Business opportunities still abound in Hong Kong - Channel NewsAsia

HONG KONG: German-born Allan Zeman was drawn to the opportunities that the Far East had to offer back in the 70s, starting off small with a trading company.

Today, the self-made property magnate carries a Chinese passport, and is a local delegate to the National People's Congress of China.

But he is more popularly known as the father of Lan Kwai Fong, the city's best known night spot.

Mr Zeman, now chairman of Lan Kwai Fong Holdings, believes that today's Hong Kong still provides opportunities for those who want to make it big.

"Hong Kong is an international marketplace. People from all over the world come here to do business. And so in my mind, I think that Hong Kong will always be an opportunity for people who are creative, able to think ahead, who can come up with a product that's a little different. If you're one of those categories, there's always opportunity," he said.

In 2004, Mr Zeman was given the opportunity to revamp local attraction Ocean Park, in light of Hong Kong Disneyland's impending opening.

He focused on the educational and conservational aspects of the Ocean Park and, tapping his Lan Kwai Fong experience, gave people new experiences.

Today, Ocean Park is the city's top tourist attraction.

"Hong Kong needs to keep re-inventing itself. There's a lot of competition now for Hong Kong, as you say, Singapore, Macau, Hengshan Island where there's a new aquarium opening up, Shanghai Disney," Mr Zeman said.

"I've always said that competition makes you better. I never worry about competition. As long as you're providing a good experience for your guests, your customers, they'll keep coming back."

Mainland tourists are coming back by the droves.

Hong Kong is now less a gateway to cheap mainland factories and more a playground for wealthy Chinese consumers.

Last year, a record 28 million mainland tourists visited the territory, spending at average of US$1,500 per stay.

The retail boom caused by tourist arrivals in recent years has pushed rents to record levels. In Causeway Bay, the city's busiest shopping district, retail space commands average rents second only to New York's Fifth Avenue.

Douglas Young co-founded of Goods Of Desire (GOD), an emporium of lifestyle products, just a year before the 1997 British handover of Hong Kong.

"Hong Kong has always been a very expensive place to do business," he said. "That part hasn't changed, but I think the situation probably has gotten worst now.

"I probably wouldn't be able to start GOD today because the entry barrier has just been lifted so high. I think the problem with companies like ours, being private and local, without big funding, is that we simply don't have the budget to promote ourselves "

Trained as an architect, Mr Young has helped to put Hong Kong on the design map by taking inspiration from the city's culture, past and present.

With five stores in the city, GOD is expanding into Singapore with plans for more stores on the mainland.

- CNA/wm

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GSBF 2012 to focus on new market opportunities in ASEAN - Channel NewsAsia

SINGAPORE: For the first time, a select group of Singapore enterprises will be opening their Indonesian operations to a delegation of 30 German and Singapore enterprises.

This is part of the activities for this year's biennial German-Singapore Business Forum (GSBF).

In a media release, SPRING Singapore said more than 100 delegates from Germany and Singapore have gathered in Singapore for the forum held from July 3 to 7.

The GSBF is a key platform for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) from both countries to network, exchange ideas and identify collaboration opportunities.

This year's forum aims to tap the knowledge and expertise of Singapore enterprises to explore new growth potentials and market opportunities in the ASEAN region.

For the first time, Singapore enterprises like YCH Logistics, Sanwa Group and CEI Contract Manufacturing, with regional operations in Jakarta and Batam, will open their facilities to the delegation keen to explore growth potentials and market opportunities in Indonesia.

"As the world is shifting its interest to Asia, especially the emerging markets for the business opportunities it offers, our SMEs are well-positioned to be key partners to German Mittelstands looking to expand into the region. The deeper and more strategic partnerships will fuel the growth of German and Singapore SMEs for long-term economic growth," said Mr Philip Yeo, Chairman of SPRING Singapore, who has been the Singapore GSBF co-chair since 2007.

