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3^rd Quarter Newsletter 2020

SALARY OVERVIEW

Hong Kong - China - Singapore - Thailand 

Introduction

Dear Friends of Gemini,

 

Welcome to the Gemini Personnel newsletter for the third quarter of 2020, I hope the past few months have started to bring a sense of optimism following the challenging start to the year.

 

At Gemini, a lot has been happening over the past three months as our offices in China, Hong Kong, Singapore and Thailand have all fully reopened and resumed normal operations and we have been working closely with our clients to support them on their own recoveries.

 

Many of our clients are now beginning the process of hiring again, and are now faced with a new challenge – the large number of candidates who are in the market for new opportunities. This is where our teams of Consultants have been able to play a significant role in helping businesses to navigate through the increased volume in applicants and find the right talent for their needs.

 

Other parts of our business have also seen increased demand, most notably for HR Consulting services, where companies are increasingly looking for expert advice on how to handle issues such as remote working, virtual onboarding and employee reassignments. Gemini's outplacement programmes, which support employees who have been made redundant or terminated preparing for and managing their job search, continue to be in high demand across the region.

 

Finally, as previewed in our newsletter last May, we are delighted to announce the launch of our latest project Interim.works, a platform for Interim Managers and businesses to connect and find opportunities for collaboration on interim assignments.

 

I hope you enjoy reading this newsletter, and as always do not hesitate to contact us if we can help you or your business at this time!

 

Barry Kirkwood
General Manager, China

Singapore

Singapore's economy mid-2020

Singapore’s economy contracted 41.2% in the second quarter of this year compared to the previous quarter forcing the country into technical recession for the first time since 2009. Year on year the economy shrank 12.6% compared with a decline of 0.3% in the first quarter.

 

Hardest hit was the construction sector contracting 54.7% year on year. While the circuit breaker halted most construction other issues such as the restriction of movement at foreign workers dormitories also caused disruption.

 

Although it did contract on a quarterly basis, manufacturing was the only sector to see growth (at 2.5% year on year) and this was predominantly due to strong growth in biomedical manufacturing.

 

Retail Sales fell 52.1% year on year in the month of May. There was however, some joy with Supermarkets and Hypermarkets as well as Minimarts and Convenience Stores bucking the trend.

 

Many economists feel that this will reflect a bottom of the market as the month of May saw the circuit breaker in full effect with all non-essential businesses closed. Initial reopening starting on June 2 while phase 2 of the reopening started on June 19.

 

Second quarter employment figures have just been released with the number in employment (excluding foreign domestic workers) falling by 121,800 with retrenchments more than doubling from the previous quarter to 6,700.

 

The unemployment rate for Singaporean Citizens rose to 4.0% from 3.5% while the rate for residents rose to 3.9% from 3.3%. On a positive note to assist job seekers, the first batch of SG United Jobs and Skills Centres being set up around the island providing career advice and job matching services, have already helped 1,300 job seekers since July 1. 

 

By way of comparison, in the first quarter employment (excluding foreign domestic workers) in Singapore fell by 25,600 and the unemployment rate for Singaporean Citizens rising from 3.3% to 3.5% while the rate inclusive of PR’s went from 3.2% to 3.3%.

 

Sources: 

The Straits Times and Channel News Asia

Singapore stimulus packages

The Singapore Government announced its fourth fiscal stimulus package on 26 May called the “Fortitude Budget” worth SGD 33 billion which among other things aims to provide targeted relief for saving jobs. This brings the unprecedented spending to over SGD 90 billion through the inclusion of previous stimulus packages, namely the Unity Budget announced in February 2020, the Resilience Budget announced in March and the Solidarity Budget announced in early April.

Aside from previously announced schemes (which in some cases had been enhanced) the Fortitude Budget enhanced further schemes such as: 

• The Jobs Support Scheme (JSS)
• Rental waiver and relief
• Foreign Worker Levy waiver and rebate

 

New initiatives include the SG United Jobs and Skills Package. This package builds on support schemes provided in the Unity and Resilience budgets and aims to create approximately 100,000 opportunities in three areas: 40,000 jobs and 25,000 trainee-ships in public and private sectors, as well as 30,000 skills training positions. To aid in this the public sector will bring forward its hiring in certain sectors.

Earlier schemes such as hiring incentives for local workers aged 40 and above through reskilling programmes have been enhanced such that:

• For eligible workers aged 40 and above, the government will cover 40% of their salary over six months, capped at SGD 12,000.
• For eligible workers aged below 40, the government will provide 20% salary support for 6 months, capped at SGD 6,000.

 

Recently released economic data has also shown the weakness in the economy due to the covid 19 pandemic further justifying these stimulus packages.

New at Gemini

Top 5 Candidates

 

Director Strategic Sales (Global), Group Sales & Marketing

Nationality: Australian

Based: Singapore

Languages: English

Availability: Immediately

 

Skills:

Strategic Planning & Development, Complex Bid Negotiation, Integrated Solution Selling, End to End Supply Chain Knowledge & Cross Functional Team Leadership.

 

For more information on this candidate please contact ashh@gemini.sg

Director and HR Specialist

Nationality: Australian

Based: Singapore

Languages: English

Availability: Immediately

 

Skills:

Dynamic and proactive CEO/CHRO level senior leader, with a demonstrated ability to lead, manage and motivate the entire executive team to achieve organisational objectives across a variety of companies and industries. People centered CHRO skills, and experience, with a proven history of success, attracting and retaining top talent, creating engagement, full HR policy and procedure packages, and transformation.

 

For more information on this candidate please contact ashh@gemini.sg

Chief Financial Officer

Nationality: British Citizen, Singapore PR

Based: Singapore

Languages: English and Mandarin

Availability: Three months' notice

 

Skills:

More than 20 years of experience in Finance across various global MNCs. Senior level positions for the last 12 years across Asia. Strengths lie in FP&A, M&A, Risk Management, ROI and Investment.

 

For more information on this candidate please contact tiffanyy@gemini.sg

Country Head Freight Operations – Singapore

Nationality: Singaporean

Based: Singapore

Languages: English and Mandarin

Availability: Immediately

 

Skills:

More than 17 years' experience of which 10 years in forwarding and freight operations covering air, sea and road. P&L responsibilities including operations and capital budget.

 

For more information on this candidate please contact davidk@gemini.sg

Regional Director/CEO – Singapore

Nationality: Malaysian/Singaporean PR

Based: Singapore

Languages: English, Bahasa Malaysia, Bahasa Indonesia

Availability: Immediately

 

Skills:

Entrepreneurial executive with 20 years of experience in QSR’s (Quick Service Restaurants), building brands across Asia. Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales.

 

For more information on this candidate please contact davidk@gemini.sg

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