Posted on

Samsung Singapore Launches Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S9+

Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. introduces the Samsung Galaxy S9 and S9+ this month. The new phones are redesigned with a new Dual Aperture lens that powers an innovative low light camera, Super Slow-mo video capabilities and personalized AR Emoji.

Samsung unveil Galaxy S9 and S9+

First Impression – What’s New in Galaxy S9 and S9+ compared to S8 and S8+?

In terms of hardware, the most notable difference is the overall dimension and weight. The Galaxy S9 and S9+ is slightly shorter  and wider than its predecessor making the device looks less elongated.

The Galaxy S9 and S9+ are also slightly thicker and heavier than the S8 and S8+. (S9/S9+ is 8.5mm thick and weighs 163g and 189g respectively, S8/S8+ is 8.0mm thick and weights 155g and 173g) . This is probably due to the new Super Speed Dual Pixel 12MP AF camera sensor with OIS (F1.5/F2.4) used in the Galaxy S9 and S9+. Despite the slight difference in the overall dimension, the Galaxy S9 and S9+ shared the same display size of the Galaxy S8 and S8+.

The camera, which is the main selling point of this year’s Galaxy S9 and S9+, is packed with Samsung’s Dual Aperture (F1.5 / F2.4) that automatically lets in more light under low-light condition. Like Sony’s Xperia range of smartphones, Samsung has included Super Slow-mo features in Galaxy S9 and S9+ to allow users to take dramatic slow-motion video.

Having packed with new enhancement in Galaxy S9 and S9+, faster processors (10nm, 64-bit, Octa-core processor (2.7 GHz Quad + 1.7 GHz Quad) 10nm, 64-bit, and Octa-core processor (2.8 GHz Quad + 1.7 GHz Quad) respectively ) are used to power the devices.

Samsung adds AR Emoji in Galaxy S9 and S9+ which allows users to create an emoji that looks, sounds and acts like them. AR Emoji analyzes a 2D image of the user and maps out more than 100 facial features to create a 3D model that reflects and imitates expressions, like winks and nods, for true personalization.

 

Overall, my first impression on Galaxy S9 and S9+ – the phone looks and feels like the Galaxy S8 and S8+. Comparing the specifications, slight enhancement made in Galaxy S9 and S9+ may not attract consumers. Nonetheless, first impression may not do any justice to Samsung.

Price and Availability

The Galaxy S9 (64GB) is selling at SGD 1,198 whereas Galaxy S9+ is selling at SGD 1,348 (64GB)/SGD 1,498 (256GB). Pre-order commerce from 1 March 2018, Thursday 12pm.

Posted on

Malaysian co-working space Colony offers RM10,000 in referral fees for new hires

KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA – Media OutReach – Feb 5, 2018 – In another sign of the battle for scarce talent in Malaysia, Colony Co-Working Space is offering RM10,000 in referral fees for each successful hire the company makes. This is supported by the growing demands the Company has in its aggressive expansion plans in the coming years.  The referral fees will be paid out to anyone who recommends a candidate to the company who is hired and is confirmed after the probationary period.

 

The Company that counts Maybank, Microsoft, and AIA among its customers have plans to expand to at least 4 more locations this year, is actively recruiting for Community Managers, Sales Representatives, and Project Managers. Service is a crucial part of the company’s identity as Colony places a strong emphasis on hospitality, ensuring the happiness of its tenants, and having a team that knows how to go above and beyond.

