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Information & Communication Technologies

Singapore Market Study

MARCH 2018

© Copyright EU Gateway | Business Avenues

The information and views set out in this study are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official opinion of the European Union. Neither the European Union institutions and bodies nor any person acting on their behalf may be held responsible for the use which may be made of the information contained therein. The contents of this publication are the sole responsibility of EU Gateway | Business Avenues and can in no way be taken to reflect the views of the European Union. The purpose of this report is to give European companies selected for participation in the EU Gateway | Business Avenues Programme an introductory understanding of the target markets countries and support them in defining their strategy towards those markets. For more information, visit www.eu-gateway.eu.

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Information & Communication Technologies – Singapore Market Study - of 174

EU Business Avenues in South East Asia

Central Management Unit

Singapore Market Study

March 2018

Submitted to the European Commission on 12 March 2018


TABLE OF CONTENTS

LISTS OF FIGURES ................................................................................................................................................... 6

LISTS OF TABLES ..................................................................................................................................................... 7

TABLE OF ABBREVIATIONS .................................................................................................................................... 9

1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ....................................................................................................................................... 11

2. WHAT ARE THE CHARACTERISTICS OF SINGAPORE? ................................................................................. 15

2.1. POLITICAL OVERVIEW ............................................................................................................................ 15

2.2. ECONOMIC OVERVIEW ........................................................................................................................... 16

2.3. TRADE OVERVIEW ................................................................................................................................. 17

2.4. MARKET ACCESS .................................................................................................................................. 19

2.5. BUSINESS AND COMPETITIVE ENVIRONMENT ........................................................................................... 20

3. MARKET OVERVIEW & EU ENTRY OPPORTUNITIES IN SINGAPORE .......................................................... 22

3.1 THE SINGAPORE ICT SECTOR ................................................................................................................. 22

3.2 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY EQUIPMENT ................................................................................................. 73

3.2.1 Market Overview ............................................................................................................................. 73

3.2.2 EU Entry Opportunities ................................................................................................................... 79

3.3 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY SOFTWARE .................................................................................................. 85

3.3.1 Market Overview ............................................................................................................................. 85


3.4 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY SERVICES.................................................................................................... 94

3.4.1 Market Overview ............................................................................................................................. 94


3.5 TELECOMMUNICATION EQUIPMENT ........................................................................................................ 103

3.5.1 Market Overview ........................................................................................................................... 103

3.5.2 EU Entry Opportunities ................................................................................................................. 106

3.6 TELECOMMUNICATION SERVICES ........................................................................................................... 112

3.6.1 Market Overview ........................................................................................................................... 112

3.6.2 EU Entry Opportunities ................................................................................................................. 116

4. REGULATIONS ................................................................................................................................................... 121

4.1 IMPORT PROCEDURES ........................................................................................................................... 121

4.2 GOVERNMENT TENDERS ....................................................................................................................... 122

4.3 SINGAPORE CONSUMER PROTECTION (SAFETY REQUIREMENTS) REGISTRATION SCHEME (CPS) .......... 124

4.4 TELECOMMUNICATION STANDARDS AND EQUIPMENT REGISTRATION FRAMEWORK .................................. 127

4.5 RELATED ACTS AND BILLS .................................................................................................................... 129


5. ANNEX ................................................................................................................................................................ 132

5.1 LIST OF USEFUL CONTACTS .................................................................................................................. 132

5.2 STARTING A BUSINESS IN SINGAPORE ................................................................................................... 134

5.3 USEFUL STATISTICS ............................................................................................................................. 139

5.4 BIBLIOGRAPHY ..................................................................................................................................... 169


Lists of Figures

Figure 1: Map of Singapore .................................................................................................................... 15 Figure 2: EU-Singapore Trade Flows, 2006-2016 ................................................................................... 18 Figure 3: ICT Development Index for the Asia-Pacific Region ................................................................ 22 Figure 4: Infocomm Sector Revenue (S$ billion), 2011-2016 .................................................................. 23 Figure 5: Annual Revenue by Domestic and Export Market, 2011-2016 ................................................. 23 Figure 6: Total Infocomm Industry Revenue by Segment, 2011-2016 .................................................... 25 Figure 7: Top 10 Internet Activities on Desktop PCs and Laptops, 2016................................................. 26 Figure 8: Top 10 Internet Activities on Mobile/Smart Phones or Tablets, 2016 ....................................... 26 Figure 9: Crucial Areas for ICT Security among Singaporean Companies .............................................. 34 Figure 10: Artist’s impression of Ponggol Creative Cluster ..................................................................... 43 Figure 11: Data Centre Distribution in Singapore .................................................................................... 45 Figure 12: Asia Pacific Ring (APR) ......................................................................................................... 49 Figure 13: Big Data & Analytics Market in Singapore (US$ million), 2013-2018 ...................................... 54 Figure 14: IoT Market in Singapore (US$ billion), 2012-2018 ................................................................. 55 Figure 15: Future Communication Market in Singapore (US$ billion), 2013-2018 ................................... 56 Figure 16: Cybersecurity Market in Singapore (US$ million), 2011-2018 ................................................ 57 Figure 17: Cognitive Computing Market in Singapore (US$ million), 2014-2018 ..................................... 59 Figure 18: Advanced Robotics Market in Singapore (US$ million), 2014-2018 ....................................... 59 Figure 19: Immersive Media Market in Singapore (US$ million), 2014-2018 ........................................... 61 Figure 20: Visitors at Huawei’s Booth at CommunicAsia 2016 ................................................................ 71 Figure 21: IT Hardware Market in Singapore (S$ million), 2015-2021 ..................................................... 73 Figure 22: Zensorium’s Tinkè ................................................................................................................. 77 Figure 23: Pirate3D’s Buccaneer Printer................................................................................................. 78 Figure 24: PC Volume Sales in Singapore (‘000), 2013-2020 ................................................................. 80 Figure 25: The Lenovo Yoga Pro 3 Laptop - Popular in Singapore ......................................................... 80 Figure 26: Asus Transformer Book won the Best Hybrid Laptop Award .................................................. 81 Figure 27: Rittal’s Distribution Enclosures for Data Centres .................................................................... 82 Figure 28: Swarovski’s Smart Jewels ..................................................................................................... 83 Figure 29: Xmetrics’ Swimming Devices ................................................................................................. 84 Figure 30: Software Sales in Singapore (S$ million), 2015-2021 ............................................................ 85 Figure 31: PC Browsing Traffic by Operating System in Singapore (%), 2016 ........................................ 87 Figure 32: Touch Dimension’s Autumn Dynasty ..................................................................................... 90 Figure 33: IT Services Market in Singapore, 2013-2020 ......................................................................... 94 Figure 34: Xiomi’s Mi3 Released First in Singapore ............................................................................. 106 Figure 35: iPhone Screen Size Evolution .............................................................................................. 107 Figure 36: Opportunities in the IoT Industry Related to High Smartphone Usage ................................. 108 Figure 37: Technogym’s App Uses Smartphones to Monitor Physical Exercise .................................... 109 Figure 38: Mobile Phone Subscribers in Singapore (‘000), 2014-2020 ................................................. 112 Figure 39: Mobile Market Share in Singapore (%), 2011-2016 ............................................................. 113 Figure 40: Fixed-Line Subscriber Growth in Singapore (‘000), 2015-2017 ............................................ 114 Figure 41: Foodpanda’s App in Singapore ............................................................................................ 118


Lists of Tables

Table 1: Ease of Doing Business in Singapore ....................................................................................... 20 Table 2: Infocomm security measures adoption, 2014-2016 ................................................................... 33 Table 3: Cloud Readiness Index, 2016 ................................................................................................... 35 Table 4: Singapore Data Centre Market, 2015........................................................................................ 46 Table 5: Additional ICT Associations in Singapore ................................................................................. 67 Table 6: Additional Trade Shows in Singapore ....................................................................................... 72 Table 7: Definition of Controlled Goods and Safety Standards ............................................................. 126 Table 8: Requirements for Controlled Goods ........................................................................................ 127 Table 9: Singapore Electronics Industry Performance, 2011-2016 ....................................................... 139 Table 10: Imports of Printers - for computer output, not multi-functional, separate units

(HS Code 844332) ................................................................................................................ 140 Table 11: Exports of Printers - for computer output, not multi-functional, separate units

(HS Code 844332) ................................................................................................................ 140 Table 12: Imports of Laptop and notebook computers (HS Code 84713020) ........................................ 141 Table 13: Exports of Laptop and notebook computers (HS Code 84713020) ....................................... 141 Table 14: Imports of Multimedia portable players - audio, video, software downloading

(HS Code 84713090) ............................................................................................................ 142 Table 15: Exports of Multimedia portable players - audio, video, software downloading

(HS Code 84713090) ............................................................................................................ 142 Table 16: Imports of Handheld computers incl palmtops & personal digital assistants (PDAs)

(HS Code 84713010) ............................................................................................................ 143 Table 17: Exports of Handheld computers incl palmtops & personal digital assistants (PDAs)

(HS Code 84713010) ............................................................................................................ 143 Table 18: Imports of Desktop computer systems, personal computers (PCs) and tower computer

systems (HS Code 847149) .................................................................................................. 144 Table 19: Exports of Desktop computer systems, personal computers (PCs) and tower computer

systems (HS Code 847149) .................................................................................................. 144 Table 20: Imports of Keyboards - for computer systems, separate units (HS Code 84716030) ............ 145 Table 21: Exports of Keyboards - for computer systems, separate units (HS Code 84716030) ............ 145 Table 22: Imports of Mouse, trackballs, joysticks for computers and other X-Y coordinate input

devices - separate units (HS Code 84716040) ...................................................................... 146 Table 23: Exports of Mouse, trackballs, joysticks for computers and other X-Y coordinate input

devices - separate units (HS Code 84716040) ...................................................................... 146 Table 24: Imports of Central storage units - for example RAID (Redundant Arrays of Inexpensive Disks)

systems (HS Code 847170) .................................................................................................. 147 Table 25: Exports of Central storage units - for example RAID (Redundant Arrays of Inexpensive Disks)

systems (HS Code 847170) .................................................................................................. 147 Table 26: Imports of Optical disk drives incl CD-ROM drives & CD-R drives (HS Code 84717040) ...... 148 Table 27: Exports of Optical disk drives incl CD-ROM drives & CD-R drives (HS Code 84717040) ...... 148 Table 28: Imports of Hard disk drives (HS Code 84717020) ................................................................. 149 Table 29: Exports of Hard disk drives (HS Code 84717020) ................................................................. 149 Table 30: Imports of Sound cards & video cards (HS Code 84718070) ................................................ 150 Table 31: Exports of Sound cards & video cards (HS Code 84718070) ................................................ 150 Table 32: Imports of Power Supply Units (PSUs) for computer units, separate units (HS Code 850440) .... 151


Table 33: Exports of Power Supply Units (PSUs) for computer units, separate units (HS Code 850440) ................................................................................................................ 151

Table 34: Imports of Network Communication System (HS Code 851762) ........................................... 152 Table 35: Exports of Network Communication System (HS Code 851762) ........................................... 152 Table 36: Imports of Speakers - single loudspeaker, separate units (HS Code 851821) ....................... 153 Table 37: Exports of Speakers - single loudspeaker, separate units (HS Code 851821) ...................... 153 Table 38: Imports of Speakers - multiple loudspeaker, separate units (HS Code 851822) .................... 154 Table 39: Exports of Speakers - multiple loudspeaker, separate units (HS Code 851822) ................... 154 Table 40: Imports of Laser Discs for recording or reproducing video (HS Code 852190) ...................... 155 Table 41: Exports of Laser Discs for recording or reproducing video (HS Code 852190) ...................... 155 Table 42: Imports of Floppy Disks not over 4 mm (HS Code 85232911)............................................... 156 Table 43: Exports of Floppy Disks not over 4 mm (HS Code 85232911) .............................................. 156 Table 44: Imports of Floppy Disks over 6.5 mm (HS Code 85232931) ................................................. 157 Table 45: Exports of Floppy Disks over 6.5 mm (HS Code 85232931) ................................................. 157 Table 46: Imports of Optical Media/Disks for Computer Use (HS Code 852341) .................................. 158 Table 47: Exports of Optical Media/Disks for Computer Use (HS Code 852341) .................................. 158 Table 48: Imports of Network Communication Devices in Wired or Wireless Network such as LAN

and WAN (HS Code 851769) ................................................................................................ 159 Table 49: Exports of Network Communication Devices in Wired or Wireless Network such as LAN

and WAN (HS Code 851769) ................................................................................................ 159 Table 50: Imports of Software on CD or DVD - programs or data, music or other sound

(HS Code 852349) ................................................................................................................ 160 Table 51: Exports of Software on CD or DVD - programs or data, music or other sound

(HS Code 852349) ................................................................................................................ 160 Table 52: Imports of Flash memory cards (HS Code 852351) .............................................................. 161 Table 53: Exports of Flash memory cards (HS Code 852351) .............................................................. 161 Table 54: Imports of Web cameras (HS Code 85258010)..................................................................... 162 Table 55: Exports of Web cameras (HS Code 85258010) .................................................................... 162 Table 56: Imports of Television cameras, digital cameras and video camera recorders

(HS Code 852580) ................................................................................................................ 163 Table 57: Exports of Television cameras, digital cameras and video camera recorders

(HS Code 852580) ................................................................................................................ 163 Table 58: Imports of Radio navigational aid apparatus (HS Code 852691) ........................................... 164 Table 59: Exports of Radio navigational aid apparatus (HS Code 852691) ........................................... 164 Table 60: Imports of MP3 players - no video capability, with radio (HS Code 852713) ......................... 165 Table 61: Exports of MP3 players - no video capability, with radio (HS Code 852713) ......................... 165 Table 62: Imports of Television PCI (Peripheral Component Interconnect) tuner card assemblies

(HS Code 85287111) ............................................................................................................ 166 Table 63: Exports of Television PCI (Peripheral Component Interconnect) tuner card assemblies

(HS Code 85287111) ............................................................................................................ 166 Table 64: Imports of Electronic personal organisers - or palm-held portables (HS Code 85437090) ..... 167 Table 65: Exports of Electronic personal organisers - or palm-held portables (HS Code 85437090) .... 167 Table 66: Imports of Central processing units (CPUs) - can be complete with heatsink and/or fan,

separate units (HS Code 847330) ......................................................................................... 168 Table 67: Exports of Central processing units (CPUs) - can be complete with heatsink and/or fan,

separate units (HS Code 847330) ......................................................................................... 168


Table of Abbreviations

A*STAR Agency for Science, Technology and Research

ACCA Asia Cloud Computing Association

ACRA Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority

AEC ASEAN Economic Community

AFTA ASEAN Free Trade Area

ASEAN Association of South East Asian Nations

CA Companies Act

CABs Conformity Assessment Bodies

CAGR Compound Annual Growth Rate

CoC Certificate of Conformity

CRM Customer relationship management

CSA Security Agency of Singapore

CSP Cloud Service Providers

DC Data centre

DSTA Defence Science and Technology Agency

EDB Economic Development Board

EMA Energy Market Authority

EPPU Expenditure and Procurement Policies Unit

ERP Enterprise resource planning

ERP Enterprise risk management

FTA Free Trade Area

GDP Gross Domestic Products

GeBiz Government Electronic Business

GovTech Government Technology Agency

GST Goods and Services Tax

IaaS Infrastructure as a Service

ICT Information and Communication Technology

IDA Infocomm Development Authority

IDC International Data Corporation

IDI ICT Development Index

IDP Industry Digital Plan

IMDA Media Development Authority

IoT Internet-of-Things

IT Information Technology

ITSC

ITM

IT Standards Committee

Industry Transformation Map

ITU International Telecommunication Union

M2M Machines to Machines

MoU Memorandum of Understanding


MTCS Multi-Tier Cloud Security

MTI Ministry of Trade and Industry

NEHR National Electronic Health Record

OTT Over-The-Top

PaaS Platform as a Service

PAP People’s Action Party

PDPC Personal Data Protection Commission

PMET Professionals, Managers, Executives and Technicians

QoS Quality of Service

SaaS Software as a Service

SCM Software configuration management

SDoC Supplier's Declaration of Conformity

SiTF Singapore infocomm Technology Federation

SMEs Small-Medium Enterprises

SPRING Standards, Productivity and Innovation Board

TDC Tropical Data Centre

TSAC Telecommunication Standards Advisory Committee

UHD Ultra-High Definition

UNU-EHS United Nations University for Environment and Human Security


1. Executive Summary

Singapore is a modern bustling city which has embraced the conveniences of modern life and

technology. Western culture is embraced, and plays a big role in brand and lifestyle consumerism.

The city-state, which is recognised as a leading financial and high-tech hub of the region, is a

high-income, free-market economy in South East Asia. It offers an open and corruption-free

environment to businesses in the market, and attracts prominent companies from across the

globe to invest and operate in the country. Currently home to a population of over 5 million,

consisting of both locals and foreigners, Singapore recorded an estimated GDP of US$ 297 billion

in 2016.

Singapore’s remarkable success in economic development has been strongly associated with the

country’s vigorous efforts to embrace the Information and Communication Technology (ICT)

revolution to promote economic growth. Singapore has specialised in the manufacturing of

hardware in particular, and today the ICT sector employs more than 170.000 people in the country

and has revenues of around S$ 190 billion (EUR 119.3 billion).1 The industry is highly oriented

towards foreign markets, with exports accounting for around 70% of revenues. Among overseas

markets, East Asia in the primary destination with 38.6% of exports directed towards the region.

South East Asia follows with 30.8%. Moreover, Singapore has assumed the role of regional

ICT hub in the ASEAN region, with international companies establishing their headquarters in

the country.

Information Technology Equipment

Overall, the market is mature in Singapore, and, more than on sales of new products, retailers

focus on short replacement cycles for expensive IT devices. Singapore is also a leading exporter

of IT equipment to other countries in South East Asia. It is a global player in the production of

electronics, especially integrated circuits, and the country enjoys a large trade surplus for IT

equipment. Singaporean IT hardware products have an export rate at around 84%. The country’s

1 As of 18 October 2016, 1 Singaporean Dollar is equivalent to 0.65 Euro

http://www.xe.com/currencyconverter/convert/?Amount=1&From=SGD&To=EUR

http://www.xe.com/currencyconverter/convert/?Amount=1&From=SGD&To=EUR


market for server and ICT infrastructure is driven by Singapore’s role as regional data hub, which

creates a strong demand especially from financial institutions and government agencies.

Information Technology Software

Singapore is a leading market for IT software, a particularly attractive target venue for companies

producing enterprise software, such as enterprise resource planning (ERP), which are highly

demanded by local SMEs in order to enhance productivity through the automation of essential

functions. The Singaporean government is actively supporting this trend, and it is spurring local

small and medium enterprises to adopt technology to boost productivity and growth. There is also

a considerable market for security software, and local businesses are exploring new opportunities

to create value and competitive advantages by integrating cybersecurity with digital business

strategies.

Information Technology Services

Singapore's success as a regional ICT hub has been a crucial factor for the development of the

local industry for IT services. The local market for IT services is set to record stronger spending

growth than the IT equipment and the IT software sub-sectors over the medium term, reaching a

value equivalent to S$ 6.7 billion (EUR 4.1 billion) by 2021 from S$ 5.6 billion (EUR 3.4 billion) in

2017. Cloud services in particular will be an important engine for growth in the market, and their

share as a percentage of total spending for IT services is set to grow strongly, reaching more than

15% by 2019. At the same time, the rise of other emerging technologies such as Internet of Things

and Big Data will create additional demand for IT services.

Telecommunication Equipment

The mobile phone industry, and in particular smartphones, is the most dynamic segment within

this sub-sector in Singapore. The country has one of the highest mobile penetration rates in the

world, more than 150.8%, offering interesting possibilities for application development. In 2015,

the mobile phone market was worth around S$ 1.2 billion (EUR 736.7 million), and smartphones

accounted for more than 99% of total sales, up from 74% in 2010. Samsung and Apple dominate


the market with a combined share of more than 65%, and Xiaomi is the third largest player with

8.5% of shares in the local mobile market. Most smartphones in the country are sold with an

Android software already installed (61%), while iOS and Windows follow with 33% and 5%,

respectively.

Telecommunication Services

The market for telecommunication services is highly developed: in 2015, wireline broadband

reached a household penetration rate of 102.8%, whereas 3G/4G penetration exceeded 140%.

The country's highly developed mobile market outperforms its regional peers. It is estimated that

Singapore's mobile services industry will grow by a CAGR of about 1.36% from 2017 to 2021,

with 4G being the main driver for growth. Data plans are relatively affordable in Singapore, and

SingTel Mobile, StarHub and M1, are the three players that share the Singaporean market for

telecommunication services.

Opportunities

Access to South East Asia

Singapore has managed to build one of the most competitive global ICT industries, and the

country is the recognised ICT hub in South East Asia. Leading international players from Europe,

America, and Japan, have established regional headquarters in the country, and local companies

have built an excellent network of factories, distributors and clients in the ASEAN market.

European ICT companies have thus the opportunity to partner with Singaporean players to

expand into the region.

Emerging technologies

Singapore is at the forefront of technological innovation in the ICT sector, and new solutions

have been experimented in the country. New technologies such as Cloud Computing,

Interactive Media, or Big Data, have disrupted the traditional market segmentation of IT and

Telecommunication. In effect, new ICT solutions and products now encompass several different


sectors such as health, security, energy, or education. European companies operating in this filed

not only will find a receptive market in Singapore, but also an interesting test-bed for the

development of new products.

Government Support

The Singaporean government is actively supporting the development of the ICT sector, and it has

set the goal to strengthen the country’s leadership in the global ICT industry. In this context, the

government has developed a 10-year ICT masterplan known as Infocomm Media 2025.

The Infocomm Media 2025 plan identifies six key technology areas that present opportunities for

growth in Singapore, providing insightful data on how these industries will evolve in the country.

The areas are: big data and analytics; the internet of things industry; future communications;

cybersecurity; intensive media; and cognitive computing and advanced robotics.

Online Channel

According to a May 2016 report by Google and Temasek Holdings, the e-commerce market in

Singapore is expected to grow to US$ 5.4 billion by 2025, and e-commerce would make up

6.7% of all retail in Singapore. Moreover, in 2015, purchases of media products accounted for

S$ 483 million (EUR 296 million), around 36% of total internet retailing, whereas sales of

consumer electronics were estimated to be worth around S$ 84 million (EUR 51 million) , and are

forecasted to grow further over the next years. The success of online players makes the

e-commerce channel an attractive option for European ICT companies seeking to test the market.


2. What are the characteristics of Singapore?

Figure 1: Map of Singapore

Source: Wikimedia Commons

Singapore is a small, multi-cultural and cosmopolitan city-state of 5.53 million people in the very

heart of South East Asia. Its total area is recorded at 719 km2, with 10 km2 of that made up of

water. Singapore experiences hot, humid and rainy conditions all year long, with north-eastern

monsoon from December to March and south-western monsoon from June to September.

The country is one of the most politically stable nations among the ten Members States that make

up ASEAN. Different ethnic groups live harmoniously in Singapore, which recognises English,

Mandarin, Malay and Tamil as its official languages. The Chinese make up the largest ethnic

group, with 74.3%, followed by Malays (13.3%), Indians (9.1%) and others (3.2%).

2.1. Political Overview

As a parliamentary democratic republic, Singapore’s parliament is very much modelled after the

Westminster system. The Head of State is the President who is elected directly by the people

through popular vote in a presidential election, following the amendments to the Constitution of


Singapore in 1991. The current incumbent is President Halimah Yacob who is Singapore’s 8th

President. She was elected in 2017.

Since 1959, The People’s Action Party (PAP) has been the ruling party governing Singapore.

Members of Parliament are chosen through a general election for a term of five years. The last

general election was held in 2015 with PAP securing a landslide victory with 69.86% of the vote,

winning 83 of the 89 elected seats in parliament. The three organs of state are the Executive, the

Legislative and the Judiciary. The Prime Minister, Mr. Lee Hsien Loong, is the effective head of

the executive branch of government since August 2004. The Supreme Court, together with

subordinate courts, holds the judicial power.

2.2. Economic Overview

A leading global business hub, Singapore offers an open and trade-driven economy that was

ranked third globally in terms of GDP per capita in 2016. Singapore registered a GDP growth of

2% in 2016, with a projected growth of 3.3% in 2017.2 Categorised as a high-income nation, its

current GNI per capita is US$ 85,050.

The Singapore government has pursued an outward-looking, export-oriented economic

policy that encourages two-way flows of trade and investment. This has enabled Singapore to

become a global trading hub with a trading capacity almost three times its GDP.

Singapore’s major industries include electronics, financial services, oil drilling equipment,

petroleum refining, pharmaceutical manufacturing, processed food and beverages, rubber

products, aerospace and ship repair, as well as its biotechnology, chemical and petrochemical

industries. Singapore has also become an important financial, trade and wealth management hub

for the South East Asian region and a global hub for currency and commodity trading,

transhipment and oil and gas refining.

2 http://www.todayonline.com/business/private-economists-2017-gdp-growth-forecast-33


Singapore’s economic success is likely to be maintained in the future, but given the country's

reliance on trade, it will be at risk of periodic slowdowns or recession when key export markets

face economic pressure. However, healthy public finances, a strong net-creditor position, and

solid economic fundamentals all contribute to Singapore's economic stability.

2.3. Trade Overview

Free-trade agreements are the cornerstone of Singapore's

economic policy. The country depends heavily on foreign

trade, and has inked bilateral trade deals with the US,

Japan, Australia, New Zealand, South Korea, India, and

Jordan. Singapore is also a member of the ASEAN Free

Trade Area (AFTA), which plays a key role in Singapore’s intra-Asian trade. ASEAN has FTAs

with China, India, Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand. Singapore is a party to the

Trans Pacific Partnership, currently going through the ratification process.

The EU and Singapore completed the negotiations for a comprehensive free trade agreement in

2014. The initialled agreement needs now to be formally approved by the European Commission

and then agreed upon by the Council of Ministers and ratified by the European Parliament. When

ratified, it will bring dividends for both parties. The FTA covers tariff-free access for goods,

improved market access for services, reinforces intellectual property protection, competition

policy, and technical barriers to trade and government procurement. It is also the first ‘green FTA’,

designed specifically to promote green growth.

The EU-Singapore FTA will see the elimination of tariffs on imports from Singapore over five

years, and was to have come into force in 2015. But its ratification was delayed after the European

Commission sought a European Court of Justice opinion on its competence to sign and ratify the

FTA with Singapore. Depending on the ruling, the FTA may come into force sooner, or may entail

a longer process. As of December 2017, the EU-Singapore FTA has not yet been ratified.

Total EU-Singapore trade in goods grew by 4.5% in 2016 to

reach EUR 50.8 billion


Trade in goods between the EU and Singapore has remained resilient despite the instability in

the global economic environment. Total EU-Singapore trade in goods increased by 4.5% in 2016,

reaching EUR 50.8 billion3 and the EU retained its position as Singapore's third most important

trading partner, behind only China and Malaysia. In 2016, total EU imports from Singapore

reached EUR 19.5 billion, while the EU exported EUR 31.5 billion worth of goods to Singapore,

resulting in a trade balance of EUR 12 billion in favour of the EU.

Figure 2: EU-Singapore Trade Flows, 2006-2016

Source: European Commission / Directorate-General for Trade

Singapore’s economy depends heavily on exports, particularly in consumer electronics,

IT products, pharmaceuticals, petroleum products, and on a growing financial services sector.

As a strong advocate of free trade, Singapore is generally a free and open economy. It has few

trade barriers except for selected dutiable goods - alcohol, petroleum products, tobacco products

and motor vehicles. There are some import restrictions based mainly on environmental, health,

and public security concerns.

3 https://eeas.europa.eu/delegations/singapore/29067/eu-singapore-trade-investment-2017-booklet_en


2.4. Market Access

There are at present over 10,000 European companies of various sectors operating in Singapore.

Most of these companies are using their establishment in the city-state to serve as their regional

hub to Asia. European companies looking to do business in Singapore can expect integrity,

adaptability and respect for intellectual capital to be emphasised upon by a strategic-minded

administration, which is attuned to the needs of companies to protect invention and innovation.

Using agents or distributors is a

common and effective way to serve

the Singapore market and, from here,

the other countries in South East Asia.

Many distributors in Singapore deal not

only with the local market but also with

the broader regional market. Prospective exporters to Singapore should be aware that

competition is high and that buyers expect good after-sales service. When business warrants,

many companies have found it useful and sometimes necessary to set up offices in Singapore.

On 31 December 2015, the ten ASEAN Member States established a common market, the

ASEAN Economic Community (AEC), a boost to South East Asia's combined economic clout

as the world's seventh largest economy. The AEC has an estimated economic value of

US$ 2.5 trillion annually, powered by a fast-growing market of more than 600 million people.

Being part of the AEC makes Singapore an attractive choice for firms looking to tap the growth

potential of the bloc.

Singapore’s strategic location in the heart of Asia enables businesses to access the region’s

rapidly expanding markets. Singapore has strong business, cultural and linguistic links to

many Asian markets. Singapore’s cultural and linguistic connections across Asia, highly

qualified workforce, and openness to top global talent makes Singapore the preferred location to

support the global business community in their expansion in Asia.

Singapore’s cultural and linguistic connections across Asia, highly qualified workforce, and

openness to top global talent makes Singapore the preferred location to support the global business

community in their expansion in Asia


2.5. Business and Competitive Environment

Ease of Doing Business in Singapore 2017 Rank 2016 Rank Change in Rank

Overall Rank 2 2 0

Starting a business 6 10 + 4

Dealing with construction permits 10 1 - 9

Getting electricity 10 6 - 4

Registering property 19 17 - 2

Getting credit 20 19 - 1

Protecting minority investors 1 1 No change

Paying taxes 8 5 - 3

Trading across borders 41 41 No change

Enforcing contracts 2 1 - 1

Resolving insolvency 29 27 - 2

Table 1: Ease of Doing Business in Singapore

Source: World Bank

The World Bank ranked Singapore at the second spot in its Doing Business Rank for 2017,

downgrading it from the first place in 2016. While exhibiting a slighly downward trend, Singapore

has historically retained one of the top spots since 2007.

Well-organised governance has given rise to some of the world's finest infrastructure, including

sophisticated telecommunications networks, extensive public transportation, well-managed

healthcare and education, and ultra-modern air and seaport facilities.

Singapore Changi Airport has received multiple awards and accolades, and is consistently ranked

by numerous airport rating agencies as one of the best international airports in the world.

In 2016, it handled a record 58.7 million passengers (a growth of 5.9% on 2015), 360,490 landings

and take-offs, and 1.97 million tonnes of airfreight movements, making it one of the busiest

airports on the globe. Changi International Airport is linked to 300 cities in 70 countries.


Singapore is one of the world’s premier hub ports, offering a breadth and range of maritime

services that few can match. The Port of Singapore recorded a total of 626.2 million tonnes of

cargo in 2017, and is currently the busiest transhipment port in the world, connecting Singapore

to over 600 ports in over 120 countries. Other modern infrastructure in the country includes

extensive lines of roads and railroads, which ensure

efficient movement of people and goods.

