Singapore is reviewing guidelines governing the kind of short-term rentals used by home sharing companies like Airbnb, underscoring the regulatory uncertainties the fast-growing startup faces as it expands abroad.
At question in wealthy, tightly controlled Singapore: Should home owners be allowed to rent out their residences for short periods of time, as Airbnb users typically do?
It’s a legal gray area that the San Francisco-based company — one of the world’s hottest startups, valued at $10 billion — has faced in various markets as it has expanded throughout Europe and Asia.
In Singapore, where Airbnb provides listings for hundreds of properties, the city-state’s Urban Redevelopment Authority, or URA, late last month began soliciting feedback from the public regarding existing regulations.
Category: Singapore
In my post a couple of weeks ago about Art Stage Singapore, the annual Asia-focused exhibition held here, I promised to post some more photos.
Here goes.
I really, really enjoyed walking around the space and taking in all the varied works. These iPhone snapshots are meant to show a sampling of what was on display.
For a bit of context, here’s a WSJ story (not by me) providing an overview of this year’s exhibition. And here’s one from last year.
There’s also a story about Art Stage Singapore from ArtNews and a post with a bunch of images Hanoi Grapevine.
I was most struck by the works shown here at the top. They were highly realistic, incredibly detailed, and oddly futuristic.
I didn’t note the artist’s name at the time, but learned later — thanks to Instagram user Harsha — that they were done by Chinese artist Yang Yongliang.
Of course, I should have known — I tweeted about and linked to some of his artwork in this link round-up in early 2013.
I loved seeing the pieces in person. Here’s a video with more about him.
The rest of the photos show other artwork that caught my eye.
Yesterday A and I attended the final day of Art Stage Singapore, held at the Marina Bay Sands exhibition center.
It’s an art fair where galleries from all over the world display various works, with a focus on Asian contemporary art.
Here are a few of my Tweets from yesterday about pieces with technological* themes.
This just scratches the surface of some of the remarkable artwork we saw.
I’ll post more here, on my Instagram account, or on my Flickr photostream soon…
1. Spotted today at Art Stage Singapore (@artstagesg). One of many techno-themed works. #artstagesingapore pic.twitter.com/dicjzwpcRd
— Newley Purnell (@newley) January 25, 2015
2. More techno-fun from #artstagesingapore today. pic.twitter.com/xOa3S9Xwkv
— Newley Purnell (@newley) January 25, 2015
3. There was also a pretty badass steampunk submarine. #artstagesingapore pic.twitter.com/DtxDzBGd6I
— Newley Purnell (@newley) January 25, 2015
4. Another steampunk-ish #artstagesingapore work: mechanical flowers. https://t.co/FzHz3zPwdX
— Newley Purnell (@newley) January 25, 2015
*Here’s more on steampunk.
I Tweeted this yesterday:
Xmas spirit: It's only early November, but the Santa hats are in full effect at this Singapore cafe! pic.twitter.com/b3IHFpCsK4
— Newley Purnell (@newley) November 5, 2014
One question: Does this mean the staff at my local cafe will be wearing these caps for the next seven weeks?
August marked five years since we adopted Ashely, our beloved shelter dog. Here’s a pic from the day we took her home in Bangkok in 2009. She’s six years old now, as she was a year old when we got her.
As you can see — and as I’ve noted in previous posts — she was was suffering from various medical ailments when some kind people rescued her from the mean streets of Bangkok.
The big-hearted folks at the now-defunct Soi Cats and Dogs (SCAD) Bangkok had Ash fixed up in no time, though:
Fast forward five years, and moving to Singapore earlier this year meant 30 days in quarantine upon arrival, but Ash did just fine.
Here’s a pic from a visit I paid her.
And here’s A and Ash during another visit.
Once she was sprung from solitary, Ashley really took to Singapore — and especially its many green spaces. Here she is during some recent outings.
Overall, Ashley remains somewhat puppy-like, both in appearance — people often ask us how old our “puppy” is — and behavior.
Her likes remain: running (I often take her along on jogs); chasing small animals; and eating any and all foods, especially fish and meats, rice, and coconut milk.
Dislikes: vacuum cleaners; swimming; and knocks at the door.
Oh, and she also hates the rare occasions when her morning walks are delayed. I have more than once woken up to this somewhat unsettling sight:
Here’s to the next five years!
The New York Times‘s Roger Cohen, writing from Singapore, says Asia needs the United States to counter China. And it’s not getting that now.
Further, a new, regionally assertive India under Modi is a long way off:
Outside China, there is a consistent theme in Asia. It is concern that declining American power, credibility and commitment will leave the way open for Beijing to exercise dominance over the region. President Obama’s “pivot to Asia” has been dismissed as hot air. American objectives announced without consequence betray a weak presidency; Asians have drawn their conclusions.
And:
Singapore’s success has depended on its ability to leapfrog geography, but it could only do that because the geography was not hostile. It could depend on the fact that the foreign territorial waters at its door remained open. Japan has been restrained from going nuclear by the assurance of America’s treaty commitment to its defense. From north to south Asia, such assumptions appear a little shakier.
And:
It is all of these things, plus an uneasy general feeling. The “pivot to Asia,” like the Syrian “red line,” like “Assad must go,” betrayed a common theme: words without meaning from an American president, commitments without follow-up, phrases without plans. In Asia as in Europe, these things get noted.
The American idea is still strong in Asia. Look no further than the brave pro-democracy demonstrators in Hong Kong. But ideas require commitment to back them.
Read the whole thing.
Cohen’s column also mentions this May piece by Razeen Sally in the Straits Times. It’s about “global cities”:
Today, there appear to be only five global cities. London and New York are at the top, followed by Hong Kong and Singapore, Asia’s two services hubs. Dubai, the Middle East hub, is the newest and smallest kid on the block. Shanghai has global-city aspirations, but it is held back by China’s economic restrictions – the vestiges of an ex-command economy – and its Leninist political system. Tokyo remains too Japan-centric, a far cry from a global city.
The global city has a relentless market logic. It is where Adam Smith, David Hume, Milton Friedman and F.A. Hayek would feel most at home. It has to be the most open to trade, foreign capital and migrant workers. It must have among the most business-friendly regulatory environments.