Talent recruitment, development seen as key for sustainability of local businesses: study

By

Nisha Ramchandaninishar@sph.com.sg@Nisha_BT

NOV 2, 20154:34 PM

ABOUT two-thirds of Asian business families see talent recruitment and development as the main challenge to ensuring the long-term sustainability of their companies, according to a report by United Overseas Bank (UOB) and the Singapore Management University's Business Families Institute (BFI@SMU).

The report, "Riding on Asia's economic transformation - Growth strategies of Asian business families", found that Asian business families are reacting to this by hiring external professional managers to tap on their skills in areas such as financial management, technology implementation and human resources.

Asian business families also cited the importance of trusting their managers and treating them fairly as the top two ways to attract and to retain external professional managers. Remuneration, on the other hand, was ranked third.

Eric Tham, managing director and head of commercial banking at UOB, said: "Many Asian business families are at various stages of preparing for the next generation to succeed them and they recognise the need to have professional help to ensure that their business grows and remains competitive."

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Meanwhile, four out of five Singaporean business families place the biggest focus on balancing growth with stability. As such, they proved to be the most risk-averse with only 29 per cent of respondents using high-risk investments as a growth strategy, versus 41 per cent in South-east Asia.

Professor Annie Koh, academic director of BFI@SMU, explained: "Asian business families tend to favour stable returns over riskier growth and expansion options. Instead, Asian business families are using innovation to improve product quality and drive cost reductions in order to achieve sustainable profits in the world's most economically dynamic region."

BFI@SMU conducted interviews with 192 key decision makers of business families from Asia for the report between November 2014 and July 2015.

    
 

US and UK to test financial cyber-security later this month

NOV 2, 201510:10 PM

[LONDON] The United States and Britain will test later this month how its regulators would respond if their financial sectors suffered a major cyber-attack or broader IT problems, a British official said on Monday.

The test, for which no date has yet been set, will focus on how regulators for the world's two biggest financial centres in New York and London communicate in an emergency, a spokesman for British government cyber-security body CERT-UK said. "It is testing how we would react to 'x' scenario, how would our colleagues in the US react to the same, (and) how would we then coordinate communications with each other, to the sector and within the sector," he said. "There will be no testing of cash machines coming down, banks coming down or anything like that," he added, contradicting an earlier media report.

US President Barack Obama and British Prime Minister David Cameron agreed last January to hold the joint exercise this year and coordinate their responses to an online attack on their financial sectors.

Businesses on both sides of the Atlantic have shown vulnerability to hacking. Just last month, hacking attacks threatened to compromise the data of 4 million customers of British telecoms company TalkTalk and 15 million clients of T-Mobile US Inc.

The CERT-UK spokesman said no final decision had been made on the exact scenarios for the exercise or the banks that would take part. The US Treasury, Britain's finance ministry, the Bank of England (BoE) and US regulators would take part and intelligence agencies are also likely to play a role, he said.

The BoE said earlier this year that British banks needed to do more to bolster their defences against cyber attacks, and might require them to conduct tests of how easily their systems could be hacked or suffer other weaknesses.

REUTERS

    
 

South Korea, Japan hold long-awaited summit

South Korean President Park Geun Hye was to hold her first summit with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Monday after an extended period of deep diplomatic rancour and mistrust. 

PHOTO: AFP

NOV 2, 20159:06 AM

[SEOUL] South Korean President Park Geun Hye was to hold her first summit with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Monday after an extended period of deep diplomatic rancour and mistrust.

The sit down caps a series of moves in recent weeks by Seoul and Tokyo towards a rapprochement - prompted and pushed by their mutual military ally, the United States.

While it is unlikely to mend the many broken fences between the two neighbours, it does mark an important step towards a more pragmatic partnership that is less encumbered by the emotional bitterness of the past.

"Remember this is the first summit between the two countries in nearly four years, so expectations need to be kept in check," said Hong Hyun Ik, an analyst at the Sejong Institute think-tank in Seoul.

"What's important is creating a normal channel for dialogue to pave the way for more working-level discussions and coordination," Mr Hong said.

Since taking office in February 2013, Ms Park had repeatedly refused to meet one-on-one with Abe, arguing that Tokyo had yet to properly atone for its wartime past and 1910-45 colonial rule over the Korean peninsula.

Ms Park has taken a particularly strong line on the issue of compensation for Korean "comfort women" forcibly recruited to work in Japanese wartime military brothels.

It has been a politically popular stance in South Korea where Mr Abe is suspected of seeking to water down past Japanese apologies for its wartime aggression.

But there is also public support for a summit given the importance of the relationship between the two US military allies, who have strong trade links and a mutual interest in curbing the nuclear weapons ambitions of North Korea.

