Daily Briefing: SPH Magazine slashes staff count by 20%; Goldilocks attacks Noble with lawsuit

And here’s what you need to know before you expand your startup.

From Yahoo! News Singapore:

SPH Magazines is in the process of cutting down its workforce by about 20% as it embarks on a major restructuring exercise.

“According to a press release from the media conglomerate on Tuesday (20 March), SPH Magazines had 379 employees as of August 2017. This will be reduced to about 300 via ongoing staff attrition and redeployment. Thirteen staff members who could not be redeployed will be retrenched in March. SPH Magazines said the staff reduction has already largely been achieved.

As part of the restructuring, the custom publishing team (Custom Content Solutions) and its contract titles will be transferred to Focus Publishing, the contract publishing subsidiary of SPH’s Chinese Media Group.”

Read more here.

From Reuters:

Noble Group’s top shareholder Goldilocks Investment Co filed a lawsuit with the Singapore High Court against the commodities trader and some of its former and current senior executives, alleging they inflated Noble’s assets.

“‘We have filed it today,’ said Daniel Chia, a Morgan Lewis Stamford lawyer who is representing Goldilocks, an Abu Dhabi Financial Group equity fund.

The move comes days after Singapore-listed Noble said it would not make the redemption payment for its US$379m bonds which matured on Tuesday. Noble is seeking a US$3.4b debt restructuring that is crucial for its survival.”

Read more here.

From Tech in Asia:

Tech in Asia discussed the things startups should know before they expand to Singapore. They pointed out that deep-tech startups can tap into a US$153m Startup SG Equity scheme for both private and public investors.

“To help foreign startups establish their presence locally, the Singapore government has set aside approximately US$153m under the Startup SG Equity scheme to encourage both public and private co-investment for deep-tech startups.

In addition, the ACE International Centre helps local startups expand overseas by providing resources and advice. In 2017, four in five Singapore firms ventured overseas. It will also help foreign and global startups find investment, technology and business opportunities in Singapore by leveraging on local networks.

On top of all these support, a wide range of startup grants, equity financing, and funding are available to help startups through various early stages of expansion.”

Read more here.

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