FOCUS Magazine - Driven by Data by The French Chamber of Commerce in Singapore

FOCUS

Issue 62

The Magazine of the French Chamber of Commerce in Singapore

www.fccsingapore.com

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Big Data Analytics for Energy Efficiency Empowering Retailers with Data and Science Using Data to Create Valued Personalised Experiences

French Chamber Singapore

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FOCUS MAGAZINE

CONTENTS

Issue 62

GUEST EDITOR’S NOTE

04 04 04 04 05 05 05 06 06 06 07 07 07

SHORT NEWS

Banyan Tree and AccorHotels Announce Strategic Partnership D-Vine Debuts in Singapore Devialet Raises €100 million for Phantom Speakers International Rollout Air France Opens New Regional Office in Singapore Singapore Ministry of Defence Orders H225M Airbus Helicopters Record Funding Round for Sigfox CMA CGM and ENGIE Sign MOU on LNG 100% Physical Certified Sustainable Palm Oil for Sodexo Singapore Société Générale Partners Smartkarma in Stocks Research New Datacentres for OVH Arctan Analytics and Linkurious Partner Up AXA Consolidates General and Life Insurance Entities in Singapore

08 08

10 11 14 16 17 18 20 22 24 26 28

30 32 32 33 33 33 34 34 35

36 36 38 40 42 43 61 64

Spotlight

Patron Member Spotlight - Bureau Veritas

Cover Story - Driven by Data

Leading the Digital Government Transformation The Internet of Things: Connecting and Transforming Integrating Railway Systems with Data Analytics Big Data Analytics for Energy Efficiency Empowering Retailers with Data and Science Engaging the Right Audience Online with Retargeting How Do You Build Loyalty? Driving Retail with Social Media Insights Using Data to Create Valued Personalised Experiences Ensuring Insurance Innovation

HR & recruitment services Business services

Newly Set-Up Companies The French Chamber at Singapore’s TechInnovation Learning Expedition for ESA Singapore’s Digital Ecosystem: Meeting with MEDEF Digital Ambassador Mr Midière The French Chamber Leads a Business Mission to Rhône-Alpes for POLLUTEC The French Chamber’s Business Centre Welcomes New V.I.E.s 15th French Pavilion at CommunicAsia & BroadcastAsia to Take Place in May 2017

Committees & Events

Welcome to Singapore 2016 Wise Innovation Conference: A Journey Toward Smart Society FinTech Forum: FinTech Beyond the Hype Bonjour Talents: A Successful Second Edition Committee Events New Members Privilege Card

French Chamber Patron Members

The French Chamber of Commerce in Singapore would like to thank its Patron Members for their continuous support.

FOCUSâ&#x20AC;&#x2C6;MAGAZINE Issue 62

French Chamber Singapore Focus is published by the French Chamber of Commerce in Singapore. The views and opinions expressed in its columns do not necessarily reflect those of the Chamberâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s members and management.

director of publication Carine Lespayandel production editor Joe Han Lim sub-editor Jonathan Meur design & layout Jonathan Meur Fanny Piovarcsy advertising Joe Han Lim Jonathan Meur Nicolas Avril colour separation & printing Toppan Security Printing Pte. Ltd. cover image Jonathan Meur Issue 62 4,000 copies MCI (P) 065/07/2016 French Chamber of Commerce in Singapore 541 Orchard Road #09-01 Liat Towers Singapore 238881 Tel: +65 6933 1350 Fax: +65 6933 1398 www.fccsingapore.com info@fccsingapore.com

FOCUS MAGAZINE

GUEST EDITOR’S NOTE

Issue 62

Work with Providers, Make Data Insights Count In today’s highly connected world, we are creating and storing volumes of data more than ever. Companies are realising that they can leverage data for great uses for their businesses. At Atos, our scientific community has long been working on thought leadership on Big Data and we recently presented our three-year plan. In order to accompany all our customers in their digital transformation and massive “data-isation”, we are capitalising on our technological strengths and people skills, to focus on our Digital Transformation Factory positioned on four high growth pillars: Cloud, Digital Workplace, SAP HANA, and cognitive solutions with Atos Codex, to transform data into business value.

menting and utilising data and analytics across key business functions, and that this will double to 90% by 2020. The core applications today are both to improve the customer experience as well as to drive cost efficiency. But the focus is now extending to business innovation and predictive risk management. 69% of firms rate analytics as a strategic business priority for the next 12 months, and 65% believe that they will be left behind if they do not catch up. The ROI is proven with over 90% of organisations reporting positive results and 50% already experiencing significantly improved revenue and bottom-line, even as they are just beginning adoption and transformation.

But the real crux of the matter is that data analytics is the future of business WIN strategy. The insights we gain by implementing them in our end-to-end processes will determine the scalability and agility of the business and the customers we retain and convert.

We have seen the incredible power of data analytics. The time is ripe. If like most organisations, you do not have the time nor the expertise and resources to put in place systems that are needed to make your data work for you, work with technology partners. And it’s not just about buying rather than building software, or leveraging cloud deployments rather than running everything in-house. External partners may not only bring advanced solutions, they can contribute valuable domain and industry expertise to help your customers be successful more quickly than they would be on their own. Among capabilities, take a special look at business-driven analytic mindset, agility, security and scalability. This will be key for the future.

A recent Forrester survey revealed that 40% of organisations are already imple-

Mr Herbie Leung CEO APAC, Atos

So this begs the question of why and how we could predict the future that will benefit your customers? I could give you the standard answer that it’s a holistic approach that addresses our clients’ businesses and their digital requirements, or elaborate on how Atos technologies can be implemented efficiently with highspeed computers, collaborative solutions, data analytics, e-payment and so forth.

SHORT NEWS

FOCUS MAGAZINE

French Companies in Singapore

Issue 62

Banyan Tree and AccorHotels Announce Strategic Partnership Banyan Tree and AccorHotels have entered a long-term partnership in which both parties intend to work together to develop and manage Banyan Tree branded hotels around the world. AccorHotels will invest an initial S$24 million in Banyan Tree, made through a mandatory convertible debenture that at conversion will give AccorHotels a stake of about 5%. Banyan Tree will also have access to AccorHotels’ global reservations and sales network, as well as its loyalty programme Le Club AccorHotels. “Our collaboration with Banyan Tree is a great opportunity to complement our business proposition to owners with iconic brands, while always better servicing

our Guests,” Sebastien Bazin, CEO and Chairman of AccorHotels said. Our strategic alliance with AccorHotels allows us to remain an independent company, enabling us to continue securing hotel

D-Vine Debuts in Singapore

management agreements on our own and yet accelerating Banyan Tree’s speed and scope of expansion but with AccorHotels helping us to grow our brands around the world.” F

right time to innovate wine consumption habits and challenge traditional serving methods,” explained Thibaut Jarrousse, CEO of 10-Vins. “Our objective is pure and simple: everyone deserves a glass of perfect wine – whenever they want it.

D-Vine, the world’s first dispenser that serves wine by the glass with the perfect aeration and temperature in under a minute, has launched in Singapore, the first country in Asia. A cutting-edge invention in wine technology, D-Vine is a lifestyle technology designed to improve the way one enjoys and interacts with wine.

Bertrand Tellier, Managing Director of Alam Baru Pte Ltd, exclusive D-Vine Representative ASEAN adds, “Wine consumption in Singapore is growing tremendously. In fact, Singaporean wine consumption has grown up to 40% over the past decade (2008 to 2017), which is 4.6 times faster than the world average, and I believe this rate of growth would continue for the next decade.” F

“With new technology introduced every day to revolutionise and improve the quality of people’s life, we felt it was a

Devialet Raises €100 million for Phantom Speakers International Rollout

Paris-based Devialet has raised €100 million in capital through a co-investment led by Ginko Ventures with participation

from international industrial and financial investors. Devialet will use the additional financing resulting from this fundraising in four key areas of development: • Rolling out Devialet’s technologies across automotive, television and Internet of Things industries representing a global potential of several billions of devices per year through strategic and industrial partnerships and agreements;

• Continued expansion of its distribution networks around two retail concepts – immersive rooms and flagship stores; • Investing further in R&D to accelerate innovation and reinforce its patent portfolio, thus consolidating its technological leadership in the field of sound; • Enabling a greater number of people to discover the emotional power of the Devialet sound with Phantom. F

SHORT NEWS

FOCUS MAGAZINE Issue 62

French Companies in Singapore

The Air France-KLM group has opened its new regional office in Singapore to house its three core businesses under one roof, namely: passenger transport, cargo transport and aeronautical maintenance, repair and overhaul. The move to consolidate its businesses also saw an increase in the number of employees – totalling 164 staff, up from 128 in 2015. Mr Gijs van Popta, General Manager of AFKLM (Commercial) SEA & Oceania, said, “Singapore is an attractive business hub that has the right environment to spur commercial growth thanks to it being a well-connected travel hub.” F

Air France Opens New Regional Office in Singapore Singapore Ministry of Defence Orders H225M Airbus Helicopters ly modern platform, that is able to cope with the most challenging missions”, he added.

Airbus Helicopters has signed a contract with the Singapore Ministry of Defence for the acquisition of H225M - Medium Lift Helicopters. “We are greatly honoured that Singapore has selected the H225M as its next-generation Medium Lift Helicop-

ter” said Guillaume Faury, CEO of Airbus Helicopters. “The Super Puma has served Singapore well for the last 30 years. The addition of the H225M to the RSAF fleet will bring a step change in capabilities thanks to a proven, versatile and extreme-

Record Funding Round for Sigfox Sigfox, the world’s leading provider of connectivity for IoT, has concluded a funding round of €150 million to accelerate the expansion of its global network and soon reach worldwide coverage. Additional investors should join this financing round to reach €150 million. Xavier Drilhon, deputy CEO of Sigfox, said, “This will allow the company to accelerate the deployment of its network from 26 countries today to over 60 within the next two years, representing 90% of the worldwide GDP.” F

Singapore’s fleet of H225M will be used for a wide spectrum of operations including Search and Rescue (SAR), Aeromedical Evacuation (AME), and Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) operations. A proven platform with exceptional payload, a world-class automatic flight control system and long endurance, the H225M has demonstrated its versatility and performance even in the harshest operational environments. F

SHORT NEWS

FOCUS MAGAZINE

French Companies in Singapore / French Chamber

Issue 62

CMA CGM and ENGIE Sign MOU on LNG For Farid Salem, Executive Officer of the CMA CGM Group, “Liquefied natural gas [...] is undoubtedly the fuel of the future of the maritime shipping industry that will progressively substitute heavy fuel oil.” LNG significantly reduces CO2 emissions, eliminates sulfur oxide emissions, and drastically reduces nitrogen oxides and particulate matters. CMA CGM and ENGIE have signed a MOU to promote LNG as the marine fuel for tomorrow’s container vessels. The agreement focuses on: • A joint CMA CGM-ENGIE technical and economic study on LNG as a fuel for tomorrow’s container ships;

• A study about the development of engineering specifications for a bunkering vessel adapted to LNG powered container ships, so as to improve over time the logistics chain necessary to fuelling this type of vessels, thus promoting their deployment.

Isabelle Kocher, CEO of ENGIE adds, “For ENGIE, natural gas is a key element in the energy transition. The Group is actively engaged in the development of the diverse uses of retail LNG, especially for a greener mobility.” F

100% Physical Certified Sustainable Palm Oil for Sodexo Singapore Sodexo Singapore, the local arm of Sodexo, the world leader in Quality of Life Services, plans to source 100% physical certified sustainable palm oil (CSPO) for its cooking oil by 2017. Physical CSPO provides an additional level of assurance to consumers, as it implies that the oil is certified sustainable through a physical supply chain.

“Sodexo is committed to reducing its environmental impact and promoting sustainable business practices. By engaging our partners, we have been able to contribute meaningfully to improving the palm oil value chain, ultimately enhancing the Quality of Life of all our consumers.” Aurélien Sonet, Asia Pacific Region Chair & Singapore Country President, explains. F

Société Générale Partners Smartkarma in Stocks Research Société Générale has announced a new agreement with Singapore-based fintech company Smartkarma, a curated online platform for investment insight focused on the Asian markets. Under this global agreement, Société Générale will provide its institutional clients access to a new form of equity research based on content provided by highly ranked industry analysts, academics, data scientists and strategists.

Commenting on the agreement, Stephane Loiseau, Head of Cash Equities & Global Execution Services, Asia Pacific at Société Générale said, “Société Generale is excited to offer institutional investors an innovative solution to access high-quality, independent equity research on Asian stocks with insightful investment ideas [...]. With this fast-growing ecosystem, we are providing clients with a new way to access research content that is

compliant with the increased unbundling and transparent pricing requirements of research and trading services.” “Over the coming months, we will work together to help clients optimise research budgets and meet evolving regulatory requirements without any need to modify workflow or add to administrative overheads,” adds Raghav Kapoor, CEO and Co-Founder of Smartkarma. F

SHORT NEWS

FOCUS MAGAZINE Issue 62

French Companies in Singapore

New Datacentres for OVH OVH is expanding with three datacentres in Singapore, Australia and Poland, which will enable it to support its customers in their global expansion and respond to the growing demand for outsourced digital infrastructures throughout the world. Performance is made possible through the ability to industrialise and the infrastructure of the OVH network. The hosting leader relies on its own global network with a capacity of 7.3 Tbps to guarantee optimal latency and security. It offers 32 points of presence worldwide, making it possible to deliver guaranteed bandwidth at competitive rates, even in locations like

Asia where bandwidth cost is high. All services proposed in the new datacentres include the anti-DDoS protection that is

standard with all OVH offers. The teams have put in place anti-DDoS infrastructures in the datacentres they operate. F

Arctan Analytics and Linkurious Partner Up big data and analytics with Linkurious’ market leading graph visualisation technology to deliver solutions for today’s increasingly data rich world.

Arctan Analytics, a fast-growing data analytics service company in Asia, and Linkurious, a leading innovator in graph

visualisation, have entered a strategic partnership that combines Arctan Analytics’ expertise in business solutions for

Pierre Hausheer, Managing Director, Arctan Analytics commented, “As we enter a new era of datacentric operation, companies must collaborate to keep pace with increasing data volumes for their customers. This is why we are working with Linkurious, a market leader in graph visualisation.” F

AXA Consolidates General and Life Insurance Entities in Singapore AXA Insurance Singapore has successfully transferred its business to AXA Life Insurance Singapore. Both general insurance and life insurance entities are now one single entity that has been renamed AXA Insurance. With the consolidation of both classes of business, AXA Insurance has been granted a composite insurance licence, providing customers with greater convenience to access a full range of general and life insurance solutions.

The consolidation of both entities was done by way of a scheme of transfer that has been licensed and approved by the Monetary Authority of Singapore and the High Court of Singapore. There will be no change to the obligations and services due to customers as a result of this consolidation. “The consolidation of both classes of business into a single insurer will allow

us to have a more comprehensive picture of our customers’ insurance needs and better service their general insurance and life insurance needs,” said Doina Palici-Chehab, Chief Executive Officer of AXA Insurance. “We are confident that the synergies achieved through this move will allow us to enhance our focus on our customers, offering them seamless services to meet their evolving expectations.” F

Patron Member Spotlight

FOCUS MAGAZINE

Bureau Veritas

Issue 62

Leading Testing, Inspection and Certification Across Industries In our interview with a Patron Member, Serge Antonini, Senior Vice President, South East Asia – Pacific, Bureau Veritas shares with us about his career, his personal motto, and Bureau Veritas’ engagements in Singapore and the region. Since 1828, the Bureau Veritas Group has consistently built recognised expertise, helping clients comply with standards and regulations relating to quality, health and safety, environment and social responsibility. The group’s network of regional and local offices manages client relationship and delivers a comprehensive range of services including inspection, testing, auditing, certification, ship classification and related technical assistance, training and outsourcing.

