Commentary

Defying disruption and embracing change in Singapore

With disruption highlighted as the defining challenge for Singapore's economy, small business owners can no longer rely on traditional brick-and-mortar stores for their survival. As technological change sweeps across many industries, what is key, said Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, is how Singapore chooses to respond – whether to close itself off, or embrace the change and help incumbents adjust.

Commentary

Defying disruption and embracing change in Singapore

Commentary

Behind Singapore's food narrative

Some time has passed since the Michelin Guide for Singapore was debuted. Some said it's a recognition of the island's cultural heritage. Some really didn't care whether the stars descended or not. Whatever it is, it is undeniable that food is deeply ingrained in the Singaporean cultural DNA, and is a personal subject for most Singaporeans.

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The formula for delighting guests in Singapore's luxury hotels

According to a recent survey conducted by Market Probe, there are a few key ingredients that really delight guests and keep them coming back to luxury hotels in Singapore.

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Here's why I think Singapore CPF Life is awesome

If you read the Singapore newspapers or follow social media, you won’t have missed the ongoing controversy about the merits or otherwise of the Central Provident Fund (CPF) scheme. The CPF attempts to serve many objectives, but in this article I will look at just one – the provision of a guaranteed income in retirement.

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Winning the innovation arms race with business defence for FinTech

With Singapore continuously strengthening its position as a global financial hub – now ranked third in the current Global Financial Centres Index – government bodies like the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) are increasingly looking to technology to not only support and expedite growth in the financial sector, but also to protect it.

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Bye bye, TPP

With the new US President-elect, Mr. Donald J. Trump, it is now almost official that the TPP Trans-Pacific Partnership is over and will not be signed by the US Congress, putting the word end to what was envisioned as the largest free-trade agreement between the USA and 11 countries along the Pacific rim, namely Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, South Korea, and Vietnam, representing 40% of global economy and 30% of global trade.

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Training: Secret to business success?

LinkedIn recently published their annual list of the most sought-after skills employers are looking for in 2017. Amongst the skills noted, it was great to see data analytics take the spotlight, with statistical analysis and data mining holding strong again this year at #4 for Singapore employers (#2 globally). For the first time ever, data presentations, which is visualising data, also made the global list in the #8 spot1.

Commentary

What is the potential impact of President Trump?

Right after it became clear that Mr Donald J. Trump had become President Elect, like many of us, I started getting emails and WhatsApp messages asking the single question. What does this all mean? The wise reply is of course – we need to wait and see. But having said that, we can reasonably expect policy shifts in both immigration and taxation.

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What Singapore marketers need to know about making data count

Recognising data as a resource similar to traditional resources like water and energy can give Singapore a competitive advantage and propel the country to become a key player in the global digital economy.

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Why flexibility can't be ignored by successful companies

When Compass Offices surveyed 1,200 employees across Asia, the findings gave us amazing insight into what makes workers tick. And we weren't too surprised: employees expected their companies not only to have good corporate values, but even more importantly, to be flexible.

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5 ways to network in Singapore

One of the things I love most about Singapore is the ease of networking. Not only where and when to network but how to network once you're in the venue.

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5 things Singapore business travellers should know about their mobile and data plans

In the beginning, telcos fixed rates between inbound and outbound calls, with a little extra if such calls were needed to connect overseas.

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Savvy and hard-to-please Singaporean consumers – mapping their omni-channel journeys is simply not enough

Minister for Trade and Industry, S Iswaran, recently spoke on how retailers need to start thinking of omni-channels (including online sales and mobile applications) to stay relevant. The success of Honest Bee, Carousell, Zalora, and RedMart (bought over by Lazada) only proves e-commerce works really well in Southeast Asia.

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Building a sustainable enterprise in Singapore

In recent years, the role of corporations has increased in importance due to growing awareness and societal expectations. Besides financial accountability to stakeholders, ever-diversifying responsibilities, profit maximisation and so forth, consumers still expect corporations to demonstrate business sustainability.

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Singapore: The next big step towards RBC2

While the Risk-Based-Capital (RBC) framework has served Singapore insurers well over the last 12 years, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) is driving a major overhaul on a new capital regime (RBC2) in light of evolving market practices and global regulatory developments.

Commentary

DBS Bank's innovation in assurance: doing more, and more effectively, with less

In 2014, Jimmy Ng, the head of Group Audit at DBS Bank, implemented the bank's continuous auditing project in Singapore. A year ago, Ng had received an urgent call from Kelvin Lam, Country Head of Taiwan Audit. Lam had requested a higher headcount budget to meet the new audit requirements established by the Financial Supervisory Commission in Taiwan.

Commentary

Why a crisis will show how diversified you really are

If you own an ETF that tracks Singapore's STI, some bonds, and an Asia Pacific unit trust, you might think your portfolio is diversified. But it probably isn't.

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