Retail News CRM

Tag: Business

  • AirAsia to invest heavily in digital business

    AirAsia to invest heavily in digital business

    AirAsia Group plans to raise USD300 million to expand its digital business arm, AirAsia Digital, as it intensifies the diversification of its business to offset the COVID-19 crippling effect on aviation.

    Bloomberg, quoting “people with knowledge on the matter”, reported the low-cost carrier was negotiating with prospective investors for a fundraising deal that would involve the issuance of new shares in the digital unit.

    In March 2021, founder and Chief Executive Officer, Tony Fernandes, said the airline’s so-called “super app”, launched in October 2020, would turn over USD250 million this year. The app can be used for shopping, booking flights, and ordering food. Services are predominantly in Malaysia at the moment with “airasia Shop” having expanded to the Philippines and Indonesia, while “airasia Food” has launched in Singapore. In 4Q2020, order amounts with “airasia Food” grew more than five times quarter-on-quarter, the company said in its Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2020 financial results.

    As part of the group’s diversification push, AirASia also aims to launch an air taxi service and drone delivery service, state news agency Bernama reported earlier this month.

    Facing a record net loss of MYR2.7 billion ringgit (USD653 million) in the October-December 4Q2020, Fernandes recently told the South China Morning Post the carrier would be returning 22 aircraft to lessors in 2021 and 2022.

    The airline’s revenue decreased by 92% year-on-year (YoY) due to partial lockdown in Malaysia in October and November 2020, while non-airline revenue declined by 46% in the same period. The company said the weaker YoY performance was due to the shortfall in revenue and several one-off costs, including a fuel hedging loss of MYR391 million (USD77.2 million), impairment of right-of-use assets, receivables, finance lease receivables of MYR1.5 billion (USD363 million), and bankruptcy costs for AirAsia Japan (DJ, Nagoya Chubu) of MYR20 million (USD4.8 million).

    Meanwhile, AirAsia Digital’s performance for the quarter grew by 13% YoY in terms of EBITDA (Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, and Amortisation). Launched in October 2020, the AirAsia “super app” increased revenue by 15% YoY to MYR12 million (USD2.9 million), while the “BigPay” mobile payment app narrowed EBITDA loss by 41%. The company’s cargo and logistics arm, “Teleport”, reported a positive EBITDA of MYR17 million (USD4.1 million) despite a decline in revenue from impacted cargo capacity due to closed borders. Its loyalty programme, “BIG Rewards”, also reported positive EBITDA for the quarter.

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  • First quarter sees 16 percent rise in business closures

    First quarter sees 16 percent rise in business closures

    Around 23,800 are temporarily closed, up 28.2 percent, and more than 5,000 have permanently ceased to do business, a 26.4 percent increase, while 11,300 others are completing dissolution procedures.

    The majority are small, newly-established companies that were vulnerable to the impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic.

    Some 29,300 enterprises were established during the quarter, down 1.4 percent, and 14,700 others resumed operations after temporarily closing.

    A survey of the manufacturing sector by the GSO found 68.6 percent of firms saying their business situation is better than in the previous quarter, and 85 percent believing it would improve next quarter.

    The majority said strong competition was the main factor affecting their business. Other factors included low demand, resource crunch, raw material shortage, and lack of human resources.

    Only 27.8 percent of firms reported an increase in the number of domestic orders from the previous quarter, and 25 percent said there was an increase in exports.

  • Business Groups Disappointed by Hong Kong’s Covid Plans

    Business Groups Disappointed by Hong Kong’s Covid Plans

    In response to the business community’s call for looser quarantine measures and a roadmap for reopening, the Hong Kong government remained insistent that the current status quo will remain until local vaccination rates rise significantly.

    The Hong Kong government met virtually with representatives of the business community last week, according to a report citing unnamed sources, and reiterated its own objectives with regards to the pandemic.

    Policymakers led by chief secretary of administration Matthew Cheung once again underlined the target of vaccinating 50 percent of Hong Kong’s population before any major loosening. As of Monday, the figure sits at just 5 percent.

    At the meeting, the Hong Kong government appears to have made no concessions as it reportedly downplayed the prospect of travel bubbles, border reopening with China and didn’t provide a clear roadmap for general reopening despite similar moves being made by rival financial hubs like Singapore.