 

“At Colony, we believe that our success lies in our ability to revolutionise our guests working experience, which ultimately comes down to the people we have working both behind the scenes and at the front of the office day-in and day-out. Getting talented and passionate individuals who fit our culture has always been a core focus for us, which is why we’re excited about this initiative to help us find the best people who will drive Colony’s success going forward.” – Colony Co-Founder and Executive Director, Timothy Tiah

 

A recent study by TalentCorp and the Institute of Labour Market Information and Analysis (ILMIA) found that two of the biggest difficulties that companies faced in filling up critical positions were that the candidates did not possess the required technical experiences, or possess a satisfactory level of soft and interpersonal skills. According to recruitment expert, Hays, these struggles account for 97% of employers. Despite the Malaysian workforce becoming increasingly educated over recent years, and the size of the labour force with tertiary education growing to 4.1 million, the lagging number of employed persons in high-skilled occupations of 3.9 million indicates that a significant skills gap still exists in the labour market today.

Colony will be introducing this initiative for a period of one month, and in the event that it is successful, the company is prepared to look into extending the offer once again in the future. 

 

About Colony
Colony is a luxurious co-working space founded in July 2017. With the ambition of challenging the conventional concept of office, Colony touts facilities such as nap rooms, kids areas, gym, swimming pool and Espressolab Coffee within its spaces. The company is backed by Oak Drive Ventures and a number of Family Offices from around the region and is among the leading co-working spaces in Malaysia. www.colony.work

 

Source: Media Outreach

Posted on

Interview with Regional Director (South Asia Pacific), Unity Technologies – Mr Quentin Staes-Polet

Everybody is into VR now and it is evident that this sector has grown tremendously in 2017. All the tech giants are increasingly investing more into this space and people are watching this closely for the next breakthrough.

 

But will this trend going to continue in 2018? Today, we have Mr Quentin Staes-Polet, Regional Director, South Asia Pacific Unity Technologies to share with us his view on South East Asia market.

 

What business Unity Technologies (“Unity”) is in and the strategic goals that it hopes to achieve in this S.E.A region?  

Unity Technologies is the creator of a flexible and high-performance end-to-end development platform used to create rich interactive 2D, 3D, VR and AR experiences.

 

70 percent of all VR/AR content today is created with Unity and we are also working with the world’s biggest players in the world like Facebook, Microsoft, Xiaomi and Samsung to develop VR/AR content for their platforms. Although Unity was born from the gaming space with about 50 percent market share in the mobile games market, it is now being used across several industries outside gaming itself, a testament to the growing success of Unity as a creative platform.

 

Unity aims to “gamify” industries by making game technology, design and methodology, accessible to users beyond gaming – bringing the concept of games into industries by creating more engaging, more immersive experiences for customers and employees alike. That involves applying all that AR/VR can offer to make businesses more innovative, effective, and efficient. Ultimately, this technology can bring them much closer to their customers.

 

We enable anyone and everyone to develop games or applications. We do this through solving hard problems, such as the coding and scripting elements of development, so that today’s creators don’t have to. They can be freed from the worry of complicated back-end processes and focus on building beautiful and creative designs and experiences in their work.


You have built a successful business before. What’s in Unity that wants you to go back to the corporate life?

The game industry is where art and technology meet and interact with each other, which is why I was interested in joining the industry. Gaming continues to be one of the most creative industries and has been fast to adopt and leverage new technologies in engaging ways. Community tools like video conferencing, blogging, and online streaming were all leveraged on early in the industry. Even now, many new technologies are finding their first mass implementations in gaming, resulting in the industry constantly being invigorated, which is always exciting to me.

 

What are your personal goals you wish to or have already achieved in Unity?

When first joining Unity, I wanted to help lay the foundations and build a dedicated team of high performers who possessed a drive for excellence and fun. This has been successful so far with the team here in SAPAC, albeit at a small scale, and I am looking forward to building on this success moving forward.


So far, what’s the most challenging problem you have faced in South East Asia?
Given how young the developer scene is in the region, there has been a recruitment challenge due to the scarcity of experienced talent with the set of skills that Unity is looking for. However, given how the scene is growing exponentially, largely due to the rising interest in games and development from youth within the region, I expect it will only be a matter of time before this challenge is overcome.


