Decades of market intelligence a question away

ISI, the proprietary data platform for global market intelligence, has launched AskISI, an AI-powered research capability within EMIS, its emerging markets company and industry intelligence research platform. 

EMIS has provided company and industry intelligence across emerging markets for over 30 years. That intelligence is now available as a conversational experience with AskISI.

Early users have found AskISI can cut the time needed to prepare a single market report by up to two weeks and reduce data compilation across a set of companies from roughly half an hour to seconds. 

“AskISI has transformed the way we conduct research by significantly reducing the time required to gather and analyse information—from 15–20 minutes to as little as 5 minutes. Its ability to synthesise information, provide credible source-backed insights, and deliver fast, targeted answers has greatly improved our team’s efficiency. Most importantly, the information is grounded in actual data, making it highly reliable and helping us avoid the hallucinations often found in other AI tools. 

"As we continue to use AskISI, its impact on streamlining and enhancing our research process keeps growing,” said Filipe Mesquita, Market Intelligence Coordinator at Tigre.

“AI is only as valuable as the quality of the intelligence behind it. With AskISI, we’re combining the power of generative AI with three decades of ISI trusted research and market expertise, helping our clients find answers faster while maintaining confidence in the sources behind them,” said Steve Pulley, CEO of ISI Markets.

“AskISI powered by EMIS is designed to accelerate research. Users can now find trusted answers quickly by leveraging EMIS’s rich ecosystem of research reports, news, and company filings, so they can focus on what they do best: making informed decisions and driving results.” said Diego Obere, EMIS MD.

Key capabilities of AskISI 

Faster research

AskISI delivers answers drawn from EMIS’ 2.7+ M research reports, 40+ M news articles, and company filings. 

Verified sourcing

Every answer is grounded exclusively in EMIS’ proprietary and licensed intelligence, with a direct reference back to the original source document. 

Broader research coverage

AskISI surfaces trends, non-obvious connections, competitive dynamics, and strategic signals that manual research may miss.

Built with EMIS analysts

AskISI’s methodology and outputs have been shaped by EMIS’ own industry and company experts, ensuring answers reflect the standards and context of EMIS’ existing research practice. 

Multilingual research

AskISI supports research across EMIS’s local, niche, and global content, originally sourced in 68 languages, allowing users to work across markets without needing translation. 

Details 

AskISI is available within EMIS today, with plans to roll out across ISI’s other product lines in the coming weeks.

Plant-based meat market sees 17% CAGR through to 2027

UnivDatos Markets Insights has forecast that the plant-based meat market will grow at a CAGR of over 17% from 2021-2027. Global plant-based meat sales are expected to reach around US$85 B by 2030, compared to US$5 B in 2018. 

The research firm further expects that plant-based products will account for 10% of global meat consumption within the next five years while conventional meat becomes less popular. UnivDatos Markets Insights said that the supply of conventional meat products would fall by more than 50% by 2040.

COVID-19 created increased awareness about man's impact on the environment, the company said, and has driven government policies on climate change. Consumers stockpiled food during COVID lockdowns, selling 231% more fresh plant-based products in 2020 compared to the same period in 2019. IRI data analysed by The Good Food Institute also registered 454% growth in the sales of plant-based meat over this period.

Soy-based meat is expected to dominate the market during the forecast period due to its protein-rich content. By type, plant-based chicken leads the market followed by plant-based beef. In terms of format, plant-based burger patties dominated the market in 2020 because of their low fat and gluten content, and are expected to maintain their dominance throughout the forecast period.

Although North America dominated the market in 2020, the Asia-Pacific region is expected to witness the highest CAGR growth during the forecast period.

Major players mentioned in the report include:

- Alpha Foods
- Amy's Kitchen
- Beyond Meat
- Hooray Foods
- Impossible Foods
- Maple Leaf Foods
- Morningstar Farms
- Quorn Foods
- The Vegetarian Butcher
- Tofurky

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ACCA forecasts market demand for professional business and advisory services in ASEAN and China

The Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA), the largest global professional accounting body in the world, has launched a new report on future demand for professional business and advisory services, supported by the Singapore Accountancy Commission.

