Breaking through to the next level

THIS WEEK'S TOPIC: How would the Phase Two reopening of the economy change the business prospects for your organisation?

Yeoh Oon Jin Executive Chairman PwC Singapore

Our greatest challenge today is striking the right balance between our people's safety and resuming full business activities amid the ongoing Covid-19 situation. I believe that the Phase Two reopening is timely. It will be a welcome boost to sustain businesses, big and small alike.

Phase Two will allow more of our employees to return to work within a protected environment. It will allow us to improve our face-to-face coaching of our staff, have important client meetings in person, as well as organise small-scale client events in our office that will help rebuild our sales pipeline. We also look forward to the partial lifting of business travel restrictions, which is critical for some parts of our business.

Lawrence Loh Director, Centre for Governance, Institutions and Organisations NUS Business School

The phased reopening is about a safe transition to mitigate the lingering threat of Covid-19. The phases are artificially constructed, but one thing is real - the relentless need for businesses to be operable under all circumstances. There has been a very big push for digitalisation, which often is the singular focus. But digitalisation is not the be-all and end-all - it is not an end in itself. The more fundamental mandate is transformation. We have to change the business model, and digitalisation is, in our current context, the most effective means. We are not just trying to move from good to great, but have to adopt a new paradigm of ''good to going'' - ensuring our businesses are able to keep going forever.

Victor Mills Chief Executive Singapore International Chamber of Commerce

With more businesses able to operate under Phase Two, more will stand a better chance of surviving. The more businesses survive, the more jobs are saved, and the better off we will all be. The dilemma for governments everywhere is finding the elusive balance between continuing to protect public health while mitigating the economic fallout of the pandemic. Phase Two is not a return to pre-pandemic norms. Quite the contrary - Phase Two will see more businesses building on the new modes of working, living, innovating and collaborating to which they have adapted so quickly during the circuit breaker period and Phase One.

Ivan Ferrari Event Director, Tech, Media & Entertainment Events Informa Markets

The impact of Covid-19 on Singapore's meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions (MICE) industry has been immense. While trade fairs are not allowed in Phase Two, this is a pivotal moment for the industry to radically transform itself and offer a powerful and seamless multichannel approach for the communities we serve, as opposed to a single physical meeting point that happens only once a year. For instance, ConnecTechAsia, Asia's leading infocomm media and technology event, has turned to a virtual platform and a 365-day marketplace enriched by multiple digital products at regular intervals. With the help of innovative technologies, this is the way forward for the trade show industry.

Kristy Castleton Founder & MD Rebel & Soul

Phase Two is welcomed but primarily, not for business. Whether you are a company that can resume partial operations now or you are wholly reliant on Phase Three, the prospects of your organisation will not shift back to where they were pre-Covid - that will likely take months if not years. The opportunity is using this time wisely to pivot your business to ensure that it can operate online as well as offline, as current reports would indicate that this will not be the end of this pandemic, nor can we rule out another.

Where Phase Two will have the most dramatic impact is on people's wellbeing, on Singapore's mental health. Stress-related illnesses can cost businesses hundreds of billions in lost productivity each year and that statistic was drawn up pre-pandemic. We welcome the opportunity to connect in person with the community, with family and friends, as the first step to relieving stress. We welcome the prospect of forging strong, more supportive ties with clients, suppliers and partners so that when another situation arises where we all need help, we each have a strong network in place to do just that.

Pascal Lambert Group Country Head, Singapore Head of South East Asia and India Societe Generale

While we welcome Phase Two of Singapore's reopening, we will continue to exercise caution and adhere to safe management principles at the workplace. We look forward to meeting clients and prospects face-to-face with safe distancing, but will also maintain virtual meetings and telecommunications that have allowed our teams to stay close with clients and keep track of their changing business needs. Maintaining close virtual contact across our remote teams enables us to continue collaborating and providing efficient, innovative solutions to our clients. We remain committed to our employees' health and safety, and will promote telecommuting as a default in Phase Two. To help our people stay connected, we will continue with regular town halls, staff and community engagement initiatives, which we are confident will build a stronger camaraderie for when we eventually return to the workplace.

Christopher Wehner Managing Director BMW Group Asia

In Phase Two, we will finally be able to welcome customers back to the showrooms where they can personally experience and test the unique driving behaviour of our cars. While our digital platforms have worked very well in the past couple of months, physical touch is still key before customers make their purchase.

However, we'll unfortunately only be able to commence selling cars once Certificate of Entitlement (COE) bidding resumes. The automotive value chain is highly interconnected - as such, Phase Two is not only vital for us to regain traction, but also for car brands like BMW to contribute to the overall economy in Singapore.

Jeffery Tan Group General Counsel & Chief Sustainability Officer Jardine Cycle & Carriage

Phase Two reopening of business will be a curious blend of the familiar and the demands of a new environment: From having to adopt social distancing and safety arrangements to heightened levels of anxiety over the possible risk of infection. Businesses will need to find effective ways of manufacturing, providing services, doing sales and interacting with customers that keep Covid-19 in check; and yet securing livelihoods and living our lives in this new normal.

This requires the collective wisdom, innovation and pragmatism of everyone in Singapore - remaining agile and constantly adjusting to find the new equilibrium.

Alain Deniau CEO & Board Practice Leader in Singapore Heidrick & Struggles

At Heidrick & Struggles, we stand by our clients as the circuit breaker measures lift. As planning and leadership are key to overcome the crisis, we expect our prospects to stay strong.

We are here to assist businesses across industries through executive search, assessment, and leadership consulting. Beyond having agility and empathy, leaders need to be well-equipped with soft skills in order to rally their organisations, mobilise their team and execute their strategy for ''the day after''. As restrictions lift, they must learn and adapt fast, and find new ways of doing business while protecting their core activities as conditions change.

This is where we step in with our experienced teams' broad and deep insights, to help our clients continue to thrive in uncertain times.

John Bittleston Founder and Chair Terrific Mentors International Pte Ltd

Covid-19 meant that the areas of mentoring, coaching, training and facilitation all saw demands for help from people looking for replacement jobs, as well as those seeing an opportunity to move up the career ladder. Phase Two will see further redundancies and more movement in the C-suite, senior jobs and middle management market.

The most significant thing that has happened has been the increasing awareness of the need for the services we supply. Mentoring, coaching, training and facilitating have significantly increased due to the disruption, and not just because of job changes. Higher quality performance is being demanded everywhere. It is indeed a time for renewal.

