Daily Briefing: Singapore to ramp up factory activities as virus curbs ease; MCI, IMDA working with telcos to boost network capacity and internet connection

And d:tribe invests in Australian AI startup Shelfie.

From Reuters:

Singapore will progressively ramp up its manufacturing activities, according to the minister of trade and industry, with the city-state looking to restart its economy as coronavirus curbs start to ease over the next few weeks.

Sectors that are intertwined with the global supply chain such as biopharmaceutical and petrochemicals as well precision manufacturing will be among priority sectors.

Only about 17% of Singapore’s labour force is currently working onsite to maintain essential services and support for global production chains and connectivity.

The city-state is facing the deepest recession due to circuit breaker restrictions, which are aimed at stemming the spread of the novel coronavirus and are due to last until 1 June.

Singapore will start allowing some businesses to reopen from 12 May, according to authorities.

Read more here. 

From Channel News Asia:

The Ministry of Communications and Information (MCI) and the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) will work with telecommunications operators to increase the buffer of their network capacity, according to communications and information minister S Iswaran.

“This is to ensure that we are prepared for a possible rise in future demand and help ensure that individuals, households and businesses will continue to have strong and reliable Internet connectivity,” he added

Since the start of the circuit breaker, telecom operators have seen an increase in their network traffic, particularly for fixed broadband and daytime usage due to telecommuting and home-based learning.

However, the volume of traffic still remains within each operator’s network capacity, with a buffer of at least 30%, he added.

“My ministry and IMDA will continue to ensure that our telecom infrastructure keeps pace with demand and meets our connectivity needs, especially as digitalisation accelerates in our economy and society,” said Iswaran.

Read more here. 

From e27:

Singapore-based investor d:tribe Capital has announced a Series A follow-on investment into Australian artificial Intelligence company, Shelfie.

The startup will use the additional investment from d:tribe to expand to the US and European markets.

Shelfie has developed a solution by using AI and deep learning technology to automate the manually intensive and error-prone process of minimising stock gaps on shelves.

The data are sent to the dashboard and mobile app, which are updated automatically to mobile devices informing floor staff to re-stock specific items.

This platform is designed to help identify sales trends via every SKU and provide real time insights to optimise merchandising layouts.

Read more here.