Source: ACCA Global website. Cover for
the Market demand for Professional
Business and Advisory Services report.

Professional services provided to corporates, including small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs), increasingly include services relating to data science, analytics, and artificial intelligence, ACCA said in the report. As an external aid to corporates, they can act as a powerful catalyst to develop and expand the digital economy and transform Southeast Asia into a smart region.

The report examines market demand for specific professional business and advisory services in Singapore, the ASEAN region, and China over the next three years, based on corporate budgets.

It also states where businesses are leveraging on external advice and aims to help consultancies (including accounting entities) review and tune their service offerings and business models to maximise growth and revenue in coming years.

According to the report, the IT solution business as a service line; including IT advisory as a service category, were among the top three most demanded professional services by corporates in the next three years.

In her keynote address, Idranee Rajah, Minister in the Prime Minister's Office and Second Minister for Law, Finance and Education, noted that the report had identified shifts towards:

- Smart software and systems automating mundane manual work like bookkeeping and expense processing.

- Emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) fundamentally changing the way complex and multifaceted accounting work is conducted.

"There were mixed feelings, I think, when we first learnt about new technologies like artificial intelligence and robotics. We felt that these technologies would change the way we live, work and play. We also realised that these technologies would destroy jobs," she said.

"But today, we have started to adapt. Today, we are starting to leverage on these technologies to improve our business processes.

"In the accountancy sector, robotic process automation has been used to automate repetitive processes. For example, businesses in retail, e-commerce and hospitality have adopted Xero, an online accounting software that automates manual processes. With Xero, retailers find that they can better manage their businesses such as tracking inventory and costs.

"With technology, professional accountants in business have moved up the value chain, from score keepers and, I dare say, bean-counters, to strategic business leaders. Similarly, in the legal sector, new technologies like lawyer-bots have also automated low value-added work for lawyers."

Minister Rajah also said that the technologies are currently incapable of building relationships, of replacing all systems, or of replacing all staff. "And when it comes to the human intricacies of the work that both the accountancy and the legal profession do, these technologies cannot do it all," she said.

Adaptivity, collaboration and trust will be key for the future. "As we transit into the digital world, these qualities remain relevant, in fact, not just relevant but essential, and will form the foundation for the accountancy and legal professions to effectively harness digital connections," she said.

The report was launched at the 2018 ACCA annual conference, themed Professional Accountants - The Future: ASEAN Digital Perspectives.

Helen Brand, OBE, Chief Executive for ACCA, presented at the conference on Shaping the global accountancy profession across three dimensions: digital, social and ethical. She said, “What this generation recognises is that they have a great opportunity to influence their organisations and lead the way with technology. This could be in terms of improving business processes, driving better knowledge collaboration, influencing employment models and the working at home agenda, virtual working or shaping future learning interventions. They may even be able to help with reverse mentoring of older colleagues with technology in the organisation.”

Leong Soo Yee, Director of ACCA, ASEAN & ANZ said, “ASEAN and the digital economy have great importance and impact in the region across multiple dimensions. This is further compounded with the scale and speed of activity in the digital economyg sector.”

ACCA, NTUC, AI Singapore further pledged to help accelerate capability development in the finance and accounting functions of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and for small and medium-sized professional services firms in finance and accounting (SMPs) on the sidelines of the ACCA Annual Conference 2018 in Singapore. The partnership will provide training, workshops and solutions in the three areas of talent development, digitisation and internationalisation, under the ACC(X)ELERATE programme.

Insights were drawn from various studies in designing the programme, including ACCA’s Professional accountants – the future: Generation Next, global research that highlight the skills finance and accounting professionals need to enhance their employability. ACCA’s Market Demand for Professional Business and Advisory Services was also a reference. This research revealed a growing demand for non-regulated professional services ranging from IT solutions advisory to risk advisory and process improvements.

