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A checklist before applying for a Singapore Employment Pass

In Singapore, the benefit of securing an Employment Pass (EP) for a foreign employee is immense. This is because employers, in an EP application, face neither the restriction of foreign workers quota nor the additional costs of foreign workers levy, which are applicable in other types of work visas prevalent here such as the work permit and S Pass.

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A checklist before applying for a Singapore Employment Pass

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Introducing your new colleague - Bob, the robot

According to the study "The future of employment: how susceptible are jobs to computerization?" by Oxford Martin Programme on the Impacts of Future Technology, 47% of the jobs in the US will be automated. So look around your office; 47% of the people holding those jobs would be gone. Hopefully these are the annoying people and you don't belong to any of them.

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5 cyber security measures Singapore SMEs should know

If you thought that cyber criminals only target big businesses, think again. According to the Verizon 2012 Data Breach Investigation Security Report, 67% of cyber security compromises in 2011 happened in organisations with just 11 to 100 employees, which fits the description of SMEs and start-ups in Singapore.

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Tourists to Singapore attracted to twins

Singapore is looking down the barrel of the first overall decline in tourist numbers since 2008—the dawn of the Global Financial Crisis. In fairness, 2014 has been a bad year. Tragic travel disasters and regional instability have both hurt tourist numbers - most obviously from China, though other markets have also been impacted. What is clear though is that an incident in one country in our region can have an impact on all of South East Asia.

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Are Singapore's financial institutions keeping up with FATCA?

FATCA stands for the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act and was enacted by the United States Congress back in 2010 to encourage tax compliance by US persons using non-US financial accounts.

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5 pitfalls Singapore SMEs should avoid when expanding overseas

According to the SME Development Survey 2013 by DP Information Group (DP Info), fewer Singapore SMEs are doing business overseas (54 percent in 2012 compared with 46 percent in 2013). This could be due to the perceived risks of internationalisation.

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Why are Singaporeans so keen on the Indonesian property market?

Indonesia conjures up idyllic memories of gorgeous villas and people relaxing around plunge pools surrounded by frangipani while eating mangosteen - all set against vistas of Balinese rice-terraces and white beaches.

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Singapore and the race for best in class

Singapore shows a passion for being the best in class at everything, and it shows.

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Is content marketing for Singapore businesses?

Content marketing in Singapore is still in its infancy stage. Companies that are able to leverage on quality content marketing not just have the first mover advantage, they will also have an “UNFAIR” advantage over its competitors. This is because content marketing is a marketing strategy that it is not easy to be duplicated by the competition.

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Why Singaporean companies need to embrace business process outsourcing

With the average salary for a university graduate in Singapore now running to S$3,300 – excluding CPF contributions – finding staff within a budget can be problematic.

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The challenge of engaging Singaporean employees

Culturally, engaging Singaporean employees can be somewhat tricky. While they are often not highly vocal in their criticisms, they tend to be very discerning and hold their organisations to highly exacting standards.

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60% of Singaporean customers don't complain about bad service

According to a new survey in Singapore, 60% of people who suffer from bad service never complain. That means that for every four people who complain, another six are just as angry but never tell the organistion about it. This is a staggering number and should be a big worry for everyone in the customer experience sectors in Singapore.

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Call for cyber security experts grows louder

Demand is on the rise across all banks in Singapore for cyber security experts who can help combat the increasing threat of cyber attacks and meet the demands of regulators.

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Undervalued Philippines property market piques Singapore investor interest

In the 1960s, the Philippines was more advanced than Korea and large swathes of war ravaged Japan, but years of corruption and mismanagement took their toll on this beautiful archipelago and it became known as the ‘sick man of Southeast Asia.’

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What you need to know if you're starting an agency recruitment career in Singapore

According to Ministry of Manpower Singapore, there are a total of 2,222 registered recruitment agencies in Singapore. If each of them house 10 recruiters, we are looking at 22,220 recruiters. So you are looking at 1 recruiter to every 242 residents.

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The biggest threat to Singapore's private sector?

The other day the wife and I decided to grab lunch whilst at a mall. It was a family-style Singaporean chain. Decent food, and as restaurants here go, not exactly cheap – for a casual lunch for 2, no desserts, we ran up a bill of $50. When the wife asked for a glass of water (mid meal), the immediate response from the waitress was “that will be 30 cents extra”.

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