Commentary

Here's why brands in Singapore should create engaging content all year round

Valentine’s Day, Chinese New Year, Father’s Day, Hari Raya -- the list of special hallmark days in Singapore is endless. Why do brands only share content that is themed around these days? Why don’t brands look more holistically and share content on every day of the year?

Commentary

Here's why brands in Singapore should create engaging content all year round

Commentary

What Singapore businesses need to know about two-factor authentication

Amid the escalating trend of online theft and identity fraud worldwide, and recent news of the eBay, Heartbleed Bug, and SingPass data breaches, it is time for businesses to seriously consider adopting two-factor authentication (2FA). The Singapore government has led the way by announcing the introduction of 2FA for e-government services involving sensitive data or transactions.

Commentary

CSR, Singapore-style: An untapped business strategy?

Can CSR be a business strategy to grow the business? The answer seems to be yes, according to a recent report from Nielsen.

Commentary

What Singaporeans need to know about the 20-year-old GST

On 1 April 2014, the Goods and Services Tax in Singapore passed its 20th year in the statute books. Although GST was new to Singapore, it was not a new tax. Value Added Tax (VAT) had been in use in the European Union (EU) for almost 30 years by 1994, and Singapore was able to take advantage of best practices and the bitter experience of other countries in its design and implementation of the tax.

Commentary

Innovating businesses in Singapore's services industry

At first glance, Singapore’s consumer culture presents a rosy climate to budding entrepreneurs venturing into the food and beverage (F&B) and retail industry. 6 out of 10 Singaporeans dine out at a daily basis, opening up demand in a cosmopolitan melting pot of local and expatriate flavours.

Commentary

When viral goes wrong in Singapore, it goes global: Anti-Gambling Ad #WorldCup14

Every advertising agency makes advertisements in hopes that it will be well-received and in the Internet age, goes viral. This will prove to the client that the content has a wide audience and its impact is even greater than expected. However, this is a double-edged sword - not all things viral are good.

Commentary

The future of Singapore as an even more connected city

Singapore aims to be the world’s first “smart nation”, tapping the potential of transformational infocomm technologies and nurturing innovation. Having already established the underlying infrastructure to support big data, analytics, and the Internet of Things, the country is pushing for even greater intelligence through connecting, collecting, and comprehending[1].

Commentary

How e-commerce could be a game-changer for retailers

In Singapore, many established retail brands have felt the sting of rising costs and falling profits.

Commentary

Working moms and the work-life balance myth

Powerful women leaders in C-suites are hard to come by. According to the report “Gender Diversity on Boards: A Business Imperative”, of the 677 Singapore Exchange (SGX)-listed companies studied, only 7.9 percent of board directors were women.

Commentary

Singapore businesses and hedging against political risk

A small domestic market prompts many businesses including Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) to venture overseas to expand their revenue base beyond Singapore's shore.

Commentary

Are nightclubs the new ad space in Singapore?

It’s no news that brands in Singapore have a plethora of choices to choose from when it comes to advertising.

Commentary

Here's why 2014 is the game-changing year for Singapore's recruitment scene

This year marks an important year to every employer in Singapore. It is a period whereby employers seriously need to wake up and realise the recruitment game is never the same. What worked 2 to 5 years ago will not work again. And unless you only hire bots, you have to attract human beings to work for you.

Commentary

Singapore: Workforce Big Data... or big flop?

The buzz surrounding Big Data and the workforce reached a crescendo in 2013. This interest in employee Big Data coincided with the Infocomm Development Authority’s (IDA) announcement of plans to establish Singapore as the regional hub for data analytics, in an effort to create the world’s first ‘Smart Nation’.

Commentary

Great Singapore Sale goes mobile and social: Why it matters to retailers

The annual GSS (Great Singapore Sale) is in full swing right now. As shoppers in Singapore as well as visitors from all around the region flock to stores to get their hands on bargain buys, it’s become one of the most important events on the calendar for the retail sector - generating about 20 percent of total sales turnover for retailers every year, according to the Singapore Retailers Association.

Commentary

What the AEC 2015 means for Singaporean businesses

By the end of 2015, the 10-member nations of ASEAN will be united in a common market where the long-formulated idea of a single regional market, otherwise known as the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) 2015, is set to be realised. The idea of an ASEAN single market and production base is based on the free flow of goods, services, investment, capital, and skilled labour among ASEAN member nations.

Commentary

What are the real threats to Singaporean businesses?

When Singaporean businesses assess the risks they face, at both the domestic and regional level, a range of dramatic scenarios easily catch the imagination. Marauding rioters, catastrophic fires, and natural disasters are tangible threats to operations, supply chains, and a company's ability to sell its goods and services. While these events do occur, and are well covered by the media, are they really the biggest risk to local business?

Commentary