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Winners of ASEAN Data Science Explorers National Finals Announced

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Winners of ASEAN Data Science Explorers National Finals Announced

Following the completion of the ASEAN Data Science Explorers Malaysia national finals, six local students were awarded with the top three awards for their insights and ideas on driving a sustainable future for ASEAN. The six students, who represented three teams comprising two students each, were among the top 10 teams who were selected to pitch their ideas in the national finals, held at the Asia Pacific University on October 31.

The competition, which is co-organized by the ASEAN Foundation and multinational software company SAP, is aimed at promoting awareness and appreciation of the ASEAN community amongst young people through digital literacy. Students who registered for the program earlier in 2017 were given access to ASEAN data as well as SAP Analytics Cloud platform, which allowed them to better analyze the data and derive meaningful insights. The initiative encourages participants to deliver data-driven insights which highlight issues in ASEAN across six United Nation Sustainable Development Goals, namely (1) good health and well-being, (2) quality education, (3) gender equality, (4) clean water and sanitation, (5) decent work and economic growth, and (6) sustainable cities and communities.

“This is the inaugural year in which we are conducting this competition, in partnership with SAP, and we are pleased to see high rates of registrations and submissions of ideas from students in Malaysia. Following a stringent judging process, both the ASEAN Foundation and SAP selected the top 10 teams from Malaysia to present at the national finals held today. Many of the ideas proposed to us today were interesting and insightful, and I hope that these youths will continue to develop their passion and ideas to drive the ASEAN Community towards a sustainable future together,” said Elaine Tan, Executive Director of the ASEAN Foundation.

Team ‘ASEANalysts’, comprising of participants Thean Su Mei and Wong Feng Ming from Monash University Malaysia, came in first among the top three teams in the Malaysian national finals with their idea on improving primary education. The first runner up was team ‘’Hypervisor” from Universiti Sains Malaysia and the second runner up was team “Curiousity” from Universiti Teknologi Mara.

Terrence Yong, Managing Director, SAP Malaysia

“The ASEAN Data Science Explorers competition provides a platform for our Malaysian young talents to actively participate in shaping a sustainable future for the ASEAN community. It was great to see how students leveraged the SAP Analytics Cloud tool to make sense of data that they found pertaining issues around the six UN Sustainable Development Goals. While this is the first year of the programme, we are just touching the surface and I hope this competition will encourage Malaysian students to explore resources available to them and continue to develop their ideas further,” said Terrence Yong, Managing Director, SAP Malaysia. “With digitization increasingly being the lynchpin to ASEAN economies, governments and businesses should work together to impart digital skills and training to the young. SAP is investing efforts towards driving the needle in this area and we hope to work with the ecosystem to prepare the workforce of the future.”

Thean and Wong will represent Malaysia in the ASEAN Data Science Explorers Regional Face-Off in Jakarta in late November, where they will compete with the national winners from the other nine ASEAN member states.

Celebrating the People’s Choice

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Celebrating the People’s Choice

For the eighth consecutive year, over 6,000 people participated in a nationwide independent consumer poll to vote their favourite brands from across 24 categories for the Putra Brand Awards. The winning brands turned marketing dilemmas into fitting strategies to attract, engage and connect with consumers through multiple marketing communications platforms.

Commonly referred to as ‘the People’s Choice’ awards, the Putra Brand Awards crowned 39 Gold, 40 Silver and 51 Bronze to brands in various categories, along with five special awards.

“In a broad sense, the Putra Brand Awards is an opportunity to shape the customer’s journey through the brand’s various modes of communications and fully engage consumers with the brand. This is crucial because all forms of communication must be relevant and integrated with a customer’s journey,” states Dato’ Johnny Mun, Organising Chairman of the Putra Brand Awards.

Shell was awarded the Putra Brand of the Year award in the Special Awards category, along with the Gold award in the Automotive – Fuels and Lubricants category.

Shell celebrating their victory for bagging the Putra Brand of the Year 2017

Furthermore, leading the Gold haul were Aeon, Canon, Carlsberg, Casio, Colgate, Dutch Lady, Gardenia, Honda, KFC, Malaysia Airlines, Maybank, Panasonic, Petronas, Samsung and Taylor’s University.

100 Plus marketing team is named Putra Marketer of the Year 2017.

Special awards were presented to Hurix’s for Putra Most Enterprising Brand of the Year, the 100 Plus marketing team for Putra Malaysian Marketer of the Year, and Tan Sri Liew Kee Sin, Founder of SP Setia and EcoWorld as Putra Personality of the Year. Apart from that, Dettol, IKEA and Golden Screen Cinemas were inducted as Putra Brand Icons.

HURIX’S, natural herbal healthcare product brand, was voted Putra Enterprising Brand of the Year 2017.

Celcom’s New smEX Hub to Accelerate Social Media

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Celcom’s New smEX Hub to Accelerate Social Media

Celcom Axiata Berhad is moving to the next phase of improving customer experience with the launch of its new Social Media Experience (smEX) hub, which is a cross-functional integrated team and among the first of its kind in Asia. It aims to combine marketing, sales and service activities for social media channels, ensuring quick and engaging responses to customers to create positive experiences through social media channels.

Team members of the hub will form a cross-functional tribe and leverage on the latest technology in the social media space, including Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and more. Additionally, the hub will complement existing customer service channels such as the Contact Centre, Retail Shops and the Online Customer Service, to provide a full spectrum of services round-the-clock.

Michael Kuehner, CEO of Celcom Axiata Berhad with Chew Su Fong, Director of Customer Experience Governance, Celcom Axiata Berhad and René Werner, Chief Customer Service and Experience Officer of Celcom Axiata Berhad

Michael Kuehner, CEO of Celcom Axiata Berhad says that given the present surge of social networking in an environment, organisations must evolve to become agile, digital and have a deep customer focus.

