The Knowledge to Decide

Spire was honoured to participate at the GATES India ICT Reseller Channel Summit 2018. The Summit was held on 4-6 September, 2018 in Kolkata. Vinita Nath, Senior Analyst at Spire India, shared her insights on booming e-commerce industry in India, focusing on market trends and growth strategies. Nath discussed the growth of the digital market, its rapid expansion and e-commerce platforms available for Small and midsize businesses (SMBs). India has the second highest number of active internet users in the world, at 390 million. Its Business-to-Business (B2B) market is expected to reach USD700 billion by 2020. For better sales outreach, SMBs should explore business listings or social media platforms provided by well-known brands such as Amazon Business, Whatsapp Business, Facebook Business and even Instagram with various advertising options available. Nath mentioned that multichannel selling enables businesses to connect with a network of many e-commerce portals.

The FIFA World Cup 2018 is widely seen as one of the best World Cups in recent memory, with many surprises and goals aplenty. One talking point was the role of teamwork as opposed to just superstar talent. What lessons can businesses learn from the beautiful game? Leon Perera, CEO of Spire Research and Consulting, shared his thoughts in The Business Times – Views from the Top section on 23 July 2018. As World Cup fever draws to an end, the game lived up to its hype with breath-taking goals and outstanding performances. Perera highlighted the role of 'team effort' over mere individual talent, which was evident in the early failure of teams with world-class superstars like Argentina and Portugal. Perera also pointed out the importance of investing in new talent pipeline development, which paid rich dividends for France, the winning team and also one of the youngest teams in the World Cup. The game also highlighted the role of risk-taking. A relentless approach t

The historical and unprecedented meeting between the two leaders of Korea is a monumental development. Can both leaders use this opportunity to enhance geopolitical stability and open up new economic development possibilities? Leon Perera, CEO of Spire Research and Consulting, shared his thoughts in The Business Times – Views from the Top section on 7 May 2018. Marking a remarkable change, the unprecedented meeting between the leaders of the two Koreas underlines the possibility of a peace treaty and denuclearization agreement. However, Perera expressed scepticism about North Korea’s commitment to completely renounce nuclear strike capability against Japan and South Korea, since this is the only factor ensuring regime survival. World leaders need to take this chance to limit the North’s nuclear capability while accepting that it may never be completely voided, bring the North into the global framework and work towards economic development on the Korean peninsula. For furt

Spire Research and Consulting was invited to present DiverseCity KL International Arts Festival’s (KLIAF) 2017 impact report at the ‘Meet The Beneficiaries’ event organized by Yayasan myNADI with Prime Minister Dato’ Sri Haji Mohammad Najib bin Abdul Razak as the guest of honour. Yap Far Loon, Business Development Director and lead consultant at Spire Research and Consulting, presented an impact report on KLIAF 2017. The report assessed the impact on audiences, including special needs children in Kuala Lumpur (KL). The Spire study provided independent validation of the economic and social impact generated by the KLIAF. The Spire report also outlined capacity-building recommendations for the development of the KLIAF ecosystem. Yap expressed his gratitude during the ‘Meet The Beneficiaries’ event to both Nottingham University and Datin Sunita Rajkumar, the festival director of KLIAF, who handed a copy of KLIAF’s Post Event report to the Malaysian Prime Minister. The K

The recent US trade tariff announcement will impact Chinese imports worth USD60 billion. Will China’s reaction and the prospect of continuing tit-for-tat tariff hikes cause more panic across global markets? Leon Perera, CEO of Spire Research and Consulting, shared his thoughts in China Daily – Asia Weekly. As the US Treasury explores restrictions on Chinese investment in the country, the value of stocks plunged across Asian markets. Industries that might come under more scrutiny for possible higher trade tariffs include maritime equipment, new materials, automated machine robotics and tools along with new advanced information technology and high-tech shipping to name a few. Voicing concern, Perera pointed out that China’s focus will still be on minimizing an escalation of mutual tariff hikes. China has hugely benefitted from global trade and FDI flows. However, China is clearly prepared to pursue retaliatory tariffs of its own for strategic reasons – it has announced tariff h

