Driving Business Forward - BMCCmon Landy, Executive Chairman of Colliers International Ltd. Sharing his experience in doing business in Myanmar, Mr Landy said: “It is important to

September-October 2013

Issu

e 91 P

P 1

1826/0

7/2

013 (

032918)


Creativity:

Driving Business Forward

How Creative Thinking Can Power Performance

PLUS: ■ New Property Tax Regime ■ Myanmar Potential ■ Life In The Fast Lane


09537_BMCC SeptOct2013.indd 3 9/17/13 2:10 PM


With OCS Total Facilities Management our clients can have all of their requirements

serviced by a single partner and achieve cost reductions and enhanced effectiveness.

As experts in managing facilities services in over 40 countries, nobody is better placed

than OCS to deliver Sustainable Solutions for clients.

For more information email [email protected]

www.ocsinternational.com

“Our clients can outsource all of their non-core activities, leaving them free to focus on their core business”

We can take care of it all.

Sustainable Solutions for your business.

For more information email [email protected]



elcome to the latest issue of

BMCC Magazine. In this edi-

tion, we look at how Creativity is

essential in helping businesses

achieve their full potential. Success should be

defi ned not just by fi nancial performance but

also by the degree of creativity deployed to

generate new ideas and avenues of business

growth. Among our membership, there are

many examples of companies doing just that.

The links between Malaysia and the UK con-

tinue to go from strength to strength. London

is the venue for the 9th edition of the World

Islamic Economic Forum, the fi rst time the

event has been held outside a Muslim country.

The Prime Ministers of both our nations will

address business leaders from around the world at this unique gathering, of

which our patron Tun Musa Hitam is the Chairman.

Ahead of that, Malaysia a key stop on the regional tour by the Lord Mayor of

London, the Rt Hon Roger Gifford. As Guest Speaker at our upcoming BMCC

Premier Luncheon, he will talk about the role of the fi nancial services sector in supporting long-term economic growth, London’s status in the international

arena and the opportunities to work with Malaysia. See Page 5.

BMCC’s 50th Anniversary celebrations are also moving into top gear over

the next few weeks as a series of events takes place in conjunction with this

important milestone in our history. An all-British production of Agatha Christie’s

record-breaking murder mystery The Mousetrap is coming to our shores. This

coincides with a one-night performance by top UK comedian Danny Bhoy.

Attractive BMCC member discounts are available at both of these events.

Details are on Page 5.

Then in November, the GREAT Retail Fashion Campaign hits town, showcasing

top British brands. During that same week, BMCC is hosting its 50th Anniversary

Gala Dinner. This will be a glittering occasion attended by business leaders from

all walks of society. Details will be published shortly but in the meantime please

save the date – Thursday 14th. I look forward to seeing you all at our upcoming

events. In the meantime, stay connected through BMCC and follow our regular

updates on LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook.

First Lines

W

PREFERRED AIRLINE PARTNER:

BMCC Board of Directors:Patrons:YBhg Tun Musa HitamHE Simon Featherstone, British High Commissioner

Chairman: Dato’ Larry Gan, Catcha Media Bhd

Deputy Chairman: Andrew Sill, The Royal Bank of Scotland Bhd

Directors: Soo Kim Wai, Amcorp Properties BhdMark Burgess, Amicitia Sdn BhdBob Olivier, Aspac Executive Search Sdn BhdDavid Ng, DHL Express Malaysia & BruneiDato’ Justin Leong, Genting BhdDatuk Seri Michael Yam, InvestKLAmanda Powell, KL Kudos Design Sdn BhdMichael McIver, Plus Three Consultants Sdn BhdOsman Morad, Standard Chartered Bank Malaysia BhdBill Addington, TechSol Sdn BhdDatuk Peter Wentworth, OBE, Weir Minerals Malaysia Andrew Diamond, Yakimbi Sdn Bhd

Ex-Of cio:Gavin Anderson, British CouncilTony Collingridge, OBE, UK Trade & InvestmentDr Zainal Abidin Majid, Advisor To The Board

GOLD SPONSORS:

PLATINUM SPONSORS:

BMCC 2013 Annual Sponsors & Partners

Molly Jagpal: Executive DirectorWinnie Ng: Business Services ManagerNabisa Kassim: SME Development ManagerEdoria Ridzmann: Communications ExecutiveDeck Azwan: Accounts Executive

PREFERRED IT RENTAL PARTNER:

Berita BMCC is published bi-monthly for distribution to BMCC members and other organisations in the business community. The views expressed or implied herein are those of the authors or contributors and do not necessarily re ect those of the Chamber.

BMCC Magazine:Editor: Amanda Powell Editorial Committee: • George Aveling • Marcus Osborne • Molly Jagpal • Matt Smith • Bill Addington • Winnie Ng

Production: KL Kudos Design Sdn Bhd

Printing: Tinggi Press Sdn Bhd, Lot 6, Jalan Kuang Bulan, Taman Kepong, 52100 Kuala Lumpur.

4th Floor, East Block, Wisma Selangor Dredging, 142B Jalan Ampang, 50450 Kuala Lumpur.

Tel: +60 3 2163 1784/2163 1786 Fax: +60 3 2163 1781Email: [email protected]: www.bmcc.org.my

Follow us on:

GOLD PARTNERS:

BMCCExecutive Offi ce:

OFFICIAL TRAVEL PARTNER:

PREFERRED PARTNER:

PREFERRED PARTNER:

BMCCMALAYSIA

OFFICIALCAR:



In This Issue

The Creativity Edition:

Our cover features iconic British

designer Zandra Rhodes, CBE,

one of the most creative talents

in the fashion industry. She like

many others have used creativity

to inspire new ideas and drive

business forward. Turn to Page

15 to fi nd out more.

■ First Lines ................................................. 3

■ ReportBack ............................................... 6

> BMCC-Standard Chartered Series:

Myanmar - The Last Frontier

> BMCC Draws High Interest At SME Expo

■ Trade Talk: .................................................. 8

> Education Forum Heading To Malaysia

> Applications Open For Chevening Awards

> 9th World Islamic Economic Forum

> Asia Pacifi c Market Outlook - by RBS

■ Special Report ........................................ 12

New UK Tax Regime For High Value Property

By Trowers Hamlins

■ Cover Story ............................................. 15

Creativity: Powering Performance

■ Meet Our New Members ....................... 27

■ BizBriefs ................................................... 29

■ News from Our Members ...................... 32

■ On The Scene .......................................... 37

■ Health Corner ......................................... 38

Stress In The Workplace

ContentsSeptember-October 2013

Cov

er S

tory

SeptemberSun 29th BMCC Golf Scramble Staf eld Golf & Country Resort

Lunch - 12pm onwards Tee-Off - 2pm

OctoberMon 7th BMCC Premier Luncheon Series Guest Speaker: Lord Mayor Of London Rt Hon Alderman Roger Gifford

See opposite for details

Sat 12th Danny Bhoy Live In Kuala Lumpur! Istana Budaya KL

Special BMCC 50th Anniversary Event!See opposite for details and discounts

Weds 16th- Agatha Christie’s The Mousetrap! Sun 20th Auditorium, DBKL

Special BMCC 50th Anniversary Event!Exclusive BMCC discounts - see opposite

Sat 19th Great British Ball!Shangri-la Hotel Kuala LumpurEmail [email protected]

Tues 29th- 9th World Islamic Economic ForumThurs 31st ExCel Centre London - www.wief.org

Weds 30th- Achieving World-Class ServiceThurs 31st TMI Event With International Experts See Page 22. www.tmimalaysia.com.my

NovemberMon 11th- GREAT KL Retail Fashion Week!Sat 16th See Feature Story on Pages 20-21

Thurs 14th BMCC 50th Anniversary Gala Dinner!Don’t miss this special celebration of our 50 years in Malaysia. Contact the BMCC of ce for details and bookings now!

Coming Up: November-DecemberCover Theme: The Best In BusinessIn this special issue to mark our 50th Anniversary year, we celebrate the long links between our two nations and the very best of British and Malaysian brands in business. Got a story to tell? Get in touch now!

Sponsorship opportunities and advertisement bookings open now! Contact 03 2163 1784 or [email protected]

Diary Dates


September-October 2013 5

Hot Happenings

BMCC Premier Luncheon SeriesGuest Speaker: The Rt Hon Alderman Roger GiffordThe Lord Mayor of LondonMonday, 7th October 2013 - 12pm onwardsHilton Kuala Lumpur Hotel

The Lord Mayor is visiting Malaysia with a business delegation to promote and build commercial relation-ships between UK and Malaysia around nancial and business and professional services. As head of The City of London Corporation, the Lord Mayor is responsible for supporting and promoting The City as a world leader in international nance and business services. Join us for the latest in our Premier Luncheon Series to hear the Lord Mayor speak about the role of the nancial services sector supporting long-term economic growth, London’s role in the international arena and the opportunities to work with Malaysia.

Price: BMCC Members/Supporting Partners: RM150 Non Members: RM200

Event Sponsor

The world's longest running play on London's West End will be hitting the stage in KL! Dame Agatha Christie's most celebrated 'whodunnit' story will feature an all-British cast on their rst ever tour to KL commemorating 60 years of per-formances of the legendary murder mystery!

Co-Producer John Faulkner founded the British Theatre Playhouse with his Malaysian-born wife, Cecilia Leong-Faulkner. He appeared in the role of “Giles” in the 32nd year of “The Mousetrap” in the West End and is delighted to now be playing the role of “Major Metcalf”. He joins the rest of the all-British cast from the West End production.

Production Director Denise Silvey said, “We are thrilled and honoured to be bringing this little piece of British history to Malaysia as part of our 60th An-niversary celebrations. The magical storytelling of Agatha Christie lives on in this both witty and scary tale of intrigue and murder.”

Exclusive Offer for BMCC Members:

• 15 percent discount on 17th October show in VVIP, VIP & Category A

• 10 percent dicount for all other shows and 17th October show in Category B & C

Call BMCC Of ce for the promotional discount code and log on to www.ticketcharge.com.my or visit ticketcharge outlets to book your tickets now!

Exclusive 15% discount for BMCC Members! Call BMCC for discount code and log on to www.ticketpro.com.my to book!

16-20 OCTOBER 2013

BMCC 50th Anniversary Gala DinnerThursday 14th November 2013

Save The Date!Join us on this special occasion to mark BMCC’s 50th Anni-versary Year. This milestone event will bring together cap-tains of industry and business leaders to celebrate the very best in business achievement.

Visit www.bmcc.org.my for more details or follow our updates on Facebook and Twitter. Don’t miss this!



ReportBack

6

Myanmar: The Last FrontierMyanmar was in the spotlight recently

for the second instalment of the spe-cially crafted BMCC Standard Chartered Business talks. A number of BMCC Members and business leaders attended the event to hear more about this new market.

Deemed the last business frontier in Asia, many corporations and businesses are now considering the country in terms of market entry and opportunity.

Held at Le Meridien Kuala Lumpur over breakfast, the event was graced by His Excellency U Tin Latt, the Ambassador of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar in Malaysia (below). Neeraj Swaroop (right), Regional CEO for South East Asia, Standard Chartered Bank, headlined the event as the keynote speaker.

Neeraj said, “We at Standard Chartered are optimistic about the bene ts that Myan-mar’s re-engagement with the broader in-ternational community will bring, both for the country and the wider ASEAN region as a whole. As ASEAN moves towards establish-

Event Sponsor

ing an ASEAN Economic Community in 2015, we believe Myanmar’s growth potential, if realised, can only enhance the potential of the region and boost ASEAN’s global impor-tance.”

Also joining this special line-up were Os-man Morad, Managing Director and CEO for Standard Chartered Bank Malaysia and Si-mon Landy, Executive Chairman of Colliers International Ltd.

Sharing his experience in doing business in Myanmar, Mr Landy said: “It is important to understand and address the nature of My-anmar’s property demands. Occupational demand, investment demand or specula-tive demand carries its own branch of op-portunity and understanding this is where our in-depth expertise lies.”

The event was designed to provide an in-sight into the enticing new market that has captivated much of the business world’s imagination. Myanmar’s series of economic reforms over the past year has led to a more open economy, prompting the lifting of both US and EU sanctions and gearing the country towards a long-awaited growth spurt. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) estimated recently that Myanmar’s economy grew around 6.5 percent in 2012.

A Q&A session that followed the speaker talks enabled members of the audience to raise queries relating to their respective businesses vis-a-vis the Myanmar market.

The BMCC-Standard Chartered Business Se-ries give members and clients the opportu-

Neeraj Swaroop

HE U Tin Latt Osman Morad



ReportBack

“As ASEAN moves towards

establishing an Economic

Community in 2015, we believe

Myanmar’s growth potential

can only enhance that of the

region and boost ASEAN’s

global importance.”

