A CANVASNEW 100No.Issue Daily news at www.sbr.com.sg MagazineBusinessSellingBestSingapore’s ARTISTS ARE JUMPING INTO THE NFT SPACE WITH MINTED ARTWORKS COOLING MEASURES GLOOM SINGAPORE’S PRIVATE RESIDENTIAL MARKET OUTLOOK LONGER LIFE IS A POTENTIAL FINANCIAL NIGHTMARE FOR HOWSINGAPOREANSSINGAPORE BANKS ARE CLOSING THE GENDER GAP INNOVATIVE AWARDSTECHNOLOGYRECOGNISEDPROJECTSATTHESBREXCELLENCE Display to September 30, 2022 S$5.90
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T his issue highlights the latest industry trends in the retail and finance sectors in the increasingly digitalised world. More artists are jumping into the NFT space with their minted artworks, allowing them to get revenue for resold artworks, unlike traditional physical art.
This issue also features the companies that won the most recent SBR Technology Excellence Awards, International Business Awards, and National Business Awards. Innovative projects are recognised at the SBR Technology Excellence Awards – see the full list of winners on page 36. Stellar companies are lauded at the SBR International Business Awards and National Business Awards on page 64. Finally, get to know Malaysia’s latest industry innovators at the Malaysia Technology Excellence Awards, International Business Awards and National Business Awards on page 80. Congratulations to all the winners. Read on and enjoy! small print you may be missing the big picture CIRCULATION:
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23,116 ONLINE READERSHIP: 410,000 monthly unique clicks through Google Analytics About Us The Singapore Business Review is the highest circulating and best read business magazine in Singapore. Our online readership has an average of 215,000 unique viewers, according to Google Analytics. We won the Business Trade Media of the Year Award at the 2017 MPAS Awards. Do reach out to us if you would like us to tell your story to our readers via print and online advertising or events. PUBLISHER & EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Tim Charlton PRINT PRODUCTION EDITOR COMMERCIAL EDITOR COPY PRODUCTIONEDITORTEAM Jeline NoreenTessaJanineAcaboBallesterosDistorJazul Charmaine Tadalan Djan ConsueloVannMagbanuaVillegasMarquez GRAPHIC ARTIST Mark Simon Engracial Monica Pantaleon ADVERTISING CONTACT Aileen Cruz aileen@charltonmediamail.com Karisse Coderes karisse@charltonmediamail.com Reiniela Hernandez reiniela@charltonmediamail.com ADMINISTRATION ACCOUNTS DEPARTMENT accounts@charltonmediamail.com ADVERTISING advertising@charltonmediamail.com EDITORIAL sbr@charltonmedia.com
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Top Singaporean banks are hiring more women in executive positions, showing progress in closing the gender gap in the banking industry. In insurance, longer life is a potential financial nightmare for Singaporeans with the prevalence of uninsured retirees.
CONTENTS SINGAPORE BUSINESS REVIEW | MARCH 2018 Published Quarterly by Charlton Media Group 101 Cecil St. #17-09 Tong Eng Building Singapore 069533 For the latest business news from Singapore visit the website www.sbr.com.sg 28FIRST COVER STORY A BRAND NEW CANVAS: WHY MORE ARTISTS ARE JUMPING INTO THE NFT SPACE EVENT COVERAGE 36 Innovative projects recognised at the SBR Technology Excellence Awards 64 Stellar companies lauded at the SBR International and National Business Awards 80 Get to know Malaysia’s innovators and industry disruptors INTERVIEW EXPLORING AIA’S SMART APP XPLORE WITH ALLY35 08 How Amazon alleviates SMEs’ delivery woes 09 Singapore power sector’s 2050 netzero target is ‘realistic’: experts 10 Four ways the LTA plans to cut carbon emissions 11 The worst may be over for prime retail rents, retailers remain cautious 12BRIEFING Stricter working permit system a challenge for employers 14 Foreigners and firms face tougher scrutiny under new EP application policy 16 Online buyers experience ‘shopper fatigue’ from frequent mega sales days 22 RANKINGS SINGAPORE BANK RANKINGS REVEAL NEW HIRES SURGED BY 5.8% IN 2022 INDUSTRY INSIGHT INTERVIEW STARTUP 20 Cooling measures gloom Singapore’s private residential market outlook 25 Longer life spans causing financial stress for Singaporean retirees 32 Fragrances overtake lipsticks as top beauty product 26 Fairmart increases stores’ online traffic 34 GLDB transforms Singapore MSMEs’ supply chains 35 Exploring AIA’s smart app Xplore with Ally 30 Yup.gg can help gamers level up in the industry 31 Comfortable office furniture must not cost ‘silly money’: ErgoTune and EverDesk+
Technology + People Solving claims challenges through innovation and expertise. For nearly a century, Crawford has led the industry through a relentless investment in people and the innovative tools that empower them. This unique combination enables us to provide unrivaled claims management solutions to insurance carriers, insurance brokers and corporations worldwide. Learn more at www.crawco.com
Grab Malaysia has launched Grab Intercity, a new service that would allow users to purchase bus and ferry tickets to travel between Singapore and Malaysia through the Grab app. Grab Intercity includes direct bus routes to over 30 destinations in Singapore from 11 different states and cities across Malaysia. Grab collaborated with Splyt and Easybook to adapt the service onto the platform. After the headline and core inflation hit multi-year highs in May, investors have been wary about the implementation of the goods and services tax (GST) rate hike in 2023 and 2024. But according to RHB, the forthcoming increase is nothing to worry about. In a report, RHB allayed investors’ fear of worsening inflation risks saying higher GST rateas will only have a “diminutive impact” on consumer expenditure and growth. Singapore’s big three banks UOB, OCBC, and DBS are poised to see their earnings grow, thanks to a diversified portfolio that makes them independent from interest income, according to Fitch Ratings. Asset quality risks also reportedly remained contained as economic recovery continued in core markets of DBS, OCBC, and UOB. The rising global interest rates will further benefit the three banks.
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BY WONG MENG YEW, TIFFANY LEE, ALEXANDER GOH At the recent UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26), the UN stated that global temperatures are on track to rise by 2.7°C, well beyond the 1.5-2°C agreed at COP21 in Paris. This fact resulted in the adoption of the Glasgow Climate Pact at COP26, where countries are expected to strengthen their climate pledge to reduce emissions.
Looking ahead to the post COVID-19 supply chain ecosystem in Singapore
BY WONG MENG YEW, CECIL LEONG AND TONY KERR Reflecting on the past three years, we find supply chains severely disrupted in the region. It first started with the trade war between the United States (US) and China. Just when businesses thought they had gotten a grip on that, the world was hit with the COVID-19 pandemic, which exposed the serious vulnerabilities of the supply chains. Global minimum tax and its potential impact on business planning for MNCs in Singapore BY AVIK BOSE AND ANH PHAM Singapore is a well-known magnet for global hubs, alongside Hong Kong, Ireland and Switzerland, with many multinational companies (MNCs) choosing Singapore as their base for the region. Eligible MNCs are being offered generous and accessible incentive programmes that enable them to reduce their operating costs or upgrade their capabilities in Singapore. What can businesses expect from the changes in carbon tax policy?
Grab rolls out intercity bus travel service between SG and Malaysia Will the GST rate hike exacerbate Singapore inflation? Singapore big three banks poised for earnings growth
For RedMart, Singapore’s largest online grocery retailer, order fulfilment speed, reliability, accuracy, and productivity are key in delivering on customer promises, especially during the pandemic, when online visitors increased 11-fold. Optimising capabilities through leading-edge logistics automation from Dematic, RedMart’s online fulfilment centre features robotic shuttles, ergonomic pick stations, intelligent conveying, and high-rate despatch sortation – all across five temperature zones and managed by sophisticated software, making grocery fulfilment easy, accurate, efficient and safe. Read more and see it in action at www.dematic.com/redmart 10 times the orders, 5 times the SKUsin a footprint.smaller Online Groceries Fresh & Fast info.asia@dematic.comDematic.com/redmart+6562294500 Scan to watch the video!
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“These sellers will not need to configure fulfilment time manually, freeing up their time to focus on better sourcing, creating, and promoting their products and brands to grow their customer base,” he added.
8 SINGAPORE BUSINESS REVIEW | Q3 2022 FIRST
How Amazon alleviates SMEs’ delivery woes
Key features include a simplified seller registration wherein the program will support a one-click opt-in integrated with the account registration of Merchant Fulfilment Network, or sellers who manage their own delivery. The shipping settings are automated through a shipping engine, which avoids the need for sellers to select their ownCurrently,configurations.over50 sellers have availed of the programme which delivers orders within 2.5 days on average and has a 100% parcel tracking rate, according to Amazon Singapore. Lim also added that the order fulfilment experience will be integrated with the Manage Your Order on Amazon’s Seller Central.
WORK FLEXIBILITY NO LONGER ATTRACTIVE TO EMPLOYEES
There will also be a standardised seller rate where sellers will be charged a flat fee per delivery based on the weight and size of the delivery, and they will not have to negotiate rates with carriers. It will also allow sellers to preview shipping fees when they are scheduling pick up and review them on the order transaction reports. The Amazon Easy Ship service also enables trackable delivery with customer notifications for key progress such as ship confirmation, in-transit, and delivered, amongst others, Lim said.
“This could be due to the fact most are already working for companies that offer flexibility in some form,” EY said, adding that only 12% of companies want their employers to report to the office for five days a week. What employees are seeking now is higher pay, according to EY. Based on the survey, four in 10 (42%) employees seeking new jobs now desire higher pay. Employees (45%) also believe that higher compensation is key to addressing staff turnover in companies, but only 35% of employers agree with this proposition. The ‘Great Attraction’ Apart from higher pay, 35% of employees also cited career growth as a top reason for them to move employers. “As flexibility has now become the new standard requirement, employers must re-evaluate their employee value proposition to address the key workforce concerns of today, particularly around competitive compensation and career growth opportunities,” Samir Bedi, EY Asean Workforce Advisory Leader, said. “Employers who do so will be able to change their position from being in the ‘Great Resignation’ to one that’s a ‘Great Attraction’,” Bedi added. To address the turnover of staff, 64% of employers believe they should match talent and skills to future business needs which they plan to do by hiring employees from other countries and allowing them to work from anywhere if their skills are critical or scarce.
“The scheduling and fulfilment experience will be powered by Amazon Easy Ship Scheduling Service (ESS), which enables orchestration of shipment planning, creation and delivery,” he said.
Singaporeans planning to switch jobs are no longer attracted to flexible working arrangements as much as they used to, a study has found. According to EY’s 2022 Work Reimagined Survey, only two in 10 employees are seeking remote-work flexibility from their prospective employers. Of those wanting work flexibility, 90% of them work remotely at least two days per week.
Jan Lim, Country Leader of Singapore Marketplace at Amazon said that for a fee, they will be able to ensure faster and more predictable delivery experiences for customers along with the up-to-date shipment tracking information, optimised for cost and speed with shipping services through Amazon’s enrolled carriers.
Online challenges, exports Singaporean businesses cited high costs of cross-border logistics, lack of clarity on important regulations in markets abroad, and the lack of ability and information to compete globally as top challenges for export opportunities.
Local online sellers now have a new way to send packages to customers even if they were not ordered on the Amazon platform. The online giant has decided to get into the local and cross-border logistics as a service business, which it calls “Amazon Easy Ship.” The service was launched in February, having been piloted by Hyper Singapore, which is the authorised local distributor for HyperJuice and HyperDrive, and Momo Gadgets which is a seller of branded phones, accessories, electronics, and lifestyle products. Unlike the postal service, Amazon charges a flat fee per delivery based on the size of the parcel.
Singaporean sellers on Amazon increased 45% between 2019 and 2021 With the rise of online overlookedsellingaspectsfundamentalsomeopportunities,sellingofarebeing
Amazon has noticed the number of Singaporean sellers in its local and international stores jumping over 45% between 2019 and 2021, on top of the 25% increase in sellers who are already exporting their products with the platform.
“By using Fulfilment by Amazon (FBA), SMEs can leave customer service, returns, and the picking, packing, and shipping of their products to us. With this freed up time and resources, they can focus on product innovation as well as better engaging and understanding their consumers,” he said.
In terms of industries, Singapore City ranked highest in Fintech at 10th place. It’s also in the top 30 in several industries, including Edtech and Ecommerce & Retail.
Singapore has overtaken China as the top startup ecosystem in the Asia-Pacific region, the Global Startup Ecosystem Index 2022 has revealed. Globally, Singapore moved up three places in the rank to the seventh spot. Singapore was able to push down China due to its impressive total score of 23.408, which is 13% higher than the latter’s score. Last year, China’s score was 10% higher than Singapore’s. The overall score is the sum of the three subscores that measures quantity, quality, and business environment in which Singapore got 3.98 points, 17.18 points, and 2.24 points, respectively. StartupBlink – a startup ecosystem map and research centre –which published the index said Singapore had the greatest increase amongst last year’s top 10 counties. “Singapore is a model for innovation and continues the pattern of a relatively small country massively over-performing and creating regional impact as an open and powerful Asian hub. Singapore’s favourable tax legislation and ease of doing business are attracting massive ecosystem investment. It is no wonder that the country keeps on producing billion-dollar valuations for its startups,” StartupBlink said. Meanwhile, Singapore City also ranked high in the cities index at 22 globally, also moving up three places from last year. In Asia-Pacific, the city ranked 8th. Singapore City scored 32.279 this year, just a small gap from San Diego which ranked 21st (32.558) and Austin (32.906) which was at 20th. Given this, StartupBlink believes Singapore City can be a “serious contender” in the global top 20 next year for the cities index.
The report said that Singapore is “alternative energy-disadvantaged” and solar power is currently the most viable renewable energy source in the country. However, it flagged that there is a limit to its deployment due to limited land and water spaces, noting that transformational changes are needed across the country’s value chain. To achieve this, the country should prepare to pursue three strategies which include embarking on economy-wide energy conservation and energy efficiency efforts to manage total and peak electricity demand. The country should also leverage on different low-carbon supply options, whilst ensuring energy security and affordability, and transform the grid using new technologies and storage capabilities that will support the sector’s decarbonisation.
FIRST T he goal of Singapore’s power sector to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050 is feasible but the entire energy value chain would need to undergo transformational changes, according to energy experts.
In a statement by the EMA, Choi Shing Kwok, chairman of the Energy 2050 Committee, said that asied from the critical role that the government will play in the energy transition, it is also important for all the other sectors and citizens “to embrace the need for energy transition and contribute.”
SG overtakes China as top startup ecosystem in Asia-Pacific
“It is technically viable for the Singapore power sector to achieve net-zero emissions, whilst maintaining energy security and affordability. The Committee also believes that it is realistic for the sector to aspire to do so by 2050,” the report read. “During the transition towards a netzero carbon emissions world, there will be economic growth opportunities that Singapore can position itself to capture. It can meet the growing global demand for sustainable energy solutions by establishing itself as a technology frontrunner, and becoming a test-bed and living lab for innovative solutions,” it added.
Singapore power sector’s 2050 netzero target is ‘realistic’: experts
The report noted that electricity imports, hydrogen, solar, and energy storage systems will play a key role in the country’s energy system, whilst new low-carbon supply alternatives and carbon markets will also come into play. It added that efforts to manage energy demand growth and shape end user consumption will provide a “longer runway to deploy supply-side measures, whilst also lowering costs for the system.”
SINGAPORE BUSINESS REVIEW | Q3 2022 9
Transformational changes will be needed in the country’s energy value chain
In the report, the Energy 2050 Committee, commissioned by the Energy Market Authority (EMA) and composed of experts from the private and public sector, said the country’s power sector would have to step up its decarbonisation efforts across its entire power sector value chain, whilst balancing the trade-offs to achieve its net-zero goals by 2050.
EMA Chief Executive Ngiam Shih Chun said the study will serve as an “invaluable guide and will help to signal the path ahead to all the key stakeholders in the energy sector.”
However, the Committee said that the energy transition will be “highly dynamic” due to the uncertainty of geo-economic trends and new technology in the country. “This major energy transition will invariably involve trade-offs which Singapore has to carefully manage. This would inevitably result in an increase in cost, but it is unavoidable if Singapore wants to make the energy system more sustainable and secure in a carbonconstrained future. Despite the challenges, Singapore should approach this endeavour with hope and optimism,” it said.
Globally, Singapore ranks 7th in the Global Startup Ecosystem Index 2022
“We are optimistic that this can happen, and Singapore can arrive in 2050 with a brighter and greener future,” he said.
10 SINGAPORE BUSINESS REVIEW | Q3 2022 FIRST
FINANCINGSUSTAINABLECAPABILITIES
Singapore’s plan to sell up to $35b green sovereign bonds through 2030 will help develop the country’s sustainable financing capabilities and support its climate agenda, according to Fitch Ratings. The funds raised may be spent to promote fields such as adaptation to climate change, biodiversity conservation and sustainable resource usage, renewable energy, energy efficiency, clean transportation, sustainable water management, pollution control, and green buildings, Fitch added.
The bond issuance is also a testament to the Singapore government’s commitment to long-term social challenges, such as sustainable development and combating climate change. The government targets for carbon emissions to reach net-zero by or around 2050, with the establishment of a broader green finance ecosystem byThisthen.in turn could support the funding of sustainable finance initiatives both in Singapore and the broader region, and enhance the Lion City’s existing strengths as a financial center. Green initiatives Singapore’s inaugural green sovereign bonds are likely to be issued in the second half of 2022. Even before the green sovereign bonds, Singapore has already dipped its toes in issuing green bonds. The local Housing & Development Board separately raised S$1b in March 2022 for the development of green buildings. Meanwhile, Singapore’s taxonomy initiative would support the development of this ecosystem by providing a classification scheme and enhancing disclosure, according to Fitch, and would reduce green washing risks. The taxonomy’s second draft proposes a ‘traffic-light’ scheme for the three sectors most important for greenhouse gas emissions: energy, transport, and real estate. LTA aims to have a 100% cleaner energy bus fleet by 2040 7.7 million tonnes in 2016, well ahead of the 2030 timeline set
$35B GREEN
The Land Transport Authority (LTA) has announced its commitment to reduce land transport emissions by 80% by 2050. The emissions have peaked at 7.7 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent in 2016, well ahead of the 2030 timeline set. To pave the way, the LTA has enumerated four steps to meet its goal. The LTA said it aimed to have a 100% cleaner energy bus fleet by 2040. So far, 60 electric buses have been purchased and deployed to help better understand the operational and technical considerations of a larger-scale rollout. By 2030, half of the public bus fleet will be electric buses, as LTA replaces diesel buses that have reached their statutory lifespan. It will replace over 400 diesel buses by 2025. The LTA will also extend the statutory lifespan of electric taxis from eight to 10 years. This will give operators more time to optimise their electric taxi investments. For private hire cars, 50% of the GrabRentals fleet will go electric by 2030. LTA will continue working closely with private hire car operators to increase electric vehicle (EV) adoption. To drive the adoption of electric vehicles, the government aims for every HDB town to be EV-ready by 2025. This means LTA will deploy charging points in all HDB car parks (around 2,000 car parks) by 2025, with a minimum of three chargers in each car park at the beginning.
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The MPO threshold for Categories A and B was set at 97kW in 2013, given the predominantly internal combustion engine (ICE) car population. This threshold will continue to apply to non-electric cars and will take effect from the first certificate of entitlement bidding exercise in May 2022.
Four ways the LTA plans to cut carbon emissions
The LTA will also be launching a large-scale tender for HDB car parks in the first half of 2022. This is another significant step towards achieving their target of 60,000 charging points by 2030. It will progressively upgrade the required electrical infrastructure in all residential estates to ensure sufficient electrical capacity to support electric vehicle (EV) charging. This upgrade will be financed through the issuance of green bonds, and the costs will be recovered from EV charging operators and EV users over time.
The LTA will revise the Category A Maximum Power Output (MPO) threshold for electric cars from 97kW to 110kW to allow more mass-market electric cars to come under Category A.
Harnessing solar power in public transport infrastructure To reduce carbon emissions and lower energy costs, LTA will install solar panels on the roofs of new or recentlyupgraded land transport infrastructure such as rail and bus depots, offices and facility buildings. This will support LTA’s existing plans to achieve the solar energy deployment targets of 16 megawatt-peak (MWp) by 2025 and 25 MWp by 2030. In addition, LTA will call an open tender in March this year to deploy solar panels on other land transport infrastructure, including the upcoming Integrated Train Testing Centre, pedestrian overhead bridges and covered linkways. BOND LIFTS
FIRST Singapore prime retail rents are showing signs of holding up, although retailers are still cautious and uncertain about the pace of recovery. Most offices are still on a hybrid work setup so footfall in the Central Business District has yet to return to preCOVIDAccordinglevels.to Savills, the slow return of human traffic could also have contributed to some retail space being vacated, for example, The Assembly at Raffles City. Here’s more from Savills: Meanwhile, the hitherto thriving suburban market started to lose steam and recorded a decline in demand, leading to a negative absorption of retail space (-129,000 sq ft), the first since Q3/2020. This is attributed to a marginal increase in the islandwide retail vacancy to 8.3% in Q1/2022, climbing up from 8.1% in AccordingQ4/2021.tothe Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA), its retail rental index for the Central Region fell by 0.4% QoQ after registering a short-lived recovery in the previous quarter. Although the social distancing measures and border restrictions could have dampened overall rental growth, prime retail rents are showing signs of stabilising after a two-year decline. Considering that sales and tourism numbers have been improving, some retailers are regaining confidence that the worst is finally over. Savills monthly prime rents in the Orchard Area increased by 0.4% QoQ to S$21.00 psf, whilst in the Suburban Areas, they rose by 0.5% QoQ to S$22.90 psf.
The worst may be over for prime retail rents, retailers remain cautious
ION Orchard will house Christian Dior’s first standalone facial boutique in Asia, Dior Prestige La Suite. New brands which have entered that market include South Korean skincare brands The History of Whoo and Su:m37, and homegrown jewellery store By Invite Only. Puma will launch its first Southeast Asia flagship store at 313@Somerset. Other additions include Japanese eatery Ohayo Mama San and drink kiosk Super Coconut. Supply According to Savills estimates, the island-wide supply pipeline in the next few years remains limited with the five-year (2022 to 2026) annual average coming in at 524,000 sq ft. This is almost half the historical five-year (2017 to 2021) annual average of 1.0 million sq ft.
New additions in Orchard As tourism recovers in line with the reopening of borders, business sentiment and consumer confidence have improved. Some retailers are seizing the opportunity to expand their footprint when prime space becomes available. This is especially so in prime locations along the Orchard Road tourist shopping belt.
According to the Randstad expert, skilled expats can help train the local workforce and prepare them to meet the demands of these new and emerging job roles.
DaljitKhandelwalNilaySall
Companies must remunerate employees based on their experience, skills, and the potential value they bring to the organisation, Sall told Singapore Business Review.
“In Singapore, the youth labour force participation rate stood at 41.3% in 2021, higher than the rate of around 38% in the pre-COVID-19 years of 2018 and 2019. Employers, such as NTUC, are taking action to cultivate the next crop of young talent through partnerships to place them with companies in industries such as biotechnology, healthcare, and chemical process technology,” Sall shared.
“Organisations tend to turn to global talent for reasons that lie on both ends of the spectrum. On the other hand, new tech roles involving Web3 engineering are much more challenging to fill due to the need for specialised skills. For organisations that run legacy applications, some of the skills they require are no longer applicable or widely taught and learned in Singapore, as tech professionals have upskilled in their careers,” Sall said.
“It is critical for us to not only nurture a sustainable pipeline of local talent but also continue to attract global talent who are capable of driving change and innovation to retain the business attractiveness of the city-state,” he added. For more on this, go to page 14.
If there is high market demand for developers and the job applicant has all the experience and skills that you need, then, as an employer, you should be prepared to pay competitively,” Sall added.
Singapore’s new tougher employment pass application process kicks in from September, with employees subject to a points based assessment designed to ensure that only higher quality expatriates are offered jobs in Singapore. Now, candidates and their employers are required to pass a point-based evaluation and higher qualifying monthly salaries. On the face if it, it may seem that this will make it harder to recruit expatriate talent however HR experts the Singapore Business Review spoke with felt that as long as companies had a good strategy to clearly work out which jobs could be filled by local employees and which ones would need expatriates these new rules should not be too onerous.
Overall, Khandelwal said companies need to re-evaluate their current strategies as some of their employees who are holding an EP now may not qualify with the new criteria.
One of the key steps to avoiding hiring congestion, which is when there are extended holdups in hiring foreign talent, would be to identify roles that can be filled locally 100%, Nilay Khandelwal, managing director of Michael Page Singapore, told Singapore Business Review “Make sure that you have a complete clear strategy on what those roles are. Ensure that, whether you’re working through talent partners in the market or through your own internal talent acquisition teams, the focus should be to recruit those roles locally,” Khandelwal said. If companies have employees with 60% to 70% of the skill sets needed for the next role they are creating, Khandelwal said it is better for them to groom their employees into these new roles, “rather than to go out and find a like for like match. It also works as a retention tool in a market, which is quite hot with a number of jobs that are out there.”
Foreign talent still needed Whilst the stricter policy could encourage companies to source locally, rather than work with an overseas agency for blue or grey-collar jobs, Sall underscored that demand for highly-qualified and skilled foreign talent in white-collar jobs will still exist. This is because companies will continue to “seek skilled professionals to perform complex tasks, especially in the areas of technology, smart manufacturing, research and development, professional services, and banking and financial services,” Sall said.
It is critical to not only nurture a talentattractcontinuetalentpipelinesustainableoflocalbutalsotoglobal Companies need to “strike a balance” between their local and foreign talents
HR BRIEFING
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But for those businesses which really cannot afford to increase their hiring budgets, Sall suggested that they consider doing two things: leverage government grants or initiatives and diversify their workforce by hiring young professionals or training students from the ground up through internships and train-and-place programmes.
Stricter working permit system a challenge for employers
“Instead of hiring a developer at the lowest market rate possible, hiring managers should take into account the market demand for this talent and make an evaluation of whether the skills and experience fit the job requirements.
This sentiment was shared by Randstad Singapore’s Senior Director of Technology, Daljit Sall, who said that a mindset shift is necessary amongst today’s employers. Sall added that offering higher salaries and attractive remuneration packages may be the easiest way to hire good talent, based on Randstad’s 2021 study. This, however, is “very unsustainable for companies as it increases human resources costs in the long run.”