SPRING Singapore said this year's forum will focus on fostering collaborations in three key sectors: Precision Engineering, Medical Technology and Environmental Technology.

-CNA/ac

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Business opportunities still abound in Hong Kong - Channel NewsAsia

HONG KONG: German-born Allan Zeman was drawn to the opportunities that the Far East had to offer back in the 70s, starting off small with a trading company.

Today, the self-made property magnate carries a Chinese passport, and is a local delegate to the National People's Congress of China.

But he is more popularly known as the father of Lan Kwai Fong, the city's best known night spot.

Mr Zeman, now chairman of Lan Kwai Fong Holdings, believes that today's Hong Kong still provides opportunities for those who want to make it big.

"Hong Kong is an international marketplace. People from all over the world come here to do business. And so in my mind, I think that Hong Kong will always be an opportunity for people who are creative, able to think ahead, who can come up with a product that's a little different. If you're one of those categories, there's always opportunity," he said.

In 2004, Mr Zeman was given the opportunity to revamp local attraction Ocean Park, in light of Hong Kong Disneyland's impending opening.

He focused on the educational and conservational aspects of the Ocean Park and, tapping his Lan Kwai Fong experience, gave people new experiences.

Today, Ocean Park is the city's top tourist attraction.

"Hong Kong needs to keep re-inventing itself. There's a lot of competition now for Hong Kong, as you say, Singapore, Macau, Hengshan Island where there's a new aquarium opening up, Shanghai Disney," Mr Zeman said.

"I've always said that competition makes you better. I never worry about competition. As long as you're providing a good experience for your guests, your customers, they'll keep coming back."

Mainland tourists are coming back by the droves.

Hong Kong is now less a gateway to cheap mainland factories and more a playground for wealthy Chinese consumers.

Last year, a record 28 million mainland tourists visited the territory, spending at average of US$1,500 per stay.

The retail boom caused by tourist arrivals in recent years has pushed rents to record levels. In Causeway Bay, the city's busiest shopping district, retail space commands average rents second only to New York's Fifth Avenue.

Douglas Young co-founded of Goods Of Desire (GOD), an emporium of lifestyle products, just a year before the 1997 British handover of Hong Kong.

"Hong Kong has always been a very expensive place to do business," he said. "That part hasn't changed, but I think the situation probably has gotten worst now.

"I probably wouldn't be able to start GOD today because the entry barrier has just been lifted so high. I think the problem with companies like ours, being private and local, without big funding, is that we simply don't have the budget to promote ourselves "

Trained as an architect, Mr Young has helped to put Hong Kong on the design map by taking inspiration from the city's culture, past and present.

With five stores in the city, GOD is expanding into Singapore with plans for more stores on the mainland.

- CNA/wm

View the original article here

Business opportunities still abound in Hong Kong - Channel NewsAsia

HONG KONG: German-born Allan Zeman was drawn to the opportunities that the Far East had to offer back in the 70s, starting off small with a trading company.

Today, the self-made property magnate carries a Chinese passport, and is a local delegate to the National People's Congress of China.

But he is more popularly known as the father of Lan Kwai Fong, the city's best known night spot.

Mr Zeman, now chairman of Lan Kwai Fong Holdings, believes that today's Hong Kong still provides opportunities for those who want to make it big.

"Hong Kong is an international marketplace. People from all over the world come here to do business. And so in my mind, I think that Hong Kong will always be an opportunity for people who are creative, able to think ahead, who can come up with a product that's a little different. If you're one of those categories, there's always opportunity," he said.

In 2004, Mr Zeman was given the opportunity to revamp local attraction Ocean Park, in light of Hong Kong Disneyland's impending opening.

He focused on the educational and conservational aspects of the Ocean Park and, tapping his Lan Kwai Fong experience, gave people new experiences.

Today, Ocean Park is the city's top tourist attraction.

"Hong Kong needs to keep re-inventing itself. There's a lot of competition now for Hong Kong, as you say, Singapore, Macau, Hengshan Island where there's a new aquarium opening up, Shanghai Disney," Mr Zeman said.

