SINGAPORE: The days of searching the Internet or leafing through flyers for a plumber or painter might be gone if a new mobile application takes off.

The app, named Ovvy, aims to make it easier to get things done around the house by allowing homeowners to post detailed jobs with an asking price that service providers can bid for.

When considering bids, homeowners can see individual profiles, ratings and reviews before deciding which provider to choose. This helps them get the best deal.

“I feel that’s important to me,” co-founder Thomas Beattie told Channel NewsAsia. “I don’t want to just be allocated somebody and told this person is coming to your house.”

Ovvy currently deals in six categories of services in the domestic sector: Cleaning, moving, plumbing, air-con, electrical and handyman, which can involve painting, hanging and assembling.

Sharing Economy Association Singapore (SEAS) president Jim Tan welcomed the new app, saying that customers and service providers will benefit from the efficiency and transparency it provides.

“The platform acts as a marketplace which has resources (for) marketing and promotions,” he added. “It saves time and energy so service providers can focus on their professional tasks.”

But Mr Tan cautioned that Singapore’s small market means it could be difficult to “sustain so many apps of such service”.

“Many (sharing economy start-ups) have entered and left Singapore as it’s competitive and low margin,” he said.

Ovvy is not the first to offer a service like this. Kaodim and ServisHero, for example, have apps that do roughly the same, except each job is automatically matched to a service provider.

Serial entrepreneur Jeremy Lim, who has co-founded multiple start-ups ranging from a digital advertising agency to an app for co-working spaces, said he doesn’t see Ovvy’s edge in the market.

“It’s a platform model based on the idea of sharing economy, which was something big a few years back,” he added. “People are moving towards decentralised networks using blockchain.”

For example, Mr Lim pointed to ride-hailing app TADA, which logs all rider and driver data using blockchain. “It’s a more advanced and transparent way to operate a sharing economy model,” he explained.

But Mr Beattie said he tries to understand Ovvy’s competitors “really well”. “We like to think we’re different because we built a platform that offers a lot of freedom and choice,” he added.

It seems to be working. Since Ovvy first went live in July, Mr Beattie said the app has ranked in the top 50 of the 200 most downloaded apps in Singapore. He said its “closest competitor” comes in at 190.

Ovvy also gets an average of 3,000 downloads a month, with half of that figure going on to create profiles. A quarter of these 1,500 profiles belong to service providers.

While the app is free to download and use, it currently charges a 10 per cent and 3.5 per cent transaction fee – on top of the job fee – for customers and service providers, respectively.

Still, chief operating officer Mia Gigandet said Ovvy helps customers get a decent bang for their buck by allowing them to compare obscure but equally skilled service providers.

“If you Google, you’re not accessing people who could maybe do your job for less, or maybe who are as qualified but don’t have marketing skills,” she explained.

ENSURING LEGITIMACY

But how can the customer ensure the plumber who comes by isn’t a con man or a bumbling amateur?

First, service providers who upload a photo of their identity card can get a tick on their profile showing they’ve been verified. There’s also a function that allows them to submit relevant job qualifications.

Then there’s the review system, which only allows people who’ve had jobs done to leave a review. And if customers sign in via Facebook, reviews from Facebook friends automatically go to the top.

“We’ve even caught people that have tried to make a very small payment and make a review for themselves,” Ms Gigandet said. “And we’ve deleted them. We do monitor them very carefully and ask questions about it.”

The app’s payment system also helps to prevent scams. Once homeowners accept a bid, they transfer the money via PayPal to an Ovvy account, which only releases the payment to the provider once both parties mark the job as completed.

“It’s much safer for everybody because we hold the funds,” Ms Gigandet said. “If anything goes wrong, we have a record of every single thing that’s happened – every single conversation, every photo that’s transferred.”

If there’s a dispute, Ovvy will call both parties, send someone to take a look at the work done and make a decision.

“If we cannot and both parties are absolutely adamant that our decision is wrong, we will give all the data to them to bring to whatever authority they want,” Ms Gigandet added.

SERVICE PROVIDERS GET HELP

Something else that makes Ovvy stand out is the relationship it tries to build with service providers.

