Retail News CRM

Tag: Singapore

  • Singapore’s Chinatown Point Mall Finally Sold

    Singapore’s Chinatown Point Mall Finally Sold

    Singapore’s Chinatown Point Mall has been sold to a subsidiary of Pan Asia Realty Advisors, for S$520 million (US$383.28 million). The joint-venture, including Mitsubishi Estate and CLSA Real Estate Partners, will also acquire four accompanying strata office units in the office tower element of the project.

    Perennial Real Estate Holdings and a consortium of investors including Singapore Press Holdings (SPH) have agreed to sell their entire interests in the retail complex.

    The consortium will receive S$225 million in cash for their shares in the company holding the assets as well as for assignment of shareholder loans. Perennial, which holds a 50.64 per cent stake is expected to receive approximately S$125.3 million of that amount, subject to final adjustments.

    “The transaction is a testament to Perennial’s ability in identifying quality assets, creating value via enhancement initiatives, and ultimately unlocking value via divestment for all stakeholders,” said Pua Seck Guan, Perennial CEO.

    After settlement, Perennial’s retail management subsidiary will continue to manage the mall.

    Built in 1993, the Chinatown Point project includes a 25-storey strata-title office tower next to the mall. SPH and Perennial bought a 60 percent stake in the mall in 2016, at a value of S$442.5 million.

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  • eBay and Singapore Institute of Retail Studies come together to deliver eCommerce training

    eBay and Singapore Institute of Retail Studies come together to deliver eCommerce training

    eBay and the Singapore Institute of Retail Studies (SIRS) joined forces to deliver training to small businesses and entrepreneurs seeking new and global sales channels in the fast-growing eCommerce sector. Titled “Let’s eBay with SIRS”, the full-day workshop was held at the Lifelong Learning Institute, one of two Continuing Education and Training (CET) campuses by SkillsFuture Singapore. To offer SMEs in Singapore a holistic support system to grow their businesses globally and sustainably, eBay and SIRS signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) focused on Global e-Commerce Onboarding & Education Programs.

    Singapore’s eCommerce market is expected to grow by 48% to S$10.04 billion by 2022, and a rising number of entrepreneurial Singaporeans are capitalising on the opportunity to sell their products directly to customers all around the world on eBay.

    According to eBay Head of Southeast Asia Seller Growth Wong Mei Inn, “Singapore’s cross border trade (CBT) exports continue to grow and there is huge opportunity for more small businesses to join the ranks of eBay sellers. By listing their products on eBay’s global marketplace, Singaporean businesses can reach 180 million active buyers all around the world.”

    “Let’s eBay with SIRS was designed for the small business and entrepreneur who has little or no ecommerce experience but wants to learn directly from the source,” said Wong.

    “eBay has thousands of sellers here in Singapore and over 80% of them sell to customers overseas. eBay’s focus in Singapore this year is to enable even more SMEs to sell worldwide”, said Jenny Hui, General Manager, Cross Border Trade, eBay Hong Kong, Taiwan and Southeast Asia.

    “eCommerce has been recognised as one of the key growth opportunities under the 2020 vision of the Retail Industry Transformation Map launched by SPRING Singapore (now Enterprise Singapore),” said Nanyang Polytechnic’s Singapore Institute of Retail Studies Director Megan Ong. “By partnering eBay, we will be able to encourage retailers in Singapore to adopt eCommerce and omni-channel strategies to succeed in today’s digital context.”

    Small medium enterprises (SMEs) contribute to 72% of Singapore’s employment, and in 2018, added a nominal value of S$213.6 billion, or 48% to the economy. The government has acknowledged the importance of SMEs plugging into the digital economy as it would make a noticeable impact on Singapore’s economic growth.

    During the workshop, Let’s eBay with SIRS featured speakers from eBay, SIRS, WorldFirst, Watcheszon International, JTBC Global and DHL Express Singapore. The speakers shared case studies, advice on getting started, and introductions to payments and logistics service providers to help small businesses begin their global ecommerce journey.

