FOCUS
The Magazine of the French Chamber of Commerce in Singapore
Issue 63
|
www.fccsingapore.com
FUTURE ECONOMY
How the Workplace Is Changing Investment in Alternative Assets Unlocking Sources of Capital for SMEs
ESSEC & MANNHEIM EXECUTIVE MBA ASIA-PACIFIC Taking leadership to the next level
The ESSEC & Mannheim Executive MBA Asia-Pacific program has been designed to address the ever-changing demands on senior management operating in Asia. The curriculum leverages ESSEC’s more than 20 years of experience in running Executive MBA programs and the partnership with Mannheim Business School since 2004.
INTAKE EVERY YEAR IN OCTOBER KEY BENEFITS • Pan-Asian core with a global reach, with courses examining new business models in Asia, future powerhouses and international residencies • Innovative curriculum incorporating the latest business trends in topics such as Big Data, Family Business, Value-creating Innovation, and Branding with Digital and Social Networks • Inclusive approach with a strong focus on actionable learning, including the Entrepreneurship Project that drives entrepreneurial skills through real-life consulting projects • Compact class size to provide a highly interactive learning experience • Modular program delivered in Singapore
JOIN US FOR AN EXECUTIVE MBA CLASS PREVIEW ON DIGITAL PLATFORM BUSINESS MODELS ON THURSDAY, 18 MAY 2017 For more information, please email essecasia@essec.edu or call +65 6884 9780. Address: ESSEC Business School, Asia-Pacific, 5 Nepal Park, Singapore 139408
www.emba-asia.essec.edu
QS GLOBAL JOINT EMBA RANKINGS 2017
#7
Best Joint EMBA Program
FINANCIAL TIMES WORLDWIDE RANKINGS 2016
#14
Executive Education Programs
The pioneering spirit ESSEC | CPE Registration number 200511927D | Period of registration: 30 June 2011 - 29 June 2017 | Committee of Private Education (CPE) is part of SkillsFuture Singapore (SSG)
FOCUS MAGAZINE
CONTENTS
Issue 63
C O N T E N T S
10
COVER STORY FUTURE ECONOMY
11 Singapore’s Committee on the Future Economy Charts Singapore’s Next Phase of Growth 14 The Time to Innovate Is Now
03
SHORT NEWS
30
CHAMBER NEWS
16 How an Agile Approach Can Drive Innovation 18 Can’t Touch This: Dealing with Data Protection 20 Unlocking Sources of Capital for SMEs 22 Making Investing Effortless 23 Invoice Trading as Alternative Financing 24 Investment in Alternative Assets
03 Edito
25 The Future of Food is Food
05 Short News
26 How the Workplace Is Changing
08 Patron Member Spotlight: Orange Business Services
28 France and Singapore Strengthen Cooperation on Innovation
30 HR Services 32 Business Support 38 Gala Dinner 2017 44 French Chamber Events 61 New Members 64 Privilege Card
1
2
FRENCH CHAMBER PATRON MEMBERS
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 Chamber’s members and management.
Director of Publication Carine Lespayandel Production Editor Joe Han Lim Sub-Editor Jonathan Meur Design & Layout Jonathan Meur Advertising Joe Han Lim Jonathan Meur Colour Separation & Printing Toppan Security Printing Pte. Ltd. Cover Image Created by Liravega - Freepik.com
Issue 63 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
The French Chamber of Commerce in Singapore would like to thank its Patron Members for their continuous support.
Issue 63
FOCUS MAGAZINE
EDITO
Issue 63
S
ingapore continues rising in global rankings, making its mark as one of the most competitive economies in the world. Now only halfway through 2017, it is already at the top of various lists,
whether it concerns health (Bloomberg), airports (Skytrax), or start-up talent (Startup Genome). Not one to stay idle, the Singapore government recently reviewed a series of proposals on how it can chart its next phase of growth. In the context of a challenging global environment and rapidly evolving business landscape, the Report of the Committee on the Future Economy highlights growth clusters, transformational processes, and key strategies that should help keep the city-state open and relevant. The focus of this special edition centres around this report and we have put together interviews and opinions from business leaders on a range of subjects. From innovation to FinTech and the workplace, we learn about the changes in the business landscape and find out how our businesses can help Singapore maintain its growth momentum. It is fair to say that Singapore remains a solid and very attractive city, and businesses both big and small have great roles to take on as the country transitions into the future economy. We are stronger working together and it is heartening to see our business community coming together, leveraging on our collective strength to reach further. I hope you find this edition insightful and stimulating!
Mrs Carine LESPAYANDEL
Executive Director The French Chamber of Commerce in Singapore
3
4
SHORT NEWS
FOCUS MAGAZINE
French Companies in Singapore
Issue 63
Bolloré Awarded CEIV Pharma Certification terms of facilities, equipment, operations and staff and being capable to provide seamless cool chain transportation. This new success shows its commitment to achieving the highest international quality standard in the global pharmaceutical supply chain for its customers, by continually improving its processes and infrastructure in compliance with the CEIV Pharma standards. BOLLORÉ LOGISTICS SINGAPORE‘s platform located in the Airport Logistics Park has been certified by the International Air Transport Association (IATA) as CEIV
Pharma-compliant. This means that the company fully conforms to all applicable pharmaceutical standards expected from pharmaceutical manufacturers in
Bolloré Logistics Singapore is one of the first transport and logistics companies in Singapore to receive this certification. F
Total and Pavilion Energy Ink MOU on LNG Bunkering Cooperation TOTAL MARINE FUELS GLOBAL SOLUTIONS and PAVILION GAS have signed a MOU on LNG bunkering cooperation in Singapore: Pavilion Gas, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Pavilion Energy, will supply LNG as a bunker fuel to Total Marine Fuels Global Solutions, Total’s affiliate in charge of worldwide bunkering activities, for LNG deliveries to its marine fuel customers in the port of Singapore. The parties may explore
further cooperation in logistics for LNG bunkering activities. Patrick Pouyanné, Chairman and CEO of Total, said: “Our mission is to offer global and compliant solutions to our customers to meet the 2020 Global Cap requirements. Developing a competitive worldwide LNG bunkering network will be key for the
industry and securing access in the main hubs, such as Singapore, is part of our strategy.” F
VISEO Signs Global Strategic Partnership with Sigfox via UnaBiz applications of smart buttons powered by SIGFOX, the world’s leading provider of global IoT connectivity. VISEO, a global IT consulting firm specialised in assisting clients in their IT and digital transformation, announced the signature of its first global strategic partnership with Singapore-based IoTdedicated network operator UNABIZ. The partnership seeks to develop IoT
This partnership aims to bring hundreds of thousands of connected buttons to the market, giving businesses from all verticals access to the UnaBiz hardware and cloud, Sigfox connectivity service, as well as VISEO’s tailored solutions.
“This strategic partnership gives [...] a unique chance to speed up our international development, as one of our top priorities in the next few years is to make 20% of our revenues abroad by 2020. On the other hand, it makes us more relevant to our clients in the IoT field, from consultation to production of a useful innovation” says Olivier Dhonte, CEO and Founder of VISEO. F
SHORT NEWS
FOCUS MAGAZINE Issue 63
CAPGEMINI, a global leader in consulting, technology and outsourcing services, has announced the launch of its newest Applied Innovation Exchange (AIE) located in Singapore. The exchange will deliver a robust service catalogue, within an
French Companies in Singapore
ecosystem of other AIEs, including a focus in areas such as data analytics, visualisation, artificial intelligence and cognitive computing. The first AIE in South East Asia and 10th globally, the AIE will strengthen Singapore’s reputation as an
innovation hub by expanding the region’s innovation capacity and bolstering the development of local talent, to co-create a technology-enabled future. Leveraging Capgemini’s inherent culture of applied innovation, the AIE framework helps organisations foster a structured approach to drive the innovation process comprising four phases – Discover, Devise, Deploy, and Sustain. It enables companies to systematically work through the process of innovation, uncover and experiment with new creative ideas, while simultaneously remaining agile enough to respond to the constant market and technology shifts. F
Capgemini Launches Applied Innovation Exchange in Singapore CMA CGM , a leading worldwide shipping group, and PSA, one of the largest international port groups, have launched the second phase of their container terminal joint venture in Singapore. Officiating the event were Mr François Hollande, former President of the French Republic and Mr Khaw Boon Wan, Coordinating Minister for Infrastructure and Minister for Transport, Singapore. Leveraging the industry-leading port infrastructure and technologies including
the state-of-the-art yard automation at PSA’s newest PPT expansion, CPLT is well-primed to serve the mega vessels of CMA CGM and the affiliate shipping lines of the Group. This also enhances Singapore’s standing as a premier international maritime centre.
for CMA CGM as part of the Group’s continuing efforts to make Singapore our main hub in the region, while reiterating the importance of Singapore to our global strategy.” F
Mr Jean-Yves Duval, Senior Vice President Asia, CMA CGM Asia Regional Office said, “This is another exciting milestone
CMA CGM, PSA Double Capacity at Singapore Terminal AXA Reaffirms Commitment to Cyber Protection The AXA Research Fund, the science philanthropy initiative of global insurance leader, AXA GROUP, has announced that Professor Robert Deng from SMU’s School of Information Systems has been conferred the prestigious AXA Chair Professorship of Cybersecurity. This year, six AXA Chairs were selected for this honour globally. The AXA Research Fund has awarded Professor Deng with €800,000 (SGD 1.2million) over a period of eight years to support his research in the development
of new ways of protecting data security and privacy. As the newly appointed AXA Chair Professor of Cybersecurity, Professor Deng will undertake a research programme to systematically investigate a unified framework for protecting data in the new environment. The research is expected to yield new security models, algorithms, protocols, and analysis techniques which will help organisations
and individuals mitigate risks emanating from cybersecurity threats. F
5
6
SHORT NEWS
FOCUS MAGAZINE
French Companies in Singapore / French Chamber
Issue 63
Air France-KLM Signs Codeshare Agreement with Singapore Airlines flights. Air France will add its ‘AF’ designator code to Singapore Airlinesoperated flights beyond Singapore to Melbourne and Sydney (Australia), as well as on SilkAir-operated flights to Kuala Lumpur, Penang (Malaysia) and Phuket (Thailand).
AIR FRANCE-KLM has signed a MOU with Singapore Airlines and regional subsidiary SilkAir to codeshare on each other’s
On a reciprocal basis, Singapore Airlines will add its ‘SQ’ designator code to Air France-operated flights beyond Paris-Charles de Gaulle to 10 destinations - Aberdeen, Bordeaux, Edinburgh, Lisbon, Lyon, Madrid, Marseille, Newcastle, Nice and Toulouse.
Patrick Roux, Senior Vice-President Alliances of Air France-KLM group stated, “This new agreement is excellent news for our airline and for our customers. It will significantly improve the connections for Air France customers from Singapore to Australia. This kind of partnership is part of our aim to expand our market position and increase our range of destinations for our customers all around the world.” Air France and Singapore Airlines will later on explore the opportunity to expand the codeshare to other airlines within their respective groups. F
Dragon Rouge Singapore Wins Global Branding and Advertising for Bawah Island DRAGON ROUGE has been assigned branding and advertising duties for one of the region’s most anticipated new hospitality brands, Bawah. Positioned as a rare eco-system experience, Bawah is a cluster of 6 untouched islands – a protected archipelago – located midway between Singapore and Kalimantan in the Anambas Islands.
“Opportunities to help create such an amazing brand come very rarely, and we are honoured to have been engaged by the team at Bawah. The primal beauty of Bawah is truly special, and thanks to the team behind this unique development, it is now a protected reserve hosting stunning biodiversity,” commented Zayn Khan, CEO of Dragon Rouge in South East Asia. F
JCDecaux Singapore Launches First Digital Contextual Campaign at Changi Airport Terminal 3 JCDECAUX SA, the number one outdoor advertising company worldwide, has announced the launch of its first contextual digital campaign with real-time weather and time displays at Singapore Changi Airport Terminal 3. Titled Wanderlust, the campaign can be seen across JCDecaux’s 70-inch digital screen network in the departure transit precinct of Changi Airport’s premier terminal where Singapore Airlines as well as other premium international carriers are located.
It marks a step forward for the company in delivering contextually relevant outof-home ads. Of this new initiative, JCDecaux Singapore MD Evlyn Yang says, “Wanderlust is the beginning of an exciting new era in creative digital advertising that enables clients to reach and engage with their audiences in new ways. With JCDecaux’ SmartCONTENT Platform, we are able to offer right-time, right-place, right-message capability to our clients, who can benefit from higher campaign efficacy with dynamic messaging and greater contextual relevance.” F
SHORT NEWS
FOCUS MAGAZINE Issue 63
French Companies in Singapore
Peugeot to Test Fully Autonomous Vehicles in Singapore of fully autonomous cars in Singapore. The PEUGEOT 3008 SUV was recently named 2017 European Car of the Year. GROUPE PSA and nuTonomy have announced a strategic partnership through which nuTonomy will seamlessly integrate Groupe PSA’s sophisticated software system into customised PEUGEOT 3008 SUVs for on-road testing
Anne Laliron, Head of the Business Lab, Groupe PSA, said, “This collaboration is a significant step towards fully autonomous vehicles, which will enable us to offer different mobility solutions to our
customers. We are excited to work together with nuTonomy’s team of software and robotics experts to make the concept of self-driving PSA cars more and more concrete.” Following the initial phase of this partnership, the companies will consider expanding their on-road AV testing initiative to other major cities around the world. F
Gautier Brings French Style to Singapore Homes start the fun part of filling the rooms with French style.
Acclaimed French furniture brand GAUTIER has officially opened its doors in Singapore, at Tampines. The 700m2 showroom adjoins the new Home-Fix & More store. It is the second Gautier store to open in South East Asia, after Manila, and is the largest in Asia.
DECATHLON has opened its third and largest sports megastore in Singapore. Located in Joo Koon, it spans 4,000 square metres of sporting retail space with 10 experience zones and Singapore’s first slack line, golf putting green, minifootball arena and a running track with two different surfaces. The outlet houses products and goods for over 60 different sports from the company’s 25 in-house sporting brands, all under one roof. “Since we launched our first e-commerce and retail store in Singapore, we have seen a remarkable response from Singaporeans” said Bastien Grandgeorge,
Customers who visit Home-Fix & More are able to visit the Gautier showroom by simply strolling through an inter-connecting door. Once the hardware has been selected, from lighting and plumbing to flooring and wall paint, a new homeowner can move down the shopping list and
Renowned for its quality, affordable contemporary and designer furniture, Gautier was founded by a visionary husband and wife, who capitalised on France’s baby boom by producing imaginative children’s bedroom furniture. To this day, the beloved French furniture brand remains a family-owned business, and has retained its manufacturing headquarters in France. It now produces everything for the home from lounge and dining furniture to home-office furniture, soft furnishings and small décor items. F
Decathlon Launches Largest Sports Megastore in Singapore Country Leader of Decathlon Singapore. “There is a keen desire to live a fit and healthy life and experience different new sports – at price points that are easy to start with.” The Singapore project started in 2013 as an e-commerce business with a pioneer team of 8. Now with a staff strength of 370, the Joo Koon store will also be the site of Decathlon’s e-commerce omnichannel hub. F
7
8
PATRON MEMBER SPOTLIGHT
Bureau Business Orange Veritas Services
FOCUS MAGAZINE Issue 63
Accelerating Digital Transformation of Businesses IN OUR INTERVIEW WITH A PATRON MEMBER, PATRICK SIM, SENIOR VICE-PRESIDENT, ASIA PACIFIC, ORANGE BUSINESS SERVICES, SHARES WITH US ABOUT HIS CAREER, THE COMPANY’S STRATEGY AND ITS LATEST ACTIVITIES IN ASIA PACIFIC.