Nick Jonsson Managing Director EGN Singapore

This is a period of flux and uncertainty, and business leaders will benefit from having peer groups where they can discuss their plans and challenges going forward. While we will not resume physical group meetings just yet, the move to Phase Two is a welcome sign that we can soon proceed to a hybrid model combining online and in-person meetings. As executives are beginning to tire of video call after video call, I expect the ability to combine the convenience of digital meetings with the experience of face-to-face group meetings to be a great opportunity for us.

Tony Cripps Chief Executive Officer HSBC Singapore

In Singapore, HSBC continues to focus on supporting ASEAN's infrastructure development with sustainable financing, and deepening our share in the Asian wealth market. Our strategy remains the same even if the circumstances in which we support our customers have altered. As Singapore moves into Phase Two, we expect the usage of digital banking and investment channels to grow as customers have become more accustomed to using their mobile devices to bank and invest. Over the past weeks, we have introduced close to 50 remote-enabled processes and customer servicing journeys. We will continue to focus on building a bank of the future that blends the best technology and data intelligence with the power of our people. What this means is that we will continue to improve our mobile-centred capabilities that will enable our customers to be seamlessly supported and served across digital and in-person channels.

Bernardo Parlange VP and GM, Institutional Ecolab Southeast Asia

As food and beverage (F&B) outlets and hawker centres resume dine-in services, we will see businesses stepping up their cleaning and sanitation efforts to regain consumer trust and confidence. These cleaning and sanitation efforts are set to be the new standard in the new normal, lasting beyond Phase Two. As a leader in water, hygiene and infection prevention solutions and services, Ecolab expects strong demand for our solutions and services to help deliver the highest standard of cleanliness and food safety. This includes more stringent training on cleaning and disinfecting protocols, and reopening checklists to help ensure a safe customer experience.

Choe Peng Sum Chief Executive Officer Pan Pacific Hotels Group

Phase Two - a cautious approach, yet catering to pent-up demands for social gatherings. With safety, cleanliness and hygiene at the top of everyone's minds, consumers will seek out trusted establishments that take them seriously. ''Pan Pacific Cares'' is our assurance to guests that their safety and well-being remains our utmost priority. We have collaborated with Diversey to use hospital-grade disinfectants along with elevated cleaning protocols and re-engineered processes, such as introducing a la carte buffets and contactless procedures.

Business pick-ups will be slow as Singapore is highly dependent on international travel. However, most borders are still closed. Hotels will depend on mainly regional travels especially from the ''travel bubble'' countries. Major gatherings and conventions will also take time to come back. Staycations are here to stay.

Chia Ngiang Hong President Real Estate Developers' Association of Singapore (REDAS)

The earlier-than-expected Phase Two reopening is a huge relief. Most businesses are allowed to reopen with safe management in place. Property sales, including show galleries, and leasing activities can also resume. This relaxation is expected to substantially boost business activities, but it remains to be seen what extent to which this will be achieved across the different business segments. I believe that for a sustainable and quick rebound to pre-pandemic level, people all over the world must be confident that the disease is contained or no longer poses a threat, with an effective treatment or vaccine available. Only then can we expect businesses, investments, consumer and social activities and air travel to recover uninhibitedly, serving pent-up demand and hopefully firing up a strong economic rebound.

John Butler MD, APAC and MENA Linesight

It is promising to see the economy headed in the right direction. Given our experience in the construction sector, we foresee the pandemic having a significant influence in reshaping demands across the various construction sectors which include commercial, data centres, retail, hospitality and industrial. For instance, the increased reliance on virtual connections has led to a surge in demand for data centres. In the long run, businesses will also need to re-conceptualise physical workplaces according to the new norms to comply with safe distancing measures. These trends naturally present an opportunity for us which will materialise after the reopening. Given Singapore's economic resilience and international reputation, we are confident that this is the beginning of the next upturn.

Uno Motohiko President Fujitsu Asia

As companies gradually resume operations, they are likely to look into improving their digital dexterity and drive productivity through new and sustainable digital workplace solutions. Companies may also be recalibrating their business strategies to consider new business processes, such as opening up new sales channels, thus increasing their investment on technology. As a leading digital transformation service provider, Fujitsu looks forward to leveraging on our experience to help enterprises reap the benefits of a connected, collaborative and innovative workplace environment, as well as deliver added value through customised digital services and solutions.

Eryk Lee Chief Executive Officer AAM Advisory

It is really exciting to see our economy reopening. Human beings are social animals; the ability to socialise with others will have a positive effect on our mental well-being. While we can conduct business and social discussions over video, trust and rapport can be better established through face-to-face meetings, especially for new acquaintances with whom one wants to build a relationship. For many businesses, building trust is the key to success. It could be establishing trust with a client, a business partner or any other important stakeholders, in order to promote your company, services or products. Trust is a concept that can be measured using four variables: credibility, reliability, intimacy and self-orientation. Credibility, reliability and intimacy can be better established through face-to-face meetings, a business lunch or a golf game. It is much harder with a video call. Hence, the Phase Two reopening of the economy is critical for many companies, and even more so for the wealth management and private banking industries.

Renzo Taal Senior Vice President, Asia Salesforce

Covid-19 has been an unexpected accelerator for digital transformation in business, and this digital momentum will progress beyond the pandemic. As Singapore reopens, we believe in putting people at the heart of business recovery. Salesforce has been working hard to empower our workforce as well as that of our customers and the community, with the agility to enter and thrive in the new norm. Work.com is our way of guiding our customers across industries to reopen and recover swiftly, safely and responsibly.

Ronak Shah Chief Executive Officer QBE Insurance (Singapore) Pte Ltd

As Phase Two begins, we will no doubt see most businesses open up, eager to return to life as we knew it before the pandemic. The return presents many new opportunities. Covid-19 has shown us how technology helps optimise operations and create new ways of communicating and doing business. Rather than reverting to old norms, it would be prudent for firms to adopt new strategies built around technology and the digital economy in their forward plans. With all industries - especially traditional ones - innovating during this period, firms may also start to face new risks unfamiliar to them. We are keen to work together with our partners and clients on this, helping the transition towards new, more efficient and creative ways of doing business in the post-pandemic economy.

Svend Janssen Head of Asia Western Union Business Solutions

At Western Union, we have quickly adapted to remote work with operations running as usual due to a robust business continuity programme (which includes working from home) that is regularly updated and audited. Even at the start of the circuit breaker, our clients did not experience any interruption to the usual high service and fulfilment standards. Phase Two still means that teams will largely work remotely, which we welcome. With businesses reopening, we expect a general recovery of the usual corporate and small and medium-sized enterprises (SME) activities. We will start to meet clients face-to-face again, with strict adherence to safety standards - something we are really looking forward to.

These uncertain times have served to highlight the necessity for enterprises to employ proper risk management strategies to help protect bottom lines and profit margins.

