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Tag: Singapore

  • Vietnam stock market daily trading value closes in on Singapore

    Vietnam stock market daily trading value closes in on Singapore

    The average daily securities trading value surged 5.6 times year-on-year in April to $725 million, nearly equivalent to that of Singapore, according to HSBC.

    The lender said in a recent report that the figure, which far exceeds those of Malaysia and Indonesia, was due to the increase in new investors and recovery of the economy.

    In March, the number of new trading accounts hit a record 113,900, taking the total to over 3.02 million.

    The economic recovery is underpinned by strong FDI flows, improvements in the manufacturing segment, and increased consumption, the report said.

    The benchmark VN-Index has risen 12.9 percent in the year-to-date compared to 4.2 percent for Asia ex-Japan.

    The index has repeatedly scaled new peaks this year after surpassing the psychological barrier of 1,204 points first reached in 2018.

    HSBC expected the market to continue to rise in the absence of alternative asset classes and bank deposit rates in decline.

    Though foreign investors have been pulling out of the stock market, HSBC said they would not be able to ignore Vietnam for much longer since it has proved to be one of the most resilient growth economies and 24 out of the 30 blue chips have still not reached the foreign cap.

    Besides, despite rising to record levels, the VN-Index remains 5 percent lower than its five-year average level with a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.1.

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  • Singapore retail sales growth eased up in March

    Singapore retail sales growth eased up in March

    Retail sales continued to recover in March as the Singapore economy rebounded, though the figures were boosted by the comparison with the situation a year ago when Covid-19 safe distancing measures began and border restrictions were in place.

    Takings at the till grew by 6.2 percent in March on a year-on-year basis, compared with the revised 5.3 percent increase recorded in February, according to data out on Wednesday (May 5).

    This made for a second consecutive month of retail sales growth after a 24-month-long year-on-year slide. Excluding motor vehicles, sales increased 4.4 percent in March. Almost all segments registered jumps in turnover, with the sales of watches and jewelry jumping the most, by 60.2 percent. This was followed by the sales of apparel and footwear, which increased by 35.6 percent. This was due to the lower base in March 2020 when there were low tourism receipts arising from tightened border restrictions, said the Department of Statistics (SingStat).

    Sales of recreational goods grew by 28.3 percent, while takings by retailers of computer and telecommunications equipment increased by 19.9 percent.

    Petrol service stations registered an increase of 18.6 percent, while vehicle sales went up by 15.6 percent.

    But sales at supermarkets and hypermarkets reversed their growth streak from last year and dropped by 14 percent.

    This was in comparison with March 2020 when there were higher sales as more people stayed home after safe distancing measures were introduced, SingStat noted.

    Sales of cosmetics, toiletries, and medical goods also fell, by 13.2 percent.

    On a seasonally adjusted month-on-month basis, SingStat observed that most retail industries recorded growths in sales.

    “Discretionary industries such as motor vehicles, watches, and jewelry, wearing apparel and footwear and department stores recorded growths in sales of between 5.2 percent and 7.8 percent, attributed to higher domestic spending given overseas travel restrictions,” it said.

    But sales of furniture and household equipment declined during this period, as demand for furniture slowed down, with more people returning to the workplace, it added.

    Meanwhile, sales of food and beverage services grew by 8 percent year on year in March, a reversal from the 3.4 percent decline in February.

    This growth was mainly attributed to the lower sales in March 2020 when safe distancing measures were first introduced to contain the Covid-19 outbreak, SingStat said.

    Restaurant sales grew by 17.9 percent, while cafes, food courts, and other eating places saw takings rise by 5.6 percent. But food caterers continued to suffer a slide in sales, of 25 percent. The total sales value of food and beverage services in March was estimated at $730 million, with online sales making up an estimated 23.5 percent. The estimated total retail sales value in March was about $3.5 billion. Of this, online retail sales made up an estimated 11.8 percent.