If you’re not getting enough bids accepted, contact 24-hour support through the in-app chat. Someone can help re-write your profile, add more images of jobs you’ve done and even advise on a better profile picture.

“We found that really beneficial because they feel like they’re a part of something,” Mr Beattie said. “We didn’t just want to build something and step back.”

As for the older generation like elderly plumbers who might face difficulties navigating the app, Mr Beattie said Ovvy was designed to be as user-friendly as possible.

“Any question they have, we fix it straightaway,” Ms Gigandet said. “We just help them through very step. It’s a personal walkthrough for every person that reaches out.”

Handyman Ben Arman, 55, has been using the app since it was first released.

“I developed a close rapport with the admin staff and they trust me because I tell them what needs to be improved,” he said. “The app is very simple to use for those who are not really well-educated.”

Mr Arman said he’s also getting more business through the app, which is a far cry from his days of advertising through letterbox flyers and lamp post notices. Now, he bids for three to five different jobs every day, one of which will be successful.

“Last time you hunt for jobs,” he added. “Now, people look for you and they are desperate.”

But Mr Arman said the app should show a “market price” for different jobs, especially as he’s seen homeowners quoting “ridiculous” prices like S$10 for a job. “You need a minimum of S$40 depending on the job,” he added, citing transport, tools and labour costs.

With price guidelines, Mr Arman said homeowners can pick based on trust, reviews and ratings. “The best man wins.”

As the Ovvy team gets more data, Mr Beattie said it is looking to introduce a feature which shows the average rate for jobs, especially as “bids can vary significantly”.

EXPANSION PLANS

With all the verifying, monitoring and personal touches, Mr Beattie acknowledged that work has been quite demanding and time-consuming.

He said the target is hitting 50,000 downloads within the next 12 months, then raising another round of funding and adding to a team that’s only 11-strong.

One spot he’s looking to fill is someone who can reach out to governing bodies, cross-reference service providers’ qualifications with the industry and take care of regulatory concerns.

READ: More support for media freelancers with launch of tripartite standard

SEAS’ Mr Tan said he doesn’t expect regulatory concerns to hinder the app, especially as the services offered are minor tasks.

“The professional service providers should know more about the regulations and they should constantly feedback so that the platform can iterate and become better,” he added.

READ: Strengthen support for freelancers, in light of Uber ‘disappearing act’: Ang Hin Kee

READ: ‘At the brunt of this for many years’: Freelance coaches want level playing field for job search

Moving forward, Mr Beattie wants to make Ovvy better by expanding its category of services.

He said users have suggested services like pest control and pet sitting, which still fall under the domestic sector and thus are “things we will probably implement”.

But Mr Beattie is also thinking of catering to business customers, especially small- and medium-sized enterprises, which need ad-hoc services like graphic designers, social media content creators and web developers.

And he’s keen on venturing into the lifestyle sector, with services like personal training and photography. “We’re kind of still open to (suggestions) when we really expand out of the domestic category,” he added. “It changes every week.”

Ms Gigandet said there’s no timeline as to when this expansion might happen. “We just want to make sure that we got this (domestic) sector done well before we move on,” she insisted.

For Mr Beattie, the long-term goal is for Ovvy to be a “marketplace for multiple services”. “We’re trying to create something which empowers people and provides job opportunities,” he added.

REUTERS: U.S. stocks opened lower on Friday, as disappointing earnings from Amazon and Alphabet rekindled a rush to dump technology and high-growth stocks, but losses were limited by data that showed economic growth slowed less than expected last quarter.

At 9:30 a.m. EDT the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 242.70 points, or 0.97 percent, at 24,741.85, the S&P 500 was down 39.12 points, or 1.45 percent, at 2,666.45 and the Nasdaq Composite was down 178.88 points, or 2.44 percent, at 7,139.46.

(Reporting by Amy Caren Daniel in Bengaluru; Editing by Arun Koyyur)

SINGAPORE:  In the clouds above the stricken city of Palu, all Military Expert 4 (ME4) Brian Rezel could see from his vantage point on board a Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF) C-130 transport aircraft were rooftops protruding from the mud.

“Everything was buried, that whole area was buried,” recalled ME4 Rezel, a C-130 flight engineer.

