Retail News CRM

Tag: Singapore

  • Singapore Launches World’s First Public Digital Infrastructure

    Singapore Launches World’s First Public Digital Infrastructure

    The Monetary Authority of Singapore and the Smart Nation and Digital Government Group launched the Singapore Financial Data Exchange. This initiative will enable Singaporeans to consolidate their financial information for more effective financial planning.

    The Smart Nation and Digital Government Group (SGFinDex) is the world’s first public digital infrastructure to use a national digital identity and centrally managed online consent system. This enables individuals to access, through applications, their financial information held across different government agencies and financial institutions.

    Built on Singapore’s National Digital Identity (SingPass), SGFinDex was developed by the public sector in collaboration with The Association of Banks in Singapore and seven participating banks.

    Banks in Singapore have always been at the forefront of digital innovation, creating online products and services that serve our customers well in a seamless and convenient manner. ABS and the 7 participating banks are pleased to have participated in the world’s first public-private-partnership in building a public digital infrastructure, that is underpinned by a national digital identity and online consent framework, to help our customers manage their finances holistically. SGFinDex not only showcases Singapore banks’ digital abilities but also our financial planning capabilities,» Samuel Tsien, Chairman, ABS and Group CEO of OCBC Bank, said.

    With SGFinDex, individuals can use their SingPass to retrieve their personal financial information (such as deposits, credit cards, loans, and investments) from the participating banks and their financial information (such as HDB loans and CPF balances) from the relevant government agencies. This will help individuals better understand their overall financial health and plan their finances holistically.

    In the next phase of SGFinDex, individuals will be able to access information on their insurance policies held with insurers and their holdings of stocks at the Central Depository.

    The Ministry of Manpower and GovTech have developed a digital financial planning service, MyMoneySense, that makes use of SGFinDex to provide Singaporeans with an overview of their finances. It will offer trusted, personalised and actionable guidance for more effective and comprehensive financial planning. Members of the public can use MyMoneySense to plan their finances at www.mymoneysense.gov.sg.

    Today, our personal financial information is fragmented across multiple entities, and we often take financial decisions, like making an investment or buying a house, without a holistic view of our financial situation. SGFinDex empowers the individual to consolidate his financial information for a comprehensive view of his portfolio, and use digital tools like MyMoneySense to make better financial decisions. SGFinDex is a tangible expression of harnessing digital technology to enhance the financial well-being of Singaporeans, Ravi Menon, Managing Director, MAS, said.

    Lees ook:

  • Blockchain Ecosystem Report Lanuched

    Blockchain Ecosystem Report Lanuched

    The Singapore Blockchain Ecosystem Report 2020, launched at this year’s Singapore FinTech Festival x Singapore Week of Innovation and TeCHnology, highlights impactful developments and trends in Singapore’s blockchain ecosystem over the last year.

    The report is co-presented by OpenNodes, Temasek, IBM, PwC Singapore, EY, and SGTech, and supported by the Infocomm Media Development Authority and the Monetary Authority of Singapore. It highlights Singapore’s lively blockchain research landscape due to active contributions from both academic institutions and the private sector.

    The report also showcases how COVID-19 has accelerated the application of blockchain technology, which is being used to verify health credentials amid the pandemic.

    It features a bibliometric analysis of blockchain-related scientific publications, showcasing Singapore’s pioneering progress in driving both high quality and quantity research in the field of blockchain technology. It concludes that Singapore has produced the highest number of research publications on the subject in ASEAN, and the third-highest in the world.

    PwC Singapore conducted a survey for the Singapore Blockchain Ecosystem Report 2020 to assess the developments of blockchain-related activities in Singapore. Results showed that blockchain emerged as one of the top three technology trends in Singapore for 2021, with 70 percent of the respondents showing support for the technology. The survey also ranked Si

    Lees ook:

    Lees ook:

  • Singapore Airlines unveils new short-haul economy catering

    Singapore Airlines unveils new short-haul economy catering

    Singapore Airlines passengers will see a change to short-haul economy class catering as the carrier ditches casseroles and appetizers in favour of boxed meals. Beginning on December 1, flights under three and a half hours will feature a rotation of more than 40 new Singaporean and international dishes.

