The Smart Car Buying Guide
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INDUSTRY The Business Times | Friday, November 27, 2020 G | 23 ENERGY & COMMODITIES CONSUMER All eyes on whether Opec NTUC Income travel insurance will raise production covers Covid-19 IEA sees demand of 95m barrels a day; main driver of oil price in near future expected to be vaccine-related news By Fiona Lam ance for trips to countries that the [email protected] World Health Organization deems as By Neil Behrmann mediate plunged from US$64 a barrel 100.1 million barrels a day in 2019 Over and above these stocks is a @FionaLamBT high risk for Covid-19 at the point of [email protected] to US$10. and similar levels in 2018. large speculative futures and options Singapore purchase. London Soon afterwards, Opec agreed to “It is far too early to know how and overhang of hedge funds, commodity NTUC Income customers who buy its Policyholders with existing annual MANY investors and speculators who slash output and the reduction in sup- when vaccines will allow normal life futures funds and individual in- travel insurance will now receive travel insurance plans from Income have boosted crude oil prices and en- plies settled a fraught market. to resume,” the IEA said. “For now, our vestors. According to the US Com- Covid-19 coverage as well, for med- can contact the insurer to find out ergy shares have largely ignored size- Volatile oil prices went up and forecasts of (95.4 million barrels a modity Futures Trading Commission, ical-related expenses while overseas. about getting covered by these bene- these holdings of the WTI contracts able global oil inventories and a po- down for months, and at the begin- day demand) do not anticipate a signi- Outbound travellers, departing fits for upcoming travel. alone amounted to the equivalent tential rise in supplies. ning of November it levelled out ficant impact in the first half of 2021.” from Singapore, who are covered by Fabian Ng, Income’s general man- of just under 506 million barrels or The key will be the reaction of the around US$34 for WTI and US$36 for In the meantime, Opec’s agree- Income’s single-trip insurance will be ager for consumer business, said that 12 days of developed nation con- Organisation of the Petroleum Export- Brent. ment and much lower oil prices have protected for the first 90 days of each there are some individuals who will sumption on Nov 17. ing Countries (Opec) at their meeting Although prices dipped slightly on reduced supplies from 100.2 million trip for Covid-19 related hospitalisa- need to travel for necessary business- The latest boost to their buying at the end of November. Thursday, they have soared by more barrels a day in 2019 to 91 million a tion expenses of up to US$100,000 related and other essential matters, came from an unexpected decline in than 30 per cent in less than a month day in the third quarter, according to even as overseas travel is still restric- The question is whether there will US crude inventories which fell by while abroad. They will also be be an accord to raise supplies or to current levels of US$45.40 for WTI the IEA. covered for costs incurred for med- ted in general. “Nevertheless, we urge 754,000 barrels last week, according everyone to take all necessary precau- whether some producing nations and US$48.20 a barrel for Brent. But the agency estimated that total ical evacuation or repatriation of up to the US Energy Information Adminis- tions when planning your travels as within or outside Opec (such as Rus- These increases have taken place industry oil inventories in the Organ- to US$100,000, if necessary. tration. there are countries that are seeing a sia) and the US fracking industry take even though there has not been an ex- isation for Economic Co-operation These Covid-19 benefits are auto- “The main drivers in the coming resurgence in Covid-19 cases or are advantage of higher quotas and in- tensive increase in demand. and Development (OECD) countries matically included in single-trip insur- months will still be demand hopes still experiencing a high number of in- crease output. The International Energy Agency rose from 2,942 million barrels in the ance plans purchased from Thursday and fears based on vaccine related fections,” Mr Ng added. Those in the industry will recall (IEA) estimates that global demand third quarter of 2019 to 3,192,000 in – including plans covering pre-exist- news as well as supply issues,” said The Business Times (BT) reported ing conditions – and also for travel the slump in oil prices earlier this rose from 83 million barrels a day in the third quarter of this year. This is Hans van Cleef, an energy economist last month that most travel insurance year, when Brent crude tumbled from the second quarter of this year to equivalent to 73 days of