Other references included NTUC’s Future Jobs, Skills and Training (FJST) Forum 2018 report, which highlighted the key enablers of success for companies to transform and stay relevant in a changing world of work, and a NTUC roundtable discussion with chief financial officers, 76% of which had indicated technology as the key driver of change for jobs and skills in the accountancy sector. Of the remainder, 20% felt that the change came from changes to business models and the remaining 4% felt that it was due to globalisation.

ACCA will engage SMBs and SMPs to take the lead in leveraging technology to transform their businesses and take active steps to develop their workforce’s skillsets. To enrich accountants and finance professionals’ digital skills and knowledge, it will also provide training and workshops focused on technology education that enhances productivity and facilitates internationalisation, including cloud technology. Tapping on NTUC’s suite of progression and placement programmes, workers will also be guided through this transformative process, enabling and ensuring that they stay competent to take on the jobs of tomorrow.

The programme draws on the digital expertise of AI Singapore and will work with technology solution partners that operate in the cloud and small business space, to accelerate the digital awareness and transformation in the finance function. ACCA and AI Singapore will also explore robotic process automation (RPA) as a potential industry solution and an AI talent recruitment programme for accounting and audit firms.

Reuter Chua, Country Head, ACCA Singapore, said, “ACCA’s global insights present the future of the profession and what global business leaders need from their finance functions to guide the direction of our programme."

Patrick Tay, Assistant Secretary-General, NTUC shared, “As highlighted in various studies including the one done by NTUC’s FJST, our finance and accountancy professionals will increasingly need to incorporate technology into their daily work as businesses and business operations transform."

"We urge employers in this sector, especially our SMEs, to leverage the program to develop their talents, digitalise their businesses and work with NTUC on the continued progression of their workforce. Collective action on the part of all stakeholders is a key driver to enable deep, sustained and meaningful change, and we look forward to partnering our industry partners, our employers and our workers to transform the sector for the future economy,” he added.

More details on the ACC(X)ELERATOR programme will be released end of the year.

Explore:

Download the Market demand for Professional Business and Advisory Services report

TechSci Research sees potential in organic dairy market

Increasing health consciousness, an expanding urban population base and growing consumer spending on organic products will drive the global organic dairy products market through to 2021, says TechSci Research, a research-based global management consulting firm.

Global Organic Dairy Products Market By Product Type, By Region, Competition Forecast and Opportunities, 2011 - 2021 predicts that the global market for organic dairy products will grow at a CAGR of over 11% during the 2016-2021 forecast period. The forecast is based on anticipated expanding product portfolios, easy availability of organic dairy products, robust distribution networks, rising Internet penetration and aggressive marketing strategies adopted by major companies.

Organic drinking milk, organic yoghurt, organic cheese, organic butter, organic milk powder and organic probiotics are the major segments in global organic dairy products market, with organic drinking milk and organic yoghurt dominating the market, globally. However, on the back of attributes such as increasing immunity, energy, mental strength, reduction in risk of cancer and chronic fatigue and cure for irritable bowel syndrome intestinal homeostasis, demand for organic probiotics is expected to witness the fastest growth in global organic dairy products market.

Karan Chechi, Research Director with TechSci Research listed various reasons why sales of organic dairy products are up across the globe:

• Rising awareness about health benefits associated with organic dairy products, 
• Increasing average household annual spending on dairy products, 
• Rapid urbanisation, 
• Easy accessibility of these products through retailers and online channels, 
• Changing consumer preferences, 
• Continuous developments in supply chain network and 
• Implementation of government initiatives to encourage farmers to switch to organic farming

"In addition, introduction of innovative organic dairy products such as energy based milk drinks, flavoured organic milk drinks and a variety of organic yogurt and other organic dairy products are expected to further propel growth in global market for organic dairy products through 2021,” said Chechi.

Organic Valley, Omsco, Whitewave, and Aurora Organic Dairy are few of the brands operating in global organic dairy products market.

