T H E O F F I C I AL MAG AZIN E O F TH E BRIT IS H CHA MBER OF COMMERCE - S ING AP ORE
I S S U E 24 : A P R I L M AY 2010
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TOWARDS AN ADVANCED ECONOMY APRIL FEATURE
SME, TAKING THE CHALLENGE
ECONOMIC & BUSINESS INSIGHTS
SINGAPORE BUDGET 2010: SUPERIOR SKILLS, QUALITY JOBS, HIGHER INCOMES
HIGH COMMISSION NEWS
THE UK IS OPEN FOR BUSINESS….
CULTURE
GO EAST AND TAKE MUSIC WITH YOU
building networks connecting business creating opportunities
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Contents
8 - 13
Feature Topis – The SME business; Taking the Challenge
14
Inside Britain - UK residential property’s false dawn
16 - 27
Economic & Business Insights - Singapore Budget 2010 & Productivity
30
High Commission News - The UK is open for business
EDITORIAL
4
Presidents Message
8
A p r i l Fe a t u r e – S M E , Ta k i n g t h e C h a l l e n g e
Q
Entrepreneurship, taught or deeply instilled in certain people – The Hideaways Club
Q
The Top 10 Mistakes of Entrepreneurs – Maroon Analytics
Q
Moving to Asia, Thriving in Asia – The RSA Group
14
Inside Britain
Q
UK residential property’s false dawn – GS Wealth
16
Economic & Business Insights
Q
Budget reflections: Getting the show back on the road – Pricewatehousecoopers
Q
Leadership and management is key to productivity-driven growth – Roffey Park
Q
How do companies increase the productivity of their workforce? – Priority Management
Q
Divorce and retirement – The Fry Group
Q
Boosting productivity – what’s the answer? – Time Technology
Q
Increasing productivity through employee satisfaction - Hays
30
High Commission News
Q
British High Commission News April 2010 - The UK is open for business….
32
BritCham
Q
British Chamber of Commerce, Singapore Update April 2010
Q
Events Calendar
Q
BritCham Members offers
38
Members - Sterling News
Q
Sterling News
Editor: Sebastien Barnard
Orient is a bi-monthly magazine published by the British Chamber of Commerce.
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The views and opinions expressed or implied in Orient are those of the authors or contributors and do not reflect those of the British Chamber of Commerce, its officers or editorial staff. All rights reserved. No reproduction of articles without the prior permission of the Chamber. Unsolicited transparencies ad articles are sent at owners’ own risk and the Chamber accepts no liability for loss or damage. orient 1
Contents 42
BritCham Events
Q
Leaders in Business Lunch: The UK Economy - Moving From Recession to Recovery - SIR Andrew Cahn KCMG, Chief Executive UK Trade & Investment (UKTI) BritCham Breakfast Club: Energy Commodity Pricing: Separating Facts from Conspiracy - Jason Feer, Sr. Vice President / General Manager – Asia Pacific, Argus Media Limited BritCham Breakfast Club: A Non-technical Review of the Pros and Cons of Ship Lay-up - Geoffrey Hutcheon, General Manager - Graig Services (Singapore) Pte Ltd Breakfast Club: Offshore Financial & Tax Planning in a Changing World - Brendan Harper, Technical Services Manager - Friends Provident International Breakfast Club: Business Prospects for Offshore Oil & Gas Services - John Westwood, Chairman of International Energy Analysts Douglas-Westwood BritCham Members Night 2010 Special Event: An Evening with Legends - With rugby stars Sean Fitzpatrick & Gareth Edwards
Q
Q
Q
42 - 47
BritCham Events
Q
Q Q
54
Culture - British Theatre Playhouse: go east and take music with you
48
Members - Corporate News
Q
Corporate News
54
Culture
Q
British Theatre Playhouse: go east and take music with you
56
Expat Experience
Q
The most challenging 12 weeks of my life
60
Wine review
Q
Rubicon Reserve Wines
BRITISH CHAMBER OF COMMERCE, SINGAPORE SPONSORS PLATINUM SPONSORS
SILVER SPONSORS
BRONZE SPONSORS
BREAKFAST CLUB SPONSOR
BRITCHAM WINE SPONSOR
Pr e s i d e n t ’s M e s s a g e sports and the arts emerge strongly in our programme, evidenced recently by our Evening with the Legends, rugby stars Gareth Edwards and Sean Fitzpatrick and the ‘meet the cast’ opportunity at The Tempest. This all adds up to an activity intensity that connects members across multiple platforms and topics - next up is our growing CSR Seminar in May that Steve Puckett feels will be the biggest and best ever. Details of this can be found in this month’s Orient as well as further content around two core topics of SME Insights as well as a viewpoint from PWC on the Singapore Budget 2010 and what it means for you.
Dear Members, I write this edition’s President’s Message with mixed feelings. It is my final message as your President and I will miss the energy passion and drive of everyone I have had the pleasure of working with over the past 8 years; of which the past four years have been as your President. Yet I step down with a strong sense of pride and achievement that we have collectively crafted a Chamber that has built on the strong work of our predecessors and has grown in size, engagement and reputation due to the dynamism of a great team of people that I have had the good fortune to serve with. Recent events show the breadth of the Chamber’s offering from the networking night at Eden Hall with over 200 guests hosted by our Patron, HE Paul Madden, British High Commissioner to the excellent “Innovation Nation” lunch presentation by UKTI CEO, Sir Andrew Cahn. In May this excellent lunch series, sponsored by Barclays Capital, will see it’s next thought leader appearance when we will have the Lord Mayor of London address us. Our Economic Briefing grows from strength-to-strength under the intellectual stewardship of Roman Scott, my Board colleague and Chamber economist. As I write, the latest update for Q1 is scheduled for Thursday 15th April. Yet Britcham’s calendar is not just bringing you business insights and political thought leaders - we are also seeing
Please mark your diary for May 19th, our AGM which will be held at Eden Hall. Four years ago we set out to drive a theme of Bigger, Closer, Smarter with strong growth targets in membership, a desire to be closer to members wants and needs and to raise the business knowledge component of the Chamber. With a committed and passionate management team ably led by Executive Director Brigitte Holtschneider, a pro-active Board (especially my 2 hard working Vice Presidents), active sponsors such as RBS, Barclays Capital and Allied Pickfords and an engaged and supportive membership I feel we’ve done just that and we’ll share that progress with you on the night as well as hand the baton over to new leaders who, I’m sure, will take the Chamber to even greater heights. Thanks for your tremendous support in driving the collective progress and for your time, participation and goodwill. It’s been a pleasure serving you.
Terry O’Connor President British Chamber of Commerce, Singapore
BRITCHAM BOARD: Terry O’Connor - Courts PRESIDENT: VICE-PRESIDENTS: Chris Claridge – TCP Group Steve Puckett – Tri-Zen International TREASURER: EX-OFFICIO: BOARD MEMBERS: Alan Goodyear Chris Davies Chris Hurd David Conway Hugo Walkinshaw John Horsburgh Kevin Burke Philippe Touati Pek Hak Bin Richard Burn Roman Scott Stephen Crisp Simon Wilson
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Peter Allen - Pacific Century Regional Developments Limited Amanda Brooks - British High Commission Mark Howard - British Council RBS Grayling HSBC Jupiter Asset Deloitte Consulting SE Asia Rolls Royce Singapore Pte Ltd Barclays Bank PLC Standard Chartered Bank BP Singapore Pte Ltd Diageo Calamander Group BT Singapore Lloyd’s Asia
COMMITTEES: Events: Chris Claridge Membership: Simon Wilson Corporate Social Responsibility: Steve Puckett External Affairs: Terry O’Connor Education: Eunice Crook BUSINESS GROUPS: Energy & Utilities: Steve Puckett Financial Services: David Conway IT and Communications Technology: Julian Corden Professional Services: Hugo Walkinshaw Media & Marketing: Fiona MacKinnon Shipping, Transport & Logistics: Neil Johnson MANAGEMENT TEAM: Executive Director: Brigitte Holtschneider Events & Sponsorship: Melanie Hewlett Marketing & Communications: Sebastien Barnard Membership Manager: Katie Hudson Accounts: Emmeline Ng Administration: Tiffeny Kua
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BRITISH CHAMBER OF COMMERCE, SINGAPORE STERLING MEMBERS
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share in our success Royal Skandia in Singapore is a premier provider of offshore investment solutions within Skandia International. We offer access to a wide range of assets from a large number of third-party fund managers and other organisations. We have extensive experience in providing services for international investors. But don’t just take our word for it. Financial services experts at ‘International Investment’– the authoritative UK magazine for international advisers – have just judged Skandia International the very first winner of their new award in 2009: Best International Provider – Far East. Skandia International are also proud winners of their Best International Life Group and Best Commitment to Service awards. If you’d like to invest with a leading company that really understands the needs of international investors, ask your financial adviser how you can share in our success.
Skandia International is the divisional name for the international group of companies within the Skandia Group. Calls may be monitored and recorded for training purposes and to avoid misunderstandings. Royal Skandia Life Assurance Limited (Singapore Branch), Level 25, North Tower, One Raffles Quay, Singapore 048583. Phone: +65 6622 5406 Fax: +65 6622 5400 Registered in Singapore number T08FC7158E. Authorised by the Monetary Authority of Singapore to conduct life assurance business in Singapore. Member of the Life Insurance Association of Singapore. Member of the Singapore Finance Dispute Resolution Scheme. Royal Skandia Life Assurance Limited is registered in the Isle of Man under number 24916C. Registered and Head Office: Skandia House, King Edward Road, Onchan, Isle of Man, IM99 1NU, British Isles. Phone: +44 (0) 1624 655 555 Fax: +44 (0) 1624 611 715. Authorised by the Isle of Man Government Insurance & Pensions Authority.
creating opportunities
Fe a t u r e : S M E , Ta k i n g t h e C h a l l e n g e
ENTREPRENEURSHIP, TAUGHT OR DEEPLY INSTILLED IN CERTAIN PEOPLE By: Mike Balfour, Founder and Chairman, The Hideaways Club
I
was at the London Business School last week where they run an adult entrepreneur course that, although expensive, is one of the best in the world. Each year they teach the Fitness First case study and I was asked to go along. They invited me to sit in the back of the auditorium and listen to the students being taught, which is a great reminder to me of the astonishing growth, period of decline, followed by more growth that the Company went through. When the share price crashed in 2002 the graph looked something similar to those seen by a patients bedside as life is expiring. Today it looks far worse than it did at the time. At that point in the lecture the students are divided into two sections, one side represents the management and the other side represents the fund managers, and a good healthy debate continues with both sides taking entrenched positions. At that point and with the students still not knowing that I am in the audience they invite me onto the stage to tell them what actually happened, and how we continued to build Fitness First into the largest health club operator in the world with 550 clubs, 1.5m members in 21 countries across the world.
UK market had slowed due to the minor recession we experienced in 2002 which was also one of our high growth years when we opened a record 44 clubs in one single year just in the UK alone. However the clubs were taking longer to become profitable which meant that we missed our forecast and the stock
entrepreneurship can be taught or is it something that’s deeply instilled in certain people. I suspect it’s a bit of both. The teaching of the subject opens your eyes to what can be done and how it’s been done, but I do believe that to be successful you have to have the X ingredient of sheer determination, total belief in yourself, balanced with a fear of failure and dreams of success and passion for what you do.
“to be successful you have to have the X ingredient of sheer determination, total belief in yourself”
The Fitness First story is a classic highspeed growth story, with some superb entrepreneurial acquisitions that helped us on our way. The first club I opened took longer to make money than I originally thought. The second club was easier and after 5 clubs we floated the business on the London Stock Exchange valued at £14m. 6 years later it was worth £700m. In 2002 the shares had collapsed. The
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market took fright. The shares collapsed from around £3 down to 90 pence, which totally undervalued the company. It was clear that we valued the company at more than the stock market so we did a management buyout with a private equity firm and acquired the company for £415m. 2 years later it was sold to another private equity firm for £835m, which clearly demonstrated that 2002 was not a profit warning but a profit delay. Private Equity recognised what the stock market didn’t and the result was the sale won the Private Equity Deal of the Year. The students love the story but it does raise the question as to whether
I didn’t do well at school and I hated much of it. I just wanted to work. I didn’t go to university but I did sign up to articles in an accountancy firm. The day my articles finished I was off to London. Today I’m what I would describe as a sales orientated financial manager. I actually haven’t done any accountancy for 35 years but I’ve always appreciated the training. It’s given me a grasp of figures that I use every day of my life. In whatever you do you need to be able to sell and present. When I was young I was quite shy and lacked the confidence of others. I was definitely a
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of the most exclusive clubs in the world, but in many respects it’s also the most affordable, imaginative way to invest in overseas property and great vacations with none of the hassle that goes along with ownership of properties abroad.
late developer. In fact I didn’t even start Fitness First until I was 42. I had spent years dreaming of success but I was slow to go for it. I guess over time my confidence built and the desire to have my own business became stronger. But ultimately what really made me go for it, was that I got fired. I used to say that whenever you’re fired it represents an opportunity and this turned out to be the case.
I have big plans for the Hideaways Club. I’m a very sales orientated, customerfocused person and I think I inspire the best out of most people and create loyal teams in business. So many businesses get larger and lose the entrepreneurial spirit and culture that made them so good and ultimately they lose customer focus. The latter is critical because business is about persuading people to buy into your vision and you do that by supplying quality and value in an honest proposition.
“whenever you’re fired it represents an opportunity” I had been quietly working on my own plans and my number 2 guy obviously wanted my job so badly he decided to tell my Chairman what I was up to and I was out. He actually did me the biggest favour of my life. Talk about what goes around, comes around. You can guess out of the two of us who made it and who didn’t. Anyway at 42 with little to lose and yet everything to lose, I went for it and have never looked back. I’ve got two new businesses and I’ve just signed up to the third, and this week I’ve got meetings for a possible fourth and this is me trying to say ‘no’ to any more opportunities! But I love start-ups, they are so enjoyable and challenging. My latest venture is the Hideaways Club, which I co-founded about 3 years ago. I’ve been in the club business for 25 years and Fitness First was all about creating quality and affordable fitness facilities for everybody. The Hideaways Club is at the opposite end of the spectrum. It’s probably one
In the club business as well as with so many other businesses it’s all about customer referral and in today’s IT world bad news spreads incredibly fast. The other word associated with entrepreneurs is risk. Entrepreneurs do take risks that others wouldn’t. However that’s how it may seem from the outside. I think entrepreneurs take very calculated risks. They know the downside before they take the decision and if it does start going wrong, then they react very quickly. Everybody makes mistakes and if it happens, change it and get on, don’t dwell on it. Building a team is critical. I base jobs around people’s strengths. There is no point asking people to do things they’re not comfortable with because they will clearly fail. Instead if you get them to do things that they feel good at, they do amazing jobs and their enthusiasm spreads throughout the company.