Can you tell us about your career at Bureau Veritas? My career in Bureau Veritas started in early 2004 when it created the position of Global Market Leader, Oil & Gas Upstream. I was in charge of defining the strategy of the group and I helped some key countries develop their industrial activities within this market. This position allowed me to quickly familiarise myself with the large Bureau Veritas network. My position led me to China, a country that fascinated me so much that I couldn’t leave. In January 2005, in Shanghai, I was appointed to develop the Industry and Facility Division through North East Asia. This was probably the most fulfilling period of my professional life. In early 2009, I was appointed VP Africa for the Commodities and Industry (CIF) Division, and also supported our Government and International Trade Divisions (GSIT) as the activities of these different divisions are closely linked across the African continent. In early 2014, I joined Singapore where I live now, and am in charge of the Commodity & Industry Division for South East Asia and Pacific, employing 3,700 staff members. I am the Country Representative for the Bureau Veritas Group in Singapore.

“

Singapore is one of the 20 countries across the world considered key for Bureau Veritas, and so all our divisions are represented in the city-state.

“

Could you briefly describe Bureau Veritas’ strategy in Singapore? Singapore is one of the 20 countries across the world considered key for Bureau Veritas, and so all our divisions are represented in the city-state. Singapore has a regulated environment with well defined norms and standards in place and this helps to maintain the highquality environment present. It is also a hub for ASEAN for several segments and as such, our clients are both local and regional, allowing us to roll out services within the zone quite efficiently. Singapore is a regional epicentre for marine and offshore activities, encompassing conversions and new builds. With the regional resources including R&D, we coexist alongside our clients and industrial partners and become part of the ecosystem, thus affording greater affinity and synergies. For commodities, within our main Oil & Petrochemical laboratory in Toh Tuck, we keep our focus on the quality of ser-

vices and strong ties with local customers and regional offices of oil majors. We continue to expand our portfolio of services (VeriFuel for marine bunkering, for example) and to market outsourced services across multiple market segments (transformed oil testing, OCM, environmental testing). Singapore will remain our ASEAN coordination hub for all services, in particular, trade minerals, agrifood, and oil inspection and testing. Similarly, we are developing all aspects in the testing of consumer products in our lab in Tampines, which can thus be used as a hub for products produced and manufactured in ASEAN. We intend to maintain our leadership in Oil & Gas, construction, systems certification activities, at the same time grow in power and utilities, rail, chemical, sustainable services (green building, RSPO, forestry) and diversify into testing activities: food, material testing, software, robots. Singapore is also key for us to detect and nurture local talent, secure licences to operate while maintaining objectivity.

FOCUS MAGAZINE

Patron Member Spotlight

Issue 62

What are the challenges of the APAC/SEA region for Bureau veritas? More than anywhere else, megatrends are transforming societies here, bringing new needs in environmental protection. These emerging perspectives provide Bureau Veritas with new development opportunities, very much in line with our Strategic 2020 plan. The role that Bureau Veritas plays in APAC as a solution provider will generate confidence among economic players. Our CSR commitments to stakeholders aim at building our sustainable future growth. Singapore is an open economy that promotes dynamism and transparency. This provides Bureau Veritas with opportunities to gain new clients and new markets. Of course, on the other hand, this means that there is great competition in these markets. Nonetheless, there are some parts of the region, in a few countries such as Myanmar and the Philippines, where government policies may be unpredictable and inconsistent. In Thailand, for instance, the geopolitical situation may also affect trade business. Could you tell us more about Bureau Veritas’ latest engagements with big data and analytics? Digitalisation is ushering in profound changes for businesses at an unprecedented pace and BV Group intends to accelerate its role in this new digital economy through four key avenues (as part of the BV Strategic 2020 plan): • Digitalisation of its TIC business (“digitally-augmented TIC”), with the aim of providing more personalised, swift and smart services to clients (remote inspections, real-time information on regulations, 3D modelling of inspected objects, conditional alerts on inspections); • Adapting its offer to new digital components, products and services in order to ensure that its new client services are underpinned by trust (“Digital Trust”); • Making available digital data platforms (“Data Gate Keeping”) to exchange, cooperate on and monetise multi-faceted information in a secure, unbiased manner, thereby helping this new digital economy to take hold; • Analysing its own data standards (“Data

Bureau Veritas

intelligence”) in order to enhance its value proposition for its clients as well as optimise efficiency. From your perspective, what are some key data trends businesses should be concerned with? The greater use of computerised automation (e.g. algorithm trading) means that the safeguarding of the integrity of the underlying computer source code is critical. This is a very significant challenge in the context of the Internet of Things where we are talking about devices interacting with one another. Imagine the potential physical harm and organisational chaos that could happen if the programme logic for one or more automated processes/machines were accidentally or maliciously altered. IT research and advisory firm Gartner estimates that, by 2018, more than 3 million workers will be supervised by robots. According to them, companies will develop machines smart enough to measure, supervise worker performance and learn through experience. While we are still grasping the full implications of such a development, we can be sure that this will definitely revolutionise the way businesses are managed and controlled organisationally. The key question that we will be confronted with is the nature of regulations to be applied in order to keep this robots–human interface compatible with current HSE standards. In the Internet of Things, sensors will be so prevalent that we will be able to collect data and make it available on just about anything companies want (e.g. customers purchasing patterns). Collection of data is just one part of the equation but the key issue will be safeguarding and analysing it in a coherent and correct way.

tered in Singapore, companies not registered here. It is also great that the French Chamber has good relations with local authorities (EDB, A*STAR, ministries, etc.) I would say that there are many topics, Singapore smart city trends for instance, that have been well introduced by the Chamber through workshops and forums, which really give French companies the opportunity to better understand the way Singaporean authorities want to develop their city-state, through dialogue with these authorities themselves. This helps French companies better understand how our French technology can match the needs here. What is your motto? To still “Feel the need for the Speed” in a changing world, despite future global challenges that make our business environment increasingly uncertain. F

As a strong supporter of the French Chamber, how would you describe its role today for French companies in Singapore? The French Chamber in Singapore has a very dynamic presence here, organising very diverse forums that involve companies and potential regional partners for French companies: for companies regis-

Serge Antonini, Senior Vice President, South East Asia – Pacific, Bureau Veritas.

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Leading the Digital Government Transformation

By Chan Cheow Hoe, Government Chief Information Officer, Government Technology Agency of Singapore

American venture capitalist Marc Andreessen was prophetic when he said “software is eating the world”. Today, most businesses and industries run on software delivered as digital servicesfrom music to medical services. Such digital services have upended entire industries. For example, ride-hailing apps such as Uber and Grab have forced incumbent taxi companies to review their operating models, or risk going out of business. Governments will not be spared. In Singapore, the Government Technology Agency of Singapore, or “GovTech”, launched in October 2016, underscores the government’s intent to transform the traditional delivery of digital government services. Driving the government’s digital transformation is the first of GovTech’s three key strategic thrusts.

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Being citizen-centric and anticipating the demands of citizens is transforming the way the government approaches all new services and how it engages citizens.

An example is the OneService app by the Municipal Services Office, which helps residents report municipal issues. With the app, municipal feedback will be channelled to the relevant agencies without residents worrying whether their notification has gone to the wrong public agency. In short, there is no “wrong door”. The focus on user experience design has changed the mindsets of many public servants who realise that they too are citizens. Being citizen-centric and anticipating the demands of citizens is transforming the way the government approaches all new services and how it engages citizens. When people approach the government, we can at least make it a pleasant and productive experience by focusing on

1. Digital government transformation Previously, the work of public servants tended to originate from an inside-out view of the world, where services are organised based on internal structures such as healthcare, transport and urban development, and delivered accordingly to citizens. At GovTech, we are adopting a different outside-in view: where government services are designed with the needs of the citizens – or customers - in mind.

Chan Cheow Hoe, Government Chief Information Officer, Government Technology Agency of Singapore

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The Singapore Government is pushing deeper into harnessing the power of digital and transforming public service delivery. Chan Cheow Hoe, Government Chief Information Officer of GovTech sets out the three thrusts of the newly formed agency.

citizens as customers. This ethos will drive GovTech’s vision for a digital government.

2. Harnessing data and analytics Data and IoT are among the emerging technologies driving the fourth industrial revolution. One key role GovTech plays is in building the infrastructure and backend data and video analytics platforms to help public sector agencies better optimise data and analytics for planning and operations. GovTech is putting in place a nationwide sensor network to facilitate more efficient sensor data collection, analysis and sharing of insights across the whole of government. Another key initiative is Virtual Singa-

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pore, a 3D geospatial rendering of Singapore to aid in urban planning and operations. Virtual Singapore is led by the National Research Foundation, Singapore Land Authority and GovTech, with French firm Dassault Systèmes providing the technical expertise.

3. Catalysing civic co-creation Beyond the extensive use of data in the public sector, the Government has also provided data for public use via our open data portal, data.gov.sg. We have launched a Developers’ Portal within data.gov.sg to make application programming interfaces available to citizens and industry to develop apps and co-create solutions. For example, we have developers and

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We aim to be a smart buyer for the government, creating lead demand and partnering closely with the industry to co-source digital and data solutions for the public good.

students who have created taxi apps from the transport datasets hosted in data.gov.sg.

Collaboration is key To fulfil these three key thrusts, GovTech cannot and does not intend to do it alone. We will actively seek to work with the private sector and domain experts. Even as GovTech builds up our in-house ICT and engineering capabilities, we aim to be a

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smart buyer for the government, creating lead demand and partnering closely with the industry to co-source digital and data solutions for the public good. We will also partner citizens by building open-source platforms to enable co-creation and develop digital products in an agile manner to take in citizen feedback at every step of product design. This will be the way to go for the future of GovTech. F

The Government Technology Agency of Singapore (GovTech) is a new statutory board formed in October 2016 after the restructuring of the Infocomm Development Authority. GovTech works with public agencies to develop and deliver secure digital services and applied technology to individuals and businesses in Singapore, builds key platforms and solutions needed to support Singapore as a Smart Nation, and as a leading centre for information communications technology and related engineering such as the Internet of Things, also enhances the capabilities of the Singapore Government in these domains.

)HUX\L KL .LZ[PVU 7YP]tL KLW\PZ

12 Marina Boulevard # 37-02 | Marina Bay Financial Center Tower 3 Singapore 018982 T +65 6441 2000 | E btsingapour@banquetransatlantique.com www.banquetransatlantique.com Banque Transatlantique is a bank incorporated and licensed in France, regulated by the European Central Bank and Autorité de Contrôle Prudentiel et de Régulation; and Is not regulated by Monetray Authority of Singapore.UEN T16FB0001H

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The Internet of Things: Connecting and Transforming

In this interview, Roswell Wolff, President, Asia Pacific, SIGFOX, discusses SIGFOX's IoT project in Singapore and explains how the Internet of Things will change the ways we live, work and play.

Sigfox is joining forces with ENGIE and UnaBiz to connect Singapore to the global IoT network. Can you tell us about this partnership, and share the expertise of your company? We are very excited about this partnership delivering Sigfox’s connectivity to Singapore, particularly supporting the Smart Nation Initiative. This programme includes infrastructure, ecosystems and capabilities to bring IoT benefits to all citizens. UnaBiz Network, our exclusive operator in Singapore, will lead the nationwide rollout, expected to be completed in the first half of 2017. Singapore is our first network in Asia and home to our regional headquarters. We chose it for its strategic positioning as a leading regional hub and gateway to the region. UnaBiz will leverage our global ecosystem of component manufacturers, IT developers and integrators to establish Singapore as the “living lab” of Asia, giving public access to channels, service providers, enterprises and government agencies. ENGIE chose to invest because it will help its local businesses

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We see connected devices everywhere, and there are IoT solutions for everything.

improve energy efficiency, and deliver facility management and customer-centred digital solutions. Projects include remote monitoring of boilers, metering in heat distribution and smart lighting. What are some examples in which IoT coverage is going to change the ways citizens live, work and play? Estimates show that there will be 50+ billion connected devices by 2025. Whole industries are emerging to deliver products, software and services aimed at capturing and analysing huge volumes of data. This is most visible in consumer markets, especially wearables and smart-home appliances. Less visible are the billions of dollars being spent on industrial applications to measure, identify, alert, track, inform, and maintain devices. In healthcare, home monitoring devices are enabling real-time services for healthcare providers and families. They ensure elderly or home-care patients are

monitored and receiving the care they require quickly and easily. Security service providers are delivering secure and cost-effective smoke, fire, and burglary detection, with real-time alerts to emergency services. Insurance providers bundle these services into new customer offers. Industrial applications monitor water leakage and gas or electricity consumption to enable governments and private companies to manage natural resources more efficiently and deliver better service to customers. What do you regard as the most interesting use of Internet of Things? Everyone will use IoT based on their own interests; we see connected devices everywhere – including soil moisture measurements in farming, air quality in polluted cities, fire detection in palm plantations, etc. There are many IoT so-

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lutions providing social welfare as well. The Sigfox Foundation, an independent endowment fund started by our founders, Ludovic LeMoan and Christophe Fourtet, provides connectivity solutions to humanitarian causes worldwide. The Foundation aims to solve major issues for the environment, public health, and social matters, focusing on causes that can be partly solved through IoT connectivity. The Foundation is testing a monitored, anti-poaching system, to connect small GPS trackers to endangered rhinos. With fewer than 29,000 rhinos worldwide today, and four per day being killed in Africa, this system is giving critical information to aid in preventing this species from extinction.

Driven by Data

SIGFOX’s worldwide footprint is steadily growing. Could you share with us a little about your expansion plan? Singapore is now one of 28 countries where our network is already present and registers more than 10 million objects. Our goal is to be deployed in over 60 countries by 2018, which will represent over 90% of world GDP. With millions of devices connected to the network and a rapidly growing ecosystem of partners, Sigfox empowers companies to move their business models towards more digital services and where valuable

data can be captured and used in the most cost-efficient way. We have a unique approach to device-tocloud connectivity allowing companies to address the three greatest barriers to global IoT adoption: cost, energy consumption, and global scalability. Instead of using existing cellular technologies, Sigfox has built a global network to listen to billions of devices broadcasting data. Like a radio telescope, Sigfox can pick-up very small signals sent by IoT devices. Sigfox complements existing technologies, addressing the needs of these simple devices. F

Roswell Wolff is the President of SIGFOX, Asia Pacific, based in Singapore. He and his team are leading the company’s efforts to develop the solution ecosystem, deploy the network and manage all sales channels. SIGFOX is a leading provider of global, simple, cost–effective and energy–efficient connectivity and services for the Internet of Things that any company can use to create new business models, accelerate digital transformations and generate new value. Launched in 2009, the company is headquartered in France and has offices in Boston, Dubai, Madrid, San Francisco and Singapore.