He also mentions that through the experience hub, Celcom hopes to increase consumer satisfaction which will lead to greater operational efficiency of the company’s business. Apart from that, the hub is one of Celcom’s many initiatives to embrace digitalisation as an organisation.

Meanwhile, René Werner, Chief Customer Service and Experience Officer of Celcom Axiata Berhad says that high responsiveness online and being present is the key digital channels are prerequisites for Celcom to provide customers with good experiences and succeed in a mature mobile market such as Malaysia.

“The hub is another channel for us to listen to customers, serve them and deliver consumers with a better experience, going forward. With a broad range of initiatives aimed at improving customer experience, we are confident in accelerating further towards our clear objective of creating awesome moments for our customers,” he adds.

According to Werner, the new organisational model of the hub will be fully operational by December. It will drive and nurture autonomous decision-making, fast learning and experimenting with new innovations, to steadily improve the social media engagement with consumers and further propel innovation by Celcom in this space.

Personalised Attention to Drive the Retail Industry

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Personalised Attention to Drive the Retail Industry

According to the Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainuddin, Minister of Domestic Trade, Cooperatives and Consumerism, personalised attention will enhance the shopping experience and drive the retail industry in Malaysia. He also mentioned that the personalised shopping experience works best when the customers’ needs are met by salespersons.

“Personalisation is becoming important in the retail industry. But apart from that, we should also be looking into retail and entertainment at the same time,” he went on during the Asia-Pacific Retailers Convention and Exhibition (APRCE) 2017.

Shinobu Washizawa, MRA Deputy President; Dato’ Sri Meer Sadik Habib MRA Hon Secretary; Tan Sri William Cheng, MRA President; Dato’ Seri Hamzah Zainudin, Minister of Domestic Trade, Cooperatives & Consumerism; Lorenzo Formoso, Chairman of FAPRA; James Loke, MRA Deputy President and Michelle Oon, MRA Hon Treasurer.

Furthermore, he noted that Kuala Lumpur is ranked as one of the top five shopping destinations on Expedia UK World’s 25 Best Shopping Cities last year. Meanwhile, Tan Sri William Cheng, President of Malaysia Retail Association (MRA) said that retail sales were very much driven by tourist arrivals in the country.

In 2016, tourist spending in Malaysia was RM82.1 billion, which is 18.8% more than the previous year, with the wholesale and retail trade contributing 14.9% to Malaysia’s gross domestic product (GDP). Cheng also mentioned that in line with the transformation of the retail industry, APRCE was looking forward to a vibrant mix of brick and mortar stores, omni-channel retailers and retailers with sustainable initiatives.

BIMB Invest Declares Income Distribution Yield

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BIMB Invest Declares Income Distribution Yield

BIMB Investment Management Berhad (BIMB Invest), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Bank Islam Malaysia Berhad, declared 7.5% income distribution yield for its income and growth fund, known as the BIMB i Dividend Fund.

According to Najmuddin Mohd Lutfi, CEO of BIMB Invest: “Our strong fund management processes has enabled us to consistently innovate to meet investors’ expectations. Our strategy of focusing on stock selection has worked very well in 2017, as our portfolios and active stock selection outperformed in the market substantially. The BIMB i Dividend Fund invests in Malaysia’s Shariah-compliant portfolio of dividend yielding equities with potential capital growth over the medium to long term.”

He also adds that the fund intends to maintain its current overweight strategy on export counters to position for share price appreciation as the market sentiment improves. The equity exposure level will also be maintained at around 95% to 98% to maximise the dividend and trading opportunities for the fund as the stock market strengthens in 2017.

“The BIMB i Dividend Fund declared a gross distribution of 1.54% sen per unit and as of 31 December 2017, the fund saw a year-to-date (YTD) total return of 14.02%, exceeding the 6% per annum absolute return benchmark.

With the aim of offering greater convenience to investors, the fund can be subscribed from at any Bank Islam’s 147 branches nationwide, BIMB Invest’s consultants and Philip Mutual.

PSD and DAMAC Announces Strategic Partnership

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PSD and DAMAC Announces Strategic Partnership

Pacific Star Development Limited announces that its wholly-owned subsidiary, PSD Singapore Pte Ltd has partnered with DAMAC International to develop luxury properties in key cities across Southeast Asia over the next five years.

The partnership will see two property leaders jointly develop high-end properties across ASEAN countries with Malaysia and Thailand as its primary markets, followed by Vietnam, Indonesia and Singapore. Both developers will collaborate on identifying prime locations in key gateway cities where they will jointly develop new residential, hospitality and retail projects.

“We are looking at a broad spectrum of development opportunities that capitalise on Southeast Asia’s rising urbanisation, favourable demographics and increasing tourism. DAMAC’s strengths are a clear advantage in these markets where it has demonstrated leadership in developing world-class projects, creating innovative sales and marketing strategies and optimising cost-effective delivery approaches,” states Glen Chan, CEO and Managing Director of PSD.

He also adds that Kuala Lumpur will be one of the priority cities for the strategic partnership, since the city continues to attract strong buying interest from foreign investors at the high-end condominium market segment.

Meanwhile, according to Hussain Sajwani, Chairman of DAMAC, this partnership will also create significant expansion opportunities by leveraging on each other’s strength to bring innovative, high-end real estate products to new markets in Southeast Asia.

IJN and SELGATE Works on New Heart Centre

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IJN and SELGATE Works on New Heart Centre

IJN Holdings Sdn Bhd enters a strategic partnership with SELGATE Corporation Sdn Bhd to extend its cardiac care facility and medical breakthroughs in the fully integrated IJN-SELGATE Specialist Hospital.

