"SPO"



Someone shared with me recently 3 alphabets to remember in order to enhance the success of a Project. He said: Just remember "SPO".

So what is "SPO"?

"S" stands for "Structure"
 
"P" stands for "Processes"
 
"O" stands for "Outcome".

Thus, in brief, the "Outcome" or "Output" of an activity, will be determined by the type and availability of "structure" in place and the "processes" employed ie

STRUCTURE + PROCESSES = OUTCOME

In expecting a defined  "OUTCOME", an organization must have  the relevant  structure, intelligent and effective processes, embedding a positive culture in which they work.

It is useful to remember consciously "SPO" when you embark on a Project!

Also remember to "Begin with the End in mind".

 
/09-06-2014



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Caring Pharmacy: Plans more stores



Caring Pharmacy Group Bhd, the third largest pharmacy chain in Malaysia by outlets with a 4% market share, aims to open more stores in suburban areas where competition is less intense, according to analysts.

It was targeting between 12 and 15 new outlets per year over the next two to five years from 99 currently, BIMB Securities Research said in a note to investors yesterday.

The group has already made inroads into Shah Alam, Ampang, Setapak, Segambut and others. Its stronghold remains in the Klang Valley, which makes up 75% of its total store count.

Caring Pharmacy currently has presence in urban middle class neighbourhoods such as Subang Jaya, Damansara, Mont Kiara and Bangsar.



The brokerage has a “neutral” call on Caring Pharmacy with a target price of RM2.26, based on a multiple of 18 times its forecast 2015 earnings per share of 14 sen. The stock last closed at RM2.20, up one sen, with 184,100 shares done. It has gained 11.68% for the year

The research outfit is projecting that Caring Pharmacy will post net earnings of RM234mil in its 2014 financial year (FY14) and RM27.3mil in FY15, led by its extended store network and organic growth in sales of pharmaceutical products.

Caring Pharmacy aims to be the only community pharmacy chain providing full-time registered pharmacists at all outlets. Its closest rivals, Guardian and Watson, only had pharmacists in selected outlets, the brokerage said.

In its latest quarter, Caring Pharmacy opened five new outlets, comprising two in shopping complexes, one high street store and two specialised retail outlets.

Of its 99 stores, only 32 are 100%-owned while the rest are under its “Caring Venture Scheme” – a joint-venture agreement which enlists pharmacists as branch managers to be part of Caring community pharmacies and become shareholders of the branch.

Caring Pharmacy’s sales of pharmaceutical products accounted for some 60% of its revenue, and the remaining 30% and 10% came from ethical medicine and over the counter drugs, respectively.

The research firm added that although the impending goods and services tax, which comes into effect next April, would soften demand, healthcare products generally enjoy inelastic demand, which means pharmacies should see minimal impact from the new tax regime.

Caring Pharmacy posted net profit of RM6.62mil in the 3Q ended Feb 28 and RM13.84mil in the nine-month period.

/theSTAR 20-06-2014


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KPJ Healthcare: To invest RM1b in 7 to 8 new hospitals



KPJ Healthcare is looking to add 7 to 8 more new hospitals to its stable in the next five years.

President and managing director Amiruddin Abdul Satar said the new hospitals would be in states such as Perlis, Pahang, Sarawak, Malacca, Johor, Perak and the Klang Valley.

From its existing base of 25 hospitals, this would mean that in five years’ time, KPJ could have around 33 hospitals.

Amiruddin said that the expansion could cost a total of RM1bil. “For some, we have yet to call for a tender, so I can’t give a figure for sure, but it is about RM100mil per project,” he told the press after a luncheon meeting hosted by MIDF Investment and MIDF Research.
 
Meanwhile, he said that KPJ could spend about RM100mil per year in capital expenditure. “Spending about RM100mil per year is common for us, both in buying equipment and paying for progress of instruction for new hospitals,” said Amiruddin.

KPJ most recently opened its 25th Hospital ie the RM130mil 160 beds KPJ Rawang Specialist Hospital two months ago.  .

On July 1, KPJ will be opening another specialist hospital in Muar, Johor.

KPJ Rawang is the first hospital fully equipped with and utilising the cloud-based system, where all clinical information, medical reports and documents are cloud-based in KPJ’s server in Kuala Lumpur.

It was reported earlier that the group would be looking to migrate there to four hospitals onto the cloud-based system every year.

“We have introduced cloud systems in three of our hospitals. When we opened these three new hospitals, basically we spend very little on site but we link it to our server in KL,” he said yesterday.

KPJ Healthcare Bhd shares on Bursa Malaysia rose this morning after the company announced its development plan yesterday.

As at 11.00 am, the counter was up one sen at RM3.28 after opening flat at RM3.27 with 263,500 shares transacted.

