Banyan Group founder Ho Kwon Ping on how businesses can foster social cohesion
Law Minister Edwin Tong said Singapore must guard its multicultural society as social cohesion does not happen by chance. This, as economic disruption and digital disinformation are deepening social divides within and between nations. He was speaking at the close of the International Conference on Cohesive Societies, attended by more than 1,000 thought leaders from 50 countries. Mr Ho Kwon Ping, founder and executive chairman of Banyan Group, shared how businesses can play a part in fostering social cohesion.
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Mr Rayson Koh, 29, rents an apartment in Bangkok where he lives, but every month the Singaporean flies back to the Republic to attend work meetings as a financial adviser, splitting his time between the two cities. It had always been Mr Koh's dream to live overseas. So in January 2024, he packed his things and moved to Thailand, using the Thai language skills that he picked up during his university days to his advantage. 'My job as a financial adviser gives me a lot of flexibility. Since we are self-employed, we're actually allowed to plan our schedule. With that, I decided to come to Thailand a lot more,' he said. He added that much of his job can be done online, such as processing claims for his Singaporean clients. He returns to Singapore only to attend courses and meet his clients in person when they want to purchase new products. Mr Koh is an example of a 'super commuter' – an individual, often middle-class, who resides in one city but travels a long distance, often by air, to another for work. While there are no official statistics about the number of Singaporean super commuters, 2024 research from Stanford University indicated that the share of super commuting workers in 10 US cities has increased by a third since the start of the pandemic. Many become super commuters to cut expenses. They are not necessarily wealthy business travellers and are more often trying to take advantage of the better salaries paid in one country – Singapore, for example – and the more affordable housing and other expenses in another. For instance, Mr Koh pays S$1,000 (US$785) a month for a whole apartment loft in Bangkok. He said that he would have to fork out six times that amount if he were to do the same in a comparable location in Singapore. Overall, he estimated that he has cut his living expenses by 20 per cent by living in Thailand, even after factoring in the cost of commuting. Individuals like him do this for a variety of reasons, according to career development coach Samantha Ng from Abundanz Consulting. She said that they might be at a stage of life where, financially, it makes sense for them to adopt a lifestyle that gives them more time to prioritise what is important to them, whether it is a slower pace of life or the ability to explore a new country. 'There is also a possibility that individuals make such a choice out of necessity, because living in Singapore is a lot more expensive than commuting,' she added. Looking at the bigger picture, veteran economist Song Seng Wun said that transport connectivity has improved tremendously over the years, so he believes that the super commuting trend is likely to continue. Living abroad also benefits Singaporean business owners keen on creating wealth from a growing Asean region. 'The power of the Singapore brand name is very important, whether it's in the medical space, education or just providing a service. So it always attracts that trust,' said Mr Song, who is an economic adviser at CGS International Securities Singapore. BIGGER AND CHEAPER Super commuters told CNA TODAY that bigger Asian countries opened up more business opportunities and were less competitive than Singapore. Business owner Sam Sng, 37, moved to Guangxi in China to explore new opportunities after feeling that his digital marketing agency had reached a point of stagnation in Singapore that he 'couldn't break through'. In a larger market such as China, Mr Sng said that clients' budgets for projects and the volume of e-commerce orders are higher, bringing in more profits than he would reap in Singapore. Mr Sng owns two more businesses in taxation and consulting, serving clients in both Singapore and China. Each month, he spends two weeks in China and two weeks in Singapore, where his wife and daughter still live. Another super commuter, Mr Gordon Ho, 28, who has relocated to Bangkok, said the market is 'so big in Thailand that there's really no need to compete neck-to-neck'. When he initially met other professionals from similar trades in Bangkok, he was cautious about sharing too much information with them because he did not want his 'trade secrets to go out'. 'In Singapore, if we are in the same industry, chances are we will not be talking to each other because that person might know someone else and just take the deal. So it becomes very secretive,' he said. But the more he networked with people in Thailand, the more he realised that there were many areas where they could collaborate. His mentality shifted and he became more excited to meet these industry peers. Mr Ho made the move to take a floundering contact lens company to Thailand, sensing better business due to a growing cosmetics market there. He has since passed on the business to his wife to manage while he works as Ngee Ann Polytechnic's Thailand country head, connecting Singaporean students with learning and internship opportunities in the country. Brand studio founder Brandon Yeo, 29, who is also based in Bangkok, said the culture in Thailand has also been a boon for him, both in business and personally. He was 'boxed into a small echo chamber' in Singapore that made it hard for him to think differently, he said. But in Thailand, he said, people are less judgmental and have more appetite for risk. 