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  • Australia leads top ten sources of tourist arrivals in Bali

    Australia leads top ten sources of tourist arrivals in Bali

    Australia led the ten top sources of tourist arrivals in the resort island of Bali in the January-September 2016 period, an official said.

    “The number of Australian tourists visiting Bali in the first nine months of this year reached 850,326, up 16.85 percent from 727,678 in the same period last year,” chief of the Central Statistics Agency (BPS) Office in Bali, Adi Nugroho said here on Sunday.

    Most of the Australian tourists traveled to Bali by direct flights. Only 18,554 of them went to the island by cruise liner.

    More and more Australians visited Bali as they regarded it as their “second home”, he said.

    Australia contributed 23.36 percent of the overall tourist arrivals in Bali at 3.63 million over the period, up 21.69 percent compared to the same period last year when the figure was recorded at 2.99 million.

    Adi Nugroho said nine of the ten top sources of tourist arrivals in bali saw a significant increase in the number of tourist arrivals in Bali. Only the number of Malaysian tourists fell 6.64 percent to 138,203 from 138,203.

    Meanwhile, China occupied the second place with 35.84 percent of the total budget fund.

  • Pharma in Indonesia: Competing for Higher Margins

    Pharma in Indonesia: Competing for Higher Margins

    IPMG members – including Novartis, Merck, Bayer, Boehringer Ingelheim, and Pfizer – have invested more than USD $1 billion in Indonesia’s pharmaceutical industry over the past few years, particularity for the construction of factories and clinical research (source: AmCham Indonesia).

    An example is Bayer, which recently invested 8.1 million euros in the expansion of its factory in Cimanggis (West Java). This factory produces multivitamins and medicines, about 75% of which is exported to 26 countries.

    Concurrently, Indonesia’s largest pharmaceutical company, Kalbe Farma, is shifting from being a maker of generic drugs to a high-tech pharma developer. Besides producing cancer drugs, Kalbe has been investing in R&D on stem cell therapies. Significantly, a lack of generic substitutes in these fields in Indonesia implies no government-set price ceilings, and therefore these products offer higher margins.

    In fact, there are more than 200 drugmakers in Indonesia, most of which produce only low-margin generics. While they control 95% of the market by volume, they have a combined 75% share in value terms. Therefore the few multinationals operating in the country have been able to make more profits because of their focus on high-value products.

    Such activities are taking place while Indonesian President Joko Widodo is pushing its universal health care program to cover the country’s projected population of 270 million by 2019, a leap from the 170 million currently covered. This year for the first time, government expenditures on health care reached the legally mandated 5% of the state budget. Health care spending is expected to grow 12% every year through 2020.

    To join the discussion on all developments in this industry sign up for CPhI South East Asia and its LinkedIn group. CPhI is the must-attend pharma event in Indonesia comprising of a trade show and state of the art conference where the regional industry meets to leverage connections, knowledge and insight to spur business. Launched 6 years ago, the next edition takes place during 22-24 March 2017 at JIExpo in Jakarta. Workshops and exhibitors’ presentations will add into the mix, and will complement the 3 days together with a business matchmaking platform.

  • E-commerce roadmap will boost Indonesian young entrepreneurs` growth

    E-commerce roadmap will boost Indonesian young entrepreneurs` growth

    The Indonesian Young Entrepreneurs Association (Hipmi) of Yogyakarta supports the governments plan to formulate an e-commerce roadmap by early 2017.

    “The e-commerce roadmap to be launched by the government is a step in the right direction as it will encourage Indonesian young entrepreneurs and help them in expanding their business,” a Yogyakarta Hipmi member, Gunarta Adibrata, said here on Wednesday.

    Also, such a roadmap will help those starting their businesses in accessing the e-commerce system.

    “Young entrepreneurs will find the e-commerce business roadmap very beneficial,” Gunarta noted.

    According to him, young entrepreneurs need such assistance in order to grow their businesses.

    In addition, the governments timely interventions and support will increase the markets confidence in the ability of the young entrepreneurs.

    “Such an e-commerce roadmap must have clarity about taxation and consumer protection. These two things will add a positive value and enhance business certainty for those using the e-commerce system,” Gunarta noted.

    Earlier, the government had stated that the e-commerce roadmap, aimed at regulating and stimulating e-commerce transactions in Indonesia, will be released in early 2017.

