Singapore

Food prices spiked 17% during the month.

Tourist arrivals and retail sales already affected by unrest are tipped to worsen.

Mild price hikes on imports and economic conditions will contain inflation in the near-term.

Visitor arrivals were down by 51.5% in December.

Retailers gearing up for 2020 may have been urged to double down on technology to deliver the elusive optimal customer experience that hits all the right notes across the virtual and physical worlds of commerce. However, even as the expectations of the next generation consumers are at an all-time high thanks to unrelenting tech evangelism, retailers from Singapore to Hong Kong remain divided on differentiating trends from fad and investing in the latest retail tech obsession du jour.

Wanchai/Causeway Bay recorded the largest rental decline.

Some international retailers closed their shops amidst unrest.

About 378,000 sqft of office space was affected by withdrawals.

This marks the seventh straight month of decline.

Rents in Russell Street can go as high as $2,745 psf per year.

Unemployment levels in consumption and tourism-related segments were at the highest in two years.

This marks them as the first company in Singapore to obtain a prepaid license from Mastercard.

It will take effect on April 2020.

Sale and purchase agreements dropped to 4,090 transactions.

Consequently, talent acquisition is a challenge for 2 in 3 fintech firms.

This is the sixth tender exercise for government land sales to be cancelled since 2014.