Singapore

Overall, the average office rent in Asia Pacific saw a marginal growth of a mere 0.3% quarter-on-quarter during 4Q 2011.

Noble Group will now own 13% of Yancoal Australia after its merger with Noble.

And the good news doesn't stop at that as half of the 1.8m taxpayer base need not file tax returns AT ALL.

Nearly half of surveyed employees in Singapore say their employers expect them to be available 24/7.

Singapore businesses need to take a critical look at Social Media.

Singapore Airlines only ranked 11th on the list - but guess which country had the most punctual airline?

But just how tentative is tentative?

There has been much intense debate in Singaporean about a recent speech by the Education Minister in which he said that many CEO’s had complained to him about the young Singaporean workforce. They were particularly scathing about young Singaporean’s lack of drive, confidence and ability to think outside the box and outside of their comfort zone apparently. Although everyone acknowledged that Singaporean’s work hard senior business leaders were concerned that this wasn’t necessarily as effective as it could be, not imaginative enough and not above and beyond normal working.

Gandhi was a charismatic and revolutionary but until past few decades little was known about him outside India. Similarly De Gaulle inspired defeated France but he left little for his successors.

No one doubts the value of good data. It can transform enterprises, informing their marketing, their procurement, their production techniques – in fact, their entire strategic direction. But in the corporate real estate (CRE) sphere, the potential of management data is possibly less appreciated than it should be. Yes, finance departments appreciate the value of market data, and of data like cost per square metre and cost of occupancy. But in many instances the management and operational data they track does not reflect changes in the way people work. Businesses are missing opportunities to improve performance. In 2011, Regus published a report by two highly-respected academics, Barry Varcoe and Martha O’Meara, on how best CRE practice correlates to company success.[1] The report analysed forty Global Fortune 500 companies, with a total operational portfolio size of 221 million gross square metres. One key finding of the report is the correlation between company performance and CRE data. The authors found that a well-developed operational and management data practice correlates positively to return on assets (RoA) and return on equity (RoE :) a 25% improvement in management information practice relates to an addition of 0.82% to an organisation’s RoA, and of 1.77% to its RoE. Most people realise the link between data and performance: the ability to make better decisions relates to better returns on resources. But the Varcoe and O’Mara research is ground-breaking in that it quantifies the benefits of good CRE data. In turn, it encourages companies to explore what good data entails. Traditionally, property departments think in terms of average cost per square metre, rather than how space is used. But as employees become more mobile, traditional corporate space sits un-used for some of the week. Companies know this, but they may not measure it.

Naturally maximising productivity and efficiency is something every Singaporean business needs to do, especially in the uncertain economic climate of today; thus waste elimination is crucial. The biggest opportunity lies in unused human talent.

Especially today, with the advent of internet, social media and many people having their own smart phones and tablets, being nice to your customers is so important. And it is so much important when your company is a prominent brand in your country.

Foreign domestic workers will soon enjoy a mandatory weekly rest day.

The local currency holds up against the greenback amidst the US dollar’s weakening against the EUR, GBP and JPY.

There’s bad news from overseas amidst weakness on Wall Street and a not-so-good Nikkei start.

Its daily average volume is up by 8% yoy this February with securities also posting gains.