Euromonitor: tech playing larger role in toys and games growth

The global toys and games market is poised for growth as favourable demographics in emerging markets, along with a tent pole* movie release schedule, are expected to support a 4.5% CAGR through 2020.

Global market research company Euromonitor International has found that global sales of toys and games reached US$179.7 billion in 2015 with in-game purchases and construction toys accounting for 30% of sales across the industry.

In-game purchases were the biggest driver of revenue growth for video games, increasing 21% in 2015 to reach US$44.6 billion. Mobile games reliant on purchases and the proliferation of smartphones was the main driver, but in-game purchases are becoming common in console and computer games.

Construction toys remained the fastest growing category globally for the eighth consecutive year, and the only segment to see double-digit growth at 14.2% within traditional toys in 2015.

“The release of Star Wars last year was the most significant growth driver within traditional toys with licensed LEGO construction toys recording a 16% increase,” Mykola Golovko, Project Manager at Euromonitor International, says.

Licensed toys totalled US$20.6 billion last year, translating to a 10% increase globally. While toys will see continued influence from licensing, new technologies will lead forecast growth for video games.

Virtual reality (VR) gaming had a limited impact in 2015 with only 2 million headsets sold. However, new products are expected to bring the technology to a wider audience in the period 2016 to 2020.

“With the release of Oculus Rift, HTC Vive and PlayStation VR in 2016, the market is primed to see strong growth in the near future with annual sales reaching 25 million units by 2020,” Matthew Hudak, toys and games Industry Analyst at Euromonitor International, says.

*Tent pole movies contribute heavily to their creators' revenues and often come with merchandise tie-ins.

Technavio outlines India fashion e-retail market

• Men’s clothing segment is the dominant shareholder in the market
• Key vendors—Amazon, Flipkart, Snapdeal, Jabong, and Yepme

The availability of a wide array of payment options and products, broader reach, and lower costs are encouraging online shopping for consumers in India, says Technavio’s analysts, who predict that the online fashion retail market in India will grow at a CAGR of almost 17% between 2016 and 2020.

Online shopping sites offer customers the opportunity to choose between a number of payment methods such as debit cards, credit cards, cash on delivery (COD), electronic wallets, smart cards, Internet banking, and demand drafts. Favourable demographic factors, better return policies, and increasing adoption of digital and push marketing by vendors are some of the other factors that will contribute to the growth in the online fashion retail market in India during the forecast period.

“The distribution of users between mobile applications and websites is an ongoing trend in the market. Mobile apps have a tremendous impact on the growth of the online fashion retail market in India as they offer a faster alternative to mobile web browsing for consumers to shop on the go. Key players in the market are coming up with more sophisticated fashion apps designed to leverage each functionality on specific operating systems such as Windows, Android, and iOS. Online retailers are emphasising on finding a balance between mobile applications and websites to cater to the masses who prefer shopping online,” says Brijesh Kumar Choubey, Lead Analyst, Consumer & Retail, Technavio Research.

In 2015, men's clothing online accounted for around 53% of the market share to dominate the online fashion retail market. However, more women in the country are likely to be employed and empowered financially in the coming years, thereby boosting growth in the women’s clothing online segment. Furthermore, hectic lifestyles and time crunch are encouraging women to transition towards online shopping rather than visit brick-and-mortar stores. The availability of premium women’s clothing is also projected to increase purchases and add more revenue by 2020.

The key players in the online fashion retail market in India include Amazon, Flipkart, Snapdeal, Jabong, and Yepme. Intense competition prevails in this market with most players selling broadly similar products. However, the global players like Amazon and eBay are offering an impressive range of fashion products, which has posed a tough challenge for regional players like Flipkart and Snapdeal. According to Technavio, the purchase decision of consumers is price-dependent so vendors need to focus on pricing strategies and the provision of innovative services. Most users prefer COD and conduct a price comparison before making a purchase, the research firm added.

