Commentaries

Going green, manpower costs and the need to expand overseas are top challenges for S’pore’s SMEs

Singapore’s small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) want to go green, but the question is how, amid a dizzying array of certifications and methods, and the lack of technical expertise.

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Commentaries

Why flexible work arrangements are not so straightforward for some businesses

Some media coverage of the recently announced Tripartite Guidelines on Flexible Work Arrangement (FWA) Requests, especially in the foreign press, may have given the impression that Singapore is moving to a four-day work week, and that in the process we are somehow going to be working less or lowering our productivity.

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Commentaries

When titans clash, can Asean gain?

In the survey, the top destination for companies moving their Asian headquarters out of China was Singapore – attracting 43 per cent of such companies – followed by Malaysia. Only 9 per cent shifted or planned to shift to Hong Kong. Asean’s advantage goes beyond being a lower-cost environment, extending to its large populations, developed industries and supply chains, and high growth potential. Asean is also generally friendly to China, the United States and Europe. Its multiple multilateral trade treaties offer further advantages.

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Commentaries

A fresh approach to foreign manpower needed to tackle long-term challenges

There are some jobs that locals shun and tasks that can’t be automated. But companies can’t do without them.

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Commentaries

Forget business as usual – transformation is the new normal

Singapore must continue to transform industries, build new growth engines, and strengthen its “TICK” quotient.

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Commentaries

Budget 2024: Short on expertise, small local firms face challenges in utilising schemes

Supporting SMEs to stay competitive and build capabilities must remain a national priority to avoid a two-track economy of big innovative firms and a backwater of local firms. 

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