iPhone 6 went on sale in China without any fanfare to the disappointment of Apple folks in Cupertino

Gsmarena.com, 17 Oct 2014
Many were expecting China to be one of the initial launch countries for the new iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus, but that didn't happen. Following the announcement of the devices, there was much speculation as to why Apple didn't receive timely certification from the Chinese authorities for the new phones.
At the Beijing Apple store, only around 100 people waited in line this morning prior to its 8 am opening time. These were all customers who had pre-ordered the devices. The reason for the small queue has to do with the fact that the handsets have been available at carrier stores and in other places since midnight.
This calm and peaceful launch contrasts with what happened, for example, at the same Beijing venue in May 2011, when the white iPhone 4 got released. Then a fight between customers and employees broke out. And in January 2012, on the first day of iPhone 4S sales, a delay in the Apple store's opening led to something of a riot. Full story

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella in hot soup over advice to women not to ask for pay raise

Time.com, 9 Oct 2014

According to Satya Nadella, good things come to women who don't ask
Gender pay gap got you down? Take a crash course from Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella’s Etiquette Academy For Polite Young Ladies: Smile pretty and don’t be so unbecoming as to ask for a salary bump. After all, a raise is a lot like a male suitor, and if you pursue it, you might just drive it away.
“It’s not really about asking for a raise, but knowing and having faith that the system will give you the right raise,” Read Write reports Nadella said Thursday at an event meant to celebrate women in the tech field.
“That might be one of the initial ‘super powers’ that, quite frankly, women [who] don’t ask for a raise have,” he added. “It’s good karma. It will come back.” Full story

Related:
Open Mouth, Insert Foot: Microsoft CEO Tells Women Techies to Trust “Karma” on Pay Inequity - Recode.net

Apple's Jony Ive accuses Xiaomi of committing theft

Cult of Mac, 9 Oct 2014
While some may see Xiaomi, Samsung, and other players in the smartphone race as iPhone copycats, Jony Ive sees it as downright “theft.” That was the clear takeaway from Ive’s interview at the Vanity Fair New Establishment Summit today.
“I don’t see it as flattery, I see it as theft, and it’s lazy,” remarked Ive when asked about Xiaomi, a Chinese tech company whose phones bear a striking resemblance to the iPhone. Full story

Related:

1. 7 things copycat Xiaomi blatantly ripped off from Apple - Cult of Android
2. Xiaomi takes copying Apple to the next level with blatant iOS ripoff - Cult of Mac

Alibaba-distributed mobile game exposes users' private video online

Bloomberg, 8 Oct 2014
Users of one of only two games on Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. (BABA)’s instant message service have found movies of themselves uploaded to China’s most popular video site after the developer failed to notify users the files would be stored online.
The videos of people playing the charades-like game Feng Kuang Laiwang, many showing users in underwear or naked while playing at home, appeared on Youku Tudou Inc. (YOKU)’s website. App developer Zhejiang Zhile Network Co. apologized on its official Weibo account, Youku deleted the videos and Alibaba referred questions to the developer. Full story

SPH-owned Paragon's attempt to get free creative pitch from advertising agencies described as a 'farce' by key industry players

Mumbrella Asia, 22 Sep 2014
Paragon, which is owned by Singapore Press Holdings and located on the citystate’s shopping district of Orchard Road, sent out a creative tender for branding and promotions work that tasks agencies to send in ten pieces of creative by the middle of next month for no pitch fee.
The tender stipulates that Paragon, which houses luxury brand stores such as Gucci, Prada and Salvatore Ferragamo, “is not bound to accept the lowest tender, and the project may be awarded in whole or in part.” There will be no retainer fees for the winning agency.
One agency invited to pitch described the tender as a “farce” and will not be participating.
The agency’s boss, who wanted to remain anonymous, told Mumbrella: “I can’t imagine how any self-respecting agency would decide to do this pitch. It’s a farce.”
“The amount of work they demand for an unpaid pitch, a “shortlist” that reads like the 4As agency listing, and a miniscule budget on the back of a “we’re not unhappy with our current agency, we need to do this for audit purposes” statement – and an agency is supposed to want to do this?” Full story

Singapore companies have reached dangerous debt level, says research firm

Cityindex.co.uk, 4 Jun 2014
Singapore companies have a level of indebtedness that has reached new highs as the country's economic growth slows, according to GMT Research.
Debt rose to six times the amount of operating cash flow in 2013 for non-financial Singaporean companies, from 5.1 times in 2012, the Hong Kong-based research firm revealed.
Leverage among corporates has now reached a "danger threshold", GMT founder Gillem Tulloch told Bloomberg on Tuesday (June 3rd).
"It’s a bit surprising that Singaporean companies seem to have leveraged up significantly over the past few years. There’s been a slight loss of discipline, or it could be that the growth has not come in as expected," he said. Full story

Snapshot: Deceptive advertisement by Popeyes?