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  • Indonesia to operate Becakayu Toll Road by 2017

    Indonesia to operate Becakayu Toll Road by 2017

    Indonesia will start to operate 8 kilometers of the 11-kilometers section of the new Bekasi-Cawang-Kampung Melayu (Becakayu) toll road connecting Bekasi City and Jakarta by March 2017.

    “I believe by March, the 8 kilometers toll road can start operations. I hope we can operate both lanes, so there will be 16 kilometers of the new toll road,” Indonesian President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) said here on Monday.

    Jokowi conducted a visit to Becakayu toll road construction to observe the progress.

    According to Jokowi, the toll project had been stopped for 22 years since 1997. The government restarted the project in 2015.

    Indonesia plans to start operations of the 11 kilometers of the toll project by 2017.

    The toll road will hopefully decrease traffic density between Bekasi and Jakarta.

    The Becakayu Toll Road will also connect with the Jakarta Outer Ring Road (JORR) lane that integrates with outer Jakarta areas.

    Jokowi said there were no obstructions from land acquisition of Becakayu Toll Road.

    “We have no problems as we have bailout investment. The assistance could accelerate the construction,” he said.

    Indonesia is boosting its infrastructure sectors such as airports, ports, roads and highways, and railways to develop the economy.

    The president also asked ministers to help attract and support private investments in the infrastructure sectors.

    According to the president, there were several areas in which such investments can support the development of infrastructure. Such an investment can be made by private sector players, state enterprises or via Public-Private Partnership (PPP) route.

    “Infrastructure development shouldnt depend only on the State Budget or Regional Budget. We should open such opportunities for the private sector and for non-government investments,” the president said here on Wednesday.

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  • UPS has entered into a definitive purchase agreement to acquire Marken

    UPS has entered into a definitive purchase agreement to acquire Marken

    UPS has entered into a definitive purchase agreement to acquire Marken, a supply chain company dedicated to the pharmaceutical and life sciences industries.

    The transaction is expected to close by December 31, 2016.

    “Healthcare logistics is a strategic market for UPS,” said Teresa Finley, chief marketing and business services officer at UPS. “Our acquisition of Marken strengthens our portfolio and demonstrates our commitment to customers. We plan to offer new solutions to our customers and generate further growth opportunities for UPS.

    Marken will be operated as a wholly owned UPS subsidiary and will have access to the UPS integrated global network.

    “We are excited to join the UPS organization,” said Wes Wheeler, chief executive officer of Marken. “UPS’s capabilities, particularly in mature markets, will provide many opportunities for us to enhance our service offerings in clinical trials logistics. With UPS, we will improve our efficiency, while continuing to provide our clients with the high-touch, personalized services that they have come to expect from us.”

    Marken has more than 650 employees in 44 locations worldwide and operates 10 depots that are compliant with Good Manufacturing Practices, according to UPS.

     

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  • South Korea among G20’s top IoT-ready markets

    South Korea among G20’s top IoT-ready markets

    The United States, South Korea, and the United Kingdom ranked as the three countries in the G20 most ready to contribute to and benefit from the IoT, according to IDC.

    The research firm said  the US scored particularly well on measures such as ease of doing business, government effectiveness, innovation, and cloud infrastructure, as well as technology spending as a percent of GDP.

    Meanwhile, South Korea scored extremely well on IoT-specific spending and has a business environment that fosters innovation and promotes attractive investment opportunities.

    Similarly, the UK scored very highly on measures of ease of doing business, government effectiveness, regulatory quality, start-up procedures, innovation, and broadband penetration.

    The standout country in the ranking, however, proved to be Australia, which, despite its relatively small GDP, scored exceptionally high on ease of doing business and start-up procedures, government effectiveness and regulatory quality, and innovation and education.

    The original index was first published in 2013 but the updated index is now comprised of 13 criteria that IDC views as necessary for sustained development of the IoT and reflects each nation’s economic stature, technological preparedness, and business readiness to benefit from the efficiencies linked to IoT solutions.

    “Countries are keen to become or maintain a competitive advantage and, as such, are looking to the Internet of Things as one of those initiatives,” said Vernon Turner, senior vice president, Enterprise Systems and IDC fellow for the IoT.

    “Knowing where a country stands in the IoT Index will help global and local IT vendors know what opportunities lie ahead of them as they line up their strategies at federal, local, and enterprise levels.”

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  • Huawei launches IoT accelerator in Singapore

    Huawei launches IoT accelerator in Singapore

    Huawei has teamed up with the National University of Singapore (NUS) to launch its first IoT-focused accelerator in Singapore.