Simon Landy

nity to hear prominent speakers on today’s lead-ership challenges and opportunities. The Forum provides insights whilst engaging and empow-ering leaders on business excellence, sustain-ability and related macro-economic policies. The talks were launched by BMCC and Standard Chartered Bank earlier this year to assist grow-ing and thriving businesses from Malaysia.

SMEs Seek Solutions At BMCC Booth

BMCC took up the role of support-ing partner and exhibitor at the

recent SME Solutions Expo 2013 in Kuala Lumpur which drew record at-tendances during its fth outing. On the rst day alone over 3,000 visitors thronged the event including the 300 delegates who packed the concurrent SME CEO Forum 2013 – one of the larg-est gatherings of business owners and SMEs in South East Asia.

Opened by Datuk Mohamed Al-Amin Abdul Majid, Chairman of SME Cor-poration, the Expo focused on the challenges facing Malaysian SMEs, with forum delegates and speakers speaking out against rising costs and the tightening of lending by nancial institutions.

Among the panel of speakers were CEO of Multimedia De-velopment Corpora-tion Datuk Badlisham Ghazali, former CEO of Proton, Datuk Seri Syed Zainal Abidin, Deputy CEO of SME Corp, Rohana Ramly and artiste turned en-trepreneur, Jason Lo.

The Expo presented a wide spectrum of ideas, opportunities, products and services for entrepreneurs and SMEs.

In addition to BMCC, other exhibitors included nancial institutions, gov-ernment agencies, media companies, IT vendors, branding consultants and others. A total US$70 million worth of products and services was estimated to be transacted over the event.

The team on the BMCC booth was kept busy with a constant stream of visitors during the three-day event. BMCC SME Development Manager Nabisa Kassim said, “The response was highly en-couraging. We received a large num-ber of visitors to our booth and many of them registered their interest in joining the Chamber, particularly for the range of bene ts offered to SME organisations.”



Trade Talk

8

Annual investment gures released recently show that the UK has continued to strength-

en its position as the leading European destina-tion for Foreign Direct Investment (FDI).

The UK’s 2012-2013 Inward Investment Annual Report con rms rises in the number of projects and jobs secured compared to 2011-2012. High-lights include:

• Some 1,560 investment projects secured – 11 percent more projects than recorded during the previous year.

• These projects are estimated to have brought with them 170,000 jobs – 51 percent higher than in the previous year. Of these, nearly 60,000 were new jobs and 110,000 existing jobs were safeguarded.

• UKTI and its partners were involved in de-livering nearly 85 percent of the projects secured.

The recorded increases are spread through-out the UK with Wales and Northern Ireland in particular recording signi cant increases in in-vestment projects – 191 percent and 41 percent respectively. Scotland registered a 16 percent increase in the number of investments while the number of FDI projects landing in England (ex-cluding London) increased by 10 percent reach-ing 759 projects.

The data bears out trends presented in inde-pendent reports including those published by Ernst & Young, Financial Times and UNCTAD, whose gures all showed the UK enjoyed a strong year for inward investment in 2012-2013. UNC-TAD, in particular, reported recently that despite global FDI in ows declining by 18 percent, FDI in ows into the UK have risen by 22 percent.

The UK continues to attract high quality invest-ment from around the globe both from its es-tablished economic partners in Europe, North America and Japan but also from key growing markets such as India and China. Investments are also made across a diverse range of innovative and economically important sectors.

UK Keeps Status As Top FDI Destination

A UK Trade & Investment and In-telligence Unit report describes

Malaysia as fast becoming the ‘Edu-cational Hub’ of the South East Asia region. As such, it is one of the four priority markets for British products and services related to education and training - a market worth over £280 million a year.

In the background to this is the 10th Malaysia Plan and Economic Transfor-mation Programme launched in Janu-ary 2011, which outlined measures to transform Malaysia into a high-income economy and achieve developed na-tion status by 2020.

As Caroline Wright, Director of the British Educational Suppliers Asso-ciation (BESA) says, “Achieving higher standards and improved quality in ed-ucation and skills to face global chal-lenges is a key priority for Malaysia.”

A number of speci c areas of focus are fuelling demand for appropriate resources and that is driving invest-ment in the sector. “With this come signi cant business opportunities for organisations targeting the Malaysian education sector,” she adds.

Focus On ScienceOne major goal is the Malaysian Gov-ernment’s desire to develop 500,000 science graduates to raise the coun-try’s position in the global economy.

Education Ministry secretary general Tan Sri Abdul Ghafar Mahmud pres-ently has over 60 recommendations to achieve this target, one of which will see the automatic channelling of low-er secondary school students into the science stream within three years.

Other recommendations include the reintroduction of the practical sci-ence centralised examination, an increase in teaching hours of pure science subjects to ve times a week

“The UK has received a major vote

of con dence from foreign investors

con rming that it remains a world-

leading business destination. UKTI

will continue to work with companies

to help create and sustain a globally

attractive, highly competitive and

truly international economy.”

Lord Green, Minister, Trade & Investment

Education SectorOffers Signi cant Potential

and an improvement in secondary and primary school laboratories - all gen-erating an increase in demand for sci-ence and technology resources.

Over the next ve years, there will be more childcare centres, pre-schools, international and private schools, colleges, lifelong learning and higher education institutions; all of these will undoubtedly create demand for educational products and services.

Improving Language Fluency “Another area of focus is to improve the uency of the English language used by teachers in Malaysia, iden-ti ed as a limiting factor in the im-provement of educational standards,” says Caroline. As such, the Ministry of Education has allocated £116 million to improve the command of English for the 35,000 in-service teachers and for those who are teaching non-Eng-lish subjects, including Mathematics and Science.

Leading Regional ForumActing as an important route to access these opportunities is the BES Asia Fo-rum. Now in its seventh year, BES Asia has grown to be recognised as the key education trade event in Asia.

With the support of the Malaysian Ministries of Education, Higher Educa-tion, and Human Resources, as well as Giatmara, naeccem, MyLead, Napei, British Council, British High Commis-sion and UK Trade & Investment, the event showcases the latest UK and international products from a range of educational resource and service providers.

In 2012, BES Asia attracted over 800 delegates from Malaysia and across the region, including Australia, India, China, Thailand and Indonesia.

“The majority of visitors attended to understand and review the best prod-ucts and services available to meet their speci c needs. Highly popular workshops covering subjects such as English language learning, interactive teaching, international recruitment, school storage, science and training also attract an increasing number of delegates each year,” adds Caroline. See opposite page for details

“The Ministry has allocated £116 million to improve the command of English for the 35,000 in-service teachers, including for those teaching non-English subjects.”



Trade Talk

Chevening Scholarships

Chevening is the UK Government’s ag-ship global scholarship programme. Funded by the Foreign and Common-

wealth Of ce (FCO) and partner organisa-tions, the programme gives awards to out-standing scholars with leadership potential from around the world to study postgradu-ate courses of the candidates’ choosing at Universities in the UK.

The programme funds full-time post-grad-uate study for one year at a UK university. It covers a substantial monthly stipend, re-turn travel costs to the UK, full academic fees, an arrival allowance and thesis grant.

Up to 30 scholarships will be made avail-able to Malaysians for the 2014/15 intake, making Malaysia, once again, among the top ve countries to award the largest num-ber of Chevening scholarships in the world.

This is made possible through the gener-ous sponsorship of BAE Systems who will once again fund awards in the elds of Engineering, Sciences and Cyber Security; the Prudence Foundation who will sponsor awards in Business & Islamic Finance and Media & Communications, and the Cam-bridge & Commonwealth Trust which will offer awards for study at the University of Cambridge.

Edinburgh University, University of West-minster, Cran eld and Kings College will also be sponsoring awards for study at their respective institutions.

British High Commissioner Simon Feather-stone says: “The Chevening Scholarships programme has always been a unique plat-form for future leaders to excel in their chosen disciplines at British universities which rank among the best in the world. Chevening Alumni have an excellent record of rising to positions of leadership across a wide range of elds including politics, busi-ness, media, civil society and academia.”

Mohammad Shaharom Ahmad Ismail, recipi-ent of a 2013/14 Chevening Scholarship, is studying an MSc in the Science of Occupa-tional Health, Safety & Environment at Uni-versity of Birmingham. He says: “If you are looking for a journey full of excitement and heart-racing moments, then Chevening is for you. It opens up a world of possibilities and helps you achieve your dreams.”

Applications are invited from talented Ma-laysians from a variety of backgrounds with a range of quali cations and experience. Priority areas include:

• Science, Engineering, Cyber Security

• Climate Change & Sustainable Develop-ment

• Human Rights

• Foreign & Security Policy

• Good Governance

• Business & Islamic Finance

• Media & Communications

Log on to www.chevening.org Applications close 15th November 2013

Open For ApplicationsBES ASIA FORUM 2013 9-10 December 2013 KL Convention Centre

B2B Event combining all-round Exhibition alongside Conference and Workshop• Showcase for the best Great Britain

educational equipment, products and services, publishers, Early Years resources, vocational training pro-viders, English language resources and training, Continuous Profession-al Development (CPD) and general educational resources.

• Network and exchange ideas with like-minded people interested in the progress of education

• Power Breakfast: Get to know the UK companies ahead of the VIP opening

• Session Streaming: Workshops and presentations streamed into EY/primary, secondary and vocational training

• CPD Card Stamping (Kad Pelaporan Latihan - KPH)

• Conference - Workshops – Roundta-bles: focused on British and regional educational experience and practic-es with wide reach across all sectors of education from around Asia

• FREE To attend

Register now at www.besasia.com



Asia Paci c Market Outlook

Trade Talk

10

Investors may have been too quick to jettison Asian assets during their recent pullback from emerging markets. While some economies, including India and

Indonesia, have proved vulnerable to fears of scarcer global liquidity, Asia’s emerging economies still boast stronger macro fundamentals and are better prepared for capital out ows than during earlier crises.

Asian economies have stronger current account posi-tions now and Asia’s most important economy, China, is additionally protected by capital controls. That bar-rier means that relatively little foreign portfolio capi-tal owed into the country as a result of the Federal Reserve’s QE programme, so it has seen little of inves-tor panic as suffered by other emerging currencies and markets.

The ability to ser-vice foreign debt across much of Asia is substantially less worrisome than in the recent past while exchange rates are becom-ing more exible, backed by central banks with larger foreign currency reserves.

Nor have the long-er term prospects

of emerging markets in Asia changed suddenly. With productivity and income across emerging markets still so much lower than in advanced economies and Asia having shown it can tap such growth potential, these countries are likely to remain the key drivers of global growth in the coming decades.

Manufacturing economies of Asia in particular should welcome the coming normalisation of US monetary policy as a signal of renewed growth in its most im-portant export market. The winding-down of US bond purchases is good news - not something to be feared as more short-termist markets seem to view it.

While Fed talk of tapering QE has clearly reversed some EM ows, the region’s economies can be con- dent that sudden changes in US monetary policy are not on the agenda. The gradual reduction of bond pur-chases is conditional on positive growth and employ-ment numbers while US interest rates should remain at between zero and 0.25 per cent until 2015.

No Reason For Investor Panic, Given Asia's Robust EconomiesBy Louis Kuijs, Chief China Economist at RBS & Former IMF and World Bank Economist

The 9th World Islamic Economic Forum will take place at the end of October in London, the rst time the event has been held outside a

Muslim country. Chairman of the WIEF Foundation and BMCC Patron Tun Musa Hitam said that with this, the WIEF has evolved from a Malaysian entity into a global movement that will facilitate business.

“The aim of the Forum is to build bridges, not only between Muslims but also the world,” Musa said. “The uniqueness of the WIEF is to link the two major elements of Islamic business that are Islamic nance and halal to global business.” Previously held in Malaysia, Kazakhstan, Indo-nesia, Kuwait, and Pakistan, last year’s WIEF held in Malaysia registered some RM28 billion worth of business concluded.

London is a pre-eminent global nancial centre, straddling the time zones between the US and Asia, and increasingly emerging as one of the leading international centres for Islamic nance. “It is the perfect place for a conference dedicated to the proposition that business can provide a link between cultures.” said Tun Musa.

Mayor of London Boris Johnson said, “It is an immense honour that the World Islamic Economic Forum has chosen London for its rst gathering outside of Asia. Hosting this conference will highlight London’s status

as a major centre of Islamic -nance and as a compelling des-tination for foreign investors.”

There are already 22 Shariah compliant banks in London making it the largest Islamic banking centre in the West; be-tween them these banks have raised £22 billion in nance to date. Saudi Arabia is the second largest foreign investor in the UK after the US and The Shard, London’s 72-storey skyscraper

and the tallest building in the European Union, is largely nanced and run by Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund. Kuwait is also allocating around £3 billion to investments in the UK. With the sector forecast to grow from £1.2 trillion today to £1.6 trillion in two years’ time, there is great potential for future growth.