“We could see the devastation around the airport areas and it was quite bad. There was one area just outside the airport where the liquefaction happened – the soil turned into mud and everything went in.”

Thousands have perished in the earthquake and tsunami that hit central Sulawesi on Sep 28, and thousands more remain missing. 

Much of Petobo, a cluster of villages in Palu, was sucked whole into the ground as the vibrations from the quake turned soil to quicksand in a process known as liquefaction.

READ: 5,000 believed missing in two hard-hit Indonesian quake zones

ME4 Rezel was part of the Singapore Armed Forces’ (SAF) team which delivered supplies to Palu on Oct 2, before staying to support the Indonesian Armed Forces in relief efforts.

Two RSAF C-130 aircraft were involved in the operation, with one returning on Oct 17, while the second landed at Paya Lebar Air Base on Friday morning (Oct 26).

The 26 returning personnel were received by Chief of Defence Force Lieutenant-General Melvyn Ong, and Chief of Air Force Major-General Mervyn Tan, among others.

READ: Play, sing and dance: A road to recovery for displaced children after Sulawesi quake

Flying an average of four to seven sorties a day, the aircraft and aircrew were involved in the ferrying of supplies and aid from Balikpapan to Palu, as well as transporting displaced civilians from Palu.

The RSAF flew more than 90 sorties, transporting close to 800 displaced persons out of the affected areas and ferried about 250 tonnes of supplies.

Speaking to reporters, ME4 Rezel, 56, who was also deployed in the humanitarian assistance and disaster relief mission for the Aceh tsunami in 2004, said the level of devastation was “quite similar”.

“It’s the first time I’m seeing things like (the liquefaction), but in Aceh what we saw were houses being just flattened,” ME4 Rezel said. 

Despite being a veteran of at least eight humanitarian missions, ME4 Rezel was moved to tears as he recalled an incident where a local woman expressed her gratitude after being evacuated from Palu.

“There was this one time where an elderly lady approached me, held my hand and just said ‘terima kasih‘ (‘Thank you’ in Indonesian) … I choked up.”

Captain Elson Wong, a flight navigator from the 122 squadron, also recalls a similar incident after an evacuation.

“When we landed in Balikpapan, this family was thanking every crew member that was in my flight. When they reached me, the father shook my hand and said: ‘Thank you so much for your help. God will bless you.’ While he was saying that, there were tears rolling from his eyes,” said CPT Wong, 30.

“I was just glad that I was there and able to help.”

READ: At Sulawesi quake’s epicentre, survivors struggle to survive with limited aid

The deployment also meant that CPT Wong, whose wife recently gave birth, had to spend some time apart from his six-week-old daughter Amellia.

“There were a lot of mixed emotions but being one of the more senior navigators in the squadron, I had to set an exemplary role to the rest of the juniors … I did speak to my wife and she was supportive,” he said.

Lieutenant-Colonel (LTC) Oh Chun Keong, 39, national contingent commander of the mission, believes that the cooperation between the Indonesian National Armed Forces and foreign forces such as the RSAF was key to the relief effort.

“The initial situation has improved over time,” explained LTC Oh. “While I think there is still some effort required to recover and reconstruct Palu, Sigi and Donggala, I’m quite confident the Indonesians will be able to do the job.”

SINGAPORE: In an effort to spur consumers to switch to energy efficient bulbs, the National Environment Agency (NEA) is raising what is known as the Minimum Energy Performance Standards (MEPS) of light bulbs, which will effectively phase out halogen lamps.

The agency is aiming for all light bulbs in Singapore to be, minimally, as energy efficient as LED bulbs from 2023 onwards, it said in a media release on Friday (Oct 26).

Under the current MEPS regulations, halogen or incandescent bulbs, which account for about 5 per cent of all regulated lamps sold in Singapore, must attain a one-tick rating, and LED bulbs must attain a two-tick rating. From Nov 1, 2019, all bulbs, incandescent or LED, must attain a two-tick rating on their Energy Label when brought into Singapore for sale.

Anyone who flouts the MEPS regulations when they come into force will be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding S$10,000.

The NEA will also introduce two enhancements to the Mandatory Energy Labelling Scheme (MELS) – more than 80 per cent of lamps sold in Singapore will be covered, and displaying of energy labels in all publicity materials, physical or digital, is now mandatory. These will take effect on Nov 1, 2019.