    The vendor will work with NUS’ entrepreneurial arm NUS Enterprise to provide start-ups with mentorship, access to investors, access to industry-grade test beds, and global co-marketing opportunities.

    Known as i5Lab, the accelerator seeks to support the development of Singapore’s next unicorn company by nurturing promising start-ups with Huawei’s real network environment and open platform as well as its global Go-to-Market channel capability.

    Huawei said i5Lab will follow the model of established Huawei collaborations with leading software and industry partners to develop solutions that will build a competitive industry ecosystem.

    As a global leading ICT player in 170 countries, Huawei works with 45 of the world’s top 50 telecommunications providers that provides connection to two-thirds of the world’s population.

    Start-ups will be able to leverage Huawei’s global partner ecosystem, and will also be invited to participate in joint marketing through Huawei’s Customer Solution Innovation & Integration Experience Center (CSIC), and large-scale events such as NUS Enterprise’s flagship event InnovFest unbound and CommunicAsia.

    “With one of the most connected societies, open data sets and high-skilled ready talent, Singapore is an excellent test bed to nurture IoT ideas that will bring us closer to a smarter future. We hope that start-ups will make full use of this collaborative platform and leverage on accumulated knowledge of industry-leading technology and expertise from Huawei and our global partners,” Huawei CMO for Southern Pacific Lim Chee Siong said.

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  • HKBN expands OTT video tie-up with TVB

    HKBN expands OTT video tie-up with TVB

    HKBN has expanded its relationship with broadcaster TVB covering the delivery of TVB’s myTV SUPER set-top box service.

    The operator has ordered an additional 450,000 set top boxes from TVB to meet customer demand, and has raised its target for the number of set-top boxes to be installed by the end of 2019 to 850,000.

    HKBN first launched myTV SUPER set-top boxes for its residential broadband customers in April, and has so far signed up 250,000 customers to the service. Adoption has been faster than expected – HKBN had an initial sales target of 400,000 set-top boxes within the first 18 months.

    The expanded agreement also covers collaboration on market opportunities outside of Hong Kong, using TVB’s new OTT service TVB Anywhere. The service will allow users to buy VOD titles as a gift and send them to recipients around the world.

    HKBN is also using its expertise to introduce TVB to overseas operator partners. The first phase of the international expansion is commencing in Canada.

    “Throughout the past seven months, the launch of our broadband and myTV SUPER service bundles has been extremely successful. Mindful of this, we’re determined to step up our strategic cooperation,” HKBN CEO William Yeung said.

    “Not only will we continue to bring amazing entertainment content to the homes and mobile devices of HKBN customers in Hong Kong, but we will also extend our partnership to the overseas markets, creating a stronger alliance so that more customers can benefit.”

  • India’s BSNL seeks 700-MHz spectrum

    India’s BSNL seeks 700-MHz spectrum

    Indian state-owned operator BSNL has approached the nation’s telecoms ministry seeking a portion of the 700-MHz spectrum that was left unsold during the recent major spectrum auction.

    The operator has proposed that a 5 MHz block in the 700-MHz band be assigned to the operator through an equity route.

    Under the proposal, in lieu of payment, the government’s paid-up equity in BSNL would increase by the value of the spectrum.

    BSNL officials told the news agency that the 700-MHz band, when combined with the company’s existing 2500-MHz holdings, would put the operator in a position to roll out 4G services across India.

    With India’s telecom market transitioning towards 4G, this would allow BSNL to compete against private sector incumbents as well as newcomer Reliance Jio Infocomm.

    The 700-MHz spectrum put up for sale during India’s recent $9.8 billion spectrum auction went completely unsold – despite the attractiveness of the band for mobile operators – due to a high reserve price. Operators had already accrued substantial debts during previous auctions, and shied away from both the 700-MHz and 900-MHz bands.

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  • Bangladesh’s CityCell has spectrum reinstated

    Bangladesh’s CityCell has spectrum reinstated

    Cash-strapped Bangladeshi operator CityCell has resumed operations after having its spectrum temporarily reinstated by a Supreme Court ruling.

    The Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) revoked CityCell’s spectrum last month for failing to pay its spectrum renewal, license and associated fees.

    But the court has asked the government to restore CityCell’s spectrum and allow it to continue operations for the time being.

    If CityCell fails to pay 1 billion taka ($12.7 million) to BTRC by November 19, the regulator will have the authority to revoke the spectrum again, the court order states.

    CityCell has been operating since 1993 but has a low market share and revenue base. The company earned just 1.39 billion taka in revenue during the 2014-15 financial year. The BTRC has calculated that CityCell owes 4.77 billion taka in unpaid fees.