Keynote speakers at the Forum include Prime Ministers Dato’ Sri Mohd Najib Tun Abdul Razak and David Cameron as well as Boris Johnson. “They will be lending their voices because they understand the signi -cance of our decision to come to London this year,” says Tun Musa. They will be joined by a host of other leaders from the worlds of politics, business, culture and the media, from 100 countries.

Sessions will be adapted to increase delegates’ participation as they explore business and investment opportunities, as well as engage in discourse on topical issues and how best to address them. Key areas of focus include Islamic banking and nance, technology, infrastructure development, health, exports, education and youth.

“It’s a chance for businessmen and women from different countries and cultures to get together, and discuss important issues, like the ways in which women can help drive economic growth, how education and healthcare have become global commodities, and how we can all make our cities smarter and better places to live and work.” added Tun Musa.

29th-31st October 2013, ExCel London www.9thwief.org

9th WIEF: Building Bridges Through Business

“Business is a good starting point to begin breaking down barriers created by limited information, to demonstrate not only how much we all have in common, but the huge bene ts from learning how to work together.”



Trade Talk

11

India’s economy and currency has taken a battering, yet the worst of rupee depre-ciation should now be behind us. Stabil-

ity should return, though a more meaning-ful appreciation of the rupee is still some distance away.

The Indian currency is the worst performer in Asia so far this year - plummeting to re-cord lows against the US dollar – the stock market fell by 10 per cent in a month and bond yields have surged as investors took fright.

The slide in India’s markets are part of a wider exodus of foreign capital from emerg-ing markets prompted by news that the US Federal Reserve is considering scaling back its bond-buying stimulus. That has raised concerns about India’s ability to nance its current account de cit and prompted Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to insist the coun-try had adequate currency reserves and was not heading for a crisis.

The irony is that the Indian government has been implementing a raft of measures to ad-dress this very issue. Three important devel-opments in June and July point to a more stable future for the rupee.

First, efforts to slim the trade de cit by slowing precious metal imports have shown early results. India’s trade de cit narrowed to US$12.3 billion in July compared with an average US$17 billion in the previous six months, after the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) introduced measures to restrict gold imports.

Import nancing for gold and gold imports by trading houses (above that needed by jewellery exporters) are restricted. These measures follow a ban on margin nancing for gold imports and the further raising of import tariffs, which are likely to be felt from September.

Second, the RBI has tightened domestic li-quidity. To curb the supply of rupees and shore up the currency’s value, it raised the marginal standing facility and upped bank rates, capped cash injections into the bank-ing system and increased the banks’ daily minimum cash balance requirements.

It has also managed to discourage specula-tors by raising the carry-adjusted return over the US dollar. This tightening of liquidi-ty appears in line with previous IMF prescrip-tions for countries facing an external crisis.

Third, India has introduced a host of meas-ures to encourage foreign direct investment (FDI), a key policy of the government since coming to power in 2004.

Regulations on external commercial borrow-ing have been liberalised and local subsidi-aries of multi-national corporations can now borrow freely from their parent companies. State-owned oil companies will also have access to external borrowing, while state-owned infrastructure nance companies are being encouraged to borrow overseas.

Such in ows are likely to increase thanks to the complete deregulation of the rate charged on deposits made by non-resident Indians, making them more attractive by shifting the exchange rate risk from deposi-tor to the bank in which the money is de-posited.

While inward foreign investment in India is encouraged, out ows are being discour-aged. The government must now approve overseas FDI by Indian corporates and at the personal level, remittances owing out of India have been capped. Indian residents will also no longer be allowed to buy over-seas properties.

The government hopes all these measures will restrict the rise in capital ows to US$11 billion, or 0.6 per cent of GDP, bringing down the current account de cit and stabilising the rupee.

India may still struggle to hit a current ac-count de cit target of 3.7 per cent of GDP this nancial year as monetary tightening coincides with already weak growth. Howev-er, there is a better demand-supply balance in the rupee that should help the currency stabilise in the immediate term.

The trade de cit is narrowing, liquidity con-ditions have been tightened and the prob-lem of gold imports is being dealt with on a dynamic basis. The most important change is in the policy mindset – rupee stability has taken precedence over all other objectives.

A version of this article appeared in Bloomberg

Brief, Economics Asia on August 29, 2013

We cannot however rule out further mar-ket turbulence and a further correction, especially given the tendency of nancial markets to overreact and overshoot. Poli-cymakers in Asia should now plan how to mitigate further ‘taper turmoil’.

Even countries like China, which are rela-tively insulated from the withdrawal of foreign capital, would be affected should growth in other emerging markets be fur-ther weakened by more capital out ow.

First, Asian nations should limit the size of current account de cits and maintain a sustainable macroeconomic position by avoiding policies that are too expansion-ary. Growth remains vital, but it must be fostered by productivity-enhancing struc-tural reforms rather than expansionary policies.

In heeding lessons from the current tur-moil, policymakers should also resist going cold on the use of foreign capital in ows. In principle there is nothing wrong with them if they are drawn in by a country’s growth story and a healthy investment cli-mate rather than short-term, speculative gains.

Still, it is best not to rely too heavily on nancial in ows - that could mean intro-ducing sensible forms of capital control. Indeed, in China, the latest bout of mar-ket turmoil underscores the need for a cautious approach to nancial reform and opening up of its capital account.

Finally, Asian countries should ensure they have adequate systems to assist each oth-er in times of crisis. The last decade has seen the roll-out of many bilateral swap lines and other arrangements but thus far, they have not been greatly used.

Governments should ensure that existing arrangements are prepped and ready and would do well to explore whether further opportunities for mutual nancial assis-tance exist.

First published in South China Morning Post on 9 September 2013

Can The Rupee Slide Be Stopped?By Sanjay MathurHead of Economics Research, Asia Paci c ex-Japan at RBS

“Policymakers should plan

how to mitigate further ‘taper

turmoil’. Even countries like

China, relatively insulated

from the withdrawal of

foreign capital, would be

affected should growth in

other emerging markets be

weakened by capital out ow.”



Special Report

12

New UK Tax RegimeFor High Value PropertyBy Nick White, Trowers Hamlins

For anyone considering purchasing or selling a high value residential property in the UK, a new tax regime has now

come into force for these properties as of April this year.

As a result, it will be even more important to plan ahead for UK tax when owning, buy-ing and selling these properties.

The precise rules are now contained in the Finance Bill 2013 which is currently passing through the legislative procedure prior to enactment. However, HM Revenue & Cus-toms (HMRC) have stated that there is to be no change of policy from the draft rules al-ready published.

The New RegimeTwo new taxes are being introduced in ad-dition to the 15 percent rate of Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) which came into force on 21 March 2012. These are: the Annual Tax on Enveloped Dwellings (ATED) and Capital Gains Tax (CGT).

Which Properties Are Included?In broad terms, the new tax regime applies to residential properties (houses and apart-ments) worth more than £2 million and owned by what is known as a "non-natural person" (NNP), the most common of which is a company (wherever incorporated). In cer-tain cases, corporate trustees are excluded.

The regime applies throughout the owner-ship cycle. That is, on purchase, during own-ership and on eventual sale of the property.

Purchasing The Property - SDLTIf the property is purchased by a NNP, then the SDLT payable will, in most cases, be 15 percent of the purchase price. This com-pares to SDLT at 7 percent if the same prop-erty were to be purchased by an individual.

Owning The Property - ATEDDuring the period of ownership of the prop-erty, the NNP will be liable to pay ATED each year. An annual ATED Return will need to be submitted to HMRC. The amount payable depends on the value of the property. The property will need to be valued every ve years, starting with 1 April 2012 (if it was owned then), and when it is purchased (if after 1 April 2012).

The amount of ATED payable each year is as per the table above. The ATED charge (but not the value bands) will be in ation-linked.

Selling The Property - CGTIf the property is sold at a pro t, then the increase in value as from 5 April 2013 will be subject to CGT at a rate of 28 percent. In some cases, a form of taper relief may reduce the amount of gain which is subject to CGT.

Reliefs From The New RegimeThe new tax regime will not apply in cer-tain cases: in broad terms if the property is being used for various qualifying business purposes.

For example, if the property is being rented to third parties or forms part of a property development or property trading business.

A claim for relief must be made by the NNP.

It should be noted that most of the above reliefs which would reduce the 15 percent rate of SDLT to 7 percent, come into effect during the summer of 2013.

What Now?Now is the time to carefully consider what to do with existing structures holding UK residential property, and how to plan for future purchases and sales.

This will need to involve not only the poten-tial impact of the new tax regime described above but also, for example, consideration of the reason(s) for the existing structure. Was it to eliminate a UK Inheritance Tax charge and/or for privacy and/or succes-

sion planning? Was it to bene t from lim-ited liability? Was a saving of SDLT on an onward sale an impor-tant factor?

The potential cost of unwinding an existing structure also needs to be considered. Does this outweigh the new charges?

It will be necessary therefore to consider

these new proposals "in the round" so as to achieve the best result.

It is important to keep up to date with these changes as the ling date for the rst Annual Tax on Enveloped Dwellings (ATED) Return approaches.

The rst Return, for 2013/14, must be led by 1 October 2013 and payment of ATED will be due by 31 October 2013. This is a "one-off" procedure for the rst year only: for 2014/15 onwards, both the Return and the ATED payment will be due by 30 April.

If the property is rst subject to ATED after 1 April in an ATED period (which runs from 1 April to 31 March the following year), both the Return and payment of ATED are due within 30 days of purchase. For example, if a property is purchased on 1 July 2014, the Return and payment would be due on 31 July 2014.

This will require specialist advice and an assessment of why the current structure was entered into before altering it in any way. For more information contact:

Nick White: Tel: +603 2615 0185 Email: [email protected]

Nicholas Edmondes: Tel: +44 20 7423 8203 Email: [email protected]

Property Value ATED (annually, as from 2013/14)

From £2 million to £5 million £15,000



Over £20 million £140,000

Trowers & Hamlins is a City of London, UK regional and Middle East law rm, with a non-trading representative Regional Of ce in Kuala Lumpur where Nick White is Regional Manager.





Discover more atstandardchartered.com/answers

Across Asia, Africa, and the

Middle East, we have stayed true

to our customers and clients for

generations. All this time our purpose

has remained the same: to stand by

people while finding new ways to

promote growth. We ensure customers

can bank in accordance with their

beliefs, help clients adopt sustainable

business practices, and give more

communities access to financial

services. As we help secure the

future of our markets, we aim to

shape a better one.

Just how committedis your bank?

CEO Spotlight



Cover Story

1313

Creativity:Powering Performance

1115September-October 2013

As history has shown, companies that

introduce creativity into their way of doing

business can soar to new heights and

reach their full potential. In the Creative

Industries sector - be it fashion, design,

architecture or media - there are countless

examples of unique and innovative ideas

that have transformed the way we live

and work. Creativity can also be used

to re-engineer processes and systems

to deliver dramatically improved results.

Some fi rms are even adding this quality

to the list of skills required when recruiting

employees. Turn the page to learn more.



Cover Story

16

Cover Story

The ability to come up with new ideas, different ways to solve problems and exciting products or services could be

the difference between success and failure. Unleashing creativity allows organisations to innovate, grow and compete in today’s marketplace. Business people need to be creative problem-solvers as well as strate-gic thinkers.

It can be easy in a large company to get stuck in ‘same old’ mindsets but, when in a smaller company, there is often more ex-ibility to explore new avenues. Relying on xed ways of doing things sti es innova-tion, can lead to narrow-mindedness and result in things ‘being OK’ when they could actually be ‘brilliant’.

Part of The Skills SetRecent trends af rm the need and desire for creativity in the workplace. More and more, creativity is becoming part of the re-quired skills set. Many of the world’s largest companies – Google, 3M, DuPont for exam-ple – expect their workers to spend as much as 20 percent of their time thinking crea-tively about new business opportunities.

Employers look for creativity from employ-ees. IBM asked 1,500 CEOs to list the most important leadership characteristics: crea-tivity was ranked higher than integrity, in-telligence and a global mindset.

Creative CollisionsInspiration bursts forth from “collision points” – moments when different ideas, perspectives and knowledge collide and create something new in the universe. When people can link unrelated concepts and ideas, they inspire and unleash fresh ideas into the world.

Examples of exceptional collision points abound in history – Guttenberg created the printing press because he married the re-alisation that books need to be copied with his knowledge of wine presses. Steve Jobs brought calligraphy to computing by creat-ing a machine that displayed type in mul-tiple fonts.

