YouTube Hong Kong's top videos for 2019

- Local news, tutorials and parodies topped the chart

- Growing diversity of music genres gaining popularity

YouTube Hong Kong Rewind 2019 reveals this year’s top trending videos, including Top 10 Trending Videos, Top 10 Trending Local Music Videos, Top 10 Trending International Music Videos, and Top 10 Emerging Channels.

Music has always been Hong Kong users’ favourite content, from music videos, live performances, remixes, and even cover songs. Hongkongers also use YouTube to discover, stay informed with what’s happening in the city, and to learn. Over 60% of local users said they have watched original videos on YouTube.

While many tune in to YouTube to watch livestreams and news on mobile, local creators are also inspired by current affairs in the city. This year, Jason’s video 防暴要求我落車?係咪想打我或屈我襲警? which was about his encounter with Hong Kong riot police in Causeway Bay topped the charts as the most viewed original video in Hong Kong.

Other videos discussing the city’s trending topics such as memehk’s video about the Andy Hui and Jacqueline Wong scandal 許志安和黃心穎偷食的教訓〈蕭若元：八卦蕭析〉2019-04-16 and FHProductionHK’s video about the behaviour of Chinese aunties 大媽的道理 made it to this year’s list as well.

Hong Kong people also like learning from YouTube. Coffee Lam’s workout tutorials have made it on the chart for two consecutive years, with her 30-minute fitness video 30分鐘全身消脂增肌運動 (一個月內見效) ranking fourth in 2019.

Local artists have also started uploading lifestyle vlogs and parody videos on YouTube to better connect with their fans. Hins Cheung, for example, saw 張敬軒有咩問題？惡搞容祖兒 Pretty Crazy MV parodying Joey Yung’s music video take the second spot on the Top 10 Trending Videos this year.

Topping this year’s Top 10 Trending Local Music Videos is the orchestral music video of Glory to Hong Kong (《願榮光歸香港》管弦樂團及合唱團版) by Black Blorchestra. Other non-mainstream music videos that have made it onto the chart are JB’s 潮共, LMF’s W.T.F.H.K. and NEI FEI WO’s 和你飛.

Meanwhile, the TV series theme song Can You Hear by Kayee Tam took second spot, followed by other Cantopop including Leo Ku and Nancy Wu’s 亂世情侶, and Sammi Cheung’s 我們都是這樣長大.

Hongkongers are also big fans of international music, especially creative works by Asian artists. Of the Top Trending International Music Videos, seven were created by Asian artists and singer-songwriters, including Jay Chou’s 說好不哭 featuring special guest Ashin from Mayday, which attracted 10 million views globally in just two days; followed by K-pop group BTS’ Boy With Luv and Eric Chou’s 怎麼了.

YouTube Hong Kong's 2019 Top 10 Emerging Channels include: 啤梨頻道BarryMa TV in top spot with videos discussing current affairs and the city’s hot topics, followed by 佩男 Puinam, focused on travel vlogs, then 志森與志豪 which features social satire. YouTube also identified interest in motor-themed channels such as XRX, 魚波 Yu Ball and HKMonkeyRider.

The company launched YouTube Premium paid membership services in December. This enables Hong Kong users to watch videos without ads, with additional features including background play, smart downloads and offline play. Monthly fees start from HK$68, with YouTube Music paid membership included.

YouTube Music, a smart music streaming service, now helps music lovers tap into the music content available on YouTube. YouTube Music is available in 78 countries and regions, including Hong Kong. Music fans can also download the new YouTube Music app (Android and iOS) to enjoy personalised smart music on mobile. In addition to the free, ads-supported version, users can choose paid membership for advanced features like background play, smart search, and download for offline play. The monthly subscription costs HK$58.

More than 1 billion music fans visit YouTube each month. 

Hashtags: #YouTube香港回顧, #YouTubeRewind

Asia is ahead according to the Henley Passport Index

Source: Henley & Partners, from the 2019 Index of Economic Freedom – The Heritage Foundation.

Asian countries have a lead in the Henley Passport Index, the original ranking of all the world’s passports according to the number of destinations their holders can access without a prior visa. For the third consecutive year, Japan has secured the top spot on the index — which is based on exclusive data from the International Air Transport Association (IATA) — with a visa-free/visa-on-arrival score of 191.

Japan’s passport received visa on arrival access to KSA with a score of 190. Singapore is in 2nd place while South Korea is in 3rd place alongside Germany (despite gaining 1 score point). Both countries give their passport holders visa-free/visa-on-arrival access to 189 destinations worldwide.

The UAE, on the other hand, climbed a record 47 places over the past 10 years and is now 18th, with a visa-free/visa-on-arrival score of 171. Afghanistan remains at the bottom of the index, with its nationals only able to visit 26 destinations visa-free. Analysis of historical data from the index reveals that this global mobility gap is the starkest it has been since the index’s inception in 2006.

Dominic Volek, Head of Southeast Asia and Managing Partner, Henley & Partners, said, “The benefits of open-door policies and mutually beneficial trade agreements can no longer be denied. Based on our ongoing research, countries that embrace this new reality of global mobility are thriving, with their citizens enjoying ever-increasing passport power and travel freedom, as well as the array of benefits that come with it.”

Using exclusive historical data from the Henley Passport Index, political science researchers Uğur Altundal of Syracuse University, and Ömer Zarpli from the University of Pittsburgh, have found that there is a strongly positive correlation between travel freedom and other kinds of liberties – from the economic to the political, and even individual or human freedoms.

Altundal and Zarpli observe that “there’s a distinct correlation between visa freedom and investment freedom, for instance. Similar to trade freedom, countries that rank highly in investment freedom generally have stronger passports.”

One especially striking example of the positive correlation is Singapore, which ranks highest in nearly all economic indicators. Henley & Partners said that Singapore’s scores on the economic indicators are "far above the average for Asia Pacific". While the region scored particularly low on indicators such as judicial effectiveness and government integrity, Singapore had near perfect scores, the consultancy said.

The impact of these and other key developments is analysed in depth in the 2020 edition of the Henley Passport Index and Global Mobility Report — a publication that offers analysis and commentary from scholars and professional experts on the latest trends shaping international and regional mobility patterns today.

Commenting in the report, Dr Parag Khanna, bestselling author and the Founder and Managing Partner of FutureMap in Singapore, said, “Migration, as with almost everything else, is a function of supply and demand — and, increasingly, it is accepted that more migration creates more demand, stimulating much needed economic growth. As the world economy heads into a synchronised slowdown, we must view migration as part of the solution, not the problem.”

Khanna points out that with the US-China trade war showing no signs of decelerating, Western investment has shifted out of China towards Southeast Asia, bringing a new wave of foreign talent into ASEAN countries that have encouraged greater migration through streamlined visa policies. Thailand’s strong upward movement in the Henley Passport Index’s rankings over the past year is a clear illustration of this emerging trend; benefitting from mutually reciprocal visa waivers, the country has climbed three spots in the past year and now sits in 65th place, with a visa-free/visa-on-arrival score of 78.

Middle Eastern countries have also made strong gains as part of overall efforts to boost trade and tourism. The UAE and KSA each climbed four places, while Oman climbed three. KSA is now in 66th place, with citizens able to access 77 destinations around the world without a prior visa, while Oman sits at 64th place, with a visa-free/visa-on-arrival score of 79.