Any details of the expansion plan in Singapore?
As one of the strongest economies in the Asia Pacific, Singapore has a huge market potential for the AR and VR technology. While Unity is still used largely for gaming, we are already seeing game technologies being increasingly used across several sectors, from the likes of architectural visualization, film and entertainment, engineering and manufacturing companies, as well as the government sectors.

 

We are always interested to see how others use our technology and other advances, especially within government organisations and smaller tech startups. We have been supporting them wherever we can, especially in the areas of education and training. We have already partnered with some organisations to help build a solid foundation of developers to support the growing industry here, and continue to move forward with helping further build the development ecosystem here where we can.

Posted on

PwC’s 2017 Report: REITs and Business Trusts Drives Singapore’s IPOs; SGX’s Delisting Woes Remains

Singapore, 3 January 2018 –The year 2017 ended with a good showing for the Singapore Exchange (SGX), with total funds raised through Initial Public Offerings (IPOs) being the highest in the past four years. In 2017, a total of S$4.7 billion raised, double that of 2016 at approximately S$2.3 million.

The SGX saw a total of 20 IPOs with seven listings on the Mainboard and 13 listings on the Catalist Board in 2017. In terms of amount raised, REITS and BT made up of approx 88% of Singapore’s IPOs in 2017. See below Fig 1.

Figure 1. IPO fund raised by sectors in 2017 (S$ million, % of market share)

Source: PwC Singapore

Looking forward

The report states that REITs and BTs will likely continue to be the niche for SGX. The exchange has welcomed the listings of eight REITs and BTs since 2015, which combined raised a total of S$6.6 billion in gross proceeds, contributing to 85% of the total IPO funds raised over the past three years.

Despite the overall stellar IPO performance in 2017, the report also found that the delisting trend continued with 24 companies delisted in 2017. Pessimism in the market may have been in part due to the declining trading volume and muted confidence in the local equities market. Furthermore, the low valuation of certain listed companies have created merger and acquisition opportunities to buyout these companies which led to their delisting from the exchange.

Lastly, SGX is expected to face more intense competition from the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (HKEx) with a key pull factor being the perception that the HKEx offers higher valuations and liquidity. With this, the number of Singapore-based companies listed on the HKEx has more than doubled in the past year, from six companies in 2016 to 13 in 2017, and PwC foresees that in 2018 local companies will continue listing on HKEx.

See full press release here

 

Posted on

2017 Wrap-Up! Top 10 Jobs Of The Future?

Are Robot stealing our jobs? Is A.I going to dominate the human’s economy? Are we ready for that kind of future? These are some of the many questions that our worried workforce constantly thinks about.

As we wrap up 2017, Cognizant (stock quote: CTSH) releases its 21 Jobs of The Future Report which highlights new opportunity in the job market in the next 10 years.

To make this easier for the readers, I have made reference to the report and list down their top 10 jobs of the future.

No. Role Description Skills needed
1 Artificial Intelligence Business Development Manager

 

 Artificial Intelligence Business Development Manager will define, develop and deploy effective and targeted programs to accelerate broad-based sales and business development activities. This role will require both business development experience, on top of experience with AI/machine-learning software platforms

 
2 AI-Assisted Healthcare Technician AI-assisted healthcare technician will ideally be excellent at building close, trusting relationships with patients and efficient in making optimal use of digital diagnosis tools and remote doctors at their disposal. The technician will have at least three years’ experience in nursing or a related field, and be comfortable and competent dealing with software packages and digital testing equipment.
3 Cyber City Analyst Cyber city analysts will ensure interoperable data flow to keep cities safe, secure and operational. Analysts require data engineering qualifications in Agile, DevOps and continuous integration, as well as circuitry skills, understanding of design thinking, and startup methodologies

 
4 Quantum Machine Learning Analyst

 

 Quantum computing will be at the intersection of quantum information processing and machine learning to create technology functionalities that never existed before. Quantum Machine Learning Analysts are well-versed with quantum information processing devices, quantum data and machine learning techniques to develop well-capitalized, revenue-generating industry-specific solutions for the future.