Starting September, foreign workers will be subject to increased scrutiny under the upgraded EP application system.
LEADERSHIP ARTICLE
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The essence of Wealthbeing by AIA AIA believes that Wealthbeing is the future of wealth planning, where sustainable legacies are built not just on wealth but also on health. With a suite of tailored wealth and insurance solutions, lifestyle privileges, and services, Wealthbeing is an all-rounded approach that caters to high-net-worth individuals’ every need, enabling them to live Healthier, Longer, Better lives. Legacies forged with Wealthbeing by AIA
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AIA’s capabilities also extend to AIA Investments, AIA Group’s investment arm, which focuses on driving superior long-term sustainable investment returns for clients. It has one of the largest teams of investment professionals in Asia Pacific, consisting of over 250 investment specialists, who are responsible for managing close to USD340 billion in assets (as at 31 December 2021).
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Bespoke Wealthbeing Clients who have AIA policies with total annualised premiums of at least S$10,000 have access to an invitation-only AIA Altitude programme, which offers a specially curated array of privileges and experiences to elevate the lifestyle and experience with AIA. There are three membership tiers, namely AIA Altitude, AIA Altitude Platinum, and the newly introduced AIA Altitude Pinnacle for ultra-high-net-worth clients who qualify with total annualised premiums of S$100,000 and High Net Worth Individuals (HNWIs) such as business leaders, CEOs, and executives may fulfil their life aspirations, but they often experience common challenges in managing their busy lives. Hectic schedules, travel, and demands for continual high performance often leave little time left over for them to focus on securing their future with well-rounded personal planning that includes growing their wealth and building their legacy whilst ensuring that their well-being is optimised. This is why AIA Singapore developed a value proposition to meet the growing needs of HNWIs. Wealthbeing by AIA is a holistic approach by AIA Singapore, which includes well-rounded solutions to support HNWIs to manage and achieve their goals in both their health and wealth needs.
Building on AIA’s expertise, the company offers a curated suite of wealth solutions, from legacy planning and wealth accumulation to comprehensive protection coverage. The insurer is here to help HNWIs meet their varied needs and different goals to attain Wealthbeing for themselves and their families with tailored products. For instance, to cater to entrepreneurs and business owners who travel frequently and require access to healthcare on the go, AIA has launched the AIA Premier International Medical - a comprehensive international medical insurance that allows business owners to choose their coverage based on their preferred geographical location and get access to an extensive cashless global medical network with 24 hours of dedicated customer service. The plan offers extensive coverage, including Outpatient, Dental, Maternity, Optical, and Wellness.
A new value proposition for your life: ‘Wealthbeing by AIA’ For more than 90 years, AIA Singapore has been listening to the needs and aspirations of generations of families in Singapore. As a leading insurer, AIA’s brand promise is to enable people to live Healthier, Longer, Better Lives. Responding to new norms in the lives of HNWIs, AIA is focused on helping HNWIs to attain resilient financial planning and optimise their well-being with a holistic approach that is structured to provide all-rounded solutions.
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Findings from Agility Research & Strategy’s WealthLens™ Singapore study last year reveal that sustainability is an important consideration for HNWIs. This is aligned with AIA’s belief that sustainable and responsible investing can contribute to the Global Goals and benefit the communities we serve. In 2021, AIA Group took bold steps to support a more climate-resilient future by committing to the target of achieving net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, as well as divesting from its entire directly-managed listed equity and fixed income exposure to coal mining and coal-fired power businesses. We believe that the common well-being of people and the planet should not get lost in short-term profit making.
SINGAPORE BUSINESS REVIEW | Q3 2022 13
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“This means that the companies who wish to employ a foreigner will need to ensure that their own credentials are good. Therefore the COMPASS framework is the culmination of the MOM’s efforts to amend the application process to take into account the employing company as well,” Ng said.
Changes in salary and evaluation According to the Ministry of Manpower (MOM), the revised minimum qualifying salary for foreign workers for all sectors except financial services is $5,000, up from the previous $4,500. For the financial services sector, the minimum qualifying salary for foreign workers was raised to $5,500 from $5,000.
“The new policy for the grant of EPs is consistent with other labour policies in place in Singapore,” Tan added.
New and better policy Apart from the two new changes, one of the main differences between the old and the new policy is the review of firms hiring foreign talent, Ng Zhao Yang, local principal in the employment practice of Baker McKenzie Wong & Leow, told Singapore Business Review
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The review of firms, particularly their attributes like nationality diversity, and local PMET share relative to industry peers, will also now be done “at the point of application for an EP,” according to Tan.
Foreigners and firms face tougher scrutiny under new EP application policy
LEGAL BRIEFING
Kelvin Tan Ng Zhao Yang
Tan told Singapore Business Review that there will be two main changes to EP applications: 1) an increase in the qualifying salaries which will be benchmarked to the top 33% of local professionals, managers, executives and technicians (PMET) by age; and 2) the introduction of the new points-based Complementarity Assessment (COMPASS) framework. “Raising the qualifying salaries for EP applications goes towards ensuring that EP holders are comparable in quality to the top one-third of our local PMET workforce,” said Tan.
Applicants will now need to pass a points-based evaluation and meet a higher qualifying salary.
After COMPASS is fully rolled out, Tan said the watchlist will focus on the firms that scored poorly and help them strengthen their workforce profile, and adjust to the new Employersframework.whoarefound to be in breach of the Tripartite Guidelines on Fair Employment Practices will be at the risk of being debarred from hiring foreign employees, even if foreign employee candidates pass the COMPASS framework, Tan added.
Securing an employment pass (EP) in Singapore has always been “cumbersome,” which is why it would not be surprising if firms—especially those looking to hire more foreigners for niche jobs—would have a negative reaction to the imposition of stricter rules for work permit applications. But according to Drew & Napier LLC’s Co-Head of Employment, Kelvin Tan, the new rules hold several advantages for employers.
The COMPASS framework, for example, now takes into consideration factors that relate to the employing company and not only with respect to the applicant’s credentials.
Companies who wish to employ a foreigner will need to ensure that their own credentials are good
All the criteria in the COMPASS framework are “tradeable” and “none is a veto factor,” explained Tan. This means that if the application garnered 0 points for firm-related attributes but got at least 40 for the individual attributes, the applicant still passes the Complementarity Assessment. Businesses who score poorly on the assessment, however, still have to watch their backs, said Tan, adding that MOM is planning to re-purpose its Fair Consideration Framework (FCF) Watchlist, which “identities employers with indications of discriminatory hiring practices.”
“The new policy is designed to be a transparent system so that businesses and applicants will have a clearer idea as to whether they meet the criteria for obtaining an EP and have greater clarity and predictability for manpower planning,” Drew & Napier LLC’s Tan said.
“Under the current policy, firm-related attributes are considered subsequent to the determination of the foreign individual’s eligibility based on individual criteria, such as having a job offer, meeting the salary requirement, having acceptable qualifications or specialised skills, having regard to the MOM’s FCF Watchlist,” Tan explained.
SINGAPORE BUSINESS REVIEW | Q3 2022 15 (800) 866-1144 Learn with us at yardi.com/ Get the details ©2022 Yardi Systems, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Yardi, the Yardi logo, and all Yardi product names are trademarks of Yardi Systems, Inc. APACSales@Yardi.com | Singapore +65 6369 9713 Hong Kong +852 3615 0830 | China +86 21 8013 5007 “Leverage the complete Yardi Elevate Suite to gain in-depth operational data, streamline revenue and expense forecasting and enhance portfolio management.” • Lease Manager - Understand portfolio health and manage tenant risk • Deal Manager - Close more deals faster, with a dynamic leasing solution • Forecast Manager - Accurately forecast portfolio health • Construction Manager - Keep construction projects on time and on budget • Facility Manager - Gain complete oversight of maintenance across your portfolio • Retail Manager - Visualise your customer relationships to boost efficiency Increase visibility, reduce risk & enable team collaboration
MARKETING BRIEFING
To counteract shopper fatigue, FanRu said mega sales of retail brands and e-commerce platforms should be “differentiated.” Lazada does this by localising its campaigns and working with merchants that will entice and will be relevant to communities in Singapore like Lunar New Year, Ramadan, and Christmas. Lazada Chief Business Officer Carey Chong said they inject “exciting promotions” during mega sale campaigns, such as the million-dollar condo giveaway in their last 11.11 sale. In Singapore, Lazada introduced Lazada Bonus, an additional campaign-only voucher that can be used on top of the existing store and Lazada vouchers, as well as Everyday Cashback, which presents shoppers with 9% cashback on eligible purchases. These promotions are the “hallmark” of mega sales, Chong told Singapore Business Review
“If we know the clear objective of each mega campaign, we don’t need to do the same thing all the time. That will address shopper fatigue because each different mega campaign will help the shopper to realise ‘Oh, there are actually different things offered here’,” FanRu pointed out.
Keeping products real Products being sold on e-commerce platforms could also be bogus which could lead shoppers to mistrust sellers, which may affect a brand’s image. This is why Chong emphasised the importance of having “authentic products” most especially during mega sales.
aligning the objectives between a brand and an online selling platform that includes target revenue, number of users, or launching a new product, which will offer something different to shoppers, and ultimately make a successful mega sale.
According to Chong, brands should curate products accordingly by selling, each comparing by familiarising themselves with the shopping habits of their consumers.
Online buyers experience ‘shopper fatigue’ from frequent mega sales days
Overall, Chong shared that top-performing product categories during mega sales include electronics, beauty, and groceries.
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Experts warn that this is triggered by frequent large-scale shopping events.
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“This ensures that shoppers are dealing directly with the brand, to purchase products that they are familiar with,” Chong said, adding that these platforms provide customers “ease of mind.”
Chong advised sellers to encourage customers to leave positive reviews after purchase to ensure the authenticity of their products and as a way to build long-term relationships with them. Lazada takes great pains to ensure products sold through its platform are authentic by selling these goods through their LazMall and LazMall Prestige platforms, which only accept authorised brands and distributors for international brands to have stores in such platforms.
“For example, travel products and staycation packages tend to be in greater demand during school holidays, and there is a focus on buying gifts during the year-end period,” Chong said.
As shoppers also make purchases for discretionary items during mega campaigns, Chong said sellers or brands could even choose to launch new products that would take advantage of the heightened traffic during the sales period.
The more frequent mega sales are, the more customers see less value in them
Strategising the sale
Online mega sales days and flash sales were once large drivers of e-commerce transactions but the proliferation of platforms and specials sales days is starting to wear thin with buyers.
To ‘differentiated’salesfatigue,shoppercounteractmegashouldbe
It is equally important for brands to take note of which products to put out during these shopping events.
.
FanRu Meng, CEO of e-commerce analytics firm Intrepid Singapore, said that the more frequent these retail sales are, the more customers see less value in them. In turn, it becomes more challenging for retailers to drive sales and conversions.
“There will be shopper fatigue. From a consumer perspective, there’s no more anticipation building up with significant dates to purchase a certain item when every other day, one can expect massive deals and discounts offered,” FanRu told Singapore Business Review
For Intrepid, one way to differentiate mega sales is by
FanRu, for his part, said the right portfolio, combined with a solid vision can “help brands win any sales campaign and generate profit.”
Mega sales have a high propensity for customer purchases with over 67%. Sellers can see their sales go up anywhere from 20 times to 40 times of an average
Focusing on other campaigns
“In Singapore, the prevalent mode of payment is credit card due to the high credit card adoption rate,” Chong said. Meanwhile, in the whole Southeast Asian region, Chong observed that cash on delivery is still the popular choice amongst Lazada’s new and existing customers, especially the elderly and those unfamiliar with online payments.
MARKETING BRIEFING
“Invest in your Mega Sale pre-campaign preparation as it is becoming increasingly critical for brands to win on D-Day. Not forgetting to pay equal attention to post-campaign management, as best in class customer experience postcampaign can be an opportunity for consumers to make repurchases,” the Intrepid CEO added.
Campaigns, where brands and sellers should leverage their presence, include high-visibility campaigns, flash sales, and super brand day. Business owners should also host live selling for customer engagement during a product launch, added Chong.
FanRu Meng Carey Chong
Offering various payment methods also help during sales, particularly the Buy Now, Pay Later option, as customers are driven to “convenience and ease,” according to FanRu.
Overall, FanRu believes that the key to conducting successful mega sales boils down to two things: alignment in objective between brand, platform, and the agency/ enabler partner; and monitored holistic planning amongst the three in terms of overall sales target, key focus, right promotions/activities.“Attheendoftheday, brands can choose to participate in all the highest revenue-generating sales but, without a proper strategy in place, alignment in annual targets and excellent execution, the brand’s key goals will not be guaranteed,” FanRu said.
“Customers discover new brands and products during sales, so participating in them is an effective way for sellers to penetrate new customer segments,” added Chong.
day during mega sales. As an example, Lazada’s 11.11 sale posted $11m in sales in just nine minutes, traffic was 10 times more in 2021, and brands and sellers who participated went up by 40%.
However, this does not mean that sellers should focus on mega sales only, Chong said. “Instead, they should take part in the various campaigns held throughout the year to establish themselves and build their customer base over time,” added the Lazada official. This was echoed by FanRu, saying: “Other sale campaigns are not less important. As important as revenue can be as a key objective, it is not the only driver for brands. In fact, each sale campaign delivers its set goals which can further be customised to complement the various brand’s objectives.”
Unveiling the ultimate secret For brands to reap the benefits of mega sales, including attracting new customers and skyrocketing earnings, FanRu said brands should pay attention to their pre- and postcampaign strategy.
On retaining customer attention throughout the campaign, Lazada’s Chong said sellers should utilise new and innovative ways to engage their audience like livestreams and gamification.
The first sign that this workplace is not a regular office starts at the lift lobby, where there is not even a nameplate for the real estate services firm, and no doors either. Instead, the reception area opens up to a view over Singapore and feels akin to a first-class business lounge, with coffee tables for guests to sit at and talk rather than be whisked off to a personality-less meeting room. The reason the space feels so much like one of Singapore’s lauded bars is that it was designed by MSDO, the same team behind the Manhattan Bar and Atlas.
The new office has a fully tech-enabled environment that allows seamless connectivity, giving employees the freedom to move around as they please. Cushman & Wakefield also updated its desk booking system, developed with Indoor Finders, which the staff could use to reserve desks and meeting rooms.
“If you don’t want to book a desk, we encourage people to go around the periphery where there is very simple technology,” Carmichael said, noting that some huddle rooms were designed intentionally without any technology, whilst others feature all sorts of technology where workers can simply “plug and play”.
Cushman & Wakefield, through its facilities and engineering arm, C&W Services, had likewise ventured into reimagining the office of the future when it transformed its office in Chai Chee into a “living lab”. This time, Carmichael said, the company envisioned a “destination office”, where clients and workers, when gracing its halls, would have a hospitality-driven experience comparable to visits made to destination bars and even resorts.
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Corridor (Cushman & Wakefield CapitaSprings)
The 11,400-square foot office can be found at the new integrated development CapitaSpring. It features 101 functional work points and workstations to cater to Cushman & Wakefield’s workforce during peak hours.
The company also purposefully dedicated half of its space for collaboration with 17 meeting rooms and phone booths, on top of open spaces that amount to twice the size of the collaboration space Cushman & Wakefield had in its previous office. Aside from its Library, the destination office also features the ‘Saloon’, which has a cafe setting that allows employees to eat, meet, connect, and work.
SPACE Singapore’sWATCH
Designing the ‘Destination office’ Cushman & Wakefield tapped on its own in-house Total Workplace team to brief the creative team, not only on the company’s requirements but also on how they imagine the future office should look like. Carmichael cited four key visions, the first ones being centred on their clients and workers, whilst the others were focused on creating a high-performance work culture, as well as promoting sustainability.
“This is what offices of the future will be, where people want to be in to collaborate, learn, and create, whilst being allowed to have a quiet space to work. Our office is chockfull of amenities. It does not only give off a hospitality feel, it has everything employees need to work effectively,” Andrew Carmichael, Senior Director, Project & Development Services, Asia Pacific at Cushman & Wakefield, told Singapore Business Review.
‘destination office’ marks the new return-to-work normal Cushman & Wakefield’s new 11,400-sqft office exudes the same vibe as Singapore’s best bars. Coaxing a work-from-home workforce back to the office is a challenge with many companies resorting to incentives such as free meals or requirements to work in the office a certain number of days. A different approach was taken by Cushman & Wakefield, which felt that a new concept for an office where people want to return to and work in was in order. It came up with what they call the “destination office”, located in Singapore’s Central Business District.
Cushman & Wakefield’s Carmichael shared the firm had to be “purposeful” as it manages over 2,000 employees in its Singapore offices alone.
CarmichaelAndrew
Front of the House (Cushman & Wakefield CapitaSprings)
“The bookable workstations app is a simple, yet intuitive technology. It somehow knows the people the user wants to work with, who is with his or her team—it sends the user in that direction,” he said.
Walking on from the large reception lounge is the working area which features adjustable height desks. It is not unusual to see one person sitting down working whilst the person next to him/her is standing up doing the same thing. Some meeting rooms are custom designed without the ubiquitous teleconferencing set up to allow people to just gather and talk. The most unique part of the office is hidden behind a mirrored door – the Library houses a long communal desk with wood and leather features, and is a no-talking zone where people can silently get on with their work, free of distractions.
Front of the
Work
Saloon (Cushman & Wakefield CapitaSprings) House- Pantry (C&W Services Chai Chee) (C&W Services Chai Chee) Ceremony (C&W Services Chai Chee)
The Art Faculty Mural
Opening
Community Wall (C&W Chai Chee) (Cushman & Wakefield
Meeting rooms and phone booths
CapitaSprings)
SINGAPORE BUSINESS REVIEW | Q3 2022 19 SPACE WATCH
Services
Services
Library (Cushman & Wakefield CapitaSprings) Area (C&W Chai Chee)
outlook after the strong run it had from the end of the circuit breaker of 2020 right through the whole year of 2021,” he said. As a result, the new sale of fresh units is to reach 8,000 to 9,000 with fewer new projects in the pipeline. Around 16,000 to 19,000 units might be sold in the resale or secondary market, reflecting a total private home sale volume of about 24,000 to 28,000 units which is 16% to 29% below the 2021 levels.
20 SINGAPORE BUSINESS REVIEW | Q3 2022 INDUSTRY INSIGHT: REAL ESTATE
Knight Frank expects prices to increase milder by around 1% to 3% in 2022 because of these measures, with interest rates seen to increase throughout the year. On the other hand, Tay said some foreigners may be deterred from buying luxury homes because of the increase in the ABDS but some might still be interested in purchasing luxury homes in the Core Central Region as the prices in this area only increased by around 3.8% last year. This is in comparison to the prices in the Rest of Central Region and Outside Central Region which saw property prices increase by 16.3% and 8.8%, respectively. “Given the amount of anecdotal interest and inquiries from potential foreign homebuyers, and the fact
Shophouse market The shophouse market, on the other hand, is gaining a little traction as keen interest by private offices and family offices for the property remain. “This is due to the nature of this property for its cultural, iconic affinity, the nostalgia and local familiarity that set shophouse prices high right now given that there is more demand chasing limited supply,” Tay said. Some owners are unwilling to sell their properties unless an investor offers an enticing premium, Tay said, adding that interest in shophouses as a “defensive asset class” remains firm. He also said that the “steady gentrification” of shophouse districts continues to feel demand, and for this year, total sales value for the market could reach $2b, especially because there will be a moderate spillover effect from investors from the residential sector to the commercial shophouse sectors because of the cooling measures.
Cooling measures gloom Singapore’s
private residential market outlook
Under the revised ABDS rates, the rates will remain 0% for Singapore Citizens (SC), and 5% for Singapore Permanent Residents (SPRs) on their purchase of their first property. The rate will be raised to 17% from 12% for SCs’ second residential purchase, and 25% from 15% on their third and subsequent purchases. The rate for SPRs was raised to 25% from 15% on their second purchase, and to 30% from 15% on their third and subsequent purchases.
The private residential market may have been the best performing sector amongst Singapore’s property sector in 2021 with up to 34,000 recorded transactions—but this will not be the case for 2022, Knight Frank claimed. No thanks to the cooling measures imposed by the government to stabilise prices. Unit transactions for 2021 saw a 60% increase from the over 21,000 units transacted in the previous year. With the demand rising, the prices for the sector rose 10.6%. “This was also due to the organic owner-occupier demand at most levels of society in Singapore,” Leonard Tay, Head of Research at Knight Frank Singapore, told Singapore Business Review in an exclusive privatelastmeasuresBuyer’sincludeaway”andyearmeasuresgovernmentHowever,interview.theSingaporeannouncednewtowardstheendoftheto“coolthepropertymarketpreventthepricesfromrunningTaysaid.ThesemeasurestheraisingoftheAdditionalStampDuty(ABSD).“TheimpositionofcoolingannouncedinDecemberyearhaskindofcloudedtheresidentialrealestatemarket
The imposition of marketresidentialthehasmeasurescoolingcloudedprivateoutlook Leonard Tay
Private residential transactions may decline up to 29% YoY in 2022.
ABDS rates for foreigners buying any residential property were raised to 30% from 20%, whilst the rate for entities purchasing any residential property, and developers purchasing any residential property was increased to 35% from 25%.
Interest in shophouses as a “defensive asset class” remains firm
that the global pandemic has created a premium on stability in a very uncertain world, the globally mobile wealthy might still be prepared to pay the 30% ABSD as a premium for entry into Singapore’s prime residential market,” Tay said.
JumpreeIntroducing3.5-Afullstacktechnologysolutionforthehybridworkplace
SINGAPORE BUSINESS REVIEW | Q3 2022 21 YO U R B U S I N E SS. G R O W IN G W E ’ R E I N T H E B U S I N S O F Ranked in 2022 Corporate Knights’ Global 100 At StarHub, your business is our business priority. Together with our world-acclaimed technology partners, we’re here to make things simple, empowering you with all that you need to go digital and grow your business. Our easy-to-use solutions, powered by the most advanced technologies, give you control over all your connectivity, cybersecurity, and cloud needs. With sustainability at the core of everything we do, we provide end-to-end services and solutions to enable a 5G Digital Workplace with green technology such as the Internet of Everything and our award-winning Solar-Powered WiFi connectivity. Let the World’s Most Sustainable Wireless Telecommunication Service Provider power your next stage of growth. Learn more about our solutions at starhub.com/business or follow us on @ StarHub StarHub's Technology Partners StarHub wins at the annual SBR Technology Excellence Awards for the outdoor WiFi powered by sustainable solar energy and 5G backhaul.
Singapore bank rankings reveal new hires surged by 5.8% in 2022
The banks’ rankings saw some slight shuffle as some banks reported lower numbers.
interviews conducted for its annual bank rankings, Singapore Business Review found that top Singaporean banks are exceeding the projected regional average growth of hiring women in executive positions.
Brandon Coate, Head of Human Resources at HSBC Singapore revealed that the bank has one woman in a senior position for every 14 women employed in an entry to mid-levelAccordingposition.toBrandon, gender diversity forms a key part of ensuring an inclusive, dynamic, and open culture in the workplace. “What we’ve done at HSBC Singapore is to introduce a more flexible and hybrid way of working as part of our Future of Work approach. We also have Employee Resource Groups (ERG) that advocate various causes the bank supports. Our ERG champions the recruitment, development, advancement, and engagement of a gender-balanced workforce within HSBC. They come up with initiatives to support a genderequal environment,” Brandon said. He also said that banks should share best practices with each other. “This is not a commercially sensitive topic and is something that the whole industry should be focused on improving.”
Dean Tong, head of Group Human Resources at UOB, said at the end of 2021 women comprised 55.6% of the newly hired employees across the group. In Singapore, its workforce comprised 61.5% of women, with 36.3% in senior roles. Closing the gender gap Dean believes that men and women bring different ideas, perspectives, and skill sets to the table. This setup drives innovative thinking and effective problem-solving for the organisation. To foster a diverse and in clusive workforce, it is imperative that organisations focus on building a workplace that values every individual and motivates them. According to Dean, this starts through their holistic talent recruitment and performance framework that measures and rewards all UOB employees based on their competencies and adherence to the company’s acceleration“Throughvalues.ourleadershipprogramme,we prepare our high-performing colleagues to take on executive roles in UOB by providing them with intensive learning experiences through crosscountry assignments, leadership coaching, and executive education. Many of our colleagues across both genders who participated in these programmes have gone on to become leaders at the bank and in their fields,” DeanStandardexplained.Chartered is also one of Singapore’s top banks that exceeded Deloitte’s forecast. In 2021, 48% of Standard Chartered’s overall hires were women, with 37% in senior roles. In the first half of 2022, 42% of overall hired employees were women, 37% in senior“Wepositions.havefocused on providing By 2030, women in senior leadership will grow to 20.5%
Singapore banks continue to bolster their rosters in terms of new hires in 2022, registering a 5.8% increase in Singapore Business Review’s annual bank rankings compared to a year before. The rankings, which rates banks in terms of the number of employees, saw some moderate to great increases in the number of hires this year whilst some banks opted to keep employee numbers the same. Meanwhile, a number of banks saw slight dips in employee numbers causing them to slip from their previous place. DBS continues to hold the top spot with 12,585 employees, an increase of 4.9% from 2021. Standard Chartered and UOB maintained the number of employees at 10,000 and 9,000, placing third and fourth respectively. The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited (HSBC) had a slight dip in its employee count from 3,300 to 3,242 ranking sixth. CIMB bank had a notable dip of 25.2% in its number of employees from 1,237 in 2021 to 925 this year, falling from ninth to 11th place.During
22 SINGAPORE BUSINESS REVIEW | Q3 2022
Deloitte’s Within Reach series predicted that by 2030, women in senior leadership, specifically C-suite, will grow to 20.5%, a moderate increase from 18.5% in 2021. In DBS’ 2021 sustainability report, 54.3% of their Singapore staff are women. In all of its branches, DBS’ female staff comprises around 49.2% of its workforce.