Edmund Lee Managing Director Singapore TMF Group

The Phase Two reopening of the economy will be a welcome reprieve to many who have been operating under remote conditions, including TMF Group. The circuit breaker measures have had a detrimental impact on the economy and many of our clients, particularly those in the retail sector, have been severely affected and overwhelmed by the shutdown.

Many restrictions are still in place and while we foresee many companies adopting a conservative approach to business development in the coming months, Phase Two remains a critical step for economic recovery. It will allow for a release of pent-up consumer demand and resumption of consumer retail activities.

We will have to start taking immediate actions to assess the knock-on effect of our clients' businesses and carefully monitor the effects of increased activity to appropriately support their key stakeholders across a wide spectrum of industries. The Phase Two reopening will hopefully be the first step towards a stabilisation of the new normal.

Pierre Samson Senior VP, APAC Alcatel-Lucent Enterprise

We are all looking forward to having some sense of normalcy back in our lives. To be able to venture outdoors and do some of the things that we used to take for granted but could not during the circuit breaker will be great. However, for us, the battle against the pandemic is not over. For our customers, business continuity and empowering their staff to work effectively from home will remain a priority. We will also have to remain focused on equipping customers, especially those in key sectors like government, healthcare and education, with modern communication tools and networking technologies. This crisis magnifies how crucial it is for organisations to maintain their connectivity and transform digitally, even as we keep our distances physically.

Anneliese Schulz President, Asia Pacific Japan Software AG

As Singapore reopens its economy in Phase Two, it would be even more critical for businesses to future-proof themselves against similar crises. The global pandemic and unsettled economies can serve as invaluable lessons on the importance of building resilience and agility in such challenging times.

Business continuity and success will depend on strengthening the ecosystems organisations operate in, and they need to push themselves to be more ambitious and creative in defining impact . At Software AG, we will continue to support enterprises to transform digitally, assisting them to respond effectively in ''business-as-unusual'' times as we transition into this new normal.

Mario Singh Chief Executive Officer Fullerton Markets

As an entrepreneur, my heart goes out to all the businesses which have been affected by the pandemic. Local F&B favourites like Modesto's and Starker have shut down, while international names like retail giant JC Penney, car rental company Hertz and shoe chain Aldo have all gone bankrupt.

With the Phase Two reopening, our new normal comes in two forms: work and travel. On the work front, all of us are still working from home as much as possible. On the travel front, many trips scheduled from July to the end of the year have been cut down, especially if meetings can be done via Zoom.

A positive note for business is that due to the combined effect of global government directives to stay home and increased market volatility arising from central banks' quantitative easing measures, we have seen an uptick in the opening of client accounts all around the world.

Mitch Young SVP, Asia Pacific and Japan ServiceNow

Phase Two will see many Singapore enterprises look beyond business continuity to focus on resuming workplace activities and finding better ways for employees to work from anywhere in this new normal.

ServiceNow is already seeing strong appetite for our Safe Workplace apps from customers in government, education and health sectors to help navigate their operations and manage their staff safely. There are many processes that human resources (HR), legal, facilities and finance need to be ready for in Phase Two. Whether you are responsible for delivering the best employee, customer or information technology (IT) experience, leveraging ServiceNow's ''platform of platforms'' and digital workflows will help enterprises ensure the safety of their employees, the community and set up their staff to work from anywhere.

Lee Siang Chief Executive Officer Dyslexia Association of Singapore

For an educational services provider, Phase Two brings both complexity and potential. After moving our classes online due to the circuit breaker, the Dyslexia Association of Singapore now has two sets of clients: those who wish to return to our learning centres for classes, and those who wish to continue with online teaching. It is a challenge to organise and conduct both types of classes. At the same time, the continued provision of online teaching means we can reach out to and support many more clients who have difficulty accessing our physical classes. This includes lower-income families who now have access to laptops and the Internet due to kind donations by various organisations. We will continue to embrace evolving changes and work through challenges for the benefit of our students.

Eric Bramoullé Head of South Asia Amundi

We faced an unprecedented situation in Phase One with 95 per cent of our staff working from home. Asset managers were operationally put to the test, and Covid-19 accelerated the industry's digital drive.

During the circuit breaker period, investor sentiment was driven by the pandemic and the extreme financial market volatility that came along with it. As a result, several projects were postponed, but not cancelled. It underscored, more than ever, the need for savings solutions in these uncertain times.

Phase Two will not be a game-changer on our business prospects, but we might see a re-activation of previously suspended projects. It will also be a test of investors' appetite for savings solutions.

The real game-changer will be when we resume face-to-face client meetings as a default option - an experience that digital tools can only partially fill.

Neville Vincent VP, South Asia Pacific Nutanix

There was little impact on our daily operations during Covid-19, as Nutanix was already well-practised in ''work from anywhere'' with strong policies, procedures and governance in place. There is now a new business reality, which is accelerating a shift to a multi-cloud world (public, private and hybrid). What customers want and value, and what and how we deliver it, has fundamentally changed.

The businesses that survive will emerge from this turmoil leaner, more efficient, more productive, and more adaptable - reliant on software, cloud, and automation to help them deliver more with less. Nutanix will be there to help them adapt to this new reality.

Tomas O'Farrell Co-Founder Workana

Phase Two brings positive energy as businesses reopen and adapt to the new normal, and Workana sees these times as a boost to the gig economy. There are businesses that have made adjustments to their operations because of the losses they incurred over the lockdown period, thus paving the way for the opening of more project-based opportunities. Also, as a result of the pandemic, we now observe growth in the number of digital roles which are mainly offered on a freelance or part-time basis. On the other hand, professionals who lost jobs to downsizing are turning to freelancing as an alternative means of making a living.

Saikrishnan Ranganathan CEO & Co-Founder SensorFlow

Singapore's Phase Two highlights recovery patterns across neighbouring Asian countries. As international travel bubbles emerge, SensorFlow's sales teams - keeping in mind their safety and well-being - will start travelling to provide unique offerings to assist our hospitality prospects in their recovery and engage with new clients.

SensorFlow is well-equipped to help hotels bounce back faster from the Covid-19 impact, by optimising human capacity and resource consumption through artificial intelligence (AI) automation and remote control of heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems - at no upfront cost. We are also developing enhanced productivity and software features for a more comprehensive solution to support hotels in maximising operational efficiency and team productivity.

Ronnie Lee General Manager Lenovo Singapore

While the reopening allows for more movement, our emphasis and focus remain on our employees' and customers' safety. Our employees are encouraged to continue working remotely where possible, and practise safe distancing and good hygiene habits.