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Integrating Railway Systems with Data Analytics Find out about Alstom‘s data analytics-powered initiatives.

How is Big Data captured and used by Alstom? One of the solutions that Alstom has developed that captures and uses big data is HealthHub. It consists of innovative tools to capture, transmit and analyse data gathered from trains, infrastructure and signalling systems. By monitoring the state of the railway system, maintenance tasks can be anticipated and planned, which ultimately optimise the operational cost and management. Several tools have been developed under the HealthHub, with more under development. They are TrainTracer for on-board real-time condition monitoring, TrainScanner for “X-Ray” check of train from 45 to 90 seconds, the Motes, wireless sensors collecting vibration and temperature data from a wheelset, Track & Catenary Tracer, and the Point Machine condition monitoring tool. All data is gathered at the HealthHub platform, a web-based platform powered by data

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Tools have been developed to monitor the real-time conditions of railway systems.

analytics. These tools can be used for high-speed trains, mainlines, tram and metro lines, whether manufactured by Alstom or others. For example, the high-speed Pendolino trains operating on the West Coast Main Line in Manchester, UK, have been equipped with TrainTracer since 2006 and are now also equipped with TrainScanner, TrackTracer and HealhHub platform to ensure the highest reliability of the line. Could you share with us some tangible impacts these processes will have on consumers? Alstom HealthHub predictive maintenance solution brings railway manufacturers, operators and service providers together on one platform. It provides the

right information at the right time, allowing convenient scheduling of maintenance tasks and thus avoiding any unexpected equipment failures. For instance, TrainTracer has been equipped on more than 1,200 trains worldwide since 2006. It has showed significant result including a decrease in immobilisation time of the trains and repetitive faults. In addition, Alstom HealthHub predictive maintenance solution optimises operational costs and management through a “pit stop” approach: everything is ready when the maintenance tasks need to be done, the right quantities of materials are delivered at the right time and maintenance staff can operate quickly. As a result, it can reduce up to 20% of preventive maintenance labour and up to 15% of material consumption. F

As a promoter of sustainable mobility, Alstom develops and markets systems, equipment and services for the railway sector. A world leader in integrated railway systems, it manages the widest range of solutions in the market – from high-speed trains to metros and tramways – customised services (maintenance, modernisation, etc.), infrastructure and signalling solutions.

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Big Data Analytics for Energy Efficiency

Benjamin Mousseau, Director of EDF Lab Singapore, EDF Asian Sustainable Cities Center of Excellence shares with us EDF’s Big Data activities, from smart meters to simulation platforms.

At the core of the energy transition is data, and EDF will be generating a large amount of data with the rollout of the Linky smart meters (35 million meters by 2020). This data will allow us to create more precise previsions, increase the reliability of our infrastructure and, of course, bring new value to our customers. It represents a huge step forward and in fact, in anticipation of the data revolution, EDF Labs started selecting and deploying new data infrastructure (data lakes) a few years ago. We are now focusing on value creation by looking at new insights potentially brought by data science; this is the very purpose of the Data Innovation Lab launched by EDF Labs, which will help our businesses prototype, test and select the most impactful case uses (in the fields of optimisation, prediction, predictive maintenance, digital marketing, image processing, etc.)

The EDF City Platform integrates all the complexity of the city to forecast the impact of sustainable initiatives.

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We are now focusing on value creation by looking at new insights potentially brought by data science.

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What is an example of how Big Data is captured and used by EDF?

In Singapore, we focus on sustainable and smart cities, and we have developed a 3D simulation platform dealing with different types of data defining the urban context. The platform integrates all this data (3D, parametres of urban objects, scenario inputs) to run complex simulations and forecast evolutions of Key Performance Indicators. Could you share with us some tangible impacts these processes will have on consumers? The smart meters will enable monitoring of consumption patterns of customers, and we will thus be able to recommend them new ways of reducing their energy consumption, provide them with better information on the impact of their behaviours, propose prices adapted to their

The application of the Linky Smart Meter of EDF will bring new services to the customers

needs, and present them with an integrated view of all energy related objects in their environments, from AC to electric vehicles. It will also allow managing of production of decentralised energy, as the consumer becomes more and more a “prosumer”. On a larger scale, this data is used by EDF to better predict consumption and production levels at various scales, which will allow optimisation and fine-tuning of infrastructure, prices and services. This is also EDF’s approach in Singapore with decision support tools for local authorities that enable them to evaluate, from the planning stage, the long-term impact of initiatives and decisions. Accordingly, EDF supports the Housing and Development Board through complex system simulations to help create dedicated knowledge from multi-field data simulations. F

EDF Lab Singapore covers sustainable cities modelling and simulation topics, particularly those related to planning and decision-making. The EDF City Platform is a 3D simulation tool that integrates all the urban sectors to quantify the future impact of urban projects.

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Empowering Retailers with Data and Science

The modern retailer operates in an increasingly complex environment. Marc Rakotomalala, Co-Founder and CEO of Mentorica Technology, shares RetailGear’s approach to empowering retailers.

Retailers operate in a brave new world The central problem that retailers face is simple: offer products that customers want. However, not only are customers diverse and complex, their preferences and behaviours have always been a challenge to predict. To complicate things further, technologies are redefining ways society approaches retail.

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A new hybrid customer has emerged, increasingly less predictable as groups, increasingly desiring custom products.

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First, the retailer needs to have the means of analysing and visualising existing data (e.g. customer baskets, store inventory turnover) in order to find patterns and uncover associations for instance. More

in-store customer preferences capture functionalities. Salespeople on the floor are thereupon equipped with an app capturing the voice of the customer for better product design, or optimal product

Today’s informed shopper path to purchase is a series of shopping moments, no longer a linear process like before: it entails (in any order) conversations with a community of like-minded folks, product unboxing on YouTube, following an influencer on Instagram, ratings on a review site, visits to a brick-and-mortar store, etc. In short, a new hybrid customer has emerged, increasingly less predictable as groups, increasingly desiring custom products. So the retailer’s problem boils down to the following: how can they gather as much data about the final consumer, so that (i) products remain relevant to an increasingly partitioned customer base, (ii) customer conversion rate increases, and (iii) customer loyalty develops?

Data, data, data Data is certainly an important part to this process, and retailers need to gather data at each touchpoint, and generate actionable insights.

Mentorica’s PROretail® can dramatically help improve a manager’s sales approach by providing extensive, real time customer information and market visibility.

often than not, we have seen retailers sit on a trove of data due to a lack of adequate information infrastructure, skills, or stakeholders’ involvement; Mentorica’s RetailGear changes this state of affairs with its everyday business intelligence and predictive analytics capabilities delivered close to real time. Next, if the retailer has brick-and-mortar stores, he must collect data at this touchpoint and, for example, activate the

allocations and offerings at the local retail level. How different is the lady traditionally buying on Faubourg St Honoré, Paris, from the new buyer in Shanghai? The retailer can also activate mobile location analytics features, and capture foot traffic from store sensors, or grab customer demographics and emotions from intelligent cameras (IoT). Real-time traffic measures, store floor heatmaps, and customer distributions provide store,

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DAMS Expert Systems Architecture DAMS is a rule-based system that guides the user through all the steps of the methods and in choosing the best technique for the commercial data analysis at hand. Explanation Module

Facts Base Knowledge Base, Retail

Graphical User

Inference Engine

Interface

Knowledge Base, Algos

Knowledge Acquisition Module

Retail User

Retail Data Scientist Expert

merchandising, and marketing managers actionable information. RetailGear also offers neighbourhood e-commerce capabilities to collect localised customer online and behavioural

data. Customer experience is enhanced with additional data captured with VR/ AR, e.g. who looked at an ad and for how long? Social data can also be harvested, and marketing campaign effectiveness improved.

Science Through Mentorica’s patent-pending DAMS platform (Data, Analytics, Method, and Systems as a Service), RetailGear offers a curated library of algorithms and recommendation engines to analyse these various heterogeneous datasets — offline, online, mobile, social web, and transactional. Designed for retail business users, and not PhDs in statistics, it has chatbots and expert systems that guide users in choosing the best techniques, walking them through each step of the commercial data analysis at hand.

Data + Science

RetailGear user interface – smartphone, tablet, and desktop

Ultimately, retail can be empowered by scientific methods; retailers can use data to increase customer conversion rate and enhance customer loyalty, by better matching product benefits to customer functional and psychological needs. F

Mentorica is a technology start-up supported by the Singapore National Research Foundation, Mediacorp, and various venture capitalists. Mentorica’s RetailGear is a retail data acquisition and analytical CRM that provides a 360° view of customers, enabling retailers better understanding of customers’ perspectives across various touchpoint — offline, online, mobile, and social web.

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Engaging the Right Audience Online with Retargeting Online advertising spending is poised to continue growing. Alban Villani, Commercial Director of Criteo

Southeast Asia, Hong Kong and Taiwan, elaborates on the method of retargeting, and explains how Criteo uses big data and analytics to help marketers reach the right audience.

What is retargeting? Criteo is a performance marketing company, so what we provide is something called personalised dynamic retargeting. The concept of retargeting is to help partners bring back consumers who have dropped off from their websites to encourage conversions throughout the consumer’s online browsing journey. Advertising is not about persuasion anymore, but rather about communication with the consumers and recommendation. If the consumers are not happy with your price and browsing experience, they can easily click on another page. Retargeting allows brands to continuously engage the consumers with relevant content – such as the products they are looking at or other related items – to eventually bring them back to the site and complete their purchase. How do we know which ads add the most value to a user’s browsing experience? Shoppers want to see ads that are interesting to them. No one wants to be bombarded with unwanted or irrelevant content. If you keep showing users generic or non-relevant banners, they will not visit your website and may even become annoyed with the brand. The more relevant it is to the shopper, the more likely they will click on it. We determine the relevance of the ad based on the user’s actual online behaviour. We use data from anonymous cookies that track the shopper’s online activities like the products they viewed, the searches they made or number of pages viewed on

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Advertising is not about persuasion anymore, but rather about communication with the consumers and recommendation.

our partners’ websites. This ensures we only show them content based on the items they are interested in, enhancing their online shopping experience. What makes Criteo’s technology and capabilities stand out from the rest? We deliver an end-to-end performance marketing solution, work directly with clients and an extensive network of publishers, and measure performance exclusively on a postclick attribution model.

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We take privacy very seriously at Criteo. We only collect anonymous information through cookies that record shoppers’ activities. For example, we can track whether your internet browser has visited one of our partner sites in the past 30 days, and which products you viewed, but we don’t know who you are nor do we collect any of your personal information. Ultimately, the cookie information we collect aims to increase the relevance of the ads being displayed to users, but not to determine their identity. F

When it comes to technology, Criteo’s proprietary and world-class self-learning engine delivers measurable results by observing shopping intent data and sales transactions in the online marketplace. It utilises big data and analytics to deliver personalised real-time ads with accuracy and scale, direct to any device – web, mobile web, in-app, and cross-device. Criteo’s cross-device and performance marketing technology has been adopted by prominent retailers like Zalora in Singapore and MatahariMall in Indonesia, helping them improve consumer engagement and increase sales volumes by 363% and 160% respectively. When tracking consumers' online behaviour, what data do you collect?

Alban Villani, Commercial Director of Criteo Southeast Asia, Hong Kong and Taiwan

Criteo delivers personalised performance marketing at an extensive scale. Measuring return on post-click sales, Criteo makes ROI transparent and easy to measure. Criteo has over 2,200 employees in 30 offices across the Americas, EMEA and Asia-Pacific, serving 13,000 advertisers worldwide and with direct relationships with 17,500 publishers. For access to industry reports, visit criteo.com/resources.

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How Do You Build Loyalty?

A question inevitably on the minds of many brands... In this interview, Johann Suchon, Managing Director, China, Southeast Asia Incentive and Rewards & Global Rewards of Edenred, explains how businesses can approach loyalty and relationship management.

Is there a difference between a loyalty and a rewards programme? When thinking about relationship programmes, the key question to tackle, on the part of a brand, concerns the type of behaviour it seeks to drive from the beneficiaries of its programme. Among the different below-the-line tools available to marketers, the first step of differentiation is by target, i.e. “Is the brand seeking a relationship programme focusing on consumers (CRM), on professionals or on employees?” Once this is decided, we can then define the objectives of this programme, i.e. “Are we seeking to acquire members? To limit attrition? To industrialise opportunities for cross- or up-selling? To set up a network of business partners? To educate the market and / or beneficiaries?” The possibilities and combinations are endless, even more so in a zone like Asia Pacific, where CRM and loyalty concepts are in their build-up phase.

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Our role as a loyalty service provider has evolved, from suppliers of tools for loyalty programmes to partners for our clients.

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Then, based on these objectives and criteria, we work out the means and tactics, e.g. instant rewards, points-based programmes, value-based programmes vs recognition, emotional or tangible propositions, all while keeping in mind the core values of the brand or product. We may sometimes end up with loyalty programmes based 100% on emotional recognition or, on an opposite end, programmes in which the main value is a direct monetary equivalent. Most loyalty programmes though, whether B2C or B2B, tend to offer a balance between tangible rewards and emotional values. The efficacy of a loyalty programme lies in the correct “cocktail” of those benefits... Do you aim to trigger a “Long Island Ice Tea” effect, an immediate burst reaction, or a soothing “Piña Colada” effect that lasts longer? Both? It is possible, and it

Johann Suchon, Managing Director, China, Southeast Asia Incentive and Rewards & Global Rewards, Edenred

is increasingly evident to many that social media usage can tremendously impact the ways we manage this mix of benefits and rewards. This issue focuses on data. What “new data” should brands be leveraging to better engage beneficiaries, consumers in particular? Initially, many clients were launching consumer loyalty programmes to acquire highly valued personal data (or corporate data in the case of B2B CRM). These days, getting access to data is no longer an issue, with the boom in online interactions, social media data sharing (limited nonetheless by local PII data regulations), overall digitalisation of communication and payments, etc. All these activities generate much more data than marketers – even the best-equipped ones – can really apprehend, not to mention leverage. At the same time, the expectations of consumers, millennials or others, have evolved: non-targeted campaigns or communication have seen their efficacy drop dramatically! And this is not only because it is easier to monitor results in this digital age, but also because consumers’ sensitivity to personalised offers is now a must to consider. Thus, the role of loyalty programmes has evolved from a “trick” to capture information to a major channel to pulse targeted and personalised campaigns, which is actually pretty good news for everybody: marketers can match campaign offer / branding / targets and control their equities, finance teams can monitor campaign budgets and ROI

and, finally, consumers can benefit from relevant offers. To take a recent example: Amazon Go is a very exciting innovation in retail, and certainly from a CRM / loyalty perspective. At first glance, it actually looks like the exact opposite of what relationship programmes aim at: how can one go about building a relationship when there is no longer any human contact between them and consumers? Amazon Go completely changes the ecosystem on which most store retail CRM programmes are based, and it actually generates data that is similar to online CRM programmes. One of the most meaningful and powerful pieces of data for marketers is what’s being “abandoned” or “altered” by shoppers in their baskets through the course of shopping, and this data is available only in the online retail world. In an Amazon Go system, we will able to capture the same data with one additional

element – physicals! The consumer can actually touch, weigh and feel a product before putting it into his basket, no longer just simply clicking on a picture or video! I am very excited about the insights we will be able to get from this new data for retail and I am certain that its impact will go far beyond the CRM / loyalty teams. Merchandisers, for example, are likely to become your Loyalty Manager’s new BFF! In your experience, what are some challenges brands face in integrating and applying data and how does Edenred support their operations? Integrating data is not so much a critical issue for most clients these days: the generalisation of API (Application Programming Interface) and overall digitalisation of the brand-consumer relationship has assisted tremendously processes in acquisition and integration of data. SSO (Single Sign On) and the ubiquity of mobile devices have also helped a lot, by singling out consumers

(whether or not it leads to a dystopian future is another story...). Broadly speaking, the overall quality of databases has significantly improved, which is great news considering the exponential growth of accessible data. Our role as a loyalty service provider has also evolved, from suppliers of tools for loyalty programmes (CRM, loyalty engines, campaign management, communication channels and vouchers / offers management), to partners for our clients, not only providing CRM and marketing teams with recommendations on their strategies but also operating directly personalised campaigns based on findings and insights from our own Data Analytics teams, which usually complement those of our clients. Again, I see this evolution as a very positive change: as a loyalty agency, our growth is more tightly linked to our clients’ success, which is directly related to the relevance of their offers to consumers: that’s a winwin-win situation! F

Edenred Singapore provides advanced expertise in marketing services, across Asia Pacific, with an innovative and integrated offer, from the design and programme management solutions to distribution of rewards, to assist companies in their relationship marketing strategies. For 50 years, Edenred has been adapting its offer to a changing society by listening to, understanding and meeting its customers’ needs.

