Multinational corporations are rapidly embracing digital transformation as the world phases into the Fourth Industrial Revolution (IR4.0). SMEs, as part of the business ecosystem, must also transform if they are to be relevant and competitive.
Ricoh, an 80-year old Japanese success story, is now providing such digital technologies for SMEs and multinationals. At Ricoh’s recent Empowering Digital Workplaces event in Kuala Lumpur, it demonstrated its latest solution on how to “maximise productivity in minimalist workspaces” at a co-working space.
The highlight of the event was the memorandum of understanding (MOU) between Ricoh and HELP University to co-develop a Professional Certificate programme in Enterprise Content Management and Document Workflow Management practices. The MOU was signed by Alice Lee, Managing Director of Ricoh Malaysia and Mr Lim Hock Chye, Group Director of Strategic Planning & Corporate Affairs, HELP University.
The main objective is to provide a platform and opportunities for young graduates to have the awareness and practical training in Workflow Solutions and Workflow Architecture, which forms the basis of digitisation.
The areas for mutual collaboration highlighted in the MOU also include the sharing of approved case studies by Ricoh with HELP University, to enable students to gain a practical understanding of enterprise content management in real-life work settings. Equipped with decades of commercial experience and customers from various industries through a myriad of projects, Ricoh will also share their best practices and strategies to enhance business processes.
Lee stated, “Based on our overarching aim in Empowering Digital Workplaces to showcase new and diverse approaches to work smarter through innovative technology tools, Ricoh and our long-term collaboration partner HELP University is embarking on this MOU – towards empowering students who are the knowledge workers and corporate leaders of tomorrow.
“Digital transformation starts with the digitisation in all areas of workflow. Our previous and ongoing collaborations have demonstrated that SMEs and government bodies appreciate the importance of digitisation. Hence, it’s vital to ensure that the talent who utilise the digitisation are aligned with this evolution. What better place to start than with those who are about to step into the workforce.”
Datuk Professor Dr Paul Chan, President of HELP University highlighted that the university is now transforming itself into an ‘Analytics-Driven University’. All staff and students are trained in IR4.0 related skills. It has invested RM25 million in the Business Analytics and Technology Innovation Centre (BATIC) in its Subang 2 campus, which encourages industry collaboration like this one between Ricoh and HELP University. This ensures that all HELP graduates are future-skilled and globally mobile.
Professor Chan also mentioned that such industry and university collaboration will support the vision of the Ministry of Entrepreneur Development to create enterprising SMEs. HELP University is actively involved in training SMEs founders and workforce. The Ricoh-HELP University project is thus a boost to the productivity and competitiveness of SMEs.
The collaboration also aims to develop more joint activities between Ricoh and HELP University using the Ricoh’s endorsed Enterprise Content Management platform.
Meanwhile, the Empowering Digital Workplaces event addressed the challenges of maximising productivity within a minimalist office space by demonstrating solutions towards digitisation & automation, empowering personalised workstyles and managing office printing for cost savings and increased productivity. With Ricoh’s illustrious history over the decades, there are no signs of slowing down as a total workplace technology provider to deliver efficient, effective and sustainable workplace solutions among its long list of other services.
Korn Ferry (NYSE: KFY), a global organisational consulting firm, recently conducted a study on Talent Shift to examine corporate attitudes towards talent availability, and reveal the extent to which business leaders are aware of imminent talent shortages, and what action they’re taking to mitigate them.
According to the study, Malaysia’s C-suite are cautious about skilled talent supply with 96 per cent stating they would need a higher proportion of skilled workers in the future. While an encouraging 88 per cent have a formal forecast for their future skilled talent needs.
The study also revealed that many leaders see talent challenges as cyclical instead of a permanent structural change, with only 16 per cent of those with a formal forecast planning through to 2030.
“C-suite leaders recognise that to survive in the future of work, their organisations will need a higher proportion of highly skilled workers. Scenario planning is critical to business
advancement but it is also now crucial for leaders to have a resilient ‘people plan’. As skilled workers become the lever of growth in the new economy, organisations must shift their mind-set to become more agile and adopt the long view when devising their talent strategy,” said Shahrizal Mohd Suffian, Senior Client Partner, Advisory, Korn Ferry Malaysia.
In addition, 84 per cent of Malaysian leaders agree that technology itself will create more jobs that can only be done by skilled workers. 57 per cent of leaders from high-growth companies recognise the potential impact that talent shortages will have on their profitability.
A recent report indicated that while only 14 per cent of jobs around the world are highly automatable, another 32 per cent of jobs could substantially change in response to technology . In this environment, skilled workers will become even more valuable especially for automation-resistant tasks related to creativity and ideation, social and emotional intelligence, diplomacy and negotiation.
“The explosion of technology has vastly hastened the pace of business development. Ever-
more sophisticated technology has created more demand for highly-skilled workers than it has consumed and this trend is likely to continue. Leaders need to recognise that human skills are the key to driving their businesses and take the view of tech-people partnership as the route to future success,” added Shahrizal.
As Malaysia is expected to face a shortage of 93,500 skilled workers by 2030, leaders intend to mitigate talent shortages through four main approaches – paying premium salaries to attract skilled workers; reconsidering where they focus their organisation’s growth strategy, investment and geographic footprint; making strategic business acquisitions with the objective of hiring skilled talent; and extending careers or incentivising delayed retirement for skilled workers. However, given the scale of predicted talent shortages globally, misplaced optimism will make it significantly difficult with many organisations pursuing the same tactics.
The study recommends an innovative approach to fulfilling future skilled talent needs by
encouraging organisations to create their own highly skilled talent pipelines. For example,
organisations should consider attracting and training young people to be agile workers by
building in-house talent that does not traditionally follow an academic route. This approach will not only widen the talent pool for an industry, it will bring organisations together to control unsustainable salary rises that tend to follow talent shortages.
Companies can also consider creative approaches to staff development instead of linear,
traditional training and development programmes. The use of innovative modelling testing tools can help organisations to see potential and impartially identify employees that possess the aptitude and flexible mind-set needed to succeed in areas facing talent shortages. With this insight, companies can be better equipped to take varied methods to develop their talent.
The National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo, Japan’s first national art museum situated near the Imperial Palace, will be launching Let’s Talk Art!–an English programme enabling international participants to enjoy appreciating masterpieces of Japanese art since the 20th century–this coming spring.
In each Let’s Talk Art! session, participants will not listen to explanations of artworks but enjoy artworks through a delightful conversation among them and a facilitator.
Specifically, participants will take an hour to explore three works from the “MOMAT Collection” on display and discuss the art and culture of Japan as well as those of participants’ countries, based on what are depicted in the works. In response to participants’ interests, the facilitator provides basic information on the history of locations and others found in the works as well as tourist information.
The museum aims to provide new attractions of Japan to foreign visitors through the programme, including a venue for communication in which participants will mutually respect diverse cultures and values.
The MOMAT Collection is Japan’s sole exhibition of artworks enabling visitors to sense more than 100 years of the history of modern Japanese art.
The National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo, regularly holds the “MOMAT Collection” exhibition where about 200 works from its collection of more than 13,000 works are displayed. The museum will not notify in advance the three works for discussions in each Let’s Talk Art!, hoping that participants will look forward to knowing the selected works under a theme on the very day of the program on the spot.
Besides the Let’s Talk Art! program, there are signs explaining artworks on display and audio guidance in English (paid) while free guide apps in English, Chinese and Korean are also available.
