Next time you stay in a luxury resort, buy a loaf of bread, open a bank account, sit on a massage chair, grab a sushi or sip a beer anywhere in Asia, check the company’s country of origin.
Chances are you are dealing with a brand based in Singapore, the affluent city-state that has broken beyond its compact size to become a regional economic powerhouse.
With the global economy apparently on the mend, Singapore Inc is all set to reap the benefits of stepped-up spending by Asia’s middle and upper classes in the coming years.
PHOTO: AFP
Singapore Airlines has long been an iconic brand, but newer names like resort and spa operator Banyan Tree have established themselves as top-tier players in the region, and their ambitions go even further.
“From the very beginning when we created Banyan Tree, we said that we needed to be a global company,” firm founder and executive chairman Ho Kwon Ping said at a recent news conference.
“If you don’t globalize … you eventually stagnate,” he said.
Conceived in Singapore and born on the territory of an abandoned tin mine on the Thai island of Phuket 15 years ago, Banyan Tree has established itself as a leading luxury hospitality chain rivaling the likes of Four Seasons.
It is working to spread its formula of Asian romance, rejuvenation and sensuality to other continents with exclusive properties costing as much as US$3,300 a night to stay in.
Over the next 12 months, the chain expects to open resorts in the United Arab Emirates as well as Acapulco, Mexico.
Other Singaporean companies are enjoying similar success throughout the Asian region, establishing themselves in a diverse field of industries.
OSIM, a maker of electronic massage chairs and other lifestyle products like air purifiers, has over 1,100 outlets spread across 28 countries concentrated mainly in the region.
“Singapore is a small country with a small domestic market, therefore it is critical for us to grow an external economy with Hong Kong, Taiwan, Malaysia and now China,” OSIM founder and chief executive Ron Sim said.
“Going forward, we believe that Korea and Japan are markets we are looking forward to, and India will be key too,” he said.
Budget carrier Tiger Airways is also becoming a mainstay in the travel industry, having established a wide network across the Asia-Pacific region with flights to 19 destinations from Singapore.
“Asia remains a priority,” said Rosalynn Tay, Tiger Airways’ managing director for Singapore.
“The region has a large population base and air transport remains the most practical mode of transport,” Tay said.
It is not to be mistaken for Tiger Beer, now one of the most popular beverages in Southeast Asia.
First brewed locally in 1932 when Singapore was still under British colonial rule, it has won over drinkers beyond the region thanks to aggressive marketing and expansion of brewing operations to key markets.
Bakery chain BreadTalk, which gained instant success at home with its freshly baked buns, has moved on to build a loyal base of customers in Indonesia, the Philippines, China and Hong Kong.
Sakae Sushi, a restaurant that serves affordable Japanese food on conveyor belts, now has more than 70 outlets throughout the region including the main cities of Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, the Philippines and China.
Crystal Jade Culinary Concepts, a restaurant group founded in Singapore by a Hong Kong family 18 years ago, now has restaurants in Vietnam, South Korea, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Thailand and China.
It also has branches in Hong Kong, competing with the best Cantonese restaurants on their own turf.
Singapore’s three local banks — DBS Group Holdings (星展銀行), Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp (新加坡華僑銀行) and United Overseas Bank (大華銀行) — are also well established with branches and affiliates spread across Asia.
Serviced apartment operator Ascott Group can lay claim to be the largest in its industry with 25,000 units in 66 cities in Asia, Europe and the Gulf region.
In China alone, Ascott runs over 5,000 serviced residence units in 12 cities, the company said.
“Having a global network of properties gives us economies of scale and the cross-selling opportunities across different regions and properties,” chief executive Lim Ming-yan said.
The firm is planning to open its first property in Georgia by the end of this year and in Kazakhstan in the second half of next year, he said.
PROTECTIONISM: China hopes to help domestic chipmakers gain more market share while preparing local tech companies for the possibility of more US sanctions Beijing is stepping up pressure on Chinese companies to buy locally produced artificial intelligence (AI) chips instead of Nvidia Corp products, part of the nation’s effort to expand its semiconductor industry and counter US sanctions. Chinese regulators have been discouraging companies from purchasing Nvidia’s H20 chips, which are used to develop and run AI models, sources familiar with the matter said. The policy has taken the form of guidance rather than an outright ban, as Beijing wants to avoid handicapping its own AI start-ups and escalating tensions with the US, said the sources, who asked not to be identified because the
Taipei is today suspending its US$2.5 trillion stock market as Super Typhoon Krathon approaches Taiwan with strong winds and heavy rain. The nation is not conducting securities, currency or fixed-income trading, statements from its stock and currency exchanges said. Yesterday, schools and offices were closed in several cities and counties in southern and eastern Taiwan, including in the key industrial port city of Kaohsiung. Taiwan, which started canceling flights, ship sailings and some train services earlier this week, has wind and rain advisories in place for much of the island. It regularly experiences typhoons, and in July shut offices and schools as
FALLING BEHIND: Samsung shares have declined more than 20 percent this year, as the world’s largest chipmaker struggles in key markets and plays catch-up to rival SK Hynix Samsung Electronics Co is laying off workers in Southeast Asia, Australia and New Zealand as part of a plan to reduce its global headcount by thousands of jobs, sources familiar with the situation said. The layoffs could affect about 10 percent of its workforces in those markets, although the numbers for each subsidiary might vary, said one of the sources, who asked not to be named because the matter is private. Job cuts are planned for other overseas subsidiaries and could reach 10 percent in certain markets, the source said. The South Korean company has about 147,000 in staff overseas, more than half
Her white-gloved, waistcoated uniform impeccable, 22-year-old Hazuki Okuno boards a bullet train replica to rehearse the strict protocols behind the smooth operation of a Japanese institution turning 60 Tuesday. High-speed Shinkansen trains began running between Tokyo and Osaka on Oct. 1, 1964, heralding a new era for rail travel as Japan grew into an economic superpower after World War II. The service remains integral to the nation’s economy and way of life — so keeping it dazzlingly clean, punctual and accident-free is a serious job. At a 10-story, state-of-the-art staff training center, Okuno shouted from the window and signaled to imaginary colleagues, keeping