Through the partnership, IJN will work collaboratively with SELGATE in transfer of technology and knowledge in the aspects of operations, hospital management, health information systems, technical capacity building as well as quality assurance.

The IJN-SELGATE Specialist Hospital was conceived to respond to today’s growing challenges in healthcare specifically in Selangor. It strives to enhance and transform private healthcare by improving medical care, service delivery, professional integrity and value proposition.

It will be a multi-disciplinary hospital with a cardiac centre as its Centre of Excellence and will be built in phases with a total of 259 beds. It is expected to open its doors in the fourth quarter of 2020 with a gross development cost of RM250 million and is designed to be a certified green building and a resource-efficient hospital. Conveniently, the hospital will be located within the SELGATE Medical City in Shah Alam.

The SELGATE Medical City is the first-of-its-kind healthcare model in Malaysia to have fully integrated medical suites, aged-care residences, SOHO offices, convention halls, hotels and condominiums. In short, it aims to be an all-in-one city that provides holistic services focused on preventive medicine and lifestyle enhancement.

FSC Label Increasingly Attracts Customers

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FSC Label Increasingly Attracts Customers

After a decade of its partnership with the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), 100% of all Tetra Pak paperboard is now sourced from FSC certified forests and other controlled sources. Currently in Malaysia, over 70% of all Tetra Pak cartons carry the FSC label.

Since Tetra Pak’s FSC-labelled packaging was first made available in Malaysia in 2014, the company has been actively working to enable its customers to understand the significance of the certification.

In 2016, about 65 billion Tetra Pak packages with the distinctive FSC logo of a little tree with a tick appeared on retail shelves around the world, which was an increase from the 54 billion in 2015. This trend is expected to increase as consumers become more aware of the FSC label and what it signifies.

The label assures environmentally-conscious consumers that the paperboard used in Tetra Pak cartons are sourced from well-managed forests that are independently certified in adherence to Forest Stewardship Council standards.

According to Brian May, Managing Director of Tetra Pak Malaysia, Singapore and Philippines: “Consumers are increasingly conscious of the environmental impact of the products they buy, expecting businesses to help them make better choices. The FSC certification plays a part as a recognisable hallmark for responsible forest management. Whether consumers know it or not, every time they pick up a beverage in a Tetra Pak carton, they are effectively demonstrating their support for responsible and sustainable forestry practices and standards.”

Apart from that, in collaboration with FSC Asia Pacific, Tetra Pak Malaysia launched the ‘Pick the Pack that Grows Back’ campaign in 2016 that successfully educated Malaysian consumers on the benefits of FSC-certification.

As part of Tetra Pak’s efforts towards fully renewable packaging, it also launched a new version of Tetra Brik Aseptic 1000 Edge with Bio-based LightCap 30, which is manufactured using a bio-based film and cap and made from polymers derived from sugar cane.

Just Be Nice: A Customer Service Tip

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Just Be Nice: A Customer Service Tip

By George Aveling, CEO of TMI Malaysia, a customer-experience consultancy.

I first heard the phrase “Just Be Nice” when I read a book by Robin Sharma. These three simple words, shortened to three letters – JBN – have stuck with me ever since; and that was some years ago!

I have just experienced a customer service person who embodied the JBN principle, day in, day out, one customer at a time. The impact was simple – this person puts a smile on customers’ faces.

Let me introduce you to Jelena… it was breakfast time at a hotel in Belgrade, Serbia; guests go through the normal morning routine. We head to the restaurant and are met by Jelena at the front of the restaurant. Jelena checks our name off, and then we enter.

One of the reasons that I looked forward to going to breakfast was my 15 seconds of friendly interaction with Jelena. On the second day, she remembered my name. By the third day, she had remembered my room number – as she did with many other guests. The daily warm morning greeting from Jelena made me feel happy.

The Principle in Action

George Aveling

So, how did Jelena apply the JBN principle? First, Jelena instinctively knew that she could make a difference to someone’s day – in 15 seconds or less.

In conventional customer experience language, Jelena aimed to make every Moment of Truth with a guest a positive one. These moments of truth most often take just seconds, and they make a lasting impact. For proof of this, just read reviews on sites like TripAdvisor. The reviews most often speak of customer experiences during very brief slices of time.

Second, it seemed as if every customer was Jelena’s first. The last guest to arrive for breakfast experienced that same warm welcome as the first.

Third, Jelena used all the tools that she had available to her. She greeted guests with a smile and with her eyes. Whoa! This is not rocket science, but it is rocket fuel when it comes to firing up customer satisfaction!

Fourth, Jelena understood that different customers need to be treated in different ways. Chatty customers like me would experience JBN in the form of a few seconds of friendly small talk on the way into and out of the restaurant. I got my full 15 seconds worth of moments of truth!

Jelena knew that other guests just wanted to go in for breakfast. Her version of JBN was to give them a warm greeting and to check their names off. They got their 5 seconds of moments of truth and always with a warm greeting.

And, for those who acknowledged Jelena on the way out, she was always ready with a friendly, warm farewell that just took seconds.

JBN lessons from Jelena

Jobs like Jelena’s are not complex. They are repetitive, but they are not necessarily easy. If you don’t believe me, imagine yourself standing in one place for four hours each day to greet guests, five days a week.

These jobs are extremely important, as they deal with most guests each day. The key lesson here is to put the right people in those positions.

Find your Jelena; find people who have a positive attitude and who like people. Once you do, they will naturally apply the JBN principle to keep people happy. And when you do, you may find people, like me, raving about your service and telling the world about them.

If you put people who do not like dealing with people in customer-facing roles, their jobs will get them down. After a while, they won’t look happy. They will end up giving guests a cold welcome, rather than a warm one.

Their feelings will be transmitted to customers.  The impact will be felt in customer feedback scores, or on even more damaging social media ratings, like on TripAdvisor. By the way, the name of the hotel in Belgrade is the Crowne Plaza. I found the service to be great all round.