    The operator is 44.5% owned by Singtel, 37.9% owned by Pacific Motors and 17.5% owned by Far East Telecom.

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  • Korean Fashion Struts Authentic Style to Thailand’s Online Shoppers

    Korean Fashion Struts Authentic Style to Thailand’s Online Shoppers

    WearYouWant, Thailand’s leading online fashion and beauty marketplace, is launching a premium, Korean fashion range in Thailand, designed and made in Korea, to satisfy the ever-growing love of Korean brands in the Kingdom. Developing a close relationship with online fashion house, Atria International Style, WearYouWant is sourcing authentic Korean brands, importing these for the Thai market from up-and-coming local Korean designers.

    Just as Korean pop music as captured a huge fan base in Thailand, there is high demand for Korean fashion too. The new Korean range of cool and stylish women’s apparel, accessories, bags and shoes, is to be showcased on WearYouWant. The launch, planned for December 2016, is big news for Thailand’s online shoppers. It is also a sign of growing focus from Korea on Thailand’s rapidly developing e-commerce market; the fastest growing in Southeast Asia.

    The WearYouWant collection is unique in Thailand and has been specially curated by fashion experts to assure quality and to appeal to the country’s online fashion-buying market who are actively seeking out Korean brands. Martin Toft Sorensen, Co-Founder and Co-CEO of WearYouWant confirms that this latest fashion collection launch is part of an ongoing strategy to understand and meet their customers’ needs and a response to the market in Korea too.

    “Our decision to move forward with Korean brands is in part due to a general push for designers to expand beyond the saturated markets in Korea. WearYouWant is an ideal platform for this expansion as there is a great amount of passionate interest from our online shoppers for Korean fashions. We pride our success in being ahead of the curve with consumer trends and this is what makes our platform so vibrant, relevant and exciting.”

    This launch follows the Last Mile Fulfilment (LMF) Korea 2016 conference in September 2016, which Martin Toft Sorensen attended. The event focused on the attraction of Thailand’s solid e-commerce market and higher purchasing power for Korean brands looking to grow within Southeast Asia and succeed outside Korea’s competitive markets. Also clearly highlighted was the importance of fashion distributors in assisting Korean brands to spread out within the region and the value that this can bring to outside markets. The WearYouWant launch aims to add value to Thailand’s blossoming ecommerce market where demand is strong and expectations high.

    ATRIA STYLE (www.atriastyle.com), a powerful South Korean platform that sells contemporary fashion and beauty brands all over the world has been working closely with WearYouWant to fuel cross-border fashion and beauty relations in Thailand to build strong commerce presence between these two key retail luxury markets.

    Founder and CEO, Cindy Yun is optimistic about the future success of Korean fashion and beauty brands through the WearYouWant platform.  “Korean designer fashion is forward thinking, high quality and, in terms of production, there is a good lead time in creating output. This means that brands are stylish and affordable which greatly appeals to savvy Thai consumers. For designers looking to expand their collections outside of Korea, WearYouWant is a vital online lifeline and the e-commerce opportunity this launch entails will enable them to realize their true potential.”

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  • Indonesian consumers regain confidence in Q3

    Indonesian consumers regain confidence in Q3

    Indonesian consumer confidence rose again in the third quarter of this year in line with their increasing confidence for the government’s recent economic policies, global research company Nielsen revealed on Wednesday.

    According to Nielsen’s Global Consumer Confidence Survey, the Indonesian consumer confidence index increased by three points to 122 in the third quarter from the previous quarter, an improvement that Nielsen Indonesia managing director Agus Nurudin attributed to a positive public response to the government’s tax amnesty, controlled inflation and manageable economic growth.

    “This is the first time we moved back to 120 after one year,” he told reporters, adding that Indonesia, since the third quarter last year, always scored below 120 in the quarterly survey because of political instability and economic uncertainty.

    The survey findings also suggested that although Indonesian consumers show an increasing willingness to spend, they are getting more rationale than before.

    “They prefer to reduce their spending on expensive tertiary goods, update their gadgets less often and change their foreign trips to domestic ones,” Agus said.

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  • Tencent IBG helps local businesses attract tourists from China

    Tencent IBG helps local businesses attract tourists from China

    International Business Group (IBG) of Tencent, a leading provider of Internet value added services in China, announced today the roll-out of one-stop service advertising solutions. The ad solutions include options to build brand awareness and develop product familiarity, prior to the Chinese tourist’s visit to Singapore as well as in-market advertisements to target Chinese tourists while they are in the country.

