Succession Planning OR Business Continuity Managment



A friend of mine was sharing with me that he is still searching for his successor. Having said that for at least a year or more, I was surprised that he is still not able to identify that someone.

I asked "why did it take so long, when he was voicing, with urgency, all the while, the need for a successor". The answer was " he was busy as he was wearing many different hats in his Company". Business is growing at accelerated pace and relevant resource is lacking.

Thus, he was greatly concerned that should any mishap happened to him, there would no one who would understand or continue to drive his business.

Thus, I said to him, was that "what he should have is not succession planning, at this stage,  BUT, "Business Continuity Management (BCM)" program in place."

Succession planning is essential, not only at the top level, eg the CEO, but also at all senior management level. Human talent must always be identified, trained and retained for organisation development and growth.

Business Continuity Management (BCM) is about, management of an Organisation when disaster strikes as a result of either natural (death of a CEO or a curfew imposed because of an earthquake, tsunami or disease eg Ebola etc) or other causes (riot, fire etc) .

BCM will then "kicks in" with "the level (grade) of response", "who should take charge", "who should be contacted in terms of priority", "how would the business be managed, how should the Company respond, who should communicate to the public and staff on the situation of the Company etc etc etc"

Thus, a responsible Organisation should have a BCM in place to manage disaster and to add "human value" and "order" in disaster management. The Organisation would definitely recover from speedily and maintain its integrity and image to the public and staff.

/12-09-2014

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IHH: Acquiring Singapore’s Radlink



IHH Healthcare Bhd is acquiring Radlink-Asia Pte Ltd from Fortis Healthcare Singapore Pte Ltd for RM346.5mil.

The company said its indirect wholly-owned subsidiary Medi-Rad Associates Ltd had entered into an agreement with Fortis Healthcare to acquire 100% equity interest in Radlink.

“The purchase consideration is subject to transactional adjustments which will only be determined upon completion of the proposed acquisition. The completion of the proposed acquisition is subject to satisfaction of certain conditions precedent, which include the Competition Commission of Singapore making a favourable decision in respect of the deal,” it said in a filing with Bursa Malaysia yesterday.
Radlink is an investment holding company and its principal activity (through its subsidiaries) is the provision of healthcare services including the provision of outpatient diagnostic and molecular imaging services in Singapore.

The proposed acquisition is not expected to have any material effect on the earnings or net assets of the IHH group for the current financial year ending Dec 31.

IHH is the second largest hospital group in the world. It operates 37 hospitals with a combined capacity of more than 6,000 beds, employing more than 25,000 people.

It is on a roll to expand its presence in high-growth markets including India, China, ASEAN and the Middle East.

And with its Turkish partnership through Acibadem Holding, IHH is also eyeing to tap into central eastern Europe, central Asia and north Africa.

/theSTAR 13-09-2014


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Columbia Asia: 3 new hospitals in Malaysia by 2018



Columbia Asia, one of the largest healthcare providers in Southeast Asia and India, will be opening three new hospitals in Malaysia by 2018.

The new hospitals are part of the company's US$150 million (RM479.7 million) investment to expand its network to 34 hospitals and one clinic in four years.

The Columbia Asia hospital system, headquartered in Kuala Lumpur, currently has five hospitals in the country with a sixth to open in 2016 and a seventh to open in 2017.
 
The company currently has more than 8,000 employees serving more than two million patients a year in 26 hospitals and one clinic in Malaysia, India, Indonesia and Vietnam.

Columbia Asia opened four new hospitals in the last few months namely in the Indonesian capital of Jakarta, in the Indonesian city of Semarang and in Bangalore and Ahmedabad, India.

In the next four years, the company said it will open eight more hospitals, three in Malaysia, three in India and two in Indonesia.

"No other healthcare provider in Asia has hospitals in as many countries operating under a single brand. Our goal is to continue to ensure all patients leave our hospitals cared for medically as well as feeling satisfied, respected and comforted," according to the newly appointed CEO of the brand's Asian network, John Northen.

Columbia Asia said its strategy was to create clusters of hospitals in large urban areas which allows the group to achieve operational and brand leverage across the market in each large city.

/theSUN 11-09-2014

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U.S. corporate sector supports Malaysia's membership in TPP



A high-profile delegation of 17 U.S. corporations which visited Malaysia on Sept 8-10, led by the Washington-based US-ASEAN Business Council (USABC), has expressed support for Malaysia's membership in the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP).

The USABC promotes business and economic ties between the U.S. and ASEAN member states.

The USABC delegation was headed by Alexander Feldman, its president/CEO, and Kevin Walsh, the chief technology officer of the Council's Malaysia Committee.