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  • Tech Roles Dominate Singapore Job Outlook in Finance

    Tech Roles Dominate Singapore Job Outlook in Finance

    Technology continues to play a dominant role in the development of financial services in Singapore with related functions accounting for more than a quarter of job opportunities in the sector. Technology will continue to lead hiring demand in 2021, according to the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), with 1,700 hiring opportunities such opportunities within the financial sector.

    This accounts for more than a quarter of the total 6,500 newly created positions for the year by financial institutions.

    Technology has become central to how financial services are produced, distributed, and consumed, said MAS managing director Ravi Menon in a published statement. The Singapore financial sector has harnessed technology across a wide range of functions – from risk management, business analytics to customer service.

    Within the fintech job market, software engineers were the highly demanded role by employers. Net job growth for software engineers in 2019 was 200, 10 times more than UI or UX designers. These jobs require strong programming skills and in-depth business domain and system knowledge, Menon said, noting that local citizens landed less than one-fifth of such jobs. There are not enough Singaporeans applying for these jobs in the first place, let alone qualifying for them.

    Despite the tech focus, non-tech roles remained in demand especially in areas like relationship management, product sales, compliance, and risk management.

    Relationship managers are will account for 1,300 jobs or 28 percent of hiring

    Menon noted that demand will be underpinned by wealth management growth, highlighting expansion plans by major banks like Citi and DBS.

    Overall, the financial sector posted net job growth of 2,200 in 2020 compared to a 180,000 net loss in the broader economy.

    MAS expects momentum to continue with the sector expected to add 2,500 to 3,500 tech jobs each year over the medium term.

    The size of the tech workforce within the sector is estimated to be 25,000, a 30 percent increase compared to 2014.

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  • Singapore-Hong Kong Travel Bubble Hits Snag

    Singapore-Hong Kong Travel Bubble Hits Snag

    The arrangement for quarantine-free travel between the two cities was due to begin on May 26, following two previous postponements. Singapore is reassessing plans for a travel bubble with Hong Kong after the city-state moved to reintroduce tighter social distancing measures amid a growing cluster of Covid-19 cases tied to a large public hospital. The number of cases in the cluster stands at 40 and is linked to the India variant.

    We will monitor the situation and we will review and assess whether or not there will be any changes,» Lawrence Wong, the minister who co-chairs the Singapore government’s virus taskforce, said.

    The travel bubble has already been delayed several times from its scheduled start in November 2020, as a result of infection outbreaks.

    According to the terms of the agreement, the travel bubble will be closed for two weeks if the seven-day moving average of the daily number of unlinked local cases is more than five in either Singapore or Hong Kong.

    On Tuesday, Singapore authorities announced stricter rules on social gatherings, to last till May 30, to stem the spread of Covid-19 in the community. Gatherings are now limited to groups of five, down from eight previously.

    Offices are also to implement a flexible working and more people are to work from home – only 50 percent of staff are allowed at the workplace at any one time, down from 75 percent at present.

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  • SGX Restores Services After Outage

    SGX Restores Services After Outage

    The bourse’s web pages were discovered to be progressively inaccessible across different network providers from 4:30 p.m. SGT on Tuesday.

    Singapore Exchange’s website and web-based applications were restored on Tuesday night, following an outage that took place in the afternoon.

    Its case was a domain name system (DNS) issue, SGX said on Twitter, noting that it’s trading and clearing systems are separate from the website. It also said that there is no indication that its systems were compromised.

    While it did not affect trading, the outage limited access to SGX price information and SGX-listed company announcements.

    Several mainboard companies were due to release their financial results on Tuesday evening. Users were urged to visit their brokers’ websites or alternative sources during the outage.

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  • Singapore and Thailand Link National Payment Infrastructures

    Singapore and Thailand Link National Payment Infrastructures

    In a world-first, the two countries have established a link between Singapore’s PayNow and Thailand’s equivalent PromptPay.

