HDB flat value will rise as long as economy grows: MM Lee

HDB flat value will rise as long as economy grows: MM Lee
By Asha Popatlal, Channel NewsAsia | Posted: 13 December 2009 2123 hrs

SINGAPORE: Public flats will continue to appreciate in value as long as the Singapore economy continues to grow. And with limited space, the future of public housing looks set to go up - with more skyscraper flats to be built.

Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew said this as he launched The Pinnacle@Duxton, which at 50 storeys, is the tallest HDB development in Singapore.

The first rental HDB blocks in Tanjong Pagar were built in 1963 on the site where The Pinnacle@Duxton stands. Today, it is the site of the tallest HDB in the country and the scene has changed significantly.

Mr Lee attributes the change to an early policy decision to build a home-owning society, which is what motivates Singaporeans to upgrade this asset for a better life, something which could not have happened with just rental flats.

Going forward, Mr Lee expects more of such flats to be built.

He said: "The Pinnacle@Duxton is therefore a good example that if the nation continues to do well, we can build more flats of this standard. But we should not make a quick profit from a resale of HDB flats.

"The rules on minimum occupation and requirement for family units nucleus are to discourage speculative purchases."

Mr Lee gave out keys to seven of the first families to move in and visited one family, whose father had rented a flat in the area previously.

Speaking to reporters later, he said the government could have built a condominium in its place but preferred to build public flats in this central area and share the growth of the city with the people who had rented flats in the area before.

Responding to questions later on about young couples who are concerned about flat affordability, Mr Lee said this is linked to the country's growth - if the country is doing well, property prices will go up.

But if the economy goes down, unemployment goes up but incomes and property values decline.

One thing that will be going up is the height of future public housing.

Mr Lee said: "Well, it's a very special problem we face because we can't expand the city laterally, we have to expand the city vertically. Yes, we can have more (land) reclamations but that's only about 10, 15 per cent and we've reached the limit.

"Therefore, I see more and more of the old blocks being demolished and new blocks like The Pinnacle@Duxton being built."

Units at The Pinnacle@Duxton cost an average of S$486,000 for a 4-room flat and S$590,000 for a 5-room flat, when the last of the units were released in October.

The 50th-storey skybridge will also be open to non-residents for a S$5 fee.

- CNA/ir

DPM Wong says leaders must have conviction to do what is necessary

DPM Wong says leaders must have conviction to do what is necessary
By Mustafa Shafawi, Channel NewsAsia Posted: 07 December 2009 1838 hrs

SINGAPORE : Deputy Prime Minister Wong Kan Seng has said leaders must have the conviction to do what is necessary, even if it may not win them political points.

He said that in a crisis, leaders may find that they have the platform and momentum to drive difficult reforms. But it becomes less easy to pursue and persist with tough reforms when the crisis is over and the economy is on the mend.

Businesses and employees would be reluctant to see the withdrawal of temporary support measures put in place during the downturn. They might be wary of moves to tighten credit and strengthen corporate governance.

In such a situation, leaders must have the conviction to push through what needs to be done, rather than what is politically expedient or populist.

Mr Wong said that to do so, they need to articulate the long-term vision for the country or organisation clearly, mobilise their stakeholders and steer them towards this vision. They cannot do this effectively if they lack credibility and lack the trust of those they lead.

Mr Wong, who is also Home Affairs Minister, was speaking at the fifth Asia Economic Summit on Monday.

The event brings together think tanks, business leaders and government officials from the region to discuss the strategic challenges Asia faces and the prospects ahead. - CNA/ms

Companies urged to reward workers who have performed well

Companies urged to reward workers who have performed well

SINGAPORE: Manpower Minister Gan Kim Yong has urged companies to reward workers who have performed well.

And he said many employers are in favour of some form of payout to retain good workers.

As an example, Mr Gan highlighted the modest one-off year-end payment of 0.25 month, capped at S$750 for civil servants.

Mr Gan said: "I think we all understand that the economic outlook for next year still remains uncertain. In fact, that is what we already expected. For those that can afford (it), with very positive business outlook, they should consider giving some recognition, which could take the form of a one-time payment."

Mr Gan was speaking to reporters at the sidelines of a community event in Keat Hong constituency on Sunday.

On the recently-announced Employment Assistance Programme, Mr Gan stressed that the scheme - which requires companies to pay their older workers if they cannot rehire them after retirement - is "not an easy way out" for companies to get rid of their older workers.

