- Businesses in Singapore are set to benefit from free health screenings to spot weaknesses digitally in their Web domain, e-mail system and connectivity.
- Property technology or proptech is now rising at an accelerated rate as the property industry has called for a greater emphasis on health and well-being in face of the pandemic.
- Cashless payment platforms can offer additional facilities to help small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to go digital, amid the rising use of cashless payments during the COVID-19 outbreak, management consulting firm McKinsey has stated.
- Japanese Ambassador to Malaysia Hiroshi Oka said new companies are starting to grow in new areas in the country by venturing into the health, medical device manufacturing, digital technology and halal food industries.
- Over 93,500 data science jobs were vacant in India at the end of August 2020, a study conducted by EdTech company Great Learning said.
- The Philippine government has to build its digital infrastructure to cope with the pandemic and other similar threats in the future.
Singapore launches safer cyberspace masterplan 2020 to strengthen cybersecurity
Businesses in Singapore are set to benefit from free health screenings to spot weaknesses in their Web domain, e-mail system and connectivity. This freely provided diagnostic is part of the newly unveiled Safer Cyberspace Masterplan 2020 that aims to protect Singapore’s digital sphere.
Singapore’s Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat said the masterplan outlines the Singaporean government’s blueprint to create a safer cyberspace in Singapore, tackling the high-volume, day-to-day cyber threats faced by the Singaporean people, businesses and organization.
The first thrust is to defend Singapore’s cyberspace at the outset by minimising vulnerabilities in our Internet architecture, devices and endpoints, and enterprise applications. Through this approach, end-users connected to the Internet in Singapore will have reduced exposure to known cybersecurity vulnerabilities. The national plan also outlines the use of artificial intelligence (AI) to sniff out security threats in key infrastructure, including broadband and 5G networks, and consumer devices such as webcams and Wi-Fi routers.
The second strategic thrust aims to ensure swift detection and remediation of malicious cyber activities at the national and enterprise levels, in order to minimise the impact and damage caused by cyber threats. The government will also support enterprises in protecting themselves against cyber threats through an Internet Cyber Hygiene Portal, and an integrated and automated Security-as-a-Service solution. Finally, CSA said the third thrust of the Masterplan seeks to empower the Singaporeans to respond to cyber threats.
Coordinated by the Cyber Security Agency (CSA) of Singapore, the masterplan is central to Singapore’s plans to lead in AI and smart nation deployments globally, and comes amid rapid digitalisation in recent months.“The pandemic accelerated the pace of change… Telecommuting, video calls, e-learning, online shopping, and digital payment surged,” said Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat. This means Singapore must “redouble” its efforts to fob off cyber threats, which are growing, said Mr Heng at the opening of the fifth edition of Singapore International Cyber Week 2020 (SICW).
Pandemic prompts proptech to the fore
Property technology or proptech has developed rapidly in recent years, primarily in response to the constant need to enhance efficiency and human experience in the real estate sector. Its influence is now rising at an accelerated rate as the property industry has called for a greater emphasis on health and well-being in face of the pandemic, according to JLL.
The Parq, a mixed-use development that is a joint venture between TCC Assets and Frasers Property Holdings, has introduced an ultraviolet-C germicide robot and installed UV-C emitters in its air-cooling system to help eliminate bacteria and fungus and reduce the spread of airborne germs. Similarly, the residential property development firm Ananda Development launched its “Covid-Free Zone” initiative including UV-C technology that it claims provides 99.9% protection against Covid-19, as well as to filter PM2.5 fine dust particles.
Though some of these anti-pandemic technologies will fade out in the post-Covid era, others will stay on for the long term. After all, as the real estate industry moves towards digitisation, proptech will continue to be one of the most important drivers in reimagining its future. To enhance occupiers’ experience, some landlords or property managers, through centralised command centres, will use a wide range of sensors and computer visualisation to capture human behaviour as it takes place on the property. Data analytics or machine learning can be used to provide instant support and customised service.
One Bangkok, which is under construction, will include central utility plants, centralised security and engineering hubs, and water and energy management smart grids overseen by a command centre. The Makkasan project, which is in the design stage, is another major mixed-use project that aims to have smart technologies and data-driven management solutions at its core. Upon completion, both One Bangkok and the Makkasan project are expected to become digital assets that will set new standards in Asia-Pacific.
Payment platforms should help SMEs go digital
Cashless payment platforms can offer additional facilities to help small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to go digital, amid the rising use of cashless payments during the COVID-19 outbreak, management consulting firm McKinsey has stated.
A recent McKinsey report titled 2020 McKinsey Global Payments Report, showed that global cash usage had decreased 45 percent in over 10 months, showing an accelerated pace of cashless adoption.
A separate Mandiri Institute study shows that digitalized micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) can help Indonesia significantly reduce the GDP impact of the pandemic. The government aims to have 15 million merchants using the Quick Response Indonesia Standard (QRIS) as a payment option by the end of the year, including SMEs. It also aims to have 10 million small businesses board digital platforms to ensure their survival amid the pandemic.
Bank Indonesia (BI) is also pushing for digital onboarding for MSMEs by developing the digital ecosystem and developing the financing access through their financial management application for MSMEs called SI-APIK, the central bank statement reads. Digital payment service Youtap Indonesia reported that it had seen a five-times increase in users and a 4.5-times increase in transactions from June to September.