The Hideaways club I bought a share in the Hideaways club as a member at the same share price as everybody else and it’s just changed the way my family and I holiday and the real bonus is we have it for life. In a nutshell we buy luxury villas all over the world and place them in a property company. To join the club a member buys a share in the property company (the investment) and then joins the club. For a small annual fee the member gets to holiday in exclusive luxury properties all over the world, which they also own, be it ski, beach, golf or city. We add 15 properties to the club every year so the choice is immense. It’s the members who own all the properties so they share in the upside of any increase in property values. They say timing is everything, and to a great extent it is. In many parts of the world property prices have fallen to record lows, so our members continue to benefit from great properties being acquired at great prices. So if you like villa holidays, we now have 45 villas worldwide and if you enjoy choice and don’t want to have all your wealth tied up in one property with all the hassle, then the Hideaways Club is well worth looking into. www.thehideawaysclub.com. And I forgot to mention the real icing on the cake. Every villa comes with its own full time concierge so everything is pre arranged before you go on holiday making it a real holiday.
2 years ago I was awarded an O.B.E. by H.R.H. Prince Charles for Services to Business. This year I’m off to Las Vegas to collect a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Health Club Industry, it’s the first time they’ve ever awarded it to somebody outside of the USA.
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Fe a t u r e : S M E , Ta k i n g t h e C h a l l e n g e
creating opportunities
TOP TEN MISTAKES OF ENTREPRENEURS By Barry Jones, Principal, Maroon
I
work with entrepreneurs and frequently see the same mistakes. Many come from not having a properly thought out business strategy. However, some simply reflect a poor understanding of capital markets. A UK study reveals only 2% of business plans get funded:
It is not enough to scribble down your idea. It needs to be crafted into a feasible business model. This takes time, and most importantly qualified feedback. Get plenty of advice from people with a wide range of skills / experiences. Encouragement from loved ones, although important, does not count.
What happens to business plans sent to angel investors? R ejected after a 30 minute review R ejected after a 3 hour appraisal R ejected after a full day evaluation R ejected following failed negotiations Succeed in raising funds
60% 25% 10% 3% 2%
Source: I nvestigating the E quity Gap, T anaka B usiness School I mperial College & Cranfield School of M anagement
In fund raising terms, this is the first hurdle to climb. Get past your dog cannon. Mistake #2 Building Rome
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Business is similar – unless you are a PhD working on cutting edge research, odds are you are not going to have a truly unique idea. Most new businesses either take an existing product into a new market, or make small refinements to an existing product. Despite this, entrepreneurs often proclaim the equivalent of the light bulb. Investors will not believe you, and you risk losing credibility. What will impress investors is your ability to clearly articulate the positioning of your product in a crowded market place. Mistake #4 – What Competition?
So 60% never make it past an email inbox, 35% stumble at the pitch / due diligence, leaving only 5% to reach meaningful discussions. Of those, only 40% close. What is going wrong? My top ten are listed below. Mistake #1 – Dog Cannons
Studies show that 93% of us are above average drivers. The business parallel is that our competition consists of incompetent, bureaucratic, visionless idiots.
“What will impress investors is your ability to clearly articulate the positioning of your product”
“I’ve cracked it! I’ve finally rendered the door bell obsolete!” “This is a drawing of a dog being fired out of a cannon.” “Exactly! You simply fire the dog out of the cannon, through the window of the house you wish to visit!” - That Mitchell and Webb Look, BBC. Most business plans only get a cursory review. There are many reasons, but the main one is what I call a dog cannon. Almost all business ideas have merit. But many come with wide-eyed stares, which on paper look like they were fired out of a howitzer. Investors do not have time to indulge them.
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We know Rome wasn’t built in a day, but have you ever wondered how long it took? Apparently, the answer is 870 years. The rule of thumb for a successful business is 10 years.
However, many entrepreneurs adopt the Henry Ford approach and pay scant attention to the lessons of the past. Business plans are littered with dreams of sprawling empires, multiple products, hockey stick revenues and an IPO in 5 years. This is unrealistic. Worse, it scares investors. Empires cost a lot of money, and the risk of failure is high. Investors like to see focus. Start with one idea – a single product and a single distribution channel. Get proof of concept, and then scale. Make that idea work first, then you can take the next step in building Rome. Mistake #3 – Light Bulbs John Lennon said that without Elvis, there would be no Beatles. Elvis himself was influenced by Blues music, and the beat goes on.
The world has over 6 billion people trying to scratch out a living. Someone out there will be equally motivated to serve the same consumer needs as you. It is a good idea to know who these people are, what they are doing, and what they might do in the future. If you show respect to your competitors, investors will respect you more. They are not expecting you to present them with a natural monopoly. Just show that you have a sound strategy for getting your share of the pie. Mistake #5 – Build It and They Will Come There is a direct correlation between product complexity and “navel gazing”, with an implicit assumption that the perfect product will automatically generate sales. Unfortunately, customers do not have divining rods. The burden is on you to
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go find them. A sales strategy should clearly identify your targeted customers, but don’t stop there. You must monitor performance and collect metrics. Calls made, website hits, widgets sold – whatever drives your business, measure it. Metrics make it much easier to sell your investment story. If you demonstrate that the $10,000 you spent on marketing is generating $50,000 in sales, an investor is more likely to believe that an investment of $100,000 will generate $500,000. Mistake #6 – I Did It My Way There is a saying: “You bet on the jockey, as much as the horse”. This represents a culture in which we see business success being driven by a headstrong entrepreneur. We have images of Bill Gates, Steve Jobs and Warren Buffett creating their empires single handedly. This is wrong on two fronts. Firstly, research has shown that the horse is more important than the jockey, which is why you need to get your horse over hurdles 1 – 5. Secondly, you need to give credit to people like Paul Allen, Steve Wozniak, Charlie Munger and countless others who are also responsible for Microsoft, Apple and Berkshire Hathaway. Investors like to see a great horse, with a team of jockeys. Different skill sets, good chemistry, and an ability to synthesize diverse opinions. Mistake #7 – War and Peace So, if you’ve got this far, you should be in a position to send something to investors. But what do you send them?
Avoid being “economical with the truth”. The investor-entrepreneur relationship is more like a marriage than a date. Investors can accept flaws in the business model, and will help you solve them. However, they dislike surprises. Take a long-term view of investors as business partners, rather than a meal ticket. presentation. If investors are interested, you will then get plenty of opportunity to send them all the details they want to see. Mistake #8 – Square Peg, Round Hole The next question is who to target? Cash strapped entrepreneurs often chase every pot of gold in sight. This is time consuming, and it just doesn’t work. You need to groom investors who are genuinely interested in your company. Unless your business is already growing rapidly, or has clear proof of value in a “buzz” sector such as technology or cleantech, the doors of professional investors are closed to you. Most early stage companies find their investors from existing networks. First of all, look at all the people you know. Are there any wealthy people who either like you a lot (i.e. friends and family) or have sector knowledge / general business expertise (potential angels)? That is your investor list. If it is short, have a strategy to add to it. Investors need to know and trust you before they invest. It takes more than a good business plan. You need to work smart in building a capital pipeline, just as you build a sales pipeline for your products. Mistake #9 – Bullshitting
Go into any bookstore and you will find volumes on writing business plans. Business plans are great for helping you structure your thoughts, but don’t expect investors to spend more than five minutes reading them. To raise capital, you need to sell the business. And you sell a business like anything else. Perfect your elevator pitch, send a short teaser, get a meeting and make a 10 slide
Investments in early stage companies are usually too small to justify a formal due diligence. Instead, investors typically rely on face-to-face meetings to gather information. Entrepreneurs are prone to abusing this process, painting a bright picture of the company’s future prospects and attempting to brush all the annoying flaws in the business model under the carpet.
Mistake #10 – Cash is Not King This article started with statistics on businesses getting funded. Clearly entrepreneurs need investors, and cash is most definitely king, stronger than ever post GFC. Inevitably, entrepreneurs will have a higher valuation of their business than an investor. I suspect that this is the main driver for 3 out of 5 deals falling down at the negotiating table. When faced with a difference over valuation, most entrepreneurs will first haggle as if they are in a Turkish bazaar, before resorting to cold war brinksmanship. This creates a hostile environment, and gives investors the opportunity to walk away. Hardly the way you want to start the relationship. A better option is to understand how the investor is valuing your business, and start tweaking the assumptions. There are also plenty of methods of setting the valuation based on a future milestone. In most negotiations, there is a win-win solution hidden somewhere. If you want to get funded, it is up to you to find it. And Finally….Mistake #11 It is said that the biggest mistake is giving up. It is not easy to risk everything on a dream, and the entrepreneurial experience is an emotional rollercoaster. I hope this article will help you avoid a few pitfalls.
www.maroonanalytics.com
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Fe a t u r e : S M E , Ta k i n g t h e C h a l l e n g e
creating opportunities
MOVING TO ASIA, THRIVING IN ASIA By: Ms Laura Thomas, Managing Director of RSA Singapore
E
merging economies in Asia are rapidly becoming global economic powerhouses of the future. In various high tech sectors, Asian markets like China and India are growing rapidly and are expected to overtake the traditionally dominant Western markets and Japan. For example, in 2002, the USA accounted for over half of the global pharmaceutical market, though this dropped to approximately a third by 2007. This is because the pharmaceutical sector has been growing in emerging markets like Asia, in fact, industry experts predict that China will become the largest pharmaceutical market in the world by 2050. The high growth industry sectors in Asia are creating tremendous business opportunities for SMEs within and outside of the region. Combined with the region’s lower cost base, these opportunities have been attracting companies, both large and small, to set up activities, ranging from manufacturing to R&D, customer support, finance, IT, sales, marketing. In addition to these ‘pull’ factors, more SMEs are moving east, encouraged by their head office to expand operations beyond Europe and North America. The shift to Asia may be achieved through various routes including subsidiaries, contract research/ manufacturing, joint ventures or mergers and acquisitions. With more resources, larger companies tend to find it easier to make the shift to Asia. However, tapping into the opportunities in the region is not difficult for an SME if it is able to exercise due care, prudence and creativity in managing the various challenges associated with its expansion into Asia.
SME Service Providers: Keeping costs low and deadlines tight More SME service providers for the biomedical sciences sector are now branching out into Asia, to help
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support the burgeoning sector here. In particular Asia is seeing an influx of emerging clinical research organisations (CROs) that help larger pharmaceutical companies to conduct clinical trials. These trials, which are research studies designed to ensure that new medicines or treatments are safe and effective, are expensive e typically making up 50-60% % of a drug’s development costs. By tapping upon these innovative young CROs, which carry out clinical trials in Asia, biomed companies can bring down their costs significantly. At the same time, doing so can speed up timelines, as the recruitment of patients is usually 20-30% faster, due e to Asia’s diverse and increasingly asingly affluent population. Manpower Challenges There are many challenges and issues for SMEs associated with conducting business in Asia - both perceived and actual. Some are common to all businesses, while others are specific to particular industries. One issue that is both common and real is the problem of insufficient experienced manpower. Even as expansion continues in Asia, there is still a dearth of locally-trained managers and leaders. Often, there has been little or no opportunity in the local environment for individuals to develop the necessary leadership skills. There may also be a perception from the headoffice that a “local” is not sufficiently attuned to the corporate culture or international compliance expectations. SMEs typically look to fill this manpower gap by transferring staff from the head office or recruiting Western/ regional expats and returnees – Asian-born executives who have studied and worked in the west.
However, many SMEs have a resource crunch, in terms of financial resources and manpower deployment. As such, they usually prefer to put in place an effective local workforce, led by local managers. T h e s e
managers understand the local culture, have established networks, and have worked with local industry or authorities. At the same time, using a local talent is more often than not more cost-effective in comparison to relocating an expatriate, who comes with additional costs such as housing and schooling allowances. Still, some estimate that it will be another decade or so before local talents can take up the mantle. This is especially true in lesser developed regions in China and some developing economies like Vietnam. As a stop-gap measure, companies frequently turn to returnees or regional expats, who know the local language and culture, speak English and have some international experience. The caveat is that these individuals are likely to expect salaries and benefits that are comparable to their Western counterparts. Even when companies do find experienced local managers, there
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is a propensity to encounter other limitations. Asian managers tend to have developed their skills in processoriented roles, such as those within a manufacturing facility. This is opposed to the more problem solving oriented skills needed to run a successful R&D centre. In addition, the culture for innovation is generally not prevalent in Asia. SMEs in particular will find this more challenging, due to smaller training budgets and fewer experienced mentors/ advisors who are able to nurture the local managers. Certain countries also have specific management gaps. For instance, China has an aging population that has experienced the loss of scientists and leadership potential through the Cultural Revolution in the 1960s and 70s. Coupled with the one-child policy of the last 25 years, the country’s management pool is shrinking, despite it being the most populous country in the world. Singapore has a similar
problem, but in a slightly different area. Singapore has transformed itself from a tiny backwater into one of the wealthiest countries in Asia, by playing host to the manufacturing activities of numerous major Western companies. This development has created a local pool of experienced managers, who are familiar with the manufacturing environment. However, as the country embarks on the next phase of its development into an innovative, knowledge-based economy, it finds itself short of experienced managers who can play the problem solving oriented roles needed for R&D operations. All these factors mean that SMEs would do well to look to expats, not only to fill a particular function, but also to act as role models, coaches and mentors. By having these expats play these additional roles, SMEs can help develop the competencies and capabilities of their local management, with the end-inmind of creating a truly local workforce.
To tackle the manpower issues associated with business expansion into Asia, SMEs have to be rigorous and ensure that they have the right people in the right places - those who are able meet challenges and capture new market opportunities. Where possible, they should work with partners who have global experience and a track record of building organisations from the ground up. Most importantly, if they are going to build a local market, they will need to be there on the ground. It cannot be done from half-way round the world. RSA is a leading global provider of resourcing services to the Life Science and Healthcare sectors. It operates through 8 offices on 3 continents. See www.theRSAgroup.com
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Inside Britain
UK RESIDENTIAL PROPERTY’S FALSE DAWN
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from the GS Wealth team
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he average UK house price rose by 5.9% in 2009 according to Nationwide Building Society. Is this surprising? Maybe not. Despite the best efforts of the pro property press and endless airings of repeated, out dated property auction programs, the UK property market had been in retreat since its peak in October 2007. The global financial crisis and, in particular, the collapse of the UK banking sector, provided further downward impetus on house prices until 20.5% had been sliced off the average UK house price when the market bottomed in February 2009. Since that time, typical base mortgage rates have been 2.5% and, in line with global stock markets, a guarded perception that the worst was over, combined with bargain prices and low mortgage rates, has pushed UK houses prices higher, albeit on relatively thin volumes. But, as with the current situation with global stock markets, are we in the next housing boom and rising prices set to continue? The last UK property crash began in 1989, hit bottom in 1993 and remained in that position until 1995. That is some considerable time for a market to recover. Nominally, house prices only fell by 13% though in London it reached 25%. But it is not so much the magnitude decline as the pattern that is significant. The market also rebounded in the early 1990’s before it went on to hit its ultimate low in 1993. Both the 1989 and current house price collapses were the result of a severe credit crunch, a major contraction in the availability of credit and loans. One very significant feature of a credit crunch is that they do not start and end in one year. The previous credit crunch lasted for 3 years and the circumstances and events leading up to it were small beer compared to the current scene. However, the manner in which these respective crises have been managed are quite different. In 1990, the UK mortgage lenders moved fast to foreclose on bad debts and delinquent mortgages. The result of this was that large numbers of repossessed properties
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kept coming onto the market which drove prices lower. The ever decreasing prices deterred prospective buyers with
local area, adding to the administrative burden and cost. What is also different this time around is that banks’ solvency levels have been dire and having nonperforming loans on their books is very problematic. However, whether a loan is deemed non-performing or not is where creative accounting can be used to fudge the issue for some time and so is the more preferable way of dealing with the situation. Superficially, given the way the property market is gathering pace, this approach may seem to be having the desired effect, but banks can only hold large portfolios of non-performing loans for so long before they have to write them off or repossess the properties and push them into the market. In spite of
“One very significant feature of a credit crunch is that they do not start and end in one year” the effect that banks and mortgage houses held huge numbers of devaluing properties on their balance sheets which they couldn’t sell and which also restricted their ability to lend.