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Driving Retail with Social Media Insights

Most businesses understand the importance of social media in their marketing. The challenge then is deciding how to slice, dice and utilise the volumes of social data available. Antoine Gross, VP Sales APAC, Synthesio, and Christine Cherel, Retail Expert, Razer, elaborate on three ways brands can capitalise on social data and analytics.

Competition in the retail industry has become more intense with the proliferation of channels reaching out to consumers. In order to stand out from the crowd, businesses need a clear and planned social media strategy. This means not merely being present across the variety of platforms, but continuously listening and analysing interactions, and measuring and refining engagement. With the rise of social media, a huge volume of information and insights can be harnessed for better marketing and business decisions. Many brands recognise the need to be active and interactive on social media.

â&#x20AC;&#x153;

A huge volume of information and insights can be harnessed for better marketing and business decisions.

â&#x20AC;&#x153;

The next step then is leveraging social activities to drive brand growth. Through Social Listening, brands can better understand consumer feedback, find the conversations that matter, and build targeted outreach.

Target Audience Profiling What content do they like sharing? What are they talking about? What is driving their conversations?

Segmentation is not a new concept for marketers but, very often, it is not applied to social media. It is important to understand that on social media, there are different tribes, different users with different behaviours. Millennials are a key demographic target for many brands, but it should also be noted that they are a diverse generation. Millennials, for example, can be further segmented into tribes of achievers, peacocks, dreamers, smitten kittens, etc (opposite page).

Makeup

< 2 mentions < 1,000 followers < 50 posts

Mentions n/a < 4,000 subscribers < 250,000 views

Mentions n/a < 4,000 fans (page likes)

Skincare

< 2 mentions < 1,000 followers < 50 posts

Mentions n/a < 4,000 subscribers < 250,000 views

Mentions n/a < 4,000 fans (page likes)

Hair

Mentions n/a < 1,000 followers < 50 posts

Mentions n/a < 1,000 subscribers < 10,000 views

Mentions n/a < 4,000 fans (page likes)

Mentions n/a < 500 followers < 50 posts

Mentions n/a < 1,000 subscribers < 5,000 views

Mentions n/a < 4,000 fans (page likes)

Fragrance

Example of a social media platform statistics breakdown of an online influencer, as captured by Synthesio.

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Driven by Data

Smitten Kittens define themselves by the celebrities they love and solicit their attention.

Dreamers are artistic, creative and nonconformist.

Achievers propagate their beliefs, challenge themselves and their peers

Peacocks are all about gamification of social and selfpromotion. Sample online profiling of millenials in South East Asia

By segmenting your audience based on their online behaviour, you will be able to devise targeted engagement strategies for each segment, breaking away from a one-size-fits-all strategy. Results obtained are similarly more targeted, allowing you to effectively assess and refine this new strategy, and maximise your marketing efforts.

Social Media and Shopping Experience How do my targets enjoy their shopping experience in a specific area? What are their favourite brands in that area? What is driving the footfall of the shopping mall? What are the services they like and would like to enjoy?

One example of how social data analytics can be used to drive smarter business decisions is store location. Location is a key component to a new store’s value equation. Establishing new locations is resource-intensive, and a wrong decision can sap the energy out of an organisation, causing it to lose focus. Brands can benefit greatly from hearing what customers, prospects and fans are saying about a potential location. Social listening enables brands to gain crucial insights as well as better understand how and where they can match customer experience and customer expectations perfectly. Consumer sentiments do change over time, and it is important to map and track connections and conversations as they develop.

Influencer Marketing Aside from the usual celebrities, working with influencers with lesser reach but greater relevance is an effective method for brands to understand and participate in the conversations around their industry. Social listening allows brands to identify the “long tail” of influence, and identify upcoming trendsetters, as well as provide a quantitative measurement of an influencer’s opinion on a brand and its products (opposite page). An effective influencer marketing strategy helps retailers increase their presence through building relationships with all the key opinion leaders: gaining citations and ultimately driving awareness, consideration, and selection preference for their products. F

Synthesio is a global multi-lingual social media monitoring and research company, utilising a powerful hybrid of monitoring technology and services to help brands and agencies collect and analyse consumer conversations online.

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Using Data to Create Valued Personalised Experiences

Gaynor Reid, Vice President Communications Asia Pacific for AccorHotels, outlines the new challenges and priorities in the hotel industry and explains how Accor’s strategy is evolving.

What are some new challenges and priorities in the industry in terms of capturing and using data? With travellers demanding more and more personalised service, more extraordinary experiences and better value for their money, hoteliers have to be smarter about understanding the needs of their guests and how to exceed their expectations. One of the challenges we face in the industry is the rise of online travel agencies; we need to be smarter with the data we have on our guests so that we can create better experiences for them. This makes loyalty a much greater priority for the group. Membership of our Le Club AccorHotels programme has grown by more than 37% this year in Asia Pa-

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We now have to create more tailored and unusual experiences for our guests and data allows us to learn their habits, preferences and behaviours.

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cific as we continue to increase the attractiveness of belonging – through VIP services, exclusive sales events and significant savings, private member events and access to extraordinary experiences. We now have to create more tailored and unusual experiences for our guests and data allows us to learn their habits, preferences and behaviours. The challenge comes in building data without invading privacy or overstepping

the mark but guests are increasingly happy to provide their information if they believe it will lead to more individual service. how is Accor’s strategy evolving? Hotels and the guest experience have changed dramatically with the rise of social media and the world being connected 24/7. While the physical attributes of the hotel are important, its relationship with guests now extends beyond the time of check-in; it begins often months in advance, through the digital window. This is where guests form their first impressions, and a key component of this are reviews on sites like TripAdvisor and Booking.com. As the volume of online reviews continues to rise, user-generated content becomes increasingly important to travellers in making booking decisions, and also to hotels. Each month, AccorHotels receives around 40,000 reviews and guest feedback in various forms; each review is a snapshot of our guests’ experience, which will help future travellers with decision-making and help us improve performance. All in all, we analyse over 480,000 pieces of feedback each year and this helps us really understand what matters most to our guests. Our loyalty programme also plays a big part in helping us understand our guests more – their habits, preferences and pat-

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terns, all so that we can provide more targeted and personalised service. In addition, our recent acquisition of John Paul – a luxury concierge and loyalty business will help us increase the value of our relationships with our guests and partners and multiply the number of touchpoints we have with them. We are working with a range of start-ups that are developing state-of-the-art technologies that will either improve hotel performance or enrich the guest experience. In terms of data we are constantly evolving to capture and utilise guest information to deliver more targeted experiences for our guests.

Driven by Data

From a consumer point-of-view, how does Accor’s data strategy impact or improve experience? We have invested over €252 million on our digital plan, with the main aim being to improve guest experience. We use data to understand our guests’ preferences and then build programmes that help us deliver service, facilities and applications that improve their experience. For example, our app allows guests to check-in online, order room service while they are on the way from the airport and have their food delivered as soon as they arrive. They can also store their flight/train tickets along with

the accommodation and pay using a virtual wallet. We collect information on our guests’ preferences (high floor, non-smoking, late check-out, favourite newspaper, firm pillow etc.) so that we can deliver more targeted messaging, more bespoke services. We can also see where guests are travelling to and from so that, for example, if we know more Chinese guests are travelling to Phuket we can introduce our Chinese optimum service standards into more hotels in that destination. Data can also help us more finely handle revenue management and other logistical aspects of running our hotels. F

AccorHotels is a leading hotelier in Asia Pacific with over 760 hotels across the region and is the largest operator in Singapore, with more than 5,400 rooms and another 1,000 to open in Singapore this year. AccorHotels' brands cover the full spectrum of the accommodation market, thereby offering travellers the industry's most comprehensive selection of hotel styles and locations.

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Ensuring Insurance Innovation

Leo Costes, Managing Director, General Insurance, AXA Insurance, and Ankur Agrawal, Head of AXA DIL@Asia share with us about AXA’s efforts in data analytics and innovation. AXA’s initiatives cover different insurance activities, from transport (AXAPay-As-YouGrab) to healthcare (My AXA Health mobile app). Is there a common approach that underscores these initiatives? LEO Costes The data revolution has indeed profoundly impacted the way we do business; with exciting new technologies, we are now able to process and analyse volumes of data that were previously too large to handle. It is AXA’s firm belief that technology can be harnessed to make lives easier for both us and our customers and this

“

Innovation has always been at the heart of AXA’s corporate culture and we are focused on remaining at the forefront of digital and technological developments.

is the principle that underscores our approach – innovating constantly to redefine standards and bring value to our increasingly IT-savvy customers. The combination of connectivity and data analytics enables us to pioneer digital insurance initiatives across different sectors of our business, allowing us to offer customers products and services they want and need.

“

How would you describe the relationship between the AXA DIL in Singapore and other Labs / the larger AXA Group? What are AXA DIL’s key areas of focus here? Costes Innovation has always been at the heart of AXA’s corporate culture and we are focused on remaining at the forefront of digital and technological developments.

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Driven by Data

Leo Costes, Managing Director, General Insurance, AXA Insurance

ANKUR Agrawal The Data Innovation Labs focus on accelerating our data science journeys. AXA DIL@Asia in Singapore and AXA Lab Asia in Shanghai are the two new structures created in 2015 to better connect the larger AXA Group with the Asia region’s rapidly developing entrepreneurs, talents and new business models. Modelled after the DIL in France, the AXA DIL@Asia is the first lab in South East Asia, and will act as a business-focused centre of expertise on data analytics to foster R&D for AXA’s offers and services. Here, our key areas of focus include: • Connected devices, with tremendous opportunities to change the way we connect with prospects, interact with customers, understand and prevent risk, and also develop valuable and innovative services for insurers; • Predictive behaviour, which is about understanding our customer better to

“

With big data, we will be able to support the business by shifting traditional risk management to predictive underwriting.

make our interactions more relevant, develop trust, and better anticipate and personalise our services; • Risk Management Advanced Analytics, which aims at truly leveraging our industry’s specific “gold mine” of data. What are some LAB’s key considerations when working with big data?

“

In order to unleash the true potential of technology, we believe that we have to help create a strong innovation ecosystem through partnerships with start-ups and established players.

Ankur Agrawal, Head of AXA DIL@Asia

of malicious use, leakage or theft. Such risks call for thorough and strict information security policies and strong data governance. We take a serious view on the protection of our customers’ data in strict accordance to Singapore’s Personal Data Protection Act (PDPA).

Agrawal We believe in the transformational power of data. With big data, we will be able to support the business by shifting traditional risk management to predictive underwriting. Emerging technologies will enable us to collect and process data, support new services (telematics, connected home, connected health) and enhance interactions with our customers.

We were the first insurance company to adopt the Binding Corporate Rules, the global standards for the PDPA; we have taken a public position in our Data Privacy Declaration, published in June 2015, of not selling our customers’ data to third parties out of the Group; since July 2015, a Data Privacy Stakeholder Panel, composed of experts on data privacy, challenges and advises the management on privacy issue.

The data revolution comes with its share of new risks and constraints, where it concerns customers’ data: threats

For us, data privacy is a competitive advantage and an important model of a sustainable innovation model. F

AXA Insurance Singapore is a leading general insurer in Singapore offering a wide range of innovative property-casualty insurance solutions to both individuals and companies. AXA DIL@Asia is both an internal incubator and a centre of expertise on data tools and capabilities, leveraging on data to engineer creative solutions to support better living and stronger communities.

French Chamber Singapore

Ateliers de Formation pour Jobseekers 2017 Durée : entre 3h et 4h par atelier

RESUME

CV 15 mars 80 SGD

Networking (2 sessions) 22 mars + 11 avril 140 SGD

LinkedIn 29 mars 125 SGD

Offre packagée Engagez-vous sur l’ensemble des sessions pour un tarif préférentiel de 300 SGD. Où Meeting Room, Chambre de Commerce 541 Orchard Road, #09-01 Liat Towers, Singapore 238881 Inscription en ligne fccsingapore.com/hr/workshops-jobseekers

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HR & RECRUITMENT SERVICES

Issue 62

InternLink Looking for an intern? The French Chamber is happy to present its new recruitment service geared specifically towards interns. We offer 3 options.

Option 1

Option 2

$1,500

Let us recruit your intern ↘↘Posting the internship offer on our website ↘↘Promoting it within different partner schools ↘↘Managing applications by phone and via Skype interviews ↘↘Selecting and submitting matching candidate profile with you

$500

Select your intern from our database of French candidates ↘↘Available from March 2016 ↘↘In Sales, Communications and Marketing, Finance, HR... ↘↘Flexible internship period of 2/3 or 4/6 months

Option 3 You can also post your internship offers on our website with your own contact information to receive the applications.

To find out more, contact us at emploi@fccsingapore.com

Jobseeker

Les clés de la recherche d’emploi à Singapour Quand Jeudi 16 février 2017 à 9h Où La Chambre de Commerce Française 541 Orchard Road, #09-01 Liat Towers, S238881 Inscription en ligne fccsingapore.com/events/upcoming-events CV Networking

LinkedIn Entretien

Carrière

Tarif 20 SGD

BUSINESS SERVICES

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Newly Set-Up Companies

Issue 62

Newly Set-Up Companies Over the last few months, various French companies have benefited from the French Chamber’s Business Support services for their setup process in Singapore. Here, they introduce their products and services:

Founded in France in 1991, Ecocert is a pioneer inspection and certification body for sustainable development. With 30 offices and subsidiaries around the world, Ecocert has around 800 employees, and offers its services to more than 40,000 clients in 110 countries. Over the years, Ecocert has become a benchmark in organic certification worldwide and the leader in organic food and cosmetics certification.