We have seen increasing demand for devices such as personal computers (PCs) and accessories in recent times. In addition to our customer service centre, we will be reopening our flagship store at Funan to better serve those demands. We have various safe distancing measures in place, including a one-metre gap between display sets and customers, provision of hand sanitisers, and entry limitations to control and reduce crowding. Our commercial customers will continue to be served online and virtually.

We look forward to continuing our business as usual, and to receiving all customers.

Michael Gerber Chief Executive Officer 360F

I expect there will be a dichotomy between those in digital services who think everything will return to our previous perception of ''normal'', and those who push for transformation to a new version of it. In the near term however, the latter will dominate, as in the short term, there is no ''normal''. I expect consumers to be willing to spend, including on the consumption of financial services.

Sandeep Bhargava MD, Asia Pacific and Japan Rackspace Technology

This second phase of reopening Singapore's economy includes resuming in-person meetings with customers, which will have positive benefits for all companies including Rackspace Technology. Organisations have recognised the importance of continuing to pursue their digitalisation plans to be flexible during an uncertain recovery, and of getting the support needed to maximise these investments.

Adam Judd Senior Vice President, APCJ F5

At F5, we have implemented our validated and tested business continuity plan (BCP) even before the pandemic, which enabled our teams to continue supporting our customers' needs even in today's volatile climate.

As we steer towards the next normal, we foresee that many organisations will continue to opt for remote working, while focusing on accelerating digital transformation efforts. As such, we will see more organisations prioritising application delivery and security to achieve this seamless transition to continue operations uninterrupted.

First and foremost, organisations must create and execute on a workplace pandemic preparedness plan, along with robust BCPs. In addition, they also need to gain visibility across their entire application landscape to efficiently manage application health and performance, so that they can make impactful business decisions at speed.

Benjamin Low Regional Vice President Milestone Systems

Technology adoption has accelerated in the past few months in the fight against Covid-19. Singapore had to cope with one of the highest numbers of novel coronavirus cases in South-east Asia, but heavy investments in tech tools played a part in circumventing manpower constraints and defending frontline workers as well as citizens.

As we move on to Phase Two, video technologies - such as automated heat mapping and distance detection - can help businesses kickstart the economy, while ensuring compliance with safety measures. This is in line with Singapore's push for digital transformation, where investing in innovative technology will become a key component for BCPs, providing an edge in seizing opportunities in a post-Covid world.

Milestone Systems remains committed to supporting these businesses with their digital transformation journey, even as we work towards Phase Three and the new normal.

Wolfgang Baier Group CEO Luxasia Group

Luxury beauty retail is one of Luxasia's critical success factors as a brand-builder. While the wider resumption of retail is indeed welcome news and bodes well for us, we remain cautiously optimistic. This year has been a rigorous test of Luxasia's digital and customer relationship management (CRM) competencies, given the throttling of physical retail. We have seen up to 10 times sales growth across our 300 or so online brand stores compared to the first half of 2019, validating our transformation investments into becoming more omni-channel. As Singapore reopens further, the health and well-being of both our staff and consumers remain the top priority; all necessary social-distancing measures and customer service procedures are already firmly in place.

John Ng Chief Executive Officer YTL PowerSeraya

As a power generation company, YTL PowerSeraya is ready to support the gradual reopening of the economy, where Phase Two will allow more businesses to operate. While this is expected to result in a recovery of electricity consumption levels in the commercial and industrial sector, we believe it will take some time before it returns to pre-Covid levels. As utilities expenses form an important part of business costs, coupled with the unpredictability of oil prices caused by the pandemic, we are prepared to form stronger partnerships with our customers to help them better manage their costs.

On the other hand, households' electricity consumption may have increased due to more people working from home since the circuit breaker period. Yet, how this affects future electricity demand is dependent on the pandemic's impact on households' purchasing power and, ultimately, people's confidence in our economic recovery.

To meet the service demands of our customers, we have sped up our digitalisation drive as an organisation to serve changing behaviours as part of the new normal.

Axel Berkling Executive Vice President KONE Asia Pacific

Singapore's Phase Two reopening entails greater movement as mobility restrictions ease. Our business is dependent on people movement. However, as more people return to work and more organisations open for business, we need to continue to stay conscious about the public's health and well-being.

As an enabler of people flow, KONE will continue to support the increased usage of shared spaces in the wider society. We have introduced new health and wellbeing solutions for our customers - an elevator air purifier, which will improve air quality in elevator cars, and hand-rail sanitiser, which enables continuous chemical-free cleaning of escalator hand-rails. In our own office, we have installed touchless access systems for employee safety.

Andrew Au Regional MD, Asia Pacific Eight Inc

As a global design consultancy, most of our clients and projects are not in Singapore, so moving to Phase Two does not materially affect the way we work or our business prospects going forward. Eventual easing of travel restrictions is the meaningful change that will more significantly impact our business.

Toby Koh Group MD Ademco Security Group

The construction and related industries will be thankful to get started again. Over the last couple of months, most projects have come to a complete halt. The business cost timelines continue regardless, while the productive timelines entered hibernation. Thank goodness for all the financial support from the government to cushion the blow. A quick dash out of the starting gates would be the natural instinct, but we all know it will take time to get back to full efficiency.

We have a substantial backlog of projects for execution for which we are planning a speedy implementation in order to rescue our financial year numbers by December 31. We all need to play our part to ensure a second major outbreak does not occur, or our economy may be headed for a catastrophe.

Christina Teo Executive Director Singapore Association of Pharmaceutical Industries (SAPI)

As manufacturers and suppliers of biopharmaceuticals essential for people's health, our industry has been provided with great support by the Singapore government throughout the Covid-19 crisis. As we enter Phase Two and beyond, we look forward to continued close cooperation and policy consultation with the government to ensure that Singapore remains a global manufacturing, research and development (R&D) and logistics hub, despite recent global trends towards protectionist mindsets.

Moray Armstrong Managing Director CBRE Singapore

News of Phase Two's reopening is indeed welcome, enabling many business activities to resume. That said, safe distancing rules and other guidelines will place demands on businesses to ensure swift planning and adaptation to navigate operational complexity. Up to this point in the Covid-19 pandemic, addressing business disruption, tackling deteriorating financial positions and seeking to protect jobs have been the primary focus. From here on, businesses must turn their sights towards evolving demands and the transformations that will come with them - including agility in operations, re-engineering supply chain, and changing real-estate requirements. As the largest global real-estate consultancy services firm, CBRE has been helping our clients across multiple markets to prepare for the new normal working practices and changing workplace strategies. Here in Singapore, as we transition into the phased reopening of the economy, one certainty remains: the safety and well-being of employees, clients, business partners and vendors will remain the foremost consideration across every decision.