"The U.S. corporate sector supports Malaysia's participation in the TPP and has praised Malaysia's leadership in bringing about the formation of the AEC and the development of a post-2015 agenda to further strengthen the ASEAN economies and to support local small and medium enterprises (SMEs)," Feldman said.

The delegation, which met leading Malaysian politicians including Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, discussed a number of issues of interest to the U.S. corporate sector, including the economic reform process in Malaysia and its role in 2015 as the chair of the ASEAN group which will be upstaged to the next level of economic integration with the impending creation of the ASEAN Economic Community.

This new integrated community has been generating a great deal of interest in the U.S. industry and businesses which are eyeing the 600 million-strong consumer market.

"The U.S. has for a long time been the largest investor in Malaysia with nearly US$14 billion in foreign direct investment in 2013.

"Malaysia's participation in the TPP and the successful completion of the AEC will only increase the strength of the US-Malaysian bilateral trade relationship, and support the success of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib's efforts to help Malaysia achieve developed nation status by 2020," Feldman said.
 
The USABC delegation also showed interest in developing human capital in areas such as engineering, science and information technology that are crucial for Malaysia's global competitiveness.
 
The delegation also called for the free flow of data so that Malaysia could maintain and strengthen its appeal as an IT hub, and remain attractive as a FDI (foreign direct investment) destination.

The delegation discerned that Malaysia is working closely with the private sector. Its reading is that the Malaysian government sees value in fostering public-private partnerships in order to achieve its development goals and to make the most of its chairmanship of ASEAN in 2015.
 
The Malaysian government is expected to continue to advocate policies that will enable the country to remain globally competitive, and remains confident that the final agreement will be a win-win result.

While excited about the opportunities that would open up with the creation of the 600 million-strong consumer market of the AEC, U.S. corporations hope that they will eventually be able to tap into the single market where goods, services, investments, capital and skilled labour are able to move freely throughout the region.

"A single market and harmonisation of regulations will make investments in ASEAN far more attractive and the Council is eager to support Malaysia's leadership in the AEC. 

The USABC says it is also keen to attract greater investment flow from Malaysia, adding it is committed to promoting greater two-way trade between the U.S. and Southeast Asia.
 
One initiative the USABC has been involved in is training of local Malaysian SMEs through the US-ASEAN Business Alliance for Competitive SMEs, a joint programme of USAID and the Council.

"The event has already held one training in Kuala Lumpur and looks to do more in the future," the spokesperson said.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, U.S.-Malaysia two-way trade amounted to nearly US$24 billion in the first seven months of 2014, with Malaysia's exports to the U.S. amounting to $16.541 billion and imports from the U.S. touching US$7.362 billion.

/Bernama 14-09-2014


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Very Busy BUT Very Happy



I said to myself, I must remember to write about this simple phrase "Vey busy BUT very happy".

Many a time, I have met people who would be so busy that they would not be happy. They would be complaining or mumbling about "too much work", "not enough time", "no one helping" ... and ... sigh, sigh, sigh ...

However, I was pleasantly surprised when I was having lunch in my usual eatery, when this guy, who is a cook and boss in the "café", passing me by, and after my short compliment of him having cooked a nice meal, replied "Very busy BUT very happy".

Having said that, he followed with a wide grin across his face, ear-to-ear. I could sense his sincerity and heartfelt appreciation for the large crowd who frequents his eatery.

The demands for his food are good and thus he has to catch up with the demands, and ensuring food quality at the same time. Thus, he is always busy the moment his eatery "opens" for the day.

I reflected on some of the eateries that I had visited and associate with some of the bosses, who behaved differently, without humility, when their business had prospered.

This guy, who is also the boss, who said "Very busy BUT very happy" was still on the floor and "doing the work" himself. He is still filled with humility and enjoying his work and customers as well.

I believe his love and passion in exceeding his customers' satisfaction for his food and services drive him to excel and be happy despite being busy.

Food for thought: "how many of us can be like him, when we are busy or over worked in order to achieve customer satisfaction?"

/12-09-2014

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Abbott: To invest RM192mil in cataract lens plant in Malaysia



Abbott, one of the world's leading healthcare companies, is investing US$60mil (RM192mil) to build a facility at the Kulim Hi-Tech Park (KHTP) to manufacture intraocular lens (IOLs) used to treat cataracts.

Diane Beno, Abbot Medical Optics divisional vice president of global operations, said the facility marked the first manufacturing investment in Malaysia to broaden the group's presence globally.

She said the plant was expected to begin operations in 2015, with the first product available in the second half of 2016.

