Ahmed Mazhari

Thinking about expanding into Asia? Singapore just made a strong case for why it should be on your shortlist. Last week, Prime Minister and Finance Minister Lawrence Wong unveiled Singapore’s Budget 2026—and it sends a clear signal to global businesses: stability at home, incentives for growth abroad. Here are the highlights international CEOs and CFOs should know: • Singapore’s economy grew 5% in 2025, well above expectations • Budget 2026 focuses on resilience amid geopolitical uncertainty—while doubling down on internationalization and innovation What this means for companies: • Corporate tax rate remains 17% (no change) • Corporate Income Tax (CIT) Rebate: • 40% of tax payable for YA 2026 • Minimum SGD 1,500 cash grant (for companies with at least one local employee) • Total benefit capped at SGD 30,000 • Double Tax Deduction for Internationalization (DTDi) upgrade: • Automatic deduction limit increases from SGD 150K → SGD 400K • Expanded coverage (overseas market trips, feasibility studies, licensing, franchising, etc.) • Effective YA 2027 • Enterprise Innovation Scheme enhancements: • 400% tax deduction extended to qualified AI activities • New AI Centres of Excellence • Expanded support for global growth: • Up to 70% grant support for internationalization (SMEs) • Higher financing limits under the Enterprise Finance Scheme • Expanded Market Readiness Assistance (overseas promotion & business development) Employers & talent: • Progressive Wage Credit Scheme extended through 2028 • Higher CPF contributions for senior workers • Increased minimum salaries for Employment Pass and S Pass holders (starting 2027) Individuals & GST: • No change to personal income tax rates • GST remains at 9% • Mandatory e-invoicing (InvoiceNow) rolling out from 2026 Bottom line: Singapore is preserving tax certainty while actively rewarding companies that innovate and expand internationally. For U.S. firms looking to enter or scale in Asia, Budget 2026 strengthens Singapore’s position as a launchpad—not just a location. If you’re evaluating international expansion or setting up operations in Singapore, now is the time to reassess your strategy. At Nucleus, we help U.S. companies turn policy incentives into real market entry and growth. Let’s talk.

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Just touched down in Washington DC after two weeks in Hong Kong and Singapore. And transformation conversations are different there. We talk about “transformation” as if it’s a universal concept, but the more time I spend in different regions, the clearer it becomes that it’s deeply shaped by context. 3 differences stood out in my conversations with transformation leaders in Asia compared to those I have in the US: 1️⃣ The employer-employee contract sets very different constraints and starting points. In most Asian markets, layoffs aren’t a card you can play as a casual annual exercise. You can’t design transformation assuming you’ll remove people if things get hard or if a program doesn’t land (or as the entire goal of a program for that matter either). That’s simply not part of the underlying social contract between employers and employees in Asia. As a result, change conversations start from a different place: how do we evolve with the people we have? Enablement, reskilling, and activation matter more when replacement isn’t an option. 2️⃣ Innovation and experimentation is less about being first-to-market and more about being cost efficient. There’s very little desire to experiment just to learn or to be an early adopter for the sake of it. “Fail fast” doesn’t translate particularly well in Asia. Instead, many leaders are explicit about wanting to see what works elsewhere first, and then copy and scale it (and they do copy and scale fast). From the outside that can look conservative or risk-averse, but it's seen as being disciplined. Why spend money discovering something others are already paying to figure out? 3️⃣ Transformation is still largely about growth, not legacy clean-up. Many organizations aren’t weighed down by decades of old operating models they’re trying to escape. They’re still building, expanding, and defining what they want to become. So transformation is less about fixing the past and more about intentionally designing the future environment they want to operate in. And when we talk "future" in Asia we're talking the next 50 years by the way, not the next couple of quarters. These differences change what successful transformation looks like. It also subtly changes the role of AI. When layoffs aren’t a lever, experimentation has to be justified, and growth is the primary goal, AI becomes less about short term efficiency theater and more about building long term capability. Less about replacing people, more about scaling smarter over a longer period of time without breaking the underlying social fabric in the process. Same words. Same tools. Very different contexts. As a contrast to Singapore and Hong Kong, I'll be spending the next two weeks driving through West Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Arkansas, Oklahoma, New Mexico and Arizona, and meet leaders driving change there. If you're a transformation leader in the South, hit me up - I want to meet you! ☕️