The tax system is well established and considered

to be investor-friendly, reflecting Singapore's overall

favourable attitude towards foreign investment.

The government is keen to attract foreign investment

and is unlikely to undertake tax or other measures that might dissuade such investment.

The responsibility to handle tax issues is vested in the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore.

It offers various taxation schemes for individuals residing and corporations operating in Singapore.

Tax incentives are available to R&D activities of all industries and a special tax regime for the

banking, fund management, leasing and shipping sectors.

To encourage enhancement in economic and technological development, tax incentives in the

form of reduction of tax rate or exemption from applicable tax are offered to various industries

including manufacturing and services, investment and financial services, shipping and trading.

Apart from that, Singapore also offers regional and international headquarters tax incentives to

corporations operating from the country to serve international and regional markets.

Singapore has sophisticated telecommunications networks, extensive public transportation, well-managed healthcare and education and ultra-modern air and seaport facilities


3. Market Overview & EU Entry Opportunities in Singapore

3.1 The Singapore ICT Sector

The Information & Communication Technologies (ICT) sector in Singapore has developed rapidly

over the past few years, and the country is becoming the ICT capital of ASEAN. Singapore’s ICT

infrastructure is currently ranked 1st in the Global Information Technology Ranking by the World

Economic Forum. Moreover, the country was ranked 18th worldwide in ITU’s 2017 ICT

Development Index (IDI),4 above the developed-country average, and 6th in the Asia-Pacific

region, following only Korea, Hong Kong, Japan, New Zealand, and Australia.

Figure 3: ICT Development Index for the Asia-Pacific Region

Source: ITU

In 2017, the Government of Singapore has also topped the global list for the third consecutive

year for its use of ICT to improve the quality of services provided, coming above such countries

as Denmark (2nd), the U.S. (3rd), Japan (4th), and Estonia (5th).

The ICT industry’s revenue grew by compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 13.2% per annum

from 2011 to 2016 to reach S$ 175.8 billion (EUR 108.7 billion) in 2016, largely due to re-exports

of mobile and smart phones and storage devices.5 A slight revenue contraction, however, was

4 ITU, IDI 2017 ranking: http://www.itu.int/net4/ITU-D/idi/2017/index.html 5 https://www.singaporeindustryscholarship.sg/industries/infocomm-media


observed in 2016, with revenue declining from S$ 189.6 billion (EUR 115.5 billion) to

S$ 175.8 billion (EUR 115.5 billion). More than 72% of this revenue came from exports.

Figure 4: Infocomm Sector Revenue (S$ billion), 2011-2016

Source: IMDA’s Annual Survey on Infocomm Industry

Figure 5: Annual Revenue by Domestic and Export Market, 2011-2016


According to the latest available data from Infocomm Development Authority,6 Singapore’s ICT

export revenue grew from S$ 58.7 billion (EUR 35.8 billion) in 2011 to S$ 127.8 billion

(EUR 77.9 billion) in 2016, with the sector remaining heavily export-oriented. Domestic revenue

grew from S$35.8 billion (EUR 22 billion) in 2011 to S$48.0 billion (EUR 29.5 billion) in 2016.

6 IDA (2016). Annual Survey on Infocomm Industry for 2015

94,5113,3

156,3 167,1189,6

175,8

2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016

Infocomm Sector Revenue (S$ billion)

Revenue (S$ billion)

37,9% 31,3% 31,0% 30,3% 28,2% 27,3%

62,1% 68,7% 69,0% 69,7% 71,8% 72,7%

2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016

Revenue by Domestic and Export Market (2011-2016)

Domestic Market Export Market


According to data from the ITC Trade Map (See Section 5.3 ‘Useful Statistics’ for more detailed

review of trade data by categories), the top 5 imported ICT goods into Singapore in 2016 were

Central Processing Units, Network Communication Systems, Central Storage Units, Laptops and

Notebooks, and Hand Disk Drives, while the Singaporean exports were dominated by the Central

Processing Units (CPUs), Network Communication Systems, Central Storage Units, Flash

Memory Cards, and Hard Disc Drives.

Overall, the top ten ICT exporters into Singaporean market in 2016 were China (US$ 6.61bn),

Malaysia (US$ 2.28bn), Thailand (US$ 1.21bn), the US (US$ 1.17bn), Taipei (Chinese)

(US$ 0.59bn), Japan (US$ 0.51bn), Indonesia (US$ 0.33bn), the Philippines (US$ 0.23bn),

Mexico (US$ 0.20bn), and the Republic of Korea (US$ 0.15bn). Among European exporters,

Germany has been the top exporter to Singapore (US$ 0.13bn), followed by Ireland

(US$ 0.11bn), the UK (US$ 0.05bn), the Netherlands (US$ 0.04bn), Czech Republic

(US$ 0.02bn), and France (US$ 0.02bn).

ICT exports from Singapore have been dominated by non-European importers, namely, the US

(US$ 2.11bn), China (US$ 1.96bn), Malaysia (US$ 1.62bn), Hong Kong (US$ 1.60bn), Indonesia

(US$ 1.48bn), Japan (US$ 1.44bn), India (US$ 1.23bn), Thailand (US$ 0.73bn), Australia

(US$ 0.69bn), and the Philippines (US$ 0.46bn). Among European countries, the Netherlands

has been the largest importer of Singaporean ICT goods (US$ 204 million), followed by Ireland

(US$ 87 million), Czech Republic (US$ 55 million), Italy (US$ 47 million), and Germany

(US$ 28 million).

Over the period of 2010-2015, the domestic revenue for ICT grew from S$ 36.2 billion

(EUR 23.4 billion) to S$ 53.4 billion (EUR 34.5 billion). The hardware (38.3%), IT services

(19.1%) and software (19%) segments were the key contributors to domestic revenue value.

Overall, hardware continued to dominate the ICT revenue value in 2016, with a share of 74% of

revenue. This was followed by the software and IT services segments, each contributing 9%.


Figure 6: Total Infocomm Industry Revenue by Segment, 2011-2016

Note: figures may not add to 100% due to rounding


Even though the Singapore ICT industry is export-oriented, the local market is also strong and

continues to flourish. Recent studies7 have found that Internet usage among local businesses

increased from 87% in 2014 to 89% in 2016, while the number of Singaporean enterprises that

possess at least one computer remained steady at 90% between 2014 and 2016.8 An interesting

trend that has emerged over the last years is the growing number of local enterprises that are using

mobile devices and services to do business; accessing the Internet via mobile phone increased

from 59% in 2013 to 67% in 2016. While ‘Sending and receiving emails’ and ‘Information Search’

were the two most common Internet activities on computers and mobile equipment, enterprises still

prefer to use computers for government transactions (i.e., obtaining information from government

organisations, download/ request/ complete/ send government forms).

7 IDA & IMDA surveys: https://www.imda.gov.sg/industry-development/facts-and-figures/survey-reports 8 IMDA (2017). Annual Survey on Infocomm Usage by Enterprises for 2016

63%

66%

68%

69%

73%

74%

13%

11%

12%

12%

10%

9%

10%

11%

9%

9%

8%

9%

11%

10%

8%

8%

7%

6%

3%

2%

2%

2%

2%

2%

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

Total Infocomm Industry Revenue by Segment, 2011-2016

Hardware Software IT Services Telecommunication Services Content Services


Figure 7: Top 10 Internet Activities on Desktop PCs and Laptops, 2016

Source: IMDA

Figure 8: Top 10 Internet Activities on Mobile/Smart Phones or Tablets, 2016

Source: IMDA

The use of ICT products has also grown strongly among private households and individuals, and

today almost every Singaporean has access to the Internet. A growing number of individuals surf

the news with smart-phones instead of a computer. It is also interesting to note that, while the

younger generation is an established segment for the local ICT market, senior citizens are

increasingly becoming familiar with technological products, and the percentage of Singaporeans

over 60 using a computer has grown to 25% in 2015, an increase of 3% points from 2013. An even

47%

49%

51%

63%

67%

74%

77%

83%

92%

94%

As a platform to deliver contents

Place orders for goods / services

Market monitoring purposes (e.g. prices)

Make online payments to govt

Banking and financial services

Complete/ send govt forms

Download/request govt forms

Obtaining info from govt organisations

Information search

Send/receive emails

23%

23%

28%

29%

31%

32%

36%

68%

71%

75%

As a platform to deliver contents

Receiving order for goods/ services

Marketing/ promotion activities

Banking and financial services

Telephoning over the internet (VoIP)

Market monitoring purposes (e.g. prices)

Obtaining inform from govt organisations

Other communications (e.g. instant messaging)

Information search

Send/ receive emails


stronger trend can be observed for portable equipment usage by senior Singaporeans: from a

meagre 5% in 2010, the share jumped to 47% in 2015.

In terms of workforce, the country relies heavily on a foreign talent pool in the ICT sector and has

been grappling with a manpower crunch, an issue that needs to be addressed as the demand of

ICT manpower is expected to increase in the following years. In particular, ICT specialists in

the areas of IT Development, Network & Infrastructure, Data Analytics, Cybersecurity, and R&D

are being increasingly demanded. According to the Singapore Info-communications Development

Authority’s (IMDA) estimates, the sector required additional 21,300 professionals in the ICT sector

in 2016, a number which was projected to grow by another 52,800 in the next three years

(2017-2019).9 Most of ICT specialists in the country have tertiary education (87%), and are below

the age of 40 years old (65%).

According to data provided by the IMDA, Singapore is expected to employ more than 210,000

workers (from approximately 194,000 workers in 2016), and create more than 13,000 new

Professionals, Managers, Executives and Technicians (PMET) jobs by 2020.10

Several recent initiatives have been enacted to address the gaps in the ICT sector. For example,

in November 2017, Singapore launched the ICT Skills Framework (SF) for companies and

workers, covering 119 job roles and 80 skills in the sector.11 In December 2017, the Prime

Minister’s ICT Affairs Adviser Sajeeb Wazed Joy has further elaborated that ICT education will

be introduced from the primary level in the next few years.12 Moreover, in Artificial Intelligence

(AI), for instance, the AI Apprenticeship Programme will target the growth of the talent pipeline by

training 200 professionals over the next three years. This will be achieved via TechSkills

Accelerator, a SkillsFuture initiative. IMDA is also planning to adopt a similar approach for growing

the manpower core in other identified growth areas.

9 IMDA (2017). Annual Survey on Infocomm Media Manpower for 2016 10 IMDA statistics refer to the Infocomm industry, which is considered a synonym of the ICT sector. https://www.imda.gov.sg/industry-

development/facts-and-figures/infocomm-media-professionals & https://www.imda.gov.sg/about/newsroom/media-releases/2017/infocomm-media-industry-transformation-map

11 http://sbr.com.sg/information-technology/more-news/singapore-launches-skills-framework-ict 12 http://www.daily-sun.com/post/273652/Government-mulls-to-introduce-ICT-education-from-primary-level-in-near-future:-Joy

https://www.imda.gov.sg/industry-development/facts-and-figures/infocomm-media-professionals



3.1.1 Top ICT industries in Singapore

The ICT sector is extremely complex, and the emergence of new technologies such as Cloud

Computing, Interactive Media, or Big Data is disrupting the traditional market segmentation of IT

and Telecommunication. These new technologies are also servicing multiple different sectors,

including health, security, energy and education, among others. Within this context, the following

ICT industries have emerged in Singapore, creating interesting opportunities for European ICT

companies.

ICT Security

Emerging at the forefront of internet connectivity with its pervasive ICT adoption, Singapore is at

risk as a target of cyber criminals and cyber terrorists. As a result, Singapore has been investing

heavily into ICT security. In 2015, the expenditure on ICT security in Singapore was

estimated to be around US$ 467 million. In 2017, the Singaporean government alone has

committed 22% of its total ICT spending, amounting to S$ 528 million (EUR 329 million), to ICT

security.

Given the continuous redefining of the sector, ICT security challenges are consistently taking on

added complexity. A recent report by Symantec revealed that in 2013, targeted attacks in the

South East Asian region have increased by 42% compared to 2012, with small and medium

businesses accounting for 31%. Web-based attacks increased by 30% while 32% of mobile

threats were done with intention to steal information. The number of phishing sites spoofing social

networking increased by 125%. Moreover, the 2016 Internet Threat Report13 by Symantec has

further identified nine mega-breaches in 2015, with a number of exposed identities totalling

around 429 million.

As a consequence, the overall demand for cybersecurity solutions has been growing steadily in

the South East Asian region, with Singapore placing itself as the regional hub for ICT security.

13 Symantec (April 2016). Internet Security Threat Report. https://www.symantec.com/security- center/threat-report


According to a new report by AT Kearney, South East Asia collectively only spent US$ 1.9 billion

on cybersecurity in 2017.14 It further recommends that ASEAN spend about US$ 171 billion

collectively between 2017 and 2015, in order to protect its growing digital economy.

Over the past few years, Singapore has witnessed the following key developments in the ICT

security sub-sector:

In order to take advantage of the exponential growth in the market, global organisations and

multinational corporations, such as Boeing and INTERPOL, have established cybersecurity

centres in Singapore in recent years, thus lending credence to the country’s vision of

becoming Asia’s leading security solutions hub.

Recognising existing cyber security challenges, Singapore has developed the Infocomm

Security Master Plan (2005-2007), followed by the Infocomm Security Master Plan II

(2008-2012), and recently, the National Security Master Plan 2018, which was launched

in July 2013,15 in order to develop a vibrant and responsive cyber security ecosystem.

The current Master Plan focuses particularly on critical infrastructure protection. According

to Singapore’s Minister for Communications and Information, the government also seeks to

increase its collaboration with sectors such as utilities and telecommunications to keep them

secure and resilient.

On top of Singapore’s strategy to become a smart nation, the Cyber Security Agency (CSA)

was established in April 2015 to oversee and coordinate activities as well as strengthen the

country’s cyber security ecosystem. In October 2016, the CSA launched a comprehensive

document outlining the nation’s approach to securing and defending Singapore’s internet

space, networks and critical infrastructure against cyber criminals, hackers and others out

to cause harm. The strategy spells out various areas to deal with threats and opportunities

presented as the country becomes more connected, and it becomes increasingly important

to safeguard a wide range of systems, from banking software to transport and utilities

14 https://www.cnbc.com/2018/01/23/asean-need-to-increase-cybersecurity-spending-says-new-report.html 15 National Cyber Security Masterplan 2018 (July 2013). https://www.ida.gov.sg/~/media/Files/ Programmes%20and%20Partnership/Initiatives/2014/ncsm2018/ NationalCyberSecurityMasterplan%202018.pdf

https://www.cnbc.com/2018/01/23/asean-need-to-increase-cybersecurity-spending-says-new-report.html


services. The new strategy is based on hardening security, educating people, creating jobs

and fostering international cooperation.

The CSA has also signed Memorandums of Understanding with Nanyang Polytechnic and

the Singapore Institute of Technology to develop cybersecurity talent. More than

S$ 80 million (EUR 50 million) is expected to be made available to train ICT security

professionals through various programmes starting FY2017.16

There have also been a number of initiatives by various enterprises in the area of

cybersecurity:

▪ The DigiSAFE Cyber Security Centre, created by ST Electronics in June 2014, offers

realistic simulation training programmes for cybersecurity trainees, as part of the nation’s

efforts to produce more cybersecurity professionals.

▪ Microsoft unveiled a global cybercrime satellite centre in Singapore in February 2015, with

the aim of providing an additional layer of security authentication for itself as well as to

improve its cybercrime efforts in Asia.

▪ SingTel, the largest telecommunications company in Singapore, and the Cyber Security

Agency of Singapore (CSA) signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) in October

2015 to collectively develop and strengthen the country’s cybersecurity talents and

capabilities. The MoU between the organisations is expected to enhance the R&D efforts

out of the collaboration in building up on both physical and cybersecurity services.

▪ In December 2015, Symantec Corporation also set up a specialised Security Operations

Centre to enhance its online security.

▪ In May 2017, StarHub Limtied acquired a 51% stake in Accel Systems & Technologies

Pte. Ltd. for S$ 19 million (EUR 12 million) (Accel). Accel is a cybersecurity systems

integrator specialising in the provision of security solutions, consulting and managed

security services. The acquisition is expected to strengthen StarHub’s cybersecurity

16 https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/budget-2017-more-help-for-smes-to-go-digital-with-focus-on-data--7595594


portfolio, giving it the in-house capabilities to be an end-to-end provider of cybersecurity

solutions and services. It was also announced in July 2017, that StarHub would acquire a

further 29% now and the balance of 20% by the year 2020.17

From April 2016, the Personal Data Protection Commission (PDPC) has also started

enforcement against organisations in contravention of their obligations under the Personal

Data Protection Act. As of December 2016, there have been 22 reported enforcement cases,

16 of which concerned organisations that were deemed to have failed to have reasonable

security arrangements in place to protect personal data.18 PDPC has also issued an update

in July 2016 on its “Guide to Securing Personal Data in Electronic Medium”, under which

additional guidance on patching, ICT outsourcing and cloud computing was provided.19

In July 2016, the Monetary Authority of Singapore has also issued its latest guidelines on

Technology Risk Management, and on Outsourcing Arrangements for Banks and Other

Financial Institutions in Singapore, in addition to the Association of Banks in Singapore’s

latest implementation guide for financial institutions for entering into cloud outsourcing

arrangements (issued in August 2016). These guides are intended to provide direction

for financial institutions on approaches to key controls and security measures in cloud

outsourcing and technology risk management arrangements.

In 2017, the Managing Director of MAS, Ravi Menon, additionally announced the launch

of the Asia-Pacific Regional Information & Analysis Centre, which will manage the risks

associated with increased digitaisation.20 The new centre will be a global intelligence

gathering and sharing initative for the financial sector with over 700 members worldwide,

which is expected to facilitate the sharing of cyber threat information and enable a rapid

and coordinated response to emerging threats.

In July 2017, the government has also released the draft Cybersecurity Bill for public

consultation. The proposed Bill is expected to move into law in 2018 and it will form the

key pillar of Singapore’s cyber-defence strategy. The Bill will introduce a framework for

17 https://www.taylorwessing.com/globaldatahub/article-data-protection-and-cybersecurity-in-singapore-2017-so-far.html 18 https://united-kingdom.taylorwessing.com/globaldatahub/article-data-protection-and-cybersecurity-in-singapore-2016-2017.html 19 https://united-kingdom.taylorwessing.com/globaldatahub/article-data-protection-and-cybersecurity-in-singapore-2016-2017.html 20 http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/business/singapore-unveils-initiatives-in-bid-to-be-regional-fintech-hub-9404636


regulating critical information infrastructure; empower the Cyber Security Agency of

Singapore to manage and respond to cyber security threats; establish a framework for

secure sharing of cyber security information with and by the CSA; and establish a light-touch

licensing framework for cybersecurity service providers.21 Understanding and managing

cybersecurity risks have become top of mind for Singaporean leaders in business and

government, and they are increasingly adopting innovative technologies like cloud-enabled

cybersecurity, big data analytics and advanced authentication to reduce cyber-risks and

improve cybersecurity programmes.

It is predicted that ICT security services such as risk assessment and assurance, detection

and protection will continue to evolve in response to new threats and challenges. In the

preventive domain, for example, firewall and unified threat management will continue to be in

demand. However, given that Singapore is a mature ICT market, greater opportunities will

stem from solutions that focus on mobile data protection, web application firewall, next

generation firewall and trusted platform module. The forecast for increasing ICT security

demand is further supported by the fact that the security adoptions have grown from 48% to

52% between 2014-2016. Firewall remained as the most pervasive and commonly adopted

security measure among all enterprises in Singapore, while Virus Checking or Protection

Software was the next most commonly deployed security measure.

Infocomm Security Measure 2014 2015 2016

1 Firewall 85% 76% 80%

2 Virus checking or protection software 94% 92% 74%

3 Regular backup of critical data 68% 60% 74%

4 Spam filter 64% 61% 71%

5 Anti-spyware software 70% 68% 55%

6 Automatic/regular update of operating systems and application software used in the organisation

49% 40% 54%

21 http://www.osborneclarke.com/insights/singapores-new-cyber-security-bill-10-things-you-need-to-know/


Infocomm Security Measure 2014 2015 2016

7 Access control software/ hardware 40% 29% 47%

8 Documented plan on how information assets are managed and secured 28% 22% 39%

9 Intrusion detection system 27% 20% 38%

10 Offsite data backup 36% 31% 30%

11 Encrypted transmission of sensitive information (SSL) 31% 25% 24%

12 End user training and awareness - - 22%

Table 2: Infocomm security measures adoption, 2014-2016

Source: IMDA

In 2018, more than S$ 16 million (EUR 10 million) are expected to be invested in

Singapore’s cyber security research and development, under two separate programmes that

aim to produce commercial cyber security solutions. The two programmes are the National

Cybersecurity R&D Programme, which was set up in November 2016 to develop

Singapore’s cyber security capabilities, and the Singapore Cybersecurity Consortium, which

will fund proposals for proof-of-concepts of new cyber security technologies and ideas.22

Separately, Singapore government is setting aside S$ 1.5 million (EUR 920,800) over the

next three years to train technical officers in ASEAN member states to boost the region’s

readiness to combat cyber threats.

The following table is taken from a PwC survey and it reveals how Singaporean businesses are

investing in cybersecurity and taking measures to manage cyber-risks.

22 http://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/16m-funding-for-projects-to-boost-singapores-cyber-security-rd


Figure 9: Crucial Areas for ICT Security among Singaporean Companies

Source: PwC The Global State of Information Security® Survey 2016 – Singapore highlights

Cloud Computing

The cloud market, including Software-, Infrastructure- and Platform-as-a-Service

(SaaS/IaaS/PaaS), is one of the most advanced in Asia Pacific region in terms of adoption rates

and the complexity of solutions. Singapore’s cloud ecosystem has emerged as a result of its

position as a technologically advanced market, government support, advanced and affordable

network infrastructure and the strength of political institutions. The country’s cloud computing

industry is expected to see strong growth in the next years, and cloud spending by local

enterprises is forecasted to reach S$ 920 million (EUR 565 million) by 2018, an increase of

around 80% from S$ 512 million (EUR 293 million) in 2013. According to the 2016 report of the

BSA Global Cloud Computing Scorecard, which tracks annually the international policy landscape

for cloud computing, Singapore has ‘implemented impressive national broadband networks’ and

the overall policy environment for cloud computing was ranked 7th worldwide. Furthermore,

according to the results of a study23 conducted by the Asia Cloud Computing Association (ACCA),

23 Cloud Readiness Index (CRI), 2016

56%

61%

63%

68%

71%

73%

76%

81%

Threat Assessment

Active monitoring/analysis of information security intelligence(e.g. vulnerability reports, log files)

Employee security awareness training programme

Employ Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) in chargeof the security programme

Security strategy for social media

Require our employees to complete training on privacypolicy and practices

Established security baselines/standards for externalpartners/ customers/ suppliers/ vendors

Overall information security strategy


Singapore ranks 2rd in the Asia Pacific Region in in terms of cloud adoption, immediately after

Hong Kong. The study places Hong Kong, Singapore, New Zealand and Australia above markets

such as Germany, the UK and the US, showing that Asian economies are indeed leading the

world in cloud readiness.

Rank/Country Score Annual change

1. Hong Kong 78.1 +4

2. Singapore 76.7 +2

3. New Zealand 74.4 -1

4. Australia 73.2 -1

5. Japan 73.0 -4

6. Taiwan 71.1 +1

7. South Korea 68.0 -1

8. Malaysia 66.3 n/c

9. Philippines 53.8 +1

10. Thailand 52.6 -1

Table 3: Cloud Readiness Index, 2016

Source: Asia Cloud Computing Association (ACCA)

Cloud computing is a key focus for many Singapore

enterprises set to capitalise on ICT’s agility to support

business growth and lower capital costs. All types and sizes

of businesses are predicted to be accelerating the adoption

of cloud infrastructure and services. There are a number of

strong players in the local market to service this growing demand. Currently, major Cloud Service

Providers (CSP) that have established cloud data centres in Singapore include Amazon Web

Services, Fujitsu, IBM, Microsoft Azure, Savvis, and Tata Communications. Local CSPs include

Alatum (SingTel), Iconz-Webvisions, M1, nGrid, PTC, Clearmanage, Readyspace, and Starhub.

Cloud spending by local enterprises is forecasted to

reach S$ 920 million (EUR 565 million) by 2018


Crucially, recent developments are creating new opportunities for companies operating in the

industry:

Singapore has recently strengthened its ICT infrastructure, and with projects such as Next

Generation Nationwide Broadband Network (an all-fibre ultra-high-speed broadband

network), the Singapore Internet Exchange (a plan for making Singapore a hub for Internet

traffic), or the high-speed 100G international network, linking Singapore, Hong Kong and

Japan, and enabling faster sharing of large datasets between these countries, the country

provides an attractive technology environment for the growth of a cloud industry ecosystem.

As well as promoting private sector cloud adoption, the public sector is itself an important

source of cloud services demand in Singapore. For example, the government has

initiated a cloud strategy called G-Cloud, a next generation government infrastructure that

aims to maximise cost savings for local businesses and public entities. With G-Cloud, all the

government boards and ministries have been placed in a private cloud infrastructure that

meets all the required security assurances the government has mandated. The strategy will

provide efficient, scalable and resilient cloud computing resources and will be designed to

meet different levels of security and governance requirements.

In order to facilitate cloud adoption, in 2013 Singapore passed a law on Data Protection

legislation pertaining to the servicing of cloud users both in and outside the country.

The government also provides support schemes such as the Enhanced iSPRINT to SMEs

making the transition to cloud computing. The scheme provides support up to a maximum of

12 months, capped at S$ 20,000 (EUR 12,300) for companies using ICT to improve the

company’s business operations to raise productivity and/ or increase revenue. In order to be

eligible, companies have to satisfy the following requirements: Be registered or incorporated

in Singapore; Have at least 30% of local shareholding; and Have no more than

S$ 100 million (EUR 61 million) group annual sales turnover or no more than 200 employees

under the group.


In the private sector, many SMEs are beginning to see the cost-saving benefits of cloud

technology, especially as it is increasingly difficult to hire experienced in-house IT staff

in Singapore’s tight labour market.

Given the relatively low penetration of cloud-based technology within SMEs, a significant

growth can be expected in the coming years, especially for the more complex cloud services

such as disaster recovery.

FinTech

One of the latest trend in finance is the merger between financial services with social media,

mobile, analytics and cloud technology. From this a new term has been coined, namely Financial

Technology, or more popularly “FinTech”. Known for its transparent and well-run regulatory

system and effective collaboration between the government, private sector and key constituents,

Singapore has established itself as a leading FinTech centre. In 2016, Ernst & Young ranked

Singapore 4th as a global fintech hub, just behind Britain, California and New York, while Deloitte

named the country as the top global fintech hub, tied with London.24

Moreover, several FinTech startups have mushroomed across various industries in the country,

offering a wide range of services including Marketplace, Trading, Payments, Lending,

Data/Research/Analytics, and Insurance. Notably, the payment ecosystem in Singapore is

also one of the best and strongest in the world due to close and effective collaboration

between government entities, such as the Monetary Authority of Singapore, private players and

telecommunications companies.

Overall, Singapore offers a very favourable environment for European FinTech companies,

and the following characteristics of the local market deserve particular attention:

Singapore has a vibrant and collaborative FinTech ecosystem comprising of start-ups,

technology companies, financial institutions, investors, research institutes, institutes of

higher learning, innovation professionals, and government agencies;

24 https://www.spring.gov.sg/NewsEvents/ITN/Pages/Singapores-push-to-be-fintech-hub-20161122.aspx


Open banking platform via application programming interfaces for faster innovation and

integration of new and legacy IT systems;

Safe spaces to experiment and roll out innovative products and solutions within controlled

boundaries;

Financial Sector Technology & Innovation schemes to support innovation25; and

Strong talent pool of researchers, innovators, and experts; and continuously building

capabilities in FinTech.

Some of the most recent developments and opportunities in the Singaporean FinTech industries

include the followings:

In September 2012, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and the Swiss Financial

Market Supervisory Authority (Finma) signed a cooperation agreement to foster greater

cooperation on FinTech. The agreement provides a framework for innovative FinTech

companies in Singapore and Switzerland to expedite initial discussions on introducing new

FinTech solutions in each other's market and understand regulatory requirements, and will

help to create opportunities for FinTech businesses from Singapore and Switzerland to

expand into each other’s markets.

In 2015, the MAS formed a new arm, the FinTech & Innovation Group, aimed at creating a

conducive ecosystem for innovation. The central bank has also committed S$ 225 million

(EUR 141.5 million) over the next five years under its Financial Sector Technology and

Innovation Scheme, to support this innovation ecosystem.26

In 2015, United Overseas Bank was reported to be working with the Singapore government

agency, Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore, to co-set up an innovation lab for

exploring ideas to develop crowdfunding platforms. FinTech companies will be offered up to

S$ 30,000 (EUR 19,400) of funding, a working space, software access, and mentorship from

experienced bankers.

25 A list of the schemes available are at www.mas.gov.sg/Singapore-Financial-Centre/Smart-Financial-Centre/Setting-up-your-Business.aspx 26 https://www.spring.gov.sg/NewsEvents/ITN/Pages/Singapores-push-to-be-fintech-hub-20161122.aspx

http://www.mas.gov.sg/Singapore-Financial-Centre/Smart-Financial-Centre/Setting-up-your-Business.aspx


HSBC has launched a FinTech innovation lab in Singapore in October 2015 to work

collaboratively with corporates, clients, technology firms, academia and the government in

developing the next generation of digital and mobile banking services and to support the

development and testing of digital and mobile banking innovation projects of other ASEAN

countries where the bank has an active presence including Malaysia, Indonesia, and the

Philippines. Other notable financial institutions such as DBS, Citibank, Credit Suisse, Metlife,

and most recently OCBC have also set up innovation centres or labs in Singapore.

The Singapore Government also set a target in October 2016 to create 1,000 new fintech

jobs, annually, over the next three years. Its efforts are already showing some successes,

with more than 400 fintech companies having established their presence in the country,

and over 30 multinational companies, such as banks, payment and technology companies

(for example, Visa and PayPal) having set up fintech innovation centres locally.27

In November 2016, the MAS announced that it will be funding 50% of the costs up to a

maximum of S$ 200,000 (EUR 125,814) per project for Singapore-based trials of promising

fintech ideas. The ideas being tried out should benefit not just an individual financial

institution, or a start-up, but also the financial system at large, whether in Singapore or

abroad. The scheme adds to other support programmes available to fintech players, such

as the Spring Singapore grants for Singapore fintech start-ups, matching S$ 7 (EUR 4.6)

for every S$ 3 (EUR 2) raised, up to S$ 50,000 (EUR 31,500).28 The National Research

Foundation has also announced that it will co-invest, together with a technology incubator,

up to 85% of investment into Singapore-based fintech start-ups.

