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Tag: Singapore

  • StarHub ends HFC rollout

    StarHub ends HFC rollout

    Singapore’s StarHub has announced that it will cease further rollout of its hybrid fiber coaxial (HFC) network to new residential and commercial buildings in the city state starting from next month.

    In a statement, StarHub said it will deliver its broadband, pay TV and fixed voice services over the Nationwide Broadband Network (NBN) or via its own fiber infrastructure for customers moving into new buildings that obtain “Temporary Occupation Permit” status after April 30.

    StarHub had 458,000 pay TV and 467,000 broadband customers by the end of 2017.

    Chong Siew Loong, chief technology officer at StarHub, said the telco has been steadily expanding its own fiber infrastructure in the past few years and “a significant number” of its customers already moved to fiber networks.

    “StarHub’s own fiber optic network today connects key commercial developments directly, providing companies with diversity in broadband internet access,” Chong said. “Where it is economically viable, we will expand our fiber optic network to connect more commercial buildings to serve customers.”

    Chong said StarHub will continue to help the rest [of its customers] to get their homes and offices onto fiber, adding that the company is currently reviewing its options for the existing HFC infrastructure and will inform them in due course.

    Offering Google Home with bundled plans

    Separately, StarHub has introduced new plans bundling its fixed voice, pay TV and broadband services with Google Home and Home Mini. The launch comes as StarHub said it has become Google’s exclusive telco retail partner for Google Home in Singapore.

    Starting from April 20, StarHub said, the Home Mini will be available free for customers who sign up for its new hubbing plan, dubbed HomeHub Plus, for S$68.8 ($52.20) each month. The  plan bundles four services including 1Gbps fiber home broadband, up to 77 channels on fiber TV, home phone line and mobile broadband.

    HomeHub Plus customers can choose to upgrade to the larger Google Home for S$120, StarHub said, adding that they can buy Wemo Switch smart plug at S$59 each to “augment the smart home experience”. With hands-free help from the Google Assistant, these plugs can be used to control lights and home appliances using simple voice commands.

    StarHub is also selling the Google voice-enabled speakers at a discount for existing or new customers who sign up for StarHub’s mobile, pay TV or broadband service.

    The operator will also give out a free Google Home for enterprise customers who subscribe to StarHub’s 1Gbps or 500Mbps business broadband plans starting May 1.

    The announcements came on the same day that StarHub appointed Peter Kaliaropoulos as its next chief executive officer.

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  • Park N Parcel secures 648,000$ in seed funding

    Park N Parcel secures 648,000$ in seed funding

    Singapore’s last-mile logistics startup Park N Parcel plans offshore expansion after raising US$648,000 in a seed funding round.

    Park N Parcel’s service provides “parking” for online purchases. Packages are delivered to a registered residential or commercial “parker” within a 1km radius of the buyer’s home for collection when convenient. After two years, the startup has more than 1500 parkers.

    The fresh funding will be used to strengthen the company’s core leadership team and for expansion into Thailand, Hong Kong and Japan by the fourth quarter of this year, says Park N Parcel co-founder Bryan See Toh.

    As well, the team plans to expand its client base through partnerships with e-commerce platforms and logistics companies.

    “Last-mile has always been a problem for big e-commerce players across Asia, and we believe Park N Parcel has resolved this issue,” says managing partner Christopher Quek of Tri5 Ventures, which led the funding round with a group of angel investors. “There is a huge opportunity in the $701 billion logistics market across Asia.”

    Park N Parcel, along with seven other startups, are heading to Thailand this month to attend the Bangkok Immersion Program organised by Enterprise Singapore under the Ministry of Trade and Industry.

  • StarHub appoints Peter Kaliaropoulos as CEO

    StarHub appoints Peter Kaliaropoulos as CEO

    Singaporean telecoms operator StarHub has appointed Peter Kaliaropoulos (pictured)  as its next chief executive officer.

    In a statement, StarHub said Kaliaropoulos will take over as Group CEO on July 9. He replaces Tan Tong Hai, who will step down from his roles as CEO and executive director from May 1.

    Kaliaropoulos, who was most recently CEO of Zain Saudi Arabia, has 35 years of experience in the global Information and communication technology sector.

    He has previously worked at telcos across Asia Pacific and the Middle East including BT, Telstra, Optus, Clear, Batelco and Ooredoo. Kaliaropoulos was even with StarHub way back in 2000 when the company began operations in Singapore, the Singapore telco said.

