Big firms must build upstart culture, handle disruption from new players: Tharman

By

Jamie Lee leejamie@sph.com.sg@JamieLeeBT

Large companies need to create an upstart culture and handle disruption from new players, for which incumbents are typically unprepared, said Tharman Shanmugaratnam, Deputy Prime Minister and Coordinating Minister for Economic and Social Policies. 

SPH

DEC 10, 20151:37 PM

LARGE companies need to create an upstart culture and handle disruption from new players, for which incumbents are typically unprepared, said Tharman Shanmugaratnam, Deputy Prime Minister and Coordinating Minister for Economic and Social Policies, on Thursday.

Speaking at the launch of DBS Academy, Mr Tharman said large companies are part of the movement to create a more innovative society.

As the financial industry is seeing disruption, traditional lenders must be "part of that game", said Mr Tharman, referring to examples of crowdfunding, robo-advisers for wealth management, and cheaper forms of remittances. He noted that DBS, while being the largest lender in Singapore, is using technology to be a "disruptive upstart" in overseas markets.

"Technology can be a very useful way of gaining market share," he said.

In launching its new learning centre, DBS also announced that it would match the S$500 SkillsFuture credit from the government for its senior associates and junior staff.