Bill Doherty Chief Executive Officer Walton Global Investments Ltd

The Phase Two reopening of the economy is a welcome change. Walton manages and administers real estate assets in North America on behalf of our investors and business partners globally. Some of our investors prefer face-to-face meetings for a more confidential discussion on their investment portfolios. They are not inclined to do it remotely.

The two months of circuit breaker forced us to organise meetings for large groups of investors virtually. Webinars have been organised for participants to listen to experts' views on the outlook of the housing market in the US and Canada without flying in the speakers. This saves costs and time.

In the future, a combination of both virtual and face-to-face meetings will be the new norm for Walton.

Hari V Krishnan CEO & MD PropertyGuru Group

When lLooking specifically at the Singapore property market, PropertyGuru has seen the average number of week-on-week residential enquiries continue to grow strongly since the end of the circuit breaker period on June 1.

We see a couple of key reasons for this upswing. Well-capitalised investors may have begun active scouting for good property deals in this opportune time of softened prices and interest rates due to increased competition amongst banks and developers. At the same time, hopeful Housing Development Board (HDB) upgraders, fuelled by the record high number of HDB Minimum Occupancy Period (MOP) flats this year, may have also resumed hunting for their next milestone home.

This positive pickup in market momentum is testament to the resilience of the Singapore property market and its ability to weather a global crisis. We are confident that enquiry numbers will continue to rise in the coming weeks, as Singapore eases into Phase Two and physical property viewings recommence.

David Becker MD, Head of Asia Pacific Broadridge Financial Solutions

The Phase Two economic reopening is a positive development for Singapore's finance industry. With the economic engine restarting, we expect that digitisation, mutualisation, operational flexibility and resiliency will continue to be top priorities, as financial firms aim to both increase business activity and prudently manage the risks from the pandemic. As a result, banks in particular are likely to continue hiring in tech-related roles. Broadridge will be working with our clients to help transform their operations and get ready for what is next, as the pandemic accelerates the speed of AI, blockchain, the Cloud, and digital technology adoption.

Rahul Nambiar CEO and Co-Founder Botsync

Botsync is a robotics startup specialising in autonomous mobile robotic solutions for the manufacturing and logistics industry, and we do not foresee major changes in our business operations in Phase Two. We will continue implementing social distancing measures and conduct external meetings virtually, to ensure employees' safety.

However, while virtual meetings are a viable alternative, they can lack the critical social interactiveness that builds team spirit and strengthens business relationships. In the new phase, we are working to implement better ways of official interactions to ensure transparency of information and seamless understanding among teams and clients, globally.

Kwek Kok Kwong Chief Executive Officer NTUC LearningHub

NTUC LearningHub's goal has always been to help workers stay relevant in changing times through reskilling and upskilling. As Singapore moves into Phase Two, we see adaptive and digital skills becoming crucial ingredients of success as workers navigate through a dynamic environment with twists and turns ahead. We recently surveyed over 200 employers, and the most coveted skills were in areas such as adaptability and resilience, digital marketing, project management and data analysis. We will therefore roll out more of such courses to help workers.

As the economy reopens, we recognise that they will get busier and we will find innovative ways for them to balance work and learning by offering various modalities of learning. For example, we have transitioned over 100 of our most popular courses to virtual delivery, and have also partnered industry leaders such as IBM, Dupont and GO1 for bite-sized online courses. We will continue to bring in world-class knowledge to help companies and workers adapt in this new order.

Nick Lim GM, Asia Pacific and Japan TIBCO

We are glad that Singapore is now safely entering Phase Two reopening of the economy, which will support the resumption of business operations. As we did during the circuit breaker period, we will continue our commitment to collaborating with our partners and supporting our customers, especially in providing them with data-driven solutions that intelligently predict outcomes and result in faster, smarter business decisions. While turning data into innovation continues to be our DNA, we at TIBCO strive to bring data science closer to our partners and customers, helping them to grow their businesses despite these unprecedented times.

Stephen McNulty President, Asia Pacific and Japan Micro Focus

The start of Singapore's reopening and recovery stage is heartening news for businesses. While Micro Focus continues work-from-home practices to ensure the safety of our employees, we welcome the opportunity to interact more with our local customers.

During the lockdown, we observed an unprecedented pace of digital transformation across different key sectors. Micro Focus has been actively facilitating access to complementary digital resources to tide organisations through the crisis.

In Phase Two, we expect more enterprises to start reflecting on and prioritising efforts towards digitalisation for future growth. Micro Focus looks forward to supporting our partners and customers in strengthening the local business ecosystem and powering continuity capabilities.

Vikas Nahata Co Founder Validus

With the gradual transition back to working on-site for many businesses, as Singapore's largest SME financing platform, we expect there will be more projects resuming and jobs completed in the coming weeks. As a result, we expect pent-up demand to result in greater volumes in the later half of this month and early next month. We look to progress alongside our SMEs with a positive outlook for businesses to not only recover, but to also grow.

Benjamin Tan Vice President Ultimaker Asia Pacific

There seems to be some semblance of normality as Singapore enters its Phase Two reopening. However, the pandemic has left severe destructions in its trail, forcing businesses to shape up or ship out. While waiting for the storm to pass, we have been sharpening our tools so we are ready to seize opportunities when the time is ripe. We took this time to deepen skills in our partners and employees through multiple e-trainings, continuously engaged customers and potential ones via virtual site scans, and realigned business strategies internally. Hence, we are confident that we will ride out the storm relatively unscathed and emerge even stronger.

Sudhir Agarwal Chief Executive Officer Everise

Pre-pandemic, Everise had 10 per cent of its people working from home. We had invested in premium technology architecture and business intelligence to ensure a high level of compliance, security and quality, which enabled us in March to migrate 95 per cent of our workforce to successfully deliver service across the globe from home. With the economy reopening, safety remains our number one concern. To address this, we plan to blend an approach for our full-time employees to work-at-home and work-at-office. With this, we hope to optimise flexibility, mitigate risk and address as-yet unknown outcomes.

Reshmi Khurana MD and Head, Southeast Asia Business Intelligence & Investigations

We expect Phase Two to have a positive impact on various stakeholders including our employees, vendors and clients. As employees start interacting cautiously with each other and with friends and family, it should boost their morale, which should translate into greater productivity. We also expect to start seeing our clients again, albeit gradually, which will allow us to serve them better on existing projects, but also help identify new challenges and opportunities that the clients and their portfolio companies will face as they emerge from the pandemic. Finally, we expect overall business sentiment to improve as the economy moves towards the new normal.

