Singapore Expats

I'm a New Zealander who made the decision this year to try and get a job in Singapore.
I have been applying for the last couple of months and while there does seem to be quite a few jobs in my area (Chemistry), I have yet to hear back from any of them.

I understand that hiring foreigners is more difficult and especially since I am still currently in NZ. In addition to this is the current economic crisis which make things harder and it makes sense for a country to hire its own people first.

But a lot of the jobs I have applied for and got no reply, were advertised on the same website again, a few weeks after they have closed, with a new posting and closing date. Some of them I felt were perfect for my experience and qualifications, yet I had no reply.

Is this because the companies, would rather not fill the job than employ a foreigner or are they stretching it out as long as they can to try and get a local?

5 bux says the jobs were posted by agencies, only seeking to collect resumes.

Yep. I spent 14 years in the industry and I'd bet my last nickle they were just chumming for CV's in the event of something actually coming up in the near future. The active shelf life of a CV is only 3 to 6 months anyway unless the person is an expat engineer in the various construction industries. Their CV's are good for a long time and they will keep updating them anyway. I've got Engineers who have been updating with me since they were green engineers and now they are seasoned project managers with more than 10 years experience.