INVADE wants to matchmake landlords and retailers in Singapore

INVADE, Singapore’s first real-time retail space booking system, has gone live. The platform allows online matching and booking of retail space requirements in real-time. More than 35,000 retail businesses, startups and entrepreneurs are already INVADE members.

INVADE is the brainchild of two Singaporeans – Koh Cheng Guan and Kent Teo, who have worked with major landlords, marketed pop-up and retail spaces as well as organised flea market events in the past. The two discovered that entrepreneurs spend a lot of time looking for appropriate retail spaces, while landlords want to fill underutilised space, driving the need for a match-making service.

INVADE aims to bridge the gap by simplifying the process of publicising an available space and of paying for it. Spaces can range from shelves and tables to booth space at a flea market to traditional shop spaces. Entrepreneurs go through a four-step process: browse, compare, pay, start to start selling products, while landlords have the three-step process of list, consider tenants, receive payment. 

Transactions can be completed within minutes, the company said. The founders also found that there are far fewer locally-made products and brands in Singapore compared to home-grown equivalents in other countries, and believe that INVADE will help local brands get more exposure.

INVADE’s Co-Founder and Strategic Marketing Manager Koh Cheng Guan said, “INVADE provides an efficient, secure and transparent way for businesses to search and list spaces. It also allows our local entrepreneurs and home-grown products an opportunity to compete with top retail brands in prominent spaces.”

“Retailers are able to book spaces based on their business model and needs, all under one site,” added Kent Teo, INVADE’s Co-Founder and Business Development Manager. 

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Cheaper smartphones.. if you're in an emerging market

Manufacturers are already thinking about other emerging markets when planning for future smartphone growth. China accounted for one out of every three smartphones shipped around the world in 2013, but is reaching saturation, according to the International Data Corporation (IDC) Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker.

IDC says smartphones already account for over 80% of China’s total phone sales. The next half billion new smartphone customers will increasingly come mainly from India and Africa, the research firm predicts. 

"The China boom is now slowing," said Melissa Chau, Senior Research Manager for mobile devices at IDC Asia/Pacific. "China is becoming more like mature markets in North America and Western Europe, where smartphone sales growth is slackening off." 

Xiaomi already has the Redmi, while Nokia announced the Android Open Source Project-based Nokia X family of low-end smartphones and accompanying developer platform at the Mobile World Congress in Spain on February 24. The Nokia Xs are positioned between the Asha feature phones and high end Lumia smartphones, allowing the phone maker a stab at a new market.

Based on the Android Open Source Project (AOSP), and backed by Nokia's deep ties with operators, the Nokia X platform gives Android(TM) developers the chance to tap into, and profit from, a rapidly expanding part of the market. The launch builds on Nokia's leadership in delivering innovation to more price points with its family of Lumia smartphones, and the latest momentum for Windows Phone. - See more at: http://press.nokia.com/2014/02/24/nokia-welcomes-android-developers-expands-global-developer-footprint-with-momentum-across-lumia-and-asha/#sthash.mvMryHhu.dpuf

oday at Mobile World Congress, Nokia unveiled five new affordable handsets including a new family of smartphones debuting on the Nokia X software platform. Based on the Android Open Source Project (AOSP), and backed by Nokia's deep ties with operators, the Nokia X platform gives Android(TM) developers the chance to tap into, and profit from, a rapidly expanding part of the market. The launch builds on Nokia's leadership in delivering innovation to more price points with its family of Lumia smartphones, and the latest momentum for Windows Phone. - See more at: http://press.nokia.com/2014/02/24/nokia-welcomes-android-developers-expands-global-developer-footprint-with-momentum-across-lumia-and-asha/#sthash.mvMryHhu.dpuf

India will be key to future smartphone growth as it represents more than a quarter of the global feature phone market. "Growth in the India market doesn't rely on high-end devices like the iPhone, but in low-cost Android phones. Nearly half of the smartphones shipped in India in 2013 cost less than US$120," said Kiranjeet Kaur, Senior Market Analyst for mobile phones at IDC Asia/Pacific.