In the age of AI, companies no longer need to expand their workforce when demand rises. “Let’s say you need to hire a new headcount. The first question is, ‘Can you just use a chatbot or something? Do you need to hire another headcount?’ It becomes a condition where if you really need to hire, then you hire,” Sim says.
This marks a shift from just a few years ago, when companies might have outsourced work to cheaper labour markets, Sim adds. “It used to be, ‘Okay, don’t hire in Singapore. Use labour arbitrage and go to a cheaper market and then hire in KL, Jakarta or Vietnam.’ That used to be the argument, but now even in Jakarta, people will say, ‘Can you just use AI?’”
Few are as well-informed as Sim about the local and regional hiring landscape. HRnetGroup, founded in 1992 by her father Peter Sim with just four employees, has since expanded across 18 Asian cities and now employs over 900 consultants. Headquartered in Singapore, the company serves clients in both North Asia (Beijing, Shanghai, Taipei, Hong Kong, Tokyo, Seoul) and Southeast Asia (Kuala Lumpur, Jakarta, Bangkok, Ho Chi Minh City).
Peter Sim remains chairman of HRnetGroup, while his brother JS Sim is executive director of the company and CEO of Recruit Express, one of 20 brands under HRnetGroup.
See also: Singapore lags global peers in AI returns despite matching adoption rates: report
Navigating the job market has always been tough, but AI could change the game entirely due to its disruptive potential across industries. Anthropic cofounder and CEO Dario Amodei was speaking at the World Economic Forum in January when he warned that the world “might be six to 12 months away from when the model is doing most, maybe all of what software engineers do end-to-end.”
A study by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in January 2024 found that nearly 40% of global jobs are exposed to AI, with the figure rising to 60% in advanced economies. The IMF warns that while half of these jobs could benefit from AI, the other half may face wage suppression and reduced hiring. In extreme cases, some could even vanish.
The global rise of AI tools could threaten Singapore’s position as one of Asia’s top economies. The city-state has long leveraged its skilled, English-speaking workforce to attract multinational companies.
See also: Alibaba hikes AI prices as much as 34% to meet demand surge
“If you realise, it is the Indonesians and the Thais who are the most avid adopters of AI, even more so than Singapore. It’s simple. There’s a lot of incentive. They signed up on their own to Claude and everything because it closed the language gap. Suddenly, it became harder to distinguish between something that was produced in Singapore and something that was produced in Jakarta, in Ho Chi Minh, or in Bangkok,” Sim says.
“We can command higher pay if we can create greater value. But if our neighbours are creating the same things as we are? That’s scary for Singaporeans,” she adds.
Still, the city-state isn’t letting up. AI took centre stage in this year’s budget, with Prime Minister and Finance Minister Lawrence Wong announcing plans to establish and lead a National AI Council. The council will oversee ‘National AI Missions’ to accelerate AI adoption in sectors like advanced manufacturing, connectivity, finance and healthcare, along with other investments to develop local AI talent and reskill workers.
“AI is a powerful tool — but it is still a tool,” says Wong. “It must serve our national interests and our people. We will define how AI is developed and used in Singapore.”
These schemes will be crucial, as AI proficiency is now a baseline expectation for companies when evaluating new hires. “Overall, across Asia, it’s very clear that the expectation of increased productivity per headcount is there. Our clients are very explicit, “Show us how they are AI fluent. Show us how they have utilised AI and it has enhanced their productivity and efficiency,” Sim says.
Her view aligns with Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, who stated last year that it isn’t AI itself taking jobs, but those who use it. “You’re not going to lose your job to an AI, but you’re going to lose your job to someone who uses AI,” says Huang.
In industries like ride-hailing and food delivery, AI is already dictating tasks and pay for platform workers. Sim warns that those who don’t embrace AI risk having their livelihoods controlled by it. “If you don’t actively choose to use AI, you will end up being used by it.”
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Going all in on AI
HRnetGroup is practising what it preaches, investing in its internal tech capabilities and expanding its team. “10 years ago, we may have only had one person. Now it’s 20 people,” Sim says of the company’s tech talent pool. “We even have a UI (user interface), UX (user experience) designer. We have a QA (quality assurance) person. We have different product owners.”