    The virtual meeting follows the recent gym-linked outbreak which exposed many expatriates to Hong Kong’s quarantine measures and sparked calls within various business groups, such as regional capital markets industry body Asia Securities Industry & Financial Markets Association (ASIFMA), to push for changes.

  • 4 important things to do when starting an ecommerce business

    4 important things to do when starting an ecommerce business

    Creating a new ecommerce store is no longer an arduous task, as the processes to bring a store online have become more streamlined.

    You now have a variety of ecommerce out-of-the-box web builders pre-built with store pages, user login areas, payment systems, and promotional options. In most cases all you need to do is add your brand’s logo, upload your items on relevant pages, add a description, photo, and then set your price—you are ready to go!

    Although the process is easier than ever before, there is still a list of important prerequisites you need to research and implement before you launch your new site and create a new buzz in your chosen marketplace.

    1.           Choosing the right ecommerce website builder

    Most pre-packaged ecommerce stores are brilliant to put it simply. The architecture behind them is so good that even the lesser tech savvy of us out there can figure out how to create a fully operational store. However, that does not mean to say that you should just go out there and pick the first one you like the look of. And there are some good reasons why you need to choose the right one for your ecommerce project you need to take heed of.

    Although many ecommerce web builders are easy to set up, you may find that some features are not free. You should compare ecommerce platforms, use demos available, and take a close look at the monthly costs versus free tools that come with the package.

    The best ecommerce website builders, like Wix for example, offer free web hosting, 24/7 support, domain security via 128-bit SSL encryption HTTPS, and you can get a personalized business email with a custom domain name. You can even use the Wix business name generator and once you are happy with the name, you can then choose your domain name.

    Other sites may not offer the little things that matter, and save you time, which just complicates things and adds additional costs. Therefore, in the case of Wix, you are getting an all-in-one solution under one roof.

    2.           Create Social Media Profiles

    Social media is not just a way to promote your site, but it is also a way to build a brand presence. As long as you offer a top-quality service, you should get great reviews, and it also gives you a chance to connect personally with your customers via the comments section and personal messenger tools.

     

    Another reason social media is important is because each platform helps you to connect with different audience types, i.e., personalities, demographics, and those with varying buyer behaviors. Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Pinterest all have unique audiences and statistics.

    “Did you know? Shopping is a top priority for 48% of Pinterest users and Pinterest is most popular with women—especially moms (Source: blog.hootsuite.com)”

    It is these crucial facts about certain social media platforms that will determine whether your ecommerce product will fit or attract those using these platforms!

    3.           Use Consistent Marketing Messages

    Marketing is a strange game, and for those new to it, rookie mistakes are inevitable no matter how much you read up on the subject. That is, unless you have a marketing degree or experience in the field.

    Now marketing a product all seems straightforward, and in many respects it is. You are selling a product; it has unique selling points, and you need to highlight them. However, here is where it gets tricky causing your business to trip even when they have the best intentions in mind.

    Today we have little choice but to use multiple advertising and social media platforms. The problem is that messages across these platforms often get mixed up. Even large corporations are still guilty of sending out different brand/marketing messages across their digital and offline marketing platforms. By doing so, this only serves to confuse customers and tarnish your brand reputation.

    Therefore, the message here is clear—always remain consistent across every platform you use to project your brand name, be it Facebook, Google Ads, guest post blogging, or offline magazine/newspaper ads. And more importantly, ensure these messages match exactly what your website ‘says’, ‘displays’, and ‘offers’.

    4.           Customer Support

    The very last point to make is probably the most important for long-term success. Yet, we left it until the end because you need to get the above 3 points spot on before your customer services kick into action.

    In the past, ecommerce was great. You could set up a store, visitors come, they buy, and you kick back and enjoy the ride as your automated emails and online sales systems do all the hard work for you.

    Now while that worked in the past to some extent- having no live support, email support, after care, pre-sales care, and out of business hours support like chat bots used by Cebu Pacific. Without these vital customer care components in place, you could lose your clientele to your competition that have more efficient customer care solutions.

    Therefore, make sure you research customer services, how to scale your customer support, and how to reward as well as continue to retain your loyal customers. You should also look at how companies lost their reputation and ended up sinking ships because they implemented poor customer support solutions.