    Economy class passengers on Silkair, a subsidiary of SIA, will also see the same catering changes as the regional carrier edges closer to fully merging with its parent.

    SIA’s new meal concept follows a broader trend among industry peers to shake up the economy class dining experience. In recent years, Delta and Qantas, for instance, have moved towards bistro-style catering on international flights with an emphasis on quality over quantity.

    Yeoh Phee Teik, senior vice president customer experience at Singapore Airlines, commented:

    “We are delighted to be able to offer a greater variety and quality of meals on our short-haul flights, including selections from Singapore’s popular local favorites that we hope both Singaporeans and international customers will find familiar and comforting.”

    The revamped breakfast dishes on SIA flights include congee with pork ball and century egg, mee siam, and pear cinnamon steel-cut oat porridge. Outside of meal hours, soups such as beef barley, beef goulash, and white bean with smoked duck, will be served.

    Meanwhile, flights featuring lunch or dinner will serve heartier courses including beef brisket with egg noodles, laksa goreng, and lamb albondigas. This is complemented by a variety of cakes for dessert, such as pulut hitam (pictured above) and earl grey chiffon.

    SIA said the new meal concept will help reduce the amount of inflight waste. By opting for leak-proof paper boxes, bamboo cutlery, and a simplified meal-offering, the airline will reduce single-use plastic consumption by 80 percent by weight.

    The boxed meals hold the same amount of food as the previous casseroles, according to the airline. However, SIA will remove appetizers such as bread rolls and fresh fruit portions, previously standard with economy class meals, as part of the new concept.

    A SIA spokesperson said:

    “We have done an extensive research to understand our customers’ preferences. From this, we have learned that most customers prefer a larger portion of the main course compared to an appetizer. We also found that there was high waste of appetizers, especially on short-haul flights. As such, we have removed the appetizers in [short-haul] economy class as part of efforts to reduce food waste.”

    Lees ook:

  • Singapore Beefs Up Wealth Management Talent Pipeline

    Singapore Beefs Up Wealth Management Talent Pipeline

    The Private Banking Industry Group launches a talent development initiative aimed at undergraduate students in Singapore.

    The Private Banking Industry Group (PBIG) in Singapore will look to «enhance the employability and job readiness of students entering the workforce» by offering 200 undergraduate traineeship positions over the next three years, according to a statement.

    Training will be related to in-demand roles such as relationship managers, product managers, data analysts, business risk managers and cybersecurity analysts.

    The PBIG is made up of industry leaders in the city-state, including 14 banks, and is currently co-chaired by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and UBS.

    Candidates will be selected from a relevant program, of which 30 percent of the duration will be dedicated to the traineeship.

    The longer traineeship period will allow banks to develop more meaningful structured on-the-job training to complement the academic courses taken by the trainees, allowing them to be better equipped for full-time roles upon graduation, and stand a better chance to pursue a career in the wealth management sector, the statement said.

    Supporting financial institutions will benefit from a scheme that will fund 80 percent of the internship stipend, capped at $1,000 ($750) per month, for each trainee.

    The initiative, entitled Build, Encourage, Nurture (BEN), is being driven in response to both the growth and diversity in demand for talent within the financial services.

    The initiative will provide a sustainable pipeline of job-ready talent to Singapore’s private banking industry, which is essential for the sector’s growth, said Gillian Tan, an assistant managing director at MAS.

    We believe that to stay competitive in an ever-changing and disruptive future, it is critical for the industry to develop and nurture a workforce of the future with the right sustainable skills that can further enhance the financial industry and Singapore’s role as a key global financial center, added August Hatecke, APAC co-head of wealth management at UBS.

    Lees ook:

  • Singapore Beefs Up Wealth Management Talent Pipeline

    Singapore Beefs Up Wealth Management Talent Pipeline

    After a deadly pandemic wiped out most revenue for the year, Macau’s gaming industry could face a permanent structural shift with the potential introduction of a new system to exchange digital yuan for gambling chips.

    Macau’s watchdog, the Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau, has been in talks with various casino operators over the usage a digital yuan to buy casino chips, according to a report citing unnamed sources.

    The discussions are still in the initial stages and no final decision has yet to be made.

