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Lessons for Singapore brands from the Asian chat app experience

Last April Facebook Messenger announced the introduction of chatbots, presenting a major opportunity for businesses in Singapore and beyond which are looking to connect with their customers on a more personal level. The move is designed to turn the instant messaging platform into a space where brands can become an intuitive part of their audiences' own conversations.

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Lessons for Singapore brands from the Asian chat app experience

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What is the future of Singapore's Shipping and Offshore sectors?

With the annual Singapore Maritime Week now a distant memory, it is worth reflecting on the health of the local Maritime sector. Agreed, 2016 hasn’t got off to a great start with Keppel announcing 2800 redundancies, a fire at a local oil storage facility, estimates of 40% of the bulk sector going under and, significantly for the local industry, Sete Brazil going bankrupt. All this on top of the 2015 sale of national shipping icon NOL/APL.

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Growing beyond national borders in a challenging economy

It's time for companies in Singapore to expand globally, according to the recent Budget 2016 announcement. An economic slowdown this year has the government predicting a small 1 to 3 percent growth. At that rate, Singapore businesses simply can't afford to keep their sights solely focused on the local market.

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Singapore vs Hong Kong vs Shanghai: Where should entrepreneurs base their business? - Part 1

I live in Singapore but I also love spending time in Hong Kong and Shanghai. My business is global, and my fastest growing market is China and Hong Kong. I have found that people I visit and know tend to love one city over the others.

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Will Manulife's $470 million IPO turn the tide?

New share offerings by companies in Southeast Asia have been at a low this year. According to Dealogic, a financial analytics and technology firm, the amount raised in the region in the current year is just US$505 million, a fraction of the US$2.6 billion raised a year ago.

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Blasting out of Singapore: AJA's international tech-to-market strategy

Achieving scale in tiny Singapore has long been a challenge for SMEs. Originating in a country with no domestic flights, Singaporean businesses must break out of their home markets at a much earlier stage than their larger-country peers. But acquiring such international chops can be a daunting prospect. In early 2016, AJA Enterprises finds itself wrestling with its own international tech-to-market strategy.

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Again, airlines within airlines: The case of Singapore Airlines and Tiger Airways

In February 2016 Singapore Airlines announced the acquisition of more than 90 percent ownership of Tiger Airways, a low cost carrier that was established by the company in late 2003 with a 49 percent stake – it was the major stakeholder.

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Gearing up for a Smart Nation workforce

The emergence of cutting-edge sectors such as life sciences and sports sciences and access to education programs of this nature will mean that companies have to reorganise themselves, engage with talent early, to meet both the challenges of the new competitive global economy and the needs of the future workforce.

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Is it the right time to buy property in Singapore?

Real estate prices rose by almost 80 percent in Singapore between 2008 and 2013. Alarmed by the rapid increase in values, the government took several measures to cool the overheated property market.

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Should Singapore revive unemployment insurance?

In the recent climate of fear due to a spate of retrenchments, the debate on unemployment insurance has intensified. However, unemployment insurance is not a new idea to Singapore as there have been previous attempts to run such plans.

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Winning the Smart Nation race

The objective of Singapore's quest to be the world's first smart nation is to make a positive difference to people's lives and reinforce Singapore as a leading city state to attract investment, develop talent and innovation.

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5 things nobody told you about starting a social enterprise in Singapore

Singaporeans are known to be pragmatic. Yet these days graduates and professionals do not simply want a good paycheck but also an intrinsically rewarding job – a mindset that is even spreading to entrepreneurs. Here are five key things to bear in mind as one considers undertaking this rewarding journey in Singapore.

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High-skilled contingent hires to drive growth of IT industry in Singapore

According to the latest Hays Quarterly Report, employers are now opting for temporary and contract hires when seeking talent to deliver key IT initiatives. We see more vacancies for contingent IT professionals as employers recognise it as a cost-efficient and flexible way of supporting IT projects.

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The power of data body language

Every day, 2.5 million journeys are made on Singapore's MRT1. Our credit cards carry S$130 million of transactions2 and we send more than 37 million texts3. These are just three examples of the billions of micro-data points that are created in Singapore daily. Almost every interaction we have and every decision we make leaves a digital data impression – our data body language – that can be analysed and interpreted.

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4 myths about Trans-Pacific Partnership busted

The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) was borne out of a belief that free trade benefits the participating countries' economies. Yet there is skepticism and distrust among various parties on the effectiveness and consequences of signing the TPP. We explore four arguments against the TPP and how it affects Singapore.

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Here's why portfolio workers and contractors are rising faster in Singapore

Against the backdrop of a Ministry of Manpower (MOM) report which adversely highlighted Singapore's slowing economic growth, weak investment returns, and negative employment market prospects, lies a bigger problem – that work-related stress is still Singapore's number one silent killer.

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Singaporean property investors: Look down under for higher returns

Over the past six months, Australia's property market trends have had investors, including those in Singapore, rethinking their plans. In December 2015, harsher punishments for violating foreign investment rules were implemented. Figures for Q1 2016 showed a marginal quarter-on-quarter increase of 1.6 percent for home values in Australian capital cities compared to Q1 2015 which saw a 3 percent increase (CoreLogic).

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