The Knowledge to Decide

South East Asia’s automotive sector has recorded impressive growth over the last decade. With 1.2 million vehicles sold in 2013, Indonesia is spearheading this phenomenal growth story. Recognizing the growth potential, the South East Asia Automotive Summit 2015 gathered industry leaders and government officials to discuss key industry trends, opportunities and threats. Jeffrey Bahar, Deputy Chief Executive Officer of the Spire Research and Consulting group, was honoured to be invited as a guest speaker at the South East Asia Automotive Summit 2015. In his presentation, Bahar spoke about Indonesia’s rapidly advancing automobile industry giving centre-stage to the Low Cost Green Car/ Low Emission Car (LCGC/LEC) segment. Bahar noted that the Indonesian automobile market story was very different in 2014. It was plagued by slow annual growth (around 5%), the falling Indonesian Rupiah, political uncertainty and post-election disputes. Inflation, luxury taxes, pull-backs in subsidiz

The demand for digital technology is on the rise. How are industry players catering to changing technology needs? Jeffrey Bahar, Deputy Chief Executive Officer of Spire Research and Consulting, shared his insights in Kompas – Mega Bazaar – a leading newspaper in Indonesia. Digital technology enhances the way we work. In the digital realm, productivity takes precedence – especially in the corporate segment. Technology and features that accompany a device are always changing, encouraging innovations along the way. Bahar opined that IT spending worldwide is about 2-3% of the total revenue of all of the companies in the world. The banking and financial industry in Indonesia has a higher level of IT spending when compared to the average in other industries. This is where Lenovo – the number one PC manufacturer globally – seems to understand the changing demands from society. It constantly innovates – with its latest edition in the multimode devices under the business segment.

The retail and food & beverage (F&B) sectors contributed MYR 434 billion to Malaysia’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in 2013. In a bid to facilitate the contribution of franchising to retail growth, the Franchise International Malaysia 2014 Conference gathered industry professionals to share insights and explore opportunities within the local retail market. Jeffrey Bahar, Deputy Chief Executive Officer of Spire Research and Consulting, was amongst the guest speakers at the Franchise International Malaysia 2014 Conference held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. In his presentation, Bahar emphasized the steady rise of Malaysia’s retail market. Malaysia had seen impressive economic growth compared to its Asian neighbours; registering 6.2% real GDP growth in Q1 2014, while Thailand, Vietnam, Singapore and Indonesia reported -0.6%, 4.9%, 5.1% and 5.6% GDP growth respectively. The retail sector had been a key contributor to this growth. The average Malaysian consumer still pr

In spite of attracting 8.8 million international tourists in 2013, Indonesia has the lowest tourism rating in the region – 17th in Asia and 70th worldwide. As more hotels and resorts start to integrate social media and mobile technology into their operations, what untapped opportunities lie in Indonesia’s hospitality sector? Taking that as the keynote, the Bali Technology Conference, Indonesia 2014 brought together professionals from the hospitality industry to discuss technology trends and potential business opportunities. Jeffrey Bahar, Deputy Chief Executive Officer of Spire Research and Consulting, was amongst the prestigious list of speakers at the Bali Technology Conference 2014 held in Bali, Indonesia. In his presentation, Bahar emphasized the vital importance of hotels integrating mobile technology and social media to reach out to tech-savvy tourists who are increasingly making decisions using online content. He opined that the rise in domestic trips and increased spe

With 100 days in power for Joko Widodo – the newly elected President of Indonesia – what does the business community have to say about his leadership? Jeffrey Bahar, Deputy Chief Executive Officer of Spire Research and Consulting, shared his insights on Bloomberg Businessweek Indonesia. Indonesia – the world’s fourth most populous country – held its latest direct Presidential elections on 20th October 2014. Elected President Joko Widodo – popularly known as Jokowi – completed his first 100 days this January. Most in the business community have been all praises for the government’s performance so far. It is difficult to evaluate a government’s performance based on its first 100 days in power but Bahar opined that Jokowi’s government has taken initiatives to improve certain industries directly, especially fisheries and marine. The new government’s current focus lies on fixing transportation and revamping the climate for investment issues using one door licensing. It remains

ASEAN is now poised to be the hotspot for global automotive manufacturing. The increasing number of Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) operating in ASEAN has played a pivotal role in driving demand in the automotive industry. Against that backdrop, the South East Asia Automotive Summit 2014 gathered key industry stakeholders, such as global car OEMs, government bodies, associations, as well as manufacturing solutions providers and consultants, to discuss the market outlook and potential business opportunities. Jeffrey Bahar, Deputy Chief Executive Officer of Spire Research and Consulting, was amongst the speakers at the 3rd Annual South-East Asia Automotive Summit held in Jakarta. In his presentation, Bahar emphasized the importance of implementing a localized market strategy to penetrate the market. He identified key internal and external factors that would influence automotive localization in the ASEAN region. He shared that there are abundant business opportunities i

