Hit hard in pandemic, service industries in Asia-Pacific countries explore new models for survival under "new normal"

HONG KONG, July 4 (Xinhua) -- The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has dealt a heavy blow to service industries in Asia-Pacific countries, with sectors such as tourism, catering, retailing hit the hardest. Apart from providing direct financial subsidies to help these sectors survive, governments in some countries have been proactively guiding their enterprises and labor forces on developing new business approaches and skill shifts to adapt to the "new normal" of this difficult time. SINGAPORE: "FUTURE ECONOMY" Song Chao, who runs two famous Chinese restaurant brands Xie Lao Song and Xiao Wei Yang in Singapore, is one of the entrepreneurs who responded actively to Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong's...