CAN YOU TELL US ABOUT YOUR CAREER AT ORANGE? I recently celebrated my tenth-year anniversary at Orange Business Services Asia Pacific. I started as the Vice-President of Sales & Marketing for Asia Pacific, where I worked closely with the regional and country management teams to drive business growth and generate revenue from key business streams. Today, I head the organisation as the Senior Vice-President for Asia Pacific. In this role, I oversee the strategic direction of the business, and manage and drive growth across all market segments in the region. This includes ASEAN, China, Hong Kong, India, Australasia, Japan, and Korea. CAN YOU DESCRIBE ORANGE BUSINESS SERVICES’ STRATEGY? Orange Business Services is the B2B branch of the Orange Group, focused on supporting the digital transformation of multinational enterprises. We do this by offering solutions and services to enable businesses to digitally transform ‘inside’ (with employees) and ‘outside’ (with customers and partners), enabled by a digital infrastructure. We offer companies digital solutions that help foster collaboration within their teams (collaborative workspaces and mobile workspaces), better serve their customers (enriched customer relations and business innovation), and support their technology infrastructure (enriched connectivity, flexible IT and cyberdefence). The integrated technologies that Orange Business Services offer range from MPLS, Hybrid and Software Defined Networks (SDN/NFV), Big Data and IoT, to cloud computing, unified communications and collaboration, contact centre and applications as well as cybersecurity. WHAT ARE THE CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES FOR ORANGE IN THE APAC REGION? The evolution of consumer digital tools into the business environment is bringing about significant changes in the way we work, communicate, and sell. This disruption has triggered the digital transformation of enterprises, giving rise
FOCUS MAGAZINE Issue 63
PATRON MEMBER SPOTLIGHT
Orange Business BureauServices Veritas
to new opportunities and challenges. According to market research agency IDC, 60% of the top 1,000 enterprises in APAC will have digital transformation at the centre of their corporate strategy in 2017. For enterprises, digital transformation could mean a number of things. For example, these include: • Deploying cloud to help accelerate time to market. With cloud, customers will also increasingly expect to pay only for what they use, when they use it; • Transforming the way that sales forces, field technicians and supply chain managers work with the rise of IoT and mobility; • Changing the work culture in the organisation, as social networks and collaborative ways of working become entrenched in normal business dealings; • Creating new business opportunities to move up the value chain through data analytics, especially for big and fast data. IN THIS ISSUE, WE DISCUSS THE FUTURE ECONOMY AND EXPLORE THE THEME OF TRANSFORMATION. FROM YOUR PERSPECTIVE, HOW ARE COMMUNICATIONS SYSTEMS EVOLVING? Communications infrastructure continue to evolve as high-speed networks are offered in more places, and increase in their ability to transfer and store huge amounts of data. Orange offers the most extensive network reaching out to over 220 countries and territories around the world. We also continue to invest in R&D on various aspects of communications technology, including in 5G, low-powered IoT networks and Software Defined Networks (SDN), to name a few. In addition to the ever-increasing pervasiveness of connectivity, there is also an evolution occurring in the usage of communications systems. At Orange Business Services, we see a greater demand for mobility, flexibility, and collaboration. People expect the smart technologies and collaborative digital tools that they use in their personal and social life to be available in the workplace, and organisations are embracing “digital” and are deploying artificial intelligence, smart bots, and other innovative technologies as part of their business communications. WE UNDERSTAND THAT ORANGE BUSINESS SERVICES HAS SET UP A GLOBAL PUBLIC CLOUD SERVICE OPERATING OUT OF A DATA CENTRE IN SINGAPORE. COULD YOU TELL US MORE ABOUT THIS? Orange Business Services launched its suite of global public cloud services in Asia Pacific on 25 April 2017. The new solution consists of three pillars: the Flexible Engine public cloud platform, professional services to assist customers in their digital migration, and managed services to operate customer applications and legacy systems. This new public cloud solution is targeted at Asian and European enterprises looking to expand their business across both regions with secure scalable cloud services.
People expect the smart technologies and collaborative digital tools that they use in their personal and social life to be available in the workplace.
• Security: it leverages the robust global managed network, data centre infrastructure and security services from Orange; • Reach and scalability: it spans across different geographical regions of the world, enabling users to deploy workloads globally, and optimise reach without compromising performance; • Cost savings: it achieves savings through its payas-you-go model, and the professional services and managed application services will help businesses design the appropriate cloud architecture to optimise resource utilisation; • Expertise: it draws on the Orange Business Services strength and expertise in global network, security and collaboration services. 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 been playing a key role in facilitating the establishment and expansion of French businesses in Singapore. Services such as business mission trips and networking opportunities through the organisation of corporate seminars, workshops and social gatherings are valuable platforms provided by the French Chamber in Singapore. WHAT IS YOUR MOTTO?
The enhanced suite of public cloud services will facilitate enterprise digital transformation goals in five key ways: • Simplicity and flexibility: it helps businesses deploy and optimise cloud applications and meet the compliance, governance and regulatory requirements of different markets;
As mentioned earlier, the digital transformation of enterprises in APAC is giving rise to new opportunities and challenges. As such, our motto and aim are “to become the trusted partner for our customers’ digital transformation journey”. F
9
10
COVER STORY
Future Economy
FOCUS MAGAZINE Issue 63
FUTURE ECONOMY
FUTURE ECONOMY
FOCUS MAGAZINE Issue 63
COVER STORY
Future Economy
SINGAPORE’S COMMITTEE ON THE FUTURE ECONOMY CHARTS
SINGAPORE’S NEXT PHASE OF GROWTH In its report released in February 2017, the 30-member committee outlined strategies to develop Singapore’s economy over the next decade.
C
onvened in January 2016, Singapore’s Committee on the Future Economy (CFE) set out to develop economic strategies to position Singapore for the future. Taking account of new global and domestic challenges – slower global growth, demographic shifts and a rapid pace of technological change – it identified a set of “mutually-reinforcing strategies” that should help the economy to grow an average of 2 to 3% per year. Emphasising the importance of remaining outward-looking, CoChair of CFE and Minister for Trade and Industry (Industry) Mr S Iswaran says, “The imperative for Singapore remains the same – to be an open economy that is connected to the world and relevant to its needs.” For businesses, a major theme that runs through the report is that of innovation and transformation. The CFE outlined a range of measures to promote this, from designing regulatory environments that support innovation and risk-taking, to setting up innovation launchpads and strengthening the intellectual property ecosystem of the country. Following the unveiling of the report, Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said that the government will pursue all the strategies proposed, taking a “hard-headed, pragmatic approach”. The following are some of the recommendations of the committee. F
In the future economy, our people should have deep skills and be inspired to learn throughout their lives; our businesses should be innovative and nimble; our city vibrant, connected to the world, and continually renewing itself; our Government coordinated, inclusive and responsive.
Source: Singapore’s Report of the Committee on the Future Economy
FUTURE ECONOMY SINGAPORE’S NEXT PHASE OF GROWTH
11
12
COVER STORY
FOCUS MAGAZINE
Future Economy
Issue 63
IN SHORT W H AT I S T H E C O M M I T T E E O N T H E F U T U R E E C O N O M Y ? The CFE is a 30-member committee that met in 2016 to develop economic strategies for Singapore. Led by Finance Minister Heng Swee Keat and Trade and Industry Minister S. Iswaran, it consulted with over 9,000 workers, unions, companies, trade bodies and academics to put together a 109-page report on how Singapore’s future economy can look like. Comprised of public- and private-sector participants, like the Economic Strategies Committee before it, its recommendations help shape Singapore’s economic policies.
STIMULATE GROWTH CAPITAL
DEEPEN AND DIVERSIFY GLOBAL CONNECTIONS Work with like-minded partners to advance the liberalisation of trade and investment, including those in less traditional markets Strengthen trade cooperation, reduce tariff and non-tariff barriers, such as through the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) that includes China and India Set up a Global Innovation Alliance (GIA) to bring together Singapore universities and companies with overseas partners in major innovation hubs and key demand markets Develop stronger ties and deepen regional market expertise of ASEAN, China and India
BUILD DIGITAL CAPABILITIES AS A SOURCE OF COMPARATIVE ADVANTAGE Establish a dedicated programme office to support companies in making the most of data as an asset Promote digital adoption across government, industries and companies Establish joint laboratories with industry players to build deep capabilities in data analytics and cybersecurity
Enhance the financing ecosystem for the next generation of startups, through measures looking at simplifying the regulatory framework for venture capital firms, and encouraging private equity players to be based in Singapore Develop new forms of support for private financing of Singapore companies Expand public financing channels and support the Singapore Exchange (SGX) as a listing venue for companies in hightechnology, bio-pharmaceutical and life sciences industries and allowing dualclass share structures with appropriate safeguards to mitigate governance risks
STRENGTHEN COMPETITIVENESS IN KEY CLUSTERS AND VERTICALS Expand schemes to support key growth clusters such as advanced manufacturing, hub services, logistics, urban solutions and infrastructure and healthcare Strengthen the existing base of activities in finance, trading, HQ and professional services Enable cross-industry partnerships to foster synergies across industries Use lead demand more systematically to support development of promising industries Create a regulatory environment to support innovation and risk-taking
FUTURE ECONOMY SINGAPORE’S NEXT PHASE OF GROWTH
STRENGTHEN COMPANIES’ CAPABILITIES TO INNOVATE AND SCALE-UP Encourage partnerships between large and small enterprises; Develop a standardised IP protocol for all agencies to simplify commercialisation processes of research findings and intellectual property Provide targeted assistance for high-growth enterprises
ACQUIRE DEEPER SKILLS AND HARNESS HUMAN CAPITAL Facilitate training, reskilling and employment of workers Encourage modularised and technologyenabled training programmes Strengthen coordination of global talent into Singapore to create value for the economy
INVEST IN PHYSICAL AND SOCIAL INFRASTRUCTURE TO SUPPORT STRATEGIES Continually invest in international connections: airport, seaport, high-speed rail, HetNet Rejuvenate existing areas and enhance physical landscape Build partnerships for a vibrant city
14
COVER STORY
FOCUS MAGAZINE
Future Economy
Issue 63
FACED WITH A RAPIDLY EVOLVING PLAYING FIELD, BUSINESSES NEED TO ADAPT AND REMAIN RELEVANT. ERIC SAINT-ANDRÉ, MANAGING DIRECTOR OF ASA ADVISORY & AMPLIFICATION LAB, SHARES WITH US MORE ABOUT THE INNOVATION LANDSCAPE AND HOW COLLABORATION IS AT THE HEART OF INNOVATION.
THE TIME TO INNOVATE IS
NOW
INNOVATION IS A KEY DRIVER OF GROWTH, FOR BUSINESS, FOR INDUSTRIES, FOR THE ECONOMY AND YOU WORK ON INNOVATION WITH BOTH START-UPS AND LARGE ORGANISATIONS. WHAT COMMON INNOVATION CHALLENGES DO YOU OBSERVE TODAY? Organisations out there are facing disruption and have to adapt to a complex, increasingly turbulent and ever-changing environment. Innovation is critical but it is hard. We observed the following challenges: »» Too many companies lack the sense of urgency and too many still try to make sense of why (why should I innovate?), or simply do not treat this as a priority (no real intent, lack of strategy or resources); »» Many companies are trying to figure how to get started and make innovation sustainable (where to start, what innovation mean to me, what minimal capability do I need); »» And lastly I see a lot of companies that have tried but are not maximising the value of their innovation efforts because they have not thoroughly identified what they should be doing and jump abruptly to solutions. But overall I believe the biggest challenge is the cultural transformation required: how do we change the mindset and upskill leaders, managers, employees, teams, and the organisation as a whole to make them more agile, innovative and effective problem solvers?
I prefer the term “human-centred” to “customercentred” as it expands the scope of innovation to any type of stakeholders you are innovating for. For example, process innovation focuses on employees, product or service innovation on customers, and business model innovation on the likes of suppliers and strategic partners. Human-centred innovation requires a mindset and a range of tools and methods that differ from what traditional organisations have been using. Our focus has been to help those organisations embed this into their core by upskilling individuals, teams and the organisation as a whole while delivering tangible innovation that solve real problems (“learn by doing”). COLLABORATION SEEMS TO BE TAKING OFF AS A CENTRAL THEME TO INNOVATION (JOINT PROJECTS, STRATEGIC ALLIANCES BETWEEN AND AMONG ORGANISATIONS AND EVEN COUNTRIES). WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS? Collaboration is at the heart of innovation and the best is yet to come. Local government agencies such as SG Innovate are driving this collaboration agenda and helping to drive effective collaboration between deep
WHAT DOES HUMAN-CENTRED DESIGN MEAN TO INNOVATION? Human-centred design is about putting the human at the centre of the innovation process. It is about innovating for and with people. For too long, companies of all sizes have been mass-producing and inundating the world with solutions, products and services that nobody either wanted or really needed. Human-centred innovation helps avoid this.
FUTURE ECONOMY I N P U R S U I T O F I N N O VAT I O N
We can’t solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them. Albert Einstein
FOCUS MAGAZINE Issue 63
COVER STORY
Future Economy
tech, start-ups and corporates out there or using BASH as a corporate accelerator “platform” to connect start-ups with corporates and invite them to collaborate and co-design new products and services. Regulators, with (MAS) the Monetary Authority of Singapore leading the way, have also embraced collaboration with most stakeholders in the ecosystem to co-design the fit-for-purpose regulatory environment to support innovation as well as to experiment on exponential technologies (such as blockchain).
Eric Saint-Andre (standing) of ASA Advisory & Amplification Lab conducts an innovation training session
Global and regional institutions, such as the UN Security Council or the EU are relying on collaboration to define new governance models and design digital platforms to tackle big world problems. In the complex, fast evolving and interconnected world we live in, which is facing a level of unprecedented disruption due to digitisation, collaboration is the only way we can solve big industry, societal and world problems. F
FUTURE ECONOMY
15
16
COVER STORY
FOCUS MAGAZINE
Future Economy
Issue 63
HOW AN
AGILE APPROACH CAN DRIVE INNOVATION FOR BUSINESSES LOOKING TO INNOVATE AND STAY AHEAD OF THE CURVE, AGILITY WILL BE AN IMPORTANT CHARACTERISTIC. TANGUY FOURNIER LE RAY, MANAGING DIRECTOR OF PALO IT, EXPLAINS AGILE DESIGN AND WHAT BUSINESSES SHOULD TAKE NOTE OF TO BE EFFECTIVE.
