The Knowledge to Decide

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi along with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe agreed to work on an open Indo-Pacific region strategy with cooperation in infrastructure development and maritime security. The Japanese government will pump in more investment into high-quality railway and road network projects. Can a strategic alliance between Japan and India help in maintaining a stable regional balance of power, given the current stance of the US? https://www.spireresearch.com/newsroom/spirethoughts/india-and-japans-strategic-alliance/

The African hair care industry has been among the fastest growing across the content over the past few years. The market is expected to grow in value to USD761 million by the end of 2017. Various factors are responsible for this steady growth, such as the global trend towards chemical-free hair products as well as growing acceptance of the natural texture and colour of African hair. However, the pricing model is a challenge. Natural hair products are generally made with higher quality ingredients, unlike cheaper petro-chemical based ones. The battle to persuade consumers to pay higher prices has not yet been concluded. Can Africa turbo-charge the global hair care industry? https://www.spireresearch.com/newsroom/spirethoughts/african-haircare-industry-surges-ahead/

As one of the top five staple foods in the world, bananas might soon become extinct due to an advancing fungal disease known as the Sigatoka complex. Agronomists fear that this disease could wipe out the world’s banana supply in the next 5-10 years. The Sigatoka complex consists of three fungal diseases – black Sigatoka, yellow Sigatoka and eumusae leaf spot. They are lethal as they cripple the immune system and match the metabolism of the host plant. This means that the fungi can replicate enzymes to penetrate the plant’s cell walls, which enable it to feed on other carbohydrates and sugars. The disease is forcing farmers need to step up and make 50 fungicide applications (annually) to their banana crops. Up to 35% of banana production expenditure is for fungicide applications. However, many farmers cannot afford this and end up either growing inferior quality bananas and switching to other crops. How will the possible extinction of bananas impact global food supply? ...

After 20 years of becoming an independent judiciary, does Hong Kong continue to remain a financial and business hub? Will this impact businesses in Singapore? Leon Perera, CEO of Spire Research and Consulting shared his insights in The Business Times – Views from the Top section on 10 July 2017 on Hong Kong’s economic climate and its impact on businesses in Singapore. Hong Kong continues to attract investors due to many factors such as a high- quality civil service, economic linkages to China’s Pearl River Delta economy as well as geographic proximity to the economic giants of Korea, Japan and China. Perera opined that despite economic and political uncertainties as well as what some perceive as political encroachment from Beijing, Hong Kong will remain an important business hub for the foreseeable future. Hong Kong both complements and competes with Singapore. Many multinational corporations (MNCs) use both cities as Asia-Pacific regional headquarters (RHQs). Shanghai ...

With an increased rating of overall quality of taxi services in Singapore up to 60.3% in 2015 from 52.4% in 2014, these findings appeared in the Land Transport Authority’s (LTA) third annual Taxi Customer Satisfaction Survey (TCSS) conducted by Spire Research and Consulting. The survey measures regular taxi commuters’ satisfaction with taxi services. It also aims to understand commuters’ expectations and identify areas for improvement. What are the areas for improvement? The findings of the survey were also published on LTA’s website. Spire’s survey spans across 1,200 regular taxi commuters (aged 15 years and above) interviewed between August to September 2015. Taxi commuters were questioned on eight key service attributes to include driver’s knowledge of routes, safety of taxi services, taxi stand accessibility, customer service, ease of taxi booking, ride comfort, waiting time and information on taxi services. According to the survey, safety continues to be a concern am...

Spire was honored to be appointed as the Official Research Partner for the fifth consecutive year for the BMW Malaysian Open – an international tennis tournament sanctioned by the Women Tennis Association (WTA). The event was held from 29th February to 6th March 2016 at the Kuala Lumpur Golf and Country Club (KLGCC) in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Along with the Lawn Tennis Association of Malaysia (LTAM), Spire was thrilled to be a part of this prestigious event, which hosted talented sportspersons such as Roberta Vinci, Elina Svitolina and Eugenie Bouchard. As the Official Research Partner, Spire’s Malaysia team aided organizers to improve event arrangements in the coming years by gathering fact-based insights from spectators. Spire’s regular participation in this international event showcases the quality and consistency of the research we provide. https://www.spireresearch.com/newsroom/events/spire-chosen-as-official-research-partner-to-the-bmw-malaysian-open-for-fifth-...

Shanghai is set to become the next hub for quality healthcare services as new hospitals collaborate with established industry players. Will Chinese medical tourists check in at home for medical treatment? Leon Perera, Chief Executive Officer of Spire Research and Consulting, shared his insights in the Asian version of Japan’s Nikkei newspaper. Home to a population of 23 million – where 53% of the population is middle class and above – the city of Shanghai continues to lure more foreign investors in the healthcare segment for the affluent. Raffles Medical Group, Singapore’s premium private healthcare provider, has set foot in Shanghai with its first overseas hospital, part of a wider trend of premium healthcare service providers setting up shop in the city. Perera highlighted that the growth in healthcare services has been fuelled by the government’s policy shift to allow more foreign ownership of hospitals. The intent behind this is perhaps to retain some of the 60,000 me...