 
5 Augmented Reality Journey Builder Augmented Reality (AR) Journey Builders are the successors of composers, bricklayers and playwrights, serving as pioneers in the “experience economy”. They will design, write, create, calibrate, gamify, build and personalise the next generation of mind-blowing stories and in-the-moment vignettes for viewers’ trips in AR
6 Master of Edge Computing

 

 Masters of Edge Computing define the IoT roadmap, carefully evaluate the technical requirements and assess the feasibility for establishing the edge processing unit. This role requires experience in working on IoT hardware and software platform, on top of a PhD in computer science, electronics, telecommunications, electrical engineering, etc.

 
7 Man-Machine Teaming Manager

 

 The man-machine teaming manager is a seasoned professional who will help shape the future of work and workplace within the company. The manager will design flexible experiences that meet workers’ expectations, while providing a simple and intuitive interaction with machine

 

 Ideal managers will be passionate about advancing human-to-bot cooperation strategies in a dynamic business environment. Qualifications needed are graduate degrees in experimental psych, human neuroscience techniques, robotics, excellent leadership, communication and collaboration skills.
8 Chief Trust Officer

 

 Ideal Chief Trust officers demonstrate the ability to build trust by enforcing and encouraging transparent and responsible financial trading of cryptocurrencies with all organisational stakeholders

 

 Successful chief trust officers have experience in cryptocurrency trading and speculation, blockchain, traditional currency trading and PR/marketing.
9 Personal Data Broker A personal data broker is part of the newly mandated banking sector to administer personal data assets of citizens and consumers. He ensures consumers receive revenue from their data. The ideal candidate will hold professional qualifications needed to trade on the world’s newly established data exchanges. He has a high degree of curiosity for discovering alternative forms of data commercialization through third-party APIs to other insight services, and a drive to determine data value and submit and price offers into data exchanges for trade.
10 Bring your own IT Facilitator The Bring Your own IT Facilitator (BYOIT_ enables the entire workforce to work better and smarter at a known level of acceptable risk by creating a system for uninterrupted visibility into on-and-off-premises environments. Skills required include a master’s degree in either IT, computer science, natural science, engineering or businesss admin, as well as exposure to IT demand management, business management, among others.

If you are too lazy to read through the report, watch the video instead.

My personal takeway from this. Technology is a double-edge swords. It obsoletes old jobs but creates new one. The so-called “jobs” have no meaning to machines and robots. They don’t have emotional attachment towards their jobs and the reason is simple- there is no way they could spend the money they earned from their “job”. They are just simply doing it for us, the human.

Anyway, there are always some skills that machines could not replace the human. Skills that requires human touch. I kind of like the way Cognizant categorize “human-touch” skills namely – Coaching, Caring, and Connecting. 

  1. Coaching

Coaches can reshape work by making it more engaging, humane and purposeful. Those who have a flair for mentoring and helping people to improve at things (managing their finances, managing their weight) should hone those skills.

2. Caring

Forward-thinking organizations will focus on making the best of people, and not just the best of technology. Workers with social intelligence and the ability to make sense of complex processes will be in high demand to improve people’s health and wellness.

3. Connecting 

Workers with a collaborative mindset will be key to helping connect the dots in a technology-led workplace. New roles identified in the report require workers to be good at building bridges between man and machine, traditional and shadow IT, the physical and the virtual world, and commerce and ethics.

Do you agree or disagree to their report? Tell us in the below comment. We would love to hear more from you.

Posted on

HP Sees Smart Manufacturing Opportunities in Singapore; Partners With Local University

HP Inc (stock quote: HPQ)  announced the opening of its new Asia Pacific and Japan (APJ) Campus and a new Smart Manufacturing Applications and Research Center (SMARC) supported by the Economic Development Board of Singapore (EDB). The opening celebration included Dion Weisler, HP President and Chief Executive Officer; Richard Bailey, HP President, Asia Pacific and Japan; Steve Conner, HP Head of Supplies Operations and Minister S Iswaran, Singapore’s Minister for Trade and Industry (Industry).