    Singapore saw 1.47 million visitors from the mainland in the first half of this year, up 55.2% from the same period last year, according to the Singapore Tourism Board. Chinese tourists accounted for nearly 18% of the visitors to Singapore during this period. Aware of the untapped spending potential of these tourists, the Singapore Retailers Association recently launched initiatives such as the Singapore Golden Week, timed to coincide with the national holidays in China.

    “Singapore is well positioned to benefit from the surge in the number of Chinese tourists,” said Benny Ho, Senior Director of Business Development, Tencent. “Reaching out to Chinese tourists on platforms they are familiar with is the best approach for local businesses.”

    Brands need to engage early in the Chinese customer journey in order to influence purchase decisions before they travel. Tencent’s one-stop service advertising platforms will help Singapore businesses raise awareness and increase engagement opportunities with the surging numbers of Chinese tourists, even before they depart China. Tencent’s suite of advertising solutions provides previously unavailable opportunities for Singapore advertisers, enabling brands to engage Chinese customers globally and to offer an easy all-in-one advertising hub and solution leveraging both domestic and international traffic.

    Mobile advertising for mobile tourists

    According to the eMarketer’s survey “WeChat in China” from June 2016, the top two leading social media sites/chatting apps among social media users in China are WeChat and Qzone – both Tencent products. With WeChat’s position as a leading social media platform in China, the roll-out of one-stop service advertising solutions would empower local businesses to unlock the untapped spending potential and better reach Chinese tourists. Additionally, Tencent’s International Advertising Solutions can be customised to fit specific brand objectives.

    Tencent’s platforms continue to grow their influence with Chinese consumers. There are more than 806 million active users for both WeChat and Weixin today, and GlobalWebIndex (GWI), operator of the world’s largest study on digital consumer behaviours and trends, revealed that between the first half of 2015 and the first half of 2016, WeChat nearly doubled its usage rates in APAC outside of China. The leading mobile messaging app in China, Weixin connects users through its communication features with services and hardware through its open platform, including advertising, official accounts, and online to offline (O2O) payment. Mobile QQ, one of the most popular communication apps in China, and Mobile Qzone, a leading social networking site in China, and QQ Music, one of the most popular digital music platforms in China, will also provide the Chinese social platform gateway for advertisers in Singapore.

    To address communications and business objectives, there will be WeChat representatives to assist merchants in Singapore. Tencent’s IBG will provide a one-stop service advertising solutions including media planning, creative designs, advanced user targeting, ad placement execution, bid optimisation, and reporting.

    Tencent creates a robust ecosystem in China through these customised advertising solutions, unleashing the potential to reach high-spending Chinese consumers. Key advertising products include “WeChat Official Account Banner Ad”, which redirects users to an external URL through a single click, “WeChat Moments Ad”, unique native social feed style display ads for a non-disruptive experience and “Mobile Qzone Friend Newsfeed Ad” which manifests as either an article or a video and is shown in a similar format as friend posts. Thus far, Tencent has launched its International Advertising Solutions across, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, and Taiwan in Asia, excluding China.

    IBG will not have an exclusive partner in Singapore and will welcome any local partners and resellers to support marketers and advertisers.

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  • OCBC Bank is first local bank to win top honours

    OCBC Bank is first local bank to win top honours

    OCBC Bank marked another milestone in its journey towards ever-greater performance and business excellence by earning the World Class Award – the highest award tier – at the 2016 Global Performance Excellence Awards (GPEA), under the “Large Service” organisation classification. The GPEA is administered by the Asia Pacific Quality Organisation (APQO), an autonomous, scientific and technical organisation that brings together professional quality organisations from countries in Asia and the Pacific, including Singapore. For 16 years now, it has given out the Global Performance Excellence Awards – which are the only internationally-recognised honours for performance and business excellence.

    To be even considered for an Award, stringent criteria must be met. An organisation must start by being a winner at its own country’s national quality awards. Then, within two years, it must be recommended as a candidate for the GPEA by that country’s national quality award organising committee. OCBC Bank qualified by first being conferred the prestigious Singapore Quality Award by SPRING Singapore in 2014, following rigorous assessment of OCBC Bank’s consumer financial services business, and then by being recommended by SPRING Singapore for the GPEA.

    The organisations are reviewed by an international team of experienced examiners who assign scores and summarise the results of their assessment. The results and recommendations are then submitted to an international ‘Jury of Judges’ who make the final decision on which Award category each organisation wins.