demand. at ABN Amro. “Without a production dates starting Thursday. products do not cover Covid-19 re- US$71 a barrel at the start of January 93.2 million barrels in the third There are also strategic stockpiles of cut, there would still be a huge over- However, the Covid-19 benefits lated claims, although market leaders to US$20 in March. West Texas Inter- quarter. But this compares with OECD nations totalling 1,551 barrels. supply.” will be excluded from travel insur- including Income had been reviewing some of their offerings. Income told BT at the time that it may develop a product to cover in- TRANSPORT bound travellers to Singapore. On Thursday, an Income spokesperson said in response to BT’s queries that LTA awards S$932.8m contract for Johor Bahru-Singapore RTS Link the insurer is, at the moment, focus- ing on providing suitable Covid-19 cover for Singapore-based residents Penta-Ocean Construction vice between the city-state and Malay- slated to commence in end-2026. pacity of 10,000 passengers per hour The project had been suspended so that they can travel overseas with a greater peace of mind. sia’s Johor Bahru. LTA said in a statement on in each direction. in April 2019 at Malaysia’s request, be- wins contract; work will Last week, Changi Airport Group Penta-Ocean Construction bagged Thursday that the second civil con- The CIQ facilities will be co-located fore a ceremony was held in July 2020 start in Q1 next year and the Singapore Tourism Board an- the S$932.8 million contract, which tract for this project, which includes at both stations, and passengers will to mark its official resumption. The nounced that three insurers had each covers the construction of the Wood- the construction of the RTS Link via- only be required to clear both Singa- initial start date for its operations had developed Covid-19 travel insurance By Fiona Lam duct, will be awarded in the first been in end-2024. lands North station for the Johor pore and Malaysia immigration au- plans for visitors entering Singapore. [email protected] quarter of 2021. Bahru-Singapore Rapid Transit Sys- thorities once, at the point of depar- Observers told The Business Times The three – AIG Asia Pacific Insur- @FionaLamBT tem (RTS) Link, tunnels as well as the The RTS Link is a standalone Light ture. then that besides easing traffic con- ance, Chubb Insurance Singapore and Singapore Customs, Immigration and Quarant- Rail Transit system between the city- When they arrive in Singapore, pas- gestion along the Causeway, the RTS HL Assurance – are providing at least SINGAPORE’S Land Transport Author- ine (CIQ) building in Singapore. state’s terminus at Woodlands North sengers can continue their journeys Link could increase business links S$30,000 in coverage for Covid-19 re- ity (LTA) has awarded the first of two Construction for the RTS Link is ex- station and the Malaysia terminus at by transferring to the Thomson-East between the two cities and allow lated medical treatment and hospital- civil contracts for the construction of pected to start in the first quarter of Bukit Chagar station. Coast Line’s (TEL) Woodlands North Malaysian day workers to commute isation costs for inbound travellers to a long-awaited cross-border train ser- next year, with passenger service It will be able to support a peak ca- MRT station. more quickly to Singapore. the city-state. The smart car buying guide New and upcoming launches IIn November, five new car models made their way into Singapore showrooms. Ford enhancement in technology and equipment. A refreshed 2021 Honda CR-V SUV brought in its Ford Ranger Raptor pickup, pushing the limits in technology, innovation joined the Japanese carmaker's range here, and is available with five or seven seats and driving excitement, setting a new benchmark with its off-road capabilities. and a fresh exterior design. In the coming weeks, three new models are set to Rolls-Royce rolled out the new Ghost and Ghost Extended, designed to be more launch here. Crafted with a more aerodynamic and alluring appearance, the Lexus dynamic, comfortable and minimalist while delivering next-level luxury. BMW IS compact executive sedan will be virtually launched on Nov 26. delivered the high-performance BMW M2 CS, an exclusive and limited-run sports The new MINI Countryman crossover is also set to arrive. Finally, Bentley will coupe and also offered its all-new 4 Series Coupe, with striking looks and significant bring its Bentayga SUV, via an interactive virtual launch at end-November. New cars with high pageviews on sgCarMart.com (in alphabetical order), for Nov 1-25 FULL MODEL NAME PRICE YEAR MADE FUEL POWER TORQUE 0-100 CO2 DEALER FULL MODEL NAME PRICE YEAR MADE FUEL POWER TORQUE 0-100 CO2 DEALER (S$) OF IN CONS¹ (BHP) (Nm) km/h Em² (S$) OF IN CONS¹ (BHP) (Nm) km/h Em² LAUNCH (km/l)