By Shibani Mahtani
The Mad Men Attic Bar, in the heart of Singapore’s business district, has nothing to do with the television series.
But wander down a little alley and up an obscure, tiny elevator, and one could not help but feel that Don Draper – the show’s effortlessly suave main character – would approve.
Just five months old, the Mad Men bar caters to Singapore’s growing love for hidden rooftop spots, but manages to escape much of the pretension associated with the “speakeasy” scene. The 70-seater space will not offer views of the glittering Singapore River or towering Marina Bay Sands, nor will entry require a complicated password. Its interiors, owners say, is designed to just be “fun and friendly.” This is achieved by exposed pipes, red brick-tiled walls and concrete walls covered with graffiti-styled art.
Some of the world’s top women’s tennis players are destined for Singapore next year, after the city-state beat China’s Tianjin and Mexico’s Monterrey City to win exclusive five-year hosting rights for the WTA Championships — the most coveted title outside of the four Grand Slams.
World No. 1 Serena Williams and world No. 2 Maria Sharapova are already looking forward to playing in Singapore, where the top eight singles players and doubles teams will compete for a prize money purse of US$6.5 million.
“I am really looking forward to playing our season finale in this exciting new market for women’s tennis,” Ms. Williams said in a statement.
Nothing says “VIP” quite like champagne sparklers, a common practice in the world’s most glamorous nightclubs where thousand-dollar bottles of Dom Perignon or Cristal come accompanied with ignited, flaming sparklers.
But millionaires in Singapore’s luxurious nightclubs will now have to do without. Authorities have warned clubs and lounges to stop the practice to comply with the city-state’s fire safety regulations. Authorities decided to crack down after learning that the sparkler celebration is catching on.
SINGAPORE—Singapore police are investigating a local artist over cartoons he drew that a citizen charges were racially insensitive and that might fall foul of the city-state’s tough anti-sedition laws.
A 37-year-old man was detained late Friday for alleged sedition after police received a complaint from a member of the public “regarding a series of racially insensitive cartoons which are circulating online,” a police spokeswoman said Wednesday in a statement.
Police didn’t name the man, but cartoonist Leslie Chew has identified himself as the person being investigated. Mr. Chew “disagrees with the premise of the investigation and hopes that it doesn’t result in a formal charge,” Choo Zhengxi, a lawyer currently offering Mr. Chew legal advice, told The Wall Street Journal.
Malaysian billionaire Lim Kok Thay in the past year has bought a 50% stake in a fledgling Italian yacht-maker, injected $4.1 million into a Singapore-based yacht company and moved forward with construction on a $100 million marina project in the Bahamas. That’s a leap of faith for a man who says he doesn’t even own a yacht.
“First and foremost, I enjoy making money,” said Mr. Lim, Chairman and CEO of casino group Genting Bhd., at a news conference at the opening of the Singapore Yacht Show Thursday.
Yacht sales have suffered along with other luxury goods in the global downturn. A 2012 study from Bain & Co. estimated revenue from the global yachting industry grew 2% in the year, the slowest growth among fourteen luxury goods segments measured in the study.
SINGAPORE—A U.S. warship designed for coastal operations pulled into Singapore Thursday for its first-ever Southeast Asian stint, part of American efforts to boost its military presence in a region fraught with territorial disputes.
The deployment of the USS Freedom, the first of a new class of littoral combat ships, comes amid festering tensions in the South China Sea, where Beijing has clashed with some neighbors over competing territorial claims.
U.S. officials say the warship’s eight-month stint in Southeast Asia also underscores Washington’s growing strategic focus on the region.
By Martin Vaughan and Cris Larano
Ashley Liew of Singapore had finished the Boston Marathon and returned to his hotel when two deadly bombs went off.
“I started hearing sirens blaring and I didn’t understand why. Then I started getting text messages from friends who were near the scene,” he told The Wall Street Journal in a telephone interview.
Only the day before, Mr. Liew had posed with pride before a Singaporean flag, unaware that the very spot would soon become the scene of carnage and tragedy after he finished his 15th marathon.
Some like it hot, and, well, when it comes to Nepalese cooking, some like it very hot.
As a child, I was a wimp when it came to hot and spicy. I remember my mom rinsing the chicken prepared by our Nepalese cook with water before I could eat it, and yet even then I found it very hot.
My tolerance for chili has grown over the years, enough to make me wish the “Spicy Khukura” (chicken) at Gurkha Palace in Singapore lived up a bit more to its billing. I can only think the chef is toning the dish down to appeal to a more international, possibly Western palate.
Australian retail and property magnate Brett Blundy has relocated to Singapore, joining a peer group of foreign tycoons moving to the affluent island nation, people with knowledge of the situation told The Wall Street Journal.
Mr. Blundy, Australia’s 33rd richest person with a fortune of US$835 million according to Forbes, founded BB Retail Capital in 1980. He built up his initial fortune by growing a single record store called “Disco Duck” into a 238-store strong Sanity Entertainment Group, encompassing HMV and Virgin Entertainment, before selling it in 2009.
Visitors to Bordier & Cie’s Singapore office pass through a street-level entrance with a simple glass façade – a far cry from the oak-paneled suites with sweeping Marina Bay views showcased by some rival private banks.
But it’s in keeping with the low-key approach the 170-year-old Swiss family-owned bank takes to wooing Asia’s new class of multi-millionaires.
Southeast Asia Real Time provides analysis and insight into the region, which includes Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam, Malaysia, the Philippines, Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos and Brunei. Contact the editors at SEAsia@wsj.com.
The Mad Men bar caters to Singapore’s growing love for hidden rooftop spots, but manages to escape much of the pretension associated with the “speakeasy” scene.
A tearful Rick Todd publicly apologized on behalf of his wife who had called the Singapore court system “corrupt” as a much-watched inquiry into the death of their son, an American scientist working on sensitive research, finished its fourth day.
The winner of a tied election in San Teodoro, a farming town in the Philippines, was decided by a coin toss.
Joseph Estrada, former president of the Philippines, won the Manila mayoral race.
Newly re-elected Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak faces a challenge to name his Cabinet, the makeup of which will suggest whether he intends to push forward reforms or reward party old guards with plum ministerial berths that will help secure his job, analysts said.