BUSINESSES ACROSS DIFFERENT SECTORS (AND EVEN PUBLIC SECTOR ACTORS) STRIVE TO BE MORE INNOVATIVE, MORE DIGITAL, MORE CUSTOMER-CENTRIC. WHAT ARE THE IMPORTANT REQUISITES IN IT INNOVATION? Businesses have to create new capabilities to innovate and deliver more value to their customers. To achieve this, among other things, they need to empathise with their customers, uncover their needs and frame meaningful problems. Innovative businesses drive their strategy and innovation efforts using customers’ perspectives as a beacon. Customer feedback should be collected early and frequently to evaluate if a product is worth launching. Failing allows us to learn from experiences, and experimenting helps us to eventually design a breakthrough experience that can be widely adopted. Just designing the right products will not be sufficient. It is imperative that you execute them faster than your competitors, have cutting-edge infrastructure and the right practices, and an empowering culture that supports your delivery team. Businesses also need to invest in R&D to understand how the latest technology, such as blockchain, VR, IoT, AI and chatbot, can improve their business in creating new value propositions and new customer experiences. WHAT IS AGILE DESIGN? In agile design, designers and developers need to work closely together and form a single unified agile delivery team. Delivering awesomeness to customers must remain the primary objective to define requirements and drive the development process. Both human-centred design and agile development, by defining requirements as user stories, are key enablers to achieving user-centricity. There is a lot of value in combining both approaches. User research, rapid prototyping and iterative development FUTURE ECONOMY I N P U R S U I T O F I N N O VAT I O N
contribute to better design decisions and meaningful products. Finally, agile principles should be applied across all levels of an organisation as they can help define the way entire organisations operate, from recruiting talents to budgeting projects and marketing products. IN YOUR EXPERIENCE, WHAT ARE THE KEY CHALLENGES IN ADOPTING AN AGILE MODEL? Challenges for organisations in adopting an agile approach include disseminating the new agile values, principles and mindset across the organisation, getting genuine engagement from teams and eventually influencing the culture of the company. Changing the culture is of paramount importance, as managers who embrace a servant leadership approach and step away from a command-and-control mindset yield rapid and tangible results. Another challenge is to get IT and business to work more closely together to define and align objectives they have in common and support each other in meaningful ways. This can be achieved by designing interactions between functions, essentially removing structural silos that tend to be very robust in large organisations. Strong buy-in is needed from executive leaders; ideally, such transformative changes should be driven by the CEO. The standard approach is to start with training and awareness sessions, run pilot projects, communicate heavily on the pilot achievements, roll-out the new model to the entire organisation, and finally redesign processes to embrace the new approach. PALO IT WORKS WITH MANY MARKET LEADERS AND START-UPS, LOCAL AND INTERNATIONAL. ARE THERE PARTICULAR TRENDS IN IT INNOVATION YOU OBSERVE IN SINGAPORE AND ASIA? We have seen a lot of innovation labs being set up in the past few years in Singapore. Even though they have the same labels, their
FOCUS MAGAZINE Issue 63
COVER STORY
Future Economy
gain a customer-centric and innovative mindset across all levels of the organisation; »» Delivery: The Lab is purely focused on solving business problems and delivering prototypes to validate new concepts.
PALO IT Singapore believes in a knowledge-sharing culture, for both employees and communities alike
scope of work are different. There are three main areas of focus: »» Marketing: The Lab is there to change the image of the company and is a very strong PR tool. It will help to attract young talents to join the firm, which will induce innovation and change the brand identity; »» Culture: The Lab is mainly focused on changing the culture of employees, who will be able to fail and
From our experience, the best outcome comes from a mix of the three above areas. Another key trend is for market leaders to codesign products with their clients in order to be 100% aligned with them and guarantee ROI. Current market leaders are also under tremendous pressure to evolve and the financial industry is a good example. Banks are facing major disruption threats from FinTech start-ups and technology giants, and only companies who successfully manage to adapt, become more agile, more tech-savvy and truly customer-centric will be able to maintain their leadership. F
FUTURE ECONOMY
17
18
COVER STORY
FOCUS MAGAZINE
Future Economy
Issue 63
FUTURE ECONOMY // HOW FINTECH IS BRIDGING GAPS The financial sector is an integral part of Singapore’s ambition to be a Smart Nation and it seeks to create a Smart Financial Centre where technology is used throughout the financial industry to increase efficiency, create opportunities, allow for better management of risks, and improve lives. Financial Technology (FinTech), which involves using technology to devise new financial services and products, has been recognised a key element of this Smart Financial Centre. In the following pages, French Chamber members in the FinTech industry share their experiences and expertise, and they explain the gaps they are seeking to bridge in the industry. SINGAPORE, FRANCE ENHANCE FINTECH TIES
MAS FINTECH REGULATORY SANDBOX
The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), and the Autorité de Contrôle Prudentiel et de Résolution (ACPR) and the Autorité des Marchés Financiers (AMF) of France have signed a cooperation agreement that provides a framework under which ACPR, AMF, and MAS will share information about emerging FinTech trends, potential joint innovation projects, and regulatory issues pertaining to innovative financial services.
The MAS has also issued “regulatory sandbox” guidelines for FinTech experiments, which enables promising financial products and services to be tested in the market, within a well-defined space and duration. Within this space and duration, specific legal and regulatory requirements are relaxed, with appropriate safeguards to contain the consequences of failure and maintain the overall safety and soundness of the financial system.
The framework will also allow authorised FinTech companies in Singapore and France to facilitate their understanding of regulatory requirements in each jurisdtication, so as to foster trades and flows across the two markets.
This allows financial institutions and FinTech players to experiment with innovative products or services where there is uncertainty over compliance with regulatory requirements. This will give these innovations a chance for wider adoption, in Singapore and abroad.
Source: Monetary Authority of Singapore
CAN’T TOUCH THIS DEALING WITH DATA PROTECTION ORGANISATIONS ARE DEALING WITH AN INCREASING VARIETY, VELOCITY AND VOLUME OF DATA. CHRISTOPHER MUFFAT, CEO AND FOUNDER OF DATHENA EXPLAINS HOW THEIR PLATFORM ASSISTS ORGANISATIONS IN PROTECTING THEIR DATA.
FUTURE ECONOMY HOW FINTECH IS BRIDGING GAPS
WHAT SORT OF PROBLEM DOES DATHENA SOLVE? With the exponential growth of technology solutions, people are creating and sharing more and more electronic data, and there has been more data created in the last two years than in the entire history of the human race. Given this phenomenal amount of ‘big data’ being generated daily, if left unmanaged, this presents a huge risk from an information security and intellectual property perspective. If you don’t know what data you have, and where it is, how would you know who has access to it? In a nutshell, Dathena specialises in giving organisations enterprise-wide visibility and control over their data. On top of providing Information Risk management solutions, it also seeks to act as an interface between business decisionmakers and their desire to base decisions on fact and quality data. Dathena is able to go far beyond a simple risk reduction concept: it provides a variety of indicators to better manage a business while reducing costs and improving regulatory compliance. According to Baseline, a 10% increase in data accessibility translates into an additional $65.7m in net income for a typical Fortune 1000 company.
FOCUS MAGAZINE Issue 63
COVER STORY
Future Economy
Across all industries, organisations are asking the same questions around managing their data: »» How do you properly manage confidentiality and ownership of data when data per user increases by 27% every year? »» How do you ensure proper data access and ownership and avoid possible leakage? »» How do you know you are not storing your secret data on the public cloud? »» How do you comply with regulation, company policy and standard and ensure retention rates, policy compliance, etc? »» How do you avoid data redundancy and optimise your storage costs? »» Do you know your crown jewels and how to protect them accordingly? These are the problems that Dathena has been tailor-made to solve. It was originally designed for financial services but we realised that it could be used within virtually any organisation that has to discover, classify and protect confidential and personal data, from healthcare to luxury, from manufacturing industries to defence. HOW DID YOU GET TO THIS IDEA? HOW DOES IT WORK? The idea for Dathena came whilst I was working in the financial services industry. There was no solution on the market that could accurately and efficiently detect, classify, and protect the massive volumes of data I was working with. I was convinced that we could create an all-in-one smart data governance, security and compliance platform, supercharged with the latest artificial intelligence technology. Dathena analyses every single electronic data file, understands its content in 70 languages and predicts its level of confidentiality and business category far more effectively and consistently than a human ever could. Moreover, the use of machine learning allows the software to learn along the way, becoming better at what it does. This targeted data-centric approach is unique to Dathena’s software and is superior to the traditional “protect everything” approach based solely on keywords and patterns. Dathena then automatically correlates this knowledge with the user access rights to draw a clear picture of what is going on within the organisation by providing more than 70 indicators via a simple dashboard, i.e. Who accesses client data? Who are the users at risk? Who are the top contributors to a certain topic?
The Dathena team
DATHENA IS COLLABORATING WITH PWC. HOW DID THIS COME ABOUT AND WHAT DOES ABOUT THIS PARTNERSHIP ENTAIL? The genesis of the partnership between Dathena and PwC started whilst Dathena was still in the concept phase. PwC are technology innovators, and they saw the potential in the Dathena solution, and how it could be used to better meet their clients’ data protection needs. This sparked the relationship between PwC in Geneva and Dathena began. PwC began using Dathena software for audit and remediation purposes. This unique strategic alliance combines Dathena’s accurate technology and implementation capacities with PwC’s multidisciplinary capabilities in digital strategy, transformation, experience and design, data analytics, and cybersecurity. The first implementations with PwC were, for example, dictated by the GDPR regulation requiring that personal data should be assessed and monitored. PwC also decided to create a Centre of Excellence (CoE) for Dathena in Switzerland. A Dathena project is usually handled as a triumvirate: Dathena provides the solution, a system integrator deploys the software and PwC will take care of the remediation triggered by the Dathena analysis.
WHAT ARE THE NEXT STEPS FOR YOUR COMPANY? The strategy is to focus on R&D while our network of partners takes care of the integration of the software, as well as the remediation that comes following Dathena’s initial risk assessments. We are focusing on building and executing on our product roadmap, which includes some very exciting new features such as the ability to classify audio and scanned images. Given the dynamic and ever changing nature of technology, Dathena is always looking to adapt and innovate to meet new challenges and market demands. We are also opening an office in the US to expand our worldwide presence – Dathena’s headquarters are in Singapore while our office in Switzerland handles the European market. Dathena has been operating as a self-funded entity for 12 months, and we are looking at a first round of funding at the end of the year to support our R&D efforts. F
FUTURE ECONOMY HOW FINTECH IS BRIDGING GAPS
19
20
COVER STORY
FOCUS MAGAZINE
Future Economy
Issue 63
UNLOCKING SOURCES OF CAPITAL FOR SMES ACCESS TO EXTERNAL FINANCING IS AN ONGOING NEED OF SMES. SANDRA ERNST, CEO OF PEER-TO-BUSINESS INVOICE FINANCING PLATFORM SMARTFUNDING SHARES HER THOUGHTS ON SINGAPORE’S FINTECH LANDSCAPE.
MANY EXPERTS AND INDUSTRY OBSERVERS SEE GREAT POTENTIAL IN SINGAPORE BECOMING ASIA’S FINTECH CAPITAL. WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS?
Services licence, for which we received in-principle approval in April 2017. We also implemented an Escrow account structure with Vistra, our Escrow agent, to keep our client’s money separate from SmartFunding’s operations accounts.
Singapore is definitely a key player in the global FinTech landscape. FinTech players here are in a good position to develop and cultivate novel and innovative products and services, thanks to the country’s strong background in tech and financial services, and a generous and supportive government.
After having put these important safeguards in place, we now focus on growing our business and deal flow – encouraging more investors to invest on our web platform and onboarding more SMEs as invoice sellers.
And there’s the growth part. Just looking at FinTech applications on alternative finance, Singapore is already the market leader having generated USD70.28m or approximately 84% of online alternative market volume between 2013 and 2015 in the APAC region (excluding China). Compared to the overall SME financing market, this is a tiny amount, though it has grown rapidly since then, and will continue to do so in the future. With its position as a trading hub, highly educated workforce and supportive government that encourages digitalisation, Singapore is ideally positioned to be a test case (and possibly more if companies can leverage on cross border transactions) for Fintech start-ups that develop solutions for companies in the region.
Disruption is a big word and depends on how quickly the relevant players are willing to be disrupted. The ability of FinTech companies to disrupt also depends on how quickly digitalisation and automation happen.
Singapore is also leading the way for the growth and expansion of FinTech into many other areas like insurance, healthcare, and regulation. FinTech companies in Singapore, however, will need to work a little harder to tackle the immediate, bigger market in the region, South East Asia WHAT IS THE STORY BEHIND SMARTFUNDING? The idea for SmartFunding began in April 2016. Seeing that SMEs are finding it more and more difficult to access finance in Singapore and in South East Asia, our main shareholder identified a potential for further disruption in the market. After several months of preparing our back office, operations, processes and IT development, we finally launched our web platform in November. Focusing on implementing best practices from the early stage, we applied for a Capital Markets
FUTURE ECONOMY HOW FINTECH IS BRIDGING GAPS
MUCH HAS BEEN SAID ABOUT FINTECH STARTUPS AS DISRUPTORS. HOW DO YOU SEE THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN START-UPS LIKES YOURS AND TRADITIONAL PLAYERS IN THE ECOSYSTEM IN SINGAPORE?
Disruption for us doesn’t only mean targeting the same market as banks and offering a different service. For us, disruption – if we have to use this word – means serving underserved or unserved customers. When it comes to SME finance, nearly half of SMEs in Singapore consider themselves underserved or unserved by the financial sector. And if we look at the rest of South East Asia, the percentage of unserved or underserved SMEs is even bigger. There is obviously room for cooperation between incumbents and FinTech companies like us. We truly believe in creating partnerships and leveraging the strength of both FinTech companies and incumbents, and achieving positive changes in the market. WHAT ARE THE NEXT STEPS FOR YOUR COMPANY? Setting up operations and preparing for scaling up has been our focus in the last few months. We are now in a high-growth phase. Up to the end of 2017, we will focus on the current product (invoice financing) and the current territory (Singapore). Next year will be the year of product and geographical expansion. Meanwhile, we are looking at some changes to our business model and differentiation factors, but to learn more about it, you will have to wait for a few months. F
22
COVER STORY
FOCUS MAGAZINE
Future Economy
Issue 63
M A K I N G INVESTING EFFORTLESS A
FINTECH
SUBSECTOR
THAT
HAS
SEEN
A
KEEN
AMOUNT
OF
INSTITUTIONAL AND CONSUMER INTEREST, ROBO-ADVISORS ARE SLOWLY EMERGING
AS
A
COMPELLING
WEALTH
AND
INVESTMENT
MANAGEMENT
TOOL. JULIEN LE NOBLE, CO-FOUNDER OF THE B2B DIGITAL ADVISORY AND INVESTMENT PLATFORM SMARTFOLIOS, TALKS ABOUT THE COMPANY AND ITS PLATFORM.
