Take a glance at Singapore’s business status in the 2018-’19 fiscal year. We decorate this article with that news which generates a huge impression on the Singapore economy.
MBS’ luxury mall rings out 2018 with record revenue of US$179m
The cash registers rang loud and clear throughout 2018 at The Shoppes at Marina Bay Sands (MBS), with the luxury mall racking up its highest sales revenue in a calendar year since the integrated resort (IR) opened its doors nearly nine years ago. The mall, which has an occupancy rate of 95.4 percent, raked in record revenue of US$179 million last year, up 7 percent from 2017. Retail tenant sales went up by 19 percent in 2018 to reach US$1,898 per square foot.
The Shoppes also maintained its pole position in tourism shopping, with its top spenders hailing from China, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Vietnam. According to the latest data from tax refund provider Global Blue, 25 percent of the goods and services tax (GST)-refunded tourist receipts in Singapore came from retailers at MBS.
Singapore e-commerce market to balloon 48% to $9.98b by 2022
The e-commerce market in Singapore is set for unprecedented growth as it is tipped to expand by 48% to $9.98b (US$7.4b) by 2022 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 7%, according to a study by payments technology company WorldPay. With desktop sales projected to remain stagnant, mobile commerce or mCommerce is expected to overtake the former as the most popular channel for online sales in 2019 to account for over half (52%) of all online sales in Singapore. This represents a brisk CAGR of 13%.
A separate report by CIMB notes that online retail is expected to account for 10.3% of total retail sales in Singapore by 2022 from 5.3% in 2017.
The report also noted that e-wallets in the Lion City continue to show robust growth at a CAGR of 14%, and are expected to boost their share of the market from the current 10% to 13% by 2022.
Singapore real salaries to grow 3% in 2019
Singapore employees can look forward to their paychecks as their real salaries are expected to rise 3% in 2019 amidst a service-driven economy that continues to keep the pressure on wages, according to Korn Ferry’s 2019 salary forecast. “We’ve seen changes in the market drive the highest base salary movements in the oil and gas sector (at 4.0%), as well as transportation, hi-tech, chemicals and public sector (all at 3.0%), whilst we saw the lowest changes in the industrial goods sector (close to 2.0%),” said Mirka Kowalczuk, Head of Pay and Engagement Delivery, APAC, Products Group, Korn Ferry.
Real salary growth in Singapore trails behind the inflation-adjusted wage increase in India (5%), Vietnam (4.8%), Thailand (3.9%), Malaysia (3.6%), China (3.2%) and Indonesia (3.7%). Korn Ferry revealed that salary increases for employees within the engineering and information technology industries receive a mere 2.8-3.4% increase amidst an expected salary premium given the talent shortage for roles in these sectors.
Singaporean police looking into FT reports on Wirecard
Singapore police said that it was looking into reports by the Financial Times of alleged financial irregularities at German payments firm Wirecard AG. The FT last week published two reports about alleged wrongdoing at Wirecard’s Singapore office that sent shares in the member of the blue-chip DAX sharply lower. Wirecard responded to the reports saying they were “inaccurate, misleading and defamatory”.
“The Police are looking into the matter,” a spokeswoman for the Singapore Police Force said in response to an emailed question from Reuters about the reports. Wirecard’s 25 percent plunged a few days ago – the worst since July 2008 – capped a tumultuous three days that shaved about 7.2 billion euros (S$11.15 billion) off the company’s market value, despite repeated denials of wrongdoing.