Jayaprakash Jagateesan Chief Executive Officer RHT Fintech Holdings

As a technology-focused professional services firm, our early adoption of work-from-home enabled us to maintain our capacity to serve clients throughout this crisis. The gradual reopening of the economy will boost business sentiment from its record low, which marks an improvement in overall prospects as we renew our focus on building the pipeline.

Our clients in heavily impacted industries are experiencing dramatic changes as they begin to resume operations and services during Phase Two. We need to move fast to adapt to their changing needs and priorities. We are keen to resume meeting clients in person with the necessary measures in place, for more focused and effective sessions.

Maren Schweizer Director Schweizer World Pte Ltd

A successful restart requires addressing a large number of interdependent issues simultaneously. Therefore, we focus on increasing the speed of decision making.

For our business-to-consumer (B2C) businesses, household purchasing power and confidence level determine the propensity to consume. We anticipate changes in consumption habits and expectations.

Regarding our business-to-business (B2B) businesses, we focus on strengthening the relationships with our key accounts via an intimate knowledge of our customers' challenges, constraints, opportunities, and aspirations.

Setting commercial priorities are essential. Each portfolio company puts efforts into identifying and capture pockets of profitable growth, while improving data-driven decision-making and data availability.

I believe that new leadership skills are needed in the reopening and beyond. It is time to identify and empower our most entrepreneurial and inclusive leaders.

Malina Platon MD, Strategic Accounts, APAC UiPath

Like many of us, I am very pleased that we are moving into Phase Two. It is great news for Singapore. I think this will have beneficial effects across all industries, from pharmaceuticals and biomedical through to finance and insurance, many of whom have actually leveraged robotic process automation (RPA) to help them through the lockdown period. UiPath has been working with many firms in the region to develop robots that can help them adapt to BCP processes and track the health of their employees who are working remotely.

In Phase Two, many firms will start focusing on recovery, and many of the behaviours and changes adopted during the pandemic will remain with us and affect both the workforce and work itself. Therefore, I see an increase in demand for automation technologies across all sectors including supply chain, contact centre, service industries and others; businesses leverage these technologies to recover and build resilience.

Darren Hawkins Chief Executive Officer SpaceDC Pte Ltd

What we learnt during Covid-19 is that despite being more than capable of working remotely, there is also need for SpaceDC to have face-to-face interaction which can develop richer relationships among our colleagues. This form of communication promotes innovation and new ways of conducting business. We believe that the Phase Two reopening will provide businesses with a greater sense of confidence to recommence growth and activities, which are going to be essential for job activation. This allows our business to plan for more certainty in the future, such as ordering of supplies like critical parts.

Internationally, this will provide greater confidence to other countries in recommencing businesses with Singapore, an important location for global trade.

Dev Dhiman MD, SE Asia & Emerging Markets Experian

With robust BCPs and infrastructure to ensure we can operate without disruption, Experian is well-placed to help businesses and consumers in our communities. We have had conversations with clients and partners to understand how they are managing the situation and how Experian can help. We will continue working with them to respond systematically to a continually evolving situation, while ensuring their business remains resilient. In an era of information overload, our clients will need data-driven insights to help them make the right business decisions. With the reopening of the economy, we know that we can help businesses, and especially SMEs, make that transformation, empowering them to continue creating new opportunities in our new reality.

Jagdish Mahapatra Managing Director CrowdStrike, Asia

Addressing the pandemic landscape, Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat has said: ''A growing and ever-present threat is in cyberspace . . . The digital virus can be as, if not more, damaging than the physical virus''.

With almost half of Singapore's business leaders believing that their companies are now more likely to experience serious cyber attacks, organisations and their enterprise security administrators have been turning to CrowdStrike's cloud-native endpoint security platform to thwart cyber threats that emerge when less secure personal devices and networks are used to work from home.

With the government mandating that telecommuting must remain the default for all businesses in Phase Two, the associated cyber risks will continue to drive an increase in our technologies' relevance and leadership.

David Hope Senior Vice President, APJ ForgeRock

At ForgeRock, we are optimistic about the impact on our business prospects moving forward. Digital transformation across both the private and the public sectors was already in motion well before the pandemic arrived. However, the impact of the global economic lockdown has only served to speed up digital transformation, and driven demand for strategic solutions that help people safely and simply access the connected world. This has placed greater importance on digital security, and thus triggered a strong demand for robust and scalable identity and access management solutions that support organisations to provide an exceptional digital experience for their customers and their employees. Singapore is no exception when it comes to driving strategic digital transformation across its economic landscape, and the Phase Two reopening will help organisations to further ramp up focus and invest in digital transformation initiatives and the associated underlying solutions that make it possible. This combination of factors is, fortunately, driving strong demand in our market. We are partnering with our Singapore-based private and public sector customers to ensure their success on their digital transformation journeys.

Violet Lim CEO & Co-Founder Lunch Actually Group

Since the circuit breaker period, we have pivoted and changed our entire business model to operate virtually - virtual profiling sessions, virtual dates, virtual dating events, webinars and virtual coaching sessions. We are excited about the Phase Two reopening as we know that many singles are looking forward to going on real-life dates again. Even though our clients who have gone on virtual dates have enjoyed the experience, there is nothing like the real thing where you get to see, meet and talk to someone face-to-face. With the Phase Two reopening, we foresee more singles stepping forward to jumpstart their dating journey.

Ng Aik-Phong Managing Director Fave Singapore

Fave is a platform used by tens of thousands of merchants across Singapore including those in F&B, beauty, spa, fitness and leisure activities that were not fully open upon exit from the circuit breaker. As such, the start of Phase Two will give our business a significant boost. We expect our revenues to be double that of May's numbers.

We also see a significant increase in interest by traditional merchants to take advantage of the government's Digital Resilience Bonus to digitalise their businesses. FavePay contactless payment, digital menus via Fave's Table Ordering solutions and online sales through Fave Deals and Fave's eCards digital gift vouchers solutions are seeing an increase in adoption too. Phase Two will usher in an important new wave of local business digital transformation as well.

Thiantara Kruathorn Country Director, Singapore and Brunei Fortinet

Fortinet has been playing our part to support a remote workforce through the circuit breaker period, and the need for telecommuting has created strong demand for Fortinet's technology such as virtual private networks (VPNs), multi-factor authentication, and software-defined networking in a wide area network (SD-WAN) to secure connections. There is still a lot of uncertainty about future economic conditions, but existing Fortinet users have discovered that they already have remote worker solutions embedded in their FortiGate firewalls that can be used at no additional charge. The Phase Two reopening will allow us to better assist our customers to implement business continuity/disaster recovery (BCDR) plans, so they are ready to quickly flip the switch to telecommuting in the future.