 

This story first appeared in the Business Today magazine (August 2017 issue)

BenQ Launches Comprehensive B2B Display Solution

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BenQ Launches Comprehensive B2B Display Solution

BenQ has recently launched a trio from their latest product lines to offer comprehensive display solution for the education and corporate sectors. It comprises four product categories: Dustproof Projector, Germ-Resistant and Smart Eye Care Interactive Flat Panels (IFP), BlueCore Laser Projectors and the Wireless Presentation Solution Instashow.

These categories were designed to offer a complete and all-inclusive pristine quality platform for presentation and display purposes. The launching event showcased the products’ strengths and compatibility with one another, which is an advantage and strength that BenQ had established for the education and corporate sectors.

“The B2B market’s consumers are also tied to the consumer mass market, hence the latest offerings of products for the B2B market is also indirectly aimed at the consumers,” explains Jeffrey Liang, Asia Pacific President for BenQ.

Dustproof for longer life

Developed with hassle-free and long-lasting usage in mind, the Dustproof DX808ST and LX810STD projectors are equipped with the company’s own IP5X-rated Dust Guard technology, which blocks and eliminates dirt from the device.

BenQ’s Dustproof projectors integrates one or more enhancements to keep out dust, boost performance and prolong operational life. Its sealed engines offer complete protection for colour wheels, DLP chips and light path components, virtually eliminating the possibility of colour wheel sensor failure, visible spotting on images, and colour decay.

Healthy Approach to Collaborative Learning

With an eye on protecting students and teachers, BenQ created a series of SGS-certified 4K Interactive Flat Panel Displays with health enhancing features like germ-free surfaces and Smart Eye-care solutions.

From the Germ-Resistant and Smart Eye-Care Interactive Flat Panels (IFP) series, BenQ showcases their 65-inch RP654K, 70-inch RP704K and 75-inch RP750K which offers a host of interactive platforms and health-conscious necessities.

All three products under the Germ-Resistant and Smart Eye-Care IFP series comes with a multi-layered durable, non-toxic, nano-ionic silver agent that kills most bacteria and viruses on contact. They are also equipped with the Smart Eye-care solution, offering eye-care protection and technologies like anti-glare, TÜV-certified blue light reduction, and flicker-free viewing, facilitating a truly interactive experience with the various education and corporate purposes.

Apart from that, the devices are also packed with a host of collaborative tools and technological platforms, such as the EZWrite 4.0 whiteboard application and the InstaQShare.

One-Button-Start Presentations

BenQ InstaShow is a unique no-software solution that allows multiple presenters to present on any device, with the simplest plug and play operation requiring no driver installation or execution and compatibility with any OS or hardware platform. It allows users to enjoy simple and quick wireless presentation without those awkward moments setting up.

 

Specifications:

The LX810STD features the BlueCore Light Engine technology to bring you optimized visual display and energy efficiency. Utilizing SmartEco™ Technology, you’re able to reduce light source power consumption by up to 70%. It’s an economic and environmentally friendly choice for your school.

Key features:

  • Perfect Performance up to 20,000 Hours with BlueCore Laser Light Source
  • 3000ANSI Lumen High Brightness
  • 100,000 High Contrast Ratio
  • Breakthrough Dust-Proof Engine
  • TR0.61 Short Throw
  • Centralized Maintenance via LAN Control

Preserving Long-Lasting Picture Quality

Critically important for schools, BenQ DX808ST enhances reliability and minimize downtime with a comprehensive dustproof solution to protect key components of the projection engine from dust damage. With the latestest BenQ Dust GuardTM dustproof technology, DX808ST greatly reduces maintenance costs with bright, fresh projection quality that endures for years.

Key features:

  • Premium Dustproof System with Dust-resistant and Filtering Design
  • SmartEco Power Saving Technology
  • 0.61 Short Throw Ratio
  • Designed for Education & IWB
  • Blu-ray Full HD 3D support
  • PointWrite Interactive Solution Compatible

More Engagement, More Fun Learning

BenQ MW855UST projector is a total classroom interactive solution. It offers superior connectivity with ultra short-throw design, dual HDMI inputs and optional PointWrite interactivity. The 3,500 ANSI lumen brightness and lamp life are enhanced by the SmartEco technology for long lasting, reliable and vibrant images. BenQ offers the best interactive proctor for classroom.

Key features

  • Amazing Big Picture in Ultra Short Distance
  • Optional PointWrite interactive capability
  • 8% Vertical Lens Shift
  • Corner fit adjustment
  • Wall mount bundle

BlueCore Laser Projector from the World’s No.1 DLP Brand

The BenQ LU9715 BlueCore Laser Projector is the brightest choice for large venue applications.BenQ LU9715 delivers 8000 ANSI-lumen brightness and 100,000:1 contrast ratio for superior viewing experiences even under bright ambient lighting. The BlueCore laser engine provides significantly improved color performance through a dual color wheel system, support for 360° and portrait installation, and 24/7 operation for expanded application opportunities. LU9715 is also compatible with a selection of lenses for a wide range of installation possibilities, to captivate audiences and accommodate the diverse needs of museums, entertainment venues and large enterprise spaces.

Key features

  • Ultra High Brightness up to 8,000 ANSI Lumens and 100,000:1 Contrast Ratio
  • Perfect Performance up to 20,000 Hours with BlueCore Laser Light Source
  • 360° and Portrait Projection Accommodate Different Spaces
  • Built-in Edge Blending and Geometric Correction
  • 8 Optional Lenses for Diverse Applications

For More Intuitive, Effortless and Smarter Corporate Presentations
BenQ corporate RP704K interactive flat panels (IFP) ideally suit meeting spaces from small to medium sized with stylish designs incorporating two frontal speakers and integrated pen trays. Pioneering innovations include 20-point multi-touch, 4K resolution, Smart Eye-Care, and Smart Account Management System (Smart AMS), BenQ’s corporate RP704K delivers intuitive collaboration and display interactivity with the ease of wireless presentation, open-platform software compatibility, and hassle-free maintenance.