Export-Import Bank of Malaysia marks its commitment to this years’ sporting event by hosting the launch of “Sukan Antara Agensi MITI 2019” at its office building. The newly appointed, YBhg. Dato’ Lokman Hakim Ali, Secretary General to the Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI) was present to officiate the event and simultaneously kick off the first two sports at the venue.
Also present was En. Azhar Awang Kechil, Acting President/Chief Executive Officer of EXIM Bank; En. Marazizi Omar, Deputy President Operations EXIM Bank; YBhg. Dato’ Wan Latiff Wan Musa, Chief Executive Officer Matrade; and En. Sulaiman Arshad, Chief Executive Officer SIRIM.
The objective of the sports day was to inculcate sportsmanship among the agencies, strengthen unity and create awareness on the health benefits in taking up sports. Over 200 participants from various agencies under MITI took part in the 12 events for the year, starting with dart and carom being held at EXIM Bank in conjunction with the official launch. The remaining 10 sporting events will be organised throughout the year with golf as the final event on 21 September 2019. The prize-giving and closing ceremony will be held on 12 October 2019.
The Ministry has eleven agencies under its umbrella which includes Malaysian Investment Development Authority (MIDA), Malaysia External Trade Development Corporation (Matrade), Malaysia Productivity Corporation (MPC), Malaysian Industrial Development Finance (MIDF), Malaysia Automotive Robotics and IoT Institute (MARii), Malaysia Steel Institute (MSI), SIRIM Berhad, MIMOS Berhad, Standards Malaysia, InvestKL and EXIM Bank Malaysia.
The finalists, BlueBee Technologies, FatHopes Energy, and Grub Cycle were selected for their ability to leverage digital technology to create environmentally sustainable solutions that drive positive impact and improve lives.
Launched in November 2018, The Challenge, jointly organised by the world’s leading payment and lifestyle platform, Alipay and the entrepreneurial arm of the National University of Singapore, NUS Enterprise, aims to identify and support the growth of startups in Southeast Asia that are using digital technology to build an inclusive society.
During the preliminary rounds, contestants from each country demonstrated how they used digital technology to solve challenges across a wide range of sectors. These include financial services, agriculture, health & wellness, education & training, food & beverage, energy & environment, logistics & transportation, and communications.
The Malaysia finalists were selected for the following projects:
BlueBee Technologies develops ERTH, an E-waste Recycling digital platform that offers competitive prices to buy end-of-life personal electronics such as PCs, laptops and smartphones from consumers in Malaysia for recycling. According to a 2019 United Nations Report, each year, approximately 50 million tons of e-waste are discarded, the weight of which is more than all commercial airliners ever made combined. Only 20% of the e-waste is formally recycled. The United Nations University predicts e-waste could nearly triple to 120 million tons by 2050 if nothing changes.
FatHopes Energy deploys Internet of Things (IoT) devices to automate waste cooking oil collection, and efficiently communicate to collection fleets for pickups and delivery to refineries for production into biofuel, which car owners can buy at a competitive price. Working with restaurants and F&B outlets, FatHopes ensures all the used cooking oil collected is solely used for the purpose of sustainable biofuel production. Every year, Malaysians consume hundreds of millions litres of cooking oil, and if not disposed properly, they will clog up the drains and pollute the water.
Grub Cycle develops digital platforms that help supermarkets, farms and restaurants reduce food wastage. On the platforms, users can find surplus food from supermarkets and farms at a discounted price. They can also find deals on the overproduced food from the restaurants. Not only does this help reduce food wastage, but also provides a solution for people in need to reduce the burden of increasing cost of living. So far Grub Cycle has reduced 7,000 kilograms of food wastage, which translates into RM 45,000 worth of savings for its users.
Speaking of the challenge, Geoff Jiang, Vice President, General Manager of Technology and Business Innovation Group at Ant Financial said, “Since its inception, the Challenge has received several hundred applications from Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia, and we are pleased to see so many teams utilising digital technology in innovative ways to solve some of the biggest societal problems in Southeast Asia.”
He further added, “We firmly believe that technology should be used to improve lives and look forward to supporting the future growth of these teams so that more people across Southeast Asia can benefit from their innovations.”
Finalists will also be eligible to join the 10×1000 Tech for Inclusion programme, jointly set up by International Financial Corporation (“IFC”), a member of the World Bank Group, and Alipay. The comprehensive training programme will support the cultivation of 1,000 technology experts in emerging markets from both public and private sectors over the next 10 years.
“Digital technologies have had a profound impact on the global economic landscape. They are spawning new firms and sectors and transforming business models in traditional industries. To ride on the wave of this digital transformation and make sure there are inclusive opportunities to all participants, we need a supportive environment for local innovations to flourish in Southeast Asia. This is why we are bringing together partners from across the region to identify and support the growth of local innovation,” said Professor Wong Poh Kam, Senior Director, NUS Entrepreneurship Centre, a division of NUS Enterprise.
In addition to receiving financial rewards to further their businesses’ social impact, the finalists will also receive mentorship and incubation support from NUS Enterprise for a period of three months. They will also enjoy access to its BLOCK71, an ecosystem builder and global connector community with co-working spaces in Singapore, Bandung, Jakarta, Yogyakarta, Suzhou and San Francisco.
Celcom Axiata Berhad distributed over 500 power banks to the victims of the Pasir Gudang toxic waste. The power banks were distributed to the affected families at Hospital Sultanah Aminah Johor Bahru, Hospital Sultan Ismail Johor Bahru and Pasir Gudang Indoor Stadium.
Celcom also offered free WiFi connectivity via its Celcom Home Wireless, a broadband service powered by Celcom’s 4G network, within the disaster relief operation centres of Hospital Sultanah Aminah Johor Bahru and Hospital Sultan Ismail Johor Bahru, allowing authority personnel to remain connected. The distribution of power banks to the affected families was led by Razali Abu Bakar, Head of Regional Retail Sales, Southern Region of Celcom Axiata Berhad, together with other Celcom employees.
Idham Nawawi, Chief Executive Officer of Celcom Axiata Berhad said the welfare of the people has always been close to the organisation’s heart, and Celcom is always willing to provide any assistance in times of need.
“During this period, Celcom’s network and technical teams are working around-the-clock to ensure connectivity. We want to assure those affected that they will be able to remain connected with their friends and family,” Idham added.
Meanwhile, as Celcom also prioritises the safety and welfare of its employees, Celcom’s Occupational Safety, Health & Environment team had successfully evacuated all Celcom employees and their families who reside within the area to safe zones.
“Malaysia is set to leverage on the improving trend of private investments bolstered by the positive sentiments arising from the new Government’s supportive policies and clear economic direction. This is reflected in the total approved investments in the manufacturing, services and primary sectors, which has increased from RM200.6 billion in 2017 to RM201.7 billion in 2018.
“To break it down further, investments approved for the period of January to June 2018 were valued at RM86.1 billion, while a total of RM115.6 billion investments were approved for the period of July to December 2018,” said Datuk Darell Leiking, Minister of the International Trade and Industry (MITI).
The ratio of foreign and domestic investments is in line with the Government’s aspiration for domestic investments to assume the pivotal role of driving Malaysia’s investment agenda. Domestic direct investments (DDI) took 60.1 per cent of the share at RM121.2 billion, while foreign direct investments (FDI) accounted for the remaining 39.9 per cent or RM80.5 billion. Foreign investors continue to capitalise on uniquely Malaysian ecosystems and its regional synergies as FDI increased by 48 per cent from RM54.4 billion in 2017.
