DESPITE clear signs that the taxi industry is overcrowded - operators posting thinner profits, outright losses and hundreds of taxis laid up idle - there is a new applicant for a taxi operating licence.

Confirming market talk that has been circulating for weeks now, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) told The Straits Times: 'LTA received an application for the taxi operator's licence recently, and we are currently evaluating the application.'

The authority would not reveal the identity of the applicant, but this newspaper understands that the applicant is Tiong Asia Marine, a small company that repairs, paints and cleans boilers for the shipping industry.

Read the full report in Tuesday's edition of The Straits Times.