Despite these positive regional developments, Dr. Lorraine Charles, Research Associate at the University of Cambridge’s Centre for Business Research, warns that migration and mobility trends in the Middle East are largely driven by conflict, which looks set to continue in 2020. Citing deepening conflicts in Libya, Syria, and Yemen, and with renewed anti-government protests in Egypt, Iraq, and Lebanon, Charles notes that “forced displacement will most likely continue to dominate migration and mobility patterns within the Middle East.”

Professor Simone Bertoli, Professor of Economics at Université Clermont Auvergne (CERDI) in France, says that while countries around the world insist that they are taking steps to attract “the best and the brightest”, a rather different picture is currently emerging: “When it comes to talent migration, a worrying gap between policy and rhetoric has been opening up over the past year. The sluggish improvement of labor market conditions after the 2008 crisis, and the concomitant rise of nativist political parties, is reinforcing the perception of immigration as a threat rather than as an opportunity.”

Volek adds: “Both demand and supply for investment migration programmes have grown globally signalling more than just the need for a competitive advantage, but rather it is now seen as an unrefuted requirement in today’s volatile world. The increased interest not just from investors seeking travel freedom, security and mobility, but also from sovereign states looking to strengthen and diversify their economies is a strong indicator for the continued growth of the investment migration industry in 2020.

Yahoo's 2019 Year in Review charts Singapore's fascination with fame, fortune and future

Malaysia's former PM Najib Razak, Singapore undergraduate Monica Baey and the Hong Kong protests have riveted Internet users in Singapore this year, according to Yahoo's 2019 Year in Review* (YIR).
 
The YIR is Yahoo's annual recap of the top search trends, events and happenings over the year, based on the daily searches across its platforms in 2019.
 
PM Najib Razak, who is linked to a scandal involving the 1MDB fund that he founded and chaired, was a subject of intense interest among Yahoo users.
 
Netizens were also shocked by a brutal Orchard Towers murder allegedly committed by a group of young adults. Natalie Siow, the only female accused in the case, made the list of top searches on Yahoo.
 
Actor Aloysius Pang and his death following an accident during his army reservist training led many to search online about 'training safety' problems and solutions. Actress Jayley Woo, who made her relationship with Aloysius public after the accident, also emerged as one of Yahoo's top searches.
 
Monica Baey, a victim of a peeping tom case at the National University of Singapore, was in the spotlight as she sparked a national debate on campus safety and the penalties meted out to sex offenders.
 
On the world stage, the frosty relations between China and the US remained top-of-mind throughout the year, including their adverse impact on the global economy. The trade war and tariffs, in addition to Chinese tech giant Huawei, which received a component supply ban imposed by the US government, were among the top search topics.
 
The sociopolitical unrest in Hong Kong also captured Singapore's attention.
 
In Southeast Asia, all eyes were on the Indonesian general elections. As 80 million people cast their vote, Yahoo users were keen to know whether the country would maintain its identity as a secular state amid rising Islamic fundamentalism.
 
For travel, Bangkok and Tokyo were the most popular destinations. Foodwise, "dim sum" was the top search, followed by "Hainanese chicken rice".
 
The Singapore Sling also made a showing in tandem with the relaunch of Long Bar at Raffles Hotel. It had been closed for renovation. "Bubble tea", "fish bee hoon" and "bak kut teh" were also popular food cravings.
 
In sports, football again dominated searches, with people looking for news about the English Premier League (EPL), the UEFA Champions League, and the Asian AFC Champions League.
 
Top English clubs Manchester United and Liverpool were also widely searched as excitement intensifies for the EPL.
 
Singapore's F1 Grand Prix continues to attract. The world's only F1 night race made the list, along with the NBA.
 
Besides celebrities Pang and Woo, Pang's manager Dasmond Koh, who helped front media interviews alongside Pang's family, piqued Singapore's interest. JJ Lin, who held a concert in Singapore with tickets resold at inflated prices, was also among Singapore's top searches.
 
Actor Dennis Chew triggered heated debates about casual racism when he appeared in a controversial 'brownface' ad, where he portrayed an Indian moustached man.
 
An Instagram direct message exchange between Ian Fang and Carrie Wong where they badmouthed fellow actor Lawrence Wong in between flirtatious texts, piqued the curiosity of Yahoo users and elevated the celebs to the top of the search list.
 
Details:

Browse the Yahoo Year in Review 2019 at https://sg.news.yahoo.com/yearinreview.

*To develop the Yahoo Year in Review, the team analyses interest patterns based on users' searches. It takes into account a number of factors, including absolute volume and growth from previous periods to identify themes and trends. Results are not necessarily a representation of a popularity contest or voting.

Glassdoor shares 10 best places to work in Singapore

Glassdoor, the job and recruiting site, has announced the winners of its annual Employees’ Choice Awards, including a category for Singapore for the first time.

The awards honour the Best Places to Work in 2020 in Singapore and eight other countries, and are based on the input of employees who voluntarily provide anonymous feedback by completing a company review about their job, work environment and employer over the past year.

The Glassdoor Employees’ Choice Awards for Singapore feature the 10 Best Places to Work, honouring employers with 1,000 or more employees. Winners are ranked based on their overall rating* achieved during the past year.

The Top 10 Best Places to Work in Singapore for 2020 are:

Google (rating 4.5)

Facebook (rating 4.4)

Shell (rating 4.3)

Amazon (rating 4.3)

Microsoft (rating 4.3)

Visa (rating 4.2)

AIA (rating 4.2)

Hubspot (rating 4.2)

JP Morgan (rating 4.2)

HP (rating 4.2)

“The Employees’ Choice Awards for the Best Places to Work in 2020 mark the start of a culture-first decade,” said Glassdoor President and COO Christian Sutherland-Wong.

“Gone are the days when company culture could be considered a fluffy or non-essential business metric. In today’s age of workplace transparency, the mission, culture and values of a company are crucial when it comes to employers’ ability to recruit and retain top talent. We’re proud to celebrate exceptional employers who stand out in the eyes of their employees.”

“Workers are increasingly prioritising culture over cash and research consistently shows that culture is the leading driver of long-term employee satisfaction,” said Dr Andrew Chamberlain, Glassdoor Chief Economist.

“That said, business leaders have quantifiable proof that culture is one of the smartest investments they could make for the success and longevity of their companies. However, being a culture-first organisation isn’t about expensive perks, but about articulating a clearly-stated mission that resonates with employees’ own aspirations and fuels their best performance.”

Glassdoor’s 10 Singapore Best Places to Work in 2020 list features winning employers hiring across a range of industries, with technology dominating but oil & gas, insurance and finance also appearing on the list. Google claims the top spot with a 4.5 rating; also topping the list in the UK with the same rating. Eight out of the 10 companies are headquartered in the US, while Shell is headquartered in the Netherlands and AIA is a Hong Kong-based pan-Asia company.

Eight out of the 10 Singapore winners are also winners in multiple countries, with AIA and Visa being the only two winners which did not appear on other international lists. Microsoft appears on seven lists (US, Canada, UK, France, Germany, Brazil and Singapore).

*Ratings based on a five-point scale: 1.0=very dissatisfied, 3.0=OK, 5.0=very satisfied. Actual calculations extend beyond the thousandth decimal place.

VistaJet World unveils year-end trips

VistaJet World aims to top every Christmas wishlist with a variety of ultra-exclusive and luxurious destinations.

Unconventional and unique trips for the Asia Pacific region include:

The Great Maharajas | India

Source: VistaJet. Enjoy India on the Maharajas trip.

Be hosted by the maharajas from palace to palace, resting overnight in luxury Taj Hotels properties throughout.