The manufacturing sector emerged as the champion, recording a significant margin with approved investments totalling RM87.4 billion in 2018, a notable 37.2 per cent higher, as compared to RM63.7 billion in 2017. The services and primary sectors recorded investments of RM103.4 billion and RM10.9 billion respectively in 2018.
Malaysia continued to attract high levels of foreign investments in the manufacturing sector despite the global economic slowdown. Foreign investments in approved manufacturing projects more than doubled to RM58.0 billion in 2018 from RM21.6 billion in 2017 constituting 66.4% of the total approved investments in the manufacturing sector. This reflects the country’s success in its targeted approach in attracting investments in high value-added and knowledge-intensive industries.
Majority of FDI were in new projects, totalling RM40.3 billion (69.5 per cent), with the remaining RM17.7 billion (30.5 per cent) being expansion and diversification projects. This shows that in addition to existing foreign companies expanding or diversifying in the country, more international investors are choosing Malaysia as their preferred investment destination.
China, Indonesia, the Netherlands, Japan and the USA were the largest contributors to the manufacturing sector in Malaysia for 2018. These five countries jointly accounted for RM44.3 billion or 76.4 per cent of the total foreign investments approved during the period.
Pentax Medical from Japan was among the foreign projects approved in the manufacturing sector. The company, which is one of the top three endoscopic and surgical system manufacturers in the world, will be setting up its new manufacturing facility in Penang. This project is expected to create 193 job opportunities, whereby 77 per cent will be Malaysians particularly in the managerial, supervisory and technical category.
Another notable project is Jinjing Technology from China that will be located at the Kulim Hi-Tech Park. The company will contribute to the development of the solar and glass ecosystems in Malaysia. It will provide 855 job opportunities to Malaysians, with salaries between RM3,000 and RM10,000 a month.
Testhub is an exemplary Malaysian company in the electrical and electronic (E&E) industry. It is the only Malaysian entity that has the capability to design and manufacture test boards and test programmes. It also provides one stop testing solutions to global MNCs. This knowledge-based company, located in Melaka, employs highly-skilled local talents in the fields of E&E engineering and physics.
“Capital intensive projects, which involve advanced technology and skilled manpower, dominated the manufacturing landscape, represented by the 81 projects approved with investments of RM100 million or more. This is 43.2 per cent higher than in 2017. Investments into these projects reached RM75 billion, accounting for 85.9 per cent of total investments approved in the manufacturing sector. This is in line with the country’s push towards more strategic and higher quality investments,” highlighted Leiking.
“The manufacturing sector remains a key contributor to the nation’s exports. Of the total 721 approved manufacturing projects, 30.7 per cent or 221 projects will be making Malaysia their hub for the international markets, whereby at least 80 per cent of their products will be exported.”
Petroleum products including petrochemicals industry with approved investments of RM32.9 billion contributed the lion share to the overall manufacturing performance in 2018. A notable project in this industry is Sarawak Petchem, which is part of the Sarawak State Government initiative to develop Bintulu as a petrochemical hub. This is in addition to investments by Pengerang Energy Complex and Petronas Chemicals Isononanol that will be located in Johor.
Other industries with high levels of approved investments include basic metal products, E&E products, paper, printing and publishing, chemicals and chemical products, rubber products, non-metallic mineral products and machinery and equipment.
The manufacturing projects approved in 2018 are expected to create employment opportunities for 59,294 people. Of these, 22,449 will be in the managerial, technical, supervisory and skilled workers category.
Meanwhile, the services sector continued to be the cornerstone of the nation’s economic growth in 2018. The sector was the largest contributor to the total approved investments, amounting RM103.4 billion from 4,103 projects. Domestic investments contributed 84.1 per cent or RM86.9 billion while foreign investments made up the rest or RM16.5 billion.
Foreign investors were strong in the distributive trade and global establishments subsectors recording RM4.8 billion and RM4.4 billion respectively. These two subsectors alone contributed 55.8 per cent to the total foreign investments in the services sector.
Malaysia has been well positioned to attract multinational corporations (MNCs) to set up their global and regional bases in the country. To date, the Malaysian Investment Development Authority (MIDA) has cumulatively approved a total of 35 Principal Hub (PH) projects, with companies committing to business spending of RM35.1 billion, engaging the use of local ancillary services worth RM5.5 billion and creating 2,686 high-value jobs. For 2018 alone, a total of eight new PH projects were approved, with committed business spending of RM7.1 billion. Among the approved PH projects were Smart Modular Technologies, Frencken Group, Onwards Media Group (OMG) and Jobstreet.
US-based Smart Modular Technologies has made Malaysia its base to undertake supply chain management from third party suppliers to third party customers. This translates to employment opportunities for 90 Malaysians. The company will utilise big data, cloud computing and real-time analytics technology to efficiently manage its global supply chain, which will involve over one million components, 220 suppliers and network companies in 1,000 locations.
Another project is from Frencken Group, a high-tech capital and consumer equipment service provider. Through its newly established PH, Frencken Group has shifted the global supply chain management of its Integrated Manufacturing Services division from Singapore to Malaysia. The company will incur a business spending of RM89.9 million over the next 10 years and will train 30 employees in areas such as strategic supply chain management and financial planning.
“The global establishments and end-to-end supply chain management services are key components to the nation’s economy. These services create trade efficiency and competitive advantages for other Malaysian industries. Given that the services sector is dominated by domestic industry players, the Government has introduced various initiatives to provide more business opportunities for Malaysian service providers. This includes the introduction of a mechanism to encourage better linkages with local service providers in the fields of architecture, engineering, transportation, banking, insurance, legal and ICT,” the minister said.
Investments in the primary sector, on the other hand, registered a decrease of 12.2 per cent from RM12.4 billion in 2017 to RM10.9 billion in 2018. This is largely due to lower investments in oil and gas exploration activities, under the mining subsector. The rest of the investments in the primary sector comprise of the plantation and commodities subsector, and the agriculture subsector, registered sustainable investments of RM601.8 million and RM68.8 million respectively.
Going forward, the Malaysian economy is likely to remain on a steady path this year as the country’s macroeconomic fundamentals remain strong despite domestic and external challenges. This optimism is shared by Bloomberg in its recent analysis of emerging markets, whereby Malaysia was ranked first due to its growth prospects, state of the current account, sovereign credit ratings and, stock and bond valuation.
“The Government has unveiled the National Budget 2019 to plot a path forward for Malaysia. It includes a mixture of stimuli, incentives, and safeguards to facilitate business and enhance the nation’s ongoing competitiveness. In addition, the year 2018 marked a significant stage in the country’s automation journey with the launch of Industry4WRD, the National Policy on Industry 4.0. The broad strategies and action plans under this framework will contribute to the progressive transformation of industries, boosting Malaysia as a key player on the world stage.
“MITI and MIDA trust that with the existing policies in place, Malaysia will continue to spark confidence in investors and business owners, and attract more quality investments this year. As to date, MIDA has 399 manufacturing and services projects with investments totalling RM23.7 billion in the pipeline,” stated Leiking.
Overall Performance
Malaysia is set to leverage on the improving trend of private investments, supported by the positive sentiments arising from the new Government’s business-friendly policies and clear economic direction. This is reflected in the total approved investments in the manufacturing, services and primary sectors, which charted RM201.7 billion in 2018. To break it down further, investments approved for the period of January to June 2018 were valued at RM86.1 billion, while a total of RM115.6 billion investments were approved for the period of July to December 2018.
These investments are from 4,887 projects that will create over 129,700 job opportunities for Malaysia. The ratio of foreign and domestic investments is in line with the Government’s aspiration for domestic investments to assume the important role of driving Malaysia’s investment agenda.