From Left: Steve Conner, Head of Supplies Operations HP Inc, Dion Weisler, CEO of HP Inc, S Iswaran, Minister for Trade & Industry (Industry) and Richard Bailey, President of APJ Region HP Inc. Source: Instagram user @weewu

SMARC is set up with the purpose to digitally transform and reinvent HP’s Supplies manufacturing processes through the use of next-generation digital technologies including additive manufacturing (3D printing), advanced robotics, and large-scale data analytics.

 

SMARC has also partnered with local insitutions such as NUS and Nanyang Polytechnic to allow their students to participate in the research area of IoT and Data Analytic via internship program

 

Currently, the team of engineers managing SMARC’s 6,000 square foot facility currently oversee more than 50 Supplies manufacturing lines across the world.

 

The Center also sees opportunities in bringing smart manufacturing processes to small medium enterprises in Singapore. For instance, HP has partnered SME suppliers Mega Plus Technology and Super Pak Manufacturing, under the Partnership for Capability Transformation (PACT) programme, to create a more environment-friendly packaging for ink canisters. That collaboration allowed the two SMEs to develop new expertise and capabilities, which they leveraged on to further advance their businesses.

Check out hashtag #reinventingwithHP for more updates.

Posted on

Keysight And Singapore University of Technology (SUTD) Signs MOU and Opens New Measurement Technologies Lab

SINGAPORE, December 2017– Keysight Technologies, Inc. (Stock Quote: KEYS) and the Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for research collaboration and opened the new Measurement Technologies Laboratory. Keysight donated S$8 million worth of cutting-edge equipment to the lab, coupled with another S$2 million in research grants to accelerate research and development (R&D) in the domains of advance manufacturing, data analytics and IoT security.

Guest-of-Honour, Mr S. Iswaran, Singapore’s Minister for Trade and Industry (Industry) witnessed the MOU signing between Mr Gooi Soon Chai, President of Keysight’s Electronic Industrial Solutions Group and Senior Vice president, Keysight Technologies Inc., and Professor Thomas Magnanti, SUTD President, at a ceremony held in SUTD.

Minister Iswaran also officially opened the new Measurement Technologies Laboratory, which is equipped with Keysight’s latest solutions and technologies.

Speech by Mr S. Iswaran, Minister for Trade and Industry (Industry)

Mr Gooi said: “Today’s convergence of technology domains and the explosion of electronic content everywhere is driving the entire industrial eco-system into a whole new dimension. Organisations are facing tremendous pressure to keep up with the accelerating pace and complexity of today’s advancements. Keysight, as the world’s leader in electronic measurement, is collaborating with SUTD, with its multi-disciplinary research talents, to reimagine innovation that will help the world’s organisations today face these challenges and deliver their products and services, faster, better and safer.”

From (left) Ee Huei Sin VP & General Manager of Keysight Technologies General Electronics Measurement Solutions, Mr Gooi Soon Chai, President of Keysight’s Electronic Industrial Solutions Group and Senior Vice president, Keysight Technologies Inc

At the Lab, researchers will leverage Keysight’s latest state-of-the-art equipment and software solutions, and tap on the company’s global technology and industry expertise as they work on three major areas –  security, Big Data analytics and Internet of Things (IoT) for Smart Factories of tomorrow (also known as Industry 4.0).

 

These projects will translate into better quality products, smarter utilisation of resources, improved efficiency, productivity and security.

 

The setting up of the Lab in Singapore is strategic to Keysight to tap on explosive growth in the Asia region. 5G, for instance, will be key technology driver in their future business development as the company believes that the full implement of the technology will realized by the year 2020.