Abhishek Deshmukh VP, Engineering & MD, Singapore Zendesk

The circuit breaker period shifted many businesses and their customers online, creating a greater demand for remote, real-time channels like messaging, chat and self-service for customer support. As businesses get back to normal, I believe we will see this continue, as the need for real-time updates on crowd management, contact tracing and safe distancing measures will be ongoing. Our research shows that there has been a 38 per cent uptick in customer inquiries in Singapore compared to this time last year.

Businesses are looking for ways to be more agile in this environment, as quickly as possible, while managing a distributed workforce. While the new normal will continue to evolve, the demand for greater agility, flexibility and time-to-value will remain. We will continue to deliver on these attributes for our customers and see it as an opportunity to help more companies improve their customer experiences as the economy reopens and we all adjust to life in Phase Two.

Shahzad Nasim Group Executive Chairman Meinhardt (Singapore) Pte Ltd

All businesses will invariably welcome the transition to Phase Two reopening of the economy. Considering the highly collaborative nature of our engineering work, we are glad that our design teams in Singapore can ease back into office operations, subject to safety precautions.

This will enable us to restart delivering our ongoing projects in Singapore and globally. We will also be able to re-deploy our site staff of more than 80 to construction sites in Singapore, who were effectively immobilised during the circuit breaker period. Notwithstanding the constraints of circuit breaker measures, we continued to keep communication lines with our clients and other stakeholders open, to strengthen relationships while developing new ones.

Most of our overseas clients are also moving back into physical operations, so we expect an uptick in the pace of work. Our management teams prioritise safety, and are implementing all necessary precautions such as split-team arrangements and staggered entry to the offices, while maintaining the default work-from-home arrangements for our staff as far as possible .

Overall, however, it is probably too early to assess the deleterious effects of this pandemic on businesses, especially in the real estate and infrastructure sectors, as it will also depend on what happens in the region and how quickly things return to normal. Governments have spent a lot of resources supporting their economies during this pandemic, and it is therefore conceivable that many government-financed projects may get deferred or cancelled. For now, all bets are off.

Sharat Sinha VP/GM, Asia Pacific & Japan Check Point Software Technologies Ltd

The Phase Two reopening of the economy is a positive move in Singapore, given that the pandemic is relatively controlled now and healthcare facilities have the capacity to take of the affected population. Cyber security is a critical technology to enable IT and operational technology (OT) infrastructure of businesses and technologies. Therefore, the reopening will allow our customers and partners to better consume Check Point's state-of-the-art cyber security across entire enterprise infrastructures, including remote access that has increased significantly during lockdown. This should allow better productivity across businesses and help towards getting back to business normalcy.

Cheryl Ng CEO and Founder Lemi

The most exciting part about Phase Two is the reopening of small F&B businesses - a group that has struggled tremendously during the circuit breaker period. Lemi is committed to supporting such businesses locally, and we are focusing our efforts towards creating a solution to ensure their speedy recovery. We want to enable people to direct their ''revenge travel'' ambitions locally, through our platform and community that focuses on sharing unique experiences. Exploring restaurants, coffee shops and favourite stores within Singapore will serve as a stepping stone towards playing our part to support the recovery of these businesses, and hence the recovery of the economy.

Arshan Saha Chief Operating Officer Xaxis Asia Pacific

From the start of the lockdown to the opening of the economy in Phase Two, we have seen a continued sharp increase in digital acceleration. This has resulted in a very busy period for us in educating, supporting, and navigating our clients. The automation of media, the ability to address a consumer's needs, and delivery of business outcomes that we offer have served us well in meeting client demand as consumers became fully digitised. The pandemic no doubt has brought many challenges and forced changes for us as a business, be it in workflow processes or effective collaboration. But thanks to our strong culture and focus on innovation, we learned and adapted quickly to overcome many of these challenges.

Stephen Mak VP, BlackBerry Spark, Asia and Japan BlackBerry

The dynamics of remote working is such that organisations will always be exposed to unforeseen threats. This is exacerbated during a pandemic, when resources typically focused on keeping operations running are stretched to cover staff safety as well.

Here is where technology such as crisis communications software, AI-enabled endpoint protection, and secure collaboration tools will continue to play a critical role. At BlackBerry, we have been using our own technology to balance the safety of employees with continuity of operations, while helping customers and partners do the same.

As Singapore enters recovery phase and businesses progressively transition to flexible work and split-team arrangements, organisations must continue to invest in leveraging AI and machine-learning technology to secure systems. Now more than ever, it is crucial to adopt a ''Zero Trust, Zero Touch'' approach that continuously identifies and authenticates employees to keep business data secure and encrypted, while organisations continue to take measures to ensure staff safety.

George Lee VP, Asia Pacific & Japan RSA

While office workers will continue working from home, Phase Two will be a critical period as organisations prepare for the new normal in cyber security. As the economy reopens, the adoption of staggered shifts and a more open policy towards flexible work arrangement will lead to a more complex threat landscape for many of our customers. Security teams must not only continue to protect the remote workforce and the plethora of cloud applications, networks, and devices that they use, but also be aware of the compromised digital assets workers may accumulate and bring back to company systems when they return to their offices. With the increasing volume of threats and a shortage of cyber security talent, our priority during Phase Two will be supporting our customers to re-evaluate their cyber security framework, and build a centralised threat detection and response system that can scale, automate, and extend visibility to the dynamic workforce - in order to build a more resilient business that is fit for the future.

Terence Zou Founder and CEO Ryde Technologies

While Singapore's economy has come to a halt over the past few months, we have used the period as an opportunity to innovate and improve our product offering, and are very much looking forward to rolling this out in Phase Two. The circuit breaker period has accelerated Singaporeans' move online, and has forced us to use and trust digital payments, which are now becoming second nature. Cash will be used less and less, especially given that the elderly are beginning to get more used to digital payments now, again partly due to the circuit breaker period's restrictions which have pushed them online.

As such, Ryde have launched the world's first and only cryptocurrency wallet that allows users to pay for rides using bitcoin within its e-wallet, RydePay. We plan to create a fully decentralised cryptocurrency e-wallet that facilitates all virtual transactions, and believe that Singaporeans will become much more receptive to alternative forms of digital payments following the circuit breaker period. We are excited to get going and add even more cryptocurrencies over the coming months.

Lim Soon Hock Managing Director PLAN-B ICAG

We recognise that any recovery from the Covid-19 will take some time - perhaps until next year - and will continue to look at what can go wrong, to ensure that all our clients' needs can be met in the new normal. Now is a time during which we have to operate as defensive pessimists who will continue to take more precautions than non-defensive pessimists, prepare for the uncertainty, turmoil, and disruptions expected in a prolonged crisis, and to plan for different scenarios of what can go wrong to avoid being caught off-guard by any one contingency. In essence, while prospects will certainly look better for our companies, we will also need to be more prepared than ever to maintain a competitive edge.