Spire discusses e-commerce strategies suited to the Indonesia market Spire was honoured to participate at the GATES Indonesia ICT Reseller Channel Summit 2018. The Summit was held on 1-3 May, 2018 in Bali. Jeffrey Bahar, Deputy Chief Executive Officer of the Spire Research and Consulting group and Indah Muliana, Senior Manager, shared insights on the Information and Communications Technology (ICT) industry in Indonesia, focusing on market trends and challenges. Bahar and Muliana discussed the growth of the ICT (Information and Communications Technology) market, its rapid expansion and the challenges faced by e-commerce businesses in Indonesia. Due to the rise in internet penetration with more online transactions, Indonesia’s ICT spending is expected to reach USD28.4 billion by 2020 whereas end-user device spending is set to increase 18% by 2020. As Indonesia’s internet user population reaches 143.26 million in 2017, 90% are using smartphones and close to 65% peop

When the African Union (AU) launched the Single African Air Transport Market (SAATM) in January this year, it finally opened up Africa’s skies. 23 signatories on board, though another 32 AU members are yet to sign on. SAATM’s launch is a part of AU’s Africa 2063 project, which is a commitment to intra-continent development. If a common regulatory framework is put into place, this could benefit intra-continental travelers immensely, thus boosting commerce and tourism flows among African countries. Will Africa become the world’s next big aviation market? For more information, click here . 

A USD15 billion deal has been announced between Israel and Egypt to export natural gas. Israel’s Delek Group has signed an agreement to supply 64 billion cubic meters of gas in a span of ten years to Egypt’s Dolphinus Holdings. The deal is considered a milestone ever since the 1979 peace accord, bringing Egypt a step closer to becoming a regional energy hub. However, the transportation of natural gas from Israel to Egypt is a challenge given the security risks. Will the Egypt-Israel gas export deal usher in a relationship of bonhomie and economic co-operation? For more information, click here .

Spire Singapore hosted its first Client Entertainment Night of the year. Clients, business associates and partners joined the Spire team for a dinner reception followed by the movie screening of “Marvel’s Avengers: Infinity War” – the much awaited latest installment in the Marvel Cinematic Universe franchise. The movie’s main plot revolves around how the Avengers and their allies must come together to save the world by bringing down the evil Thanos, who is on a mad quest to collect all the infinity stones so as to bring mass destruction to the universe. The highly anticipated mega-blockbuster, delicious food and even better company made for a delightful evening enjoyed by all. Find out more here .

Spire Research and Consulting group’s Deputy Chief Executive Officer Jeffrey Bahar was honoured to be a guest speaker at the International Franchise Conference 2018. The conference was held on 21 April 2018 in Kuala Lumpur, organized by the Malaysian Franchise Association. Jeffrey Bahar shared insights on the growth of the regional retail industry, focusing on key trends and the attractiveness of various emerging markets across Asia. With global retail sales set to rise from USD25 trillion in 2018 to USD28 trillion in 2020, the Asia Pacific is expected to record USD10 trillion in retail sales by the end of 2018. Bahar highlighted that Asian players were also among the top 250 global retailers in 2016, with China’s e-commerce player JD.com and Japan’s retailer Seven & I Holdings at the 28th and 20th rankings respectively. With technology development, urbanization and the rise in working women, customers are demanding more innovative services, and retailers are responding. For e

Spire returns as the Official Research partner for GATES Indonesia ICT Reseller Channel Summit 2018 once more! The summit will be held between 1-3 May at the Grand Mirage Resorts & Thalasso, Nusa Dua, Bali, Indonesia. As one of the research partners, Spire will address the growing impact of online businesses on traditional retail channels in Indonesia. With such crucial information, vendors can prepare for opportunities and challenges head on. The channel industry in Indonesia still continues to face difficulties handling growth, industry consolidation, changing user expectations as well as technological landscape transformations. Join us to get insights directly from channel partners of well known vendors like Intel, Red Hat, Cisco and so much more! Register today! https://www.spireresearch.com/newsroom/events/gates-indonesia-ict-reseller-channel-summit-2018-returns/