    Currently, tourists entering Macau to gamble commonly use two methods to obtain casino chips. One method is to obtain chips by converting Hong Kong dollars (which is widely accepted in the fellow special administrative region). Another is to obtain credit often from junket providers, a method commonly used by mainland high rollers to sidestep Chinese capital control rules.

    By introducing the digital yuan and enforcing it as the medium to exchange casino chips, authorities risk disrupting Hong Kong dollar flows and, more importantly, putting junkets out of business.

    In addition to hurting service providers in the middle, imposing a digital yuan would significantly increase the transparency of money flows from the mainland to Macau.

    Industry watchers are concerned not only about the lack of privacy for gamblers but also the potential of a conversion cap to expand the coverage of mainland China’s capital control rules.

    Although some believe the introduction of the move could boost Chinese middle-class participation in Macau’s gambling sector through the ease of conversion, others expect a fallout in the casino hub due to its strong reliance on high rollers that need financial flexibility.

    The report added that the increased exposure to casinos in Russia and the Philippines by Suncity Group, the listed arm of Macau’s biggest junket operator and the recent mystery buyer of cigar brands like Cohiba, was a response to changes such as the potential implementation of the digital yuan, citing another unnamed source.

    Gaming revenue in Macau has plunged by $27 billion this year, down at least 90 percent for six straight months since March.

    Lees ook:

    Lees ook:

  • Dell backtracks on Singapore retail exit, leaving Malaysia

    Dell backtracks on Singapore retail exit, leaving Malaysia

    According to the company, they will transition out of the retail market in Singapore and Malaysia; however, customers can still purchase items via the company’s online store. An internal memo revealed the company’s intention, stating that they will cease their bricks-and-mortar retail locations in these two countries, following a review of a number of the markets they currently operate in. As a result of this withdrawal, new orders will no longer be accepted by Dell from retail stores; however, any existing contracts and agreements will still be honored by the company.

    Although customers will not be able to purchase new Dell products in physical outlets, they will still be able to purchase these via their online store and will be able to get their hands on older products and product lines in a number of retail locations.

    The company commented: “Dell Technologies has announced plans to transition out of the retail market in Singapore and Malaysia. Customers will still have access to the full complement of our products and services through Dell direct.”

    Lees ook:

  • UOB to Launch FX Engine

    UOB to Launch FX Engine

    The bank joins other major FX participants in serving strong institutional FX flows in Asia, as the republic aims to boost its role as the global FX price discovery and liquidity hub in the Asian time zone.

    UOB will launch an electronic foreign exchange (FX) pricing and trading engine in Singapore, which will enable clients to tap the available market liquidity with greater efficiency, in the second quarter of 2021, the bank announced on Monday in a statement.

    The FX trading engine will take advantage of reduced latency via co-location connectivity to improve price discovery and to enhance pricing capability. Leslie Foo, UOB’s head of group global markets, said the bank is looking forward to playing a major role in Singapore’s fast-growing FX e-trading ecosystem.

    Under the Monetary Authority of Singapore’s (MAS) FX Trading Hub strategy, which aims to cement Singapore as the top FX trading center in Asia Pacific, firms like Barclays, J.P. Morgan, Standard Chartered, UBS, Citi, BNP Paribas, Euronext, Jump Trading and XTX Markets have built their own regional trading infrastructure in the city-state.

    It remains a key priority for MAS to further broaden and deepen our FX market, and we welcome more buy-side participants to join the fast-growing FX e-trading ecosystem in Singapore, Lim Cheng Khai, MAS executive director financial markets development, said in the announcement

    Lees ook:

  • Singapore Banks Unite to Boost Commodity Financing Standards

    Singapore Banks Unite to Boost Commodity Financing Standards

    The ABS Code of Best Practices for Commodity Financing, launched with the support of the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), Enterprise Singapore (ESG) and Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (ACRA), is the industry’s first set of commodity financing best practices.

    The Association of Banks in Singapore (ABS) has launched a set of best practices to ensure a more robust and disciplined financing approach to support the growth of Singapore’s commodity trading sector, it announced on Monday.

    Developed with feedback from a diverse range of commodity trading companies and an industry working group of 28 banks, the Code lays out key principles governing prudent commodity trade financing practices, providing a benchmark for banks’ lending standards in the sector to help enhance the resilience, relevance and competitiveness of Singapore as a global commodity trading hub.