Key features

  • 4K UHD resolution
  • Built-in EZWrite 4.0, an easy annotation solution
  • Share and collaborate with InstaQShare wireless solution
  • Smart Eye-Care and Germ-Resistant Screen
  • 20 points multi-touch
  • Instant plug and play

Managing Money in the Era of Easy Credit

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Managing Money in the Era of Easy Credit

How well are Malaysians really managing their finances?

By Tan Sri Izzuddin bin Dali, Chairman of CTOS Data Systems Sdn Bhd

The rising level of debt remains a huge concern among many Malaysians in today’s economic situation. Quite simply, Malaysians do not fully understand financial management and the implications of their purchasing decisions and habits.

A global survey by the World Bank in 2016 found that only 36% of Malaysians are financially literate. The report coincides with the 2016 Bank Negara Financial Inclusion and Capability Study, stating that only 18% of Malaysians could survive more than three months financially if they lost their main source of income.

These figures are supported by the increase in Malaysians filing for bankruptcy, with more than 20,000 reported over the past five years. While there could be many factors that have led to this (e.g. business failure), much of it chalks up to the lack of financial management and literacy.

Despite being in an environment where information is easily accessible, the lifestyle habits and priorities – especially among Malaysian millennials – have shifted drastically to produce a spendthrift society that thrives on immediate gratification. The practice of saving in anticipation of a new mobile phone is no longer a norm as many now use the option of “charging it to our card”, without thinking twice about the implications that come with that purchasing decision. Financial management and stability is not a priority.

At the recent Karnival Kewangan 2017 hosted by Bank Negara, Datuk Muhammad bin Ibrahim, the Governor of Bank Negara Malaysia commented that “the pursuit of financial knowledge is a key economic imperative. In today’s world, the ability and knowledge to save, invest and borrow are essential life skills, be it for individuals or businesses”.

Whilst these are abilities that may have been inculcated in consumers starting from a young age, over the years they may no longer be a priority as one starts pursuing lifestyle needs.

Contrary to popular belief, managing finances is no difficult task, but does require a certain amount of discipline. One of the most common habits among consumers is making late payments or partial payments on credit card debts. The reason being, most of the public do not fully realise the consequences of these type of payments to their borrowing amounts.

While many of us can enjoy the luxury of charging purchases to our credit cards, the downside is that many of us also do not realise how the interest rate affects our personal finances. Thus, when it comes to credit cards, one should always aim to pay the statement in full to avoid being charged interest on outstanding balances. The best way is to commit to a limit that you are confident can be paid off each month.

Another habit that we all need to instil in ourselves is budgeting. We all have no issues in keeping to a budget during work, yet forget how beneficial this practice is in managing our daily expenses. One effective way is to map out a financial calendar for monthly expenditures, coupled with reminders on when bills and other payments are due. This not only allows you to meet your payment deadlines, but also gives you a better idea and understanding of where your money goes and what you spend on most. This will make it easier to allocate certain percentages of your income to financial priorities.

Hence, financial agencies and organisations such as CTOS, have an important role in advocating healthy financial habits and incentivising consumers to manage their finances better. CTOS provides an avenue to get a sense of your financial health by providing a highly predictive credit score – CTOS Score.

Through the credit score, consumers can clearly see where they are in terms of their financial standing and are able to set realistic aspirations for their lifestyle choices. For instance, the CTOS Score considers a consumer’s payment track record, amount owed, type of debts and credit history in determining the credit score.  The availability of such a system will help drive Malaysians to be more mindful about their spending habits while becoming more disciplined with their payments to acquire and maintain a good credit score. This, in turn, will inculcate positive financial management and payment habits in consumers.

Malaysians have yet to comprehend the enormity of the consequences from neglecting these basic financial practices. As such, there is a critical need among the public for awareness, education and deeper understanding of the impact and consequences when it comes to financial management. Following simple financial management practices will help consumers hold on to what they already have.

Ten years ago, our physical health was not a top priority and was taken for granted by most, yet today medical coverage is one of our first concerns when joining a new company. Just as it is with financial health today, let us not wait ten years for us to realise the impact of poor financial management in our everyday lives.

 

This story first appeared in the Business Today magazine (August 2017 issue)

The New Buzzword

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The New Buzzword

PropertyGuru embraces PropTech in its business

By Sheldon Fernandez, Country Manager of PropertyGuru Malaysia

There’s no denying that technology has caught up with the property industry, and those who are not on the bandwagon will soon be left out.

According to the Malaysian Communications & Multimedia Commission (MCMC), there are 43.9 million cellular subscribers in Malaysia, 28 million mobile broadband subscriptions with a 77.9% household broadband penetration and 90% 3G-population coverage.

This represents a high number of Internet and mobile adoption rate considering the Malaysia population is estimated at 30.97 million and 7.57 million households (based on census 2010).

At PropertyGuru, it’s all about embracing technology, changes and enabling consumers to make property decisions, fast, easy and accessible.

A 360 Online Platform

Designed with the end-user in mind, PropertyGuru features real-time access to multi-media rich content, covering property and home-related products, services, news, advice, guides, tools and a rapidly growing online property database in Malaysia.

We work closely with prominent real estate developers, housing agents and home-related firms in Malaysia and overseas. There are already more than 16 million property buyers viewing over 11 million property pages and generating more than 500,000 enquiries across the region, just by using the PropertyGuru Group platform.