We are fortunate that we continue to do well during this crisis because we are in essential services, supporting the maritime industry to ensure that supply lines through sea freight remain open. For example, turbo engines onboard vessels need to be serviced in both good and bad times. To win more prospects in Phase Two, we will have to continue to assure our clients that it is safe to do business with us - by implementing anti-Covid measures, while providing the same (if not higher) quality of service and reliability we have always offered.

Jeffry Ho Regional Managing Director Wirecard

Local business owners need to be prepared to continue adapting quickly, and should not count on reverting to business-as-usual. For example, while many would welcome being able to interact socially over a meal in a restaurant, those who have experienced the convenience of food delivery services are likely to want to continue enjoying dining in the comfort of their homes. Restaurants that have partnered food delivery companies will also continue to offer this service. The e-commerce trend is here to stay, as consumer confidence with online shopping has increased.

The recent months have seen accelerated usage and awareness of contactless payments for both businesses and consumers. At Wirecard, as an e-payments service provider, we are supporting our clients in this transformation and to quickly adapt to these trends with innovative technologies to better serve their businesses.

Rajeev Katyal Deputy Chief Operating Officer Global Indian School Education Services

Regardless of the pandemic, quality of education and affordability have always been key considerations for parents looking for schools in Singapore.

With the pandemic reshaping education, we are seeing the rise of blended learning - combining both online and traditional classroom learning - to cater to social distancing measures and travel restrictions. At GIIS, we will be offering students the option to choose between our Virtual School and Digital Classroom facilities. For those who attend school physically, lessons will be conducted in over 90 Digital Classrooms equipped with state-of-the-art audio-visual and Wi-Fi infrastructure, allowing students to remain connected with peers attending the Virtual School.

Both modes have seen positive response from parents, who are thrilled at the prospect of education in a safe environment. This procedural change will translate to more enrolments in coming months, as we continue to make education smart and accessible for all.

Ian Lee CEO, Asia Pacific The Adecco Group

As businesses resume operations safely in Phase Two with telecommuting as the new work default - plus social distancing and restricted travels - we will remain conservative in our business outlook amid economic uncertainties and restrictions that are expected to persist into the second half of the year. More importantly, we expect that there are a lot of global uncertainties as the Covid-19 impact and economic recovery are at differing stages. Singapore, being dependent on global trade, investments and services, will be impacted by such continued challenges.

David Leong Managing Director PeopleWorldwide Consulting Pte Ltd

The Phase Two reopening is a cautious lifting of the barrier for business and social interactions. The sentiments on the ground, although upbeat because of freer movements and interactions, remain subdued because many traditional industries (such as aviation, hospitality, services including F&B and retail, construction) are operating at sub-normal levels, with capacity restraints as a result of social and spatial distancing requirements.

Our recruitment business is adversely affected because there may be an imminent large displacement of jobs. New roles and jobs are created in emerging industries, and workers need training for adaptability and employability. The recruitment business in such times therefore cannot be the same as during peace-time talent searches. With unemployment mounting among locals, the government is likely to recalibrate the needs for foreigners to reduce the likelihood of the ''foreigners-substituting-locals'' effect, and instead leverage on foreigners with an enhanced ''foreigners-complementing-local'' agenda.

It may take another six months before the recruitment business can swing back to normalcy.

Leonard Cheong Managing Director AdNovum Singapore Pte Ltd

Businesses should investigate the updating of policies and processes as they reopen in Phase Two to adapt to the new norm. Organisations should be vigilant in order to prevent a resurgence in Covid-19 cases that could lead to a second wave of outbreaks.

There will be immense demand for cyber security and need for business compliance on data privacy now more than ever due to Covid-19. Agility has always been in the code of AdNovum's work and practices, and we will continue to build core competencies and stronger capabilities to better attune to the need to drive towards a digital economy globally, with remote work arrangements as seen during the global lockdown.

Seamus Phan Chief Content and Technology Officer McGallen & Bolden

The lockdown has exposed many structural questions and required business owners to do a hard rethink of what is next. The premise of having a collaborative team working collegially together in an accessible location preferred by employees has been radically upheaved. And not every employee has a conducive work-from-home (WFH) ambience, which affects productivity and mental health. Employers now see that WFH means employees can be global and need not be local, which expands talent availability and reduces costs. Employers may need to open small offices overseas served by foreign staff, since travel can be a hindrance in serving foreign clients. All these potentially reduce locals' job options even more.

Annie Yap Chief Executive Officer AYP Group

AYP Group has been steadfast and resilient in ensuring business continuity during the circuit breaker and Phase One. Digitalisation of our business processes has been largely seamless, as our employees are adept and adaptable to this inevitable transition. As Singapore reopens its economy in Phase Two, we can expect an array of workforce changes in terms of organisational structure, operating environment, hiring and policies. With business continuity being a critical factor, we are in a pivotal position to offer value-added solutions and alleviate pain points for our clientele. Our company embraces the move with opportunistic optimism, because we believe our brand equity is what will fundamentally drive efficient HR management - a key function that remains important and relevant for any business.

Aaron Tan CEO and Founder Carro

We operate an online car retail business across the region. While the downstream impact is soft - that is, us selling to consumers - the upstream impact is probably greater (supply of cars for sale from distributors). As such, we expect to see a gradual positive impact on our business in Phase Two. Overall, it will be good for most retailers as employees are allowed to return to work, to commute and to consume.

Henry Tan Group CEO Nexia TS Group

We look forward to Phase Two reopening of the economy. The change we hope to see is the mindset of our staff and teams. As a result of two months of circuit breaker measures, many of our staff now have concerns about returning to work, even though Singapore is now much safer then when the circuit breaker was announced in April. This is not a good sign, and the economy needs to get going as soon as possible. Many of our clients are in F&B, construction and hospitality. In Phase Two, we hope their operations and business will resume, and that we will be able to assist them in their projects.

Erik Tan Executive Director Anchor Search Group Pte Ltd

The Phase Two reopening allows more businesses to resume their operations and increase the awareness of the value of digitalisation. As a result of safe management measures, businesses may need to digitalise their operations and adopt a different business model to cope. Digitalisation and data will be the focus in the 2020s.

With the government initiatives and efforts to help companies go digital, we can see recruitment services with strong core competences in digitalisation talent placement - such as ourselves - adding value. As demand for digitalisation talents grows, we are likely to see an increase in business growth in this area.

READ MORE: Will Phase Two of reopening spur recovery for shops, restaurants and Reits?