UK House Prices 1989-1995 This time around, the banks and mortgage providers, with considerable coercion from the government, have not moved so quickly to repossess properties. This is partly because of recollections of what happened in the early 1990’s but there have also been other issues, such as an insistence by some local authorities that the repossessed properties be maintained to standards commensurate with the
the massive handouts from the British tax payers, the banks are still not lending which is a sign that their balance sheets are still very fragile and that they have no faith in the sustainability of the UK economy. Any additional liability from another wave of bad housing loans will severely impair the banks and take house prices lower. From a technical point of view, house price values are determined by how much someone can borrow. The more money you can borrow the more you can pay for a property. Not surprisingly, as property values increase, so does the loan to income that the lender provides. In this respect first time buyers not only are the integral first link in the property chain, they are also the most extended borrowers. The chart shows the loan to income ratio for first time buyers as having a long term average of approximately 3%. But it can be seen that the market has a tendency to move to extremes either side of the norm, which would be typical of other asset classes too. Given the clear historical extreme that this ratio moved to at the height
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of the market, it is not unreasonable to expect the ratio to over-correct on the downside, which would mean that property prices have much further to fall before they ultimately bottom. First time buyers - Loan to Income Ratio (Nationwide First Time Buyer house price earnings ratio)
The over-riding problem globally is one of over-indebtedness but, with the exception of Japan, the UK is a world beater in this respect. “A macro study by the McKinsey Global Institute, presented to economists at the Davos World Economic Forum, has assessed the debts of nations in comparison to their
“The over-riding problem globally is one of over-indebtedness” GDP. It has surmised that it might be six or seven years before the UK is rid of its debt problems. The report found that the UK is world’s worst offender for private and public debt in comparison to GDP after Japan.” reported MoneyMarketing recently. This infers that to tackle this debt problem the UK will have to enter into major austerity programs and pay higher taxes. If this is the case unemployment will continue to rise, yet again putting pressure on house prices. Borrowing costs are likely to remain low for some time yet but this is only increasing the problem further down the line. Dubai was a warning shot. Greece is the canary in the coal-mine for much of the EU leading to further complications for the Euro down the road. The current recession is not going to end soon and once there is a realisation of this, the
likelihood is that the recent surge in property prices will prove to be a false dawn. Having said that there is a possible silver lining. If our world view is correct and the swathe of stimulus packages does not do the job it was intended to do, it is a sure bet that the Federal Reserve and other central banks will commit more vast amounts of newly printed money in an attempt to resuscitate the global economy. The net result of this will be much higher inflation which, in the past, has turned out to be good for property prices. But the market has to hit bottom first and history would strongly indicate that is not a one or two year process.
www.gswealth.sg
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Economic & Business Insights
connecting business
BUDGET REFLECTIONS: GETTING THE SHOW BACK ON THE ROAD By David Sandison, Tax Partner, PricewaterhouseCoopers Services LLP
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his time last year, Singapore found itself in the middle of a crisis -not, admittedly, of its own making -which called for the implementation of a “resilience package” that would enable it to hunker down and survive the passing storm. The general outlook, judging by the tenor of this year’s Budget speech, was that the storm had indeed passed. What was needed now was to take a compass bearing and get on with the original plan for the sustainable growth of the Singapore economy and its people. Whilst not everyone may share the optimistic view that the worst is over, there is no doubt that, whatever one’s persuasion, Singapore needs to take a serious look at its long-term situation sooner rather than later. The report of the Economic Strategies Committee (ESC) painted an enormous tableau, and it was clear that all the Minister could do in this Budget was to point the ship in the general direction by putting in place some of the fundamental strategies that would underpin the way forward, and be consistent with the conclusions drawn from the ESC report, which he asserted the government accepted. The approach he took was very much from the bottom up. The thrust of the initiatives announced were aimed at the lower paid, the consolidation and growth of SME’s, and a general upgrading of quality and productivity from the lowest levels up, through training and innovation. Here are some thoughts on the wider implications of the Budget for the economy.
running up to the Budget. However there is a difference between what one may wish for, and what one expects. There were obvious hopes that the highest personal tax rate of 20% would be brought down in line with the corporate rate, which is something that has traditionally happened if not always within the same year, then certainly within the year after that. It is now three years since the corporate rate departed on its own downward, trend leaving personal tax rates where they were. Taking a step backwards, it should have been clear that there was little motivation or pressure for personal tax rates to be lowered at this point. Firstly, when compared with the personal rates in Hong Kong, it could be seen, although not easily, that Singapore’s personal rates were competitive. Singapore’s rates are in fact lower than those of Hong Kong for the first $500,000 of taxable income. This should be enough to keep a large chunk of the population happy. Secondly, it might have been considered politically insensitive to be seen to be helping the rich get richer, at a time when it was the lower paid and those facing redundancy who were struggling and most in need.
Wither personal and corporate tax rates?
A rate reduction would also have cut across one of the subtle but clearly present policy drifts, distilled from the Budget content, towards a redistributive tax system. This showed itself in the guise of the new graduated property tax regime.
The rates of personal and corporate taxes is always is a hot topic in wish lists
But there are two sides to every coin. It could be argued, for instance, that the
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government missed an opportunity in the struggle for foreign talent. Windfall bonus taxes in the UK, on top of a swingeing 50% rate of tax on incomes over 150,000 (roughly the S$320,000 where the top rate of 20% kicks in), could have been capitalised on. A little tweak downwards in rates (and the publicity that came with it) could have created a tipping point for many a poor London banker pondering why he was digging his second-hand Mazda out of a snowdrift where his straight-out-thewrapper Porsche once stood. On the corporate tax side, again, the motivation for further reductions was clearly absent. Although a cosmetic win over Hong Kong’s 16% rate may have provided some emotional stimulus, it was technically not required. As was gleaned from the rate used in the Budget for converting R&D tax benefits to cash, the average rate of tax paid by Singapore companies across the board is a mere 7%. The end of incentives? But this brings us onto another interesting area. A few years ago, countries such as Singapore, who had relatively low tax rates as well as a tax incentive framework that homed in on certain activities or industries, were targets for a disaffected OECD who were concerned about what they called “harmful tax practices”. Basically the organisation was taking a swing at jurisdictions that did not need to raise significant amounts of tax through their direct tax system, as their fiscal balances did not call for it. (unlike in most cases, those of the countries they represented). It is true to say though, that the heat has come out of this issue, with much more focus latterly being placed on banking secrecy and exchange of information. Nevertheless, this earlier pressure did leave an impression, and some countries
did indeed seem to yield to it. Ireland, for example removed its 10% incentive rate and compensated this with an acrossthe-board reduction in the full rate of corporation tax. The question is whether this is still a possibility for Singapore going forward. Two things cause me to raise this question. The first is a throw-away comment made by the Minister for Finance in the Budget speech itself, when he said, “But the Government cannot decide which enterprises should succeed or phase out, or say exactly what the corporate landscape should look like 10 years from now. We must rely on the market to achieve this restructuring” Relying on the market suggests a move from letting the government choose the targeted industries. This could indicate a gradual convergeance of basic and incentive rates. The second hint at a possible move in this direction was the removal of the troublesome “Qualifying Base” for banks. This has resulted in the incentive rate being moved upwards from 10% to 12%. This is the first time I can ever remember a rate hike. Perhaps some food for thought.
Graduated Property Tax Regime As noted above, a graduated property tax regime was introduced for owneroccupied residential property, which seeks to shift some of the government handouts (for example GST rebate costs) from the government to the better off, with the Finance Minister hinting, as he did, that this may be an increasing trend. As noted above, this goes hand-in-hand with the resistance against personal tax reductions. It may help stave off, to a degree, concerns about Singapore’s gradual slippage to a welfare state on the back of an increasing trend over the past few years for government handouts. Looking at the impact of these changes, it is likely that an increase will only be felt by those whose properties have an annual value of over S$77,000,
something enjoyed by a mere 0.4% of all owner-occupied residential properties. In addition, as a percentage of income, the increases are likely to be shrugged off by those who own the more expensive properties; but the reductions will make a more substantial difference for the lower income group. And the foreign worker levy? Perhaps the area of the Budget that has to date stimulated the most discussion is the government plans to increase the foreign worker levy, so as to help stimulate a productivity focus. There are perhaps some difficulties with this. Productivity is most easily enhanced in the manufacturing industry where machines and clever systems can replace people and do things more quickly and accurately. The service industries, which rely more on personal interaction and customer care, will struggle more to achieve noticeable productivity increases that do not also damage the customer relationship. You need only to have been hanging on a bank call centre line for twenty minutes, listening to some inane advertising for things you have not the remotest interest in, to get my drift. Two industries in particular, and which are of great economic benefit to Singapore, will feel the impact of the foreign worker levy hike: construction and food and beverage. Certainly, construction techniques are for ever improving; but there is no substitute for human invention and control. Also, Singapore, unlike some European cities, is surrounded by a wealth of cheap labour that is not going away anytime soon. On the F&B side, which is already plagued by labour shortages, there is again no choice. Foreigners must be brought in to fill the gap, as there are simply not enough Singaporeans to go around; and the day you have to pour your own wine out of a chiller in a five star hotel is the day I give up drinking. So the rate hikes may simply convert for some sectors into cost increases for the industry, and tax take for the government.
But this brings us onto an interesting discussion about demographics. Purebred Singaporeans are, mathematically, a dying race. There are not enough new ones being produced (maybe some productivity enhancements are needed here). Yet there is an interesting bit of daylight beginning to appear between Singaporeans and the rest. The foreign worker levy increases may be one manifestation of this; recent increases in school fees for permanent residents sending their children to local schools may be another. These are interesting moves at a time when integration of foreign talent is at a critical point, not only for the economy, but putting it brutally, for the survival of the race. The question Singapore needs to ask is “what is it that makes a Singaporean”. The answer sadly is no longer “Two Singaporeans”. And the rest For the rest of the Budget, it was a bit of a rag-bag of tweaks and extensions to incentives, with the maritime sector getting a slight edge over the rest this year. Corporate tax stayed where it was at 17%, which is where it was expected. Perhaps one interesting new incentive, aimed at assisting credit starved startup businesses, was the Angel Investor scheme, which turned the board around by giving tax deductions for investment, rather than what has for many years been on offer – tax deductions for failures. This is something we had been calling for a while now, and although the scheme does not go as far as it could, it is again heartening to see the government responding to ideas and feedback. Overall, the Budget has given more food for thought in the aftermath than what might have been obvious on the day. Again, it produced nothing that will shatter the earth, but as Lao Tzu allegedly said, “The journey of a thousand miles starts with one step”. Budget 2010 took that first step on what is inevitably going to be a long journey.
www.pwc.com/sg
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Economic & Business Insights
LEADERSHIP AND MANAGEMENT IS KEY TO PRODUCTIVITY DRIVEN GROWTH By: Jo Hennessy, Director, Research & International Development, Roffey Park Institute
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he Singapore Budget 2010 has a strong focus on enhancing worker and enterprise productivity with the target of 2-3% productivity growth per year for a whole decade (up from 1% over the last decade) to sustain 3-5% GDP growth. As the Singapore government plans to launch a 5-year initiative to raise productivity, Jo Hennessy of Roffey Park Institutes highlights how British businesses are raising their game.
The annual Management Agenda 2010 is a survey of over 900 managers across organisations within the UK. Widely respected as a key barometer of workplace trends, this year’s research has identified the key factors underpinning business success now and in the longer term. Increasing employee contribution today Good management is one of the levers here as organisational success, both financial and strategic, was related to effective performance management and well-managed change. Managers in organisations that were more successful at delivering their strategic plan were more confident about tackling underperformance and felt that performance management was somewhat better overall. They had more resources at their disposal for dealing with performance management and had
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a little more influence with their teams when deciding targets and objectives, development opportunities, promotions and salary. More worryingly, our survey finds that dealing with underperformance effectively is not common, with two out of five managers reporting their organisations do not tackle underperformance at all well, more than double the proportion of previous years. In difficult times, the consequences of underperformance are far more evident and damaging with organisations needing to raise the performance of all employees, with a focus on performing better with less. Managers from organisations that deal effectively with underperformance held more positive views of HR, pointing to how their HR team can support them in a number of ways. Firstly with effective processes and policies that enable managers to tackle underperformance in their teams and secondly through developing them in people management and coaching skills.
Leadership, employee engagement and productivity The more successful organisations can boast better quality leadership, both in terms of general leadership as well as the internal and external reputation of the board. This relationship between good leadership and success can be seen as part of a virtuous circle. One way in which good leadership is linked to success is through enabling higher employee engagement. More engaged employees feel more positive about their work and are prepared to go the extra mile to deliver improved quality of goods and services that can then lead to increased customer satisfaction and the end result is more often than not better business results. But what is it that leaders do that makes employees feel more engaged and committed? A collective purpose One aspect of good leadership is to create a shared sense of purpose to unite employees to achieve the organisation’s aims and objectives. In our survey we found that the strength of collective purpose was strongly related to both
“uniting employees in a common purpose is still an underdeveloped area for many organisations.” Maintaining productivity during organisational change is well recognised as a challenge and it may come as no surprise that managers in more successful organisations describe change as more strategic, timely, consultative, well-managed and successful. Stronger businesses are investing in enhancing the change and project management capabilities of their managers, helping them to increase the gap between them and the competition with each new wave of change they implement.
general leadership ratings and views on the most senior Board reputation. The importance of a strong collective sense of purpose was highlighted by our research finding that it was related to organisational performance – both financial and strategic success. A clear strategic vision and united senior leadership team focused on achieving clearly enunciated business objectives, in turn leads to improved financial results. Despite this relevance to the bottom
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line, uniting employees in a common purpose is still an underdeveloped area for many organisations. Supporting managers as individuals This year’s results found that scores for employee engagement had increased slightly over the previous year – surprising given that this year saw managers in our survey feeling the effects of the global economic crisis.
