Commentary

“Physical retail is dead!”—open any news publication and you’re likely to find a similar headline. The reasons for such fears are aplenty.

According to the Infocomm Media Development Authority of Singapore (IMDA), only 30% of Singaporean businesses are on the cloud and they reported higher productivity growth. Over the next 3 to 10 years, IMDA expects to see growing adoption of cloud computing given its elasticity over traditional IT solutions.

What exactly is a tax haven? As far as we are aware, there is no universally accepted definition. Typically, the term is used to describe a jurisdiction that offers favorable tax or other conditions. It is therefore a relative term. So relative to Indonesia, Singapore appears to be a tax haven. Relative to Singapore, the BVI appears to be a tax haven.

As things get disrupted within the Singaporean financial world with new tech, it’s no surprise that the way we use currency is being affected as well. In February, it was reported that Numerai— a new kind of hedge fund built by a network of data scientists—started issuing a new digital currency. Its aim? To turn Wall Street into a place where everyone's on the same team. Could the same come to Singapore?

Singapore is competing in a dynamic global economy in which two assets—a skilled and versatile workforce—as well as the capacity for creativity, innovation, and entrepreneurship, would provide a competitive edge. Our economic growth as a nation depends very much on our ability to generate new ideas and translate those novel ideas into concrete, worthwhile innovations. To succeed in today’s innovation-driven economy, Singapore will need well-educated and technically proficient workers who possess the ability to think analytically, communicate effectively, and work collaboratively.

Every day, investors are becoming more and more nervous.

We know, we know. You’ve been hearing how virtual and augmented reality (AR/VR) will “change our lives” since 2009. Since then, we’ve witnessed the quiet failure of Google Glass, the somewhat controversial Magic Leap, and the slow but steady demise of the QR code.

In Singapore, career paths traditionally focus on the profession or occupation that would meet an individual’s career goals. Nonetheless, most would change jobs more than three times during their entire career or work-life, and more often than not seldom consider a change in career path—profession or occupation.

Singapore’s wealth management industry needs to beef up its cyberdefences if it is to remain trustworthy

In mid-December 2016, Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte visited Singapore on a state visit, and Singapore President Tony Tan highlighted during a state banquet that an increasing number of Singapore companies is eager to invest in the Philippines. He described the relationship between the two countries as “a robust friendship anchored in a shared vision of peace, harmony, and prosperity for our countries and the region.”

We know we need to adapt quickly in a disruptive world. The magnitude, nature and frequency of change have accelerated tremendously in Singapore and the world around. Technology is a game changer that shortens business cycles and disrupts long-established routines and structure. Organisations continually restructure, resize, and restrategise to survive. We are repeatedly asked to do more with less with more surprises and less control. The demands outside of work have increased as well, with our children engaged in this technology-enabled space, our time with family at a premium, and community organisations seeking our support to help them cope with challenges they face in the modern world.

Singapore's biannual Maritime Week recently concluded. Despite the celebrations and accolades handed out, the cloud of a depressed and struggling sector hung heavy over the industry. Although we may (hopefully) be seeing the green shoots of a shipping recovery, companies are still under a huge amount of pressure. Shipping is cyclical, and right now, we still seem to be on the wrong side. A number of international commentators have recently pushed the view that the local shipping and offshore sectors are in a state of terminal decline. Singapore is too expensive; the competition is too fierce; too many companies are struggling; even the government is too involved.

As Asia and Singapore becomes increasingly digitised, processes get automated and several industries are disrupted by technology, in particular, finance. From robo advisors to even analysts, there is no denying that finance in Singapore has been disrupted by new tech such as machine learning and predictive analytics. State of play today Artificial intelligence is progressing at a fast rate, and with it comes a deluge of data that humans cannot process quick enough. Whilst many of these technologies were created to help humans – for example, removing manual collation of data and data cleansing – so we can focus on other aspects of the business, what of the people whose jobs were mainly tied to such work, say for example stockbrokers? Are analysts (be it financial or data) who were once considered “unicorns” at risk of being replaced by AI that can calculate and perform complex tasks faster, minus human error? There’s no denying that with this disruption comes a period of uncertainty. The following list will separate fact from fiction. Fact: Your next stockbroker in Singapore might not be human. But it doesn’t mean you will sit in front of a robot. Financial institutions in Singapore are increasingly turning to machines to automate jobs that humans have done for decades. Take for example wealth management firm Charles Schwab and their offering Schwab Intelligent Portfolios launched two years ago. Based on algorithms, i.e. lines of codes programmed into a computer, you’ll be informed of where to invest your money. The process is also relatively simple. You simply open and account, fill out a questionnaire and instead of getting a human that simply crunches the numbers, machine learning and predictive analytics step in to help you make decisions. Fiction: People will always just want to deal with humans in Singapore If you think about this particular model of business, you’re paying for an advisor that:

The Singapore Budget unveiled a raft of new measures aimed at getting Singapore's reluctant SMEs/SMBs (small media enterprises/businesses) to go digital and use technology in their businesses. It basically amounted to throwing money at the problem. This seems to not only miss the point but not having learnt from previous times when this was tried.

Following the recommendations by the Committee on the Future Economy (CFE), the Monetary Authority of Singapore recently announced that it will relax some of its rules on finance companies to make it easier for small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to obtain financing. The regulatory changes will see SMEs being granted more access to higher amount of uncollateralised loans and business customers will be able to contract more conveniently.

The government is sending a clear signal that in the long haul, stringent entry requirements are needed to be a property agent. This will raise the image and professionalism of the industry.