Highlights of the Manufacturing Sector
The manufacturing sector emerged as the champion, recording a significant margin, a notable 37.2% higher than 2017.
Foreign investments in approved manufacturing projects have more than doubled, reflecting the country’s success in its targeted approach in attracting quality investments. Majority or 69.5% of FDI were in new projects, with the remaining being expansion and diversification projects. This shows that in addition to existing foreign companies expanding or diversifying in the country, more international investors are choosing Malaysia as their preferred investment destination.
China, Indonesia, the Netherlands, Japan and the USA were the largest contributors to the manufacturing sector in Malaysia for 2018. These five countries jointly accounted for 76.4% of the total foreign investments approved in the sector.
Example of manufacturing projects Pentax Medical from Japan is among the foreign projects approved in the manufacturing sector. The company, which is one of the top three endoscopic and surgical system manufacturers in the world, will be setting up its new manufacturing facility in Penang. This project is expected to create 193 job opportunities, whereby 77% will be Malaysians particularly in the managerial, supervisory and technical category.
Another notable project is Jinjing Technology from China that will be located at the Kulim Hi-Tech Park. The company will contribute to the development of the solar and glass ecosystems in Malaysia. It will provide 855 job opportunities to Malaysians, with salaries between RM3,000 to RM10,000 a month.
Testhub is an exemplary Malaysian company in the E&E industry. It is the only Malaysian entity that has the capability to design and manufacture test boards and test programmes, as well as provides one stop testing solutions to global MNCs. This knowledge-based company, located in Melaka, employs highly skilled local talents in the fields of E&E engineering as well as physics.
Capital intensive
Capital intensive projects, which involve advanced technology and skilled manpower, dominated the manufacturing landscape. This is represented by the 81 projects approved with investments of RM100 million or more, which is 43.2% higher than in 2017.
Export-oriented
The manufacturing sector remains a key contributor to the nation’s exports. A total of 37.3% manufacturing projects approved will be making Malaysia their hub for the international markets, whereby 80% of their products will be exported.
Approval by industry
The petroleum products including petrochemicals industry with approved investments of RM32.9 billion contributed the lion share to the overall performance in the manufacturing sector. A notable project in this industry is Sarawak Petchem which is part of the Sarawak State Government initiative to develop Bintulu as a petrochemical hub. This is in addition to investments by Pengerang Energy Complex and Petronas Chemicals Isononanol that will be located in Johor.
Other industries with high levels of approved investments include basic metal products, E&E products, chemicals and chemical products, and machinery & equipment.
Highlights of the Services Sector
The services sector continued to be the cornerstone of the nation’s economic growth as it was once again the largest contributor of the total approved investments in 2018. Domestic investments contributed 84.1% while foreign investments made up the rest. Foreign investors were strong in the distributive trade and global establishment sub-sectors. These two sub-sectors alone contributed 55.8% to the total foreign investments in the services sector.
Principal Hub projects
Malaysia has been well positioned to attract MNCs to set up their global and regional bases in the country. For 2018, a total of eight new Principal Hub projects were approved, with committed business spending of RM7.1 billion. These include Smart Modular Technologies, Frencken Group, Onwards Media Group (OMG) and Jobstreet.
US-based Smart Modular Technologies, for example, has made Malaysia its base to undertake supply chain management from 3rd party suppliers to 3rd party customers. This translates to employment opportunities for 90 Malaysians. The company will utilise big data, cloud computing and real-time analytics technology to efficiently manage its global supply chain, which will involve over one million components, 220 suppliers and network companies in 1,000 locations.
The global establishments and end-to-end supply chain management services are key components of the nation’s economy. These services create trade efficiency and competitive advantages for other Malaysian industries.
Initiatives for Local Service Providers
Given that the services sector is dominated by domestic industry players, the Government has introduced various initiatives to provide more business opportunities for Malaysian service providers. This includes the introduction of a mechanism to encourage better linkages with local service providers in the fields of architecture, engineering, transportation, banking, insurance, legal and ICT.
Performance of the Primary Sector
For the primary sector, approved investments registered a decrease of 12.2% to RM10.9 billion in 2018. This is largely due to lower investments in oil and gas exploration activities. The rest of the investments, comprise of the plantation & commodities and agriculture sub-sectors, registered sustainable investments of RM601.8 million and RM68.8 million respectively.
Going forward, the Malaysian economy is likely to remain on a steady path in 2019 as the country’s macroeconomic fundamentals remain strong despite domestic and external challenges. MITI and MIDA trust that with the existing policies in place, Malaysia will continue to spark confidence in investors and business owners, and attract more quality investments this year.
Investments in the Pipeline
As to date, MIDA has 399 manufacturing and services projects with investments totalling RM23.7 billion in the pipeline. We look forward to the realisation of these projects and many more towards a dynamic economy for Malaysia.
PETRONAS and Siemens AG is forging partnership in customised areas of collaboration that is expected to transform the landscape of the oil and gas industry. Both parties exchanged the documents of Memorandum of Understanding in a ceremony held today.
Under the MoU, the focus areas of collaboration will be on the pillars of Business Arrangement, Operational Excellence, Research and Technology, and Talent and Capability Building.
A committee will be formed to drive and oversee the implementation of the collaborative
arrangements, potential projects and other areas of strategic development within a 3-year timeline.
The MoU was signed earlier by PETRONASr resp Senior Vice President, Project Delivery & Technology Mazuin Ismail, and Siemens AG Power & Gas Division Chief Executive Officer Willibald Meixner on behalf of the respective organisations.
Gracing the MoU Exchange Ceremony were PETRONAS Vice President, Group Procurement,
Project Delivery & Technology, Samsudin Miskon, and Siemens AG Power & Gas Services (Distributed Generation and Oil & Gas Business Unit) CEO, Thorbjoern Fors. Also present at the event were other senior officials from PETRONAS and Siemens.
BMW Malaysia today handed over a fleet of BMW 630i GT for the Maybank Championship 2019, as the Official Automotive Partner of the fourth edition of the world-class golf tournament, co-sanctioned by the Asian Tour and European Tour.
“The BMW Group has been prominently associated with professional golf for over thirty years now. We are present at the most prestigious golf tournaments in the world such as the Ryder Cup and the Omega European Masters. Recently, the BMW Group also reaffirmed our commitment to the European Tour until 2022 by renewing its status as an Official Partner. Our partnership with the Maybank Championship 2019 mirrors our global initiatives with the sport,” said Sashi Ambi, Head of Corporate Communications, BMW Group Malaysia who was present at the handover ceremony.
Ambi added that the BMW Group has a long-standing history of supporting the sport at every level from grassroots to pinnacle from 1989 with the BMW Golf Cup International – the largest and most successful amateur golf competition in the world which also takes place across Malaysia.
The fleet of BMW 6 Series GT will be used to chauffeur players, officials and VVIPs who are present throughout the tournament. BMW Malaysia will also showcase the BMW 630i GT and the All-New BMW X3 xDrive30i on the tournament grounds at the Saujana Golf and Country Club.
The Maybank Championship 2019 will take place from 21st to 24th March at Saujana Golf and Country Club. The tournament will feature Major Championship winners – Ernie Els, Padraig Harrington, defending champion Shubhankar Sharma and top-ranking golfer Gavin Green, along with a list of the world’s leading golfers – all of whom are competing for the total prize of USD3 million.
The Malaysian capital market continued to play a key role in financing the economy against a backdrop of challenging global market conditions, according to the Securities Commission Malaysia (SC) in conjunction with the release of its 2018 Annual Report.