The challenge is how to foster creativity. Two of the biggest barriers to creativity in business are time and cost. When the pres-sure is on, the need to ‘get the job done’ means that time for creative thinking often gets relegated to the backburner.

Business leaders need to look at how to en-courage the sharing of ideas, development of new solutions and create a culture in organisations that rewards effort and risk-taking. For smaller businesses, how can they approach creativity and ensure that creative programmes bring real business value?

Unleash CreativitySearch out new experiences and perspectivesExpose yourself to ideas that question or oppose your point of view. Move out of your comfort zone and try something new. Work in a different industry or eld. Offer your expertise to a school or non-pro t or-ganisation and learn their business as you help them. Look for opportunities to study something new.

Challenge yourself by setting personal goals to develop ideasMake time to think. Spend 20 minutes a day brainstorming new ideas, or one day a month or quarter working offsite in a dif-ferent environment than your everyday of- ce. Set a goal to come up with new ideas each week, and hold yourself accountable by sharing them with others. Keep track of your ideas and continue to improve on them each month.

Invite colleagues to join you in your brain-storming – especially colleagues with varied backgrounds and different skill sets.

Build relationships with people from different backgroundsBuild a network of thinkers and ideas peo-ple by reaching out to people with varied backgrounds, education and professional experience and whose ideas you admire. Af-ter a meeting with a colleague, invite them to lunch to continue your conversation. Ask them to join a project you are lead-ing, invite their perspective on a challeng-ing problem you are facing, or ask them to share their opinions on their areas of exper-tise. Feed and nurture these relationships by offering to help others with a project or task, or just to listen to a challenge they are facing.

Create a culture that respects effort and risk-takingOffering a suggestion that challenges the status quo takes courage. In large brain-storming sessions, it can be hard to get an idea heard. Employees might think ‘does my opinion count’ or ‘is my idea good enough’? Encourage people to voice their opinions, have faith in their ideas and make themselves heard.

Make innovation and risk-taking part of your team’s expected results. Celebrate the failures as well as the victories, and re-ward the effort.

As a team leader, hold your own counsel. You might see the solution more quickly or be tempted to cut to the chase but this in-hibits everyone else’s creativity. The discus-sion then quickly becomes political. People start measuring their words. They are hesi-tant to disagree. As a result, you won’t get the best thinking out of the group.

Change Is GoodCreativity does not just mean designing a brand new product or service. It is also all about taking a hard look at your business and coming up with more effective or ef- cient ways to run it. Regularly take time out away from the day-to-day operational aspects of your business to think about doing things differently. The result could transform your business!

As business continues to drive positive change in the world, creativity is an increasingly essential part of organisational success. Encouraging creativity is a vital function of good leadership in any organisation.

Inspiring Creativity: Good For Business



Cover Story

17

On A MissionIn MalaysiaHeriot-Watt University has a clear mis-

sion: to create and exchange knowl-edge for the bene t of society. It is

a simple mission and one that it has been delivering since 1821, when as the Mechan-ics Institute in Scotland, its teaching was responding to the needs of a growing and demanding economy.

Since then, Heriot-Watt has grown to be-come one of the UK's leading research-led universities with a distinctive subject port-folio within the specialist areas of science, technology, engineering, business and de-sign. It is ranked in the top 4 percent of uni-versities worldwide and now has campuses in the UK, in United Arab Emirates at Dubai, and Putrajaya, Malaysia.

CEO and Provost of Heriot-Watt University Malaysia (HWUM) is Professor Robert Craik. He says: "We are a vibrant, forward-looking university. We are highly regarded for the quality of our degrees, which are profes-sionally relevant and produce highly em-ployable and innovative graduates.

"Our vision in Malaysia is to create another centre of excellence, alongside our cam-puses in the UK and Dubai, delivering the same exceptionally high quality education.

"Establishing Heriot-Watt University Malay-sia is an exceptional journey for us and in partnership with Putrajaya Holdings, we are building a agship campus in Putrajaya that will offer an inspirational learning en-vironment."

Currently, from premises based in Menara PjH, Putrajaya, the University has intro-duced a range of postgraduate programmes that have been speci cally tailored to con-tribute to the continuing economic success of Malaysia and the South East Asia region.

Professor Craik continues: "Given Malay-sia's rapid rate of industrial growth and its ever-increasing demand for specialist pro-fessionals in skilled areas, we have already introduced our world-renowned Edinburgh Business School MBA programme and a range of MSc programmes.”

Courses introduced to date include energy, renewable energy, petroleum engineering, construction management and quantity sur-veying. "These courses have been developed to assist in equipping Malaysia to develop its own pool of highly trained engineers and knowledge workers and thereby helping it to become economically self-reliant."

According to Professor Craik, students at Heriot-Watt University Malaysia can expect a learning experience to be no different from those studying the same courses in the UK.

“The curriculum is identical, and the aca-demic rigours and demands will be just as tough with full access, as UK students have, to library and online support. The context of programmes will be localised when it comes to case studies and applications.

"Heriot-Watt invests a tremendous effort into creating an exceptional student expe-rience at our campuses, by striving to con-sistently deliver excellent facilities, teach-ing and support services.

“We work in partnership with our students to develop a range of attributes and skills for life and work. These include specialist knowledge, intellectual skills and compe-tence, adaptability, self-development and leadership.

"Our postgraduate courses are designed to meet the needs of those wanting an inter-nationally recognised quali cation and also need the practical and professional skills required by today's companies, as they op-erate in a changing business world. With our focus on industrial relevance our gradu-ates will be able to make a positive and effective contribution for their employers, as well as improving their own professional careers."

By 2014, Heriot-Watt’s state-of-the-art, Green Building Index-compliant lakeside campus will come to represent a leading example of what a British university has to offer. By Spring next year, students will be recruited to undergraduate foundation and degree programmes, offering a wider range of courses in subjects relevant to the eco-nomic development of Malaysia.

www.hw.ac.uk



Cover Story

18

In this age of the paperless of ce when most correspondence is via email, it is increasingly dif cult to track changes on projects and quantify the costs of such changes. Mike McIver, CEO of Plus Three Consultants looks at an innovative system now available for tackling this issue.

“In the case of construction

disputes, the system adds

real value, keeping a detailed

record of speci c work that

has been carried out on a daily

basis, as well as various daily

conditions on a given project.”

Creative ApplicationFor Managing Contracts

In the past, construction consultants were presented with project les, often by the roomful, but they contained everything

needed to track changes and allocate the responsibility for those changes to a par-ticular contracting party.

Now the necessary data is spread between various laptops, iPads, smartphones and desktop computers making it very dif cult to see the whole story and de ne the con-tractual position.

Some forms of document management sys-tems attempt to overcome this but they are expensive, time-consuming and require specialist dedicated staff to operate them. This makes access to the nal database in-convenient and therefore not utilised to its full potential on normal projects.

To meet this demand, a new contract-inte-grated system designed speci cally for con-struction and engineering projects has been rolled out in Malaysia.

The revolutionary system can be speci ed in the particular conditions of contract and provides a real-time protocol for exchange and logging of contractual data between employers, project managers, contractors and subcontractors.

Known as Contract Communicator C-Com or C-COM, the system operates on shared cloud-based software through which all parties to a particular contract may com-municate and store those communications in remote secure storage.

With the requirement to only purchase the access licence for users on a monthly basis, it represents a cost-effective method for all data and documents to be stored in a readily accessible database which can be searched and downloaded at will by author-ised users.

This overcomes the problem of missing emails and records when the forensic work begins after a project has been completed and claims need to be documented.

All forms of data can be stored and shared from emails, drawings, photographs, min-utes of meetings, site diaries, valuations and letters. It is very valuable in litigation and arbitration work as the best source of contemporaneous records.

Rather than requiring documents as input, the system is heavily forms-driven - forms which prompt users for relevant informa-tion and then generate and transmit appro-priate documentation automatically. The system has been developed by technology companies in conjunction with construction law experts.

In the case of construction disputes, C-COM’s application adds real value, keeping a detailed record of speci c work that has been carried out on a daily basis, as well as various daily conditions on a given project. This makes establishing what has happened after the event far easier.

Site Records The C-COM Site Diary allows for direct on-line submission of independently con gured site diaries across multiple locations, disci-plines or subcontracts. A built-in approval system noti es users when their electronic signature is required and updates submit-ters when diaries are accepted or rejected.

Powerful reporting facilities allow immedi-ate access to a variety of exible reports with MS Excel export options so that search and lter of data is available instantly.

Weather records, plant and labour sta-tistics, data and material delivery can be searched for and reported on from years of data input almost instantly.

The system also features personalised trig-gers which users can set up to monitor and detect risk in the daily submitted site re-cords.

Risk ManagementIn addition to automatic risk detection, C-COM has a user-managed Risk Register which authorised users can add to. Alerts are sent to subscribers whenever a new risk is added with people being able to view the risk, add comments and suggest mitigation strategies. Risks can be searched by a range of criteria and results can be printed out or exported to Excel format.

Claims AdministrationC-COM recognises the claims process for FIDIC and NEC contracts at present and sup-port for a variety of Asia Paci c forms of contract is being developed.

The system provides users with a platform for transmitting and receiving claim-relat-ed correspondence. The claims administra-tor function provides continuous feedback to users within C-COM and via email or SMS, prompting them to act when needed.

C-COM also uses data from risks or events to automatically generate notices when in-structed and then sends these notices via email to all necessary parties. Once a no-tice has been sent, the system automati-cally creates a task for the appropriate user to complete as required by the contract.

Since C-COM is speci ed for all claim-relat-ed exchanges, it can provide realtime com-mercial reporting for any contract where it is used.

Contact Nick Anderson:

Tel +603 6201 0996 Email: [email protected]



Transforming

Today, far from the grey, unglam-orous and utilitarian develop-ments of the past, multi-storey

car parks are increasingly becoming pillars of sky-rise greenery, some even with gardens for vegetables and small plants as well as re exology pathways and outdoor seating areas for residents and visitors. Creativity is being used to incorporate attractive elements and transform the car parking environment into something much more enjoyable for users.

In the decks below, larger and brighter parking bays provide an increased sense of safety and security to vehicle owners alongside clear navigation markings and designated parking areas for speci ed users.

As new build multi-storey and under-ground car parking structures are more frequently adorning the urban land-scape so too are older structures being refurbished to meet both modern de-sign and safety requirements.

Although often underestimated, the correct speci cation of waterproo ng and surfacing materials is critical, with-in the car park environment, to deliver-ing a long-term, structurally protected and safe facility for operators and vehi-cle owners.

One important design consideration is the deck coating material chosen to protect the reinforced concrete struc-ture, in order to safeguard against the ingress of water as well as corrosive salts and other pollutants.

Epoxy and polyurethane resin-based car park decking and wearing systems are most common although acrylic (MMA) systems, which offer fast cure instal-lation in order to keep disruption to car park operations to a minimum dur-ing renovation, are increasingly being speci ed, particularly in refurbishment situations.

Cover Story

The most suitable deck coating materi-als will largely depend on where they are to be installed within the multi-level or underground parking facility as well as the conditions to which the material will be subjected.

This can range from slip-resistance, du-rability and service life requirements through to temperature cycling, UV exposure and any problematic existing substrate conditions as well as any an-ticipated movement within the struc-ture.

Applied coatings, whether on the wall, deck or sof t, must perform to meet the most stringent of criteria if they are to succeed in their primary function of car park protection. Non-protection will inevitably lead to long term main-tenance programmes, increased opera-tions costs and in extreme cases, deck failure.

From an aesthetic point of view, pig-mented resin coating systems will transform a parking structure; protect-ing it over time whilst simultaneously brightening the environment with the addition of colour and improved light-ing levels through inherent re ective properties. These features help to en-hance the overall ambience of the car park making it a safer and brighter place for people to use.

Coloured line marking products can also be installed in conjunction with resin-based solutions to de ne both pedestrian and vehicle areas, ensuring the safety of both people and cars by regulating traf c ow and pedestrian movement. This type of navigational and instructional detail is increasingly popular with developers who are using coloured bays to earmark designated areas for hybrid and electric vehicles as well as special zones for unaccompa-nied female drivers in well-lit areas of the car park.

Designers now recognise that pedestrians have as much of a place on the car park decks as the vehi-cles themselves, requiring greater consideration of circulation routes and personal security. Again, col-ourful line marking products on both the wall and oor can be used to deliver clear instructions to pedestrians circumnavigating these areas.

Sustainable deck coating solutions are also avail-able to address the increasing need to incorporate environmentally-sound building solutions into the fabric of new developments. Many resin systems come backed with certi cation from the Singa-pore Environment Council under the Green Label scheme. These systems are extremely low in vola-tile organic compounds (OPCs) as well as free from hazardous materials including formaldehyde, halo-genated compounds and N-methyl pyrrolinone.