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WOMEN IN LEADERSHIP = BETTER BUSINESS, PROFIT AND REVENUE. It gives me so much joy after 4 months of relentless research work by team House of Rose Professional Pte. Ltd.to share that we have just announced the release of the 2026 Break the Ceiling Touch the Sky® 101 Best Global Companies for Women in Leadership Index (BTC 101 Global Index).  The BTC 101 Global Index is based on an assessment of leadership composition across the boards and management teams of the world’s 500 largest companies by annual revenue. For the 2026 edition, companies with revenues ranging from USD $32 billion to USD $680 billion were evaluated. HORP reviewed more than 10,000 executives between October and December 2025 to complete the research!! The bottomline facts from the 2026 BTC 101 Global Index: 1. Companies that made it to the BTC 101 Global Index outperformed non-index companies both on revenue growth and profit. 2. Real growth in gender balanced leadership at the biggest business table in the world - the 500 largest Companies globally: Index companies average 41.43% women across boards and executive teams, compared to 20.76% among non-Index companies. 3. Leadership diversity is expanding across industries. From food and drug retail, banking, pharmaceuticals, insurance, telecommunications, energy, healthcare, household and personal products, internet services, beverages, and medical products there is steady adoption of gender balanced led leadership. 4. The USA, Europe and Australia lead on gender balanced leadership and the impact on their businesses show. Asia and the Middle East have a lot to learn and invest to play catch up. 198 Companies in the Top 500 globally are headquartered in Asia. Only 4 of these Companies made it to the 2026 Index. 5. CEO Representation is a challenge: 60-70 % of the world's largest retailers are female. Women outnumber male graduates globally, yet only 31 of the 500 largest Companies on the planet have a Female CEO. Thats 6.2%!!! Huge opportunities for companies to nurture more balanced and diverse C-suite and Board representation. Details on the 2026 BTC 101 Global Index here: https://lnkd.in/gvgbc456 SO HOW CAN YOU LEARN FROM THESE SUCCESSFUL COMPANIES: Join us for an Edition of the 2026 World Tour of Break the ceiling touch the sky - the success and leadership summit ·       Americas Edition — New York, USA | April 20, 2026 (Live) ·       Europe Edition — June 12, 2026 (Presidents’ Roundtable Live in London) and June 19, 2026 (Virtual Summit) ·       Middle East & Africa Edition — UAE | September 7, 2026 (Live) ·       Asia World Edition — Singapore | October 12, 2026 (Live) ·       India Edition — Mumbai, India | December 7, 2026 (Live) https://lnkd.in/gQC--NUh Alex von Behr, Joe Rose, Dilya Karimova-Rose, Pramod Agarwal, Nishi Vasudeva,

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How do Singapore’s wealthiest truly secure their future? 💎🇸🇬 It’s not just about chasing higher returns or growing bigger portfolios. True security starts with intentional, holistic planning — the kind that looks beyond numbers and into the heart of what matters most. For high-net-worth families, it means: ✨ Protecting wealth from unexpected risks ✨ Preserving family harmony across generations ✨ Passing down values, wisdom, and a shared vision — not just assets ✨ Ensuring clarity and structure so every decision supports the long-term legacy I’ve seen it time and again — wealth without a plan can create uncertainty, even conflict. But wealth with a clear, purposeful strategy? That’s when it becomes a unifying force, giving clarity, stability, and confidence to every generation, managing expectations, relationships and clear communications by taking an empathetic approach The right strategy doesn’t just safeguard your money — it safeguards your legacy. 🛡️🌟 #WealthManagement #LegacyPlanning #HolisticWealth #FinancialFreedom #Singapore #BreakFreewithPRU

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As a working mum with ageing parents, this is personal for me. Like many in the “sandwich generation”, I’m constantly juggling work, kids and the quiet worry of “Are my parents okay at home?” That’s why I’m especially proud of what my colleagues at ST Engineering Urban Solutions are doing together with the Ang Mo Kio Community Centre Management Committee and the People's Association Active Ageing Council. They’re piloting the AGIL® Sense Fall Detection System in 80 seniors’ homes across Teck Ghee over the next six months. Using AI-driven signal processing and advanced radar sensors installed in high-risk wet areas of the home, the system can detect falls and automatically alert designated family members or caregivers via SMS – so help can be sent quickly, without the need for wearables or cameras. Senior Minister Lee Hsien Loong, adviser to Ang Mo Kio GRC Grassroots Organisations, recently visited Ang Mo Kio Community Centre Day, where Gareth Tang, President of ST Engineering Urban Solutions, showcased how this solution can support safer, more independent living for seniors. For those of us caring for both children and elderly parents, solutions like this offer more than just technology – they offer peace of mind and the possibility of ageing in place with dignity. 🔗 Learn more about the AGIL® Sense Fall Detection System: https://lnkd.in/gpfbNkPr #ElderlyCare #ActiveAgeing #SmartCommunities #AI #TechnologyForGood #EngineeringMeetsTechnologyForHumanity #STEngineering

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