My Selection is Singapore’s most selective online retailers of great quality products and at honest prices. Our aim is to take the hassle out of shopping in Singapore’s frantic retail space by searching the world and only bringing back to you the very best at the best prices. We strive to provide a shopping experience that is enjoyable, stylish and easy.

Committed to promoting ecological and environmentally-friendly solutions, Ecocert Group has diversified its certification activity with training and consultancy services for organic & sustainable projects. Our main fields of expertise are: • Food: EU, NOP, JAS, UTZ standards; • Cosmetics: COSMOS; • Textile: GOTS, OCS; • Homecare: detergents, paint; • Fair Trade: Fair For Life; • Quality and security: ISO 9001, GLOBALG.A.P, IFS/BRC; • Climate change: forest, carbon footprint, carbon offset; • Management system: ISO 14001, ISO 26000.

After 20 years of activity in the ASEAN region, Ecocert Group opened its subsidiary Ecocert South-East Asia Pte. Ltd. in Singapore in 2016. With a team of 15 auditors, about 20,000 farmers and 100 processing plants certified in the region, our Singaporean subsidiary aims to accelerate the development and promotion of organic food and cosmetics certification in ASEAN. F Contact: Ms Marie PAILLER, Office Manager Email: office.asean@ecocert.com Website: www.ecocert.com

You will find a breadth of beautiful products but our commitment to you is that we will not drown you with too many options, choices and varieties. Instead we have done the hard work of narrowing down to only the very best to present to you.

Shift Technology is a Big Data solution that leverages the best of AI to bring agility, efficiency, and expertise to insurance claims management. Their flagship product is a SaaS decision-making platform speciﬁcally designed for insurance fraud handlers to scale their capacity to detect a wide spectrum of fraudulent insurance behaviours, from opportunistic to organised crime! In a nutshell, the tool uses machine learning to score claims by their probability of being fraudulent, and then sends real-time alerts for each suspicious claim they detect. The solution combines sectoral expertise and tailored algorithms to reproduce a fraud handler’s deductive reasoning. While there are many existing fraud detection tools that provide the “where” and “when”, Shift helps the fraud handler determine the “why” and “how” and can identify not only the policyholder, but also service providers and full networks of actors that could be part of the scam. This smart automation allows loss adjusters and fraud handlers to ignore legitimate claims that might normally get flagged as suspect and focus their energy on conducting deeper investigations on the claims that matter most.

Our customers come to us for the nicer things in life – wines to share, gifts for special people, and treats for yourself or your home. As an online store, we are always open and we deliver within two working days. We keep our inventory here in Singapore so you are not left waiting once your order is placed. We are happy to offer you 10% off all our French products (wines, lamps, cocktails, jewelry, fragrances) with the “SOCHIC” code. Please kindly note that this offer is only available until January 31st 2017 and cannot be used with other offers. F Email: anne@myselection.sg Website: www.myselection.sg

Shift knows that all insurers deal with their own unique fraud landscape, which is why they provide each client with a dedicated team of data scientists to ensure the solution integrates seamlessly with their existing processes and fraud scenarios. F Contact: Ms Stephanie STEEL, Head of Marketing and Talent Website: www.shift-technology.com

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Missions & Projects

Dr Martine Lesponne (3rd from left), Head of Business Support of the French Chamber Singapore, shared with participants about the vibrant tech innovation scene in France, highlighting to them opportunities for business collaboration and partnership with French enterprises. These opportunities are found in a wide variety of sectors, from healthcare, urban solutions, nanotechnology, sustainable construction to ICT.

The French Chamber at Singapore’s TechInnovation As part of the European Entreprise Network (EEN), the Chamber participated in TechInnovation 2016, the leading techindustry brokerage event in Singapore.

This edition of TechInnovation saw a total of over 2,000 participants over two days, including technology corporations, technology seekers, and business investors.

The EEN is the world’s largest business and innovation support platform to promote two-way business partnerships, technology transfer and research collaboration between SMEs in Europe and the rest of the world. F

Learning Expedition for ESA The French Chamber Singapore received a delegation of Executive MBA students from ESA Business School (École Supérieure des Affaires), a partner school of ESCP Europe and organised an exploratory learning expedition. The expedition featured visits organised by the French Chamber to institutional and industrial sites in the sectors of transport, urban planning and logistics, and also meetings and presentations with key contacts in the fields of e-commerce, banking, telecom and aeronautics, giving participants perspectives on the business opportunities here and in the region. F

Discussion on Singapore’s Digital Ecosystem: Meeting with MEDEF Digital Ambassador Mr Midière • the formation of partnerships in international ecosystems to create a technological and economic intelligence observatory;

In support of a larger business mission “Digital Disruption Lab”, the French Chamber Singapore organised a meeting with Mr Olivier Midière, MEDEF’s digital ambassador, bringing representatives of the French business community together

for a discussion on their experiences in the digital ecosystem in Singapore. This mission aimed to put together international digital ecosystems and their best practices, and to facilitate:

• the designing and carrying out of communication and awareness-raising campaigns in France to present these ecosystems and promote best practices identified during the mission; and • the creation of learning expeditions around these ecosystems to inform policymakers and economic decision makers about digital disruption. F

BUSINESS SERVICES

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Trade Show / Business Centre

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The French Chamber Leads a Business Mission to Rhône-Alpes for POLLUTEC In December 2016, the French Chamber Singapore led a business mission for a delegation consisting of representatives from Singapore’s National Environment Agency (NEA) to Lyon, France, for the 27th edition of POLLUTEC. This 2016 edition of POLLUTEC focused on Sustainable City, Sustainable & Future Industry, Aquatic Environments & Coastline, Agriculture and Hospitals. The programme included: • a dedicated workshop where the delegation shared an overview of Singapore’s environment landscape, as well as the upcoming environmental opportunities in Singapore; • targeted business meetings with relevant innovative companies, professional federations and governmental agencies; and • a tailored visit of the POLLUTEC trade show, conferences, events and sites in the Rhône-Alpes region, in line with the needs and interests of the delegation. Mr Dalson Chung, Director of Industry Development & Promotion, Director of Sustainability Office, NEA, and Managing Director of CleanEnviro Summit Singa-

pore, also spoke at the Sustainable City Conference, presenting on the topic “How Cities innovate to implement Circular Economy Models”. POLLUTEC is the world’s unique leading show for the environment and energy market worldwide event for professional

environmental solutions in a wide range of sectors, including waste and exploitation of materials, water, energy, air, instrumentation-metrology-automation, risks and site. In 2016, it brought together 2,206 exhibitors from 33 countries and pulled in 60,834 professionals, including 8,669 international visits. F

The French Chamber’s Business Centre Welcomes New V.I.E.s The French Chamber Singapore is happy to welcome several V.I.E.s in its Business Centre: from CERC-Asia (Cardiovascular European Research Center), a Contract Research Organisation (CRO) supporting

development of cardiovascular clinical research in Asia, Ecocert, a pioneer inspection and certification body for sustainable development, to LINKBYNET, a major player in outsourcing and cloud

services, web e-Business and Information Systems. They are here to detect opportunities and to develop their businesses in Singapore and the larger Asia Pacific region. The V.I.E. (Volontariat International en Entreprises) provides the opportunity for French companies to entrust young professionals (18 - 28 years old) with a professional mission abroad during a flexible period of 6 to 24 months. The French Chamber Business Centre offers an efficient and flexible turnkey solution with its business network and business support services, accompanying companies at every step of their development. For more information, please contact bizsupport@fccsingapore.com. F

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BUSINESS SERVICES

CommunicAsia + BroadcastAsia 2017

15th French Pavilion at CommunicAsia & BroadcastAsia to Take Place in May 2017 To be held from 23 to 25 May 2017, CommunicAsia and BroadcastAsia are the two leading trade shows for ICT, broadcasting and digital multimedia industry players seeking to harness opportunities arising in Asia. The opportunities in digital transformation and technology remain highly positive across Asia Pacific, and from Singapore’s Smart Nation initiative to Indonesia’s Digital Economy development and India’s Smart Cities mission, governments and companies are seeking to rapidly develop capabilities, adopt solutions and transform processes. The premier sourcing and knowledge ICT platform in Asia, CommunicAsia2017 will be held at Marina Bay Sands Convention Centre and it will bring together a comprehensive display of cutting-edge technologies across key themes, including SatComm, Connect Everywhere, Borderless Broadband, Smart Cities, IoT, Cloud & Big Data, Security & Cyber-Security, Entreprise Mobility, Sustainable Technologies, etc. BroadcastAsia2017 is Asia’s must-attend international event for the pro-audio, film and broadcasting industries. Held at Suntec Singapore Convention & Exhibition Centre, this edition is themed “Imagination Unbound”, with pertinent technologies that include UHD, TV Everywhere, NextGEN Display, IP Broadcasting, Wireless Production, Immersive Technologies, etc. Join the French Pavilion organised by the French Chamber for optimal visibility! Labelled French Tech and Créative France, the French Pavilion offers great networking opportunities with comprehensive administrative and logistical assistance. In addition, participating companies of the Pavilion will also have the opportunity to compete in the ICT Awards, co-organised by the French Chamber and Business France. The previous edition in 2016 saw four awards presented by an exceptional jury of industry players, including Google, Microsoft, Singtel, StarHub, Mediacorp, SiTF, A*STAR and more. F For more information, contact bizsupport@fccsingapore.com.

French Chamber EVENTS

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Welcome to Singapore 2016

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Welcome to Singapore 2016 Welcome to Singapore, our annual rendez-vous, brought together 250 participants, including friends and newcomers, for an evening of information sharing and networking amidst the luxurious greenery of Hort Park, the Gardening Hub.

business community, meet fellow professionals in the community and expand their network of contacts. For professionals returning from the summer break, it was a great opportunity to catch up and reconnect.

The gathering in September was a great opportunity for new expatriates in Singapore to get introduced to the French

The evening began with an informative presentation led by the French Chamber Singaporeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s President, Mrs Doina

Palici-Chehab, and its Executive Director, Mrs Carine Lespayandel, who shared about the role and activities of the French Chamber. Our guests were then invited to join us for a delightful cocktail reception. The friendly environment allowed our 250 participants to get acquainted with useful connections. F

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Wise Innovation Conference

Issue 62

Wise Innovation Conference: A Journey Toward Smart Society Singapore aims to be a Smart Nation. It seeks to harness technology and find ways to unlock new possibilities, overcome physical constraints, and ultimately enable people to live fulfilled and meaningful lives. Organised by the French Chamber of Commerce in Singapore with the support of Blue Solutions by Bolloré and Bolloré Logistics, the Wise Innovation conference took place on Friday 7 October 2016 and saw over 200 participants come together for a day of discussion on strategies and opportunities in innovation, an exploration of possibilities for collaboration. The conference built on the experience gained from the Urban Innovations portfolio launched in 2015 – a showcase of over 150 French smart city solutions that seek to address Singapore’s Smart Nation

priorities. Across the spectrum of sectors, from city planning to construction, energy management and transport, both French companies and Singapore governmental agencies were actively engaged in experience sharing. The opening remarks were delivered by Mrs Doina Palici-Chehab, President of the French Chamber Singapore, as well as by guest of honour Professor Low Teck Seng, CEO of National Research Foundation of Singapore. Professor Low gave an overview of Singapore’s national direction in R&D and also elaborated on how French companies and Singapore counterparts have been and can be collaborating. The keynote speech delivered by Innovation Strategist Mr Navi Radjou, author of

Frugal Innovation (The Economist) addressed, among many interests, what it means to innovate frugally. Drawing from examples and practices across the world, he explained how resource constraints have in fact generated great opportunities for innovation, and how we can creatively stretch resources and draw from what we have to maximise gains and create social value. Navi’s keynote presentation was followed by the first panel discussion, where he was joined by Mr Ankur Agrawal, Managing Director, AXA Data Innovation Lab @ Asia, Mr Nicolas Marechal-Abram, Scientific Director, Veolia ES Singapore, Mr Etienne Drouet, Singapore Lab Director, ENGIE, and Mr Alexandre Parilusyan, VP APAC South Business Transformation, VP Business Development of 3DEXPERI-

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French Chamber EVENTS

Wise Innovation Conference

ENCE, Dassault Systèmes. Moderated by Mr Gregory Blokkeel, Head of Innovation Cell @ Singapore, PSA Group, the panellists discussed the innovation strategies they have adopted, how, why and what impacts they foresee. Following a short networking break, we reconvened for a second panel discussion on smart mobility’ Moderated by Mr Sylvain Remy, Director, Institute for Sustainable Development and Smart Cities, ESSEC Business School, our panellists, Mr Franck Vitte, Managing Director & VP Asia & Middle East, Blue Solutions by Bolloré, Mr Leo Jeoh, Deputy Vice President, Support Engineering, Airbus Helicopters, Mr Franck Martins, MCU Marketing Manager, Greater China & South Asia, ST Microelectronics Asia Pacific, and Mr Christian Amathieux, R&D Manager, Thales Solutions Asia, discussed the exciting projects in transport and logistics that have been, are being, and could be brought to Singapore. The third panel discussed challenges that companies and Singapore face in exporting smart city solutions to other countries, and the question of how to adapt innovations to different environments and contexts. Moderated by Ms Vera Jin, CEO of Sopra Steria Asia, on the panel were Mr Goh Chee Kiong, Executive Director, Cleantech and Cities, Infrastructure and Industrial Solutions, EDB Singapore, Ms Aurelie Cleraux, Head of Innovation & Sustainability, Bouygues Batiment International, Mr Laurent Fabry, Managing Director, DiGital Content Technologies, and Mr Gordon Falconer, Director Smart Cities, Global Solutions, Schneider Electric Singapore.

First discussion panel, consisting (from left to right) of Mr Etienne Drouet of ENGIE, keynote speaker Mr Navi Radjou, moderator Mr Gregory Blokkeel of PSA Group, Mr Alexandre Parilusyan of Dassault Systèmes, Mr Ankur Agrawal of AXA Data Innovation Lab @ Asia, and Mr Nicolas Marechal-Abram of Veolia ES Singapore.

Second discussion panel, consisting (from left to right) of Mr Franck Martins of ST Microelectronics Asia Pacific, Mr Leo Jeoh of Airbus Helicopters, moderator Mr Sylvain Remy of ESSEC Business School, Mr Franck Vitte of Blue Solutions by Bolloré, and Mr Christian Amathieux of Thales Solutions Asia.

The conference ended with a networking lunch, more informal exchange and discussion. F

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Third discussion panel, consisting (from left to right) of Mr Laurent Fabry of DiGital Content Technologies, Ms Aurelie Cleraux of Bouygues Batiment International, moderator Ms Vera Jin of Sopra Steria Asia, Mr Goh Chee Kiong of EDB Singapore, and Mr Gordon Falconer of Schneider Electric Singapore.

