The Singapore Business Federation (SBF) welcomed the recent signing of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) agreement and looks forward to helping Singapore businesses leverage this agreement to achieve commercial benefits.The 15-member RCEP agreement will create the world’s largest free trade area, accounting for US$21 trillion, or 30 per...
A study by Kearney finds that despite widespread commitment to achieving net zero by 2030, less than one-third of businesses across the region have decarbonization plans that are acutely aligned with the Paris Agreement, indicating a slower pace of progress towards global net zero targets.The study, titled "Regenerate: an...
MODIFI today announced US$24m in Series B, which brings its valuation to more than US$120m. The funds will be used to grow MODIFI's digital trade finance platform for SMEs into a global trade management hub.
MODIFI’s digital trade finance platform for SMEs spans the three major trading regions of Europe, Asia...
The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), in partnership with the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), have launched an open financial education and action programme for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in Asia and Africa.
Known as the SME Financial Empowerment (SFE), this programme...
The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Global Centre for Technology, Innovation and Sustainable Development and the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) have signed a partnership agreement to help small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) leverage technology to better access global value chains.
The partnership will provide SMEs with innovative financial and...
The pandemic and pandemic-related restrictions have further accelerated online sales growth, with Asia Pacific leading the charge. In 2020, e-commerce comprised half of the retail sales in Asia Pacific, and is expected to grow by 10 percent to 61 percent in 2025.
This growth can be attributed in part to social...
An inaugural survey of 800+ SMEs across six markets in Asia conducted by DBS and Bloomberg Media Studios in August found that SMEs recognise the value of transitioning to more sustainable business models.
SMEs in India led their regional counterparts in Asia, with more than nine in ten rating ESG as...
The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and the Bank of Ghana (BOG) have commenced discussions to adopt the Business sans Borders (BSB) open hub of platforms between Singapore and Ghana.
These discussions on close cooperation will benefit the small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and micro-SMEs (MSMEs)1 in both countries by...
A survey conducted by Maybank involving its SME customers has revealed that 67% of the respondents have successfully leveraged digital technology into their sales platform during the Movement Control Order (MCO) 3.0. The survey respondents made up 84% of Maybank’s borrowing SME customers and are from sectors such as...
Asia can defy a global economic slowdown in 2023 through an acceleration in digital transformation, greater regional coordination, and balanced monetary policies, according to new research from the London-based think tank, Asia House.
The Asia House Annual Outlook 2023 examines how Asia's economies can prevail and deliver robust growth through increased domestic demand for...