In November 2017, the MAS has also rolled out a number of additional initiatives as part of

its efforts to establish Singapore as a regional leader of fintech, whereas the central bank

announced its intention to sign 16 cooperation agreements with other governments, with the

aim of facilitating information on fintech trends and issues.29 In one of the tie-ups, the MAS

and the Bank of Thailand will link Singapore’s PayNow with Thailand’s PromptPay. With this

27 https://asia.nikkei.com/Business/Companies/Singapore-widens-crossborder-tie-ups-in-fintech 28 https://www.gov.sg/news/content/today-online-mas-rolls-out-new-grants-for-fintech-startups 29 http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/business/singapore-unveils-initiatives-in-bid-to-be-regional-fintech-hub-9404636


deal, Singaporeans would be able to send money securely to someone in Thailand and vice

versa with just their mobile numbers. Additionally, MAS and the Hong Kong Monetary

Authority are planning to use blockchain technology to develop a cross-border platform for

trade finance (likely to be implemented in 2019).30 The MAS is also partnering with the Bank

of Canada to use blockchain in cross-border interbank payments.31

As for Singapore’s goal to be a regional fintech hub, the MAS is expected to be working with

the International Finance Corporation to establish the ASEAN Financial Innovation Network,

which will allow banks to search for innovative fintech solutions.

The Central Bank and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have also

announced their collaboration on fintech research and development so that Singaporeans

would be able to work alongside world-class researchers. The Bank is also launching a

S$ 27 million (EUR 16.9 million) grant to support the adoption and integration of the artificial

intelligence and data analytics in financial institutions.32

Enterprise Software

Singapore is a leading market for the Enterprise Software (SCM, CRM, ERM)33 industry. The local

market is currently dominated by several enterprise software giants such as SAP, Microsoft,

Salesforce and Oracle. The industry in Singapore is dynamic and opportunity rich, as highlighted

by the following key points:

Many companies are expected to make a gradual shift into cloud-based enterprise

software in the near future with the intention of

improving competitiveness. To support their

move, the ICT for Productivity and Growth (IPG)

programme was announced in 2014, which aims to

30 http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/business/singapore-unveils-initiatives-in-bid-to-be-regional-fintech-hub-9404636 31 https://asia.nikkei.com/Business/Companies/Singapore-widens-crossborder-tie-ups-in-fintech 32 http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/business/singapore-unveils-initiatives-in-bid-to-be-regional-fintech-hub-9404636 33 Software configuration management (SCM); customer relationship management (CRM); enterprise risk management (ERM)

Singapore is a leading market for the Enterprise Software industry


provide monetary subsidies worth S$ 500 million (EUR 314.5 million) to SMEs to accelerate

the adoption of ICT solutions.

Data analytics and data mining solutions are among the solutions sought by government

agencies such as the Ministry of Defence and Ministry of Home Affairs. Projects like the

2020 Satellite Electronic Road Pricing system initiated by the Land Transport Authority are

expected to create demand for such solutions due to large volumes of real time data that can

be extracted and mined for insights.

In the private sector, Microsoft recently announced the successful certification of its Azure

and Office 365 under the Level 3 Multi-Tier Cloud Security (MTCS) Standard for Singapore

(SS 584), effectively making Microsoft the first and only global Cloud Service Provider to

obtain certifications across its IaaS, PaaS and SaaS34 cloud services in Singapore. Its CRM

Online has been certified with level 2 MTCS and is the only CRM that has been MTCS

certified. The milestones achieved by Microsoft have increased its attractiveness to clients

who seek official security credentials or recognition, and this poses a great challenge to

Microsoft’s competitors.

In 2014, the German giant SAP opened a co-innovation lab in Singapore, a part of its

Global Research and Business Incubation Centre. The laboratory provides SAP’s cloud

infrastructure for member organisations to experiment with hardware and software

combinations. Companies such as Cisco, Intel, NetApp and CMware provide support to the

laboratory in the development of new tech solutions.

The 2015 SME Development survey revealed that about two-fifths of SMEs have invested in

ICT solutions to resolve labour shortage issues or improve competitiveness. The shift

towards adopting ICT is expected to continue. As of 2015, only about 30% of the 2800 SMEs

polled reported the use of ICT solutions in their operations. The survey also identified two potential

growth sectors, namely the Retail and Foodservice Industries, that have yet to fully maximise the

potential of ICT for productivity gains. According to BMI Research, enterprise software will further

34 Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS); Platform as a Service (PaaS); Software as a Service (SaaS)


find increasing popularity with the SMEs market over the period of 2017-2021 as enterprises look

to enhance productivity through the automation of essential functions.35

Interactive Digital Media

The interactive digital media industry in Singapore is vibrant, producing globally-competitive

content across films, TV, animation, music, games, and mobile apps. In 2013, the industry

provided employment for around 25,000 people in the arts and

culture sector, 47,000 in the design industry, and 66,000 in the

media sector. Currently made-by-Singapore content is distributed

to more than 50 countries, and the ‘Singapore brand’ is

internationally recognised.

A number of the world’s best media houses and agencies have found the country an ideal place

to develop quality content, manpower and jobs, boosting the training and upskilling of media

professionals. The country is also an important market for the industry. According to a report from

Newzoo, a global leader in games and mobile intelligence, Singaporeans spent an average of

US$ 189 each in 2014 on games across all platforms, more than five times as much as Malaysia,

the next highest-spending country in the region.36 In 2017, the total game revenues in Singapore

amounted to US$ 317.6 million.37 Moreover, mobile-app development has a positive outlook as

well, as start-ups capitalise on the favourable mobile-app ecosystem in Singapore. With one of

the highest smartphone and internet penetration rates globally, low start-up cost and low

technical barriers-to-entry, Singapore’s mobile application industry is rapidly expanding.

Overall, Singapore’s interactive digital media industry is well established in the country, and the

government is also actively supporting the industry.

The government recently announced the building of a creative industry cluster in Ponggol,

that will be integrated with the Singapore Institute of Technology’s campus, to better facilitate

physical and programmatic links.

35 BMI (2017). Singapore Information Technology Report Q4 2017 36 http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2015/05/12/singapore-gamers-top-spenders-region.html 37 https://newzoo.com/insights/infographics/the-singaporean-gamer/

Singaporeans spent an average of US$ 189 each

in 2014 on games


Figure 10: Artist’s impression of Ponggol Creative Cluster

Source: Urban Development Authority

Singapore wants to become a ‘Global Digital Studio’, and

various educational institutes and polytechnics, such as the

National University of Singapore, Nanyang Technological

University and the Nanyang and Singapore Polytechnics,

offer degrees and programmes in games, animation, and

special effects. The renowned DigiPen Institute of Technology also has a campus in

Singapore offering a bachelor’s degree programme dedicated to game development.

Several international gaming companies such as Gumi Asia, Konami Singapore, Tecmo

Koei and Ubisoft have chosen Singapore as their base. These companies create business

opportunities for local players such as Touch Dimensions, LambdaMu and Tyler Projects.

Alongside local animation companies, international firms such as Lucasfilm Animation and

the British Double Negative have offices in Singapore, and have helped to boost Singapore’s

post-production industry. Major Hollywood blockbusters such as Star Wars: The Force

Awakens and X-men: Days of Future Past opened an opportunity for minor participation and

contribution by local animation companies. Locally produced movies however tend to avoid

incorporating too many special effects, due to high cost and lack of expertise and resources.

Singapore’s Data Centre market is forecasted to

grow at a CAGR of 14.07% between 2015 and 2019


The staging of Starcount, the world's first Social Superstar Awards in May 2013, affirms

Singapore's proposition as an international IDM hub. The global event is organised by UK-

based Digitales, which uses social media and consumer analytics to measure the popularity

of celebrities and brands in the international market.

Data Centres

Singapore is one of the most developed data centre (DC) market in the world. The country is

Asia-Pacific’s network hub and has the most networked data centres in the region. Despite its

small population, the city-state is home to 61 data centres and four network fabrics: Megaport,

SGIX, Equinix IX and Console.38 In 2017, the country has been ranked in the Data Centre Risk

Index as the most robust market for data centres among 10 Asian countries, including Malaysia,

Indonesia, Hong Kong and China.39

While telcos dominate data centre markets in other parts of the region, Singapore has a good mix

of both telcos and data centre specialists. Growth of Singapore's DC market is forecasted to grow

by 9% in 2017, reaching S$ 1.2 billion (EUR 754.9 million), and S$ 1.6 billion

(EUR 981.35 million) by 2020.40 According to Structure Research, big data analytics, cloud

computing and data recovery are the main drivers for data centre segment growth.41 Cushman &

Wakefield’s recent study further forecasts that data centre occupancy rates would decrease to

70% by the end of 2018 due to new data centre developments, but will grow again as more

companies are digitalising their operations and services.42 In 2016, the total power capacity of

data centres in Singapore reached 240 MW. The country had a total data centre space of

2.3 million square feet with 68,000 racks and cabinets. The data centres are projected to occupy

2.5 million square feet of space by 2020.43 As a result, data centre operators in Singapore could

face a land shortage. Given the fact that data centres consume a lot of power as servers emit

38 https://cloudscene.com/news/2017/11/singaporedatacenters/ 39 http://www.marketing-interactive.com/singapore-the-most-robust-market-in-apac-for-data-centres/ 40 https://datacenternews.asia/story/singapore-data-center-market-skyrockets-new-heights/ &

https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/business/singapore-rated-asia-pacific-s-top-location-for-data-centres-9326042 41 https://cloudscene.com/news/2017/11/singaporedatacenters/ 42 Cushman & Wakefield (2016). Data Centres: The New Frontier - Singapore 43 https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/business/singapore-rated-asia-pacific-s-top-location-for-data-centres-9326042

https://datacenternews.asia/story/singapore-data-center-market-skyrockets-new-heights/


heat and require a lot of cooling capacity, Singapore is also exploring options for underground

data centres, in order to save both space and energy. The first underground data centre is set to

be deployed soon along the Portsdown Road at Media Circle.44 Additionally, Singapore is also

exploring brownfield industrial properties as sites for data centres in order to deal with land

scarcity.

Eastern Singapore is the most popular place for data centre capacity (61%), reaching 116 MW.

The Western region acounts for 36% and the Northern region accounts for 16%.

Figure 11: Data Centre Distribution in Singapore

Source: SingAREN

Given the prospects for sector’s growth, Singapore also wants to develop the world's first

Tropical Data Centre45 (TDC), which could cut energy consumption by up to 40% and

reduce carbon emissions as well. It is currently undertaking trials to test whether data centres

can be operated under the high-temperature, high-humidity conditions of the tropics. If these trials

are successful, it would prove that data centres need not be run in tightly-controlled cooled

44 https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/business/singapore-rated-asia-pacific-s-top-location-for-data-centres-9326042 45 A data centres that can function optimally at temperatures of up to 38 degrees Celsius and ambient humidity up to or exceeding 90%


environments as they are now. This will expand the geographical limitation of siting data centres,

and would also cut back on the existing energy requirements for the running of such centres.

Moreover, Singapore is already developing a Green Data Centre Programme, which is led by the

Info-communications Media Development Authority (IMDA). The programme is exploring

innovative solutions that will significantly improve the energy efficiency of local data centres. IMDA

is partnering with a number of companies for the trial. The partners are providing hardware,

software and expertise for analysis.

Number of data centre providers: <50

Number of operational data centres: 44

Total critical power capacity: 200 MW

Total data centre space: <2 million square feet

Total rack space: 55,000 racks

Total 2014 colocation services revenue: US$ 963 million

Total projected 2016 colocation services revenue: >US$ 1.2 billion

Table 4: Singapore Data Centre Market, 2015

Source: Structure Research

The following points highlight some of the most important factors that are driving the development

of Data Centres in Singapore:

Reliable and Stable Electricity Grid – According to Singapore government's Energy Market

Authority (EMA), the country's electricity grid has an average interruption time of less than

1 minute per customer a year and is more reliable than those in Hong Kong (2.7 minutes),

Tokyo (3.7 minutes), New York (20.5 minutes) and London (43.4 minutes).

Singapore has a secure and well-connected network infrastructure. As of 2017, it has

24 submarine cable systems (an increase from 15 submarine cable systems in 2015)

that are able to provide high bandwidth capacity and low-cost connectivity.46

The number of data centres has increased in 2017 to 61 data centres. 46 https://cloudscene.com/news/2017/11/singaporedatacenters/


Natural Disaster Risk Management – Singapore also has a very low risk from natural

disasters, making it a good location for data centres. In the 2016 World Risk Report

compiled by the United Nations University for Environment and Human Security (UNU-EHS),

Singapore ranked 13th in the safest countries in the world to live.47

Gateway for Connectivity – Like Hong Kong, Singapore has emerged as an internet gateway

between China and the rest of the world because of its proximity to China coupled with its

business-friendly environment.

Growth in Cloud Services – The demand from companies that already have presence in the

local market as well as from new entrants is sustaining the growth of DCs. In addition, the

arrival of cloud services has led to the influx of cloud service providers needing data centre

space, which is contributing to its further growth.

Singapore’s telecommunications sector is considered one of the most advanced globally,

boasting an enviable network infrastructure and first-class connectivity. With strong

government influence advocating innovation and growth, Singapore was able to top the

World Economic Forum’s 2017 Network Readiness Index for the second year running.

Some of the most recent developments in DC market are provided below:

In March 2017, real estate investor, Mapletree Industrial Trust, announced it had secured

land in the West Region of Singapore to establish a build-to-suit data centre for an

established data centre operator, which remained un-named. The six-story US$ 42 million

data centre is expected to be completed in the second half of 2018.

Huawei and Keppel Data Centres confirmed in May 2017 that they would jointly develop a

new-generation data centre in Tampines, Singapore. The 183,000-square feet facility will

showcase new technologies, such as energy-efficient data centre management systems,

deep learning and AI.

47 http://weltrisikobericht.de/english/


In November 2017, Keppel Data Centres also announced it has signed a MOU with

Singapore Internet Exchange Limited to set up a Point of Presence (PoP) within its

Northeast Singapore data centre: Singapore 1.

In July 2017, Equinix declared it would be investing US$ 41.8 million to expand its SG2 data

centre. The development will increase their data centre capacity by 47,666 square feet

(4,428 square meters) and add 1,400 cabinets to the facility. According to the company, the

expansion of SG2 reinforced Singapore’s position as Asia Pacific’s network hub, a gateway

market for businesses looking to expand or make their first move into South East Asia.48

Singapore’s favourable economy and data centre industry has driven demand to the extent

that there is talk of a land shortage problem in the future. Solutions such as converting

industrial properties into data centres, and building multi-story data centres and underground

facilities are being investigated to accommodate Singapore’s long-term growth.

In December 2017, the Singapore Advanced Research and Education Network, Japan’s

National Institute of Information and Communications Technology, and Singapore’s National

Supercomputing Centre have completed a high-speed 100G international network, linking

Singapore, Hong Kong and Japan, and enabling faster sharing of large datasets between

these countries. The network is ten times faster than the current 10G networks in the region,

which will facilitate collaboration in high-end supercomputing, bioinformatics, and research

and development (R&D). The 100G network is expected to be the backbone of the North to

South-East Asia network for international research and education networks in the region.

This new network is likely to further consolidate Singapore’s position as an attractive and

reliable hub for data centre market.

48 https://cloudscene.com/news/2017/11/singaporedatacenters/


Figure 12: Asia Pacific Ring (APR)

Note: The parties to the APR collaboration involves these international research and education networks: SingAREN, NICT, NII, Internet2, WIDE Project, Pacific Wave, and TransPAC

Source: SingAREN

The lucrative prospects in data centres have also prompted business tycoon Oei Hong

Leong to invest S$ 6.73 billion (EUR 4.2 billion) to set up a new company named One Belt

One Net that will build data centres, procure equipment and machinery, develop software,

and recruit and train employees. Mr Oei explained that he expects the data storage business

in Singapore to benefit from China’s Belt and Road

Initiative which is aimed at promoting infrastructure

development spanning Asia, the Middle East and

Europe.49 According to Jabez Tan, Research Director for

Data Centres at Structure Research, Oei’s strategy is one

that not only spans Singapore, but all across Asia, which means investing in pan-Asia data

centre platform.

49 https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/business/singapore-rated-asia-pacific-s-top-location-for-data-centres-9326042

ICT spending in the Singapore healthcare sector in 2015 is estimated to be around US$ 175 million

https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/business/singapore-rated-asia-pacific-s-top-location-for-data-centres-9326042


E-Health

The E-Health sector is well developed in Singapore, with ICT spending in the Singapore

healthcare sector in 2015 estimated to be around US$ 175 million, up from US$ 144 million in

2011, a growth of around 22%50. The market is projected to grow steadily at a CAGR of 4%

between 2016 and 2019, with healthy living initatives, population health and long-term care as

the primary drivers for ICT growth in the Singapore healthcare market. According to IDC, the top

investment priorities for the private sector will include mobility solutions, hospital administrative

systems, customer relationship management systems, electronic medical records, and cloud

technologies.51 In South East Asia, which is the fastest growing region for the E-Health market,

Singapore attracts key e-health players for its IT infrastructure reliability and its strategic location.

The country leads the other ASEAN members in terms of setting clear guidelines and road maps

for improved care through the implementation of ICT.

Singapore has an aging population, and this trend is creating pressures to improve the operational

efficiency of the healthcare sector in order to meet the growing demand for healthcare services.

Recently, the Ministry of Health expressed concerns that 1 in 5 Singaporeans will be above

65 years old by 2030. In order to tackle the issue, the government intends to improve the

health system’s performance using e-health technologies.

The country’s uptake of digital healthcare solutions is enabled by a combination of factors,

including the government’s promotion of IT adoption and innovation in healthcare, strong internet

connectivity and high mobile and smartphone penetration.52 According to PwC’s Digital

Healthcare Leap report, Singapore also has all the elements for a healthy digital healthcare

market: seamless access to health information, data security, disruptive health start-ups, and

patient-centred digital innovations.

50 Switzerland Global Enterprise 51 https://www.idc.com/getdoc.jsp?containerId=AP40905216 52 EDB Singapore (November 2017). Singapore: a gateway to Southeast Asia’s digital healthcare market.

https://www.singaporebusiness.com/2017/singapore-a-gateway-to-southeast-asias-digital-healthcare-market.html


In recent years, the eHealth market has seen several developments that are accelerating the

growth of ICT adoption in healthcare:

In 2011, the government launched the National Electronic Health Record (NEHR) with the

motto “One Patient, One Health Record”. NEHR aims to consolidate the medical records of

patients into one standardised database accessible to all qualified healthcare providers.

Having rolled out the NEHR, Singapore is now also moving towards adoption of cloud

technologies. More than 40,000 healthcare workers are already using H-Cloud to access

medical records.53

In 2015, a mobile application called HealthHub was unveiled by Singapore’s Health Minister.

The application allows users to log in with their account to access localised and citizen-

centric health content, as well as various health records.

In the country, the combination of chronic health conditions (such as cancer, heart disease

and diabetes) and hospital bed capacity limitations is leading to a rebalancing of healthcare

provision in Singapore,54 resulting in strong business opportunities for mobile health and

telehealth companies able to provide devices to patients to more effectively manage their

conditions at home. In order to advance the telemedicine growth, the National Telemedicine

Guidelines were issued by the Ministry of Health in 2015, which broadly focused on the

promotion and regulation of tele-consultation, tele-treatment, tele-monitoring and tele-

support. Following the issuance of the National Telemedicine Guidelines, the Health

Sciences Authority has further introduced a set of proposed guidelines relating to Telehealth

Devices in September 2016.55

Singapore’s Economic Development Board (EDB) entered into a 3-year partnership with

Philips in 2016 to help local digital healthcare companies expand into the rest of South East

Asia. The partnership seeks to invest in “disruptive technological companies” in the

areas of population health management, including telehealth, tele-monitoring, and

53 Healthcare Innovation (2015). Singapore’s Health Cloud win DataCloud Enterprise Cloud Award in Monaco.

https://www.enterpriseinnovation.net/article/singapores-health-cloud-wins-datacloud-enterprise-cloud-award-monaco-1720500256 54 ITA, 2016 Top Markets Report Health IT Country Case Study, Singapore 55 https://www.lexology.com/library/detail.aspx?g=f50e44f3-49ed-4c14-afdf-7fc3935dba79


healthcare informatics tools. Selected companies will gain access to Philips' cloud-based

HealthSuite Digital Platform, which collects and analyses healthcare data, as well as receive

mentorship from Philips' healthcare experts to help scale their businesses. They will also be

able to utilise Philip’s telehealth and healthcare informatics facilities in Singapore for the

development of their innovation.

In 2016, the government has further announced it will allocate more than S$ 19 billion

(EUR 11.9 billion) to a five-year plan for R&D, some of which would go towards innovation at

the intersection of healthcare and IT.56

Furthermore, the Singaporean government also wants regulators to make swifter and more

effective risk assessments for new products and services. For example, the Health Sciences

Authority will be setting up a priority review scheme to evaluate new and innovative medical

devices. Getting the regulation right will accelerate the commercialisation process and can

make Singapore a preferred location to launch these devices.

Singapore represents a strong market for introducing more advanced mobile health and

telehealth services. Unlike many markets where consumers primarily purchase prepaid

mobile phone subscriptions, Singapore has a comparatively high uptake of post-paid

subscriptions, which allows users to have larger data plans and ready access to larger, more

sophisticated mobile health and telehealth applications.

Disruptive healthcare ventures abound in Singapore’s thriving start-up ecosystem, which the

government has done much to nurture. The state has invested in building citizens’

entrepreneurship skills, as well as legal, patent and regulatory systems trusted by

entrepreneurs and investors. These supportive measures have helped Singapore become a

leading hotbed for healthtech start-ups in Asia-Pacific. It is home to 9% of such start-ups in

the region – the biggest market share after China and India, according to Deal Street Asia.

One of the key challenges going forward is to find a solution for consolidating the information

from the private healthcare providers in Singapore with the public health data. As much as

56 Channel News Asia (January 2016). Govt commits S$ 19b to new 5-year plan for R&D initiatives RIE2020.

http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/business/govt-commits-s-19b-to-new-5-year-plan-for-r-amp-d-initiatives-ri-8214052


80% of primary care is provided by private medical clinics, with less sophisticated data

management systems and little to no integration with the public health data.

McKeering predicts several future trends in eHealth, driven by a common aim: finding new

ways to provide affordable, quality healthcare. This includes wider implementation and

adoption of remote healthcare models. Singapore is already establishing remote care

monitoring rooms where physicians use cloud solutions to oversee patients in their homes,

but more opportunities exist to expand this field. Analytics and big data is another area

expected to grow. These technologies will allow Singapore to better understand its

population’s health needs and provide targeted services. Predictive analytics would also be

valuable, enabling the country to identify population disease patterns and develop

preventative medicine. Singapore is already in the process of building remote healthcare

models with big data capabilities, but such projects are expected to expand in the short- to

medium-term further. For example, a pilot project of Smart Health-Assist in 2015 saw

patients monitored in their homes via sensors. The growth of similar projects is expected in

Singapore in the upcoming years.

3.1.2 Future Key Technologies in Singapore’s Infocomm Media 2025 Plan

Singapore has set the goal to strengthen its leadership in the global ICT industry. For this purpose,

the country has developed a 10-year ICT masterplan known as Infocomm Media 2025.

The Infocomm Media 2025 Plan envisions to make Singapore a living lab to entrepreneurs, local

and foreign companies and multinationals in the ICT space, allowing to continually experiment

and innovate in order to contribute to sustainable and quality economic growth.

The plan focuses on the following 3 points:

Capitalise on Data, Advanced Communications and Computational Technologies in order to

further increase the economic competitiveness of the country;

Nurturing an ICT ecosystem that encourages risk-taking and experimentation to create

Singapore-made content, products, and services;


Connect citizens through ICT media in order to enhance the quality of life in Singapore and

to foster a stronger Singaporean identity.

The Infocomm Media 2025 Plan also identifies 6 key technology areas that present opportunities

for growth in Singapore, providing insightful data on how these industries will evolve in the

country. However, it is important to keep in mind that the evolution of the ICT sector is challenging

the traditional industry segmentation, and many of the following areas in fact overlap among one

another and with many of the previously described industries.

Big Data and Analytics

Figure 13: Big Data & Analytics Market in Singapore (US$ million), 2013-2018

Source: Infocomm Media

The Infocomm Media 2025 Plan regards this industry as important for Singapore as it will provide

important insights and decisions for many sectors. The plan encourages Singapore to make use

of this technology in order to improve lives, business, and government.

The International Data Corporation (IDC) estimates that in 2020 the digital universe will grow

tenfold; from 4.4 trillion gigabytes to 44 trillion. The global revenue for Big Data is predicted to

grow 25% per year from US$ 14 billion in 2013 to US$ 34 billion in 2018. The local market in

Singapore is predicted to grow more strongly by 34% from 2013 to 2018, and the data analytics

industry is forecasted to add S$ 1 billion (EUR 670.9 million) in value to the Singapore economy


by 2017.57 was forecast to reach US$ 2.6 billion in 2016. Key market drivers in the country will be

data storage and data warehouse.

The Infocomm Plan predicts that Big Data technologies will be particularly demanded by sectors

such as education, transportation, consumer products, electricity, healthcare, oil and gas,

and finance. These technologies have important applications in the Smart City industry.

Internet-of-Things (IoT)

Figure 14: IoT Market in Singapore (US$ billion), 2012-2018


The Internet-of-Things (IoT) industry is the second key industry identified by the Infocomm Media

2025 Plan and it refers to technologies that allow devices to share information and perform actions

without human intervention via networks.

In 2013, IoT connections accounted for 2.8% of global mobile connections, indicating that the

technology is still young in its development. However, this share is expected to grow in the next

years; IoT connections are estimated to account for 6% of total mobile data traffic by 2018,

reaching a value of US$ 800 billion, a growth of 30%. Singapore’s addressable market globally

for IoT is estimated to be US$ 18 billion by 2018 and will grow by 30% in line with global trends.

57 https://indico.cern.ch/event/393376/attachments/787126/1078945/Data_Analytics_Factsheet.pdf

https://indico.cern.ch/event/393376/attachments/787126/1078945/Data_Analytics_Factsheet.pdf


According to predictions from the Infocomm Plan, products such as Wearable Computing

Devices, Machines to Machines (M2M) applications, IoT systems, and Smart City

applications, will be particularly demanded in Singapore.

The proactive government policy umbrella for IoT in Singapore has already helped to attract

significant investment. For instance, in December 2015 Microsoft announced it was helping more

than 50 local IT partners to enable public and private organisations to leverage IoT in support of

Singapore’s Smart Nation vision.

In addition, as part of the partnership between Hewlett-Packard and Intel to create open standards

based IoT solutions, it was announced in November 2015 that they would operate three global

IoT Discovery Labs to allow customers to experiment and test IoT applications and devices, one

of which will be in Singapore.

Future Communications

Figure 15: Future Communication Market in Singapore (US$ billion), 2013-2018


Future Communications is identified as the third pillar for the ICT sector in Singapore.

The Infocomm Plan defines future communications as the industry comprising wireless

communications (such as Wi-Fi and Bluetooth); optical communications (which form the


backbone of the Internet and telecom infrastructure); and networks for interconnectivity (such as

Voice, SMS, video, data, and social networks).

The global market size of Future Communications is projected to reach US$ 2,088 billion in 2018

experiencing a relatively slow growth, with CAGR (2014 – 2018) at 3%. Singapore’s addressable

market globally for Future Communications is expected to be around US$ 9 billion by 2018. Both

the addressable telecom infrastructure and telecom services are estimated to register five-year

CAGR (2013 – 2018) at 3%. Software defined networking will exhibit a much stronger five-year

CAGR (2013 – 2018) at 88%. However, the market size of software defined networking is

considerably smaller compared to telecom infrastructure and telecom services.

The Infocomm plan predicts that Over-The-Top Content (OTT), Network Management and

Multi-tenant Networks solutions, and Future Communications for Smart Cities will

increasingly become important segments of the Singaporean ICT sector.

Cybersecurity

Figure 16: Cybersecurity Market in Singapore (US$ million), 2011-2018


This segment is identified by the Infocomm Plan as the fourth key industry for the Singaporean

ICT sector. In effect, Cybersecurity is becoming an important concern as communications,

monitoring and operations of businesses and critical cyber physical infrastructure increasingly


rely on networks and the Internet. Since such information systems are so intrinsically connected,

any attack on or compromise of these systems by malicious users can cause catastrophic

economic and social damage.

With the global mobile transaction volume and value estimated to have grown around 42%

annually between 2011 and 2016, the threat of cybercrime in the mobile space has become

greater too. Cybercrime is estimated to cost the global economy about US$ 375 billion to

US$ 575 billion yearly. The global market for Cybersecurity is expected to reach US$ 102 billion

in 2018 and Singapore is leading in South East Asia with its investments in cybersecurity.

The Singapore government allocated S$ 528 million (EUR 329.7 million) in 2017 for the safety of

digital systems in the public sector. A large portion of this funding will go into the first Government

Security Operation Centre (SOC) which will feature artificial intelligence and the analytics to detect

cyber threats. The tender for the SOC will be called in early 2018.

From 2013 to 2018, the markets for Network Security Equipment and Identity Access

Management are estimated to grow very strongly in Singapore (+94% and +78%, respectively).

Other segments such as Infrastructure Protection and Security Services will grow in line with the

total local market for Cybersecurity (+72%), whereas the market for Consumer Security Software

is estimated to grow by 46%, which although very strong is below the growth of the total

Cybersecurity industry.


Cognitive Computing and Advanced Robotics

Figure 17: Cognitive Computing Market in Singapore (US$ million), 2014-2018


Figure 18: Advanced Robotics Market in Singapore (US$ million), 2014-2018


According to the Infocomm Plan, this industry has the potential to redefine the nature of the

relationship between people and the increasingly pervasive digital environment by enabling more

natural interaction between people and machines. Cognitive computing is, broadly defined, a

system that simulates human thought processes in a computerised model.

A key application of cognitive computing is in advanced robotics, enabling the deployment of new-

generation robots beyond manufacturing, industrial markets and into professional services. Some


possible uses of robotics in Singapore include automated medication dispensing systems, robotic

surgery systems and assistive care robots that accompany elderly or disabled persons.

Significant opportunities for advanced robotics also lie in the field of co-robotics (robot-to-robot

and robot-to-human communications).

Cognitive computing and advanced robotics are predicted to experience robust market growth in

the next years. By 2020, it is possible that 85% of customer relations will be managed

through virtual assistants. In Singapore, Cognitive Computing and Advanced Robotics are still

very new. While the global market for cognitive computing is estimated to be US$ 26-30 billion in

2018, Singapore’s market is projected to be about US$ 100 million in 2018. For robotics, the

global market size is estimated at US$ 85 billion in 2018. Singapore would capture about

US$ 190 million of the market globally by 2018. This implies that there are ample growth

opportunities for Singapore.

Immersive Media

This is the last key ICT area identified by the Infocomm Plan. Immersive Media is defined as

innovative technologies that allow users to experience a more realistic virtual reality. New media

formats, delivering and accessing content through social media, and new devices like Ultra High

Definition (UHD) displays and panoramic displays, are allowing users to experience new hyper-

realistic experiences that are more engaging, informative and immersive. Sensory technologies

like wearables and surround sound take immersion to the next level with contextual media

environments and content.