Similarly, the PropertyGuru mobile app launched in 2012 has since garnered three million downloads from all four markets consisting of Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia. Malaysia’s downloads alone stand at 700,000 and counting.

The app alone has made property hunting much easier as consumers can easily search for properties on-the-go, sync and shortlist properties on all devices, and visit or find out more about new launches.

Derived from Real Time Data

As a leader in the real estate market in Malaysia, PropertyGuru Malaysia processes a vast amount of real estate data daily, providing the necessary data to crunch and deliver in-depth insights to all Malaysian home seekers.

We look at the property market across Malaysia in different locations and over different types to provide a comprehensive, insightful overview of home pricing across the archipelago.

Most recently, PropertyGuru launched its PropertyGuru Market Index (PMI), which reveals a comprehensive and insightful quarterly overview of home pricing trends at a nationwide level, as well as key property markets.

Additionally, data journalism is a powerful strategy to create and amplify more impactful content. It also allows companies to uncover exciting new insights and stories from an ingredient – data – that they already have available.

PropertyGuru has roughly 16 million people on our sites across the region every month, and we use search results and supply listings to create actionable insights for visitors.

We create 600 pieces of content a month, ranging from news to market sentiment surveys. We have a newspaper in Singapore, we run online news, eDMs and a magazine, Property Report, which is published in Southeast Asia and Hong Kong.

Augmented and Virtual Reality (AR/VR)

VR and AR technologies allow for the “what if” – the exploration of different possibilities and approaches, say for interior design or even for homeowners to “imagine” or conceptualise the different options available. Rather than building several show units, you can use VR to show these units at a fraction of the cost.

PropertyGuru recently launched its Virtual Reality Showroom in Singapore, enabling consumers to view condo showflats while property agents were on hand to provide consultations, all through a mobile truck outfitted with VR goggles.

VR showrooms can be effective when a project’s showflat has been demolished and the developer still has unsold units. Other advantages of VR technology include its more immersive experience than virtual tours or 2D photos.

Drone Videos for Panoramic and Aerial Views of Communities and Localities

Just last year in 2016, PropertyGuru employed drones to shoot views from upper floors of a prominent residential project in Malaysia.

Drone videos allow for buyers to get a better perspective of the location and an aerial view of the communities surrounding the project. Not only do prospective buyers enjoy a bird’s eye view, they get a better perspective of the actual physical location and the overall surrounding area. This would include being able to see key lifestyle make or break factors such as traffic conditions, any potential attractive or detractive features, and much more.

Coupled with this tool, 3D tours also allow consumers on the PropertyGuru site to virtually take down walls and give them a sense of place.

 

This story first appeared in the Business Today magazine (August 2017 issue)

IA Supports ‘Cloud-First’ Strategy

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IA Supports ‘Cloud-First’ Strategy

Internet Alliance lauds the ‘Cloud-First’ strategy for government agencies and public sector to boost the digital economy. Announced by the Prime Minister just before the upcoming Budget 2018, Cloud-First will become part of the National Agenda, starting with the public sector.

Chan Kee Siak, President of IA

The Cloud-First strategy involves the adoption of cloud for government agencies to rapidly deliver innovative public sector services without incurring high levels of capital expenditure to invest in the IT infrastructure, such as data centres, services and storage.

“We are thrilled that the government recognises how the cloud is fundamental to digital transformation. It has become a powerful and cost-efficient method to deliver ICT solutions and services to support the economy. Therefore, prioritising government agencies to adopt cloud-based ICT solutions sets a strong example of how to be free from the high costs of initial equipment investments,” states Chan Kee Siak, President of IA.

At the same time, Chan calls on the government to consider lowering or exempting withholding tax for local organisations wanting to adopt cloud or other digital services.

“If the ‘Cloud-First’ strategy is to be a successful National Agenda, there should be economic incentive to boost it too. By lowering or even abolishing additional withholding tax for Malaysian businesses, they will feel incentivised to accelerate their adoption of  cloud-based services and digital services,” he continues.

Apart from that, Chan also encourages the local government agencies and businesses to engage services from local Malaysian cloud providers, be it software-as-a-service (SaaS) or infrastructure-as-a-service (IaaS) cloud models.

Taiwan Excellence Pavilion Returns

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Taiwan Excellence Pavilion Returns

Following the success of its first Malaysian pavilion in July earlier this year, the Taiwan Excellence Pavilion is back with its second edition at IOI City Mall, Putrajaya from 10 to 12 November 2017. Showcasing Taiwan’s most innovative products with a focus on ICT products and the home and living sector, visitors of the pavilion will be able to experience some of the latest breakthroughs in lifestyle design and functionality.

From gaming laptops and smart devices to exercise equipment and home appliances, all the products bear the Taiwan Excellence stamp, featuring brands like ASUS, MSI, Acer, ThermalTake, Step2Gold, FECA and more.

Additionally, the Taiwan Excellence Pavilion seeks to promote Taiwan’s culture of technological innovation and cutting-edge design, while strengthening bilateral trade and economic relations between Taiwan and Malaysia.

 

Image: ITP.net

Budget 2018 Wishlist: Helping Future Homeowners

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Budget 2018 Wishlist: Helping Future Homeowners

Despite Malaysia’s property market stabilising in 2017 as consumer sentiments improve and prices showing a gradual uptrend, unaffordability remains at the heart of the matter, which continues to impact Malaysians in a profound way.

83% believe that properties are overpriced, 46% feels that interest rates are too high, while 43% mentioned dipping into their Employee Provident Fund (EPF) savings to purchase property (5% increase from last year), and 69% expressed concern over the economy.

