Commenting on brands using generative AI in their ads, SMU Professor of Marketing (Practice) and Associate Dean (Impact) of SMU’s Lee Kong Chian School of Business Sabine Benoit said that mediocre advertising tends to irritate consumers, irrespective of whether AI was used or not. She stated that using AI can signal that the company has not put much effort into the product, and that can come across as negligible which is the opposite of the signals the organisations want to send.
Commenting on Tiger Beer preparing to cease its brewing operations in Singapore by the end of 2027, SMU Assistant Professor of Organisational Behaviour & Human Resources Nina Sirola noted that for many employees, Tiger Beer is intertwined with the story of a home-grown brand that became internationally famous, and they may see themselves as “custodians of a Singaporean institution”. As a result, those affected may feel three losses at once: a job, a close-knit workplace community and connection to a brand woven into the Singapore story.
Commenting on Pinduoduo’s intensified promotional efforts, SMU Associate Professor of Finance Fu Fangjian said greater competition in the local e-commerce market would generally benefit consumers by providing more choices and driving continued improvements in service quality. However, Assoc Prof Fu noted that the trend would inevitably place further pressure on brick-and-mortar retailers.
Commenting on Treasury bills (T-bills) losing steam, SMU Assistant Professor of Finance (Education) Aurobindo Ghosh suggested considering a mix of equities and bonds that matches their risk appetite, including low-cost, passive investments such as exchange-traded funds. He noted that many investors perceive equity investing as similar to gambling, while assuming assets earning around 2% annually are sufficient when long-term inflation is at or above that level.
Commenting on the struggles of provision shops to keep open, SMU Associate Professor of Strategy & Entrepreneurship Chen Liang said delivery options from minimart chains and convenience stores operating around the clock had further piled the pressure on small shops. He added that a lot of provision shops work because the family isn't really paying itself as the next generation can earn far more elsewhere, so nobody takes over.
SMU Assistant Professor of Finance Shihao Yu co-authored a working paper with Stanford researchers and examined roughly two months of five-minute bitcoin contracts. They found unusually large orders on Binance in the final seconds before settlement, followed by rapid price reversals in bitcoin.
Commenting on the impact of the Johor Bahru-Singapore Rapid Transit System (RTS) Link on Singapore businesses, SMU Assistant Professor of Strategy & Entrepreneurship (Education) Terence Fan pointed out that to leverage quality, stores cannot just focus on their service standards. He noted how similar goods – even of the same brand – sold in different markets may be manufactured by different factories and may have slightly different ingredient formulations.
Commenting on the rise in China’s Consumer Price Index (CPI), SMU Associate Professor of Finance Fu Fangjian said that the data show China is still in a state of strong supply and weak demand. He added that the latest data again reflects the strong growth of new economic drivers in China, represented by artificial intelligence (AI) and high-end manufacturing, but the real estate and traditional manufacturing sectors remain sluggish, with weak demand.
Commenting on the series of sanctions imposed by the US government on Chinese companies, SMU Associate Professor of Finance Fu Fangjian said that China's current countermeasures are flexible, and measures such as drone export controls will have a substantial impact on the United States. However, he stated that whether China will strictly enforce them depends on the US's subsequent reaction.
Commenting on Metro’s shift to capsule concept, SMU Lee Kong Chian Professor of Marketing and Deputy Dean (Research) Kapil Tuli said the shift is a necessary reaction to market forces. He observed that the financial commitment required in terms of rent, deposit, dedicated headcount, and maintenance is significantly larger when operating a large-scale department store.