Figure 19: Immersive Media Market in Singapore (US$ million), 2014-2018


The immersive media global market size was estimated to be US$ 143 billion in 2014, with

immersive consumer products and devices being a major contributor in the market with a value

of US$ 127 billion. Globally, strong growth in immersive consumer products is expected from

Head Mounted Displays such as the Oculus Rift and Mobile Augmented Reality consumer

products. In Singapore, the immersive media market is expected to grow by 9% from

US$ 195 million in 2014 to US$ 275 million in 2018. Within the Immersive Media market, products

such as devices for virtual experiences and for subtitling and language translation are

expected to gain particular popularity in Singapore.

3.1.3 Most recent ICT industry developments

In addition to growth of the specific sub-sectors, the ICT sector has also witnessed industry-wide

developments. Some of the most recent and relevant industry developments are as follows:

Most recently, in November 2017, the IMDA has released the Industry Transformation Map (ITM)

for the Infocomm Media (ICM) sector, which outlines the strategies to prepare Singapore for the

digital economy. According to the Minister for Communications and Information, Dr Yaacob

Ibrahim, the ITM aims to grow the Infocomm and Media industry’s value-added by around 6%,


annually (almost twice as fast as the overall economy).58 The ICM ITM now aims to prepare

Singapore for the digital economy through three outputs:

By investing and buidling capabilities in four frontier technologies, namely Artifical

Intellgence (AI) and Data Analytics; Cybersecurity; Immersive Media and Internet of Things;

By strengthening the core of the ICM sector, and preparing the next generation of ICM

professionals and companies for future job roles and business opportunities;

By guiding companies and workforce from the other sectors in adopting digital technology to

improve productivity and efficiency.59

In addition to other frontier technologies, the ICM ITM has added Artificial Intelligence as one of

the new growth areas, and companies can look forward to the following developments and

initiatives to help them adopt AI solutions:

An AI Singapore fund, set up in May 2017, with up to S$ 150 million (EUR 96.7 million) in

funds to catalyse, synergise and boost Singapore’s AI capabilities. IMDA is expected to work

with AI Singapore to develop the AI ecosystem and make AI an enabler for growth and jobs.

An AI Business Partnership Programme, which seeks to match business requirements with

the appropriate solutions;

An AI Apprenticeship Programme to help grow a pipeline of locally-grown, globally-known

AI-ready professionals;

Open AI assets, starting with a National Speech Corpus; and

Wider availability of AI solutions via SMEs Go Digital.60

58 https://www.imda.gov.sg/about/newsroom/media-releases/2017/infocomm-media-industry-transformation-map 59 https://www.imda.gov.sg/about/newsroom/media-releases/2017/infocomm-media-industry-transformation-map 60 To help SMEs keep up with the pace of technological change, the IMDA will work with SPRING and other sector lead agencies to implement

the SMEs Go Digital Programme. SMEs will be provided with the advice on technologies to use as they grow through the sectoral Industry Digital Plans, starting with sectors where digital technology can significantly improve productivity, such as Retail, Food Services, Wholesale Trade, Logistics, Cleaning and Security. SME Centres and a new SME Technology Hub will be set up by IMDA. Business advisors at the SME Centres will provide advice on the shelf technology solutions that are pre-approved for funding support, or connect to ICT vendors and consultants. The more digitally advanced firms can get specialist advice from the SME Technology Hub. Lastly, SMEs that are ready to pilot emerging ICT solutions will be provided advice and funding support. The government will also work with consortiums of large as well as small firms to help them adopt interoperable ICT solutions, in order to level up entire industrial sectors.


To further develop and deepen Singapore’s ecosystem of tech companies, IMDA has also

announced the expansion of the Accreditation@IMDA programme, which currently helps to

accelerate the growth of promising tech start-ups. Accreditation@IMDA will be re-branded to

Accreditation@SG Digital (Accreditationa@SGD), to underscore its value as a national

programme. Leveraging on Singapore’s brand will allow the accredited companies to be better

recognised overseas and help them export their capabilities and products. Accreditation@SGD’s

scope will also be expanded to go beyond tech start-ups and young SMEs to include the more

mature SMEs, and a selective pool of international deep technology companies to be anchored

in Singapore.61

IMDA is additionally expected to work with the various sector lead agencies to develop the

Industry Digital Plans (IDPs) for SMEs. The IDPs are expected to guide these companies in

technology adoption by helping them to understand the benefits of adopting relevant digital

technologies, and by providing guidance to technology vendors to meet the companies’ specific

digital technology needs. Through the IDPs, SMEs may be able to:

Assess and identify their digital readiness and the digitalisation opportunities based on a

broad understanding of their business opoerations, current level of digitalisation, and

business expansion plans;

Adopt pre-approved digital solutions and seek advice on digitalisation needs relevant to their

sector;

Participate in sector projects co-created by IMDA and industry leaders that aim to uplift the

whole sector, enabling SMEs to exploit growth opportunities; and

Understand the training options available for their employees to build up a digital-ready

workforce.62

In addition, IMDA has in November 2017 inked partnerships with multinational corporations, such

as IBM, Microsoft and Samsung, under the Strategic Partnership Programme, which aims to help

61 https://www.imda.gov.sg/about/newsroom/media-releases/2017/infocomm-media-industry-transformation-map 62 https://www.imda.gov.sg/about/newsroom/media-releases/2017/infocomm-media-industry-transformation-map


local tech companies scale up and build digital capabilities through joint development of

innovative solutions and products for global problem statements.

The Agency for Science and Technology Research (A*STAR) has also started working with firms

to help them identify areas where technology can help them innovate and compete. The agency

will expand its efforts to support 400 companies over the next four years.63 Under the new Tech

Access Initiative, A*STAR will provide access to advanced machine tools for prototyping and

testing, along with user training and advice.

Singapore is additionally improving the access to intellectual property. Intellectual Property

Intermediary, a SPRING affiliate, matches companies with IP that meets their requirements. It is

expected to work with the Intellectual Property Office of Singapore to analyse and bundle

complementary IP from Singapore and overseas. Its Headstart Programme, where A*STAR

partners with SMEs, also allows SMEs to co-develop IP with A*STAR. The period for royalty-free

exclusive licenses is being extended to 36 months from 18 months.

In addition, in its FY2017 Budget, the Singapore government has announced an investment of

S$ 2.4 billion (EUR 1.5 billion) over the next four years for Future Economy strategies in order to

sustain potential growth of 2% to 3% in a global economy, which is being rapidly reshaped by

technology.64 This is in addition to the S$ 4.5 billion (EUR 2.8 billion) set aside last year for the

Industry Transformation Programme. The budget also includes S$ 500 million

(EUR 312.2 million) for the National Research Fund to support innovation efforts, and the National

Productivity Fund by another S$ 1 billion (EUR 624.4 million), to support industry transformation.

The upcoming prospects for ICT in Singapore are finally best underlined by the entry of two tech

giants into the Singaporean market. Firstly, the Chinese tech giant Alibaba has recently decided

to base one of its seven research labs in the country.65 The new labs are set to address a range

of ground-breaking technologies such as the Internet of Things and human-machine interaction,

63 https://www.opengovasia.com/articles/7370-budget-2017-singapore-to-invest-sg24-billion-over-next-four-years-for-future-economy-strategies 64 https://www.opengovasia.com/articles/7370-budget-2017-singapore-to-invest-sg24-billion-over-next-four-years-for-future-economy-strategies 65 China (Beijing and Hangzhou), the United States (San Mateo and Bellevue), Russia (Moscow) and Israel (Tel Aviv) have been tapped to

house the other six facilities under Alibaba’s new Discovery, Adventure, Momentum and Outlook (Damo) Academy Programme. http://www.straitstimes.com/business/companies-markets/alibaba-to-set-up-7-research-labs-one-in-singapore-as-it-doubles-rd

http://www.straitstimes.com/business/companies-markets/alibaba-to-set-up-7-research-labs-one-in-singapore-as-it-doubles-rd


with the aim of boosting efficiency, network security and ecosystem synergy for end users and

businesses.

Amazon has also entered Singapore with its most aggressive service yet, offering the Prime Now

two-hour delivery service on everything from chilled Tiger beer to Samsung mobile phones.

Amazon’s entry into South East Asia could spark fierce competition with Alibaba Group in a region

where an e-commerce market is forecast to reach US$ 88 billion by 2025.66 However, it also

signifies yet another sign that the Singapore’s ICT industry is set to grow significantly over the

next few years.

3.1.4 Lead Agencies

Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore

The Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore

(IDA) is a government organisation responsible for

the growth and development of the information

technology and telecommunications industries in

Singapore. IDA was formed in 1999 when the government merged the National Computer Board

and Telecommunication Authority of Singapore, as a result of a growing convergence of

information technology and telephony. IDA functions as the country's ICT industry champion, the

national ICT master-planner and developer, and the Government Chief Information Officer.

IDA aims to develop a vibrant ICT ecosystem where multi-national corporations and innovative

foreign companies work alongside local ICT enterprises and start-ups to innovate and grow the

ICT industry. It also seeks opportunities to grow local ICT companies by facilitating their access

into the global marketplace.

As of October 2016, the Info-communications Development Authority of Singapore and the Media

Development Authority of Singapore have been restructured to form the Info-communications

Media Development Authority of Singapore (IMDA) and the Government Technology Agency

66 https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-07-27/amazon-enters-singapore-with-two-hour-prime-now-delivery-service


(GovTech). GovTech works with public agencies to develop and deliver secure digital services

and applied technology to individuals and businesses in Singapore, whereas IMDA regulates the

telecommunications and media sectors to safeguard consumer interests while fostering a pro-

business environment.

Infocomm Investments Pte Ltd is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Infocomm Development

Authority, and it manages more than US$ 200 million in an investment-led effort to develop a

sustainable start-up ecosystem. IIPL has been forging partnerships with local and global

accelerators from across the sectoral spectrum. Infocomm Investments has extended its

US$ 200 million fund to European tech start-ups, with the aim of attracting European

partners in the country.67

IDA has also been in charge of the nation's 10-year ICT masterplan, also known as Intelligent

Nation 2015 (iN2015), which has since been succeeded by the Infocomm Media 2025 plan.

Singapore infocomm Technology Federation

The Singapore infocomm Technology Federation (SiTF)

is Singapore's ICT industry association. Corporate

members range from local startups, small and medium-

sized enterprises and multinational corporations. SiTF collaborates with its diverse members and

partners to champion the transformation of ICT technology and promote innovation. Together with

various stakeholders, SiTF promotes emerging and innovative technologies such as Big Data,

Cloud Computing, Cybersecurity, Digital Transformation and FinTech. SiTF promotes a

collaborative environment providing members with opportunities to increase their market

presence and business outreach. SiTF’s array of services and activities include:

Conferences and seminars: provide thought leadership insights for a sustainable digital

economy and address business challenges.

67 www.techcrunch.com


Networking: create quality networking opportunities to explore partnerships and generate

new business opportunities.

Channels of communication: access to key decision-makers and act as a vital link between

business and government.

Trade missions: assist with financial assistance for exhibitions and overseas trade missions.

International representation: forge alliances with international trade organisations.

Moreover, SiFT offers additional free of charge web-based services for ICT professionals.

ICT companies can access SiTF’s database of members on the SiTF website (www.sitf.org.sg)

to find potential business partners or vendors. Marketplace also offers a list of ICT job

opportunities in Singapore and provides information about the most recent and innovative

products launched by its members.

Additional ICT Associations in Singapore

Name Area(s) Website Singapore Industrial Automation

Association (SIAA)

Automation, Robotics, Internet

of Things

www.siaa.org

Asia Cloud Computing

Association (ACCA)

Cloud Computing www.asiacloudcomputing.org

Singapore Computer Society

(SCS)

ICT www.scs.org.sg

Mobile Alliance Singapore Mobile Business www.mobilealliance.sg

Association of Information

Security Professionals (AISP)

Information security www.aisp.sg

Association for Medical and Bio-

Informatics, Singapore (AMBIS)

Medical and Bio-Informatics www.ambis.org.sg

Association of the

Telecommunications Industry of

Singapore (ATiS)

Telecommunications www.atis.org.sg

European Mobile Media

Association (EMMA) Singapore

Mobile media www.emmasingapore.com

Table 5: Additional ICT Associations in Singapore

http://www.sitf.org.sg/

http://www.siaa.org/

http://www.asiacloudcomputing.org/

http://www.scs.org.sg/

http://www.mobilealliance.sg/

http://www.aisp.sg/

http://www.ambis.org.sg/

http://www.atis.org.sg/

http://www.emmasingapore.com/


3.1.5 ICT Standards

ICT standards in Singapore are developed on a consensus basis

and are the results of the collaborative efforts amongst the

government agencies, tertiary institutions, professional bodies

and the infocomm industry. The Secretariat to the IT Standards

Committee (ITSC), an industry-led effort supported by SPRING

Singapore (the main agency for enterprise development in the country) and IDA, is chartered to

drive and lead ICT standardisation activities in Singapore and represent Singapore in the

international standardisation forum.

At present, there are 14 Technical Committees addressing ICT standards, ranging from standards

for Cloud Computing and Internet of Things, to standards for IT Governance and Intelligent

Transport Systems. A list of all the ICT standards in Singapore is available on the ITCS website

(https://www.imda.gov.sg/industry-development/infrastructure/ict-standards-and-frameworks/ict-

standardisation).

3.1.6 Entry Strategies

Singapore is considered the ICT hub for South East Asia and, with its modern infrastructure and

educated labour force, it is an excellent place for European companies that want to enter the

regional market. Its geographical advantage and role as an active trade hub also makes

Singapore an ideal base for regional growth and the country plays an important role as a sales

and marketing gateway to the region. Prior to establishing a direct presence in Singapore,

European ICT companies may test the Singapore market through:

Partnerships

Joint ventures

Online commerce

Tendering opportunities


Participating in a tradeshow to showcase their capabilities and meet prospective partners

and clients.

Partnerships

International ICT companies are being attracted by the huge potential of the South East Asian

market, and Singapore is increasingly playing the role of a gateway and springboard to the region.

This trend spurs local ICT retailers in Singapore to seek collaborations with foreign companies in

order to provide customers with a wider range of choices and brands.

To enter the market, European companies may find it useful to have local partners that can

provide access to the domestic market, reduce labour costs, and provide immediate on-site

assistance to customers, as well as liaise with customers. European ICT companies can access

SiTF’s database of members to find potential business partners or vendors.

Joint ventures

Foreign companies operating in Singapore are not required to take on joint venture partners

except in the few restricted industries (financial services, professional services, and media).

Despite this, European ICT companies may find it advantageous to enter joint ventures as this

can expand distribution capacity, and local service providers can assist with providing after-sales

repair and maintenance services. This may also be a popular option for European companies

seeking to gauge their product’s potential in the wider South East Asian market.

Tendering Opportunities

European ICT companies can sell their products in Singapore through direct submission of

tenders to local government agencies.68 Foreign companies are usually allowed to bid for tenders,

if this is not the case it will be clearly stated. All government tenders can be found on the

Singapore government official procurement website (www.gebiz.com.sg). Government

procurement needs vary and range from simple low-value purchases, such as office stationery,

68 Please refer to chapter 4.2 for more detailed info on public tenders

http://www.gebiz.com.sg/


to complex multi-million-dollar construction contracts and technology projects. In 2015, SMEs

accounted for more than half of the total contracted value of ICT tenders. In the financial year

2017, the government plans to call for ICT tenders worth S$ 2.4 billion (EUR 1.5 billion).69

Online commerce

Singaporeans are increasingly purchasing goods and services on on-line platforms, drawing the

attention of major players such as Alibaba, Lazada and Amazon. Singapore’s e-commerce

market, estimated to be valued at US$ 3.3 billion in 2017, is expected to grow to US$ 5 billion by

2021. Singapore's mobile commerce (m-commerce) market is expected to grow by 33% in the

next five years, according to Worldpay's annual Global Payments Report. In particular, purchases

of electronics and media products accounted for US$ 918.1 million, around 27.8% of total internet

retailing in 2017. Companies such as Ezbuy, which specialises in purchasing, logistics and

international shipping for Singapore customers, have over 600,000 registered customers and

receive over 100,000 site visits a day, making the online channel an attractive option for European

ICT companies seeking to test the market.

Tradeshows

CommunicAsia is an information and

communications technology exhibition and

conference held in Singapore. The annual event

has taken place since 1979. The CommunicAsia

Exhibition is amongst the largest platforms organised for the ICT industry in the Asia-Pacific

region. It draws global industry brands to showcase key and emerging

technologies. The show will be running concurrently with the BroadcastAsia and NXTAsia

exhibitions and conferences, all of which are operated by Singapore Exhibition Services.

In 2018 the exhibition will take place on 26-28 June, and will feature a showcase of

69 http://www.computerweekly.com/news/450419423/Singapore-government-to-spend-S24bn-on-technology-initiatives


emerging technologies such as IoT, Cloud & Big Data, Security & Cyber-Security, and many

others.

▪ NXTAsia is an event targeting ICT companies that want to obtain information about latest

innovations and solutions in the industry. These solutions include Big Data Analytics,

Cloud, Data Centres, Cybersecurity, Internet of Things (IoT), Robotics, Augmented

Reality, Virtual Reality, Artificial Intelligence, and Machine Learning.

▪ BroadcastAsia is Asia’s largest representative event for the film, TV and entertainment

industries. Comprehensive technological showcases cover the entire value chain from

acquisition, post production to delivery, including the Content management and security,

OTT, and TVEverywhere.

Figure 20: Visitors at Huawei’s Booth at CommunicAsia 2016

Source: CommunicAsia


There are other ICT trade shows in Singapore with focus on specific industries:

Show Focus Website

Cloud Expo Asia Cloud solutions www.cloudexpoasia.com

Data Centre World Asia Data centre solutions www.datacentreworldasia.com

SITEX Consumer electronics www.sitex.com.sg

Consumer Electronics Exhibition Consumer electronics www.ceeshow.com.sg

IoT Asia Internet of Things www.internetofthingsasia.com

IT Show Consumer electronics www.itshow.com.sg

AsiaTVForum Media www.asiatvforum.com

Table 6: Additional Trade Shows in Singapore

3.1.7 Challenges & Entry Barriers

Singapore is a prime destination for European ICT companies seeking opportunities in the South

East Asia region: the country has a world-class ICT infrastructure, educated labour force, a

supportive government, and it is set to benefit from the process of integration among ASEAN

members being a global hub for financial services and a high-tech centre. Furthermore, Singapore

is a relatively open market economy, and it is less challenging to set up a business and operate

in the country than in other markets within the region. However, European companies should

keep in mind that some challenges are present as well. The key challenge would be the higher

cost of operating a business in the country, in comparison to the other ASEAN markets. Other

issues are the relative small size of the market, the dominance of multinational corporations, and

Singapore’s tight labour market, as the government has moderated the growth of the foreign

workforce.

http://www.cloudexpoasia.com/

http://www.datacentreworldasia.com/

http://www.sitex.com.sg/

http://www.ceeshow.com.sg/

http://www.internetofthingsasia.com/

http://www.itshow.com.sg/

http://www.asiatvforum.com/


3.2 Information Technology Equipment

3.2.1 Market Overview

The market for IT equipment in Singapore is mature, and the outlook for future growth remains

limited due to relatively saturated sales for the PC segment and to cloud migration limiting

potential for increases in spending for IT infrastructure. Overall, the IT equipment market is

expected to contract at a CAGR of -0.6%, from S$ 2 billion (EUR 1.2 billion) in 2017 to

S$ 1.9 billion (EUR 1.1 billion) in 2021.70 An important characteristic of the local market for IT

equipment is that retailers rely strongly on short replacement cycles for IT devices, which

are expensive in the country. This trend is in stark contrast with other South East Asian countries,

where the market is not yet mature but it is growing steadily.

Figure 21: IT Hardware Market in Singapore (S$ million), 2015-2021

Source: Business Monitor International

e/f = estimated/forecasted

70 Business Monitor International, Singapore, Information Technology Report


Singapore remains a global leader in the production of electronics, especially integrated

circuits, and the country enjoys a large trade surplus for IT equipment. Importantly, Singaporean

IT hardware products have an export rate of around 84%, and Hong Kong and China account for

around 50% of Singapore’s integrated circuit exports. However, the brightest prospects lie in

the IT software and services sub-sectors, where Singapore has assumed the leadership in

the Asia Pacific region and, in contrast with the hardware industry, it does not face the same

intensity of competition from labour-abundant countries.

Servers and Infrastructure

The Singaporean market for server and infrastructure is driven by the country’s role as regional

centre for data services, which creates a strong demand especially from financial institutions and

government agencies. These factors ensured server spending recorded growth in 2015 and 2016,

a trend that stood in contrast to the rest of Singapore’s computer hardware market.

Spending from private companies is expected to increase, as an improved economic environment

supports a revival in corporate and SME investment. It is interesting to notice that, while cloud

vendors are also investing heavily in data centres in Singapore, thus creating new demand, the

fact that firms are shifting to cloud infrastructure services could erode volumes and prices in the

market.

PC, Tablets and Peripherals

The market for personal computers71 is highly developed in Singapore. According to

Infocomm Media Development Authority’s 2016 survey on Infocomm usage in households and

by individuals in Singapore, 14% of homes own 1 computer, while 73% own 2 or more

computers. As PC penetration in Singapore is already very high, there is little room for growth

by sales to first time buyers. On the contrary, sales volume is driven by users upgrade or

replacement, as well as by gaming PCs, which have developed from a niche segment to a strong

selling mainstream product.

71 Personal computer includes Desktops, Laptops, Notebooks, and Tablets


According to International Data Corporation (IDC), while the overall traditional PC market in

Singapore posted a 15% decline in 2016, gaming PC shipments increased by 6%. Revenue from

gaming PC sales reached S$ 84 million (EUR 55.1 million) in 2016, an increase from

S$ 72.6 million (EUR 47.6 million) in 2015. According to Newzoo, a global leader in games and

mobile intelligence, there were 2.9 million gamers in Singapore in 2017, spending a total of

S$ 318 million (EUR 198.5 million). Singapore is ranked 36th worldwide in terms of game

revenues.

It is important to highlight that an increased number of households possess multiple devices,

in particular laptops, notebooks and tablets, whose sales have been higher than those of desktops

over the last years, as end-users no longer see advantages in owning a stationary device.

Typically, Singaporean SMEs prefer to purchase IT hardware directly from retailers – given their

low purchase volume, they are not incentivised to negotiate for better prices via business-to-

business purchases. Furthermore, businesses in Singapore get tax deductions for investments in

R&D, automation and training under the Singapore government’s Productivity & Innovation

Credit (PIC) Scheme, which remains in force until the end of 2018. Under the scheme, the costs

of acquiring IT equipment through retailers is covered by cash pay-outs.

Sales of printers are declining in Singapore as the country is becoming an increasingly paperless

society. Environmental awareness, as well as the transition towards all things digital, is reducing

the need for printers. The rise of gaming PCs has also helped boost the sales of accessories like

mice, keyboards, monitors and headsets.

Wearable Technology

Wearable electronics are becoming commonplace in Singapore, not just with consumers but also

with businesses, with total retail sales reaching US$ 33 million in 2015. Various brands are

available island wide, such as Pebble, Fitbit, Jawbone and Sony. Wearable technologies, such

as those that give feedback on one’s lifestyle habits, have initially gathered a significant

momentum in Singapore. However, contrary to all expectations that wearables would find success

in the mainstream market, sales of smart wearables were low when the products were first


introduced in Singapore as consumers were not persuaded about the benefits of such devices.

In the latest iteration of the Apple Watch in 2016, the company set the tone for the industry back

by settling on a marketing strategy that focused strongly on health and fitness tracking. As

demand for health and fitness tracking still remains a niche one in Singapore, and mainstream

consumers are finding smart wearables, at best, an optional accessory, the wearables providers

have moved back to advertising their products for niche consumer groups (health and fitness

consumers).

Nevertheless, wearable electronics are expected to grow at a steady pace over the next five years

to reach over 300,000 units by 2022. Despite the sector’s struggles to define the category,

accoridng to BMI research, smart wearables are still expected to drive sales of wearable

electronics over the next five years, at a forecasted volume CAGR of 12%.

Although the market for wearable technology is still small, it is interesting that businesses and

government agencies are testing wearable technology to promote greater efficiency at work:

In 2015, Singapore Power concluded a trial, during which field employees used wearables in

their work to boost productivity. This allowed, for instance, a supervisor to keep an eye on

10 engineers at locations such as power substations of HDB blocks. Through the wearables,

which are worn like glasses, the supervisor was able to see exactly what the engineers were

seeing.

The Land Transport Authority ran a trial in 2015 involving commuters wearing Sony SG50

Smartbands equipped with Near Field Communication technology. Each band is encoded

with a digital CEPAS card designed for fast, convenient and reliable contactless payments

on public transport.

Wearables are also entering the healthcare sector. For example, researchers in Singapore have

developed in December 2017 one of the smallest and most versatile sensors yet for healthcare

applications with the design of a stretchable microfiber sensor with the diameter of a strand of

human hair. The sensor is seen as solving one of the key challenges to the development of

wearable technology – the lack of comfort in the design of sensors. The team of researchers at


the National University of Singapore are now exploring new applications for the technology,

including smart socks for feet-pressure monitoirng to help patients with diabetic foot ulcers, as

well as smart mouth guards to assist patients who have problems with grinding their teeth.

Local Players

Zensorium is a Singaporean company founded in 2011 focussing on developing e-health

devices. Since its foundation, the company has grown steadily and in 2014 it won the Frost &

Sullivan Asia Pacific Mobile Health & Wellness Tracking New Product Innovation Award. To date,

Zensorium has successfully launched two products: Being (Wearable Tracker) in 2015, and Tinké

(Spot Monitor Tracker) in 2012, which are also sold in Europe. Targeting a public concerned about

their health and wellness, the Tinké is a compact device that measures heart rate, heart rate

variability, blood oxygen level, and respiratory rate. The product needs to be connected to a

smartphone and it is offered in 2 versions, for Android and iOS. Being is a wearable fitness monitor

that differentiates good stress from bad, tracks personal activity with heart rate sensing, and

provides advanced sleep science insights with REM/NREM. Zensorium also advertised on its

LinkedIn profile that it is looking for companies to partner with.

Figure 22: Zensorium’s Tinkè

Pirate3D is a Singaporean start-up founded in 2013 by Professor Neo Kok Beng (Adjunct

Associate Professor at National University of Singapore), and 3 university graduates. It started

off its campaign on Kickstarter, a crowd-funding website, and it quickly gained traction raising


US$ 1,438,765 by 3,520 backers. The company specialises in 3D printing for beginners, schools

and enthusiasts looking to become familiar with 3D printing. The company offers one main

product, the Buccaneer 3D printer, which creates objects for everyday use. The Buccaneer can

be easily setup. Users have to download The Buccaneer application to create objects with it.

The application allows users to easily edit and create basic objects, without having to learn how

to use a 3D modelling software. Users can select whether to connect the printer to a PC, or to

work from a mobile device. Once the setup and designing is done, the image can be shared with

peers, or be sent to The Buccaneer for printing. The Buccaneer 3D Printer was awarded the 2014

"Best in Show" during the CE Week, the Consumer Electronics industry's new technology

showcase and trade conference, held in New York City. The Buccaneer is distributed in Europe

by Redwagon.

Figure 23: Pirate3D’s Buccaneer Printer

Advinno Technologies Pte Ltd is a Singaporean company that designs and manufactures

innovative Internet of Things (IoT) products using emerging technologies such as LTE, Wi-Fi,

Bluetooth Smart, ZigBee and Sensor Mesh Network to enable Smart Cities and M2M applications.

Advinno Technologies has offices in both Singapore and Malaysia. Moreover, Advinno is a provider

of Analog, Wireless, Embedded, Software, Design Services, Training and Consultation Solutions,

and it is the sole distributor for leading US ITC companies in South-East Asia region (Singapore,

Malaysia, Thailand, Philippines, Vietnam, Indonesia, Brunei, Australia and New Zealand).


Venture Corporation is one of the largest contract manufacturers in Singapore. The company

started out as an electronics services provider, however, it has since transformed into a contract

manufacturer. It is best known for its superior capabilities in Original Design Manufacturing and

in providing high mix, high value and complex manufacturing. Headquartered in Singapore, the

Group comprises about 40 companies with global clusters of excellence in South-east Asia, North

Asia, America and Europe and employs more than 12,000 people worldwide. The main sectors

that the company serves are computer peripherals & data storage, networking & communications,

printing & imaging, retail store solutions & industrial products and test &

measurement/medical/others.

3.2.2 EU Entry Opportunities

Singaporeans exhibit a preference for mobility and personal devices such as tablets and

ultra-light notebooks. Although the market is showing signs of saturation, local vendors will

continue to profit mostly through replacement sales.

The main opportunity for PC vendors in Singapore will be targeted, high-value personal

device sales – with hybrid notebooks expected to outperform. This group of more affluent

consumers exhibits shorter replacement cycles, and is more likely to replace devices for new

features and designs. Because of saturation and longer replacement cycles, the market for

tablets is forecasted to contract sharply over the next few years. However, the sale of tablets

will still outperform desktops until 2021.


Figure 24: PC Volume Sales in Singapore (‘000), 2013-2020



Laptops are becoming increasingly versatile and mobile to compete with tablets in

Singapore. Manufacturers launched several innovative models that are lightweight, thin and

flexible, as well as possessing touch-screen capabilities. A good example of this trend is the

Lenovo Yoga Pro 3, which won The Straits Times Digital Life Editor’s Choice Award for best

thin and light laptop.

Figure 25: The Lenovo Yoga Pro 3 Laptop - Popular in Singapore


Convertible tablets72 are having success among Singaporean customers, and these

products are being heavily advertised in the country. Examples of these products include

Microsoft Surface Pro 3 and Acer Aspire A7, as well as the winner of The Straits Times

Digital Life Best Hybrid Laptop Award, Asus Transformer Book, with all having a strong

effect on the industry.

Singapore has a large gaming population, and the country is the ASEAN member with has

the highest per capita spending on gaming. Local gamers are willing to invest on equipment

and accessories for the best gaming experience.

The Singaporean Government commits to creating demand, for example, by launching the

Productivity and Innovation Credit Scheme, which assists SMEs in acquiring IT equipment.

Under the scheme, the costs of acquiring IT equipment through retailers is covered by cash

pay-outs.

Figure 26: Asus Transformer Book won the Best Hybrid Laptop Award

Wearable electronics are successful products in Singapore within the health and fitness

group of customers. When purchasing such devices, Singaporeans expect wearables to last

at least for several days before re-charging. Moreover, local consumers demand fashionable

products, and it is crucial for manufacturers to find a balance between design and

72 Convertible tablets are tablets that can be converted into laptops


functionality. Leading brands include Fitbit, Jawbone, Pebble and Sony, whose gadgets are

easily accessible in the country.