This is not improvingbeindustrythatsomethingtopicsensitivecommerciallyaandisthewholeshouldfocusedon
RANKINGS:
BANKS
RANKINGS:
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importantWhat’s is tousbiasesthatacknowledgetotherearearoundandweneedcallthemout Brandon Coate Dean CharlotteTongThng
HSBC’s Brandon suggested that companies should avoid asking candidates to provide salary information when hiring. This way, the pay would be based on the applicant’s competencies and skills. Standard Chartered took a more proactive approach, like voluntarily and publicly disclosing their gender pay gap statistics for all their regional hubs through their annual Gender Pay Gap “CombinedReport.with our efforts to improve the female talent pipeline, as well as to upskill and reskill talent, we believe such initiatives will improve business ownership and accountability, thereby supporting more women in the workplace. This will help more qualified women reach senior roles and other traditionally male-dominated business areas, improve the overall balance in male/ female representation and, the current pay gap,” Standard Chartered said. “We think what’s important is for us to acknowledge that there are biases around us and we need to call them out and find the best way to resolve the obstacles,” Brandon added. Digital talents in demand Standard Chartered foresees that demand in technology, innovation, digital banking, application support, and cloud engineering, as well as in consumer and private banking space, will“Therecontinue.was also demand across our global support functions, dominated by roles in Finance, Change Management, and Financial Crime Compliance Advisory. This year, we foresee demand to continue in the same areas as 2021,” said Standard Chartered’s Charlotte Thng, head of Human Resources, Singapore, Australia, and ASEAN Markets. HSBC’s Brandon said: “Market trends suggest that 2022 will see a continuation of demand for Wealth Management, Insurance, and IT roles in Singapore. Initial forecasting suggests that recruitment demand in Singapore is set to increase by over 20% in 2022 compared to 2021.”
BANKS
UOB said that they are currently building their talent pipeline in selected areas such as technology and data, compliance, wealth, and commercial banking. “In April, we launched a Technology Development Programme designed to groom a future generation of technology specialists through a 12-month on-the-job and structured training programme, focusing on areas such as software development, cybersecurity, infrastructure and platforms. Under this programme, we plan to hire 100 talents including fresh graduates without prior technology experience or professionals with less than three years of work experience in the industry,” UOB’s Dean said. These in-demand positions are open to candidates with equal opportunity, regardless of their gender, the banks assured.
Gender pay gap Aside from the low penetration of women in senior roles, another gender-related concern that must be addressed is the pay gap between men and women employees.
Market trends suggest that 2022 will see a continuation of demand for Wealth Management, Insurance, and IT roles in Singapore
Reskilling and upskilling initiatives, and leadership programmes are some ways that banks are closing the gender gap in the industry opportunities for our people to upskill and reskill into areas [that are futureforward]. This targeted approach to skill-building is conducted with an eye on gender balance, such that more women can be reskilled into areas with growing demand,” Standard Chartered said. This has led Standard Chartered to redeploy its people into the job roles of the future, such as Data Translators, Cyber Security Analysts, and Cloud Security Engineers. “The programmes empower them to learn and practice in a safe environment, as well as gain greater exposure to the job, enabling our female colleagues to feel more ready to take the leap into roles traditionally dominated by men. For example, we launched a Universal Bankers and Cyber acceleration programme globally in 2021, which has supported 270 women in fulfilling their career aspirations in branch management, client relationship management and cyber roles,” Standard Chartered said. The banks interviewed said that clear targets, reskilling and upskilling initiatives, and leadership programmes are just some of the few ways they are closing the gender gap in their workplace and industry.
24 SINGAPORE BUSINESS REVIEW | Q3 2022 RANKING2022 BANK Number of Employees 2022* Number of Employees 2021 RANKING2021 CEO OR COUNTRY HEAD 1 DBS 12,585 12,000 1 Shee Tse Koon 2 OVERSEA-CHINESE BANKING CORP 11,461 10,032 2 Helen Wong 3 STANDARD CHARTERED BANK 10,000 10,000 3 Patrick Lee 4 UNITED OVERSEAS BANK 9,000 9,000 4 Wee Ee Cheong 5 CITI SINGAPORE 8,500 8,500 5 Amol Gupte 6 HONG KONG AND SHANGHAI BANKING CORPORATION 3,242 3,300 6 Kee Joo Wong 7 BNP PARIBAS 2,200** 2,200 7 Joris Maria A. Dierckx* 8 MAYBANK SINGAPORE 2,000 2,000 8 Dr. John Lee 9 CREDIT AGRICOLE CORPORATE AND INVESTMENT BANK 1,900 -*** 10 Jean-Pierre Michalowski 10 BANK OF CHINA 955** 955 11 Cheng Jun* 11 CIMB BANK 925 1,237 9 Victor Lee 12 MIZUHO BANK >700 >700 12 Guan Yeow Kwang* 13 RHB Singapore 651 639 13 Danny Quah 14 STATE BANK OF INDIA 124** 124 14 Jamneshwar Pamidimukkala* 15 ICICI BANK 90** 90 15 Sachin Kumar* 16 BANK OF INDIA 77** 77 16 Geetha Nagarajan* 17 UCO BANK 42** 42 17 Gourab Chatterjee* TOTAL 64,452 60,896**** *info derived from MAS website **info retained from 2021 rankings ***no ****numbersdata did not include Credit Agricole RANKINGS: BANKS
The basic insurance needs of customers do not change much. What needs to be further developed and customised is the way insurers reach out to their customers, Raymond said.
Long life is considered a blessing by many. But for retirees, the cost of living, increasing risks of getting sick, and rising medical costs are their nightmare. Because of this, paying premiums for insurance is often overlooked. This is evident in the survey by the Life Insurance Association of Singapore which found that more than 52% of Singaporeans aged 60 and up are uninsured.
SINGAPORE BUSINESS REVIEW | Q3 2022 25
“The real issue to me is that no matter how stretched a family’s budget is, the importance of insurance is often overlooked, and the consequences are only evident when it is too late,” he added.
In an interview with Singapore Business Review, Raymond Ong, CEO of Etiqa Singapore, said that long life expectancy creates a huge protection gap amongst Singaporeans. “We see that Singapore has one of the highest life expectancies in the world. Today, one in seven Singaporeans are aged 65 and above, this number will become one in five by 2030,” Raymond explained. It is not only older Singaporeans that are affected by the longer life expectancy. According to Raymond, with the declining resident crude birth rate at 8.6%, Singapore millennials are becoming the so-called ‘sandwich generation’ or the generation caught between caring for their ageing parents and raising a family whilst preparing for their retirement.
Longer life spans causing financial stress for Singaporean retirees
Focus on customer service
“The insurance industry has a key part to play in highlighting the importance of insurance protection and retirement provision. As an industry, we fulfil a very important social need of ensuring that the family’s financial security is assured in times of need. We must promote the importance of being adequately insured,” Raymond said.
INDUSTRY INSIGHT: INSURANCE
1 in 7 Singaporeans are aged 65 and above, this number will become 1 in 5 by 2030 No
“Over two-thirds of millennials that did not have adequate insurance coverage [because they] felt that they could not afford to purchase life insurance,” Raymond said, citing Etiqa’s recent survey. He warned that without adequate financial coverage, the financial consequences can be devastating for a young family in the event of a death or critical illness of a sole breadwinner.
Raymond emphasised that the bulk of customer needs centre on two things: protection and retirement provision. He said that these needs are best served through traditional insurance concepts that involve the pooling of potential risk amongst a bigger group of customers as well as dollar-cost averaging, which leads to more sustainable and steady longtermForreturns.theinsurance industry’s future, Raymond said groundbreaking works will pop up in the area of data analytics. With data analytics, insurers can efficiently identify and manage risk, reach out to customers with the appropriate offerings, and make certain aspects of insurance coverage more tailored for the needs of certain Insurerscustomers.arealsobound to focus on automation to cater to more techsavvy customers to do more by way of self-service and improve customer experience by enabling a 24-hour assistance platform.
Raymond Ong
overlookedisofimportancebudgetahowmatterstretchedfamily’sis,theinsuranceoften
This is the case for more than half of uninsured retirees in the country.
Making sense of the data
Retail stores in Southeast Asia could have earned US US$4.5b more in sales if only consumers could find their products online. Now, these stores, whose operations are mainly physical, are at risk of losing another US$4.5b, should they fail to digitise their inventory, tech startup Fairmart said. As an example Fairmart CEO and co-founder Jan Gasparic shared that he would often search online for new pet food or toy for his dog. But whilst there are three pet stores within the two-kilometre radius from his home, his online searches lead him to marketplaces elsewhere, sometimes even overseas. “I would look through the results and I’d see a lot of online listings. Then I would go into the map section and try to find which one of my local stores actually carries this product. But because the stores don’t digitise their inventory, they essentially just do not come up in the search results at all. Now, then I’ll keep on scrolling,” he said. “The reason this problem exists is [that] current solutions are essentially made for e-commerce, and they’re a poor fit for the way physical retailers work,” Gasparic said. He shared that physical retailers have a high number of stock-keeping units with some stores storing more than 2,000 items, making it difficult for retailers to manually digitise their products. Putting local stores on the map This is where the tech startup comes in as Fairmart enables small businesses to increase foot traffic to retailers by installing an IoT device that allows businesses to digitise products available in their stores. Retail stores then get a real-time feed of the barcodes that are being scanned and, with Fairmart’s software, the stores automatically generate a list of its products online. “In order for them to manually digitise all their products, they would need over 200 hours of manual data entry each month and we bring that number essentially down to zero,” he said.
solutionsCurrent are a poor fit for the way retailersphysicalwork
For instance, he shared that one of their merchant partners had believed that the customers that visit their store are after the frozen food products they sell. It was not until a month after using Fairmart’s software that the merchant found that most of their customers, particularly new ones, frequent their store for the specific product offered only at their store – sambal sauce. “All these kinds of things that typically you would need right before your meal if you’re cooking for the night and you don’t know where to buy. But with this kind of data, we’re able to empower the retailer to make better decisions in terms of the kinds of products that we’re actually getting people into their store,” he said.
26 SINGAPORE BUSINESS REVIEW | Q3 2022
Fairmart’s digitisation strategy benefits retailers in two ways, that is through automation and data, Gasparic said.
increasesFairmart stores’ online traffic
Gasparic said Fairmart has seen its software uplift the performance of local stores that have now digitised their inventories. And, generally, retailers have reported between an 8% to 10% increase in organic leads in their store, largely because customers now find specific products they carry in online searches. He added this essentially allows merchants to capture new customers in an organic way as it is based on specific and unique products of the store.
Gasparic raised that whilst shoppers have gone “irreversibly digital,” it is important that retailers digitise operations as 95% of transactions are expected to happen offline. He also said that consumers are now inclined to do “near me” searches, wherein they look at buying the products at physical stores even as their purchasing process started online. “Essentially, that’s equivalent to what window shopping is in the physical world. It’s just the start stage. Now our role as a company is to help physical retailers to unlock the potential of capturing these local searches and drive people to their store,” he said.
Retailers can use Fairmart’s software to automatically digitise their inventory.
INTERVIEW
Fairmart’s digitisation strategy benefits retailers through automation and data (Photo: Jan Gasparic, CEO and co-founder, Fairmart)
Beyond expanding into new markets, Fairmart will also zero in on developing the data they have to enable local retailers to better understand their customers.
Fairmart also continuously updates its product to ensure that it is modified according to their clients’ needs. For instance, it has integrated with POS System, allowing it to automatically update inventory levels to Fairmart. It also revamped its admin page to make managing orders, and updating product availability, pricing, and store setting all possible with just their phones. Further, the company has made it easier to set up product collections, where stores can set a name for a certain collection and add multiple products at once. Fairmart noted that using the collections feature has led to a conversion rate that is 16% higher. With this data, we empower the retailer to make decisionsbetter are you looking for gifting ideas? employee care boxes? corporate gifts? with love, gretel will help you make thoughtful & personalised gifts for all milestones and occasions.
Singapore and beyond Just recently, Fairmart raised US$1.5m worth of funds in an oversubscribed seed round, co-led by Quest Ventures and Entrepreneur First. The funding has been earmarked for the expansion of the Fairmart team, as well as its infrastructure, amongstFairmartothers.hasa presence in New Zealand and Hong Kong, but since relocating in 2020, it has focused largely on Singapore and it plans to keep its eye on the market in the next year. In Singapore, the company has so far partnered with Hop Shop Craft Beer Store, Golf & Leisure, Mobile Works Solution, and more than 70 other retailers. Whilst that is the case, the startup is looking at expanding outside of Singapore, particularly in Thailand and the Philippines. He explained in particular that an “enormous” opportunity lies in the Philippines as retailers have larger distances to cover which makes it harder to straddle through logistics.
INTERVIEW
SINGAPORE BUSINESS REVIEW | Q3 2022 27
“The local search problem where people want to understand does this mall have this product or does this store have this product? You want to know what’s available in [the Philippine] communities and that information needs to be surfaced,” he said.
“On the data side, we see that our customers really just lack good data to make business decisions off of and that’s going to be a key vector for us to be able to productize the data that we have and make it accessible and understandable in a way that allows our customers to make business decisions,” he said.
28 SINGAPORE BUSINESS REVIEW | Q3 2022 COVER STORY
Entering the space allows an artist to earn more through royalties each time their art sells. In the NFT space, againtimerevenueassuredI’mofeverymyartsells
Mohanbabu said artists can get a percentage of a future resale of their NFT-minted artworks because they are allowed to impose a royalty fee. “In traditional galleries, when my art is sold to a client and I make, say a hundred dollars, that’s it. If that client resells my artwork for a million dollars, it’s of no benefit to me as an artist,” Mohanbabu said. “In the NFT space, I get to earn from the subsequent sales of my art. If it is resold for a million dollars, I’ll get 5% of that. I’m assured of revenue every time my art sells again,” she Mohanbabuadded.said she also likes that she gets to track where her art goes or who the current owner is. Compared to traditional physical artworks, artists also get to reach a wider audience in the digital space, saidThisMohanbabu.wasechoed by Tokenize Xchange CEO Hong Qi Yu, saying that artists can leverage the internet to connect with a lot of buyers, unlike when selling traditional art in galleries which is constrained by physical locations. A stroke of challenge Whilst the gains from selling NFT art seem tempting, Mohanbabu warned artists of challenges that come along as they enter the space given that it is relatively new and unfamiliar territory for many buyers. The first hurdle Mohanbabu had to overcome was to identify which platform she should sell her artwork on. From experience, she suggested that artists choose a platform that is multicurrency since a lot of buyers are not yet familiar with cryptocurrencies. Her current project is with a Dubaibased multicurrency platform Virtua AdvancedMohanbabuSolutions.added that it is equally important for artists to choose a platform where they can easily mint their artwork. An example of this is ElemintNFT, the brainchild of Hong. ElemintNFT simplifies the minting process of an artwork by simply uploading it on the platform, without going through the hassle of creating smart contracts, Hong told Singapore Business Review
. A smart contract is an agreement between the seller and buyer of an NFT executed through computer codes, something which may be difficult to do for traditional creators who are unfamiliar with the technical know-how.Theother main challenge to entering the NFT market is how to
Lakshmi Mohanbabu has a project called “To the Moon and Beyond” that features 3D interaction cubes rendered as NFT Singapore-based Artist Lakshmi Mohanbabu would, like any artist, earn her income from selling an artwork in the traditional way. Whenever the artwork was resold she would not earn anything. Now with NFT versions of her artworks, everytime the NFT is traded she earns an additional fee. For artists like her, the ability to keep receiving a fee for artworks already produced in the digital realm is welcomed additional source of income.
A brand new canvas: Why more artists are jumping into the NFT space
Success in NFT space Whilst having unique art can give artists a boost in the NFT art world, Lau advised those planning to enter the space to do some sort of digital marketing around the art that they “Often,create.Instagram, Twitter, and Telegram are being used as the information channel. But, from my understanding, Discord is where all the crypto folks aggregate. You need to market it to a discussion forum that focuses on NFT art,” Lau said. Mohanbabu, for her part, said the key to achieving success in the NFT space is a mix of appealing artwork, a good platform, and an element of luck. “It is also good to know what is trending and follow that a little bit, but not completely because it’s good to set your own trends,” she said.
For an NFT buyer to see value in your work, you have to stand out
AaronMohanbabuLakshmiHongQiYuLau
SINGAPORE BUSINESS REVIEW | Q3 2022 29 COVER STORY
Artists get to reach a wider audience in the NFT space (Photo: ‘Drowning in Love’ by MonoC) stand out, given the sheer volume of art that is already in the space. One way Mohanbabu overcomes this is by making digital counterparts of her physical artworks, which could then be translated and transferred into the Currently,metaverse.Mohanbabu is working on a range of artworks based on her shoe designs. The collection will include actual shoes, 3D models and prints of the design, and a book of all the prints which will also have a counterpart in the metaverse. This also involves a collaboration for printing Mohanbabu’s shoes with the Singapore Centre for 3D Printing (SC3DP), Nanyang Technological University. Whilst you can buy the physical painting and 3D models of the shoes, you can also buy the same book, shoes, or paintings as NFTs in the metaverse—so you actually have a shop in the metaverse. Your avatar [in the metaverse] can also wear those shoes,” she Mohanbabuadded.also has a project called “To the Moon and Beyond” that features 3D interaction cubes rendered as NFT. The project accompanies her artwork “The Cube of Interaction” which has been sent to the International Space Station on 19 February 2022 where it will remain for ten months and finally go to the Moon by “What’s2025.interesting is that, since the physical counterpart of the NFTs will be at the International Space Station, the buyer of the NFT can look up in the sky and say that they own the work of art that is flying above them,” she said. In doing the space and shoe projects, Mohanbabu said what she had in mind was to create art that not only bridges the gap between the traditional and digital spaces, but also art that has international appeal. “The buyers of NFT art are very different from the buyers of traditional art. For an NFT buyer to see value in your work, you have to be completely different,” she said. Interactive art One of the most appealing and celebrated types of artwork, not only in the NFT space, but also in the art world in general, is interactive art, according to Mohanbabu. In Hong Kong, brand tech group, Gusto Collective, is amongst those leading in the creation of interactive art. Earlier this year, it was able to auction off an NFT art titled “Drowning in Love,” created by their meta-human project, MonoC, which sold for Apart$189,000.frombeing created by a meta-human, what made “Drowning in Love” unique was it was created using a technique called “generated data art.” “We created the foundation of the art which consists of MonoC floating on a pond, looking up to the heavens. Then we have flowers covering her. The idea is, she’s dreaming about what falling in love feels like and, because she’s a virtual human, she has actually never been in love,” Aaron Lau, founder and CEO of Gusto Collective, told Singapore Business Review “What we did then is we created an algorithm that controls the blooming of the flowers, the movement of the waves, and so on. This algorithm is powered by the actual auction data during the seven-day period. Every click on the auction site, every look at a piece of work, it’s collected as a data point. If you happen to bid on a piece of art—doesn’t matter which piece of art—it becomes a data point,” the Gusto CEO explained. “We use the different data points. One set of data points controls the waves, another set controls the flowers. The artwork becomes complete after all the data points are collected at the very end of the auction,” he added. Lau said the idea behind the artwork was really to bridge the connection between the investment in and creation of art. In July, Gusto Collective also launched a collaborative art piece for the Hong Kong government called “Garden of Eden,” where visitors can digitally grow“On-site,flowers.you will have to download an app to experience the art. When you turn on the app, you will see a seed on your phone and you will be given instructions to plant the seed on the ground that we’ve created. You can then choose a cyber flower to be planted. You will see the flower grow right in front of the eyes until it’s fully bloomed. Once fully bloomed, it will fly up to the skies of Hong Kong,” Lau shared.
Yup.gg can help gamers level up in the industry
Gamers, influencers, developers, and enthusiasts can grow their career with Yup.gg (Photo from https://yup.gg/)
The show began airing on 10 June on Warner TV for Asia-Pacific and OGN for CockfieldKorea.said they also aim to give participants and the industry the chance to reach the general audience through the show. “As the general audience consumes the content, they feel better about what the kids are doing, and they will start thinking that there are careers in the gaming industry,” he said. “Gaming is an incredible tool to build skills to better your life. Good Game Asia is a great way to connect the general audience and gaming audience with some incredible talent. we’re helping them become crossover stars, like LeBron James, of gaming and eSports,” he added. Let the kids play The Lebron James of the gaming industry could be any teen playing Valorant or Minecraft in their rooms, which is why Cockfield encourages parents or guardians to be “smart about gaming.”
Gamers like PewDiepie and Tyler “Ninja” Blevins who earned US$15m and US$17m, respectively in 2019, have also proven that gaming is more than just a “hobby,” but can actually be a source of income for many. With these in mind, Cockfield co-founded Yup.gg—a social network accessible to all, where gamers, influencers, developers, and enthusiasts can find opportunities, products, and people they need to build a career in the industry. “[It is] a place to create business profiles for yourself or your businesses and grow your entire career from literally a casual gamer, just showing off the things that you care about gaming stats, all the way through to any type of profession [whether as a player, developer, marketer, designer, Through the show, publishers such as Riot Games and Activision Blizzard, can feature their games; whilst gamers, streamers, and content creators can show off their skills and talent and win a prize of $200,000.
“If they’re a professional, just like a professional athlete, they’re going to have to game a lot, they’re going to have to practice otherwise, they’re not going to be good enough to be professional,” he added.
30 SINGAPORE BUSINESS REVIEW | Q3 2022 STARTUP
Cockfield endorsed the public to think of gaming as a tool or asset more than just a form of entertainment, adding that skills kids learn from games are “useful when used“Thecorrectly.”realityis the strategy that’s needed, the quick thinking, the teamwork, the communication, everything that is needed in modern games today, is incredibly applicable to the jobs that are coming tomorrow,” he said. and many other possible career paths available in the industry],” Cockfield told Singapore Business Review.
Yup.gg aims to teach the basics of the gaming industry through its content, network of people, and insights feed. “We want a teenager that is very passionate about, say League of Legends, knows that they can enter tournaments and make money until they can’t, at which point, they will have all the ability to research how to become a shoutcaster or analyst and be hired by Riot to do content, or manage their tournaments within their market or apply for jobs at Riot, and work at the company that produces the games they love,” the Yup.gg CEO added. Looking for the Lebron James of the gaming industry To further show its dedication to providing opportunities in the gaming industry, Yup.gg also created a TV reality show about gaming where they find the next gaming superstar à la Lebron James.
Gaming has been looked down upon as merely a recreational activity, a pastime, or, worse, an addiction; but former Twitch executive Raiford Cockfield III begs to differ, saying that playing games are an “important tool” for anyone who is looking to work in the modern age.
“If you have a kid, and you’re concerned about them spending too much time, pay attention to what games they’re playing, how much time they’re socialising, and playing with their friends. And what is the skill level of the game? Do you see them having to strategise and communicate with each other? If so, let them play,” he said.
Want to be the next Ninja or PewDiePie? Yup.gg CEO Raiford Cockfield III said his team’s goal is to professionalise all gamers.
It is a place to grow your career from casual gamer to many possible career paths in the industry
Raiford Cockfield III
We experience,bettercreate a better product, at a pricebetterpoint for furnitureergonomic Kushal Patel
SINGAPORE BUSINESS REVIEW | Q3 2022 31 STARTUP
Moreover, its flagship product, the ErgoTune Supreme Chair, alone sold nearly 20,000 units during the year.
The Singapore brands brought ergonomic chairs and desks to overseas markets with prices starting at $399 and $599, respectively – with the help of e-commerce aggregator Una Brands.
Comfortable office furniture must not cost ‘silly money’: ErgoTune and EverDesk+
Where Una Brands comes in Kushal Patel, co-founder of Una Brands and VP of Investments, said Una Brands is looking to build on the strong growth momentum ErgoTune and EverDesk+ have seen over the last few years, with the intention to “turbocharge” their growth further and enable the brands to become “best-selling” global ergonomic chairs and desks. Patel shared that in making acquisitions, Una Brands factors in several considerations, such as whether the brands carry category-leading products with low cyclicality and have strong financial fundamentals. Examples of such financial fundamentals include large annual revenue, sustained yearon-year growth and healthy profit margins of the brands. “We look for brands with strong long-term growth prospects driven by favourable underlying trends,” Una Brands’ Patel said. Since acquisition, Una Brands has greatly reduced the exposure of the brands’ fulfillment process to operational risks by fully automating their order management system (OMS). This has resulted in a 57% decrease in waiting time required for a delivery and was achieved within six months of resolvingbrands’reducedFurthermore,acquisition.thishassignificantlytheamountoftimethattheoperationalteamspendsonissuesanderrors.
By working with Una Brands, ErgoTune and EverDesk+ have launched into Australia, contributing to more than 15% of the business’ overall revenue in the fourth quarter of 2021. “With Una Brands’ help, we now have the financial resourcing and capabilities to fast-track our
Expansion plans With the companies continuing to ride on this growth and plans to expand outside of Singapore, ErgoTune and EverDesk+ entered into an eight-figure acquisition deal with Una Brands, an e-commerce aggregator, which acquires brands and helps grow them into global household names. “We've taken the brands quite far. From something that we started at home around three or four years ago, it has gone much further than we thought possible,” Lye said. “But we realised a lot of challenges were not getting easier and that's when we thought we needed the backing of a company with the proven experience and track record to help us grow the brands and achieve our ambitious targets.”
Creating a brand around affordable, high-quality furniture seemed like the perfect market gap to tackle (Photo: ErgoTune and EverDesk+ founders) Fresh out of university in 2018, Damon Lye, along with his friends, Joshua Chan and Tan Jun Kiat, explored various business ideas. But the three friends only ventured into business together when they identified the need for a workplace standing desk, and could not get one that was easily accessible andLyeaffordable.recalledthe frustration they felt back in the days when they were trying to acquire a standing desk. They had to send an email to get a quotation and waited for two or three days to receive a response, only to find out the products ranged from $2,000 to $3,000—a silly amount of money to pay for such a necessity, the group of friends thought. Creating a brand around affordable, high-quality workplace furniture seemed like the perfect market gap to tackle; hence the birth of ErgoTune and EverDesk+. “And that's kind of the genesis of how we got started in this whole business,” he said. “We thought that we could create a better experience, a better product, and at a better price point for ergonomic furniture.” Fast forward to last year, the two brands posted record sales after they grew 150%, tripling the business’ revenue to more than S$13m. expansion into international markets. Our entry into Australia is just the beginning. We are also exploring Western markets, like the United States or European markets where we see opportunities for growth,” he said. In terms of product expansion, Una Brands is lending expertise and resources that will allow ErgoTune and EverDesk+ to engage in more and deeper research and development to further innovate an exciting new line of products.