The scheme is part of guidelines for companies to put in place re-employment measures, ahead of legislation in 2012.

Mr Gan said: "We recognise that companies' situations differ from one another, especially companies already facing financial difficulties, business challenges, some of them will not have the positions for the older workers. And in such a situation, we have to find a way to help older workers to find new employment." - CNA/ms
By Hoe Yeen Nie/Seet Sok Hwee, Channel NewsAsia | Posted: 29 November 2009 2313 hrs

1 yr ago, on this day..Ms Lo Hwei Yan was brutally killed by Islamist Terrorist

1 yr ago, on this day..Ms Lo Hwei Yan was brutally killed by Islamist Terrorist


Singapore: News of her body being found on the 19th floor of the Oberoi Hotel in Mumbai filtered through to Singapore’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) at about 8pm on Friday night.

Ms Lo Hwei Yen was found dead by Indian security personnel.

About one-and-a-half hours later,Ms Lo’s husband, Mr Michael Puhaindran, identified the body as that of his 28-year-old wife, making her the first Singaporean to have been killed in an overseas terrorist attack.

“We would like to convey our sincere condolences to the family of Ms Lo. This is a tragedy for all Singaporeans,” said a spokesperson from MFA, which alerted the media shortly before 6pm of a press conference later in the evening.

Before addressing the media, MFA had conveyed the tragic news to Ms Lo’s father-in-law, grassroots leader Mr S Puhaindran, and Ms Lo’s aunt. Family members were grieving at the Marine Parade home of the grassroots leader and were too distraught to speak to the media.

Ms Lo, a lawyer at Singapore-based offshore firm Stephenson Harwood, had been taken hostage on Wednesday night when armed militants took the Oberoi Hotel where she had been staying with guns and grenades.

The terrorists had threatened to harm her if Indian security forces continued to storm the building, said MFA’s director of Consulars, Mr Jai Singh Sohan.

Upon receiving the threat, MFA conveyed it to the Indian government.

“We could not confirm this (demand) earlier as the situation at that time was fluid and fast-evolving. It was not appropriate for us to do so at that time for operational reasons,” he said at the press conference.

MFA officials did not reveal more details about where exactly on the 19th floor Ms Lo’s body was found or how she died.

Earlier reports on Indian television said Indian commandos had engaged in fierce gun battles with the terrorists on the 19th floor of the hotel. An Australian woman, who was staying on that floor told the Sydney Morning Herald that she had barricaded herself in her room when Indian security forces threw grenades, tear gas and smoke bombs in a bid to rescue the guests.

Ms Lo is understood to have travelled to Mumbai to attend a business seminar on Wednesday morning.

Several hours later, she managed to contact her family and told them that she had been taken hostage.

MFA learnt of Ms Lo’s situation on Thursday at around 6am and flew her husband Michael and one of her aunts to Mumbai the same evening.

The Ministry also sent a two-man task force to Mumbai to provide assistance to Singaporeans in Mumbai.

Arrangements are being made to bring Ms Lo’s body back to Singapore.

“MFA and our mission in Mumbai will do everything necessary to assist the family in this very difficult time. We wish this tragedy had not occurred,” said Mr Jai. “We have done everything that we could.

“Our sympathies are also with the families of the other hostages who were killed in the attacks.”

No more Singaporeans are stranded in any of the hotels in Mumbai, he added. Some 115 Singaporeans have registered their presence in Mumbai. Four remain uncontactable.

Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong has expressed his sadness over the tragic incident. He knows Mr Puhaindran’s family and had attended their wedding last year.

Upon learning the news, SM Goh visited the family, who were in a state of shock, reported Channel NewsAsia.

He told reporters: “Unfortunately, what we feared came true.”

Ming Yi sentenced to 10 months jail; his aide Raymond Yeung gets 9 months jail

Ming Yi sentenced to 10 months jail; his aide Raymond Yeung gets 9 months jail
By Shaffiq Alkhatib, 938LIVE | Posted: 21 November 2009 1143 hrs


SINGAPORE: The ex-CEO of Ren Ci Hospital, Ming Yi has been sentenced to ten months jail. A district court has also sentenced his former aide, 34-year-old Raymond Yeung to nine months' imprisonment.