 

Posted on

Criteo’s Commerce Marketing Ecosystem Aims to Empower Retailers and Brands to Deliver Seamless Shopping Experiences

Criteo S.A. (Stock Quote: CRTO), the commerce marketing technology company, unveiled findings from two third-party studies, which highlight the pressing need for retailers and brands to organise and apply data at scale to understand shoppers, reach them, and inspire them to buy. To help retailers and brands, Criteo is opening up an ecosystem that enables retailers and brands who participate to benefit from a much broader data set and more intelligent technology than they could acquire or develop on their own

 

A Criteo-commissioned study, conducted by Forbes Insights and titled “The Commerce Data Opportunity: How Collaboration Levels the Retail Playing Field,” highlights the value of data collaboration and pooling data to better meet customers’ needs, drive value and compete. The “Shopper Story 2017” study, also commissioned by Criteo and conducted by an independent researcher, highlights the rise of “omnishoppers” – those that use a variety of devices, channels and platforms to browse and buy products. Overall, both studies reinforce the need for brands and retailers to innovate through collaboration and harness the collective power of data to engage with consumers at every moment and across any screen or device during the shopper journey.

 

To help retailers and brands deliver seamless and relevant shopping experiences across all devices and channel, Criteo announced its vision to build the highest performing and open commerce marketing ecosystem. As part of the company’s commerce marketing vision, two new solutions – Criteo Audience MatchBETA and Criteo Kinetic Design with Video – have been made generally available across the Asia-Pacific region.

Huang Hanming, Managing Director of South Asia and Greater China Criteo. Source: Instagram user @weewu

“Collaboration in an open ecosystem levels the playing field and paves the way for commerce companies to shape their future. This is especially crucial for eCommerce companies in Asia-Pacific where the market is expected to grow to more than US$3 trillion by 2021,” said Huang Hanming, Managing Director of South Asia and Greater China at Criteo. “We have developed Criteo Commerce Marketing Ecosystem to unleash the value of collaboration and the power of data to all who participate.”

Key Findings from Forbes Insights:

  • Retail Industry Disruption is Reshaping Commerce: 50 percent of brands demonstrate concern that physical-digital giants will limit access to their products and 41 percent are concerned that they will not have access to information about their own customers and products. Retailers also worry that this trend will cause consumers to turn away from smaller retailers.
  • Brands and Retailers Realize Data’s Potential, but Lack Activation Capabilities: Nearly four out of five brands and retailers include customer data as a key part of their business strategy. But while retailers have access to more data than brands, especially online, they are less confident than brands in their ability to activate data into actionable insights. Bottom line: more data alone doesn’t necessarily translate into a greater ability to take action.
  • Pooled Data Assets are a Powerful Way to Get Ahead: Brands and retailers see value in collaboration and pooling data assets to meet customer needs and drive value for their business. In fact, 71 percent of retailers are willing to contribute online search data to a pool. And, three-fifths of those surveyed are already part of a data cooperative, with almost seven out of 10 of those companies already happy with their collaborations as well as the data they receive. Additionally, 72 percent of marketers cite “increased revenue” as a key benefit they experience from pooled data.

 

Key Findings from The Shopper Story 2017:

  • More than 3/4 of Shoppers Globally Engage in Omnishopping: Most consumers are going online to shop and buying in-store, and vice versa.
  • Webrooming and Showrooming are the Norm: 66 percent of consumers occasionally browse products online and then purchase at retail, with 24 percent making this a regular occurrence; whereas 74 percent of consumers occasionally make purchases online after seeing a product in retail, with 15 percent communicating they do this regularly.
  • Digital Drives Conversion: As mobile continues to permeate everyday life, online is now a critical point of purchase driver; with nearly half of all omnishoppers from various countries sharing that websites were the “last influence before purchase” and 62 percent of consumers reporting that they use their phone while in-store to research products online.

