This year's first quarterly ACNielsen AdEx report shows a quantum leap of nearly 6,500 percent in ad spending for internet-related companies in Singapore. The Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore sold seven of the twelve four-digit access codes it put up for auction recently. Wherver.net Singapore Pte Ltd. Four-digit access codes are reserved for telecom service providers which provide overseas calls but do not make investments in facilities like switches and networks. These providers are mainly International Simple Resellers which buy IDD capacity wholesale and resell it for a profit. U.S. sites dominated the five most popular sites in Singapore.
Local partnerships are key for U.S. portals in establishing an Internet presence.
According to a survey carried out by the Singapore Information Technology Federation, few companies in Singapore are currently using e-commerce, but a large number of businesses plan to start this year. U.S. based Ariba, an electronic commerce software provider, has chosen Singapore as its Asia-Pacific headquarters. Ariba Chairman, Keith Krach, said he is bullish that there will be 100 digital marketplaces in Singapore in two years. Ariba currently has 50 employees in the Asia-Pacific, including 20 in Singapore. Another Nasdaq listed firm, F5 Networks Inc, a provider of integrated internet traffic and content management products also chose Singapore as its Asia Pacific headquarters.