Figure 1 looks at the relationship between engagement and other, more personal factors (the larger the arrow, the stronger the relationship) and gives us real insight into what is currently important to managers. As a business leader who needs an engaged team behind you, you might be well advised to support managers in their career development, help them to feel positive about the future, find ways of continuing to back initiatives and to give what reassurances you can about their job security. Whilst substantially more managers said they felt under pressure this year (70% up from 59% in 2009), this does not seem to be having an overly negative effect upon their employee engagement. In fact they seem to be rising to the challenge but not without some warning signs that we should heed. In the UK there have been some legislation and changes in government policy that have highlighted the importance of wellbeing at work. But organisations across the world recognise that a physically and mentally healthy workforce is required to maximise organisational efficiency, productivity and success. This year’s research findings
show that 42% of managers rated their well-being as good or very good which are a slight improvement on last year, whilst only one in ten rated it as poor. They present a positive picture of managers’ well-being particularly considering the levels of stress experienced by managers within organisations. 74% of managers experience stress at work, but because managers are also reporting good or adequate well-being this suggests that the stress they are experiencing is not necessarily detrimental to well-being. This is encouraging but organisations should not be complacent as there is a limit to how long managers can work under pressure before their health starts to suffer or they burn out. Working on super drive is not sustainable in the longer term. Your leader’s role in enhancing productivity Let’s not forget that business leaders are feeling the pressure too. They are responsible for driving and implementing change, motivating and engaging their teams - all with one eye on income and productivity targets, whilst keeping their costs down. As we’ve seen from our research, effective leadership has a direct correlation with organisation success, yet in the economic crisis one of the first things to fall by the wayside is learning and development. Investing in leadership development can unlock potential and has an impact on leadership ratings - the greater the investment the greater impact. Eighty per cent of those whose organisations were investing more in leadership development reported their leadership good or excellent compared with 43% of those working for organisations that had invested less in leadership development over the last 12 months compared to the previous year. This relationship was observed even when the impact of the economic environment and the success of the company were taken into account.
Do they have the right levels of control and influence over their teams in order to maximise performance? Secondly, what are your employee engagement levels like? How will they respond to a request for increased productivity? Do you pay enough attention to individual’s well-being? Research demonstrates that there is a link between well-being, engagement and performance so organisations ignore employee well-being at their peril. Finally, a decade is a life-time for organisations so remember to invest in your future leadership talent so that the next generation of leaders have the skills and capability to continue to drive productivity. The key here, of course, is to ensure that learning from talent management schemes is transferred back into productivity for the organisation. Not easy, but worth every penny. Roffey Park Institute has established a permanent presence in Asia Pacific, choosing Singapore as the ideal location to serve this region. In 2010, Roffey Park is launching a number of programmes for leaders and managers including HR Business Partnering, The Emotionally Intelligent Leader and Organisational Development Masterclass. The Management Agenda 2010 is Roffey Park’s annual workplace survey. For more information about Roffey Park and its research visit www.roffeypark.com .
So our advice is to take a good long look at your leadership capability. Are your leaders demonstrating a collective sense of purpose and values? Do your leaders have the skills and capability to tackle underperformance effectively?
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Economic & Business Insights
connecting business
HOW DO COMPANIES INCREASE THE PRODUCTIVITY OF THEIR WORKFORCE? By: Jackie Taylor, Director, Priority Management, Singapore
What is productivity? In these days of tough economic conditions, increased productivity is more vital than ever if companies are to stay competitive. But when we consider how to increase productivity, first we have to understand what we mean by the word itself. The outcomes of increased productivity are perhaps more easily defined and will often mean different things to different people: increased sales, improved profits, projects finished on time and within budget etc. But how can we better understand what drives productivity and apply this knowledge across our teams and employees? We often think that to increase productivity we need to be more efficient but this is only part of the story. We may be very efficient in getting a particular job done but if it isn’t the right job at the right time then we are not being effective. It is this combination of efficiency and effectiveness that gives us a ‘formula’ to understand productivity.
How often have you reached the end of a busy and hectic day only to realise that you haven’t achieved even half the things you had planned? What we’re experiencing is that frustration that comes from being caught in the
”activity trap” of being busy but not necessarily getting the right things done and therefore accomplishing little that contributes to our key objectives. Our experience has shown that faced with low productivity, companies often address the issue by spending more on the tools: the software and the technology. But without the processes to help us focus on the right task at the right time, simply spending more money on the tools is not going to achieve the desired productivity gain. What stops us from being productive?
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But it doesn’t stop there: constant interruption is another key cause of
“E-mail overload is the leading cause of preventable productivity loss in organisations today”
The Priority Formula So productivity is not just about getting more things done, it’s about getting the right things done at the right time.
information are some of the greatest challenges we face in today’s digitallydriven working environment.
Having defined productivity, we need to understand what stops us from being productive. What are the everyday challenges and barriers that prevent us from maximising our productivity? A recent article from Forbes.com offers us its view of “Email Hell” and states that “E-mail overload is the leading cause of preventable productivity loss in organizations today.” And certainly respondents to productivity surveys that we have carried out reflect this view. Managing the sheer volume of email received and simply trying to find the right
productivity loss and in the digital world those interruptions are magnified. We are available 24/7 with all kinds of beeping, pinging and ringing devices demanding our attention and reducing our focus. Recent research from Basex Inc* has shown that the average knowledge worker is interrupted 11 times per hour and the average manager is interrupted every 8 minutes. Even worse is that the impact of these interruptions is two or three times its duration, as we struggle to regain our focus and return to what we were working on. Sometimes we don’t even succeed in getting back to the original task and flit from one job to another as interruptions take over. These everyday challenges of the normal working world increasingly leave many people feeling out of control for much of their working day; stuck in the inbox in reactive mode and too tired or stressed to lead a productive personal life. We may all feel like this occasionally but the danger occurs when it becomes a daily occurrence, the norm. As conscientious workers, we may find ourselves coming in earlier and earlier and taking more and more work home simply to create uninterrupted and productive time. But as laudable as that approach may be in the short term, it does not address the key issue of failing to maximise productive time during work hours. And if we continue stretching our day at both ends, feeling out of control,
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always working in highly urgent and highly important mode and yet not accomplishing our key objectives, then we quickly build anxiety and stress and inevitably this leads to low productivity. Whilst we all might perform a little better under pressure, true stress is not only a very damaging and negative emotion but is also a major contributor to work absence. The UK CIPD Annual Survey Report on Absence Management published in July 2008 stated that “stress is the number one cause of long-term absence for non-manual employees”. Mastering and understanding our workload and getting control of the ‘digital deluge’ What we must do is empower our staff with the processes for managing and
understanding their workload and balancing their priorities. To help them differentiate between the urgent and the important and to track and followup not just their own commitments and deadlines but also those of their teams. We need to give back the skill of working proactively, rather than being sucked into the reactive mode that the digital age can so often trap us in. We have to get control of the inbox and the digital deluge, to master interruptions and to use a system for managing our time and activities so that we have a total understanding of our workload and can effectively adjust to the impact of change. In order to do this easily and without stress, juggling our priorities and managing the scarce resource that is our time, we need to optimise the use of the tools that so many of us have and don’t utilise fully – such as Microsoft Outlook, Lotus Notes or Blackberry. These tools sit on our desks and often we do not maximise the functionality they provide.
When effective use of these tools is combined with a process and system for managing our workload, filtering email and date-activating our to-dos, we really can increase our productivity. Email management, prioritisation, information management, delegation and communication can be improved by averages of up to 55%. In the quest for increased productivity, companies who have adopted these processes report time gains of more than an hour a day per person after training. Averaged across a team, a department or an organisation the productivity gains can be significant. So perhaps it’s time to start working smarter to increase productivity and help our teams and employees to regain control not only of their workload but also their work-life balance.
www.prioritymanagement.com/singapore
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Economic & Business Insights
DIVORCE AND RETIREMENT
connecting business
By Aidan Bailey, General Manager Singapore, International Division, The Fry Group
W
e have had to deal with a few divorce cases recently, a commonly raised question is “what happens to my pension?” For many people, their largest asset other than their home, is often their pension. So, this article explores what the obligations and choices are. First and foremost it is compulsory that such pension entitlements are taken into consideration in divorce settlements. The three key options available are offsetting pension benefits, pension attachment orders and pension sharing orders. The method used can be negotiated by the parties involved through solicitors or left to a Court to decide in contentious cases. Courts normally prefer pension sharing to offsetting, but both are used more frequently than attachment orders, given the inherent risks and difficulties.
ex-spouse. This means the member still has full control (subject to what the trustees will allow) over how the pension is run. In addition, the benefits are taxed at the marginal rate of the member who retains the liability for the income tax
the ex-spouse, based upon a percentage share of the ‘cash equivalent transfer value’ (CETV). A corresponding pension debit reduces the value of the former spouse’s benefit.
“offsetting pension benefits, pension attachment orders and pension sharing orders.” Offsetting pension benefits The most common way to deal with pension benefits in a settlement is to take the value of pension rights into consideration but to equalise estates by transferring other financial assets of the marriage. A simple example would be where one spouse keeps their pension fund and the other keeps the family home. This method does make for a clean break and each party retains their own existing pension benefits. Pension attachment orders Pension attachment orders (formerly known as earmarking orders) have been available in England and Wales since 1 July 1996. One of the main problems with attachment is that it does not allow a ‘clean break’ between the divorcing couple. Attachment orders do not transfer ownership of any of the pension to the
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on the whole pension, even the part of the pension that is earmarked to the exspouse. Some of the other drawbacks are as follows: • benefits remain with member so the ex-spouse has no control over the timing of benefits and the ex-spouse has no control over the investment risk; • income benefits cease on member’s death, although a lump sum death benefit may be earmarked in the attachment order; • benefits cease on ex-spouse’s death or remarriage; and • if the member retires early on a reduced pension, this means a reduced pension for the ex-spouse as well. Pension sharing orders (PSO) With a PSO, the court awards a slice of the pension benefits (a pension credit) to
Where the ceding scheme is a personal pension scheme, the CETV is always transferred to a scheme chosen by the ex-spouse, usually another personal pension. In cases where the pension is split, the pension share does not have to be 50/50 and if the parties are unable to agree, the split will be set by the court. In practice, the split of the pension value is likely to be unequal, so as to achieve a 50/50 split of the ultimate ‘deferred income’, due to the different life expectancies of males and females.
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With over 100 years experience working with British Expatriates and over 35 years in Singapore, The Fry Group offers sensible advice on how to plan your future.
The Fry Group, 6 Battery Road, #13-03 Singapore 049909. Tel: 6225 0825 Fax: 6225 4679 Email: aidan.bailey@thefrygroupsg.com, Website: www.thefrygroup.co.uk Licenced by the Monetary Authority of Singapore. Licence no. FA095023
Economic & Business Insights
coneecting business
BOOSTING PRODUCTIVITY WHAT’S THE ANSWER? By: Victoria King, Business Development Director, Time Technology
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n the Budget 2010 speech delivered by the Finance Minister in February the stage for increasing Productivity, Innovation, and building Capabilities of Singapore businesses was set; an ambitious goal to grow productivity by over a third in the next 10 years. The question this poses is what is productivity and how do we measure it? Let’s turn back the clock to the mid 80’s when, at that time, productivity was big on the agenda; the focus was on TQM (Total Quality Management), VAM (Valued Added Management), MBO (Management by Objectives), ISO9000, quality circles, process improvement and best practice. We can go back even further to Ford’s day in his pursuit of productivity when the available colours for cars were – black, black and black. So what is different? A fundamental change in the quest for produc tivity today is the business environment. In those days much of the activity in business was to make and move things, a very tangible production line – today the majority of activity is in services and knowledge management, Peter Drucker has written extensively about the productivity of knowledge workers, a futurist who clearly predicted the different world of productivity that business leaders face today.
findings are scary: 1 in every 2 e-mails are not read and interpreted correctly; a high percentage of workers spend 2 to 3 hours every day managing and massaging e-mails and not doing the work; procrastination has never been higher; a sense of being regularly overwhelmed and the constant feeling that there is just too much work and not enough time. Everything has changed yet nothing has changed – this is often a confusing statement yet in the context of productivity this is reasonably accurate. Productivity as far back as Ford has been about process and tools; the type of person we are does also impact the result yet if we look at how the work is managed process and tools play a large part in getting work done. Consistent or inconsistent work practices have a direct impact on productivity.
has never been higher. So often we hear “I’d like to spend more time with my team but…” The aim of productivity is to decrease the time spent and at the same time increase the value of the interaction. When we look at the tools, harnessing the power of technology is no longer a nice to have but an absolute must. There is so much technology available to us ranging from Outlook, SharePoint, Instant Messaging, CRM’s, handheld devices and now many of the social tools like Facebook and Twitter are being researched for their business application. Unfortunately just because the tools are available does not mean full utilisation, quite often there is a considerable disconnect between Information Technology and Business Technology. Ideally technology is developed to provide the business with an effective set of tools to improve productivity. O f t e n technology is seen by the business as the reason for so much work and not enough time. Many have the feeling of being wired 24 x 7 with constant need to manage the significantly increased volume and pace in which work comes to us.
“Consistent or inconsistent work practices have a direct impact on productivity”
Getting more done with less To weather the challenges over the past 2 years the focus has again been on reducing expenses significantly and getting more done with less. As the resources became seriously diminished there has been renewed interest in productivity and there is a lot of research data on the negative work practices that impact productivity. Some of the
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Raising productivity does not mean working longer hours but being equipped with skills to work smarter. For companies to remain competitive and ahead of the curve teams must be supported to raise their productivity this is now the objective of many managers and leaders. Promotion of cross communication and interactions is key but there must also be a vehicle to support and then reinforce these activities. The manager plays such an important role in their people’s satisfaction at work and in turn their productivity levels. A coaching style of management can have such a positive, powerful effect on the team if done correctly. Of course this more coaching and collaborative type of management takes time when the pressure for results
Productivity Let’s look at productivity at the micro level – how do we produce work on a dayto-day basis? The work management processes do not change, what does change is how we apply these in a dynamic, constantly changing, and high volume work environment. A challenge is that we continue to use old planning processes in this new environment which leads to the perception of too much work, not enough time and everything is needed yesterday.
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Technology Technology is a wonderful way to apply the work management skills that we know as it contributes a real time ability to manage a constant workflow ensuring that the effective planning skills are applied. Time Management Productivity is far more than just time management, there has to be balance of both activities. Time management is all about planning and allocating time for a specific task/ project and its imperative this part is done first and looks at the what, how, when, where and why of the task at hand. There always needs to be this time management plan to refer back to as there are constant changes. Then the productivity part is used to get the most out of the available time so this is more to do with the action. It’s not simply doing as much as possible in the time allocated; the most productive employees enjoy the doing and not just the completed task. Once this is succeeded the employees will instinctively look for more stimulating tasks and you will hear them ask: what’s next? They are not working harder just smarter. This creates a very good balance between work and life and results in a happier more productive employee.
Prioritisation There is often confusion between planning and prioritisation, we can’t prioritise unless we have a plan as a starting point. Research shows most work is now prioritised on Urgency rather than Importance. Today most prioritization is driven by a feeling of being out of control and the natural tendency at this point is to stop and sort to get back in control usually this gives some short term relief through the sense of being back in control again
Communication The number of interactions are amazing – it is estimated that 70 billion business e-mails are sent every day (this excludes junk) and e-mail is not the only tool of communication – many interactions happen via face-to-face, video conferencing, phone, audio conferencing, handhelds and business equivalent to Skype. These interactions create work, effectively managing this work through technology allows for rapid retrieval when we need the information and not spending t i m e constantly searching for information which does have a negative impact on productivity.