 

Using customer relationship management (CRM) or data management platform (DMP) data to accurately target audiences across web, mobile browser and apps, Criteo Audience MatchBETA provides marketers with a new way to re-engage their customer base with broad-reaching, paid display campaigns. Criteo has built a foundation of deterministic IDs within Criteo Shopper Graph, enabling beta customers to see a match rate of more than 60 percent of their existing client lists with online profiles. Commerce marketers can use Criteo Audience MatchBETA to:

  • Quickly execute cost-effective, paid display campaigns across a diverse set of marketing scenarios, including re-engagement of lapsed customers, promotion of seasonal offers, cross-sell of products related to previous purchases, and more.
  • Drive unmatched advertising engagement through optimized ads, balancing brand-inspired design and ad performance through Kinetic Design.
  • Synchronize perfectly with Criteo Dynamic Retargeting to ensure cross-campaign optimization and attribution.

 

Criteo has also added video as a new channel and inventory source for commerce marketers. Criteo Kinetic Design with Video automatically optimises every visual aspect of an ad to inspire and engage a shopper. Kinetic Design already allows for more than 17 trillion variations from one base design in display ads. This has been now expanded to incorporate video, creating personalized video ads that feature relevant products based on Criteo’s complete understanding of the shopper. These video ads are created automatically, on-the-fly, and appear across web and mobile.

 

As consumer video consumption continues to grow, Criteo’s clients can now use video to relevantly re-engage shoppers without production time, resources, or costs. Video is delivered in a non-intrusive manner to provide a seamless browsing experience – in app, in feed or on a website. Criteo’s video capability also allows marketers to take advantage of video ads on a cost-per-click basis.

Alban Villani, General Manager, Southeast Asia, Hong Kong and Taiwan, Criteo. Source: Instagram user @weewu

“Understanding consumer purchasing behavior is challenging for retailers given that shoppers are on more platforms than ever before, with collected data being difficult to integrate and analyse, at scale,” said Alban Villani, General Manager, Southeast Asia, Hong Kong and Taiwan, Criteo. “To help retailers and brands overcome this challenge, Criteo Audience Match and Criteo Kinetic Design with Video, as part of a robust suite of commerce marketing technologies, will support the full shopper journey, enabling brands to create relevant and engaging experiences for customers online and offline.”

Posted on

Singapore Contributes Only 0.11% of Global Carbon Emissions; Pledged to Improve City’s Energy Efficiency.

During the Responsible Business Forum held in Singapore last month, Mr Masagos Zulkifli, Minister For The Environment and Water Resources, Singapore has reaffirmed Singapore’s commitment towards sustainability and climate change.

Although Singapore only contributes 0.11% of global emissions, the city state has pledged to work with the industry to improve energy efficiency from the current level of 0.6%, to 1 to 2% annually. This is the annual energy efficiency improvement rates achieved in leading countries like Belgium and the Netherlands.

Watch his speech below.


To achieve this, Mr Zulkifli has detailed some of the actions that Singapore government has already adopted.

First, Singapore will introduce carbon tax in 2019 to encourage companies to be more “carbon-free” in their operation.  All the revenue generated from this tax will go into supporting initiative to improve energy efficient

Second, Singapore government will lead by example in adopting clean energy in public sectors. For instance, the Government has implemented the SolarNova programme to accelerate solar growth locally and to aggregate solar demand across various agencies. With the limited land area, floating solar panels will be deployed on reservoirs to further increase city’s solar capacity.

**Related news (HDB-EDB Joint Press Release – Largest Solar Leasing Tender Launched Under SolarNova Programme)

Third, Singapore will be investing in clean energy research and development. Research centres, such as the Solar Energy Research Institute of Singapore (SERIS) and the Energy Research Institute at NTU (ERI@N), are collaborating with industry to support efforts towards large-scale deployment of solar systems.

On the global front, Singapore works closely with international partners to exchange knowledge on climate change and green growth. Under the Singapore Cooperation Programme, more than 112,000 officials from developing countries have visited Singapore to study key areas such as sustainable development, urban planning, and water management to date.

