Commentary

The retail landscape in Singapore has faced a slump during the festive season in 2018, and analysts are predicting a challenging year ahead. Retailers in Singapore are faced with two distinct challenges.

For Singaporeans, there’s never been a better time to own a smartphone. Over the last three years, the cost of mobile data has plummeted, whilst the speed of Singapore’s mobile networks has continued to be the envy of operators across Asia. But despite the success, change hasn’t been easy for telcos and consumers alike.

The SMU-TA Centre for Excellence in Taxation (SMU-TA CET) was set up by Singapore Management University and the Tax Academy of Singapore, to undertake tax research with a focus on international taxation. More importantly, they host regular technical talks both to disseminate research and stimulate further discussion on important tax matters.

If there is one name that luxury brands in Singapore (and Asia) need to pay attention to this year, it’s the name “HENRY”. No, HENRY isn’t the name of an insanely wealthy and big-spending individual, nor are we referring to Henry Golding, the lead actor from the movie Crazy Rich Asians. Rather, it describes a demographic which stands to be the most important consumer group for luxury product, lifestyle and services brands. In Singapore, HENRYs are defined as households or families that are “High Earners, Not Rich Yet”, earning between $150,000 and $300,000 per year – the segment of consumers that have significant discretionary income and a strong chance of being “ultra-affluent” in the near future.

Small to medium sized enterprises (SMEs) are the lifeblood of all economies across Asia Pacific, however, technological disruption of industries and the need to innovate and change business models are key challenges that need to be addressed. According to an IDC report, escalating costs of operations, the emergence of new business models, competition and changing customer demands are pressuring small businesses in the region. There is an urgency for them to review their business model and to ensure sustainability - ultimately to figure out how to do more with less resources.

Following recent cyber security breaches, Singapore’s Government has added Digital Defence to the country’s Total Defence framework. In announcing the move, Ministers stressed the need to strengthen cybersecurity as part of the national agenda.

In 2018, Singapore emerged as the best place for expatriates to live and work in for the fourth year in a row - no mean feat considering it is also one of the most expensive cities in the world to reside in. Last month, a survey conducted by ECA International also found the city-state to be the most liveable city for Asian expats in 2018 for the 14th year in a row.

Earlier in January, electricity retailer Red Dot Power (RDP) announced its exit from the electricity market, citing a “financial challenging period.”

Government policy, a receptive public and innovative segment combine to make Singapore Asia’s burgeoning tech hub.

Against a backdrop of disruptive megatrends and rapid advancements in technologies, recent initiatives have cast the spotlight back on the utilities industry. This includes the recently announced carbon tax as part of Singapore’s Year of Climate Action, where facilities which produce 25,000 tonnes or more of greenhouse gas emissions in a year will have to pay a carbon tax from 2020.

Chinese New Year has come and gone, and Singapore is getting back to work after the festivities. Most executives in private companies and public organisations will have a long list of priorities from sales targets that they have to hit to company expansion and budgeting. Anything concerning poor quality data coming out of the Data Economy is unlikely to make that list. But given Singapore’s trajectory and ambitions to position itself as a global data and Artificial Intelligence (AI) leader, there are good reasons why we should push cleaning up the Data Economy higher on our list of priorities – otherwise we risk our position as a leading data hub.

Online and social shopping, plus health and freshness, are amongst the top five trends set to influence Singapore’s grocery retail market over the next five years. 

Singapore remains a leader in making healthcare more accessible for its growing pioneer generation. The focus now is likely to shift towards taking the digital route to making healthcare more affordable and accessible. 

A new year is a time for change – could this year be the one which sees women in Singapore put a sizeable crack in the glass ceiling? A new council, The Council for Board Diversity, has been established which is focused on getting more women onto boards and into top jobs.

Through 2021, Singapore is expected to experience a 3.4% growth in annual visitors as it extends a positive streak from 2014 and 2017 where the tourism industry saw an overall 15.4% increase in international visitor numbers. To handle the sustained growth in tourism levels, Changi Airport opened its new-look Terminal 4, helping it to accommodate more flights, and when Terminal 5 opens in 2030, the airport will be equipped to handle 150 million passengers annually, almost doubling its current capacity.

With the global increase in data breaches, like the biggest data fiasco of Facebook and locally the massive cyber attack on SingHealth’s database, the simple question of “Where is my data?” now requires answers that derive from the complex universe of data governance.