Growth in Asia

During SMU’s first Presidential Distinguished Lecturer Series (PDLS) held overseas, in Jakarta, SMU President Professor Lily Kong moderated an eminent panel  who spoke on the importance of developing a talent pipeline pertaining to sustainability in Indonesia, as well as exploring various strategies to help bridge existing skills shortages.

In 2021, SMU welcomed its largest cohort of early-stage start-ups into its Institute of Innovation and Entrepreneurship (IIE) Business Innovations Generator (BIG) programme.

In an increasingly globalised economy, expansion beyond one’s home market helps to unlock revenue potential, diversify one’s customer base and broaden the scope of investment opportunities. For multinational companies with a strong international presence, the next step to cementing their positions in global markets lies in successfully establishing regional headquarters.

Going global is often part of a burgeoning business’ roadmap for scaling up. But while international expansion into new markets can deliver exponential returns, it could also unleash a plethora of complex new challenges – a scenario that is all the more heightened in the cutthroat realm of real estate.

The effects of COVID-19 have rippled through the social fabric of communities the world over. Businesses and investments, in particular, have been shaken by the economic uncertainty that arose from the pandemic, with several industries transformed by the exceptional events of the past year.

With dine-in capacities slashed due to social distancing measures and national borders worldwide closed to control the spread of Covid-19, there is no doubt that the food & beverage and tourism sectors are two of the industries hardest hit by the pandemic.

The health of a society can only be as robust as the health of its most vulnerable members — this has become clearer than ever during the COVID-19 pandemic, when the heightened susceptibility of marginalised groups to the coronavirus has life-or-death implications for the global community.

The growth of the gig economy is one of the many changes that have arisen due to the pervasive reach of new technologies over the past decade. Jobs such as the Grab driver and Foodpanda delivery person arose due to the launch of new digital platforms.