“Though occasionally tempered by uncertainties stemming from rising trade tensions and tightening global financial conditions, all segments of the Malaysian capital market remained resilient, which is a testament to the safeguards implemented by policymakers and market participants,” said Datuk Syed Zaid Albar, Chairman of the SC.
The size of the capital market remained above RM3 trillion as at end 2018, with the bond market growing by 8.8% to RM1.4 trillion while equity market capitalisation contracted by 10.8% to RM1.7 trillion. Meanwhile, the fund management industry had RM743.6 billion in assets under management, and the unit trust industry recorded net asset value of RM426.18 billion in 2018.
The capital market continued to be a key source of financing for the economy, with total funds raised amounting to RM114.6 billion. Alternative fundraising channels, namely venture capital, private equity, equity crowdfunding (ECF) and peer-to-peer financing (P2P), raised RM808.4 million in funding, illustrating the capital market’s ability to play a significant role in the funding needs of under-served issuers such as micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs).
Malaysia remained a global leader in the Islamic capital market (ICM) with RM1.9 trillion in Shariah-compliant equities and sukuk outstanding. Malaysia also continued to be the world’s largest sukuk market.
Facilitating inclusive and sustainable growth
Building on Malaysia’s strength in the Islamic capital market, the SC continued to lead initiatives to establish Malaysia as a regional leader for Sustainable and Responsible Investment (SRI) in 2018. Following the issuance of the world’s first green sukuk in Malaysia in 2017, the SC established a RM6 million Green SRI Sukuk Grant Scheme in 2018 to incentivise issuers by offsetting up to 90% of external review costs incurred in relation to the issuance of green SRI sukuk. Four applications have since been approved, supporting RM2.2 billion in funds raised to facilitate the financing of projects that benefit the environment and society.
To meet the demands for convenient and affordable investment products and services, the SC licensed Malaysia’s first digital investment manager in 2018. Building upon the strong momentum in facilitating inclusive and sustainable growth, additional FinTech providers including ECF, P2P & digital asset exchange operators and digital investment managers are expected to be operational in 2019.
The SC also broadened retail access to the bond and sukuk markets by liberalising regulatory requirements for primary issuances and introducing a seasoning framework to allow retail access to existing corporate bonds and sukuk. Measures were also introduced in 2018 to encourage equities trading, including liberalising rules on margin financing and intraday short selling.
Raising standards of conduct and maintaining market integrity
The SC’s efforts to promote growth in 2018 were also complemented by measures to promote a strong and internally-driven culture of corporate governance among listed companies including small and mid-sized companies.
Malaysia emerged as the biggest gainer among 12 Asian markets for its corporate governance standard, moving from sixth to fourth position in the biennial 2018 Corporate Governance Watch regional survey undertaken by the Asian Corporate Governance Association. The survey commended the SC’s consistent efforts and use of innovative approaches to promote corporate governance reforms.
In 2018, the SC observed a deeper appreciation of corporate governance reflected through the adoption of the Malaysian Code on Corporate Governance such as the disclosure of senior management remuneration and the adoption of the two-tier voting approach for the reappointment of long serving independent directors.
The SC also emphasised high standards of market conduct through its supervision and surveillance efforts. In 2018, the SC conducted thematic reviews on several areas of risk such as fair and orderly trading, market liquidity and anti-money laundering. Where misconduct was identified, the SC deployed a range of enforcement tools under its administrative, civil and criminal powers, resulting in sanctions which included, among others, over RM30 million in disgorgement and fines.
Towards an accessible, agile and accountable capital market
Building on these foundations, the SC will continue to pursue an inclusive and sustainable growth agenda while facilitating innovation and improving regulatory efficiency. In sharing his vision for the capital market for the next three years, Datuk Syed Zaid Albar spoke on the need to develop a capital market and regulatory institution that are accessible, agile and accountable.
“To ensure inclusive and sustainable growth of our economy moving forward, the capital market must be accessible to the full spectrum of issuers, investors and intermediaries. It must also be agile and evolve in response to changes in the economic landscape as well as user demands. Greater access and flexibility must, however, be accompanied by higher accountability. We will continue to raise standards of governance and conduct, both for issuers and intermediaries in the capital market,” said Datuk Syed Zaid Albar.
He added, “On our part, the SC needs to continue being progressive, collaborative, open in discussions and proactive in our approach with all stakeholders. Ultimately, the SC must act as a catalyst to help the market evolve.”
In 2019, the SC will focus on:
Strengthening alternative financing avenues to meet the funding needs of micro, small and mid-sized companies
Facilitating digital investment models to attract wider investor participation
Expanding and harnessing synergies between ICM and sustainable finance to attract a wider range of issuers and investors
Reviewing the entire primary market framework, including the approach to approving IPOs
Improving investor experience by digitising the broking value chain
Reviewing the licensing framework for better flexibility and responsiveness to new intermediation models
Strengthening the CG ecosystem by focusing on board composition, shareholder activism and intermediary governance
Strengthening supervision and surveillance in areas of risk, particularly with growing prominence of digital assets and trading strategies
PIKOM, the National ICT Association of Malaysia proposes a more holistic tech talent strategy, focusing on talent development and enhancement in digital industry adoption to cope with today’s ongoing disruptions and rapid-paced lifestyle and work culture.
PIKOM cautioned that although the ICT sector contributed 18% of Malaysia’s GDP in 2017, the National Policy on Industry 4.0 stated that Malaysia’s skilled labour declined by 1% since 2010, to 18% in 2017. From the 435 companies surveyed by Frost & Sullivan, nearly 66% of the companies face talent shortages. Frost & Sullivan’s Digital Report 2017 further reported that employment in the digital industry is projected to increase to 15.0% over the next three years, driven by business expansion coupled with a favorable economic outlook and competitions from global and regional countries, will make talent sourcing challenges more acute in the near future. According to Asian Digital Transformation Index 2018, a study released by The Economist Intelligence Unit, Malaysia is one of the 10 cities in Asia that is facing the most acute digital talent shortages.
PIKOM Chairman Ganesh Kumar Bangah states, “Technology today affects not just the ICT sector but also disrupts across all industries. It is imperative that on-going talent development and engagement programs are aligned to the current evolution of technology. This is where the government leads the agenda to be more innovative and competitive in adopting technology into the ecosystem; where current and future talents are the key drivers in ensuring such successes for the nation.”
PIKOM strongly advocates the Government to play a leading role in formulating a focused talent strategy, drive it aggressively and proactively implement it together with the industry and the academic institutions.
PIKOM proposes 4 key pillars of change for talent transformation initiatives: Re-skilling/up-skilling talents; organisational process restructuring; agile workspace and evolving people management culture.
“Our goal is to position Malaysia as the talent hub for the new emerging technologies. With the Government’s intervention, its engagement with key agencies like MDEC and HRDF, along with the involvement of industry associations and private sector, the future workforce will ultimately increase competitiveness for Malaysia,” stresses Ganesh.
UiPath, the leading enterprise Robotic Process Automation (RPA) software company, has announced the findings of a study on Ipact of RPA on Employee Experience, commissioned by UiPath and conducted by Forrester Consulting in February this year. The study reflects the need to keep employees at the core of RPA efforts. According to the study, succeeding in digital transformation initiatives requires organisations to pivot on a core lever: engaged employees.
“Employees today struggle to perform under the weight of mind-numbing, repetitive work. They’re influenced by their consumer experiences and want similar experiences in their jobs,” said Bobby Patrick, chief marketing officer at UiPath.
