Singapore

The acquisition makes SPH Magazines the trademark owner of The Women's Weekly and CLEO in Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia.

Loans increased 10% during the third quarter to S$186b amidst broad-based corporate borrowing across the region.

The centre provides compelling value propositions for research partnerships with public and private sectors to tackle global energy challenges.

He will be responsible for the group's finance, treasury and risk management functions, among others.

He was Acting Financial Controller of GP Batteries International Limited.

Mr Newbigging’s previous jobs include CEO of Jardine Engineering and General Manager of IKEA Hong Kong.

Ms Lum will manage the Group’s various accounting, financial control and reporting functions.

But most may just be empty houses as vacancy rates increased to 5.8% - so where have all the residents gone?

During one of my career counselling sessions to a group of MBA students, almost every one of them would like to become a manager straight after their graduation. Knowing better that people management skills is something you pick up through years of working experience, i put it back that it may not be that realistic.

Branding is vital for the success of every business, no matter how big or small. A strong corporate image is the foundation for your company's success, and it determines who you are. In today's competitive business environment, companies spend millions of dollars every year on branding exercises to update and enhance their image and reputation. A large percentage of this expenditure includes advertising on traditional and online medium, corporate branding, events, product packaging, and association with worthy causes through corporate social responsibility projects and sponsorship programmes, and so on. Getting associated with the right brands, philosophy or presenting your company in a good light can enhance your company's image. But, what sort of image or impression does your client get at his first contact with your employees? Front-line Impressions Employees are often one of the most undermined and under-developed aspects of a company's foundation. Not only are they the face of your company and living representatives of your brand, they also differentiate your brand from your competitors, and deliver the ultimate brand experience you want your company to be known for. While you are setting aside a large budget for this year's branding exercise, consider this: The proof of the pudding is in the eating -- are your living, breathing brand ambassadors projecting the right corporate image to the outside world? Are your employees walking and breathing your brand according to your company philosophy? Consistency is Key Your employees and your corporate image are every successful organisation's two greatest assets. As long as your employees' appearance and behaviour are not in tandem with your corporate image, the repercussions can be detrimental to your business. I share a personal experience: A luxurious, internationally-acclaimed hotel located in town recently opened for business. Impressed by their claims to provide guests with a high-level of attentive and personalised service by a team of professional, impeccable staff, I thought the hotel could be a wonderful event venue and decided to visit. It being my first visit, I could not find my way around. Only after looking around for assistance that I noticed three service staff chatting and laughing among themselves away from the hotel entry, oblivious to guests entering the new hotel. Within a short time of its opening, the hotel had already stopped living up to its widely-publicised brand promise. On my second visit to the same hotel one week later, I encountered a very helpful staff who readily offered his assistance when I first entered the main hallway. Although he was very attentive and helpful, I saw a jarring inconsistency in the service level and found it difficult to erase my first not-so-nice encounter on my last visit. Needless to say, my first impression of the hotel did not match up to its brand promise, and I decided not to shortlist the hotel as a possible venue for my upcoming event. Employees -- the Face of the Company Fortunately or unfortunately, the buck does not end at your front-line employees. No doubt, employees working behind-the-scenes have less face-to-face meetings with potential clients and end-consumers, but they are no less important! They offer your brand experience to the outside world too. From security guards and accounts assistants, to IT managers and human resource directors, every employee has direct or indirect contact with your clients, shareholders, business counterparts, partners and suppliers, potential employees, etc. Showing up late for a meeting, dressing inappropriately or sloppily, using bad grammar in writing or speech, a limp handshake, poor dining etiquette, and not being clued-in on cross-cultural protocol and business practices are some of the bad and lasting impressions one can create. Only when your employees are united and aligned towards the same company philosophy, can your organisation begin operating at its full potential. Catherine Chan, Managing Consultant, Iconiq Image

The land parcel will have a maximum permissible gross floor area of 101,628 square meters.

According to one of the world’s leading military strategist – Karl von Clausewitz – in war, the big army will beat the small army. This is known as the principle of force. The army that can concentrate the most amount of force in the battlefield will prevail. It is not that much different in the business world. The big fish eats the small fish because the big fish is stronger than the small fish. And the bad news is: You Are The Small Fish. You can’t fight the big fish head on. You can’t outswim the big fish. You can try to hide and pray that the big fish doesn’t come into your playground and muscle you out. But there is something else that you can do. Instead of trying to hide or shield that weakness that you have, you can turn it into a weapon and use it to attack your bigger competitors. It may sound incredulous but it can be done and it has been done before. Here are some of the things that you can learn from companies that have done it. Enterprise Rent-A-Car Who’s No. 1 in rental cars? Most people will think of Hertz. Who’s No. 2? Most people will say Avis. Avis has a famous tagline that goes, “We Are No. 2 So We Try Harder”. So, if Hertz is No. 1 and Avis is No. 2, why would you buy from anyone else. That was Enterprise’s problem. It was the small fish in this battle – relatively speaking. What Enterprise did was brilliant. It turned its weakness – its relatively small size - into an advantage. It created the perception that it is more customer-oriented by offering delivery and pick-up service to its customers. When you rent a car from Enterprise, they will deliver it to your home or office. Once you are done with the car, they will pick it up again. Enterprise used the tagline “Pick Enterprise. We’ll Pick You Up.” to communicate this differentiating idea and it soon overtook the giants. Use your smaller size to do the things that your larger competitors cannot do. Danovel

Two out of every five new CEOs fail in the first 18 months (HBR, January 2005).

I had lunch the other day with a couple of friends. It was great catching up with each other. Joseph was not happy with his main course item. He was not satisfied with explanation from the waiter; and wanted to escalate to Restaurant manager.

The New Realities An unprecedented number of workers from four generations – Traditionalist, Baby Boomers, Gen Xers and Gen Yers – are working alongside one another and bringing their own values, goals and communication approaches to the workplace. Such generational dynamics in the workplace affect morale, productivity, recruitment and retention. Organizations are facing immediate challenges when it comes to optimizing productivity, protecting profits and growing their businesses.

Firms better comply unless you want to be fined $20,000 or worse, get your license revoked.