    Following the workshop, eBay has launched the “eBay Onboarding Program”, a series of courses with SIRS to further enable SMEs to optimise cross-border selling and manage operations. Each course will be charged at $160, and subsidies range from 70-95%. For more information on the courses and available subsidies, visit https://www.sirsdigitalcommerce.com/ebay.html or email SIRS at [email protected]

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  • SP Telecom to build alternative fiber network in Singapore

    SP Telecom to build alternative fiber network in Singapore

    Singapore-based telecommunications joint venture SP Telecom has engaged PCCW Solutions as a consultancy partner to help design and deploy the company’s planned alternative fiber network.

    The company has provided details of its plans to build an alternative to Singapore’s next-generation national broadband network (NG-NBN).

    SP Telecom, a joint venture between ST Engineering and Singapore Power Group, is deploying its network alongside the power lines operated by SP Group to create a separate fiber infrastructure to the NG-NBN.

    SP Telecom’s network will serve as the only rival to the NG-NBN common network infrastructure, offering route diversity and redundancy for enterprise customers.

    The alternative data fiber network will utilize SDN-NFV capabilities in a bid to allow users greater control, visibility and scalability of their network assets, as well as built-in cybersecurity capabilities.

    These capabilities will allow for the deployment of network functions as a service on demand without the need for costly hardware investment.

    SP Telecom plans to offer services including access to an IoT-as-a-Service platform, edge cloud resources, and bandwidth provision on demand.

    “An increasing number of businesses rely on their communications systems for mission-critical applications. They can no longer afford any downtime that can cause major problems and significant losses in terms of costs, productivity and reputation,” SP Telecom CEO Titus Yong said.

    “As SP Telecom forges forward towards providing an advanced solution that supports Smart City developments, we are confident that the consultancy partnership with PCCW Solutions will enable our plans of becoming an advanced network provider to meet fast-evolving digital needs globally.”

  • Vive Cake Boutique Welcomes Mother’s Day with Artisan Cakes

    Vive Cake Boutique Welcomes Mother’s Day with Artisan Cakes

    In celebration of Mother’s Day, celebrity-loved Vive Cake Boutique welcomes the special day with an exclusive collaboration with Israel’s premium Body Care brand Sabon, to create a special cake to join two whimsical cakes true to Founder Vivien Lau’s aesthetic creation.

    “Mother’s Day is one of the most important occasions for my team and I to honour and celebrate,” shares Ms Vivien Lau, Founder of Vive Cake Boutique. “Inspired by the strength, patience, grace, and beauty of women all around the world, we have created a line of exquisite treats to be gifted and shared with mothers all over Hong Kong.”

    Inspired by Sabon’s Green Rose collection, ‘Supermom’ (HK$680, 1lb), the cake is tiered cake dressed with a green and pink buttercream frosting signifying appreciation of the beloved mothers and elegance of women. A bouquet of roses and daisies sit atop the cake, further fine tuning its perfection. Apart from its stunning aesthetic, this delicious cake is heaven-sent for chocolate lovers as it is made with chocolate sponge cake with chocolate mousse and raspberry agar. Customers who purchase this cake will get a free Sabon Signature Green Rose Silky Body Milk sample and an invitation to join the Soap Delicatessen workshop to DIY your own soap at a discounted price of HK$600 for 2 people (originally HK$800). Those who complete the workshop will receive an additional HK$50 shopping discount upon a HK$300 purchase.

    Let the special woman in one’s life know there is no one like her with the all-new ‘Mother Like No Other’ (HK$880, 1lb), a multi-tiered pastel pink cake, adorned with flower-shaped marzipan and edible gold leafs. The cake topped with a bouquet of fresh eustoma, Kenya roses and lilies, on which the message ‘mother like no other’ float, in golden letters. Coming in three flavour favourites, including  vanilla sponge cake with white chocolate mousse, passion fruit mousse, and passion fruit jam; chocolate sponge cake, chocolate mousse, and raspberry agar; and red velvet butter cake with cream cheese, this cake is sure to satisfy the special women in one’s life.

