Singapore (VNA) – Singapore wants to become aleading e-commerce hub in Asia, but there may be challenges ahead, US-basedCNBC news channel reported.
As the pandemic reshapes consumer behaviour worldwide, moreand more people in the region are shopping online and Southeast Asia’s digitaleconomy saw significant growth.
Some 40 million new users in the region joined the internetlast year, according to an e-commerce report on Southeast Asia by Google,Temasek and global consultancy Bain & Company.
About 36 percent — or more than 1 in 3 digital serviceconsumers — were new to online services. Among them, 90 percent intend tocontinue using these services even after the pandemic, the report said.
According Selena Ling, chief economist at OCBC Bank inSingapore, to capitalise on these trends, Singapore needs to combine severalfactors to fuel that growth.
They include a fairly internet savvy population, high mobilepenetration (and) good internet connectivity which is affordable, she said.
As part of Singapore’s e-commerce strategy, the governmentplans to launch two 5G networks across the city-state by 2025. They will “formthe backbone” of Singapore’s digital economy and boost the infrastructure’scapacity to manage large online sales orders internationally, according to theMinistry of Trade and Industry.
However, Singapore faces a skills shortage for digitaltalent — and that’s critical for its ambition to become a global e-commerce player,said Ben King, country director at Google Singapore.
To address the issue, the government partnered with Googleunder the Skills Ignition SG initiative, to provide jobs training for thoselooking for a digital career./.
As the pandemic reshapes consumer behaviour worldwide, moreand more people in the region are shopping online and Southeast Asia’s digitaleconomy saw significant growth.
Some 40 million new users in the region joined the internetlast year, according to an e-commerce report on Southeast Asia by Google,Temasek and global consultancy Bain & Company.
About 36 percent — or more than 1 in 3 digital serviceconsumers — were new to online services. Among them, 90 percent intend tocontinue using these services even after the pandemic, the report said.
According Selena Ling, chief economist at OCBC Bank inSingapore, to capitalise on these trends, Singapore needs to combine severalfactors to fuel that growth.
They include a fairly internet savvy population, high mobilepenetration (and) good internet connectivity which is affordable, she said.
As part of Singapore’s e-commerce strategy, the governmentplans to launch two 5G networks across the city-state by 2025. They will “formthe backbone” of Singapore’s digital economy and boost the infrastructure’scapacity to manage large online sales orders internationally, according to theMinistry of Trade and Industry.
However, Singapore faces a skills shortage for digitaltalent — and that’s critical for its ambition to become a global e-commerce player,said Ben King, country director at Google Singapore.
To address the issue, the government partnered with Googleunder the Skills Ignition SG initiative, to provide jobs training for thoselooking for a digital career./.
VNA