- Join the maharajas in their palaces

- Stay at Taj Hotels

- Exclusive access to Mehrangarh Fort

- Visit the Taj Mahal

- Go on safari at Ranthambore National Park

- Unwind at wellness retreat Vana Spa, where VistaJet members will receive bespoke benefits

Price: from US$295,000 (for a couple sharing accommodation)

Volcano Expedition | Vanuatu, South Pacific

Camp on the side of an active volcano with a team of experts. Peer down over the edge of The Son of Benbow and capture footage of a bubbling lava lake.

- Abseil over the edge of an active volcano to photograph a bubbling lava lake

- An extreme expedition, camping on the edge of the volcano

- Immersive experiences with local villages and the Ni-Vanuatu people

- ving experiences and water sports in the surrounding areas

Price: from US$275,000 (for a couple sharing accommodation)

VistaJet, the global private aviation company, launched VistaJet World in October. VistaJet World curates one-of-a-kind, multistop travel adventures tailored around its members’ passions. Customers have access the entire fleet whilst paying only for the hours they fly, free of the responsibilities and asset risks linked to aircraft ownership. VistaJet’s Program membership offers customers a bespoke subscription of flight hours on its fleet of mid- and long-range jets. 

Sony Singapore's year-end promos valid till early January 2020

Want to get your hands on Sony’s best products of 2019.? There are quite a few:

Digital imaging

Sony A7 III

Source: Sony. The α7 III.

The A7 III empowers users with five-axis stabilisation, 4D Focus, reliable autofocus (AF) down to EV-3 brightness, and 4K HDR video quality.

Promotional price: S$2,699 (usual price S$2,899)

Sony α7 III with 35mm full-frame image sensor (ILCE7M3K)
Sony RX100 VII

The compact RX100 VII has a broad zoom range and superior speed.

Promotional price: S$1,599 (usual price S$1,649)

Home entertainment 

Sony: Sony BRAVIA A9G MASTER Series 4K Ultra HD TV

Source: Sony. The Bravia A9 TV.

Be in the moment through true-to-life pictures and acoustics with the Sony BRAVIA A9G 4K TV. Detailed images combined with Sound-from-Picture Reality ensure captivating audiovisual performances this festive season.

Promotional price: S$5,799 after S$2,200 cashback (55”)

2.1ch Dolby Atmos/DTS:X Single Soundbar with built-in subwoofer | HT-X8500

Set the mood with the HT-X8500’s simulated 7.1.2 surround sound feature. Tweak settings remotely.

Promotional price: S$549 after S$100 cashback

Personal entertainment

Sony Wireless Noise Cancelling Headphones (WH-1000XM3)

It's advanced noise-cancelling technology with the WH-1000XM3. Close-fitting ear pads, a HD Noise Cancelling Processor QN1 and Sony’s LDAC technology ensure high-resolution audio as close as possible to that of a dedicated wired connection.

Recommended retail price (RRP): S$549

Source: Sony. The WF-1000XM3 headphones hard at work.

Sony Wireless Noise Cancelling Headphones (WH1000XM3)
Sony Wireless Noise Cancelling Headphones (WF-1000XM3)

Get noise cancellation and stunning sound in a compact, stylish, truly-wireless design.

RRP: S$349

Sony XB32 EXTRA BASS Portable BLUETOOTH Speaker  (SRS-XB32)

The Sony XB32 BLUETOOTH Speaker offers a unique three-dimensional sound experience, plus 24 hours of battery life. The speakers have flashing lights that sync to the beat, too.

Promotional price: S$239 after S$30 cashback

Details:

Sony's exclusive year-end promotions are valid up to 5 January 2020.

Razer shares SEA Games e-sports live online

There were close to 2 million views on the e-sports livestreams on the first day of the e-sports events at the 2019 Southeast Asian Games (SEA Games 2019), said Razer, reflecting high interest in e-sports in the region.

Source: Razer. Razer is the official e-sports partner for the SEA Games.

Razer, the global lifestyle brand for gamers, is the official e-sports partner for the SEA Games. The company made the e-sports event available online live in response to requests from fans to view the SEA Games remotely. The events are held at the San Juan Centre in Manila, Philippines, and are free to the public.


The SEA Games is an 11-country international sporting event sanctioned by the International Olympics Council, and the first to include esports as a medalled competitive discipline. The event features the following gaming titles: Mobile Legends: Bang Bang, Arena of Valor, Dota 2, Starcraft II, Tekken 7 and Hearthstone.

Details:

Online streaming platforms include Facebook, YouTube and Twitch. Esports battles at the SEA Games will end on December 10.

View tournament schedules and livestreams
 
Follow updates on the Team Razer Facebook page, Team Razer Instagram page, and the Team Razer Twitter page.

Collagen, probiotics and plant-based protein were hot topics at Vitafoods Asia

Emerging trends were charted at Vitafoods Asia, a nutraceutical event that showcases the latest ingredients, product developments and technology to shape the industry through science and innovation.

“Nutraceuticals is a thriving industry in Asia and Informa Markets aims to help support the industry by providing a knowledge base and platform to support the growth of nutraceuticals in the region,” said Chris Lee, MD, Global Health & Nutrition Network Europe, Informa Markets.

First-time conference delegate and show visitor Rikhia Mazumdar, Global Senior Brand Manager for Reckitt Benckiser said that she would certainly return next year. “I've learned about new emerging trends in microbiome technology and also probiotics - that is something that you don't get sitting out of a desk job. This was very enlightening for me,” she said.

Jeff Klien, R&D Scientist for Pharmatech said, “Probiotics and collagen have been huge. And they are definitely big presences in the US market as well, but it is interesting to see how overwhelmingly present they are in Asia.”

Aoife Marie Murphy, a Nutrition Scientist for exhibitor Kerry said that there was a lot of interest in Kerry's focus areas, which include the protein space, gluten, fibres, and probiotics. "There's lots of different concepts, lots of new ingredients emerging. Protein is still a key trend and there's a move towards plant-based protein with the sustainability trends that are coming out.

"But we also see really novel innovation of ingredients with a lot of science behind them that have health benefits for the consumer. For example, there are a lot of different probiotics in terms of the need states, like healthy ageing. Sports nutrition probiotics are becoming really popular at the moment.”

Another trend is the use of collagen not just for beauty, but for healthy ageing and sports science. Josh Hemelaar, VP Sales - China/APA for GELITA, a Vitafoods Asia 2019 sponsor, said, “Sports nutrition is being reinvented with science... and collagen is becoming a huge trend.”

Vitafoods Asia hosted 7,060 international visitors from 69 countries, a rise of 24% year-on-year.  The event is part of Informa Health & Nutrition, and will be held from 23-24 September 2020 at the Marina Bay Sands Exhibition and Convention Centre in Singapore.

TikTok launches #NDP2019 challenge in conjunction with Singapore's National Day

In celebration of Singapore’s 54th birthday, TikTok, the short video platform, is launching an exclusive local hashtag challenge, #NDP2019.

Singapore users are encouraged to showcase their national pride in red and white while recording these the video moments with special NDP stickers on TikTok, hashtagging their videos with #NDP2019. Ten users stand a chance to win limited National Day TikTok merchandise by using the hashtag.

Videos of NDP parade experiences along with their favourite NDP songs have already been uploaded, with over 260,000 local views and counting.

The official #NDP2019 hashtag challenge begins 6 August and ends 18 August 2019.