“Opportunities to improve productivity come from many sources; great strategy, compelling leaders, excellent team work...”
Planning The planning in the past was much more predictable not given to the dynamic changes we see today. Old time management (pre 2005) taught us to sit down the night before and write a to-do list for the next day, impossible today as we now receive an average of 150 e-mails a day. Today’s plan requires a number of important elements – it must be done in real time, it constantly changes, it is centralised pulling work from all sources i.e. e-mail, meetings, project tasks, adhoc requests, phone and one to one conversations and the most important element of planning is that it needs to be visible at all times.
– unfortunately it is brief as within 3-4 hours that prioritisation is no longer effective as new work has already arrived. Much more effective is using technology to have a real time prioritisation process by which we process the work when we receive it. With the visibility of our work through technology it encourages us to make good decisions quickly, allowing us to consistently work on the most important work and as we can clearly see our work, the new work is measured against the existing work once again prioritising in real time and not lag time (stopping and sorting). Delegation Today everyone gives work and receives work; the old perception of delegation being top down no longer exists. In the process of giving and receiving work there is equal responsibility on the part of both the giver and receiver to ensure that at the point of exchange there is a clear understanding of the work that needs to be done and when it is to be delivered. In the US it is estimated that rework costs business US7bl per year and has a big impact on productivity, motivation and learning. Delegation is a wonderful process by which to develop the skills of a team, continual learning only takes place from doing…
E-mail So much can be written about how e-mail has impacted our life. Effective management of e-mail has a considerable impact on personal productivity, having huge volumes of e-mail does not assist in rapid retrieval and knowledge management. A one touch technology process in real time is the best way to manage the communication through e-mail, of course the added value of this technique is a clear in-box, clear sent items, strong folder lists and prioritised actions. E-mail liberation. We come back to the original question – Boosting Productivity – What Is the Answer… Opportunities to improve productivity come from many sources; great strategy, compelling leaders, excellent team work and many other sources yet underpinning so much of this is the tools and processes by which we achieve productivity in our micro world of day to day work.
www.timetechnology.com.sg
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Economic & Business Insights
connecting business
INCREASING PRODUCTIVITY THROUGH EMPLOYEE SATISFACTION By: Chris Mead, General Manager, Hays, Singapore
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or many the global financial crisis brought productivity and costeffectiveness to top of mind. Business leaders took time to review their operating procedures and scrutinise outputs and the costs of those outputs, in order to find areas for improvement. Chris Mead, General Manager of Hays in Singapore, has this advice. The link between employee satisfaction and productivity has been researched for many years. It can be said that companies with a satisfied workforce have higher than average productivity, more satisfied customers, lower employee turnover and fewer accidents. So it’s not surprising that many people link employee satisfaction with increased profitability. What is surprising is that so many businesses either forget to carry out or are yet to implement strategies aimed at improving employee satisfaction.
company at the employee’s desk, to discussing why a certain approach is used with a key client. Such personal attention creates a positive environment and imparts not just skills but cultural understanding.
while they try to find their own way. way An induction program builds confidence and competence at the commencement of the employment relationship, which ultimately helps your new staff member become more productive. An effective induction program consists of two key elements. The first is imparting the knowledge needed to perform the role effectively. Identify the tools and knowledge required, then the appropriate people that can deliver this knowledge. Set appointments with these people in advance, so that when your new staff member arrives for their first day they have a schedule ready to go.
While you may like to use formal classroom training, especially for group hires, sitting next to an employee watching them work or seeing how a staff member conducts themselves when visiting a key client are strategies that can be just as valuable in inducting your new employee into the way your business runs and their role in the business. You should also set out the objectives of what is to be achieved clearly in your employee’s first few weeks – for example, by the end of this week you will be able to perform A, B and C and understand X, Y and Z. This allows a new staff member to monitor their own understanding and creates shared accountability for their effective induction into the company.
“A motivated, engaged and creative workforce is a valuable commodity” There are a variety of strategies available and depending on the workforce, business culture and values, any one of these will assist employers get the most from their staff. Business culture and values Let’s start with a new employee. The first day, week and even month of your new staff member’s employment should provide the necessary training and understanding of the role and your business. This may seem like a lot of work, but without an effective induction process your new employee may feel they don’t fit in and their productivity can drop
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The second is the engagement of staff with the business and what it stands for. In other words, the communication of your company’s culture, who you are and why you have the market position you have. This isn’t just your strapline; it is the essence of what your company stands for, and will explain the fundamental culture, values and beliefs of your company. In short, you need to define what makes your company unique and what it stands for. Anyone can be part of this induction process – from demonstrating a computer package unique to your
Importantly, you should also clearly set out your expectations for your new staff member’s performance in not just the short term, but also the medium and long term. Make sure your induction program includes relevant human resources, occupational health and safety, payroll and any relevant legislation issues.
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No one forgets a difficult adjustment period, such as being left to work things out for themselves through trial and error. So invest some time in making sure your new employees’ first few weeks impart the knowledge needed to perform productively and successfully. But the investment in your employees shouldn’t end here. Maintaining morale is important for staff in achieving their full potential. Clear expectations, respect, recognition, celebrating success and development opportunities are ways employers can motivate their staff and facilitate improved productivity. Developing talent Over the years Hays has surveyed many candidates and we have discovered the majority feel more committed to an employer who invests in their training and development and without it would look for a new job. Many also believe that without ongoing training and development their performance declines over time. The benefits of ongoing training and development are immense. Training and development strengthens the skills, knowledge and expertise of staff. Teams and groups also work better as there are more opportunities for knowledge sharing. Carefully structured and supported programs enable employers to benefit from a more energetic, harmonious and productive workforce. As we enter a candidate-tight market, it is even more imperative that employers invest in the training and development of their staff to aid in retention. To maximise the benefits of training and development, make it available to all staff and personalise it according to roles, responsibilities and future goals. Subscriptions to professional organisations and magazines, attendance at networking events, coaching and mentoring programs also contribute to ongoing development.
Celebrating success For employees motivated by money, there’s no denying performancerelated pay has a definite impact on productivity. This form of pay is often based on achieving or exceeding set key performance indicators, targets or productivity increases. It is often structured through commission, financial participation or bonus schemes and can be based on individual and/or team performance. However monetary rewards are usually very short lived. What is more important is that the reward makes the person feel valued – so often a ‘well done’ and internal recognition for a job well done can be more valued than a monetary reward. Hays is committed to the development of our human capital through building a culture of reward, recognition and promotion based on merit. There has been a direct correlation between our investment in our people and our current success. It is a testament to years of developing a company culture that rewards merit and individual performance and which invests heavily in employees’ learning and development.
Our employees benefit from industry leading training and development for trainees through to management and numerous incentives which ensure that individual and team successes are celebrated through such initiatives as Friday drinks, an annual conference and incentive days We offer some unique employee benefits, including loyalty leave which reflects years of service, with employees receiving one additional day leave for each year after 3 years service, to a maximum of 5 days. A further 5 days annual leave is given to an employee when they reach 10 years of service.
Long service leave is also recognised with gifts and gift vouchers. However any company looking at implementing a successful rewards/ recognition program should look at what their employees want. A ‘one size fits all’ mentality will not work as what one employee values, another will not. So the designing of a successful program should be approached openly. Offering flexibility Flexibility is an important factor in overall workplace effectiveness as it can improve employee engagement and job satisfaction as well as reduce stress. The cost of unscheduled absences can cost a large company millions of dollars. Offering flexible working arrangements, such as location and the hours staff work, to the types of technologies available to them such as video conferencing and remote access, promotes a work/life balance. If you choose to implement one or a number of flexible working arrangements, it is important to consider both the benefits to the employee and the impact it will have on the company. Establish clear guidelines to ensure everyone respects the arrangement and monitor the effectiveness as what works this year may not work the next. The bottom line It stands to reason that if an employee enjoys their work and feels they are valued, they will be more productive which will have a huge impact on the bottom line. Equipped with the right skills, knowledge and attitude, people are the primary source of an organisation’s competitive advantage. Therefore attracting, retaining and developing staff is the critical success factor for most organisations. A motivated, engaged and creative workforce is a valuable commodity so invest and you will reap the rewards now and in the future.
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High Commission News
BRITISH HIGH COMMISSION NEWS FEBRUARY 2010 Heart Centre, to Arup’s involvement in the Singapore Sports Hub and the Marina Bay Double Helix bridge. Benoy, HOK International, Foster & Partners, Michael Wilford & Partners all have landmark buildings in Singapore to their name too.
building networks
The UK is open for business…. This was the headline message that British Chamber members and Singaporean investors and Government officials heard from Sir Andrew Cahn, the Chief Executive of UK Trade & Investment, during his March visit to Singapore. At the Barclays Leaders in Business lunch, he highlighted that the UK remained the second largest recipient in the world of foreign direct investment (after the US), due to its sector clusters, world-class universities, flexible labour market and openness to investment. He emphasised that such investment drove competitiveness and productivity improvements across the UK economy. Sir Andrew also talked about the UK’s reputation, highlighting the challenge of
Changing the UK’s reputation to one of a cutting edge nation, brilliant at creativity and innovation is a key theme for the UK Pavilion at the Shanghai Expo – a visually striking and innovative design by Thomas Heatehrwick. The UK Pavilion website is now the second most frequently visited, after China’s. Take a look for yourself at www.ukshanghaiexpo.com All the events at the UK Pavilion are also listed on the site, so if you are planning a visit, do take a look.
“the UK continues to provide the best environment in the world for company growth, as well as offering unique gateways into global and European markets including some of the fastest growing markets in the world. The UK is committed to building on these strengths and has acted strategically to actively boost growth sectors. We want to help Singaporean investors grow their business from the UK, creating jobs and supporting global recovery.” overcoming the perception of the UK as an old-fashioned economy. He said, for example, in China that too often the image of the UK was one of fog and cobblestones - perhaps unsurprising when you know that the two favourite British authors in China are Charles Dickens and JK Rowling!
Instead he emphasised the UK’s innovative and creative capabilities, not forgetting our strong manufacturing sector. The UK remains the 6th largest manufacturer in the world.
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Sir Andrew’s visit also gave him chance to see UK design and innovation in Singapore too, with a sneak preview of the Marina Bay Sands integrated resort. There are four British companies involved in the construction of this new resort: Aedas are lead Consultant & Executive Architect; Arup worked on civil, structural, geotechnical, traffic, façade, fire, acoustics, risk & security along with 3D modelling. Mace provided project and construction management consultancy services, and Rider Levette Buckman provided cost consultancy and quantity surveying, project management and advisory services. It is easy to underestimate the UK’s impact on the Singaporean skyline. But even just focusing on sites under construction tells an impressive tale, from: the UK consortium led by landscape architects Grant Associates in collaboration with Wilkinson Eyre, Atelier One, Atelier Ten and Land Design Studios, working on Gardens by the Bay, to RMJM’s design of Khoo Teck Puat Hospital, to Broadway Malyan’s work on Singapore’s National
So it can hardly be surprising that the UK remains the largest investor in Singapore and that our trading relationship goes from strength to strength. Looking ahead, we hope that this will be strengthened by the launch of the EU-Singapore Free Trade Agreement negotiations. Sir Andrew’s visit also coincided with the first round of these negotiations. We’re grateful to all of you who have fed in your concerns over barriers to trade either through the British Chamber or direct to UKTI. These have now been incorporated into the UK position for these negotiations and submitted to the European Commission. But please don’t feel that it is too late: we remain keen to hear of any other barriers that you encounter. Finally, I’d like to draw your attention to the list of UKTI activities that we have planned for the coming year. It’s the first time that we have published this in The Orient and I hope you will find it useful. If you are interested in being involved in some of these activities, then please do get in touch. You can also access this list through the newly relaunched British High Commission website – www.ukinsingapore.fco.gov.uk – and we will update the website as our plans (inevitably) evolve. Did you know you can follow us on Twitter too (UKTI_Singapore)? Best wishes
AMANDA AM MANDA BROOKS DEPUTY HIGH COMMISSIONER DIRECTOR OF TRADE AND INVESTMENT www.ukinsingapore.fco.gov.uk www.uktradeinvest.gov.uk
www.britcham.org.sg
UKTI SUPPORTED EVENTS 2010/11 DATE
EVENT
DATE
April 19-21 20-23
London Book Fair Food and Hotel Asia
September tbc tbc 15
May 6-7 9-13 17-21 24 25 25
HR Summit IFSEC Exhibition (Security) Asia Pacific Food and Beverage “Protecting Tomorrow’s Business Today” Asset Management Seminar BritCham Leaders in Business Lunch
June tbc tbc 7-12 24
Showcomotion UK Railway Projects MIFA (animation) UK reputational showcase, Shanghai
July 1 9 tbc 13 19-26
Explore Export Wales Asia Task Force seminar Soccerex Asia Forum Asia Attractions Expo 2010 Farnborough Air Show
August tbc
Youth Olympic Games
EVENT Asia Pacific ICT Clinic Low carbon Vehicles Hospimedica Asia Healthcare Trade Mission
October tbc tbc
World of Learning BES Asia
November tbc tbc
Technology World OSEA
December tbc
Asia TV Forum
January 2011 12 BETT Education Show tbc Arab Health March 2011 tbc Biomedical Asia 13 International Food and Drink Exhibition
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BritCham
building networks
CHAMBER NEWS APRIL 2010
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ne of the eagerly awaited highlights for Businesses in Singapore was the budget 2010 presented on February 22nd. “Budget rewards productivity and innovation, extends a hand to SMEs, as Singapore sets out on journey to transform its economy” such was the BT headline on February 23rd. Clearly the 2010 budget is set out for the longer term and we are aware that its complexity needs to be explained to enable companies to benefit from funds made available. As several detailed programmes, particularly circling around productivity, are expected to come out later this year we are going to include respective briefings and up dates in our events programme and communicate through website and ORIENT. The feature for this ORIENT magazine is Entrepreneurship and Small Businesses, a first action step revitalising the initiatives supporting our SME members. 16% of our corporate members are now SME’s and the former SME Business Group is going to be re-launched “BritCham Entrepreneur and Small Businesses Group” chaired by Richard Ayres of Maroon Analytics. An events and services programme is currently being developed which we hope to be able to share in due course. Watch this space!
