Industry News

Frasers Hospitality has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Singapore Institute of Technology (SIT) to establish a hospitality innovation thinktank aimed at elevating Singapore’s hospitality industry. This collaboration will focus on applied research, professional training, and nurturing future-ready talent in the hospitality and real estate sectors.

The thinktank is designed to be a collaborative hub where industry and academia can work together to define key hospitality standards and publish insights that drive innovation. Eu Chin Fen, CEO of Frasers Hospitality, stated, “By combining academic expertise with real-world application, we are advancing new standards in guest experience, driving innovation that is both digital and sustainable.”

Bernard Nee, Deputy President of SIT, emphasised the importance of equipping talent with future-ready skills to maintain Singapore’s service excellence. He noted that the thinktank would provide a dynamic platform for collaboration, accelerating creative solutions and transforming ideas into actionable innovations.

The partnership will also involve the co-design and development of Pre-Employment Training for hospitality students and Continuing Education and Training programmes for Frasers Hospitality employees. These initiatives aim to empower individuals to become future leaders and innovators in the industry.

This strategic partnership between Frasers Hospitality and SIT is set to reinforce Singapore’s position as a premier tourism hub, ensuring the country’s hospitality standards continue to evolve and meet global expectations.
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SNP Group, a leading software provider for digital transformation, has inaugurated its new Asia-Pacific headquarters at Asia Square, Singapore. This strategic move underscores SNP’s commitment to enhancing its presence in the region and supporting enterprises in modernising their business systems with precision and speed.

The opening follows SNP’s Transformation World 2025 event in Heidelberg, Germany, where the company showcased the capabilities of its Kyano platform. This platform is pivotal in enabling large-scale SAP and non-SAP transformations, minimising disruption whilst delivering significant business impact. Phillip Miltiades, President and Managing Director of SNP Asia Pacific & Japan, stated, “Our move to Asia Square signals more than growth—it underlines our strategy to be closer to customers and partners in one of the most dynamic regions of the world.”

The new headquarters will consolidate SNP’s regional go-to-market, delivery, and support functions, serving as a hub for talent development and customer engagement. SNP’s impact in the region is already evident, with over 50 successful go-lives in the past year, all completed on time and without disruption. Customers are leveraging SNP’s Kyano platform to enable AI-powered processes that enhance productivity and decision-making.

With its new base in Singapore, SNP is set to accelerate Asia’s digital transformation journey, helping enterprises transform their SAP landscapes and build greater resilience and agility for the future.
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Franchising & Licensing Asia (FLAsia) 2025 is set to celebrate its 20th edition from 18 to 20 September at Marina Bay Sands, Singapore. Organised by the Franchising and Licensing Association Singapore and Constellar, the event will host over 4,500 attendees and more than 250 brands from over 50 countries. This year’s showcase will feature a dynamic mix of 60% first-time exhibitors alongside industry veterans, highlighting its role as a launchpad for brand expansion and innovation in Asia.

The event will open with a ceremony attended by Low Yen Ling, Senior Minister of State for Trade and Industry, who will present the prestigious FLA Awards 2025. These awards recognise brands that excel in development, scalability, and global competitiveness, reflecting the industry’s commitment to raising standards and promoting Singapore brands internationally.

FLAsia 2025 will introduce new-to-market concepts, including Bibijae, a Michelin Bib Gourmand brand from Busan, and BMSmile’s playful lifestyle brand Wiggle Wiggle. Other notable participants include Bobae FB Group, Crown HOF, and Dilmah Ceylon Tea Company PLC. The event will also feature a Design WAH Showcase, part of Singapore Design Week 2025, highlighting Singapore’s creative talent.

Additionally, FLAsia will debut its first-ever Career Fair on 20 September, focusing on upskilling and career mobility. The fair aims to connect talent with employers across franchising, retail, and food and beverage sectors, supporting Singapore’s commitment to building a skilled workforce.

FLAsia 2025 reaffirms its position as a marketplace where creativity meets commerce, driving the next wave of franchising and licensing success in Asia.
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AGII, a leader in AI infrastructure for decentralised development, has announced the expansion of its predictive frameworks to improve the scalability and efficiency of smart contracts across Web3 platforms. This update introduces advanced models that dynamically adapt contract logic to network demands, ensuring continuous and low-latency execution.

