The Star Online: Business
The Star Online: Business |
- Philippines’ AirAsia buys into Asiawide Airways
- January exports up 3.5%
- Is your employer talent focused and proud in making you successful?
| Philippines’ AirAsia buys into Asiawide Airways Posted: 11 Mar 2013 06:48 PM PDT PETALING JAYA: Philippines' AirAsia Inc (PAA) has forged a share-swap deal with Filipino businessman Alfredo Yao, a major shareholder of Zest Airways Inc and Asiawide Airways Inc, to tap each other's domestic and international network strength. In the strategic alliance agreement, PAA intends to invest in the Zest Air Group by acquiring a 49% stake in Zest Airways and 100% of Asiawide Airways, and, in turn, Yao will subscribe to shares in PAA. The deal is still subject to various regulatory approvals. To further strengthen this partnership, the shareholders of PAA will infuse funds to augment working capital. PAA CEO Marianne Hontiveros said the strategic alliance between the two local carriers had brought pride and joy to PAA. "I am especially delighted to have Yao as a partner, as he shares a common vision to provide passengers with the best value fare possible which enables them to fly to various destinations." "This proposed investment in the Zest Group will complement the strategies for the future growth of PAA, which currently operates out of Clark," she said in a statement filed with the local exchange yesterday. Hontiveros added that this would allow both airlines to leverage on their respective strengths, which in the case of Zest Air, includes its operations out of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport, which constitutes a majority of the air traffic in the Philippines, and a strong domestic network which feeds into its current international routes. The statement further explained that the investment of PAA in Zest Air also aligned with AirAsia Group's business strategy. The AirAsia Group consists of existing operations in Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, Japan, the Philippines and soon India, altogether making it the largest Asian low-cost carrier, with a combined fleet of 120 aircraft, plus over 350 more on order, and operating over 158 routes spread across 18 countries, of which 56 are unique. AirAsia sees enormous growth potential in the Philippines, especially with a population of over 100 million people across an archipelago of just over 7,000 islands, a landscape conducive for air transportation. Yao said the strategic alliance provided a great opportunity to realise both carriers' common vision to widen the choice of low-cost travel within the Philippines and the region. "The goal in Zest Air is driven by my passion to capitalise on the tourism potential and, hence, our investment to quickly increase our fleet and expand Zest's market share," he said. PAA chairman Antonio "Tonyboy" Cojuangco, meanwhile, was truly excited about the alliance, as it would take both companies to greater heights. "The Philippines aviation market has tremendous upside potential. Bringing these two carriers together would definitely realise this potential," said Cojuangco. AirAsia group CEO Tan Sri Tony Fernandes, when contacted, told StarBiz that he was very happy with the Zest Air deal. "It gives us the scale," he said. An aviation analyst told StarBiz that this Philippines deal should work well for PAA to turn around to profitability, as it would secure some slots from the airport in Manila city as Clark is about two hours from the city. "With this deal, the PAA should break even by next year," he said. Besides the Philippines, RHB Research which has placed a "buy" call on the AirAsia counter in its sector report said AirAsia had received approval from India's Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) on its venture into India. "This will see AirAsia holding a 49% stake as a foreign investor, with its local Indian partner Tata Sons having a 30% stake with the remaining 21% to be owned by Arun Bhatia of Telestra Tradeplace," said the report. The initial investment is about US$14.5mil (RM45.12mil), which is slightly more than the initial paid-up capital investment that AirAsia had put in for its earlier ventures in Japan. Overall, RHB Research said this year would see new challenges, with Malindo's entry set to take a hit on airline yields. "With Malindo set to commence operations on March 22, we see this could ultimately hurt both AirAsia and Malaysia Airlines (MAS), for which routes to both Kota Kinabalu and Kuching account for 15% and 6% of their available seat km respectively. "As Malindo will be competing in the local aviation landscape by offering full services at low-cost pricing, this reminds us of Firefly's debut, which turned out to be loss-making despite churning high loads. "With Malindo operating at a high cost base, its low-fare offering is unlikely to be sustainable over the longer term," said the report. AirAsia remained unchanged at RM2.82 at the close yesterday.
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| Posted: 11 Mar 2013 06:43 PM PDT PETALING JAYA: Higher shipments of electrical and electronic (E&E) as well as refined petroleum products boosted Malaysia's exports in January, according to the Statistics Department. According to data released by the department, exports rose 3.5% year-on-year in January to RM56.99bil while imports surged 16% to RM53.72bil on an increase in capital and intermediate goods imports. Trade data came in above market consensus, with economists expecting a 1.6% median growth for exports and 2.6% median rise for imports. The manufacturing sector's sales value rose 7.4% while December's sales value was revised upwards to 7.5% from 6%. The data showed that electronic integrated circuits, chemicals and chemical products primarily pure xylene, parts and accessories of motor vehicles as well as optical and scientific equipment led shipments in the manufacturing sector. Exports of refined petroleum products jumped 35.4% with mining goods increasing 4.9% to RM13.81bil. However, agricultural goods declined 16.4% to RM5.66bil largely due to lower palm oil and crude rubber exports. Singapore-based Citigroup Inc economist Kit Wei Zheng said in a report that the critical E&E industries were now showing sequential expansion in both industrial production and exports. "With semiconductor sales running ahead of production, manufacturers may have to increase production at some stage to rebuild inventories," he noted. Kit said the surge in intermediate good imports also suggests that export-oriented manufacturers may be preparing to increase production in coming months while the surge in capital goods imports continues to indicate a rebalancing in domestic demand away from consumption towards investments. A separate release by the Statistics Department showed that the industrial production index (IPI) increased 4.6% in January year-on-year, below the median expectations of economists for a 5.6% growth but above the revised 3.5% rise of December. The IPI, which measures factory output, saw gains in all its sub-indices, with electricity jumping 9.8%, manufacturing gaining 4.9% and mining up 2.4%. Meanwhile, Alliance Research chief economist Manokaran Mottain said although the better-than-expected performance of exports came in as a much-needed relief, the question remains on whether this would be a sustainable trend especially in the short-term. "A major worry remains easing demand for commodities, including crude palm oil and rubber. "As we have anticipated earlier, demand from EU the fourth largest exporting destination continued to remain weak (-5.7% in January)," he said. Manokaran expects manufacturing activity and therefore the IPI to remain volatile as global purchasing managers indices slowed to 50.8 in February from 51.5 the previous month due to slower expansion in China and the EU although there was continued improvement in the United States.