In addressing these and other concerns towards the ultimate aim of promoting home affordability and ownership, PropertyGuru Malaysia proposes the following for inclusion in Budget 2018:

  1. Updated guideline/definition for affordable property

    Sheldon Fernandez, Country Manager PropertyGuru Malaysia

A clearer reference point is needed to support plans for new housing supply, especially in key urban areas such as the city centre. The definition should include the price, unit size, location, private sector feedback and other considerations.

  1. Increased plot ratios

This will allow developers to build more units, optimising land use and space. It will reduce the individual cost of each unit, resulting in more affordable homes. Transit Oriented Developments (TOD) should especially be allowed to have increased plot ratios. This will promote home ownership and public transport ridership to reduce traffic congestion.

  1. Revision to Gross Income to Assess Loan Eligibility

By doing this, market transactions will increase significantly. It can also be restricted to special groups of buyers, such as first-time homeowners only.

  1. Relooking interest rates

PropertyGuru recommends a reduction of 0.5-1.0% of interest rates for first-time homeowners buying affordable properties and offer them a special interest rate if they bought affordable properties within a specific price range in transit oriented developments (TOD).

  1. Landlord incentives

In focusing on home ownership, there is a need to focus on short-term solutions, providing more rental housing for Malaysians who cannot afford to buy. PropertyGuru recommends special incentives provided to homeowners who rent to Malaysians on a longer term basis.

Barracuda Survey to Help Customers Rest Easy

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Barracuda Survey to Help Customers Rest Easy

Barracuda Networks, Inc. has released findings of a recent global study, ‘Office 365 Adoption Survey: Drivers, Risks and Opportunities’, with over 1,100 participants ranging from single-person businesses to companies with more than 10,000 employees.

The survey was meant to measure trends around the adoption and use of Microsoft Office 365, including contributing factors for decisions about migration versus remaining with an existing platform. Highlights of the survey includes:

Adoption rates significantly increased

63% of respondents are currently using Office 365, while 49% are planning to move as well, showing an increase of 20% in adoption compared to last year.

James Forbes-May, Vice President of APAC sales for Barracuda

Concerns over threats of not migrating to Office 365

Nearly 44% of the respondents who have not migrated are voicing out concerns when deciding against migrating to Office 365. Nearly 70% of active users reported significant concerns about advanced threats, while those planning to migrate, 76% expressed the same concerns.

Fear of phishing, spear phishing, or social engineering

Although 89% of the respondents expressed concerns over phishing, spear phishing and social engineering, less than 36% said that they’d rather use a third-party solution to help mitigate these threats. Unfortunately, 46% of respondents reported that they have already been targeted by such attacks.

Ransomware is a top concern

More than 92% of respondents are worried about ransomware, while more than 47% reported that they have been a victim to such attacks. Of those victimised, 76% identified that emails were the entry point for the threats.

Most customers opt for layered security

57% of respondents claimed they were augmenting Office 365 deployments with a layered security approach, as well as additional archiving or backup solutions, along with 72% of those who plan to take the same approach.

“These findings indicate the growing security awareness we’re seeing from customers, and the necessity to take a layered approach moving forward. By deploying Barracuda Sentinel and Barracuda Essentials for Office 365, customers are able to move core business processes to the cloud and be confident enough that they are well protected against attacks,” states Forbes-May.

Barracuda Essentials for Office 365 is a multi-layer, cloud-based email security, backup and archiving solution that helps to protect organisations against advanced email-based attacks and data loss, while minimising business disruptions.

On the other hand, Barracuda Sentinel combines three powerful layers including artificial intelligence technology, domain fraud visibility using DMARC authentication and anti-fraud training, into a solution that guards against today’s personalised attacks.

Sports Direct Opens Up Shop in Bukit Bintang

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Sports Direct Opens Up Shop in Bukit Bintang

Sports Direct Malaysia opens its new 5-storey flagship superstore in Bukit Bintang. Sports Direct now currently has 28 stores since making its way into the Malaysian market in 2011.

The launch was officiated by Paul Gibbons, Managing Director of Sports Direct Malaysia and witnessed by H.E. Vicki Treadell CMG MVO, British High Commissioner to Malaysia, Datuk Seri Michael K C Yam, Chairman of InvestKL and Y.A.M. Tunku Tan Sri Imran Ibni Almarhum Tuanku Ja’afar, President of the Olympic Council of Malaysia.

“We have seen a demand for a better quality of life, with an emphasis on health and wellness that has contributed to more and more Malaysians taking up sports. In recent years, Malaysians both young and old, have become interested in group sports activities such as cycling, hiking, running, obstacle courses and general fitness. Being active is no longer a chore, but has evolved into inclusive, communally shared activities that are done with family, friends and even neighbours,” said Paul Gibbons, Managing Director of SportsDirect.com in Malaysia.

Standing (L-R): Datuk Seri Michael Yam, Chairman of Invest KL and Andrew Sill, Chairman of British
Malaysian Chamber of Commerce.
Seated (L-R): Paul Gibbons, Managing Director of Sports Direct Malaysia, H.E. Vicki Treadell, CMG MVO, British High Commissioner to Malaysia and Y.A.M. Tunku Tan Sri Imran Tuanku Ja’afar.

Sports Direct’s big box store model offers a wide selection of global brands in sportswear, footwear and sports equipment. Designed with the same look, feel and flow of the modern UK stores, the store provides the widest and most in-depth range of equipment by brand, technical innovation and value. The stores are zoned by key sports categories:

  • The Boot Room for football
  • SheRunsHeRuns for running
  • Fitness & Fight Zones for fitness, cross training, gym equipment, weights, boxing, martial arts and yoga
  • Racket Centre for badminton, squash and tennis
  • Swim Shop for pool, beach, water sports and activities
  • Field & Trek for outdoor, hiking, trekking and camping
  • The Game Room for table games, darts, table tennis
  • Big Action for bikes and skates
  • Team Sports for basketball and rugby
  • Men Sports Lifestyle
  • Women Sports Lifestyle
  • Kids Sports Lifestyle.