/Bernama/theSTAR 20-06-2014


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Top Glove: China operation to turn around in Q4



Top Glove Corp Bhd, which saw 3Q net profit grow 5.2%, is confident its operations in China will turn around in the 4Q following its move to consolidate operations said its chairman Tan Sri Lim Wee Chai.

Yesterday Top Glove announced the disposal of one of its Chinese subsidiary Top Glove (Zhangjiagang) Co Ltd for RMB42 million (RM22 million) as part of this effort.

Lim said as the disposal gain of over RM2 million will be recognised in the 4Q results, and it expects to continue to benefit from lower raw material prices from natural rubber gloves, the group could improve its results in the current financial performance.
 
"We hope bottom line for this financial year will be close to last financial year," he told a conference call session yesterday.

Top Glove's net profit for the 3Q ended May 31, 2014 rose 5.2% to RM42.37 million thanks to growth in sales volume, but went down 9.37% for the nine-month period to RM134.20 million, mainly due to lower average selling prices.

Revenue also declined 4.98% and 3.90% to RM574 million and RM1.70 billion for the third quarter and nine-month, respectively.

Lim pointed out that Top Glove has started to increase average selling price by US$0.50 per carton of 1000 pieces, in line with the electricity and natural gas tariff hikes, which have added on another RM2 million in costs per annum.

However, he said it's not easier for the group to pass on additional costs for nitrile gloves as compared with natural rubber gloves as its margin is higher.

 "Whether we can fully pass on the costs, it still depends on supply and demand in the market," he added.

On production capacity expansion, Top Glove expects the second phase of Lukut plant and the new plant in Klang that are targeted for operational by middle of next year, will add another 3.2 billion pieces.

The group has allocated RM180 million to RM200 million capital expenditure (capex) for FY15 for its expansion plans. It had spent RM190 million for nine months in FY14.

As at May 31, Europe remained the largest export market for Top Glove, at 33%, followed by North America and Latin America with 29% and 18%.

Lim stressed that Malaysian glove manufacturers are still strong by capturing 55% of world market share despite the higher level of competitiveness in the global glove market.

/theSUN 18-06-2014


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3Cs: What is it?



Someone asked me "What is the 3Cs that the Speaker was talking about?".

This person participated in a Workshop, together with me, on a "Project A". This Project requires a well thought through Plan and coordination for implementation.

The Project encompasses national, inter-state and individual interests. This Project, if successful, would transform the eco-system of the medical and pharmaceutical trade practices.

Thus, there is almost no-room for miscalculation or error in the planning and launch of this Project.

There must also be a quick and realistic back-up plan in the event of failure during launch. It cannot afford to fail, even the first time, as there would not be an opportunity to re-launch the Project a second time!

Thus the Speaker cautioned with some practical advices including the 3Cs viz: Coordination, Communication and Commitment.

Thus there MUST be a strong authoritative coordinating body and leadership to plan, develop, organise, monitor and control the Project with all interested parties and stakeholders of the Industry.

The Project Plan, once agreed upon, MUST be well communicated, through relevant and effective media, within an agreed window time frame, to all parties/stakeholders concerned with implementation, monitoring and control mechanisms in place.

Thirdly, all parties MUST be committed to execute their respective responsibilities as per defined in the Plan.

Statistic tells us that most Projects failed because of poor or lack of execution or implementation.

Thus it is important, simplistically, that the 3Cs must be understood and practised unconditionally.

/19-06-2014
 

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EIU: Malaysia - 19th Best Country to do business in



Malaysia has been ranked among the top 20 investor-friendly countries for the period between 2014 and 2018, according to The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU)’s latest Business Environment Rankings (BER).
The report, released in May, ranked Malaysia 19th out of 82 countries as the best places to do business in.
Malaysia came in ahead of countries like the United Kingdom, France, South Korea, and Japan, showing an improvement of five places after ranking 24th for the 2009-2013 period.
The country’s regional ranking was unchanged at sixth place, out of 17 countries measured.
“The business rankings model measures the quality or attractiveness of the business environment in the 82 countries covered by The Economist Intelligence Unit’s Country Forecast reports."
“It is designed to reflect the main criteria used by companies to formulate their global business strategies, and is based not only on historical conditions but also on expectations about conditions prevailing over the next five years,” the EIU said in the report.
It said: "Market opportunities in Malaysia would improve, in large part due to the Government’s efforts to raise private sector investment levels."
“The higher global ranking is an indication that the Government’s reforms will overcome many of the structural and political impediments to its ambitious plans to transform the country into a middle-income nation."
“However, Malaysia’s unchanged regional position indicates that it faces strong competition in its own backyard,” the report added.
Singapore retained its No. 1 spot from the 2009-2013 period, and is expected to continue remaining a popular destination for investors over the next five years.