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

Christmas is a time for celebration and delivering joy through gifts. How do Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) celebrate Christmas and how do the holidays affect e-retailers sales? Jeffrey Bahar, Deputy Chief Executive Officer of Spire Research and Consulting, shared his insights in Bloomberg Businessweek Indonesia. Whether it is a family affair, attending Christmas mass or indulging in feasting, Christmas is celebrated across the globe. For CEOs in Indonesia, Christmas always brings joy. As Bahar pointed out, the festive season is synonymous with family time. His family indulges in the age-old tradition of Secret Santa where each family member receives a secret gift. At the same time, Indonesian CEOs celebrate Christmas in many ways. These include attending Christmas mass, hosting dinner receptions for extended family members as well as employees, exchanging gifts and installing Christmas icons for décor at home. On the other hand, the festive season gives e-retailers a reas

The ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) aims to achieve regional economic integration by creating a single-market economy for freer movement of investments, skilled labor, capital as well as goods and services. Countries that possess qualified business resources are sure to benefit from this move. Is Indonesia prepared to provide a qualified workforce? Jeffrey Bahar, Deputy Chief Executive Officer of Spire Research and Consulting, shared his views on Indonesia’s Koran Sindo. Indonesia – being one of the largest economies in the world – is set to become a major player in the region. However, the nation must gear up to face the upcoming regional integration for not only commodities and services but also manpower. Bahar opined that although the Indonesian workforce – which totals 90 million people – is acknowledged in terms of knowledge and professionalism abroad – at home – they get only minimum wage. This is why Indonesians need to adopt a more professional outlook and learn from the

Do Asia-Pacific financial services institutions need to spend more on IT operations to avoid losing market share to non-conventional players? Jeffrey Bahar, Deputy Chief Executive Officer of Spire Research and Consulting, discussed this view in FST Media. According to a McKinsey report, organizations that provided financial services in emerging markets – especially in the Asia-Pacific region – needed to spend more on IT operations. The study showed a dip in emerging market IT spending out of total operational costs from 9.4% in 2010 to 8.1% in 2012. On the contrary, IT spending in European banks averaged as high as 19% in 2012. Bahar commented that IT spending in mature markets cannot be compared to emerging markets. This is because stringent regulations had stoked higher IT spending in mature markets as compared to emerging ones. The report also suggested that spending on IT infrastructure improved overall efficiency; which was why banks in mature markets functioned effect

The future of financial services is all about digitalization. This much is well known. What is less well known is that this is also the reason why banking transactions might be driven by non-bank disruptors in the coming years. How well will future innovations such as e-currencies be integrated into the banking industry? Will cash become obsolete? Jeffrey Bahar, Deputy Chief Executive Officer of Spire Research and Consulting, reflects on the drastic changes happening in financial transactions today. The combination of digital cash and virtual currencies has inevitably curbed the usage of cash in developed markets and across many Asia-Pacific countries. Cash as we know it might lose its status as the dominant form of payment by volume in the coming years – unless banks create innovative new modes of payments to counter the trend. Bahar opined that mobile penetration would continue to rise in the developing Asia-Pacific markets. Unbanked and under-banked market segments would inc

Banks in Asia now offer cardless ATM withdrawals, enabling consumers to access their money with only a mobile phone. This is seen as providing not only increased customer value but also brand differentiation. Jeffrey Bahar, Deputy Chief Executive Officer of Spire Research and Consulting, was invited to share his observations on Asia leading the way in cardless ATM withdrawals. UOB was the first bank in Singapore to offer Mobile Cash – a method of retrieving money without the need for an ATM card. Now, consumers can go to the ATM and top up their pre-paid cards with mobile cash. Subsequently, they access the internet via their mobile device and use that money to perform transactions online. In Malaysia, Maybank was the first bank to offer a similar feature. A PIN would be sent to the recipients’ phone as an SMS, and it would be used to withdraw funds at an ATM. CIMB Niaga launched a service called “Rekening Ponsel” in Indonesia; allowing consumers to use banking services w

Indonesian banks have launched a novel channel that allows customers to withdraw cash through drive-through automated teller machines (ATMs). However, Jeffrey Bahar, Deputy Chief Executive Officer of Spire Research and Consulting, sounded a cautionary note on the risks and limitations of the new platform. Drive-through ATMs have become more common in countries across the Asia Pacific, such as China (through Citibank), Australia (through Bendigo Bank and NAB) and particularly Indonesia. Bank Negara Indonesia (BNI) first launched its drive-through ATM service in 2004, and is now seeing an average usage rate of approximately 7,600 transactions per month in each of its 29 drive-through destinations. BNI plans to expand this service with an additional 15 new drive-through ATMs for motorcycles in 2014. However, Bahar commented that security concerns – especially issues pertaining to magnetic ATM card cloning and robbery – would deter customers from transacting at drive-through ATMs

Mobile and digital banking are now the drivers of rural banking. Many banks in South East Asia are intensively reaching out to the rural unbanked population. Jeffrey Bahar, Deputy Chief Executive Officer of Spire Research and Consulting, shared his views on this growing industry trend in FST Media. Bahar observed that many banks in Indonesia are now targeting the unbanked. Only about a quarter of the Indonesian population has access to traditional banking services. Besides, with Indonesia’s mobile phone usage running at over a 100 per cent penetration rate, it is natural for banks to offer mobile financial solutions to the unbanked. To better target this market, some banks are partnering with microfinance institutions to enable the unbanked to sign up for a bank account the paperless way. These institutions would then help users to conduct banking transactions via their mobile devices. Indonesia’s central bank, Bank Indonesia, has launched a pilot program, ‘Mobile Payment S