    Customers in Singapore with DBS, OCBC, and UOB accounts, and customers of Bangkok Bank, Kasikorn Bank, Krung Thai Bank, and Siam Commercial Bank in Thailand will be able to securely perform cross-border peer-to-peer transactions of up to S$1,000 or THB25,000 using just their mobile numbers.

    The transactions will take place at the near real-time speed at a fee that is competitive to remittance services. Over time, participating banks and use cases will be scaled up and expanded, the Association of Banks in Singapore said in an announcement on Thursday.

    Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and the Bank of Thailand first mooted the possibility of a link between their respective countries’ networks in 2017.  The announcement said the two sides spent the past few years working to align their target operating model, business rules, technical connectivity as well as legal framework.

    Wee Ee Cheong, ABS chairman, deputy chairman and CEO of UOB, said the initiative is also «an important step to connecting payment systems across ASEAN at scale in the future.

    MAS managing director Ravi Menon previously said MAS is keen to help other central banks in the region to expand the linkage, so that more people across Southeast Asia can benefit.

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  • OCBC to Review Office Space Needs

    OCBC to Review Office Space Needs

    The bank is considering reducing the number of branches and office space as it moves towards a hybrid work model.

    We may not need so many branches servicing our customers, so certainly I think there will be a review in terms of our office requirements as we move forward,» chairman Ooi Sang Kuang said at the bank’s virtual annual shareholder meeting on Thursday.

    Last year, former OCBC chairman Samuel Tsien said the bank expects fewer physical branches and offices being open in the future, as a surge in the adoption of digital banking services prompted OCBC to rethink its branch network strategy, and Covid-19 prompted a shift towards hybrid working from home and the office.

    Other banks that have permanently reduced their physical footprint in Singapore include DBS, which will give up 75,000 square feet of space – about two and a half floors out of the more than a dozen floors it occupies at Tower 3 of the Marina Bay Financial Centre; Citi, which is offloading three floors; and Mizuho, which is cutting less than one floor of office space.

    During the meeting, Helen Wong, OCBC’s new chief executive, said the bank would focus on deepening its reach into Asean markets and to capitalize on the growing Asean-Greater China flows, expanding its wealth management franchise, accelerating digitalization and building a regional sustainable bank.

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  • HSBC Singapore Offers Flexibility as Employees Return

    HSBC Singapore Offers Flexibility as Employees Return

    The bank has outlined a vision for its approach to flexible and hybrid-location working and will give its employees the opportunity and choice to return to the office.

    HSBC Singapore’s Future of Work plans will be underpinned by ensuring customer focus; flexibility for how, when, and where employees work; and ensuring that its offices are designed and used to build collaboration and networks, according to a statement on Friday.

    Forward-looking companies are change-makers. This includes creating working environments that enable employees to set up arrangements that deliver high customer impact whilst suiting their personal lives, Brandon Coate, head of human resources, said.

    The bank, which has about 3,300 employees in Singapore, has made a number of policy, location, technology, and cultural changes in the past year, including becoming the anchor tenant of Marina Bay Financial Centre Tower 2, which it moved to last year after its lease at 21 Collyer Quay ended.

    It will upgrade its offices at MBFC and at its split-site at Mapletree Business City, in preparation for a more permanent shift to hybrid and flexible working, the bank noted. This includes state-of-art design, technology, and sustainability, and moving from traditional fixed-desk seating to an activity-based workplace, where employees have a variety of individual and shared spaces available to work or collaborate with others.

    As more employees prepare to return to the workplace, following an extended period of working from home, HSBC said it will maintain operational and business continuity risk.

    For example, it is allowing a maximum of 65 percent of its total staff in the office, and not allowing cross-site deployment.

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  • First Digital Trust Partners Crypto Storage Firm Amid Asia Demand

    First Digital Trust Partners Crypto Storage Firm Amid Asia Demand

    The multi-asset custodian will work with Fireblocks, a blockchain-based platform for securely moving, storing, and issuing digital assets in the finance industry, to cater to the increasing demand from fintech companies seeking custodial solutions in Asia.