Spire Research and Consulting was invited to join the ‘Meet The Beneficiaries’ event organized by Yayasan myNADI with Prime Minister Dato’ Sri Haji Mohammad Najib bin Abdul Razak as the guest of honor. The presentation was held on 24 March 2018 at Putrajaya with over 600 guests – mostly beneficiaries. Datuk Dr Jeyaindran Tan Sri Sinnadurai, Chairman of Yayasan myNADI discussed the impact study of DiverseCity International Kuala Lumpur Festival (KLIAF) 2017 jointly conducted by Spire Research and Consulting and the Nottingham University Business School. Jeffrey Bahar (Regional Advisory, Deputy Chief Executive Officer), Yap Far Loon (Lead Consultant), Haries Salim (Assistant Manager) and Nathalia Setiawan (Senior Consultant) joined the beneficiary event as supporters of KLIAF. Datin Sunita Rajkumar, the festival director of KLIAF, briefed and handed a copy of KLIAF’s Post Event report to Prime Minister Dato’ Sri Najib. https://www.spireresearch.com/newsroom/events/sp

O n 15 March, Spire and Yamada Consulting Group (YCG) jointly organized a breakfast seminar in Singapore for Japanese speakers, to share insights on Mergers & Acquisition (M&A) deals in Vietnam and investment trends for market entry. An English language seminar on the same theme was held the next day. The speakers were Leon Perera, Chief Executive Officer of Spire Research and Consulting, Eiji Asano, incoming Director for YCG Vietnam and Hafidz Omar, Senior Manager at Spire Research and Consulting. The speakers discussed the impact of growing Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) as well as the keen interest in Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A) in Vietnam. Vietnam’s economy racked up a USD15 billion positive trade balance from 2015 with manufacturing, metals and textiles as the top export industries. Most of Vietnam’s FDI came from Asian countries like the Republic of Korea, China and Singapore. The speakers discussed pull factors for investors, like competitive

As 44 million Internet users are added each year in China, cash transactions might become obsolete. Consumers are increasingly using third party mobile payment apps for online transactions. Leon Perera, Chief Executive Officer of Spire Research and Consulting, shared his insights on this trend in China Daily – Asia Weekly. A majority of e-commerce purchases in China are now made using mobile devices. Last year, 527 million transactions took place using online payment platforms accessed via smartphones. Perera observed that the m-commerce market is an indicator of China’s rising consumption as well as the surge in smartphone penetration. The growth potential is immense, especially in third and fourth tier cities where consumer credit is rising. Internet giants in China such as Tencent and Alibaba still dominate the m-commerce market. Consumers now prefer Point-of-Sale mobile payments as a safer and more convenient option than cash, with service providers like Alipay, Pay a

The announcement of President Trump’s recent tariff hikes sparked speculation across the globe. Is a global trade war on the cards? Leon Perera, CEO of Spire Research and Consulting, shared his thoughts in The Business Times – Views from the Top section on 19 March 2018. President Trump is heading into dangerous waters with the recently announced trade tariff hikes, for which his administration has cited national security as the rationale under US Trade Law and Article XXI of World Trade Organization’s (WTO) treaty. Voicing concern, Perera highlighted that other nations may use the same pretext to justify retaliatory tariff hikes, placing the tit-for-tat hikes beyond the usual WTO dispute resolution protocols. Nonetheless, the US economy gains more from relatively open global trade, which is why President Trump’s tariff hikes are not broadly supported by the American establishment and not even by most leaders of the President’s Republican party. This means an all

The overall Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A) activity of Japanese firms continues to grow and overseas M&A deals are in the spotlight. In 2016, Japan’s outbound M&A activity exceeded USD100 billion, the second highest historic level and a 15% increase over 2015. Will Japan continue to tap into international markets in search of growth and sustainability? Growing M&A activity A low economic growth rate and a shrinking population shocked Japan’s business leaders into changing their outlook, prioritizing growth through overseas market development. And M&A was seen as the fastest way to achieve that. Significant cross-border M&A activity is a relatively recent phenomenon in Japan. Japanese M&A volume was robust in 2016, amounting to USD198 billion in total transaction value. Cross-border M&A did well, accounting for 57 per cent of total M&A deals in 2016, up from 45 per cent in 2011. Beginning in 2006, Japan’s cross-border M&A vo