“It is important for consumers to be able to differentiate energy-saving products, such as LED lamps, from less energy efficient products,” said Mr William Song, the sales marketing head at LEDVANCE, a lighting supplier.

“This allows them to make informed choices and benefit from the greater durability, light quality and lower energy consumption of LED lamps, which results in cost savings for families in the long run.

SINGAPORE: A gutsy Elina Svitolina willed herself to the semi-finals after overcoming Caroline Wozniacki in a gruelling three-set match, knocking the defending champion out of the WTA Finals in Singapore.

The unbeaten Ukrainian outlasted Wozniacki 5-7, 7-5, 6-3 in two hours and 35 minutes to finish top of White Group.

Karolina Pliskova also qualified after the Czech defeated compatriot Petra Kvitova in straight sets earlier in the night.

Having won her opening two matches, Svitolina needed just one set to clinch her semi-finals spot, while Wozniacki required a straight sets victory.

After the Australian Open champion claimed the much-needed first set, it all came down to a pulsating 12th game of the second.

Svitolina wasted four set points but an errant forehand from Wozniacki on her fifth triggered elation from the Ukrainian.

“It was an amazing match, she really pushed me to the limit,” Svitolina said after the match. “I tried to stay aggressive and focused on placing the ball in the right corners.”

An aggressive Wozniacki made a fast start to the match and attacked Svitolina’s serve. Underlining the tense situation, both players slugged along the baseline in long rallies with little separating them in a high-standard spectacle.

After being broken in the eighth game, Wozniacki was just three points away from elimination in the tenth but dug deep to reel off three straight games to claim the first set.

With all to play for in the second set, the standard lifted with Wozniacki hitting a sublime slice winner to hold serve in the sixth game but she couldn’t convert two game points in the decisive 12th game.

Svitolina captured a break in the eighth game of the third set en route to continuing her unbeaten record in the tournament.

It was sweet revenge for Svitolina, who won just two games against Wozniacki at last year’s WTA Finals.

Earlier, Pliskova became the first player into the final four after a 6-3, 6-4 triumph against Kvitova in 83 minutes.

Winless Kvitova needed to win in straight sets to keep her campaign alive but struggled throughout to complete a disappointing first WTA Finals appearance since 2015.

Former world number one Pliskova booked her spot in the semi-finals for the second straight year having also beaten Wozniacki earlier in the tournament.

It was Pliskova’s first victory over Kvitova after three straight losses.

“It was a huge victory for me,” she told reporters after the game. “It meant a lot to get into the semi-finals after beating her, it’s just special.”

Kvitova played down fatigue as a factor after a gruelling season.

“I was really feeling well physically and mentally,” she said. “I still had a lot of positive thoughts in the match to fight and turn it around but it didn’t happen.”

It was one-way traffic early with heavy-hitting Pliskova rattling off the opening four games en route to eliminating the number four seed, who had 15 unforced errors in the first set.

With the pressure off, Kvitova stormed to a 4-2 lead in the second set as it appeared a seventh straight match at the WTA Finals would go the distance.

But Pliskova rediscovered her rhythm to win four straight games and book a berth into the semis.

The final round-robin matches in Red Group will be played on Friday with all four players still in the race for semi-final spots.

SINGAPORE: The Workers’ Party (WP) secretary-general Pritam Singh on Thursday (Oct 25) contested the view that not calling a tender for the first managing agent contract in 2011 signalled to the wider market that the Aljunied-Hougang Town Council (AHTC) is only open for business from its supporters.

Mr Pritam Singh, who took to the witness stand for the first time in the landmark trial, was cross-examined by Senior Counsel Davinder Singh, the lead lawyer for Pasir Ris-Punggol Town Council (PRPTC), on this point. 

Mr Davinder Singh asked the WP Member of Parliament (MP) if it occurred to him that the wider industry would know that no tender was called prior to the appointment of FM Solutions and Services (FMSS) as managing agent in 2011, to which the latter said yes.

He also asked if it occurred to Mr Pritam Singh that others would know that Ms How Weng Fan, then appointed general manager of AHTC, is a shareholder of FMSS.