Read his full speech here

 

Posted on

Indonesian talent sweep awards at Singtel Group’s “The 5-Min Video Challenge”

Singapore, 23 November 2017 – Indonesian talent swept the awards at Singtel Group’s “The 5-Min Video Challenge” Regional Finals in Singapore last evening. Chick Chick directed by Mr Kevin Anderson beat a host of entries to be named the Grand Winner while Sowan by Mr Destian Rendra was the runner-up.

 


Chick Chick tells the story of a young girl who befriends a chicken. Her attempts to communicate with the chicken, inspires her to try and reconnect her fighting parents with a tincan phone. As the grand winner, Mr Anderson received a cash prize of US$30,000 and a Sony camera and lens set worth more than US$5,000. Reacting to the win, he said, “We wanted to tell a story about connecting lives that goes back to basics without gadgets and social media. It’s been a great experience for us to connect with the finalists and judges from the region through this video challenge. We thank Singtel, Telkomsel and the judges.”

From left: Mr Arthur Lang, CEO of International Group, Singtel with runner-up Sarah Qodriyani and Eni Widiastuti and Telkomsel Chief Marketing Officer Alistair Johnston. Source: Singtel

The runner-up Sowan follows a man who travels to various places on his motorbike. He hears about recent agricultural issues and discovers the conflicts among farmers, middlemen and sellers. Mr Rendra, who also competed in and won the inaugural video challenge last year, received a cash prize of US$15,000 and Sony products worth more than US$4,000. “We appreciate this video challenge for bringing our vision to a bigger audience. We’re back again this year because it’s been a priceless experience for us,” he said.

 

The entries impressed the regional judging panel headed by award-winning Singapore filmmaker Mr Eric Khoo and comprising Mr Aaron Lea (Australia), Mr Joko Anwar (Indonesia), Mr Serge Abessolo (Gabon), Mr Quark Henares (the Philippines) and Mr Thitipong Kerdtongtawee (Thailand).

 

Mr Khoo, who returned as a judge for the second year, said, “We were wowed by the great improvement in the short videos this year. The winning works really spoke to us and we look forward to working with some these talented filmmakers.” He advised aspiring filmmakers to hone their craft by continuously filming and finding new ways to tell a story even with their smart phones.

 

“The 5-Min Video Challenge” is both a celebration of the filmmaking talent in Asia and a content push by the Group. Centred on the theme “Connecting Lives” this year, it attracted hundreds of video submissions from Australia, Gabon, Indonesia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand. The videos submitted spanned a range of genres from comedy, romance to drama and slice of life.

 

Two finalists from each of the six countries were chosen by local judges to compete in the Regional Finals. The Grand Winner and runner-up were then selected by the regional judging panel.

 

Mr Arthur Lang, Chief Executive Officer, International Group, Singtel, said, “We’re impressed by the different perspectives presented in the short videos that inspired, challenged and entertained us. As Asia’s leading communications technology group and a long-time supporter of the arts, we want to support the creative talent in the region and quality original content that our customers enjoy. Many of us today look for content that is mobile-friendly, authentic and connects with the heart. I strongly believe the finalist entries have all achieved these. We’re honoured to recognise them.”

Besides impressing the regional judging panel, Sowan and Chick Chick also captured the hearts of audiences who voted the videos as their favourites for the People’s Choice Awards. Mr Rendra received US$3,000 as the winner while Mr Anderson received US$2,000 as the runner-up.

 

Additionally, Chick Chick won the newly-created Sony’s Emerging Talent Award for outstanding technical skills and inspirational story-telling, and received prizes worth over US$5,000.

 

The grand winner, runner-up and finalists will have the opportunity to promote their videos on each Singtel Group member’s mobile and video platforms, allowing them to reach a 670million strong audience across Asia, Australia, and Africa.

Watch their winning video below