National Day-inspired videos include:



Doing the Kallang Wave cheer by @chaseyan38


Watching the parade contingent by @nickyadopt


Count on Me Singapore by @shantayscene

Details:

TikTok is available in over 150 markets and in 75 languages. Download the TikTok app via iOS or Google Play.

Singapore ranks third in APAC for fostering women entrepreneurs' growth

Source: Dell. Post-it notes show challenges facing women
in the workplace.

• Singapore is the third top-ranked city in the Asia Pacific region, behind Sydney and Melbourne in Australia for Dell's annual Women Entrepreneur Cities (WE Cities) Index.

• Since 2017, all 50 cities studied have improved on the majority of their indicators year-over-year. Cities in the Asia Pacific region are improving alongside all other cities globally, recording the biggest improvement in the Talent pillar.

• The Index serves as a diagnostic tool to advise policy-makers on how to better support women in business.

At the 10th annual Dell Women Entrepreneur Network (DWEN) Summit in Singapore, Dell announced findings from the 2019 Women Entrepreneur Cities (WE Cities) Index, ranking 50 global cities on their ability to foster growth for women entrepreneurs.

Source: Dell. Infographic showing the Dell Global WE Cities rankings for 2019.

Rankings for Asia Pacific and Middle East cities include:

12. Sydney
13. Melbourne
21. Singapore
23. Hong Kong
26. Taipei, Taiwan
34. Tokyo
37. Dubai, UAE
38. Beijing, mainland China
41. Seoul, Korea
43. Bangalore, India
44. Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
47. Shanghai, mainland China
48. Istanbul, Turkey
49. Jakarta, Indonesia
50. Delhi, India

All 50 cities have made progress since 2017, Dell noted. However, some cities made bigger strides than others.

“The 2019 Dell WE Cities report is unique from other bodies of research in that it not only ranks 50 global cities on their ability to foster women entrepreneurs, it shows how the cities have improved from their 2017 benchmark,” commented Karen Campbell, Consulting Associate Director, IHS Markit.

“This year we can see some patterns emerging. Ranked cities have collectively made the most improvement in the Capital and Culture pillars, which shows the importance of measuring not just the operating environment but also enabling environment for women entrepreneurs. This data-driven approach shows where women entrepreneurs still face barriers in scaling their business.”

Highlights include:

• Out of a total of 100 possible points, the No. 1-ranked San Francisco Bay Area in the US only scored 63.7. Dell says that this means there is still much work to do to level the field for women – and validates the need for this kind of research and outreach to policymakers to move the needle for female founders.

• Lack of funding, high cost of living, low representation of women in leadership roles and the lack of government-led policies that support women entrepreneurs were among the barriers globally.

• Thirty out of 50 cities improved on more than half of their indicators. The most-improved cities represent nearly every region, which indicates how broad-based the improvements have been around the world.

“When more women work, economies grow. Technology is helping to drive this progress as a genderneutral enabler, and helps create a level playing field,” said Amit Midha, President of Asia Pacific & Japan, Global Digital Cities at Dell Technologies.

“Whilst all cities in the Index have improved, the crucial factor is the consistency of this improvement across the different factors that impact women entrepreneurs’ success. The WE Cities Index helps Dell Technologies get closer to our customers and understand the landscape in each city so we are better able to help women entrepreneurs scale their businesses.”

"We’re very excited about what’s been accomplished and what’s on the table," commented Midha at a media briefing. "Ten years ago, it wasn’t possible. Technology is a great new frontier and we are only at the end of the beginning."

Midha said that the size of a company is not as much of an advantage compared to speed and innovation, calling it "a great time to be a startup and a technology business". "We are solving problems that haven’t been solved before. Startups have a better playing field than ever before," he noted.

He highlighted e-commerce provider Zilingo's story as disruptive. "It's female founded, 50% of the board are female, we’re seeing a lot of green shoots come out, that’s fantastic," he said. "There's never been a better time to be a female founder."

In Asia Pacific (APAC), cities are improving as facilitators of growing businesses for women entrepreneurs alongside all other cities globally. The research suggests that APAC can add a collective annual US$4.5 trillion by 2025 – adding significant growth to growth – if women’s equality is addressed. Similarly, disruptive technologies also have great potential to push the region ahead as many markets are not faced with legacy infrastructure issues.

Four APAC cities are in the top 10 of most-improved for value of funds awarded to businesses with at least 25% women executives. In general, a regional challenge remains in the availability of funding – with contributing factors including lack of policy, and a lack of awareness that funding specifically for women-owned/led businesses is needed.

The research notes that public discussion on women’s issues is slow compared to the rest of the world, and the impact of those discussions emerged with less force. There are some exceptions. Much attention has been on the public discussion of women’s rights in India, owing in part to the power of social media in the country, and in Japan, high-profile women have spoken out against discriminatory working practices.

Regional highlights include:

• More cities in APAC moved down in rankings, than stayed the same or moved up.

• Cities in the APAC region scored the highest improvement in the Talent pillar. The region also improved significantly in the Technology pillar and was the top-improved region for that pillar.

• The median WE Cities score for the APAC region improved by a score of 0.7, compared to 3 in Europe and 0.9 in North America.

• APAC cities mainly fell behind in the pillars for Culture and Markets.

• Globally, Tokyo, Japan ranks second in improvements for women as a percentage of students at top universities, and first for the number of globally top-ranked universities. Tokyo also ranks most improved in number of  globally-recognised, successful women business leaders.

• Globally, Melbourne ranks second-most improved for percentage of the population with a tertiary education, and most improved for both percentage of women with a tertiary education and percentage of the labour force employed in IT.

• APAC is the second-lowest region in terms of board members who are women.

Singapore

Singapore ranks in the top half of the Index and is ahead of other cities in the region, behind only Sydney and Melbourne. The country ranks 2nd in improvements for an economic growth rate forecast of city, region or country over the next five years. While Singapore ranked No. 8 in 2017, and No. 21 in 2019, its decline in rank is not because the city has done poorly, but rather that the competition has made more progress.

Talent and Technology are Singapore’s strongest pillars. Singapore moved from 17th to 11th place in 2019 for Talent and moving from 10th to 6th place in Technology. Singapore’s Talent pillar benefitted from increasing its top school and business school rankings. It also increased its pool of professionals needed to help scale businesses.

Singapore ranks No. 47 globally for Markets as it was hampered by a high cost of living and suffered from a lack of accelerators and relatively few female board members. The 20 by 2020: Gender Diversity on Singapore Boards report was launched in 2018, highlighting that as of June 2017, the overall representation of female directors on boards listed on SGX crossed into the double digits for the first time in history. The report also noted that immedia te action on gender diversity on boards is imperative for Singapore to maintain its positioning as a leading global financial centre in Asia.

For the Capital pillar, Singapore ranked No. 25 globally as venture capital funding to female entrepreneurs increased, but this is still relatively light to other cities. Singaporean women also saw less crowdfunding, fewer female founders and a slight decline in high net worth individuals.

At the No. 28 spot globally on Culture alone, Singapore’s Culture score was relatively low due to fewer female role models or leaders amongst other factors. This said, Singapore is nevertheless more advanced than majority of its neighbours in the region in actively addressing gender parity issues.

“Singapore’s strong base in technology literacy and access to talent position it well to realise its goal in becoming the world’s first Smart Nation,” added Eric Goh, VP and MD, Singapore, Dell Technologies.

“This vision requires the collective effort of the public and private sector, to enable and equip individuals of all genders as agents of change. By highlighting the complex challenges that women entrepreneurs face in Singapore, we hope to be able to drive meaningful conversations and growth as we embark on this nationwide digital transformation journey.”