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Committee FinTech Forum Events

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FinTech Forum: FinTech Beyond the Hype FinTech is shaking up the financial services and banking industry from the outside in. A large wave of new startups and disruptive technologies that can better address customers’ needs offering accessibility and convenience are challenging the traditional business model. The result is a new competitive landscape and an exciting playing field. In this context, Singapore is quickly putting the wheels in motion to becoming the leading FinTech hub in Asia and in the world. Organised by the French Chamber of Commerce in Singapore in partnership with Capgemini and DBS Bank, the FinTech Forum: “FinTech Beyond the Hype” provided a platform for exchange among the diverse actors in the financial services space in Singapore: incumbent industry professionals, FinTech innovators, investors, regulators. Besides the exchange of insights, the forum also sought to connect relevant actors together to facilitate business partnerships and collaborations. In his keynote presentation, Mr Sopnendu Mohanty, Chief Fintech Officer of the

Monetary Authority of Singapore, outlined the architecture in Smart Financial Centre Singapore, the initiatives put in place to develop a conducive environment for the innovation ecosystem. For Singapore to be a leading global Fintech hub, Mr Mohanty emphasised on the importance of innovation, thinking ahead and working decisively and with due diligence. The second keynote presentation by Mr Sudhir Pai, Chief Technology Officer, Global Financial Services Strategic Busi-

ness of Capgemini, discussed the role of connected ecosystems. Mr Pai gave a breakdown of the competitive landscape, highlighting the strengths and challenges that each actor could offer and face, and demonstrated with examples how as an ecosystem and its actors can co-create solutions. For the last keynote presentation, Ms Sonia Wedrychowicz, Managing Director Digital Bank, DBS Bank, presented DBS Group’s Digital Bank project, and shared

Discussion panel, consisting (from left to right) of moderator Mr Antony Eldridge of PwC, Ms Wedrychowicz of DBS Bank, Mr Olivier Berthier of Moneythor, Mr Charles Dufourcq of Tinubu Square, and Mr Samir Rath of BNP Paribas.

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French Chamber EVENTS

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Committee FinTech Events Forum

Mr Sopnendu Mohanty, Chief Fintech Officer, Monetary Authority of Singapore

Ms Wedrychowicz, Managing Director, Digital Bank, DBS Bank

Mr Sudhir Pai, Chief Technology Officer, Global Financial Services Strategic Business, Capgemini

in great detail the innovation journey of DBS DigiBank in India. She provided great insights as to how DBS was pursuing digitalisation of operations to its core. Moderated by Mr Frédéric Giron, VP & Research Director of Forrester, our first discussion panel – Mr Bruno Coindre, COO, TransferTo, Mr Tanguy Lesselin, Co-Founder & CEO of Finquest, Mr Pai, and Mr Dirk van Quaquebeke, Partner at Beenext – provided a range of

perspectives on how FinTech is changing the game. The second discussion panel focused on strategies in the game, exploring FinTech’s potential to disrupt, but also to incite collaboration. Moderated by Mr Antony Eldridge, Financial Services and FinTech Leader, PwC, lending their insights to the panel were Mr Olivier Berthier, Founder & CEO of Moneythor, Mr Charles Dufourcq, Vice President

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APAC Region, Tinubu Square, Mr Samir Rath, Strategic Implementation, EMMC, Global Markets APAC, BNP Paribas and Ms Wedrychowicz of DBS Bank. After the discussion panels were the presentations of four FinTech start-ups Dathena, Smartfolios, FinMates, and Acuo, with each entrepreneur making use of the opportunity to field questions and gain feedback from the various panellists. F

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Committee Bonjour Talents Events

Issue 62

A Successful Second Edition

The French Chamber of Commerce in Singapore held the second edition of Bonjour Talents, the Chamber’s French Career Fair, on Thursday 13 October 2016. Held at the National University of Singapore, the career fair was open to students from all universities and business schools in Singapore, and saw over 500 students in attendance, from NUS, NTU, SMU, ESSEC, INSEAD and more. A total of 12 participating MNCs and 13 start-ups across various sectors participated in this edition, meeting and sharing with future graduates about their company, possible career options, introducing themselves as potential employers

and raising their company profile. Representatives from the French Chamber’s HR department were also present to advise students on their search for jobs and internships, and also to share more about the Chamber’s recruitment practices. On site, all students were given a booklet complete with descriptions of each company, and were invited to meet and exchange with professionals at their booths. The afternoon also featured a taste of French gastronomy, through wine-tasting sessions and a typical French buffet (cold cuts, quiche, cheese, bread, cakes). Visitors won gifts and prizes through lucky draws.

We thank buffet sponsors La Petite Boutique, Maison Eric Kayser and Lactalis, and gift sponsors Air France KLM, Sofitel Singapore, Crème Simon, EntreNous Creperie, Café Gavroche, Forest Adventure, Ô Batignolles, Ô Comptoir and Wine Connection. Participating companies included Air Liquide, Alstom, BNP Paribas, Capgemini, Crédit Agricole CIB, CIC, Imerys, LVMH, Société Générale, Sodexo, Total E&P and Veolia. Participating start-ups included Chateau Asia, Green & Global Consulting, Ielo Design, Mentorica Technology, Novade, Optimal Cost, Restologia, Survival Chic, Terra Nova, Try & Review, UniQGift, VivaLing and Winefamily. F

Participating Companies

Buffet Sponsors

Gift Sponsors

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Smart Health: the Platform for French Healthcare Industry Players in Singapore and South East Asia

Smart Health is the French Chamber’s new platform that showcases the solutions of French healthcare players that align to the needs and ambition of Singapore’s healthcare industry. Through a visible and integrated effort, it seeks to promote French expertise in this sector, and our goals are to:

1. Establish the French healthcare industry in Singapore and ASEAN; 2. Improve the competitiveness of the French offer; 3. Connect start-ups, SMEs and MNCs; 4. Promote and raise awareness of companies; and 5. Help businesses grow in the region.

solutions across the healthcare industry: from the very first steps (training, nutrition, etc.), to the diagnostic, treatment and all other services involved. As of January, 28 companies have joined this collaborative platform. For more updates, visit www.fccsingapore.com/ committees/healthcare/smart-health. F

Following the patient’s journey, the platform showcases French innovative

#healthcare #smarthealth

Healthcare and Life Sciences Predictions 2020: South East Asia Perspective Deloitte recently released their latest report on Healthcare and Life Sciences Predictions 2020 – A Bold Future? During this committee meeting, Deloitte Consulting Southeast Asia’s Mr Sachin Shah, Partner, Life Sciences Consulting Sector Leader, Ms Karin Wellbrock, Senior Manager, Life Sciences Practice, and Mr Debmalya Chatterjee, Director, Life Sciences Practice, shared with us some of the report’s thought-provoking findings: 10 important statements in predicting the world of 2020. After the presentation, in small groups, we discussed each prediction, imagining how patients, healthcare professionals and life sciences organisations might behave in this brave new world. F #healthcare

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Trends in Asia for 2017: Economic, Financial & Political This breakfast talk brought together two leading experts of economic and financial forecasting, Mr Manu Bhaskaran, Adjunct Senior Research Fellow, the Institute of Policy Studies, and Mr Antoine Chéry, Head of Economic Service for ASEAN Countries, French Embassy in Singapore, who shared on what could be expected in 2017 on the economic, financial and political landscape of Singapore and the region. In attendance were regional and country MDs, CFOs, finance directors and managers, as well as bankers, financial advisers and consultants. F #asia #banking #finance #fintech

Investment Opportunities in Iskandar, Malaysia Iskandar Regional Development Authority (IRDA) is the Malaysian Federal Government statutory body tasked with regulating and driving stakeholders in both the public and private sectors towards developing Iskandar, the economic zone in south Johor, into a sustainable metropolis of international standing. Engku Ahmad Kamel, Director, Economics & Investment, IRDA, shared Iskandar’s latest investment figures, sector developments, incentives and investment opportunities. The development strategy will focus on developing nine promoted sectors, of which six are services sectors and three manufacturing sectors. F #asia #energy #infrastructure

Investment and Enterprise in Vietnam: New Regulations, New Challenges?

Vietnam is currently one of the favoured destinations for international investors. The establishment of the AEC (ASEAN

Economic Community), recent freetrade agreements with the US (TPP) and Europe (EVFTA) and the relative loss of competitiveness on the part of China has positioned Vietnam as a leading economic player in ASEAN. This presentation by Ms Dang Ngoc Huong, Attorney at Law at the Bar Association of Ho Chi Minh City, local partner of DS Avocats, introduced growth sectors in Vietnam. It focused on the new foreign investment regulations and discussed intercultural aspects to consider for successful integration. F #asia #tax #legal

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The Legal Aspects of Doing Business in Indonesia This presentation by Ms Angeline Suparto, Managing Director at Angeline Suparto Law Corporation, covered the legal aspects of doing business in Indonesia through a discussion of the legal and regulatory framework of foreign investments in Indonesia and the requirements in setting up a business presence in Indonesia. Through several case studies, she also shared on how businesses can avoid common legal pitfalls when doing business in Indonesia. F #asia #tax #legal

Experience Sharing on Setting Up a Business in Myanmar With an economic growth rate of 7% in 2015, Myanmar has confirmed its status as “land of opportunities.” In line with the global economic slowdown, the country is growing at its slowest pace since 2012, but is still performing well above the ASEAN region’s average growth rate of 4.5%. Companies are trying to find their ways in the aging - yet efficient - government institutions and infrastructures. As regulations changes constantly to adapt the ever changing environment, setting up and

managing a legal entity in Myanmar can become rapidly complex for newcomers. Ms Laurence Lagriffoul, Partner, EOS Development, touched on procedures and regulations involved in the setup and running of a company, drawing from recent legal updates, walking participants through the process from business registration to banking operations management, and corporate tax planning. F #asia #tax #legal

#banking #finance #fintech

Chinese Business Etiquette This seminar helped newcomers in Singapore discover the culture and mindset of Greater China, with a special focus on business, in order to achieve success in dealing and communicating with Chinese partners. In this seminar, Ms Ge Guo and Ms Aurélie Damperon, Ling Long Directors, went through: • historical and cultural background; • Chinese communication and conflict resolution; and • Chinese ways of leadership and decision-making. F #asia

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Asia & Pacific, IFC (International Finance Corporation, a member of the World Bank Group); Mr Nigel How, Head of Capital Market Singapore, Crédit Agricole CIB, Singapore; Mr Michael Tang, Vice President, Head, Listing Policy & Product Admission, Regulation, SGX (Singapore Exchange); and Mr Sandeep Bagla, Associate Director, Trust, Mumbai.

The Rise of Green Bonds This breakfast talk provided perspectives from different actors, from bond issuer and sponsor to regulator, as well as investors: Mr Benjamin Lamberg, Global

Co-Head of MTNs & Private Placements Group and Head of Asia Syndicate, Crédit Agricole CIB, Hong Kong; Mr Philippe Ahoua, Head, Treasury Client Solutions,

These experts discussed the potential of green bonds, giving an overview of existing market practices and trends, key elements to note when structuring such deals. F #banking #finance #fintech

#sustainability #responsibility

Sustainable Investment Project Sustainability is the challenge of the 21st century. Public and private organisations all over the world are unveiling plans to tackle climate change and finance a new green economy. On this matter, French entities have a recognised expertise to share with Singaporean agencies, and the Government is active in the recent COP21 debate. French companies can contribute to further supporting Singapore’s strategy towards a more sustainable environment. The objective of this project is to engage Singapore governmental agencies in a structured discussion, to share best

practices and experiences. Companies involved so far include: Banks and Insurance: AXA Insurance, BNP Paribas, CM-CIC, Crédit Agricole CIB, Natixis;

Corporates: Danone, Dragages, ENGIE, Sodexo, Suez, Total, Veolia. F

the possibility of democratising for the benefit of end investors.

In this presentation, Professor Frédéric Ducoulombier drew on research from EDHEC-Risk Institute and ERI Scientific Beta and: • explain how first-generation smart beta indices have attempted to address the limitations of traditional indices; • introduced a novel framework to design and risk-manage smart beta and smart factor indices; • looked at the risk and performance characteristics of the second-generation of smart beta indices; and • explored the future of smart beta investing. F

#banking #finance #fintech

#sustainability #responsibility

Understanding Smart Beta Smart beta is the indexing industry’s fastest-growing segment and is rich with

#banking #finance #fintech

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A Conversation with Mr Piyush Gupta, CEO and Director, DBS Group From the world economy and its impact on Asia, to digitalisation and the future of banking, Mr Piyush Gupta, CEO and Director of DBS Group offered his perspectives on these trending topics, and shared his insights on what matters most in today’s fast-changing world. Special thanks to Mr Antoine Chéry, Head of Economic Service for ASEAN Countries, French Embassy in Singapore, and Mr Pascal Lambert, Group Country Head, Singapore and Head of South East Asia and India, Société Générale for moderating the lively Q&A and discussion session. F #banking #finance #fintech

Trade Finance: Concepts & Trends At this meeting, Ms Sonal Priyanka, Regional Head of Trade for Southeast Asia, India and the Middle East, Société Générale, discussed various types of payment terms in international trade, explaining in detail how they work. She also discussed how exporters and importers use such payment terms for risk management in international trade and outlined some recent trends observed in international trade finance. F #banking #finance #fintech

Internationalising of RMB and the Opening of the Chinese Domestic Bond Market Société Générale CIB, Hong Kong, and Mr Benjamin Lamberg, Global Co-Head of MTNs & Private Placements Group and Head of Asia Syndicate, Crédit Agricole CIB, Hong Kong, provided participants with key elements to understanding:

The internationalisation of the RMB, coupled with the opening of the Chinese domestic bonds markets to both issuers and investors, makes the Chinese capital

markets the next “giant to be”, and of relevance to foreign players. This executive briefing session, by Ms Frances Cheung, Head of Rates Strategy for Asia ex-Japan,

• The internationalisation of RMB to date; • The onshore Chinese bond market; • Its opening to foreign issuers and investors alike; • The current regulatory frameworks; and • The development of a green financing framework. F #asia #banking #finance #fintech

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Site Visit: NFM Technologies Tunnel Boring Machine Mr Eric Romagna, Singapore Branch Manager, NFM Technologies, together with Daewoo, hosted a visit for members of the Energy/Infrastructure committee to two of the four Tunnel Boring Machines (TBMs), used for the excavation of the T216 section of the Thomson Line MRT. NFM Technologies, based in Lyon, France, is one of the major TBM manufacturers in the world, with 20 units produced per year. F #energy #infrastructure

Energy/Infrastructure Committee Meeting Road Map After the summer holiday break, the members of the Energy/ Infrastructure committee were invited to a special session to review the activities of the year 2015/2016, and also to discuss a “road map” for 2016/2017. F #energy #infrastructure

Site Visit: Safran Helicopter Engines Safran Helicopter Engines (formerly Turbomeca) recently moved to a brand new building within Seletar Aerospace Park. Members of the Aerospace, Space, Defence & Security committee were pleased to have been able to visit the new premises, together with Mr Mathieu Albert, Managing Director, and Mr François Dang, Country General Delegate at Safran Helicopter Engines Asia, who shared more about the group’s activities in Singapore and in the world. F #aeronautics

VINCI Airport’s Recent Growth History, Business Model and Strategy VINCI Airports, an emerging leader in the international airport sector, manages the development and operations of 34 airports: 12 in France, 10 in Portugal (including the hub of Lisbon), 3 in Cambodia, 2 in Japan, 6 in Dominican Republic, and Santiago airport in Chile. Served by more than 170 airlines, VINCI Airports’ network handles more than 120 million passengers annually. Ms Céline Billant, Business Development Asia & Pacific at VINCI Airports, shared why and how VINCI Group made its strategic move towards airports concessions. Starting with a limited historical activity (Cambodian airports since 1995 and small local airports in France), VINCI Airports has turned into one of the top 5 global players in less than eight years. She explained the business model of the group and the perspectives for further growth, placing the Asia Pacific region in the spotlight. F #aeronautics #energy #infrastructure

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Site Visit: Airbus Asia Training Centre and Airbus Services Asia Pacific Located at Singapore’s Seletar Aerospace Park, Airbus Asia Training Centre and Airbus Services Asia Pacific are just a few metres away.