    Hong Kong-based First Digital Trust (FDT) will integrate Fireblocks’ digital asset infrastructure on its platform to improve institutional-grade digital asset custody and protection in Asia as investor interest and demand grows, according to a joint statement on Wednesday.

    Fireblocks will automate the depositing of assets into FDT’s custodial structure, which will allow it to provide more interoperable custody solutions by enabling fintech clients to instantly send money to various digital asset providers without needing to see a wallet address.

    FDT will also be able to provide investors access to DeFi, lending and staking, as well as more than 200 trading venues and 300 tokens, enabling them to expand their revenue streams from day one, the announcement said.

    The collaboration with Fireblocks will enable us to build a strong bridge between the East and the West for fintech visionaries in Europe and the US who are looking to tap into the Asian market, Vincent Chok, CEO of First Digital Trust, said.

    Digital asset trading activity in Asia is equivalent to the U.S. and Europe combined, and accounts for more than 90 percent of ethereum and bitcoin derivatives volumes.

    Since launching in June 2019, Fireblocks has opened offices in Hong Kong and Singapore, and has raised $46 million in funding to support its growth ambitions.

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  • Citi Names Wealth Co-Heads for Asia Pacific

    Citi Names Wealth Co-Heads for Asia Pacific

    Citi made a raft of new appointments to its wealth management unit including the promotion of its Asia head of private banking.

    Citi named Steven Lo co-head of the wealth unit in the region alongside APAC head of retail banking Fabio Fontainha, according to an internal memo.

    Lo was named Asia head of the private bank in 2017, succeeding ex-head Bassam Salem.

    The bank also appointed Ida Liu – most recently head of the private bank in North America – as the global head of private banking, overseeing the bank’s private capital group, global trust, and private bank global marketing operations.

    Other notable appointments for the wealth business include chief operating officer Eduardo A. Martinez Campos and chief of staff Running Du.

    Chief investment officer and global head of investments David Bailin will form a group that combines investment teams from the private bank and consumer bank globally.

    Head of investment finance for the private bank Giuliano Malacarne will expand his remit and coordinate the delivery of banking and lending products to wealthy clients.

    The appointments coincide with the bank’s reorganization of its wealth business to encompass the full spectrum from emerging affluent to high net worth clients.

    Our clients are looking for more — whether it’s access to investment opportunities and advice, tools and analytics, a focus on environmental, social and governance concerns or more engaging digital experiences, said Jim O’Donnell, Citi’s head of global wealth in the memo.

  • ZA Tech Opens Fintech Center in Singapore

    ZA Tech Opens Fintech Center in Singapore

    The Singapore-based center aims to explore financial services innovation and help industry partners in the region to build new products that will accelerate their digital ambitions.

    ZA Tech Global has opened its first Asia Fintech Center (AFC), which will specialize in solving specific use-cases in insurance and financial services in collaboration with industry partners, according to an announcement by the Chinese firm, which provides proprietary insurtech capabilities and applications

    The center will have an initial focus on insurance use-cases by co-designing innovative propositions with insurers in ASEAN, the announcement said. It will also partner with local universities to develop further fintech expertise and talent.

    The internet economy continues to rapidly reshape consumer expectations across Asia, digital transformation is becoming as crucial as ever for financial services firms, Bill Song, CEO of ZA Tech, said, adding that the AFC is an important pillar of its regional ambitions.

    George Kesselman, ZA Tech’s head of commercial, will take on the additional responsibility as a leader of the AFC.

    ZA Tech Global is the business entity established by ZhongAn Technologies International, the international arm of Chinese online insurer ZhongAn Online P&C Insurance.

