Commentary

Asia-Pacific’s fintech scene is buzzing, with Singapore leading as one of ASEAN’s powerhouse.

As businesses step into 2020 with new aspirations and a positive outlook, they are also keeping a close watch on the macroeconomic influences and changing market conditions.

As the global privacy compliance landscape evolves, are we ready to adapt to the needs of the digital economy?

During the Singapore FinTech Festival which recently concluded, there were calls by Indian venture capitalist Mohandas Pai for Singapore to create a billion-dollar funding arrangement for investments in ‘at least 1,000 start-ups in India’. Whilst Pai was largely referring to the evolving Indian IT industry, Singapore should look seriously at this idea and consider expanding its scope to include start-ups from other sectors as well.

“Entrepreneurship is a trap.”

Over the years, we have seen the cloud shift from hype to mainstream. The recent Nutanix Enterprise Cloud Index reveals hybrid cloud to be widespread in Singapore, with respondents reportedly intending to cut traditional infrastructure adoption from 42% to 17% over the next one to two years alone. Similarly, hybrid cloud adoption is expected to increase significantly from 18% to 46% during the same period.

Of all the mega trends that are impacting the oil and gas industry, the wave of digital innovation sweeping across the landscape is amongst the most intriguing – and offers significant potential for Singapore to play the role of innovator and disruptor at the forefront of what’s been dubbed “Oil & Gas 4.0”.

The identification, assessment, selection, and development of nextgen leaders including those in Singapore are the cornerstones of the talent strategies of many leading and successful organizations. If an organization can identify early from their people those with high potential for leadership, it can concentrate resources on developing these people to help them realize their potential. Through this process, it can efficiently build up a leadership bench strength and a pipeline of talent who can eventually be the leaders of the organization.

There’s a great deal more to property tech than online real estate listings sites, explains CEO of PropertyQuants, Nelson Lau, and Talox cofounder, Yves Luethi.

Over the last two years nowhere in the world has seen a greater increase in adoption of fintech than Singapore. Back in 2017 less than a quarter of Singaporean residents had used a fintech service, today more than two thirds have. Banks of course have played a central role in facilitating this change, and with a wave of new digital banks coming over the horizon, now is the time for Singapore’s banking incumbents to ensure they keep surprising customers on the upside by adopting new technologies.

This year Singapore began implementing major changes to their education curriculum by shifting the emphasis away from standardised tests towards building critical thinking skills. This is a smart move, but it will take years for the effects to benefit organisations who need these “future skills” today. Companies can’t wait that long.

Reputation in a business context can be defined as: "the perception that people have about what an organisation is like". Such reputation can be said to be earned / established based on past events, and reputation either sits on a ‘surplus’ (positive) or ‘deficit’ (negative).

Investing is a word that will bring up many different connotations, both good and bad. Many picture glamorous lifestyles associated with the rich and famous, who have the net worth to make their money work for them. We also picture unscrupulous financiers, trading stocks to make money for themselves, at the expense of everyone else. It’s no surprise why many people feel this way either - the current state of investing is one that is exclusive, expensive and complicated.

When we surveyed C-suite executive and finance professionals in select global cities, including Singapore and Hong Kong, we learned that an astonishing 69% of respondents believed that they, their CEO or CFO may have made a significant business decision based on out-of-date or incorrect financial data. In today’s competitive markets, with increasing regulatory scrutiny, the ramifications of this lack of visibility can be felt throughout the organisation. Companies simply cannot afford to report or make decisions based on inaccurate financial information.

Singapore is entering an era of hyper-personalisation. According to a recent Nielson report, almost 50% of Singapore consumers are more likely to try new brands compared to five years ago and personalised experiences is one of the key factors which influences their brand choices. Digital service providers are a beacon of best practice in creating and managing digital user experience: for example Netflix Inc, YouTube and Viu have been working furiously for the past several years to ensure that each consumer has a completely unique exposure to the platform. And now, Singapore’s consumers have come to expect the same level of personalised service in all areas of their lives.

Known for having a first-world economy, Singapore has recently overtaken the US to become the most competitive nation in the world, according to the World Economic Forum. In the same month, Singapore was also named the world’s smartest city by the inaugural IMD Smart City Index, beating the likes of Zurich, Oslo and Geneva. This list of impressive accolades can be attributed to the Singapore government’s drive towards transforming the country into a smart nation and a global innovation hub.