    Kaliaropoulos has also led a significant number of acquisitions and contributed as a board director to a number of telcos and ICT start-ups in Australia, USA, Singapore, India and the Middle East.

    In selecting its new CEO, StarHub said key criteria included strong leadership beyond conventional frameworks; understanding of the new market dynamics around intense competition; and one with diverse experience in the telco industry to better lead the team to deal with the rapid changes in the highly competitive environment.

    “This appointment is the result of an extensive and rigorous global executive search. As a telco veteran with a proven track record of achievements across a wide range of markets, and broad industry knowledge, the board is confident that Peter is well qualified to lead StarHub in pursuing new opportunities and managing the challenges that operators face today,” Terry Clontz, chairman of StarHub, commented.

    “My fellow directors and I are delighted to welcome Peter to the StarHub Group and look forward to working closely with him.”

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  • Google Singapore goes online

    Google Singapore goes online

    After launching its online store, Google Singapore has introduced its smart speaker Google Home.

    It has taken the technology 16 months to reach SouthEast Asia, and alongside the Google Home Mini the speaker will be sold through retail stores such as Challenger, Courts and StarHub, as well as online from tomorrow.

    There is no word on when the newer Google Home Max will be made available, reports CNet, nor if Google Home will be rolled out elsewhere in Southeast Asia. However, it was launched in India last week and in Japan late last year.

    Singapore’s version of the speaker will support Singlish, and have access to local services such as public transportation chatbot Bus Uncle.

    Google has also enabled multi-user support for Singapore, and will be able to deliver personalised schedules or music based on who is asking.

    “We’re seeing a transition from a mobile-first world to an AI-first world,” says Google VP of product management Rishi Chandra. “We’re looking to reinvent all of our products to make it more natural to use them, and we think voice is going to be a big part of that. Voice can fundamentally change how you interact with computers.”

    He says Home has been designed around Google’s privacy framework. “We want to be transparent and give user control.”

    User data across all Google platforms, including Search and Home, can be managed on a single backend, enabling users to easily view and delete their information.

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  • Telin Singapore enters partnership with SGIX

    Telin Singapore enters partnership with SGIX

    Telin Singapore has teamed up with the Singapore Internet Exchange (SGIX) to enhance internet connectivity for business customers.

    Under the agreement, SGIX has set up a PoP within the Telin-3 data center to provide low latency internet peering services to customers using the data center.

    Telin Singapore, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Indonesia’s PT Telkom, operates Singapore’s only Uptime Institute Tier-IV certified data center.

    Telin-3 is operated on a carrier neutral basis and has been designed to support growing demand for reliable and secure interconnectivity among customers operating in Singapore.

    Carrier-neutral internet exchange service SGIX was meanwhile established by key players from Singapore’s infocomm industry and has the support of regulator IMDA. The company offers internet peering services to customers including ISPs, CDN providers, cloud service providers and carriers.

    “We’re delighted to come on-board SGIX. With the ever-increasing business demand for higher bandwidth and better performance, this partnership will enhance Telin-3’s suite of services and value-add to its world-class facilities,” Telin Singapore CEO  Andreuw Th. A.F said.

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  • M1 reports flat profit for 1Q18

    M1 reports flat profit for 1Q18

    Singapore’s M1 has reported flat profit for the first quarter despite a 3% year-on-year increase in service revenue.

    The operator’s net profit stayed stable year-on-year at S$34.8 million ($26.5 million), but this represented an 8.3% increase compared to the previous quarter.

    Service revenue meanwhile grew 3% year-on-year to S$184.7 million, driven by higher fixed and postpaid mobile revenue. But overall operating revenue grew just 0.5% year-on-year and fell 15.8% sequentially to S$254.1 million.

    Fixed service revenue was up a strong 13.9% compared to the same quarter a year ago to S$31.9 million, with M1 adding 5,000 fiber customers to take its total base to 194,000.

    By contrast, mobile revenue increased just 2.6% over the same period, and total mobile subscribers decreased by 2.6% to 1.99 million.

    Mobile data grew to account for 61.3% of mobile service revenue, up from 54% a year ago, with average postpaid smartphone data usage reaching 4.5GB per month.

    Despite the lackluster results, M1 CEO Karen Kooi said the operator is in a position to pursue new growth opportunities looking ahead.

    “We will continue to strengthen our telco core with enhanced value propositions and customer experience,” she said.

    “With our scaled up ICT and digital capabilities, we are well placed to capture the growth opportunities in the Corporate and Government segment driven by corporate digital transformation and Smart Nation initiatives.”