    For those who would like to thank their mothers for all the wonderful things they have done for them, but don’t quite know how to say it, VIVE’s ‘Voted Best Mom’ (HK$580, 1lb; HK$400, 0.5lbs) shares the message for you. The vanilla sponge cake with white chocolate mousse, passion fruit mousse, and passion fruit jam, gets a new look with lavender cream, a colour which signifies love and trust.

    The special Mother’s Day cakes are available from 29 April to 31 May. To capture the convivial occasion of appreciation and sharing, a special promotional period will be introduced from 29 April to 5 May, where guests are invited to enjoy a special limited time offer of a 20% discount, applicable in both Central and Harbour City pop-up stores. Orders must be placed three days in advance.

    Vive Cake Boutique has proved a roaring success story since being launched with online orders in 2014 by founder and creative director Vivien Lau, who discovered her passion and talent by chance, making her first cake for a friend’s birthday.

    Her signature ‘handmade with love’, cupcakes, macarons, cookies, confectioneries and tailor-made cakes for weddings and special occasions, are all made from scratch with less sugar and finest ingredients sourced from all over the world.

    VIVE’s widespread acclaim includes Time Out’s listing among the “crème de la crème of Hong Kong’s bespoke dessert makers” – with a massive celebrity and socialite following including Aaron Kwok, Charlene Choi, Gillian Chung, Niki Chow, Sharon Chan, Miki Yeung, Ella Koon, Myolie Wu and more.

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  • KiKi Tea@Sun’s Bazaar Partnering Iconic Chiu Chow Restaurant Chiu Tang with Summer Pop-up Menu

    KiKi Tea@Sun’s Bazaar Partnering Iconic Chiu Chow Restaurant Chiu Tang with Summer Pop-up Menu

    Pacific Place’s popular casual Asian dining concept KiKi Tea@Sun’s Bazaar is presenting a summer pop-up menu in partnership with iconic Hong Kong Chiu Chow restaurant Chiu Tang.

    Chiu Tang’s Executive Chef Cheung Lam Por has created three traditional Chiu Chow specialties incorporating KiKi Tea’s sister brand KiKi Noodles for the seasonal promotion from 6 May to 31 August 2019. The new noodle options for summer also embrace Mother’s Day and Father’s Day for a light, healthy and affordable family gathering for light lunch or supper.

    Chiu Chow Assorted Meat Ball KiKi Noodles in Soup (Fish Balls, Beef Balls, Pork Sausage) (HK$98) redefines classic Chiu Chow fish balls from hawker stands of the 1960s and 1970s with a combo of meat balls and pork sausages homemade by Chef Cheung complimenting KiKi’s famed handmade Taiwan sun-dried noodles.

    Shredded Chicken KiKi Noodles in Soup, Chiu Chow Picked Vegetables, Mushroom (HK$98) showcases the Cantonese region’s fame for appetising cuisine with slightly sour flavour from pickling vegetables – now upgraded with premium mushroom and chicken.

    Pig’s Tripe and Pepper KiKi Noodles in Soup, Chiu Chow Pickled Vegetables (HK$98) pays homage to the resourcefulness of Chiu Chow chefs in creating nutritious yet extremely healthy dishes from humble ingredients like tripe, the stomach lining of a pig. Not only high in protein and fat-free, it aids digestion and strengthens the spleen and stomach – and is a ‘soul food’ adopted worldwide.

    Chef Cheung recommends to spice-up the specialties with KiKi Spicy Sauce, for an additional flavour of authentic Sichuan cuisine, incorporating hot pepper, premium Sichuan pepper and chilli bean sauce – free of MSG and preservatives and ideal for vegans.

    Seasoned chef Cheung Lam Por helmed Chiu Tang to Grade A status in the recent ‘Taste of Hong Kong’ awards and is frequently invited to cook private pop-ups at celebrity and socialite mansions. One of Hong Kong’s most celebrated Chiu Chow chefs, with 30 years’ experience in the craft, he is renowned for sourcing only the freshest, premium seasonal ingredients at the popular restaurant at The Galleria at 9Queen’s Road Central.

