China – are hitting exports and weighing heavily on sentiment closer to home. This means companies here have been suffering weaker demand and thinner margins, even as they grapple with a tight labour market and rising business costs.

The Singapore economy grew at a modest pace of 2 per cent last year, but many expect things to take a turn for the worse this year. The 2015 growth rate was already the weakest Singapore has experienced since the global financial crisis.

The Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) has warned that the outlook for 2016 worsened in the first few months of the year, amid further slides in global oil prices and financial market volatility. It expects growth this year to come in within the 1 per cent to 3 per cent range.

“We’re heading into a cold winter, mainly because of the uncertain and challenging global environment,” says DBS economist Irvin Seah. “We’re not getting enough lift from the United States. Even though we’re seeing some improvement from the euro zone, it has never been a key driver for the Singapore economy. We’re also facing more drag from China.”

While Singapore is not yet headed for a full-blown recession, economists are warning of stormier weather and more bad news ahead.

“It is not the sudden shock scenario we faced in 2008 when the rapid ripples from the Lehman collapse were felt,” said Barclays economist Leong Wai Ho. “The current episode feels like a much slower, but more persistent, negative spiral of confidence, spending and activity.”

FACTORIES IN THE DOLDRUMS

The manufacturing sector, which makes up a fifth of Singapore’s economy, has been hit hardest by the slowdown and resulting tepid demand for exports. The sector has been in recession for at least a year, with no reprieve in sight.

Manufacturing contracted 5.2 per cent last year, a reversal from 2014’s 2.7 per cent expansion.

The slowdown in China, combined with Chinese and US companies turning away from imports, will result in further pain for Singapore manufacturers this year.

“In a global downturn, manufacturing is always the first to suffer… This year we will see the full impact of the manufacturing slowdown, with some spillover to the services sector,” says UOB economist Francis Tan.

While there are some bright spots within manufacturing – such as the volatile biomedical cluster, as well as chemicals – these have been far outweighed by poor showings in segments like electronics as well as marine and offshore. Electronics, which makes up a third of manufacturing output, shrank 6.8 per cent last year. Transport engineering, which includes marine and offshore, contracted 13.5 per cent on the back of the global oil price rout.

The oil and gas industry is in “structural dislocation” worldwide, says Seah. “It’s not just the rigbuilders but the entire value chain… The impact is more broad-based than what the numbers are suggesting.” For instance, many precision engineering firms service the oil and gas industry and are feeling knock-on effects from the slowdown.

Timothy Owyong, a planner in the petrochemical industry who helps to determine the cost estimate for services, such as maintenance and repairs of a plant, against market prices, says the plunge in global crude prices has been weighing heavily on sentiment. “There are several areas where I’m feeling the heat,” he adds. Some multinationals have shuttered plants here, including a polycarbonate resin plant owned by Japanese firm Teijin, notes Owyong. And the exit is bound to have knock-on effects on other firms, vendors and partners that do business with them.

The job losses also mean “an abundant number of employees for companies to pick and choose from, and salaries in the short to mid term would be depressed in our sector”, adds the 36-year-old.

MODERATION IN SERVICES AND CONSTRUCTION GROWTH

The services sector proved relatively resilient last year and helped support growth even as manufacturing faltered, but economists are less sanguine about the 2016 outlook especially as sentiment keeps heading south. The sector, which makes up two-thirds of Singapore’s economy, grew 3.4 per cent last year.

“Services have held up well despite the drag from manufacturing but we’re not sure if that can be sustained in 2016 given the increasingly uncertain global environment,” says DBS’ Seah.

The financial services sector, for instance, is likely to face more headwinds this year. The industry, which employs more than 200,000 people here, “is in consolidation mode” after having been an important driver of services growth for the past few years, adds Seah.

Singapore’s banking sector is expected to continue shedding jobs this year following news of job cuts by Barclays in January and Standard Chartered in November, as foreign banks scale down their Asian presence to cut costs.

“Bonuses and increments have been bad in the industry these few years,” says a banker who was among those laid off by Barclays.

Sentiment-sensitive segments like trading have also been “stung by rising risk aversion”, as Singapore equities have lost S$42 billion in value since the start of the year, says Barclays’ Leong.

Other services segments like logistics have also been hit by the slowdown – growth in the transportation and storage cluster flatlined last year as world trade continued to falter.

Meanwhile, the tourism industry has picked up slightly from a trough in 2014 but the outlook remains uncertain. While tourist arrivals have ticked upwards, “it’s hard to say whether tourism will be a bright spot this year”, says UOB’s Tan.