European Players

Rittal

Since its inception in Germany in 1961, Rittal has grown from a leading supplier of industrial

enclosure and climate control technology to be a provider of complete data centre infrastructure.

From racks, power, cooling, remote monitoring and physical security - Rittal is paving the way in

data centre technology to create the most energy efficient, secure, future proof data centres on

the market.

Rittal has a direct presence in Singapore, where it has been involved in various projects, as

reliable power supply is vital for densely populated Singapore. Some of its clients include

Singapore Power and ABB, which opted to use Rittal’s TS 8 enclosures at their new substations

to ensure the switchgear is housed securely. Rittal’s distribution enclosures are central

components of the electrical infrastructure in buildings, data centres and industrial plants.

Consumers are supplied with low-voltage electrical energy from them.

Figure 27: Rittal’s Distribution Enclosures for Data Centres


Swarovski

Founded in 1895 in Austria, Swarovski designs, creates, and markets high-quality crystal product

collections such as jewellery, accessories, decorative items for the home, ornaments, and

figurines. Swarovski has a global reach and showcases its sparkling crystal products via a

network of own boutiques and retail partners, as well as the Swarovski website and online Shops.

In order to expand its products, over the last years the company has adventured in the realm of

IT accessories, developing a new range of collections such as smartphones cases, USB

accessories, and smart devices.

In Singapore, the company sells its products through local distributors and in various shops in

strategic locations such as Changi airport or the Tampines Mall. Swarovski’s wearable electronics

such as Swarovski’s Activity Tracking Jewellery Collection are particularly successful in

Singapore. These jewels are controlled with a free Swarovski Activity Crystal application, which

is connects the accessories to smartphones via Bluetooth. The accessories allow users to take

selfies, remotely control music and notify the users when they have a call or a message.

The Swarovski jewels also monitors activity, sleep, total calories burned, steps taken, distance

covered and are water resistant up to 50 meters.

Figure 28: Swarovski’s Smart Jewels

Source: sg.asiatatler.com


Xmetrics

The Italian company Xmetrics was founded in 2014 and has developed the first wearable

dedicated exclusively to swimmers by raising funds online. Xmetrics products are purchasable

on-line by Singaporean customers and its wearable devices are listed among the top 5 fitness

wearables of 2016 on ActiveSG, an on-line platform managed by Sport Singapore, a national

association responding to the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth. Xmetrics’s devices clip

onto a pair of swimming goggles, and provide users with real-time audio feedback while

swimming. Moreover, the devices can be linked to a smartphone through an application, allowing

swimmers to track and analyse their performance.

Figure 29: Xmetrics’ Swimming Devices


3.3 Information Technology Software


Overall, the market for IT software is mature in Singapore, and spending in the sub-sector is

forecasted to slightly decelerate. BMI expects a CAGR of 4% over the 2017-2021 period, with

total sales reaching approximately S$ 3.8 billion (EUR 2.4 billion) in this year. Singapore

remains a leading market for IT software. The country is a particularly attractive target for

companies producing enterprise software such as enterprise resource planning (ERP), as has

been confirmed by the decision of the German IT giant SAP to open a co-innovation lab in

Singapore in March 2013, allowing member organisations to experiment with hardware and

software combinations using SAP's cloud infrastructure.

Figure 30: Software Sales in Singapore (S$ million), 2015-2021



Businesses are more open to adopting open-source software as such applications can be

scaled quickly and effectively. The software is also typically available at little or no cost, providing

an inexpensive method to create new solutions. Singaporean companies appreciate open-source

technology for its ease in developing and deploying new IT projects, ability to improve

cybersecurity posture, and enhanced scalability.


Enterprise Software

Over the upcoming years, Singapore-based SMEs will be crucial drivers for demand of e-business

applications such as enterprise resource planning (ERP), and customer relationship management

(CRM), as small and medium-sized companies are looking to enhance productivity through the

automation of essential functions. The government is actively encouraging this trend, and in 2014

the government unveiled the 'ICT for Productivity and Growth’ programme for SMEs, which spurs

SMEs to use technology to boost productivity and growth.

Larger companies in Singapore are well-positioned to benefit from the continued expansion of

Singapore's e-government systems and e-commerce. As controlling costs is increasingly

becoming a focus, cloud computing software is also growing in popularity, as it allows resources

to be saved. In addition, large firms are becoming

increasingly interested in business analytics

solutions that provide them with a real-time view of

operational data to assist with decision making

processes. The Singapore government is also expected

to be an important source of demand for business

intelligence and data mining solutions. It has made

utilisation of data analytics technology a priority within its eGovernment plan and has been

consulting with vendors on the best way to achieve this. Defence and homeland security were

among departments where advanced applications were being pursued.

Operating Systems

Recent browsing traffic data for PC browsing traffic in Singapore reveals that Windows is the

biggest provider for IT software in the country. As of February 2016, Windows 10 accounted for

the second largest share of traffic after Windows 7 whereas Windows 8/8.1 share was down by 6

points year-over-year. The recently released Windows 10 is a single platform across PCs, tablets,

smartphones and the Xbox, and has been offered for free for the first year, reflecting Microsoft's

decreased focus on monetising its product, and rather moving it closer to the strategies of Google

SMEs will be crucial drivers for demand of e-business

applications such as ERP and CRM, as SMEs are looking to

enhance productivity through the automation of essential functions.


(Android, Chrome) and Apple (iOS and MacOSX), both of which use their operating systems to

respectively generate revenue from advertising and hardware sales.

Figure 31: PC Browsing Traffic by Operating System in Singapore (%), 2016


Security Software

There is a considerable market for security software in Singapore with sales of security

software expected to grow over the next years as governments, enterprises and individuals

acquire increased awareness of potential threats. According to PwC, the compromise of

employee records, followed by customer records, make up the top two issues organisations in

Singapore experienced as a result of security incidents.

Businesses are increasingly exploring new opportunities to create value and competitive

advantages by integrating cybersecurity with digital business strategies. Key considerations

for businesses in Singapore are:

New security needs related to evolving business models


Digital enterprise architecture

Improved collaboration among business, digital and IT

Singapore businesses have come to understand that combining digital business models with

cybersecurity can enable them to confidently create entirely new digital platforms, products and

services. Many are modernising their businesses by adopting cloud computing, sophisticated data

monitoring and analytics, and open source technologies, and integrating digitalisation with

cybersecurity and privacy.

Applications

Singapore, with a population of around 5.3 million, has

a mobile phone penetration rate of 150%, and about

70% of handsets are smartphones. Because of its high-

density of smartphones and high data usage,

developers of interactive mobile applications (apps)

have found Singapore to be an excellent test bed. The trend points towards a larger market for

local apps that bring convenience or improvements to lifestyles in Singapore as compared

to games or entertainment apps - where Singaporeans have a preference to internationally-

created ones over local apps.

Apps that are popular include:

99.co is an apartment rental app which focuses on complete, useful listings, has an easy

user interface and is free of paid classifieds.

BandLab makes it easier for users to create music and collaborate with other musicians and

fans around the world. The app has an advanced music-making tools, which includes a MIDI

editor, a library of pre-made loops and virtual instruments and more.

Carousell: This mobile p2p app is essentially a marketplace for users, to sell new or pre-

used items to other users. All users need to do is upload a photo, add a caption and submit

the listing. The app has been launched in 13 cities.

Because of its high-density smartphone and high data usage,

developers of apps have found Singapore to be an excellent test bed


CutQ allows users to place an order with the eateries nearby, and to pick up the order at a

later time without having to queue.

Deliveroo is a food delivery service that allows users to choose from about 1,400 different

restaurants and receive their order within an average waiting time of 32 minutes.

Grab is a car and taxi-booking app, which allows the user to first agree to the fare before

making the booking.

Local Players

ECnet is a Singapore-based company founded in 1995, providing Enterprise Supply Chain

Solutions that help organisations to gain visibility and control of their trading partners' inter-

company business processes. It aims to improve collaboration between companies and optimise

their supply chain process. ECnet's solutions aim to increase clients’ profitability by improving

cash flow & customer satisfaction, providing faster response to changes in demand & supply &

higher margins, better synchronisation with business priorities, strong alliances & partnerships

with leading organisations and acknowledge rewards & recognitions. Their customers include

some of the world's largest companies in Consumer Electronics, Manufacturing, Automobile,

Healthcare and Logistics. ECnet is headquartered in Singapore with its offices in the US, China,

Japan, India, Malaysia, and Thailand.

Tagit is a Singapore-based mobile banking start-up, which has presence in Malaysia, Indonesia,

India and Canada. The company has plans to enter Japan and North Asia next. Tagit’s early

breakthrough came via its Mobeix platform, which is a platform to help banks, the public and

enterprises build and scale applications with an emphasis on security. It was one of the first

recipients to receive an Accreditation@IDA programme stamp of approval (the programme is run

by the Singapore government). The startup has helped integrate FinTech with big banks through

technology partnerships with companies like UOB, Axis Bank, Bank Danamon Indonesia, Royal

Bank of Canada and CitiBank India. It also has deals with various governments across the region.

Touch Dimension Interactive was founded in 2009 in Singapore, rapidly growing to become a

leading computer games company. Touch Dimension Interactive makes games that run on a


variety of platforms and devices: iPad, iPhone, iPod, Blackberry, PC, Surface and an array of

smart-phones. Despite being a small company, Touch Dimension Interactive sells its products in

markets all over the world, and its most successful product, the video-game Autumn Dynasty was

ranked the Number 1 strategy game in 28 countries in 2014, including several European countries

such as the UK and Sweden.

Figure 32: Touch Dimension’s Autumn Dynasty


German giant SAP opened a co-innovation lab in Singapore in March 2013. By using SAP’s

infrastructure, the laboratory offers an environment for SAP, partners and customers to

collaborate on the development of current and future technologies such as cloud computing,

mobility, big data analytics and in-memory computing. The lab exists to allow member

organisations to experiment with both hardware and software combinations using SAP’s

cloud infrastructure. Several companies have already utilised this opportunity. For instance,

an early use of the lab was by YFind Technologies, which tested its indoor location positions

product to establish a means to integrate SAP’s broader retail software products.

In addition to large Singapore companies which are pushing up the demand for business

analytics solutions, the government is making the use of data analytics technology a priority

in order to achieve its e-Government goals. Defence and homeland security are among the


departments where advanced applications are being pursued, and these avenues may offer

additional opportunities for EU companies.

Singaporean SMEs are growing increasingly interested to solutions that allow the

automation of essential functions such as ERP. The Singaporean government is supportive

of this trend, and in 2014 it launched the ICT for Productivity and Growth programme for

SMEs, which is worth S$ 500 million (EUR 310 million). The programme has the objective to

encourage SMEs to use technology to boost productivity and growth.

Although security software is a significant segment with growth opportunities, it is also a field

that is relatively difficult for new market entrants to penetrate. That said, it is an area of high

growth due to an increasing awareness of the risks to governments, enterprises and

individuals. The government has also taken a firm stance on cybersecurity, and with the

Computer Misuse and Cybersecurity Act authorities can now take proactive measures to

prevent, detect and counter cyber-threats to national security, essential services, defence

and foreign relations. Companies and private individuals are expected to demand more IT

security solutions, thus, offering additional venues for security software providers to add their

product mixes into the Singaporean market. In particular, there is increasing demand for

secure content management (SCM) and identity and access management (IAM) software.

New applications are being developed for virtually every industry, and Singaporeans have

revealed to be very responsive utilisers of innovative solutions. Even in traditionally more

labour-intensive industries such as food and beverages, foodservice companies have been

using digital food menus and apps to replace waiters. As a result, companies may find

demand for application developers across the full spectrum of Singapore’s economy.

Singaporeans are also intensive buyers of video games, and the city-state is the ASEAN

member with the highest per capita spending on gaming. The outlook for this segment is

promising, and companies looking for a regional media hub, capable of creating, publishing

and distributing gaming content will find a favourable environment in Singapore.


European Players

BAE Systems

BAE Systems is a British multinational defence, security and aerospace company founded in

1999. Its headquarters are in the UK and it has operations worldwide. The company set up a

presence in Singapore to offer design development and production of defence equipment and

infrastructure for sea, land and air applications. It has a wide network of 15 offices in 10 ASEAN

countries, including Singapore, Australia, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand and the Philippines,

providing some of the world’s most advanced, technology-led solutions to major organisations.

The BAE Systems office in Singapore grew to accommodate the company’s growing workforce

of cybersecurity and technical experts, which numbers about 40 today, up from 10 two years ago.

In 2015, BAE Systems announced that it was bringing cloud-based cybersecurity to commercial

organisations in Singapore for the first time. It aims to meet high customer demand for a wide and

flexible portfolio of solutions - from on premise services to cloud-based services and managed

security services - to combat the ever-increasing cyber threat. By introducing Singaporean

companies to cloud-based protection in a way that is easy to buy, consume and manage, the

company aims to help protect those companies against highly sophisticated threats. It can deliver

cloud-based services within short timescales in order to deal with threats almost immediately, and

will give companies the ability to scale their security up or down, as required, making them more

agile in their response.

In February 2016, BAE Systems deepened its commitment to Singapore with the signing of a

$2.5 million partnership with Singapore’s Nanyang Technological University (NTU) to jointly

develop next-generation cybersecurity solutions in an era of rising cyber-attacks. NTU is BAE

Systems’ first academic research partner in the cyber discipline outside of the UK.

Spotify

Spotify is a Swedish music, podcast, and video streaming application that provides digital rights

management–protected content from record labels and media companies Music can be browsed


or searched by artist, album, genre, playlist, and record label. Spotify was launched in September

2008 by Swedish start-up Spotify AB. As of August 2016, Spotify had more than 100 million active

users, and about half a billion registered users. It is available in most of the Americas, Europe,

and some countries in Asia and Oceania.

In 2013, Spotify entered the Singapore market, where it has been strongly successful, also thanks

to Singaporeans’ tendency to abide by the law. Spotify is offering two subscription tiers in

Singapore: a free version allows users to get music on their desktop and laptop with

advertisements. On the Premium S$ 9.99 (EUR 6.18) plan, customers can stream music on their

mobile devices using Spotify’s apps, and gain the option to download music to play offline.

SAP

SAP AG is a German multinational software corporation that makes enterprise software to

manage business operations and customer relations. Headquartered in Baden-Württemberg, it

has regional offices in 180 countries, servicing more than 335,000 customers, worldwide. As of

2016, SAP is the world’s third largest software and programming company, The corporation

focuses on 25 industries and six industry sectors: process industries, discrete industries,

consumer industries, service industries, financial services and public services. It offers integrated

product sets for large enterprises, mid-sized companies and small businesses. In Singapore, the

company operates via its subsidiary, SAP Asia Pte Ltd.

Most recently, the company announced its partnership with the United Overseas Bank Limited

(UOB), under which it will offer an enterprise planning software to small- and medium-sized

enterprises (SME) customers of the bank. The software, called SAP Business One, will combine

in a single package some SME functions to digitise their processes, such as accounting and sales.

SAP Business One will be made available as part of UOB BizSmart. SMEs can choose from three

options, depending on the fuctions they require and the number of employees in the organisation,

with the most basic option being complimentary.


3.4 Information Technology Services


IT services are the least tradable segment of the ICT market, where local presence is an important

factor for consultancy and facilities management solutions providers. Singapore's success as a

regional ICT hub has allowed the local industry to thrive amid fierce regional competition. Recent

analyses predict the Singaporean market for IT services to record stronger spending growth than the

IT equipment and the IT software sub-sectors over the medium term. The IT services industry is

forecasted to increase from S$ 5.6 billion (EUR 3.5 billion) in 2017 to S$ 6.7 billion (EUR 4.2 billion)

in 2021, with a CAGR of 4.8% over the 2017-2021 period. Cloud services in particular will be a crucial

engine for growth in the market, and their share as a percentage of total spending for IT services is

set to grow strongly, reaching more than 15% by 2019.

Figure 33: IT Services Market in Singapore, 2013-2020




Emerging Technologies

Singapore has a strong position as a leader among adopters of new and emerging technologies.

Singaporean companies tend to be ahead of the majority of the other South East Asian markets

in the adoption of new technologies. Businesses are leveraging technology to modernise in

various ways: by embracing cloud technology; tapping into the power of web APIs;

harnessing the power of big data analytics; embracing social and digital change; moving

their businesses to mobile devices; developing and building online channels, as well as

launching new business models.

Enterprise mobility is one of the rapidly advancing areas of IT. In today’s fast-changing

business climate, Singaporean companies are starting to innovate and adapt in order to

keep up and stay ahead of the game. More companies are empowering themselves by

adopting mobile technologies for an added competitive edge as the bring-your-own-device

(BYOD) trend continues to go strong. In order to adapt and move along with the new mobile

platforms, operating systems, devices, security threats and growing user expectations, a

growing number of companies are leaning towards adopting enterprise mobility solutions.

Centred around the heart of connectivity, the Internet of Things (IoT) is becoming the pulse

of businesses, governments and individuals. Today, IoT is already prevalent in many

aspects with various industries adopting the technology as Singapore transforms into a

Smart City. Singapore businesses are taking the lead in employing the necessary solutions

to facilitate this transition.

As trust in cloud models deepens, Singapore companies are running more business

functions on the cloud. Today, an increasing number of organisations in Singapore run IT

services in the cloud, and entrust their operations to cloud providers. This offers additional

opportunities for cloud service maintenance and provision businesses to tap into the

expanding customer segment.

Businesses are now analysing data to better understand consumer behaviour, increase

efficiency, and enhance their competitiveness.


These emerging technologies are creating a demand for IT services in Singapore, as most

businesses seek qualified assistance when preparing for major changes, particularly in cases

where internal teams do not have the necessary resources.

According to Business Monitor International, the business process outsourcing segment is

predicted to grow strongly in Singapore. Many companies have been spurred by the recent

economic crisis to outsource non-core functions, as enterprises are less willing to spend on in-

house IT capabilities. To capitalise on this growing trend, Avaloq, for example, a technology-

driven financial services provider for wealth management and retail banks, has in February 2016

launched its new business process outsourcing (BPO) centre in Singapore as part of the

company’s continued growth in the APAC region.73

One emerging area of the outsourcing industry is outsourced cybersecurity services.

In September 2014, SingTel signed a partnership deal with the U.S.-based cloud service provider

Akamai Technologies. Under the deal, Akamai will provide cloud-based distributed denial-of-

service (DDoS) mitigation to firms in Asia Pacific.

Local Players

Electra Singapore – Founded in 1998, Electra is a Singapore-based IT service provider

specialising in implementing and running SAP enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems for

small to medium-sized businesses. The company employs 100 people, including 60 SAP

consultants, who work on projects across South East Asia. Electra is an SAP partner with Gold

Partner Status under the Channel Partner Program for SAP’s Business All-in-One Solution.

Electra provides some of the most advanced enterprise solutions in the areas of operational

planning and productivity management. These intelligent solutions mark the growing trend of

using advanced technology to manage corporate information and business processes. Electra

has developed elocity, a qualified SAP® Business All-in-One partner solution that incorporates

industry-specific best practices. By leveraging enterprise information systems to optimise

73 https://www.verdict.co.uk/private-banker-international/news/avaloq-opens-new-bpo-centre-in-singapore-adds-deutsche-bank-wm-as-major-

client-030216-4800108/


business processes, Electra helps its clients achieve better business performance. In addition to

solution offerings, Electra helps its clients maximise their success through a combination of

consulting experts, methodologies, and tools – plus a comprehensive portfolio of service

offerings. Currently, Electra provides services to over 60 enterprises across the region.

Hastraa Consulting Services is a global Software Testing & Quality Assurance Services

organisation headquartered in Singapore. Hastraa has a testing competency and offshore

delivery centre in Malaysia and international offices in Dubai, UK, and India. Hastraa enjoys a

strong reputation in South East Asia where it has been active for over a decade. The company

has been recognised as among the Top 25 Most Promising QA /Testing Solutions companies in

APAC region by CIO Outlook magazine. Hastraa Consulting Services has strong domain

experience and industry focus on Banking & Financial Services, Insurance and Telecom verticals,

and the company has executed over 100+ projects for over 40 customers across South East Asia,

Middle East and Europe. The company provides enterprise wide assurance services covering

Business Analysis, Test Process Consulting, Program Test Management, Functional Testing,

Mobile Testing, Business Process Testing, DWH Testing, Test Automation and Performance

Assurance Solutions. Hastraa’s expert advisory and assurance services are designed to help

organisations mitigate the quality risks associated with developing and deploying business critical

IT solutions.

Kydon Holdings is the leading provider of learning technologies in Singapore and Asia.

The company’s aim is to transform learning by fusing advanced pedagogies with cutting-edge

learning technologies. Their innovative learning solutions include design and consultancy, digital

content production, research and development, learning platform delivery, professional

development services, and design of innovative learning spaces. Moreover, Kydon Holdings’

subsidiary, Kydon Learning Systems Institute (KLSI) is research-based learning solutions

provider for companies, enterprises, government and educational institutions in Singapore and

Asia, helping organisations, schools, colleges and universities implement e-learning solutions,

smart classrooms and learning management systems.



Significant opportunities exist for companies offering IT services to industries such as

telecoms, electronics and healthcare in particular. For example, IBM Singapore is

implementing a major contract from SingHealth, Singapore’s largest public healthcare group,

in order to standardise hardware and software platforms across its various institutions. IBM

was commissioned to consolidate the varied IT infrastructure into a single platform to create

a better flow for patient care delivery.

Singapore has enjoyed new popularity in recent years as a Business Process Outsourcing

(BPO) location for financial sector organisations. There have been large outsourcing

contracts from companies such as Singapore Airlines, as well as public sector organisations,

and local vendors are taking advantage of the trend.

Singapore is a strategic location for companies offering IT consulting solutions. As the

country is the regional IT hub for South East Asia, many ICT companies have established

their headquarters in the city-state. This unique concentration offers IT consulting

companies the opportunity to serve leading tech-firms with operations in several

countries.

Singapore companies involved in advertising, consulting and engineering are now looking to

build key digital capabilities in data science, analytics and artificial intelligence as a way to

innovate and harness opportunities. For example, local accounting firm Precursor Group has

diversified from providing traditional audit services to also offering HR and analytics services

through its proprietary cloud-based services delivery platform.

The use of cloud applications for operational systems is a growing trend in Singapore, a

mature market in South East Asia, as it enables businesses to respond better to changing

business needs. Singapore organisations under manufacturing, retail and healthcare have

started to adopt cloud-based ERP solutions to improve their overall margins and operational

efficiency.

The Singapore government is facilitating innovation platforms where companies can

collaborate to test and commercialise technology services. An example of this is the Smart


Urban Habitat Masterplan which focuses on the use of digital technologies to improve public

housing in the country. This project will enable global technology companies to recommend

smart initiatives for deployment in the country. Another innovation platform was announced

wherein leading companies such as Google, Grab and Adobe will collaborate to help local

businesses with smart data use to drive marketing innovation.

The government has also taken an active role in the promotion of cloud-based services, in

particular for local SMEs: in September 2013, the Infocomm Development Authority (IDA)

signed an agreement with the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR)’s

Institute of High Performance Computing (IHPC) aiming to promote the adoption of cloud

services for product and service development, as well as business operations to enhance

productivity and competitiveness. Moreover, the Singapore public sector is also an important

source of demand for cloud services. Under the agreement, IDA will match-make IHPC’s

expertise with relevant needs to adopt cloud-based technological solutions on the next

generation broadband network. IHPC will then leverage on its strengths in computational

modelling and simulation data, and data analysis to offer consultation to these businesses.

It will ride on IDA’s Cloud Computing and Next Generation Nationwide Broadband Network

(Next Gen NBN) infrastructure to power and accelerate the entire solution-creation process.

The availability of such resources will lower entry barriers of capital investment, and allow

quicker idea-to-market implementation. Examples of IHPC’s technologies that can be

leveraged by local ICT companies include:

▪ Big Data Analysis: IHPC researchers are developing cloud-based platforms and tools to

enable businesses to run various data analytics with better performance and at less cost

compared to traditional IT structure. The speed, reliability and feasibility of large scale data

processing could be improved by dynamically optimising and scheduling the computational

processes on cloud infrastructure such as Amazon EC2, S3, or Windows Azure. Such

technologies in turn could be applied to a wide spectrum of areas such as aerospace,

transport, surveillance, and healthcare.

▪ Brand-Centric Social Media Analysis: IHPC scientists are working on a social media

analyser to help customer-facing organisations to monitor, track and analyse near-to-real


time social media perceptions about their businesses and identify emerging pertinent

social media trends. It also allows fine tailoring of these tools and methods for specific

organisations to achieve greater accuracy of results.

▪ Complex Systems Modelling: This involves the use of an analyser of multiple simulated

scenarios to enable companies, for example, in the transport or logistic industries, to make

faster decisions (such as significantly reducing turnaround time of 9 hours to 30 minutes)

so as to achieve lower costs and enhance productivity.

European Players

Siemens

Siemens AG (Berlin and Munich) is a global technology powerhouse that has stood for

engineering excellence, innovation, quality, reliability and internationality for more than 165 years.

The company is active in more than 200 countries, focusing on the areas of electrification,

automation and digitalisation. It has been present in the Singapore market since 1908, when it

first established a Technical Bureau.

In September 2016, Siemens launched its Digital Factory Manufacturing Design Consultancy in

Singapore. A first for Siemens AG, the consultancy aims to assist companies to assess the current

state of their facilities, and thereafter structure a meaningful Industry 4.0 transformation roadmap

to digitalise their factories. With applications such as next-level automation, predictive

maintenance and remote monitoring, digitalisation can help manufacturers improve their quality,

productivity, flexibility, efficiency, throughput time and time-to-market. The consultancy will cover

Singapore and the other South East Asian markets, which are also facing increasing challenges

to remain competitive.

Supported by the Singapore Economic Development Board, this consultancy plugs a critical

capability gap in the market. While manufacturers, especially in markets like Singapore, are keen

to digitalise their factories to remain competitive, many lack the knowledge and expertise of the

smaller steps they can take to do so.


Siemens decided to establish its first manufacturing consultancy business in the country due to

the importance of Singapore’s manufacturing sector to the global supply chain.

SAP SE

The German company SAP is a global leader in the enterprise applications market. Founded in

1972, the company has grown to more than 176,000 customers in more than 120 countries, and

employs more than 54,000 people in total. Singapore is the regional headquarters for SAP in the

Asia Pacific, as well as home to SAP’s Global Research and Business Incubation centre. SAP

Singapore serves 1,222 large enterprise customers and 4,585 small- and medium-sized

enterprises across the region.

SAP Singapore is the leading global vendor of enterprise resource planning (ERP) and business

analytics solutions in the region. It primarily serves the large enterprise market in Singapore, but

is also looking to expand its market share in the SME segment and in March 2013 released SAP

Business One for HANA. SAP is expanding its product portfolio to offer its traditional product

portfolio on its in-memory HANA system, as well as developing a range of cloud-based and mobile

services. In May 2013, it announced the launch of SAP HANA Enterprise Cloud, effectively

launching HANA-as-a-Service, enabling it to meet the demands of a wider range of clients.

In April 2015, SAP introduced its start-up acceleration scheme, the SAP Startup Focus

Acceleration Program, in Singapore. SAP has partnered with Singapore’s IDA and investment

firm ACP Ventures to provide SGD10mn (US$ 7.28 million) in funds to local tech start-ups and

offer mentorship from industry experts. SAP is targeting start-ups operating in the fields of big

data, predictive analytics, or real-time data solutions.

Delaware Consulting

Delaware is an international information technology services company with headquarters in

Spain, and it specialises in providing solutions to improve the productivity and revenues of

customers and partners. Delaware’s core business includes business consulting, IT systems

integration and outsourcing services. In Singapore, Delaware Consulting has established its


headquarters for the Asia Pacific region and it partners with SAP, Microsoft, Acorn, and others.

Delaware Singapore centres its activities around three main pillars: operational excellence,

business insights and customer experience. Moreover, the company has been awarded

numerous certification titles, including Gold Certified Microsoft, Gold SAP, Gold Business Objects,

and OpenText Select partner.

LuxCarta

LuxCarta is a French company focussing on the creation and delivery of geo-data. The company’s

roots date back to the creation of GEOIMAGE in 1989. In 2013, GEOIMAGE and ComputaMaps

joined under the LuxCarta banner. In 2016, the two subsidiary companies were replaced by a

single global brand: LuxCarta. As one of the global leading companies for cartography and

software development, LuxCarta specialises in delivering quality fit-for-purpose products and

services to non-specialist and expert end users.

In 2008, ComputaMaps opened a new office in Singapore, supporting the company’s global

expansion in South East Asia, for both commercial and government customers. Its office in

Singapore services the Asia Pacific region. It works with companies in the telecommunications

industry as well as with mobile operators to design and optimise their network. The company

addresses various verticals in the region, such as urban planning, broadcasting media, property

development, smart cities, navigation, among others.


3.5 Telecommunication Equipment


Singapore is a major entry point and serves as a major distribution centre for companies

interested in selling to the region. In 2016, over 96% of telecommunication products imported into

the country were re-exported for third-country consumption.74 Within the telecommunication

equipment sub-sector, the mobile phone industry, and in particular smartphones, is the most

dynamic segment in Singapore. The market for routers is almost entirely dominated by a handful

of multinational companies such as Cisco, Juniper, HPE, Huawei and ALU.

Singapore has one of the most developed telecommunication infrastructures in the world. Mobile

penetration rate is very high in the country. As of September 2017, mobile population

penetration rate has reached 149.2%.75 As a result, organic subscription is unlikely to grow

signficantly in the upcoming years. The market is likely to be driven by the replacement service

segment, with customers seeking to replace their devices with better quality, higher-end products.

GfK Asia's data shows that sales of smartphones in Singapore peaked at 2.81 million units in

2013, and have been falling steadily to 2.3 million in 2014 and 2.1 million in 2016. Given the high

penetration rates, sales of smartphones have been stagnating. However, during the first eight

months of 2017, consumers bought 1.4 million smartphones, 22% more over the same period last

year, with total sales for the year estimated at 2.7 million units. The increase of smartphone sales

in 2017 is attributed to the termination of 2G services in April 2017.

Thousands of 2G mobile phone users also switched to 3G feature phones. GfK Asia estimates

that the feature-phone market accounted for 3.2% of all handsets sold in Singapore in 2016.

The October 2017 launch of the classic Nokia mobile phones which utilise the 3G network may

see demand of 3G feature phones grow.

74 https://www.export.gov/article?id=Singapore-Telecommunication-Equipment 75 https://www.imda.gov.sg/industry-development/facts-and-figures/telecommunications/statistics-on-telecom-services/statistic-on-telecom-

service-for-2017-jul


International Data Corporation (IDC) estimates that Samsung and Apple dominate the Singapore

market, making up more than 70% of the overall market. Smartphones from China vendors are

however rising in popularity in Singapore, even though they have some ways to go before

catching up with premium favourites such as Apple and Samsung. According to GfK Asia, one in

five smartphones sold in Singapore in 2017 is from a Chinese vendor - the first time combined

Chinese manufacturer sales have crossed the 20% mark. The market research firm's point-of-

sales data shows Chinese phones accounted for 21.6% of the smartphones sold in Singapore

between January and August 2017, up from 15% during the same period in 2016. In 2012, these

phones made up only 4.3% of all phone sales.