32 SINGAPORE BUSINESS REVIEW | Q3 2022 INDUSTRY INSIGHT: RETAIL
ZALORA CommunicationsCorporateDirector Christopher Daguimol told Singapore Business Review that the better-than-expected sales can be attributed to fragrances, comparable to aromatherapy, are experiencing the “lipstick “Fragranceseffect.”could have also been a way for consumers to feel more ‘dressed up’ and presentable on Zoom calls,” Daguimol said. In both 2020 and 2021, fragrances emerged as the top beauty product purchased by consumers in Southeast Asia, respectively accounting for 19.82% and 22.58% of the region’s sales in the beauty category, based on its Southeast Asia TRENDER ReportFragrances2021. also grew by 455.66% year-on-year (YoY) in 2020 and by 77.54% YoY in 2021. It also stood second in terms of the top luxury products consumers buy with an 8.03% share, closely following wallets and purses with 8.79%. This trend is not exclusive to women as fragrances also topped the men’s beauty category. Data from TRENDER showed that fragrances made up 42.9% of the sales in the beauty category. It overtook face serums and treatments (16.28%) and bath and body (10.12%). It is expected that the increased investment in self-care, growth of the male beauty market, as well as the confidence to purchase luxury goods will likely continue and further contribute to the demand for fragrances. Beauty category runners-up After fragrances, face serums and treatments, which accounted for 20.88% of the beauty category sales in 2021, followed. This improved from 15.21% in the previous year. Placing third amongst the top beauty products is bath and body with 9.79% in 2021, surpassing makeupDaguimolproducts.linked this to health measures, such as mask-wearing, that rendered it less important for consumers to wear make-up. The prolonged stay at home with lockdowns, forcing offices and schools to operate under a hybrid setup also led to an “opportunity” for consumers to start and stick to skincare“Havingregimens.stayedhome for long periods of time, consumers have become more adjusted indoors, resulting in a shift towards embracing natural beauty,” Daguimol said. “These newfound pandemic habits would now be a crucial part
Fragrances overtake lipsticks as top beauty product
Replacing lip products, scents topped ZALORA’s beauty category.
Zoompresentable‘dressedtoforbeencouldFragranceshaveawayconsumersfeelmoreup’andoncalls
From long-lasting lipsticks, celebrity beauty brands, such as Rihanna’s Fenty Beauty, have pierced through the perfume industry. As it seems, this came about when shoppers switched to spritzing fragrances as quick luxury fixes to feel happier during downturns, which was once fulfilled by painting the lips.
Shoppers switched to spritzing fragrances as quick luxury fixes to feel happier during downturns
The fragrancesthecontributewillbeautyofandininvestmentincreasedself-caregrowththemalemarketfurthertodemandfor
DaguimolChristopher Fragrances also topped the men’s beauty category
SINGAPORE BUSINESS REVIEW | Q3 2022 33 INDUSTRY INSIGHT: RETAIL of routines that consumers would not want to ZALORAbreak.”alsoexpects demand for men’s beauty products to sustain its rise as the industry is projected to grow by an average of 8.4% annually between 2020 and 2026 in Southeast Asia. Demand for beauty products amongst male consumers soared 247% in 2020 from the previous year; and continued to grow in 2021 when it jumped Daguimol45%.noted this comes as men are also seen to be increasingly invested in self-care and skincare with face serum and treatments, and bath and body products, which likewise, followed fragrances.
Daguimol shared this trend was first seen in winter wear, when search terms for “winter wear” have increased by 275% on ZALORA after Singapore announced its pilot Vaccinated Travel Lane with Germany in October. The year ahead In the year ahead, ZALORA still sees comfort and sustainability will remain as a major factor for purchasing decisions. This comes as shoppers continue to cling longer to more comfortable options. Its TRENDER report found that consumers will likely look for healthier options that are backed by science and research as digital acceleration led to social activism amongst beauty and fashion consumers. This arose from interactions in online communities that paved the way for exchanges in values regarding sustainability and ethical moral codes. “Thus we may be seeing more consumers getting involved and considering factors, such as ingredient or material sourcing, and eco-friendly packaging before making a purchase decision,” he said, noting that behavioural shifts have already been seen in the resale industry, where consumers increasingly lean towards thrifted and upcycled materials. More consumers also got into the secondhand clothing market as shoppers want to buy pieces that have quality at a more affordable prices, instead of buying cheap yet disposable attires. Apart from a projected comeback of dressier pieces and sustained demand for casual wear and personal care products, ZALORA also sees demand for children’s wear to surge as children quickly outgrow their clothes.
Daguimol said that demand will likely be sustained as consumers begin to return to normalcy and as cross-border travel resumes with more countries easing restrictions. He noted, however, that this demand could be tempered particularly in Singapore amidst a new tax policy hike, coupled with the continued financial impact of the crisis and the rising inflation rate in the region.
Outside the beauty category, sports apparel filled the carts of online shoppers in SEA
“This rise can be attributed to the increasing awareness of the benefits that skincare entails, along with the convenience of purchasing beauty products online,” he said. In addition ZALORA noted this demand is also driven by the younger demographics in Southeast Asia, which make up the majority of ZALORA’s consumers as the use of beauty and skincare products amongst men is normalised. ‘Revenge Dressing’ ahead Outside the beauty category, casualwear, particularly sports apparel, filled the carts of online shoppers in Southeast Asia as lockdown periods were prolonged, driving consumers to prioritise their health more. This trend even spilled over footwear as ZALORA found a demand uptick in sneakers and running shoes, outweighing heels. Citing TRENDER data, Daguimol said that in shoes, casual footwear made up 95.89% of demand, whilst formal footwear only made up 4.11% in 2021. This demand for casualwear is expected to continue this year with consumers preferring a work-from-home setup, or hybrid working arrangement; but whilst that is the case, ZALORA noted that occasionwear will likely make a comeback in 2022. “Our TRENDER insights find that forgotten categories are seeing a rebound and consumers – particularly females – have been looking to purchase new pieces to wear out as restrictions ease.”
Goh, a banking veteran with over two decades of experience in the financial services industry, said that they aim to service micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) in the country by combining their parent firms’ experience in servicing MSMEs in China with Linklogis’ latest financial technology. “We will continue to explore the application of advanced technologies such as AI, blockchain, cloud computing, and big data (ABCD) in supply chain finance, incorporate environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors into our product development and growth strategies, and create a digital banking industry benchmark, contribute to the Singapore market, and realise sustainable growth,” said Song Qun, founder, chairman, and CEO of Linklogis. Goh said that they have “a positive outlook” for neobanks to thrive in Singapore, further noting that other markets in the ASEAN region, notably Malaysia, Indonesia, and Thailand, are also now granting digital bank licenses. Singapore Business Review had a short chat with Goh to learn more about GLDB. What made the parent firms of GLDB decide to apply for a licence and launch a digital bank in the Singapore market? The consortium group has experience in helping MSMEs in China meet their financial needs, and already has an established presence in Southeast Asia. We would like to bring this experience to Singapore. The group values Singapore’s position in high regard as a trade centre and a fintech hub to serve the ASEAN region.
The bank will use AI, blockchain, and big data to support small businesses. Even the smallest of ripples can transform to be the biggest waves in the ocean–and a similar mindset is driving Green Link Digital Bank (GLDB), Singapore’s newest wholesale digital-only bank, which announced its soft launch in June. “We adopt the Chinese principle of ‘勤为善小、行无 止境’ (Be kind. Be diligent. Be persistent.) as our corporate tenet, which translates to the bank’s unyielding commitment to every client, no matter its size, as even the smallest deeds can have rippling implications for the wider ecosystem,” Goh Soon Hong, executive director and CEO of GLDB, told Singapore Business Review in an interview. “This is the cornerstone of our corporate values.” Green Link Digital Bank’s name combines its two shareholders, Greenland Group and Linklogis. It is one of the four digital bank license winners from the 29 entities that vied for a license from the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), snagging one of the only two licenses for a wholesale digital bank in the city.
What are your thoughts on being one of Singapore’s firstever digital-only banks? Being one of the first digital banks signifies that we can begin our work and support underserved MSMEs. It is our hope that with this commencement, we can become a trusted partner for MSMEs. We will grow with them, serve them with digital solutions, connect them with partners across Asia, and enable them to embrace supply chain sustainability.
What solutions do you plan to offer? We offer cash and payments, loans, and supply chain financing. Supply chain financing is a set of funding solutions that help businesses to optimise their working capital. This allows them to extend credit terms to buyers whilst allowing suppliers to be paid early.
How does GLDB plan to compete with traditional lenders in Singapore? What would you say is the bank’s charm point? Our competitive edge lies in our niche supply chain financing products which leverage a first-class core banking platform supplier in the IT construction process, and made full use of ABCD+ (referring to artificial intelligence, blockchain, cloud computing, big data) core technologies, in order to ensure high security, strong scalability, and high efficiency. We will also help customers to penetrate emerging markets in Southeast Asia and facilitate trading activities within the Singapore-China trade corridor.
Being one of the first digital banks signifies that we can MSMEsunderservedsupport Goh Soon Hong, executive director and CEO, Green Link Digital Bank (Photo courtesy of GLDB)
34 SINGAPORE BUSINESS REVIEW | Q3 2022 INTERVIEWGLDBtransformsSingaporeMSMEs’supplychains
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The smart calculator helps Singaporeans figure out their financial weaknesses. How often have insurance agents gone up to someone and offered them insurance products, only to be turned down saying they already have insurance or are happy to remain uninsured as they believe their financial position is ‘quite stable’? Probably a lot. This attitude towards financial planning is what AIA Singapore has been trying to solve with their app, Xplore with Ally, a multi-needs financial calculator that helps Singaporeans understand their financial needs and goals. Created to become a digital partner for their agents, Xplore with Ally was designed to take a snapshot of customers’ current financial health and coverage adequacy to better give them an idea of what vulnerabilities remain as they try to reach a certain goal.
Based on a series of simple questions on an individual’s basic finances, goals, priorities, and living lifestyle preferences, the app analyses the available data and information to produce an Ally Score. Built on the mathematics of Prospect Theory, Ally Score measures one’s financial satisfaction score.
Xplore with Ally theirunderstandtocustomershelpsbetterunique financial needs
AIA Singapore’s Chief Customer and Digital Officer Melita Teo explained how they used Xplore with Ally’s unique personalised features to entice customers to take the next step in their financial wellness journey. Could you tell us how Xplore with Ally came to be?
INTERVIEWExploring
As a multi-needs financial calculator, Xplore with Ally helps our customers to better understand individuals’ unique financial needs to determine their current resources, allowing them to have a preliminary review of their financial health based on their lifestyle needs and priorities, enabling them to take a step closer towards financial freedom.
SINGAPORE BUSINESS REVIEW | Q3 2022 35
In a mature and saturated market like Singapore, it is especially easy to be overwhelmed with numerous goals, needs and choices. For our customers, especially young adults and families, protecting one’s finances and planning for the future has always been key challenges, with multiple decisions at every life stage. However, many current financial planning tools are lengthy and complex, resulting in a lack of motivation for many to complete. In less than three minutes, Xplore with Ally enables our customers to view a simplified personal snapshot of their current financial health and coverage adequacy. This enables them to understand if they are adequately insured or under-covered in certain areas, with the app showing a potential coverage at a glance based on their financial goals and priorities. Could you tell us about the app’s personalisation features that give it an edge over your competitors? In Singapore, whilst most individuals understand the importance of financial planning, many do not know where to begin assessing their financial health, and how to utilise the information to plan for their goals.
This is calculated based on an individual’s desired financial goals in addition to their prevailing protection coverage, against simulated personal and market risks to indicate one’s future financial health.
In three minutes, Xplore with Ally enables customers to view a simplified personal snapshot of their current financial health and coverage adequacy (Photo: Melita Teo)
In an exclusive interview with Singapore Business Review
AIA’s smart app Xplore with Ally
In a bid to better understand our customers’ attitudes and behaviour towards financial planning, we learned that our customers need an avenue to understand their financial needs. Whilst there are financial calculators available in the market, most are targeted to focus on singular needs, as opposed to a holistic overview. We also found that the majority of customers continued to reach out to an AIA insurance representative to have more in-depth discussions and reviews of their financial health and needs so that they can purchase policies that are best suited and catered to their goals. That was how Xplore with Ally was conceptualised. It was designed to provide a snapshot of customers’ current financial health, their multiple needs and goals in different stages of life, and personalised overview/insights for AIA insurance representatives to follow-up with better guidance and advice. What makes it a must-need financial app?
EVENT: SBR TECHNOLOGY EXCELLENCE AWARDS 36 SINGAPORE BUSINESS REVIEW | Q3 2022
Innovative projects recognised at the SBR Technology Excellence Awards Organisations continue to adapt to the changing business environment with innovations and technological advancements. Despite the ongoing global pandemic, companies are serving their clients and customers better than ever, and driving business growth during uncertain times.
SBRTECHNOLOGY EXCELLENCEAWARDS 2022Blockchain - Education Accredify Digital - Non-Profit or Government Organizations Startup - Healthcare Technology Activate Interactive Pte Ltd AI - Healthcare Technology Actxa Pte Ltd Digital - Food Manufacturing Solutions Adisseo – A Bluestar Company Digital - Life Insurance AIA Singapore Software - Healthcare Technology ALIGN TECHNOLOGY ICT - Banking Avaya and Standard Chartered Bank AI - Real Estate Beblu Automation - Business Services BLUEMEG TECHNOLOGIES PTE. LTD AI - Data Center CITIC Telecom CPC Mobile - Real Estate City Developments Limited Fintech - Mergers & Acquisitions Datasite IoT - Food Manufacturing Solutions Delta Electronics Int’l (Singapore) Pte Ltd Robotics - Logistics Dematic & RedMart by Lazada API - Payments Ekata, a MasterCard company Cybersecurity - AI Ensign InfoSecurity Cloud - Technology Enterpryze AI - Human Resource Technology entomo & NTUC LearningHub Digital - Real Estate Far East Organization Cryptocurrency - Technology Fireblocks Robotics - Healthcare Technology Fourier Intelligence Fintech - Trading Services Futu Singapore Pte. Ltd. (Futu SG) Enterprise Software - Financial Services GIC Pte Ltd Connectivity - Technology Global eTrade Services (GeTS) Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality - Semiconductor GlobalFoundries Fintech - Life Insurance Great Eastern Life Assurance Co Ltd E-Commerce - Environmental Services Helpling Singapore Pte Ltd Blockchain - Financial Services HSBC Singapore Accelerator - Technology Huawei International Pte Ltd IoT - Utilities INOVAANTAGE PTE LTD Connectivity - Financial Services IPC Systems Inc. Analytics - Electronic Manufacturing Keysight Technologies
The elite panel of judges for this year’s awards programme are Wai Keat Cheang, Partner, Consulting at Ernst & Young Advisory Pte. Ltd.; Lee Ser Yen, Partner, Cyber Advisory at KPMG; Sunil Agarwal, Partner at PwC; Peter Ho, Executive Director, TMT Consulting at Deloitte Southeast Asia; and Cecil Su, Director for Cybersecurity, BDO.
The Singapore Business Review is honouring companies at the Technology Excellence Awards 2022 that demonstrated resilience and business development. Now in its fourth year, the awards programme lauds the country’s most outstanding companies that are leading the technological revolution and digital journeys of their respective industries. The virtual awarding was held on May 4 and 5, and in person on May 6 to 12 at the Conrad Centennial Singapore.
SINGAPORE BUSINESS REVIEW | Q3 2022 37 SIEM - Computer Software LogRhythm Big Data - Non-Profit or Government Organizations Manpower Research and Statistics Department, Ministry of Manpower IoT - Healthcare Technology MHC Asia Group Cybersecurity - Education Nanyang Technological University, Singapore Cryptocurrency - Financial Technology OSL SaaS Cybersecurity - Marine and Offshore Engineering Pacific Carriers Limited & Datto Fintech - Payments Payment Options Group Digital - Manufacturing Philips Electronics Singapore Pte Ltd E-Commerce - Logistics Pick Network Pte. Ltd. Fintech - Financial Technology PureSoftware Startup - Chemical SEPPURE Digital - Technology Smarten Spaces AI - Banking Standard Chartered Bank Connectivity - Telecommunications StarHub Ltd Cybersecutiry - XDR Stellar Cyber, Inc. Digital - Financial Services Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation IoT - Building Services & Facilities Surbana Jurong Smart City - Transportation SWAT Mobility Pte. Ltd. Blockchain - Furniture and Fixture Thirty Marketplace Pte Ltd Fintech - Brokerage Tiger Brokers (Singapore) Pte Ltd API - Telecommunications Toku IoT - Real Estate Tracesafe Asia Pacific Pte. Ltd. Network and Broadband - Telecommunications VIAVI Solutions Cybersecurity - SaaS Xtremax Pte Ltd Software - Real Estate Yardi Activate Interactive Pte Ltd Actxa Pte Ltd Accredify
EVENT: SBR TECHNOLOGY EXCELLENCE AWARDS 38 SINGAPORE BUSINESS REVIEW | Q3 2022 ALIGN TECHNOLOGY Avaya and Standard Chartered Bank Beblu TECHNOLOGIESBLUEMEG PTE. LTD City LimitedDevelopments Datasite Delta Electronics Int’l (Singapore) Pte Ltd Dematic & RedMart by Lazada Ekata, a companyMasterCard EnsignCITICInfoSecurityTelecomCPC Adisseo – A Bluestar Company AIA Singapore
SINGAPORE BUSINESS REVIEW | Q3 2022 39 entomo & NTUC LearningHub Far East Organization Fireblocks Futu Singapore Pte. Ltd. GIC Pte Ltd Great Eastern Life Assurance Co Ltd INOVAANTAGE PTE LTD IPC Systems Inc. Global HSBCServiceseTrade(GeTS)Singapore InternationalHuawei Pte Ltd
OSL SaaS Pacific Carriers Limited & Datto Payment Options Group SEPPURE Standard Chartered Bank StarHub Ltd Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation Keysight Technologies MHC Asia Group Nanyang Technological University, Singapore
EVENT: SBR TECHNOLOGY EXCELLENCE AWARDS 40 SINGAPORE BUSINESS REVIEW | Q3 2022
LogRhythm
SINGAPORE BUSINESS REVIEW | Q3 2022 41 Philips SingaporeElectronicsPteLtd Pick Network Pte. Ltd. PureSoftware Surbana Jurong Tiger Brokers (Singapore) Pte Ltd VIAVI Solutions TracesafeToku Asia Pacific Pte. Ltd. Xtremax Pte Ltd Yardi
Align Technology continues to be the leader in the evolution of digital dentistry. The company focuses on expanding its end-to-end digital platform and producing new innovative technology to improve patient care in dentistry. This year, it was awarded the SBR Technology Excellence Awards 2022 in the SoftwareHealthcare Technology category, for its latest development in intraoral scanning, the iTero Element 5D Plus imaging system. The iTero Element 5D Plus imaging system is recognised for its innovative features that aid in oral health assessment and improve practice productivity for Invisalign® treatment workflow.1 It became available in February 2021 and is built upon the success of the award-winning iTero Element family of intraoral scanners, offering all the existing orthodontic and restorative digital capabilities doctors have come to rely on. The technology now provides faster processing times2, detailed visualisation capabilities, and simplified workflows. The annual awards programme highlights technological innovations, recognising exceptional companies in Singapore that are riding the digital disruption wave and leading the technological revolution and digital journeys of their respective industries. “We are thrilled to be recognised by industry peers for our accomplishments and welcome this prestigious win,” said Moez Attia, Vice President, Global iTero Restorative General Practitioner (GP). “iTero Element 5D Plus imaging system is an integral part of our Align Digital Platform - an integrated suite of proprietary technologies and services delivered as a seamless end-to-end solution to customers - to transform smiles and change lives.”
42 SINGAPORE BUSINESS REVIEW | Q3 2022 improving patient education and acceptance. By integrating the iTero Element 5D imaging system into their professional practice, the doctors surveyed reported an increase in interproximal caries (decay between adjacent teeth) detection by 56%4, an increase in business revenue by 34%5, and an increase in patient acceptance by 71%6. iTero NIRI technology works by scanning the tooth structure, helping find early hard-to-detect decay between the teeth, which is not easily visible to the naked eye. Supporting this technology, a recent study published in the Journal of Dentistry said that the iTero NIRI technology of the iTero Element 5D imaging system was 66% more sensitive than the bitewing X-ray (BWX) for proximal lesions detection7, working without harmful radiation, scanning the internal structure of a tooth, enamel, and dentin, in real-time. From the diagnostic space to the orthodontic space, the new iTero Element 5D Auto-Upload feature streamlines Invisalign clear aligner case submissions by cutting out several manual steps, saving doctors an estimated 10 minutes per case8. It streamlines the Invisalign case submission workflow by automatically uploading iTero scan images in place of intraoral photos. With these achievements combined, the innovative features of the iTero Element 5D Plus imaging system support an improved scanning experience, show significant increases in practice productivity and drive higher patient treatment acceptance for doctors. “Align Technology has 25 years
4Based on a survey in May of 2019 of n = 15 practitioners who participated in a global limited market release, working with iTero Element 5D for an average period of 6 months, representing both GPs and Orthos in CAN, UK, IT, FR, DE, AU, NZ, HK, who were presented with a level of agreement scale from strongly agree to strongly disagree with the following statement: : “Incorporating the iTero Element 5D scanner into my current diagnostic protocol, I’ve diagnosed a higher number of interproximal caries above the gingiva, on my patients at my practice”. Data on file at Align Technology, as of November 15, 2019.
The iTero TM NIRI technology In just one scan, the iTero Element 5D Plus imaging system enables diagnostic, restorative, and orthodontic workflows. The all-in-one scan simultaneously records 3D, intra-oral colour, Near Infra-Red Imaging (NIRI) images, and enables comparison over time using iTero TimeLapse technology3 This removes the need to re-scan or change scanning tips, developing a more efficient workflow for doctors and improved patient experience.TheiTero NIRI technology has the potential to change the way dentists conduct routine hygiene appointments, providing a proactive approach to oral health management thereby The company was recognised for its iTero Element™ Plus imaging system
3Data on file at Align Technology, as of December 4, 2018.
8Based on a survey in August, 2021 of n = 39 doctors who participated in a global limited market release, working with iTero Element 5D imaging systems for an average period of 1.5 months, representing both GPs and Orthos in NA, EU, APAC, and LATAM who were presented with a level of agreement scale from strongly agree to strongly disagree with the following statement: “ Submitting Invisalign cases leveraging iTero Element 5D system auto-upload functionality is faster than the conventional Invisalign case submission process (including manual capture and upload of intraoral photographs)” and then asked to estimate the amount of time saved in minutes per case. 10 minutes was the median of all responses.
Moez Attia, Vice President, Global iTero Restorative Practitioner (GP), Align Technology, Inc.
5Based on a survey in May of 2019 of n = 15 practitioners who participated in a global limited market release, working with iTero Element 5D for an average period of 6 months, representing both GPs and Orthos in CAN, UK, IT, FR, DE, AU, NZ, HK, who were presented with a level of agreement scale from strongly agree to strongly disagree with the following statement: with the following statements: “Incorporating the iTero Element 5D scanner into my current diagnostic protocol, I experienced an increase in treated interproximal caries cases on my patients at my practice”, and then asked to estimate the average increase in revenue for the practice. Data on file at Align Technology, as of November 15, 2019.
iTero Element 5D Plus imaging system is an integral part of the Align Digital Platform to transform smiles and change lives of innovation in digital orthodontics and dentistry, and we have been continuously focused on bringing the latest technology to doctors and their patients,” says Raj Pudipeddi, Chief Product & Marketing Officer, EVP & Managing Director APAC. “Today, as practices across every region are embracing digital dentistry in new ways more purposefully than ever before, we are helping to modernise today’s practices by enabling enhanced digital orthodontic and restorative workflows to help improve patient outcomes and practise efficiencies.”
6Based on a survey in May of 2019 of n = 15 practitioners who participated in a global limited market release, working with iTero Element 5D for an average period of 6 months, representing both GPs and Orthos in CAN, UK, IT, FR, DE, AU, NZ, HK, who were presented with a level of agreement scale from strongly agree to strongly disagree with the following statement: with the following statements: “Incorporating the iTero Element 5D scanner into my current diagnostic protocol,, I experienced an increase in the number of accepted caries treatments by my patients at my practice”, and then asked to estimate the average increase. Data on file at Align Technology, as of November 15, 2019.
SOFTWARE -TECHNOLOGYHEALTHCARE
7Based on a subset of 59 cases where iTero Element 5D imaging system was compared against the clinical evaluation of posterior proximal carious lesions above the gingiva as observed during caries debridement, reported as part of a multisite clinical study conducted in real-world settings with patients in five clinics across Germany and Canada comparing iTero NIRI technology (Near Infrared imaging) of the iTero Element 5D imaging system to bite-wing x-rays (BWX) (n= 3,502 posterior proximal tooth surfaces out of 5,796 proximal surfaces in 102 patients). Study sponsored and financed by Align Technology, Inc. iTero NIRI technology is only available on iTero Element 5D and iTero Element 5D Plus (excluding Lite software configuration) imaging systems. Data on file at Align Technology, as of September 2, 2021.
Align™ Technology wins Software-Healthcare Technology in SBR Technology Excellence Awards
1Certain features discussed in this article may only be available with the purchase of an iTero service plan.
2The iTero Element Plus series processing time is 20% faster compared to previous generation. On average, based on scan processing time comparison of 40 Invisalign scans and 40 restorative scans with 3 prep teeth processed by the iTero Element 2/iTero Element 5D computing units and the iTero Element Plus series computing unit.
Transform how dentists treat with the
Expanding capabilities through new licenses and qualifications Mr Chia added that the platform has made considerable progress since launching in Singapore in March 2021 and aims to keep up the momentum by onboarding new products and expanding its network of“Wepartners.havemade achievements in acquiring licenses and qualifications, laying a solid foundation for product optimisation and business expansion.”