In a speech at DWEN Grace Fu, Minister for Culture, Community and Youth, Singapore noted that a lot had changed for women in the past 200 years. She highlighted the role of Samsui women in building infrastructure for Singapore in the 1960s and 70s, and said that women make up nearly half of the migrant workforce across ASEAN. Education for women has catalysed "a virtuous cycle that will benefit the economy," she said.

"Women are beginning to drive whole sectors of the economy. We are having our voices heard at all segments of Singapore," she said.

Source: Dell. Fu speaks about challenges facing women.

The Singapore government recognises the contribution that women make to the economy and is supporting the expansion of choices and opportunities for them, she said. "We don’t want our women to have to choose between career and family. We want to support them to have both in their lives, and increasingly men [to have the same flexibility in choices] too," she said.

Government initiatives include work-life grants to further develop a workplace that is supportive of flexible work arrangements, and a drive to expand diversity at the board level, Fu shared. The government is also looking at solutions to ease the social pressure on women to leave the workforce early to look after children and their elders.

"We need women around the table to equally cast our eyes on the present and the future, and ask ourselves what can we do to leave behind a great lecacy for ourselves, to create a better place for our daughters and our grand-daughters so that we will, equally, be the trailblazers of tomorrow," she concluded.

The 2017 to 2019 WE Cities Index results highlight the successes and challenges that each city faces, and where cities can learn best practices from one another. These key learnings, if supported by local governments, can add up to big changes for women-owned businesses, globally, said Dell.

Based on the findings and comparison between the 2017-2019 indices, Dell has developed a set of WE Cities Policy Recommendations focused on three areas, including:

• Access to and the development of financial and human capital.

Specifically, this can be supported through:

- Incentives for individuals and organisations to invest in women-owned companies through
venture funds, corporate venture, private equity and social capital.

- Modernisation of existing government certification, grant and loan programs that help women-owned businesses compete to reflect changing investment models.

- Promotion and marketing of existing government programs to encourage broader awareness and
use.

- Continuing to or start to foster small-business lending programmes.

- Creating new sources of capital such as crowdfunding and impact investments.

- Encouraging enterprises and government agencies to increase supplier diversity with a percentage of contracts being awarded to women-owned businesses.

- Considering a shortening of government payment cycles from 90 days to 30 days for small women-owned suppliers.

- Incentivise the adoption of family-friendly policies including access to affordable child care, elder
care and paid family leave policies.

• Private and public sectors role in increasing access to local and global networks and markets.

This could include:

- Supporting trade agreements that further liberalise trade and open new markets for businesses of
all sizes.

- Promoting global and open standards, and reliable mechanisms for cross-border data transfers
and business support services and networks, while providing sufficient protections for privacy and
information security.

- Supporting mentorship efforts through financial support and encouragement of multiplier
platforms such as accelerators, continuing education and training programmes, and facilitated
networking events.

- Encouraging conscious placement of women on boards, in venture partnerships and on executive
teams.

- Promoting positive success stories of female founders and business owners through the media,
conferences and leadership movements.

• How government and business leaders can help women entrepreneurs thrive in the changing face of technology, for example through:

- Streamlining the process of partnering and applying for government resources,

- Emphasising science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) and digital literacy in
education and early training programmes.

- Working with business leaders and educators to encourage technology training programmes to end
unconscious biases in the STEM fields, government, corporations and institutions.

- Enabling access to broadband globally.

- Increasing awareness of options women have to the hardware, software and digital resources they need to scale their companies.
Dell partnered with IHS Markit to launch the research to measure a city’s ability to attract and support high-potential women entrepreneurs. Research for WE Cities began during the 2016 DWEN Research Symposium. The successful pilot of the 2016 index led to the scaling for the 2017 index to include 50 cities and in turn the remeasuring and ranking for 2019.

Building on 10 years of research on women entrepreneurs, Dell partnered with IHS Markit to research and rank 50 cities on five characteristics, including access to Capital, Technology, Talent, Culture and Markets. These pillars were organised into two groups — operating environment and enabling environment.

The criteria includes the impact of local policies, programmes and characteristics in addition to national laws and customs to help improve support for women entrepreneurs and the overall economy.

The overall rating is based on 71 indicators; 45 of which have a gender-based component. Individual indicators were weighted based on four criteria: relevance, quality of underlying data, uniqueness in the index and gender component.

"When we invest in women, we invest in the future; communities prosper, economies thrive and the next generation leads with purpose,” said Karen Quintos, EVP and Chief Customer Officer at Dell Technologies.

“By arming city leaders and policymakers with actionable, data-driven research on the landscape for women entrepreneurs, we can collectively accelerate the success of women-owned businesses by removing financial, cultural and political barriers."

Dell supports and nurtures a community of female entrepreneurs through the Dell Women’s Entrepreneur Network by providing access to technology, networks and capital. The annual DWEN Summit was held in Singapore from July 14-16, 2019.

Hashtag: #DWEN

Dubai hotels dominate in list of top meeting hotels by Cvent

Seven of the top 10 hotels for MICE in MENA are in Dubai, UAE. The rankings come from Cvent, a provider of meetings, events, and hospitality technology, which recently released its annual list of the Top 25 Meeting Hotels in the Middle East and Africa*.

The rankings are based on data gathered through the Cvent Supplier Network (CSN), one of the world's largest and most accurate databases of detailed venue information. Over 260,000 hotels, resorts and special event venues in more than 175 countries can be found in the CSN, which is part of the Cvent Hospitality Cloud that partners with hotels and venues to help them drive group and corporate travel business.

Cvent’s Top Meeting Hotels lists rank venues based on MICE performance according to various criteria, including total requests for proposals (RFPs) and conversion rate. Top venues are sorted geographically, and rankings are based on each hotel’s MICE performance.

"In the Middle East and Africa, we saw a nearly 20% increase in RFP volume year-over-year and hotels featured on this year’s lists are elevating their MICE strategy through innovative digital marketing and quick and complete online responses to RFPs – which is exactly what event organisers want,” said Chris McAndrews, VP of marketing for Cvent Hospitality Cloud.

"Our Top Meeting Hotels lists are consistently used by event organisers to find great hotels and by hoteliers looking to set themselves apart to increase their property’s MICE revenue.”

The 2019 rankings:

1 JW Marriott Marquis Hotel Dubai

2 InterContinental Dubai - Festival City

3 Grand Hyatt Dubai

4 Conrad Dubai

5 Fairmont Dubai

6 Radisson Blu Hotel Dubai Waterfront

7 Mövenpick Hotel Mansour Eddahbi & Palais des Congrès Marrakech

8 Radisson Blu Hotel Sandton, Johannesburg

9 Shangri-La Hotel, Dubai

10 The Ritz-Carlton, Dubai International Financial Centre


List highlights include:

- JW Marriott Marquis Hotel Dubai retained its No. 1 position as Top Meeting Hotel.
- Newcomers to the Top 25 list include: The Meydan Hotel in Dubai, and Jumeirah at Etihad Towers which is in Abu Dhabi, UAE.

- Marriott, AccorHotels, and IHG are the top three hotel chains represented on the list.