COULD YOU TELL US ABOUT SMARTFOLIOS AND THE VISION BEHIND YOUR PLATFORM? Smartfolios is a B2B digital advisory and thematic investment platform. We have a simple mission: empower financial institutions to turn disruption into opportunity. We provide a platform that brings together our financial expertise and innovative technologies. They can then offer digital wealth management and automated investment solutions to their clients, engage them with personalised and enriched investment products and services. Our partners and clients are financial institutions such as banks (retail and mass affluent), wealth managers and private banks, online brokers, and IFAs. These firms face challenges that Smartfolios addresses, be it digital access, the variety and diversity of products, or the better risk-return profiles expected by their clients. Our solutions enable these institutional clients, whether seasoned or new to investing, to take control of their investment journey, guiding them every step of the way. Investing doesn’t have to be inaccessible, expensive, intimidating or complex as is often times perceived. We want to afford everyone access to the right opportunities that meet their goals. WHAT SETS SMARTFOLIOS APART FROM OTHER ROBO-ADVISORS? Our B2B solution is a modular and highly flexible platform that enables financial institutions to select the modules they want to offer to their clients. Our core modules include for instance client on-boarding (with goal-based and risk tolerance assessment), front to back order flow capabilities (execution, settlement and custody), rebalancing, and risk management functionalities to manage and track investments. On the product side, we have developed a broad range of investment F U T U R E Estrategies C O N O M Y including asset allocation, thematic, fundamentals, and factor-based models. Our
financial institution partners can select from our existing library of strategies or request specific themes adapted to their clients’ needs and goals. These strategies are delivered as pre-built portfolios of listed securities spanning asset classes. The portfolios are fully transparent, customisable and rebalanced regularly, therefore incorporating the best of active and passive investing. Last but not least, we have developed a sophisticated engine and set of databases to host and manage the entire universe of portfolios we develop. We follow a rigorous, systematic and transparent approach to building and maintaining our portfolios using proprietary algorithms and our in-house financial expertise. CONGRATULATIONS ON BEING SELECTED FOR STARTUPBOOTCAMP FINTECH SINGAPORE 2017! COULD YOU TELL US ABOUT THAT AND WHAT ELSE IS IN THE PIPELINE FOR THE COMPANY? We joined the programme because we saw an opportunity to truly accelerate our go-to market strategy. Working with a team of great professionals at Startupbootcamp FinTech Singapore means we have access to domain experts, to a broad and deep network in the financial industry, support throughout the programme and beyond. All of these will certainly be invaluable at the current stage of our development. Our key objective in the coming months is to go live in Q3 with our first partner (Marvelstone Capital). In addition, we have a number of very promising partnerships in the works, a growing pipeline of customers and already an ambitious roadmap of new solutions that we’re excited about. We plan to cover brand new domains: Artificial Intelligence and Advanced News Analytics in portfolio construction, Natural Language Processing in advisory, and innovative RegTech in the onboarding process. We also plan to advance beyond equities and add the ability to include FX to offer currency-hedging solutions. Ultimately, we aim to become a global FinTech company operating at the nexus of financial and technological innovations. F
$
$ FOCUS MAGAZINE Issue 63
$
COVER STORY
$
Future Economy
$
INVOICE TRADING AS ALTERNATIVE FINANCING OPERATING IN THE INVOICE DISCOUNTING SPACE, INCOMLEND LOOKS TO CONNECT INTERNATIONAL FUNDERS, BUYERS AND SUPPLIERS. DIMITRI KOUCHNIRENKO, FOUNDING PARTNER SHARES MORE ABOUT THE BUSINESS AND HOW SINGAPORE FACTORS INTO THE COMPANY’S BUSINESS.
INCOMLEND IS AN INVOICE EXCHANGE FOR BUSINESSES AND PRIVATE CAPITAL IN MULTIPLE COUNTRIES AND MULTIPLE CURRENCIES. HOW DOES THAT WORK? The Incomlend platform is a marketplace where funders with capital can purchase trade receivables (invoices due for payment at a later date) from suppliers at a discount. Suppliers post invoice funding requests on the platform, visible to all funders. Invoices can be posted in different currencies and from different countries. Funders can purchase all or part of the invoice from multi-currency eWallets. Once the invoice has been fully funded (usually in less than a day), the funds are sent to the supplier on a non-recourse basis. At payment maturity, the supplier’s client pays Incomlend directly and funders receive their capital plus profit from discount. As a result, suppliers cash in their invoices on the spot (without having to wait for their client’s payment) while funders obtain profit at invoice maturity. SEEING THAT INCOMLEND’S PLATFORM OPERATES ON A GLOBAL LEVEL, HOW DOES BEING BASED IN SINGAPORE HELP THE BUSINESS? Singapore is a highly attractive place to conduct business in, especially for a FinTech company. The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) backs and promotes the FinTech sector, the ambition being to become a major global hub for FinTech companies. The MAS also provides a flexible and advantageous environment, involving major financial institutions for the regulatory sandbox. Considering the multi-country operating model of Incomlend, this is a significant advantage when addressing international supply chain needs of our clients. Finally, Singapore has a dynamic and open business environment, creating more and better opportunities for any company. BESIDES SINGAPORE, WHICH MARKETS DO YOU SEE FIT FOR YOUR BUSINESS? Our ambition is global and our solution will be deployed in several waves. As of now, we are already present in Hong Kong, with both funders and suppliers. Our funders come from a large variety of countries. Generally, markets with low interest rate environments are fit for Incomlend’s offer, allowing funders to generate higher returns. Regarding suppliers, we are driven by geographies where we can help businesses maintain and grow their exports.
Apart from Singapore and Hong Kong, we are targeting other major manufacturing and exporting countries such as China, Taiwan, India, Thailand, Malaysia, and Vietnam. We are also approaching European exporters. Next waves will cover North American suppliers, Africa, the Middle East, and Latin America. WHAT ARE YOUR UNIQUE SELLING POINTS? Incomlend’s unique selling points cover three main types of users: suppliers, buyers and funders. We offer suppliers fast and flexible access to receivables funding, without collateral or recourse. Our funding services include credit insurance on suppliers’ buyers in one simple package. Suppliers can grow their export activities by funding their cross-border invoices in multiple currencies and having access to a large international pool of funders. We offer buyers (clients of suppliers) a fully secure and structured framework to service, fund and optimise the different tiers of their international supply chain. Our services allow buyers to secure stability of supplies and alleviate the financial burden of supporting their suppliers. We offer funders unprecedented access to worldwide funding of receivables, fully protected by credit insurance from a global leading insurer, with potential income levels in double digits annually. WHAT ARE THE NEXT STEPS FOR YOUR COMPANY? Along with its international expansion, the company aims to secure partnerships with major financial institutions and business service providers in Singapore to significantly scale up its client base as well as the overall value of funded trades on the platform. In terms of platform developments, future plans include automating the funding decision making, automating the KYC/AML processes (Know Your Customer and Anti-Money Laundering), optimising reporting dashboards, developing new digital invoice exchange protocols, optimising automated reconciliation protocols, deploying on mobile and more. Incomlend is also working on third-party services API (Application Programming Interface) integration as part of our plan to establish major partnerships. F
FUTURE ECONOMY HOW FINTECH IS BRIDGING GAPS
$23 $
$
$
24
COVER STORY
Future Economy
INVESTMENT IN
ALTERNATIVE ASSETS
SINGAPORE CONTINUES TO BE WELL-REGARDED AS A FAVOURABLE FINANCIAL CENTRE WITH A DEEPENING BASE OF ALTERNATIVE ASSET MANAGEMENT ACTIVITIES. BRUNO DE PAMPELONNE, CEO OF ASSET MANAGEMENT FIRM TIKEHAU IM TELLS US ABOUT THE COMPANY AND DISCUSSES SECTORS WITH GROWING OPPORTUNITIES.
FOCUS MAGAZINE Issue 63
WHAT DOES TIKEHAU IM DO? Tikehau IM is the asset management arm of Tikehau Capital, an asset management and investment firm that manages approximately €10 billion of assets (a 57% increase from 2015 to 2016). We have a shareholders’ equity of €1.5 billion that we invest in our four business lines: private debt, real-estate, private equity and liquid strategies. Since our inception in 2004, we have developed a business model with a flexible approach to allocate capital across all four business lines, clearly differentiating it from the competition. By deploying our shareholders’ equity towards our investment strategies, Tikehau Capital continues to fortify its culture of aligning its interests with those of its shareholders and investors, thereby establishing a relationship founded on trust. A fifth of our clients are private investors and the rest are institutional. Controlled by its managers, alongside leading institutional partners such as Temasek, we employ 170 staff in our Paris, Milan, Brussels, London and Singapore offices. Tikehau Capital has been listed on Euronext Paris since March 2017, which makes us the first French alternative asset manager to be listed. HOW DOES SINGAPORE FARE AS A BASE FOR ASSET MANAGERS? Having a base in Singapore presents many advantages for a firm like us. First, Singapore benefits from a stable and robust legal environment, with an efficient and pro-business regulator. Second, Singapore is home to some of the most professional institutional investors and sovereign funds. Third, Singapore enjoys an ideal geographical location to cover the rest of Asia with the most important financial centres within easy reach. TECH SEEMS TO BE THE TOP SECTOR ATTRACTING INVESTMENTS. WHAT ARE SOME SECTORS WE SHOULD KEEP AN EYE ON? Better use of big data and artificial intelligence will impact two sectors that already stand out and that we expect will be even more disruptive in the coming years. They are FinTech – more than $50 billion have been invested in almost 2,500 companies since 2010, and this is just the beginning – and MedTech, which covers any technology used to diagnose as well as offer potential cure for a wide range of illnesses. F
FUTURE ECONOMY FINANCING THE FUTURE
FOCUS MAGAZINE
COVER STORY
Issue 63
THE FUTURE OF FOOD IS
Future Economy
FOOD
THE FOOD SYSTEM IS AN INTEGRAL PART OF OUR LIVES, PRESENT AND FUTURE, AND IT IS RIPE FOR INNOVATION. MATTHIEU VERMERSCH, DIRECTOR OF THE VENTURE CAPITAL (VC) FUND VISVIRES NEW PROTEIN (VVNP) SHARES WITH US THEIR VC APPROACH AND THE VC LANDSCAPE IN SINGAPORE.
CAN YOU TELL US ABOUT VISVIRES NEW PROTEIN? WHY FOCUS ON FOOD AND FEED? VVNP is the first venture fund in Asia focused exclusively on finding disruptive solutions for the global food and feed system. Since 2013, we have been exploring the challenges of the potential shortage of animal protein by 2030. Our research made us realise that the obsolete model of farming coupled with the challenges of climate change was failing in terms of the optimisation of existing resources. With the lack of innovation, a more demanding consumer and poor economics, it was hard to grasp how an industry of such magnitude could continue to function on such shaky foundations. With my team, we concluded that the sector encompassing food production and nutrition was ripe for innovation and reinvention. Since then, we have identified two additional areas where we think innovation is needed most: making food part of the public health solution and no more part of the health problem, and tackling the deep-rooted issues surrounding food waste, food safety and food traceability. On top of my team’s experience, our investment ideas are validated by an investment committee consisting of a network of experts from academia and industry, including the former COO of Nestlé, Jose Lopez, and Dr Kenneth Lee who heads the Food, Nutrition & Consumer Care Department of A*STAR Singapore. With capital from our partners, we’ve led investments in two ventures (YNSECT and NURITAS) that are doing well. WHAT DO YOU LOOK FOR WHEN YOU BACK COMPANIES? Companies we like have a solution to real, existing problems within the food and feed value chain. They usually possess unique technologies that can be scaled up and applied to Asia and beyond. These investments are sourced globally and we put in a lot of leg work in developing our pipeline. In any given week, you can expect someone from the team to be on the road attending conferences, meeting universities, research agencies, or attending specific trade shows. We are ready to back companies that utilise disruptive technologies built upon a strong scientific foundation. It is not always easy to find investments with VC-like returns in the agriculture and food tech space. That is why we have a very high standard when it comes to selecting our investments.
The VisVires New Protein team
WHY HAVE YOU CHOSEN TO SET UP IN SINGAPORE? Many factors make Singapore an ideal location for our fund and investment activities, from its ubiquitous reputation as one of the easiest places to conduct business to its large ethnic diversity and strong commitment to investing, research, and innovation. WHAT WOULD IMPROVE THE VC ECOSYSTEM IN SINGAPORE/THE REGION? While the ecosystem is young, Singapore has been moving swiftly in the right direction to promote itself as a fertile ground for start-ups. We’ve seen improvements to ease the regulatory landscape and there are avenues for start-ups to receive early-stage public funding. In time, the culture of taking risks, thinking differently, and being truly innovative will fall into place. Most of today’s well-funded start-ups are localised versions of business models tested elsewhere in the world. We hope that this will evolve in the years ahead. From an investors’ perspective, we think that VCs need to receive better recognition as a performing asset class alongside traditional private equity in the region. As a VC fund, we are bringing to the table potential scientific and technological solutions that are what the industry needs to advance and improve its existing production processes. When you come to terms with how much “food” needs to change over the next 10 years, this presents a huge opportunity. F FUTURE ECONOMY FINANCING THE FUTURE
25
26
COVER STORY
FOCUS MAGAZINE
Future Economy
Issue 63
HOW THE WORKPLACE
IS CHANGING
COMPANIES ARE SITTING UP AND TAKING NOTE THAT THE WORKPLACE IS CHANGING. AURELIEN SONET, ASIA PACIFIC (APAC) REGIONAL CHAIR AT
SODEXO, SHARES WITH US SOME OF THE TRENDS OUTLINED IN SODEXO’S RECENTLY RELEASED GLOBAL WORKPLACE TRENDS REPORT 2017.
COULD YOU SHARE WITH US HOW THIS REPORT CAME ABOUT? Sodexo is a world leader in services that improve quality of life. Through a combination of onsite services, benefits and rewards services, and personal and home services, Sodexo serves 75 million consumers each day and our employees contribute daily to the workplace experience of more than 10,000 companies in 80 countries, in a diverse range of industries and work environments. In Singapore, Sodexo has a strong integrated facilities management business serving segments including education, healthcare, energy and resources, and corporate services.