Futu Singapore (Futu SG) has since grown into a leader at the forefront of financial literacy and responsible investing, further established through its digital-first investment platform, moomoo. Standing out from its competitors, the platform champions its agility to stay aligned with the investing appetites of both new and seasoned investors. This allows the platform to consistently upgrade its product capabilities to suit investors of all calibre who are looking to further bolster their portfolios. Looking back, through the successful advocation of investor education and its intelligent analytics tools, as of June 2022, moomoo’s users account for 21.5% of Singapore’s population aged between 20 and 70. Futu’s Q1 2022 financial results found that total client assets in Singapore continued to climb 15.1% sequentially despite market headwinds. With an uptick in young investors, over 70% of moomoo’s users are also now either millennials or Gen Zers. These results are supplemented by the growth in its interactive, real-time online community of over 18 million users. But there are no plans to sit back and relax. Futu SG has big plans to continue to lead the industry for all with the moomoo investment super-app, and this begins with investor education. Leading the charge in financial literacy and responsible investing Futu SG has evolved into not just an investment broker, but also a popular financial literacy resource among young investors in Singapore and across the Asia Pacific, signalling an appetite for investing to be made smarter and easier. The vibrant, inclusive, and supportive in-app social community on moomoo is leading the trend of social sharing in the investment world with Singapore users actively exchanging insights, discussing investment-related topics, and helping one another along their investment journey. “We must ensure the continuous supply of resources which are needed to empower smart trading decisions as a part of one’s long-term financial planning for retirement, savings for purchasing houses, and creating a nest egg for rainy days,” says Futu Singapore Managing Director Mr Gavin Chia. Through its investment platform
Futu Singapore looks back to look forward
Gavin Chia, Managing Director, Futu Singapore
Futu Holdings Limited’s popular investment platform, moomoo, entered the Singapore market over a year ago with a vision to revolutionise the local investing landscape.
44 SINGAPORE BUSINESS REVIEW | Q3 2022
As of Q1 quarter end, Futu SG has entered partnerships with 26 world-class financial institutions, and fund AUM and the number of fund investors has increased by 93% and 95% respectively quarter-over-quarter.
“Being offered all Singapore Exchange (SGX) memberships is a vote of confidence to how Futu SG stands out in the competitive industry here, benefitting users and clients of moomoo with a further enhanced investing experience,” Mr Chia said.
One-fifth of Singapore’s population aged 20-70 are using its popular investment platform, moomoo.
Futu SG has also won the favour of numerous investors with a series of selected fund products and customised services.
moomoo, Futu SG has launched more than 300 videos as well as courses, whilst also extending partnerships and collaborations to over 30 financial institutions, unicorn companies, and universities.
A key partnership with Barclays Private Bank (Singapore branch) was recently inked which will ensure that Futu SG’s ultra-highnet-worth (UHNW) clients will be able to access Barclays Private Bank’s products and services, as well as collaborative research across asset classes through publications and combined events.
Mr Chia also said Futu SG is working to lower the barrier of entry for investors to offer them greater accessibility to the trading field. “We have also recently introduced a lifetime $0 commission for US stock trading. This will bring an enhanced investing experience for local investors who are looking to access the S&P500 and some high-growth stocks at attractive entry points for longer-term opportunities.”
FINTECH - TRADING SERVICES
Futu SG recently partnered with SUSS Investment Group, a student-led community at Singapore University of Social Science, to launch the inaugural Portfolio Management Challenge 2022. The competition saw students showcasing their analytical and portfolio management skills whilst gaining insights from renowned trading partners and investment professionals from UOB Asset Management, CFA Society, and FSSA Investment Managers.
“Never has technology played a more transformational role in financial services than today, and we are committed to capturing the tremendous opportunities presented by digital-first investment platforms such as what Futu brings to a new generation of investors into the stock markets,” Mr Chia concluded.
Mr Chia also spoke of exciting plans to expand their offerings into new regions and markets. “While we look back on the many industry-leading milestones we achieved in the past year at Futu SG, we are humbled to have come this far, but we are also not resting on our laurels. Now that we have built a good foundation in the first year of our business in Singapore, we are better primed to expand into other Southeast Asian markets.”
Never has technology played a more transformational role in financial services than today, and we are committed to capturing the tremendous opportunities presented by digitalfirst investment platforms
Growth plans for 2022 and beyond Futu SG has big aspirations with plans to expand the platform’s capabilities through acquiring new licenses and qualifications whilst building on the myriad of financial literacy tools and resources to strengthen users’ investment knowledge and give them the confidence to build their portfolios.
Aaron Yip Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Payment Options
46 SINGAPORE BUSINESS REVIEW | Q3 2022 often left behind by the payments giants. With a working capital of less than $10,000 and by leveraging on valuable partnerships, vast connections, experience and savviness, Aaron pulled together his resources and struck out as a Payment Facilitator or Payfac. He started Payment Options to empower merchants with a standalone solution or simple plug-in enabling them to accept major credit cards and alternative payment methods. Aaron established PO to help SMEs process their transactions in a secure, reasonably priced way and a high-quality manner. The company’s role as a Payfac was and still is instrumental in allowing SMEs to gain access to a service they would have otherwise not gotten or would have had to bleed financially for.
FINTECH - PAYMENTS
Recognised Excellence After 10 years since its establishment, aside from a thriving business and a solid business reputation, PO has gone on to push itself to greater heights. In 2019, it has established an overseas presence in Africa and in Europe, was granted a Payment Institution license in Mauritius, and has been taking initial steps to be regulated in Europe.In2020, PO was chosen to be a Payfac for 2 major Acquirers in Singapore, and it formally made an application to the
Payment Options’ milestones and achievements Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) to be regulated under the Payment Services Act (PSA), further highlighting the company’s firm belief in compliance, preventing money laundering, and financing of terrorism activities within the payments community. PO also got PCI DSS (a Payment Card Industry information security qualification) certification, the highest security standard for any payment company, for its entities across all jurisdictions, again, exemplifying PO’s commitment towards the protection of data.Further, in 2021, PO was processing millions of dollars worth of transactions, punching well above its belt. It was also certified by the Singapore Fintech Association (SFA) as a Pioneer payments provider. Always a firm believer in collaboration, PO also inked a partnership with a leading super-app in Asia, a testament to PO’s solid reputation, and the high level of trust large institutions have in theAsidecompany.from that, PO also took strides to reinvent itself by developing its own proprietary tech tools and products with SMEs in mind. After doing so, PO boldly launched its SME business in Singapore to provide SMEs with intuitive and valueadded products to allow for greater payment efficiency and retail reach for SMEs.This 2022, even though the year is still young, PO has continued to forge partnerships with accredited financial institutions, having been registered with the Japanese Credit Card Association (JCCA), and is due to be granted a series of licenses across multiple jurisdictions notably in the country as well as in Singapore and Europe. It has also won the Technology Excellence Award under the Fintech –Financial Technology category which clearly illustrates PO’s technological excellence which is noted by the payments community, making it truly a Fintech company of excellence.Throughit all, PO has never lost sight of its goal – it was, still is, and will always be an SME for the SMEs. Truly FRIENDLIEST, INNOVATIVE, TECHNOLOGY DRIVEN, AND CONSTANTLY PUSHING ITSELF TOWARDS THE NEXT LEVEL.
Having started in 2012 as a company with just 5 employees, Payment Options Pte Ltd (PO) has grown over the decade it has been in operations. This year, it has now grown to a global team consisting of 50 employees across multiple jurisdictions.Whenthecompany was first founded, PO aimed to understand and relate to the challenges faced by SME companies. The firm intends to help these companies establish meaningful and competitive merchant services relationships with payment giants to accept payments. Hence, PO embarked on the journey to serve this unserved and underserved sector. An SME for the SMEs Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Mr Aaron Yip, was formerly from finance giants, DBS Bank, Checkout, American Express, and NETS. He first started as a Sales Representative, and later on became a Sales Manager, climbing up the ranks in multiple financial institutions and managing to build lasting friendships with merchants and business partners over the years. Over time, Mr Aaron Yip had interacted with all sorts of merchants – from SMEs to massive conglomerates. The work gave him exposure and opened his eyes to one gaping problem in the payments industry – the lack of payments support for SMEs who are The firm was awarded the Fintech - Payments trophy at the SBR Technology Excellence Awards.
FRIDAY has 5 main engines that are aligned to the Bank’s RAI Standards and MAS’ FEAT principles:
Standard Chartered has won a Singapore Business Review (SBR) Technology Excellence Award for its outstanding AI on AI capability. The Bank’s inhouse Framework Responsible for Intelligent Data and Algorithm Yield (FRIDAY) is a first-of-its-kind AI engine that focusses on meeting the Responsible Artificial Intelligence (RAI) needs within the organisation. The driving force and mantra behind FRIDAY is that “Great (AI) Models need to be Responsible.” In short, FRIDAY was created to build trust in the AI systems that run through its network.
48 SINGAPORE BUSINESS REVIEW | Q3 2022
3.) Robustness. FRIDAY carries out regular, automated resilience checks on images, text and graphical data to determine the AI model’s robustness against cyber attacks. It does this by generating synthetic
Standard Chartered stands out in marrying trust with Artificial Intelligence (AI)
4.) Model Monitoring and Stability. FRIDAY has successfully automated the monitoring of launched AI models against baseline metrics like accuracy and comparison evaluations, i.e. the F1 score. It also performs hypothesis testing on anomalies to determine data driftsunexpected changes to data structure that breaks the process and corrupts data.
1.) Explainable AI. FRIDAY helps create explainable AI to understand outcomes even in deep learning models. ‘Explainable AI’ is used to describe an AI model, its expected impact and potential biases. It helps characterise model accuracy, fairness, transparency and outcomes in AI-powered decision making and is crucial for an organisation to build trust and confidence when putting AI models into production. In simple terms, Explainable AI refers to AI that is transparent in its operations so that humans can understand and trust the decisions generated by AI. The Bank built an AI engine to hold other AI systems accountable.
Standard Chartered is serious about ethical AI - it even has its own RAI council with an RAI Standard that was first published in July 2021 and updated for a bank-wide launch in January 2022. All implementation and operationalising of AI is closely governed by the Bank to ensure that they comply to this RAI Standard. As for FRIDAY, it is an RAI engine that is used to perform various tasks related to unstructured and semi-structured data such as images, text and graphs. These tasks are aligned with the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS)’s Fairness, Ethics, Accountability and Transparency (FEAT) principles in the use of AI and data analytics in finance. This enables the Bank to review and validate unstructured data robustly whilst meeting these regulations with minimal manual checks.
5.) Model Review and Validation. FRIDAY performs automated tests on AI models to assess their sample data, speed, and scenario-based responses. The Bank saw a 60% reduction in AI model review and validation and a 30% reduction in model development turnaround time with the use of this innovative AI engine.
AI - BANKING
2.) Data Suitability. Sometimes how AI computes information and attaches meaning to them is a mystery. Exploratory Data Analysis (EDA) refers to the critical process of performing initial investigations on data to discover patterns, spot anomalies, test hypothesis and check assumptions with the help of summary statistics and graphical representations. FRIDAY performs EDA on datasets to provide the user with information that he or she can use to select and manage AI models, information such as whether certain datasets are suitable to leverage on to build AI models or if they are private data that should not be accessed.
Standard Chartered Bank is serious about ethical AI and created FRIDAY to build trust in the AI systems that run through its network samples through various sophisticated data augmentation techniques.
Siddhartha Thimmavajjalla, Head of Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning in Standard Chartered (standing, centre, in white) and the FRIDAY team.
SINGAPORE BUSINESS REVIEW | Q3 2022 49 Through AI-Driven Solutions Transforming Corporate Wellness At Actxa, we inspire individuals from all walks of life to make proactive moves to live better and healthier. We create AI-driven preventive health solutions to transform corporate wellness curriculum into a data and science-based programme with actionable insights and measurable outcomes. Using health and wellness indicators like Pre-M Diabetes, VO2 Max, fitness age, stress, SleepTrack, visceral fats and healthy living score, corporate leaders can now make informed decisions and adjustments to uplift positive culture and work-life balance for their employees. ABOUT US OUR SERVICES AI-Driven Preventative Health Solutions Corporate Health Solutions Population Health Solutions www.actxa.com AVAILABLE THROUGH https://actxa.com/actxa-wellness-programme/wellness@actxa.com https://lif.id/befit@lif.id IT’S NEVER BEEN SO SIMPLE TO BECOME ACCURATE www.adisseo.com PNE and Adict, a perfect match to achieve accuracy and simplicity Unleash the full nutritional value of your raw materials in a Click With PNE, wet chemistry and in vivo database, nutritionists are able to get the most accurate nutritional value predictions for their raw materials quickly and Witheasily.Adict, inputs of massive predicted data into formulation software is never so simple and convenient. Stay Adicted with PNE, adjust feed formulations accurately and efficiently and be more competitive in any situation. SCAN ME ADI025-03A
• Receive notifications of circulars and notices
• Submit application forms and check application statuses
Going forward, the Organization plans to roll out and incorporate more features and tools into the app to increase engagement and self-service effectiveness to deliver consistent, contextual, and personalised dynamic service experiences.
• Receive and register for exclusive events
Apart from delivering a more seamless and intuitive experience for customers, oneFarEast has integrated multiple Far East Organization’s operational units, ranging from property leasing operations to finance and information technology, into a single platform. Automating these manual tasks has also unlocked efficiencies for the teams, providing them with the opportunity to modernise processes, accelerate efficient workflows, enhance collaboration, and improve productivity.
• Analytics and insights to further refine processes and improve customer engagement and satisfaction “With the high penetration of digital devices, customers have high expectations for digital experiences. Our customers expect to have the means to contact and interact with the Organization whenever and however they want. They value true accessibility, where information and services related to their properties are available at their fingertips. Backed by our belief to inspire better lives, the oneFarEast app is developed to ensure these demands are addressed and tasks can be performed seamlessly and conveniently,” said Mr Ng Yee Pern, Chief Technology Officer, Group IT of Far East oneFarEastOrganization.allowscustomers to access tools that perform the following functions with a single login, regardless of the number of properties the customer owns or leases with the Organization: • Manage property account information and manage access rights for sub-users
Far East Organization’s oneFarEast app wins at SBR Technology Excellence Awards
“Clinching the Digital - Real Estate award is once again an affirmation of our commitment to harness digital technologies to elevate the customer experience, to enhance operational efficiency, and to improve employee engagement. We are heartened by the recognition of our efforts, and look forward to scaling greater heights in the coming years,” concludes Yee Pern. Established in 1960, Far East Organization has been contributing to the transformation of Singapore’s urban landscape with over 780 developments across the residential, hospitality, retail, commercial, and industrial sectors, which includes around 55,000 private homes in Singapore.
• Provide feedback and raise service requests for maintenance and rectifications
50 SINGAPORE BUSINESS REVIEW | Q3 2022
Ng Yee Pern, Chief Technology Officer, Group IT of Far East Organization
• Faster response to customer requests
Backed by our belief to inspire better lives, Far East Organization’s oneFarEast app is developed to ensure our customers’ demands are addressed and tasks can be performed seamlessly and conveniently refine its customer engagement to be even more relevant and personalised.
• Make payments
• Quick and convenient access to essential business documents, accurate information and records of transactions
The app has better positioned the Organization to deliver on its brand promise of inspiring better lives and achieve its customer service priorities.
Committed to constantly innovating and providing enriching experiences and value for its customers, Far East Organization, a dynamic and diversified enterprise that develops, owns, and manages a diverse portfolio of real estate has rolled out its proprietary oneFarEast app. Its aim is to provide a one-stop digital platform for buyers and tenants to perform their accountrelated tasks efficiently. Launched in November 2021, oneFarEast has better positioned Far East Organization to deliver on its brand promise of inspiring better lives and achieve its customer service priorities through:
• Schedule appointments • Access to essential, property-specific documents ranging from floor plans, product manuals to rental invoices
• Book facilities in real-time
With data key to unlocking customer insights, the oneFarEast app has enabled relevant data to be collected and analysed, particularly those that involve customer interactions and feedback. By better understanding our customers and their needs, the Organization will be able to
DIGITAL - REAL ESTATE
SINGAPORE BUSINESS REVIEW | Q3 2022 51
Singapore Business Review’s Technology Excellence Award recognised GIC’s ATLAS project as a first-ofits-kind solution to meet private markets investment operations requirements on a unified platform.
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It’s what we want to do that drives what data we need and how we use it It also helps Keysight is the industry leader in manufacturing test equipment maker with the best domain knowledge as well. We also had to provide flexibility for where customers wanted to deploy PMA whether it was on the cloud, in their firewall, hybrid, or others. It’s just the beginning for the electronics manufacturing industry in the journey towards profitable Industry 4.0 applications. One major lesson we can take from the failures we have seen is that we should always begin with the end in mind. We need drill-downs on what we need to achieve in any activity we want to invest in with our data and analytics.
OT/IT Convergence: Concord or Conflict? One discovery we made during the early days of PMA was that many manufacturers had their IT departments leading the Industry 4.0 data analytics implementations. Fast forward to the present, and most have realised that domain knowledge in manufacturing processes and test is paramount to delivering success in any analytical software project. Does OT have the time to spend with IT when they are measured on shipping out products? Electronic/electrical engineers are not data The electronics company has established its own Industry 4.0 big data analytics solution, PathWave Manufacturing Analytics.
52 SINGAPORE BUSINESS REVIEW | Q3 2022 scientists and vice versa. Then there is another issue with scale and speed. The OT team needs something easy to implement and shows immediate results without interfering with their main measure, which is to produce good parts. On one hand, the IT team needs to ensure data governance, security, and infrastructure but without understanding the nature of the data used. To what scale and depth are required? On the other hand, the OT team wouldn’t be able to help much on that. Winds of change For many years, manufacturers didn’t anticipate all these challenges and learnings. Most of their Industry 4.0 projects, whether it’s in-house built or bought, of sometimes incredible grandeur failed to achieve the desiredKeysightoutcomes.hadtopivot very quickly after the first year of PMA. The right pieces of the learning puzzle were starting to emerge, and the team set out to pivot and quickly. Besides clear descriptive and powerful diagnostic analytics, PMA had to curate specific manufacturing predictive use cases for its machine learning models. It had to be more ‘outside in’ and ‘design-thinking’. By focusing and empathising on the quality of the product being manufactured instead of predictive maintenance of the equipment manufacturing them, PMA will be able to dispel these ‘memes’ as mostly just trendy buzzwords and concepts of little practical application. Keysight Technologies is one of the listed S&P 500 companies that manufacture electronic test and measurement equipment and software and has established its own Industry 4.0 solution for electronic board test manufacturing. PathWave Manufacturing Analytics (PMA) is an industry 4.0 big data advanced analytics solution that provides electronics manufacturers with actionable insights into new smart factories. Unfortunate ‘memes’ in Industry 4.0 There was a common ‘meme’ that Industry 4.0 was predictive maintenance. What this meant was that an analytical solution needs to prove its worth in maintaining the uptime of equipment and predicting equipment breakdowns. However, for the electronics manufacturing industry side, the machines that are used for processing and testing have very minimal moving parts, or at least not very big in Thedisplacement.other‘meme’was that we need Artificial Intelligence (AI) in manufacturing, and it was the answer to all Industry 4.0 challenges. Of course, this didn’t work out quite the way they had expected, as the implement neural networks into a production tool meant that the strengths and weaknesses of AI were mostly mismatched and contrary to the desired outputs. AI is very fast and reasonably accurate for many other applications, but it is not accurate enough for precise manufacturing processes. In fact, machine learning is the better approach to precise operations as it’s more accurate and reliable. This poses a different challenge to implement as the massively transformed data and the complexity needed to teach a machine learning model to perform well is not something easy to address or obtain.
Building it better with actionable insights: Keysight’s path to ROI
ANALYTICS - ELECTRONIC MANUFACTURING
Too often, the idea of ‘let’s see what data we have and discover what we can do’ is an idea destined to fail. Rather, it’s what we want to do that drives what data we need and how we use it. It also defines all the requirements on that data in terms of how much scale and depth we need to acquire, transform, process, govern, secure, and deploy it. The right scale and depth will ultimately result in a higher probability of achieving the desired analytical outcomes.
How Keysight pivoted with the electronics manufacturing Industry 4.0 winds of change
When It Comes to Customer BusinessesExperience,Needto Total experience impacts CX from every angle. Download the Gartner Report
54 SINGAPORE BUSINESS REVIEW | Q3 2022
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Member of BC Technology Group (SEHK 863) Grow your digital asset business with confidence Take advantage of OSL’s regulated institutional grade expertise, operations and technology services and start provisioning digital assets to your clients today. Learn more CM MY CY CMY WE'RE A HEALTH TECH COMPANY, BUT OUR BUSINESS IS ABOUT PEOPLE. C O N T A C T U S F O R A C O N S U L T A T I O N T O D A Y s a l e s @ m h c a s i a g r o u p c o m O u r i n h o u s e T e l e c o n s u l t D a t a A n a l y t i c s a n d H R P o r t a l s y s t e m s a r e t a i l o r e d t o y o u r n e e d s , w i t h w h i t e l a b e l i n g o p t i o n s a v a i l a b l e T E C H N O L O G Y P L A T F O R M S W i t h m o r e t h a n 1 , 3 0 0 M e d i c a l P a r t n e r s i s l a n d w i d e o u r f l e x i b l e m e d i c a l b e n e f i t s p r o g r a m m e e m p h a s i z e s p r e v e n t i v e c a r e C O R P O R A T E H E A L T H A w i d e r a n g e o f E x e c u t i v e , O n s i t e , H o m e B a s e d a n d P r e E m p l o y m e n t s c r e e n i n g s m a k e s u r e y o u a r e a l w a y s i n t h e p i n k o f h e a l t h H E A L T H S C R E E N I N G S YOUR TRUSTED PARTNER IN CORPORATE HEALTHCARE F o r t h e l a s t 2 8 y e a r s , w e ' v e b e e n o f f e r i n g r e a l t i m e s o l u t i o n s a n d g u i d i n g c o r p o r a t e s i n t a k i n g o w n e r s h i p o f t h e i r o w n w e l l n e s s . M H C A S I A C O M 14 I n s u r a n c e P a r t n e r s 7,500 C o r p o r a t e C u s t o m e r s 1,000,000 I n d i v i d u a l U s e r s 9 8 7 1 1 5 6 6
60 SINGAPORE BUSINESS REVIEW | Q3 2022 anytime, anywhere No more missed deliveries or waiting for your delivery to arrive! Located in your neighbourhood to bring more convenience to you! 1,000 locker stations nationwide, for you to pick up your parcels anytime 24/7! Scan me to find Pick lockers near you! @picknetworksg Connecting data, technology and people, seamlesslyHealthknowsnobounds. And neither should healthcare. At Philips, we believe there’s always a way to make life better. Philips.com SBR Philips 2022.indd 1 5/24/2022 4:04:57 PM
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62 SINGAPORE BUSINESS REVIEW | Q3 2022 We are social! Like. Folllow. Share. T&Cs apply. This advertisement has not been reviewed by the Monetary Authority of Singapore.Tiger Brokers (Singapore) Pte Ltd ("Tiger Brokers') holds a Capital Markets Services Licence (Licence No: CMS100844) under the Securities and Futures Act 2001 granted by the Monetary Authority of Singapore. For more information, please visit: https://www.tigerbrokers.com.sg. The information and materials provided here, whether provided on Tiger Brokers' website/webpages, on third party websites, in marketing materials, newsletters, or any form of publication are provided for general information and circulation only. The information expressed herein is current and does not constitute an offer, recommendation, or solicitation, nor does it constitute any prediction of likely future stock performance. Investment involves risk. The price of investment instruments can and do fluctuate, and any individual instrument may experience upward or downward movements, and under certain circumstances may even become valueless. Past performance is not a guarantee of future results Low-costtrading Powerful tools and network of traders Fuss-free set up andinterfaceintuitive Scan to learn more about Tiger Brokers Your trusted one-stop trading platform Competitive. Convenient. Comprehensive.
Introducing the new FiberComplete PRO™ from VIAVI FiberComplete PRO™ is a suite of uni and bi-dir fiber test and certification capabilities which enable field technicians to rapidly, reliably and cost effectively certify and troubleshoot any fiber link. An acceptance testing process control application with increased automation, advanced test sequencing for IL, ORL and real time bi-directional OTDR analysis that delivers up to an 80% time saving for fiber acceptance testing and reporting, provides everything a new or experienced fiber tech needs in one simple and fast solution. Discover more at viavisolutions.com/products/fibercomplete-pro SafeTown SafeTown is an integrated security workforce management platform that provides your team with real-time access to the information they need - whether it's scheduling, on-site assignments, or apac@tracesafe.ioreportingmain main features features +65www.tracesafe.io66318480 attendanceattendancereportreporttrackinglocationlocationtracking performanceperformanceprowlingprowling analyticsanalyticsrouteroute
Stellar companies lauded at the SBR International and National Business Awards As the world transitions to normal, businesses now have the opportunity to expand and improve on their offerings both locally and globally. Those who have contributed to the economy of Singapore with their unique and innovative projects and strategies shine within their respective industries as the top companies.Withthis, the SBR International Business Awards is back for the 9th year to once again honor foreign companies in Singapore and recognise their trailblazing initiatives and outstanding projects that successfully earned them a foothold in the Lion City. Meanwhile, the SBR National Business Awards also returns for the 7th year to recognise local and homegrown companies in Singapore and their excellent projects that greatly contribute to Singapore’s fast-growing economy.Bothorganised by the Singapore Business Review, the International Business Awards and the National Business Awards were held at the Conrad Centennial Singapore on May 13 and 20. The digital presentations happened on May 23, 25, and 27.
EVENT: SBR IBA & NBA 64 SINGAPORE BUSINESS REVIEW | Q3 2022
Congratulations to the winners!
The esteemed panel of judges for this year’s nominations consisted of Max Loh, EY Singapore and Brunei Managing Partner; EY Asean IPO Leader, Ernst & Young; Greg Unsworth, Digital Business Leader, PwC Singapore; Jiak See Ng, Financial Advisory Leader, Asia Pacific, Deloitte; Roger Loo, Executive Director and Head of Management Consulting Services, BDO Consultants Pte Ltd.; Irving Low, Head of Advisory, Consulting, KPMG Singapore.