"I've always said that competition makes you better. I never worry about competition. As long as you're providing a good experience for your guests, your customers, they'll keep coming back."

Mainland tourists are coming back by the droves.

Hong Kong is now less a gateway to cheap mainland factories and more a playground for wealthy Chinese consumers.

Last year, a record 28 million mainland tourists visited the territory, spending at average of US$1,500 per stay.

The retail boom caused by tourist arrivals in recent years has pushed rents to record levels. In Causeway Bay, the city's busiest shopping district, retail space commands average rents second only to New York's Fifth Avenue.

Douglas Young co-founded of Goods Of Desire (GOD), an emporium of lifestyle products, just a year before the 1997 British handover of Hong Kong.

"Hong Kong has always been a very expensive place to do business," he said. "That part hasn't changed, but I think the situation probably has gotten worst now.

"I probably wouldn't be able to start GOD today because the entry barrier has just been lifted so high. I think the problem with companies like ours, being private and local, without big funding, is that we simply don't have the budget to promote ourselves "

Trained as an architect, Mr Young has helped to put Hong Kong on the design map by taking inspiration from the city's culture, past and present.

With five stores in the city, GOD is expanding into Singapore with plans for more stores on the mainland.

- CNA/wm

View the original article here

Asia eyes investment opportunities in Latin America - Channel NewsAsia

SINGAPORE: Asia and Latin America should have more commercial and investment links.

The combined population of the two continents provide a huge enough market for joint business opportunities.

These are among the suggestions of delegates at the Asia Latin American Legal Summit.

Trade between Latin America and Asia have grown a hefty 357 percent between 2000 and 2010.

For instance, bilateral trade between Singapore and Latin America grew 38 per cent in 2011 to US$30 billion (S$38 billion) from the previous year.

Driven by Asian appetite for commodities, more investments are expected to be heading to that region.

Analysts said Asian investors are largely attracted to the continent for its vast natural resources.

For example, some 120 Singapore-based companies have over 500 points of presence operating in Latin America.

Singapore Minister for Foreign Affairs and Law, K Shanmugam, said: "Asia and Latin America stand out as the bright spots against an uncertain world economy. Both regions were resilient through the recent crises and experienced robust economic growth and continue to grow."

Among the South American countries that may attract more Asian investments is Brazil.

This especially when the country will be hosting the 2014 FIFA World Cup and 2016 Summer Olympics.

Analysts said there'll be a lot of demand for infrastructure projects in Brazil and other countries like Argentina, Chile and Peru.

Still, they warn that investing in these latin countries does have its challenges.

The history of high inflation in Latin America countries is still fresh on investors' minds.

Choo Chiau Beng, Ambassador of Singapore to Brazil, said: "(The) government has to keep interest rate fairly high to keep control of inflation. This high interest rate attracted a tremendous amount of hot money particularly from the North, where US has a very loose monetary policy."

High tax rates in Latin America may also deter foreign investors.

Brazil has a combined corporate tax of 34 per cent while Mexico charges a 27 per cent corporate tax rate.

"In Argentina, taxes overlapping taxes between states and federal, municipals and states, and between territory and it does happen in Brazil. There are some legal firms where the whole 100 member team is specialising in tax. We must not underestimate the implications of tax," said Mr Choo.

Eduardo Ramos-Gomez, managing partner, Duane Morris & Selvam LLP, said: "I actually do think the tax rates from Mexico down to Argentina are very competitive if measured worldwide. They are not the highest rates that you have in the developed world like Europe or United States. They are not the rates you have in Singapore. They are in the median range."

Despite the challenges, major exports from Latin America such as petroleum, telecom equipment, iron ore, wine and electronic components may still be an attraction to Asian businesses.

- CNA/cc

View the original article here

Asia eyes investment opportunities in Latin America - Channel NewsAsia

SINGAPORE: Asia and Latin America should have more commercial and investment links.