The ethos of AI integration runs throughout the company, with HRnetGroup’s communications team constantly exploring ways to improve efficiency, like using Canva, an online design platform. She adds: “We continually do that. We asked people to share, ‘So in Canva, what features are you using to be better, to be faster?’ It becomes part of the conversation, a daily routine that you keep thinking about. What’s the best tool to use now?”
HRnetGroup has pivoted to navigate shifts in the employment landscape. Adeline says the company now focuses on roles AI can’t replace, like kindergarten teachers, allied educators, and health professionals. This shift has boosted revenue in their staffing business. “The safe roles are the ones that AI cannot do or a robot cannot do. So long as the role actively requires human interaction, then we are okay,” she adds.
Uncertainty in the macro-environment has also benefited HRnetGroup’s staffing business, as companies opt for a lean workforce that can be supplemented with contract hires when needed. “If they take them on contract first and see how it goes, they can always convert to permanent later if they want to. The flexibility is there,” Sim says.
AI’s impact on recruiters’ roles doesn’t concern her as much. While useful in the initial screening stages, AI cannot replace the need for firms like HRnetGroup, especially when it comes to executive hires. “If you think about the talent landscape, the job seekers are only like the tip of the iceberg. 90% of people, and the performers in particular, are not actively looking for a job at all. So we have to go in and attract them,” adds Sim.
While companies could source executive hires independently, they’re likely to benefit more from professional recruiting firms handling the outreach. “It might not be as easy for a third party where we can actually share with the candidates details like, ‘Oh, for your industry, this particular company, what is it known for? What is it good for? What is its growth plan?’ It’s more convincing coming from us than if the company does it themselves.”
Nearly listing in Hong Kong
HRnetGroup started trading on the Singapore Exchange (SGX) in June 2017, but that nearly didn’t happen. Sim says the company was initially considering going public on the Hong Kong Exchange.
“We were actually supposed to be a Hong Kong listing. The very first time I met Boon Chye, I said, ‘I really don’t want to waste your time because we already decided to do a Hong Kong listing.’ Then he says, ‘It’s okay, why don’t you hear us out,’” Sim says while recounting her conversation with SGX CEO Loh Boon Chye.
What changed her mind was when HRnetGroup’s cornerstone investors told her they would assign the same valuation to the company if it chose to list in Singapore instead.
“The Hong Kong Exchange was so inundated. We were just one of 600, whereas SGX was actively pursuing,” adds Sim. “So at the end of the day, when our cornerstones told us that whether we list in Hong Kong or Singapore, same valuation, then we said, ‘Why not be where we are wanted?’ We are headquartered here. Everything is easier.”
HRnetGroup made its trading debut on June 16, 2017, at an opening price of 95 cents, about 5% higher than its offer price of 90 cents. Shares for HRnetGroup fell to a low of 41 cents on March 23, 2020, but have since picked up. The company’s stock price has hovered between 75 cents and 80 cents since mid-2021.
A dividend play
On most counts, HRnetGroup is an attractive investment. The company’s revenue and net profit after tax have been growing steadily, reaching $584 million and $53 million, respectively, in 2025, up from $0.7 million and $0.02 million in 1993.
HRnetGroup’s stock, however, is more of a dividend play. Since 2020, the company’s dividend payout ratio has ranged from 50% to 85%. The dividend yield for HRnetGroup shares ranges from 4.5% to 5.9%. Depending on when one enters their position, there may not be much capital gain to lock in, since HRnetGroup’s stock price hasn’t moved much between 2024 and 2025.
“How do we get valued at 25 or 30 times P/E, like the Japanese peers or the Chinese peers? We are not in any way inferior. In fact, we are in the more exciting markets,” Sim says.
HRnetGroup’s PE has been hovering at around 16 times. In comparison, the parent company of the job platform Indeed, Recruit Holdings, has a P/E of around 30 times.
“Last time, nobody cared about profits. You just have to show growth. Then we are seen as boring because we are playing so safely. Even with clients, we don’t want to do those with a super low margin. We are not here to grow revenue, we want to grow profits,” Sim says, adding that a shift in investor attitude may help to tweak HRnetGroup’s valuations.
“Now is the time when people are actually saying, ‘Are you creating real profits?’ which we consistently do. Every year, we are profitable. Every year, we declare dividends. I think it will be recognised over time.”
Strategic cash reserves
HRnetGroup holds a sizable cash pile. In 2025, the company held about $336 million in cash and cash equivalents ($262.9 million), credit-linked notes and short-term Singapore Government Securities ($62.7 million), and gold ($10.7 million).