READ: Sylvia Lim gave FMSS ‘insider information’ to help company in tender bid: Davinder Singh

“Of course. It would cost S$5.15 to do an ACRA (Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority) search,” the WP MP replied.

The PRPTC lawyer then posited that waiving the tender process at this point signalled to the others in the wider industry that there was no hope in getting a managing agent contract from this town council. He backed this up with passages from Mr Pritam Singh’s affidavit, which stated how “many eligible contractors avoid submitting tender bids for AHTC term contracts” due to it being an opposition ward.

“So, when you waive a tender, appoint someone associated with Hougang Town Council and the world finds out about it, what you are doing is effectively telling the world: Don’t bother to come and try and get a contract with us. We will go with our own,” Mr Davinder Singh suggested.

“I disagree, Mr Singh,” the WP MP said. 

“And it is because of that objective and that message that it couldn’t have surprised you that in the second (managing agent) and second EMSU contracts, nobody bid except FMSS,” the lawyer carried on. 

“I disagree with that.”

READ: Workers’ Party MPs appeal for help with legal fees

The PRPTC lawyer then asked Mr Pritam Singh whether he agreed that if the elected councillors believed they had “good grounds” to waive calling a tender then, it would be the “responsible thing to do” to lock in the new managing agent to existing rates for the next two years, instead of leaving itself open to another round of price negotiations one year on. 

To this, Mr Pritam Singh disagreed and said his understanding was the contract was based on the rates agreed with the previous managing agent, CPG Facilities Management. “It was not done in the shadow of darkness to benefit FMSS.”

He added: “I disagree with you, and I disagree because I think it was a better idea to give FMSS – which was awarded the (managing agent) contract without tender – only one year, so after that, a tender can be called and there may be other players who may bid and may come with better rates.” 

“You can’t have it both ways. You can’t say nobody is going to touch us, and then one year later, say the market is suddenly going to embrace us,” Mr Davinder Singh countered, in a charge he had similarly made against fellow WP member in the lawsuit, Mr Low Thia Khiang. 

“The market has money to make from (a managing agent) contract. They have to make a business consideration,” Mr Pritam Singh said.

“You’ve made the decision for the market when you sent that message loud and clear when you waived the tender and went with someone associated with WP,” Mr Davinder Singh parried back.

“I disagree,” Mr Pritam Singh said.

READ: AHTC trial: Sylvia Lim concedes fellow Workers’ Party MPs ‘breached duties’

The judge, Justice Kannan Ramesh, later asked for clarification on whether the same outcome of having more bidders and consequently better rates may have happened if the elected councillors did not waive calling for a tender in 2011. 

The WP sec-gen agreed with the judge on that possibility, but said the MPs were “labouring to take over the entirety of the town council quickly, stabilise the operations then move forward”. 

Mr Pritam Singh, along with fellow WP MPs Low and Sylvia Lim, and AHTC councillors Kenneth Foo and Chua Zhi Hon, are being sued by AHTC and PRPTC for alleged breaches of fiduciary duty relating to the appointment of FMSS.

This, along with “flawed governance” of the town council and “improper” payments of more than S$33 million made mostly to FMSS, is the subject of two lawsuits that are also aimed at FMSS employees How and Danny Loh, who held positions at AHTC. 

“TWO WRONGS DON’T MAKE A RIGHT”

Mr Davinder Singh also questioned the process of calling a tender to appoint a panel of consultants and leaving it to the managing agent to choose which contractor on that panel would do specific jobs, suggesting that AHTC could and should have approved of the choice at least.

Mr Pritam Singh said that they had proceeded on the basis of precedent, noting that the previous town council’s managing agents had engaged in the same practice. 

“But two wrongs don’t make a right,” Mr Davinder Singh countered. 

“I hold a different view,” Mr Pritam Singh said, adding that he would expect the managing agent to decide “which is the best person to do the job”.

When it was put to the WP MP that they did not follow the rules, or the “rationale and spirit of the rules” of the Town Councils Financial Rules (TCFR), Mr Pritam Singh disagreed.