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  • Alcheme Skincare ready continue with increased funding

    Alcheme Skincare ready continue with increased funding

    Start-up Alcheme Skincare has closed its seed-funding round and says it is set to launch its disruptive model next month.

    It will use facial-recognition technology to provide “personalised” skincare products, say co-founders Tuyen Lamy and Constance Mandefield.

    Without disclosing the amount raised, CEO Lamy says said the funds will be used for product development, marketing, market expansion in Southeast Asia, and the establishment of an R&D and production laboratory.

    Both Lamy and Mandefield have a decade’s worth of experience in the skincare industry. They were inspired to develop their own line of products during their tenure at a global beauty brand.

    Using facial-recognition technology will provide an objective and scientific assessment of skin, say the co-founders. Data will be interpreted by proprietary algorithms in tandem with cloud-based technologies and open-sourced platforms.

    “The results are then interpreted and paired with active ingredients that not only address a customer’s specific requirements but also help provide an improved and enhanced complexion,” says Alcheme.

    Its point of difference stems from its direct-to-consumer business model, with its skincare products being customised, made-to-order and delivered to each customer.

    “Achieving perfect skin is not about making the most expensive or the most complicated choice, but about making the right choice,” says Lamy.

    Mandefield, Alcheme’s COO, says that insights from investment firm DSG Consumer Partners, which led the seed-funding round, “will help us strengthen our offerings and drive our expansion plans.”

    Based in Singapore, DSG Consumer Partners has a focus on consumer businesses in Southeast Asia and India.

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  • LuxLexicon launches offline flagship store to attract customers

    LuxLexicon launches offline flagship store to attract customers

    In a switch from business online, handbag reseller LuxLexicon has unveiled its first flagship store at The Centrepoint.

    Founder Florence Low describes her company as the largest purveyor of Hermes Birkins and Kellys outside Hermes stores in Singapore, and a leader in authenticated luxury consignments for Hermes.

    Previously Low ran a boutique custom-publishing business and a luxury flash-sale e-commerce website before starting to sell Hermes handbags via her Instagram account @luxlexicon in 2016. She sold 1500 Hermes handbags through LuxLexicon last year, with the biggest sale being a new Himalayan Birkin 30 handbag fetching nearly $130,000.

    “Just as cars and timepieces are status symbols for men, handbags are seen to be the status symbols for women,” says Low. “Of all the handbag brands, the Hermes appeal is very strong because women everywhere recognise that these handbags make for good investments. They appreciate in value over time and are highly liquid when one decides to sell.”

    Her flagship store has more than 300 pieces in stock, while her clientele ranges from female professionals and socialites in their 30s to 50s, to men who buy them as gifts.

    While LuxLexicon continues selling online, but has done away with private viewings, Low believes a physical showroom will enable customers to interact with her so they can feel comfortable making a purchase.

    “When it comes to selling luxury goods, nothing beats seeing my customers in person before they make a purchase. It is hard for someone to part with a five-digit figure based on pictures alone. For that reason, the store is meant to offer buyers the chance to assess an item in person before buying it.”

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  • Lazada Singapore celebrating 6th birthday

    Lazada Singapore celebrating 6th birthday

    Online market Lazada Singapore has marked its sixth anniversary with a festival at Plaza Singapura in a lead-up to its online birthday sale, starting next Tuesday.

    Crowds attended the weekend festival which offered surprise boxes and activities at Lazada brand and seller booths. Queues formed four hours before the event opened, with more than 550 people lined up on Sunday morning.

    Lazada sold more than 2000 surprise boxes across the two and a half days in less than two hours each day. Shoppers were also able to score discounts of up to 80 per cent on flash deals available only at the event.

    A 5m-high Super Surprise Box held up to 6000 freebies worth $120,000, available for shoppers spending at least $25 at either Plaza Singapura or on the Lazada app. Shoppers had only six seconds to grab a freebie from the box, echoing the “fastest fingers first” at last year’s Lazada Online Revolution Sale, where several brands sold out all 200 units of their surprise boxes in less than seven seconds.

    Partnering with CapitaLand, Lazada aimed to recreate the online shopping experience and ensure a clear link promoting an omnichannel shopping experience. This included QR codes at brand booths linking directly to their official stores on Lazada, as well as encouraging shoppers to buy at Plaza Singapura to qualify for a gift from the Super Surprise Box.

    All the freebies were claimed. These included Philips irons, Laneige serums, whey supplements, milk formulas and Jamie Oliver kitchenware.