    The company previously inked micro-insurance partnerships with Grab and NTUC Income in Singapore, Ovo in Indonesia, and regionally with AIA

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  • Digital Reality opens third and largest data centre in Singapore

    Digital Reality opens third and largest data centre in Singapore

    Digital Reality, a leading global provider of carrier- and cloud-neutral data centre, colocation and interconnection solutions, announced the official opening of its third data centre in Singapore. The multi-story, 50-megawatt facility, known as Digital Loyang II or SIN12, is Digital Realty’s largest data centre in the country and will bring the company’s total committed investment to date in Singapore to over US$1 billion. This significant expansion will enable local and multinational enterprises to deploy critical infrastructure and scale their digital business at the heart of a connected data community on PlatformDIGITAL.

    SIN12 is substantially pre-leased to a thriving community of leading global cloud service providers, local as well as global financial services providers and leading Southeast Asian enterprises. In addition, the new facility will introduce next-generation colocation services for regional customers in Singapore and will further expand PlatformDIGITAL, the company’s global data centre platform. It will offer customers in APAC new avenues to connect, extend their reach and uncover new business opportunities. SIN12 will offer enterprises the full spectrum of colocation services and will enable them to scale their critical infrastructure on-demand within a connected data community with optimal proximity to carriers, networks and cloud service providers. Productized solutions for network, control and data hub footprints offered on PlatformDIGITAL will help accelerate customers’ ability to rapidly scale their digital business.

    SIN12 builds upon Digital Realty’s track record of delivering sustainable data centre developments across the globe and has already achieved a Platinum certification under Singapore’s BCA Green Mark building assessment system. The Green Mark certification scheme is designed to evaluate a building’s overall environmental impact and performance and provides a comprehensive framework for assessing new and existing buildings to promote sustainable design and best practices in construction and operations.

    “Singapore is a well-established financial and business hub, and consistently ranks among the top data centre markets globally,” said Digital Realty Chief Executive Officer A. William Stein. “The opening of our third data centre is a major milestone on our PlatformDIGITAL roadmap and underscores our long-term commitment to support the country’s digital economy. The transition to the digital economy has impacted the way companies across all industries create and deliver value. There’s a growing need for a combination of open interconnection and next-generation colocation that will reduce the complexity of digital transformation. Expanding our footprint in Singapore will enable us to better help our customers enhance their digital transformation efforts and scale their digital business models regionally as well as globally.”

    Singapore is ranked fifth among the top 10 data centre markets globally, according to Cushman & Wakefield. These findings coincide with Digital Realty’s Data Gravity Index™, a recently published study that measured, quantified, and determined the implications of the explosion of enterprise data. Data gravity is expected to more than double annually from 2020-2024, with Asia Pacific expected to generate the fastest growth across all regions. Singapore is expected to be the second-fastest-growing market across the 53 global metros analyzed, driven by growth in the intensity of data within the banking, financial services and high-tech manufacturing industries.

    “Digital Realty’s continued investment in Singapore builds upon the strong existing business and investment ties between the United States and Singapore. Both countries rank highly in terms of digital competitiveness and are committed to building a robust digital economy at a global level,” said Christian Koschil, Digital Attaché, Embassy of the United States of America. “We believe Digital Realty’s expansion in Singapore will further strengthen the Republic’s standing as a global connectivity gateway. We also applaud Digital Realty’s commitment to sustainability in their operations, as tackling climate change requires a collective response from all stakeholders – in government and the private sector.”

    Sustainability was a guiding principle for the design and construction of SIN12. It will be among the most sustainable data centres in the region, with a power usage effectiveness (PUE) of 1.25. The facility will feature efficient cooling system design and controls to help minimize evaporation losses and improve water-use efficiency. It will be equipped with turbine generators rather than diesel engines and a combination of uninterruptible power supply (UPS) and lithium-ion batteries will facilitate sustainable management. The building management system (BMS) will monitor thousands of data points to ensure the data centre is running efficiently and providing optimal energy performance for customers.

