Singapore live news: Foreign family members of GE candidates can now show support; Singapore's oldest artist dies aged 103

Tan Boon Liat Building, an industrial property located at 315 Outram Road, is up for collective sale by public tender at a reserve price of $1.15 billion. The freehold site, which is adjacent to the Havelock MRT Station on the Thomson-East Coast Line (TEL), occupies two separate land plots zoned for "Business 1" use with a combined site area of about 175,655 sq ft.

The site is currently occupied by a 15-storey building that is best known for housing multiple furniture and home decor stores.

The tender for the site will close on 18 March at 3pm.

Find out more about the sale of Tan Boon Liat Building and what its future might look like.

If you're a seafood fan in Singapore, you probably may have dined at Mellben, Uncle Leong, Melben and Kelly Jie Seafood. But did you know they are owned by the same family?

And in response to recent rumours swirling that there's a family feud, Kelly Soon, the owner of Kelly Jie Seafood posted a video on YouTube to crush false rumours about their family rivalry.

The five siblings of the Soon family, who are later joined by their children (the second generation), appear in the video to talk about the history of how each brand had started out.

Watch to find out more.

Grab Holdings Ltd. and GoTo Group have accelerated merger talks and target a deal this year, Bloomberg reports. The companies are seeking to end years of losses in Southeast Asia's competitive Internet market.

Discussions have intensified in recent weeks, the report said, and the companies see 2025 as an opportune year for a deal, according to people familiar with the situation.

Singapore's Grab, backed by Uber Technologies Inc., and Indonesia's GoTo, whose investors include Softbank Group Corp., have both made progress toward profitability following their stock-market debuts in recent years. But competition for users has kept prices in check and squeezed margins.

In the years past, hurdles for a merger have included disagreements between the parties as well as potential antitrust obstacles caused by the companies' dominance in markets such as Indonesia and Singapore. And the current talks may not lead to a transaction at all, said the people, asking not to be identified as the matter is private.

A GoTo spokesperson declined to comment, while Grab representatives had no immediate comment when contacted by Bloomberg.

More on the possible Grab-GoTo deal here.

With Prime Minister Lawrence Wong set to present Budget 2025 on 18 February, a UOB analyst has said that he is likely to talk about cost of living, investments in AI, finance, green transition and fertility.

In the view of UOB's associate economist Jester Koh, this year's Budget could revolve around four main themes: cost-of-living and job security measures; strategies to boost Singapore's fertility rate; anchoring investments in key areas such as artificial intelligence (AI), finance and the green transition to create good jobs and upskill the workforce; and supporting families through every stage of life.

In addition, UOB's wishlist includes Singaporeans receiving additional Community Development Council (CDC) vouchers of at least $600 per household in FY2025.

For more of UOB's Budget 2025 analysis and predictions, read on.

Singapore's Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan said he doesn't expect the city-state to be in the firing line for US tariffs even as US President Donald Trump shows he's willing to target other friendly nations including Mexico and Canada.

"Tariffs and emerging tariffs are a reality," Balakrishnan said in parliament in Tuesday (4 February) in response to a question on Singapore's relationship with the US. "I will take some risk and say that I do not anticipate us being on the hit list for direct tariffs" because the US "has a surplus as far as the trade balance with us is concerned".

He did sound a warning for Singapore though – read on to find out what Balakrishnan said.

Fresh off her Grammy wins, Beyonce has announced a stadium tour for her foray into country music, Cowboy Carter.

The tour spans 22 dates, chiefly in the US, beginning in Los Angeles’s SoFi Stadium on 28 April before heading to Chicago, East Rutherford, Houston (her home city), Washington DC and Atlanta. The four London dates begin 5 June, followed by two at Paris' Stade de France.

Will Beyonce's Cowboy Carter tour come to Singapore?

Cathay Cineplexes has received letters of demand from lawyers representing landlords of two of its cinemas for some $2.7 million in alleged rent and other costs owed.

Cathay Cineplexes' owners, mainboard-listed mm2 Asia, said in a bourse filing on Monday (3 February) evening that the cinema chain received the letters from lawyers on 28 January.

According to the filing, the letters asked for payment of by 3 and 10 February 2025 for "rent in arrears" for the ease of its operating areas in Century Square and Causeway Point, and associated legal costs.

In its statement, mm2 said that its board is actively engaging with the landlords to "resolve the matter promptly and amicably, prioritising minimal disruption to business operations". "The Board is also currently seeking legal advice in relation to the letters received, "including possible restructuring" of Cathay Cineplexes' business and financial obligations.

Singapore's oldest artist Lim Tze Peng, who received the Cultural Medallion in 2003, has died at the age of 103.

Prime Minister Lawrence Wong paid tribute to Lim on Monday (3 February) on Facebook, calling him one of the country's "most significant artists".

"Renowned for his ink paintings of old Singapore, he captured the spirit of a rapidly evolving nation through his art," Wong said.

"He painted daily — even in his later years — attributing his longevity to this unwavering passion for creativity," the PM added. "My heartfelt condolences go out to his family and loved ones during this time of loss. May they find comfort in knowing that his legacy will live on, continuing to inspire generations through the beauty and soul of his work."