Explore:

View the 2019 Top 25 Meeting Hotels in the Middle East and Africa

Cvent also has a list for the Top 25 Meeting Hotels in Australia 
 
*The list was compiled by analysing meeting and event booking activity through the CSN. More than US$16 billion and more than 42 million room nights were sourced through the CSN in 2018. Cvent evaluated hotel properties that generated business through the Cvent Supplier Network from January 2018 through December 2018. The properties were ranked according to various criteria, including total requests for proposals (RFPs), awarded RFPs, total room nights, awarded room nights, major metropolitan area (MMA) market share, conversion rate, response rate, and the hotel's unique profile visits in the Cvent Supplier Network. The criteria are designed to provide the most accurate reflection of the top meeting hotels in the world.

KPMG index measures 140 countries' ability to respond to change

Asia Pacific countries and jurisdictions are generally improving in handling climate change, according to the 2019 KPMG Change Readiness Index (CRI). Singapore climbed two levels to be ranked No. 2, while Taiwan is up 18 places.

The CRI, now in its fourth year of biannual publication, ranks 140 countries* on how effectively they prepare for, and respond to, major change events. This edition of the report focuses on the capabilities countries need to successfully address climate change and mitigate associated risks.

Timothy Stiles, Global Chair of KPMG's International Development Assistance Services, commented: "Climate change is among the most pressing issues we face as a global society. Those countries failing to recognise the impact of climate change are likely to be unprepared for its growing costs, which will be levied on citizens, businesses and economies around the world. Our 2019 report aims to demonstrate that there isn't a one-size-fits-all approach to responding to major change.

"Our research highlights that too many nations can be reliant on either business, government or civil society to shoulder the responsibility for change readiness, but in our experience this doesn't yield the best long term results. True preparedness is when each segment of society - enterprise, government, and people and civil society - works in harmony toward a shared outcome."

The CRI top 20 countries and jurisdictions (with the change in ranking from 2017)

Switzerland

Singapore (+2)

Denmark (+2)

Sweden (-2)

UAE (-2)

Norway (+5)

Germany (+2)

UK (+2)

New Zealand (-3)

Netherlands (-3)

Qatar is now in 12th place (+7); Australia is 14th (no change in ranking) while Hong Kong fell two places to 15th. Taiwan is 17th (+18), and Japan (+3) is 18th.

The CRI measured each country across three key pillars of capability: enterprise sustainability, government as well as people and civil society. Enterprise sustainability, which looks at the private sector's role in rising to the challenge of national preparedness and response to climate change and environmental degradation. Measures for enterprise sustainability include CO2 emissions per unit of GDP, and the share of renewable energy in use by a country.

The 2019 index revealed that countries most susceptible to climate risks are mostly low-income and lower-middle income countries. Less mature economies like Afghanistan are the worst-performing in climate resilience, as are countries in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. The majority of higher income economies are considered low risk, high readiness countries.

This year's report reveals that poorer countries face double jeopardy when it comes to climate change: a higher risk from the negative impacts of climate change and a lower capacity to implement climate-ready policies and institutions.


Explore:

Learn more about the CRI and how each country performed

^*All uses of the word 'country' or 'countries' in the 2019 CRI refer to both countries and jurisdictions. The term country is used for brevity.

The CRI is built on research and analysis on primary source data and from more than 1,400 experts and secondary sources including the World Economic Forum, World Bank International Monetary Fund and the UN.

CEE is poised to show off gadgets and games

• GAMEX's Singapore Robo Fight (Level 4, Gamex Booth 8601)
• Player Unknown’s Battlegrounds (PUBG) Mobile (Level 4, Gamex Booth 8601)
• Courts launches Singapore’s first air-con subscription service (Level 4, Booth 8113)
• Gadgets trade-in extended to corporate customers (Entrance at the front of Hall 403)
• Hot deals: Singtel GOMO - Free Best Denki S$20 voucher
• New products: OPSH Ultra Sound System Series, Klipsch T5 earphones, Google Pixel 3a and 3a XL

Get ready for gadgets and gaming at the 4th Consumer Electronics Exhibition (CEE). Held from 23 - 26 May 2019, CEE 2019 is organised by Exhibits Inc, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Sphere Exhibits, the events and exhibitions arm of Singapore Press Holdings.

Highlights include:

Singapore Robo Fight 2019 (Level 4, Gamex Booth 8601)

Control mini battle robots around obstacles with a smartphone to search and destroy enemies. Every battle robot has a camera with augmented reality so that the gamer’s smartphone can detect, track and attack enemy robots with various virtual weaponry.

The top two winners at the local qualifiers at CEE will represent Singapore at the upcoming World Cyber Games in Xian, China. Winners at the local qualifiers stand to win over S$3,000 in cash prizes.

Player Unknown’s Battlegrounds (PUBG) Mobile (Level 4, Gamex Booth 8601)

PUBG Mobile as the main competition title at GAMEX. Participants will rally themselves in squads of four to fight for glory and a chance to win over S$1,000 in cash prizes.

Source: CEE website. Banner for

Discover Microsoft (Level 3, Booth 318)

At the Create zone, discover how Microsoft Surface and Microsoft Office 365 are designed to unlock creativity. At the Play zone, find out why games play best on Xbox One. Fight the dangers of an ever-changing world in Anthem, and survive through the apocalypse in Metro Saga.


Singapore’s first air-con subscription service at Courts (Level 4, Booth 8113)

Instead of paying up-front for air-conditioners and extra for repairs and maintenance, users can pay a monthly fee to get it all. Courts is partnering electrical appliance brand Midea* for the subscription service at CEE. Users pay a monthly fee of between S$29 and S$99 per month for six years to cover the cost of the air-con units, unlimited repairs plus regular cleaning and maintenance.

Gadgets trade-in extended to corporate customers (Entrance at the front of Hall 403)

Consumers trading in their old gadgets for cash vouchers has become a regular feature at tech shows. For the first time, companies can now enjoy the same benefits at CEE 2019 for their old laptops, tablets, desktops, phones and monitors. Corporate users need to fill in an online form and arrange for a viewing appointment. Once the parties agree on the value of the trade-in, the company will be issued cash vouchers when it brings the gadgets to CEE 2019 for redemption. The vouchers can be used for purchases at select retailers at CEE 2019. 

GOMO by Singtel (Level 3 Summit, Booth 3S05)

Switch your number to GOMO by Singtel at CEE 2019, and get a S$20 Best Denki voucher on top of a free GOMO travel SIM worth S$20. This offer is exclusive to CEE. GOMO by Singtel is a no-contract SIM-only plan offering 20 GB of data monthly for S$20 which has been making waves with Millennials. GOMO subscribers also get 200 minutes of talktime, 200 SMS and free incoming calls.

..And more

Gamers will be treated to CEE-exclusive deals on the Super SXFI holographic audio technology with the Creative SXFI AIR C, while Dell is offering deals on its high-security Dell Latitude 5590 business laptops.



New products include:

OPSH Ultra Sound System Series (Level 4, Booth 8460)

Home-grown furniture brand OPSH takes its first dip in the tech world by launching its brand-new OPSH Ultra sound system at CEE 2019. This modular soundbar can be customised to fit into furniture. With Bluetooth connectivity, powerful speakers and a built-mic, users can even take their calls at the soundbar.  

Klipsch T5 earphones (Level 3, Booth 311)

First announced at the Consumer Electronics Show in the US this year, this new range of earphones from Klipsch makes its debut here at CEE 2019 before its launch in the US. The T5 Sport is ideal for the active with long-lasting battery and ear wings that keep the earphones in the ear. The T5 Neckband is great for the executive who prioritises voice clarity and long battery life while demanding minimalism. And for music lovers, there is the T5 Wired that takes all the great features from the previous line of Klipsch R6 earphones and makes them even better. 