As the complexity of Web3 ecosystems increases, the need for scalable and efficient smart contract deployment becomes crucial. AGII’s upgraded infrastructure enables just-in-time automation decisions, optimising smart contract performance across various blockchains without sacrificing security or throughput. This intelligent automation bridges traditional logic with real-time responsiveness, providing developers with greater flexibility and control.

The evolution of AGII’s platform is part of its mission to lead the smart contract revolution with self-improving AI models. The new framework offers features such as audit-ready traceability and autonomous decision trees, allowing decentralised apps (dApps) to quickly adapt to changing on-chain conditions. This results in streamlined workloads, improved latency, and enhanced transactional integrity.

AGII’s advancements in AI infrastructure are set to transform the future of contract execution in decentralised ecosystems, offering intelligent automation, scalable smart contract logic, and real-time decision-making tools. As Web3 continues to evolve, AGII’s innovations promise to empower developers and enhance the efficiency of decentralised applications.
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David He has been appointed as an emerging companies and venture capital partner at Cooley’s Singapore office, bringing over a decade of experience from New York, Silicon Valley, and Asia. His expertise spans the life cycle of high-growth companies, including venture capital and private equity funds, cross-border financings, acquisitions, and corporate governance. He previously worked at Gunderson Dettmer in Singapore.

He’s appointment is part of Cooley’s strategic expansion in Asia, where the firm operates in Beijing, Hong Kong, Shanghai, and Singapore. Matthew Bartus, co-chair of Cooley’s emerging companies and venture capital practice, remarked, “David is an excellent addition to our team and brings a wealth of experience and a strong base of connections in Singapore and across Asia.”

Patrick Loofbourrow, co-chair of Cooley’s China corporate practice, added, “David’s experience will strengthen our capabilities in our growing practice in Singapore and across South and Southeast Asia.”

Recognised as a “Next Generation Partner” by The Legal 500 and featured in the India Business Law Journal’s 2025 International A-List, He has advised on numerous venture-backed transactions globally. He expressed enthusiasm about joining Cooley, stating, “Cooley’s global platform and deep technical bench align perfectly with the needs of my clients as they continue to raise domestic and foreign capital and scale their businesses across borders.”

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Empyrion Digital has successfully integrated Nortek Data Centre Cooling’s StatePoint Liquid Cooling Technology at its KR1 Gangnam Data Centre in Seoul. This move marks a significant step in the company’s commitment to sustainable digital infrastructure, enhancing energy and water efficiency for AI and high-performance computing (HPC) workloads.

The StatePoint system, a hybrid liquid cooling technology, offers improved thermal performance and affordability. It utilises a liquid-to-air energy exchanger with membrane-based evaporative cooling, significantly reducing mechanical cooling and water consumption. This innovation ensures the Gangnam Data Centre achieves optimal Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE) and Water Usage Effectiveness (WUE), setting new efficiency benchmarks in South Korea.

Yongsuk Choi, Chief Strategy Officer of Empyrion Digital, stated, “Our collaboration with Nortek DCC signals the beginning of a long-term commitment to delivering AI-ready and green by design data centres.” The facility, spanning 30,714 square metres, is the first new data centre in Seoul’s Gangnam district in over a decade, designed to support energy-intensive AI applications with a 29.4 MW IT load.

Karin Overstreet, CEO of Nortek DCC, expressed pride in the partnership, highlighting the project’s potential to elevate data centre sustainability and performance in South Korea. The KR1 GDC is Empyrion’s second data centre project, following SG1 Dodid, and became operational in August 2025.

Empyrion Digital, headquartered in Singapore, is a portfolio company of Seraya Partners, focusing on sustainable and scalable data centres across Asia.
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MSCI Inc. has launched a Private Credit Factor Model to address the transparency challenges faced by investors in the burgeoning private credit market. Available through MSCI’s analytics platform, the model helps investors assess long-term risks by integrating private credit into a systematic, factor-based framework, providing a comprehensive view of risk across public and private markets.

The rapid growth of private credit, driven by investors seeking yield and shifts in capital markets, has outpaced existing risk management tools. This model aims to fill that gap by offering insights into how private credit exposures react to macroeconomic changes and credit conditions. It uses MSCI’s proprietary techniques to model private credit exposures despite limited data availability, addressing issues like illiquidity and sparse pricing.

Luke Flemmer, Head of Private Assets at MSCI, stated, “Private credit requires enhanced analytical tools and insights as it plays an increasingly important role in diversified investment portfolios.” The model is designed to support smarter decision-making by providing transparency and consistency in understanding private credit risk.