    “We select KiKi’s sun-dried handmade noodles for their exceptional texture and high quality, made without salt and dried naturally in sunlight, as authentic and traditional as you can find anywhere,” he said.

    KiKi Tea@Sun’s Bazaar has become an instant hit at Pacific Place, twinning the brand’s premium Taiwanese teas and bubbles with affordable modern Asian favourites. It stands out from the bubble tea crowd using quality natural ingredients including premium Taiwanese tea leaves, black sugar and cane sugar – along with authentic handmade pearls and pressed-to-order House Blend Teapresso.

    Popular favourites include Pineapple Green Teapresso (HK$38), Winter Melon Tea, Sichuan Pepper Flavoured Pearls topped with Cream Mousse(HK$36), Jasmine Tea, Chinese Herbal Tea Pearls (HK$33), KiKi Roasted Tea topped with Caramel and Nuts Cream Mousse (HK$34), and Brown Sugar Milk with Pearls (HK$35).

    Different ‘bubbles’ (add HK$5) beloved by celebrities including Shu Qi and Kimbee Chan include the most popular Brown Sugar Pearls; a favourite in Taiwan; Mini Taro Balls, Sichuan Pepper Flavoured Pearls with a spicy kick of ‘KiKi Sichuan Pepper Seasoning’; and Chinese Herbal Tea Pearls with prunella ‘heal-all’ tea (xia ku cao) used in Chinese medicine.

    All KiKi Tea drink specialities can also be adjusted to preferred levels of sweetness, from regular 50% down to 30% or zero, and also ice level, from regular 70% to 30% or no ice at all.

    KiKi Tea@Sun’s Bazaar is located at Shop 112, 1/F, Pacific Place, 88 Queensway, Hong Kong , opens daily from 11 am to 10:30 pm.

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  • Singtel signs cross-promotion deal with GOJEK

    Singtel signs cross-promotion deal with GOJEK

    Singtel has inked a new partnership with ride hailing company GOJEK aimed at cross-marketing their offerings and providing perks to users and drivers.

    Under the agreement, Singtel will offer GOJEK drivers who subscribe to its Combo mobile plans data-free usage while using GOJEK, as well as a 20% discount on their subscription costs and a complementary caller ID service.

    Meanwhile new and existing customers of Singtel’s digital focused GOMO plan will receive ride hailing credits worth S$5 ($3.67), and all Singtel customers will be offered other ride hailing perks.

    “With this partnership with GOJEK, we are taking our business and customer relationships to the next level, beyond just providing traditional carriage and connectivity,” Singtel CEO consumer Singapore Yuen Kuan Moon said.

    “While our customers have come to expect reliable and comprehensive mobile coverage from us, they are always looking for more value and this we can extend in the form of perks and privileges that come from mutually-beneficial partnerships.”

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  • Singapore Banks’ FX Volumes Pushed Up

    Singapore Banks’ FX Volumes Pushed Up

    Singapore banks will enjoy increased FX volumes going forward as the country grows as a foreign exchange (FX hub), banking heads said.

    «Singapore is fast evolving into a natural hub for FX in Asia with the many initiatives to promote FX trading in the region, coupled with regulatory support to encourage key market participants to set up their pricing and matching engines in Singapore,» said Lim Wee Kian, DBS managing director, head of FX.

    «FX trading activities and volumes in Singapore have increased over the past few years due to several reasons including the strong economic growth of Asia and a larger share of global investment flows into the region,» said Jose Luis Yepez, Citi head of FX and local markets, Asia-Pacific, Singapore.

    Plus, there is significant growth in the wealth management industry in the region, added Yepez. Despite the slight decline in assets under management (AUM) from $1.69 trillion to $1.63 trillion last year, Asia’s private banks have enjoyed a 6.9 percent compounded annual growth rate over the last five years, according to data from the Asian Private Banker.

