Commentary

The IRS vs Singapore

Last September, I wrote "After Switzerland, is Singapore next?". The fact is that anyone with even a cursory interest in the world of banking has noticed what has been happening in Switzerland for the better part of the last decade. The mighty US government has managed to get Switzerland to do what no one else could ever do. The US managed to get Switzerland to circumvent their own rules on banking secrecy to turn over client details to the US authorities.

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The IRS vs Singapore

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Dealing with ambiguity: The new talent currency for Singapore professionals?

Machine learning and artificial intelligence are all around us now, from computers which identify and sort our email spams, to ‘DeepFace’ of Facebook which identifies faces with 97.25% accuracy, to self-driving cars on Singapore roads.

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Bringing more visitors to Singapore

Singapore as a tourist destination is going through tough times.

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Big data's impact on Singapore's MediShieldLife & healthcare industry

Wearable devices are now a common affordable consumer gadget, with many brands engaged in intense competition for a piece of the growing market, with increasing pressures on the profit margins.

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Why Singapore's businesses must double-down on due diligence and corporate compliance

In a time of universal deceit, according to Orwell, telling the truth is a revolutionary act. In today's business environment, truthful business is no longer a revolutionary act, but is a necessary component of responsible and sustainable business practice.

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Ageing gracefully with assurance

Most Singaporeans can expect to live longer than their previous generations, thanks to continuing improvements of standards of living over the years. For example, the life expectancy for females was 70.1 years in 1963, and has increased to 84.6 years in 2013, and is expected to extend to 88.8 years in 2033.

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How not to fall flat on a publicity stunt

With the recent publicity stunt gone wrong by NTUC income's "retirement planning announcement" from a Singapore actress and also the past "bad taste" publicity stunts in Singapore such as the "Ulu Pandan Bear Scare" by Philips, the "Raffles Place Army Platoon" by the National Geographic Channel, or the "Vandalised Post Boxes" by SingPost, I bet many marketing managers in Singapore may be scratching their heads and thinking if publicity stunts are worth trying.

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Agility is key in the Year of the Monkey

Many Singapore-listed firms did not find the much needed festive cheer, as bourses reopened in the Year of the Fire Monkey. While many investors got burnt, panic was also seen on a broader scale, as billions of dollars (at least on paper) were wiped off the markets, from the SGX to NYSE. Experts say the increasing number of public companies scaling back their revenue growth forecasts, coupled with the downward pressure on valuations in the private market, points to graver concerns over the state of the global economy.

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Work-life balance the key to staff retention in Singapore

Employers will need to focus on retention this year as 37 percent of candidates in Singapore surveyed for the 2016 Hays Asia Salary Guide are currently looking for a new job. A further 48 percent are open to hearing about a fresh opportunity.

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Business competitiveness in the age of the Trans-Pacific Partnership and ASEAN Economic Community

What a difference 48 years makes. It was 1967 when Singapore was among the founding members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). Its GDP was around US$1.2 billion then; by Q1 2016 it is forecast to grow to US$331 billion, an increase of around 275 times – adjusted for inflation, about eight times. And as we enter into 2016 – when the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) are about to become political and economic realities, a collective ASEAN’s growth narrative is only just beginning.

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Why aren't more small businesses going digital?

This is the age of disruption. The changes in markets, consumer psychology, and the Internet have caused major changes in how business works. Cycles of booms and crises come more often. New industries and companies can rise overnight, and established names can topple as fast.

Commentary

Impact of rising US interest rates to property investments in Singapore

The US economy is doing well and the Federal Reserve has raised interest rates for the first time in almost a decade in a bid to tighten money supply.

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Can graduates still get good jobs?

In MOM's Labour Market Report, it was reported that only 100 new jobs were created for locals whereas over 31,600 jobs were created for foreigners.

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MediShield Life and employee healthcare

Now that Medishield Life is well entrenched, do we still need to offer employees an Employee Benefit package?

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Income tax tips for new expats in Singapore

Singapore is a reputed international financial centre. However, it is not a tax haven and it has tightly regulated tax policies for companies and individual taxpayers. This piece will lay out the salient features of Singapore's taxation system for new expats.

Commentary

The impact of yuan devaluation to the Singapore dollar

Most analysts are bearish on the short-term prospects of the Singapore dollar. A number of factors have combined to lead to a situation where further depreciation is expected in the SGD's value on top of the slide that has already taken place.

Commentary

Employment Pass quotas – good or bad?

The latest Ministry of Manpower's Labour Market Report 2015, which revealed that local employment growth was a mere 100 (compared to foreign employment growth of 31,600), fueled unhappiness among some Singaporeans that companies have been able to bring in foreigners en masse for managerial and executive jobs without considering if Singaporeans could have filled the jobs in the first place.

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