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  • Singtel and UTES Join Forces to Boost AI Upskilling Initiative Through Renewed MoU

    Singtel and UTES Join Forces to Boost AI Upskilling Initiative Through Renewed MoU

    The Singtel Group has reestablished its memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Union of Telecoms Employees of Singapore (UTES) in a move that underscores their commitment to workforce transformation. This partnership aims to prepare employees with vital skills in artificial intelligence (AI), positioning AI as a cornerstone of the Group’s strategy to drive business growth and enhance customer experiences.

    Fostering Growth Through Learning

    The MoU was unveiled at the annual BIG Learning Fiesta, a month-long celebration featuring various workshops and talks specifically designed to foster the professional and personal development of Singtel’s workforce. This latest agreement builds on earlier collaborative efforts between the Singtel Group and UTES, highlighting the shared vision of advancing employee capabilities.

    Back in 2019, Singtel made a significant move by investing SGD 45 million over three years into a development framework known as the ACT initiative, aimed at boosting digital skills across its workforce. With this renewed MoU, the focus shifts towards accelerating training in AI, emerging technologies, sustainability, and essential skills. Employees will be empowered to design their own learning pathways, adopting a skills-first approach that aims to transform roles and cultivate a future-ready workforce.

    Staying Ahead in the Skills Race

    In a further commitment to employee development, Singtel announced in 2022 an annual investment increase of SGD 20 million dedicated to enhancing training programs. The launch of Singtel 8George—a learning academy for employees across experience levels—reflects the Group’s proactive response to rapid technological changes. This ongoing initiative supports the broader adoption and integration of AI across the organization. So far, around 13,000 employees in Singapore, or 95% of the workforce, have successfully completed a foundational AI training program that covers diverse topics like generative AI, data analytics, and responsible AI practices.

    Singtel is on a mission for all of its Singapore-based employees to undergo AI training, with plans to designate 3,000 as AI practitioners and 300 as specialists. This strategy aligns seamlessly with Singapore’s updated National AI Strategy, which aspires to train 15,000 AI practitioners to bolster the nation’s AI development and innovation.

    A Vision for the Future

    Singtel Group CEO, Mr. Yuen Kuan Moon, eloquently articulated the company’s forward-looking vision:

    “AI is transforming the way we live and work, and even redefining what jobs will look like in the future. That’s why we’re moving just as fast to prepare our people for this change. This MoU reflects our unwavering commitment to helping everyone at Singtel to learn, grow, and thrive in an age of accelerated change.”

    “To be truly AI-ready, we’re putting skills first, empowering our people to build the critical capabilities they need, with technology as their trusted co-pilot. By learning how to make the most of AI, our people will be able to seize new opportunities with confidence, make smarter decisions, and play a leading role in driving sustainable growth for the business and for themselves.”

    Singtel has laid out its AI strategy to encompass three essential roles: adopter, builder-provider, and enabler of AI through its connectivity, digital infrastructure, and digital services sectors. This structured plan is set to create diverse AI-related career paths within the Group, including fresh opportunities in data centers like Nxera, which recently celebrated its inaugural Sustainable AI Data Centre Career Day in collaboration with industry partners.

    Questions & Answers

    What is the purpose of Singtel’s renewed MoU with UTES?
    The renewed MoU aims to enhance workforce transformation by equipping Singtel employees with essential skills in artificial intelligence (AI), while fostering a culture of continuous learning.

    How many employees will undergo AI training at Singtel?
    Singtel plans to train all Singapore-based employees in AI, designating 3,000 as AI practitioners and 300 as AI specialists as part of its broader strategy to embrace AI.

    What significant investment did Singtel make for employee training in recent years?
    In 2022, Singtel increased its annual investment in training programs to SGD 20 million, further emphasizing its commitment to employee development amidst rapid technological changes.