The combined population of the two continents provide a huge enough market for joint business opportunities.

These are among the suggestions of delegates at the Asia Latin American Legal Summit.

Trade between Latin America and Asia have grown a hefty 357 percent between 2000 and 2010.

For instance, bilateral trade between Singapore and Latin America grew 38 per cent in 2011 to US$30 billion (S$38 billion) from the previous year.

Driven by Asian appetite for commodities, more investments are expected to be heading to that region.

Analysts said Asian investors are largely attracted to the continent for its vast natural resources.

For example, some 120 Singapore-based companies have over 500 points of presence operating in Latin America.

Singapore Minister for Foreign Affairs and Law, K Shanmugam, said: "Asia and Latin America stand out as the bright spots against an uncertain world economy. Both regions were resilient through the recent crises and experienced robust economic growth and continue to grow."

Among the South American countries that may attract more Asian investments is Brazil.

This especially when the country will be hosting the 2014 FIFA World Cup and 2016 Summer Olympics.

Analysts said there'll be a lot of demand for infrastructure projects in Brazil and other countries like Argentina, Chile and Peru.

Still, they warn that investing in these latin countries does have its challenges.

The history of high inflation in Latin America countries is still fresh on investors' minds.

Choo Chiau Beng, Ambassador of Singapore to Brazil, said: "(The) government has to keep interest rate fairly high to keep control of inflation. This high interest rate attracted a tremendous amount of hot money particularly from the North, where US has a very loose monetary policy."

High tax rates in Latin America may also deter foreign investors.

Brazil has a combined corporate tax of 34 per cent while Mexico charges a 27 per cent corporate tax rate.

"In Argentina, taxes overlapping taxes between states and federal, municipals and states, and between territory and it does happen in Brazil. There are some legal firms where the whole 100 member team is specialising in tax. We must not underestimate the implications of tax," said Mr Choo.

Eduardo Ramos-Gomez, managing partner, Duane Morris & Selvam LLP, said: "I actually do think the tax rates from Mexico down to Argentina are very competitive if measured worldwide. They are not the highest rates that you have in the developed world like Europe or United States. They are not the rates you have in Singapore. They are in the median range."

Despite the challenges, major exports from Latin America such as petroleum, telecom equipment, iron ore, wine and electronic components may still be an attraction to Asian businesses.

- CNA/cc

View the original article here

India team to seek business deals in Iran - Channel NewsAsia

NEW DELHI: An Indian trade delegation will travel to Iran next week to explore "huge opportunities" in business amid US-led sanctions over the Islamic republic's disputed nuclear programme, an export group said.

The group will visit Iran from March 10-14, the Federation of Indian Export Organisations said late on Friday, adding exporters had settled a major problem on how to receive payments from Tehran in the face of sanctions on dollar deals.

"We are expecting to get a lot of business from this trip," Anand Seth, spokesman for the Federation of Indian Export Organisations, an Indian government partner in promoting trade, told AFP.

The top trade organisation, set up by the government, said Indian exporters would be paid for goods sent to Iran using a rupee payment system.

Iran's Parsian Bank has opened an account with India's UCO Bank and Indian exporters now are receiving rupee payments from Iran, Seth said.

The method gives New Delhi a way to circumvent Western sanctions that are drying up banking routes.

Iran is India's second-largest oil supplier after Saudi Arabia, providing around 12 percent of the fast-growing country's crude needs.

India has been examining ways to step up trade with Iran amid problems in settling its oil bills from Iran as a result of the intensifying sanctions campaign aimed at forcing Tehran to abandon its nuclear programme.

India's Congress party-led government says it will abide only by UN sanctions on the Islamic republic, and will not implement those by individual nations.

Indian Commerce Secretary Rahul Khullar last month said New Delhi would send a delegation to Iran to "promote our own exports" and investigate business opportunities spawned by the sanctions.

He said there were "huge opportunities" to be reaped by India.

