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Independent Singapore
34 minutes ago
- Independent Singapore
Wuthelam Group founder and Singapore billionaire Goh Cheng Liang dies at 98
SINGAPORE: Paint and coatings company Wuthelam Group founder Goh Cheng Liang, Singapore's richest man according to Forbes' 2025 list of billionaires worldwide, has died at the age of 98. Paint tycoon Mr Goh was born in 1927 and grew up in a shophouse along River Valley Road. He came from a modest family and started his business in 1949 with Pigeon Brand paint. After forging a strategic partnership with Japan's Nippon Paint in 1962, now Asia's largest and the world's fourth-largest paint maker, Wuthelam Group today owns nearly 60% of Nippon Paint Holdings. In a Facebook post on Tuesday (Aug 12), Nippon Paint Singapore said the Nippon Paint Holdings Singapore Pte Ltd (NIPSEA Group) founder passed away surrounded by his loved ones. 'Mr Goh had always been a beacon in our industry, shining the light for so many of us to emulate his values of humility, benevolence, and integrity. Under his stewardship, Nippon Paint Singapore has grown and arrived to become a formidable force today. However, throughout his many business achievements, Mr Goh has always upheld the importance of giving back to the community. This is a legacy we will continue to perpetuate today, and well into the future. We will miss him dearly, for all that he has taught us,' the company wrote. See also Singapore continues to issue more EPs to recruit foreign FTs 'Our condolences go out to the family members and loved ones of Mr Goh,' it added. Mr Goh was instrumental in developing Liang Court, the first major shopping centre along River Valley Road, and Mount Elizabeth Hospital, both of which were later sold. He was also well known for his philanthropy. In 1995, with support from the late President Wee Kim Wee, he founded the Goh Foundation to manage his charitable work. The foundation funded major healthcare projects, including the National Cancer Centre Singapore and the Goh Cheng Liang Proton Therapy Centre, one of the few facilities in the region offering advanced proton beam therapy. Mr Goh, who was also a cancer survivor, supported children's cancer research at KK Women's and Children's Hospital, the VIVA Foundation, and the National University Hospital, Singapore Business Review reported. In addition, he contributed to research into rheumatological and immunological diseases through Singapore General Hospital's ARiSE programme and backed palliative care projects with SingHealth Duke-NUS Academic Medical Centre. He also helped fund roads, clean water, sanitation, and schools in Dawu Village, his ancestral hometown in Chaozhou, China, to uplift the community there. Mr Goh is survived by his three children—Hup Jin, Chuen Jin, and Chiat Jin—eight grandchildren, and one great-grandchild. According to the South China Morning Post , his eldest son, Mr Goh Hup Jin, described him as 'a beacon of kindness and strength' who taught them to live with compassion and humility. 'We are very fortunate to have had him show us how to be a good person,' he added. Netizens also expressed their condolences to Mr Goh's bereaved family. /TISG Read also: GCB craze: How Singapore's 10 Real-Life Crazy Rich Asians got rich enough to own their S$10M to S$100M+ homes
CNA
2 hours ago
- CNA
Analysis:Just in time? Manufacturers turn to AI to weather tariff storm
LONDON :Manufacturers like U.S. lawnmower maker The Toro Company are not panicking at the prospect of U.S. President Donald Trump's global trade tariffs. Despite five years of dramatic supply disruptions, from the COVID pandemic to today's trade wars, Toro is resisting any temptation to stack its warehouses to the rafters. "We are at probably pre-pandemic inventory levels," says its chief supply-chain manager, Kevin Carpenter, looking relaxed in front of a whiteboard at his office in Minneapolis. "I mean 2019. I think everybody will be at a 2019 level." Among U.S. manufacturers, inventories have roller-coasted this year as they rushed to beat Trump's deadlines for tariff hikes, only to see them repeatedly delayed. But since their post-pandemic expansion, inventories have mostly contracted, according to U.S. Institute for Supply Management data. Instead, "just in time" inventory management - which aims to increase efficiency and reduce waste by ordering goods only as they are needed - is back. But how can firms run lean inventories even as tariffs fluctuate, export bans come out of the blue, and conflict rages? One of the answers, they say, is artificial intelligence. Carpenter says he uses AI to digest the daily stream of news that could impact Toro's business, from Trump's latest social media posts to steel prices, into a custom-made podcast that he listens to each morning. His team also uses generative AI to sieve an ocean of data and to suggest when and how many components to buy from whom. It is a boom industry. Spending on software that includes generative AI for supply chains, capable of learning and even performing tasks on its own, could hit $55 billion by 2029, up from $2.7 billion now, according to U.S. research firm Gartner, driven in part by global uncertainties. HYPE "The tool just puts up in front of you: 'I think you can take 100 tonnes of this product from this plant to transfer it to that plant. And you just hit accept if that makes sense (to you)," McKinsey supply chain consultant Matt Jochim said. The biggest providers of overall supply chain software by revenue are Germany's SAP, U.S. firms Oracle, Coupa and Microsoft and Blue Yonder, a unit of Panasonic, according to Gartner. Generative AI is in its infancy, with most firms still piloting it spending modest amounts, industry experts say. Those investments can climb to tens of millions of dollars when deployed at scale, including the use of tools known as AI agents, which make their own decisions and often need costly upgrades to data management and other IT systems, they said. In commenting for this article, SAP, Oracle, Coupa, Microsoft and Blue Yonder described strong growth for generative AI solutions for supply chains without giving numbers. At U.S. supply chain consultancy GEP, which sells AI tools like this, Trump's tariffs are helping to drive demand. "The tariff volatility has been big," says GEP consultant Mukund Acharya, an expert in retail industry supply chains. SAP said the uncertainty was driving technology take-up. "That's how it was during the financial crisis, Brexit and COVID. And it's what we're seeing now," Richard Howells, SAP vice president and supply chain specialist, said in a statement. An AI agent can sift real-time news feeds on changing tariff