    During the festival, Plaza Singapura had a fivefold increase in foot traffic.

    An innovation for the celebration is Shakin’ Deals, which encourages Lazada app users to shake their phones at midday and 9pm to win vouchers worth up to $120 to be used at the upcoming birthday sale.

    “Our daily app usage spiked by 37 per cent from the same time last month, and on Sunday we generated the highest app interaction we’ve seen all month,” says Lazada Singapore CEO/head of new retail Alexis Lanternier.

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  • CapitaLand Mall Trust divests Sembawang Shopping Centre for S$248.0 million

    CapitaLand Mall Trust divests Sembawang Shopping Centre for S$248.0 million

    CapitaLand Mall Trust Management Limited (CMTML), the manager of CapitaLand Mall Trust (CMT), announced today that CMT, through its trustee HSBC Institutional Trust Services (Singapore) Limited, has entered into an agreement to sell Sembawang Shopping Centre to a joint venture between Lian Beng Group Ltd and Apricot Capital Pte. Ltd. for S$248.0 million.

    Based on the latest independent valuation, Sembawang Shopping Centre was valued at S$126.0 million as at 31 December 2017. The divestment is expected to generate net proceeds of about S$245.6 million and a net gain of about S$119.6 million when the transaction is completed by June 2018.

    Mr Tony Tan, CEO of CMTML, said: “The divestment of Sembawang Shopping Centre is in line with our portfolio management strategy of maximising returns for our unitholders. By unlocking the value of Sembawang Shopping Centre at this stage, it will realise the optimal value for CMT’s unitholders. As the mall accounts for only about 1% of CMT’s total asset value, its sale will have minimal impact on CMT’s financial performance and distribution per unit. The net proceeds from the divestment will further enhance and strengthen CMT’s financial flexibility.”

    Upon completion of this transaction, CMT’s portfolio will comprise 15 properties located in suburban areas and downtown core of Singapore. They are Tampines Mall, Junction 8, Funan, IMM Building, Plaza Singapura, Bugis Junction, JCube, Raffles City Singapore, Lot One Shoppers’ Mall, Bukit Panjang Plaza, The Atrium@Orchard, Clarke Quay, Bugis+, Westgate and Bedok Mall.

    Located along Sembawang Road, Sembawang Shopping Centre reopened to shoppers in 2008 following CMT’s acquisition in 2005. It comprises four levels of retail space – three levels above ground and one basement level – with a net lettable area of 143,631 square feet. The mall registered a committed occupancy of 99.4% as at 31 December 2017. Its major tenants include Giant, Yamaha Music School, Food Junction and Daiso Japan.

  • Olivia Burton launched a concept store in Ion Orchard

    Olivia Burton launched a concept store in Ion Orchard

    British accessories brand Olivia Burton, together with Asian retail specialist Norbreeze Group, has launched a concept store in Ion Orchard.

    For the first time in Singapore, the brand’s fashion jewellery collection and personalisation services are being offered at the flagship store. Its signature vintage-inspired watches have been available in Singapore since October.

    Olivia Burton was founded by best friends Lesa Bennett and Jemma Fennings in 2012 and named after Bennett’s great aunt. Its London studio creates detailed watches and jewellery inspired by nature.

    Norbreeze Group co-founder Anne Trads Juel Sauerberg describes Olivia Burton’s accessories as “fashionable and affordable luxury”.

    To celebrate its opening, the store will host experiential activities on Saturday. Guests and customers will be able to create floral crowns and be offered floral cupcakes. The first 20 shoppers will each receive limited-edition exclusive merchandise.

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  • Hera Singapore plans more boutique stores

    Hera Singapore plans more boutique stores

    Korean cosmetics brand Hera Singapore will officially launch at Takashimaya Department Store on May 10.

    And the brand will also open a standalone boutique store within the second half of this year.

    Hera’s parent company Amorepacific considers Singapore a strategically important market for international expansion, due to consumers’ strong demand for global brands and their interest in trends.

    Hera  launched in China, its first overseas market, in 2016.

    Amorepacific also plans to bring its haircare brand Amos to Singapore this year.

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  • New Singapore jobs portal to better match jobseekers and employers

    New Singapore jobs portal to better match jobseekers and employers

    A High-tech national jobs portal was launched on Tuesday to better match local jobseekers with employers. It can prioritize search results according to the relevance of the jobseeker’s skills, and filter results to show those under government schemes to support training, among other key features.