Google Pixel 3a and 3a XL (Level 4, Booth 8105)

These just-released mid-range smartphones are packed with a powerful camera, fast-charging adaptive battery, and built-in Google Assistant.

Details:

CEE 
Suntec Singapore Convention Centre
Level 3: 11 am - 9 pm
Level 4: 12 pm - 9 pm

Check out purchase-with-purchase offers

Register for Singapore Robo Fight  

Register for PUBG Mobile

*This author owns Midea air-conditioners from Courts and they are exceptionally quiet, extremely cold, and have so far only needed servicing once in nearly two years.

The Private Museum explores fresh look at printmaking

The Private Museum (TPM) Singapore presents Repeat, Repeat, Repeat; revising the phenomenon of printing, by guest curator Zaki Razak, from 17 May to 7 July 2019.

Source: Eventbrite page. Poster for Repeat, Repeat, Repeat; revising the phenomenon of printing.

In this second edition of the TPM Guest Curator series, Zaki produces a group exhibition featuring works of printmaking in different mediums by seven artists;: Miguel Chew, Weixin Chong, Mona Choo, Urich Lau, Nadia Oh, Shin-Young Park and Shih Yun Yeo.

The Guest Curator Series aims to facilitate and support independent and experimental curatorial practice, as well as to present different perspectives on our world.

Printmaking exhibitions tend to focus on traditional methods and the expanded practice of artists challenging convention on what is permissible, and demonstrating sophisticated control of process. This exhibition takes a different tack, that of a meta-analysis of the art of printmaking.

Zaki says, ‘One definite consensus made is not to realise a medium-based approach exhibition but rather, break open the closed system of perception in printmaking and to instill a point of discussion on the phenomenon of printing.

"This in turn, responds to the essence of the tradition and the emergence of the mechanism of multiplication and repetition, the context of its evolution and revolution, and what its consequence is in this day and age.’

In Repeat, Repeat, Repeat; revising the phenomenon of printing, artists revisit and redefine the history of printing by exploring techniques and elements, covering topics such as urban culture in the digital age, science and spirituality, robotics and ink, as well as biblical art.

The artists’ visual responses are symbolic visual cues along the journey of printing. They revisit what was before the invention of the Gutenberg printing press, and how printed matter has since influenced the human condition.

The Private Museum is a non-profit private museum in Singapore founded by Singaporean philanthropist, art collector and real estate developer, Daniel Teo, together with his daughter Rachel Teo in 2010. The museum supports the exchange of ideas across cultures, educational initiatives, artistic and curatorial collaborations with collectors and practitioners of the arts.

Exhibition

17 May to 7 July 2019

Venue: The Private Museum

Artists and Curator Talk
The seven artists will discuss the themes presented in the exhibition with curator Zaki. Attendees of the talk will gain insight into the processes, find out more about their art practices and engage in conversations about their visions and motivations.

Date: 25 May, 3 pm

Venue: The Private Museum

The Private Museum
51 Waterloo Street #02-06
Singapore 187969

Opening hours:

Monday – Friday: 10 am to 7 pm
Saturday and Sunday: 11 am to 5 pm
Public holidays and other timings by appointment only

Vivid Sydney begins taking shape two weeks ahead of Lights On

Light installations are beginning to be installed throughout the Harbour City in preparation for the upcoming launch of Vivid Sydney, the largest festival of light, music and ideas in the southern hemisphere.

Source: Vivid Sydney. An artist's impression by Andrew Thomas Huang & Bemo on the Austral Floral Ballet, part of Vivid Light 2019. 

Lights On is scheduled for 24 May on 50+ light features and projections.

“For 23 days, Vivid Sydney transforms the city of Sydney into a mesmerising kaleidoscope of colour with awe-inspiring light sculptures and large-scale projections. It really is a world-class event that has to be seen in person,” Destination NSW CEO and Executive Producer – Vivid Sydney Sandra Chipchase said.

“This year, there are more ways to experience the festival than ever before, whether it’s from the water of our stunning harbour, high above the city or even whirling around on a theme park ride.”

There is still time for visitors to book tick for popular Vivid Music and Vivid Ideas events, and guests are encouraged to explore unique aspects of the festival as well as the famous 3 km Light Walk.

One way to see Vivid Sydney is at restaurants with harbour views. O Bar & Dining is a revolving restaurant that boasts 360-degree views from 47 stories up. Blu Bar on 36 at Shangri-La Sydney has views of the entire harbour, including the Sydney Harbour Bridge and the Sydney Opera House as does Club InterContinental, the rooftop bar and Executive Club Lounge at the Intercontinental Sydney, available to guests.

The Samsung Electric Playground also offers some of the best vantage points to take in Vivid Sydney. Samsung’s Electric Playground – a technology-enabled playground celebrating light, sound and imagination - and the Samsung Galaxy Studio are  immersive, interactive spaces which use mobile technology to enhance the Vivid Sydney experience.

Several specially curated spots will give visitors an alternate view of Circular Quay, whether from the top of the 6.5 m Infinity Slide or the Samsung Sky Walk.

The Samsung Electric Playground has over 20 Galaxy S10 handsets set up throughout the experience, pre-curated by experts to capture the Vivid Sydney memories – even in super-low light conditions.

Taronga Zoo Sydney has put up safari-style overnight tents, part of the Roar and Snore programme. This allows guests to experience harbour views combined with overnight animal encounters.

Then there are the see-through Igloos on the Pier at Pier One Sydney Harbour. These can be hired for a few hours with catering, or for the night so occupants literally sleep under the stars.

Festival visitors can also catch a Sydney Ferry or go for a Vivid Sydney cruise package such as a two-hour cruise that goes past Fort Denison and includes an aboriginal cultural performance for A$35, or a 90-minute catamaran cruise for A$49.

Sydney HeliTours tours of the harbour are available to get the ultimate views, with the observation deck at Sydney Tower Eye the next best thing.

Visitors can further enjoy Vivid Sydney at Chatswood. There is a Light Bazaar, a Cascading Harp, a six-metre tall sculpture of the world and projections that create an interactive show between shadow and light.

Luna Park comes into its own during Vivid Sydney. The amusement park has a new ride, Volaré. The largest waveswinger in Australia, Volaré is a ride inspired by flying chairs and is lit by thousands of LED lights to complement the festival.

American Express cardmembers can enjoy exclusive access to the American Express Lounge located at the Cruise Bar Rooftop on Level 3 of the Overseas Passenger Terminal, which has uninterrupted views of Circular Quay and the Sydney Opera House. Non-cardmembers are welcome after 8 pm, but must register online.

Australian Minister for Tourism Stuart Ayres said, “Anticipation is building for the 11th annual Vivid Sydney and now there are just two weeks until the magic moment of Lights On."

He added, “The interest in Vivid Sydney has grown at an exponential rate. In 2011 there were less than 500,000 attendees – the NSW Liberal Government has facilitated a 370% rise in visitors to the festival."

Details:

Vivid Sydney will run from 24 May to 15 June throughout Sydney, Australia. Obtain tickets, maps and guides at vividsydney.com

Get ready to sample food gems from around the region at RWS Street Eats

Resorts World Sentosa’s (RWS') popular food event RWS Street Eats, which attracted more than 100,000 last year, will return from 3 to 12 May 2019* with new dishes from the streets around the region.

Held at the Malaysian Food Street at RWS, the 10-day event this year will bring hidden gems – hawker stalls known only to the savviest of locals in their country – from Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam and Taiwan to Singapore.

