Business News

SINGAPORE, Sept. 30, 2015 — Autodesk, Inc. has signed definitive agreements to acquire SeeControl, a San Francisco-based developer of an enterprise Internet of Things (IoT) cloud service platform; and netfabb, a Lupburg, Germany-based developer of software solutions for industrial additive design and manufacturing. Adding Enterprise Internet of Things Cloud Service to Autodesk Portfolio with SeeControl SeeControl’s service helps manufacturers and systems integrators connect, analyse, control, and manage remote products, things, and assets and create new service revenue opportunities. “A new future of making things is emerging, where any built object, product or environment can be embedded with sensors that can feed information back into the design process. The acquisition of SeeControl is the first step on Autodesk’s ongoing efforts to develop new technologies and solutions that will help our customers leverage the Internet of Things, starting by enabling them to capture, analyze, and utilize data from their products,” said Amar Hanspal, Autodesk Senior Vice President for Information Modeling and Platform Products. Autodesk intends to continue to sell and support the SeeControl platform and to incorporate the technology into design solutions for the manufacturing and building industries. Autodesk also plans to develop a new IoT solution based on the SeeControl technology that will allow companies to gain real world insights of how their products perform, enabling customers to explore innovative new service models. Taking 3D Printing Beyond Prototyping and Plastics with netfabb In addition to the acquisition of netfabb, Autodesk will also make a strategic investment in FIT Technology Group, the parent company of netfabb and provider of additive manufacturing software and services. The two companies will collaborate to increase adoption of technology for industrial additive manufacturing. “Autodesk has always been impressed by FIT’s track record in creating powerful solutions to meet the challenges of industrial additive manufacturing and together we […]

Deciphering real world issues in economics is like solving a Rubik’s Cube, says SMU Assistant Professor Zhang Haiping. By Yamini Chinnuswamy “The job of an economist is to explain how the world economy works – from analysing economic data, conceptualising economic phenomena, forecasting economic trends to making policy suggestions,” says Assistant Professor Zhang Haiping from the Singapore Management University (SMU) School of Economics, whose work focuses on international finance and trade. Like the Rubik’s Cube, a three-dimensional combination puzzle where every twist also scrambles the face opposite of it, economics puzzles are similarly interlinked—a change in policy may lead to repercussions elsewhere. “My research is motivated by empirical puzzles in economic literature,” he says. “As economists, we seek to augment or update existing economic theories to explain real world data. The challenge lies in the fact that markets and economies seldom function in a frictionless manner.” For example, Professor Zhang notes that capital has been flowing “uphill” from the poor to the rich, and from emerging economies to developed ones since the end of 1990s. This stands in stark contrast to neoclassical economic theory which states that capital should flow from the rich to the poor, as the rate of return on investments in poor countries should be higher than in rich countries. Financial friction and the resulting borrowing constraints in poor countries can explain such a puzzling fact, he explains. Similar income levels, different patterns of capital flows Patterns of international capital flows in emerging economies are another real world puzzle Professor Zhang has studied. Although income levels per person were comparable in emerging Asia (Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam) and emerging Europe (countries such as Hungary, Poland and Romania in Central and Eastern Europe), their patterns of international capital flows were not. “We looked at the data […]

Self-proclaimed “Chief Loophole Officer” Andrew Fastow to share his story in Singapore More than 250 anti-fraud professionals from around the Asia-Pacific region will gather for the 2015 ACFE Asia-Pacific Fraud Conference at Marina Bay Sands in Singapore, 4-6 November, to listen to leaders in the anti-fraud field, along with an unlikely special guest: a convicted fraudster. Playing a central part in one of the most notorious corporate fraud cases in history, Andrew Fastow, former CFO of Enron Corp., will address the very people trying to catch fraudsters like him. Fastow will explain his role in the energy giant’s collapse, which resulted in a $40 billion lawsuit and the world’s largest bankruptcy at that point. He will give attendees insight into the red flags that were ignored at Enron, and how his life was affected forever after being convicted. Attendees will also hear from keynote speakers including Christophe Durand, Interpol’s Head of Cyber Security. He will be joined by Barry Wong, Vice President and Head of Asia Pacific for customer fraud management for MasterCard Worldwide, Gunawan Husin, Principal Consultant for Continuum Asia PTE LTD and James D. Ratley, President and CEO of the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE). Breakout sessions will include discussions about money laundering, the FIFA scandal and how to use advanced analytics to catch fraud before it is able to grow. According to the ACFE’s 2014 Report to the Nations on Occupational Fraud and Abuse, companies worldwide lose an estimated 5 percent of their revenues to fraud. In the Asia-Pacific region, the median cost of each fraud is nearly USD 240,000. More than half of the fraud cases reported resulted from corruption schemes, which cost an average of USD 400,000 per case. Special pricing for early registration is available until 2 October 2015. Visit ACFE.com/AsiaPac for more […]

-Jamie Dimom, Chairman and CEO of JPMorgan Chase & Co I’ve traveled to Detroit on business for more than 25 years, and the signs of the city’s recovery are becoming apparent. Although the city has a long way to go, you can feel the increasing energy and spirit of cooperation that businesses, government and nonprofits have to increase economic growth and create greater opportunity for all. The city has exited bankruptcy, fixed thousands of streetlights, and improved emergency response times and started to reduce blight. Full credit goes to Mayor Mike Duggan, a Democrat, and Gov. Rick Snyder, a Republican. They are trying new ideas and modifying plans as they go along, never pointing fingers or worrying about taking credit. The collaborative approach fosters an environment where individuals and businesses, large and small, have growing confidence to invest and build. JPMorgan Chase is proud of its 80-plus years serving Detroit and, most recently, of the company’s $100 million commitment to help bolster the city’s recovery. Detroit’s collaborative approach to problem-solving is instructive. With less partisanship and more partnership, leaders in Washington can follow the Motor City’s lead to tackle five areas of pressing national concern. Finding creative ways to address them would substantially boost economic growth and create more opportunity for more Americans, particularly in low-income households. First is the need for more—and smarter—investment in America’s roads, bridges, tunnels, ports and airports. Physical infrastructure is a natural job creator in the near term and establishes conditions for long-term growth. The federal government and all of our major cities and states should have five to 20-year intelligent infrastructure plans driven by what we really need—not the political wheeling and dealing that ends up building bridges to nowhere. Detroit’s M1 rail line—a 3.3-mile streetcar line to connect many of the city’s economic, […]