Singapore - Budget carrier Tiger Airways on Tuesday started offering 100,000 seats at 40 Singapore cents (28 US cents) plus taxes and surcharges to destinations across Asia.

The five-day sale marks the fourth birthday next Monday of the Singapore Airlines-backed Tiger.

Set up in 2004, Tiger has expanded rapidly. Compound annual growth in revenue has averaged 90 per cent and passenger numbers have risen

by an annual average of 48 per cent, the airline said.

Singapore - Salaries in the Asia-Pacific region are forecast to jump next year as a result of rising inflation, a compensation firm's report said Tuesday.

Pay is expected to increase by a median 8 per cent in 2009 against a median increase of 6.7 per cent in 2008, according to HR Business Solutions.

Pay hikes among more developed countries including Taiwan, Japan, Australia, New Zealand and Singapore are forecast at between 3.5-5.9 per cent, the firm said.

Sri Lanka tops the projected increases at 17 per cent, followed by India at 16 per cent, Indonesia at 12.7 per cent, Vietnam at 12.4 per cent, Bangladesh at 11.9 per cent and Pakistan at 11.1 per cent.

Singapore - The Singapore government is urging parents to play matchmaker to find appropriate spouses for their single sons and daughters, said The Strait Times Monday.

Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong floated the idea during his National Day Rally recently by telling parents to follow the lead of thousands of mainland Chinese who have secretly sought sons- and daughters-in-law in parks and outings and were successful.

Parents in Singapore will attend arranged events and bring their offsprings' CVs, business cards and photographs to swap with others, to identify suitable partners that they would approve of, the report said.

Singapore - Singapore's government said it is open to public forums and debates on proposals for 11 sites earmarked as housing estates for foreign semi-skilled workers, media reports said Monday.

"I welcome the debate," Foreign Affairs Minister George Yeo told reporters.

The Ministry of National Development announced plans for housing for workers from Bangladesh, Thailand and India, including converting a vacant building in the middle-class residential area of Serangoon Gardens.

Taipei- A Singaporean businessman was indicted Friday on charges of embezzling 3 million US dollars from a diplomatic fund set up to persuade Papua New Guinea (PNG) to drop its links with China and recognize Taipei.

The Taipei Prosecutor's Office indicted Wu Shih-tsai, who was in charge of the fund, on charges of forging documents and defamation.

Singapore - The national Singapore investment firm Temasek Holdings has sold Senoko Power to a Japanese consortium for 4 billion Singapore dollars (2.5 billion US dollars), the company announced Friday.

The consortium of Lion Power Holdings is headed by Japan's Marubeni Corp and includes GDF Suez of France, The Kansai Electric Power Company, Kyushu Electric Power Company and Japan Bank for International Cooperation.