Daily Briefing: Singapore now home to 150 VC funds; Technology and data-related jobs to buoy hiring in finance

And Lakeside Garden, the first phase of Jurong Lake Gardens, opened for preview.

From Bloomberg:

Singapore’s effort to create an ecosystem to support startups is gaining ground, with the city-state now home to more than 150 venture capital funds.

L’Oreal SA, Microsoft Corp. and Oracle Corp. are among more than 100 entities running incubator and accelerator programs, according to Enterprise Singapore, the government agency spearheading enterprise development. Venture funding has increased to US$10.5b in 2018 from US$800m in 2012, according to data from PitchBook.

The number of tech startups has grown to 4,000 in 2017, with 22,000 employees. There were 2,800 tech startups in 2003.

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From eFinancialCareers:

The overall headcount in the local finance industry won’t necessarily shrink as there will be more jobs in technology and data functions, eFinancialCareers reported.

There are also several non-tech banking jobs that will become more in demand in three to five years – those which automation will only have a ‘low impact’ on. Within investment banking, product structurers, institutional salespeople, and senior investment bankers are identified as the safest jobs in Singapore banking.

Senior bankers will be especially pleased to make the list, given that global banks from Goldman Sachs to Standard Chartered have focused recent job cuts on their upper ranks and brought in younger staff in their stead.

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From ChannelNews Asia:

Lakeside Garden, the 53-hectare western section of Jurong Lake Gardens, opened to the public on Saturday (Apr 27).

This is the first phase to open as part of the 90 ha Jurong Lake Gardens - Singapore’s third national gardens and its first in the heartlands.

Lakeside Garden, which comprises Jurong Lake Gardens West and the former Jurong Lake Park, was developed with an emphasis on nature, community and play, said the National Parks Board (NParks).

Located along Yuan Ching Road and next to Lakeside MRT station, the garden includes a play area named Forest Ramble for children aged between five and 12 years old. The 2.3 ha area is the largest nature play garden in the heartlands and has 13 different adventure stations for children, NParks said.

Read more here.