47-year-old Ming Yi, whose real name is Goh Kah Heng and Raymond Yeung were convicted last month of falsifying Ren Ci payment vouchers.

The pair was involved in an unauthorised loan of S$50,000 made in 2004 to the Mandala Buddhist Cultural Centre, a religious artefact shop managed by Yeung.

They were also convicted of giving false information to the Commissioner of Charities.

District Judge Toh Yung Cheong said Ming Yi had abused his authority and betrayed the trust given to him.

He said the money could have been used to help the poor and needy patients.

In mitigation, Ming Yi's lawyer Senior Counsel Andre Yeap argued against a jail sentence.

He said the "tsunami-sized" shame Ming Yi endured because of the trial is punishment enough.

He said Ming Yi had helped a lot of people even risking his life when performing physical stunts to raise money for Ren Ci.

Moreover, he also did not personally profit from the loan to Yeung.

But the prosecution, DPP Jaswant Singh, said a tough stand is needed when charitable funds are misused.

Moreover, Yeung put the money to "frivolous" use to renovate a friend's flat in Hong Kong.

Both Ming Yi and Yeung have filed an appeal.

Andre Yeap, Ming Yi’s lawyer, said: "We actually have ten days to file a notice of appeal against sentencing. But for administrative reasons, we were told we have to file a notice of appeal today, so that's been filed. I believe Raymond has filed a notice of appeal also for the same reason."

Both Ming Yi and Yeung had filed an appeal against their conviction last month.

Both men are now out on bail. Ming Yi's was set at S$450,000 while Yeung's is S$200,000. - 938LIVE/vm

Insistence on bilingualism in early years of education policy was wrong: MM Lee

Insistence on bilingualism in early years of education policy was wrong: MM Lee
By Hoe Yeen Nie, Channel NewsAsia | Posted: 17 November 2009 2142 hrs


SINGAPORE: Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew said his insistence on bilingualism in the early years of education policy was "wrong". Instead it caused generations of students to be put off by the Chinese language.

Speaking first in Mandarin and then in English at the official opening of the Singapore Centre for Chinese Language on Tuesday, Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew gave a blunt assessment of Singapore's bilingual policy.

He said: "We started the wrong way. We insisted on ting xie (listening), mo xie (dictation) - madness! We had teachers who were teaching in completely-Chinese schools. And they did not want to use any English to teach English-speaking children Chinese and that turned them off completely."

Mr Lee added: "At first I thought, you can master two languages. Maybe different intelligence, you master it at different levels."

But his conclusions now, after over 40 years of learning Mandarin, cannot be more different.

MM Lee said: "Nobody can master two languages at the same level. If (you think) you can, you're deceiving yourself. My daughter is a neurologist, and late in my life she told me language ability and intelligence are two different things.

"Girls are better at languages because their left side of the brain to learn languages, as a general rule, is better than the boys. Boys have great difficulty, and I had great difficulty.

"Successive generations of students paid a heavy price, because of my ignorance, by my insistence on bilingualism. And I wasn't helped by the ministry officials, because there were two groups - one English speaking, one Chinese teaching."

Mr Lee said educators should first get the child interested in the language by focusing on the way it is heard and spoken. This includes incorporating drama and IT into lessons to make them more engaging.

Mr Lee said: "It doesn't matter what level they reach, they will like the language, it's fun, and later on in life they'll use it."

The need to make the Chinese language more appealing to students has been a focus of the Education Ministry in recent years and one way is to re-examine how the language is taught in schools.

So the new centre set up in February to train Chinese language teachers will soon offer degree programmes that include modules on curriculum design and teaching methods.

The programmes will be offered under four agreements that were formalised on Tuesday. They include a part-time degree for preschool teachers under a partnership with the SEED Institute, a training institute for early childhood educators.

Tan Chee Lay, deputy executive director, Singapore Centre for Chinese Language, said: "For students to learn, the golden age is from three to six. So in this period of time, if we're able to teach them well, they'll learn well and their language foundation will be there."

Other partners are the Media Development Authority (MDA), SIM University (UniSIM), and the University of Hong Kong.

There are over 4,000 Chinese-language teachers here and about a quarter of them have been trained by the centre so far. - CNA/vm

Financial help proposed for older workers who can't be re-hired

Financial help proposed for older workers who can't be re-hired
By Saifulbahri Ismail, Channel NewsAsia | Posted: 16 November 2009 1311 hrs

SINGAPORE: Workers who cannot be re-employed after reaching retirement at 62 may be given financial help.