Most smartphones in the country are sold with an Android software already installed (61%), while

iOS and Windows follow with 33% and 5%, respectively. iOS systems are exclusively installed on

Apple devices, whereas other leading brands such as Samsung, Xiaomi, LG, HTC and Sony

feature Android systems, which also host the largest number of applications among operating

systems.

Local mobile carriers offer attractive subsidies to purchase new mobile phones to customers that

choose to contract with them. These subsidies can halve the price of the phone, even allowing

consumers to obtain free phones, which often leads customers to replace their devices earlier

than the average period.

An interesting fact that has contributed to gradual demise of feature phones among Singaporeans

is the lift of the ban on smartphones in army camps in 2013. Previously, smartphones were not

allowed in army camps, and local recruits would purchase feature phones before being enlisted.

Besides a nationwide broadband network infrastructure, Singapore is well connected by

multiple satellite and submarine cable systems with more than 381 terabits per second of

potential capacity supporting international and regional telecoms connectivity. The country has

more than 5.87 terabits per second of international internet bandwidth connectivity to economies

such as the US, China, Japan, India, as well as other important partners in Europe and ASEAN.


Internet Protocol television (IPTV)

Malaysia and Singapore are the only countries in South East Asia where IPTV is widely available.

However, only a small number of companies manufacture the most current IPTV systems. SingTel

was the first telecommunication provider in Singapore to offer IPTV, starting from January 2007.

Telecomm competitor StarHub responded by launching an IPTV service, StarHub TV on Fibre in

2013, and M1 followed suit. In early April 2015, StarHub launched its IPTV service for residential

customers. The StarHub TV on Fibre service is delivered over the Next Generation Nationwide

Broadband Network and offers HD content, personalised features and greater interactivity.

StarHub TV on Fibre customers also have access to a Simultaneous Recording service, allowing

them to record up to two programmes simultaneously. At the end of 2015, SingTel had 424,000

SingTel TV subscribers (up 1.2% from 420,000 in December 2014) while StarHub had 536,000

pay-TV subscribers (down 1.1% y-o-y from 542,000).

Local Players

Skycom started as a company that builds Satellite TV, SCV, Cable TV, RF Coaxial Network,

Structured Cabling Network, Fibre Optics and IPTV systems. As technology advanced, the

company also included in their offering customised digital signage solutions consisting of a

network of customised digital displays that can be controlled electronically using a computer. This

allows their clients to remotely control the display on the TV screens so as to provide the most

targeted messaging possible. Skycom’s IPTV is one of the most efficient solutions in the market

for the reception and streaming of IPTV channels, allowing hotel operators, corporations, and

buildings to distribute advanced IPTV and Digital TV services with maximum quality and reliability.

Xiaomi was founded in 2010 in China by serial entrepreneur Lei Jun, believing in affordable high-

quality IT products and specialising in smartphones. The company allows customers to give

feedbacks on its devices and it incorporates them into the product range, which currently includes

the Mi Note Pro, Mi Note, Mi 4, Redmi 2, Mi TV, Mi Band and other accessories. With more than

61 million handsets sold in 2014, Xiomi is currently the 4th largest smartphones maker worldwide,

and it has offices in several countries in the Asia Pacific region, including in Singapore where the


company plans to move its headquarters. In Singapore, the company also officially launched its

Mi3 smartphone, whose sales registered a record for the company. Xiomi is also planning a

collaboration with Uber to deliver its new flagship handset, the Mi Note, to buyers in Singapore

and Kuala Lumpur.

Figure 34: Xiomi’s Mi3 Released First in Singapore

Apple – The American giant is a leading smartphone manufacturer, and its most celebrated

product, the iPhone, is one of the most successful smartphones in Singapore, accounting for

around 1/3 of total smartphones sales in the country. In the city-state, Apple’s products are

available through its retail store, on-line shops or via authorised resellers. but the company has

not established a shop yet. In 2017, Apple officially opened its first Apple retail store at

Knightsbridge Mall along Orchard Road which is also the company’s first in South East Asia.


Singapore is a major distribution centre for companies interested in selling to the region.

In 2016, more than 96% of telecommunications products imported into Singapore were re-

exported for third country consumption. Given Singapore’s strategic location in the region, it

offers attractive opportunities for mobile device makers and suppliers to distribute higher-end

replacement products domestically as well as support the market penetration in other

regional economies.


Singaporeans are increasingly opting for smartphones with larger screens, and

manufacturers are responding accordingly. For example, the newest iPhones from Apple

have considerably increased their size compared with previous models. Phones with screen

sizes greater than 5.5 inches are preferred as they allow better video viewing and are much

easier on the eyes.

Figure 35: iPhone Screen Size Evolution

In recent years, the growth in smartphones sales can be ascribed not only to consumers

switching from feature phones to smartphones, but also to young children owning

smartphones at an earlier age, a trend that has spurred teachers to disseminate important

information through classes on a safe use of smartphones.

Singaporean customers are demanding increasingly sophisticated devices, and today

smartphones possess new features such as touch ID technology, fitness sensors, and better

photography and videography.

Targeting less brand-conscious Singaporean customers that give priority to low prices has

revealed a successful strategy for Xiaomi, which was the fastest-growing brand within

smartphones in 2014 and 2015.

Store-based retailing is still the preferred channel of distribution in Singapore for mobile

phones, with a share of about 92% among distribution channels in 2015. However,


Singaporeans are increasingly buying their phones on-line, and in 2015 internet retailing

accounted for around 8% among all distribution channels, up from 2% in 2010.

In December 2016, TGP Telecom Pte Ltd made the winning bid in the New Entrant

Spectrum Auction, and was allotted 60 MHz of spectrum. This comprised 20 MHz in the

900 MHz spectrum band and 40 MHz in the 2.3 GHz spectrum for the provision of 4G and

International Mobile Telecommunications Advanced Services. The new operator is expected

to roll out its services in 2018 and this presents the EU companies a good opportunity to

supply their equipment and solutions for expanding TGP operations.76

The smartphone industry is almost exclusively accessible by multi-national corporations with

access to global value chains and considerable resource to invest in R&D. Smaller

European players might find this industry challenging to access. However, significant

opportunities exist for those players that are venturing into the Internet of Things (IoT)

industry. As the example from the Italian Tehcnogym reveals, by taking advantage of

Singapore’s high smartphones penetration rate, IoT products can find a favourable operating

environment.

Figure 36: Opportunities in the IoT Industry Related to High Smartphone Usage

76 https://www.export.gov/article?id=Singapore-Telecommunication-Equipment


European Players77

Technogym

Technogym is a manufacturer of fitness equipment based in Cesena, Italy, that was founded in

1983 by Nerio Alessandri. The company has customers in more than 100 countries including

200,000 private homes, 10,000 medical centres, and 3,000 schools and universities. Technogym

specialises in the manufacturing of intelligent fitness machines, meaning computerised equipment

that monitors users’ performance by giving real-time information and analyses. The company has

offices in Singapore, and has also established a showroom located in the Kaki Bukit Industrial

Park, which is about a 10 minutes’ drive from the Changi International Airport and 20 minutes

from the city. The showroom is a Wellness lifestyle showroom, featuring all the latest Technogym

innovations in fitness equipment. One of the most interesting products of the Italian company, is

its application for smartphones that allows users can access their wellness data anywhere, at any

time. When installed in a personal device, the Technogym App assigns a daily movement target

to the user and tracks their performance throughout the day, giving detailed information and

providing advice on how to improve health and fitness.

Figure 37: Technogym’s App Uses Smartphones to Monitor Physical Exercise

77 No European companies producing phones are present in Singapore at the moment. However, several European IoT companies are closely

related to the telecommunication equipment industry (smartphones in particular), and have established their presence in the country.


ANTIK Technology

ANTIK Technology is a company from the Czech Republic that develops End-to-End IPTV / OTT

Solutions for operators, content providers and retailers. It is one of the few global companies with

own hardware and software products for complete IPTV ecosystem from acquisition, transcoding,

streaming, management, monitoring, protection to middleware and end-user devices. ANTIK

Technology has from more than 20 years of experience in the area of video processing, and has

a team of more than 150 employees. Whereas the hardware development team is located in the

Czech Republic, the company’s software development team and technical support are distributed

in between the Slovak Republic and Singapore. Moreover, following the expansion of OTT, IPTV

and especially hospitality TV market in South East Asia, in 2012 the company announced the

opening of representative offices in Singapore.

Broadpeak

Broadpeak is a French company that designs and manufactures video delivery components for

Content Providers and Network Service Providers deploying IPTV, Cable, OTT and mobile

services. Its portfolio of solutions and technologies powers the delivery of movies, television

programming and other content over managed networks and the internet for viewing on any type

of device. The company’s systems and services help operators increase market share and

improve subscriber loyalty with superior quality of experience. In 2012, Broadpeak opened a new

office in Singapore, making it the headquarter for its operations in the Asia Pacific region.

ADVA Optical Networking SE

ADVA Optical Networking is a German telecommunications vendor that provides network

equipment for data, storage, voice and video services. ADVA Optical Networking has a global

workforce of over 1,500 employees and its Fiber Service Platform has been deployed in more

than 250 carriers and 10,000 enterprises. The company has offices in Singapore and has

collaborated with local businesses. In 2010, the leading Singaporean telecom provider SingTel

selected ADVA Optical Networking as a vendor for its high-speed managed metropolitan optical

network service known as GigawaveLite, a managed high-speed, point-to-point optical service for


enterprise customers needing to connect two or more sites. Moreover, in 2014 the company

partnered with OrisTel, the telecom systems integration arm of Singapore Technologies

Electronics, for the distribution of optical networking products to telecom service providers,

government and utility customers in the Asia Pacific region.

Tripleplay

Tripleplay is a British company that has been operating for over a decade in the digital media

marketplace. Tripleplay has grown to become one of the world’s leaders in the development and

provision of digital signage, IPTV, video on demand and mobile device streaming solutions.

Tripleplay’s core software solutions are TripleTV, an HD IPTV solution, TripleVOD, a video on

demand streaming solution, TripleSign, a world class server based digital signage system and

TripleStream, a mobile device streaming application. The company has active offices and

representatives located in the US, Spain, France, Germany, Australia, South Africa, Turkey, the

UK, and Singapore. In the city-state, Tripleplay has collaborated with several local companies.

In 2015 SingTel, the leading telecommunication provider in the country, selected Tripleplay for a

partnership to deliver IP media solutions in Singapore. The two companies plan to design, deliver

and support integrated IP media solutions into sectors including hospitality, healthcare, banking

and finance.


3.6 Telecommunication Services


In Singapore, mobile penetration is very high and the market for telecommunication services is very

developed: in 2015, wireline broadband reached a household penetration rate of 102.8%,78

whereas 3G/4G penetration exceeded 140%. The overwhelming use of 3G/4G services reflects the

maturity of the market, as well as the decision of the 3 main operators to simultaneously shut down

2G networks in 2017. The country's highly developed mobile service market outperforms its

regional peers, but also offers fewer opportunities for growth. BMI estimates that Singapore's

mobile services industry will grow by a CAGR of about 1.36% from 2017 to 2021, with 4G being the

main driver for growth. 3G/4G subscriptions are expected to reach 100% market penetration by the

end of 2017. By 2021, the mobile market is forecast to have about 9 million subscribers.

Figure 38: Mobile Phone Subscribers in Singapore (‘000), 2014-2020



Data plans are relatively affordable in Singapore, and SingTel Mobile, StarHub and M1, the main

players, have upgraded their technology in order to cope with the burgeoning data demand.

78 http://healthcareasiamagazine.com/healthcare/news/telecare-will-shape-pharmaceutical-opportunities-in-asia-pacific-region-bmi

Singapore’s mobile services industry will grow by a

CAGR of about 1.36% from 2017 to 2021, and 3G/4G

subscriptions will reach 9 million by the end of 2021


However, fixed telephony has so far managed to avoid being replaced by mobile alternatives due

to consumers' preferences towards bundled multi-play services.

Mobile Services

The price of monthly subscriptions inclusive of mobile broadband, talk time and texts is between

S$ 27.90 (EUR 17.40) and S$ 239.90 (EUR 150.80), depending on the amount of data, talk time

and texting the consumer requires. According to IDA data, in 2015 there were 3.9 million 3G

subscribers comprising 1.6 million post-paid and 2.7 million prepaid subscribers. Both prepaid

and post-paid 3G subscriptions are declining as more users switch to 4G services.

4G subscriptions overtook 3G ones in 2015, reaching 4.35 million in 2017.

The dominant player within the local mobile market is SingTel Mobile, which enjoys around

49% of the total market share. StarHub and M1 follow, with around 27% and 24% of the total

market share in Q2 of 2017, respectively. SingTel Mobile has been steadily expanding its lead in

market share, at the expense of StarHub and M1, and the current market share ranking is

expected to persist owing to the strong brand name of SingTel and its bundled service offerings.

Figure 39: Mobile Market Share in Singapore (%), 2011-2016



An important trend is the significant decline in SMS usage that can be attributed to the proliferation

of alternative forms of communications such as those provided by Over-The-Top (OTT) platforms

such as Skype, WhatsApp, KakaoTalk, Facebook and Twitter.

To combat the threat of OTT services, mobile network operators are collaborating with OTT

service providers to stem the loss of their revenue. SingTel, for example, offers social data plans

for prepaid mobile customers, which allow unlimited WhatsApp, Facebook, Line, WeChat or

Opera Mini use without incurring additional data charges. StarHub also offers similar social data

add-on plans for Line and WeChat users.

Fixed-lines

IDA data reveals that Singapore subscribers to fixed-line data totalled around 2 million at the end

of June 2017, which is a decrease of 1.2% from the previous year. Residential fixed-lines have

been the key driver of overall growth in the market, increasing to 1.3 million in Q2 of 2016,

whereas corporate fixed-line subscriptions declined slightly over the year, from 723,000 to

700,000. As in the mobile market, SingTel is the largest supplier of fixed lines in the country with

1.46 million subscribers at the end of March 2017.

Figure 40: Fixed-Line Subscriber Growth in Singapore (‘000), 2015-2017



Wireless@SG

The Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore has recently expanded the capacity and

speed of the free Wireless@SG system with the aim to enhance the country's wireless

infrastructure. The improved Wireless@SG is capable of recognising registered users via their

local SIM cards, thereby simplifying the login process. The Communications and Information

Minister stated that they will complement mobile networks in the country and enable subscribers

to effortlessly shift from 3G/4G networks to Wireless@SG, which is also available for businesses

that wish to provide free Wi-Fi for their customers.

Local Players

Singapore Telecommunication (SingTel) is the leading telecommunication services provider in

the country. The company was founded in 1955 and in 1993 it was publicly listed on the Singapore

Stock Exchange. SingTel’s portfolio of products includes sales of mobile phones, subscription

plans for fixed and mobile lines, pay television (known as mio TV) and TV streaming.

The company expanded operations to Australia and incorporated Australian integrated

communications provider, Optus, as a wholly owned subsidiary. SingTel has also invested in

telecommunication businesses in Thailand, India, the Philippines, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Africa

and Pakistan. SingTel’s focus in the near future is to strengthen its core business in Singapore

and Australia, investing in networks to accelerate growth for 4G coverage and capacity.

The company also plans to assist regional mobile associates in emerging markets under the

SingTel Group in rolling out mobile networks in their countries and developing services to meet

the needs of the local markets.

StarHub is the second biggest Telecommunication Services provider in Singapore. Established

in 1998, StarHub operates a HSPA + mobile network that complements its nationwide GSM

network and is building its LTE network, which was commercially launched in key business areas

in September 2012. Nationwide coverage was achieved in 2013. StarHub is also the country's

largest cable TV operator and in January 2007 became the first operator in South East Asia to

launch HDTV services commercially.


M1 is the third largest domestic mobile operator in Singapore, with about 1.9 million mobile

subscribers. M1's launch of its dual-band GSM 900/1800 MHz network in 1997 ended SingTel's

monopoly of Singapore's mobile sector. M1's network currently offers 2G/3G/4G and HSPA

services, and was the first in Singapore to launch LTE services. Besides offering cellular services,

M1 provides international call services to mobile and fixed-line customers. M1 ventured into

Singapore's pay-TV industry with the launch of its online media entertainment offering called 1box

in November 2010.

In September 2016, three companies applied to take part in the upcoming 4G airwave auction -

the first time in 15 years that new companies have expressed interest in entering the Singapore

mobile market. Parties that expressed interest include local fibre broadband operator MyRepublic

and Australian telco TPG Telecom. The Singapore government generated S$ 1.15 billion

(EUR 771.57 million) from the 4G airwave auction. The largest block was awarded to market

leader Singtel which paid S$ 563.7 million (EUR 378.2 million) for 75MHz of spectrum in all three

bands while number two StarHub acquired 60MHz in three bands for S$ 349.6 million

(EUR 234.6 million). M1 paid S$ 208 million (EUR 139.6 million) for 30MHz in the 700MHz and

900MHz bands while newcomer TPG Telecom purchased 10MHz in the 2.5GHz band for

S$ 23.8 million (EUR 16 million).


The market is saturated and offers only limited opportunities for growth. The slowdown in net

additions and new competition has led to aggressive price planning and the launch of

numerous promotions as the three main operators (SingTel Mobile, StarHub and M1)

compete to retain their market share. Within this competition, new opportunities are opening

up for companies to bundle their products together with the services of operators as a way of

promoting both companies to Singaporean customers.

3G technology is approaching its limit, and subscriptions are decreasing due to consumers

adopting 4G. Moreover, Singapore’s Info-communications Media Development Authority

announced in May 2017 that it would waive frequency fees for 5G network trials with

immediate effect, in order to support operators preparing for rollouts in 2020. IMDA is


expected to engage in a set of consultations with industry players in the upcoming months

on spectrum requirements, regulatory provisions and infrastructure needs in order to support

the development of 5G and Internet of Things (IoT) infrastructure. As a result, although the

opportunities for 3G services may be contracting, new opportunities may open up for the

development of 5G-related infrastructure and value-added services as well as support for the

customer base of 4G users.

Pre-paid mobile service packages are available in Singapore, but they are not popular

among locals. Most users of pre-paid services include foreign workers and tourists, as they

want the flexibility to pay a lower amount than a monthly subscription.

The number of fixed telephone lines in service has remained resilient to mobile substitution

as more and more subscribers opt for triple-play and even quad-play bundles.

Even though the telecommunication services market does not offer many opportunities for

growth, there is some potential through premium value-added services (VAS) and linkages

to the Internet of Things industry. For example, Smart TVs are increasingly popular in

Singapore.

Following the successful examples of other players, European companies wishing to access

the Singaporean market can find an interesting route in offering their services to local

telecommunication providers.

Only a handful of big players operate in the Telecommunication Service industry, and

smaller European companies might struggle to enter the market. However, interesting

opportunities exist for mobile-app developers, which can take advantage of the very

high 3G/4G penetration rate in Singapore. Moreover, at the present stage mobile

operators in Singapore are experimenting this collaboration with OTT (over the top) service

providers. For example, SingTel offers social data plans that allow unlimited WhatsApp,

Facebook, Line, WeChat or Opera Mini usage without incurring additional data charges.

StarHub also offers similar social data add-on plans for Line and WeChat users.


European Players79

Foodpanda

The Foodpanda group is a global mobile food delivery marketplace headquartered in Berlin,

Germany, operating in 24 countries and territories. The service allows users to select from local

restaurants and place orders via its mobile applications as well as its websites. The company has

partnered with over 40,000 restaurants.

Figure 41: Foodpanda’s App in Singapore

Source: Foodpanda Singapore

The Foodpanda app is also one of the most downloaded applications for smartphones in

Singapore.80 The mobile application connects Singaporean customers with local restaurants that

offer food delivery in their area and lets them choose, order and pay online. Cuisines available in

Singapore also include European styles such as Italian, Swedish, and French. Foodpanda’s

application also has a review section on restaurant pages, where customers can comment on

sales process, delivery, taste and overall impression of restaurants. Recently, Foodpanda

79 The Telecommunication Services market has the structure of an oligopoly in Singapore, and European companies do not have tangible

opportunities to offer their services. However, many European companies have exploited the very high 3G/4G penetration rate in the country to offer their mobile applications to a wide public. In addition, European players have successfully partnered with Singaporean telecom providers, and have established their presence by doing so.

80 www.appannie.com

http://www.appannie.com/


Singapore signed partnerships with new healthy and popular restaurants to offer an even wider

choice of healthy options at home and in the office.

Runtastic

Runtastic is an Austrian mobile fitness company that combines traditional fitness with mobile

applications, social networking and elements of gamification. Runtastic offers a range of apps that

track outdoor and indoor and fitness activities, primarily known for its namesake GPS fitness-

tracking app. On November 12 Runtastic announced Runtastic Results, a bodyweight training

app consisting of a 12-week customised bodyweight training plan, but also has standalone

workouts that can be completed outside of the training plan. As of November 2015, Runtastic had

surpassed 150 million downloads across its apps. Runtastic applications are among the most

downloaded apps for fitness in Singapore,81 and are available for iPhone, iPad, Android, and

Windows Phone. Singaporeans can track their progress and set goals, and at the same time

Runtastic allows them to analyse a variety of metrics, such as: distance, time, pace, calorie

consumption.

Eutelsat Communications

Established in 1977, the French Eutelsat is one of the world's leading and most experienced

operators of communications satellites. The company provides capacity on 40 satellites to clients

that include broadcasters and broadcasting associations, pay-TV operators, video, data and

Internet service providers, enterprises and government agencies. Eutelsat’s satellites provide

ubiquitous coverage of Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia-Pacific and the Americas, enabling

video, data, broadband and government communications to be established irrespective of a

user’s location. In Singapore, the company has established its headquarters for the Asia-Pacific

region, also collaborating with local companies. For example, in 2014 Eutelsat and Singapore-

based ST Teleport, one of Asia's leading full-service satellite, fibre and IP communications

solutions providers, completed the installation of a new gateway at ST Teleport's Earth Station

complex in Singapore that connects to the Eutelsat T 70B Ku-band satellite, one of the most

81 www.appannie.com

http://www.appannie.com/


flexible satellites serving Asian markets and connecting to Europe and Africa. The new gateway

is ready to serve data, maritime, media and entertainment clients across South East Asia. It can

also connect to the African and European beams of the Eutelsat 70B satellite that has the unique

ability to offer secure, single hop connectivity between key business hubs, such as Singapore and

Frankfurt or Singapore and Nairobi. Moreover, in March 2016 Singtel, one of Asia's leading

communications groups, selected capacity on Eutelsat 70B satellite to support network

connectivity in South-East Asia.

Forsk

Headquartered in France, Forsk is an independent software company providing operators and

vendors with wireless network design and optimisation products. The company’s flagship product

is Atoll, a 64-bit multi-technology wireless network design and optimisation software that allows

operators to streamline planning and optimisation activities by combining predictions and live

network data. Forsk has also collaborated with Singaporean companies such as M1, a leading

fixed and mobile operator in Singapore that contracted the French company. In 2011, Forsk and

its local partner Telogic, a solutions enabler for the Telecommunications industry, delivered a

project for M1 that included Atoll GSM/UMTS/LTE licenses, calibration of the CrossWave

propagation model and a comprehensive migration from the legacy planning tool. Moreover,

Forsk also supported the design and rollout of a new LTE network in the country.


4. Regulations

4.1 Import Procedures

As an open market, products and services can enter and exit Singapore relatively freely. All goods

imported into Singapore are regulated under the Customs Act, the Goods and Services Tax (GST)

Act and the Regulation of Imports and Exports Act. Imported goods are subject to GST and/or

duty payment. A Customs permit is required to account for the import and tax payment of the

goods. The current GST rate is 7%. GST is calculated based on customs value of the goods, plus

all duties. Before the actual importation, the importer is required to obtain a Customs permit, to

account for the import and the tax payment of the goods.

Importing Trade Samples

The Singapore Customs defines trade samples82 as the goods imported solely:

For the purpose of being shown or demonstrated in Singapore to enable manufacturers in

Singapore to produce these goods to fulfil orders from abroad or to solicit orders for goods to

be supplied from abroad, or

By a manufacturer for the purposes of copying, testing or experimenting before producing

these goods in Singapore.

Trade samples should not be sold, consumed, put to normal use, or used for hire or reward in

Singapore. Importers of trade samples that are supplied without cost or free of charge must pay

GST and/or duty. The relevant import permit (if required) and supporting documents (for example,

commercial invoice, packing list, Bill of Lading/Airway Bill) for the trade samples must be produced

to the checkpoint officers for verification at the time of cargo clearance. Importers must also check

if their trade samples fall under controlled or non-controlled item before importation.

82 For more info on this topic, please visit http://www.customs.gov.sg/businesses/importing-goods/import-procedures/importing-trade-samples

http://www.customs.gov.sg/businesses/importing-goods/import-procedures/importing-trade-samples


4.2 Government Tenders

Singapore government tenders are open to international companies. A foreign company is

required to register on the Government Electronic Business (GeBiz) portal

(https://www.gebiz.gov.sg/), which is the procurement portal for the government, as a GeBiz

trading partner before they can participate in any electronic tenders and quotations. Information

on contracts and tenders available in Singapore can be found on GeBIZ portal as well as at

industry briefings.

With many international companies already present in the country, European companies that are

new to the market may want to look for potential partners readily established in Singapore that

can contribute to the local knowledge to license their technology or form an alliance/consortium

to jointly bid for projects.

GeBIZ Trading Partners

All local and foreign suppliers are required to register on GeBIZ as a GeBIZ trading partner prior

to responding to electronic tenders and quotations. A supplier that is registered with the

Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (ACRA) will be approved immediately.

Registration is free for the first account, while each additional account costs S$ 280 (EUR 175)

per year (inclusive of GST). Apart from enabling partners to bid and tender for projects on GeBIZ,

the account will also give access to archives of tender and quotation awards.

Government Procurement

Each ministry, statutory board or department is in charge of procuring its own goods and services.

Some agencies also purchase common goods and services used by the entire public sector such

as IT security services, courier services and paper.

These agencies are the Expenditure and Procurement Policies Unit (EPPU), Defence Science

and Technology Agency (DSTA), and Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore (IDA).

In 2015, SMEs accounted for more than half of the total contracted value of ICT tenders. In the

https://www.gebiz.gov.sg/


financial year 2016, the government plans to call for ICT tenders worth S$ 2.82 billion

(EUR 1.85 billion) . Examples of previous tender procedures include the one won by Accenture

in March 2016. The company won the bid to build the next-generation National Trade Platform,

performing better than Singtel unit NCS and a consortium led by CrimsonLogic, thus securing the

S$ 107.8 million (EUR 70.7 million) tender. Accenture had quoted the lowest price based on items

required upfront by the Infocomm Development Authority.

For what concerns private procurement, private tenders and quotations are advertised through

the companies’ and organisations' websites. Otherwise, some portals such Singtel myBusiness

Trading Board (https://mybusiness.singtel.com/trading-board), which is an e-procurement portal

for businesses. Partnered with SESAMi, the portal offers products and services from the largest

enterprises in Singapore, including Singtel, Singapore Airlines, ST Electronics and OCBC bank.

The government procures goods and services through three procedures:

Small Value Purchases (Up to S$ 3,000 (EUR 1,900))

The government will buy directly from suitable suppliers with prices reflecting fair market value.

The agency requiring the product or service would normally ask around for quotations and

undertake direct purchase. These small value purchases are not publicised on GeBIZ. Sourcing

methods include verbal or written quotes, off-the-shelf purchase, and the GeBIZ Mall Catalogue.

Invitation to Quote (S$ 3,001 (EUR 1,900) to S$ 70,000 (EUR 43,700))

The government will publish an online quote on GeBIZ to invite suppliers to quote. All suppliers

registered with GeBIZ can submit a quote on GeBIZ. Sourcing methods include Invitation to Quote

(ITQ), Request for Quotation (RFQ), Period Contracts and Framework Agreements.

Invitation to Tender (Above S$ 70,000 (EUR 43,700))

Only GeBIZ trading partners can tender for projects. Tenders are categorised into three:

Open – all interested parties can bid, with tenders posted on GeBIZ.

https://mybusiness.singtel.com/trading-board


Selective – Applicants are shortlisted through a pre-qualification exercise, with tenders

posted on GeBIZ.

Limited – tenders are by invitation only as they concern national security or are impractical

for open tenders.

4.3 Singapore Consumer Protection (Safety Requirements) Registration

Scheme (CPS)

The objective of the Singapore Consumer Protection (Safety Requirements) Registration

Scheme or CPS Scheme is to safeguard consumers’ interest by ensuring household products,

designated as Controlled Goods, meet the specified safety standards. Undoubtedly, consumers

today are prepared to pay for products that are safe and of high quality. The development

of the CPS Scheme is therefore consistent with the growing sophistication of consumers in

Singapore.

The CPS Scheme is administered by SPRING Singapore as the Safety Authority since 1991 by

Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) under the Consumer Protection (Safety Requirements)

Regulations. One of the roles of the Safety Authority under the Regulations is to ensure

compliance by industry on the registration of forty-five categories of Controlled Goods.

The definitions and applicable safety standards of the Controlled Goods can be found at

www.customs.gov.sg. Registration of Controlled Goods under the Consumer Protection (Safety

Requirements) Regulations is based on Certificate of Conformity (CoC) issued by designated third

party Conformity Assessment Bodies (CABs).

All suppliers of Controlled Goods for consumers in Singapore must first be registered with the

Safety Authority as Registered Supplier. Registered Suppliers are required to register each model

of Controlled Goods with the Safety Authority. The registration must be supported with COC

issued by designated CABs located in Singapore or MRA partners, i.e. CABs (Local) or CABs

(Foreign - MRA) respectively.

http://www.customs.gov.sg/


Controlled Goods and their Applicable Safety Standards

Controlled Goods are required to be tested to the minimum edition of the safety standards.

In addition to the specified safety standards, Controlled Goods are required to fulfil the Safety

Authority’s Requirements. The table below shows the definition and safety standards for

controlled goods relating to the ICT sector.

Controlled Goods Definitions Safety Standards

Adaptor

A device designed to supply a.c. or d.c. power from an a.c. or d.c. source, either by itself or as part of an accessory, for applications such as computers, telecommunication equipment, home entertainment equipment or toys

(applicable for

electrical appliances83)

IEC 61558-2-6: 1997 or

IEC 61558-2-16: 2009

Audio products

An electronic device (other than High-fidelity set) for the reproduction of sound, connected to the supply mains, either directly or indirectly.

IEC 60065: 2001

Computer system (inclusive of monitor, printer, speaker and other mains operated accessories)

A microprocessor based data system with compact, local computing and calculating power on high definition graphics and with flexible data communication interfacing.