While some investors may question the size of the cash pile, Sim maintains that it is necessary to support the company’s growth and finance potential acquisitions. “We have actually increased the dividend payouts to twice yearly. We have also been doing share buybacks.”
“But do we want to empty our kitty and then pay out all the $300 million? The answer is no. It doesn’t make sense,” she adds. “We are not here to just empty the kitty and run. It’s a company that we fully plan to operate, build and grow. So there’s no hurry to.”
PhillipCapital’s Paul Chew raised his target price for HRnetGroup to 82 cents from 78 cents on Feb 27, two days after the company announced its FY2025 results on Feb 25. Chew is maintaining his “accumulate” recommendation for HRnetGroup, though he notes that the company’s performance in its home market of Singapore “remains soft.”
Chew says the company is facing “bifurcated market conditions” as it tries to offset sluggish growth in Singapore with volume growth in Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, Korea and Taiwan.
Taiwan, in particular, is a “bright spot” for HRnetGroup given the hiring taking place in the semiconductor, technology, and food and beverage industries. “HRnet can accelerate growth as overseas operations continue to build up in size and scale,” Chew adds.
CGS International’s Tan Jie Hui and Lim Siew Khee share a similar view to Chew. In a note on Feb 26, Tan and Lim maintained their hold recommendation for the stock but raised their target price to 78 cents, up from 70 cents previously.
“Despite cautious hiring sentiment in Singapore, the share price has gained 9% in FY2025, largely driven by the Equity Market
Development Programme,” the pair write, citing the $6.5 billion fund set up by the Monetary
Authority of Singapore to raise investor interest in Singapore equities by channelling capital into the local market.
Tan and Lim’s valuation uses a 14 times P/E multiple, as opposed to the 13 times multiple they used previously. This is in line with HRnetGroup’s historical average for FY2017 to FY2025 and is a reflection of HRnetGroup’s “improving growth momentum and dividend outlook.”
Switching lanes
2026 marks Sim’s 18th year at HRnetGroup. Despite being the founder’s daughter, she never felt obliged to join the company after earning her law degree from the National University of Singapore.
Sim began her career at Drew and Napier, where she trained as a disputes lawyer under two prominent figures: Indranee Rajah and Sin Boon Ann. Both ventured into politics —
Indranee became the Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office, while Sin served as a
Member of Parliament from 1997 to 2011. After four years at the firm, Sim left to start a family. “I had two kids 13 months apart, so I felt it would be quite hard to continue at that point.”
Her legal training still proves invaluable in running HRnetGroup, Sim adds. “When you’re trained as a lawyer and have practised as well, you are not afraid to look through documents or to ask questions. It’s far harder to intimidate a lawyer.”
The attention to detail defines her work approach. For instance, applicants at HRnetGroup may even receive an interview request from Sim herself. “I actually try to arrange for all interviews myself because to me, that gives me the first glimpse of the person. How long do they take to respond? What’s their interaction like? If the person takes three days to even reply to me, it gives me that first sense.”
Some candidates have impressed her by reaching out during the application process. “I’ve always been very impressed when they track me down and say, ‘Oh, we heard you are the final interviewer.’ I know that going forward, if you really want to contact a client or a hiring manager, it’s what you will do, right? If you do it with me, you will do it with the person.”
The latest graduate employment survey, released by the Ministry of Education on March 5, shows that the percentage of graduates securing full-time positions in 2025 has dropped to 74.4%, down from 79.4% in 2024.
The tougher employment landscape is more a result of the broader macroeconomic environment than AI alone, she adds, noting that this year’s graduating cohort will also face the fallout from the ongoing conflict in Iran. She advises fresh graduates to be tenacious in securing and succeeding in their careers, a mindset she also encourages her own teenage children to adopt in today’s competitive environment.”
“People used to think that for your first job, you are there to learn,” Sim says. “But now, you have to show how you can add value. The expectation is actually higher for the fresh grad. It is about what you can bring to the table.”
“What I say is very unpopular, but Singapore is so expensive, you actually have to justify why you should be hired instead of somebody for RM 5,000 ($1,626), or whatever it is. Therefore, you know you need to take this all-hands-on-deck kind of attitude instead of saying, ‘I need my work-life balance’.”