'Singaporeans are always under pressure to make sure that all of their time is efficient and fully maximised. When I was studying at the National University of Singapore, we discussed very money-minded things,' he said. 'But here, Thai people treat me with the love of a friend. It just felt more real, like there weren't any hidden motives of trying to sell me property or insurance. When someone meets me, it is really just to meet.' In terms of lifestyle, the greater physical expanse of neighbouring countries means more travel opportunities within the country for weekend getaways or entertainment options. Mr Yeo said that when he is on road trips to certain provinces in Thailand, he sees no one within his field of vision, just grass and tall trees – a stark contrast from the dense concrete jungle he grew up in. 'For someone like me in the creative space, we need varied stimuli. When you are always looking at the same things, it's very hard for you to think differently,' he said. 'I vividly remember when I was stuck on a project, I didn't have any fresh ideas. And then when I changed my environment, I went to a different province, the inspiration just hit. That kind of change has an effect.' Lower prices are a major plus point for super commuters as well. While not every item may be cheaper, most of those interviewed by CNA TODAY agreed that the cost of living is more affordable overall. Meals in Bangkok are half the price of an average hawker dish in Singapore, said Mr Yeo, adding that he typically pays less than S$2 for a Thai meal. He also felt that starting a family would be impossible in Singapore because of the costs involved. However, in Thailand, he is now married to a Thai wife and has two young children and they live comfortably. Mr Yeo recalled how his own mother, who single-handedly raised him, missed out on witnessing his milestones such as winning school awards because she was too busy working. So he now wants to make sure that he and his wife are present for their children. The lower costs and the fact that his wife does not have to work make that goal realistic, in his opinion. 'Dual-income families are the norm in Singapore. And for example, spending about S$2,900 each month is the bare minimum to support a family of four. 'That is assuming there is no recreation, no tuition, discretionary spending, hospital fees or insurance costs. For that amount, we can thrive and be comfortable in Thailand.' FLYING FATIGUE Despite the financial benefits of this arrangement, frequent flying is riddled with downsides. The career coach Ms Ng shared a list of cons, such as how spending three to nine hours travelling leaves one with less time to work. She added that super commuters also need to consider the possibility of traffic jams, flight or train delays and weather disruptions. 'All these can lead to an increase in stress, anxiety, sleep deprivation and other health issues,' she said. Corporate lawyer Joel Shen, 44, experiences this firsthand. He primarily lives in Jakarta but regularly commutes between Singapore and different parts of Indonesia for work. He said: 'After a season of high frequency travelling – it was something like 11 flights in six days – I suffered complete burnout. It was so disorientating. Every day I woke up and didn't know what city I was in. 'I got lost in hotel hallways. I was confused because I kept going to the wrong room in the hotel, remembering the previous room number from the previous day.' He added that he would trip over things because he would forget that he was in a different hotel room, with a different layout. The lowest point came when he touched down at Changi Airport in September 2024 after a conference in Bangkok. He was lightheaded and breaking out in cold sweat. The colour had completely drained from his face and his colleagues thought that he was having a heart attack. They considered calling an ambulance but in the end, it was just a scare. Mr Shen took a taxi home and spent the next few days resting. Mr Shen admitted that he does not lead the healthiest lifestyle, due to his super commuting life. 'Frequent travelling means that you are often getting up at unsociable hours. You're having irregular meals, getting into a city when everyone's asleep and leaving before people have woken up. 'It's got an impact on your social life, obviously, because you miss milestones and birthdays and celebrations and so on with family.' The loneliness can be overwhelming, others said. Mr Sng, the business owner who splits his time equally between China and Singapore, said that he does not like the feeling of returning to an empty house after work. In Singapore, he gets to go home to his wife and child, whereas in China he is isolated from his support system. Then there are logistical problems, which can lead to financial losses. Mr Yeo recalled how he missed two flights in the last five years of commuting, because he forgot to adjust his phone settings to accommodate for the time difference between Singapore and Thailand. He now makes sure to arrive at the airport four or five hours early in order to prevent similar accidents