    Last year, DBS Bank reported that its consumer banking/ wealth management income rose 21 percent to S$ 5.65 billion from increases in all product categories, despite a dip in the segment’s income during the fourth quarter last year. In the FX spot space, Southeast Asia’s largest bank saw strong growth, with spot volumes for 2016, 2017 and 2018 growing by 20 percent, 28 percent and 45 percent, year-on-year,  respectively, said Lim.

    «Digitisation of DBS’ FX transactions was a key driver of the strong growth in FX volumes, which started from a lower base, coupled with the strong traction from all remittance corridors of our consumer banking group and wealth management business,»  said Lim.

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  • Singapore Airlines Partners With Payments Platform

    Singapore Airlines Partners With Payments Platform

    Singapore Airlines has partnered with an Amsterdam-listed payments provider to optimize its payment processes. Payments platform Adyen will improve the experience of booking tickets online or in-app for Singapore Airlines’ customers. The payment platform also helps its customers improve authorization rates, provide flexibility on fraud risk management and richer data insights.

    «For Singapore Airlines, best-in-class customer service begins with the booking,» said Warren Hayashi, President of Adyen, Asia-Pacific. «At Adyen, we have seen that payments data can be the jet fuel that powers global expansion for airlines.  Payments data remains a valuable resource for companies who seek to understand their customers better and improve revenue,» Hayashi added.

    The partnership will center on Adyen’s solutions to optimize Singapore Airlines’ payments process. This includes the use of Adyen’s direct credit card acquiring capabilities which eliminates the need to run payments across multiple third-party platforms, increasing the airline’s payment authorization rate by leveraging on their solutions.

    Amsterdam-listed Adyen provides a modern end-to-end infrastructure connecting directly to Visa, Mastercard, and consumers’ globally preferred payment methods. It has offices across the world, serving customers such as Facebook, Uber, Spotify, Cathay Pacific, Grab, Klook, Lorna Jane, Freelancer.com, Kogan.com and Showpo.

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  • UBS Signs for New Office Lease in Singapore

    UBS Signs for New Office Lease in Singapore

    UBS will move to 9 Penang Road, where the firm will take up all eight floors of office space at the redeveloped Park Mall building.

    UBS Singapore has signed a lease to take up all the office space of the redeveloped Park Mall building at 9 Penang Road, developer SingHaiyi Group and its joint venture (JV) partners Suntec Reit and Haiyi Holdings announced on Wednesday in a press release.

    The firm, which was mulling over a move to consolidate its One Raffles Quay and Suntec City offices in Singapore, will occupy 381,000 square feet of office space across two towers and eight floors at the development, which is expected to be completed by the end of the year. UBS will relocate there in the second half of 2020.

    The 10-storey grade A office building located at the gateway to the Orchard Road shopping belt and close to the Civic District and CBD will house the firm’s 4,000 Singapore employees, as well as its UBS University, which provides training and development programmes for employees across the region.

    «The move will allow us to bring employees currently working at One Raffles Quay and Suntec City under one roof to enhance collaboration, as well as offer new capacity for future growth in Asia Pacific,» August Hatecke, country head of UBS Singapore, said in the press release.

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  • Tiger Street Lab expands brand from beer to fashion and more

    Tiger Street Lab expands brand from beer to fashion and more

    Tiger creates experiential space. Tiger Beer has unveiled Tiger Street Lab at Singapore’s Jewel Changi – billed as the brand’s first global experiential concept store.

    Tiger Street Lab expands the brand beyond beverages into food, fashion and design, in an ‘open-air’ space overlooking the world’s tallest indoor waterfall at the heart of the new shopping centre.

    “As a brand born and brewed in Singapore, we are excited to debut the Tiger Street Lab concept at Jewel, which we believe is set to become the next Singapore icon,” said Faye Wee, marketing director at Asia Pacific Breweries Singapore.