The two countries, which have long historic ties, hope to be able to settle around 45 percent of their oil trade in rupees by increasing exports, Indian media reports say.

India has said that the visit by the Indian business delegation to Iran will go ahead despite a bomb attack in New Delhi last month that severely wounded an Israeli diplomat.

While Israel has blamed the attack on Tehran, India has said the identity of the perpetrators was yet to be established.

"Why should we let long historic and cultural ties between the two countries be overshadowed by recent events?" said a senior government official, who could not be named, on Saturday.

Bilateral trade between India and Iran is around $13.7 billion, of which Indian exports account for just $2.74 billion.

But the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India says Iran offers wide potential for export of Indian products and commodities.

It estimates the potential of trade and economic relations between the two countries can touch $30 billion annually by 2015.

India believes large export opportunities are available in the food sector, including tea, wheat and rice; pharmaceuticals; iron and steel and infrastructure projects.

- AFP/wk

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S'pore delegates to explore business opportunities in Myanmar - Channel NewsAsia

SINGAPORE: A group of Singaporean businesses will descend on Myanmar next week to explore opportunities thrown up by recent economic and political reforms.

The state-sponsored, week-long visit by 115 delegates from 74 companies will cover Yangon and the political capital of Nya Pi Taw.

The visiting companies come from various industries including construction, education, finance, infrastructure and logistics.

They will embark on networking and business matching sessions with local firms, and a courtesy call with Myanmar president Thein Sein.

A Singapore-Myanmar Investment Seminar is also slated for February 15 at the Myanmar International Convention Centre in Nya Pi Taw.

International Enterprise (IE) Singapore and the Singapore Business Federation (SBF) which are leading the visit said in a statement the trip is expected to help Singaporean firms identify areas for investment including consultancy and master planning; education and vocational training; environmental services and infrastructure.

"Recent reforms undertaken in Myanmar and positive reactions from major economies augur well for the country," Teo Eng Cheong, IE Singapore's chief executive, said in the statement.

"Singapore's connections with overseas markets place our companies in a strong position to be first movers in an emerging new market like Myanmar," Mr Teo said.

Trade between Singapore and Myanmar totalled S$1.63 billion in 2011 and S$1.69 billion in 2010, said IE Singapore.

Apart from being the fourth largest trading partner, Singapore also provided some US$1.8 billion of foreign direct investments to Myanmar as at October last year.

- CNA/fa

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S'pore delegates to explore business opportunities in Myanmar - Channel NewsAsia

SINGAPORE: A group of Singaporean businesses will descend on Myanmar next week to explore opportunities thrown up by recent economic and political reforms.

The state-sponsored, week-long visit by 115 delegates from 74 companies will cover Yangon and the political capital of Nya Pi Taw.

The visiting companies come from various industries including construction, education, finance, infrastructure and logistics.

They will embark on networking and business matching sessions with local firms, and a courtesy call with Myanmar president Thein Sein.

A Singapore-Myanmar Investment Seminar is also slated for February 15 at the Myanmar International Convention Centre in Nya Pi Taw.

International Enterprise (IE) Singapore and the Singapore Business Federation (SBF) which are leading the visit said in a statement the trip is expected to help Singaporean firms identify areas for investment including consultancy and master planning; education and vocational training; environmental services and infrastructure.

"Recent reforms undertaken in Myanmar and positive reactions from major economies augur well for the country," Teo Eng Cheong, IE Singapore's chief executive, said in the statement.

"Singapore's connections with overseas markets place our companies in a strong position to be first movers in an emerging new market like Myanmar," Mr Teo said.

Trade between Singapore and Myanmar totalled S$1.63 billion in 2011 and S$1.69 billion in 2010, said IE Singapore.

Apart from being the fourth largest trading partner, Singapore also provided some US$1.8 billion of foreign direct investments to Myanmar as at October last year.