READ: AHTC trial: Sylvia Lim agrees to stating ‘untruth’ about extra cost for new managing agent

“I believe we followed it. We appointed the consultants properly … they were then reviewed on their ability to take on the scope of works and the appropriate consultant was awarded the job,” he said. 

The mood in Thursday’s hearing appeared markedly different from the preceding days, when Ms Lim was on the stand. Where the exchanges between Ms Lim and Mr Davinder Singh were fraught with tension at times, Mr Pritam Singh’s cross-examination was largely conducted in a more cordial manner.

The WP sec-gen was allowed to step down from the witness stand on the same afternoon, to be replaced by AHTC councillor Kenneth Foo Seck Guan. 

KENNETH FOO “WENT ALONG UNQUESTIONINGLY” WITH ELECTED MEMBERS

In cross-examining Mr Foo on the witness stand, PRPTC lawyer Mr Singh charged that he had “gone along unquestioningly” with the decisions made by the elected members. 

On one occasion, during the first town council meeting on Jun 9, 2011, incumbent managing agent CPG Facilities Management had, according to Mr Foo, asked to be released from its contract with the town council by Aug 1. 

Mr Foo also explained that as he had heard nothing about the matter, he had thought that CPG was continuing as the managing agent right up till the second town council meeting on Aug 4, 2011. It was during that meeting that FMSS was introduced. 

He agreed that to the best of his recollection, neither he nor anyone else at the meeting had asked any questions during the meeting about why a tender had not been called for a new managing agent, a point that Mr Singh picked up on and asked him about. 

Mr Foo said that he believed it was “challenging” to do a tender within two months, pointing out that from his experience in his own organisation, the entire process could take as long as three to four months. 

“I believed it had been considered by the elected MPs … and the timeframe, the critical things that had been done … and the decision had been made not to call a tender,” he said. 

“So you believed the elected MPs had considered the matter, you were prepared to go along with it unquestioningly,” Mr Singh shot back. 

“I believed they had given deep thought about it at that point in time,” Mr Foo responded, adding that the town council had delegated authority to WP chairman Lim to make decisions on the council’s behalf. 

He also disagreed that he had “gone along unquestioningly”, stressing that independently, he felt that it was a “short time frame” for a tender. 

The trial will resume on Monday (Oct 29) with Mr Foo continuing on the stand. 

SINGAPORE: Karolina Pliskova became the first woman to advance to the last four of the WTA Finals when the big-hitting Czech put on a controlled display to defeat compatriot Petra Kvitova 6-3 6-4 in their final round robin encounter on Thursday (Oct 25).

The former world number one will be joined in the last four by either Elina Svitolina (2-0) or defending champion Caroline Wozniacki (1-1), who complete White Group play at the Singapore Indoor Stadium later on Thursday.

Kvitova (0-3) had lost her opening two matches and knew that only a straight sets victory would give her any chance of advancing but Pliskova (2-1) stayed calm and focussed to record a first win over her compatriot in four attempts.

“I cannot be more happy right now. It was a good match and she’s a great player. She has always beaten me in the past but I knew I had a chance as I have been playing well,” Pliskova said in a post-match interview.

“I’m not thinking about the next match yet, I’ll do what I can to recover first. Before the tournament, I said to myself that I want to enjoy it and I will continue to do just that.”

Kvitova needed to make a fast start to put her opponent under pressure but the double Wimbledon champion lacked movement and coughed up a slew of double faults to fall 4-0 down in the blink of an eye as Pliskova pounced on every opportunity.

Slowly but surely, Kvitova worked her way back into the contest, rallying twice from 40-0 down to win back-to-back games in the middle of the set that finally gave Pliskova something to think about.

Pliskova’s coach Rennae Stubbs urged her to “stay disciplined” in the next changeover and the Czech heeded the advice to curb her attacking instincts as she ended Kvitova’s tournament by holding serve to take the opener in 41 minutes.

The loss of the opening set appeared to free up Kvitova’s booming forehand and she feasted on Pliskova’s tentative start to the second set to race to a 3-0 lead, but the world number eight battled back brilliantly to book her semi-final place.

In the late match, Ukraine’s Svitolina will advance if she wins one set against Wozniacki, who needs a straight-sets triumph to continue her title defence.

(Reporting by John O’Brien; Editing by Amlan Chakraborty)