The Knowledge to Decide

What will be the impact of Indonesia’s recent Presidential and legislative elections on its growing economy? Leon Perera, Chief Executive Officer of Spire Research and Consulting, shared his insights in Business Times – Singapore. Mr. Joko’s likely victory in the Presidential elections of Indonesia would mean improved competitiveness through continued economic reforms. He would probably continue working on attracting direct foreign investment, build infrastructure, continue civil service reform, promote special economic zones and for locally sourced commodities to nurture value added processing. Mr. Joko’s second term would also be beneficial for Indonesia’s ICT startup sector. However the pace of the economic reforms may be slow, owing to the signs that the new legislature may possibly enhance the weight of social conservatives in politics. Read more :  https://www.spireresearch.com/newsroom/media/will-indonesias-new-government-be-favorable-for-economic-growth/

O n 25th April, Spire, Yamada Consulting Group (YCG) and SPEEDA jointly organized a breakfast seminar in Singapore to share insights about the political risks that businesses face in ASEAN in a year of multiple elections. The panelists were Leon Perera, Chief Executive Officer of Spire Research and Consulting, MS. Khor YU Leng, Research Director, Southeast Asia Segi Enam Advisors Pte. Ltd and Mr. Takashi Kawabata, Lead Asia Economist, Uzabase Asia Pacific, Pte. Ltd. The speakers discussed the political risks associated with the General elections in Singapore and the combined Presidential and Legislative elections in Indonesia, as well as Malaysia one year on following the dramatic election of 2018. The General elections in Singapore will be held at the latest by March 2021. In a planned to step down, the Prime Minister would hand over the reins of power to a next generation Prime Minister, an event that in Singapore’s post-war history has happened only twice, once in 1991

In 2017, 26 megacities were in emerging economies, compared to 7 in developed economies. There are likely to be 48 megacities with populations above 10 million by 2035. By 2020, Greater Jakarta is predicted to be home to 36 million people, making it the biggest megacity of all. War torn Baghdad, with a population of 10 million, may soon join the ranks of the world’s megacities. African cities Dar es Salam and Luanda are predicted to become megacities by 2030. With larger populations to attract investment and nurture productivity growth through network effects, megacities in developing countries will likely see rising incomes. Will emerging economies drive all urban growth in future? Read more :  https://www.spireresearch.com/newsroom/spirethoughts/will-emerging-countries-dominate-the-pool-of-global-megacities-in-future/

One billion people, or 15 per cent of the world’s population, are people with disabilities. The employment rate of working age Americans with disabilities in 2016 was 36 per cent, versus 79 per cent for those without disabilities. Tech giants are in favor of employing people with autism because of their ability to focus on details and identify patterns useful for cyber-security. Will the tech sector create new employment opportunities for persons with disabilities? Read more :  https://www.spireresearch.com/newsroom/spirethoughts/will-the-tech-sector-create-new-employment-opportunities-for-persons-with-disabilities/

Spire was honored to participate at the 26th International Franchise and Exhibition , Malaysia, 2019. The event was held on 6th April in Kuala Lumpur. Jeffrey Bahar, Deputy Chief Executive Officer of the Spire Research and Consulting group, shared insights on key trends in franchise industries in the Asia. Bahar discussed key trends in three sectors suitable for franchising, namely pre-school education, facilities management and laundry services. Global cleaning services are expected to reach USD74 billion at 6 per cent CAGR (compound annual growth rate), accounting for 5 per cent of the global facilities management market by 2022. With urbanization, construction and smart cities as some of the growth drivers and by using robotics, IoT(Internet of things) and analytics, cleaning services would see improved performance. In 2015, USD260 billion was spent on private education in the Asia- Pacific, with Singapore being the highest spender in the region at USD700 million. A