Their meeting was only confirmed days before amid reports of behind-the-scenes bickering over how Japan's wartime sex slavery might be addressed, with analysts ruling out any new apology from Mr Abe.

"But he could say something like he will continue to make efforts to help solve the problem. Even a remark like that would be considered progress," Mr Hong said.

The two leaders participated Sunday in a trilateral summit with Chinese Premier Li Keqiang - the first meeting of its kind in more than three years.

In a joint statement, the leaders vowed to work together again on improving trade and security between the three largest economies in Northeast Asia.

The statement stressed the importance of "facing history squarely" but qualified that reference to old disputes by also underlining the necessity of "advancing towards the future."

AFP

    
 

China arrests HK-owned fund executives for futures manipulation: Xinhua

      

NOV 2, 20159:51 AM

[BEIJING] China has arrested two executives from a Hong Kong-owned fund which allegedly pocketed hundreds of millions of dollars from irregular futures trades using software that in some cases took only one second to buy 32 contracts, said Xinhua news agency.

The Ministry of Public Security said the case was still under investigation and that its plans to enlist foreign authorities to net overseas suspects, said the official news agency Xinhua, citing a ministry statement on Sunday.

Since China's stocks plunged in mid-June, the country has intensified probes into market manipulation which have so far netted journalists, senior executives in brokerages and even securities regulators.

The general manager of Jiangsu-based Yishidun, Gao Yan, and senior executive Liang Ze, were arrested for allegedly buying and selling futures in prices that deviated from market standards and illegally made more than 2 billion yuan (S$442 million), said the news agency.

Jin Wenxian, a technical supervisor at Chinese Shenzhen-located firm China Fortune Futures, was also arrested for allegedly helping Yishidun cover up trade details, using software without detection by authorities and transfering funds, Xinhua said.

Yishidun and China Fortune Futures could not be immediately reached for comment.

Yishidun, a company jointly invested by two Hong Kong-based firms set up by foreign nationals Georgy Zarya and Anton Murashov, was founded in 2012.

Yishidun allegedly used software to purchase as many as 31 futures contracts in one second, said Xinhua.

From early June to early July, the firm made a net profit of over 500 million yuan, it said. "The company's trade activities deteriorated the fluctuations in daily trade prices.. And affected then market trade prices and normal trade orders," said the statement, according to Xinhua.

In a separate probe, Xu Xiang, general manager of Shanghai-based company Zexi Investment, and others at the firm were under investigation for suspected insider trading, said Xinhua, citing a separate statement from the Ministry of Public Security.

Zexi Investment was not immediately available for comment.

REUTERS

      

Singapore is world's top-ranked economy: Legatum Institute

By

Kelly Taykellytay@sph.com.sg@KellyTayBT

Singapore is the most successful economy in the world, according to an index released on Monday by the London-based think tank, the Legatum Institute. 

PHOTO: SPH

NOV 2, 201511:33 AM

SINGAPORE is the most successful economy in the world, according to an index released on Monday by the London-based think tank, the Legatum Institute.

Its Prosperity Index ranks Singapore's economy as the best of 142 countries, with Switzerland, China, Norway, and Germany taking the next four spots.

Said Nathan Gamester of the Legatum Institute: "Singapore is now the No 1 economy in the world according to our index. This is largely due to its productivity rate and the strength of its export market.

"Overall Singapore is a very prosperous country, with good opportunities for entrepreneurs and a good-quality health and education system. However, there is still room for improvement as Singapore ranks 38th globally in the Personal Freedom category."

The country ranked in the top 20 in all but two sub-indices - personal freedom (38th) and social capital (25th).

The annual index ranks countries across eight categories: the economy, entrepreneurship and opportunity; governance; education; health; safety and security; personal freedom; and social capital.

    
 

China says one-child policy stays in effect for now

China must continue to enforce its one-child policy until new rules allowing all couples to have two children go into effect, the top family planning body said. 

PHOTO: AFP

NOV 2, 20152:02 PM

[BEIJING] China must continue to enforce its one-child policy until new rules allowing all couples to have two children go into effect, the top family planning body said.

The ruling Communist Party said last week that Beijing would loosen its decades-old one-child policy. But the plan for the change must be approved by the rubber-stamp parliament during its annual session in March.

The online statement by the National Health and Family Planning Commission contradicts a remark by a family planning official in the southern province of Hunan, who said last week that couples currently pregnant with a second child will not be punished, according to the Hunan Daily newspaper. "Ahead of (ratification), all localities and departments must seriously implement the population and family planning laws and regulations currently in effect, maintain good order for births and must not act of their own accord," an unnamed official with the commission said in the statement.