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Another upcoming focus throughout the year is going to be BritCham’s Young Professionals Group chaired by Miles Gooseman of Skandia. About 30% of our network is under 35 and we aim to step up our activities particularly tailored for the needs and requirements of this membership group. At the same time these initiatives will attract new members to further enlarge and enhance a continuously growing Chamber population. Fostering stronger links with Singaporean Business Associations is another ongoing priority of your Chamber. You may have attended the Chamber’s Leaders in Business Lunch in January presenting Dr. Beh Swan Gin, Executive Director of EDB. Meanwhile a team of Chamber members met up with selected EDB Cluster Heads aiming to collaborate in Industry Sector briefings presented through our Business Groups. Energy & Utility as well as Shipping, Transport and Logistics have been identified as first areas of collaboration.
us for the briefing session in the Tanglin Club and gain valuable insights into current global economic development dynamics. The Chamber team together with Steve Puckett and his CSR Committee are working on the programme for the third CSR Seminar scheduled for May 6th. This year’s topic is “Sustainable Supply Chain - hit or myth?”. We confirmed high level speakers and experts in their field such as Richard Welford, Director of CSR Asia, Katie Stafford, a former senior executive of Marks & Spencer now working for WWF Indonesia. Kevin Bennett Managing Director at DHL Neutral Services, Asia Pacific will join us for the panel. The seminar will be chaired by Professor Annie Koh, Dean of Executive Education of SMU. Watch out for the final details of what promises to be an inspiring and insightful morning! I hope to see you all at our AGM on May 19th at Eden Hall! Best wishes
One of our first major events this year will be the Economic Briefing on April 15th. Chamber Spokesperson Roman Scott, MD of Calamander Group will attempt to shed light on the most contentious issue of the time, he will turn to the battle raging over the Chinese Yuan. Join
Brigitte Holtschneider Executive Director British Chamber of Commerce www.britcham.org.sg
www.britcham.org.sg
BritCham
2010 BRITCHAM EVENTS: MARK YOUR DIARY!! BritCham Economic Briefing - How to Tame a Dragon Q1 2010 Review & Insights Presented by: Mr Roman Scott, BritCham Economic Spokesman, MD Calamander Capital Date: Thursday 15th April 2010
BritCham Breakfast Club An Introduction to Commercial Marine Salvage Presented by: Stephen Wood - Salvage Master, Titan Salvage Date: Thursday 22nd April
BritCham Breakfast Club An Introduction to Commercial Marine Salvage Presented by: Stephen Wood - Salvage Master, Titan Salvage Date: Thursday 22nd April
BritCham CSR Seminar 2010 Sustainable Supply Chain Practices – Hit or Myth? Moderator: Professor Annie Koh, SMU Date: Thursday 06th May 2010
BritCham Breakfast Club What makes a successful entrepreneur? Presented by: Mike Balfour (OBE) Chairman of The Hideaways Club Date: Tuesday 18th May 2010
Annual General Meeting 2010 Presented by: The British Chamber of Commerce Date: Wednesday 19th May 2010 Venue: Eden Hall, 28 Nassim Road
BritCham Annual Golf Tournament Presented by: The British Chamber of Commerce & Barclays Capital Date: Thursday 10th June 2010 Venue: Sentosa Golf CLub
British Business Awards 2010 Presented by: The British Chamber of Commerce & RBS Date: Thursday 7th October 2010 Venue: Shangri-la Hotel Singapore
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BritCham
building networks
BRITISH CHAMBER OF COMMERCE MEMBERS OFFERS British Club British Club offers a 15% discount (= S$ 600) for their 1 year membership* which retails @ S$ 4,000, to members of the Chamber who are not yet members of the Club. For more information please contact: membership@britishclub.org.sg A British Theartre Playhouse Production “From a Jack to a King” by Bob Carlton - “British Night” Friday 7th May 2010; BritCham member special offer: priority booking - ‘Best Seats’ request; no SISTIC charges and a voucher per ticket to redeem a complimentary glass of wine. The Singapore Brass Explosion! 31st May 2010; featuring the famous British, Desford Colliery Brass Band at the gala concert at Victoria Hall. BritCham members can purchase VIP gala concert tickets at a 20% discount upon showing their membership card. Tickets will be available from Sistic and from the VCH box office. COVA Pasticceria 1-for-1 set dinner (4-course set dinner at S$69++) Promotion period: immediate to end May. Please present your British chamber membership card prior to ordering. Located at Paragon, #01-20A. For reservations, please call 67330777. Damai Spa - Grand Hyatt Singapore Grand Hyatt, Damai membership for $280 (plus GST) per month with no annual fee (one year contract. Annual fee is normally $2000). Enjoy all the benefits of being a Damai Member for less than $ 10.00 a day. 20% discount at Oasis restaurant - 20% discount on all Spa treatments. Garibaldi Group Special corporate privileges at Garibaldi Italian Restaurant and Bar and Ricciotti Pizza, Pasta and Deli. 15% discount for a la carte menu, including beverage. DeSte, Italian Confectionary 10% discount. Please present your chamber membership card for discount. Terms and conditions apply. www.garibaldigroup.com.sg
Ground Asia : global ground transportation Special BritCham Member Offers. For UK home visits: take low cost private car transfers between Heathrow, Gatwick, or Stansted and your home. Fast Track immigration service: bypass immigration queues & lines at 20+ Asian airports: personal service aircraft door to car door. www.groundasia.com/bc
Harry’s Bar 10% discount rate on Chamber members when you present your membership card. www.harrys.com.sg
RBS - The Expat Desk Start a Royal Preferred Banking Relationship and enjoy an exclusive welcome package: Terms and conditions apply - Complimentary telegraphic transfers - 12,000 KrisFlyer Miles - Complimentary Golf at premier golf clubs in Singapore - Complimentary access to Plaza Premium Lounge in Singapore, KL & Hong Kong For more information, please contact 1800 226 8899, or email: sg.expats@rbs.com
Singapore Cricket Club The Singapore Cricket Club are offering Chamber members their special Term Membership (1 year term) at a rate of SGD2,500 (usual rate $3,500). Contact snow@scc.org.sg *offer available for Britcham members only
Vanda Boxing Club No joining fee (usual joining fee is $250) and a free pair of gloves and wraps worth $100 upon joining. Free of Charge introductory training session at Havelock Road or Turf City. For full details regarding our clubs please check out our website www.vandaboxing.com.
For more information on member offers visit www.britcham.org.sg
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Members - Sterling News
AMANJIWO TO HOST RENOWNED MEDITATION TEACHER KHANDRO THRINLAY CHODON
building networks
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et overlooking Borobudur, the world’s largest Buddhist sanctuary, Amanjiwo is the ideal location in which to celebrate the spiritual legacy of Central Javanese culture. sp Participants will have the opportunity to P learn the art of meditation and explore le the th the ancient wisdoms of pilgrimage in the th context of one of the world’s greatest Buddhist sites. B The T meditation programme will take place from 14 - 20 May, 2010 and will immerse f
guests in the compassionate and comprehensive spirit of Buddhism. Including morning meditation instruction, evening lectures, private healing and counselling, excursions to Borobudur and other sites such as a Theravada Buddhist monastery and the 9th-century Mendut Temple, this retreat aims to rejuvenate the heart and mind, offering an opportunity for reflection and peaceful contemplation. www.amanresorts.com
ANGLOINFO SINGAPORE MOVING OFFICES AND HIRING
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ngloINFO Singapore is moving offices in April, same famous, central location but larger premises and has recently hired two more full time staff.
month in Singapore and over 60 million from their global sites. AngloINFO Singapore participated recently at the Expat Expo at Suntec in March along with over 50 other exhibitors.
AngloINFO’s online media has grown significantly over the past 6 months, now generating almost 2 million page views a
AngloINFO Singapore is also supporting the Singapore Cricket Club’s Soccer Sixes on April 10th.
Companies that are not for profit or charitable organizations can contact AngloINFO for support of their events. Companies may list themselves at no cost on AngloINFO provided they are deemed relevant to their user base. www.angloinfo.com
AVIVA TO RIDE ECONOMIC RECOVERY WITH INNOVATIVE PROPOSITIONS THAT MEET SINGAPOREANS’ EVOLVING NEEDS
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viva Singapore outlined its plans to ride the economic recovery. On the back of a solid performance
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in the past year, the company has set a roadmap to grow three times as fast as the industry in key sectors in 2010, by enhancing its products and partnerships to offer innovative propositions that meet Singaporeans’ evolving needs. “Aviva has risen to become Singapore’s leading choice in Employee Benefits and Healthcare, as well as a top five life insurer. Our success against challenging
industry and macroeconomic conditions reaffirms our strategy of focusing on customers and their needs. We will continue to invest in understanding them and draw on our expertise to create products and services that offer them greater value,” said Mr. Simon Newman, CEO of Aviva Singapore. www.aviva.com.sg
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U.K. MINISTRY OF DEFENCE PLACES INAUGURAL ORDER FOR BAE SYSTEMS QSIGHT™ HELMETMOUNTED DISPLAY SYSTEM
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n September 2009, the U.K. Ministry of Defence placed the first order for a new generation of helmet-mounted displays developed by BAE Systems. The Royal Navy will purchase 12 remote sighting systems incorporating BAE Systems’ innovative holographic Q-Sight™ display technology for its Lynx Mk 8 helicopters. The 12 Gunner Remote Sighting Systems (GRSS) will be delivered to the MoD by summer 2010 for training use, which follows the initial delivery made in March 2010.
Deployment of the equipment will be worldwide and provide a significant capability enhancement for maritime force protection, counter-piracy, and counter-narcotics operations.
on a see-through display mounted on the weapon operator’s helmet. www. baesystems.com
The Q-Sight helmet-mounted display, which can be fitted to any standard helmet and is compatible with standard night-vision goggles, is a key element of the GRSS, a system that allows the image from a machine gun-mounted thermal weapon sight to be displayed remotely
BARCLAYS BECOMES TITLE SPONSOR OF HABITAT FOR HUMANITY BAREFOOT CHARITY WALK
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abitat for Humanity and Barclays Bank PLC (Barclays) announced that Barclays has taken title sponsorship of Habitat for Humanity’s ‘Bare Your Sole’ barefoot 5km charity walk, which from this year will be called Habitat-Barclays Bare Your Sole 2010.
Habitat-Barclays Bare Your Sole 2010 seeks to raise awareness of the plight of the large number of people in the region living in poverty without any footwear, as well as funds to enhance their living conditions by helping them build and improve their housing. The event will take place on 5 June 2010 at East Coast Park, Angsana Green.
Habitat for Humanity and Barclays have been working in partnership on this year’s event and aim to attract several thousand participants, including numerous Barclays employees, their family members and Barclays clients. www.barcap.com
BT’S INSPIRING YOUNG MINDS CHINA PROGRAMME YIELDS ENCOURAGING RESULTS
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ince the official start of Inspiring Young Minds in China in May 2009, the programme has seen encouraging results by providing basic network infrastructure for forty schools in Qinghai, Ningxia, Yunnan and Jiangxi provinces in south-western China. The programme distributes computers and multimedia equipment as well as
providing training programs for local teachers. So far, over 6,600 students and 1,700 teachers have benefited from this programme. The Inspiring Young Minds programme is a joint initiative between BT and UNICEF. The programme has invested £1.5 million (RMB 15 million) globally with the
goal of bringing education, technology and communication skills to children from disadvantaged backgrounds in South Africa, Brazil and China. In China, Inspiring Young Minds is jointly led by UNICEF and the Chinese National Center for Educational Technology, Ministry of Education. www.globalservices.bt.com
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Members - Sterling News
connecting business
HAYS RESOURCE MANAGEMENT WIN MISYS RPO CONTRACT
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ays Resource Management (Hays RM), the Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO) division of Hays, has been selected by Misys for
their three-year onsite RPO solution for North and South Asia. Misys, a leading global application and services provider, awarded the contract to Hays RM over five other companies. Hays RM will utilise its team of experts across the Asia Pacific with onsite personnel in Hong Kong and Beijing to recruit technical and functional specialists, project management staff, sales professionals and various support functions for Misys.
“For Misys, the biggest driver was service to the hiring community and cost reduction,” said Matthew Dickason, Business Director of Hays Resource Management. “We recognised this with a proposal that reduces Misys’ overall cost base through a direct hiring approach, while also increasing candidate quality and providing onsite support to hiring managers.” www.hays.com.au
MARLBOROUGH HOSPITALITY SERVICES ADDS KIM WALKER
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terling Member Marlborough Hospitality Services (“MHS”) has added marketing guru Kim Walker as a Senior Consultant. MHS, led by Michael Evanoff, formerly Senior Vice President-Development and General Counsel of Hyatt International, is
a full service real estate advisory group, with a strong focus on the hospitality industry. Walker is a well-known marketing executive currently based in Singapore, who has held top management roles for global marketing communications
RBS BRINGS TRANSACTION BANKING CAPABILITIES TO UK COMPANIES IN ASIA
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he Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) Global Transaction Services (GTS) has established a new initiative to promote Asian capabilities to companies in the UK, the home market of the Bank. The new initiative, led by Mr James Walton, Senior Director of Asia Pacific, aims to deliver RBS’s world-class transaction banking solutions and products to companies in the UK and Ireland, leveraging on the bank’s extensive Asian presence
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and local market knowledge. –Mr James Walton said, “The new initiative is set up to create greater connectivity between Asia and the UK. With our strong franchise and network in Asia, we believe we can offer UK companies aspiring to expand in Asia or are already doing business in the region a compelling trade and cash proposition that will help them take advantage of Asia’s growth”. www.rbs.com.sg
groups such as M&C Saatchi, Aegis Group APAC, Carat APAC, and Isobar APAC. Walker is a shareholder, director and advisor to a number of companies in the Asia Pacific region. www.marlboroughhospitality.com
www.britcham.org.sg
ROLLSROYCE COMMENCES CONSTRUCTION AT SELETAR AEROSPACE PARK
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olls-Royce, the global power systems company, commenced construction of its 154,000 square metre (over 1.65 million square foot) Seletar Campus located at Singapore’s Seletar Aerospace Park. The start of construction of the Rolls-Royce Seletar Campus was officially marked by Singapore’s Minister for Trade and Industry, Mr. Lim Hng Kiang, and Mike Terrett, Chief Operating Officer, Rolls-Royce. Mike Terrett, Rolls-Royce, Chief Operating Officer, commented:
“Singapore is an important regional hub for Rolls-Royce and we are very pleased to be expanding our presence here. The establishment of our Seletar Campus represents an important step forward as we increase our capacity and capability to meet the growing needs of our global customer base. Singapore offers highly competitive skills, a business-friendly environment conducive to high valueadded manufacturing, a strong focus on research and innovation, and proximity to our growing customer base in the Asia Pacific region.” www.rolls-royce.com
SHAUN ANTHONY THE NEW CHEF DE CUISINE AT THE CLIFF AT THE SENTOSA RESORT & SPA
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rained and armed with over 12 years of immense culinary experience in eight different countries, Shaun held senior positions in worldrenowned restaurants including the three Michelin-star restaurant Gordon Ramsay in London, Michelin-star Tschifflik Restaurant at Landschloss Fasanerie Romantik Hotel in Germany and Quay restaurant in Sydney. He was also highly regarded and recommended as a private chef to deliver gastronomic experiences
to dignitaries such as former Russian Minister of Finance. As Chef de Cuisine at his last appointment with NAPA Wine Bar and Kitchen - The Wine Residence in Shanghai, Shaun has successfully turned the restaurant around to receive a 4-star rating and a nomination for “Chef of The Year” in 2009, overcoming the greatest challenge of having to not only communicate but also motivate his team who mostly do not speak English. www.thesentosa.com
STANDARD CHARTERED FIRST TO LAUNCH PRIVATE BUSINESS BANKING PROGRAMME FOR MEDICAL PROFESSIONALS
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he Standard Chartered Private Bank today launched a specialised Private Business Banking offering for
medical professionals. A first of its kind in Singapore, the service offers High Net Worth (HNW) medical professionals an integrated offering that meets both their wealth management and business banking needs. The service is designed based on research on medical professionals, who indicate a strong interest in healthcare-related investments, business banking services and investment knowledge.