IEC 60950-1: 2001

High-fidelity set

An electronic device for reproduction of sound, with little distortion, connected to the supply mains as the only energy source intended for domestic and similar general indoor use with a rated supply voltage not exceeding 250 volts rms.

IEC 60065: 2001

83 For other applications there are different standards. For a complete list, please visit http://www.spring.gov.sg/Building-Trust/Raising-

Confidence/Consumer-Product-Safety/CPS-Scheme/Documents/CPS_InfoBooklet.pdf

http://www.spring.gov.sg/Building-Trust/Raising-Confidence/Consumer-Product-Safety/CPS-Scheme/Documents/CPS_InfoBooklet.pdf

http://www.spring.gov.sg/Building-Trust/Raising-Confidence/Consumer-Product-Safety/CPS-Scheme/Documents/CPS_InfoBooklet.pdf


Controlled Goods Definitions Safety Standards

Laser disc set

An electronic device for video recording and playback or laser disc for play-back only connected to the supply mains, either directly or indirectly, and intended for domestic and similar general indoor use.

IEC 60065: 2001

TV / video display unit

Namely an electronic device for receiving and displaying information from a transmitting station or local source. The device is to be connected to the supply mains either directly or indirectly, and intended for domestic and similar general indoor use.

IEC 60065: 2001

Table 7: Definition of Controlled Goods and Safety Standards

Safety Authority’s Requirements

The Safety Authority monitors the safety of the Controlled Goods sold in Singapore by

investigating all complaints, incidents and accidents reported to the authority. Acquired

information will be leveraged upon to develop the operational interventions within the Safety

Authority’s Requirements. These requirements are to be fulfilled in addition to the applicable

safety standards. Below are the requirements for controlled goods relating to the ICT sector.

No Items Requirements

Applicable to all products

1 Test report and test certificate

Test report including its test certificate (if applicable) more than three (3) years shall be rejected.

2 Controlled Goods incorporated with additional function

The additional function must be tested to its applicable safety standard.

Applicable to AC adaptor

17 Detachable power supply cord set not supplied by Registered Supplier

a) Registered Supplier who is not supplying the detachable power supply cord set together with the AC Adaptor must provide written instruction to its customer on the type of approved detachable power cord set to use and declare to Conformity Assessment Body when applying for Certificate of Conformity.

b) This requirement is only applicable to Register Supplier whose core business is supplying AC Adaptor or its Registered Supplier name is affiliated with the AC Adaptor’s manufacturer.


No Items Requirements

18 AC Adaptor incorporated with 13A socket-outlet

Additional tests would be required.

Applicable to computer products

19

CD/DVD ROM (used in personal computer)

Test certificate showing that CD/DVD ROM has complied with IEC

60825-1 must be provided.

20 Modem Card (used in personal computer)

Modem card incorporated in the personal computer must be tested at

set level (sub-clauses 5.1 & 6 of IEC 60950) or at component level.

21 Powerline Ethernet Adaptor incorporate with 13A socket-outlet

Additional tests would be required.

Applicable to plasma/LCD display monitor

45

Plasma/LCD display

monitor with TV tune

Plasma/LCD display monitor tested to IEC 60950 would require additional test to clauses 9 (related to antenna only), 10.1, 10.2, 10.3

and 12.5 of IEC 60065.

Table 8: Requirements for Controlled Goods

4.4 Telecommunication Standards and Equipment Registration Framework

The Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) regulates the use of telecommunication

equipment based on Technical Specifications published by IMDA. A Technical Specification is a

Standard which prescribes the minimum technical requirements to be fulfilled by

telecommunication equipment intended for sale and use in Singapore.

Any person, or entity, who intends to import or sell telecommunications equipment in Singapore

is required to obtain a telecommunication dealer’s license from IMDA. In addition, the equipment

to be imported and/or intended to be sold for use in Singapore needs to be registered with IMDA

as well. These procedures are in place to ensure that the equipment complies with the IMDA’s

technical specifications, is compatible with the public telecommunication networks, and will not

cause any radio frequency interference to other authorised radio-communication networks.

The Equipment Registration Framework outlines the procedures to be followed and requirements

to be fulfilled by equipment suppliers seeking to register their telecommunication equipment for


sale and use.84 Equipment registration is based on the submission of the Supplier's Declaration

of Conformity (SDoC). The SDoC signifies that the supplier has carried out conformity

assessment on the equipment to IMDA's Standards. The supplier declares equipment conformity

based on results of conformity assessment, supported by test reports and technical documents.

IDA accepts test reports, which present test results of equipment testing done according to IDA's

Standards by (i) testing labs recognised by IMDA under a phase I mutual recognition

arrangement; (ii) testing labs accredited by accreditation bodies recognised by IMDA; or (iii)

equipment manufacturers. IMDA also accepts equipment certification by local or foreign

certification bodies recognised by IMDA under a phase II mutual recognition arrangement. Further

guidelines on equipment registration framework can be found here.85

IMDA also publishes Reference Specifications & Documents which describe the network and

network-to-network interface standards adopted or yet to be adopted by operators in Singapore.

Consistent with the policy of technological neutrality, these NNI standards are for general

information of or reference by operators, equipment suppliers and the public.

The Telecommunication Standards Advisory Committee ("TSAC") is formally established to

provide IMDA with the recommendations related to the following telecommunication standards.

Line Terminal Equipment Standards

Radio-communication Equipment Standards

Reference Standards

IDA Technical / Reference Specifications and Documents for Public Comments

In addition, IMDA regulates the performance of key services offered by operators by setting

Quality of Service (QoS) and requiring the operators to submit periodic reports of their service

quality.

84 All the specific details can be found here: https://www.ida.gov.sg/~/media/Files/PCDG/Licensees/Licensing/ERF/EQRGuide.pdf 85 All the specific details can be found here:

https://www.imda.gov.sg/~/media/imda/files/regulation%20licensing%20and%20consultations/licensing/licenses/eqrguide.pdf

https://www.imda.gov.sg/regulations-licensing-and-consultations/licensing/licences/licence-for-the-sale-of-telecommunication-equipment/equipment-registration-framework

https://www.ida.gov.sg/~/media/Files/PCDG/Licensees/Licensing/ERF/EQRGuide.pdf


4.5 Related Acts and Bills

Currently in Singapore there is the Computer Misuse and Cybersecurity Act (Chapter 50A).

The Act, often abbreviated as CMCA, was first enacted in 1993 as Computer Misues Act (CMA).

It originally regulates illegal use of computers to retrieve or amend data. Since its enactment a

number of revisions has been made to address the rapid development of cybercrime threats in

Singapore. In 2013 CMA was amended to include cybersecurity measures and then renamed as

the Computer Misuse and Cybersecurity Act. It was last modified in April 2017, which expanded

its scope to confront the multitude of scale and transnational nature of online crimes taking place

in the country, in addition to the ever changing tactics of cybercriminals.86 CMCA essentially is an

act with “provision for securing computer material against unauthorised access or modification, to

require or authorise the taking of measures to ensure cybersecurity, and for matters related

thereto.”87 Among others, CMCA prohibits the following acts under its Section 3 to 10:

Unauthorised access to computer material

Access with intent to commit or facilitate commission of offence

Unauthorised modification of computer material

Unauthorised use or interception of computer service

Unauthorised obstruction of use of computer

Unauthorised disclosure of access code

Supplying, etc., personal information obtained in contravention of certain provisions

Obtaining, etc., items for use in certain offences

Enhanced punishment for offences involving protected computers

Abetments and attempts punishable as offences

86 https://www.mha.gov.sg/Newsroom/press-releases/Pages/Computer-Misuse-and-Cybersecurity-(Amendment)-Bill-.aspx 87 http://statutes.agc.gov.sg/aol/search/display/view.w3p;page=0;query=DocId:8a3534de-991c-4e0e-88c5-

4ffa712e72af%20%20Status:inforce%20Depth:0;rec=0

https://www.mha.gov.sg/Newsroom/press-releases/Pages/Computer-Misuse-and-Cybersecurity-(Amendment)-Bill-.aspx#7s8d6f87

http://statutes.agc.gov.sg/aol/search/display/view.w3p;page=0;query=DocId:8a3534de-991c-4e0e-88c5-4ffa712e72af%20%20Status:inforce%20Depth:0;rec=0



With increasing threats from cybercriminals the government planned to introduce the

Cybersecurity Bill (CB) in 2017, but due to the huge response received from the public it will be

tabled in the Parliement for early 2018 instead to allow more time to address the public concerns

regarding the bill.88 Expected to be operative in the second half of the year, the bill (in its current

draft unveiled to the public in July 2017) will strengthen the country’s defences against cyber

attacks by making it compulsory for cybersecurity service providers and critical information

infrastructure(CII) owners to report cybersecurity incidents and share information with the

authorities when required. The requirement covers 11 key sectors including healthcare, banking

and finance, government and media.89 Aside from ensuring that CII owners secure their

infrastructure and report such incidents to authorities, CB will also empower Cyber Security

Agency (CSA) to manage cyber incidents and enhance the standards of cybersecurity vendors in

Singapore.90 It is anticipated that the enforcement of CB next year will significantly raise the level

of cybersecurity defence mechanism in the country, with more sophisticated systems and

equipment put in place to counter any possible attacks from inside and outside of the island

following the requirement by the law.

Cessation of 2G-only terminal sale

On 15 June 2015, the IMDA has also granted approval to M1 Limited, SingTel Mobile Singapore

Pte Ltd and StarHub Mobile Pte Ltd (collectively the “MTOs”) to cease the operation of their 2G

networks and the provision of 2G services, with effect from 1 April 2017. With the impending

closure of the 2G networks, the IMDA has stopped accepting new registrations and renewals fo

2G-only mobile terminals with effect from 15 September 2015. Dealers/equipment suppliers who

have previously registered 2G-only mobile terminals with IDA may, however, continue to import

and sell such terminals for use in Singaore, but IMDA will not renew the registration when it

expires. Any other models of 2G-only mobile terminals that have not been registered with IMDA

may be brought in for re-export purposes only, provided the dealers/equipment suppliers have

88 http://www.todayonline.com/singapore/proposed-cybersecurity-laws-tweaked-following-public-feedback 89 Ibid. 90 http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/singapore-s-cybersecurity-bill-delayed-to-2018-9225622

http://www.todayonline.com/singapore/proposed-cybersecurity-laws-tweaked-following-public-feedback

http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/singapore-s-cybersecurity-bill-delayed-to-2018-9225622


obtained a Dealer’s Individual License. When selling 2G-only mobile terminals to customers,

dealers are required to advise them on the cessation of 2G services with effect from 1 April 2017.91

Cessation of Registration for Sale of Short Range Devices (“SRD”) that Operate in the

450 – 470 MHz Frequency Band

The 450 – 470 MHz frequency band has been allocated by the International Telecommunication

Union for International Mobile Telecommunications (“IMT”) services. To prevent potential radio

frequency interference to SRD operating in the 450 – 470 MHz frequency band by the IMT

services, and vise versa, equipment registration (new/renewal) for SRD operating in the

450 –470 MHz frequency band will cease from 1 January 2018, and sale of such SRD shall cease

by 31 March 2018.92

91 https://www.imda.gov.sg/regulations-licensing-and-consultations/licensing/licences/licence-for-the-sale-of-telecommunication-

equipment/equipment-registration-framework 92 https://www.imda.gov.sg/regulations-licensing-and-consultations/frameworks-and-policies/equipment-registration-framework


5. Annex

5.1 List of Useful Contacts

Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR) 1 Fusionpolis Way #20-10 Connexis North Tower Singapore 138632 Tel: +65-6826 6111 Fax: +65-6777 1711 Email: [email protected] Website: www.a-star.edu.sg Government Technology Agency of Singapore (GovTech) 10 Pasir Panjang Road #10-01 Mapletree Business City Singapore 117438 Tel: +65 6211 2100 Fax: +65 6211 2222 Website: www.tech.gov.sg Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore (IDA) 10 Pasir Panjang Road #10-01 Mapletree Business City Singapore 117438 Tel: +65 6211 0888 Fax: +65 6211 2222 Email: [email protected] Website: www.ida.gov.sg Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) 3 Fusionopolis Way #16-22 Symbiosis Singapore 138633 Tel: 6377 3800 Email: [email protected] Website: /www.imda.gov.sg

mailto:[email protected]

http://www.a-star.edu.sg/


http://www.ida.gov.sg/


https://www.imda.gov.sg/


IT Standards Committee (ITSC) 10 Pasir Panjang Road #10-01 Mapletress Business City Singapore 117438 Tel: +65 6211 0888 Fax: +65 6211 2222 Email: [email protected] Website: https://www.ida.gov.sg/Sub/ITSC Ministry of Trade and Industry 100 High Street #09-01 The Treasury Singapore 179434 Tel: +65-6225 9911 Fax: +65-6332 7260 Email: [email protected] Website: www.mti.gov.sg Singapore infocomm Technology Federation (SiFT) SITF House Blk 79, Ayer Rajah Crescent, #02-03/04/05 Singapore 139955 Tel: +65 6325 9700 Fax: +65 6325 4993 Email: [email protected] Website: http://www.sitf.org.sg/ Standards, Productivity and Innovation Board (SPRING) 1 Fusionopolis Walk #01-02 South Tower, Solaris, Singapore 138628 Tel: +65 6278 6666 Fax: +65 6278 6667 Email: [email protected] Website: http://www.spring.gov.sg/


https://www.ida.gov.sg/Sub/ITSC


http://www.mti.gov.sg/


http://www.sitf.org.sg/


http://www.spring.gov.sg/


5.2 Starting a Business in Singapore

Why Singapore?

Singapore’s high ranking as the world’s second easiest place to do business (after New Zealand)

makes it an attractive investment destination. Its high standard of living, high quality education,

advanced infrastructure and technology and low crime rates makes it a popular global city in

which to work and live.

Singapore welcomes individuals and corporations that are interested in doing business in

Singapore. Many global corporations chose to locate their headquarters in Singapore because of

its political stability, attractive corporate tax rates, as well as the strength of its legal and financial

system. Due to its strategic geographical location, there is an unwavering preference for

Singapore as a location for business expansion efforts.

Registering your business

It is easy to register a business, including foreign branch offices, online at Bizfile93 by the

Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority.

Generally, European companies have the following options for business formation:

Singapore Subsidiary - a locally incorporated company with the foreign parent company as a

shareholder. Singapore allows 100% foreign shareholding. The company is entitled to local

government incentives and privileges of tax treaties, which satisfies the qualifying conditions.

It will be subjected to local corporate tax rates, has a separate legal identity and its liabilities

do not impact the foreign parent company.

Branch Office – a locally registered entity that acts as an extension of the foreign parent.

Therefore, its liabilities are extended to the parent company. The revenue generated locally

93 https://www.bizfile.gov.sg

http://www.bizfile.gov.sg/

https://www.bizfile.gov.sg/


will be subjected to tax. It will be taxed at the prevailing local tax rate although it is a non-

resident for tax purposes.

Representative Office – This type of entity is for the purpose of market research,

administrative or liaison purposes only. It cannot engage in revenue generating activities.

This entity is a transitory arrangement only because the registration is valid for one year,

renewable for up to 3 years maximum; thereafter it must graduate to a subsidiary or branch

office to continue its operations here.

Business Registration Procedure

All businesses must be registered with the Accounting & Corporate Regulatory Authority (ACRA).

This includes any individual, firm or corporation that carries out business for a foreign company.

The first step is to seek the ACRA’s approval of the name of the corporation, which can be done

online.

Once the name is approved, the registration papers and information can be e-filled with ACRA

for the registration of the foreign company. The following documents have to be submitted as well

for registration:

A certified copy of the corporation’s certificate of incorporation in its place of incorporation or

origin, or a document of similar effect

A certified copy of the corporation’s certificate of change of name or a document of similar

effect (if applicable)

A certified copy of its charter, statues, or memorandum and articles of association or other

instrument constituting or defining its structure

A list of its directors stating their names, residential addresses, nationalities, passport

numbers, occupations and dates of appointment as directors

A memorandum of appointment of agents together with an affidavit. There must be at least

two agents who must be Singapore citizens, permanent residents or holders of valid

Employment Passes.


Notice of the location of the corporation’s registered office in Singapore to which all

communications and notices may be addressed.

A Singapore address for the business will be needed during the business registration. Businesses

that do not require a physical premise can provide virtual addresses, which are offered by many

professional service providers. As for businesses that require a physical premise, the individual

or company can choose to operate from a home office, retail outlets or flatted factories depending

on the nature of the business. Premises must be operated in accordance to the approved

business use by the relevant authorities. The body monitoring the requirements of the Companies

Act (CA) is ACRA.

Government Agencies

The Singapore government provides support and assistance in all kinds of aspects to help

businesses grow in Singapore. European companies looking to set up, operate and establish a

business in Singapore will find it easier with assistance from the following government agencies:

Economic Development Board (EDB) – Provides comprehensive investor support and

ensures a first-rate pro-business environment in Singapore. Initiated the Global Investor

Programme to help international corporations set up and operate businesses in Singapore.

Contact Singapore, an alliance of the EDB assists in this programme by linking up

entrepreneurs and investors with local business networks as well as facilitating a range of

immigration processes for their entry and stay in Singapore. Further information regarding

the business opportunities of the programme as well as the application process and

requirements is on the EDB’s page or Contact Singapore’s webpage.

Standards, Productivity and Innovation Board (SPRING) – An agency under the Ministry of

Trade and Industry which is the enterprise development agency for growing innovative

companies. SPRING aids enterprises in financing, capabilities and management

development, technology and innovation and access to markets for small and medium

enterprises to become more established and competitive. SPRING is also the national

standards and accreditation body.


Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (ACRA) – ACRA oversees the registration

and regulation of business entities and public accountants, and also provides information on

new business structures, compliance requirements and corporate governance practices.

SMEPortal.sg (by SPRING) – An EnterpriseOne portal that makes an ideal one-stop site for

enterprises looking to start, sustain and grow their businesses. It features links to

government information and services as well as industry help and how-to guides.

Ministry of Manpower – Ministry of government of Singapore which provides the formulation

and implementation of labour policies related to the workforce in Singapore. The ministry

oversees matters related to immigration, issue of Employment Pass (EP) or working visas to

foreign talent and work permit transactions. Its website also contains information pertaining

to labour, wages and employment in Singapore.

Business Locations

Businesses have a variety of options to find a commercial premise that best meets one’s needs.

This includes the heart of Singapore’s latest financial and business district in the Marina Bay

Financial Centre to suburban offices in Jurong Lake District, Tampines and Paya Lebar.

In the industrial space market, there are developers like Ascendas, Mapletree and Soilbuild that

offer many contemporary space options, from stack-up factories with dedicated loading and

unloading bays to spaces for wet labs and research activities. Government bodies like HDB and

JTC Corporation also provide industrial land and space options for industrialists engaging in high

value added industrial activities in Singapore. An example of an innovative and environmentally-

friendly industrial space concept is JTC’s multi-tenanted Surface Engineering Hub which aims to

minimise water and carbon footprint for companies engaging in electroplating and other similar

processes.

JTC also develops specialised industrial parks in Singapore like the Seletar Aerospace Park,

Tuas Biomedical Park and Jurong Island to support the growth and development of key

manufacturing sectors. Such specialised industrial parks provide industrialists with the necessary

supporting infrastructure and allow them to leverage the potential synergies by being clustered


together. These specialised industrial parks in Singapore have proven to be attractive to

companies and remain a cornerstone of Singapore’s industrial development.

Finding a Distributor in Singapore

One good way to establish a local presence is by working with agents and distributors in

Singapore. Qualified agents and distributors can be found for nearly all kinds of products.

A number of Singapore-based agents cover the ASEAN region as well as Singapore.

Singapore-based trade associations, chambers of commerce, and foreign commercial offices

within EU Member State embassies are all good places to start the search for a distributor in

Singapore. International business consultants with experience in helping foreign companies can

also prove invaluable by facilitating introductions to qualified distributors. It is always best to meet

a prospective distributor in person, and to check references.


5.3 Useful Statistics

2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016

Semiconductors

Output (S$ mn)

46,847 43,562 47,475 48,929 50,301 57,371

Value-Added (S$ mn)

9,453 9,178 10,306 11,214 12,664 9,757

Total Employees

43,528 42,903 38,568 36,598 36,664 35,101

Computer Peripherals Output (S$ mn)

8,389 7,319 7,211 6,819 13,321 11,517

Value-Added (S$ mn)

2,129 2,382 2,125 1,845 2,149 1,350

Total Employees

10,082 9,617 7,671 7,287 7,349 7,297

Data Storage Output (S$ mn)

6,914 6,156 5,785 4,876 5,729 4,557

Value-Added (S$ mn)

2,417 2,180 2,094 1,721 2,121 1,460

Total Employees

10,682 9,832 9,665 8,726 8,148 7,353

Infocomms & Consumer Electronics

Output (S$ mn)

22,379 22,307 20,223 19,741 17989 14,872

Value-Added (S$ mn)

2,448 2,500 1,908 2,088 968 1,739

Total Employees

9,496 9,527 10,172 9,351 9,216 9,511

Other Electronic Modules & Components Output (S$ mn)

1,801 1,771 2,046 2,381 2,585 2,811

Value-Added (S$ mn) 446 549 721 953 1,058 1,231

Total Employees 6,915 6,658 6,758 7,005 7,012 7,167

Table 9: Singapore Electronics Industry Performance, 2011-2016

Source: Singstat, from Singapore Economic Development Board


Exporters Imported value

in 2012 Imported value




in 2016

World 551,848 370,718 391,816 299,180 288,062

China 159,714 142,808 129,345 97,037 107,033

Viet Nam 69,345 63,060 66,163 70,607 47,593

Malaysia 140,533 70,869 106,131 57,969 45,696

Philippines 32,750 14,862 13,885 13,657 25,724

Indonesia 35,483 18,254 22,663 19,859 21,155

Thailand 16,229 13,728 15,463 11,050 8,377

France 2,848 4,249 5,639 5,332 7,333

United States of America

5,677 8,724 6,046 4,267 6,590

Japan 55,570 17,088 7,624 5,831 5,340

Israel 17,743 2,649 6,617 3,508 2,505

Table 10: Imports of Printers - for computer output, not multi-functional, separate units (HS Code 844332)

Source: Trade Map

Unit: US Dollar thousand

Importers Exported value

in 2012 Exported value




in 2016

World 733,032 548,322 584,854 520,244 472,075


106,620 77,023 72,096 77,272 71,831

Indonesia 80,727 61,139 47,978 39,323 42,909

China 41,892 19,379 34,639 40,173 39,466

Malaysia 75,437 57,708 62,988 53,253 34,611

Thailand 64,005 30,275 35,557 29,458 32,104

Viet Nam 41,289 36,888 40,201 40,276 31,111

Hong Kong, China 34,239 23,213 24,480 17,734 28,752

Netherlands 20,212 27,314 22,828 14,271 21,448

India 96,688 47,988 40,055 25,324 21,004

Bangladesh 12,395 12,308 14,591 16,698 19,295

Table 11: Exports of Printers - for computer output, not multi-functional, separate units (HS Code 844332)

Source: Trade Map








in 2016

World 2,294,253 1,611,866 1,347,671 1,410,867 1,125,997

China 2,189,574 1,540,254 1,234,665 1,316,431 1,041,208

Malaysia 47,020 24,888 53,883 60,305 49,211

Taipei, Chinese 5,738 13,440 12,498 8,876 7,452


15,834 10,116 24,983 6,857 6,399

Hong Kong, China 2,675 3,093 1,477 2,392 4,596

Japan 18,783 10,148 9,635 4,149 3,972

Australia 1,358 1,227 1,538 2,914 3,848

Indonesia 203 101 633 301 2,472

United Kingdom 1,221 1,622 2,365 2,160 1,732

Thailand 447 259 562 442 806

Table 12: Imports of Laptop and notebook computers (HS Code 84713020)

Source: Trade Map







in 2016

World 1,025,742 698,102 698,642 712,718 667,312

Malaysia 119,148 99,526 111,520 132,427 137,382

Indonesia 478,795 211,475 182,435 148,267 112,506

Philippines 57,462 61,785 85,518 90,538 98,449

India 28,702 43,124 57,407 75,325 82,755

Bangladesh 58,235 53,120 52,125 52,300 54,460

Viet Nam 37,246 33,643 24,597 29,755 30,428

Hong Kong, China 51,341 22,630 8,038 29,875 26,068

Sri Lanka 21,039 19,526 17,478 17,382 21,137

United Arab Emirates 79,433 52,583 35,823 20,987 19,398

Cambodia 17,728 13,901 16,618 22,004 17,867

Table 13: Exports of Laptop and notebook computers (HS Code 84713020)

Source: Trade Map








in 2016

World 66,920 122,133 84,733 118,161 147,936

China 27,552 68,885 43,029 87,228 116,358


10,728 6,175 6,601 8,332 8,387

Malaysia 12,630 8,405 6,902 7,295 6,006

Mexico 155 375 681 1,609 3,137

Hong Kong, China 1,108 2,799 2,134 1,145 3,037

Taipei, Chinese 1,836 2,322 2,069 2,464 2,314

United Kingdom 914 1,429 693 1,168 1,829

Viet Nam 124 9,774 3,122 479 1,548

Australia 618 1,110 361 627 1,078

Japan 5,808 5,777 3,170 778 628

Table 14: Imports of Multimedia portable players - audio, video, software downloading (HS Code 84713090)

Source: Trade Map







in 2016

World 340,436 391,895 209,054 225,520 228,341

Indonesia 78,035 6,978 15,366 30,001 76,689

Viet Nam 25,006 29,198 40,804 41,666 25,196


China 3,152 7,524 2,483 10,176 18,551

Malaysia 73,790 165,906 20,847 14,506 16,735

Hong Kong, China 10,060 10,316 16,395 17,387 10,450


17,237 27,327 21,423 36,348 9,899

Bangladesh 2,159 2,637 3,488 6,263 9,885

India 4,415 5,937 9,573 9,727 8,757

Sri Lanka 8,588 7,330 13,332 7,368 6,217

Table 15: Exports of Multimedia portable players - audio, video, software downloading (HS Code 84713090)

Source: Trade Map








in 2016

World 352,098 554,638 616,055 585,430 462,855

China 224,546 430,560 524,737 479,824 399,291

Malaysia 93,006 97,033 58,095 50,993 32,140

Viet Nam 9 465 20,063 44,045 18,764

Taipei, Chinese 18,571 6,617 1,786 2,414 2,676


3,555 4,376 2,382 1,720 2,487

Hong Kong, China 2,414 6,085 2,533 1,183 1,958

Canada 72 140 214 67 961

Japan 986 1,772 818 473 871

United Kingdom 354 824 315 1,152 542

Mexico 1,265 1,811 1,219 353 521

Table 16: Imports of Handheld computers incl palmtops & personal digital assistants (PDAs) (HS Code 84713010)

Source: Trade Map







in 2016

World 541,282 480,145 492,189 413,568 403,834

Malaysia 163,251 92,874 126,630 152,903 99,447

Hong Kong, China 116,644 81,143 85,709 74,094 53,712

Thailand 4,236 25,739 34,618 17,052 34,908

China 47,459 42,954 41,399 43,343 32,494

India 7,897 18,196 42,270 27,111 27,593

Viet Nam 21,154 34,012 17,296 7,315 26,963


22,168 15,250 18,301 13,828 25,731

Indonesia 67,733 47,964 59,604 26,928 22,024

Philippines 11,014 18,776 21,363 18,990 15,631

Australia 1,160 4,826 7,521 2,782 12,449

Table 17: Exports of Handheld computers incl palmtops & personal digital assistants (PDAs) (HS Code 84713010)

Source: Trade Map








in 2016

World 328,500 366,979 303,446 266,687 252,580

China 128,303 138,183 132,029 154,177 152,019

Malaysia 102,955 126,360 85,874 63,050 43,799


44,346 36,064 36,517 17,126 24,621

Germany 4,798 2,888 6,811 2,684 6,379

Taipei, Chinese 2,071 3,975 4,778 3,037 3,433

France 6,951 10,609 1,149 2,037 2,306

Australia 1,566 2,435 919 947 2,146

Czech Republic 1,212 1,133 697 730 2,080

Mexico 2,081 1,793 951 1,133 2,031

Denmark 385 3,273 534 39 2,014

Table 18: Imports of Desktop computer systems, personal computers (PCs) and tower computer systems (HS Code 847149)

Source: Trade Map







in 2016

World 282,899 283,079 222,832 254,912 269,149

Philippines 46,522 41,651 21,411 66,339 74,780

India 9,842 10,208 17,091 27,051 37,512

Viet Nam 38,782 47,484 31,025 43,118 33,954

China 5,602 8,930 11,692 14,191 23,241

Indonesia 48,406 28,099 17,329 29,044 20,281

Australia 13,976 21,614 10,477 3,772 12,787

Malaysia 15,390 15,892 16,268 9,163 10,401


17,954 7,305 10,717 3,880 5,592

Bangladesh 6,537 8,716 18,542 3,611 4,431

Pakistan 5,976 5,186 5,237 6,608 4,376

Table 19: Exports of Desktop computer systems, personal computers (PCs) and tower computer systems (HS Code 847149)

Source: Trade Map








in 2016

World 32,823 39,842 31,334 25,443 35,723

China 26,469 29,009 22,420 18,691 31,561

Malaysia 739 1,145 1,470 1,126 889

Mexico 136 1,127 892 930 562

Germany 822 804 407 311 452


2,503 2,746 2,502 944 406

France 39 93 33 43 399

United Kingdom 841 448 184 467 284

Korea, Republic of 223 186 39 507 269

Sweden 108 23 926 305 251

Viet Nam 2 1 635 1,479 137

Table 20: Imports of Keyboards - for computer systems, separate units (HS Code 84716030)

Source: Trade Map







in 2016

World 20,086 27,242 26,249 32,858 38,179

Malaysia 2,144 8,897 8,216 13,716 6,608

Indonesia 2,414 3,250 2,204 2,541 5,987

Australia 2,584 1,907 2,998 3,225 3,410

Japan 1,165 1,343 1,190 1,725 3,310

Korea, Republic of 686 600 638 866 3,106

Thailand 880 1,072 893 596 2,936

Hong Kong, China 1,195 705 514 1,083 2,412

China 991 1,352 2,251 1,577 2,082

Taipei, Chinese 354 257 295 332 2,030

India 3,203 3,218 2,304 2,031 1,671

Table 21: Exports of Keyboards - for computer systems, separate units (HS Code 84716030)

Source: Trade Map








in 2016

World 54,611 57,083 28,602 49,846 42,179

China 39,177 38,787 13,736 27,362 23,997

Korea, Republic of 4,864 8,306 9,132 14,914 12,463

Japan 3,237 3,199 2,932 4,144 2,504

Malaysia 124 536 353 770 1,108

Hong Kong, China 664 226 154 1,018 584


1,960 3,544 685 508 403

Taipei, Chinese 599 472 344 495 343

Indonesia 390 348 155 23 227

Germany 294 262 234 137 197

Sweden 14 32 3 31 102

Table 22: Imports of Mouse, trackballs, joysticks for computers and other X-Y coordinate input devices - separate units (HS Code 84716040)