    The new portal, called MyCareersFuture.sg, was developed by Workforce Singapore (WSG) and the Government Technology Agency (GovTech).

    It replaces the interface of the existing Jobs Bank for users, and WSG said it aims to roll out the function for employers to post jobs by the end of this year.

    For now, employers are still to post jobs on the Jobs Bank, and the posts will be shown on MyCareerFuture.sg.

    A pilot run of the new portal was conducted with 100 users in the last three months of 2017, and the site went live in January this year. It has received 280,000 visitors as of the first week of April.

    To calculate the relevancy of jobseekers’ skills, which is displayed as a percentage from zero to 100, the system uses machine learning to analyse job descriptions and identify the skills needed.

    It then compares these with skills that the jobseeker has indicated.

    For example, after searching for “communications manager” jobs, a user will be prompted to select the skills he has, such as public relations, social media, marketing, or strategic communications.

    The job results will then be listed according to how closely his skills match what is required for those positions. Clicking on a job post will also show other relevant skills that the jobseeker lacks.

    WSG group director for Careers Connect Lynn Ng said this feature is to encourage jobseekers to reflect on the skills and experience they have.

    “It’s better than just submitting applications based on the job title, salary or company name,” she added.

    Search results also display upfront the number of applications for the position and when it was posted. On the Jobs Bank portal, jobseekers had to log in using their SingPass in order to view this information.

    The Jobs Bank was launched in July 2014 as part of the Fair Consideration Framework to boost employment prospects for Singaporean professionals, managers, executives and technicians (PMETs). Companies have to post job ads on the portal for at least 2 weeks before they can apply for an Employment Pass for the role.

    From July 1 this year, this rule will be extended to cover firms with at least 10 workers and for jobs paying under S$15,000 a month. Currently, it applies only to firms with at least 26 workers and for jobs paying under S$12,000 a month.

    So far, more than 300,000 jobseekers and about 30,000 employers have registered on the Jobs Bank. WSG said at a media briefing it does not have statistics on the number or share of successful matches, as not all employers update the status of job applications in the portal.

    It said the new portal is meant to complement the MySkillsFuture.sg portal, which was rolled out last year and caters to the wider population besides jobseekers. It provides information on career pathways and training available.

    WSG will roll out more features for the new portal later this year, such as recommending suitable candidates for employers based on applicants’ CVs, and giving jobseekers tips on how to improve their CV for each job application.

  • Singpost launches new stamps commemorating early trades in Singapore

    Singpost launches new stamps commemorating early trades in Singapore

    A set of stamps commemorating four common trades in the early days of Singapore was launched by Singapore Post (SingPost) on Wednesday (Apr 18).

    The stamps depict the samsui women, the Sikh police contingent, the orang laut and the coolies.

    The samsui women were a common sight at construction sites in Singapore from the mid-1930s with their trademark red headscarves. Most had come to Singapore from the Sanshui district of Guangdong province in southern China and are seen to be thrifty and resilient individuals who helped build Singapore’s infrastructure.

    The Orang Laut are tribes of nomadic sea people who made a living as fishermen, boatmen and rowers. They were one of the earlier immigrants to Singapore during pre-colonial days.

    The coolies were unskilled labourers who formed the backbone of Singapore’s earlier labour force during the colonial era. They were often employed in mines, ports, plantations, construction sites and as rickshaw pullers, and were mainly immigrants driven by poverty in China to seek a better life in Singapore.

    The Sikh police contingent was made up of Sikhs from Punjab, India who were recruited to serve as policemen and security personnel in the Straits Settlement. The contingent was established in Singapore in 1881 and was highly regarded by the British police until its disbandment in 1945.

    The stamps, which are available for sale at all post offices, come in four denominations – 1st Local, S$0.60, S$0.90 and S$1.30. Pre-cancelled First Day Covers affixed with the complete set of stamps are available at S$4.60 each.

    It can also be purchased at the Philatelic Store @ GPO, the Singapore Philatelic Museum and at the SingPost online store.

    The stamps are designed by Ms Lim An-ling.

  • OCBC Bank is First in Singapore to Rollout AI-Powered Voice Banking Services

    OCBC Bank is First in Singapore to Rollout AI-Powered Voice Banking Services

    OCBC Bank is the first in Singapore to launch artificial intelligence (AI) powered voice banking in collaboration with Google. With Google Home and Google Home Mini launched in Singapore today, anyone can now speak to the Google Assistant – on a smartphone or a Google Home device – to initiate a conversation about OCBC Bank’s services. These services range from planning for retirement or a new home to saving for a child’s education, getting the latest financial market updates, and more.