Having a front-row seat to seeing and understanding the factors that will shape the workplace of the future, this Report is founded on the insights of Sodexo experts, but it also draws on external expert knowledge and experience – nearly 50 experts from academic institutions, associations, consultancies, foundations, NGOs, research groups, think tanks and more. The result is ten global workplace trends that help us understand how and in which direction the workplace is evolving and what the implications are for individuals and organisations. The world is evolving rapidly and it impacts our individual understanding of quality of life, which we believe is an essential factor in individual and organisational performance. When placed in positive environments, people are more fulfilled and go on to become capable of transforming challenges into opportunities. This Report, much like our other engagements - conferences, a Quality of Life Observer website - is an opportunity to explore and better understand the future of quality of life at work. IN TODAY’S COMPETITIVE ECONOMY, TALENT DEVELOPMENT HAS BECOME A PRIORITY FOR MANY COMPANIES AND COUNTRIES. ANY INTERESTING FINDING ON LEARNING AT THE WORKPLACE? Worldwide, people are enjoying longer, healthier lives, and as we stay healthier longer, we stay longer in the workforce too. Today’s workforce spans five generations, and this is forcing companies to think differently about hierarchical and traditional employee learning. One of the trends explored in the report is intergenerational learning, something companies can catalyse
FUTURE ECONOMY
FOCUS MAGAZINE Issue 63
as a new source of competitive advantage: encouraging workers of all ages to draw from to one another, giving them opportunities to develop nonlinear work lives and establish more dynamic careers. In fact, Sodexo has a pilot programme, the Digital Coaching Program, where senior leaders undergo an internship programme in Paris alongside younger colleagues. Older adults bring analytical skills honed throughout their life and work experience, well-developed interpersonal and communication skills, insights and expertise, while younger colleagues share new perspectives and also new skills including in social media and digital media. This programme has been very well-received, regarded as an eye-opening and value-adding experience. ON THE TOPIC OF THE FUTURE WORKFORCE, HOW WOULD YOU CHARACTERISE THE MILLENNIAL GENERATION? WHAT ARE ITS STRENGTHS AND EXPECTATIONS? There certainly exists a certain stereotype associated with this generation. Among other things, it has been labelled the “job-hopping generation”. But experts tell us that the turnover rates are not very different from Gen Xers, although they note that there is nonetheless something fundamentally different about the millennial generation. Also, it currently represents the largest share (32%) of the labour market, a percentage that is bound to grow, so employers would do well to engage millennials behaviourally and emotionally. Millennials are generally forthright and honest and they favour a highly collaborative approach. They are motivated by human contact and experiences and they thrive in environments that offer meaningful relationships. They can be insatiable in regards to receiving feedback, because they have understood that only by receiving feedback can they be at the top of their game. For managers, this means that ongoing performance discussions might be more favourable than traditional quarterly reviews for instance, which can be useful because it creates opportunity for more agile course correction. The desire for workplace flexibility or mobility is a large overall trend here. A study conducted by subject expert Dan Schawbel found that only 34% of companies offer work flexibility, and that while it is indeed something that all generations ask for, it is a priority for millennials. Many organisations are coming around to the idea, and they are looking for different customised approaches to allow employees greater, more personalised options for benefits that address different stages of life.
COVER STORY
Future Economy
Through our experience in internship programmes for instance, we find that millennials do pick up skills and knowledge quickly indeed, and it is impressive how they are able to present ideas and speak with senior leaders with confidence. They do want to be better prepared for leadership roles, and Sodexo looks for different ways to engage them and create new experiences, through talent development programmes, mentorship programmes, cross-functional training — mobility not just upwards but laterally — and also opportunities for geographic relocation. THERE IS NO SIMPLE FORMULA TO THIS BUT HOW CAN ORGANISATIONS FOSTER INNOVATION AT THE WORKPLACE? Many organisations are looking to spur and accelerate innovation and the workplace is indeed one place to start. One of the important trends noted in the report is structuring environments so that employees can generate new ideas by virtue of interacting across boundaries, encouraging what we call crosspollination. “The most fruitful collaborations are often the result of the most unexpected encounters,” subject matter expert Frédéric Chevalier explains. This means creating places and programmes where people from different teams can collide and bond, be that hackathons or simply a physical space that funnels people into the same area. At Sodexo’s APAC regional headquarters in Singapore, the office space is an open plan, designed with many common areas that invite employees to get together, chat and exchange ideas. In terms of work space configuration, there are no assigned desks nor cubicles, and each employee sits beside a different neighbour daily. This means that they are working with and alongside different people daily, peers and senior management, and this encourages lateral thinking and cross-pollination across disciplines. Collaboration and co-creation are also increasingly central to creating customer value, where companies collaborate with suppliers, distributors and customers to co-create unique value, moving away from a static, one-way broadcast operational model. While Sodexo’s services are traditionally B2B, we are increasingly reaching people in a qualitative manner, and co-creation enables us to put consumers at the heart of our services and shape the way we offer solutions. Last year, Sodexo launched the eNOVchallenge, its global innovation contest where we invited people to form teams and submit ideas on improving an existing service, or create an entirely new one – ideas that would have an impact on the quality of life of our consumers. The teams were to be cross-functional, and the ideas eventually went through a panel, following which the winning idea would be prototyped and developed. There are many approaches organisations can take to foster innovation and much of it begins in the workplace. F
FUTURE ECONOMY THE FUTURE WORKPLACE
27
COVER STORY
FOCUS MAGAZINE
Future Economy
Issue 63
FRANCE AND SINGAPORE STRENGTHEN
COOPERATION ON INNOVATION The state visit of former French President François Hollande to Singapore, part of his South East Asian tour, saw the signing of multiple agreements that are set to pave the way for deeper collaboration, in fields ranging from smart cities planning to digital engineering, FinTech, and health and biomedical sciences.
F
rance and Singapore enjoy Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong (left) a multifaceted partnership. and Former French President François Hollande (right) The state visit of former French President François Hollande in March 2017 reaffirmed the two countries’ excellent bilateral relations and saw the further strengthening of ties of complementarities for mutual benefit, and for cooperation, particularly in the domain of innovation. the benefit of the world. A priority area in the growth strategies of both countries, France and Singapore seek to grow innovation in all its dimensions. The two countries signed a Joint Declaration on Innovation in which President Hollande and Singapore’s Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong agreed to intensify cooperation and harness synergies and
French companies will continue their contributions to projects related to smart cities and sustainable development in Singapore, including Dassault Système’s project on Virtual Singapore, EDF’s collaboration with Singapore’s Housing and Development Board on a Complex System Modelling tool for city and town planning, Bolloré’s large-scale electric car-sharing scheme, ENGIE’s, Schneider Electric’s, EDF’s and Enedis’ cooperation in the Renewable Energy Integration Demonstrator Singapore (REIDS) Project, and Suez’ research projects with PUB, Singapore’s National Water Agency on advanced metering infrastructure and storm water management.
FUTURE ECONOMY I N P U R S U I T O F I N N O VAT I O N
The agreements outlined here were signed, and the two leaders have also designated 2018 as the “France-Singapore Year of Innovation”, where events that encourage more collaboration in innovation will be held in both countries. F
The French tech community in Singapore has been consolidating their initiatives to form a French Tech Hub in Singapore. Being developed in partnership with key Singapore partners, it seeks to increase the contribution of the French tech community in Singapore to the development of the Singapore tech ecosystem and its interactions with the French tech ecosystem. After formal launch, the French Tech Hub in Singapore will work closely with other French tech hubs around the world and notably in Asia.
In the domain of FinTech, the Monetary Authority of Singapore has inked a cooperation agreement with the Autorité de Contrôle Prudentiel et de Résolution and the Autorité des Marchés Financiers aiming at enhancing FinTech cooperation (more on page 20).
© Présidence de la République - L. Blevennec
28
FOCUS MAGAZINE
COVER STORY
Issue 63
Future Economy
The existing network of French companies in healthcare and biomedical sciences in South East Asia will be enhanced to reduce healthcare costs and find innovative solutions for care of the elderly.
A word from H.E. Marc Abensour, Ambassador of France to Singapore
Innovation was at the heart of the State Visit of Mr Hollande, and it enabled us to launch new initiatives, such as the Innovation Forum, and also gain accelerated momentum on projects such as the structuring of the French Tech Hub in Singapore. It was certainly an opportunity for the then President of the French Republic and the Prime Minister of Singapore to place innovation clearly at the heart of our strategic partnership, most notably in adopting a Joint Declaration on Innovation, which marks 2018 as the France-Singapore Year of Innovation. Innovation constitutes a priority and a strategic imperative for both France and Singapore. Our companies are well positioned to act upon this, and our cooperation on this topic, which is already numerous, has considerable potential for development. In this promising context, the Joint Innovation Year will offer an unprecedented opportunity to promote cooperation in France and in Singapore in priority fields, to deepen our innovation ecosystems by diversifying its participants and expanding areas of cooperation, to strengthen synergies between academia, research, business and entrepreneurs, and to enhance the mutual attractiveness of our countries. It will be structured around key themes: smart city and energy, health and ageing, fintech, digital economy, industry, and education and training. We invite French companies present in Singapore to get involved with this initiative, co-create and participate to make this Year of Innovation a success for all. Please contact: Antoine Chéry, Head of Regional Economic Services: antoine.chery@dgtresor.gouv.fr François-Xavier Lannuzel, Attaché for Science and Higher Education: françoisxavier.lannuzel@diplomatie.gouv.fr
The Singapore Innovative Living Environment (SILVER) programme, an integrated research partnership between the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, the National University of Singapore (NUS), and the Singapore University of Technology and Design, has been proposed. It aims to work on innovative multidisciplinary solutions to enable active ageing and elderly well-being in urban community settings.
Nanyang Technological University (NTU) signed an MOU with research institute System X, launching SystemX @ Singapore. Industrial partners and academia will collaborate in the field of complex systems digital engineering, in areas of sustainability and environment, future mobility and smart urban solutions. NTU and the Commissariat à l’Energie Atomique et aux Energies Alternatives have extended their cooperation in the development of a highly integrated technology-driven joint research project on green chemistry, waste recycling, materials recovery and toxic waste remediation.
In defence and space technology, Singapore’s Defence Technology Community will work with France’s Direction Générale de l’Armement to develop innovative technological solutions to defence and security challenges.
Developments in collaborations between Thales and NTU and between the French space agency Centre National d’Études Spatiales and Singapore’s Office of Space Technology and Industry will see strengthening of ties in the field of space technologies.
A dual Master’s degree between Sciences Po School of Public Affairs and NUS has been launched.
Adding a new dimension to the 2009 intergovernmental agreement on cultural cooperation between Singapore and France, the organisation of a Malraux Seminar would invite major French and Singaporean cultural institutions, policymakers and practitioners to discuss new trends and innovations in the arts and culture sector.
FUTURE ECONOMY I N P U R S U I T O F I N N O VAT I O N
29
30
HR SERVICES
FOCUS MAGAZINE
Latest News
Issue 63
Are You Recruiting? The HR Services department of the French Chamber Singapore has been assisting companies in their recruitment and growth in Asia, acting as a recruitment agency for more than 10 years.
Workshops for Jobseekers To help candidates acquire skills to succeed in the Singapore job market, we run and coordinate a range of workshops and training sessions. The series of workshops conducted early this year was very successful, with many participants in attendance. Focusing on three key themes – résumé-writing, networking, and LinkedIn, the workshops were conducted by Ms Aude Beneton, Career and Leadership Development Coach, Partner at Harmony & Mobility Consulting, and Mrs Estelle Darrigade, Head of Recruitment & HR of the French Chamber in Singapore. F
We assist companies – both members and non-members – in the recruitment process, by defining positions, advising on candidate-sourcing strategies, interviewing and shortlisting applicants who include locals and non-locals, based in Singapore and abroad. We have placed candidates for permanent, contract-based, short-term, VIE and internship positions. With dedicated specialist recruitment consultants for each job sector, we are able to offer expert advice on each industry. Contact us to launch your recruitment process! F
Find out more about our Recruitment Services: www.fccsingapore.com/hr/recruitment-services
Job Link! Get a Selection of Talents Ready for Interviews! Our Job Link newsletter brings you a selection of Frenchspeaking talents that we recently interviewed! Subscribe to this monthly newsletter by writing in to emploi@fccsingapore.com. F
Consult the Workshops webpage for the exact dates of upcoming sessions.
WE SUPPORT THE DEVELOPMENT OF
ENTREPRENEURS
One-year mentoring programme with executives from large MNCs
Introduction with key contacts from our network of 700 companies
Session with the Accelerator Lab to validate your business model and growth
Gateway to South East Asia expansion through our network of French Chambers
Women entrepreneur round tables for best practices exchanges
Business Opportunity Platform to identify partners, co-founders and business angels
Targeted meetings for insightful information from industry experts
Targeted workshops and trainings by professional trainers
Experience sharing by successful entrepreneurs
Dedicated networking drinks
32
BUSINESS SUPPORT
FOCUS MAGAZINE
Newly Set-Up Companies
Issue 63
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:
Starburst is an innovation catalyst in the aerospace industry. It is the first and only global aerospace accelerator, connecting corporates with start-ups, and providing innovation and growth consulting for start-ups and corporations alike. With offices in Los Angeles, Paris, Munich, Singapore, and Montreal, the team has built up an ecosystem with key players in the aerospace industry as well as 1,500+ start-ups.
Blu Buying Club helps French companies in Singapore to save time and money when sourcing overheads. With over 20 years of experience in sourcing and procurement, we provide expertise and an eProcurement platform usually open to very large corporations only. Join the Club! F Contact: Mr Eric GEORGES, Founder Email: eric.georges@blu-buyingclub.com Website: www.blu-buyingclub.com
Every year Starburst hosts numerous international and national events bringing together aerospace innovators and puts innovation in the spotlight at international air shows. With growth and innovation consulting, Starburst supports its clients to acquire and maintain leadership in new markets, and identify and fend off disruptive threats. With its venture fund in development, Starburst will invest in leading aerospace innovators.