The cashless payment trend is likely to continue past the pandemic era, McKinsey notes. “Even when some countries have lifted their lockdown measures, people still use cashless payments,” McKinsey partner Olivier Denecker said.
Japanese companies venturing into Malaysia’s digital tech, aviation
After decades of focusing their operations on the electrical and electronics (E&E) sector, Japanese companies are now diversifying their huge investments into new areas to reaffirm their confidence in the country as their top choice foreign investment destination.
Japanese Ambassador to Malaysia Hiroshi Oka said new companies are starting to grow in new areas in the country by venturing into the health, medical device manufacturing, digital technology and halal food industries.
“There are now in total about 1,500 Japanese companies in Malaysia and these companies have contributed to industrialize Malaysia. About 40 per cent of Malaysia’s export is from the E&E sector and this E&E sector has traditionally been exactly the areas of focus of Japanese direct investment. We have grown together with Malaysia’s industrialization,” he said.
While industries across the board suffered serious declines resulting in massive job cuts due to the Covid-19 pandemic, Japanese companies have managed to maintain and retain their employees totalling 340,000 in the manufacturing sector alone, in the many months of the movement control order. This is one of the most fantastic dimensions of Japanese investments in Malaysia.
In the health sector, last year saw Mitsui, one of Japan’s leading trading houses, acquiring additional 16% of Malaysia’s global hospital network, IHH. A Japanese medical device manufacturing company, which has been producing highly sophisticated cardiovascular medical devices in Japan, has established its first overseas new plant in Malaysia to export its products back to Japan. “The company is thinking about exporting its high-quality medical devices to the Asian markets as well in the future. So, manufacturing medical devices is one of the new areas emerging for Japanese investments in Malaysia,” he added.
Yet another new area for the Japanese investment in Malaysia is the aircraft industry. “Within ASEAN, we are exploring cooperation with the Malaysian government to promote Japanese private sector participation in the aircraft industry in Malaysia for its high potential. This is an example of the efforts the government of Japan is eagerly making to further propel Japanese companies to come to Malaysia to pursue business collaboration with Malaysian companies through investment,” he said.
Over 93,500 data science jobs vacant till August in India, finds Study
Over 93,500 data science jobs were vacant in India at the end of August 2020, a study conducted by EdTech company Great Learning said. Despite COVID 19, the enthusiasm and optimism around the analytics function continues to remain high with India contributing 9.8 per cent of the total global analytics job openings in August 2020 compared to 7.2 per cent in January this year, it said.
The factors contributing to the increased demand include a year-on-year increase in funding in Indian analytics startups, investment in the development of enhanced analytics capabilities in India, and a greater proportion of jobs outsourced to firms based in India owing to the pandemic, it added. The current demand is dominated by MNC and domestic IT & KPO organisations that are shifting jobs to India and are recruiting in large numbers.
The study tracked data science job landscape in 2020, including the impact that COVID 19 has had on the vacancies in the sector. It revealed the growing demand for mid and senior level professionals with over seven years of experience in 2020. Bengaluru continues to create the maximum number of jobs, contributing around 23 per cent of analytics jobs in India, a marginal increase from last year, followed by Delhi/ NCR at 20 per cent and Mumbai at approximately 15 per cent.
The 10 leading organisations with the most number of analytics openings this year are dominated by the IT and KPO players — Accenture, Mphasis, Cognizant Technology Solutions, Capgemini, Infosys, Tech Mahindra, IBM India, Dell, HCL, and Collabera Technologies. The demand for ‘Python’ professionals continues to remain the highest among recruiters with almost 27 per cent of the jobs requiring Python as the core skill. It is closely followed by Java/JavaScript that is witnessing a 22 per cent demand.
PH must address digital infra gaps to cope with pandemic, other risks: NEDA
The Philippine government has to build its digital infrastructure to cope with the pandemic and other similar threats in the future. National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) assistant secretary Carlos Bernardo Abad Santos made this point during the kickoff forum of the Development Policy Research Month celebration (DPRM).
One of the major constraints he mentioned is the country’s slow broadband speed, which he pointed out as “one of the lowest” in the ASEAN region. “In 2019, we ranked 97th out of 200 countries and we are below Indonesia, Viet Nam, Thailand, and Malaysia,” he said. Based on last year’s National ICT Household Survey, Santos said that “more than 60 percent of barangays interviewed do not have telecommunication towers in their areas, 70.2 percent do not have fiber optic cables installed in their communities, and 87.8 percent do not have free Wi-Fi.”
The NEDA official presented some ways forward to address these gaps. One is to make the Internet affordable and available for all Filipinos by “streamlining permits for infrastructure provision and rationalize fees imposed by national and local government agencies as well as private sector associations.” Another is to “digitalize government processes to promote social distancing and administrative efficiency”. He said it is necessary for “government agencies to go digital by offering e-permits and e-payments”.
Meanwhile, Department of Budget and Management assistant secretary Rolando Toledo, a panelist in the same forum, said the government has allotted P21.4 billion in its 2021 budget to improve ICT infrastructures in the country. He said this plan would be carried out under the Medium-Term Information and Communications Technology Harmonization Initiative or MITHI to enhance the country’s Wi-Fi, broadband infrastructure, and develop an e-platform and online system to support the e-governance initiatives of the different agencies of government.
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