Daily Briefing: Fewer Singapore firms expanded overseas last year, more press on with productivity efforts; Sengkang-Punggol LRT to get 17 new two-car trains to boost capacity

And How investing in gender inclusion can drive growth in Singapore’s tech sector.

From ChannelNewsAsia:

Fewer Singapore businesses ventured overseas last year amid the COVID-19 pandemic, but more took on projects to raise productivity and build new capabilities, said Enterprise Singapore (ESG) on 5 February.

The drop in local businesses going overseas dropped 38% to 1,600, which was expected due to global travel restrictions, the government agency said in its annual review.

Among those that continued to pursue internationalisation, they did so in different ways such as participating in virtual trade fairs and online networking events. They also tapped e-commerce platforms to market and sell their products and solutions.

ESG’s CEO Png Cheong Boon told reporters that these digital platforms allowed businesses to quickly establish and maintain market presence despite the travel curbs in place.

Read more here.

From ChannelNewsAsia:

The Sengkang-Punggol LRT network will get 17 new two-car trains, doubling the number of such trains in its fleet.

The new trains, which will be delivered progressively from 2024 to 2027, will help to meet long-term public transport demand in Sengkang and Punggol, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) said in a news release on 5 February.

The Sengkang-Punggol LRT network currently comprises 16 two-car trains and 25 one-car trains.

The network’s depot will also be expanded to 11.1 ha from the existing 3.5 ha to increase its capacity and create more space for maintenance facilities, LTA said.

The expansion will be located above the Northeast MRT line’s depot in Sengkang and will include a new train stabling area and a new maintenance workshop.

Read more here. 

From HumanResourcesOnline:

In Singapore, women continue to be underrepresented in the infocomm and tech sector, making up only about 30% of the workforce in 2019. Fortunately, awareness around the benefits of inclusive workplaces is improving.

Companies where women can fully apply their talents are stronger and more dynamic. Women comprise half of our population, and thus half of our workforce’s talent and potential.

In an effort to disrupt the current status quo, Dell Technologies has set ambitious measurement targets for gender representation, pledging that by 2030, 50% of their global workforce and 40% of their global people leaders will be women.

Read more here.