Site Visit: New Orchard Station (Thomson & East Coast Line) Bachy Soletanche is currently involved in four stations and tunnels on the Thomson & East Coast (TEC) Line, including the new Orchard interchange station connecting the TEC Line with the North-South Line. Bachy Soletanche handles complex geotechnical works like the cast diaphragm walls, foundations, ground consolidation and tunnelling and mining works. On this visit with Mr Stéphane Carayol, Managing Director, Bachy Soletanche, participants were able to see the start of the construction of the station, the newly arrived Tunnel Boring Machine, as well as the preparation works for the mining, all this taking place in the heart of the city. F #energy #infrastructure

Study by ESSEC Master Students – French Maritime Position in Asia For the third year running, the French Maritime Cluster is working closely with ESSEC students. This year, the focus is to continue the survey of this market, and explore how the French maritime economy can compete with or build synergies with the industry. With the support of the committee, a dynamic team of seven students - Benoit Butruille, Myriam El Andaloussi, Natasha Moussavi Saeedi, Vincent Nanna, Julie Revil and Karim Tazi Labzour have started interviewing key maritime players and analysing the market. To participate in or to receive updates on this study, contact Sylvie Berthaud at sberthaud@fccsingapore.com. F #frenchmaritimecluster

The site visit was first conducted by Mr Yann Lardet, General Manager, Airbus Asia Training Centre (AATC), who presented the activities of the centre, and walked participants through the training facilities. At full capability, the centre will operate eight full-flight simulators for the A350 XWB, A380, A330 and A320. Two more simulator bays are available for potential future development. The group then joined Mr Aurelien Leon, General Manager, Airbus Services Asia Pacific (ASAP), at the Airbus Services Asia Pacific building. There, he shared on the activities of the service centre. ASAP manages Airbus customer support and customer services activities for operators in Singapore and Asia Pacific, and employs some 160 engineers and support staff. F #aeronautics

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Great Customer Experience in Asia: from WeChat-Empowered Contact Centres to Robotic Process Automation Adoption

CIO Lunch The French Chamber ICT committee has launched a new series of events dedicated to Chief Information Officers (CIOs) of multinational companies. Every quarter, CIOs gather for a casual lunch and exchange with their peers on their industry’s best practices and latest trends in Singapore. F #ICT

Mr Haytham Sawalhy, General Manager APAC, Orange Application for Business, a subsidiary of Orange, shared his experience in accompanying a large Chinese kitchen appliance manufacturer in integrating the WeChat platform as part of their contact centre omni-channel transformation. He also shared how data provided by IoT devices can be leveraged to increase customer experience. Finally, he updated participants on the latest developments in Robotic Automation Process (RPA), and how this can help companies offload repetitive tasks from their employees, hence making their businesses more customer-centric. F #ICT

Agile Transformation at a Company Level: the Behind-the-Scenes Story of Voyages-SNCF.com

The Top 10 Strategic Technology Trends in 2016 Strategic technology trends have the most potential to drive significant enterprise impact over the next three years - and IT cannot afford to ignore them. At this breakfast talk, which brought together over 50 CIOs and IT professionals, Mr Bertrand Bidaud, Managing Vice President, Gartner Technology and Service Provider Research, presented Gartner’s annual top 10 list of trends businesses should be reviewing and factoring into their strategic planning. Bertrand addressed the following points: • Which trends will drive the greatest disruption to the IT landscape over the next three years? • What critical technologies must be explored to support the move to digital business? • How are these evolving trends and technologies and what actions must be taken today? F #ICT

For more than 15 years, voyages-sncf.com has been the first e-commerce player in France. A real digital success story, this French company still had to face the “big crash” in 2008 and the rise of small agile or more international competitors, challenging environments that often reminded the teams how important it was to re-invent themselves continuously. Mr Nguyen Trieu Khang shared the story of voyages-sncf.com from behind the scenes, and shed light on how the company, a national group of 160,000 people, shifted towards a more modular architecture, towards an agile organisation. F #ICT

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A Conversation with Jacqueline Poh, Chief Executive, GovTech Singapore at a breakfast talk where she introduced this agency. Ms Poh shared the mission and vision of the agency, and explained how it seeks to enable the Singapore government’s digital initiatives, what initiatives are present ahead, and how it will partner agencies, industries and citizens in transforming service delivery.

Following a restructuring of the Infocomm Development Authority, the Government Technology Agency of Singapore

(GovTech) was officially launched in 2016. We had the honour of welcoming Ms Jacqueline Poh, Chief Executive of GovTech,

The talk ended with a short experience sharing session on “Working with Agencies”, with Mr Alexandre Parilusyan, Vice-President, Business Transformation, Asia Pacific South, Dassault Systèmes and Mr Philippe Vacanpernolle, Sixense, a subsidiary of Bachy Soletanche. We thank Mr Parilusyan for also moderating the lively interview and Q&A session with Ms Poh. F #ICT #smartcities

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Site Visit: The Centre of Innovation for Supply Chain Management The Centre of Innovation for Supply Chain Management (COI-SCM) was established in 2012 in partnership with Singapore Economic Development Board and SPRING Singapore. Its role is to help companies based in Singapore to develop supply chain and logistics expertise, and to improve efficiency through innovation in process and technology. The members of the Sourcing & Supply Chain committee had the opportunity to visit COI-SCM, and benefit from sharing of experiences through case studies, demonstrations of cloud-based logistics solutions and a tour of the supply chain lab. F #sourcing #supplychain

A Journey to a Company Forecast Predicting sales revenue and volumes is always a challenge for a company, especially in Asia where markets are highly volatile. Ms Angélique Debuyser, Supply Chain Director, Asia Pacific for Rémy Cointreau, shared with us more on this topic, tackling questions such as company culture, departmental accountability, professionalism, and efficiency in a collaborative forecast. F #sourcing #supplychain

Supply Chain Networking Event The Sourcing & Supply Chain committee met for a networking event at Bar-Roque Grill and had some Flammekueche. F #sourcing #supplychain

Book your Table! gala2017@fccsingapore.com

2017 Gala Dinner

Friday 07 April The Ritz-Carlton

A breathtaking live entertainment show together with the finest French cuisine and the most delicate French wines and Champagne will be the enchanting ingredients of this evening.

Voted ‘Meilleur ouvrier de France ‘ and ‘Compagnon de Tour de France ’, founder of the renowned gastronomic restaurant Flocons de Sel, Three-Michelin-Star Chef Emmanuel Renaut will reveal his sumptuous dinner, as the mystery of the Imaginarium unfolds.

Platinum Sponsor

Gold Sponsors

Silver Sponsors

Official Airline

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Business Accelerator Lab To better reflect the vision of this initiative – supporting new start-ups and entrepreneurs in developing and pushing forward with their businesses, the Business Advisor’s Group was rebranded the Business

Accelerator Lab on the occasion of its first year anniversary in September 2016. The Group saw a dynamic year of activity, having supported 15 start-ups and entre-

preneurs, where advisors, consisting of successful entrepreneurs and professionals from various sectors and functions, offered their specific advice and recommendations on business plans, giving relevant direction and contacts whenever possible. We thank Ms Aude de Rotalier, President of the Business Accelerator Lab, for her continued support, and the 20 advisors for their voluntary support and availability each month. If you are a French entrepreneur with a minimum of six months of activity, we encourage you to make use of this opportunity of free feedback on your business model and development. F #startups #entrepreneurs

Mentoring Programme A co-initiative with the French Trade Advisors and Business France, the French Chamber’s Mentoring Programme provides an opportunity for French entrepreneurs and SME subsidiary representatives to exchange on business issues, with

high-profile business people who volunteer to provide feedback and advice. 2016 saw 13 individuals in this programme. If you are a French entrepreneur with a minimum of one year worth of activity,

or a representative of a subsidiary of a French SME, you can submit your application online to join this free programme. F #startups #entrepreneurs #SMEs

Women Entrepreneurs Mastermind sessions The French Chamber, together with Ms Valérie Marin, MD, Distribution Asiatique, and Co-President of the Start-ups & Entrepreneurs committee, organises regular “mastermind sessions” for women entrepreneurs to present their business and challenges to get feedback and insights from other entrepreneurs. F #startups #entrepreneurs

#businesswomen

Entrepreneurs’ Drink This regular networking event is a chance for numerous French entrepreneurs to mingle with other founders and exchange about their businesses, best practices and contacts, in a relaxed atmosphere. F #startups #entrepreneurs

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French Chamber Tech Entrepreneurs Club Following the launch of the French Chamber Tech Entrepreneurs Club in March 2016, Eric Barbier, CEO, TransferTo, and Denis Branthonne,

CEO, Novade, together with the French Chamber Singapore organised several meetings, bringing together CEOs of French tech start-ups.

This club provides a platform for exchange among peers. One main topic discussed was digital marketing strategies, with Mr Adrien Barthel, Chief Marketing Officer, Sephora Digital Division, and Mr JeanChristophe Bouglé, Executive Director, FewStones, leading the exchange. Another topic of interest relates to raising capital and approaching Venture Capital firms. In a meeting, Mr Arnaud Bonzom, Director of Corporate Innovation, 500 Startups, presented the Map of the Money, a visual list of VCs and active investors in Singapore for pre-seed, Seed, Series A, Series B and other funding rounds. F #startups #entrepreneurs #tech

Experience Sharing with Successful Tech Entrepreneurs The French Chamber welcomed Mr Erwan Mace, Founder and CEO, Bitsmedia, for a very generous experience sharing session. Mr Mace successfully developed mobile applications, including the leading Muslim Pro app, with over 30 million downloads. He unveiled his entrepreneur journey and many tips and figures on how to monetise applications. All participating startups were inspired by this passionate geek/technologist, full stack web, mobile and backend developer and successful business man. Another experience sharing meeting took place with Mr Thibaut Jarrousse and Mr Jerome Pasquet, Co-Founders of 10-

Vins, and Mr Bertrand Tellier, Executive Director, Alam Baru Pte Ltd, Exclusive D-Vine Representative ASEAN. D-Vine is the first wine tasting dispenser for a wineby-the-glass experience that provides the perfect aeration and temperature for 100ml flacons. The co-founders shared how a clever mix of passion for wine and technology can lead to an award-winning innovative product with worldwide recognition: “Best of CES 2016” award in Las Vegas, and the prize “La Tribune BNP Paribas Young Entrepreneur 2016”, among others. F #startups #entrepreneurs #tech #retail

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Grants for Startups & SMEs in Singapore: How to Optimise and Secure your Access to Public Funding in Singapore?

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This meeting allowed entrepreneurs and SMEs to have a better understanding of public incentives in Singapore. Mr Mathias Boissonot, consultant at GAC Group, and Mr Reeve Tan, Sales Manager, presented an overview about the Productivity and Innovation Credit (PIC) Scheme, along with Innovation and Capabilities Vouchers (ICV), Capabilities Development Grant (CDG), and Market Readiness Access (MRA). GAC Group is an international consulting firm helping companies to optimise and secure their PIC Scheme and public funding for innovation, productivity increase and international development. F #startups #entrepreneurs #SMSs

Modern Mobility: Moving Women with Purpose Female demand for mobility has never been higher with 71% of female millennials wanting to work outside of their home country. Despite this, only 20% of current international assignees are female. Ms Elizabeth Rankin and Mr Anthony Pain, Senior Managers at PwC Singapore (Global Mobility Services), presented some compelling insights into the current trends around global mobility, talent management and diversity in international employers. They also provided insights into the evolving mindset and attitudes of female talent. Head to www.fccsingapore.com to find the whole report under the Business Women committee. F #businesswomen #HR

5 Ways to Increase your E-Commerce Revenues with Analytics

Analytics are at the core of all digital business. Yet, even if it seems obvious that we have to use online data to improve business, information overflow exists and it can be hard to derive actionable insight from data. Mr Pierre-Henri Courtey, Digital Analytics Consultant, and Mr FaiKeung Ng, Regional Director, AT Internet, presented five analyses businesses should apply to their e-commerce sites. The purpose is not only use digital analytics but to increase revenue from them. F #digitalinnovation #marketing

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Re-imagining Marketing or How to Build Customer Lifetime Value in the Digital Era In a life that is becoming more digital than ever, marketers have to reinvent themselves for the digital world, taming technology to market and sell along the customer lifecycle.Ms Valerie Beaulieu, General Manager at Microsoft, in charge of Small & MidMarket Solutions & Partners in Asia Pacific, gave a presentation on how the proliferation of digital devices and services is profoundly changing customers’ expectations and behaviours, and explained how technology can help marketers accrue lifetime value. Together with Mr Damien Larrey and Ms Suelyn Howe from Microsoft, they shared concrete examples and demonstrations on how digital transformation can lead to much more effective marketing. F #digitalinnovation #marketing

A New Lease on Life: Bringing Back Singapore’s Malls We’ve all read the headline: “Singapore’s shopping malls are dead”. And we’ve all seen the grim stats: falling occupancy rates, declining revenues, and an ever-increasing supply of online space. But are they really dead or is there still some life left in them? And if so, what can be done to reinvigorate Singapore’s once vibrant shopping malls? Mr Andrew Crombie, Regional CEO, Southeast and North Asia at Fitch, a global brand strategy, design and experience consultancy, joined us for a provocative discussion on the current state of shopping in Singapore, the challenges we face, and the opportunities hidden within them. He shared great examples of malls in the region successfully attracting consumers to their stores. F #digitalinnovation #marketing #retail

Touchpoints Journey to the Centre of Brand Strategy Today’s brands and businesses operate in an intensely connected world, and this has pushed a new concept to the centre of their planning. Not so long ago, touchpoints were just another term for marketing channels, conversion opportunities or the different elements of customer experience, a handy catch-all phrase that meant very different things to each department and function within an organisation. Mr Nishant Kaushal, Client Service Director – Brand Strategy and Communication, TNS, and Ms Aurelia Leopold, Client Service Director, TNS, shared with us how businesses should navigate the touchpoint revolution, looking at the variety of opportunities that they present: • As brand builders; • As brand experiences; • As buying opportunities; • As disruptors; • As sources of insight. F #digitalinnovation #marketing

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Trade Compliance: Approaches from MNCs in the Region

HR Directors’ Lunch The French Chamber Human Resources committee organises a lunch series dedicated to HR Directors. Industry peers get to discuss the latest trends and best practices while enjoying a casual French lunch. F #HR

12 Rules of Engagement Times have changed and so have the ways in which employees show their intensity towards performance and commitment at the workplace. Keeping in mind the changes that have occurred over the last couple of decades, there’s a definite need to relook at employee engagement strategies to garner positive business results.