About 90 million families may qualify for the new two-child policy, which would help raise the population to an estimated 1.45 billion by 2030, the planning commission has said. China, the world's most populous nation, had 1.37 billion people at the end of last year.

For decades, China harshly implemented the one-child policy, leading to forced abortions and infanticides across the country.

Beijing loosened the policy in late 2013, allowing couples to have a second child where one partner was an only child, but as of June, only 1.5 million of the 11 million eligible couples had applied to expand their families, the official Xinhua news agency has reported.

REUTERS

    
 

Dollar struggles after weak US, China data

PHOTO: EPA

NOV 2, 20151:50 PM

[TOKYO] The dollar extended its losses against the yen and euro on Monday as weak US and Chinese data fuelled concerns about the global economy, and bolstered the case against a December rate rise.

The US government said Friday that consumer spending rose only by 0.1 per cent in the United States in September, less than expected and the slowest rate since January. More US figures, including jobs data, is on tap for later in the week.

The strength of the US economy is key to a Federal Reserve move on interest rates and more weakness could push back a hike - which is a plus for the dollar - into 2016.

Sentiment took another hit Monday as weekend data showed activity in China's vast manufacturing sector declined in October for the third straight month, triggering worries about the world's number two economy, a crucial driver of global growth.

"Tokyo has taken over the dollar-selling sentiment from New York," Minori Uchida, head of global markets research at Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, told AFP.

"It is difficult to buy the dollar now as the recent economic figures are not strong enough to justify a rate hike. Players are now paying attention to key indicators to be released later this week, notably US employment figures," he added.

In Tokyo, the greenback slipped to 120.34 yen, from 120.67 yen in New York late Friday and above 121 yen a day earlier.

The euro bought US$1.1029 and 132.73 yen in Tokyo against US$1.1003 and 132.77 yen in US trade.

However, the dollar did notch up modest gains against some emerging currencies from last week's rates as riskier assets took a hit in the wake of the China-US economy numbers.

The US unit ticked up against the Indonesian rupiah, South Korean won, the Philippine peso and Thai baht.

AFP

    
 

China gives currency largest boost in a decade

China raised the central rate for its yuan currency by the largest amount in a decade Monday, officials and reports said, just three months after a surprise devaluation sent shockwaves through global markets. 

PHOTO: REUTERS

NOV 2, 201510:56 AM

[BEIJING] China raised the central rate for its yuan currency by the largest amount in a decade Monday, officials and reports said, just three months after a surprise devaluation sent shockwaves through global markets.

The world's second largest economy adjusted the yuan's mid-rate upwards by 0.54 per cent against the US dollar, according to an announcement by the central People's Bank of China (PBOC).

Bloomberg News reported that the increase was the largest since 2005, when Beijing unpegged the yuan from the dollar.

China now allows the currency to trade up or down two per cent from the centrally set daily rate on the domestic foreign exchange market.

Authorities moved the yuan almost five per cent lower in one week in August, saying it was part of broader reforms aimed at shifting towards a more flexible exchange rate.

But the move raised concerns abroad that the Chinese economy was performing worse than had been acknowledged, and fears that Beijing was trying to make its exports cheaper to give it a boost.

China has pledged that it would not engage in competitive devaluations.

The move also comes as the country seeks to promote the yuan as a global reserve currency alongside the dollar, an ambition that depends on its willingness and ability to loosen tight restrictions on the currency's trade.

But authorities fear that losing control of the yuan's value will mean giving up a powerful tool for managing the economy, which last quarter experienced its slowest growth in six years.

One major step towards achieving Beijing's goal is convincing the International Monetary Fund to include the yuan in its internal "special drawing rights" reserve currency basket.

The global banking institution updates the components - currently made up of the dollar, yuan, euro and pound - every five years, with the next change due to be decided this month.

Liu Jian, an analyst from Bank of Communications, told AFP: "The economy is stabilising, so the expectation of further depreciation has weakened both at home and abroad.

"On the other hand, the policy intention of the government is very obvious. It tries to maintain a stable foreign exchange market and guide the market as the stabilisation is important for yuan to be admitted to the SDR in the coming IMF meeting."

AFP

    
 

China approves US$6.7b high-speed railway project

China has approved construction plans for a high-speed railway project worth 42.7 billion yuan (S$9.48 billion), the country's top economic planner said in a statement on Monday. 

PHOTO: REUTERS

NOV 2, 20152:53 PM

[BEIJING] China has approved construction plans for a high-speed railway project worth 42.7 billion yuan (S$9.48 billion), the country's top economic planner said in a statement on Monday.

The high-speed railway will run through central Henan province and eastern Anhui province.

Beijing has approved billions of dollars in infrastructure projects in recent months to stem a sharp economic slowdown. The government has been particularly keen to promote projects in the less-developed western part of the country.

REUTERS