    “Balancing digital growth with sustainability remains a key priority for the industry,” said Mark Smith, Managing Director, Asia Pacific for Digital Realty. “We’re proud that our new facility will help customers meet their digital and sustainability goals, with energy-efficient design and operational features. We’re encouraged by the recently unveiled Singapore Green Plan 2030 and the new edition of the Green Building Masterplan. Sustainable growth will be critical for the country to remain competitive as a leading global data centre hub.”

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  • Singapore’s Naiise all but collapses under debts

    Singapore’s Naiise all but collapses under debts

    Singapore gift and homewares chain Naiise has closed its last store – the Iconic at Jewel Changi Airport – suggesting the end of the eight-year-old brand.

    Multiple sources say Naiise has collapsed due to its inability to paying debts to suppliers, and weak sales in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic. Opened in May 2019, Naiise Iconic at Jewel Changi was considered one of the company’s biggest investments, unknowingly made at the wrong time – just before Covid hit.

    Last year, the retailer fielded multiple complaints from vendors accusing of defaulting payments. At the same time, Naiise’s co-founder Amanda Eng reportedly quit her role in the company.

    According to Today, Naiise owes up to US$7500 to vendors, many of whom have ended their relationship with Naiise and given up claims on the grounds the legal process is too costly and time-consuming.

    “My game-publishing studio has been a vendor of Naiise since 2015 and we have been owed money since 2018,” said Lye Wen Song Xeo, co-founder of Capital Gains Studio wrote on Facebook. “Promises made to repay have all been broken again and again and we had no choice but to pull our games out early last year.”

    “Covid-19 has been very hard on many of our distributors and I appreciate those distributors that came clean with us and honestly shared with us their problems and what their plans [were] if they are unable to pay us. However, shirking responsibilities and not coming clean with your vendors is honestly… not Naiise,” said Xeo.

    Despite its physical stores closing, Naiise continues to trade online and at a Kuala Lumpur outlet. Founded in 2013, Naiise had six stores in Singapore and Malaysia.

  • DBS Trims Office Space in Singapore

    DBS Trims Office Space in Singapore

    DBS is the latest global bank to offload more office space, this time in a Singapore building where it is the anchor tenant. DBS will give up about two and a half floors out of the more than a dozen floors it occupies at Tower 3 of the Marina Bay Financial Centre, according to a report citing unnamed sources. Singapore’s largest lender is set to surrender the space, which totals 75,000 square feet, in December.

    DBS joins other global banks that are shifting their operational models by reducing office space and increasing flexible working measures.

    In Singapore, Citi is offloading three floors and Mizuho is cutting less than one floor of office space.

    In Hong Kong, DBS has also dropped eight floors of office space joining the likes of BNP Paribas, Standard Chartered and UBS.

    DBS’ reduction of office space falls in line with its announced strategy to provide flexible working conditions for its staff.

    In November, the bank said that remote working would be allowed for employees as much as 40 percent of the time.

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  • Foodpanda to drive Covid-19 vaccination awareness campaign across Asia

    Foodpanda to drive Covid-19 vaccination awareness campaign across Asia

    Food and grocery delivery service Foodpanda has launched a Covid-19 vaccination awareness campaign across Asia in the lead-up to WHO’s World Immunisation Week. The campaign, which aims to reach more than 10 million people across Asia, will include a series of content across digital and social media channels, providing information and resources on local vaccination programs.

    It will be rolled out in phases across Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Hong Kong, Cambodia, Japan, Bangladesh, Pakistan, and the Philippines.

    “The region’s battle with Covid-19 is ongoing, and we have to stay vigilant on keeping our ecosystem safe,” said Jakob Angele, CEO of Foodpanda. “Leveraging existing channels with our network of riders, merchants, employees and customers, we can raise greater awareness around fighting misinformation and share information around local vaccination programs so that our entire delivery ecosystem can be informed and mobilized.”

    Besides its social media campaign, Foodpanda will also join hands with local authorities to support vaccination programs in Singapore, Cambodia, and the Philippines.

    “We will continuously explore ways to play a part in the fight against Covid-19.”