Commentary

Thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic, hybrid work arrangements have become the norm globally for organizations across industries. Locally, a strong majority of Singapore companies (78%) are leaning towards maintaining a hybrid schedule, according to recent data from Milieu Insight. At the same time, employees are far less enthusiastic about going all-in on one work environment, with only 12% prefer working from the office all the time and only 10% wanting to work remotely full-time.

Technology-based investment solutions can crunch numbers faster than any human, are less prone to emotion-driven decisions and they never sleep. And in many cases, they don’t charge as much as their human competition.

Singapore's healthcare system, like those of all developed countries, is swamped with data. The challenge - and the opportunity - is to use that data to become a more effective premium healthcare provider. This can be achieved through the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI). AI lets medical professionals analyse and derive insights from the huge datasets created by healthcare organisations, a feat that is just not possible for humans.

Recent tax case judgments in commodity-producing countries shine a spotlight on the important commodity transfer pricing challenges that have potential knock-on effects on the trading industry in Singapore.

The manufacturing industry has been the engine of Singapore’s economic growth since its inception. In 2018, the city-state was singled out as one of the best positioned countries for Industry 4.0 by the World Economic Forum with manufacturing contributing to 21.9% of Singapore's nominal gross domestic product (GDP).

Singapore’s Goods and Services Tax (GST) rate will be raised from the current 7% to 8% on 1 January 2023 and again from 8% to 9% on 1 January 2024, as announced by the Finance Minister in his Budget 2022 speech.

COVID-19 has disrupted the workplace permanently. Since the pandemic began two years ago, workers are getting more used to work-from-home or hybrid work arrangements.

Across Singapore, every industry has experienced fundamental transformation in the last two years – and the commercial real estate sector (CRE) is no exception.

Over the past few years, e-commerce’s popularity has soared tremendously, as restrictions on mobility drove more and more people to shop online.

It’s no exaggeration to say that financial services are critical to Singapore’s future prosperity. The country has long punched above its weight in the global  financial services industry, serving as a strategic operational base for a huge number of major international organisations to do business throughout Asia. As a result, the sector is responsible for approximately 200,000 jobs and accounts for around 10% of Singapore’s GDP each year. 

The global climate crisis is worsening and Singapore, a low-lying city state, is particularly at risk.

Singapore is a well-known magnet for global hubs, alongside Hong Kong, Ireland and Switzerland, with many multinational companies (MNCs) choosing Singapore as their base for the region.

Singapore may be a small country, yet it punches high in the following areas – thought leadership, regional leadership, innovation, and determination. It is these same qualities that are required to develop new, more efficient, and effective supply chains.

In Singapore, climate change concerns have already impacted technology builds.

The pandemic has driven permanent changes in employee expectations of their employers, especially with regards to flexibility in their work locations and schedules.