According to the IMD World Talent Ranking 2018, Singapore is still behind the US and China in the adoption of eCommerce on both the supplier and buyer side. The report found that FinTech adoption is also lower than the global average, with the pain point on the buyer side, unable to switch from a traditional banker to a FinTech provider without facing bottlenecks.
The report focused on the need for Singapore to adopt a long term mindset around thinking digitally, with corporations needing to be open to major cultural transformation and flexible working conditions. This lack of agility, the report found, is holding back companies in Singapore.
Arturo Bris, professor of finance at the IMD Business School, said that technology investments that shift capital expenditure to operational expenditure is a start, adding that without this many company will lose out including follower companies. He observed that the hostility of Singapore towards international workers would be detrimental in the long run.
“Singapore is already competing with Thailand, Malaysia, and Taiwan, to attract foreign talents. So far Singapore wins, but these other countries are improving rapidly. Singapore must ensure that the country remains open to foreign employees,” said Bris.
Singapore is joined by Australia, Hong Kong, New Zealand and Malaysia in the top 25 global countries from the APAC region when ranked for talent competitiveness. APAC countries that came in the second half of the country were China, Kazakhstan, and Thailand, due to issues in attracting an international workforce and in the readiness of domestic talent.