    Mr Dennis Tan, Executive Vice President and Head of OCBC Bank’s Consumer Financial Services Singapore, said: “This award is an honour for all of us at OCBC, and is testament to our commitment to high standards of service quality. This is a key milestone in our journey towards organisational excellence. Since we embarked on our Business Excellence journey in 2001, we have tightened and enhanced our processes to deliver customer-centric, useful, fast, friendly and simple service to customers. This has earned us local recognition, with our 2014 Singapore Quality Award win, but we have not stopped there. We have continued to pursue even greater heights of business excellence – and this has culminated in our earning the Global Performance Excellence Award. While the team is very encouraged by this, achieving recognition is never a means in itself. We continue to consistently and relentlessly deliver quality products and services to meet our customers’ needs. Chasing excellence is a constant journey, never a destination.” 

    Mr Harnek Singh, President of the APQO, said: “Singapore has established itself as a leading financial centre. OCBC was amongst the first banks to win Singapore’s pinnacle award – the Singapore Quality Award – recently. This speaks volumes about the visionary leadership and well-entrenched, effective systems and processes that steer OCBC’s business excellence journey. With technology and innovation being increasingly a key competitive advantage, OCBC has successfully leveraged on technology and innovation as an enabler to offer innovative customer-centric offerings, cut costs, respond to changing customer expectations and create the agility needed to capitalise on opportunities in the market. OCBC has successfully offered a slew of award-winning, innovative products and services.” 

    OCBC Bank’s strengths in performance and business excellence are underscored by a focus on customer centricity and a competency in mining customer data through analytics to deliver intelligent customer experiences. OCBC was the first bank in Singapore to offer banking facilities at branches on Sundays, developed the ground-breaking OCBC 360 account (a deposit account that rewards customers with higher interest rates for banking more with OCBC Bank) and grew its youth segment – FRANK by OCBC – through intensive data analytics and research on how youths behave and desire to be engaged.

    OCBC Bank is also a leader in banking digitalisation. Over the past three years, it has introduced numerous first-to-market innovations in digital and mobile banking in Singapore to meet customers’ needs. Many of the bank’s customer touch points have been digitalised: Voice biometrics has replaced traditional identity verification when customers call its Contact Centre, the OCBC Open Account app now enables customers to apply for the popular OCBC 360 Account via their mobile phones or tablets without ever visiting a branch, and OCBC OneTouch uses fingerprint recognition to give customers quick and easy access through their mobile devices to their account balances and transactions. OCBC Bank has also launched a mobile application – OCBC One Wealth – that is a one-stop wealth management app providing customers with convenient access to market information, investment ideas, personalised alerts about their existing investments and even the ability to directly purchase unit trusts using their mobile devices.

    Mr Patrick Lim, Director of Business and Service Excellence at SPRING Singapore said, “OCBC Bank’s Consumer Financial Services Division was awarded the Singapore Quality Award in 2014 for having developed innovative new banking products and customised channel delivery, enabling it to be among the top banks in the highly competitive financial sector. Its recent GPEA win highlights the bank’s dedication to achieving business excellence. Recognition at GPEA proves the bank’s ability to demonstrate outstanding management capabilities while delivering superior performance and results.”

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  • Standard Chartered and IBM back Byte Academy’s Singapore fintech school

    Standard Chartered and IBM back Byte Academy’s Singapore fintech school

    Standard Chartered Bank, IBM, Insead, Thomson Reuters and Microsoft are backing a fintech school at New York-based Byte Academy’s first international venture, in Singapore.

    The firms have come together to form a fintech skills charter that will guide Byte Academy’s 12-week and eight-week courses for students focussing on fintech and software development.The 12-week full-time courses will provide the fundamentals for students to work on real, industry-specific problems and allow for interaction with industry partners to prepare for direct placement and job matching upon graduation. Students that graduate receive guaranteed job placements at the bank and tech partners.

    Shameek Kundu, global head, data, architecture and innovation, Standard Chartered, says: “The establishment of Byte Academy is another progressive initiative which will help to fuel Singapore’s Smart Nation ambitions by adding to the country’s great ecosystem of financial institutions, technology companies, universities and research organisations.”

    Nobuhiro Ito, director, developer experience and evangelism, Microsoft Singapore, adds: “Byte Academy’s presence here in Singapore will help accelerate skills development that will help contribute to a more vibrant FinTech ecosystem and build a stronger Singapore core.”

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