“Tourists might be more discerning about spending this year given the outlook. If there’s more currency volatility, that may also dampen demand from Chinese and Indonesian visitors,” he notes.

However, Tan points to bright spots in the services sector such as education and healthcare, both of which are expected to remain resilient despite the slowdown. These sectors, which are domestic and linked to demographic needs, could even grow with more government spending, he adds.

This would be similar to what is being done in the construction sector. Government spending on infrastructure has helped to prop up the industry amid a private sector slowdown.

And this year’s projects include the new National Cancer Centre, PUB’s water reclamation and sewerage works, Changi Airport’s three-runway system, and the remaining contracts for the Thomson-East Coast MRT line.

At the same time, a Monetary Authority of Singapore report published last week said high-value “modern services” will play a bigger role in driving growth this year. “Notably, demand for information and communications services is expected to be firm, with the government’s Smart Nation initiative… providing the boost,” it said.

Meanwhile, some say the current climate is not all doom and gloom.

Singapore International Chamber of Commerce chief executive Victor Mills feels there is cause for “plenty of cautious optimism”.

While business sentiment has been hit by a slew of dreary statistics, he says the fundamentals of doing business here are still strong.

“We are in the midst of transforming our economy that has been growing in a particular way. It is painful, it will take time. I don’t think people believe it should be taking so much time, or be necessarily as painful as it is in terms of adjustment. But it’s not a bad thing because some of the concerns could be due to a sense of complacency, which may be reduced during this period of slow growth.”

Mills notes the Committee on the Future Economy aims to complete its work at the end of the year.

“This tells you the key message is to keep calm and carry on. If it was like 2008 during the global financial crisis when the sky appeared to be falling or the end of the world was nigh, we would see much faster intervention by the government.”

But there are worries that the economic slowdown is not a sudden drop as was the previous crisis, but a slow drift that could sap Singapore’s economic vitality.

While the economy is not in the midst of a “doomsday scenario”, UOB’s Tan says the current slowdown “might be a long-drawn one”.

“For the past two years growth has been sluggish… We could see an L-shaped instead of a V-shaped recovery. This might result in consumption and investment being constrained, and would limit the economy’s potential growth rate.”

But Singapore’s economy has been extremely resilient in the past, rebounding strongly after each downturn. The economy contracted 2 per cent in 2009 but soared 14.5 per cent a year later.

Likewise following the Sars and dot.com bubble-fuelled recessions in the early 2000s, the Singapore economy went through a sustained period of solid growth.

Things may be slightly different now with an ageing workforce and limited land resources, but Chan Chong Beng of Workforce Advancement Federation, which helps small and medium-sized firms, says companies which survive will emerge in a stronger position to weather future slowdowns, noting that these are cyclical in nature. “We urge companies to invest in their human assets, to take this time and train their employees if there are fewer jobs. And hopefully they can be paid higher salaries and be retained when the economy recovers.”

The budget, due to be delivered by Finance Minister Heng Swee Keat on March 24, may also offer some relief but the aid is unlikely to amount to much, says Bank of America Merrill Lynch economist Chua Hak Bin. It will likely focus on the longer-term challenges and the push to restructure the economy, a theme unchanged from recent budgets, economists add.

Heng said on Friday that the focus will be on the economy in this year’s budget and will look to offer some help for firms to get through the difficult short-term patch. “We have to continue to focus on what we need to do – to manage in this slower growth environment but at the same time to focus on what are the medium-term opportunities that we continue to have,” he said.

For businessmen like Kong of M Metal, there is no time to pause but to keep calm and carry on.

His priorities are to continue exploring ways to innovate and grow his business. “What is important, to keep morale high, is communicating the situation to the staff, taking stock of where we are and what we need to do together,” he says of his 30 employees. “If your employees see that you care, they will put in that extra effort… even if it may not result in a pay rise this year.”

(US$1 = S$1.38)

Datuk Seri Najib officiated at the grand opening ceremony of the Forest City development that is backed by the Sultan of Johor, and launched the southern state’s economic masterplan in the morning.

In the afternoon, he officially opened a government services hub called the Johor Urban Transformation Centre.

The visit coincided with a tumultuous fortnight in his leadership of Umno, with Mr Najib suspending his deputy Muhyiddin Yassin. Tan Sri Muhyiddin last week joined forces with Mr Najib’s fiercest critic, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, in forming a new alliance with opposition and civil society leaders.