  • Singapore, UK sign MOUs on digital trade, digital identities and cybersecurity

    Singapore, UK sign MOUs on digital trade, digital identities and cybersecurity

    Singapore and the United Kingdom will work more closely to facilitate digital trade between the countries, as part of a partnership that will make digital transactions by businesses easier, safer, and cheaper.

    The partnership was deepened by the inking of three memorandums of understanding (MOUs) by the two countries on Monday (Nov 29).

    The MOUs will strengthen the digital connectivity between them, said Singapore’s Ministry of Communications and Information and the UK’s Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport in a joint statement.

    “In 2019, 70 percent of UK cross-border services exports to Singapore were digitally delivered,” said the government organizations. The exports amounted to £3.2 billion (S$5.8 billion) in value.

    “These MOUs will further support opportunities to grow digital delivery of cross-border services between the UK and Singapore, provide a basis for working closely with like-minded digital partners, and help set a global benchmark on high-standards digital cooperation to bring economic and societal benefits to both countries,” they added.

    The MOUs will also support the shared goals and key tenets of the UK-Singapore Digital Economy Agreement, which seeks to promote trusted, robust and connected digital markets for people and businesses.

    The agreement, which is being negotiated, will establish rules to enable trusted cross-border data flows and ensure high standards in data protection.

    Singapore’s Minister for Communications and Information Josephine Teo and the UK’s Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Nadine Dorries signed the MOUs in London on Monday.

    Mrs. Teo is also in London to attend the London Future Tech Forum, which aims to facilitate discussion on the role of technology in supporting open societies and tackling global challenges, among other things. Participants include governments and those from academia.

    Under the first MOU, the countries will share knowledge and implementation of pilot projects in areas such as electronic trade documents and invoicing.

    This will help drive the development and adoption of digital trade facilitation solutions at a bilateral and international level, said the ministries.

    Benefits to the digitalization of trade include improving accessibility for small and medium-sized enterprises to engage in cross-border trade, among other things.

    “The sharing of best practices will also influence the creation of secure global supply chains and interoperable digital ecosystems,” added the ministries.

    Under the second MOU, Singapore and the UK will work more closely to develop mutual recognition of digital identities between the countries.

    The MOU is “an important step in the route to achieving interoperability of digital identity regimes between different jurisdictions”, which can allow for more reliable identity verification and faster processing of applications, among other things, the ministries added.

    “This would, in turn, reduce barriers in cross-border trade and enable businesses and individuals to navigate the international digital economy with greater ease, confidence and security.”

  • 5GAA, EATA ink MOU on C-V2X

    5GAA, EATA ink MOU on C-V2X

    5G Automotive Association (5GAA) and the European Automotive and Telecom Alliance have signed partnership MOU, which will see cooperation around jointly promoting the Cellular-V2X industry in term of use cases, standardization, spectrum, and pre-deployment projects with cellular based communication technologies.

    5GAA and EATA commit to prioritize use cases that are identified from two organizations to figure out the technical requirement to be addressed from short to long term. In order to better support connected and automated driving standard, standardization prioritization for the standard bodies such as ETSI, 3GPP, SAE, etc. is necessary as well.

    The agreement between MNO and OEM is deemed important to help work out a business model and unify an industry timeline.

    5GAA is a multi-industry association to develop, test and promote communications solutions, initiate their standardization and accelerate their commercial availability and global market penetration to address societal need.

    Meanwhile, the main goal of the EATA alliance is to promote the wider deployment of connected and automated driving in Europe.

    The first concrete step is the advancement of a “Pre-Deployment Project” aimed at testing use-case categories such as C-ITS services, automated driving, road safety and traffic efficiency. The tests will identify and address both technological and regulatory issues.

    Among other important elements, the project will tackle interoperability issues as well as infrastructure investment to address connectivity needs, and the improving of safety and security.

    “This MOU with the 5GAA not only brings the different industry partners closer together, but also reinforces the European Commission’s strategy on cooperative, connected and automated mobility that was launched at the end of 2016,” said Erik Jonnaert, chairman of the EATA Steering Committee.