With a global presence, Nicomatic (ISO9001:2008 & EN9100:2009) designs and manufactures innovative rectangular micro connectors and switching solutions for harsh environments. With full in-house manufacturing and design, our products are: high-performance connectors (CMM, DMM, Microflex), FFC and Jumper cables, components for man-machine interface and custom-made connectors. F
Products and services • For corporations: technology scouting, innovation consulting, growth consulting; • For startups: access to corporate clients, funding, business consulting • For investors: deal flow/co-investment opportunities, due diligence and valuation. F Contact: Mr Alvin CHAN, Deputy GM Email: alvin@starburst.aero Website: www.starburst.aero
Contact: Mr Julien NICOLLIN, CEO Email: j.nicollin@ncm-group.com Website: www.nicomatic.com
FOCUS MAGAZINE Issue 63
CERC-Asia is the new Asian subsidiary of CERC, a reputable high-quality dedicated CRO in Europe founded by KOL in Interventional Cardiovascular medicine. Since 2008, CERC-Europe has achieved an excellent track record in regulatory guidance, trial design, strategic planning, global study management and monitoring, biometry, CEC/DSMB coordination, AE/ SAE management, and core-lab activities (ECG, Angio, IVUS, OCT, CT, MRI). It provides support for communication and publications in major congresses and journals. Over the past few years, CERC-Europe has already successfully conducted clinical trials in Asia. Driven by CERC’s wide experience in cardiovascular research, CERC-Asia was conceived with the purpose of underpinning the development of cardiovascular clinical research in Asia. CERC-Asia’s objectives are to provide better guidance and logistical support in conducting clinical trials, act as a local dedicated CRO and support industry trials. CERC-Asia also provides assistance to investigator-sponsored trials (investigatorinitiated-trials) via a dedicated non-profit structure called CERIC. The company is ISO 9001-certified and has been successfully audited by all major players in the interventional field. F Contact: Ms Rosa D’ALESSIO, Clinical Research Associate Email: rdalessio@cerc-asia.org Website: www.cerc-asia.org
BUSINESS SUPPORT
Newly Set-Up Companies
Coptis is a leading provider of Cosmetic R&D software solutions, based in the US, Europe and Asia. Coptis Lab, our major product, is an integrated system for formulation development and regulatory affairs. It enables the cosmetic industry to efficiently manage development projects, reduce time to market and improve the quality and reliability of information. Our team of cosmetic chemists and IT specialists is dedicated to ensuring the constant improvement of our products, making use of our cosmetic expertise, Users Club, or direct recommendations from our users. Our main goal is to make sure all our users benefit from any improvement of our systems and, thus, make Coptis products become standard within the cosmetic industry. In addition to our applications, we provide valuable services that increase their performance: • A reference database describing more than 15,000 cosmetic raw materials developed through partnerships with cosmetic suppliers; • An integrated regulatory database elaborated through our regulatory group and based on our clients’ expertise. F Contact: Mr Jonathan CŒUR, Managing Director, Asia-Pacific Branch Email: sales@coptis.com Website: www.coptis.com
MG Development France, established in 2003, is based on 13 years of experience gained in the production of cosmetics designed for pharmacy. Today, we rank among the world’s leading hearing aids care companies. MG Development is the only company whose activity is entirely dedicated to the development and manufacture of medical devices for the hearing aid maintenance and the ear care. MG is also specialised in private label through an internal graphics department. Our products are already present throughout Europe and the United States (30 countries). MG France, based in Montpellier, manages our activities in Europe, while MG America, based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, manages North and South America. MG HEARING, based in Singapore, was set up a few months ago to manage our activities in Asia Pacific. We devote our human resources and technologies to creating products and services of quality in order to offer the best. F Contact: Mrs Stéphanie MARIVIN, Sales Director APAC Email: steph.marivin@mg-dev.com Website: www.mg-dev.com
33
34
BUSINESS SUPPORT
FOCUS MAGAZINE
Business Missions
Issue 63
The French Chamber Leads a Delegation of Innovation Directors from Bouygues The French Chamber Singapore led a business mission in Singapore for a delegation consisting of representatives from Bouygues Group. The delegation comprised several Innovation Directors from different Bouygues entities, and the objective of the mission was to better understand the innovation ecosystem in Singapore through meetings with relevant actors.
The programme included a visit to A*STAR (Agency for Science, Technology and Research), where speakers shared on the innovation vision in Singapore’s Smart Nation initiative, and also various A*STAR projects. There was also a visit to SMART (Singapore-MIT Alliance for Research and Technology), with a tour of the Future Mobility Lab and a presentation of Autonomous Vehicle. With these visits, Bouygues Group concluded their week of Innovation trips in Asia aimed at identifying potential partnerships in the region. F
The French Chamber in Video Conference with Images et Réseaux
Organised in partnership with Images et Réseaux Excellence Cluster, the French Chamber Singapore coordinated presentations with key actors in Singapore for a video conference meeting with company members of the cluster. This meeting was an opportunity to share about the high-tech market in Asia and about smart cities and smart grids. Speakers included Roch Drozdowski-Strehl, Deputy Director REIDS (Renewable Energy Integration Demonstrator), Sustainable Energetic Systems for South East Asia, and Gordon Falconer, Global Director Smart Cities, Schneider Electric. F
BUSINESS SERVICES
CommunicAsia + BroadcastAsia 2017
36
BUSINESS SUPPORT
Business Missions
FOCUS MAGAZINE Issue 63
The French Chamber Organises a Business Mission for Soieries du Mékong The French Chamber Singapore organised a business mission for Soieries du Mékong, which involved searching for and connecting the producer of handwoven scarves with retail resellers in Singapore.
of our company. The Chamber then went to these different points-of-sale and secured five meetings for our two-day visit.
WHY DID SOIERIES DU MÉKONG DECIDE TO APPROACH THE SOUTH EAST ASIAN MARKET?
On our arrival, before going on these meetings, we had a brief at the Chamber and then visited each point-of-sale in advance to observe the displays and products sold. A representatative from the Chamber was present with us throughout all the meetings and provided us with very good advice on how to approach them.
Soieries du Mékong has been producing hand-woven silk scarves in Cambodia for 15 years and our key market has been France, which receives 90% of our production. We are now developing our business in Asia, targeting a turnover of 50% in France and 50% in Asia over the next three years. After the opening of our first boutique in Siem Reap, Cambodia, in December 2016, we wanted to reach other Asian markets. We selected Singapore and Hong Kong because they are cosmopolitan and have favourable access rights. HOW WAS THE PREPARATION OF THE PROSPECTION MISSION? We prepared this business mission via regular Skype exchanges with the French Chamber. After elaborating on a business mission brief, the Chamber identified 21 potential prospects, to whom we sent a business pitch presenting the activities
WAS THE MISSION FRUITFUL? Yes, we are very satisfied with the various meetings that we had on site and we have identified two clients with whom we will be able to work. We will also make an offer to the other three prospects in order to try to integrate their point-of-sale. F
The French Chamber at Futurallia 2017 at Poitiers, France As part of a business trip with the purpose of facilitating business relations between Singapore and France, the French Chamber Singapore participated in the 21st edition of Futurallia, a three-day international and multi-sector business forum held in Poitiers, France this year. Futurallia targeted SME directors in France looking to develop foreign partnerships and markets. This business trip also featured Journée Pays Singapour, organised in collaboration with CCI Toulouse, where Dr Martine Lesponne, Head of Business Support of the French Chamber Singapore, presented to businesses in the Occitanie region the opportunities in Singapore, sharing about the landscape in the domains of transportation, health, defence, digital and robotics. F
FOCUS MAGAZINE
BUSINESS SUPPORT
Issue 63
Business Centre
The Business Centre of the French Chamber Evolves! The Business Centre of the French Chamber becomes more interactive and more communicative with the objective of providing business development support to the companies it hosts. To achieve this, workshops and meetings on business development in Asia have been specially conceived to provide an adapted avenue for exchange of insights, knowledge and experiences. Tapping on the expertise of professionals in our network in Singapore, and also from our French Chamber counterparts in the region, the Business Centre seeks to accelerate business development for our companies, in Singapore and in Asia Pacific. Here are some of the meetings that have taken place since the beginning of the year. F
Developing Your Business Activities Between Vietnam and Singapore Having worked as a lawyer in business law in Vietnam for several institutions and companies, Stéphane-Laure Caubet, Founder of 8S2Business, shared on business development in Vietnam, drawing from her work experiences. She elaborated on the particularities of the country, the regions and their markets, and the best ways to approach the country. F
Easter Monday: Dégustation with the French Chamber To celebrate Easter, the French Chamber invited the companies of the Business Centre for a degustation of delicious chocolate, French cheese and wine. F
Business Development: Experience-Sharing Session
LinkedIn: Making the Most of the Free Version
Led by Dr Martine Lesponne, Head of Business Support of the French Chamber Singapore, this session saw a roundtable of eight companies from the Business Centre sharing about their business development activities in the region. We discussed common challenges, shared best practices and also identified future topics of discussion. F
At this workshop, Estelle Darrigade, Head of Recruitment and HR of the French Chamber Singapore, shared her insights on the best ways to find, identify and reach out to potential prospects using LinkedIn – and how best to optimise the free version. F
“Cap Inde” Creating a Company in India Organised in collaboration with CCI France and conducted through video conference, this webinar covered practical tax and regulatory aspects in setting up a company in India. It also looked at key issues and considerations to consider before embarking on a set-up. F
Monthly Café Gourmand Every first Friday of the month, we meet either on the 9th or 12th floor for a convivial exchange over a gourmet coffee. F
37
38
FRENCH CHAMBER EVENTS
FOCUS MAGAZINE
Gala Dinner 2017
Issue 63
Adventure and Fascination at Imaginarium: The 2017 French Chamber Gala Dinner Organised in celebration of the dynamic partnership and strong business relations between France and Singapore, the 2017 edition of the French Chamber’s Gala Dinner brought together more than 550 eminent Singaporean and French guests.
GALA DINNER 2017
Themed “Imaginarium”, the evening was a celebration of the power of imagination, an exploration of horizons old and new, undiscovered and uncharted.
Platinum Sponsor
Held at the Ritz-Carlton on Friday 7 April, the Gala brought together the Singaporean and French business communities under the patronage of our Guests-ofHonour, Ms Sim Ann, Senior Minister of State for Trade & Industry and Culture, Community & Youth, Singapore and H.E. Marc Abensour, Ambassador of France to Singapore.
Gold Sponsors
Imagination is an important force in life and in business. It is about having an open mind, a curious eye, an adventurous spirit, a desire to wander, move, and stretch limits. The evening saw an animated array of performances, feats of virtuosity, spectacle and whimsy, each a showcase of creativity in full force, an embrace of the unknown and unfamiliar. Thanks to the very talented Three-Star Michelin Chef Emmanuel Renaut, our guests experienced some of the finest French cuisine in Singapore, accompanied by delicate French wines by Corney & Barrow and Champagne by PerrierJouët. Special thanks also to Mademoiselle Paillette, Charmaine and Faizal for the enchanting performances and to Nicolas Laville, Brigitte Varnier and Deboneire for the glamorous fashion show! The Gala would not have been possible without the hard work of the Planitswiss agency and all our sponsors. F
Silver Sponsors
Official Airline
Fashion Partners
With the support of
Official Champagne
Official Fine Food
Official Wine
FOCUS MAGAZINE Issue 63
Ms Sim Ann, Senior Minister of State for Trade & Industry and Culture, Community & Youth, Singapore
FRENCH CHAMBER EVENTS
Gala Dinner 2017
39
H.E. Marc Abensour, Ambassador of France to Singapore
Doina Palici-Chehab, President of the Guests of the French Chamber
Photo credits: Terran Tang (www.exxposures.com) and Cédric Vrolant (www.cedricvrolant.com)
French Chamber of Commerce in Singapore
40
FRENCH CHAMBER EVENTS
Committee Gala DinnerEvents 2017
FOCUS MAGAZINE Issue 63
FOCUS MAGAZINE Issue 63
Guests from BNP Paribas
Guests from Société Générale
Guests from AXA
Guests from Engie
Guests from Safran
FRENCH CHAMBER EVENTS
Committee Gala Dinner Events 2017
Guests from CIC
Guests from Arkadin
Guests from Capgemini
Guests from Hermès
Guests from Air France
41
42
FRENCH CHAMBER EVENTS
Committee Gala DinnerEvents 2017
Mademoiselle Paillette
FOCUS MAGAZINE Issue 63
FOCUS MAGAZINE Issue 63
FRENCH CHAMBER EVENTS
Committee Gala Dinner Events 2017
Three-Michelin-Star Chef Emmanuel Renaut
Fashion Designer Nicolas Laville (left), hat designer Brigitte Varnier of Atelier B., and fashion designer Matthew Gideon of Deboneire Menswear
43
44
FRENCH CHAMBER EVENTS
FOCUS MAGAZINE
Committee Events
Issue 63
Legal Aspects of Doing Business in China At this committee meeting, Mr Francois Vieillescazes, Foreign Legal Advisor with the Intellectual Property and the Corporate & Commercial Practice Groups, Samuel Seow Law Corporation, shared his experience of accompanying foreign investors in China. The presentation covered key legal aspects of doing business in China, including the choice of corporate structures, the foreign investment regulatory framework, and the essential principles of intellectual property, contracts and employment laws. The speakers also discussed how companies may use Singapore as a vehicle for their operations in China. F #legal
#tax
#asia
India’s Corporate Credit Trends – A Bright Spot Among BRICS? Mr Abhishek Dangra, Director, Corporate Ratings, S&P Global – Corporate and Infrastructure Ratings, shared with members of the Asia and Banking, Finance & Fintech committees about current corporate credit trends in India, covering macroeconomic figures and ongoing developments in reforms, infrastructure, funding and rating practices in the country. F #banking
#finance
#fintech
#asia
Working and Hiring People in Myanmar, Vietnam and Thailand At this committee meeting, Ms Danyel Thomson, Mr Kraisorn Rueangkul and Ms Maly Courtaigne from DFDL addressed the common labour concerns in relation to working and hiring individuals in three of the Mekong Region’s emerging economies – Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam. Through different case studies, the speakers illustrated the main legal policies affecting labour issues in the three countries, specifically, the acquisition and transfer of employees, the options and associated risks of treatment of contractors and employees, the requirements of labour contracts and in termination of employment. F #legal
#tax
#HR
#asia
FOCUS MAGAZINE
FRENCH CHAMBER EVENTS
Issue 63
Committee Events
Overview of Incoterms 2010 This presentation by Mr Alexandre Gourdan, Attorney-at-law (Paris Bar & New York Bar), Luther LLP, provided participants with an overview of the existing Incoterms resulting from the latest modification in 2010 as well as with the necessary understanding of the rights and obligations arising from the choice of a particular Incoterm. F #legal #tax #sourcing #supplychain
The European General Data Protection Regulation: New Rules that May Affect Your Business in Asia After four years of review, the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) was finally adopted in April 2016. It will become effective on 25 May 2018. Although European in nature, the GDPR will produce extraterritorial effects, even for data processing done outside Europe. It will apply to companies that offer goods or services globally, including in Europe, and process data regarding people located in the EU. At this committee meeting, Ms Bénédicte Deleporte, Managing Partner, Deleporte Wentz Avocat, provided an overview of the regulation, processes and personal data management tools to implement to be GDPR-compliant by May 2018.
The New French Anti-Corruption Law (Loi Sapin II) This committee meeting presented the implications of the new French anti-corruption law, Loi Sapin II, on French corporates operating in Asia, with a focus on the creation of a new obligation to prevent and detect corruption and to protect whistleblowers. The speakers from also discussed plea agreements and enforcement of this new crucial piece of legislation. The interactive session also provided practical steps to building adequate protection and defense mechanisms.
At the end of the meeting, Mr Christopher Muffat, CEO & Founder, Dathena, shared advice on how to properly manage data. F
• Mr Ramon Ghosh, Principal, Compliance, Forensics and Investigations, Control Risks; • Ms Marie-Pierre Grenier, Associate Director, Ethics and Compliance consulting, Control Risks; • Ms Weiyi Tan, Partner, Dispute Resolution, Baker & McKenzie; • Ms Sarah Stokoe, Senior Associate, Baker & McKenzie. F
#legal
#legal
#tax
#asia
#tax
45
46
FRENCH CHAMBER EVENTS
FOCUS MAGAZINE
Committee Events
Issue 63
A Conversation with Mr Goh Chee Kiong, EDB Executive Director The French Chamber in Singapore welcomed more tham 80 attendees to this Breakfast Talk with Mr Goh Chee Kiong, Executive Director, Singapore Economic Development Board (EDB), Cleantech division, as well as the Cities, Infrastructure and Industrial Solutions division. Responsible for the development of the urban solutions and sustainability sector in Singapore which spans areas such as clean energy, water and environment, smart cities and infrastructure, all of which have been identified as economic growth areas for Singapore, Mr Goh shared with us the latest strategies and opportunities in urban solutions in Singapore, where focus areas include energy, water & environment, mobility, built environment and smart city integration. He was then joined by Mr Jurgen Coppens, Managing Director, Accenture Strategy ASEAN, who interviewed him, and then led a 20-minutes interactive Q&A session using our online Q&A platform, taking a great amount of questions from the public. F #smartcities #energy
Site Visit: NUS Division of Industrial Design NUS Division of Industrial Design (DID) is where innovations are pushed to the next level. With a vision is to make life better through design, it seeks to equip students with trans-disciplinary skills and thinking processes required to find unmet needs, and solve complex problems involved in creating viable new products, experiences, interfaces and environments. In 10 years since its inception in 1999, NUS DID has been ranked among the world’s top 30 design schools by iF (International Forum Design) Germany, in 2009. Our speaker, Dr Christian Boucharenc, Head of Division of Industrial Design, National University of Singapore (NUS), discussed their design thinking approach, innovation strategies and how they collaborate with companies, and led a visit of the facilities. F #research
#innovation
#sustainability
#infrastructure
FOCUS MAGAZINE
FRENCH CHAMBER EVENTS
Issue 63
Committee Events
Reconciling Environmental and Financial Performance Investors show increasing interest in the decarbonification of portfolios to demonstrate their commitment to reducing the climate impact of their investments and contributing to the transition towards a low carbon economy as well as to reduce the long-term investment risks from climate change.