    “Jewel will be a place where Singapore meets the world and the world will meet Singapore, and we are proud to be one of the local brands that will fly Singapore’s flag high. With Tiger Street Lab, we have created an experience that represents Singapore that locals can be proud of on an international stage, leaving it up to Singapore talents to decide what that should look like,” she said.

    The Tiger Street Lab menu was created in collaboration with local music and F&B group, Timbre and Zi Char mainstay, Keng Eng Kee (KEK) Seafood.

    In addition to the beer and food, visitors can get creative at Tiger Street Lab.

    Featuring interactive touchscreens powered by digital print innovation, customers can select a series of unconventional designs exclusive to Tiger Street Lab to personalise their own beer bottle labels. The customisation station is equipped with on-the-spot printing, enabling visitors to make their picks an instant reality.

    The overall experience will be complemented by contemporary local designs featuring the iconic tiger motif. Recruited via Tiger Beer’s Roar Collective platform, emerging local artists Cyntherea Tan, Esther Goh, Chris Chai, and creative studio Tell Your Children, created artwork to provide an inspirational ambience at the Tiger Street Lab.

    Tiger Street Lab is open daily from 9am to 3am.

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  • Bossini Singapore opens new store concept at Jewel Changi

    Bossini Singapore opens new store concept at Jewel Changi

    Bossini Singapore opened a new store concept at Jewel Changi today. The fashion retailer says shoppers can look forward to an enhanced visual and shopping experience in the new store.

    The interior is fitted out with materials that resemble nature while walls are fitted with LED TV screens and an interactive Lego panel for further engagement.

    The entrance is designed with three-dimensional LED lights for an inviting shop-front.

    The store will carry athleisure wear, windbreakers, jogger pants and quick-dry tops and regularly changing collaborative capsules. Past such collaborations include Disney characters featuring on an extensive and fun range of t-shirts, jackets, dresses and bottoms for both adults and kids.

    Local souvenirs for tourists are also in the pipeline.

    Bossini Singapore opens new store concept at Jewel Changi

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  • Starbucks opens its largest store in Singapore

    Starbucks opens its largest store in Singapore

    Starbucks Singapore has opened its largest store yet.

    Operating in Jewel Changi, the two-storey flagship store will serve a mix of quality coffee experiences and localised offerings.

    Upon entry, visitors are greeted by a layered wooden storefront, inspired by the textures of coffee-farm landscapes. At the front and centre of the store stands a sprawling coffee bar shaped like a coffee bean. It is designed with cross-sectional honeycomb patterns carved on the wooden material for added texture.

    “Our Starbucks Jewel flagship store brings to life our vision for the Starbucks brand in Singapore – with the depth of our coffee expertise, our strength in store design and experience, and our pipeline of meaningful product innovations to elevate the customer experience – this is the epitome of our coffee leadership in Singapore,” said Starbucks Singapore GM Patrick Kwok.

    Beyond the exclusive local menu at the flagship, the space pays tribute to the whole coffee journey in the duplex’s lush indoor landscaping, polished interiors and artisanal woodwork. The bar features the VA388 Black Eagle Espresso Machine – a familiar sight at the World Barista Championships – which allows the barista full control over the consistency and precision in every aspect of a coffee, from bean ratio to brewing time and water temperature.

    To reinforce the local touch to the menu, Starbucks Singapore has also partnered with homegrown ice-cream parlour Udders. Dessert fans can take their pick from a series of coffees paired with ice cream, including a classic affogato.

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  • Kipling opens Two New Stores in Singapore

    Kipling opens Two New Stores in Singapore

    Kipling Singapore is opening two concept stores this month – one at the new Jewel Changi shopping centre, the other at Ion Orchard. The openings come as the Belgian accessories brand refreshes its logo and shifts direction towards what it describes as “closer to its origins, one that is cool, gender inclusive, and authentic to Kipling’s roots”. In a statement, Kipling Singapore says refreshed bag designs will appeal to a larger target group – “millennials of both genders”.

    Both new stores feature product zones with an ‘icon wall’ showing off Kipling’s most popular products and the Jewel Changi store includes a space displaying bags for travellers.