Hardwarezone Forum, 9 May 2014

As advertised:


Actual food portion delivered:


Link

Chinese mobile phone Xiaomi steep price cut less than 2 months after launching in early March leaves Mi3 owners fuming

Xiaomi Singapore Facebook


Link

EDB pimps Singapore out to more Indian IT companies, start-ups with liberal employment passes and tax breaks

Daily News & Analysis, 28 Apr 2014
Singapore Economic Development Board (SEDB) is in talks with leading Indian IT companies and start-ups to expand their presence into Singapore which its government is pruning into APAC's hub for digital technologies – the current IT buzzword
Remarked a representative of SEDB, "We are in discussions with a couple of companies from the south of India, along the lines of a centre of excellence in retail or healthcare, where they can have teams of 5-10 employees in Singapore. In exchange for companies setting up base in Singapore, we offer certain tax incentives, where the current tax rate of 17% - second lowest in the world after Hong Kong – can be further lowered to 15%, in case the company meets certain conditions like an annual turnover of S$3 million within three years of operation, and employing a certain percentage of locals in the company, through university placements, etc." Full story

UK legal giant Clifford Chance chastised by Law Minister Shanmugam in Singapore parliament

Reuters UK, 21 Oct 2013
UK legal giant Clifford Chance LLP had issued misleading statements about the scope of work it could provide in Singapore, Law Minister K Shanmugam said in parliament, in a rare rebuke to the one of the world's biggest law firms.
Clifford Chance had in press releases dated December 11, 2012 and July 8, 2013 "conveyed an inaccurate picture" of its services by indicating it could provide local litigation advice, Shanmugam said on Monday in reply to a query from a lawmaker on what foreign law firms can and cannot do in the city-state. Full story

Taobao expands to Singapore

Telecompaper.com, 25 Sep 2013
Chinese B2C online marketplace Taobao, owned by Chinese e-commerce company Alibaba Group, has launched a dedicated site for Southeast Asian consumers. The company has stepped up its efforts to reach Chinese-speaking consumers across Asia and has been trying to attracted more Asian vendors to Taobao. With the opening of a new Alibaba office in Singapore, Taobao has officially entered Singapore, which will act as a hub for its Southeast Asia operations. Taobao has also opened a telephone hotline for Singaporean customers and an English-language registration page will be launched in October. The new Alibaba office in Singapore will also expand the regional presence of Alibaba's e-payment affiliate, Alipay, with top-up cards available for purchase through electronic payment kiosks in Singapore. Full story

High cost drove Ishihara Sangyo to close Singapore titanium dioxide plant

Fibre2fashion.com, 13 Aug 2013
Ishihara Sangyo Kaisha, Ltd. (“ISK”) announced on August 12, 2013, that as a part of its ongoing reformation of inorganic business portfolios, it will close the titanium dioxide production plant of its 100% subsidiary ISK Singapore Pte. Ltd. (“ISK Singapore”) located at 39 Tuas West Drive, Singapore, and will consolidate the production of titanium dioxide products into its existing plant in Yokkaichi, Japan.
Due to the strong local currency, the higher cost infrastructure and the scale of the plant, the business at ISK Singapore has been challenging, and the recent sharp increase of feedstock prices and worldwide sluggish demand has further impacted its profitability negatively to such an extent that significant improvement cannot be expected in the foreseeable future. Full story

Overseas Union Enterprise buys U.S. Bank Tower in downtown Los Angeles

Los Angeles Times, 19 Jun 2013
The $367.5-million sale of U.S. Bank Tower in downtown Los Angeles, the tallest building in the West, has been completed.
Its new owner is Singapore investor Overseas Union Enterprise Ltd. The developer and landlord also owns commercial properties including offices, shopping centers and hotels in Singapore, Malaysia and the People's Republic of China.
At 72 stories, the circular U.S. Bank Tower has commanded the city skyline since it was completed in 1989 and is one of the best-known office buildings in the country. It was previously named Library Tower and also First Interstate World Center. Full story

Singapore group secretly building economic ties with North Korea - report

The Atlantic, 11 Jun 2013
The nuclear threats, rocket launches, and violent rhetoric out of North Korean over the past few months have been countered by the international community with everything from diplomatic condemnations, economic sanctions, and displays of military hardware, all with the elusive goal of reducing tensions with the world's last Stalinist state.
Far away from the spotlight, however, a group founded by Singaporean young professionals is taking a much different approach: they are quietly making inroads and building bridges with their peers in North Korea.
The Choson Exchange, a Singapore-registered non-profit, for the past three years has regularly sent volunteers to Pyongyang and Rason, and more recently brought North Koreans to Singapore, seeking to connect young people and institutions in North Korea with workshops in economic policy and international business. Full story

