Vulcan Post

📰 A 4-room HDB with 45-yr lease just sold for a record S$1.53M. Why so much? Because it’s a great deal. Disclaimer: Unless otherwise stated, any opinions expressed below belong solely to the author. Whenever record HDB resale prices hit local news headlines, the response seems to be a mix of disappointment and disbelief. Why is public housing getting more expensive? And who in their right mind pays S$1.5 million for an old apartment with… ➡️ Read More: https://vulcanpost.com/911246/4-room-hdb-45-year-lease-sold-record-1-53m-great-deal/

📰 “Why waste a crisis?”: AirAsia to start a new airline despite Iran war The announcement comes after a recent US$19 billion purchase of 150 Airbus A220 planes AirAsia X co-founder Tony Fernandes is preparing to launch a new airline, betting that expanding amid the aviation industry’s turmoil from high oil prices will pay off in the future, Bloomberg reported. The new airline will… ➡️ Read More: https://vulcanpost.com/911135/airasia-to-start-new-airline/

📰 Amazon cuts Singapore roles as it phases out Amazon Fresh & local fulfilment operations The firm will help affected staff find new roles within the company Amazon is cutting roles in Singapore as it shifts resources toward expanding its international store selection in the market. In a post on its website, the firm said that a “small number” of roles will be impacted, and Amazon… ➡️ Read More: https://vulcanpost.com/911136/amazon-singapore-layoffs-ceases-local-fulfilment-operations/

📰 Every PM since Lee Kuan Yew has tried to fix Singapore’s birth rate. Yet, it keeps falling. Singapore’s low TFR is more than just a financial problem Singapore’s total fertility rate (TFR) hit an all-time low of 0.87 in 2025. To put that in perspective, a country needs a TFR of at least 2.1 to maintain its population without immigration. Singapore is now well below that threshold—and the decline shows little… ➡️ Read More: https://vulcanpost.com/911109/singapore-birth-rate-more-than-financial-problem/

📰 Grab’s results beat expectations, but Indonesia delivered a painful last-minute blow Disclaimer: Unless otherwise stated, any opinions expressed below belong solely to the author. In an increasingly familiar pattern, Grab has just posted strong Q1 results for 2026, seeing its revenue grow by 24% compared to 2025. The results beat analyst expectations, and turned last year’s US$21 million loss into a… ➡️ Read More: https://vulcanpost.com/911093/grab-results-q1-2026/

📰 Taufik Batisah killed most of Chix Hot Chicken’s menu to save it. Now, it’s sold 1M burgers. A make-or-break pivot changed everything for Chix Hot Chicken Singapore is not short of fried chicken joints, from Korean fried chicken to American fast food. But amid this sea of options, there is one homegrown chicken brand that claims to be the first and go-to option for Nashville chicken burgers—and that’s Chix… ➡️ Read More: https://vulcanpost.com/911056/chix-hot-chicken-pivot/

📰 From Star Wars to Phua Chu Kang: This S’porean hand-sculpts ‘bootleg’ toys costing up to S$255 After two decades in tech, he now makes tiny collectible figures of pop culture characters After spending two decades climbing the corporate ladder, including a stint at a FAANG company, 40-year-old Singaporean GT has found himself on a very different path. The former tech worker has turned a hobby into a small business, making… ➡️ Read More: https://vulcanpost.com/910962/bird-hand-toys-action-figures/

📰 S’pore added 5K jobs in Q1, but more than half of employers don’t plan to add more or raise wages MOM just released its latest advanced quarterly labour report & employers are showing signs of caution Singapore’s labour market continued to expand in Q1 2026, but employers are showing early signs of caution as they tighten hiring plans, according to the Ministry of Manpower (MOM)’s latest advance quarterly labour market report released… ➡️ Read More: https://vulcanpost.com/910999/singapore-mom-advance-labour-report-q1-2026/

📰 China blocks S’pore AI company from acquisition by Meta. It may hurt Beijing more than SG. Disclaimer: Unless otherwise stated, any opinions expressed below belong solely to the author. In an unprecedented move, China has blocked Meta’s acquisition of Manus, a Singapore-based AI company. The country argued that its technology was developed on Chinese soil and, as such, it falls under Beijing’s jurisdiction, even if the business… ➡️ Read More: https://vulcanpost.com/910955/china-blocks-meta-manus-acquisition/

📰 LinkedIn: These are the 15 best employers in Singapore to grow your career in 2026 On Apr 28, LinkedIn unveiled its 2026 Top Companies list, naming the 15 best places to work in Singapore. The rankings are based on LinkedIn’s own data, with companies assessed on various elements of career progression, including factors like how well they help employees progress in their careers and build new skills. Here… ➡️ Read More: https://vulcanpost.com/910929/linkedin-top-companies-2026/