Combining a strong physical performance and col-ourful appearance with sustainable integrity, resin-based deck coating solutions are helping to improve the overall setting of car park environments.

Addressing issues such as personal safety, ease of parking and internal circulation through improved design, simple layouts and improved building mate-rial speci cation across all decks, multi-storey car parks are now emerging as bright, welcoming and striking pillars of the modern urban landscape.

www. owcreteasia.com

Environments


Multi-storey car parks have long been many customers’ rst point of contact with retail, leisure, corporate or residential destinations, but it is only recently that developers have made efforts, through the use of creativity, to improve the quality of the car park experience, while integrating the structure into the urban landscape.



Cover Story

Zandra Rhodes Studio London

Think of any of these creative indus-tries and it is likely that you will be able to name at least one British

icon, be it a musician, lm star, designer or architect. Worth more than £36 billion a year, the UK creative industries generate £70,000 every minute for the UK economy; and they employ 1.5 million people in the UK. According to industry gures, the crea-tive industries account for around £1 in every £10 of the UK’s exports.

And when it comes to fashion, Britain is home to some of the most creative talents in the world. Much of this talent is show-cased in branded retail outlets across the globe, Malaysia included.

UK retail brands in Malaysia are thriving. Visit any of the leading shopping malls here and you will come across numerous British brands. Harrods, Marks & Spencer, Deben-hams and many other leading British design brands across the product spectrum and up and down the price scale are to be found: Laura Ashley, Mini, Ben Sherman, TopShop, Warehouse, Wedgwood and many more.

Debenhams for example will soon open its third store in Malaysia in Penang and has plans to open up to a dozen Debenhams stores in Malaysia within the next eight years. Clarks will open its 32nd store in Malaysia in Pavilion. Hamleys and Superdry

have both recently announced their entry into Malaysia; and Accessorize, Jane Nor-man and Blue Inc. opened their rst Malay-sian stores earlier this year.

Celebrating British BrandsAs a celebration of these British retail brands, the GREAT Retail Fashion Campaign is coming to Malaysia. The eight-week cam-paign is being launched by the British High Commission and UKTI, and runs until mid-November. Designed to increase sales in UK stores and attract new UK retailers to the Malaysian market, it will also raise the pro- le and awareness of the UK in Malaysia.

“GREAT is the UK Government’s biggest and most successful international marketing campaign, designed to showcase the very best of what Britain has to offer. As shop-ping is Malaysians’ favourite pastime and the UK has some of the world’s most famous retail brands we thought it was the per-fect sector to launch the GREAT campaign here,” says Tony Collingridge, Director of UK Trade & Investment in Kuala Lumpur.

Retail Sector To Double in SizeMalaysia offers a vibrant economy that is growing at 5 percent per annum, a burgeon-ing middle-class, rising consumer spending. The country also has a much lower cost base than many of its competitors as well as readily available and affordable premi-

The UK’s creative industries are a real success story with UK music, fashion, design, television, lm, games, advertising and architecture celebrated around the world.

um retail space. Kuala Lumpur is also now popularly rated as one of the world’s top shopping destinations and Globe Shopper Index recently named KL the second best shopping city in the Asia Paci c Region.

With the retail sector designated a National Key Economic Area in Malaysia’s Economic Transformation Programme, the Govern-ment plans to further ‘modernise, globalise and revolutionise’ the sector and Tourism Malaysia has been set the target to double the size of the retail industry to be worth around £36 billion by 2020.

A number of policies have been put in place to help deliver this strategy. These include abolishing import duty on 328 goods to help position Malaysia as a duty-free shopping destination; increasing the number of large format stores in the country; further devel-oping both the existing and new terminals at KL International Airport into retail hubs; and developing 12 “Big Box Boulevards” across the country.

Malaysia’s leading mall operators are also being encouraged to expand into Asia, es-pecially Vietnam, China, India and Sri Lanka under the 1Malaysia Malls programme.

There has never been a better time for UK companies to enter this exciting market con rms Tony. “Malaysians love all things British and everyday I see the Union Jack being worn or displayed in some shape or form on the streets of Kuala Lumpur.”

Attracting TradeWorking with Tourism Malaysia, UKTI has also jointly developed an Inward Mission to educate UK retailers on the exciting busi-ness opportunities in Malaysia. As well as hearing rst-hand about the various Gov-ernment policies to support the retail sec-tor there will be plenty of time for partici-pants to meet potential franchise partners and retail mall owners and visit some of Kuala Lumpur’s premium shopping malls.




Cover Story

21

“A large number of British companies are unaware of how much the Malaysian economy has developed over recent years. The country has transformed into a sophisticated and exciting business market. This is why we are keen for UK retailers to come on our Trade Mission and see for themselves the business opportunities Malaysia can offer,” he continued. The Mission runs from 11 to 13 November.

GREAT AmbassadorsLending their support to the GREAT Retail Fashion campaign when it hits KL will be iconic British fashion designer Zandra Rhodes CBE and Michelin-star celebrity chef Gary Rhodes OBE. Datuk Jimmy Choo OBE, Tourism Malaysia’s Ambassador and shoe designer for the stars will also be involved. All three will be attending the VIP Party for which Gary Rhodes will create and oversee the VIP menu. The “Zandra Rhodes: Lifetime Love of Textiles” will also be held at the National Textile Museum in Merdeka Square during November and December.

Over 100 Stores ParticipatingOver 20 UK retail brands and more than 100 stores will be taking part in the GREAT Campaign. Participating brands are: Accessorize; BBQ King; Ben Sherman; BHS; Blue Inc; Clarks; Debenhams; Dorothy Perkins; French Sole; Harrods; Jane Nor-man; Joseph Joseph; Laura Ashley; Marks & Spencer; Mini; Miss Selfridge; Peacocks; Royal Doulton; STORM London; Toni & Guy; Top Man; Top Shop; Warehouse and Wedgwood.

In all these stores, customers spending more than RM250 in a single purchase will be eligible to enter the GREAT prize draw - see overleaf for details.

A number of the top retail malls in Kuala Lumpur will also be supporting and promoting the campaign and the UKTI team is developing innovative and eye-catching displays to take maxi-mum advantage of this opportunity.

KL Fashion Weekend 14 -16 November - KLCC ParkThe GREAT campaign will culminate with KL Fashion Weekend organised by Tourism Malaysia. The three days of fashion shows will take place in KLCC Park under the iconic Petronas Twin Towers and for the rst time, the fashion shows will be a com-bination of Malaysian and UK retail brands. There will also be a spectacular nale, courtesy of Zandra Rhodes and Miss World Malaysia 2012! Continued On Page 22

Gary Rhodes OBE Zandra Rhodes CBE Datuk Jimmy Choo OBE

“There has never been a better time for UK

companies to enter this exciting market.”

“UK retail brands in Malaysia

are thriving. Visit any of the

leading malls here and you

will come across an increasing

number of British brands.”



Cover Story

22

As well as being in Kuala Lumpur, the bus will be touring Putrajaya, Ipoh, Penang, Malacca and Johor.

GREAT Sponsors and PartnersIn the process of setting up the GREAT Re-tail Fashion Campaign, UKTI has been over-whelmed with the amount of support the Campaign has attracted. In addition to the signi cant support from the participating retailers, UKTI has also secured sponsorship from other partners.

Holiday Villa has donated three nights’ stay in one of its hotel suites and Malaysian Air-lines has provided two ights to London and other support. Mini will be providing a eet of GREAT branded Minis to be used during the Campaign and is also sponsoring the Mini Road trip to Penang. Standard Chartered is funding the cost of the GREAT promotional displays in the retail malls while Clarks and STORM London have donated Grand Prizes.

The BMCC, Visit Britain and the British Council have also come on board as part-

ners, providing their expertise, contacts and networks to fur-ther ensure the Cam-paign’s success.

And Visit Britain has teamed up with De-benhams and Clarks to set up pop-up shops in their stores to retail exclusive Visit Britain merchan-dise.

“We are very excited to be partnering with Tourism Malaysia,” says Tony. “London is the shopping capital of the world and we have some of the most famous retail brands around including Harrods, Hamleys and Marks & Spencer. Many of these brands are already in Malaysia but there is room for many more.”

Look Out for the GREAT BusIn addition to all this activity, the GREAT bus, a new London double-decker designed by Thomas Heatherwick and manufactured by Wright-bus will be in KL in November. The GREAT bus is touring the world as part of the GREAT Campaign and Malaysia has been lucky enough to secure its visit to co-incide with KL Fashion Weekend.

“The bus is an excellent showcase of all that is GREAT about Britain in terms of our creativity, knowledge, innovation and technology. The low emission, hybrid bus is believed to be the cleanest form of public transport in the world,” adds Tony.

GREAT Retail Fashion CampaignPrize Draw

Spend more than RM250 in a single purchase at participating stores and stand the chance to win fabulous prizes!

Star Prize: London Shopping Trip for Two!Including three nights’ stay in a top hotel suite and £1,000 of shopping vouchers.

Other Grand Prizes include:

• RM7,500 shopping voucher from STORM London

• Year’s supply of Clarks shoes

• Weekend road trip to Penang

• Dinner with Datuk Jimmy Choo OBE and two guests at the Ma-jestic Hotel.

PLUS: 50 Runner-Up Prizes of pairs of tickets to The GREAT KL Fash-ion Weekend VIP After-Show Party hosted by Tourism Malaysia and the British High Commissioner

Contest Ends 3 November 2013

Continued From Page 21

www.ukinmalaysia.fco.gov.uk



Cover StoryCover Story Cover Story

By Niels Strohkirch, CEO, Kinslager

Creative Marketing

Being creative simply means seeing what others don't normally see. The ability to visualise something extraor-

dinary from the ordinary. Artists are often referred to as people blessed with the gift of being able to translate the ordinary into something exceptional. However it takes a further jolt of creativity to stand out like Michelangelo did. He saw the sculpture within a block of marble and simply chipped away the unwanted pieces until his master-pieces were created.

Creative marketing is the art of looking at something from a different perspective.

The most daunting task every organisation has to face is dealing with people - whether it is external or even internal. How can a company be effective and successful when dealing with the diversity life offers and in meeting the demands that stem from it?

Diversity is the driving force that chan-nels the streams of businesses today. Un-derstanding the ow of diversity however requires wisdom. The wisdom that does not always come from textbook solutions, but very often is earned from the creative school of hard knocks.

The basic problem in economics is the ex-istence of unlimited wants. How do we rec-oncile needs and wants as they often seem to be tugging in different directions? Strik-ing a balance between needs and wants helps one see that differences can work together for a common good. A combina-tion of ideas can offer the best solutions to problems provided they are geared towards establishing a common goal.

Why does this all seem so complicated? Simply because we are dealing with peo-ple, and no two individuals think alike. Some people will never know the value of a particular product or service if they are ignorant of its existence, usefulness or the bene ts that follow. This highlights the fun-damental importance of an introduction. Being able to educate others about the use-fulness of a particular product or service and explaining how one could bene t from acquiring suf cient knowledge of the same.

At Kinslager, we use a simple strategy of contributing articles via our webpage or via Facebook and Linkedin helps people to un-derstand the advantages of commissioning one of our tailored garments for example.

This understanding can be furthered still by conducting brie ng sessions that help potential customers build their knowledge and appreciation for our services.

How are we able to do this? It all has to do with the setting of priorities. Do prof-its matter more than nurturing the golden goose? The sharing of information with po-tential clients, although it may appear to be a meaningless effort bearing no instant pro ts, can prove to be an important plat-form to achieving sales. People today tend to want to be fully informed before they part with their money.

Helping customers understand the bene ts of commissioning a custom-tailored gar-ment for a special occasion for example

may help boost their own self-con dence. By demonstrating that you care about their well-being and self-image, you are building and nurturing a relationship of trust.

It's like gardening. Planting seeds of sin-cerity will always bear fruit in due season. Hoping it will grow overnight is simply wishful thinking unless of course you have magic beans as did Jack.... but remem-ber even Jack too had a giant to face. In real life however there are no such magic beans that sprout overnight, although gi-ants there may be a plenty. The moral of the story is, if we invest in building people, tailoring to their needs, then the rewards of sharing the bene ts will be evident.

www.kinslager.com

“Planting seeds of

sincerity will always

bear fruit in due season.

Hoping they will bear fruit

overnight is simply wishful

thinking. It takes time and

dedicated effort.”




Cover Story

Driving Performance Through TransformationIn recent years, there has been growing acceptance and popularity of shared services and outsourcing (SSO) as a business strategy for global nance lead-ers. An increasingly competitive business environment has now accelerated the need to re-engineer the nance function to drive operational excel-lence. Jennifer Lopez, Country Head, ACCA Malaysia, explains.