    The Code is designed to provide broad guidance to banks, which are expected to ensure that appropriate policies and procedures, as well as controls, are in place to observe the principles in the Code in a risk proportionate manner, ABS said

    Samuel Tsien, chairman of ABS and Group CEO of OCBC, said the Code is «an important step to strengthen Singapore’s stature as a global commodity trading hub.»

    The Code is a step in the right direction to boost corporate transparency and enhance the trust between the banks and commodity trading companies. This will help to promote accountability and uphold the integrity of the commodity trading sector, Andy Sim, ACRA’s assistant chief executive, legal services and compliance, said in the announcement.

    Singapore’s oil trading sector has come under the spotlight since the commodity’s plunge earlier this year as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, with several trading firms having trouble repaying their debts. Numerous banks including HSBC, DBS, OCBC, Societe Generale and ABN AMRO, were owed a total of $3.8 billion by oil trader Hin Leong, while Zenrock owes at least six banks a total of $166.1 million and has outstanding balances of $449 million

  • Singapore’s retail recovery remains to be seen

    Singapore’s retail recovery remains to be seen

    Shortly after the outbreak, e-commerce sales surged in many countries as consumers avoided crowded places and social distancing measures kicked in.

    In Singapore, a surge in online grocery sales overwhelmed booking systems. Demand for online food delivery soared, requiring operators to expand their workforce. Retailers, ranging from home furnishings to healthcare products and electronics, also saw a rise in online sales.

    Many shoppers, staying at home, buying online for the first time, and discovering the ease of online shopping, could form new digital habits, which may become permanent. This could propel the surge in online shopping to the next level, especially in Singapore, where the internet penetration rate is high and the online market share of retail sales is still low (8.5% in March 2020, according to SingStats), compared to developed countries.

    Amid rapid structural changes, retailers accelerated the adoption of e-commerce strategies. Some outsourced their online businesses by partnering with large established e-commerce marketplaces that offer integrated services, ranging from hosting product listings to sales, payment, inventory management, delivery and tracking. This minimises their capital commitment and administrative burden in the face of a liquidity crunch amid the pandemic. Robinsons partnered with Lazada to expand its e-commerce reach, for example.

    Many F&B players partnered with food logistics operators, including GrabFood and FoodPanda, or logistics providers, Lalamove and Zeek, while others looking to establish a stronger online presence built their own e-commerce platform. A new digital platform offered by DBS Bank built a branded e-menu with an integrated shopping cart, order management and payment platform within three business days. The service includes connecting merchants with logistics partners to offer food delivery services.

    Nevertheless, post-pandemic, consumers will return to physical stores for real-life shopping experiences. Frustrated shoppers without a grocery delivery slot may return to the supermarket.

    According to SingStat, the online market share of grocery sales in Singapore for March 2020 has fallen to 7.5%, from 7.8% and 8.5% in January and February 2020, respectively. The surge in food delivery may ease as some consumers prefer to enjoy the full dining experience in a restaurant ― when safe ― rather than eating out of takeaway boxes. Shoppers generally desire the “look, touch and feel” experience of buying.

    However, concern about pandemic safety is set to continue. Restoring shoppers’ confidence regarding their safety is key to driving foot traffic back into physical stores. Industry players need to enforce safe distancing and hygiene rules and step up efforts on contactless buying initiatives such as self-checkout and cashless payment options.

    Shoppers will also have reduced spending power amid the economic downturn. Industry players need to revamp their offerings at accessible pricing to widen the consumer base and target promotions towards visiting stores upon their reopening.

    Incorporating in-store strategies for pent-up demand, alongside an omnichannel strategy for the medium-term, could drive a post-pandemic recovery of the retail market in Singapore.

    Lees ook:

  • Revolut Singapore Compliance Chief Joins Swiss Private Bank

    Revolut Singapore Compliance Chief Joins Swiss Private Bank

    He leaves the fintech a little over a year after he joined from Credit Suisse.

    Rayson Tan, who joined Revolut Singapore in September 2019, has left the company. Tan joined the fintech as chief compliance officer, and was later appointed chief risk officer and head of legal in April 2020.

