THE fast-expanding middle class and ageing population in Asia will provide growth opportunities for American businesses in sectors such as health care, cars and food in the years to come. Key industry players outlined these openings at a United States multi-sector business development conference and trade mission here yesterday. Called the Trade Winds-Asia 2012, the annual US Department of...

[SINGAPORE] The Singapore Tourism Board (STB) will have a new chief executive at its helm come June 1.

Lionel Yeo, 39, will take over from Aw Kam Peng, the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) said in a press release yesterday.

Ms Aw will step down on May 31 to pursue personal interests, after more than 20 years of service in the public sector.

Currently, Mr Yeo is the...

THE National Art Gallery, Singapore. The name itself is pregnant with portent: The definite article signalling the institution's particularity, followed by the double whammy of 'National' and 'Singapore'. Naming the gallery so emphatically pumps up expectations about its role and purpose in the arts scene in Singapore. As an arts lover, I have no problem with an exciting new institution's...

HOTELS are charging more for their rooms, buoyed by demand from a greater number of tourists checking in. In February, for example, the six-day Singapore Airshow helped pull in more visitors who also clocked longer stays here. The result? Hotels achieved an average room rate of $273.70 that month - the highest in four years. Hotel guests can expect to pay more in the future. 'Hotel rates...

THE six-day Singapore Airshow in February helped to push hotel room rates in Singapore to a four-year high. Tourists paid an average room rate of $273.70 that month, according to preliminary Singapore Tourism Board (STB) statistics obtained by The Straits Times. This is the highest since September 2008's $302.90. The inaugural Singapore Grand Prix Formula One race was held that month. ...