The Knowledge to Decide

Equivalent to the combined population of the Netherlands, Germany and France, Bangladesh is home to 160 million people. Although it is ranked as one of the world’s poorest of the 10 most populous countries, its economy grew by 7.1 per cent in 2016, a 30 year record. The country is starting to attract the attention of global companies. Can Bangladesh make poverty history? The story so far Bangladesh’s recent economic upturn is attributed to two major factors: its robust NGO sector and its thriving garment manufacturing industry. Bangladesh exported over USD26 billion in clothing, second only to China. Bangladesh gained independence from Pakistan in 1971 after a devastating war. Just prior to the war, in 1970, a massive cyclone had hit the nation, killing thousands. Today Bangladesh’s GDP per person is USD1,538 in comparison to Pakistan’s at about USD1,470 in June 2016. Some analysts assess that Bangladesh has the potential to emerge as the 23rd largest economy in

As Korea races to lead the global robotics industry, the Korean robotics market continues to grow at an annual average of 22% a year. Is Korea ready to rub shoulders with global players? Spire Research and Consulting shared its insights, published on the Korea IT Times news portal. The global industrial robot market is expected to grow to USD40 billion by 2020, at an average annual growth rate of 5.2% from 2014. However, Korea’s robot manufacturing market is expected to grow much faster, by 21.5% a year, to reach USD19.4 billion by 2020. Interestingly, Korea’s first humanoid robot – HUBO – developed by the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) recently won the 2015 DARPA Robotics Challenge, beating tough competitors from Hong Kong, Italy, Germany, Japan and the U.S. This prestigious competition is funded by the U.S. Defence Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). The competition aims to develop semi-autonomous (ground) robots that can work under risk-p

With 42.8 million cyber-attacks recorded in 2014, Cybercrime is becoming the key security issue facing companies. Initially, antiviruses were the main weapon of defense and hacking was unheard of. Businesses today are increasingly networked and vulnerable to cyber-attacks. Spire’s CEO Leon Perera delivered the keynote address to a cyber-security event co-organized by Juniper Networks and LGA Telecom to discuss cyber risks and how to mitigate them. Leon Perera, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Spire Research and Consulting group, was privileged to deliver the keynote speech at the Executive Breakfast event organized by Juniper Networks and LGA Telecom Pte Ltd on 22 July 2015 in Singapore. In his presentation, he shared a brief overview on cybercrime and strategies businesses should adopt to mitigate risks. Perera mentioned that, cyber-threats can cause financial and reputational damages as well as shake employee confidence for a company. Significant cyber risks include Data