Mr Muhyiddin is from Johor and is its former menteri besar. Leaders in the state say they are worried the suspension would cause big ripples.

In his speech to launch the Johor Strategic Economic Growth plan, Mr Najib said: “I do not want you to support me because I am the Prime Minister, but because our planning has made a difference to the people.”

At the Forest City launch, Mr Najib noted that the development and three other mega projects will fuel Johor’s growth in the coming years.

“I believe that Johor’s future economy is in good hands with these projects, which will certainly change the state into a new economy powerhouse,” he said.

The other projects are the planned Kuala Lumpur-Singapore high-speed rail that will have stops in Johor, the Gemas- Johor Baru double railway tracking and the Pengerang oil and gas hub.

Johor’s Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar officially launched the Forest City project with Mr Najib. Also present was Mr Yang Guoqiang, founder and chairman of China’s giant property player Country Garden, a 60 per cent partner of project developer Country Garden PacificView.

Country Garden’s head of business strategy Yu Runze told The Straits Times yesterday that the first phase comprises 482 condo units and 132 serviced apartments.

The project has nearly sold out its first phase, Mr Yu added.

The units will be ready in two years.

Average prices are RM1,200 (S$406) per sq ft – from about RM500,000 for a 517 sq ft studio to RM3.54 million for a 1,862 sq ft four-bedroom unit – comparable to prices in Iskandar Puteri, the new name for the township of Nusajaya just after the Second Link.

Singapore officials have expressed their concern that southern Johor developers are building too many residential units.

Minister for National Development Lawrence Wong, who is a board member of the Monetary Authority of Singapore, told Parliament last May that the nearly 336,000 new private residential units coming up in Johor over the next 30 years would exceed the total number of private homes in Singapore.

Aung San Suu Kyi‘s National League for Democracy is set to reduce the number of ministries from 36 to 20, aside from other moves drawn up ahead of the power transfer on March 30.

On the new administration, Win Htein, a member of the NLD central executive committee, said that six departments under the President’s Office would be merged.

“A total of 36 ministries will be reduced to 20. For example, rail, road and water transport will be merged,” he said. The committee convened yesterday to finalise the list of would-be ministers.

He did not say whether the 20 ministries would include the ministries of Defense, Home Affairs and Border Affairs which are overseen by Commander-in-Chief Senior General Min Aung Hlaing.

The party expected the downsizing to boost efficiency. All along, it promised civil servants from the ministries being axed would not lose their jobs. It also promised training to those who want to move to other ministries.

Aside from the government downsizing, NLD is imposing strict rules on its MPs. While meeting the MPs in Nay Pyi Taw on March 1, Suu Kyi reportedly urged all MPs to submit their questions and motions to be filed in Parliament to a screening committee. MPs were also told to prepare for discussions with valid figures and supporting reasons. They were told to be aware of their behaviour and use of language, the MPs reported.

According to Hla Moe, secretary of the Lower House Rights Committee, MPs were also required to seek permission from the party if the questions or proposals are directly related to the party’s policy. “She is not satisfied with the proposals having been submitted to Parliament,” he said.

Last week, military representatives opposed the proposal by NLD’s Khin San Haling to restrict the transfer of state assets. They claimed her motion was based on old data.

Suu Kyi last week also instructed her MPs to sit an English-language proficiency exam, to be jointly hosted by parliamentary offices and British Council from March 8 to 10. Those with poor scores may need to take lessons. She sternly warned MPs from Yangon and Mandalay regions who did poorly in recent tests held by the NLD. MPs from other parties are also welcomed to take the exam.

NLD also defied the Thein Sein government, resolving to host the presidential transfer ceremony on March 30 in Parliament, against President Thein Sein’s will to hold a large ceremony.

Win Htein said that such would help save money.

“The ceremony is for the transfer of power to the new president, not the outgoing president. We want a low-cost ceremony while the president wants a ceremony on a grand scale.

“She told us the ceremony to transfer responsibility would be held simply in accordance with the Constitution. They agreed,” said Win Htein, referring to the discussion with Suu Kyi.

Thein Sein will not attend the ceremony. On the day, he will welcome the new president to the presidential residence, which would be later transferred. Political leaders, diplomats and other guests would later attend a dinner.

On March 10, presidential nominations will be revealed, while Suu Kyi is widely anticipated to become the foreign minister. On the day, the Lower House, the Upper House and the military representatives will each nominate vice presidents. Each MP will vote for one of the three and the candidate with the highest votes will be the president, while the other two will serve as vice presidents.