An Initiative around Renewable Energy Integration: the REIDS Project Renewable Energy Integration Demonstrator-Singapore (REIDS), an initiative led by the Nanyang Technological University (NTU) and supported by EDB and NEA, is the first micro-grid in the region and the largest hybrid micro-grid in the tropics. It will test and demonstrate, on Semakau Landfill, the integration of solar, wind, tidal, diesel, storage and powerto-gas technologies, and ensure these energy sources operate well together. Describing the offshore project, NTU’s Professor Hans Bjorn Puttgen, Senior Director, Energy Research Institute @ NTU, said, “It is about matching what nature gives us to what consumers want, which is energy on demand.” “REIDS is the largest microgrid research and development platform in SEA and therefore is instrumental to Singapore’s ambition to achieve a global leadership position in microgrids and serve the regional markets,” said Mr Goh Chee Kiong, EDB’s Executive Director of Cleantech. At this committee meeting, the various experts shared with us about this successful collaboration, and explained the contribution, expertise and vision of each partner on and off the grid. »» Mr Roch Drozdowski-Strehl, Deputy Director – REIDS, Microgrid Technologies, NTU, Energy Research Institute »» Mr Antoine Ballereau, Smart Energy Senior Project Manager, Engie; »» Mr Torgeir Ulset, VP Sales for Asia Pacific, REC Solar; and »» Mr Soni Wibisono, Project Manager for REIDS, Schneider Electric. We thank Mr Yves Le Bail, VP Asia Pac (Delegate China, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam), Total Exploration & Production, for moderating the session. F #energy
#infrastructre
#smartcities #research
#innovation
#sustainability
A pioneer of socially responsible investing smart beta indices since 2009, EDHEC-Risk Institute has taken a radically different approach with the low greenhouse gas emissions indices it unveiled on the occasion of the Paris Climate Change Conference. While immediately producing a sharp reduction in the carbon footprint of investment and offering long-term climate-change risk mitigation benefits, the Scientific Beta Low Carbon indices use consensual results from sixty years of financial research to deliver excess returns relative to conventional benchmarks in the medium and long-term so as to reconcile environmental and financial performance. In his presentation, Professor Frédéric Ducoulombier reviewed the evidence on the financial performance of Environmental, Social and Governance investment, justified the greenhouse gas emissions reduction approach employed by ERI Scientific Beta, explained the sources of financial performance exploited to improve the risk/return profile of investment and discussed the environmental and financial performance of the indices. F #banking
#finance
#infrastructre
#fintech
#energy
#sustainability
47
48
FRENCH CHAMBER EVENTS
FOCUS MAGAZINE
Committee Events
Issue 63
LNG as a Clean Bunkering Fuel for Green Mobility Regulations regarding the environmental impact of international shipping are tightening. In October 2016, the Board of the International Maritime Organisation decided to reduce from 3.5% to 0.5% the sulfur content of the bunke on a worldwide basis as of 2020. LNG has been identified as a marine fuel of choice as it nearly eliminates sulfur emissions and significantly reduces NOx and CO2 emissions. Implementing it comes with its own challenges and opportunities. Mr Denis Bonhomme, SVP Business Development, ENGIE, shared promising perspectives for LNG as a clean substitute fuel, illustrating the case with a few examples of actual developments. F #maritime
#energy
#infrastructure
#sustainability
Maritime Piracy Threat in the Region: Threats and Actions Mr Jean-René Degans, Deputy Defence Attaché at the French Embassy in Singapore, started this meeting by presenting the current piracy and armed robbery landscape in the region. Mr Eric Frécon, Associate Professor at the French Naval Academy, then gave a deep analysis of the organisational and operational approaches of the pirates using examples from his interaction with pirates in Indonesia. Hosted at AON offices, this meeting was also an opportunity for professionals to interact with peers. F #maritime
#defence
Joint Networking Event: Aerospace & Defence + Energy & Infrastructure + French Maritime Cluster In the cosy atmosphere of The Auld Alliance bar, members of the Aeronautics, Space, Defence & Security, Energy & Infrastructure, and French Maritime Cluster committees enjoyed a glass of whiskey paired with Hediard chocolates. F #aeronautics #defence
#space
#security
#infrastructure
#energy
#maritime
FOCUS MAGAZINE
FRENCH CHAMBER EVENTS
Issue 63
Committee Events
Visit of PSA Port of Singapore Mr Nicolas Sartini, CEO of APL and VP of the French Maritime Cluster Committee in Singapore (FMCCS), and his team welcomed members of the French Chamber’s FMCCS on a journey into the container shipping world. APL, along with its parent company CMA CGM, is the world’s third-largest container transportation and shipping company. On June 2016, CMA CGM and PSA Singapore Terminals announced a new joint venture, CMA CGM-PSA Lion Terminal, for the operation of four berths at Singapore’s Pasir Panjang Terminal Phase 3 and 4. The agreement will allow CMA CGM, NOL and the CMA-backed Ocean Alliance long-term access to Pasir Panjang’s newest and most modern facility. The journey started at the PSA tower with a terminal overview presentation by PSA, followed by a presentation of APL, and then continued with Captain Atheemulam and Chief Engineer Mykola and their team, together with Fleet Management Officers (Shaj Thayil, Alexandre Wattinne, Yi Shou Gu) who presented the container boarding operation room, the control room, the office quarters and the engine room of the container ship APL Columbus de 9200 teus. The last stop of the visit was to the Lion Terminal control room, where all the automated Overhead Bridge Cranes are controlled. F #maritime
Project: French Positioning in Singaporean Maritime Strategy For three years in a row, as part of their consulting project, SMIB students from ESSEC Business School and representatives of the French Maritime Cluster in Singapore have been working closely together to provide advice in order for French companies to match the Singaporean maritime strategy in the long run. With the support of the French Maritime Cluster committee president, a dynamic team of six students consisting of Benoit Butruille, Myriam El Andaloussi, Natasha Moussavi Saeedi, Vincent Nanna, Julie Revil, and Karim Tazi Labzour conducted a thorough market analysis and more than 23 interviews. After the first event organised at ESSEC Campus in February, students highlighted the main challenges the industry is facing to executives coming from all sectors: environment, new technology and education. Taking into account feedback received from the stakeholders, students kept working toward delivering a final report that establishes recommendations to address those challenges and help French companies be at the forefront of the maritime industry. The report and the video are available on our French Maritime Cluster committee page. F #maritime
49
50
FRENCH CHAMBER EVENTS
FOCUS MAGAZINE
Committee Events
Issue 63
Site Visit: IBM Studios Singapore IBM Watson represents a new era in computing called cognitive computing, where systems understand the world the way humans do: through senses, learning, and experience. It continuously learns from previous interactions, gaining in value and knowledge over time. With the help of Watson, organisations are harnessing the power of cognitive computing to transform industries, help professionals do their jobs better, and solve important challenges. Special thanks to Mr Abhishek Kaul, Industrial Sector Analytics/IoT Sales, IBM, Mr Daniel Sparing, Principal Data Scientist, IBM Cognitive Solutions Studio Singapore, and Mr Praveen Kumar, Data Scientist, IBM Global Services, for sharing with us insights and case uses of machine learning, and for the visit of IBM Studios! F #ICT
APAC Business Inflight Connectivity Unveiled Being able to surf, tweet, or send a text message at 30,000 feet in the air is not just a dream anymore. At this Aerospace and ICT committee meeting, Mr Jags Burhm, VP Aero Global Mobility, Eutelsat Asia, provided the APAC picture of the highly dynamic sector, covering: »» the state of the in-flight connectivity market, with a focus on APAC; »» what passengers are doing today with inflight connectivity; »» how airlines use this enablement to improve operational efficiencies – aircraft- and service-based; »» emerging trends for this sector in APAC; »» regional differences in airline business in China, India, Vietnam, Indonesia. F #ICT
#aerospace
IT Networking Event This special networking event for ICT professionals was held at Ô Batignolles, which provided the perfect ambiance amidst the vibrant Club Street precinct for our members to exchange and broaden their networks. Over 50 professionals joined this event. F #ICT
FOCUS MAGAZINE Issue 63
FRENCH CHAMBER EVENTS
Committee Events
Modernising the Healthcare Industry’s eCustomer Experience Digital advancements are transforming the healthcare industry. With both patients and healthcare professionals becoming more digitally savvy, there is a wealth of opportunities to engage both audiences throughout the experience journey. Mr Taru Jain, Founder and CEO of FutureMarketer, explains, “by leveraging the right mix of digital channels and content in your organisation.” In addition to Mr Jain’s presentation, Mrs Dipal Patel, General Manager at GlaxoSmithKline Singapore, shared her key learning points from GSK’s digital transformation journey. F #healthcare
Site Visit: Pacific Activiy Centre, A Multi-Generational Gathering Place Singapore’s rapidly aging population means that by 2030 the nation will be one of 33 “super-aged” countries, where 20% of people are older than 64. This trend will touch every aspect of Singapore’s society and economy. To understand the initiatives Singapore has launched, the French Chamber’s Healthcare committee visited the Pacific Activity Centre (Yishun Greenwalk), a one-stop activity centre and main connecting point among the seniors in the community, where Mr Kelvin Ng, VP, Operations, Pacific Healthcare Holdings, and other speakers shared the concept and experience. F #healthcare
Smart Health Meeting & Cocktail Smart Health is a new platform for French healthcare industry players in Singapore and ASEAN. It aims to promote French expertise in the sector through an integrated community of French players . At this meeting, Mr Fabien Clavier, CNRS – IPAL, presented the City4Age project, elderly-friendly city services for active and healthy ageing, after which members of the project networked at the Chamber. F #healthcare
#smarthealth
51
52
FRENCH CHAMBER EVENTS
FOCUS MAGAZINE
Committee Events
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 who wish to present their business and the challenges they face to get feedback and insights from other entrepreneurs. This accountability structure helps each entrepreneur keep focused and on track. F #entrepreneurs
#businesswomen
Issue 63
Business Accelerator Lab Each month, the Accelerator Lab meets an entrepreneur seeking to present their business. Advisors, comprising successful entrepreneurs and professionals from various sectors and functions, offer advice and recommendations on business plans, giving relevant direction and contacts whenever possible. These past few months saw meetings with Restologia, UEX Health Insurance, and Digital Content Technologies. F #entrepreneurs
#startups
BUSINESS ACCELERATOR LAB
If you are a French entrepreneur whose company was created in Singapore and has seen 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.
Mentoring Programme
WOMEN ENTREPRENEURS
If you are a woman entrepreneur member of the French Chamber, join our upcoming luncheons, mastermind sessions, and other dedicated committee events.
Visit www.fccsingapore.com for more details!
A co-initiative with Business France and the French Trade Advisors, 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 for up to 12 months. F #entrepreneurs
#startups
MENTORING PROGRAMME
If you are a French entrepreneur with a minimum of one year of activity, or a representative of a subsidiary of a French SME seeking to develop activities in Singapore and South East Asia, apply online to join this free programme.
FOCUS MAGAZINE
FRENCH CHAMBER EVENTS
Issue 63
Committee Events
Key Tips to Be a Successful Entrepreneur, by Nathalie Ribette, Sing’Theatre French Chamber CEO Tech Club Following the launch of the French Chamber CEO Tech Club in March 2016, Mr Eric Barbier, CEO, TransferTo, and Mr 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. F #ICT
For the 10th anniversary of Sing’Theatre, Ms Nathalie Ribette, Executive and Artistic Director of Sing’theatre, shared with us insights from her entrepreneur journey! Sing’theatre is an English–speaking professional theatre company. Sing’theatre was recognised by the Ministry of Information, Communications and the Arts (MICA) for its contribution to Singapore and was granted Institution of Public Character status (IPC). Nathalie gave to other entrepreneurs some key tips such as: »» Accepting and learning to be out of your comfort zone: risks, doubts but also pleasure/gratification; »» The importance of your network and legitimising your presence, learning local codes and being passionate about people; »» The importance of failure in the entrepreneurial journey and renewing your perspectives. F #entrepreneurs
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, all in a relaxed atmosphere. F #entrepreneurs
#startups
#startups
#businesswomen
53
54
FRENCH CHAMBER EVENTS
FOCUS MAGAZINE
Committee Events
Issue 63
CFO Lunch The French Chamber’s Banking, Finance & FinTech committee organised an intimate and casual CFO lunch, enabling exchange among counterparts in Singapore. On this occasion, we also had the great opportunity of discussing with two specialists of M&A in the region from Essilor and Imerys. F #banking
#finance
#fintech
Luxury & Premium Retail Luncheon The French Chamber’s Luxury & Premium Retail committee organised a special luncheon at Au Petit Salut, enabling exchange among counterparts in luxury retail in Singapore and in the region. F #luxury
CIO Lunch Exclusively reserved to CIOs of MNCs, the CIO lunch is an intimate and casual lunch where our members exchange on their challenges with their counterparts in Singapore. F #ICT
HR Club Lunch The HR Directors met for a networking lunch to exchange about the latest tredns and happenings in their industry in Singapore. F #HR
#premiumretail
FOCUS MAGAZINE Issue 63
Cocktail with a Delegation of Representatives from the Île-de-France Region The French Chamber Singapore was pleased to welcome and host a cocktail for a delegation of representatives from the Îlede-France region, at AXA University Campus. Special thanks to Mrs Doina Palici-Chehab, President of the French Chamber of Commerce in Singapore and CEO of AXA Singapore for delivering the opening remarks of the evening. F #cocktailreception
#networking
FRENCH CHAMBER EVENTS
Committee Events
55
56
FRENCH CHAMBER EVENTS
FOCUS MAGAZINE
Committee Events
Issue 63
Winning the Digital Battle: Top 5 Tips to Develop Engaging and Effective Digital Video Creatives for brands to reach out to their customers in ways that were not available before. Among all creative formats available digitally, videos are by far the most popular and effective format that brands can leverage. At this Digital Innovations & Marketing committee meeting, Mr Prasad Shinde, Director, Ipsos Connect, shared with us the top five tips to develop an engaging and effective digital video creative.