“With the rise of automation tools, many fear a dystopian view that solutions like RPA will replace jobs and human workers will be left out of favour. As the study finds, the reality is that RPA allows employees to engage in richer interactions with others, perform work that requires more brain power, and make fewer mistakes.”
According to the study, organisations are increasingly concerned with the employee experience as they grapple with the forces of automation and RPA, and that operating model issues and psychological barriers hold back RPA efforts. Ultimately, keeping employees engaged and happy will enable organisations to capitalise on the transformative potential of RPA.
The study also shows that employee experience must take center stage. Sixty-six per cent of respondents said that RPA restructures existing work, enabling employees to have more human interactions, and 60 per cent said RPA helps employees focus on more meaningful, strategic tasks while another 57 per cent of respondents said that RPA reduces manual errors.
It also suggests that organizations must overcome operating model issues and psychological challenges. Firms are struggling to scale their RPA solutions due to the lack of trained personnel and resources to support and use of RPA technology. In fact, 93 per cent of respondents said they struggle to understand the different deployment options available to them. Additionally, leaders must overcome the psychological impact of RPA on their workforce. Communication and collaboration between the business and workers, and well-designed change management programmes are crucial.
Another benefit the study finds is that RPA leads to increasingly engaged employees. The benefits of RPA reported by firms include increased efficiency (86 per cent), deeper insights into customers (67 per cent), improved customer service (57 per cent), and improved employee engagement (57 per cent). In addition, with highly repetitive and rule-based tasks being automated, RPA enables firms to create digital workforces that execute repeatable process steps faster, accurately and more cost-effectively than traditional human workers. Ninety-two per cent of respondents expected faster efficiency and 86 per cent said they are seeing exactly that. Keeping employees engaged and happy must go hand-in-hand with deploying RPA to improve customer outcomes; firms must be employee-centric as well as customer-centric in their approach to truly capitalise on the advantages offered by RPA.
The study also recommends that firms aim to improve both operational efficiency and employee experience at the same time, create an RPA centre of excellence, manage psychological implications at the onset of an implementation, and use a human-centric change management process that carefully considers human factors, ensuring that people will feel valued and safe.
UiPath’s mission is to deliver the platform for the Automation First era. The company’s vision is a robot for every person – freeing people of burdensome, repetitive labour so they can focus on more valuable, gratifying work. UiPath has automated millions of repetitive, rule-based tasks for organisations worldwide. Through its commitment to bring digital-era skills to more than a million people, UiPath is transforming work by improving job satisfaction, driving productivity to new levels, and enhancing customer service.
Barclaycard, which processes nearly half of the UK’s credit and debit card transactions,
announces a new agreement with Alipay, the world’s leading payment and lifestyle platform. The pact allows retailers to accept Alipay transactions in stores across the UK.
Building on a successful pilot over the past two years, the new agreement will enable UK retailers to take full advantage of the growing volume and buying power of Chinese visitors. In addition to the UK’s 393,000 Chinese residents and 95,000 Chinese students, tourists from China represent an increasingly important customer segment for UK retailers.
VisitBritain is expecting 483,000 visits from China this year, up 43 per cent from 2017 and they are expected to spend more than £1 billion this year, up 50 per cent, moving it well into the UK’s top 10 tourism markets.
The increase in market size is also demonstrated by the fact that the number of Alipay users in the UK has doubled in the last year. By accepting Alipay, the world’s most-used app in 2018 outside of social apps according to App Annie (the standard in app analytics and app market data), retailers will be able to capitalise on the growing appetite of Chinese tourists to use mobile payments over cash while abroad.
According to a survey conducted by Nielsen last year, the vast majority (93 per cent) of Chinese tourist said they would likely spend more in a store that accepted
mobile payments. In addition, among the merchants surveyed that had adopted Alipay, nearly 60 per cent said that they had clearly seen growth in both foot traffic and revenue.
The new agreement will enable UK retailers to accept in-store Alipay payments without replacing their existing point-of-sale system, allowing them to take advantage of the boom in Chinese tourism without disrupting their existing customer experience.
Rob Cameron, Chief Executive Officer Global Head of Payment Acceptance at Barclaycard, said:
“Thanks to the significant investments we’ve made in our platform, our clients have access to a growing range of payment types, each of which can help them increase market share by meeting the needs of new customers.“Our new agreement with Alipay gives retailers a vital tool to help them seize the revenue opportunity posed by the growth of Chinese visitors to the UK. At the same time, Alipay users will benefit from a more convenient and familiar in-store payments process – enhancing their overall shopping experience.”
Retailers will also benefit from being at the fingertips of hundreds of millions of highly-engaged Alipay users, who will be able to search for outlets near their location to find out details such as opening hours, directions, and whether there are any discounts available.
Alipay serves over one billion users worldwide together with local e-wallet partners, and this new agreement offers its Chinese users travelling in the UK the familiar mobile payment and lifestyle experience they enjoy at home, as well as Alipay’s competitive foreign exchange rate.
Feedback from retailers has been incredibly positive; Barclaycard is already in discussions with around 70 clients interested in becoming early adopters.
Meanwhile Roland Palmer, Head of Europe, Middle East and Africa at Alipay stated:
“Alipay is excited to announce that it will be working with Barclaycard to provide visitors from China with the mobile payment experience that they are already familiar with. Through this strategic partnership, Alipay will now be able to offer many more UK merchants the opportunity to connect and engage with a growing number of Chinese visitors. This is another step forward in our vision to offer Chinese tourists a seamless travel and payment experience when travelling overseas.”
AstraZeneca will be investing more than RM500 million (USD125m) in Malaysia over the next five years to demonstrate its strengthening commitment towards patients, innovation and talent development in the country as well as to roll out new robotic and cognitive technology designed to improve efficiency and drive productivity across the Company’s global operations.
The investment will include a new AstraZeneca Malaysia headquarters in Nucleus Tower, Mutiara Damansara, which is part of Greater Kuala Lumpur. The new headquarters will be housing local and global business operations across a wide variety of functions, such as finance and procurement leadership for the region. This is part of AstraZeneca’s ongoing commitment to boost high-value skills, employment, and in bringing new science and innovation to help patients.
In addition, a new Global Business Services hub will be equipped with cutting-edge robotic technology and automation to support financial, accounting and business services for AstraZeneca operations in the Asia Pacific region. A robotic and cognitive centre will deliver ‘digital disruption’ in day-to-day operations, bringing greater efficiency and improving productivity that will be scaled across global operations using Robotic Process Automation, mimicking human actions by performing repetitive rules-based tasks across multiple applications.
The hub is one of AstraZeneca’s three shared services hubs globally, including in Costa Rica and Poland, and builds on the growth of the global business services sector in Malaysia, valued at USD240 billion in the Asia Pacific in 2014.
At the inauguration of the new headquarter, the Company signed a memorandum of agreement with InvestKL, co-signed by Allen Patino, Country President, AstraZeneca Malaysia and Datuk Zainal Amanshah, Chief Executive Officer, InvestKL, to collaborate on innovation, talent development and partnerships between 2019-2023.
In line with its strategy to improve access to healthcare, AstraZeneca aims to enhance disease prevention, awareness and treatment, building capacity in areas with limited infrastructure and improving affordability for underserved patients.
Patino said: “In our almost 40-year presence in Malaysia, AstraZeneca has built strong portfolios in medical education, diagnostics, research, disease prevention activities and various programmes to increase affordability and access to innovative medicines, all of which aim to achieve better healthcare outcomes for patients in Malaysia. We are planning close collaborations with our partners to explore digital transformation in the management of cardiovascular diseases, respiratory diseases and cancer in Malaysia.”