An Employment Assistance Payment (EAP) is being proposed to tide these employees over a period of time while they look for another job. It is part of a set of draft tripartite guidelines on re-employment of older workers announced by Manpower Minister Gan Kim Yong at a forum on Monday.

The guidelines, which will supersede an earlier advisory introduced in April last year, take into account feedback from both employers and unions. The recommendations seek to help businesses and employees better prepare for the re-employment legislation in 2012.

Alexander Melchers, chairman of the Tripartite Implementation Workgroup on employability of older workers, said: "Overall we find that companies which have an aging workforce find this a very timely process.

"The devil lies in the details - that's why we now have about two years to work along the guidelines and we encourage companies to implement as many of the elements of the guidelines as possible leading up to 2012."

On EAP, he said: "We implemented EAP because we thought it's important that employees who're eligible for re-employment but their company – for economic restructuring or rejuvenating reasons – is not able to re-employ them... (these) employees will have an opportunity to find a new job."

Union leaders say the EAP must not be used as the first resort.

Heng Chee How, deputy secretary-general of the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC), said: "I want to stress that the EAP is not a recommendation to companies to say, you just pay this and wash your hands off. Far from it.

"It is really to provide as a last resort for companies that have proven that they have undertaken best efforts and sincerely still cannot find a suitable same job or different job for their workers."

The guidelines call for the company which cannot re-employ a worker to pay a minimum amount. This is especially so for low-wage workers, given that they may have greater difficulty finding another job.

There should also be a maximum amount to moderate the financial burden on employers and to prevent the EAP from encouraging employees to stop working.

Stephen Lee, president of Singapore National Employers Federation, said: "Therefore, we think that the EAP should not be a small pot of gold for the individual. So, the EAP should be appropriate just to help the worker tide over to find another job."

When the re-employment law comes into effect, Qioptiq Singapore will be legally required to consider re-employing 21 of its workers who would have reached retirement. But for now, the optical components maker is taking steps to engage its workers on pre-retirement and re-employment issues.

Chua Teow Tzing, managing director of Qioptiq Singapore, said: "At least one year before, we start having a dialogue. We see that as a platform to interact with them, to see what they really desire, because there's the possibility of re-scoping the work.

"Some may choose a lighter side of things. Some would actually change their role from being a production member to becoming a mentor."

Initiating dialogue with workers before their retirement is among the best practices contained in the newly-released guidelines.

The draft guidelines also recommend that companies put in a performance-based wage system. Mr Gan said: "The re-employment of older workers, which allows for mutually agreeable adjustments in wages, will help companies implement competitive wages based on job worth, productivity and performance."

A public consultation on the guidelines is being carried out. The tripartite partners will finalise the guidelines by early next year.


- CNA/938LIVE/so/ir

S'pore, China deepen cooperation on education, intellectual property & tax

SINGAPORE: Singapore and China will deepen their cooperation on key areas of education, intellectual property and tax under three agreements signed on Monday.

From next year, up to 16 scholarships will be offered to government officials from both sides under the Singapore-China Foundation. This allows them to pursue post graduate studies in each other's countries.

The agreement doubles the number of scholarships offered under the current Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signed in 2004.

To date, the foundation has given out over 50 scholarships for courses at Peking University, National University of Singapore and the Nanyang Technological University.

In another MOU signed on Monday, both sides also agreed on a broad framework on intellectual property rights. The MOU will provide for a standard set of terms and conditions relating to the ownership, protection and commercialisation of intellectual property in joint science and technology projects.

The signing of the agreements was witnessed by Chinese Vice-Premier Wang Qishan and Singapore Deputy Prime Minister Wong Kan Seng.

Mr Wang is in Singapore for a series of high-level talks, with the focus on two bilateral flagship projects - the Suzhou Industrial Park in China's Jiangsu province and the Tianjin Eco-city project.

The Suzhou Industrial Park, now into its 15th year, has enjoyed strong growth for the past five years. Since 2004, output has grown by up to 20 per cent to nearly US$15 billion.

But its fortunes have taken a dip with the global recession. The Park posted an annual GDP growth of 9.7 per cent in the first six months of this year, reaching just over US$8 billion.

At their meeting on Monday, Mr Wong and Mr Wang reiterated their commitment to the project. But they said it is time to review the Park's growth strategy to keep pace with China's developmental needs.