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| Is your employer talent focused and proud in making you successful? Posted: 11 Mar 2013 06:38 PM PDT THERE are numerous studies carried out across a variety of industries that have indicated that there is one common element shared by all successful organisations today, which is placing a high value on developing a talent pipeline. All visionary organisations know that as the market becomes more competitive, the prize will go to the organisation that is nimble to evolve with the times and able to consistently provide above the standards service and delivery. The solution obviously is if organisations are able to attract and retain skilful and experienced talent. So, there should be no doubt talent is a critical aspect of business and is no stranger in boardroom discussions. And the most exciting fact for all employees is that we can look forward to knowing that every driven organisation focused on growth has clarity in the manner it designs and executes retention and development initiatives. The key question is what we as employees can expect to see as validation that the organisation we have invested our efforts in, does have the interest of its people at heart. So as employees, what you should look out for as indications of a visionary organisation by its business priorities that respect the power of talented people: Professional hiring process Professionalism You should get a sense of appreciation from the point you receive a call from the representative of the organisation all through the sessions of the interview. The interviewers should be courteous, responsive and helpful. At all times they should demonstrate a respectful disposition throughout your engagement with them. Clarity on the role and expectations: You are given descriptive information on the role and the expectations, with the opportunity to discuss the concerns you may have as well pose questions that you find relevant. Throughout this session, you feel comfortable with the interviewer and your questions are responded. Relevant information on the organisation: You are furnished with more insight into the organisation, information that is not available on the website, pertaining to recognition rewards, development offerings and opportunities within the organisation. You should be able to gauge the amount of emphasis the organisation places on people initiatives during this discussion. Conducive work environment The office environment should observe safety standards and be a comfortable work-space fully furnished with office equipment. The more facilities there are in the office designed for employees, the higher the chances of the organisation focused on employee engagement. Organisational values You may be thinking that it is difficult to identify organisation value as it's not tangible, however values are manifested through a few factors: Leaders that represent the organisation, the people selected demonstrate the character of the organisation by their decisions and choices. Employees hired within the organisation: good organisations hire and nurture individuals that are aligned to their character and values. Customers that the organisation chooses to work with also displays respectful values that align with the organisation. Integrated on-boarding and development programmes Talent-focused organisations pride themselves in making people successful. As the first few weeks of employment are usually a critical time to lay the groundwork for long-term employee engagement, commitment and success, these organisations would implement a thorough new employee training session followed by a well-executed orientation programme. Following the on-boarding are continuous development programmes, designed to upskill employees and ensure that they continue learning and developing. Some organisations invest heftily in programmes that are extensively beneficial such as mentorship, exchange exposure and coaching. Culture of appreciation Look out for engagement initiatives related to recognition and rewards as it would be a part of the organisation DNA. Following suit would be the culture of celebration, which encourages teams in the organisation to appreciate the efforts and contributions of their team-mates. There would be signs of celebrating either big or small wins at every opportunity. Visible growth opportunities You will find obvious intent to grow individuals, open conversations with regards to career aspirations and transparent conversations on career opportunities. There would be reviews on various areas that are positive and negative, but most importantly there would be visible career opportunities and interest in growing you as an employee of the organisation. Engaging human resource team Organisations that believe in talent will be sure to enlist members within HR to execute strategies responsible to "hire for fit, train for skill, develop for retention." The HR team would prove to be valuable advisors to the senior management on relevant proactive initiatives to engage employees while serve as enforcers to ensure that the leaders implement the organisation's people initiatives accordingly. Business leaders that CARE The undeniable fact is that a leader may have the greatest impact on nurturing talent and unleashing the full potential of their employees. It is also stated many a times that at the end of the day, people leave their leaders, not the organisations. If that be true, then employees should pay attention to some of the attributes that exemplify leaders who are part of a people organisation: Effective management style that encourages an open two-way communication and feedback. Availability to discuss issues and offers suggestive options to resolve employee concerns. Vested as an influencer to ensure that employee career aspirations are understood and worked towards. Readily participates with team members on key tasks to accomplish results as a team. Works with teams to identify real issues, conflicts or problems and offers support to remove the barriers. Able to empathise with employees during challenging times. As employees, we spend a considerable amount of hours at work, and it is expected that we find solace in working for organisations that encourage and nurture the people spirit. Employees are deserving of a good place to work; however, we owe it to ourselves to constantly pay attention to the underlying behaviours within the organisation that help us decide if we are a part of an organisation that believes in continuously finding the best people and developing them. Never fail to ask provoking questions to facilitate your decisions in selecting the type of organisation that embodies all the values to attract and retain high-performing employees. If it is true that all organisations are on board with the idea of placing talent management and development as a priority in their business, then we can take comfort in knowing that as employees we have much to look forward to.
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