    Since his departure, Tan has taken on a new role at Geneva-based private bank Pictet as chief risk officer, Asia. A spokesperson for Pictet confirmed the appointment as of 4 November 2020.

    Based in Singapore, Tan is responsible for overseeing the firm’s risk management framework across Asia, covering all key risks (including strategic, operational, regulatory, financial, reputational, etc.), as well as management of its Risk and Compliance teams.

    Tan was one of Revolut’s most senior hires. He spent 18 years in banking, and was a managing director in the Compliance & Regulatory Affairs department of Credit Suisse.

    He was previously with Deutsche Bank and UBS Investment Bank in various country, regional and global compliance roles.

  • Dell quits retail in Singapore, Malaysia moving online only

    Dell quits retail in Singapore, Malaysia moving online only

    It appears retail stores in Malaysia and Singapore will not be carrying Dell products in the near future. According to an official statement from the company, Dell will “transition out of the retail market in Singapore and Malaysia,” though that doesn’t mean you cannot buy a Dell laptop anymore in these two markets.

    This news was first shared by Lowyat.NET, which has received an internal memo sent to Dell retailer partners in Malaysia and Singapore. According to the memo, Dell is exiting the retail market in these two countries after the company reviewed its presence in a number of regions. As such, effective immediately, Dell will no longer accept new orders from retail stores.

    Of course, any form of an existing contractual agreement between Dell and its retail partners – as well as customers – will still be honored despite this move.

    Now, it’s worth noting that this does not mean retail stores will immediately cease the sales of Dell products. You can still head to your local retail store and pick up a Dell laptop, but if you want the latest product offerings from the company, you can only get them from Dell’s Malaysian online store.

    Speaking of which, that will be the only channel to get new Dell products – for those in Malaysia and Singapore – moving forward. These include the latest XPS 13 and XPS 13 2-in-1 with Intel’s 11th generation Tiger Lake processors. Basically, retail stores will only be carrying older Dell products from now on.

    In the grand scheme of things, this does not affect the availability of Dell products in Malaysia and Singapore; you can still purchase them directly from the company on its online store. Of course, this does mean you won’t be able to try out new Dell laptops at retail stores in the near future.

    Lees ook:

  • Singapore and Philippines to Boost Data Connectivity

    Singapore and Philippines to Boost Data Connectivity

    Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas and the Monetary Authority of Singapore have agreed to promote the adoption and implementation of policies to aggregate, store, process, and transmit data across borders for banks and non-bank financial institutions.

    While the increasing use of data in financial services and the increasing use of technology to supply financial services offer a range of benefits, they also pose new and complex risks for markets and challenges for policymakers and regulators, the two sides said in a joint announcement on Monday.

    Data mobility in financial services supports economic growth and the development of innovative financial services, and benefits risk management and compliance programs, by enabling stronger supervision of cross-border money laundering, terrorist financing patterns, and proliferation financing while strengthening defense against cyberattacks and allowing the regulators to manage and assess risk on a global basis, the statement noted.

    The two regulators said that covered institutions should be allowed to transfer data, including personal information, across borders by electronic means to facilitate business activities, and the location where covered institutions can store and process their data should not be restricted as long as BSP and MAS have full and timely access to the data necessary to fulfill their regulatory and supervisory mandate.

  • Singapore to Raise Standards for Issue Managers

    Singapore to Raise Standards for Issue Managers

    The Association of Banks in Singapore has announced revised due diligence guidelines for companies planning to list on the Singapore Exchange, with immediate effect.

    Last revised in 2016, the new set of guidelines set out expectations and recommendations on due diligence work that issue managers and full sponsors carry out during the initial public offer (IPO) / reverse takeover (RTO) and listing process.

    They were developed in close collaboration with the Singapore Exchange Regulation (SGX RegCo).

    Key updates include: An increased focus on the assessment of the adequacy and effectiveness of the issuer’s internal controls to meet its business needs and challenges as a listed company; the assessment of the sustainability and viability of the issuer’s business; and targeted guidelines for due diligence on issuers operating in specialized, restricted or niche industries, and/or in higher-risk jurisdictions.

    Ong-Ang Ai Boon, director at the Association of Banks in Singapore (ABS), said the revised guidelines are necessary to ensure they are relevant to the constantly changing economic climate.