from happening again. Mr Ho also pointed out that the cost of his flights add up over time, because he does not only commute between Guangxi and Singapore, but also flies to different parts of China such as Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen for work. Career coach Ms Ng noted: 'For those who are environmentally conscious, they are likely to feel guilty for the high carbon footprint they produce from flying or driving.' BLURRED LINES ON IDENTITY Apart from the impact on an individual's mental and physical wellbeing, super commuting also raises concerns about identity and how governments perceive the individual's residency status. Assistant Professor Liu Jiaqi from Singapore Management University said that the decoupling of physical residency from legal citizenship – that is, when Singaporeans do not live in Singapore – challenges assumptions often taken for granted by policymakers. These include issues concerning loyalty and national obligations. The professor who researches global sociology said: 'Positioned in a grey zone between local workers and members of the diaspora, super commuters challenge conventional ideas of national belonging. 'Super commuters can become objects of suspicion. Questions may arise about their loyalty, from either or both societies, especially when they are perceived as economically benefiting from one country and socially and politically identifying with another.' Prof Liu also added that super commuters may be scrutinised for spending their Singapore-earned income abroad, reinforcing perceptions of disinvestment from the local economy. 'If this trend continues to grow, it will be important to observe how society and policymakers respond to its implications on economic redistribution, cultural affiliation and the politics of mobility.' His colleague, Associate Professor Yasmin Ortiga, added that migrants struggle when state categories and policies fail to recognise the complexity of the identities they hold dear. The sociologist who teaches a course on migration and urbanisation explained that it is simpler to think about the distribution of benefits and welfare when you have citizens living and working within their own nation. 'Super commuting can make things complicated because it becomes trickier to determine where people can make claims for state protections and support. In an ideal world, they should be able to draw from resources across borders, but that is rarely the case,' she added. Indeed, the duality of Mr Yeo's identity has raised questions from family and friends. It is something that he constantly grapples with, especially as he does not want to be defined by a single geographical location. Living in Bangkok, Mr Yeo said that people often ask him which country – Singapore or Thailand – he considers home. He would respond that to him, home is not a physical location, but the people with whom he spends time. For now, that means Thailand, where he lives with his wife and son. But at the same time, he said he will always be proud to be a Singaporean. 'Am I Singaporean? Of course I am, from the way I speak. However, something I learned is that identity and belonging doesn't need to be tied to a postal code.' BROADER REPERCUSSIONS ON THE ECONOMY Super commuters also have to consider the issue of taxes, as they could qualify as tax residents in more than one country. Ms Eugenia Tay, a partner at KPMG in Singapore who specialises in personal tax and global mobility services, said: 'Individuals may overlook that income is often taxed where the work is physically performed, beyond their country of residence or pay. 'This varies by country and can catch commuters off-guard. Without proper planning, these individuals may face higher tax costs, increased compliance complexity, and reduced access to tax reliefs or benefits in either jurisdiction.' She added that they may be required to file multiple tax returns in the country of work and the country of residence to meet the rules, deadlines and paperwork requirements of each country. These complications extend to manpower laws, which can affect the employers of super commuters, noted Ms Karen Ng, who is the regional head of expansion at human resources company Deel. 'Without a unified system, human resource teams often face fragmented oversight and legal risk when hiring remote employees or managing working arrangements like super commuting,' said Ms Ng. Hence, she highlighted the growing need for businesses to adopt flexible, compliant solutions to manage a globally distributed workforce. Global employer services leader Sabrina Sia from Deloitte Southeast Asia added that it would be prudent for Singapore employers to seek advice to review any super commuting or remote work arrangements to ensure that they are fully aware of the tax risks and reporting requirements before agreeing for their employees to undertake such arrangements. On the flip side, SMU's Prof Liu said that super commuting generally produces positive effects on the local economies of neighbouring countries where these commuters reside. 'By earning income in a strong foreign currency, super commuters channel purchasing power into local consumption and help support the livelihoods of local families, who often depend on the financial resources they provide.' But in Singapore, this might affect the amount of Goods and Services Tax (GST) that the Singapore government is able to collect from super commuters, said Deloitte's indirect tax leader Richard Mackender. 