📰 Deel’s global startup competition is giving away up to S$19M—and you’ve got until May 2 to apply [This is a sponsored article with Deel.] If you have a great startup idea that is gaining traction and ready to scale up, here’s your sign to seize that opportunity. Deel’s The Pitch, a global startup competition with up to US$15 million (S$19.1 million) in total funding on… ➡️ Read More: https://vulcanpost.com/910924/deel-the-pitch-global-startup-competition/

📰 Fewer than half of S’poreans feel better off than a year ago as share of pessimists doubles Disclaimer: Unless otherwise stated, any opinions expressed below belong solely to the author. Data sourced from the Sensing SG survey by Blackbox Research. The impact of the war in Iran is being felt by Singaporeans, according to the latest update to the long-running domestic sentiment survey carried out by Blackbox Research on… ➡️ Read More: https://vulcanpost.com/910868/singaporeans-feel-less-better-off/

📰 23K workers may face job cuts, buyouts as Meta & Microsoft ramp up AI spending Both tech firms outlined cost-cutting plans in separate internal memos dated Apr 23 Meta and Microsoft are taking significant steps to reduce their workforces as they streamline operations and manage the rising costs of artificial intelligence (AI) investments, according to recent media reports. In an internal memo dated Apr 23, Meta… ➡️ Read More: https://vulcanpost.com/910878/meta-microsoft-job-cuts-buyouts-2026/

📰 From 50+ stores to 7: Hao Mart shutters stores as it bleeds millions & faces lawsuits More than half of the outlets listed on its website are reportedly closed Homegrown supermarket and minimart chain Hao Mart has closed a large share of its outlets as losses deepen, The Straits Times reported. As of publication, Hao Mart’s website lists 20 outlets across Singapore. However, a check by… ➡️ Read More: https://vulcanpost.com/910847/hao-mart-store-closures/

📰 Overqualified & okay with it: More S’poreans are choosing jobs below their paper credentials 1 in 5 Singaporeans are overqualified for their jobs, according to a new MOM study Singapore workers are better educated than ever, but that doesn’t always translate into the jobs they take. A new Ministry of Manpower (MOM) study, released on Apr 14, finds that nearly one in five… ➡️ Read More: https://vulcanpost.com/910735/singaporeans-overqualified-for-jobs/

📰 “People aren’t drinking less, they’re bored of sameness”: This biz hit S$1M by being different They started by mixing sour plum vodka at home, now they produce 1,800 bottles every month At every party, people would pull Alexander Cheong aside and ask the same question: can I get a bottle of that? The “that” was his homemade Sour Plum Vodka. Sick of alcohol brands that felt serious and disconnected… ➡️ Read More: https://vulcanpost.com/910689/clumzy-singaporean-spirits-brand/

📰 These NUS students turned a classroom idea into a S$400K handbag biz that broke even in 3 months Started by three NUS students, Juno Jane gained traction through TikTok virality Not many students can run a business alongside their studies, but three Gen Z founders have found a way to make it work. Sophia Poh, 24, Kayleigh Lee, 22, and Wanzhen Li, 22, are the trio behind Juno Jane, a Singapore-based handbag… ➡️ Read More: https://vulcanpost.com/910639/juno-jane-singaporean-handbag-brand/

📰 Mixue beat them to Singapore by 2 yrs. BingXue still built a 12-outlet chain anyway. Being second to market doesn’t mean being too late In Sept 2021, in the middle of a global pandemic, James Leong and Joyce Lim packed up their lives in Singapore and moved their young family, including their three-year-old child, to Shanghai. James had been promoted into an APAC regional role at his chemical raw… ➡️ Read More: https://vulcanpost.com/910614/bingxue-singapore-expansion/

📰 Digital guestbooks are becoming a lucrative biz in Singapore’s wedding industry All it takes is two to three weddings to break even Two to three weddings. That’s all it takes for entrepreneurs Edmund Teo from Octopus Reels and Jessica Tay from Leave Your Message to fully recoup their startup costs—and everything after is profit. Their business? Renting out digital guestbooks that… ➡️ Read More: https://vulcanpost.com/910541/digital-guestbooks-wedding-lucrative-business/

📰 S’pore saw the biggest drop in job postings in 5 yrs. Here are the industries that are hiring & cutting back. Hiring trends vary significantly across sectors Just as hiring appeared to be picking up, Singapore’s job market has reversed course. Job postings have fallen to the lowest level since Mar 2021, according to the latest report from job listing portal Indeed. In Feb 2026, postings dropped 4.5% to sit 12% below a year ago,… ➡️ Read More: https://vulcanpost.com/910568/singapore-job-postings-2026/