The Knowledge to Decide

In what some have dubbed the Third Industrial Revolution, 3D printing is now allowing consumers to be masters of their own manufactured durable goods. But Asian countries will need to work a lot harder to avoid becoming laggards in this transformative new field. What is 3D printing? 3D printing refers to the process of making a three-dimensional solid object of virtually any shape from a digital model using powder, molten plastic or metals. It first slices a 3D computer model into layers, then builds the object one layer at a time using the 3D printer. The quality of the end-product is dependent on various factors, such as the base material, thinness of the layers, mechanics of the printer as well as the amount of preparation taken into consideration for the 3D computer model. Also known as additive manufacturing, 3D printing seeks to distinguish itself from “subtractive manufacturing”. The latter involves the cutting down and pairing-off materials to attach them together

In 2014, the total number of outbound trips organized for Chinese tourists rose to 114 million, overtaking the U.S. as the world’s largest outbound market. Do-It-Yourself (DIY) trips have become popular among Chinese tourists. Most are keen on traveling to East Asian destinations. Although expenditure on skin care products is the highest, preference for Japanese electronics is not far behind. Tourists also prefer online platforms for their airline and hotel bookings. However, frequent fliers complain of language barrier, harsh weather conditions and lengthy Visa procedures. These are the findings from a survey conducted by strategic market research consultancy Spire Research and Consulting in May 2015. Spire’s survey of 100 tourists from Eastern China (across Shanghai, Zhejiang, and Jiangsu) – the most developed area in China with booming DIY travel – concentrated on preferred tourist destinations, shopping and expenditure patterns, DIY travel trends as well as challenges encount

Indonesia has emerged as an attractive healthcare market. The industry has surged by 300% since 2005, with national healthcare expenditure reaching USD26 billion in 2014. Recognizing the investment potential, the South East Asia (SEA) Hospital Expansion Summit 2015 gathered industry leaders and government officials to discuss opportunities and challenges in this sector. Jeffrey Bahar, Deputy Chief Executive Officer of the Spire Research and Consulting group, was invited as a guest speaker at the South East Asia Hospital Expansion Summit 2015. In his presentation, Bahar gave a brief overview of Indonesia’s healthcare sector, focusing on investment prospects for private firms. Bahar mentioned that in 2012, Indonesians spent around USD11.5 billion (yearly) for healthcare services abroad. Wealthy Indonesians still opt for medical treatment overseas to treat complicated conditions, preferring medical tourism destinations like India, Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand. To promote

Spire was honored to participate in the second webinar series organized by Global Supply Chain Council (GSCC) as a guest speaker. The webinar was held on 20 December, 2017 in Hong Kong. Jeffrey Bahar, Deputy Chief Executive Officer of the Spire Research and Consulting group shared his insights on cross-border e-commerce challenges and trends for payment and logistics transactions across Southeast Asia. In his presentation, Bahar shared his insights on potential of cross-border e-commerce transactions in South-East Asia, with a focus on challenges involving payment and logistics issues. Bahar mentioned that the e-commerce market represents potential for growth due to the rise in internet users across ASEAN-6 countries (Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam, Thailand and the Philippines) as of 2016. Product purchases (in millions) were highest for Vietnam (33.26), the Philippines (30.34) and Indonesia (24.74) with clothing, accessories as well as footwear amongst the top 5 pr