Singapore Flyer in receivership after only 5 years in business

Reuters, 28 May 2013
May 28 (Reuters) - The Singapore Flyer, a giant observation wheel seen as a major tourist attraction in the city-state, has been put in receivership just five years after it was launched to much fanfare.
Ferrier Hodgson, which specialises in insolvency and corporate turnarounds, was appointed as receivers and managers over the charged assets of Singapore Flyer Pte Ltd, the company which owns the 165-metre-high wheel. Full story

Indians are the largest business group in Singapore: Consul General of Singapore

The New Indian Express, 20 May 2013
Connecting Singapore, a one-day seminar on improving ties betweenthe countries, was attended by business delegates and heads of state.
Speaking on the occasion Consul General of the Republic of Singapore Ajit Singh pointed out that while the global business environment faced a slew of challenges Singapore’s economy was in a new phase of growth. “We recognise that the days of high growth are over and we need to be content with modest growth rates,” he said, adding that the nation’s ‘open’ economy was susceptible to adverse effects in the economies of India and China.
On the synergy between India and Singapore he pointed out that more and more Indian businessmen had begun viewing the island as a springboard to enter other Asian markets. “We have become the second most popular destination for overseas investment from India. Indians are the largest business community in corporate Singapore — ahead of of the Chinese, Malaysians and Indonesians.” Full story

Singapore losing jack-up order race to Chinese yards - report

Yahoo! Finance Singapore, 17 Apr 2013
According to OCBC, Chinese yards’ jack-up orders YTD surpass Singapore’s. There have been recent reports on Chinese yards surpassing Singapore yards in terms of jack-up rig orders YTD.
Indeed, OCBC finds that jack-up orders for the former have totaled ~US$2.3b so far, compared to ~US$2.1b for the latter. Should this pace keep up till the end of the
year, it will be a significant milestone in the history of Chinese rigbuilding. Full story

Amazon now ships electronics to Singapore

CNET Asia, 16 Apr 2013
It seems that Amazon is now shipping certain electronic items to Singapore. You can browse the selection and search specifically for items that qualify for international shipping at the Amazon Global Web site, though the items may vary depending on the country. Amazon also ships to other Asian countries, such as India, Malaysia, and Thailand--the service is currently available for more than 65 countries
The amount of savings for consumers buying directly from Amazon Global will vary depending on the item type. For instance, the MSI GTX 680 graphics card we ordered would have cost us S$680. The same item is listed at S$799 (PDF link) at a Singapore retailer. Full story

President Tony Tan repays business associations' support with trip to Myanmar to deepen business ties for them

Xinhua, 1 Apr 2013
Local media said the five-day visit, at the invitation of Myanmar President Thein Sein, marks the deepening ties between the two countries since the reform-minded former general assumed his position in 2011.
The visit also reinforces the importance of Myanmar as potential new market for Singapore, as Tan is expected to officiate at the opening of an overseas center of the city state's trade promotion agency International Enterprise (IE) Singapore.
More than 100 government and business leaders from both countries are expected to attend the forum to explore cooperation opportunities in industries such as infrastructure, telecommunications and hospitality.
The forum is backed by both countries' key business chambers, including the Singapore Business Federation and the Union of Myanmar Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry. Full story

Related:
Singapore president on state visit to Myanmar as businessmen's interest surges - Global Times

Filipina travel agent aims to build a 'micro business empire' in Singapore

ABS-CBN News, 28 Mar 2013
Maria Mercedes Ogot, or simply Cez as she is more fondly known, seems bent on building a "micro business empire" that got its "formal birth" at a single rented table.
Together with her husband of 16 years, Alfredo, Cez ventured into business in 1997 selling arts and crafts, like personalized greeting cards and stickers, that she made at home. Before long, she was conducting business in what was formerly known as Gulong Park on Sundays.
In 2004, afters years of hawking their product in various locations, Cez and Alfredo earned enough capital to rent a table in a shop in Lucky Plaza. Two years later, they finally opened their own place in the favoured Filipino hub. Cez Services was finally born. Composed of three business units -- Cez Studio (photography services), Cez Travel Services (ticket booking) and Cez Employment Services -- Cez and Alfredo run everything full-time in their shop. Full story

Related:
Filipina travel agent shares secret to staying on top in Singapore - ABS-CBN News