Commentary

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

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

Commentary

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

Commentary

Ageing gracefully with assurance

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

Commentary

How not to fall flat on a publicity stunt

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

Commentary

Agility is key in the Year of the Monkey

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

Commentary

Work-life balance the key to staff retention in Singapore

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

Commentary

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

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

Commentary

Why aren't more small businesses going digital?

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

Commentary

Impact of rising US interest rates to property investments in Singapore

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

Commentary

Can graduates still get good jobs?

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

Commentary

MediShield Life and employee healthcare

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

Commentary

Income tax tips for new expats in Singapore

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

Commentary

The impact of yuan devaluation to the Singapore dollar

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

Commentary

Employment Pass quotas – good or bad?

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

Commentary

Here's how fitness will improve performance management

I have been thinking and contemplating how performance reviews are done in companies annually or monthly. Some companies are even getting rid of it completely. Then it occurred to me that performance management should really move to "just-in-time performance management."

Commentary

What Singaporean investors should NOT do in 2016

To make their money grow, Singaporean investors should keep an eye on the headlines, but avoid knee-jerk reactions.

Commentary

What is in it for SMEs with the current economic outlook

According to flash estimates, Singapore's economy grew at a respectable rate of 2.1 percent in 2015, close to the official government estimate of 2 percent. While this is a reasonable achievement, it is much lower than the 2014 figure of 2.9 percent.

Commentary

On the Singapore-USA trade relation and the TPP

According to 2014 data, the goods trade relation between Singapore and the USA stands at US$30.2 billion for the exports to Singapore and US$16.4 billion for the imports from Singapore, basically in line with data for the past five years from 2010 onward.

Commentary