The Knowledge to Decide

Among global food product categories, Halal food is one of the few that is in the fast-growth stage. The global Halal food market is currently worth nearly USD700 billion – with 65 per cent of the demand coming from Asia. Opportunities abound – but how can companies best address them? Halal certification The literal meaning of the Arabic word ‘Halal’ is permissible. It is used in reference to food and drinks that are permissible for Muslims under Islamic Law, as defined in the Koran. It lays down instructions specifying what food can be consumed as well as the method of preparation, addressing mostly meat items and animal tissue. For example, the Islamic form of slaughtering animals involves killing by a cut to the windpipe, carotid artery and jugular vein. Muslim consumers now contribute to a growing demand for high quality and varied Halal food. The Halal certification is a concern for the 1.6 billion global Muslim population because many Muslims live in non-Muslim majority

As a new year dawns, Singapore continues to focus on becoming a cashless society. Despite several unsuccessful attempts in the past, many nationwide initiatives are set to launch soon. Will this be the year of change? Japnit Singh, Deputy Chief Executive Officer at Spire Research and Consulting shared his insights, published on Today Online’s news portal. The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) will launch common Quick Response (QR) codes next year. Moreover, the largest payment network in Singapore – Nets – will implement a QR code system in the middle of 2018 across all of its 100,000 acceptance points. However, Japnit opined that security concerns still loom. Previously, lack of interoperability confused consumers, whereas transaction and terminal fees prevented small businesses from offering credit card or Nets payments. This time around, fraudulent QR codes with malicious software to steal data and access customer bank accounts are causing trouble. It remains to

Video games and movies have long been entertaining us with ever-more sophisticated and realistic computer-generated special effects. The latest trend in computer-generated experiences is Augmented Reality (AR), which is pulling graphics out of computer displays and television screens to integrate these into our real-world environment. With projected growth of 95 per cent a year from 2011, to reach revenues of USD5.2 billion in 2017, will AR succeed in blurring the line between the real and virtual user experience? What is AR? Simply put, Augmented Reality enables superimposition of computer generated data onto our direct experience of reality. It aims to enhance the user’s current awareness of reality by supplementing the real world with 3D virtual objects. The term – Augmented Reality – was originally coined in 1990 by former Boeing researcher Tom Caudell. The technology gradually spread to other platforms such as mobile applications in 2008. New AR mapping and social to