Source: Trade Map







in 2016

World 28,221 24,734 24,374 27,622 45,716

Indonesia 4,101 2,552 6,507 8,288 10,299

Malaysia 3,321 4,493 2,764 4,047 10,044

China 1,810 2,097 1,977 2,152 4,489


Thailand 3,459 3,579 2,127 772 3,550

Taipei, Chinese 761 185 95 315 2,805

Viet Nam 2,956 642 1,541 1,764 2,560

Australia 763 866 1,489 1,041 1,740

India 2,640 1,525 703 1,108 1,402

Japan 1,165 2,119 1,518 1,378 917

Table 23: Exports of Mouse, trackballs, joysticks for computers and other X-Y coordinate input devices - separate units (HS Code 84716040)

Source: Trade Map








in 2016

World 2,036,458 1,919,414 1,953,908 1,979,147 1,535,268

China 559,127 520,509 660,939 767,107 541,704

Thailand 436,662 490,647 620,500 663,210 414,395

Malaysia 430,963 288,944 137,870 156,773 201,478


128,879 127,400 138,690 107,258 106,008

Philippines 111,477 99,193 96,782 88,987 87,027

Japan 139,831 126,936 125,176 61,558 56,196

Mexico 42,381 39,201 17,751 23,626 32,834

Hungary 44,858 104,524 40,404 29,715 20,414


Taipei, Chinese 25,013 36,513 16,654 12,283 13,124

Table 24: Imports of Central storage units - for example RAID (Redundant Arrays of Inexpensive Disks) systems (HS Code 847170)

Source: Trade Map







in 2016

World 4,094,849 3,636,521 3,308,992 3,154,853 2,481,834

Japan 556,651 540,664 531,641 486,857 437,046

China 502,637 477,957 510,525 475,990 286,242

Australia 329,587 296,570 318,915 338,543 253,113

Malaysia 219,454 163,862 151,169 160,039 212,420

Hong Kong, China 323,982 308,896 262,679 187,148 190,510


839,031 661,256 451,058 323,929 183,761


India 118,060 143,046 129,342 151,242 140,442

Indonesia 161,719 150,271 151,778 121,940 136,286

Thailand 86,460 96,011 119,259 163,506 92,053

Table 25: Exports of Central storage units - for example RAID (Redundant Arrays of Inexpensive Disks) systems (HS Code 847170)

Source: Trade Map








in 2016

World 90,997 51,077 81,203 86,068 47,778

China 23,803 22,659 27,471 37,084 20,054

Thailand 3,272 3,586 15,127 7,891 8,312

Netherlands 323 7 4,603 19 5,900

Malaysia 20,635 4,967 13,578 27,387 3,991


4,441 5,233 11,226 4,180 2,867

Japan 6,755 2,664 1,456 1,396 1,678

Philippines 8,430 6,813 4,591 5,113 1,522

Ireland 46 25 1,118 843 1,006

Mexico 349 339 79 213 905

Australia 57 10 328 284 531

Table 26: Imports of Optical disk drives incl CD-ROM drives & CD-R drives (HS Code 84717040)

Source: Trade Map







in 2016

World 127,636 66,867 63,576 68,622 54,935

Thailand 3,111 1,670 1,020 4,241 8,100


11,300 5,472 14,383 31,065 7,795

Japan 26,049 9,822 5,518 6,851 6,217


China 19,025 10,845 4,635 4,375 5,133

Malaysia 6,141 3,161 4,800 3,420 4,546

Netherlands 967 302 2,545 166 3,555

Hong Kong, China 23,420 11,398 13,299 3,176 3,377

India 5,960 2,991 2,338 2,800 2,122

Australia 4,693 3,997 2,979 3,482 1,903

Table 27: Exports of Optical disk drives incl CD-ROM drives & CD-R drives (HS Code 84717040)

Source: Trade Map








in 2016

World 1,476,484 1,544,381 1,535,414 1,550,325 1,112,352

China 439,343 424,877 524,418 638,965 475,212

Thailand 384,743 478,236 597,565 645,730 384,967

Malaysia 290,524 245,426 99,941 72,005 88,529

Philippines 99,492 88,519 88,004 70,058 75,071


58,768 46,532 48,671 45,425 33,172

Japan 117,463 115,797 118,064 31,444 13,650


Taipei, Chinese 10,876 13,359 7,328 4,070 7,108

Netherlands 2,044 1,131 1,538 7,431 4,131

Czech Republic 1,269 463 1,114 62 3,883

Table 28: Imports of Hard disk drives (HS Code 84717020)

Source: Trade Map







in 2016

World 2,881,287 2,424,716 2,044,290 1,811,226 1,273,589

Japan 364,991 340,613 324,793 303,079 217,734

Malaysia 156,255 124,990 116,500 128,824 129,968

Hong Kong, China 215,516 236,920 193,652 112,913 121,774

Australia 169,575 177,514 199,434 183,047 118,233

China 298,666 233,319 255,419 217,356 113,215

Indonesia 131,555 119,130 126,142 94,801 102,469


694,704 492,302 278,901 148,459 96,763

India 75,550 84,905 62,610 71,370 58,168

Thailand 67,465 68,141 87,377 121,846 56,987


Table 29: Exports of Hard disk drives (HS Code 84717020)

Source: Trade Map








in 2016

World 26,085 15,337 18,977 30,422 36,928

China 21,600 12,637 16,473 28,743 34,988


676 617 879 395 553

United Kingdom 179 155 71 190 389

France 348 159 1 50 187

Netherlands 161 37 20 5 166

Germany 117 93 56 65 148

Japan 235 96 57 101 105

Malaysia 424 74 304 247 64

Finland 0 0 0 0 57

Taipei, Chinese 1,191 367 393 95 47

Table 30: Imports of Sound cards & video cards (HS Code 84718070)

Source: Trade Map







in 2016

World 17,585 16,393 9,573 14,683 17,483

China 805 623 1,174 3,728 4,267

Korea, Republic of 50 401 289 940 3,408

Japan 103 781 1,641 3,772 3,398

India 47 144 421 1,105 1,239


538 1,120 795 514 1,060

Malaysia 7,598 1,551 1,625 459 708

Mexico 4 3 212 3 671

Hong Kong, China 6,117 6,817 1,171 1,465 570

Indonesia 482 412 385 616 523

Australia 50 1,366 425 614 451

Table 31: Exports of Sound cards & video cards (HS Code 84718070)

Source: Trade Map








in 2016

World 881,366 856,497 814,701 895,541 939,440

China 335,657 319,053 340,759 360,314 388,556

Malaysia 50,641 65,865 53,171 83,962 118,645


83,221 82,875 77,126 65,176 77,057

Taipei, Chinese 36,027 43,708 33,922 64,408 71,779

Indonesia 101,275 88,157 59,666 67,742 36,344

Japan 29,966 20,879 22,332 19,283 32,877

Thailand 27,788 26,191 24,857 27,883 25,587

Philippines 21,392 19,446 20,258 22,434 25,101

Netherlands 5,871 6,465 6,943 8,624 22,770

Germany 48,104 31,587 39,757 31,161 21,491

Table 32: Imports of Power Supply Units (PSUs) for computer units, separate units (HS Code 850440)

Source: Trade Map







in 2016

World 712,137 698,510 682,359 770,265 799,011

Malaysia 153,412 116,050 102,015 126,722 150,900


50,938 64,018 66,984 88,394 103,995

Japan 44,015 48,192 58,841 71,990 69,443

China 49,200 54,982 62,703 56,741 51,895

Italy 2,656 4,349 5,466 4,959 47,482

India 32,286 31,805 36,010 42,572 35,230

Thailand 37,006 35,650 30,815 39,060 33,227

Indonesia 75,919 76,996 45,397 46,459 31,698

Hong Kong, China 32,651 38,232 31,166 24,130 29,369


Table 33: Exports of Power Supply Units (PSUs) for computer units, separate units (HS Code 850440)

Source: Trade Map








in 2016

World 2,422,499 2,439,595 2,327,828 2,333,807 2,633,355

China 935,721 1,040,519 975,479 1,085,253 1,221,668

Malaysia 290,566 305,175 367,858 378,933 410,863


508,253 476,463 419,321 352,337 370,933

Mexico 89,387 76,215 68,378 121,192 150,287

Thailand 53,972 78,609 56,545 74,536 113,858

Taipei, Chinese 44,354 41,649 39,064 48,601 55,370

United Kingdom 33,526 29,012 31,009 35,683 34,060

Indonesia 47,186 29,492 6,050 5,205 31,258

Germany 42,376 45,102 67,803 31,774 30,245

Japan 41,398 32,315 32,226 27,259 24,955

Table 34: Imports of Network Communication System (HS Code 851762)

Source: Trade Map







in 2016

World 2,731,163 3,067,438 2,833,256 3,046,196 3,313,539


315,457 488,871 449,101 412,185 467,974

India 294,508 294,773 270,698 410,593 451,779

China 201,414 217,305 263,887 330,768 384,953

Japan 298,581 290,961 260,566 225,357 225,607

Hong Kong, China 107,308 174,601 142,075 203,883 203,502

Australia 202,333 180,955 194,835 259,136 201,567

Malaysia 192,945 134,228 129,683 155,517 187,566

Netherlands 244,235 205,597 186,649 189,269 178,616

Indonesia 99,126 137,708 135,917 124,716 170,777

Thailand 90,182 99,840 103,311 92,944 104,884

Table 35: Exports of Network Communication System (HS Code 851762)

Source: Trade Map








in 2016

World 25,222 39,277 28,015 21,876 27,225

China 11,744 9,547 11,075 7,718 13,610


3,980 2,800 3,715 4,444 4,302

Indonesia 99 15,437 355 487 1,795

Hong Kong, China 170 257 462 941 1,077

Taipei, Chinese 223 138 710 618 937

Germany 1,203 869 670 783 933

Norway 1,805 4,291 5,337 2,052 744

United Kingdom 1,472 1,942 2,490 1,249 732

Malaysia 1,091 419 143 130 380

Mexico 434 311 272 447 375

Table 36: Imports of Speakers - single loudspeaker, separate units (HS Code 851821)

Source: Trade Map







in 2016

World 19,887 19,447 17,500 20,882 19,443

Indonesia 2,289 2,565 2,610 5,185 4,460

China 316 345 1,331 954 1,604

India 3,716 2,012 1,401 1,462 1,435

Hong Kong, China 787 1,201 1,445 1,324 1,420

Malaysia 3,880 2,539 2,092 1,547 1,378

Philippines 339 610 1,537 1,378 1,368

Viet Nam 382 749 546 2,195 1,246

Australia 503 487 552 763 647

United Arab Emirates 651 1,701 1,041 506 618

Kuwait 1 1 44 1 615

Table 37: Exports of Speakers - single loudspeaker, separate units (HS Code 851821)

Source: Trade Map








in 2016

World 62,297 55,138 55,625 52,144 43,653

China 25,148 24,889 23,064 19,930 17,573

Malaysia 2,923 1,909 2,989 4,369 5,880

Mexico 7,885 7,182 10,057 7,674 5,285


9,769 8,558 8,816 6,890 2,835

Indonesia 3,133 2,361 358 1,432 2,253

Germany 2,763 1,796 2,007 1,438 1,984

United Kingdom 1,562 1,863 2,054 1,143 1,335

Denmark 345 399 833 2,172 1,077

Hong Kong, China 492 528 345 998 842

Italy 1,309 1,173 725 947 764

Table 38: Imports of Speakers - multiple loudspeaker, separate units (HS Code 851822)

Source: Trade Map







in 2016

World 22,616 32,509 36,338 28,448 23,097

Indonesia 4,836 5,682 7,106 6,349 4,405

China 410 585 3,211 3,458 2,304

Korea, Republic of 240 665 1,892 2,633 1,982

Japan 3,608 6,750 4,006 2,860 1,882

Malaysia 3,222 3,273 1,766 1,748 1,532

Viet Nam 336 1,016 993 1,063 1,519

India 1,075 1,094 2,108 1,444 1,388

Australia 1,908 2,151 2,898 1,719 1,322

Hong Kong, China 1,612 1,528 1,217 1,102 976

Philippines 879 1,143 1,192 744 904

Table 39: Exports of Speakers - multiple loudspeaker, separate units (HS Code 851822)

Source: Trade Map








in 2016

World 132,551 78,624 66,986 67,691 106,961

Malaysia 21,077 10,070 5,850 23,044 57,156

China 66,342 38,111 35,036 17,332 27,206

Thailand 14,673 6,882 8,805 9,787 8,143

Indonesia 5,846 4,787 2,430 3,934 4,014


9,048 6,555 4,447 4,364 3,383

Taipei, Chinese 3,228 3,269 2,115 2,793 2,700

Germany 291 176 522 57 1,298

Korea, Republic of 2,578 2,154 1,083 689 698

Japan 3,049 2,140 1,474 781 496

Hong Kong, China 2,730 2,154 666 870 346

Table 40: Imports of Laser Discs for recording or reproducing video (HS Code 852190)

Source: Trade Map







in 2016

World 110,470 81,311 63,386 45,313 66,170

Indonesia 19,307 8,467 12,992 11,176 10,364

Japan 1,094 1,184 1,397 2,112 9,800

Germany 885 668 122 773 9,185


3,933 5,108 3,747 3,186 7,872

India 4,007 5,535 2,805 3,096 5,472

United Kingdom 120 51 418 934 4,458

Australia 3,905 5,499 2,066 830 2,211

Malaysia 13,036 11,125 5,711 3,752 2,130

China 777 1,430 1,919 1,553 1,802

Russian Federation 261 152 34 0 1,582

Table 41: Exports of Laser Discs for recording or reproducing video (HS Code 852190)

Source: Trade Map








in 2016

World 297,002 186,224 45,519 48,798 88,357

Malaysia 259,997 159,065 25,333 34,717 79,316

Japan 21,648 18,632 10,813 9,136 5,343

China 9,266 3,523 6,699 4,466 3,080

Hong Kong, China 1,147 955 15 2 299

Taipei, Chinese 898 1,507 35 7 124


3,227 1,769 1,905 379 82

Viet Nam 0 0 0 0 73

Thailand 354 1 490 11 10

United Kingdom 5 13 12 10 9

Germany 29 27 37 6 6

Table 42: Imports of Floppy Disks not over 4 mm (HS Code 85232911)

Source: Trade Map







in 2016

World 25,119 10,725 6,161 24,095 25,247

Thailand 100 255 137 14,247 16,998

Malaysia 430 4,695 618 325 4,345

Bangladesh 2,779 962 375 999 1,080

China 14,159 419 353 4,075 815

Hong Kong, China 545 189 118 2,700 765

Indonesia 1,609 637 487 322 376


Cambodia 4 0 7 2 243

Australia 317 1,463 2,125 251 106

Japan 622 199 93 62 64

Table 43: Exports of Floppy Disks not over 4 mm (HS Code 85232911)

Source: Trade Map








in 2016

World 14,707 6,249 6,637 3,422 2,138

Japan 14,503 6,103 6,475 3,363 2,031

Hong Kong, China 0 0 0 0 57


37 114 27 6 36

Germany 31 7 108 0 5

Malaysia 0 8 1 0 3

Taipei, Chinese 5 0 0 0 3


Indonesia 0 11 0 0 1

Ireland 0 0 5 49 0

Israel 3 0 0 0 0

Table 44: Imports of Floppy Disks over 6.5 mm (HS Code 85232931)

Source: Trade Map







in 2016

World 2,515 1,372 718 726 352


United Arab Emirates 66 123 48 179 68



37 99 5 45 32

Japan 17 414 69 0 22

China 422 20 32 71 19

Australia 784 435 39 0 12

Saudi Arabia 0 1 0 0 8

Thailand 23 19 14 15 5

India 239 85 114 104 0

Table 45: Exports of Floppy Disks over 6.5 mm (HS Code 85232931)

Source: Trade Map








in 2016

World 36,005 48,797 55,309 26,366 15,922

Taipei, Chinese 4,782 4,497 5,786 3,601 4,809

China 3,046 1,900 2,711 3,910 3,958

Japan 8,877 22,981 32,141 8,329 2,691


4,510 4,421 3,604 3,152 1,391

Ireland 2,354 4,482 2,182 1,542 826

Hong Kong, China 1,087 670 1,138 326 499

Thailand 848 1,305 335 1,720 327

Germany 1,942 741 2,372 218 197

Israel 278 65 15 88 176

Canada 267 327 129 117 118

Table 46: Imports of Optical Media/Disks for Computer Use (HS Code 852341)

Source: Trade Map







in 2016

World 129,344 37,131 19,233 75,203 68,862

Thailand 988 1,089 873 60,428 50,369

China 4,348 1,961 2,389 3,813 5,321

Malaysia 4,882 6,744 1,062 801 5,104

Canada 94 59 20 1,011 1,813

Indonesia 3,413 2,525 2,928 3,308 1,283

Hong Kong, China 36,249 2,359 1,494 495 1,197

Viet Nam 3,265 2,475 2,286 1,500 630

Philippines 795 792 420 1,127 482


3,405 320 116 309 433

India 481 351 566 181 424

Table 47: Exports of Optical Media/Disks for Computer Use (HS Code 852341)

Source: Trade Map








in 2016

World 185,224 122,385 169,981 117,487 125,055

China 49,309 32,167 76,961 33,251 43,106


35,534 25,412 22,920 21,434 19,124

Japan 7,015 5,148 5,753 7,243 10,131

Poland 49 2,675 8,920 8,595 10,026

Taipei, Chinese 447 1,018 2,397 3,801 6,403

Israel 3,080 7,627 4,150 3,961 3,600

Hong Kong, China 2,341 1,400 2,896 6,335 3,443

Czech Republic 419 380 500 1,880 3,357

Mexico 4,890 2,460 2,027 2,532 3,102

Germany 7,795 3,954 13,843 1,907 2,728

Table 48: Imports of Network Communication Devices in Wired or Wireless Network such as LAN and WAN (HS Code 851769)

Source: Trade Map







in 2016

World 79,778 109,928 159,043 146,117 157,015

Canada 66 783 14,965 31,833 31,253

Hong Kong, China 4,829 6,709 9,798 5,725 26,253

India 9,883 12,511 35,703 24,516 23,702

China 6,661 3,636 7,203 6,263 14,357

Indonesia 5,253 6,603 21,429 18,792 10,073


5,168 16,224 11,254 10,777 9,161

Viet Nam 754 1,208 1,695 2,533 5,182

Philippines 2,124 2,544 3,862 4,757 4,630

Malaysia 3,754 2,988 4,847 3,744 4,126

Sri Lanka 328 320 869 2,755 2,563

Table 49: Exports of Network Communication Devices in Wired or Wireless Network such as LAN and WAN (HS Code 851769)

Source: Trade Map








in 2016

World 91,088 94,488 95,812 97,236 106,448

Ireland 17,257 5,969 15,128 30,922 28,174


23,821 33,736 27,657 25,228 23,877

China 4,481 4,116 4,702 6,041 14,526

Japan 4,441 10,013 4,559 6,065 13,236

Germany 8,298 7,662 18,175 5,739 6,828

Hong Kong, China 10,678 5,767 4,547 5,296 4,545

United Kingdom 1,867 3,816 3,529 1,898 2,589

Switzerland 1,141 1,445 1,793 2,302 1,769

Taipei, Chinese 2,962 2,121 2,056 1,891 1,289

Netherlands 1,747 1,520 1,315 1,005 1,125

Table 50: Imports of Software on CD or DVD - programs or data, music or other sound (HS Code 852349)

Source: Trade Map







in 2016

World 2,120,339 1,402,196 1,259,215 749,889 601,988

Japan 904,080 489,799 320,195 233,677 175,329

China 580,433 364,633 405,610 73,169 57,542

Australia 155,012 136,315 135,754 88,415 47,644


61,655 38,761 24,842 26,570 31,681

Indonesia 16,870 14,749 16,619 29,826 31,179

Viet Nam 31,107 32,796 28,447 49,309 28,787


Hong Kong, China 57,011 44,187 35,832 35,410 23,383

Malaysia 16,720 30,664 43,313 33,773 23,345

Czech Republic 1,229 3,373 10,733 9,636 21,735

Table 51: Exports of Software on CD or DVD - programs or data, music or other sound (HS Code 852349)

Source: Trade Map








in 2016

World 321,945 462,750 288,808 376,862 498,774

China 208,438 294,003 112,126 137,048 195,612

Malaysia 25,604 25,176 42,403 85,562 177,746

Taipei, Chinese 35,989 56,096 52,914 63,796 35,231


15,923 27,223 32,317 9,724 20,498


Japan 19,730 24,422 15,089 16,237 14,447

Philippines 1,902 10,696 11,933 35,663 11,734

Thailand 1,386 1,453 581 996 5,972

Indonesia 61 136 3,408 5,725 5,104

India 273 394 654 102 4,155

Table 52: Imports of Flash memory cards (HS Code 852351)

Source: Trade Map







in 2016

World 377,016 629,062 810,452 1,329,460 1,827,915


98,576 196,729 312,808 567,277 622,672

China 6,164 17,983 40,505 74,825 275,093

Malaysia 4,068 9,109 9,884 27,588 155,444

Hong Kong, China 48,972 81,279 57,970 55,038 128,483

Mexico 15,937 13,807 77,956 128,125 114,562

Ireland 23,677 70,522 73,688 152,921 87,274

Taipei, Chinese 63,082 53,752 41,861 58,059 81,712

Japan 28,331 40,045 41,884 76,422 81,580

Indonesia 6,197 20,353 37,911 22,624 34,104

Czech Republic 25,376 48,119 40,903 53,729 33,245

Table 53: Exports of Flash memory cards (HS Code 852351)

Source: Trade Map








in 2016

World 66,718 51,177 39,762 39,635 37,984

China 17,597 14,018 8,755 13,451 16,811

Germany 2,447 4,075 4,779 3,429 6,173

Japan 6,914 4,012 3,068 2,004 2,355


Portugal 86 319 487 1,738 1,647

Canada 369 327 574 1,246 1,372

Taipei, Chinese 1,649 3,368 6,684 1,932 1,029


2,079 3,147 1,920 1,622 1,012

Netherlands 317 440 1,514 1,951 996

Malaysia 5,387 7,029 5,306 3,699 665

Table 54: Imports of Web cameras (HS Code 85258010)

Source: Trade Map







in 2016

World 26,414 36,436 66,904 66,543 66,974

China 2,533 5,286 21,277 12,387 21,840

India 2,818 2,653 3,960 4,696 6,288

Australia 1,444 2,889 6,376 15,383 5,913

Indonesia 1,341 2,593 3,452 5,101 5,229

Taipei, Chinese 667 1,199 2,368 3,287 5,087

Viet Nam 584 1,028 1,624 2,059 3,709

New Zealand 210 129 1,594 3,793 3,682

Malaysia 3,616 3,794 6,528 4,150 2,785

Hong Kong, China 1,586 2,795 4,185 3,179 2,332

United Arab Emirates 1,367 919 1,084 2,013 1,489

Table 55: Exports of Web cameras (HS Code 85258010)

Source: Trade Map








in 2016

World 1,302,958 1,121,103 954,246 752,986 618,539

Japan 566,101 420,743 349,799 230,750 209,354

China 253,405 207,139 141,200 117,537 105,050

Thailand 54,988 84,088 114,257 96,829 72,440

Malaysia 170,466 137,041 114,369 77,921 42,767

Taipei, Chinese 88,889 94,046 66,498 65,375 35,789


28,151 24,552 42,993 30,604 29,662

Germany 17,411 22,316 22,510 20,207 22,415

Czech Republic 10,223 12,441 9,387 15,180 13,969


Indonesia 4,945 12,110 10,344 9,895 8,467

Table 56: Imports of Television cameras, digital cameras and video camera recorders (HS Code 852580)

Source: Trade Map







in 2016

World 1,003,207 963,557 822,826 699,680 639,937

Indonesia 203,236 199,893 144,114 83,636 104,868

China 7,122 21,236 68,170 63,356 101,236

Thailand 113,044 82,182 89,273 80,955 82,418

Hong Kong, China 305,367 229,182 121,314 88,882 72,336

Malaysia 82,427 90,832 65,232 53,450 45,097

Viet Nam 27,044 44,434 57,173 33,682 40,345

India 18,382 33,279 41,971 43,288 38,749



16,502 16,791 32,081 29,412 16,652

Australia 8,947 35,852 28,826 28,534 14,878

Table 57: Exports of Television cameras, digital cameras and video camera recorders (HS Code 852580)

Source: Trade Map








in 2016

World 452,808 271,054 192,031 142,292 128,672


284,253 168,405 97,290 68,084 67,814

Taipei, Chinese 13,923 12,186 19,815 10,807 11,192

France 25,229 12,839 9,838 10,732 8,865

Germany 11,627 10,077 12,239 9,879 8,040

China 19,683 8,634 5,905 7,873 7,964

Japan 20,836 9,710 13,703 10,351 5,881

Malaysia 18,148 15,790 2,233 2,489 4,172

Thailand 1,245 152 62 1,596 3,167


South Africa 36 442 133 149 1,494

Table 58: Imports of Radio navigational aid apparatus (HS Code 852691)

Source: Trade Map







in 2016

World 90,111 90,050 113,861 137,808 168,948

China 6,655 5,274 23,353 25,095 45,998

Russian Federation 256 8 14,815 27,801 24,794

Japan 1,241 2,087 2,116 1,771 17,719

Oman 53 0 0 6,425 12,518

Indonesia 9,505 17,206 12,756 11,220 9,850

Malaysia 4,786 6,147 4,400 5,820 8,563


Hong Kong, China 1,905 2,275 4,164 3,636 7,019

Australia 2,848 593 1,424 3,805 6,957

India 1,367 2,280 382 2,236 6,244

Table 59: Exports of Radio navigational aid apparatus (HS Code 852691)

Source: Trade Map








in 2016

World 12,746 10,837 6,880 7,490 4,881

China 6,326 8,329 3,465 3,911 2,574

Indonesia 781 989 1,333 1,764 1,210

Malaysia 4,868 650 1,335 1,587 533

Hong Kong, China 161 423 104 46 163



255 136 104 44 92


Japan 29 100 27 4 44

Australia 23 11 3 7 25

Philippines 0 7 61 12 14

Table 60: Imports of MP3 players - no video capability, with radio (HS Code 852713)

Source: Trade Map







in 2016

World 23,812 11,219 37,858 7,965 4,416

Hong Kong, China 1,658 621 2,782 2,505 844

Israel 1,488 1,523 1,260 717 707

Indonesia 8,433 1,958 576 681 477

United Arab Emirates 1,909 590 773 460 418

Viet Nam 283 236 27,702 616 388

Sri Lanka 396 571 942 434 275

Malaysia 206 207 91 65 253

Thailand 391 43 165 19 161

India 245 274 141 92 134

Australia 550 147 61 35 97

Table 61: Exports of MP3 players - no video capability, with radio (HS Code 852713)

Source: Trade Map








in 2016

World 16,899 18,747 8,356 20,664 12,149

Indonesia 126 6 2,131 5,602 8,008

China 16,121 16,169 4,832 14,944 3,171

Australia 0 0 498 0 673


Malaysia 394 55 76 0 46


Hong Kong, China 125 9 58 3 33


47 2,133 3 4 32


Germany 4 0 0 11 17

Table 62: Imports of Television PCI (Peripheral Component Interconnect) tuner card assemblies (HS Code 85287111)

Source: Trade Map







in 2016

World 522 1,338 1,744 2,932 2,952

Malaysia 2 131 158 1,241 1,007

Indonesia 19 291 321 44 848

China 1 626 426 131 398

Hong Kong, China 322 82 75 69 319

Bangladesh 0 29 71 278 201

Thailand 0 1 0 8 65


Viet Nam 2 0 0 141 20

India 0 26 37 0 10


2 13 84 30 10

Table 63: Exports of Television PCI (Peripheral Component Interconnect) tuner card assemblies (HS Code 85287111)

Source: Trade Map








in 2016

World 232,438 245,996 213,682 162,080 185,806

China 28,872 34,367 30,424 17,513 53,239


39,213 47,421 37,353 32,111 32,342

Malaysia 40,317 48,675 31,298 21,836 18,891

Japan 39,632 27,399 21,973 22,086 16,694

Germany 16,987 17,537 19,225 20,679 15,481

Taipei, Chinese 5,529 11,768 9,045 6,160 8,593

United Kingdom 7,972 11,698 14,061 10,463 7,609

Switzerland 4,028 3,132 2,976 830 3,223

Thailand 2,191 2,019 2,778 2,202 2,716

France 5,334 3,448 5,107 5,938 2,633

Table 64: Imports of Electronic personal organisers - or palm-held portables (HS Code 85437090)

Source: Trade Map







in 2016

World 214,742 287,164 398,443 355,270 380,690

Hong Kong, China 9,780 31,692 56,354 88,213 114,777


37,901 30,868 51,985 70,727 81,424

China 15,761 16,943 34,006 28,319 28,281

Malaysia 23,261 26,010 26,093 16,974 20,458

Japan 6,807 8,804 14,554 9,917 20,211

Germany 11,633 16,011 17,030 15,295 19,133

Indonesia 23,361 44,243 23,837 26,277 14,785

India 5,960 7,033 24,392 10,702 11,115


Taipei, Chinese 7,779 9,092 6,664 5,087 8,034

Table 65: Exports of Electronic personal organisers - or palm-held portables (HS Code 85437090)

Source: Trade Map








in 2016

World 6,108,184 5,602,044 5,239,490 4,732,009 4,258,569

China 2,183,115 2,120,866 2,260,655 2,065,411 1,772,980

Malaysia 1,181,825 963,303 926,976 903,841 886,053


753,506 564,489 434,112 413,678 319,837

Taipei, Chinese 218,312 270,580 290,440 298,958 315,592

Indonesia 500,993 401,857 346,968 261,986 203,406

Thailand 283,972 261,237 167,639 151,285 161,204

Japan 195,217 204,653 168,143 106,944 83,193

Ireland 37,178 88,139 94,246 69,886 81,026


Hong Kong, China 94,555 93,525 75,670 54,236 66,843

Table 66: Imports of Central processing units (CPUs) - can be complete with heatsink and/or fan, separate units (HS Code 847330)

Source: Trade Map







in 2016

World 8,646,666 6,990,269 6,182,923 4,720,993 4,164,384

Hong Kong, China 1,005,360 623,746 369,502 411,996 547,647

Indonesia 827,639 691,498 759,399 571,333 512,023

China 645,039 518,059 542,261 606,169 460,839


943,820 823,391 521,648 394,745 368,152

Malaysia 936,838 854,790 856,211 489,511 342,780

India 587,267 452,500 387,957 351,081 263,778

Philippines 219,900 208,743 214,808 169,813 263,664

Thailand 926,858 832,626 700,540 238,824 206,690

Taipei, Chinese 211,175 142,362 181,338 227,187 193,976

Japan 497,977 415,373 265,886 210,127 174,191

Table 67: Exports of Central processing units (CPUs) - can be complete with heatsink and/or fan, separate units (HS Code 847330)

Source: Trade Map



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