    “Car connectivity and automation will require a mix of communications technologies, but it is clear that 5G technology can become a key enabler of Europe’s digital highways,” said Jonnaert.

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  • TrueMove, StarHub and China Mobile enter in an alliance

    TrueMove, StarHub and China Mobile enter in an alliance

    StarHub has signed an MoU with China Mobile and TrueMove covering hand-in-Hand collaboration.

    Under the agreement, China Mobile Communications Corporation, the world’s largest telco, will play host to the collaboration in five areas: device collaboration on research initiatives for mobile network evolution technologies; strengthening complementary capabilities for data business services; enhancing mobile business through global roaming cooperation and information sharing; leveraging network resources to maximize efficiency; and co-developing new business opportunities in relation to innovation and the IoT.

    StarHub CEO Tan Tong Hai said the signing was an important milestone for StarHub, and a timely one as China embarks on its One Belt One Road project in which Singapore is well poised to facilitate the journey.

    Tan said that Singapore being the regional hub for Southeast Asia is the best place to build this bridge between Southeast Asia and China. He spoke of the investments China Mobile had made in submarine infrastructure linking the region to East China.

    The One Belt One Road project is the combination of the Silk Road and the Maritime Silk Road under a vision by Xi Jinping that focuses on connectivity and cooperation among countries primarily in Eurasia.

    Tan promised seamless cross-border experience for his China Mobile partners.

    “As part of this partnership, we will also look into other areas of collaboration such as data analytics, content, cyber security and Internet of Things,” he said.

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  • Financial firms in Taiwan, Indonesia urged to open outlets after MOU

    Financial firms in Taiwan, Indonesia urged to open outlets after MOU

    Taipei, March 12 (CNA) Taiwan’s top financial supervisor, the Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC), has urged financial institutions in Taiwan and Indonesia to open outlets in each other’s country after they signed an memorandum of understanding (MOU) to speed up cooperation in supervising financial businesses.

    The FSC inked the cooperation MOU Friday with its Indonesian counterpart the Financial Services Authority of Indonesia or Otoritas Jasa Keuangan (OJK). The MOU focuses on supervision cooperation in banking, securities and insurance businesses between the two countries.

    FSC Chairperson Wang Li-ling (王儷玲) told the CNA that the cooperation MOU will no doubt facilitate financial development between the two countries.

    Wang, who signed the agreement on the behalf of the FSC in Jakarta, added that she believed Taiwan’s financial sector will benefit from the great growth potential in Indonesia, while the Southeast Asian country has expressed interest in Taiwan’s financial market openness.

    Wang said financial institutions in Taiwan and Indonesia should take advantage of the MOU to explore the financial market in each other’s country.

    She said that is especially true as many Indonesian workers are working in Taiwan and there is strong fund demand from ethnic Chinese investors in Indonesia, leading Indonesian banks to want to set up footholds in Taiwan.

    As for the large number of Indonesian workers in Taiwan, the supervisory mechanism under the newly signed MOU is expected to help them in a wide range of financial services in Taiwan, such as money remittances, deposits and insurance.

    The Taiwanese official said that a populous Indonesia needs a diversity of financial products and Taiwanese financial institutions should go there to provide good products.

    According to the FSC, the local banking sector has set up one subsidiary and two representative offices in Indonesia, and the local securities sector has opened a subsidiary there. The local insurance business sector meanwhile has taken a stake in an Indonesian bank, the TWSE said.

    Market analysts said that the newly-signed MOU is expected to help Taiwan-based Cathay Life Financial Co. (國壽) push for a deal to acquire a 40 percent stake in PT Bank Mayapada Internasional of Indonesia. Cathay Life signed an agreement with Bank Mayapada for the acquisition deal in January 2015. Since the law in Indonesia bars foreign entities from taking a stake of more than 25 percent of any bank there and the deal has been stalled. Analysts said that the MOU could remove the legal obstacles for Cathay Life.

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