The rapidly changing pattern of media consumption has posed many challenges for brands as they try to decode what works in the digital space and how it differs from traditional channels. As much as it is a challenge, this also offers a greater opportunity
Based on Ipsos’ experience of helping brands build great communication across different creative formats, he shared key tips and illustrated best practices through case examples. F #digitalinnovations
#marketing
Decathlon in SEA: Offer and Supply Strategies Decathlon, a French sport goods designer and innovative retailer is now located in 28 countries. South East Asia has been the most prolific zone for Decathlon in terms of new openings in 2016 in three countries. One of the Decathlon’s challenges was to glocalise the company: to use the best practices that made Decathlon’s success in Europe without forgetting to adapt to local needs. At this committee meeting, Mr Maxime Chabaud, Supply Chain Director SEA for Decathlon, presented the strategies that the company has deployed to make sports accessible to South East Asians and also ensure a quick profitable growth for the company. F #sourcing
#supplychain
Stay informed Join our community online!
FOCUS MAGAZINE Issue 63
FRENCH CHAMBER EVENTS
Committee Events
Focus online
Upcoming Events Business News Job Offers French Chamber Directory Exclusive Deals French Chamber Singapore
57
58
FRENCH CHAMBER EVENTS
FOCUS MAGAZINE
Committee Events
Issue 63
Keys to Unlocking Asian Leaders’ Potential to Become Global Leaders Asia represents 40% of the world’s GDP. Why, then, are so few Asian leaders operating at high levels in multinational companies? »» What value would they bring? What is holding them back? »» Which steps should corporations take to facilitate their rise? »» What practical steps can CEOs and HR executives take to help Asian leaders become global leaders? #HR
Drawing from his latest research and his experience coaching over 700 leaders in Asia, global executive coach Mr JeanFrançois Cousin shared at this HR committee meeting: »» Asian leaders’ strengths and common developmental areas vis-à-vis global leadership requirements in a VUCA world; »» Keys for Asian leaders to gain further confidence and influence, to empower and collaborate effectively across cultures, and to take a world-wide view of business; »» Simple, effective actions CEOs and HR executives can take to support Asian leaders’ rise. F
#leadership
Resilience Delivers Over the past two decades, the Resilience Institute has trained 60,000 executives and professionals in hundreds of organisations. Years of training, sharing and extensive research resulted in the development of their proprietary Resilience Diagnostic – a short, secure, online human performance assessment tool that provides individual and organisational assessment of resilience and performance. Drawing on 26,099 assessments and over a million data points collected in five languages on all continents, The Resilience #HR
Institute recently released its Global Diagnostic Survey. The survey offers a fascinating glimpse of the factors that impact resilience and performance and clearly shows that resilience delivers the goods. In this committee meeting, Mr Thierry Moschetti, Managing Partner of The Resilience Institute in South East Asia and in the UK, shared the key findings of the survey and some important takeaways for organisations to keep their people safe, well and effective. F
FOCUS MAGAZINE
FRENCH CHAMBER EVENTS
Issue 63
Committee Events
Actualités Fiscales pour les Français Résidant à Singapour This event saw Mr Bertrand Cosson, Directeur de l’ingénerie patrimoniale at Banque Transatlantique in Paris, touch on different questions, namely: the case law and finance laws 2016, income and real estate taxes, main tax rates for non-residents, and the fiscal implications of a return to France. Mr Jean-Frédéric Werup, Directeur de la Gestion de Fortune Internationale at Banque Transatlantique in Paris then shared about the financial and real estate markets in France. F #banking
#finance
#fintech
#tax
#legal
General Expenses: Non-Strategic but Significant Potential Savings At this committee meeting, Mr Eric Georges, Founder of Blu Buying Club, shared with participants insights on how they can manage their general expenses in Singapore, covering: »» Stakes of general expenses; »» Spend break-down with a comparison between direct, indirect and general expenses; »» Specificities of Singapore; »» How to design your action plan; »» Key success factors; »» Latest trends. F #sourcing
#supplychain
59
60
FRENCH CHAMBER EVENTS
FOCUS MAGAZINE
Committee Events
Issue 63
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 between 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 luncheons took place at Bar-Roque Grill, Napoleon Food & Wine Bar, and Beach Road Kitchen at JW Marriott Hotel South Beach. These events are open to everyone, so feel free to invite your friends or colleagues to join us! Visit our website www.fccsingapore.com to see our next business luncheons and broaden your network! F #frenchgourmet
Galette des Rois Set amidst the lush greenery in the tranquil poolside surroundings of Grand Hyatt Singapore’s Oasis restaurant, there was a great atmosphere for this year’s Galette des Rois networking event! Special thanks to Tiong Bahru Bakery, official sponsor of the Galette des Rois. F #frenchgourmet
#networking
#networking
FOCUS MAGAZINE
MEMBERSHIP
Issue 63
New Members|
New Members ENTREPRENEURS MEMBERS ARCTAN ANALYTICS
Contact: Mr Pierre HAUSHEER, MD Contact: arctananalytics.com Sector: Data Analytics
BRASEIRO
Contact: Mr Alexandre PINI, Founder & Executive Director Website: braseiro-sg.com Sector: Restaurant
C.O. CONSULTANCY SERVICES
Contact: Mr Christophe OUDIN, Director Sector: F&B and Hospitality Consulting and Services
CORP AGENCY ASIA
Contact: Mr Michel BEAUGIER, MD Website: corp-agency.com Sector: Software
DATHENA
Contact: Mr Christopher MUFFAT, CEO & Founder Website: dathena.io Sector: Data Governance
FEWSTONES
Contact: Mr Jean-Christophe BOUGLÉ, Director Website: fewstones.com Sector: Video, Multimedia
GORILLA PROPERTY SOLUTIONS
Contact: Mr Ben ECKBLAD, Co-founder & CEO Website: gorillaspace.co Sector: Co-Working Spaces
JADESTONEPARTNERS GROUP
Contact: Mr Andre REBOH, Director Sector: Advisory Services
LE CANELE D’OR
Contact: Ms. Florence LAMARLERE, Director Website: lecaneledor.com.sg Sector: F&B
LES OLIVIERS FRENCH MONTESSORI
Contact: Mr Stephane BENOIST, Chairman & Founder Website: oliviers-french-montessori.com Sector: School
OLIVIER MERMET DESIGN
Contact: Mr Olivier MERMET, Creative Director Website: behance.net/oliviermermet Sector: Design, Packaging
SD MEDIATION & HR SERVICES
Contact: Ms Sylvie DEGEORGE (ACKERMANN), Médiateure Sector: Mediation
SMARTFOLIOS
Contact: Mr Julien LENOBLE, Co-Founder and Executive Chair Website: smartfolios.com Sector: Fintech
SMARTFUNDING
Contact: Ms Sandra ERNST, CEO Website: smartfunding.sg Sector: Fintech
SOMERVILLE MEDIA
Contact: Mr Greg SOMERVILLE, Director Producer and Cameraman Website: somervillemedia.com Sector: Video, Multimedia
UEX HEALTH INSURANCE
Contact: Mr Grégoire RASTOUL, CEO Website: uexglobal.com Sector: Health Insurance
USHIFT
Contact: Mr Robinson BLANCKAERT, CEO Website: ushift.com.sg Sector: Human Resources
V&V INNOVATIONS
Contact: Mr Stanislas VERLEY, CEO Website: vandvinnovations.com Sector: Smart Cities
61
62
MEMBERSHIP
FOCUS MAGAZINE
New Members
Issue 63
CORPORATE MEMBERS ABC ARBITRAGE ASSET MANAGEMENT ASIA
Contact: Mr Xavier BOUTIN, MD Website: abc-arbitrage.com Sector: Investment
ACCENTURE STRATEGY
Contact: Mr Thomas GANDOLFI, Director Website: accenture.com/sg-en/strategy-index Sector: Strategy Consulting
ACTILITY SINGAPORE
D2X EXPERTISE
Mr Damien JUAN, Director Website: d2x-expertise.com Sector: IT Consulting
EURECAT SERVICES ASIA PACIFIC
Contact: Dr Francois LOCATELLI, MD - Head Of Asia BU Website: eurecat.com Sector: Oil & Gas, Sustainability
MEDIATROPY
Contact: Mr Alban MEDICI, APAC Operation Director Website: actility.com Sector: IoT
Contact: Mr Pierre DE LUCA, MD Website: mediatropy.com Sector: Digital Marketing
AON SINGAPORE
Contact: Mr Nicolas BETBEDER-MATIBET, Director Website: mega.com Sector: Software and Consulting
Contact: Mr Collin CHIEW, CEO Website: aon.com/singapore Sector: Insurance
BERNARDAUD
Contact: Mrs Maëlys DE LUMMEN, Secretary Website: bernardaud.com/fr Sector: Porcelain Dinnerware
BIC PRODUCT ASIA
Contact: Mr Gregoire MANTOUX, Marketing Director, APAC Contact: asia.bicworld.com Sector: Pens, Shavers
BLUESG
Contact: Mr Franck VITTE, MD Sector: Transport, Sustainability, Electric Car Sharing
CERC
Contact: Dr Marie Claude MORICE, Founder/CEO Website: cerc-europe.org Sector: Heart Disease Research
CNIM
Contact: Mrs Eve BONNARDEL, Asia BDM Defense & Security Website: cnim.com/en Sector: Industrial Solutions
DUVAL-LEROY SINGAPORE
Contact: Mr Clement GARDILLOU, Brand Ambassador, Champagne DUVAL-LEROY Website: duval-leroy.com Sector: Champagne
MEGA INTERNATIONAL
OVH
Contact: Mr Lionel LEGROS, Asia Pacific Director Website: ovh.com Sector: Cloud & Internet Infrastructure
SHIFT TECHNOLOGY
Contact: Ms Diane RICART, Head Of Health Asia Website: shift-technology.com Sector: Fraud Detection
SYNTHESIO
Contact: Mr Antoine GROSS, VP Sales APAC Website: synthesio.com Sector: Social Media Monitoring
TECHNICOLOR ASIA PACIFIC HOLDINGS
Contact: Mr Christophe CAZES, VP, Sales Website: technicolor.com Sector: Media & Entertainment
VISIONNAIRE
Contact: Mr David DESBORDES, MD Website: visionnaire.com.sg Sector: Events
VSL SINGAPORE
Contact: Mr Neil THORBURN, Regional CEO Website: vsl.com Sector: Construction
FOCUS MAGAZINE
MEMBERSHIP
Issue 63
New Members|
ASSOCIATE MEMBERS AGENTIL
INTERNATIONAL BIODIVERSITY AND PROPERTY COUNCIL
Contact: Mr Jean-François LAURI, Group Director Website: agentil.com Sector: IT Consulting (SAP)
Contact: Mr Tolga COSKUN, IBPC Singapore Representative Website: ibi-biodivercity.com/en Sector: Urban Biodiversity
B+H ARCHITECTS
MEDECINS SANS FRONTIERES Contact: Mrs Lauren HO, Singapore Liaison Contact: msf.hk Sector: NGO
Contact: Dr Stephane LASSERRE, Principal Website: bharchitects.com Sector: Architecture
CUSTOMERMATRIX
MOZOO HONG KONG Contact: Mr Jules MINVIELLE, Founder-CEO Website: mozoo.com Sector: Mobile Advertising
Contact: Mr Guy MOUNIER, Co-Founder & CEO Website: customermatrix.com Sector: Cognitive Computing Platform
FUJI XEROX GLOBAL SERVICES Contact: Mr Masashi SAKAMOTO, President Website: fujixerox.com/eng/solution/ globalservices/ Sector: Document Management Processes
SLIDO
Contact: Ms Anna DVORAKOVA, Asia Pacific Manager Website: www.sli.do Sector: Audience Interaction
INDIVIDUAL MEMBERS Mr Emmanuel ALLIX, CEO, ART OF CLICK Sector: Mobile Ad Network and Media Agency
Mr Olivier ALVAREZ, Managing Director, CAPITALAB (BGC PARTNERS) Sector: Consulting, Financial Services
Mr Olivier BOUBEAUD,Global Business Director, DSM
DYNEEMA Sector: Chemistry
Ms Jessica COPER, Business Development Manager, FCM
Mr Nicolas LE CLERC, Executive Director, Head of Project Advisory, NOMURA SINGAPORE LIMITED Sector: Investment Banking
Mrs Alice LOPIN, Store Leader, APPLE Sector: Retail
Mr Pierre LORINET, Non-Executive Director, TRAFIGURA
GROUP PTE LTD Sector: Oil & Gas
Ms Giorgia MADONNO, Founder & MD, MARCO POLO
TRAVEL SOLUTIONS Sector: Tourism and Travel
CONSULTING Sector: HR Consulting
Ms Veronique CORNU, Head of Digital, METLIFE Sector: Health Insurance, Digital
Mr Olivier MARQUAIS, Legal Officer, Representative of the
Ms Barbara GUERPILLON, Global Marketing Manager –
WIPO Center, WIPO ARBITRATION AND MEDIATION CENTER Sector: Legal
The Unilever Foundry, UNILEVER ASIA PTE LTD Sector: Consumer Goods
Mr Jean-Luc MERAT, Director, Windermere Associates Sector: Finance Consulting
Mr Aymeric HAMON, Deputy Project Director, SAIPEM SA
Ms Severine SAVIGNAN, GM, DELACOUR ASIA PACIFIC
Sector: Engineering, Manufacturing
Ms Audrey JOLY, Business Unit Manager (Beer, Wines and Spirits), JF HILLEBRAND SINGAPORE PTE LTD Sector: Shipping, Transport
Sector: Luxury
63
64
MEMBERSHIP
FOCUS MAGAZINE
Privilege Card
SERVICES
Issue 63
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.
A major player in international transport and logistics
Bolloré Logistics is a major player in international transport and logistics. Standing by its clients in times of changing needs, Bolloré Logistics has broadened its know-how to be recognized as a global player of the supply chain, ranked among one of the top 10 largest groups of the sector, as well as being the 1st integrated logistics network in Africa. The company creates customized solutions with high added value associated with sectorial expertise, continuous search for improvement and optimization, and strong Bolloré Logistics values.
BOLLORÉ LOGISTICS IN SINGAPORE 8 sites with 1,340 staff and 154,000 sqm warehousing No. 1 in Singapore for LCL - TSL Product Certifications: AS, GMP, ISO, QEP, STP, TRACE E-mail: sg@bollore.com
BOLLORÉ LOGISTICS N°1 in France N°1 in Africa Top 5 in Europe Top 10 Global
bollore-logistics.com
+20,000 staff 601 sites in 105 countries 1,600,000 sqm Warehousing 580,000 Air freight Tons 844,000 Sea freight TEUs
A brand of
Why choose GEMS World Academy (Singapore)? • The Future School: Global initiatives such as our ground-breaking Blended Learning, STEM programme and focus on entrepreneurship ensures that the education our students explore today, supports their aspirations for the future
• 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
MEMBER