With increasing stakeholder inter-est in the broader performance of organisations beyond pure nance

measures, there is a growing focus on the need to drive improved business perfor-mance which can be sustained for the long-er term. Hence, nance leaders today face a major challenge to ensure the function they manage and lead adapts to the chang-ing needs of the business.

Finance transformation has become a key priority for many nance leaders as they seek to deliver reduced nance costs, drive nance process ef ciency and enhance the effectiveness of the nance function as a true business partner to the organisation.

Today, many nance functions have moved towards centralising nance processes through shared services, outsourcing or hybrid approaches. Whichever approach is chosen, the growth of SSO as part of the initiatives to transform the nance function is now rmly established.

The speed at which nance operating mod-els are evolving today has industry players questioning how SSO delivery centres can best support the value creation agenda. This is particularly true for global nance functions as they seek to become more ef- cient and effective partners to the organi-sation in their “go for growth” strategies.

In a report entitled ‘Finance Transforma-tion: Expert Insights On Shared Services & Outsourcing’, nance experts from 20 leading global organisations including Coca Cola, Deloitte, PwC, Shell, Unilever and WPP shared their insights on this matter.

These global leaders suggest that for the nance transformation process to work, good working relationships with outsourc-ing partners are important.

Concerns were expressed however that pro-viders of outsourced nance solutions are not always aligned to the real needs of the clients. Different cultural values, targets and incentivisation approaches and differ-ent views on speed of delivery can "make or break" the success of the transformation.

Nevertheless, the consensus is that there are much greater opportunities to drive improved business results, where nance transformation moves beyond just deliver-ing cost-savings and process ef ciencies.

The Talent GapThe increasing popularity of SSO models for nance also gives rise to new questions about how nance transformation will im-pact the talent pipeline for global nance functions. As the nance function begins to transform, new roles will evolve, new ca-reer paths will emerge and new skills and capabilities will be required. The implica-tions of this new development are huge, but its effects are still largely unknown.

ACCA’s research suggests that signi cant challenges remain, particularly in relation to mobility and the challenge of career paths extending between SSO and the rest of the nance function.

In July 2013, ACCA and the Multimedia De-velopment Corporation (MDeC) conducted a survey to gain insights to the key attraction and retention factors in shared services companies in Malaysia. The survey gathered responses from 626 nance and accounting professionals currently working in the SSO industry in Malaysia.

An overwhelming 84 percent said they en-joyed the nature of their work, while 82 percent are con dent they can build a long-term career in the shared services industry. However, only 53 percent are satis ed with their current job.

The survey further revealed that factors such as unsatisfactory remuneration, lim-ited career progression, monotonous and repetitive work, and lack of talent manage-ment strategies make the shared services industry less attractive.

In a global survey of 1,200 organisations conducted by ACCA in 2012, 72 percent of respondents say they do not implement tal-ent management programmes across the entire function, or admit that they are not aware of such programmes existing.

Of the remaining 28 percent of those who said they do have a talent management programme in place, only one third say their programmes are effective. These per-centages are disturbing given the potential of the nance SSO sector globally and in Malaysia.

Location Of ChoiceMalaysia is already one of the fastest rising destinations of choice for nance and ac-counting SSO. Numbers released by MDeC recently state that Malaysia’s SSO cluster recorded RM10.4 billion in revenue for 2012, a 14 percent jump from 2011. The outsourcing sector contributed RM5.8 bil-lion to the nation’s GDP last year, up 32 percent from the previous year.

Such potential means it is essential to en-sure that a strong pool of talent is available and fed into this sector.

To bridge the talent gap, ACCA is working with Talent Corporation Malaysia (Talent-Corp) to identify interested employers from the SSO industry in Malaysia for a unique Graduate Up-skilling programme. This initi-ative will see eligible new recruits of these companies take up the ACCA Quali cation, fully sponsored. The aim here is to provide the SSO industry with work-ready talent it so desperately needs.

“Finance transformation has

become a key priority as

nance leaders seek to deliver

reduced nance costs, drive

process ef ciency and enhance

effectiveness of the nance

function as a true business

partner to the organisation.”

ACCA is the Association of Chartered Certi ed Accountants. For details of the Graduate Up-skilling programme, contact:

Ms Zaiti Waddell on +603-2182 3602 or Email [email protected]



CreatingConduciveEnvironments

Cover Story Cover Story

www.fortisco.net

For most organisations, keeping records and documents, whether in boxes or lever arch les, is a must and in many

cases, a legal requirement. However, the area designated for ling these documents does not have to be hidden away in often inaccessible places.

Much more convenient for those who need to constantly access these les is if they are stored in close proximity to their work-place. Of course, le storage systems are rarely seen as part of the general of ce fur-niture mainly due to the lack of aesthetics of the actual storage units.

Most of ces tend to go for conventional ling cabinets or ling cupboards, both of which serve the purpose of storing les and documents but do not utilise the storage space as ef ciently and economically as they could.

Mobile storage systems offer maximum storage capacity and at the same time, provide unlimited scope for companies to use the ling units as attractive furniture to brighten up utilitarian areas of the of ce.

Storage solutions company Fortisco offers a range of mobile shelving systems that meet these criteria.

Founded in 2011, the company provides complete storage and display solutions for the public and private sector including schools, colleges, and universities; clinics, medical practi-tioners, hospitals and research institutions; and various defence ministries throughout South East Asia and the Middle East.

Fortisco also works closely with architects and consultants involved in all types of commercial of ce space for banks and -nancial institutions.

Either hand-operated, or larger mechanically-operat-ed units, the systems can be installed in almost any area of an of ce.

Fortisco Managing Director Frank Johnstone says, “The units can also be decorated either to blend in with other of ce furniture, or to provide dramatic visuals with stun-ning images that enhance the workplace.”

Since introducing this concept of ‘of ce art’, Fortisco has installed a number of mo-bile ling systems for its Malaysian clients. “This has not only met challenging ling re-quirements, but at the same time provided a dramatic backdrop that has transformed the working environment,” says Frank.

Clients have the option to choose any de-sign they wish to have incorporated on the end nishing panels to create a personal or commercial message, or just to add stun-ning geographical scenes purely for visual effect. Images can either be selected from Fortisco’s library of pictures or clients can provide their own high-resolution images for Fortisco to have printed on their stor-age units. “The only real constraint is the imagination!” adds Frank.




Cover Story



New Members

27

A warm welcome to our new members!

Aspire Consulting Sdn BhdFormed in 2002 in Malaysia, training consultancy specialising in Organisational diagnosis and develop-ment strategies; Cross-cultural coaching and team development; Senior team development; Facilitation and Executive coaching. Recognised for innovative and results-driven consulting and training solutions, helping to accurately diagnose the root cause of organisational challenges and designing tailored solu-tions to deliver the required results. Hands-on involvement in implementing solutions and simple, yet practical follow-up actions to sustain change.

Tel: +6012 203 8044 Email: [email protected]: www.aspireconsulting.com.my

Helen Langhammer - Director, Talent and Team Development

Gastrodome Management Services Sdn BhdEstablished in December 1999, now one of the largest independent restaurant operators in Kuala Lumpur. Unique collection of outlets renowned for consistent high quality cuisine ranging from Spanish tapas at La Bodega outlets to classic European tastes of The Press Room, The Press Room Bistro and Espressamente illy. Also specialising in restaurant management consultancy.

16-2, Jalan Telawi 2, Bangsar Baru, 59100 Kuala Lumpur.Tel: +603 2287 7691 Fax: +603 2287 6318Email: [email protected] Web: www.gastrodome.com.my

Edward Hyde – Founder & CEO

Epsom College Malaysia Sdn BhdCo-educational boarding and day school on 50-acre site at Bandar Enstek, south of Kuala Lumpur. Following British National Curriculum with all teaching in English, leading to IGCSE at 16 and A’ Levels at 18. Senior School (ages 11-18) and Prep School (ages 3–10) opens September 2014. Based on Epsom College UK, emphasis will be on creating family environment within structured school routine, with tra-ditional British House system fostering spirit of belonging and community. Senior School campus comprises hi-tech, environmentally-friendly buildings, with spe-cialised facilities for music, drama and sport.

Unit D4-G4-3A, Block D4, Publika, Solaris Dutamas,1 Jalan Dutamas 1, 50480 Kuala Lumpur.Tel: +603 6211 4488 Fax: +603 6206 3243Email: [email protected] Web: www.epsomcollege.edu.my

Mike Oliver Head of Senior School

Jane SmithHead of Prep School

Thistle Johor Bahru Located in heart of Johor Bahru, one of Malaysia’s most important business and tourist centres, with Singapore just a few minutes’ drive away. Luxury 5-star hotel with 382 fully refurbished bedrooms, in-cluding 125 executive rooms with spectacular sea views. Superior meeting and events facilities to cater for business events plus beautiful landscaped grounds, sea views and tropical climate making the hotel a popular venue for weddings. Wide range of dining options.

Jalan Sungai Chat, 80100 Johor Bahru. Tel: +607 222 9234 Fax: +607 222 9099Email: [email protected]

Ms M S Bobby - Director of Marketing Communications & Public RelationsEdward Kollmer – General Manager

EP-Asia Corporation Sdn BhdPartnering with world-class principals in niche markets for customers across Asia. Four distinct entities operating in ve countries: EP-Net Technology: Software Developer & Solution provider for large enter-prises; EP-TEC Solutions: systems integration of education, training technology, contact centre and work-force management; Jobscentral Malaysia: fastest growing job portal in Malaysia offering user-friendly online recruitment platform; GTI Media Sdn Bhd: founded in 1988 in UK, leading student and graduate careers publisher with publications in China, France, Germany, Ireland, Malaysia, Singapore and UK.

23-6, 6th Floor, Jalan SP2/1, Section 2, Serdang Perdana, 43300 Seri Kembangan, Selangor. Tel: +603 8941 5055 Fax No: +603 8941 5069 Email: [email protected] Web: www.ep-asia.com

Hee Kim Fah - Chairman





Amcorp Announces Latest UK Venture

Building on the momentum of its success-es to date in the UK property market,

Amcorp Properties Bhd together with its Joint Venture partner Hotel Properties Ltd has announced that it will develop a high-end residential project in Campden Hill Road close to the prime High Street Kens-ington district in Central London. The joint venture also involves UK-based developers Native Land and Grosvenor.

Located north of Kensington High Street, an upmarket shopping zone, the Campden Hill Road development is well-connected by the High Street Kensington Tube Station (Circle and District lines) and numerous bus routes.

“This project provides AMPROP with a valu-able opportunity to embark on developing exclusive residential apartments in prime central London with sound and reputable partners such as Hotel Properties Ltd, Gros-venor and Native Land. We are con dent that the development will be a major suc-cess and well-received by prospective buy-ers once completed,” says Azlan Baqee Ab-dullah, Chief Operating Of cer of AMPROP.

Targeted for completion by end of 2016, renowned British architects John McAslan & Partners have been engaged for the pro-ject, which will comprise 72 units of 1-6 bed private apartments with 78 basement car parking spaces and amenities. The ex-clusive apartments are built on a private and quiet location at the end of Campden Hill, overlooking Holland Park and within the vicinity of other well-known high end

residences such as Philimore Gardens and Wycombe Square.

In other news, AMPROP’s 10.25MW solar farm located in Gemas, Negeri Sembilan in the southern region of Malaysia, is in the process of being commissioned. The solar farm is built on an area spanning 34 acres with over 40,000 panels installed and will be one of the largest single-site solar farms in Malaysia.

The solar farm will utilise the YGE 60 Cell Series multi-crystalline module with peak power of 250 watt supplied by Yingli Solar, the world’s largest solar manufacturer.

“We are pleased with our achievements in the renewable energy sector and are proud to be a part of the nation’s drive towards using renewable energy as an alternative source of energy to meet the nation’s elec-tricity requirements,” says Azlan Baqee Ab-dullah.

Wycombe Square

Holland Park

BizBriefs



BizBriefs

Protecting Knowledge Environments

Developing the Education Sector is a key plank of Malaysia’s Economic Transfor-

mation Programme. The ultimate aim is to establish the country as a transnational hub for education.

In order to facilitate this development, a number of measures were put in place recently by the Government. Among the most signi cant were the lifting of foreign ownership limits on international schools; highly attractive investment tax allowances on qualifying capital expenditure incurred by new and existing international schools; and removal of the 40 percent quota on Ma-laysian student enrolment in international schools and deregulated tuition fees.

As a result there has been an in ux of international institutions setting up fac-ulties in the country. There are currently 81 interna-tional schools, with 29 new licences approved in 2012 alone and another 18 under consideration. Over 33,000

Malaysian and foreign students are now en-rolled in international schools.

