Commentary

Forex: Best business ever?

There are many factors to consider when looking to invest-in or start-up a business, particularly in the Singapore financial markets. Perhaps some of the most important are stability, long-term growth potential, ROI (return on investment – especially your time-to-return investment), OPM (other people’s money), start-up costs (initial capital), and overall opportunity.

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Forex: Best business ever?

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Asia's hunger for alternative finance

After the global downturn that followed 2008, Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) emerged as one of the pillars of the economy, withstanding turbulent times whilst banking titans collapsed around them.

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Why Singapore investors should pay attention to how consumers feel

Singapore consumers are feeling pretty low. This means the Singapore stock market could soon be moving up.

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National Day Rally 2016 – breaking it down for businesses

I think if there is one thing business owners need to take away from this year’s national day rally, it is to take care of your health.

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What changed in the automotive sector with Brexit?

The referendum results of Britain leaving the European Union (EU) came as a surprise to everyone. It was unprecedented since no country has ever left the EU. There are questions on what will change given this development. And how will countries like Singapore and the rest of the world be affected?

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Training a SkillsFuture generation: Are workers workplace-ready?

Training is an inherently expensive endeavour, and current efforts to train workers to meet the demands of employers are no exception. Thankfully, the SkillsFuture Credit, Earn and Learn, and Mid-Career Enhanced Subsidy schemes introduced by the Singapore government have taken the bite out of training fees for the individual.

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How do you account for your headcount?

In today's uncertain economic times, many companies are re-looking into their priorities, one of which is to retrench staff as a way to save on overhead expenses. However, removing jobs does not necessarily mean that a company saves on costs.

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3 business strategies to survive the tightening credit environment in Singapore

DP Information Group had recently conducted a credit survey on Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in Singapore and found that SMEs are tightening their credit terms. Their most eye-catching result was captured in the chart below which shows that SMEs are getting paid a full 19 days to cash (DTC) earlier than just two years ago.

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Future-ready education: Honing the right skills

Singapore is often praised for its high standards of education, so it might be surprising to some that the nation state suffers from a huge knowledge-skills gap. According to the Hays Global Skills Index, despite Singapore having one of the highest education standards in the world, local talent often do not have the skills wanted by employers, leading to both higher rates of vacancies and unemployment.

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The untapped Gold of Saigon: Property investment opportunities for Singapore investors

Amid the uncertainty of Brexit and the slowing real estate sector here in Singapore, emerging markets like Vietnam are a promising investment destination for Singapore’s property investors. The country is also becoming more popular among Singaporeans. In June 2015, Singaporean visitors to Vietnam rose 43.6 percent year-on-year, according to Vietnam’s National Administration of Tourism.

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BreadTalk: Continuous innovation to keep the brand fresh

It was December 2012, and Joyce Koh, Senior Vice President of Brand Development at BreadTalk, was examining the company’s preliminary growth statistics for 2012 with a view to developing its future brand strategy.

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Robots and us: Collaborate or compete?

Recently I was invited to join the DHL Robotics Day 2016 with some outstanding fellow keynote speakers from ABB, DHL, and NTU.

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Pokémon Go – What digital lessons can businesses learn?

Ever since its launch, Pokémon Go has been a major trend for businesses in Singapore – not just its players. From Pokémon-themed promotions and Pokémon lures outside shopping malls, established players such as Resorts World Sentosa, ION Orchard, and CapitaLand have introduced campaigns to increase footfall and drive up customer revenue.

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There's an app for that: How the on-demand economy won over Asia

The on-demand economy—built around cheap and easy services we can use from the convenience of our smartphones—is enjoying fresh success across Asia. One of the best examples to look at is the Didi Chuxing-Uber deal just weeks ago, where the companies branched off from one another to build up their markets in the East and West respectively. Uber sold its shares to Didi and now Didi is valued at US$35 billion while Uber is valued at US$68 billion. If anything, this shows that the on-demand economy is here to stay in Asia.

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Optimising compliance to corporate travel policies

Travel management is a highly specialised business function, and is one of the hardest cost areas to control in a corporation because of its highly fragmented nature; requiring expertise across many sub-categories, geographies and being subjected to the taste and preferences of the business traveler.

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The challenges facing CIOs in Singapore

As businesses progress towards a digital platform and data-gathering era, the role of a Chief Information Officer (CIO) has become increasingly influential. In Hays’ recently published ‘DNA of a CIO Asia’ report which surveyed 307 CIOs across Asia, 50% of the respondents foresee the need for CIOs to improve on the innovation front in the next five years as their visibility grows within organisations.

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Why the Executive Assistant is important to today's businesses

With the rapid advancement of smartphone technology and Intelligent Personal Assistants (IPAs) such as Apple’s Siri, Google Now, and Microsoft’s Cortana, the ability to schedule meetings, check on stock prices, and organise email messages is at the fingertip of any smartphone-wielding executive.

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