The inauguration was officiated by Dr Ong Kian Ming, Deputy Minister of International Trade and Industry, and witnessed by Dag Juhlin-Dannfelt, Ambassador of Sweden to Malaysia together with David Thomas, Acting British High Commissioner to Malaysia. They were accompanied by Marc Dunoyer, Chief Financial Officer, AstraZeneca, Jo Feng, Senior Vice President, Asia Area, AstraZeneca and Patino.
“We are pleased to expand our presence in Malaysia with this investment, particularly the setting up of this strategic delivery hub for finance and business services within the Greater Kuala Lumpur area. This location has many advantages, including a sophisticated business ecosystem and business-friendly policies, well-developed infrastructure and a robust multilingual talent pool with medical, HR and IT engineering qualifications. We expect to employ 600 people by 2023, almost all of whom will be Malaysian,” added Dunoyer.
Meanwhile, Zainal stated, “AstraZeneca and InvestKL are working together in shaping stronger vendor collaboration to support and enhance product innovation and my team will also work with various universities in building the local talent pool to support AstraZeneca’s business in the region.”
UOB Asset Management (Malaysia) Berhad (UOBAM) has launched its first Shariah-compliant global balanced fund – the United-i Global Balanced Fund – to help Malaysian investors achieve a stable income with lower volatility by investing in a diversified global portfolio of Shariah-compliant asset classes.
The fund is most suitable for investors with a moderate risk appetite and a medium- to long-term investment horizon as balanced portfolio coupled with Shariah filters put in place, greatly reduces the risk of investment.
Fund will invest in Shariah-compliant equities and sukuk bonds globally in the ratio of 50:50 in multiple asset classes. To ensure a selection of sectors and companies it invests in are Shariah-compliant, filters are implemented. A negative screen is implemented for sectors such as gambling, weapons and tobacco to name a few, and for companies with unproductive cash pile. UOBAM engages Amanie Advisors as its Shariah Adviser to ensure investments complies with Shariah requirements.
Lim Suet Ling, Chief Executive Officer of UOBAM Malaysia said:
“The United-i Global Balanced Fund aims to reduce investment volatility through Shariah screening which filters out non-Shariah sectors such as gambling, weapons and tobacco companies as well as companies that are overleveraged or having unproductive cash piles. This ensures that only companies with low debt ratios and strong fundamentals are included for selection, providing investors with potentially lower investment risk and competitive returns.”
Another advantage of the fund is that it utilises the multi asset expertise of UOBAM Malaysia to decide on the fund’s asset allocation which includes an analysis of macro leading indicator, earnings growth, valuations and market momentum.
“The United-i Global Fund’s investment are diversified across Asia, Europe, Middle East and the United States. Further diversification is achieved through asset class allocation which ensures that the source of the fund’s returns are not concentrated on one asset class but spread across different classes that exhibit little correlation with each other. The fund manager will base his asset allocation on a thorough understanding of the portfolio companies, including the macroeconomic factors that influence their long-term growth. The fund manager’s selection will also be determined by company’s fundamentals such as asset quality, earnings and revenue growth and its ability to outperform industry peers,” added Lim.
Subject to the availability of income, the fund managed by UOBAM Malaysia with UOB Islamic Asset Management Sdn Bhd, targets to make an annual income distribution to its investors. The United-i Global Balanced Fund has an initial minimum investment of RM1000 and is available in USD, AUD, GBP, RMB and SGD share classes. It is available at all United Overseas Bank (Malaysia) Bhd branches.
Airports Council International (ACI) World has revealed the winners of its world-renowned Airport Service Quality Awards which recognises airports around the world that deliver the best customer experience in the opinion of their passengers. Helsinki Airport has been awarded in category Best Airport by Size and Region (15–25 million passengers in Europe).
“Serving passengers and developing the customer experience based on their needs and expectations is at the heart of our strategy at Finavia and Helsinki Airport. Our aim is to deliver smoothly running processes, high quality services, comfortable and functional terminals, and friendly customer service. We work to improve all of these every day at Helsinki Airport. We are very happy to receive the award of the Best Airport by Size and Region (15–25 million passengers in Europe). This achievement is a great acknowledgement of the hard work we have been doing to make sure our customers will have a smooth journey. I want to say a warm thank you to our employees and partners for making this possible,” says Finavia’s CEO Kimmo Mäki.
Finavia wants to ensure smooth travel and high-quality customer experience also in the future. Helsinki Airport is going through a EUR1 billion development programme, during which Finavia will do the utmost to develop the airport from a customer experience point of view. In February, the newest expansion area, Aukio, was opened offering a showcase of Finland and Finnishness for travellers.
“The Airport Service Quality Awards celebrate the achievements of airports in delivering the best customer experience and they represent the highest possible accolade for airport operators around the world,” said ACI World Director General Angela Gittens.
ASQ Awards is based on a passenger survey delivered to almost 650,000 passengers at 376 airports across 90 countries worldwide. Passengers evaluated for example check-in, security, Food & Beverage, airport facilities and accessibility.
In 2018, Asia Pacific had an inbound volume of around 688 million visitors to the region – almost 50 million more foreign arrivals than in 2017, according to the Asia Pacific Visitor Forecasts 2019-2023 by Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA). Amidst this tourism boom, traveller expectations are continuing to evolve and the industry faces an increasing need to meet fragmented requests from customers including the desire for richer content, wider choices and greater personalisation.
For agents to deliver this transformation successfully they should ensure that technology complements and improves the human touch in order to provide an enhanced customer experience.
To navigate this changing environment and to help the industry understand some of the drivers impacting the sector, global travel IT provider Amadeus spoke to several industry leaders and today releases 6 top trends to watch.
1. The cloud will improve collaboration with travellers for a more personal experience
“Cloud technology is a driving force for transforming the offline model of the travel agent. The cloud enables agents to have access to all cloud-based bookings regardless of location, whether this would be through a mobile phone or a tablet. As consumer expectations are growing, we’re seeing travellers wanting more of a collaborative effort when booking a trip with an agent. A seamless way to enable this collaboration is by taking the customer out of a brick-and-mortar store to a café with a tablet and work together to develop an itinerary. This human interaction is where retail travel agents have an to really inspire the traveller.”
– Champa Magesh, Senior Vice President, Retail Travel Channels, Asia Pacific, Amadeus
2. IoT will create a seamless trip where travellers are connected to their travel agents at every stage
“IoT has the ability to connect customers with travel consultation throughout the entire stage of the travel experience. For agents, a global or universal passenger name record (PNR) will allow travel consulting to change according to any requests from the customer. As for travellers, agents can provide a universal ‘travel pass’ that can be used for a trip, without separate boarding passes, hotel check-in, bus passes, and even theme park tickets. This universal travel pass would also handle multiple currencies, where travellers won’t need to worry about exchanging currencies when travelling between different countries.”
– Alfred Kam, Chief Operating Officer, Travel Expert Group
3. Voice will be the way we book travel in the future
“If you think about it, talking to each other is the most natural thing humans do. Nowadays, typing and swiping seem as an effective way of communicating as we’re unable to have a natural conversation with a machine. But as AI and voice-enabled devices become smarter, typing or swiping will become secondary. When the process becomes seamless, voice will be the future of booking travel. Travel agents are then able to take advantage of this and sell high value and high engagement products via voice.”