- CNA/fa

View the original article here

S'pore delegates to explore business opportunities in Myanmar - Channel NewsAsia

SINGAPORE: A group of Singaporean businesses will descend on Myanmar next week to explore opportunities thrown up by recent economic and political reforms.

The state-sponsored, week-long visit by 115 delegates from 74 companies will cover Yangon and the political capital of Nya Pi Taw.

The visiting companies come from various industries including construction, education, finance, infrastructure and logistics.

They will embark on networking and business matching sessions with local firms, and a courtesy call with Myanmar president Thein Sein.

A Singapore-Myanmar Investment Seminar is also slated for February 15 at the Myanmar International Convention Centre in Nya Pi Taw.

International Enterprise (IE) Singapore and the Singapore Business Federation (SBF) which are leading the visit said in a statement the trip is expected to help Singaporean firms identify areas for investment including consultancy and master planning; education and vocational training; environmental services and infrastructure.

"Recent reforms undertaken in Myanmar and positive reactions from major economies augur well for the country," Teo Eng Cheong, IE Singapore's chief executive, said in the statement.

"Singapore's connections with overseas markets place our companies in a strong position to be first movers in an emerging new market like Myanmar," Mr Teo said.

Trade between Singapore and Myanmar totalled S$1.63 billion in 2011 and S$1.69 billion in 2010, said IE Singapore.

Apart from being the fourth largest trading partner, Singapore also provided some US$1.8 billion of foreign direct investments to Myanmar as at October last year.

- CNA/fa

View the original article here

Firm turns dishwasher shortage into business opportunity - Channel NewsAsia

SINGAPORE: Restaurants may be doing brisk business, but that has created a headache for some bosses.

That's because they are finding it hard to hire people to clean their dishes!

Well, one company has turned this into a business opportunity.

Synnovate Solutions collects crates of dirty plates from restaurants across Singapore.

The plates are then fed into a giant dishwasher via a conveyer belt.

And in 5-10 minutes, they emerge sparkling clean.

The dishes are usually brought in at night, and then returned at dawn.

It takes three people to do the job, and in a typical 8-hour shift, staff can handle about 15,000 to 20,000 dishes a day.

The same number of plates would take 20 people to clean by hand.

Synnovate Solutions director-general, Lawrence Loh, said: "For example, 10 restaurants need 10 dish washers. With our service...we can actually operate with the same efficiency with three men. That's how you can cut down on costs and manpower."

And the savings can be considerable - about 20 to 50 percent in dishwashing costs.

The company says its clients are mainly smaller-sized eateries and catering companies which have difficulty hiring cleaners, or whose premises are too small to accommodate a large dishwashing machine.

But interest has picked up among bigger players too. The company says it has been approached by several restaurant chains and hotels.

- CNA/ir

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Firm turns dishwasher shortage into business opportunity - Channel NewsAsia

SINGAPORE: Restaurants may be doing brisk business, but that has created a headache for some bosses.

That's because they are finding it hard to hire people to clean their dishes!

Well, one company has turned this into a business opportunity.

Synnovate Solutions collects crates of dirty plates from restaurants across Singapore.

The plates are then fed into a giant dishwasher via a conveyer belt.

And in 5-10 minutes, they emerge sparkling clean.

The dishes are usually brought in at night, and then returned at dawn.

It takes three people to do the job, and in a typical 8-hour shift, staff can handle about 15,000 to 20,000 dishes a day.

The same number of plates would take 20 people to clean by hand.

Synnovate Solutions director-general, Lawrence Loh, said: "For example, 10 restaurants need 10 dish washers. With our service...we can actually operate with the same efficiency with three men. That's how you can cut down on costs and manpower."

And the savings can be considerable - about 20 to 50 percent in dishwashing costs.

The company says its clients are mainly smaller-sized eateries and catering companies which have difficulty hiring cleaners, or whose premises are too small to accommodate a large dishwashing machine.

But interest has picked up among bigger players too. The company says it has been approached by several restaurant chains and hotels.

- CNA/ir

View the original article here