SBR INTERNATIONAL BUSINESSAWARDS 2022Technology - Learning & Development ABB Agriculture Adisseo-PigChamp Pro Europa Life Insurance AIA Singapore Chemicals Bostik (Adhesive Solutions by Arkema) Telecommunications CITIC Telecom CPC General Insurance Crawford & Company International Pte Ltd Cloud Services DataStax Technology - Innovation Dell Technologies Retail Dynamicweb Solutions Asia Pte Ltd Human Resource Technology Globalization Partners Oil & Gas Motul Asia Pacific Pte. Ltd. Electronic Manufacturing NICOMATIC PTE LTD Marketing Over The Boundary Business Services - Security Prosegur Singapore Pte Ltd Manufacturing Shamir Singapore Pte Ltd Telecommunications - Business Assurance Subex Technology - ICT Solutions T-Systems Singapore Pte Ltd Health Products & Services Terumo Asia Holdings Infection Control Terumo Asia Holdings Shipping Torvald Klaveness Consulting Tricor Singapore Pte Ltd. Data Center Vertiv Singapore Pte. Ltd. Healthcare ZOLL Medical Corporation Healthcare Technology ZOLL Medical Corporation SBR BUSINESSNATIONALAWARDS 2022 IT Services Adventus Singapore Pte. Ltd. Education Allschool
SINGAPORE BUSINESS REVIEW | Q3 2022 65 Manufacturing - Paper APRIL International Enterprise Pte. Ltd. Financial Services Hako Technology Pte. Ltd Healthcare Healthway Medical Social Media Marketing LEAP Commerce Supply Chain LEAP Commerce Manufacturing - Pallets LHT Holdings Limited Telecommunications Singapore Telecommunications Limited Computer Software SoMin.ai Advertising Stellar Lifestyle Pte Ltd Shipping Thome Ship Management Pte Ltd Retail Valency International Pte Ltd Beauty & Cosmetics Walking On Sunshine BostikAllschool(Adhesive Solutions by Arkema) CITIC Telecom CPCAdventus Singapore Pte. Ltd. DataStax Crawford & Company International Pte Ltd`
EVENT: SBR IBA & NBA 66 SINGAPORE BUSINESS REVIEW | Q3 2022 Dell Technologies Dynamicweb Solutions Asia Pte Ltd AIA Singapore Globalization Partners Hako Technology Pte. Ltd Adisseo-PigChamp Pro Europa LEAP Commerce APRIL EnterpriseInternationalPte.Ltd. Prosegur Singapore Pte Ltd LHT Holdings Limited Singapore Telecommunications Limited Terumo Asia HoldingsTerumo Asia Holdings
SINGAPORE BUSINESS REVIEW | Q3 2022 67 SoMin.ai Thome Ship Management Pte LtdTorvald Klaveness Tricor Singapore Pte Ltd. Motul Asia Pacific Pte. Ltd. Stellar Lifestyle Pte Ltd Walking On Sunshine ZOLL Medical Corporation ZOLL Medical Corporation T-Systems Singapore Pte Ltd
Research has found that 30% of inhospital patients with cardiac arrests due to ventricular arrhythmia received delayed defibrillation of more than 2 minutes; a delay that exceeds guidelines-based recommendations.3 The nature of cardiac arrests with their sudden onset, coupled with the limitations of traditional detection and response systems in the hospital, makes treating sudden cardiac arrests challenging. With each minute that passes after the start of cardiac arrest, the chances of survival decrease by 10%. For these atrisk patients, every minute matters. Rapid treatment of patients at risk of sudden The firm was recognised for its innovation in the medical field.
1 Srinivasan, N.T. & Schilling, R. (2018) Sudden Cardiac Death and Arrhythmias. Arrhythmia & Electrophysiology Review. 7(2):111–7. 2https://doi.org/10.15420/aer.2018:15:2.FernandoS.M.etal.(2019)Pre-arrestand intra-arrest prognostic factors associated with survival after in-hospital cardiac arrest: systematic review and meta-analysis. BMJ. 367:l6373. https://www.bmj.com/content/367/bmj.l6373.
The Hospital Wearable Defibrillator
3 Chan, P.S. et al. (2008) Delayed time to defibrillation after in-hospital cardiac arrest. The New England Journal of Medicine. 358(1) 9-17. doi: 10.1056/NEJMoa0706467.
68 SINGAPORE BUSINESS REVIEW | Q3 2022 cardiac death can mean the difference between neurologically intact survival or, for survivors, something less.
The solution The Hospital Wearable Defibrillator (HWD) is the world’s first and only wearable defibrillator developed for in-hospital use for the continuous protection of patients who are at risk of sudden cardiac death. The HWD is intended to complement hospital resuscitation protocols and is designed to provide early defibrillation to at-risk patients utilising a highly sensitive and specific detection algorithm. In a typical situation, the entire event, from the time the HWD detects a life-threatening rapid heartbeat, to automatically delivering a treatment shock, occurs in about one minute. When the heart can be returned quickly to a perfusing rhythm, long-term complications can be minimised. The HWD rapidly detects and automatically defibrillates patients in ventricular arrhythmia to restore normal heart rhythm. These patients include but are not limited to, those awaiting a heart
HEALTHCARE TECHNOLOGY
ZOLL Medical Singapore wins SBR International Business Award for Healthcare Technology
Cost-benefit to hospital and patients Bottlenecks can occur in numerous areas of the hospital, especially in the emergency department (ED). When ED boarding and ED diversion happens, patients requiring higher levels of care are not given the care they need. Some patients may need to be transported to other hospitals or placed in different departments, resulting in a decrease in quality care, safety, and patient satisfaction.
Similarly, at-risk patients are often placed in an Intensive Care Unit (ICU) or Critical Care Unit (CCU) to avoid delay to defibrillation, where the highest level of care can be provided. This higher level of care often equates to a higher cost of care. The HWD can help hospitals step down certain at-risk patients from the ICU/CCU to a less expensive telemetry unit whilst still providing continuous protection to the patient. This would provide economic benefits to the hospital and patient. With continuous protection, the HWD allows a better peace of mind for the hospital care team in managing patients at risk of SCD.
The challenge Worldwide, sudden and unexpected cardiac death is the most common cause of death, accounting for 17 million deaths every year, with Sudden Cardiac Death (SCD) accounting for 25% of these.1 Whilst data on incidence and survival after in-hospital cardiac arrest is still limited, most studies report an incidence of one to six of these events per 1000 hospital admissions. Even though they are in a hospital, the survival rate remains dismal: just 12-25% survive.2
The result Since its launch in 2021, the HWD has been adopted by six hospitals both in Malaysia and Thailand and it has so far protected 60 patients and successfully treated two of“HWDthem. provides much-needed protection to patients who may require defibrillation therapy in the event of arrhythmia. Immediate treatment or shock therapy is important for patients with sudden cardiac arrest because every minute wasted increases the risk of death by another 10%,” said Dr Raqib, Consultant Cardiologist at Serdang Hospital in Malaysia.ZOLLMedical Asia Pacific is eyeing to expand the availability of the technology to more countries in Asia Pacific and is eager to continue forging deeper working relationships with healthcare professionals and hospitals to identify and protect hospitalised patients at risk of SCD. The HWD is currently available in Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand.
HWD provides much-needed protection to patients who may require defibrillation therapy in the event of arrhythmia transplant, undergoing bypass surgery or coronary angioplasty procedure, if not treated promptly, will lead to sudden cardiac death.
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“We continue the extension of our AMM 1mm connector whose Centre of Excellence is located, designed, and produced in Singapore and is integrated with new options such as the mix of Low-Frequency contacts (up to 3A) with High Power contacts (10A). It also provides electromagnetic shielding solutions for more severe use,” said Thomas.
The AMM connectors are tested as per MIL-DTL-83513G standard test procedures and is a perfect solution for customers with space constraints. AMM Series meets requirements such as high temperatures (5 cycles -65°C/+200 °C), vibration (15 G/10 Hz - 2000 Hz), shock (Peak acceleration 160 G) severities, and durability up to 1000 cycles. “Our projects are in adequacy with the production means we are setting up. This is why we seek to bring our value to the group by focusing on the heart of the connector, i.e. the contact,” Hakan Anthony highlights. Our development is focused on :
Nicomatic wins SBR International Business Award for Electronic Manufacturing
70 SINGAPORE BUSINESS REVIEW | Q3 2022
We seek to welcome our customers into the heart of our R&D and manufacturing facilities in a transparent manner that encourages codevelopment and partnerships. Mutual trust is the key to success. Reactivity, Quality & Short Lead times have always been part of Nicomatic’s DNA and we do all we can to ensure our customers benefit from this
ELECTRONIC MANUFACTURING
Hakan Anthony Tezgurler, Engineering Director at Nicomatic Group
Led by both established leaders, Nicomatic Singapore has defined and adapted road maps that meet the customers and the organisational requirements. Focusing on setting up a design centre for Asia, Nicomatic Singapore aims to provide high-value solutions, designed and manufactured to provide critical support to both customers and other groups in the organisation.
solutions in Nicomatic Turkey, qualifying to PQA and ISO:9001 standards.
Meanwhile, Engineering Director, Mr Hakan Anthony Tezgurler has 28 years of experience with the Nicomatic Group with cross-functional experiences passing through the production department, research and development (R&D), and business development. He has established a fully functional factory and R&D centre, focusing on being the Centre of Excellence of cabling The company was recognised for its design and innovation to support company expansion.
• A range of Common Ground Connectors to reduce the risk of interference observed in the multigrounding.
Thomas Tang, Managing Director Managing Director at Nicomatic Group Mutual trust is key to success! With the needs in the field of connectivity evolving, being proactive and listening to customers allows Nicomatic to identify and propose the right solutions. The company seeks to welcome customers into the heart of its R&D and manufacturing facilities in a transparent manner that encourages codevelopment and partnerships.
• A range of 18Ghz frequencies contact.
The group aims to make Singapore an important player in the NICOMATIC GROUP by providing support in the design of new solutions but also by producing components with high technical values
• Solutions of high frequency at 6Ghz with a complete characterisation.
Developing capabilities
Singapore-focused Managing Director, Mr Thomas Tang specialises in establishing commercial accounts, contract negotiations, project management and organisational management. He has contributed much to growing the presence of Nicomatic in South East Asia as well as in Australia and New Zealand.
Reactivity, quality, and short lead times have always been part of Nicomatic’s DNA and the group is doing everything they can to ensure our customers benefit from this. The firm is constantly developing their capabilities in consulting and reviewing interconnect requirements in the Defense, Aerospace, Medical, and Automotives industry. It also provides services to other major commercial sectors such as design and prototyping interconnect solutions, harsh environment testing services, prototype and series manufacturing, highpower and high-frequency solutions, cabling solutions, HMI consulting and solutions, as well as PCB design and consulting. For its initiatives, Nicomatic was awarded the SBR International Business Award in the Electronic Manufacturing category. The SBR International Business Awards 2022, presented by Singapore Business Review, is in its 9th year of giving recognition to the outstanding projects of foreign companies in Singapore.
Nicomatic Group is a globally recognised player in the interconnect industry, providing solutions such as harsh environment micro-connectors, cabling services, industrial connectors, PCB design, and more in major industries such as Defense, Security, Aerospace, and Medical. With around 450 employees in 12 subsidiaries around the world, Nicomatic has a culture of cooperation and communication on a global scale promoting innovation, flexibility, and collective intelligence as their key values. Every year, the company invests 20% of its revenue in research and development, inhouse design, manufacturing, and assembly.
• A small size connector for UAV market up to 60A per contact.
T-Systems is looking to expand the CLS methodology for testing in industries that revolve around electronics, communication, and other ICT industries that are potential targets for cyber attacks, along with applying the standards to consumer-grade commodities such as routers, and cameras. ICT
“Another initiative that we feel strongly connected to Singapore is the National Quantum-Safe Network, which aims to prepare Singapore agencies and companies for the growing threat of quantum computing, with hardware algorithms that can easily hack existing infrastructure. T-Systems’ role, being in the tech community, is to support them in preparing evaluation standards and testing according to common criteria standards, for which we have extensive experience,” said Arkadiusz Czopor, Managing Director for T-Systems Asia South.
SINGAPORE BUSINESS REVIEW | Q3 2022 71 system was necessary for the TraceTogether Token to achieve ETSI standards of cybersecurity.AsArkadiusz Czopor, Managing Director for T-Systems Asia South stated, “T-Systems conducted penetration tests of the token to make sure that the tokens were tested properly and met security standards whilst presenting minimal risk and potential of a security breach. The process started with auditors from T-Systems checking documentation from the developers, making sure that the system was indeed within ETSI standards, and the assessment of the firmware before penetration tests.”
The tests were conducted according to the new evaluation scheme from CSA which is Cybersecurity Labeling Scheme (CLS) Level 4 along with the recommended process of assessment and testing. The CLS along with the credible evaluation led by T-Systems provided assurance to the public that the data and the TraceTogether Tokens were safe by design.According to Lim Soon Chia, Director and Head of the Cyber Security Certification Centre at the CSA, the CLS incentivises developers to produce more secured As a company with 28,000 employees around the world, T-Systems offers integrated end-to-end IT solutions, driving the digital transformation of companies in all industries and the public sector with focus industries including automotive, manufacturing, logistics and transportation, as well as healthcare and the public sector. T-Systems develops vertical, company-specific software solutions for theseWithsectors.companies and governments alike adopting digital innovations to complement their initiatives and efforts, data integrity and security have now become a premium, with hackers treating personal information and data as the new currency as breaches become more commonplace. In light of this, T-Systems conducted a security evaluation of Singapore’s TraceTogether Token to make sure that the wearable COVID tracker’s integrity is not compromised and not easily exploitable, protecting the sensitive data of the Singaporean government and its citizens. The TraceTogether Token is an initiative launched by the Ministry of Health (MOH) and Government Technology Agency (GovTech) on the 20th of March 2020 as a communitydriven contact tracing platform for the Singaporean population and government, with the tokens being rolled out by the 28th of June 2020. The TraceTogether Token is a physical device that greatly aids contact tracing by exchanging Bluetooth signals with other TraceTogether Tokens or TraceTogether mobile apps nearby with light and easy-to-use design containing a battery that can last 4 to 6 months.Whilsthaving cut down contact tracing times from 4 days to just 1.5 days, being a physical device that constantly transmits Bluetooth signals to nearby identical tokens does raise concerns when it comes to the security and integrity of the data stored within the tokens. Whilst the TraceTogether Token does indicate that they only store a limited amount of data, these data sets include phone numbers and identification details that are only shared with the MOH. A security evaluation of the Trace Together Token was performed by T-Systems under the Cybersecurity Labelling Scheme (CLS) launched by the Cyber Security Agency of Singapore (CSA), in order to assess the safety of data that its Bluetooth contact tracking functions maintain in a privacy-preserving state. Properly assessing the security of the The company evaluated and improved Singapore’s TraceTogether Token.
TECHNOLOGY -
T-Systems bagged the Technology - ICT Solutions win at the SBR International Business Awards
T-Systems with the Cyber Security Agency (CSA) of Singapore at the SBR International Business Awards
These efforts as well as T-Systems’ support with the successful security evaluation guarantee a safe platform for Singaporean citizens to use against the COVID-19 pandemic, even as the effects of the virus slowly recede and the new normal arises.
The security evaluation yielded results that reassured TraceTogether Token’s users, as the platform uses encrypted and anonymous Bluetooth signals that it exchanges with nearby TraceTogether Tokens with the user’s consent and that all Bluetooth data is stored securely on the user’s device and is never shared with the Ministry of Health (MOH) unless he/she chooses to upload it to aid in contact tracing operations.
products. Lim states that they can see partnering with T-Systems towards moving the CLS into other industries such as medical devices and consumer software.
Unanimously recognised as a specialist in high-performance lubricants for over 150 years, Motul works with leading OEMs to develop bespoke cutting-edge lubricant products across a broad range of needs passing qualification tests, discussions are underway on how this initiative will be operationalised. Motul is also looking to address imported packaging waste and is piloting projects that target packaging waste reduction. In terms of product offers, Motul has already launched a line of hybridfocused products. Motul is continuing to focus on research and development activities to keep innovating and providing excellent products for this dynamic industry and evolving customer needs.
Recognised for more than 150 years for the quality of products and innovation capacity, Motul is a world-class specialist in the production and distribution of premium engine lubricants, and fluids for all usages and ecosystems for better energy and new mobility. With the accelerated need for companies to organise for a post-pandemic future, Motul Asia Pacific took the opportunity to reshape its vision and embrace new ways of operating. Motul sought to build an organisation that will be able to easily adapt and progress onward in a world that is invariably changing. “The automotive sector is undergoing a phase of great change, from digital transformation to the use of green alternatives, and customers now expect greater trust and transparency,” says Lionel Dantiacq, CEO of Motul Asia Pacific. “We have to rethink where and how we create value for our customers in this exponentially changing environment.”
72 SINGAPORE BUSINESS REVIEW | Q3 2022 towards a more sustainable future. With a focus on building our andbeourwhenpromisesaysandofbuildingcapabilities.toiseverycareerByprofessionaltakeofprogrammecapabilities,internaltheAccelerateisMotul’swayempoweringpeopletoownershipoftheirgrowthjourney.creatingindividualiseddevelopmentplans,Motulemployeegivenopportunitiesdeveloptheirsuccess“Wearecommittedtoawin-winculturegrowth,accomplishmentsatisfactionforall,”Dantiacq.“Thisisourtoourpeople,thattheybecomeapartoforganisation,theywillabletobuildcapabilitiesexperiencesthatthey can take beyond just Motul, and to make an impact in the larger community.” In building toward Motul’s ambitions, investing in our people will lead to cultivating strategic thinkers with qualities to propel the business forward. Impact on Sustainability Motul also aims to take the lead in being the “Most Responsible Lubricant Brand in Asia” validated by customers and employees. As a petrochemical company, Motul has a major role to play in impacting sustainability. As part of Motul’s credo, we utilise our people’s skills and industry specialities to impact others through corporate social responsibility and sustainability. To address single-use plastic waste, Motul started working with partners to replace bottles with 100% Post-Consumer Recycled Resin. With pilot programmes
Pushing the Boundaries to Drive the Change In the increasingly competitive environment, Motul continues to innovate ways to extend its retail footprint, with customers’ needs at the forefront of our purpose. Following our ambitious roadmap of distribution expansion, diversification, and excellence of our offer, customer satisfaction, people development, and faster growth continue to be the daily compass in this moving environment. These are just some ways in which Motul continues to strengthen our value propositions for both customers and employees across APAC.
“Winning this year’s SBR International Business Awards represents an exciting continuation of our efforts to capitalise on engaging our teams as the central pillar of our strategy and is our most important challenge to further Asia’s dynamic growth and transformation,” said Dantiacq. For enquiries, please send an email to: Connectenquiries@motul.com.sgwithMotulonSocial Media: Facebook: company/motul-asiaLinkedin:motul_singapore/Instagram:motulsingapore/https://www.facebook.com/https://www.instagram.com/https://www.linkedin.com/
Accelerate Innovating on talent is just one of the ways that Motul is using to pivot, and transition MOTUL Asia Pacific took home the SBR International Business Award for its innovative talent development programme.
OIL & GAS
Lionel Dantiacq, CEO, Motul Asia Pacific
How Motul is embedding in the sustainable world of tomorrow
Terumo has worked to rapidly bring medical settings the advanced products. Because of our strong desire to contribute to the advancement of healthcare—not only in Japan, but throughout the world— we have taken on the challenges of a variety of clinical environment to now do business in over 160 countries
terumo-asiapacific.com
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Transform the way you live, work and play with Singtel 5G; awarded Technology Innovation of the Year at the 2022 Asian Telecom Awards and many other accolades, while being recognised as Singapore’s Fastest 5G Network by Ookla® Based on analysis by Ookla® of Speedtest Intelligence® data Q3–Q4 2021. Ookla trademarks used under license and reprinted with permission. Q3–Q4 Power up most-awardedSingapore'swith 5G.
SINGAPORE BUSINESS REVIEW | Q3 2022 79 S T O R A G E T H AT R E D E F I N E S R E A D Y.
Malaysia National BusinessAwards 2022 Healthcare Biocare Pharmaceuticals Sdn Bhd Business Services Daythree Business Services Sdn Bhd Diversified Services Gaia Plas Berhad Marketing IDOTYOU Sdn Bhd Education Love & Laugh Group Sdn Bhd Arts & Lifestyle Nizamsculpture Studio Banking RHB Bank Berhad Malaysia International BusinessAwards 2022 Sports Retail adidas Malaysia Footwear Retail BATA MALAYSIA SDN BHD Real Estate Knight Frank Malaysia Sdn Bhd Financial Services Mercedes-Benz Services Malaysia Sdn Bhd Banking Standard Chartered Global Business Services Pvt Ltd Life Insurance Sun Life Malaysia IT Services Total IT Global Sdn Bhd Business Services Tricor Services (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd Computer Software Western Digital Batu Kawan MalaysiaTechnology ExcellenceAwards 2022 AI - Education Abundent Cloud - Banking Mobile - Banking Affin Bank Berhad Analytics - Banking Ambank (M) Berhad Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality - General Insurance Approved Group International Analytics - Broadcasting Astro Malaysia Holdings Berhad Online Services - Education BAC Education Sdn. Bhd. E-Commerce - Financial Services BIMB Investment Management Berhad Fintech - Financial Technology Boost Mobile - IT Services Capgemini and HHI Information Management - Telecommunications Celcom Axiata Berhad, Enterprise Data Governance – Project Axon Digital - Business Services Chamrun Interactive Sdn Bhd
Meanwhile, Alvin Gan, Partner and Head of Management Consulting for KPMG in Malaysia, Tan Boon Yow, EY Asean Technology Consulting Leader at Ernst & Young Consulting Sdn Bhd, Justin Ong, Partner, Malaysia Innovation and Risk Advisory Leader at Deloitte Southeast Asia, and Michael Graham, Chief Digital Officer for PwC Malaysia shared their expertise to judge the Malaysia Technology Excellence Awards 2022.
EVENT: MALAYSIA AWARDS 80 SINGAPORE BUSINESS REVIEW | Q3 2022
Technological innovations help improve production, delivery, and quality of services, and profit margins for many companies, and there’s no denying that in a very digital age, technological competence and breakthroughs set companies apart from the rest. Business practices also distinguished many companies from their competition, contributing to the developing economy of Malaysia with their uniqueness and innovation, effectiveness and impact, and dynamism.Thecompanies that made significant strides with their revolutionary business practices and contributions to the Malaysian economy were recognised by the Malaysia National Business Awards 2022 and the Malaysia International Business Awards 2022 through a studio and virtual awards presentation from the 20th, 27th to 29th of April, 5th and 6th of May, and 12th of May. Whilst companies that made significant contributions in Malaysia’s tech industry were lauded at the Malaysia Technology Excellence Awards 2022, which was held in the same manner and time frame. Winning companies shared their thoughts and insights in virtual and face-to-face interviews about winning the prestigious awards programme.Anexpertpanel of judges consisting of Stanley Teo, Country Audit & Assurance Leader for Deloitte Malaysia, Leslie Koh, Senior Executive Director, Strategy and Transactions at Ernst & Young PLT, Ngu Heng Sing, Executive Director for Transaction Services in KPMG in Malaysia, Dato’ Robert Teo, Managing Partner at RSM Malaysia, and Pam Lee, Executive Director for Advisory in BDO Malaysia handled entries for the the Malaysia National Business Awards 2022 and the Malaysia International Business Awards 2022.
Get to know Malaysia’s innovators and industry disruptors
SINGAPORE BUSINESS REVIEW | Q3 2022 81 AIAnalyticsTechnology-Healthcare Technology Crayon Software Experts (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd Connectivity - General Insurance Cyber Village Sdn Bhd Cybersecurity - Non-Profit or Government Organisation Datasonic Group Berhad SD-WAN - Telecommunications DCConnect Communication Pte Ltd Digital - Clinic Management Edgenta NXT Sdn Bhd Infrastructure Technology - Telecommunications edotco Group Cloud - Technology Enterpryze Digital - Healthcare Technology entomo Digital - Engineering Digital - Industrial Construction Gamuda Engineering Sdn Bhd Digital - General Insurance GoInsuran.com Information Management - Retail Guardian Health And Beauty Sdn Bhd Cybersecurity - IT Services SD-WAN - Technology HEITECH PADU BERHAD Mobile - Human Resource Technology IFCA MSC Berhad Analytics - Retail Innergia Labs Sdn. Bhd. Fintech - Technology Insite MY Innovations Sdn Bhd E-Commerce - Business Services Involve Asia Technologies Sdn Bhd Hardware - Manufacturing Jabil Sdn. Bhd. Hardware - Automotive Keysight Technologies Cybersecurity - Education Keysight Technologies Malaysia Sdn. Bhd Property Technology - Real Estate AI - Real Estate KSK Land & KSK City Labs Cloud - Hospitality & Leisure MITTI Travel Sdn Bhd Information Management - Heavy Civil Construction MMC Gamuda Insurtech - Financial Technology MNRB Holdings Berhad Medical Technology - Pharmaceuticals Novartis Corporation (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd Digital - Banking OCBC Bank (Malaysia) Berhad Mobile - Education OpenAcademy Sdn Bhd Information Management - Automotive OpenMinds® (OM CONNECT SDN BHD) Mobile - Utilities Pengurusan Air Selangor Infrastructure Technology - Conglomerates PETRA Group Analytics - Engineering AI - Oil & Gas Analytics - Oil & Gas Information Management - Oil & Gas Petroliam Nasional Berhad (PETRONAS) Digital - Oil & Gas PETRONAS GLOBAL TECHNICAL SOLUTIONS SDN BHD (PGTSSB) Information Management - Aviation Information Management - Cargo Handling POS AVIATION SDN BHD Digital - Food & Beverage QSR Brands (M) Holdings Bhd Fintech - Brokerage Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd Emerging Technology - Education ReSkills EdTech Analytics - Utilities Sarawak Energy AI - Healthcare Technology Selangkah Ventures Sdn Bhd DigitalAutomationEnergy-Energy Shell Business Service Center Sdn Bhd (CUSTOMER OPERATIONS) Automation - Telecommunications Tata Consultancy Services Malaysia Sdn Bhd Network and Broadband - Telecommunications Telekom Malaysia Berhad - Unifi Buddy Connectivity - Telecommunications AI - IT Services Telekom Research & Development Sdn Bhd Fintech - Financial Services Fintech - Payments TNG Digital Sdn Bhd ICT - IT Services Total IT Global Sdn Bhd Fintech - Banking United Overseas Bank (Malaysia) Bhd. Digital - Food Manufacturing URC Snack Foods (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd Infrastructure Technology - Non-Profit or Government Organisation Vertiv Malaysia Sdn Bhd AI - Manufacturing Western Digital Infrastructure Technology - Cargo Handling Westports Malaysia Sdn Bhd
Business Services
Studio
EVENT: MALAYSIA AWARDS 82 SINGAPORE BUSINESS REVIEW | Q3 2022
Love & Laugh Group Sdn Bhd Nizamsculpture
IDOTYOU Sdn Bhd Daythree Sdn Bhd
Life Malaysia
BATA MALAYSIA SDN BHD Knight Frank Malaysia Sdn Bhd Ltd Sun
Standard Chartered Global Business Services Pvt
Affin
SINGAPORE BUSINESS REVIEW | Q3 2022 83
International
Tricor Services (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd Western Digital Batu Kawan
Abundent Astro Malaysia Holdings Berhad
BAC Education Sdn. Bhd. Bank Berhad Approved Group
Chamrun Interactive Sdn Bhd Cyber Village Sdn Bhd Crayon Software Experts (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd
Ambank (M) Berhad Boost Capgemini and HHI Celcom Axiata Berhad
EVENT: MALAYSIA AWARDS 84 SINGAPORE BUSINESS REVIEW | Q3 2022
SINGAPORE BUSINESS REVIEW | Q3 2022 85 Datasonic Group Berhad Gamuda Engineering Sdn Bhd edotco Group Edgenta NXT Sdn Bhd GoInsuran.com HEITECH PADU BERHAD
EVENT: MALAYSIA AWARDS 86 SINGAPORE BUSINESS REVIEW | Q3 2022
OCBC Bank (Malaysia) Pengurusan Air Selangor
Keysight Technologies Malaysia Sdn. Bhd
Technologies
Berhad
MMC
MNRB Holdings Novartis Corporation (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd
Keysight
Berhad
KSK Land & KSK City Labs Gamuda
Petroliam Nasional Berhad (PETRONAS)
Petroliam Nasional Berhad (PETRONAS) Petroliam Nasional Berhad (PETRONAS)
SINGAPORE BUSINESS REVIEW | Q3 2022 87
PETRONAS GLOBAL TECHNICAL SOLUTIONS SDN BHDPetroliam(PGTSSB)Nasional Berhad (PETRONAS) Petroliam Nasional Berhad (PETRONAS)
EVENT: MALAYSIA AWARDS 88 SINGAPORE BUSINESS REVIEW | Q3 2022 QSR Brands (M) Holdings Bhd Sarawak Energy
Ventures Sdn Bhd Shell Business Service Center Sdn Bhd Telekom Research & Development Sdn Bhd TNG Digital Sdn Bhd Westports Malaysia Sdn Bhd
Selangkah
SINGAPORE BUSINESS REVIEW | Q3 2022 89 Jabil Sdn. Bhd. United Overseas Bank (Malaysia)Bhd. Western Digital IFCA MSC Berhad Total IT Global Sdn Bhd PETRA Group
Datasonic reaffirms its position as a leader in security-related ICT solutions
The award signifies not only our commitment but also our capacity and capabilities in the cybersecurity sphere as a response towards the MyDigital Initiatives by the Malaysian Government remain competitive and relevant in delivering global trending or emerging ICT solutions, Datasonic has embarked on equipping itself with big data analytics capability. This enables the company to add on a service offering of analysing and realising the hidden value of data for its clients. Datasonic is assisting them in gaining in-depth insights into their subject of interest for better decision making. Being at the forefront of the ICT solutions industry, telecommunication is one of the sectors that Datasonic has definitely tapped into. The company’s expertise and capability expand to installation, testing, integration and commissioning of equipment in various territories of the telecommunication sector. It also holds the license for Network Facility Provider (NFP) by the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC). Led by their strong board and management, passionate R&D team and dedicated employees, Datasonic aims to capitalise on various different ventures and their innovation culture to provide the best ICT solutions for the nation and its people.