Mr Daniel ZumBrunnen, the Asia Pacific Customs & Trade Compliance Director for Schneider Electric, and Mr Philip Ho, the Tax & Customs Expert with Schneider Electric Logistics Asia (SELA), shared with us more on: • Key process steps to be undertaken and associated for a Trade Compliance organisation; • Transaction / data transfer screening and controls in light of Trade Compliance; • Approaches to Trade Compliance. F #legal #tax #supplychain

Mr David Litteken, Vice President, Asia Pacific Region, of BI WORLDWIDE, discussed how employers can engage employees to their full potential. A matter of concern for all HR leaders, the insights were wellreceived, for an introspection and overhaul of the methods applied to drive engagement. F #HR

Managing Corruption Risks in your Organisation No organisation is entirely safe from the risk of corruption, and the reputational and financial fallout from such cases can be disastrous. Corruption risks present themselves in various situations, including dealings with government officials, the provision of hospitality and gifts, and contracts with third party vendors.

Workshop: Finance for Non-Financial Professionals This second training session enabled participating entrepreneurs to raise their level of financial and accounting awareness and allowed them to better understand their business’ financial issues. Mr Michel Noël, Founder and Managing Director, BP Solutions Pte Ltd, led the workshop. Included in the booklet given to each participant, the trainer provided a useful lexical with all terms & terminologies used in international accounting translated into French and English. F #startups #entrepreneurs

This seminar by Mrs Weiyi Tan, Principal at Baker & McKenzie. Wong&Leow’s dispute resolution practice group, set out an overview of the corruption risks that businesses typically face in Singapore and Asia Pacific, and some practical suggestions on how to manage these risks. F #legal #tax

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Partnering NGOs – How to Positively Engage Employees with CSR their level of job satisfaction, reports that the single most important way to engage workers is to enable them to make progress in meaningful work.

The Gallop-Healthways Wellbeing Index, which each year surveys employees about

Based on his experience of former President of Accenture France, Mr Benoit Genuini, Founder and President of Passerelles numériques, shared with us how companies can motivate their staff by committing to a NGO. Through this talk, we explored the bridges between business and philanthropy. Employees with

positive feelings towards their jobs work better, are more dedicated. As a consequence, the retention rate may increase, thus reducing recruitment costs to the company. Special thanks also to Mr Paul Birckel, Managing Director at Société Générale, for the insightful experience sharing on Société Générale’s CSR activities with Passerelles numériques. F #responsibility #CSR

French Retirement Plans: Understanding the Law to Optimise Your Benefits French retirement plans are often neglected by French expatriates once they have decided to live abroad. Mr Bruno Renardier, CEO of Novelvy, and Mr Maurice Nhan, Representative in Asia, Novelvy, addressed the main rules associated with French retirement plans, including the changes following the pension reform of 2013 (such as the duration of contribution) and the reform of 2015. This talk covered the key issues for expats (employment in different countries and impact on retirement, quarters’ buyouts, partners’ situation, etc.) F #legal #tax

Optimising Your Financial Situation in Singapore Mr Jeremy Grey, Associate Vice President and Financial Adviser at Globaleye, discussed old and new financial concepts to help participants enhance and optimise their family’s financial situations. F #banking #finance #fintech

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Voilah! French Food Festival in Singapore: New Ideas and Proposals for 2017

The Country of Origin Effect on Consumers: All You Should Know About It “Made In” is everywhere in political and economic discourses. Most country leaders engage in so-called nation branding to attract investors and stimulate demand for local products, thus sustaining local manufacturing and production of goods and services. Labels are specifically created and clusters develop communication plans to touch the general public. At this meeting, Dr Anne-Flore Maman Larraudie, SémioConsult and ESSEC, shared some key findings from a study conducted for the French Ministry of Economy, dealing with the values associated with “Made in France” in several product categories. F

The 2nd edition of Voilah! French Festival Singapore took place from 15 April to 31 May 2016, and 60 companies specialising in French gastronomy and F&B products (hotels, restaurants, retailers, etc.) participated in its gastronomic component, Voilah! French Food Festival. At this meeting, the French Embassy, the French Chamber and Sopexa came together with partners to discuss ideas and proposals for the 2017 edition of the food festival. F #frenchgourmet

#retail #marketing

Increase your Restaurant’s Profit with Proven Psychological Techniques

Business + Gastronomy = French Chamber Monthly Luncheons On every first Friday of each month, the French Chamber organises a business luncheon at a different French restaurant. The constant change in venue and menu creates a refreshing ambience for conversations to flow among our members. These informal networking sessions are always excellent opportunities to develop new contacts and exchange opinions on business issues while enjoying some great French food. Our last lunches took place at Bistro du Vin, Ô Comptoir, Anti:Dote, and Café Gavroche. These events are open to everyone. Invite your friends or colleagues! F #frenchgourmet

At this meeting, Mr Benjamin Chan, Consultant at Protegie Consultancy, shared on: the marketing funnel and the Mckinsey consumer journey for restaurants and the results when these two concepts are combined when executing campaigns; consumer behaviour and psychological techniques to improve businesses; a summary of the Singapore influencers market and how to use it to your advantage; localising, regionalising and nationalising and how to let your budgets and the human brain decide the truth behind these concepts; sustainable restaurant practices; the effectiveness of viral campaigns and how to trigger them (WOM marketing), giving people a reason to talk about you; re-marketing. F #frenchgourmet

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MEMBERSHIP

Issue 62

New Members|

New Members Patron MEMBERs

The French Chamber is pleased to welcome two new patron members!

AIRBUS GROUP

DANONE ASIA

Contact: Mr Johan PELISSIER, Head of Business Development for Airbus Group Website: www.airbusgroup.com Sector: Aerospace, Defense, Security

Contact: Mr Pascal DE PETRINI, Executive VP Strategic Resources Cycle – Executive Committee Member Website: www.danone.com Sector: F&B

Associate MEMBERS ALPADIS (SINGAPORE)

Contact: Mr Alain ESSEIVA, CEO Website: www.alpadis-group.com Sector: Finance

BROOKFIELD GLOBAL INTEGRATED SOLUTIONS

Contact: Mr Simon MARION, Director, South East Asia Website: www.brookfieldglobal.com Sector: Real Estate

FAIRMONT SINGAPORE & SWISSOTEL THE STAMFORD

Contact: Mr Piero BELLIZZI, Hotel Manager, Swissotel The Stamford Website: www.swissotel.com/singapore-stamford Sector: Hotel

FUTURE MARKETER

Contact: Mr Taru JAIN, CEO and Founder Website: www.futuremarketer.co Contact: Digital Marketing, Training

GLOBAL BLUE SINGAPORE

Contact: Mr Jan MOLLER, VP Sales & Managing Country Director Singapore Website: www.globalblue.com Sector: Tax-Free Shopping

INVEST EXPAT

Contact: Mrs Cécile BARDES, MD Website: www.invest-expat.com Sector: Wealth Management

JET AIRWAYS (INDIA)

Contact: Mr Colin NEUBRONNER, SVP – Sales & Marketing Website: www.jetairways.com/en/sg/home.aspx Sector: Airline

MARSHAL-SYSTEMS

Contact: Mr Frederic SERNA, MD Website: www.marshal-systems.com Sector: Construction

MORGAN LEWIS STAMFORD

Contact: Mr Arnaud BOURRUT-LACOUTURE, Registered Foreign Lawyer Website: www.morganlewis.com Sector: Legal

SCHELLENBERG WITTMER

Contact: Mr Christopher BOOG, MD / Partner Website: www.swlegal.sg Sector: Legal

SOILBUILD GROUP

Contact: Mr Gerald ONG, Senior Manager (Sales & Leasing) Website: www.soilbuild.com Sector: Integrated Property

THE RITZ-CARLTON, MILLENIA SINGAPORE

Contact: Mr Peter MAINGUY, GM Website: www.ritzcarlton.com Sector: Hotel

THL CONSULTING

Contact: Mr Stephane HIVERT, Director Sector: Consulting, Organisation

WWW CONCEPTS

Contact: Ms Angelica BALILI, Food Director Sector: F&B

MEMBERSHIP

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New Members

Issue 62

Corporate MEMBERS AIR COST CONTROL

Contact: Ms Anabelle GALOPIN, MD Website: www.aircostcontrol.com Sector: Defense, Aerospace

ALCIMED

Contact: Mr Yann FERRISSE, MD Website: www.alcimed.com Sector: Consulting, Innovation

ASIA INFRARED SYSTEMS

Contact: Mr Clément BARBIER, Sales Manager Website: www.asia-infrared.com Sector: Infrared Systems

ASTEK SINGAPORE

Contact: Mr Alexis GALON, MD Website: www.asteksingapore.com Sector: IT, IoT

AXA DIL @ ASIA

Contact: Mr Ankur AGRAWAL, MD Website: www.axa.com.sg Sector: Insurance, Innovation

DEVIALET ASIA

Contact: Mr Ghislain MORET, Area Manager Website: www.en.devialet.com Sector: Luxury, Retail, Sono

DR COM ASIA

Contact: Mr Bruno SENOUCI, MD APAC Website: www.drcomgroup.com Sector: Communication, Health

LINKBYNET SINGAPORE

Contact: Mr Fu-Chang TRAN, Business Development Manager Website: www.linkbynet.com Sector: IT

MAISON ROUTIN – 1883

Contact: Ms Cyndie ADAM, Sales and Business Development Manager – South East Asia Website: www.1883.com/en Sector: F&B, Syrup

MARIT

Contact: Mr Guillaume MARIT, Chief Representative Website: www.marit.fr Sector: Manufacturing, Steel Chain

MERCURE SINGAPORE BUGIS

Contact: Mr Rhys CHALLENGER, General Manager Website: www.mercure.com/gb/hotel-A0D7mercure-singapore-bugis/index.shtml Sector: Hotel

NATUREX HOLDINGS SINGAPORE

Contact: Mr Jean-Philippe GIORGIS, Sr. VicePresident / General Manager Asia-Pacific Website: www.naturex.com Sector: Food Health, Cosmetics

NICOMATIC - NCM

ECOCERT SOUTH-EAST ASIA

Contact: Mr Julien NICOLLIN, General Manager Website: www.nicomatic.com Sector: Micro-Connectors

ESTIN & CO

Contact: Mr Mathieu KEROUANTON, Sales Manager Asia Website: www.socaps.asia Sector: Technical Industrial Services

Ms Aude-Emmanuelle DOUYERE, Business Developer Website: www.ecocert.com Sector: Certification, Sustainable Development

Contact: Mr François GUIBERT, Senior Advisor Website: www.estin.com Sector: Consulting, Strategy

HCP HEALTHCARE ASIA (URGO)

Contact: Mr Paul BASSON, Regional Director Asia Website: www.urgo-group.com Sector: Healthcare

KEYTEO CONSULTING

Contact: Mr Abdellah HAJJI, MD Website: www.keyteo.sg Sector: Consulting, Finance

SOCAPS ASIA

THE APPLETREE GROUP

Contact: Mr Jean-Marc MERLIN, Director Website: www.appletree-asia.com Sector: Hospitality, Tourism, Retail

WIN MS

Contact: Mr Thibaut GONDRAN, International Business Developer Website: www.win-ms.com Sector: Wiring Systems, Connectivity

ZENIKA

Contact: Mr Michael ISVY, Director Website: www.zenika.com Sector: Consulting, IT

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MEMBERSHIP

Issue 62

New Members|

ENTREPRENEURS MEMBERS A PLUS – TENDANCE DE PARIS

ETN-INNOVATION

Contact: Mr Pascal DE VILLEPIN, Director Sector: Fashion

Contact: Mr Etienne DUCROT, MD Website: www.etn-innovation.com Sector: Consulting, Engineering

ALAM BARU

GINSENG CAPITAL

Contact: Mr Bertrand TELLIER, Executive Director Website: www.dvine.com.sg Sector: Luxury, Wine

Contact: Mr S. Thierry SMADJA, MD Website: www.ginsengcapital.com Sector: M&A

ATHEN DEVELOPMENT

I WOULD LIKE BY LAURE COURTAIN

Contact: Mr Christian DUHAIN, CEO Sector: Consultancy, Aerospace

Contact: Mrs Laure EXPERT, Business Manager Sector: Retail, Fashion

BLONK

MARRO CONSULTING

Contact: Mr Vincent MAILLARD, CEO Website: www.blonk.co Sector: Human Resources, Mobile App

Contact: Mrs Caroline MARRO, Founder Sector: Consulting, Pricing

C.O. CONSULTANCY SERVICES

Contact: Mr Mathias OGIER, MD Website: www.opr-media.com Sector: Media Agency

CAPSULE COLLECTIONS

Contact: Mr Arnaud DE KETTENIS, Operations Manager Website: www.ozify.com/asia Sector: Retail, Fashion

CEDRIC VROLANT PHOTOGRAPHY

Contact: Mr Remi TACHE, CTO and Co-Founder Website: www.pixiumdigital.com Sector: IT Services

OPR MEDIA ASIA

Contact: Mr Christophe OUDIN, Director Website: www.worldgourmetsummit.com Sector: F&B

OZIFY

Contact: Mrs Juliette CAPILLAIRE TAG, Founder and Designer Website: www.julesandjuliette.com Sector: Retail, Fashion

PIXIUM DIGITAL

Contact: Mr Cédric Vrolant, Photographer, Founder Website: www.cedricvrolant.com Sector: Photography

SHANTI TRAVEL ASIA

COACHING TIGER

Contact: Mr Jeremy GRASSET, Director Website: www.shantitravel.com Sector: Travel Agency

EMERGE VENTURE

Contact: Mr Cyrille EVEN, CEO Website: www.stareach.com Sector: Tech, Mobile Messaging

Contact: Ms Jaya MACHET, Founder, MD Website: www.coachingtiger.com Sector: Human Resources

STAREACH ASIA

Contact: Mr Sandip BAHL Website: www.emerge-venture.com Sector: Consulting, Fund-raising

TRY AND REVIEW

Contact: Mrs Alexia SICHERE, Co-Founder - GM Website: www.tryandreview.com Sector: Products Testing

INDIVIDUAL MEMBERS Mr Olivier BRIZARD, Associate Director, KORDAMENTHA Sector: Advisory, Investment Mr Jerome LEBECQUE, Vice President – SE Asia, BEKAERT SINGAPORE Sector: Manufacturing, Steel Wire

Mr Mathieu PILARD, Sales Director, AETNA INSURANCE

(SINGAPORE) Sector: Insurance

Mr Cédric BOURDY, Relationship Manager, Bank of Singapore Sector: Private Banking

MEMBERSHIP

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Privilege Card

SERVICES

Issue 62

Privilege Card

RETAIL & LEISURE

About the Card The Privilege Card is personal and is exclusively reserved to members of the network of the French Chamber of Commerce in Singapore. It gives access to many benefits in Singapore and in France, with more than 50 participating member brands.

WINE & DINE

TRAVEL & HOSPITALITY

At your Fingertips Download the French Chamber app on your iPhone or Android phone and gain access to up-to-date information on all your member privileges, including new deals added along the year.

Education Terms & Conditions apply. Visit www.fccsingapore.com for more details.

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• Internationally Certified Curriculum: Our IB World School status, Cambridge International School accreditation and EduTrust certification enables families to join us from anywhere in the world, to move anywhere in the world

• International Educators: Committed and child-centred, our globally experienced teachers are the true difference for our international students

• Parent Engagement: Our parents are active partners with us in community service and parent engagement opportunities

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