'If the trend of super commuting were to become so widespread that there is a noticeable reduction in GST receipts overall, the Singapore government has other options it could consider to make up the revenue. '(This includes) higher passenger taxes on flights or increased entry fees at the land checkpoints,' added Mr Mackender. So, in the end, she said that although the tax 'mix' might change, the tax system could be managed so that the total tax receipts remain the same. On top of these issues, with Singaporeans moving abroad, might this lead to a 'brain drain' as talent leaves to be based elsewhere? Mr Song, the economist, felt that this is not a problem because it 'works the other way' too: When overseas Singaporeans share the country's culture with people abroad, it also attracts talent from those countries to work here. 'Even with people leaving, our population is still growing. So in that sense, Singapore is constantly undergoing that change, the internationalisation,' he said. NAVIGATING LIFE ABROAD Even as the super commuters who spoke to CNA TODAY said they have no regrets about adopting this lifestyle, they admitted that adjusting to a different environment can be tricky, especially when the living standards in their new home might not match up to those in Singapore. Mr Tan Quee Peng, the managing director of an architectural firm, spends a quarter of his time in Singapore and the rest in Vietnam. His company is headquartered in Singapore but has offices in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh, which he leads. 'Here (in Vietnam), I get blackouts on the streets – suddenly there's a power overload and it's complete darkness, because infrastructurally, it's a developing country," he said. "There's a lot for the country to catch up with to increase power, have better quality road connections, and drains.' Mr Yeo agreed, saying that it is common to see potholes in Thailand – a rarity in Singapore, which has well-maintained public amenities. But that is a trade-off that he is willing to accept. Unfamiliarity with local cultures might bring about unexpected inconveniences, but also surprising encounters. That was the case for Mr Shen, the lawyer in Jakarta. When he had just moved to Indonesia, he did not know about Lebaran, the Indonesian name for the Muslim holiday known as Hari Raya Aidilfitri in Singapore and Malaysia. He also did not realise that unlike in Singapore, where the public holiday for Hari Raya is a single day, Indonesians mark Lebaran with a two-week public holiday. 'What I hadn't realised was that the entire country shuts down for two weeks and nothing happens. Everybody who works in Jakarta goes home to spend time with their family, and I was stuck in Jakarta,' he said. By the time he realised it, it was too late for him to make any holiday plans because all the flights leaving Indonesia were full. But a client unexpectedly called him and invited him to stay with her family at a villa in Bali at the last minute. He said: 'I stayed, and met many of their wonderful friends passing through. Some of my closest friends today in Indonesia are people I met during that stay, and that was a complete eye opener and taught me how warm and hospitable Indonesians are.' On the flip side, super commuters told CNA TODAY that they feel frustrated when their family members have misconceptions about the country they are staying in. Mr Ho recalled: 'During Chinese New Year, I get questions like 'Are you scared of getting kidnapped and shipped to Myanmar?' But we're talking about central Bangkok! We're not talking about the outskirts of Thailand.' Mr Sng said that some family members think that because he is overseas, he is "playing" all the time and touring different places. But in fact, he spends most of his time working and returning home once his work is finished. BEFORE EMBARKING ON THE LIFESTYLE While all the benefits of this lifestyle may seem appealing, there are several considerations worth looking into before becoming a super commuter, according to career coach Samantha Ng. She said that wannabe super commuters should think why they are making such a move and for how long. This is to ensure that they are not doing it based on impulse, which may lead to undesired outcomes. 'Sometimes the idea of breaking away from the corporate lifestyle is very enduring. However, one can feel equally lost and aimless if we are not mentally prepared for what's next,' she added. Another key factor is how the move that they will be embarking on fits into their career development plan. In an ideal situation, they should make sure that what they are doing brings them closer to their life purpose. 'Additionally, if this move requires the involvement of partners, spouses, parents, or children, they must undergo the same thought process so that everyone is aligned,' she stressed. Mr Sng said that his wife has known him for seven years and understands his need to travel for work. 'We have a baby now so a lot more expenses are coming in.' But he said that he intends to stop super commuting in about 10 to 15 years, so he can be more present when his now 16-month-old daughter is going through her teenage years, which he believes is the period he 'needs to be more attentive' towards her. Right now, super commuting means that they are apart much of the time, and he does not always get to witness his daughter's milestones. 'When I brought her to China last year in December, I saw the first time she started to walk. That was a nice moment.'