    At the forefront of voice-powered banking

    The proliferation of digital voice assistants is tipped to impact the consumer technology market this year. A 2018 Digital Consumer Survey by Accenture of 21,000 online consumers in 19 countries, including Singapore, indicates year-on-year growth of stand-alone digital voice assistants will increase 50 per cent in 2018, suggesting consumers are increasingly comfortable talking to digital voice assistants and smart home devices.

    The Google Assistant will provide consumers with another self-service digital channel to interact with OCBC Bank that is convenient and embedded in consumers’ lives. Consumers can pose general banking questions to the Google Assistant at any time of the day to get instant responses. This complements other self-service digital channels such as AI-powered chatbot ‘Emma’, which was launched in 2017 and specialises in answering home and renovation loan queries on the OCBC Bank website in an intelligent, human-like way.

    OCBC Bank remains the only bank in Singapore to offer voice-based banking on digital voice assistants as a medium for customer interaction and engagement. OCBC Bank has been leading the financial industry in rolling out numerous voice and conversational banking innovations for the convenience of customers. Voice-powered technology has been deployed across the bank since October 2016, when OCBC Bank was the first in Singapore to enable customers to initiate e-payments using Apple’s Siri voice assistant. In October 2017, OCBC Bank was again first in Singapore to let business banking customers check their account balances and make funds transfers using just their voice via Siri. This was extended to retail banking customers in February 2018. OCBC Bank will continue to innovate and add more banking services – payments and account balance enquiries, which require more secure access and authentication – to expand OCBC Bank’s services via digital voice assistants, in partnership with technology companies.

    Mr Aditya Gupta, Head of E-Business Singapore said: “This is the new digital – conversational, smarter and simpler access to banking. For our customers to be able to interact with OCBC services by simply speaking to AI assistants on their smartphones and smart home devices is an exciting development, and an important one as we shape the bank of the future. We are the first bank in Singapore to collaborate with Google on this game-changing service, and will continue to embed ourselves in consumers’ lives using voice-powered AI tools, which will be able to answer more questions and perform more tasks for OCBC customers over time.”

    ‘Talk to OCBC’ via the Google Assistant

    By speaking to the Google Assistant, users will be able to:

    • Calculate the mortgage loan amount they can afford
    • Plan how much to save for their children’s education
    • Ascertain how much they would need to retire comfortably
    • Get the latest updates on the financial market
    • Check unit trust prices
    • Get foreign exchange rates
    • Search for nearby OCBC Bank branches or ATMs

    For retirement planning, a user can activate OCBC Bank’s service through the Google Assistant by saying: “Ok Google, talk to OCBC about retirement planning.” The Google Assistant will then reply to the user with leading questions to eventually calculate the retirement amount required.

    The Google Assistant: “Great! It’s never too late to plan for your retirement. Let’s start with your age, how old are you?”

    User: “I’m 25 years old.”

    The Google Assistant: “Cool, you are 25 years old. At what age do you expect to retire?”

    User: “65 years old.”

    The Google Assistant: “All right – this means you have another 40 years to build your retirement portfolio. Now, imagine

    you are 65 and have just retired. How much do you expect to spend on basic expenses such as utilities, transport, entertainment and food in a month based on today’s prices?” 

    User: “$2,000.”

    The Google Assistant: “All right, $2,000 a month for basic expenses sounds good. Finally, how much do you plan to spend on vacations and overseas travels every year after retirement?”

    User: “$2,000.”

    The Google Assistant: “$2,000 per year it is. In total, it sums up to approximately $2,200 per month. Let’s compare this to the expected income you will receive after retirement. During retirement, how much do you expect to receive from investments and rental per month?

    User: “$2,000.”

    The Google Assistant: “Okay, $2,000 every month from rentals and investments. Lastly, how much do you expect to receive from CPF or other allowances per month?”

    User: “$500”

    The Google Assistant: “Okay, $500 from CPF and allowances every month it is. So, in total, you should be receiving $2,500 a month during your retirement. If you start today, you will need to save approximately $751,000 for retirement. Don’t worry, OCBC can help you achieve your retirement planning goals. Would you like to chat with an OCBC expert about your retirement plans in detail? 

    User: “Yes.” 

    The Google Assistant: “That’s great, can you please provide a contact number so I can arrange for someone to call you?”

    User: “91234567”

    An OCBC Bank customer service representative will then follow up with the user on their retirement plans.

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