This includes bringing in new industries while keeping business costs low, said
Singapore's Health Minister Khaw Boon Wan, who is also a co-chairman of the Singapore-Jiangsu Cooperation Council.

"You have to let go of industries which are lower value-added and ship them out of Suzhou, but at the same time you yourself must build up capabilities so that investors will come and invest in your new capabilities, which your higher costs will still justify," he said.

On the Tianjin Eco-city project, which broke ground last September, the leaders said the emphasis will be on attracting investments - including offering incentives for companies to set up shop there.

Another area of focus is what officials call "software" development - that is policies and programmes that can be replicated in other cities.

"Hard work no doubt, teething problems, there will be. But if we know what they are, we're willing to overcome them, we will make it work. And it requires constant review, and effort on all sides," said Mr Wong.

Mr Wong and Mr Wang are the chairmen of a high-level council on economic cooperation - the Joint Council on Bilateral Cooperation.

The two leaders also agreed to review and expand the China-Singapore Free Trade Agreement inked last year.

Senior officials on both sides have been quick to stress that the Suzhou and Tianjin projects are just two items in a long-standing friendship that spans a wide range of areas, including education and cultural exchanges.

Singapore and China mark 20 years of diplomatic relations next year, and their leaders say the recently-concluded talks in Singapore will add a further boost to bilateral ties.

Monday was a busy day for Mr Wang. After signing a number of agreements and meeting the media, the visiting Chinese vice-premier also called on Singapore's leaders.

Mr Wang called on and was hosted to lunch by Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong at the St Regis Singapore. There, the two leaders exchanged views on the evolution and strengthening of Singapore-China relations over the years as well as how bilateral cooperation could be further broadened.

In the evening, the Chinese vice-premier called on Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong at the Istana where they exchanged views on the global and regional economy as well as the challenges in the aftermath of the global financial crisis. Mr Lee then hosted Mr Wang to a dinner.

The two leaders also affirmed the close Singapore-China ties and discussed how cooperation could be further enhanced.

- CNA/yb/ir

New training campuses will help workers compete in tougher global economy

SINGAPORE: The global job hunt is expected to intensify in the coming years as economies slowly emerge from the recession and Singapore's leaders said the country must ensure it remains competitive after the storm blows over.

To do this, more efforts are being put into skills upgrading, including two new Continuing Education and Training (CET) campuses.

There is never an end to learning. Minister for Manpower Gan Kim Yong himself took a learning journey at the Institute for Adult Learning. It is one of Singapore's 48 Continuing Education and Training campuses, better known as CETs.

Set up in December 2008, the Institute for Adult Learning is ramping up its CET offerings and expanding its services.

As for workers and employers, there are plans to give them greater access to such training facilities all under one roof.

Training centres will come together to support the two new national CET campuses, to be ready by 2013. They will be to working adults, what the polytechnics and universities are to the younger generation.

The campuses will be located at the Jurong Lake District in the west and Paya Lebar Central in the east - both slated to be major regional hubs. They are to serve as one-stop centres, integrating services like career consulting, training, workshops and recruitment facilities.

The campuses will also provide a platform for employment exchange. Employers can meet their manpower needs while workers seek out good job opportunities.

For CET providers, they can leverage on each other and link up with the wider network of providers around the island.

Each campus will be themed. For example, hospitality-related courses such as tourism, F&B and retail can be clustered within the same campus.

Manpower Minister Gan Kim Yong said: "That will create greater synergies, greater efficiency and more effectiveness in delivering the training programmes. But it doesn't mean that all the other CET centres will no longer have a role to play. They will continue to provide specific industry training programmes for the related industries."

NTUC Secretary-General Lim Swee Say said: "By strengthening our CET infrastructure, we can on one hand work closely with all the economic agencies to ensure that Singapore is competitive - that we're cheaper, we're better, we're faster - to attract more investment to create more jobs."

At least two CET campuses - the Institute for Adult Learning and the labour movement's Employment and Employability Institute (e2i) - have announced plans to relocate to the two national CET campuses. Both campuses are expected to provide 150,000 training places annually. - CNA/vm

Former police officer charged with 31 counts of corruption

SINGAPORE: An ex-police officer has been charged with 31 counts of corruption.