90 SINGAPORE BUSINESS REVIEW | Q3 2022 and debit cards in the region, with its bureau centres certified by Mastercard, Visa, Amex and PayNet. More than 17 local and international banks have maintained as its loyal customers for almost 20 years. With the evolving fintech solutions, Datasonic continues to pave the road through a multitude of offerings, from instant issuance, e-payment, and e-wallet to enhanced self-service kiosks. Not only restricting its services to the banking industry, but the company has also opened its doors to the commercial industry, i.e. retail and automotive services. The cloudbased management system is also one of the offerings under fintech which Datasonic is actively serving its commercial clients. Datasonic has also ventured into integrated security and surveillance systems. Empowered with artificial intelligence, the company brings forth a comprehensive and cutting-edge technology in the surveillance realm. Today, Datasonic is responsible for the provision of more than 1,000 integrated CCTVs to state and municipal authorities. To ensure that the company continues to
With an excellent track record in various mission-critical national initiatives over the years, Datasonic needs no introduction amongst the securityrelated ICT solutions fraternity in Malaysia. It does not come as a surprise that the company brought home the Cybersecurity - Non-profit or Government Organizations Award at the Malaysia Technology Excellence Awards this year for its latest e-gateCommentingsolutions.on the win, Wan Zalizan Wan Jusoh, Managing Director of Datasonic Group Berhad said, “It is indeed a proud moment for us in Datasonic. This award signifies not only our commitment but also our capacity and capabilities in the cybersecurity sphere as a response towards the MyDigital Initiatives by the Malaysian Government.”Throughits subsidiaries, Datasonic Group provides a myriad of service offerings and solutions. The company is widely known for pioneering the security documents industry, including the National ID and e-passports. Malaysian e-passports produced by Datasonic are currently ranked as the 12th most powerful in the world with visafree or visa on arrival with access to 179 destinations, according to the Global Ranking of the 2022 Henley Passport Index, making it one of the highest-ranked passports in South-East Asia, second only to Singapore. Providing seamless service The company managed to accomplish the achievements through its wholly-owned manufacturing plants which are highly secured and gazetted by the Malaysian Government. The plants are equipped with state-of-the-art facilities, supported by extensive R&D by its in-house experts and talents.Complementing the provision of e-passport solutions, comes the awardwinning e-gates which are installed at all border checkpoints throughout the country at the moment. The e-gates provide seamless, self-service processing for all travellers with Datasonic’s own patented fingerprint and facial recognition technologies.Apartfrom the Government Sector, the company is also currently the largest personalisation solution provider for Europay, Mastercard and Visa (EMV) credit The company was recognised at the Malaysia Technology Excellence Awards.
Wan Zalizan Wan Jusoh, Managing Director, Datasonic
CYBERSECURITY - NON-PROFIT OR GOVERNMENT ORGANISATION
Providing The Best Customer Experience Through Digitalisation We acknowledge that adoption of new technologies is needed to stay relevant with the current times. Air Selangor is committed to bring joy to 8.4 million customers through investing and implementing technologies in providing clean and safe water supply These implementations are not limited to just isolated parts of our operations but an integrated and sustainable approach that enhances our capabilities to provide the best experience to our customers.
Security Access Management System (“SAMS”) is a new security system that was introduced in December 2021 by Air Selangor. It functions as a security system for registration of employees to Air Selangor premises other than the workplace, visitors, contractors, and other stakeholders, to reduce the time taken to collect data and personal information. Air Selangor has expanded its call centre capacity to further enhance customer experience and service delivery It now complies with internationally recognised standards and is also equipped with a fully Interactive Voice Response (“IVR”) system that simplifies overall interaction with customers. In addition, the call centre utilises Robotic Process Automation (“RPA”) technology which simplifies the complaint management and follow-up processes to expedite case resolution.Wehave observed that customers are increasingly using our mobile application for transactions with Air Selangor We will continuously enhance the functionalities of the mobile application to meet customers' expectations and demands. Some of the new features that has been introduced are enhancements of e-bill registration features, integration of iERP system and improvements on customer complaint/enquiry module.
The rapid advancement of technology has become a catalyst for Air Selangor to adopt a holistic approach towards digitalisation in our mission to be the leading water services provider in Asia by 2030. To meet the ever-growing demand for clean and safe treated water, we have progressively implemented digital initiatives across our operations in data storage, streamlining data compilation and Implementation of Intelligent Emergency Response Plan (i-ERP) Air Selangor designed and pioneered the establishment of i-ERP in 2021 to better serve the 8 4 million consumers across Selangor, Kuala Lumpur, and Putrajaya. The i-ERP system is a cloud powered platform support centres and availability of support services to consumers. This industry leading system enables Air Selangor to accelerate its customer engagement and satisfaction through a digital touchpoint by management in recovery planning, taskforce mobilisation and operational costs optimisation.
Holistic Digitalisation for Be st
Customer Exp erience
Providing Joy In Ever y Drop To Our Customers Through Digital Transformation
Improving The Intelligent Command Centre (ICC ) Air Selangor began transitioning from the Operation Command Centre (OCC ) to the ICC in 2019 and the commissioning was completed in 2021. ICC enables live monitoring and fast response to any nts, we are unctions through ection,suchAcquisitionaswateroirlevel,andCCsystemoftrendoperationandnt. tionsation gor have data,riskandementationAccessstemwhichrelatedtoIAMenablesinmanagingeraccesstosystems,withinthe
SINGAPORE BUSINESS REVIEW | Q3 2022 93 www.airselangor.com MALWINNERAYSIATECHNOLOGYEXCELLENCEAWARDS2022MOBILEUTILITIESCATEGORY Leading The Way To Deliver Joy in Ever y Drop
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PETRONAS: Ready for Digital
96 SINGAPORE BUSINESS REVIEW | Q3 2022 from electrical equipment failure. Thanks to its big-data analytics combined with artificial intelligence, the solution enables real-time data monitoring of electrical systems and equipment as well as predictive and prescriptive action before failure happens.
Digitalising Operations and Workforce
If our employees are equipped with the right skills, PETRONAS will advance into a digitally-enabled organisation, agile and resilient to adapt to these uncertain times anytime, anywhere, and in any way. One of the more exciting developments that PETRONAS focuses on is the increased adoption of Artificial Intelligence (AI) for early anomaly detection. Via the PETRONAS Machinery Monitoring and Prescriptive Diagnostics (P-MMPD), which was recognised in the AI - Oil & Gas Category, it is able to detect anomalies and failures of machinery at the onset through the system’s ability to highlight the slightest deviation from the standard operational profiles. Through further analysis, identifying underperforming assets and the initiation of remedial action to improve equipment efficiency ahead of time becomesAnotherpossible.product pushing its way through to achieve efficient operations in PETRONAS is GO Dashboard – a dashboard that gives Insight and Wisdom necessary for PETRONAS Gas Business leadership team to make timely and data-driven decisions. Recognised in the Information Management - Oil & Gas Category, GO Dashboard is commended for enabling PETRONAS’ leadership team to visualise from anywhere Gas Business’ asset health and business operations on an almost real-timePETRONASbasis.Chief Digital Officer, Aadrin Azly said, “Data is the new oil. We have a treasure trove of data and technologies, and when we unleashed the innovative minds of our people to tap it, they are able to use analytics, automation, and artificial intelligence to generate value by further improving our existing services and systems.”
In 2017, digital became a priority for PETRONAS, transforming the group into a digitally-enabled organisation—a bold vision to be the disruptor, rather than be disrupted. Hence, PETRONAS set forth to orchestrate a journey that was not about technology but about culture and mindset - to be outcomeled, customer-centric, agile, and responsive in a fast-changing world. Over the years, digital transformation in PETRONAS has expanded from what began as tentative steps taken at individual units within the Group into a more cohesive march as an organisation. With key building blocks in place, the transformation gains momentum, allowing PETRONAS to take bolder steps forward. So how does PETRONAS scale at a pace and accelerate its digital transformation? Digital, coupled with innovation, has become the key to driving business and delivering value to the organisation and its customers. Most of PETRONAS’ initiatives arise from pain points, business operations, innovation needs, and growth or transformation imperatives to the customer experience side of the business. One of the key ingredients for PETRONAS’ digital transformation is the harnessing of data to deliver value via digitally-enabled technology products and solutions. Examples are the recent winning projects submitted by PETRONAS for the Malaysia Technology Excellence Awards 2022, which received recognition across multiple categories. Data-driven Solutions The PETRONAS Intelligent Substations (IS), which won in the Analytics – Engineering Category, works as an integrated digitallyenabled electrical technology solution that addresses plant reliability issues resulting The firm bagged multiple wins at the recently concluded Malaysia Technology Excellence Awards 2022.
PETRONAS’ Digital Twin Enterprise Optimisation Centre (EOC), which took home the Analytics - Oil & Gas award, provides a virtual and connected “digital twin” of all PETRONAS operations, offering end-toend integrated views and insights into the entire company’s operations. These are all condensed into 17 transformational yet interactive views. The solution leverages analytics and data to provide instant insights into molecular flow across the entire complex enterprise, including more than 40 processing plants, 20 feeds, and 60 products.
ANALYTICSANALYTICSAIENGINEERING-OIL&GAS-OIL&GAS INFORMATION MANAGEMENT - OIL & GAS DIGITAL - OIL & GAS PETRONAS’
Another area that PETRONAS is rapidly moving towards to accelerate digital is building a future-ready workforce via retooling and upskilling of talent. It undertakes multi-pronged initiatives, including the establishment of PETRONAS Digital Academy, to build a digitally-proficient workforce that supports innovation growth for the organisation in its shift towards remote, autonomous, and digitally-driven operations.“Digitalhas become the saviour for organisations globally. If our employees are living the outcome-led, customer-centric culture and are equipped with the right skills, PETRONAS will advance into a digitallyenabled organisation, agile and resilient to adapt to these uncertain times.” representatives at the Malaysia Technology Excellence Awards 2022 presentation held at The Westin Hotel, Kuala Lumpur on 12 May 2022
Aside from data, PETRONAS also strengthened its digital landscape and ensured stable and efficient operations by leveraging digital to accelerate the process or journey. The PETRONAS Pipeline Engineering Solution (P-PiES) won in the Digital - Oil & Gas Category for its ingenious design that allows engineers to gain visibility of data and insights across pipeline engineering, leveraging digital solutions. The system is a suite of integrated engineering tools developed to make designing pipelines, reporting, and cost estimation more efficient and accurate. This enables the pipeline design to be automated, produce instant results, and be accessible
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Adding to our capability and sterling track record is the recent double win at the Malaysia Technology Excellence Awards 2022. Our engineering arm, Gamuda Engineering walked away with two prestigious awards - Digital Engineering and Digital Industrial Construction for our advanced impact in Digital IBS. The MTEA 2022, now in its fourth year, lauds outstanding companies that have made exceptional contributions to technological innovation in the country. Pocketing the third award this year at MTEA is also MMC Gamuda KVMRT (T) Sdn Bhd, our joint venture company that is currently completing the construction of the MRT Putrajaya Line. MMC Gamuda was the winner of the Information Management – Heavy Civil Construction category for its innovative solution, 3D laser scan-BIM. Lauding these wins, Ts. Lim Hui Yan, Gamuda Engineering Executive Director, said that their triple win in the awards programme is a testament to the Group’s philosophy of leading sustainably in all aspects of its operations. The company was recognised with two wins at the Malaysia Technology Excellence Awards 2022
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“We continue to elevate the nation’s construction industry with this digital shift, spearheading the change to deliver sustainable quality living using Digital IBS across our townships. Accelerating the adoption of 100% Digital IBS across all our landed and high-rise developments, the solution we are advocating is to bring boundless value to all our developments through advanced digital design and robotic manufacturing. It’s all about ensuring fast construction with flexibility in design and superior quality housing. In fact, the homes we’ve manufactured thus far are a testament that it is possible to create well-finished building components assembled into highquality buildings while ensuring aesthetically perfect finishes,” Lim said. Adding on, Lim said, “It is a win-win situation towards creating not only greener, high-quality construction but also building a sustainable workforce ecosystem. In terms of talent development, the comprehensive digitalisation and automation approach reduces the dependency on foreign workers while allowing us to upskill our local workforce. We are equipping young people with the right skills through training and building up a pool of innovative, highly skilled talents ready to take on Industry 4.0.”
The construction industry is one of the significant emitters of carbon. It is no surprise that many efforts have been made over recent years to cut the carbon intensity of this sector. As a regional engineering and construction company, we at Gamuda Berhad have long recognised that the future of green construction is through the digitalisation of the Industrialised Building System (IBS). Digital IBS reduces embodied carbon, saves time, material, and labour and cuts waste, leading to an overall more sustainable approach. Thus, we have come a long way since we first started our foray into the Digital IBS in 2016 with our continuous pursuit of accelerating technology adoption and doing business responsibly through Gamuda Digital IBS. We aimed to be the key enabler in elevating the industry standards toward a vision of future home building and a sustainable construction method that transforms traditional delivery models with robotic automation, enhancing productivity and quality.
Gamuda’s innovation has recorded unprecedented success for the local construction industry Gamuda Digital IBS services incorporate seamless integration of Building Information Modelling (BIM) with highlevel automation and end-to-end precision robotic production for accurate builds. Our innovation has recorded unprecedented success for the local construction industryalmost no construction wastage; 30% faster construction; 65% reduction in reliance on low skilled foreign labour; double working opportunity for the locals in the construction industry and consistent robot-built quality. Our BIM maturity was also recognised not only locally but also internationally when we became the first main contractor in Malaysia to receive the prestigious BSI (British Standard Institution) Kitemark™ certificate for Design, Construction and Commissioning. The certification recognises our milestone in digital construction, demonstrating our excellent compliance with the global ISO 19650 standard in implementing BIM for construction. Furthering this, Gamuda Digital IBS transforms the delivery of a project and construction practices with better efficiency while contributing to improved productivity and enhanced quality. Aligning to the Group’s ESG commitments reflected in our Gamuda Green Plan 2025, Gamuda Digital IBS is a concerted effort to raise the nation’s construction standard towards greener construction solutions.
- ENGINEERING DIGITAL
Gamuda Digital IBS: Enhancing sustainability through digital design and build
Leveraging cloud-based digital design tools,
DIGITAL - INDUSTRIAL CONSTRUCTION
Gamuda Engineering team at the Malaysia Technology Excellence Awards 2022 presentation
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Embracing the new way of building, Gamuda Digital IBS employs cutting-edge technology in creating better precision and improved quality of homes whilst allowing flexibility in design, be it for landed or high-rise. We build with well-thought details and long-term value through the lens of our stakeholders. We offer sustainable and scalable solutions through transformative digital engineering.
gamuda.com.my FUTURE
FIRSTMALAYSIA'SFULLYDIGITALIBS
Creating value for all our stakeholders and communities at large, we are passionate about making a measurable impact in everything we do. OF HOME BUILDING
AFFORDABLESUSTAINABLEGREENER
Standard Chartered achieves rapid automation in banking’s manual back-office processes
Our challenges are a bane, but they are also our strength. They help us identify where we may be spending an inordinate amount of resources and in turn, motivate us to find stronger solutions with less downtime and manual oversight Intelligence (RAI) governance framework and completed the RAI Impact Assessment under the Chief Data Office (CDO). This means that every AI use case deployed into production by SWOOSH adheres to the Bank’s RAI principles and complies with the Bank’s RAI SWOOSHStandard.wentthrough multiple rigorous stages of testing in its end-toend development lifecycle before being certified as technologically compliant and cloud-ready.Onboarding new clients is just the tip of the iceberg for SWOOSH. With multiple pre-trained AI models that can be used in different combinations and permutations, SWOOSH provides the business users in Standard Chartered with richer information which can be customised as and when needed. The AI models can scale as well as integrate with both internal and external systems, computing at faster speeds with an increasing accuracy rate as the programme learns and trains itself.
BANKING
The team that created SWOOSH, an AIML solution that automates many of the manual processes used in banking
Leveraging AI Risk management is crucial to any bank and more so to a global bank such as Standard Chartered. Before going live, SWOOSH went through the Responsible Artificial Standard Chartered created an in-house Artificial Intelligence & Machine Learning (AIML) solution to automate many of the manual processes used in banking through a cutting-edge product called SWOOSH. This innovative solution is recognised for its exceptional contribution to operational excellence and impact, earning Standard Chartered its Malaysia International Business Awards 2022 trophy in the Banking category. The Malaysia International Business Awards 2022, presented by the Singapore Business Review, is now in its fourth year. The award recognises outstanding global firms in Malaysia with significant business enhancements and productivity gains. Many financial institutions, including Standard Chartered, have tried to alleviate highly manual processes by utilising off-theshelf solutions such as Optical Character Recognition (OCR) programmes. Unfortunately, a rigid set of criteria hinder the smooth and successful extraction of data using these methods. SWOOSH helps the Bank eliminate these challenges by automating such processes and in turn, halving the turnaround time and expenditure. Automation made easy with SWOOSH Standard Chartered’s SWOOSH is able to process structured and unstructured data that come in varying forms and formats –this includes text, emails, images and even videos. Using Artificial Intelligence (AI) instead of keywords, SWOOSH is able to perform complex data extraction and assign meaning to these data so that information is clearly classified with an accuracy rate as high as Numbers,90%.for example, are automatically structured to represent dates, amounts or identity numbers. This is especially useful when onboarding new clients. The client onboarding process for Retail banking clients is exceptionally tedious because regulatory Know Your Customer (KYC) documents - especially payslips - come in a variety of quality and formats, making standardisation challenging with traditional OCRCombiningmethods.more than 5 deep learning AI models, SWOOSH’s AI engines perform the complex task of extracting information The financial institution is recognised at the Malaysia International Business Awards for successfully using Artificial Intelligence & Machine Learning (AIML) to boost operational efficiency in onboarding new clients.
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from customers’ KYC documents, passing this information to the next stage in onboarding and automating the processing of these requests. “Our challenges are a bane, but they are also our strength. They help us identify where we may be spending an inordinate amount of resources and in turn, motivate us to find stronger solutions with less downtime and manual oversight,” commented Siddhartha Thimmavajjalla, Head of Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning in Standard Chartered. “It’s hard to believe that in this day and age, manual work still plays the role that it does. The notion that there has to be a better way of doing things is a constant, common thread that runs through our innovations.”
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Customer experience is taken seriously and we understand the persona or characteristics of this new kind of digital customer in order to deliver a better customer experience interface The COVID-19 pandemic was a tipping point for insurers to rapidly adopt new solutions and digitally transform their manual processes. In 2021, the VidSight platform tracked a record of 100,000 calls – 43.7% growth from 2020. Chief Executive Officer – Fermion Cyber Village Ms Shieh Yee Bing envisions VidSight as the pioneer digital needs to go to Omnichannel and bridge Online and Offline services with mobile interaction behaviour. The platform allows seamless straddling between pure digital online and the mixing of digital. “Digital transformation happens in everyday life and now customers are the ones driving these digital changes of behaviour. Customer experience is taken seriously and we understand the persona or characteristics of this new kind of digital customer in order to deliver a better customer experience interface”, she explains. In today’s omnichannel world, customers expect smooth customer journeys across channels. In line with this thought, Vidsight was designed as embeddable across multiple channels using APIs and SDK plugins. “This has allowed us to collaborate with various ecosystem partners in growing our solution, use cases and market reach”, opines Ms Shieh. The platform is also being offered on a standalone mobile app version, to provide customers with options for flexible video-first or mobilefirst engagement options. Ms Shieh shares that besides the insurance industry, the team is also experiencing increasing demand across different industry verticals such as healthcare and financial services, for example in the area of CRM, customer acquisition and onboarding. To this end, the platform has incorporated new capabilities for biometric eKYC authentication features as well as datadriven AI validations and event-driven call to action triggers, as part of their product release roadmap.
Don’t make your customers jump through hoops to talk to an agent face-to-face. On the other hand, full digital self-service face challenges when it comes to complex business processes; which more often than not requires extensive customer support.
104 SINGAPORE BUSINESS REVIEW | Q3 2022 across Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, the Philippines, Vietnam, Japan, and Thailand use this SaaS cloud-based interactive video platform to facilitate their claims processes. VidSight is marketed under the Fermion Group as TrueSight Interactive Video for the insurance industry. The VidSight platform offers an augmented reality experience supplemented with live streaming video and chat, photo capture, live annotation of images, co-browsing of documents and geolocation features, which helps to reduce operational costs and maximise the efficiency of agents. It includes a document signing feature for agents and customers to sign off the document during a video call, with the signatory process recorded as proof. Other features include on-behalf assistance over customers’ devices, geolocation, a comprehensive audit trail of case record and video WebRTCrecording.Protocolserves as the backbone of VidSight, which allows real-time, high-quality peer-to-peer communication using default browsers, eliminating the need to download and install new applications or plugins for existing programs, and leading to a more seamless experience for the customers. As a standalone platform, it issues video call invitations via SMS to the customers’ mobile numbers, and customers can participate in the call simply by clicking the provided link. The interactive video platform addresses the insurance adjusters’ pain points of travelling, either to a workshop or a customer’s location, for claim assessments, which are pre-empted instead of using live video streaming or photo capturing. These have resulted in improvements in task efficiencies by up to 80%, which cuts the average turnaround time from 2 hours to 20 minutes, generating significant savings on operational costs.
CONNECTIVITY - GENERAL INSURANCE
Ms Shieh Yee Bing, Chief Executive Officer – Fermion Cyber Village
VidSight by Fermion Cyber Village bridges online and offline customer engagement
Fermion Cyber Village, the market leader for technology innovation of digital engagement solutions, known for its trailblazing platforms for financial Institutions, introduced VidSight, a platform that embeds interactive video tools into various customer journeys, enabling frictionless customer experiences that integrate face-to-face interactions with the digital world. In particular, the team saw a niche application for the platform in the area of insurance claims; where there are numerous reviews, documentation and workflow processing involving multiple parties. For its efforts on VidSight, Fermion Cyber Village won the Connectivity - General Insurance trophy at the Malaysia Technology Excellence Awards 2022. The awards programme gives recognition to key innovations made by players in Malaysia’s tech industry. Fermion Cyber Village was awarded for VidSight because it redefines the customer experience and brings efficiency to the process of filing claims forThisinsurance.platform was first launched for Catastrophe Insurance Claim in June 2019 in Hong Kong. Today, more than 30 insurers The company was awarded the Connectivity - General Insurance trophy at the Malaysia Technology Excellence Awards 2022.
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SELANGKAH is a comprehensive tool that had pioneered contact tracing in Malaysia and has been evolving consistently with society's response to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Step In SelangkahSafelywithDownloadourapp
Mandated by the Selangor State Government to generate the Selangkah App, Selangkah Ventures Sdn Bhd has further developed, maintained, and operationalised a digital platform for a multimodal Covid-19 response. This includes home quarantine monitoring, vaccination, welfare distribution, psychosocial support, lab testing appointment and report transmission. These multi-step health and commercial features were established in support of the World Health Organisation’s FTTIS+V (Find, Test, Trace, Isolate, Support and Vaccine) strategy. Selangkah stays dynamic by adding more fintech features as it strives to be a super app beyond the pandemic.