The Private Credit Factor Model is part of MSCI’s expanding suite of private credit analytics, complementing tools like the MSCI | Moody’s Private Credit Risk Assessment. Jorge Mina, Head of Analytics at MSCI, highlighted the company’s commitment to evolving with client needs, stating, “Our platform is built to help risk teams not only keep pace with the growing complexity of their portfolios, but also deliver strategic insight to their investment teams.”

This launch marks a significant enhancement to MSCI’s multi-asset class analytics suite, available through MSCI Barra One, further solidifying MSCI’s role in advancing risk modelling across asset classes.
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Singapore Management University (SMU) has unveiled a new Cybersecurity track within its Master of IT in Business (MITB) programme, aiming to address the growing demand for skilled cybersecurity professionals. Announced at the SCIS Industry Day, the track combines technical training with business and leadership education, preparing graduates to integrate cybersecurity strategies into broader organisational goals.

The initiative comes as Singapore’s digital economy expands, intensifying the need for cybersecurity expertise across various sectors, including finance, healthcare, and telecommunications. Despite a threefold increase in the cybersecurity workforce from 4,000 to 12,000 between 2016 and 2022, talent shortages persist. Industry leaders have identified gaps in areas such as governance, cloud security, and AI integration.

The new track distinguishes itself through its interdisciplinary approach, blending technical depth with management skills. It also features industry integration through capstone projects and internships, providing students with real-world experience. Faculty from SMU’s Centre on Security, Mobile Applications and Cryptography, and Centre for Research on Intelligent Software Engineering will deliver cutting-edge insights.

Applications for the MITB Cybersecurity track open on 1 January 2026 for the August 2026 intake. The programme complements existing MITB specialisations in Artificial Intelligence, Data Science and Analytics, FinTech, and Digital Transformation, reinforcing SMU’s leadership in practice-oriented postgraduate education.
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Just On Sleep, a smart contactless sleep monitoring device developed by Sewon Intelligence, has officially launched on Shopee Singapore. This innovative product aims to enhance sleep safety and wellness by providing advanced solutions that are now more accessible to families in the region. The device offers brainwave-synchronised audio to improve relaxation and sleep quality, alongside detailed insights into sleep patterns for better daily performance.

What sets Just On Sleep apart is its real-time alert system. When abnormal signals such as irregular heartbeat, sleep apnoea, or abnormal breathing are detected, the device immediately notifies a carer via a mobile app. This feature ensures both improved rest and enhanced safety for individuals and families. “Singaporeans work hard and need quality sleep, but safety during rest is just as important,” said Sejin Park, CEO of Sewon Intelligence. “Just On Sleep delivers peace of mind by combining wellness and protection in one device.”

Sewon Intelligence, a healthtech innovator, specialises in non-contact biometric monitoring. The company is committed to integrating smart, non-invasive solutions into daily life to support both wellness and safety. With the launch of Just On Sleep on Shopee Singapore, Sewon Intelligence is making strides in redefining sleep safety and wellness for the region.
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Digital Edge Singapore Holdings and B.Grimm Power Public Company Limited have commenced construction on their first joint data centre in Thailand, marking a significant step in the country’s digital infrastructure development. The 100-megawatt campus, located in Chonburi within Thailand’s Eastern Economic Corridor, is part of a US$1b investment plan to establish hyperscale and AI-ready data centres across the nation. The project, announced in June, is expected to be ready for service by Q4 2026.

The data centre will serve as a critical hub for AI and cloud service providers expanding in Southeast Asia, offering high-density colocation, advanced interconnectivity, and hybrid cloud solutions. This initiative is designed to meet the growing demand for AI and machine learning capabilities, supporting enterprises undergoing digital transformations.

John Freeman, CEO of Digital Edge, highlighted the project’s significance: “Breaking ground on our first campus in Chonburi is a pivotal moment for Digital Edge. Together with B.Grimm Power, we are delivering AI-ready sustainable infrastructure at a scale and speed that matches the ambitions of our customers and the needs of the region.”

The facility will be powered by B.Grimm Power’s renewable energy portfolio, aligning with Thailand’s sustainability goals. Dr Harald Link, Group President of B.Grimm Power, stated, “Today’s groundbreaking marks the next step in our partnership to realise our shared vision of combining green energy and advanced technology to power Thailand’s digital future.”

This development is expected to strengthen Thailand’s position as a leading digital hub in Southeast Asia, catering to global tech leaders and supporting the country’s rapid digital transformation.
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