There has been a similar wave of invest-ment and development at Iskandar Malay-sia, in southern Peninsular Malaysia, which is being planned as an integrated living, entertainment and business metropolis. A key component to this is EduCity@Iskandar, which is targeted to become an education hub by 2020, through investment by world-class educational establisments.

The list of institutions already in EduCity@Iskandar is impressive and includes leading universities and colleges from the UK, Eu-rope, the US and Singapore. Similar insti-

tutions are also already well-established in other parts of the country.

The ability for these institutions and their student populations to be able to operate in a safe and secure environment is para-mount. Security specialist Safeguards G4S believes that the key to releasing wider bene ts for its clients is to always look at the bigger picture and consider solutions that transform performance.

To do this, it provides top tier project man-agement that brings together its expertise in logistics, technology and managing the world’s biggest force of security personnel. It also brings in-depth knowledge derived from providing security solutions in diverse regulatory environments in over 125 coun-tries around the world.

With this approach, Safeguards G4S offers secure solutions that deliver more than the sum of their parts. By looking at the chal-lenge of securing the academic environ-ment more holistically, universities, colleg-es and schools can protect assets, reduce costs and deliver a better experience for the stakeholders they serve.

Safeguards G4S recognises that each col-lege and university requires a unique set of security and safety solutions. As such it specialises in developing tailored solutions for speci c campus environments. It also understands that security and safety must balance particular needs while staying mindful of costs and budgets.

Safeguards G4S is experienced in developing such programmes for campus communities with a commitment to quality and measur-able value. It provides expertise to support administrators and dovetail with existing safety programmes to deliver Evacuation & Disaster Planning; Emergency Prepared-ness, Special Event Security and Crime Pre-vention and Campus Escort Services.

For clients, the ability to source a range of services from a single provider results in an integrated approach with minimal manage-ment interfaces required.

www.g4s.com.my

“By taking a holistic view

in addressing the challenge

of securing the academic

environment, universities,

colleges and schools can

protect assets, reduce costs

and deliver a better experience

for all stakeholders.”



BizBriefs

Nasim Launches New OutletFor Peugeot Customers In Penang

Investing Down UnderStatistics released recently from Australia’s Foreign

Investment Review Board show that Malaysians in-vested RM3.58 billion into Australian Real Estate in the nancial year 2011-2012. This puts Malaysia into the top ve international real estate investors behind much larger countries including the US and China.

UEM Sunrise recently purchased two sites totalling over 5,000 sqm in the Melbourne CBD for a combined sum of AU$65.6 million. Mammoth Empire has been active in Melbourne for some years - its 50-storey resi-dential development known as MY80 is nearing com-pletion and last year, it acquired a second site directly opposite MY80 for AU$15.125 million, also set to be a large-scale residential development.

SP Setia has embarked on several Melbourne projects including 557 St Kilda Road, a 9,000+ sqm site pur-chased for AU$25.5 million. The development will be a residential scheme with 320 apartments, and an es-timated Gross Realisation of AU$250 million+. Its Ful-ton Lane project is a former CBD car park acquired for AU$30 million; it will comprise 778 apartments with an estimated Gross Realisation of AU$470 million+.

Apart from Melbourne, one of the largest Malaysian deals to date was Santos Place in Brisbane, an of ce tower bought by PNB for AU$287 million re ecting a yield of 7.5 percent. Other deals of note include Citi-tel Hotels’ purchase of 24 Hunter Street in Sydney for AU$36 million and Cahaya’s purchase of APIC House in Adelaide for AU$10.8 million.

The reasons for this high level of interest and invest-ment are clear: high growth rates, nancial regula-tion and government policy leading to impressive economic resilience; highly transparent and stable business climate; attractive yields in the commercial property sector for of ce, retail, and industrial assets in metropolitan and regional locations; a strong stable property market for disposal when required.

Stephen Kelly, Australia Desk, Knight Frank MalaysiaEmail: [email protected]

Senergy: The Next Phase Of The JourneySpecialist oil & gas rm Senergy has an-

nounced a signi cant development in its growth journey with the news that Lloyd’s Reg-ister Group has become a major investor in the company.

Senergy CEO James McCallum (above) is delighted and says that the new partnership a good t. “When we went out to the market to start looking for a nancial partner two or three years ago, our overriding priority was to nd an investor that was committed to strong Values. Senergy is renowned for excellence in oil & gas; Lloyd’s Register is renowned for excellence in assurance. It’s a great match.”

Another aspect which appealed to Senergy is that Lloyd’s is run as a chari-table organisation. “Lloyd’s reinvests the dividends back into the business and funds educational causes related to the industry. We saw this as a direct alignment with the principles we hold true at Senergy.”

With a pedigree dating back to 1760, London-headquartered Lloyd’s pro-vides independent assurance and expert advice to companies operating high-risk, capital-intensive assets in the energy and transportation sectors. This includes ensuring the quality of construction and operation of critical infrastructure – from ships and oil platforms to power plants and trains. Through LR Energy - Drilling, formed by the acquisitions of ModuSpec and West Engineering Services, it also provides technical assurance and con-sulting services to the drilling industry.

Senergy will become part of Lloyd’s Energy Division resulting in a compre-hensive portfolio of services for the upstream sectors of exploration, pro-duction and transportation through to re nery and beyond. The combined business will also provide life of eld services from inception to decommis-sioning. “There is huge potential on both sides and it is a good time to be coming in to the Lloyd’s Group,” says James.

Now that the deal is concluded, James is looking forward to getting back to the ‘day job’. “This kind of exercise can be very distracting and time-consuming. Having a clear set of goals and getting it right at the front-end are absolutely critical. It’s also important to be able to stand back and make sure the direction you are heading is the right one for the business. For Senergy, we have become part of a highly respected organisation with a deep heritage. We are looking forward to the next phase of our journey.”



Members News

Sepang International Circuit All Set For Thrilling Motorcycle Grand Prix

TMI Branded Customer Experience ConferenceBringing International Experts To KL

Sepang International Circuit will once again host the Malaysian Motorcycle Grand Prix, as part of the 18-leg 2013 FIM MotoGP World Championship. With the crown currently held by Dani Pedrosa still in contention and three races to follow after Sepang, the Malaysian round looks set to provide all the thrills and spills to be expected from this world-class event. Corporate hospitality packages provide a spectacular view of the track at Pad-dock Village, with fully air-conditioned halls located on the upper entrance of the main pit building. Catering and customised branding opportunities also available.

11-13 October 2013 Call +603-8778 2236 or email yamin.sha [email protected]

Three international experts are being own in by TMI International for its 2013 Ser-vice Conference, themed, “Creating Your Branded Customer Experience Organisa-tion”. The three speakers will join senior Malaysian leaders for the two-day event which features keynote sessions by Dr Janelle Barlow, best-selling author from the US, speaking on “Branded Customer Service – Your New Competitive Edge”; Cheryl Cran, best-selling author on multi-generations, on “Shaping Service Delivery for your Generations of Customers”; and Conor O’Connell, Managing Director of TMI Ireland, speaking on “My Personal Guarantee: A Revolution in Service Quality Thinking”. Round-table sessions with Liew Swee Lin, COO Astro and Praba Menon, GM Hotel Istana, will share different facets of customer experience journeys, focusing on the generations and culture. Day 2 will comprise Master Classes with Dr Barlow or Conor O’Connell for business leaders to apply this expertise in their own organisations.

30-31 October - Hotel Istana KL. Contact Terence from TMI on +603 6203 4410 or go to Highlights Section on www.tmimalaysia.com.my

Over 80 underprivileged children and adults from 5 to 46 years of age from Rumah Amal Permata Rohani and The Se-langor and Federal Territory Association For The Mentally Handicapped (SAMH) were treated to a Hari Raya celebration courtesy of HSBC Bank Malaysia.

Accompanied by their caregivers, all convened at HSBC’s headquarters in Leboh Ampang, Kuala Lumpur for a fun- lled programme of activities. Thirty HSBC staff volunteered their time for the day to help with a range of handi-craft sessions.

Other activities included dance per-formances by SAMH while Rumah Amal Permata Rohani entertained the crowd with a nasyid and traditional dance per-formance. The Bank also handed out do-nations of RM2,000 to each charity.

HSBC Bank Hosts Hari Raya CelebrationFor Charities Supporting Underprivileged


September-October 2013July-August 2013 31

Go knowingwww.crownrelo.com/malaysia

Safer with the knowledgeGoing together or going solo, we provide tailored help to make everyone’s relocation as successful as can be.

Tel: +60 3 5636 [email protected]

Relocating should be exciting and rewarding for everyone.

Our experience and knowledge of worldwide relocations, is shared by all our people in more than 200 locations.

And we’ll always be there to help you get the most from your relocation.

Members News

TravelTracker 6, the latest state-of-the-art online travel security tool, has been unveiled by International SOS and Control Risks. The fully redesigned system enables cli-ents to quickly identify the location of their employees and communicate with them in their time of need, wher-ever they are in the world.

The upgrade includes enhanced and interactive visualisa-tion, with improved search and navigation features. The system has been tested by around 100 clients over the past year and is integrated with the International SOS Assistance App for mobile devices. A “check-in” button is offered that allows travellers to con rm their location.

Other features include: detailed traveller “pro les” overlayed on a map to provide greater peace of mind in knowing who is where and if they need assistance; inter-active maps showing the location of a medical or travel security event, helping businesses quickly track where personnel are at all times; fast and in-depth searches using personal, geographical, and trip data; instant no-ti cations between employers and those on the ground.

Simon Chin, General Manager, International SOS Malay-sia, says: “As global business opportunities evolve and shift to new markets around the world, risks also increase for employees and expatriates living, working, and trav-elling abroad. Real-time access to the right information is critical to making sound decisions.”

www.internationalsos.com

Advanced Online Travel Security Tool Set To Deliver Improved Performance

Amir Firdaus Abdullah, previous-ly Regional Chief Executive Of- cer of Gleneagles Hospitals and Chief Executive Of cer of Gle-neagles Kuala Lumpur (GKL), has been promoted to Senior General Manager, Group Operations for Pantai Management Resources Sdn Bhd. The position reports to Alvin Lee Swee Hee, CEO, Malay-sia Operations.

Amir joined GKL in 2008 as Chief Executive and was promoted to Regional CEO of Gleneagles Hospitals in 2012. In his new role, Amir will oversee Pantai Hospital Klang and continue managing Pantai Hospital Ampang as well as overseeing GKL, Gleneagles Medini, Gleneagles Kota Kinabalu and Pantai Hospital Cheras.

Amir is a member of the Institute of Healthcare Management UK and has a wide range of experience in Healthcare Management both in the private and public sectors of healthcare delivery. He is also an elected Board Member of the Association of Private Hospitals, Malaysia.

Ms Yap Sim Bee, previously Chief Operating Of cer and a 17-year veteran of GKL, has been appointed as Deputy Chief Executive Of cer. In her new role, she will help to further accelerate the expansion of the Hospital and continue to focus on driving strong customer growth and performance for GKL.

www.gleneagleskl.com.my

New Appointments Gleneagles & Pantai Group





Members News

35

New Executive Chairman For RBS Asia Pacifi c

Donald Workman has been appointed to the position of Executive Chairman, RBS Asia Paci c. He takes over from John McCormick who has decided to leave the Group after 17 years of service. Mr Workman has worked at RBS for 21 years and served most recently as Head of the Asset Protection Scheme unit, an important part of the restructuring of RBS. He has had extensive Asian experience having led the Global Banking and Markets team working on the strategic cooperation with Bank of China, and subsequently led the ABN AMRO Australian business immediately after the acquisition. He has acted as London/Edinburgh contact for many Asian clients over the years. As part of his duties, Mr. Workman will take on client relationships across APAC where Mr McCormick is Executive Sponsor. Mr Workman will jointly report to John Owen, CEO of International Banking and Suneel Kamlani/Peter Nielsen, Co-CEOs of Markets.

Over 60 HR professionals from MNCs and local rms attended the recent seminar on Bene ts Trends in the Asia Paci c region organised by Towers Watson. The Seminar was used as the platform to share the ndings from the Bene ts Trends Survey conducted recently by the rm.

The survey polled more than 1,000 employers in the region, revealing that four in ten are spending more than of 20 percent of their payroll on pro-viding employee bene ts. Despite this signi cant spend, only slightly more than half said that their bene ts were valued suf ciently by employees and 15 percent said not at all.