– Nishank Gopalkrishnan, Chief Executive Officer, Triposo
4. Blockchain will create more secure, direct transfer payment methods
“As consumers become more conscious about their data, privacy, and online presence, there will also be a need for more secure and direct transfer payment methods. Credit card payments, such as Visa and Mastercard, are facing digital challenges. This is where Blockchain can revolutionise traditional methods by allowing all transactions and ticketing to be safe and secure. Blockchain technology will also offer an efficient way to integrate different services providers in a distributed environment.”
– Kelvin Ko, Assistant Manager, Business Development, Travel Expert Group
5. NDC will transform travel distribution as we know it
“A majority of travel distribution today in the airlines and hotel space is complicated. The myriad of pricing options, fare types, loyalty programs and multiple players doesn’t ease the shopping process, even for a suave online shopper. Travel agents will continue to see product requests from multiple sources for travel providers – therefore seamless integration with EDIFACT, NDC, and other API connectivity, plus hotel, ground transportation, and theme park tickets will be essential. Travel agents will need to evolve to offer integration with non-travel related content and value-add services will be a success factor for future travel agents. For example, instant translation, personal travel guide in
various languages, and friend matching app for travel companions.”
– Champa Magesh, Senior Vice President, Retail Travel Channels, Asia Pacific, Amadeus
6. High network speeds will facilitate 3D/VR/AR technologies for a more engaging and immersive booking experience
“Technology will enable travel agencies to transform into ‘digital travel agents’ through high-speed networks, enabling 3D, VR and AR technologies. The booking process will become a trip planning experience, where agents will be able to provide more content, information and booking details.”
– Alfred Kam, Chief Operating Officer, Travel Expert Group
From left: Goh Ing Chien, Marketing Manager; Gavin Lim, Chief Executive Officer; Mavis Mok, General Manager and Lee Zhern Je, IT Manager, of HWGG Capital P.L.C. introducing HWG Cash.
From left: Goh Ing Chien, Marketing Manager; Gavin Lim, Chief Executive Officer; Mavis Mok, General Manager and Lee Zhern Je, IT Manager, of HWGG Capital P.L.C. introducing HWG Cash.
HWGG Capital P.L.C, one of the leading blockchain payment solutions providers in the region, has officially announced the release of HWG Cash, a fiat-pegged cash token. Approved and supervised under the Labuan Financial Services Authority, HWG Cash is the first licensed cash token in Asia, the only stable and secure token among cryptocurrencies.
Each HWG Cash token issued in circulation is pegged to the equivalent amount of US dollar currency to safeguard its stability. This eliminates any risk of volatile price fluctuations seen in several other digital tokens in the market. HWG Cash can be used by consumers and businesses via the company’s new payment app HwgPay, now available for download from the Google Play Store and Apple App Store for Android and iOS devices respectively.
Leveraging on blockchain technology, HwgPay is a digital asset wallet that can be used to store, send, receive and make payment using digital assets and cash tokens such as Bitcoin, Ethereum and HWG Cash. It is the perfect complement to HWG Cash, offering a seamless user experience for consumers to make online digital asset transactions in a secure and compliant manner.
“Digital assets have been rapidly gaining traction and many countries are recognising its potential and value as the future of online payment solutions. HWG Cash represents an exciting opportunity for the mass market to experience Asia’s first and only fiat-pegged cash token. We are committed to deliver the next-generation digital asset that is not only intuitive and easy to use but also regulated and supervised under a recognised authority,” said Gavin Lim, Chief Executive Officer of HWGG Capital P.L.C.
Converting fiat currency to HWG Cash Tokens is a simple and straightforward process. Users first need to deposit their fiat currency to a designated HWGG Capital P.L.C’s account to be converted to HWG Cash Tokens. This allows them to utilise the tokens to make digital asset payments and transactions via the HwgPay app. Similarly, whenever the user wants to make a withdrawal, they can easily redeem the HWG Cash Tokens to fiat currency from the company through their platforms, in which the latter will be credited to withdrawers’ bank accounts.
The designated HWGG Capital P.L.C’s account is audited every quarter and reported to the authority for monitory purposes – greatly ensuring both user and merchant assets are protected. HWGG Capital P.L.C strives to offer fiat to digital and digital to fiat exchange in a safe, stable, and fast manner through reducing the barriers and obstacles typically associated with other cash tokens. Other incredible benefits of HWG Cash include no withdrawal fees for users and instant liquidation of digital assets to cash.
“Digital tokens have been around for quite some time but it is currently underutilised in the market due to the lack of understanding, trust and belief among consumers, volatile fluctuation in pricing, and other concerns related to blockchain technology,” stated Yoshikazu Nishimura, Chief Technical Officer of HWGG Capital P.L.C
Reaffirming the safety of HWG Cash tokens, Nishimura said HWG Cash tokens used everiToken public chain technology as its core due to its security, speed, and ease of use. As such, consumers and merchants would be able to make digital asset transactions without any fear of price fluctuations, security risk, excess fees or third-party interference.
HWGG Capital P.L.C is officially licensed under the Labuan Financial Services Authority as a payment operator, credit token business and money broker for digital assets. The company is committed towards driving the usage of HWG Cash to the mass market in the region by offering users next generation payment solutions at their convenience, while adhering to the highest security and compliance standards. Merchants and consumers are highly encouraged to reach out to HWGG Capital P.L.C to learn more about implementing HWG Cash as their digital payment solution.
sbe, a leading international hospitality group that develops, manages and operates award-winning global hospitality brands, has recently announced the launch of its new luxury global brand, The House of Originals in partnership with Accor, at the Berlin Hospitality Conference.
The House of Originals is a luxury collection of properties featuring a bold spirit that challenges and inspires. The new hotel brand collection includes the Sanderson and St. Martins Lane in London, 10 Karakoy in Istanbul, and the Shore Club in Miami Beach. Together they are set to create a community for its guests, predicated on luxury experiences and centered around sbe’s iconic culinary and mixology offerings.
Accor’s support will be critical in establishing the brand internationally by offering sbe’s customers and partners access to an unparalleled global distribution and procurement infrastructure.
“At sbe we are always looking to create memorable experiences. The House of Originals will include our existing incredible destinations, the Sanderson, St Martins Lane, Shore Club and 10 Karaköy and create a community and network of unique global properties. I am proud to partner on this project very closely with the Accor team and Gaurav BHUSHAN, Accor’s Head of Global Development who will provide us invaluable support in helping us create a truly international suite of properties,” stated Sam Nazarian, Founder & CEO of sbe.
The House of Originals is a collection of luxury hotels that are individually special to the city in which each resides. These inspiring properties are recognized as trailblazers, setting a standard of hospitality and experience that makes every hotel iconic in its own right. For every hotel in this collection, there is an undying spirit and promise of originality.
This rebrand marks an inflection point for these hotels, illustrating how they are coming together to create an innovative new brand to bring our customers a refreshed collection of hospitality assets. The House Of Originals collection will undertake rapid but thoughtful growth and already has in its pipeline 5 new domestic and international locations.
Gaurav Bhushan, Chief Development Officer Accor said: “The lifestyle market continues to grow rapidly and has one of fastest growth rates in the industry. Accor has had very strong acceleration in the lifestyle sector and now offers the widest portfolio, with 10 brands to be developed internationally from economy to luxury. The House of Originals is the perfect combination of sbe’s know-how in entertainment and F&B, and will benefit from Accor’s global platform, particularly in terms of distribution, loyalty and network development. With already 5 new hotels in the pipeline and an exciting pipeline underway in key gateway cities such as Dubai, London and Paris, this brand brings a new lifestyle flavor into the Accor portfolio.”