Selangkah Ventures Sdn Bhd Winner of the Malaysian Technology Excellence Awards in AI — Healthcare Technology Visit us at: app.selangkah.my
We take pride in embracing the latest technologies, methodologies, and solutions to optimise and enhance our customers’ journey and experience established e-commerce providers, financial institutions and telco brands in optimising our platform’s visibility and at the same time heightening customer experience!” Echoing James’s sentiments, Joshua Yong, TCIBS Head remarks, “We take pride in embracing the latest technologies, methodologies, and solutions as a way to optimise and enhance our customers’ journey and experience, thanks to our carefullydesigned and well-planned digital blueprint.”Besides car insurance, GoInsuran offers handpicked lifestyle products, such as Travel insurance and Personal Accidents insurance which also includes COVID-19 coverage. Being customers themselves, TCIBS aims to deliver the best value by balancing both coverage and costs for theirThecustomers.Malaysian Technology Excellence Awards recognition is a remarkable and proud milestone attained by TCMH Group. GoInsuran aims to continue to be at the forefront of Malaysia’s technological revolution to propel the country’s economy to greater heights.
DIGITAL
Joshua Yong, Head of Insurance Business Stream, TCIBS James Tan, Executive Vice President, TCMH
106 SINGAPORE BUSINESS REVIEW | Q3 2022 to choose from in renewing insurance and finding suitable products or services they require. Value-added options include the Buy-Now-Pay-Later scheme and Credit Card Easy Payment Plan, ranging from 6 to 12 months with 0% interest. These benefits help better serve the lowermiddle and lower-income segments of the Malaysian population (dubbed the B40 and M40 respectively) where consumers now are able to enjoy basic insurance protection for their vehicles, without compromising on the benefits their preferred plans entail. GoInsuran focuses on engaging insurance providers with Application Programming Interface (API) in allowing users to obtain real-time quotes, before proceeding to renew their insurance securely. This also helps minimise physical manpower and human error. Worthy of mention is that even as online auto-insurance services grow in popularity amongst Malaysians, very few industry players are capable of providing a fully-integrated platform like what TCIBS did. Recognising where customer needs are moving towards, TCIBS seek to carve new niches for a group of digital consumers. Reliability and stability Powered by TCMH, the GoInsuran platform is as versatile as it is comprehensive. Their 65 years of experience in the automotive industry (and pertinent sectors) allows them to provide the fullest range of presales to post-sales services of the highest standards to customers. This includes product support queries and insurance claims support. Customers can also expect to have peace of mind where online security is concerned. Being in the industry for this long is a testament to the reliability and stability of the business. In reflecting on the journey thus far, TCMH’s Executive Vice President, James Tan enthuses, “We are confident of customer satisfaction, having diversified our digital channels to be more competitive to promote our products and services. We’ve done this, by partnering with
TCIBS collaborated with a panel of 14 established insurers and takaful operators in streamlining a portfolio of offerings that are pertinent to all customer segments. It all started in December 2020, with the launching of our GoInsuran digital platform, www.GoInsuran.com. Developed to provide Malaysians with a fuss-free alternative to renewing their car insurance and road tax, TCIBS made this platform user-friendly by leveraging on latest technologies. It takes customers through a step-by-step process from obtaining free quotations to making online payments. Its real-time feature allows customers to renew their car insurance in as quick as 3 minutes. TCIBS also offer free-of-charge road tax delivery. Customers will find it a breeze navigating our trilingual GoInsuran portal with English, Bahasa Malaysia and Chinese languages Their GoInsuran.com digital platform was recognised as it provided Malaysians with an alternative to renewing their car insurance and road tax.
Tan Chong Insurance Business Stream (TCIBS), an insurance division of Tan Chong Motor Holdings Berhad (TCMH), through its subsidiary TCCL Sdn Bhd has recently won the Malaysia Technology Excellence Award under the General Insurance category for its development of a new Web Aggregator for the Malaysian market. The virtual platform provides a quick and no-frills comparison of Malaysia’s top insurers’ premium prices all displayed on one page, facilitating an easy way to make decisions for their users.
TCCL: General Insurance Award winner at the Malaysia Technology Excellence Awards
- GENERAL INSURANCE
Modernising approaches for systems within the infrastructure sector can be a challenge, and it was a challenge that Crayon tackled like no other company with the release of the Crayon Computer Vision, a programme that decreased the drone image processing to one to two hours per operational site with 95%Alongaccuracy.withthis ground-breaking programme, Crayon also provided an approach focused on the customers’ needs and pain points, which has resulted in customers benefitting in 3 ways, such as getting the optimum and structured multi-cloud strategy for their business, freeing up their time from licensing and governance nitty-gritty, and most importantly, the return of investment for customers with an average savings of 30% of their cloud/software costs.
Cutting person-hours and costs with Crayon Software Experts (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd
Automating workflow Intelligent automation gives systems the ability to learn from prior decisions and data patterns in order to make intelligent decisions on their own, freeing people to focus on important work. “According to PWC, organisations will be working in automation (transitioning manual processes into digital by integrating automation, robotics and intelligent The company trims a week-long task into just one hour and 30% savings.
Harith Ramotheram, CEO of Crayon Malaysia and Indonesia
The Crayon Computer Vision is an AIbased technology that allows computers to obtain a high-level understanding of digital images and videos of a particular situation. The solution will then analyse the visual data and find the most reasonable decisions to resolve issues and challenges. This powerful technology gives machines the sense of “sight”, machine learning, and deep learning algorithms. “This technology has become an integral part of the digital transformation journeys and an indispensable part of technology development,” says Crayon, adding that prominent industries such as agriculture, healthcare, transportation, manufacturing, and retail have benefited from the use of Computer Vision applications.
108 SINGAPORE BUSINESS REVIEW | Q3 2022 systems to operate in unison,” commented Crayon, along with citing example uses such as industrial companies and those in transportation using driverless vehicles where conditions would be unsafe, tedious or risky for human drivers. Fundamentally, digital workspace and cloud-oriented initiatives help streamline workflows, improve communications and increase knowledge sharing and collaboration across departments and divisions, and from an operation management point of view, digital transformation in a workplace equals more efficient resource management. “Our customer spent ample human resources to detect and measure defects in various kinds of pavement manually. By using the Computer Vision technology, it has significantly reduced processing time from 7 days to an hour, which means accelerated growth for the business and its
Intelligent automation gives systems the ability to learn from prior decisions and data patterns in order to make intelligent decisions on their own, freeing people to focus on important work needs,” shared Crayon with how well their programme has benefitted their clients. Together with certified local and global expertise, Crayon has been able to offer customisable Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning solutions, deploy deep AI consulting capabilities to create business value and coupled with their AI Center of Excellence, enabling them to create benchmarks based on industry, analyse, compare, and advi se the best practice and approach for the particular customers’ need. Crayon’s clients are now also better equipped to carry out their cloud cost optimisation strategy moving forward with the new infrastructure and processes in place. Cost savings with the proposed Enterprise Agreement renewal enables them to reinvest in their business. To know more, visit: https://www.crayon. com/my/
AI - TECHNOLOGY ANALYTICS - HEALTHCARE TECHNOLOGY
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Without data, there is no AI Is your data estate ready for AI? Book a free consultation
110 SINGAPORE BUSINESS REVIEW | Q3 2022 bacglobal.com JOIN US NOW! Be a graduateglobal from the world’s best universities DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION Foundation Diploma in Digital Transformation Diploma in Digital Transformation Advanced Diploma in Digital Transformation MBA Digital Transformation EDUCATION Master of Education Doctor of Philosophy (PHD) Education MEDIA & COMM Foundation Diploma in Media & Communications Diploma in Media & Communications Advanced Diploma in Media & Communications Digitally open and operate your Business Current Account on AmAccess Biz. Simple. Secure. Seamless. Bhd(M)AmBank (8515-D)196901000166
BoostUP has earned the Fintech – Financial Technology win at the Malaysia Technology Excellence Awards 2022. Guided by the ethos of customer first, Boost has carved out a unique loyalty proposition through BoostUP with a functional loyalty currency called Boost Stars that can be used to redeem items, win lifestyle rewards, and be used in place of cash. Today, BoostUP distinguishes Boost in the market by offering a one-of-a-kind fully digital loyalty experience and making digital lifestyle experiences more rewarding for consumers.
With humble beginnings in 2017, Boost, the fintech arm of Axiata has come a long way over the past 4 years. Starting out as an eWallet provider with a mission to encourage Malaysians to go cashless and embrace a digital lifestyle, the brand then charted a path of becoming a full spectrum fintech player when it underwent a rebrand in 2021, housing all financial services under one roof. Boost’s fintech business spans Boost Life’s consumer platform that provides financial services beyond eWallet, Boost Biz’s merchant business platform that provides online business tools and digitalisation solutions, Boost Credit’s digital alternative financing, and the first in SEA to secure an A1 rating from RAM Ratings, and Boost Connect’s cross-border payment ecosystem. Boost also has a regional footprint with a strong presence in Indonesia offering enterprise solutions and financing to MSMEs. Anchored by a commitment to serve the underserved, Boost is currently accelerating financial inclusion for consumers and merchants in Malaysia and Indonesia through affordable and accessible solutions. Boost was also recently awarded the Digital Bank Licence from the Central Bank of Malaysia and is expanding its current offerings to better serve and support the financial needs of the underserved segment. Boost App, with over 10 million users and close to 500,000 merchant touchpoints, is one of the major eWallet pioneers in the country with many industry-firsts. From in-app bill payments, enabling cashless payments for retail and major grocery stores, to creating an interoperable and holistic loyalty program
Ungku Norliza, CEO of Boost Life & Sheyantha Abeykoon, Group CEO of Boost at the Malaysia Technology Excellence Awards presentation
Boost: Evolving from digital payments to a full spectrum regional fintech player
FINTECH - FINANCIAL TECHNOLOGY
112 SINGAPORE BUSINESS REVIEW | Q3 2022 Building a digital ecosystem to connect takaful services offered by MNRB and Takaful IKHLAS. GO by Takaful IKHLAS is a digital solution that improves our offerings further while serving agents, partners, and customers through five functions: Forward Together To enable digital agents For claims management and payout To purchase takaful certificates online An open API platform for partner integration A bancatakaful sales and support platform
116 SINGAPORE BUSINESS REVIEW | Q3 2022 Changing the practice of medicine At Novartis, we harness the innovation power of science to address some of society’s most challenging healthcare issues. We are passionate about discovering new ways to improve and extend people’s lives.
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C M Y CM MY CY CMY K
Unlike their predecessors, Generation Z grew up with phones in hand. However, studies suggest zoomers find more assurance in face-to-face communication and hands-on in-person training.
Diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) is gaining traction in workplaces, with 90% of CEOs globally identifying initiatives in this area as a strategic and personal priority. However, the current momentum may not be strong enough to support multigenerational workforces working remotely. It was reported seven in 10 Singaporebased employers have not introduced DEI policies. Meanwhile, an AARP survey in the US found nearly 80% of older employees have been negatively singled out for their age at work. On the other side of the same coin, according to research published by Harvard Business Review, younger employees may also be passed up for leadership roles or opportunities because of their age.
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Intergenerational teams: different priorities and preferences Hybrid working engages employees across age groups, including baby boomers, Generation X, millennials and Generation Z. As lifespans increase, many workers are deferring retirement and working longer. Baby boomers, being the eldest in the workforce and making up more than 11.7% of Singapore’s population, have been known to appreciate role clarity, autonomy and more structured work environments - and may have a hard time adjusting to workplace flexibility Millennials grew up with technology and rely on it to perform their jobs better. Armed with smartphones and other gadgets, this generation is plugged in 24/7. They prefer to communicate online in their personal and professional lives. At the same time, they value cooperation and appreciation and seek both challenging and meaningful work. Zoomers, the latest addition to the workforce, bring their own requirements and goals. This generation witnessed the great recession in 2008, pushing them to prioritise job security, training and upskilling.
SUNSHINE FARZAN
OPINION
Driving employee engagement through an intergenerational lens
Most importantly, companies will need to listen to employees, building a hybrid framework that maximises productivity, increases engagement, enhances work-life balance, and empowers employees— across all ages, cultures and generations.
SUNSHINE FARZAN Global Marketing & Communications lead, Tricor Group
Building a successful intergenerational team
Thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic, hybrid work arrangements have become the norm globally for organisations across industries. Locally, a strong majority of Singapore companies (78%) are leaning towards maintaining a hybrid schedule, according to recent data from Milieu Insight. At the same time, employees are far less enthusiastic about going all-in on one work environment, with only 12% prefer working from the office all the time and only 10% wanting to work remotely full-time. As companies in Singapore future-proof their workplaces, they must consider how they will address damaging trends, like ageism, and bridge generational gaps that have the potential to widen in the face of continued remote and hybrid work. Otherwise, in the quest to virtualise, companies will miss out on attracting, engaging and retaining agediverse talent.
With the following pillars in place, companies with multigenerational workforces can set the foundation for an effective hybrid framework. Companies must first embrace digital transformation to maximise virtual working models. Whilst baby boomers are stereotyped for being “tech-resistant,” a report from KPMG found children are increasingly teaching and influencing their parents. This dynamic is accelerating technology adoption across the board. For companies, the key is to provide digital training programs accessible from all devices and across all platforms so that employees—from Gen Z to boomers—can onboard, develop and upskill.
Against the pressures of the past two years, it may not be surprising that more than nine in 10 (92%) workers in Singapore are experiencing burnout. Amidst the stress, each generation has its own pain points. For instance, baby boomers need to consider the risks the virus presents to their own health. Millennials, the new sandwich generation, are more likely to be in the position of simultaneously caring for children and ageing parents and guardians. Zoomers reported the highest stress levels of all the current generations. Shifting away from an “always-on” culture to one allowing better and more flexible work scheduling and work-life balance can benefit workers of all generations. Looking ahead Remote work practices are relatively new so hybrid frameworks must remain malleable, particularly when companies are looking to harness the talents of a multigenerational hybrid workforce. For example, in an age of continuous disruption, hybrid employees will need frequent, ongoing training so they can stay current on the most efficient ways to work. For all the differences in a multigenerational workforce, a onesize-fits-all training strategy is insufficient.
Raising GST for fiscal sustainability
of the GST Voucher scheme to help offset the GST costs and the setting up of the Committee Against Profiteering to monitor excessive price increases. A further way to mitigate the impact of the rate change is to consider the timing of major purchases so that goods and services can be obtained at pre-GST increase prices where possible. Increased social spending
Although the GST changes will help shore up public finances in some ways, there are hidden consequences that businesses and consumers need to consider, even as Singapore continues on its journey as a nation.
6. Considering the possibility to apply for special GST schemes to manage business cashflow; and
4. Determining the GST rate applicable on those transactions which straddle the GST rate change;
5. Reviewing contracts and agreements to determine how the GST rate increase can be passed on to customers and how the revised pricing can be communicated to customers;
Consumers and non-GST registered businesses For consumers and non-GST registered businesses, there will be an increase in the costs of local purchases made from GST-registered suppliers once the rate change takes effect. The Government has staggered the increase to help ease the impact on consumers and there will be pressure on businesses to only pass on price increases that are justifiable. Non-GST registered businesses may want to consider applying for GST registration on a voluntary basis to be able to recover the GST on their purchases. Whilst being GST-registered would help cushion the impact of the increase in GST rate, there is the compliance burden to be kept in mind. It is therefore important that a careful cost-benefit analysis is carried out before making any decision. Consumers can be reassured from the Government’s extension
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Today, social spending makes up the largest part of the Singapore Government’s annual expenditure, of which, a very big part goes into improving the quality, accessibility and affordability of our healthcare infrastructure. According to the Finance Minister, if healthcare spending continues to increase at the same pace as in the past 10 years, it is expected that healthcare expenditures will amount to approximately S$27 billion or around 3.5% of GDP by 2030, and this figure excludes Covid-19 related expenses. Whilst this is a big sum of money, it still pales in comparison to social spending in continental Europe and the Nordic countries which provide much higher levels of state-financed welfare. These countries may spend close to 30% of their GDP on social spending and to fund this, higher income tax and VAT rates are imposed. Although it is most unlikely that social spending in Singapore will ever be comparable to these countries – indeed the Finance Minister has said in his speech that Singapore does not intend to adopt the European model of comprehensive universal welfare and high taxes –Singapore’s social spending is expected to increase every year due to the needs of an aging population. To remain fiscally sustainable, Singapore needs to make changes to its tax system, even though it has no intention to be a taxintense country. As a small nation, Singapore is open to vigorous competition with neighbouring countries and its ability to attract investors and talents from all over the world is crucial for the citystate to continue to enjoy its cultural and financial standing in the global economy.
TENG AND MACKENDER OPINION
1. Updating the financial accounting system and invoicing system to create the necessary additional tax codes for the new GST rates;
Compared to other countries within Southeast Asia, Singapore’s new Goods and Services Tax (GST) rates are still amongst the lowest in the region.
Business Impacts GST-registered businesses need to start preparing as soon as possible for the first rate-change. The following are seven key areas that businesses need to address:
3. Updating the pricing schedules made available to the public;
7. Equipping employees with the relevant GST knowledge to be aware of the impact of the changes. Considering some of the changes are in the accounting systems, it is important to involve your IT department or to hire IT professionals to update the system logic, and we should not overlook that such system changes will need to be done twice, given the staggered rate increase. Legal costs to update agreements and clauses in documents may also be incurred as a result of contractual changes. The GST rate increases could also result in additional GST costs that are not recoverable for certain businesses.
NG GEK TENG, RICHARD MACKENDER Tax Director; Indirect Tax Leader, Deloitte Singapore
2. Updating the cash register system and online website pricing to reflect the new GST rates;
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Transparent conversations for collaborative partnerships
The benefits of having sustainable supply chains go further than just cost savings – it is also about stronger partnership opportunities and brand reputation. Investing in sustainability is an ongoing process, and can be reviewed regularly to help align strategies with goals. Here are some pointers to keep in mind at any stage of the sustainability journey: Short-term targets, long-term goals For organisations that have yet to embark on this journey, it can be intimidating if decision-makers are unsure of where to start. Government plans, such as Singapore’s net-zero carbon emission targets by 2050, can be a good place to start identifying overall longterm sustainability strategies. Instead of seeing such goals as seemingly impossible, businesses can set short term targets that are more achievable for employees, and easier for the boardroom to review and make necessary changes when needed.Forexample, businesses can look at smaller targets such as reducing carbon emissions on a quarterly basis first, rather than annual reductions that are difficult to track. Having a variety of targets, from quantitative to qualitative monthly targets, can also help companies match the pace of change that is required. A food manufacturing organisation can aim to reduce singleuse packaging by 20 per cent monthly, whereas a company in the technology industry can have quarterly staff training on the importance of sustainability goals. It is better to start somewhere than not start at all, as these baby steps can help build confidence with customers and partners, and improve the organisation’s sustainability strategy in the long run.
126 SINGAPORE BUSINESS REVIEW | Q3 2022
Greening Asia’s supply chains
SHAWN CHEN Commercial Director, Global Forwarding, Asia; Director of Southeast Asia, C.H. Robinson
Critical information can be a company’s greatest asset when it comes to achieving sustainability goals. The severity of disruptions arising from the ongoing climate crisis, and disruptive weather events may be hard to predict, but it is possible to forecast and take necessary measures ahead of time. For example, above-normal rainfall is predicted for much of the southern ASEAN region in the next two months.When ships are forced to make last-minute detours, companies may face fines due to higher carbon footprints and emissions. Using data retrieved from visibility platforms can help organisations to decrease emissions by managing detoured shipping routes and adapting to disruptions in real-time.
Harnessing the power of data for a 360-degree view
Adopting analytics technology can result in a bounty of data which can provide insights to evaluate supplier performance quarterly or annually. These tools also allow organisations to conduct qualitative climate scenario analysis for the operations, providing a more holistic view of the network whilst supporting the transition to a low-carbon supply chain. With this knowledge, decision-makers can have more informed conversations with stakeholders and the ability to address any potential red flags in a timely manner.
Solving sustainability challenges is not a one-man nor a oneorganisation job, but also falls on the shoulders of stakeholders along with the network. Taking a longer-term point of view toward sustainable supply chains, decision-makers need to rethink their entire network – from materials to manufacturing, to packaging and have transparent conversations with their stakeholders regularly. Moreover, business leaders cannot rush into replacing partners or vendors, simply because their sustainability goals are not aligned at this point. It can be even more challenging for large multinationals as it can be difficult to coordinate change with many stakeholders without careful planning. Rather, insights-driven performance can allow decision-makers to have transparent and persuasive conversations with under-achieving partners and help them address challenges.
In a world where consumers have gotten used to a global marketplace where goods can be ordered from thousands of miles away, supply chains have proven themselves to be a vital part of every the Favourableeconomy.factors such as technological advancements and continuous improvement to provide latest facilities have made Southeast Asia an attractive location for logistics-intensive industries such as manufacturing, but also create substantial environmental burden in the region. On that note, whilst consumers enjoy the convenience of having everything from groceries to clothes delivered to their door, they are increasingly expressing a preference for companies that are transparent about their environmental impact. With as much as 80% of the world’s total carbon emissions produced from global supply chains, it’s clear that companies will need to move towards greening their networks to keep up with evolving consumer needs.
Green supply chains for a better tomorrow Efficient supply chains are smart for business and the environment. By taking steps to reduce supply chain waste and work towards more sustainable partnerships, companies can increase efficiency, uncover cost savings opportunities, and decrease emissions. The supply chain industry is at a turning point where business leaders are embarking on their sustainability journey, but these small steps will go a long way in addressing the world’s greatest environmental issues.
SHAWN
CHEN OPINION
128 SINGAPORE BUSINESS REVIEW | Q3 2022
Challenging the market price approach
OPINION
The recent tax cases in commodity-producing countries demonstrate how some tax authorities wish to challenge the market price approach, and this could have significant implications for commodity traders in Singapore. In particular, the Glencore case in Australia and the Cameco case in Canada are examples of how the respective tax authorities have tried to downplay the important role traders play within the global commodity supply chain. In the Glencore case, copper was sold from an Australian mine to a Swiss-related party commodity trader through an intragroup agreement. The Australian Tax Office disputed the mining company’s agreement to fix the treatment and refining costs at a percentage of the copper price, which ultimately led to a reduced income in Australia. The taxpayer was able to support their intragroup pricing with evidence, demonstrating that such pricing arrangements are agreed upon by independent market participants.
There is a lack of understanding of commodity trading companies and the wider industry, which leads to tax authorities failing to appreciate their importance to global supply chains. Global resource production companies must be able to clearly explain the commercial purpose and advantages of having a commodity trading subsidiary within their business group. The trading subsidiary should also be able to make its own business decisions and manage the resultant risks.
Understanding commodity trading
Recent tax case judgments in commodity-producing countries shine a spotlight on the important commodity transfer pricing challenges that have potential knock-on effects on the trading industry in Singapore. Any such impact could be significant, given that the commodity trading industry is a key component of Singapore’s wholesale trade sector, which contributes around 17% of the country’s CommodityGDP.trading tends to involve a complex international supply chain because oil and metals, for example, are rarely produced and consumed in the same country. The extraction entity in one country typically sells to a trading hub in another country. The trading hub then optimises the transaction and ships to the refinery, smelter, or power station, usually in a third country. This complex supply chain often includes a high proportion of related party transactions, meaning that transfer pricing rules apply. Transfer pricing refers to the price of goods, services, and intangibles sold between related entities within the same business group, with a requirement that such transactions are priced at arm’s length. The arm’s length standard has stood the test of time for many decades as the principle which underpins the pricing between related parties. With commodities, it generally means that the market price of the oil, gas, or mined materials should be applied, also known as the ‘Comparable Uncontrolled Price’ approach.
The arm’s length standard must continue to underpin commodity transfer pricing
BOSE AND CLARK
AVIK BOSE, HAMISH CLARK Tax Partner; Tax Director, Deloitte Singapore to use the ‘recharacterisation provisions’ to bring the Swiss trading company’s profits into the Canadian tax net. According to them, intragroup transactions were a ‘sham’, meaning the financial arrangements did not follow the legal form, or had no commercial rationale. In response, the taxpayer argued that the intragroup contracts represented the parties’ true intentions, that the prices were within an arm’s length range supported by rigorous analysis, and that the arrangement was commercial, even if there was some tax-oriented purpose behind it. In both cases, the judgments sided with the taxpayers and indicated that market price is the best representation of commodities prices. In the short term, the outcome of these cases can be viewed positively for Singapore’s trading companies, since they seem to acknowledge the important role the industry plays in ensuring that the right commodity is supplied to the right location, at the right time, and at the most competitive cost.
Similarly, the Canadian Revenue Agency challenged the intragroup pricing of uranium sales to a Swiss related party company in the Cameco case. It was the intention of the Canadian Revenue Agency
The OECD is proposing to introduce a Global Minimum Tax of 15% from 2023 for large multinational enterprises (MNEs) with global consolidated turnover exceeding €750 million. Such MNEs would have to pay top-up tax for the difference between their effective tax rate in each jurisdiction they operate and the 15% minimum rate. This could further impact commodity traders, who are often located in jurisdictions which offer low tax rates or tax incentives. In this regard, the impact of the Global Minimum Tax should be assessed, particularly in the businesses’ financial and operational areas. Commodity traders could then assess the impact, discuss them with relevant stakeholders, and develop appropriate response strategies.
Taxpayers can also mitigate their transfer pricing audit risk by engaging with the tax authorities in a process known as ‘Advanced Pricing Agreements’. Using robust transfer pricing documentation to respond to transfer pricing audit queries from tax authorities remains the most effective method for transfer pricing audit risk management.
The OECD’s Transfer Pricing Guidelines, followed by almost all countries, support this approach, as does the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore, which also provides insightful guidelines on how best to set transfer prices for transactions involving commodity traders.
It is nevertheless evident from the cases that tax authorities in some countries may perceive commodity traders as simply taking a slice of the profits which they deem to belong to the production company. Thus, traders should be prepared to contend with further challenges, particularly in countries with large extractive industries.
Fixed income digital assets: Unpacking Digital Bond Issuance
HSBC has been pioneering the exploration of digital assets to transform capital markets infrastructure in Asia, supporting the development of new technologies which promote economic growth and financial stability.
The pilot bond issuance, which replicated an issuance by Olam International in August 2020, was a First in Asia for digital syndicated public corporate bonds. Since then, HSBC has continued to partner with SGX and Temasek on their joint venture, Marketnode, launched in January 2021, to complete several successful digital bond issuances, including a S$1 billion perpetual securities issue by Singtel and S$600m of Perpetual Capital Securities at 2.55% by UOB.