The Standard Chartered Private Bank’s differentiated proposition gives clients an array of tailored investment options in the healthcare, pharmaceutical and medical research fields. It also offers avenues for financial education through medical investment roundtables with peers, investment advisors and senior economists. www.privatebank. standardchartered.com
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BritCham Events
connecting business
LEADERS IN BUSINESS LUNCH: THE UK ECONOMY MOVING FROM RECESSION TO RECOVERY Speaker: SIR Andrew Cahn KCMG, Chief Executive UK Trade & Investment (UKTI) Date: Thursday 11th March 2010 Venue: Shangri-La Hotel Singapore
SPONSORED BY:
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www.britcham.org.sg
BritCham Events BREAKFAST CLUB SPONSORED BY:
connecting business
ENERGY COMMODITY PRICING: SEPARATING FACTS FROM CONSPIRACY
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Speaker: Jason Feer, Sr. Vice President / General Manager – Asia Pacific, Argus Media Limited Date: Friday 05th February 2010 Venue: Shangri-La Hotel Singapore
A NONTECHNICAL REVIEW OF THE PROS AND CONS OF SHIP LAYUP Speaker: Geoffrey Hutcheon, General Manager - Graig Services (Singapore) Pte Ltd Date: Thursday 11th February 2010 Venue: The Tanglin Club
www.britcham.org.sg
OFFSHORE FINANCIAL & TAX PLANNING IN A CHANGING WORLD Speaker: Brendan Harper, Technical Services Manager - Friends Provident International Date: Tuesday 16th March 2010
BUSINESS PROSPECTS FOR OFFSHORE OIL & GAS SERVICES Speaker: John Westwood, Chairman of International Energy Analysts Douglas-Westwood Date: Monday 22nd March 2010 Venue: Shangri-La Hotel Singapore
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BritCham Events
connecting business
BRITCHAM MEMBERS NIGHT 2010 Hosted by: HE Mr. Paul Madden, British High Commissioner and Mrs. Sarah Madden Date: Thursday 25th February 2010 Venue: Eden Hall
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www.britcham.org.sg
SPECIAL EVENT: AN EVENING WITH LEGENDS WITH RUGBY STARS SEAN FITZPATRICK & GARETH EDWARDS Date: Wednesday 31st March 2010 Venue: Shangri-La Hotel SPONSORED BY:
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Venue: Sentosa Golf Club, Serapong Course Date: Thursday 10th June 2010 Shot Gun Start 1.00pm
Whats Included: Round of Golf Light Lunch Gift Bag Evening Dinner & Presentation
Conta ct Me la nie via fa x – 6222 3556 or melan i e@bri tc h am.org.s g
Members - Corporate News
AEG POWER SOLUTIONS ACQUIRES A MAJORITY STAKE IN SKYTRON ENERGY
building networks
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EG Power Solutions, a global player in industrial power electronics, strengthens its position as a solutions provider for megawatt utility-scale photovoltaic power plants with the purchase of a majority stake in skytron energy. Founded in 1996, Berlin-based skytron provides leading-edge metering, monitoring and supervision solutions to companies in engineering, procurement and construction (EPCs), as well as to independent power producers (IPPs). Skytron will be a strategic business area within AEG PS, and continue to act as an independent monitoring solutions provider. AEG PS will invest in skytron’s technology to deliver leadingedge solutions for current markets and customers. www.aegpowersolutions.com
BBC WORLD NEWS LAUNCHES CHANNEL REFRESH WITH NEWS PROGRAMMES TAILORED TO REGIONAL AUDIENCES
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BC World News has launched six news programmes tailored to regional audiences, alongside a new weekend programme line-up, as part of a new look and schedule for the channel, set to air from 1 February. The programmes are part of a suite of changes to both weekday and weekend schedules, anchored around the introduction of six news broadcasts timed and tailored to suit regional audiences around the world. In addition to the news programmes airing on TV, viewers can interact with the presenters via a dedicated facebook page, programme pages on bbc.com/news, on Twitter, via the BBC’s Global Minds community, and other social media platforms. www.bbcworldnews.com
BBH ASIA PACIFIC LAUNCHES GROUND BREAKING DESTINATION BRAND CAMPAIGN FOR THE SINGAPORE TOURISM BOARD
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BH Asia Pacific has launched a ground-breaking destination brand campaign for the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) – ‘YourSingapore’ - which invites visitors to personalise their Singapore experience. The global campaign will see the STB’s previous destination brand ‘Uniquely Singapore’ evolve into a new phase that puts digital at the heart of its destination marketing through a category leading new website. BBH Asia Pacific’s pitch - winning strategy comes to life in a fresh new campaign encompassing television commercials, print and digital OOH advertisements, and a dynamic, ‘living’ logo, which captures an ever-changing embodiment of the idea. www.bbh-asiapac.com.sg
LONDON PROPERTY MARKET UPDATE
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entral London’s sales market is hectic. Demand now outstrips supply but more vendors are appearing, suggesting an imminent end to large price rises. Rental markets in Knightsbridge, Kensington, the City and Docklands are also strong and appear more sustainable. “There’s good demand for The Landmark near Canary Wharf where one bed furnished flats fetch £350 per week and two beds get £575. Unfurnished units take 30% longer to let” says Lynne Geeves, manager of Benham and Reeves Residential Lettings’ Singapore office. If you are considering a London rental investment, Benham & Reeves’ managing director Anita Mehra and lettings director Marc von Grundherr are hosting free one-hour consultations at The Fullerton Hotel on May 12-14th. www.brlets.co.uk
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www.britcham.org.sg
BRITAM CONTINUES EXPANSION
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ritam continues on its expansion into the high end manned guarding market in Singapore with the addition of the Australian School to its list of clients. Also owned by BritCham member Cognita, the Australian International School contract gives Britam another excellent international client reference for its services in the Singapore market. Britam is also assisting Cognita with Risk Management services in support of its growth throughout SE Asia. www.britamdefence.com
BA FUELS GREEN REVOLUTION
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ritish Airways, in partnership with the Solena Group, is to establish Europe’s first sustainable jet-fuel plant and plans to use the low-carbon fuel to power part of its fleet from 2014. The new fuel will be derived from waste biomass and manufactured in a state-of-the-art facility that can convert a variety of waste materials, destined for landfill, into aviation fuel. The self-contained plant, likely to be sited in east London, will convert 500,000 tonnes of waste per year into 16 million gallons of green jet fuel through a process that offers lifecycle greenhouse gas savings of up to 95 per cent compared to fossilfuel derived jet kerosene. www.britishairways.com
CABLE&WIRELESS WORLDWIDE DELIVERS NEXTGENERATION TRADING NETWORK TO GLOBAL INVESTMENT BANKS
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able&Wireless Worldwide has invested into a global network capable of supporting the specialised and mission critical algorithmic trading and communication needs of the world’s largest investment banks and financial institutions. Utilising the company’s International Ethernet Private Line (IEPL) solution, the network offers extremely high-speed, predictable and secure ethernet connections between global financial trading exchanges.
Nick Lambert, Managing Director - Global Markets, Cable&Wireless Worldwide said, “In the investment
banking business, time is literally money. We estimate that the critical role of network path optimisation between a minute and a millisecond could mean a £2 million profit or loss for financial institutions. Cable&Wireless Worldwide’s specially configured IEPL solution takes chance out of the equation and enables customers to get optimal returns from their investment in setting up leading edge algorithmic trading platforms.” www.cw.com
CENTAURS HIRES MARKETING & EVENTS EXECUTIVE
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entaurs Group is delighted to announce that Selina Boyd joined in January 2010 with responsibility for Events as well as Group Marketing. Selina is initially taking over the Events Manager role being temporarily vacated by Celina Sharma who will be on maternity leave until June. She will later concentrate fully on Group Marketing and Communication matters. Selina, a mother of 3, comes to Centaurs with many years of business development and marketing experience which will greatly help the Group continue its expansion plans, increasing the choice of general and sporting activities we offer within Centaurs Kids, Centaurs Corporate, Centaurs Rugby, Centaurs Fitness and Centaurs Events. www.centaursgroup.com
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Members - Corporate News
CISI ACCREDITS SIDC MALAYSIA AS TRAINING PARTNER
building networks
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‘train the trainer’ programme in Malaysia has helped to underpin the introduction by the Chartered Institute for Securities & Investment (CISI) of its Islamic Finance Qualification (IFQ) into this key market. The CISI has accredited the training arm of the Securities Commission Malaysia, the Securities Industry Development Corporation (SIDC), as a training partner. Last month the SIDC hosted a tailored, three-day training scheme, run by a CISI preferred external trainer, to equip 26 delegates with skills to teach the ground-breaking IFQ. Paul Hedges, Chartered FCSI, CISI director and acting head of ASEAN, said: “This is a strategic relationship for us and an important milestone in the expansion of our activities, and the IFQ in particular, across the region.” www.secinst.co.uk
ICOGNITIVE LAUNCHES “SERVICE PRODUCTIVITY MANAGEMENT”
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ervice Productivity Management is a new service by iCognitive exclusively created for service organisations. The services sector has become the largest sector in the industrialised world. Faced with more competition, increasingly demanding customers, and higher labour costs, services companies should adopt best practices to optimize their productivity, quality and profitability. Through an end-to-end view of their supply chain, iCognitive supports services business providers, non-profit organizations and governments to deliver maximum value to end users with the least possible total cost. By optimizing efficiency of the entire service supply chain, using proven techniques such as process management, performance measurement, benchmarking and applying best practices to improve the organization, we create more value than a functionally focused, traditional hierarchical management approach. www.icognitive.com
PUTTING BABIES AND CHILDREN FIRST
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he new International Paediatric Clinic aims to deliver first-rate healthcare to children. Caring for newborns can be complicated. The International Paediatric Clinic (IPC) fully understands this, and its facility on the 11th floor is targeted at helping mothers overcome their anxieties as well as provide a one-stop medical facility for their children.
PA E D I AT R IC C L I N I C
As a subsidiary of the International Medical Clinic (IMC) Group, the IPC is established to provide dedicated medical care to newborns right up to 16-yearolds. The 163-square-metre premise, which will open in February, will house three consultation rooms, two vaccination rooms, as well as a treatment room, a nursing mothers’ room and a baby triage room. www. imc-healthcare.com
FTI ESTABLISHES A FULL SERVICE FINANCIAL PRACTICE IN ASIA
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TI-International Risk has opened the Asian Financial Services Practice, headed by Rob Morris who will oversee the growth of forensic accounting and other financial services around the region. Previously, the Far East Area Head of the Fraud and Dispute Practice at a Big Four accounting firm, Rob has extensive experience in handling financial investigations, dispute services, forensic accounting and restructuring projects. Rob has provided forensic accounting services to companies in respect of various allegations or suspicions including the governance of operations in the PRC; issues relating to the United States FCPA act, bribery of procurement executives and other fraudulent claims. www.intl-risk.com
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www.britcham.org.sg
DATA READINESS MAY BE IMPAIRING RESPONSES TO LITIGATION AND REGULATORY ACTION
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ata readiness issues may be preventing companies from responding effectively to litigation and regulatory action according to a new survey by KPMG. In-house lawyers express significant concerns about responding to requests for data in the process of litigation or from regulators. The recent global survey by KPMG Forensic of senior in-house lawyers at 215 companies reveals significant concern among business about data readiness for litigation or in response to requests by regulators. The survey also shows costs and volume of data are major concerns for their lawyers. Three key areas of concern the survey identified were: Inability to identify data required for litigation or regulatory response; Poor communication between the legal and Information Technology (IT) departments; Uncertainty about corporate policies on data collection and processing. www.kpmg.com.sg
LAWFORD EXHIBITS AT SINGAPORE AIR SHOW ew Britcham member, Lawford Exhibits Ltd, is back from another Singapore Air Show,
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at which they have been providing high quality, design-led exhibition stands for many
years. The design team and Directors Brian Dennis and Francesca Rabjohns are based in the UK, whilst all Asia Pacific construction needs are met through a local company run by a family member. Lawford Exhibits Ltd is looking forward to forging new relationships with fellow Britcham members wherever in the World their event may be. To find out more please visit www.lawfordexhibits.com
MEYADO PRIVATE WEALTH MANAGEMENT APPOINTS MANAGING DIRECTOR
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eyado Private Wealth Management Pte Limited, based in Singapore, announced the appointment of Mark Paine as managing director. Mark has been a member of staff at Meyado for almost twenty years and his appointment endorses the experience and commitment Mark has brought to the organisation. Mark Paine joined Meyado Frankfurt in 1993 as an advisor. Over the past 17 years he has worked in Europe, the Middle East and was appointed managing partner of Singapore in 2007. www.meyado.com
PAGE PERSONNEL LAUNCHES IN SINGAPORE
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ichael Page International, Asia’s premier specialist recruitment consultancy, has announced that Page Personnel will be launched in Singapore in March. Page Personnel complements the Michael Page International offering, recruiting for a range of accounting and finance, business administration and secretarial support roles.