Matthew Jackson, Director, Bene ts Optimisation, Asia Paci c said, “Bene ts are no longer just a statutory requirement, they are being leveraged by employers in the war for key talent. But this spend must deliver the right bene ts down the line.” Com-munication is key – with only 44 percent of employees in Malaysia saying that their companies communicate effectively on bene ts. Employee Choice also presents Ma-laysian rms with the opportunity to empower employees to shape their own bene ts package. Currently only 10 percent provide a form of employee choice. Employers are also starting to think holistically about health programmes, moving from a ‘cure’ mentality to a ‘prevent’ mentality, resulting in a consistent rise in medical costs and increased employee expectations. www.towerswatson.com/en/Insights

Towers Watson Benefi ts Survey Reveals Signifi cant Trends

ICAEW Releases Latest ReportWith Regional Economic Insights

The latest report commissioned by the ICAEW indicates that Malaysia could see lower growth rates due to US monetary policy. In the report, the leading accountancy and nance body warns that increased yields in the US, following the market pricing in the Fed’s tighter stance, may mean reduced capital ows to ASEAN.

The report provides a current snapshot of the region’s economic performance with a focus on the ve largest countries; Indonesia, Malay-sia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand.

Annual growth in loans throughout the region is expected to fall with currency movements suggesting there is already an element of wariness among investors. Export-wise, China’s slowdown will continue to affect the region, both because it is ASEAN’s largest trading partner and because of the impact it has on commodity prices. For Malaysia, although in ation remains low, is expected to suffer from the Chinese slowdown and tapering of asset purchases in the US. However, large, growing populations and the potential for productivity improvements in Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia and Philippines provide a strong backdrop to the region. www.icaew.com

W The award-winning Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre has introduced the Culinaria brand to de ne and set its culinary services apart the rest of the crowd.

“Culinaria encompasses the promise of value, taste and experience from our wide range of culinary offerings, at the same time bringing our award-winning food & beverage track re-cord to the fore,” explained Datuk Peter Bro-kenshire, the Centre’s General Manager.

The brand was launched recently at the Diner Amical of the Malaysia chapter of the Chaîne des Rôtisseurs, an international gastronomic society devoted to the promotion of ne din-ing. The 80 food & wine connoisseurs and their guests sat down to an epicurean adventure where the Centre’s Executive Chef, Richmond Lim and his seven head chefs showcased their creative culinary air.

www.klccconventioncentre.com

KL Convention CentreLaunches Culinaria Brand At Top Event



Members News

Rolls-Royce Powers Young DreamsHelps Malaysian Set World Record

New Principal AppointedAt Sri KDU International

Pioneering Acupuncture Technique Helps Combat Stress & Tension

Margaret Rafee has been appointed to the post of Principal of Sri KDU International School (SKIS). Prior to her appointment, Mrs Rafee She was previously Headteacher at Alperton Community School in Wembley (2003-2013), a school with Investor in People status. During her ten-ure, the school signi cantly improved in teaching standards and student achievement, culminating in the School being graded Outstanding Grade 1/4 by the UK Inspection Service OFSTED.

The school was a member of the West London Chamber of Commerce and Mrs Rafee worked closely with the local business community to understand the skills required to be successful in business in the UK. She has been a Deputy Headteacher, LEA Advisor, University Lecturer in Eng-lish Communications and a teacher of French. She holds an MA in Applied Linguistics and the UK National Pro-fessional Quali cation for Headship. www.srikdu.edu.my

The youngest pilot ever to y solo around the world in a single engine aircraft has touched down safely after an epic journey powered by Rolls-Royce. Malaysian James Tan, 21, ew into the re-cord books at the controls of a Cessna 210 Silver Eagle tted with a Rolls-Royce M250 B17 turboprop engine. He clocked up a time of 48 days, beating the 80 days set last year by 22-year old Swiss pilot Carlo Schmid, who also ew a Cessna powered by a Rolls-Royce engine.

James says he couldn’t have been happier with the turboprop, which never failed him, adding: “I de -nitely made the right choice going with Rolls-Royce and want to thank them for getting me home.”

His record-breaking journey began and ended at Subang Airport in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, with visits to 21 countries. During his 113 hours in the air he faced some hair-raising challenges. These included ying into thunderstorms, climbing above volcanic ash over Russia and ghting freezing con-ditions above the Bering Strait.

Now that he’s back on the ground, James hopes his ight will inspire others to live their dreams. As a dyslexia sufferer, James says he hopes his ight will inspire others to pursue their dreams. “I want-ed to show it is possible to overcome potentially life-changing obstacles. I already have plans for another adventure - all I’m saying for now is that it will be the M250 B17 bringing me home.”

Etihad Introduces Flying NannyFor Long Haul Flights

Etihad Airways has launched a dedicated in- ight child care assistance programme for families with the introduction a new Flying Nanny on board long-haul ights. In recent months, 300 Etihad Airways cabin crew members have completed in-depth training from the world-re-nowned child care specialist Norland College. By the end of 2013, 500 Flying Nannies will be working across Etihad Airways ights.

Assistance begins right from the boarding gate, getting families settled on board, helping serve chil-dren’s meals early in the ight and offering activi-ties and challenges to help occupy younger guests. Un-accompanied minors will also come under the care of the Flying Nanny.

www.etihadairways.com

Meridians’ senior acupuncture practitioner Oran Kivity travelled to Japan re-cently to join over 200 Japanese and Western delegates for an intensive ve-day training session supervised by the senior instructors of the Toyohari Acupuncture Association. Most remarkably, some 80 percent of the delegates and nearly all of the instructors are blind or partially sighted. “Blind acupuncturists form a large proportion of the acupuncture population and have developed specialised sen-sitivities and techniques that have widely in uenced acupuncture,” says Oran.

The conference provided the opportunity to present Meridians’ signature acu-puncture method ‘Ontake Warm Bamboo’. Developed in Malaysia by Oran, the method involves the application of heat to acupuncture points and channels us-ing a short piece of bamboo which is heated. The bamboo can be held, tapped, pressed or rolled rhythmically on the skin to relieve stress and tension.

www.meridians.com.my



On The Scene

37

With Mike Gascoyne

Having spent 25 years at the sharp end of the cut-and-thrust world of inter-national motorsport, Mike Gascoyne

knows a thing or two about performance. His CV reads like every child’s boyhood – and girlhood - dream. A keen rugby player and outdoor enthusiast, he had already led two expeditions to the Himalayas before going on to enter the equally demanding yet very different world of Formula 1.

Having studied for a Ph.D. in fl uid dynam-ics at Cambridge University in the 1980s, he landed a job at McLaren – nothing like starting at the top! Mike rapidly developed a reputation as one of the most renowned technicians in the industry, working under the extreme timelines that F1 demands and building great teams that deliver.

In the years since, he has also worked for Tyrell, Jordan, Benetton and Toyota – al-ways with technical excellence and team performance as the watchwords. And then he met Tony Fernandes.

Mike gave a glimpse of the journey so far when he spoke to the audience at the re-cent BMCC Mix & Mingle Night at Le Meridi-en Kuala Lumpur, organised in conjunction with the British High Commission.

“We built an F1 team from scratch and we did it in less than six months! Two days after the car design was approved, we opened the factory and started work - with just four people and that included me. Five months later we had a car on the grid. Team Lotus had arrived! This is a massive acceleration of the normal development schedule for a completely new team.” The team later adopted its current name of Caterham.

Now Group Technical Director for the Cater-ham Group, Mike is keen to see British en-gineering excellence applied in more areas. “We are exploring a number of avenues to deliver our expertise beyond motor racing per se.” These include a joint venture with Renault, to design develop and build high performance sports cars.

Another is the development of a high per-formance bicycle for professional cyclists. The Duo Cali, launched earlier this year, was designed entirely from the ground up and built as a carbon fi bre monocoque. It weighs as little as 6kg.

Mike’s latest challenge is at a far slower speeds than in F1 but just as demanding: the world of ocean sailing. “Ever since I was very young I’ve thrived on pushing myself physically and mentally. Sailing is a real passion, something I’ve been lucky enough to do since grow-ing up in Norfolk.”

Last year, he completed his maiden solo trans-atlantic crossing. Not content with leaving it at that, Mike’s next chal-lenge is the far more competitive arena of ocean racing.

Alongside record-breaking round-the-world yachts-man Brian Thompson,

Mike will embark on the Transat Jacques Vabre race from France to Brazil this No-vember. It is part of a two-year Caterham Challenge campaign where Mike will be able to deploy his 25 years’ in Formula 1 and transfer it to his passion – short-handed sailing.

“There are lots of similarities between high performance engineering, project manage-ment in F1 and competitive yacht racing.With Brian on board we have the perfect package to take this to the next level.”

Life In The Fast Lane


Health Corner

Ever feel that there aren’t enough hours in the day to get everything done? Struggling to think straight and you don’t know which task to tack-le rst? Always tired yet can’t sleep? You could be suffering from stress.

Stress is a word that is being thrown about for nearly everything these days. Sometimes it’s so overused, that

you just can’t believe it when it actually happens to you or to someone you know.

Stress is everywhere – at work, at school, even at home. But would you know it when it happens? Would you be able to recognise the signs? Can you manage it and cope with your circumstances?

There is positive stress – that pushes and challenges you to excellence; and there is negative stress that can be toxic for you. While some stress is normal, excessive stress can adversely affect your physical, emotional and mental health.

According to Dr Nor Hamidah Mohd Salleh, Consultant Psychiatrist at Gleneagles Kuala Lumpur, it will be your ability to deal with stress that will make the difference be-tween success and failure. “Stress is some-thing we generally can’t avoid. So we must embrace it and manage it.

“You have to nd ways to manage stress by focusing on what affects you. Most im-portantly, the ability to control all this is within your power. If something doesn’t work for you, identify it and make changes one at a time. Trying to tackle everything in one go can be overwhelming and make you feel even more helpless,” says Dr Hamidah.

Stress at the workplace also depends to a large extent on the nature of your work. She cites an example of long working hours

with pressure to work at optimum levels all the time. “Sometimes, you can’t help it if your company is going through transforma-tion. Not everyone will crash, but there will be some who will when the hours are long and the pressure continues for months.

“These are the people who want to nish their tasks. They are very good employees. But they need to recognise that while they may be a good employee, there need to be boundaries. Work hard by all means, but don’t overdo it.” Dr Hamidah adds that the ones who are likely to suffer are those who don’t know how to say “No”.

A contributing factor can also be a person’s self-esteem and their background. “If they lack con dence and leadership qualities, they may have dif culty knowing when to stand their ground,” she says.

Not everyone displays symptoms of anxi-ety and excessive stress. Some people can cope; they bury the stress in silence. Some suffer physical symptoms such as tension headaches, aching neck and shoulders, con-stipation, palpitations, low libido, frequent bouts of u and unexplained tiredness. Oth-ers manifest stress in more extreme ways.

Those who choose to deal with stress in silence may seem ne outwardly but their body baulks at it.

“Sometimes you cry for no reason. That’s a way of your body needing attention for you to address your situation and face up to re-ality. You might become forgetful. You start

making mistakes. It happens frequently - to senior management as well as to young ex-ecutives. They deny they are under stress.” When stress at work becomes unbearable and interferes with your ability to perform in your job, the way your manage your per-sonal life and it affects your health, it is time to take action.

“When you reach this high level of stress, you really need to take a break. It can be a week, a month or even a whole year; just step away from it all. Another option might be to consider seeing a professional py-schiatrist or psychologist to help with stress management.”

How To Cope“Determine what works for you,” says Dr Hamidah. “Different age groups have dif-ferent needs and abilities to cope. When you are in your twenties, your system and body can take on far more punishing rou-tines. By the time you’re in your forties, you may be less alert, easily overwhelmed. You should set personal boundaries. If you don’t set the rules, it can overrun you.”

Dr Hamidah says people are also losing their communication skills. “It’s ironic that with social networking being so common now, people are losing the ability to communi-cate face-to-face. It’s an important part of maintaining a balanced persepctive on work and life in general.”

Other factors that go a long way to man-aging stress are a healthy diet, taking suf- cient exercise, getting plenty of rest and making time to ‘switch off’ from work.

Dr Nor Hamidah Mohd Salleh is Consultant Psychiatrist at Gleneagles Kuala Lumpur.

www.gleneagleskl.com.my

STRESS In The Workplace

Coping With Stress:

1. Recognise your weaknesses. Take respon-sibility for your actions. Be realistic about your abilities. Work at improving yourself.

2. Choose a different perspective to tackle your problem. Talk to someone. Sometimes it’s dif cult to nd a solution on your own.

3. Learn to delegate and ask questions if there’s something you don’t understand. Be willing to compromise.

4. Improve your social networking with your colleagues. Camaraderie is important.

5. Plan your work. Be organised. Prioritise.

6. Don’t take on more than you can handle. Learn to say “No”.

38






Documents

Driving Business Forward - BMCCmon Landy, Executive Chairman of Colliers International Ltd. Sharing his experience in doing business in Myanmar, Mr Landy said: “It is important to