scenarios, assess contract renewal dates and a myriad of other data points and come up with a suggested plan of action. But supply chain experts warn of AI hype, saying a lot of money will be wasted on a vain hope that AI can work miracles. "AI is really a powerful enabler for supply chain resilience, but it's not a silver bullet," says Minna Aila, communications chief at Finnish crane-maker Konecranes and member of a business board that advises the OECD on issues including supply chain resilience. "I'm still looking forward to the day when AI can predict terrorist attacks that are at sea, for instance." Konecranes' logistics partners are deploying AI on more mundane data, like weather forecasts. The company makes port cranes that are up to 106 metres (348 ft) high when assembled. When shipping them, AI marries weather forecasts with data like bridge heights to optimise the route. "To ship those across oceans, you do have to take into consideration weather," Aila says. RISING COSTS By keeping inventories low, firms can bolster profit margins that are under pressure from rising costs. Every component or finished product sitting on a shelf is capital tied up, incurring finance and storage costs and at risk of obsolescence. McKinsey has been surveying supply-chain executives since the pandemic. Its most recent survey showed that respondents relying on bigger inventory to cushion disruptions fell to 34 per cent last year from 60 per cent in 2022. Early responses from its upcoming 2025 survey suggest a similar picture, Jochim said. Gartner supply chain analyst Noha Tohamy says that without AI, companies would be slower to react and be more likely to be drawn into building up inventories. "When supply chain organisations don't have that visibility and don't really understand the uncertainty, we go for inventory buffering," Tohamy says. But AI agents won't put supply chain managers out of work, not yet, consultants say. Humans still need to make strategic and big tactical decisions, leaving AI agents to do more routine tasks like ordering and scheduling production maintenance. Toro supply chain chief Carpenter says that without AI, supply chain managers might need to run bigger teams as well.
CNA
2 hours ago
- CNA
Long hunts, few replies: Singapore university graduates finding it tough in job market, CNA poll finds
More than half of those polled by CNA (56.2 per cent) said that understanding employer expectations would improve their confidence in job applications. Others said they would benefit from paid internships or traineeships (55.2 per cent) and more interview opportunities (54.3 per cent). For Mr Wee Lian Kit, who majored in economics at NUS, vague job listings made it difficult to gauge his suitability for roles. 'You send a lot of applications that you think you are qualified for, but at the end, you might not even make it past the screening stage,' said the 27-year-old, who now works in an executive search firm. He recalls applying to over 100 roles when he graduated last year. NTU graduate Mr Ong agreed, saying more clarity from employers would help applicants understand rejections. 'At least when I get rejected, I will understand why I got rejected,' he said. Group CEO of recruitment firm Reeracoen, Mr Kenji Naito, said employers could help bridge the gap by sharing clearer job scopes and valuing potential and cultural fit, not just qualifications. He added that amid global shifts and growing use of artificial intelligence, soft skills such as empathy and adaptability are increasingly valuable. Graduates can also take short courses, volunteer for leadership roles or seek mentorship to strengthen their profile. Mr Derrick Teo, a certified Institute for Human Resource Professionals (IHRP) senior professional, said AI tools are reshaping job functions and graduates need to learn how to use such tools effectively. Mr Teo, who is also the CEO of HR solutions provider Elitez Group, also noted that job competition now extends across borders. 'Rather than fixating on salary benchmarks – which can be influenced by recruitment marketing – graduates should focus on differentiating their skills, adaptability and commercial awareness,' he said. BE PROACTIVE The government has said it is working to improve employment outcomes for fresh graduates. Minister of State for Trade and Industry Gan Siow Huang said on Jul 9 that authorities are 'closely monitoring' the employment situation. Institutes of higher learning are also working with agencies such as Workforce Singapore and the NTUC's Employment and Employability Institute to organise career fairs, workshops and mentoring sessions. The Singapore Economic Resilience Taskforce, led by Deputy Prime Minister Gan Kim Yong, is also exploring ways to support new graduates. The task force was set up in April to address the impact of US-imposed tariffs. Minister for Manpower Tan See Leng said on Jul 10 that entry-level job vacancies remain steady. "To our 2025 graduates, it is still early in your job search. We encourage everyone to keep an open mind to different opportunities in their job searches," he said. Career experts encouraged graduates to be proactive by networking at industry events and tapping on their professional contacts. In CNA's straw poll, 40 per cent of respondents said a lack of industry contacts or networking opportunities was a challenge. Randstad Singapore's country director David Blasco said even conversations that don't lead to offers can offer insights into industry trends and in-demand traits. He added that graduates can leverage platforms such as LinkedIn and industry events to ask working professionals about industry trends, in-demand skills and personality traits that employers value in young hires. For Mr Ye Jun Zheng, a Yale-NUS graduate in urban studies, a friend's referral helped him land a role as a customer support specialist at a tech multinational corporation. 'I was lucky to find a fit at a place I least expected – with a friend who introduced the job to me and another to refer me in,' said the 25-year-old. Mr Zac Ng, managing director of recruitment agency Cultivar Asia, said there is no fixed timeline for fresh graduates to land a job, but it is important to stay active by taking on temporary or contract roles. 'The goal should be to keep moving forward – be it through employment, training or internships – so that the momentum is not lost,' he said, adding that such roles offer both income and transferable skills. 'They are stepping stones, if not a long-term career.' As for Ms Kuek, she sees a ray of hope in her job search after securing an interview with a publishing company. "I'll see how this one goes … If it falls through, then I have to keep trying."