/PEMANDU 17-06-2014
 


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Kuala Lumpur Hotels: 5th Cheapest in the World



Kuala Lumpur has some of the most reasonable first-class (4/4.5-star) hotel room rates in the world, an international travel study concluded.

Malaysia’s capital, according to TripAdvisor’s Tripindex Room Ser­vice 2014, came in fifth out of 48 countries in terms of combined room service item prices and room rates (RM437.85).

In terms of room rates, hotels in KL came in sixth cheapest worldwide, with prices at about RM334.58

When it came to room service items, KL hotels fell outside the top ten affordable destinations, with a basket of items costing RM103.27


The items were divided as: a club sandwich (RM35.01), bottle of water (RM11.21), can of Coca-Cola (RM10.18), a mini bottle of vodka (RM18.93), packet of peanuts (RM9.54) and one dry-cleaned shirt (RM18.40)

First-class hotels in Jakarta were ranked as having the cheapest combined rates at RM390.92, while New York City’s were the most expensive at RM1,421.90

When it came to room service items, hotels in Tunis, Tunisia, were the cheapest with a basket of items costing RM60.65

The very same items in Finland’s Helsinki hotels cost RM293.07

Singapore saw its room service items priced at RM205.35, with com­bined rates at RM875.54; twice Malaysia’s hotel prices.

/theSTAR 27-03-2014


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Kuala Lumpur: 8th Most Affordable City to Visit



Kuala Lumpur has been recognised as the eighth most affordable destination in the world for a city break.

TripAdvisor’s TripIndex revealed that an average of RM636.88 for an evening out and overnight stay in a four-star hotel for two in Kuala Lumpur had placed Malaysia’s capital among the top 10 in the Tripadvisor annual cost comparison.

TripIndex Cities is an independent research firm which helps travellers to see where their money goes the furthest when they plan their vacations.

London, on the other hand, has been named as the most expensive destination in the world with an average cost of RM1,693.05
Hanoi took the top spot this year as the best value destination, knocking over Sofia of Bulgaria from the previous year.

Asian cities like Hanoi, Jakarta, Bangkok, Mumbai and Kuala Lumpur top the best value list.

/Bernama 13-06-2014


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IHH: Boosting Overseas Presence



IHH Healthcare Bhd says the group is considering a bid for Australia’s Healthscope Ltd. 

IHH, Asia’s largest hospital operator seeks to expand its presence overseas and boost current bed capacity to 9,000 beds by 2017.
 
“Something like Healthscope, obviously we have looked at,’’ IHH’s corporate services executive director Ahmad Shahizam Mohd Shariff told reporters at the Invest Malaysia 2014 conference yesterday. “But whether we will actually seriously consider it depends on whether it fits with our strategy. The price has to be right and make sense for the business that we run.”

IHH had been linked to a possible bid for Healthscope, which owns 44 private hospitals in Australia and pathology operations in Australia, Singapore, Malaysia and New Zealand.
A Reuters report earlier this month said Healthscope’s owners – private equity giants TPG Capital Management LP and Carlyle Group – would decide by as early as this month to sell the company or list it on the stock exchange.

Shahizam said Healthscope’s business model was different to what IHH is currently doing.

“We don’t have as strong an ability to drive the business (in Australia) the way we do in emerging markets,” he said.

IHH currently runs 37 hospitals in Malaysia, Singapore and Turkey with a combined capacity of around 6,000 beds.

Shahizam said IHH was actively looking into expanding its presence in markets such as China, India, South-East Asia and Turkey. It currently has a hospital and a chain of clinics in China.

On the looming implementation of the 6% Goods and Services Tax (GST) on April 1, 2015, Shahizam said it might bring hospital charges up correspondingly as the industry would have to pass the costs through.

He said that because of the way healthcare services were classified under the GST framework, IHH would have to pay GST to its suppliers but could not reflect this in its patient bills because it was GST-exempt.

“This will potentially result in higher hospital bills because it has to be passed through somewhere,” he said, stressing the need to review how private healthcare services were classified under the framework.
/theSTAR 11-06-2014
 

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Glove Maker: Supermax - Distribution Channels



Medical gloves manufacturer, Supermax Corp Bhd, plans to set up official distribution channels in China, India and the United Arab Emirates, in a move to expand its own brand business.

The company is currently distributing its own-brand gloves via domestic partners in these markets, but aims to have its own channels to tap the growing potential, said Executive Chairman and Group Managing Director Datuk Seri Stanley Thai.

He refused to say when the plans would materialise.

The move would complement its current six distribution centres in Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, Belgium and Brazil, he told reporters on the sidelines of Invest Malaysia 2014 here Tuesday.

Currently, North America constitutes 40% of Supermax's total revenue followed by Europe with 26% and South America at 15%

Asia accounted for only 8% with Africa and the Middle East taking up a combined 7%.