36-year-old Ong Tat Wei, formerly an ASP with the Police Technology Department, had set up an educational company with a female Chinese national to bring in Chinese students to study in Singapore.

In order to get entry visas for the students, Ong allegedly enlisted his friends to act as sponsors for them.

Separately, Ong and his partner also engaged his friend Lim Seng Khoon to be the licensee of their "Dream Beauty and Spa", according to the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB).

It said the couple agreed to pay Lim a monthly sum of S$300 to be the licensee holder of the massage establishment.

Ong was also charged with abetting his partner to offer bribes to Lim and for abetting two others in making false statements to public servants.

Race, religion garner biggest public response on REACH

SINGAPORE: The topic of race and religion constituted a large part of Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong's National Day Rally speech last Sunday.

The issue also got the public talking, accounting for half of the responses received by government feedback unit REACH.

Most contributors – who posted comments on Facebook, via email and SMS – agreed that racial harmony was an ingredient in Singapore's continued success.

Eight in ten also accepted Mr Lee's rationale for maintaining harmony among the different racial and religious groups.

Some called for more inter-faith and inter-racial activities, and said there should also be more in-depth interaction.

On healthcare, some hoped to see more help given to support home care for the elderly. Others voiced concerns over growing healthcare costs, suggesting free or subsidised healthcare for the poor, elderly and disabled.

On the economy, many were confident of the country's ability to weather the recession.

A slew of new media tools were used to allow the public to post their feedback.

Twitter, which was used for the first time, proved to be the most popular platform, with #ndrsg among the top 10 trending topics worldwide just two hours into the Rally.

REACH's Rally microsite – www.reach.gov.sg/ndrsg - also saw nearly 10,000 hits.


- CNA/so

Singapore ranked second most expensive city in Asia, after Tokyo

SINGAPORE : Singapore has been ranked the second most expensive city in Asia, after Tokyo, with Hong Kong taking the third position.

In UBS' Prices and Earnings 2009 study released on Thursday, Singapore is ranked 24th globally, in a comparison of living costs in 73 cities around the world. The study was based on data collected between March and April this year.

It found Oslo, Zurich, Copenhagen, Geneva, Tokyo and New York to be the world's priciest cities based on a standardised basket of 122 goods and services. Mumbai, Delhi, Manila and Kuala Lumpur are cities with the lowest price levels.

The study said: "Asia is home to some of the world's priciest cities and nowhere is the spread between most expensive and cheapest more pronounced."

Employees in Copenhagen, Zurich, Geneva and New York have the highest gross wages, but Zurich and Geneva top the rankings in the international comparison of net wages.

In Asia, employees in Tokyo earn the highest wages, and are ranked 18th globally. Their salaries are about two times higher than those in Singapore, which came in at 40th globally. Manila, Jakarta and Mumbai are at the bottom of the table.

As for working hours, people work the longest hours in Asia and the Middle East, and the shortest in France. People work an average of 1,902 hours a year in the surveyed cities, but those in Asian and Middle Eastern cities work an average of 2,119 and 2,063 hours a year respectively.

Overall, Cairo employees work the longest hours, averaging 2,373 hours a year, followed by Seoul with 2,312 hours. In comparison, people in Lyon and Paris spend the least amount of time at work - putting in about 1,582 and 1,594 hours a year respectively.

- CNA/al

Temasek CEO Ho Ching ranked 5th most powerful woman by Forbes

SINGAPORE: Temasek Holdings' chief executive officer, Ho Ching, has been ranked fifth in Forbes' annual ranking of the World's Most Powerful Women. She is the only CEO of an Asia-based company in the top 10 list.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel clinched the number one spot for the fourth consecutive year.

According to Forbes, today's women in power are rising to leadership positions in business, government and philanthropy by making daring and unconventional moves.

They are moving across companies and industries, making big leaps with each change, and repositioning themselves for opportunities that allow them to gain a breadth of experience.

Federal Deposit Insurance Corp chairman Sheila Bair is at number two after a year of being tested in unprecedented ways by the United States' deepening economic crisis.

She is followed by Indra Nooyi of PepsiCo, and Anglo-American chief executive Cynthia Carroll.

US First Lady Michelle Obama debuts on the list this year at the 40th spot, alongside many notable newcomers to high-profile leadership positions.

Forbes' rankings of the World's Most Powerful Women are based on a combination of economic impact, media reach, and career accomplishments.
- CNA/yb