The facility will supply the global IOLs market. An intraocular lens is implanted in the eye after the removal of natural lens that has become clouded by a cataract.

About 22.7 million cataract surgeries were forecast to be performed worldwide this year, and the number was expected to grow to 27.1 million by 2019.

"The facility will provide high-quality, dependable products, helping people maintain active, healthy lifestyles with clearer vision after cataract surgery," she said.

Upon completion, Beno said, the facility was expected to employ some 500 workers in Malaysia. It was also projected to play a key role in providing innovative solutions to physicians treating cataract patients globally.

"Absolutely, we can see the growing trend for IOLs. To support this growth, Abbott needs this new facility, and the land covering 8.64ha will provide the needs for the short- and long-term," she said.

The same technology used currently to produce Abbott's IOLs would also be employed at the new state-of-the-art facility in Malaysia, ensuring a level of quality equivalent to the IOLs manufactured at its other manufacturing plants in Anasco, Puerto Rico and Groningen, The Netherlands.

Abbott serves people in more than 150 countries and employs some 69,000 workers.

/Bernama 10-09-2014


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Rubber Gloves: Call for More innovation



The Deputy Prime Minister, YB Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, lauded the local rubber industry for managing to capture more than 50% of the global export market, has called for more innovation in business processes and operations to promote further productivity improvements.

Productivity per worker in the sector has increased from 500,000 per year in 1998 compared to 2.6 million gloves per year in 2014.

Concurrent with the increase in productivity, export earnings per worker has also increased from RM51,000 per year in 1993 to RM265,000 per year in 2013.

The industry in 2014 is on track to provide employment to more than 41,000 workers," he added, when addressing the 7th International Rubber Glove Conference and Exhibition (IRGCE) here at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre yesterday.

The Malaysian rubber industry accounted for 54% of the global export value of US$6.2 billion (RM19.6 billion).

In 2013 Malaysia exported a total of US$4.53 billion worth of rubber products, with rubber gloves making up US$3.3 billion. These gloves are exported to more than 190 countries.

"In this regard, total export earnings of the industry had grew by a significant 282% from US$1.04 billion (RM3.33 billion) in 2002," he said, adding that the glove exports from Malaysia accounts for close to 80% of the total export earnings of the rubber product sector.

 /theSUN 03-09-2014


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BP Healthcare: Plans US$ 157 mio IPO through SPAC, said sources



Directors of BP Healthcare, a diagnostics-to-laboratory medical group, plan to raise up to RM500 million (US$157 million) through a special purpose acquisition vehicle (SPAC) listing next year, according to two sources with direct knowledge of the deal.

A SPAC is a shell company with no assets. It is set up with the intention of buying firms, usually within 2-3 years of listing, that will later be folded into the business.

The healthcare SPAC will use funds from the IPO to buy medical businesses, the sources said.

"They are planning to file the IPO application next month" one of the sources said, declining to be identified as the matter had not been officially announced.

The planned listing comes as healthcare spending in Southeast Asia is expected to climb, driven by growing and ageing populations as well as higher incomes.

The number of people over 65 in Southeast Asia is forecast to reach 36 million by 2020 from 25 million in 2010, according to analysts.

Unlisted BP Healthcare is Southeast Asia's largest medical diagnostic chain, with some 50 diagnostic centres, according to its official website.

/theSUN 03-09-2014


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Malaysia: Among 20 most Competitive Economies



Malaysia is ranked among 20 most competitive economies globally, up from the 24th position a year ago, underpinned by improved perception-based indicators related to safety and security as well as corruption.

The Ministry of International Trade and Industry said in a statement yesterday that Malaysia remains the highest ranked among developing Asian economies and is ranked the second most competitive economy among the 24 countries that the the World Economic Forum (WEF) categorises in the transition stage from an efficiency-driven to innovation stage of development.

According to the Global Competitiveness Report 2014-2015 of WEF, Malaysia is even ahead of developed nations such as Austria, Australia, France, Ireland and South Korea.

Among the Asia Pacific region, meanwhile, Malaysia just came in after Singapore, Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan and New Zealand.

The rankings are based on the global competitiveness index which integrates both macro and micro economic aspects of competitiveness.

Malaysia stands out as one of the very few countries that have been relatively successful at tackling the issues of corruption and red tape as part of its government and economic transformation programs.

Malaysia ranks an impressive 4th for the ease of government regulation, and a satisfactory 26th in the ethics and corruption component of the index.

The country also ranks 11th for the quality of its transport infrastructure, reflecting a marked improvement in infrastructure and connectivity which bodes well towards achieving developed status by 2020

/theSUN 04-09-2014



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