By gearing up to expand its own brand business, which contributes 70% to its total revenue and offers a higher margin, Supermax expected this to offset the lower margin in its original equipment manufacturing (OEM) business.

The company sees its OEM business to take a hit in the first quarter of this year in the wake of rising business costs locally and competition from Thailand and China.

Supermax has earmarked a capital expenditure of RM65.5 million for this year and a total of RM164.5 million for 2015 and 2016.
/Bernama:10-06-2014


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Malaysia's GDP sets to grow: PM



Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak had expressed optimism that Malaysia's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) would grow strongly.

"Insya-Allah, M'sia's GDP growth looks set to grow strongly," he said in his Twitter account today, adding the United States and Europe's recovery helped grow Malaysia's exports by 18.9 per cent.

In his posting, the Prime Minister referred to a Bernama report yesterday titled 'Malaysia's Economic Outlook For 2014 Remains Strong, Says World Bank'.

Bernama quoted World Bank Senior Economist for Malaysia Dr Frederico Gil Sander as saying that Malaysia's economic growth outlook for 2014 remains strong, underpinned by strong external demand.

Sander said improvements in exports since end-2013 had continued into the first quarter of this year, following positive developments in the advanced economies.

"A lot of Malaysia's (exports) still come from the advanced economies."

"The fact that these economies are doing well amid positive developments in the United States and Europe over the last two months, tends to help the external sector and drive growth for the year," he told reporters on the sidelines of the Invest Malaysia 2014 yesterday.

In April 2014, exports rebounded strongly by 18.9 per cent, suggesting a very strong GDP growth ahead.

Malaysia's GDP expanded by 6.2 per cent in the first quarter of 2014 over the same quarter of the previous year. The GDP growth is expected to end the year at between 4.5 and 5 per cent.

/Bernama 10-06-2014

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Glove Maker: Supermax to maintain base in Malaysia



Medical gloves manufacturer Supermax Corp Bhd said it would maintain its base in Malaysia despite the rising challenges in operating business here.

“We are here to stay and will not move out our production facilities (from Malaysia),” said Executive Chairman and Group Managing Director Datuk Seri Stanley Thai.

This is despite the fact that it is bracing for a lower margin amid cut-throat competition from rivals in Thailand and China, as well as rising costs of doing business locally.

Despite still retaining leadership in the industry, Malaysian gloves makers lost 4-5 per cent market share to their peers in Thailand and China in terms of exports to the United States in the first quarter of 2014.

Oneof the reasons for the market share loss was due to market players, including Supermax, which chose to pass on the higher business costs to the customers.

That came in the wake of the scrapping of fuel subsidy, the implementation of minimum wage, as well as adjustments in electricity tariffs earlier in the year.

Malaysia also lost the generalised system preference (GSP) for duty-free status for imports to Europe and are now dutiable of about 2.7% while Thailand, China and Indonesia are still enjoying the GSP programme.

To maintain its global competitiveness, Supermax has to brace for a lower margin of 9-11 per cent going forward, or risk losing its market share to rivals.

“Gone were the days that we have a margin as high as 15-20 per cent,” he said.

To counter the rising costs, manufacturers have embarked on automation processes for production lines and is in the midst of looking for alternative energy sources

/Bernama:10-06-2014
 

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Building Pipeline: Leadership



Are leaders born? Can they be cultivated? Where do we get good leaders?

Great leaders are like rare commodity. They are hard to find. Even if they are found they "do not come cheap".

Thus many Companies have resorted to identify and develop individuals for leadership roles.

Obviously, it must start with the hiring process where the individuals are being identified through a set of assessments.

High Performance Leaders can be cultivated and produced through proper nurturing, growing, training and work exposures. Programs are developed for each individual, at each level, as every level demands different skill sets.

Basic process to build leaders are:

Leadership Assessment: from the existing talent pool within the organisation, potential individual can be assessed through his hard and soft skills which include, but not limited to, work achievements, capability & competency, aptitude and attitude, personality, internal drives, social interactive skills ...

Structured Programs: these are the learning and development Programs crafted for individual and teams.

Accelerated Learning: this is customised program for high potential individual to be quickly "grafted" into an operation for immediate to mid-term business development and growth. The Program content is on internship, with "hands-on day-to-day" job participation, one-to-one mentoring with a senior staff, assigned projects, relevant tailored knowledge and skill trainings ... This Program will normally have a time frame of 9 to 12 months.

In ensuring the success of leadership building, it is important that the total Organisation, is committed and with the right eco-system. This is not only from the Office of the CEO and the HR department but down to each individual in the Organisation. Rewards and Incentives must be tailored to the environment.

There must also be adequate resources allocated, not only monetary but also time, tools, talent, knowledge and skills to support and build strong leadership pipeline.

/10-06-2014


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