    With the increase in issuers from more nascent sectors such as technology that are seeking equity capital, it becomes especially important for issue managers, full sponsors and their professionals to adapt due diligence practices that address the particular needs of

    Lees ook:

  • Singapore and Indonesia Central Banks Extend Swap Arrangement

    Singapore and Indonesia Central Banks Extend Swap Arrangement

    The extension will support monetary and financial stability in both countries amid the COVID-19 pandemic, MAS said.

    Bank Indonesia (BI) and the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) have agreed to extend a $10 billion bilateral financial arrangement for another year, MAS announced on Thursday.

    This is the second extension of the arrangement, which was launched in 2018 for one year. It enables the two central banks to access foreign currency liquidity from each other, if needed, to preserve monetary and financial stability.

    It comprises a local currency bilateral swap agreement that allows for the exchange of local currencies between the two central banks of up to S$9.5 billion or IDR 100 trillion ($7 billion equivalent), and an enhanced bilateral repo agreement of $3 billion that allows for repurchase transactions between the two central banks to obtain USD cash using G3 government bonds as collateral.

  • Hong Kong and Singapore Split on Crypto Future

    Hong Kong and Singapore Split on Crypto Future

    Asia’s two marquee global financial hubs have hit a fork in the road of crypto assets and they appear to be heading in different directions.

    Last year, the local chief securities watchdog, Ashley Alder, also chose the FinTech Week to reveal a so-called «opt-in» regime for crypto asset trading platforms, which allowed operators to choose whether or not they wanted to be regulated by the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC). This was due to the fact that some crypto assets cannot be strictly classified as securities.

    This is about to change, Alder said earlier this week, also during the FinTech Week.

    Today, the Government proposed a new licensing regime under the Anti-Money Laundering Ordinance for platforms that trade any type of crypto-asset, even if none are classified as securities. So if they are operating in Hong Kong, or target Hong Kong investors, they would need to apply for an SFC license. Failure to do so would be an offense.

    In addition to licensing, the proposed rules will also ban retail investors from trading crypto assets, limiting access to professional investors which includes the requirement to have a minimum of $1 million.

    Given the risks involved, the proposal is that they should offer their services to professional investors only, at least initially, Alder said.

    Simply speaking, we will require all virtual asset trading platforms to be operating transparently, like working under the sunlight, added Christopher Hui Ching-yu, Hong Kong’s secretary for financial services and the treasury.

    Meanwhile, Singapore continues to take a liberal approach to allow operators to develop more freely and organically.

    Although there were moments when the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) stepped in to rein in on the market – in 2018 it returned funds to Singapore-based investors of an unnamed initial coin offering (ICO) which it considered a security – the regulator has yet to issue licenses to operators nor has it taken a strict stance, unlike Hong Kong, on crypto assets that aren’t classified as securities.

    Even major exchanges like Coinbase and Binance operate in the city-state and have been granted temporary exemptions from holding a license.

    MAS: Investor Responsibility

    On investor protection, Hong Kong authorities made the choice to decide for retail investors when or if access would be appropriate. This is an area where the MAS has also taken a decidedly different route, preferring to promote investor responsibility while encouraging more education and prudence.

    In fact, the MAS’ Capital Markets assistant managing director Lee Boon Ngiap provided a simple and straightforward warning: The public should be aware that there is no regulatory safeguard if they choose to trade on unregulated digital token exchanges or invest in digital tokens that fall outside of the remit of MAS rules.

    And under the MAS’ regulatory, Singapore has rapidly emerged as a global leader in the crypto asset industry.

    It is currently home to 234 entities involved in blockchain including Mastercard, VISA, Ant Financial, Tencent-backed WeBank, Facebook-backed Libra, and more with Ripple now shortlisting the city-state for its headquarter relocation. Even Singapore’s largest lender, DBS, is reportedly cooperating with regulators to potentially launch a cryptocurrency trading with retail access.

    The subsequent outcome has been the rapid establishment of Singapore as a global crypto market leader. Despite having a population of just 6 million, Singapore is second worldwide in the number of ICOs and ICO value ($2.5 billion), according to data from ICObench, only behind the U.S.

    Lees ook: