The Afternoon Update with Lynlee Foo

The rise of AI, cloud computing, e-commerce, and other technologies and businesses that require large amounts of processing power and data storage is fuelling demand for data centres, and Southeast Asia looks well-positioned to benefit significantly. In Singapore, there are over 70 data centres, serving as one of the biggest hubs in the world. But what will it take for Singapore to continued to keep pace with global digitalisation and stay ahead in the data centre race? Ashton Soh, Director of Acquisitions, at real estate investment trust Digital Realty and Chair of SGTech’s Data Centre Chapter, shares his insights on the data centre industry and the outlook for Singapore. 

Har Cheong Gai is the epitome of fried chicken wings. They are plump and juicy, and bursting with all the flavours and goodness when you bite into the crispy crust. While we can easily get them at restaurants and your favourite zi char place, don’t you wish you could get the chicken dish as a snack anytime you want à la fast-food style? Har Har Chicken!, Singapore's first har cheong gai takeaway kiosk in Bishan's Junction 8 mall could be the answer to satisfying our craving on the go! Launched last month, it is founded by four friends who have a common love for prawn paste chicken. They are food personality and chef Lennard Yeong, one-Michelin-starred restaurant Labyrinth’s chef-owner LG Han, restaurateur Tay Jianli, and Bevin Desker, the former head of corporate development at food tech company TiffinLabs. Bevin shares how the concept was hatched and why is a clucking good idea. 

Recently, Stellar Lifestyle, a business arm of SMRT and the largest managing agent of retail spaces in Singapore’s rail network, officially launched the Staytion Lifestyle Centre. The beauty and wellness-themed lifestyle centre adds a variety of retail experiences to the station area, including food, health, and lifestyle at Dhoby Ghaut MRT Station. Are such experiences the future of retail at mass transit stations? How will transit ridership and a shift towards online shopping impact transit retail? Tony Heng, President of Stellar Lifestyle, tells us more.

According to a recent report by Deloitte and software firm Autodesk, which looks into the adoption of digital technologies in the construction industry, construction and engineering in Asia Pacific accounted for 45% of the global industry in 2022, and is forecast to account for nearly half of the global industry by the end of the decade. Disruptive new technologies combined with a challenging business outlook have led construction and engineering leaders across Asia Pacific to seriously rethink their tools, workforce skill needs and how they interact with clients and contractors. How can technology help mitigate some of the challenges in this sector? Importantly, is the construction sector ready to adopt these new solutions? Sumit Oberoi, Senior Manager, Construction Strategy and Partnerships, Asia Pacific, Autodesk shares his insights.

If you drive, you may have experienced getting stuck at a car park gantry. It is a common occurrence when motorists forget to top up their value cards and subsequently experiencing awkward moments at the carpark gantry. Singapore payment platform AXS has a solution. It recently launched AXS Drive, a mobile app that auto-deducts parking fees through the driver's credit or debit card linked to their car details. Available on Android and iOS, drivers can download the AXS Drive app, input their car plate and In-Vehicle Unit (IU) number, and link a credit or debit card for payments. AXS says the initiative is the first such innovation for Singapore and the Southeast Asia region. Jeffrey Goh, Group Chief Executive Officer, AXS shares more on the future of contactless payments at the car park.

This week has been a roller coaster ride for investors. A weaker than expected US jobs number and an interest rate move by Japan’s central bank made markets topsy turvy. On Monday (5 August), the Nikkei lost 12 per cent, which was the worst day for the index since the “Black Monday” of 1987. The Straits Times Index sank 4 per cent. Was this an overreaction? Or could we see worse? Dan Chang, an investment specialistfrom PhillipCapital weighs in and shares his views on the current volatility and the Singapore market.

Singapore is a hotspot for some of the world's top video game makers. Homegrown TrueWorld Studios, an independent video game developer recently clinched a deal to partner with Japan's Shueisha Games, the game division arm of Japan's largest manga publisher, famed for publishing iconic manga like Naruto, One Piece, SPY X FAMILY, and Dragonball Z. The collaboration is a big win for TrueWorld Studios. It is the first Singapore firm to work with the Tokyo-headquartered Shueisha Games which will be the global publisher for the Singapore-made first-person shooter action game, UNYIELDER, set to launch in 2025. One of the founders of TrueWorld Studios, Don Baey who is also Chief Business Development Officer, shares more.

Global real estate services providerSavills recently released its Asia Pacific Investment Quarterly report. In the second of a two-part conversation with Simon Smith, Head of Research for the Asia Pacific region at Savills, we zoom in on Southeast Asia and the preferred asset classes for investors, as well as emerging markets that Savills is watching. Most importantly, Simon shares his view on why this is an ideal time for investors to position their portfolios in the Asia Pacific real estate market. Take a listen.

There has been a significant buzz among investors and businesses since Singapore and Malaysia signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on a new Johor-Singapore Special Economic Zone (SEZ) in January. While details of the SEZ in the southern Malaysian state are still being finalised, what should businesses consider to tap into growth opportunities in the upcoming SEZ which is touted as a potential “Shenzhen of Southeast Asia”? President of the Singapore Manufacturing Federation, Lennon Tan, who is also part of the Singapore Business Fedaration’s Johor Singapore-SEZ Singapore Business Working Group (SBWG) shares more insights.

You probably know of the well-loved Dickson Nasi Lemak in Singapore's charming Joo Chiat neighbourhood. Its founder has recently sold the business to focus her efforts on several traditional fast food concepts including Champion Bolo Bun, the world's first bolo bun concept store in Tanjong Pagar. Hoh Loyi, founder of F&B multi-concept business, The Platform Collective, shares about reinventing local food in the Quick Service Restaurant industry and her dream of setting up an enduring homegrown fast-food brand.