“We are launching Page Personnel because of the business opportunity we see in delivering a specialist and professional recruitment service to the junior accounting, administrative and secretarial markets. It is consistent with Michael Page International’s global strategy to diversify operations organically and invest consistently through business cycles,” said Tulika Tripathi, Managing Director of Michael Page Singapore. Page Personnel will recruit for finance roles including junior accountants, accounts payable, accounts receivable, credit control and payroll. Office support is another area of specialisation, incorporating positions such as personal and executive assistants, office managers, secretaries and receptionists. www.michaelpage.com.sg
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Members - Corporate News
PICKERING PACIFIC GROWS TEAM
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building networks
ickering Pacific is delighted to announce the appointment of Jon Robinson and Peter Buerger as Senior Advisers. Jon Robinson and Peter Buerger will respectively focus on UK and German clients. Jon Robinson is the Managing Director of Freshwater Advisers, a company providing independent advice on
executive compensation issues. He previously headed the U.S. fund management company, Vanguard’s business in Asia. Peter Buerger has spent 37 years in international banking with Commerzbank, most recently as Vice Chairman Asia. He now looks after a portfolio of activities focused on foreign direct investments between Germany and Asia. www.pickeringpacific.com
REGUS EXPANDS GLOBAL TELEPRESENCE REACH WITH CABLE&WIRELESS WORLDWIDE AND POLYCOM
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ith the third in a series of launches across the globe, today Regus opens three brand-new immersive telepresence suites - in Mumbai, Shanghai and Singapore – based on Cable&Wireless Worldwide’s Managed Video Conferencing (MVC) solution, using telepresence solutions from Polycom, Inc. (Nasdaq: PLCM). u With W the increasing pressure to cut travel spending, increase productivity and reduce environmental damage, Regus’ telepresence (TP) offering will help its customers stay e connected and provide them with ultimate flexibility for their business operations - key c in i today’s globalised business world. www.regus.com
ROBERT WALTERS SALARY SURVEY 2010
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s the after-effects of the economic crisis were felt across both the financial services and commerce sectors in Singapore, there was a marked decline in hiring activities, particularly within the fields of engineering, HR, professional services, finance, operations and projects. Significant headcount reductions were also seen at the beginning of 2009, especially across financial products and operation, according to the 11th Robert Walters Salary Survey. The 2010 survey found that while several employers
imposed recruitment freezes and redundancy programmes, salaries across many commerce sectors remained largely stagnant rather than declined, particularly in the first half of 2009. There was also a marked reduction in expatriates’ packages as organisations switched to hiring locals to manage costs, leading to a decrease in average salaries for finance candidates. www.robertwalters.com
ROFFEY PARK INSTITUTE LAUNCHES HR BUSINESS PARTNERING
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offey Park is launching the first open enrolment programme for Asia Pacific. HR Business Partnering will run in Singapore in May 2010 and is based on our own research. This programme will cover influencing skills, credibility and presence, organisational politics and the implementation of strategy. Participants will leave with a model and tools for effective business partnering. Roffey Park has been at the forefront of helping organisations succeed through their people. From research to consultancy, short courses to Master’s degrees, we have an envied understanding, not only of HR, but OD and Leadership development. www.roffeypark.com/hrbpsg
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www.britcham.org.sg
SIR CAMBODIA ORPHANAGES DONATION 2010
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he very successful Cambodia Orphanages Donation Drive which was launched in April 2009 by SIR Move Services in collaboration with Ni- Night has led to another one being organised for 2010. In March, for a period of one
month, donations of gently used and new items from the Wish List could be dropped off at specific locations around Singapore. The recipients of the donations are Sunrise Children’s Villages, Mary Knoll and New Hope for Cambodia Children. A mobile maternity clinic for remote villages who do not wish to be named will also be receiving the items donated. www.sirmove.com
SWISSÔTEL USHERS IN 3O YEARS ANNIVERSARY AND WELCOMES YEAR OF THE TIGER WITH A MIGHTY “SWISS” ROAR
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ingapore’s towering icon of Swiss hospitality hailed the arrival of the Tiger year in grand fashion and an even grander celebration. Swissôtel The Stamford, Swissôtel Hotels & Resorts’ skyscraper in the lion city had every reason to celebrate the Lunar New Year as this year also marks the Swiss hotel chain’s 30th anniversary. The venture, which started out in 1980 with just a few hotels has now blossomed into a distinctive, award-winning and internationally renowned hotel chain, with 28 deluxe hotels in 17 countries across five continents. www.swissotel.com
VISITBRITAIN RAISES BRITAIN PROFILE WITH BRITAGENT PROGRAMME
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isitBritain, the national tourist board for Britain, has recently concluded the first phase of their BritAgent programme, an e-learning programme launched to the travel trade industry in Singapore. BritAgent is a travel trade initiative launched by
the tourist board aimed at engaging the industry and raising the profile of Britain to these influential consumer touchpoints. Tourism is a key industry for Britain, with the visitor economy accounting for nearly 8.2% of the nation’s GDP in 2007.
VisitBritain has so far awarded BritAgent status to 47 travel agents in Singapore and 95 in Malaysia. The BritAgent programme, pioneered in the Singapore office, will also be rolled out globally in key markets this year. www.visitbritain.org
WATSON, FARLEY & WILLIAMS LLP ADVISES GC RIEBER SHIPPING ASA ON CROSSBORDER RESTRUCTURING OF AND INVESTMENT IN BLUESTONE OFFSHORE PTE LTD
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he Singapore office of Watson, Farley & Williams LLP (“WFW”) advised GC Rieber Shipping ASA (“RISH”), a Norwegian company listed on Oslo Børs which specialises in offshore subsea and marine seismic activities, in relation to its investment in Bluestone Offshore
Pte Ltd (“Bluestone”) through Reef Subsea AS, a company jointly owned by RISH and HitecVision, a private-equity investor based in Norway. This was a complex multi-jurisdictional transaction which involved the restructuring of the ownership structure and financing of Bluestone and its subsidiaries. www.wfw.com
SINGAPORE SAILOR WINS PLACE AS CREW ON THE TALISKER BOUNTY BOAT BOUNTY BOAT EXPEDITION SET TO RECREATE THE GREATEST VOYAGE OF ALL TIME CAPTAIN BLIGH’S MUTINY ON THE BOUNTY BOAT
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inancial Coach and Singapore sailor David Wilkinson has been selected to join the team of world class adventurers to embark on an incredible nautical journey to re-create one of the most extraordinary stories of survival and determination – Captain William Bligh’s 4,000 mile open boat ‘Mutiny on the Bounty’ voyage. The reenactment, following the journey across the Pacific from Tonga to Timor, will launch on the same day (April 28th), at the same time and in the same place 221 years after the original mutiny journey. www.wmg.sg orient 55
creating opportunities
Culture
BRITISH THEATRE PLAYHOUSE : “GO EAST AND TAKE MUSIC WITH YOU” By: John & Cecilia Faulkner, The Producers
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n the six years since the British Theatre Playhouse was started here in Singapore, we have learnt much. Not just about putting on the shows themselves but also, the hard work and sense of mission and, most of all, what we can or cannot put in front of the audiences we play to.
The British Theatre Playhouse is a producing and touring theatre company, with some seventy five percent of our shows presented outside the Republic. As there are more-and-more shows, of all kinds, presented in Singapore these days and, correspondingly, audiences are spread more thinly, touring is essential for a non-subsidised theatre production company in terms of revenue. (Touring does have its nightmare side. we’ll write another article one day about Customs & Excise departments and the issues of taking a truck with a simple, value-less, wooden theatre set and some old furniture from Singapore into Malaysia and Thailand in the 21st century. It’ll be a very long article!) The main challenge in touring is that a Singapore audience is very different to an audience in Kuala Lumpur and, in turn, to an audience in Penang, Bangkok or Colombo. As Producers, we have many different nationalities to play to and many different theatre “tastes” to
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please and finding shows that appeal to all those tastes isn’t too easy! One of the pleasures of running the British Theatre Playhouse though is that, instead of buying pre-packaged shows, we produce our own, entirely from scratch. We choose the show, obtain the Rights and then appoint a director, cast, designer and technical team. As we operate without grants or subsidies of any kind and rely on sponsorship and ticket sales entirely, this isn’t a way of producing for the faint-hearted but the advantage is that you choose exactly what you want to produce, you control your own product and its quality – and, rightly or wrongly, make your own mistakes! In principle, we steer our choice of production to the audiences we know we will be playing to and what we have learnt about them. But you do learn that the old saying “you can’t please all of the people all of the time” is so very true. However, we approach our choice of shows with the same critical observance to which we approach our work.
When we produced our first British farce – Dave Freeman’s “A Bedfull of Foreigners” – I (John) was accosted by a lady in the street after a performance who asked me to “forget that kind of end-ofthe-pier play and stick to the Ayckbourns and [Oscar] Wilde repertoire”. But you see, Madam, that play turned out to be one of our most successful! After experimenting and producing a good crosssection of British drama (we are, after all, first and foremost promoting British theatre and our Patron in Singapore is the British High Commissioner) we have discovered that music crosses all frontiers and has universal appeal. So, we have produced three musicals for our last three shows, including our latest production, Bob Carlton’s Rock ‘n Roll musical “From a Jack to a King” (5 – 9 May 2010 at Raffles Hotel, Singapore). Musicals are, without doubt, the best form of Theatre for audiences of many different nationalities in many different countries; although they do also pose more technical problems – for sound especially – and, of course, push the budgets up substantially! In focussing more on musicals, though, we have discovered just how rich the vein of talent in the UK is and how wonderfully versatile many of our actors and actresses are. In “Blonde Bombshells of 1943” (our last production) we had eight ladies and one man playing two or three instruments each and I don’t mean strumming the odd chord, they play to professionalmusician level.
www.britcham.org.sg
For “From a Jack to a King” the cast also play two, three even four instruments each – as well as acting Shakespeare’s lines and singing over twenty, worldfamous Rock songs from the 1950s and 60s! It’s a virtuoso occasion and thrilling to listen to and watch.
The opportunity to watch and listen to such talent should not be missed, especially as its British talent. We do love to denigrate ourselves as a nation - we should never forget how much we have to be proud of, especially in the performing arts.
Actors who have these skills are known in the trade as “Musos” and they are, quite rightly, highly valued. In a profession where unemployment is very high indeed, very few Musos are out of work for long.
“From a Jack to a King” will be seen in Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand. Unfortunately we were unable to get a licence from the authorities to perform the show in Vietnam: it would have been a great opportunity to show-off British talent there too but we hope to go in the future -- a different country, with different tastes and different challenges.
(The success of musicals in the past twenty five years or so is reflected in the fact that some sixty percent of shows in the West End of London and on Broadway at any one time are musicals, providing employment for those who are multi-talented. Theatreschool board directors, please note!)
those tight jeans”! But ... we won’t forget the plays either and we will choose carefully next time for those audiences whose tastes are in that direction and for all the reasons given above. We are not in a position to do anything else as our company has to be marketdriven; we raise our money to cover some of our costs through sponsorship and in all we do, we try to relate to our audiences (by being a keen observer) and that’s a great motivator -- to listen to the public we play to! “FROM A JACK TO A KING” Raffles Hotel, Jubilee Hall Theatre Wed 5 – Sun 9 May 2010 For full details, visit www.britishtheatreplayhouse.com
For lovers of Rock ‘n Roll we say, “this is your hour: dust off the leather jackets, get-out the hair cream and squeeze into
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Expat Experience
creating opportunities
MOST CHALLENGING 12 WEEKS OF MY LIFE By: Christopher Snell, Standard Chartered Bank
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hat started out as curiosity, or possibly even something I could quite easily blame on my midlife crisis, has ended in the most challenging 12 weeks of my life. White Collar Boxing is a 12-week program that closes with a black tie event at the
Suntec Convention Centre attended by over 1,000 people. White Collar brings all sorts of professionals from non-boxing backgrounds together for a challenge that quite literally separates the men from the boys. November last year saw the inaugural gathering at Harry’s in Boat Quay attended by all of the entrants for the April 2010 competition. I trained for 9 weeks of the October 2009 event, but unfortunately had to withdraw with a broken rib – a side effect of the training! I walked in with an air of arrogance, thinking that I was probably the most experienced boxer there. They weren’t to know I was actually quite rubbish, and clearly nor did I, it was only a broken rib after all! The fact that the guys who run Vanda Boxing Club knew me made me look about six inches taller than my somewhat disappointing height. Or maybe I’m just disillusioned in more ways than one. As will always be the case in a room full of strangers gathered together to discuss an organized fight, testosterone
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filled the air, and each of the similar sized guys were sizing up their potential competition! I sat at the back with my pint of Guinness and took it all in – I was a seasoned pro with glass ribs. Two months later on Monday, January 11th, we all gathered at the Vanda gym in Havelock Road for our first training session. No one looked familiar from that previous night but I assumed that was because it was January, and everyone had drank and ate their way through the Christmas period! The challenge now was to stay away from all those bad things, and get fit – fast! Alexis David, the head coach for White Collar has trained around 180 boxers in the 7 events staged in Singapore, so we
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were all in incredibly competent hands. I had done very little training since my injury in August 2009, but was convinced my fitness would still be good enough to get me through the training. The session started with some light skipping, which although looks as though it should be easy, it really, really isn’t. It is a fact that all men, with the exception of Michael Flatley and Fred Astaire, have zero co-ordination, so skipping becomes an almost comedic activity. From day one, all of us were jumping as high as we could whilst spinning the rope under our feet as if it were a chainsaw. The session continued with Alexis teaching us the basics of boxing, starting with the punches, and then moving on to the footwork. 18 grown men all positioned in front of a mirror, watching themselves punching their “shadow” - you can imagine the disaster zone with each of us trying to learn these bizarre new movements! We moved on to various exercises that are designed to improve all-round fitness: pressups, crunches, burpees, squats or squat thrusts, all of which are also designed to break people in half, especially burpees! By the end of the session Alexis was content that he’d killed the majority of his new intake, and I went home and straight to bed. The following day, I was unable to walk. The next four weeks saw huge improvements in everyone’s fitness and skill. The training camp itself saw many new friendships formed, and as we each got fitter and more confident, we actually started to look a little bit like boxers! Sure, there were new moves and skills being introduced on a regular basis, but we took them in our stride and mastered them, rather than looking around the gym to see if anyone was more rubbish at them, which had
been my previous tactic. The aches and pains were disappearing and I quickly began to enjoy every single training session. I was eating healthier than I ever had, and training six or seven times a week; sometimes twice a day. White Collar boxing training is every Monday, Wednesday and Saturday, but for those that want to survive, we have to train all the other days to make sure we are in peak condition in time for our fight. This basically means that your entire life is consumed with work and exercise, and all fun things have to be put on hold. What is perfectly cruel is that it is the twelve weeks of your life where you receive more social invitations than ever before throughout your entire life combined. I am an inherently weak person, so any temptation put before me is like candy to a baby, so I have chosen to avoid everything!
From week five onwards, the intensity of the training had increased a lot, and each of the sessions were getting harder. We also started sparring, which means that we went from hitting defenseless heavy bags, to hitting each other! There is a fantastic camaraderie between all of the guys taking part in the competition, so it was quite weird getting into a ring and making a point of trying to punch your new found friends! Nevertheless, any emotion soon disappears when you get your first punch in the nose, and realise that it’s hit or be hit! Sparring really is a tactical regime rather than an all-out fist fight, as defense is as important as attack; if you lose your discipline, you’re likely to lose the round. However, after a really bad day at work, there is also nothing worse than going straight to the gym and getting repeatedly hit in the face! Bad days really do become exponentially worse! Balancing personal, work and training commitments is probably the hardest part of the 12-week campaign, as there are a lot of sacrifices to make. Watching what you eat, not being able to enjoy
alcohol and having the majority of your spare time consumed with some sort of fitness training really can take its toll. However, the charity that we’re doing this for together with the pleasures of meeting some great new friends makes it all worth while and I am really pleased that I signed up! In February, I was lucky enough to join Ian Mullane, the founder of Vanda Promotions, on one of his regular trips to Phnom Penh in Cambodia to visit the Children’s Surgical Centre - the charity that benefits from all of the White Collar Boxing events. The centre is run by an amazing and inspirational gentleman called Dr. Jim Gollogly, who has run the centre with his wife Kanya, since 1998. I had the pleasure of spending three days watching the consultations and operations performed by Dr. Jim and his dedicated team, and was in constant awe of every single person that worked there. I came back with a renewed sense of urgency in my training and in ensuring that I sold as many tickets as possible so I could help to further support this amazing charity. The weigh-in night is on the 30th March, where I will find out who my opponent is, and fight night is the 10th April. I am both nervous and excited about the event, and win, lose or draw, I am looking forward to a great night for a great cause. I am also especially excited about my first beer when it’s all over! References Children’s Surgical Centre http://www.csc.org Vanda Boxing Club http://www.vandaboxing.com Vanda Promotions http://www.vandapromotions.com My Training Blog http://snellybalboa.blogspot.com orient 59
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Wine review
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