This year’s RWS Street Eats will feature the 10 stalls at Malaysian Food Street as well as 14 new stalls specially brought in for the pop-up event. Overseas stalls include:

 Projek Nasi Lemak from Penang, famous for its lobster nasi lemak, assam fish nasi lemak and eggplant nasi lemak, crafted by third-generation hawkers;

 Waroeng Kita, one of Jakarta’s most popular restaurants, known for its East Javanese-style ayam penyet belado (smashed fried chicken with spicy sambal);

 Mama Tom Yum Noodle from the Rayong Province in Thailand;

 San Wei Qiao (三味巧崇德店), a local favourite in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, will be bringing its traditional Bamboo Sticky Rice to ‘RWS Street Eats; and  Mee Lang (麵廊) from Taichung, Taiwan, will present its signature Dan Zai Noodles (擔仔麵).

Top Chef Vietnam 2014 finalist Cam Thien Long, also known as Chef Steven Long, will be returning to RWS Street Eats to whip up his signature beef Noodle Pho. His pho has been among the most well-received dishes at the past two editions of RWS Street Eats. 

Snacks and desserts from Singapore will also make an appearance. There will be Nonya ang Ku Kueh and traditional nine-layered steamed rainbow-coloured kueh lapis from Molly’s Kueh, handmade floral jelly cakes from Wishing Upon a Cake, churros with gourmet sauces by Churros Republic, as well as mango Sticky Rice Soft serve by The Wicked Cream Company which is exclusive to RWS Street Eats. 

Opened in 2012, Malaysian Food Street stars authentic and original stalls direct from Malaysia that have stood the test of time. RWS’ direct partnerships with the stall owners ensure that the authenticity, quality and flavours of each dish stay true to the original stalls in Malaysia. Perennial favourites such as Huen Kee claypot Chicken Rice, Jalan Alor Star KL Hokkien mee, Fung Wong Confectionery - famous for its egg tarts and baked siew baos, and Penang Lim Brothers’ char koay Teow can also be enjoyed at RWS Street Eats. 

Details:

Entry to RWS Street Eats is free.

RWS Street Eats runs from 3 to 12 May 2019. It is open from 10 am to 9 pm from Mondays to Thursdays, and 9 am to 10 pm from Fridays to Sundays and on public holidays.

*Malaysian Food Street will be closed for a private event on 4 May (3 pm to 10 pm).

Cisco APAC SMB Digital Maturity Index finds Singapore SMBs in the lead

Source: Cisco ebook. The Cisco APAC SMB Digital Maturity Index measures digital maturity along four dimensions.

· SMBs in Singapore ranked No. 1 on Cisco APAC SMB Digital Maturity Index*

· Cybersecurity is the top technology that SMBs in Singapore are investing in, followed by cloud and analytics

· Lack of digital skills and talent within the organisation and lack of insight into operational and customer data listed as the top challenge by SMBs across the country

Small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) in Singapore are the most digitally mature across the Asia Pacific region, according to the APAC SMB Digital Maturity Index released by Cisco in mid-April.

The index highlights that more than 60% of SMBs in Asia-Pacific have started to embrace digitalisation, driven by improved Internet access and growing smartphone ownership. These SMBs are redefining customer experience and expectations, disrupting sectors and in some cases creating entire new ones, while capturing investment and funding opportunities.

The index, developed by research firm IDC based on an independent survey of 1,340 respondents in 14 countries across the region, looked at digital maturity of SMBs across four business dimensions: technology adoption and application, digital transformation strategy and organisation, processes and governance, and the capability to source, manage and retain the right talent to enable their digital transformation.

SMBs in Singapore were classified into the Digital Observer stage of digital maturity, but are still some way from advanced maturity. There are four stages of maturity in total, with Digital Indifferent being the least mature, Digital Observer and then Digital Challenger moving up the scale of maturity, and Digital Native being the most mature. The Digital Observer stage is defined as being one where companies’ digital efforts are heavily focused on processes automation to achieve efficiencies.

The level of maturity of SMBs in Singapore is best exemplified by the technologies that they are prioritising with cybersecurity being the top technology they are investing in, according to 16.7% of respondents. This highlights that they are placing security front and centre of their digital transformation journey.

As SMBs in Singapore become more digital, it is not surprising that cloud is the top technology they are investing in, at 12.9% of respondents. This is in line with the trend of cloud adoption across the region as the technology allows SMBs to scale rapidly as and when required and without significant upfront capital investment in IT infrastructure.

SMBs in Singapore are also adopting analytics technologies, with 11.2% of respondents listing these as one of the top three technology types that they are investing in. This highlights that they have a proactive data driven approach in their go-to-market decision making. Singapore and China are the only countries in the Asia Pacific region where analytics solutions rank in the top three for technology investments.

“SMBs in Singapore are often the first to embed digital technologies into the business to amplify their size, presence and competitiveness in the market. As a result, they are the first to benefit from productivity improvements, efficiency gains and new revenue opportunities. To get ahead, SMBs need to be more savvy with government initiatives that have been set up to support them,” said Tay Bee Kheng, MD, Singapore, Cisco.

However, SMBs in Singapore are also facing hurdles to digital transformation. Respondents said they are being held back by the lack of digital skills and talent within their organisation (16.7%), lack of insight into operational and customer data (16.7%) and lack of perceived value for digital transformation in their industry (13.1%).

The survey also revealed that government initiatives have an impact on SMB digitalisation in Singapore. About 41.4% of respondents say they are aware of government initiatives that support SMBs and have already benefitted from them. Another 52.9% are aware but have not taken part in these programmes.

Bidhan Roy, Regional Director & GM, SMB Markets & Distribution, ASEAN, Cisco added, “SMBs in Singapore are aware of the importance of developing a digitally-enhanced business to compete and use technology to improve business decision making around customers’ needs across all industries. The exceptional enabling environment in Singapore for innovation and digital transformation, combined with modern, upgradeable infrastructure, means that SMBs can readily take advantage of new innovations as they become available. This continuous focus on innovation is key for SMBs to keep driving Singapore’s economic development.”

The index suggests the following recommendations that can accelerate the digital transformation journey of SMBs in Singapore:

Digital transformation is a journey

It is not a sprint but a marathon. SMBs should constantly access their maturity across the four dimensions and prioritise key initiatives to address gaps.

Invest strategically

SMBs need to have a well-defined digital transformation strategy and roadmap. They need to use this as a guide to make strategic technology investments, ones that help them address their key challenges and leverage specific growth opportunities.

Embark on process automation and digitalisation

SMBs should look to gain efficiencies through process automation by leveraging relevant technologies. They should establish policies to standardise processes. As the organisation matures in their digital transformation journey, they should leverage data and digital technologies to transform processes, increase innovation rates and gain agility.

Secure buy-in

Change can be difficult, so SMBs need to ensure buy-in from employees and senior management. They need to identify digital champions within the organisation and bring them in early to the process. They should leverage these champions to catalyse a culture of change by encouraging collaboration, sharing success stories, and taking calculated risks.

Find a trusted partner

Many SMBs find it difficult to execute on their digital transformation strategy. SMBs should look for an experienced technology partner that brings consultancy and project management services, on top of technology knowhow. When deciding, it is important to find partners with experience working with and within the SMB ecosystem.

Explore:

Download the ebook (PDF)

*Respondents were from Australia, mainland China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand, Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Thailand, Taiwan and Vietnam. The SMBs were from multiple industries, including financial services, manufacturing, construction and resources, public sector, services, infrastructure, retail and wholesale.