    The Ion Orchard store features a ‘Make It Personal’ corner, where shoppers can customise their bags by adding charms, straps, key rings and stencils.

    The Jewel Changi Kipling store opened last week, while the one at Ion Orchard will open on Friday (April 26).

    Paying tribute to Kipling’s history, monkey elements will feature in all new stores globally, including a monkey mural painted in collaboration with local artists from each city.

    “The monkey murals capture and tell their stories as a bridge between the city and customers,” said a Kipling Singapore spokesperson.

    In Singapore, the brand collaborated with local artist and illustrator Tiffany Lovage for its mural at Jewel Changi Airport, and with popular local Singaporean art collective Tell Your Children at Ion Orchard.

    Headquartered in Antwerp, Kipling is owned by US-listed VF Corporation, whose other brands include Eastpak, Jansport, Napapijri, Reef, Vans, The North Face, Lee, Wrangler, 7 For All Mankind and Timberland.

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  • A&W Singapore makes a Huge Comeback

    A&W Singapore makes a Huge Comeback

    American fast food chain A&W Singapore is making a comeback this week at Jewel Changi.

    The chain made its original debut in the city back in 1966 with an outlet at Dunearn Road, burt closed all five outlets in 2003, exiting the market.

    After the Jewel Changi return, a second outlet will be opened by June, and a third next year, however the locations have yet to be revealed.

    “After opening here, we wanted to be able to scale [at] such a speed it would ease the crowd at the first outlet,” said Kelvin Tan, A&W International’s director of marketing and communication.

    A&W Singapore also intends to apply for halal certification to cater to the big Muslim market in Singapore.

    “The Muslim community formed a very big chunk of our business (in the past) and I think right now we will continue to respect and recognise that this particular market is very important to us,” Tan said.

    And directly by A&W Restaurants, A&W Singapore’s menu also incorporates regional favourites such as the “golden aroma chicken” from A&W’s Malaysian and Indonesian outlets, and the “waffle sundae” from A&W outlets in Thailand.

  • Singapore is APAC’s top Smart Fiber City

    Singapore is APAC’s top Smart Fiber City

    Singapore is the top Smart Fiber City in Asia-Pacific, according to a new ranking released at the FTTH Council Asia Pacific Conference in Wuhan, China.

    The inaugural Smart Fiber Cities ranking list Singapore as the region’s Champion, due to the city’s 93% FTTH/B coverage, 100% 4G coverage and its over 10,000 Wi-Fi hotspots.
    For the regional rankings, FTTH Council Asia-Pacific evaluated cities with high FTTH/B coverage based on the innovative and useful solutions that have been developed to take advantage of this infrastructure.

    Cities were raked in two categories – champs and challengers. Champs have almost complete fiber coverage city-wide and have reached maturity in smart projects that have been deployed. They also generally have a comprehensive smart city framework in place and smart projects already in operation.

    Challengers meanwhile are actively deploying fiber infrastructure to meet their smart city ambitions, but their fiber-based smart services are usually limited to specific domains.

    Behind Singapore in the Champs category are Tokyo in Japan and Seoul in South Korea with roughly 90% FTTH coverage, followed by Hong Kong, Busan in South Korea, and Melbourne in Australia.

    Chinese cities meanwhile took the first three spaces in the Challenger category, with Shanghai on top with round 90% FTTH/B coverage, followed by Hangzhou and Wuhan. Runners up included Malaysia’s Selangor, Jakarta in Indonesia, Bhubaneswar in India and Ho Chi Minh in VIetnam.

    “The research into Smart Fiber Cities shows that we are just at the beginning of these developments. Across APAC, we see many mature projects in areas such as e-government and security, with 5G-based applications in, for example, transport and disaster management coming up,” FTTH Council Asia-Pacific president Venkatesan Babu said.

    “We have great expectation for the large numbers of pilots in areas such as healthcare, smart grids and autonomous traffic. We look forward to closely follow new developments in the coming years.”

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