Differing slightly from the other Malaysian outlets, the Bukit Bintang outlet will soon stage fitness classes on the rooftop level, where customers will be able to participate. The classes will kick off with Workout Day, organised in conjunction with National Sports Month, between 21–29 October 2017.

As part of Sports Direct’s further commitment towards investing in people and community, the company is also working to provide employment opportunities for those who are differently-abled. Gibbons explains that the company is “moving towards a more inclusive and diverse working culture, to remove barriers and perceptions, harnessing the value and talent that differently-abled people have to offer.”

Sports Direct is a popular sports shopping destination in the UK and Europe with over 760 stores and a global annual sales revenue of 3.2 billion pounds (RM18 billion). Malaysia is the company’s first expansion into Southeast Asia, partnering with Malaysian owned MST Golf Group of Companies. Sports Direct is also available online at Lazada, with plans to launch SportsDirect.com proprietary e-commerce site. The company aims to continue growth in Southeast Asia using Malaysia as the regional hub.

Manulife Malaysia Takes Home HR Best Companies to Work for in Asia 2017

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Manulife Malaysia Takes Home HR Best Companies to Work for in Asia 2017

Manulife Insurance Berhad is named for the 3rd consecutive year as one of the best Companies to Work for in Asia 2017 (Malaysia Chapter) standing out amongst 45 other competitors. This is another proud achievement in the company’s bid to drive employment growth and development in the company which would be useful for both attracting and retaining talented employees.

The HR Best Companies to Work for in Asia 2017 was organised by the Business Media International. The award recognises best practices to help set standards and raise bar for employee engagement and workplace excellence in Asia. It acknowledges dynamic, mobile HR professionals who take leadership at strategic levels, beyond the traditional confines of human resource management functions.

Manulife team on stage during the award presentation.

Chief Executive Officer of Manulife Insurance Berhad, Mark O’Dell said, “HR is the backbone of any company which oversees the development of our employees, fundamental to the growth of the organization as a whole. Winning the award, three years in a row is a proud achievement and we hope to continuously enhance our systems and practices for the overall wellbeing and development of our people. Well done, Manulife Malaysia!”

Karen Yap, Chief Human Resource Officer of Manulife Malaysia commented, “Employee engagement is a workplace approach that provides the opportunity to all members of the organization to give their best each day. With the right practice, we are able to build a culture that would continuously encourage employees to be committed to the organization’s goals and values.”

The award ceremony also recognises the success of other businesses including Coca-cola Bottlers (Malaysia) Sdn. Bhd., Media Prima Berhad, RHB Banking Group, Swarowski, Telekom Malaysia Berhad, British American Tobacco, DHL, Tech Mahindra, UMW Corporation, Puma, Kimberly Clark, Johnson Matthey, Glaxo Smith Cline and Top Glove Sdn. Bhd.

SAP looking forward to more Digital Economy initiatives in Budget 2018

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SAP looking forward to more Digital Economy initiatives in Budget 2018

Over the past years, Malaysia has been driving headlong on its journey towards becoming a high-income knowledge-based economy. Accordingly, policies implemented in previous budgets have seen the ICT industry as a whole taking incremental steps towards a unified vision of achieving a fully connected digital economy.

The Digital Economy already contributes more than 18% of Malaysia’s GDP currently.

SAP Malaysia is keenly looking forward to more policies that would further catalyse the Digital Economy when Budget 2018 is announced this Friday.

“The Government’s commitment to digital adoption has positively impacted industries and rakyat,” said SAP Malaysia managing director Terrence Yong.

“Its initiatives, particularly in the areas of eCommerce, talent development and rakyat programmes such as eRezeki and eUsahawan have proven to be great successes for Malaysia,” said Yong, who is looking forward to continuation of such initiatives.

“The establishment of the Digital Free Trade Zone (DFTZ) is also visionary and encourages local companies to market their products beyond Malaysian shores. Hopefully, Budget 2018 will have additional components to help DFTZ grow more rapidly before maturing with a holistic ecosystem,” he added.

Inspiring the digital generation to drive sustainable social outcomes through data and analytics

Yong also said that, although there is now greater awareness of Big Data and Data & Analytics in business, there must be greater emphasis on how crucial those areas are in a strategic sense – not only for companies, but to also further sustainable social outcomes, especially amongst today’s digital generation.

“SAP’s believes that social, environmental, and economic activities and performance are interrelated,” said Yong.

“When customers use SAP solutions to become more transparent, improve energy efficiency, protect workers from accidents, or address risks in their supply chain; they turn sustainability into concrete actions that benefit workers, communities, the environment, and people throughout the world.

“Our efforts focus on creating a sustainable future for SAP, our customers, and society,” said Yong.

“SAP’s sustainability commitment is based on the belief that social, environmental, and economic activities and performance are interrelated – each creating tangible impacts on the others. Our efforts focus on creating a sustainable future for SAP, our customers, and society,” said Yong.

“From the corporate perspective, SAP is committed to making local enterprises more sustainable,” added Yong, citing the case of Cenviro, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Khazanah Nasional, which is digitising its operations with the aim of becoming a regional champion in delivering environmental solutions.

Cenviro is deploying multiple SAP solutions to facilitate business process simplification and improve decision making. The first phase includes an industry specific utilities solution called “SAP Suite on S/4 HANA with IS-U for Waste Management” which incorporates best practices for waste management within an integrated system.

“SAP S/4HANA is the digital core that integrates technologies such as the Internet of Things (IoT), Big Data, real-time analytics, mobile, business networks, third-party systems, and more,” said Yong.

SAP has been in Malaysia for 25 years and is at the forefront of 25 various industries throughout the world.

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