     

     

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  • HSBC Advocates for More Asian Say in Climate Change

    HSBC Advocates for More Asian Say in Climate Change

    HSBC chairman Mark Tucker lauded the efforts of global governments in creating standards and definitions for sustainability but expressed concerns that they could potentially leave out Asian economies.

    According to Tucker, Asia is increasingly where global leadership is coming from» with regards to sustainability, citing China and Japan’s rise to drive global agendas in the recent G20 forum alongside the greening of Hong Kong and Singapore’s financial markets.

    Asia is arguably where the fight against climate change will be won or lost, he said during a virtual session at this year’s Asian Financial Forum (AFF).

    Although Tucker applauded industry efforts to set standards in the fight against climate change, he underlined his concerns that this could occur at the expense of capital flows for Asian emerging economies.

    Setting international standards and definitions for sustainability is essential to making progress and the EU has done very good work on this,» he said. «But there’s a danger that these standards may not drive investments into the emerging markets in Asia where it’s needed most for sustainable infrastructure.

    He also underlined this year’s Scotland-based COP26 (United Nations Climate Change Conference) conference as a key moment to lock in the ambitious, low carbon policy goals, adding that Asian economies need to play a big part in those discussions» on issues such as establishing carbon prices.

    Tucker expressed greater optimism in the global fight against climate change, highlighting better prospects without the Donald Trump administration.

    If you look at the three economic blocks – U.S., China, E.U. – there’s plenty they don’t find agreement on, he explained. But I think where they are absolutely united today is their commitment, certainly under the new U.S. administration, to tackle climate change.

    Last October, we announced a new commitment to reset our ambitions, which were significant in the first place, but to reset them to a higher level, Tucker said, reiterating the bank’s goal to achieve net-zero carbon emission across its business by 2050.

    Aligning our own emissions and those of our portfolios and customers to the Paris Agreement goals. This is not insignificant when you think of this: our portfolio is largely Asian based and other banks are clearly in much more established marketplaces.

    The bank has committed up to $1 trillion of financing for this transition over the next ten years though it has yet to share details about its exact strategy.

    On HSBC’s business plans, Tucker said that with interest rates expected to stay low and an ongoing pandemic, the bank has changed its plans to further accelerate growth.

    He highlighted South Asia and, in particular, wealth management opportunities in China’s Greater Bay Area. He separately noted that HSBC was not looking into emerging non-traditional areas of finance like cryptocurrencies, despite related moves by competitors like Standard Chartered’s inroad into crypto custody or DBS’s recent launch of a digital exchange.

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  • Think tank forecasts some growth for Vietnam

    Think tank forecasts some growth for Vietnam

    A government think tank has pegged economic growth at 6.46 percent this year thanks to the country’s success in containing the Covid-19 outbreak and maintaining stability.

    Vietnam is one of the fastest recovering economies in Asia, the Central Institute for Economic Management (CIEM) said in a report.

    In the best-case scenario, credit growth would be 13 percent against 10.1 percent last year, it said.

    But it also warned of risks that could hamper growth, like the unpredictable global economic situation as the pandemic situation remains severe in many countries and possible anti-dumping and countervailing investigations by the U.S. and other countries.

    Several international organizations have forecast a strong recovery for Vietnam this year, with lender HSBC forecasting growth of 7.6 percent. The International Monetary Fund and Asian Development Bank have forecast 6.5 percent and 6.1 percent growth.

    The government has set a target of 6.5 percent.

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  • Covid-19 troubles push over 100,000 businesses to suspend operations

    Covid-19 troubles push over 100,000 businesses to suspend operations

    The Covid-19 pandemic’s severe impacts have seen as many as 101,700 businesses in Vietnam close up shop in 2020, up 13.9 percent year-on-year.

    Of these 46,600 have registered to temporarily suspend operations, while 37,700 are waiting to complete dissolution procedures, according to a new report by the General Statistics Office. The report also says that 17,500 enterprises completed their dissolution procedures this year.

    The surge in business suspensions has been attributed to the adverse impacts of Covid-19, which has cripped key sectors and seriously affected socio-economic activities worldwide.

    The number of newly-established enterprises in Vietnam this year fell 2.3 percent year-on-year to 134,900 with a combined registered capital of VND2,200 trillion ($94.31 billion), up 29 percent.

    If the VND3,300 trillion in additionally registered capital for 39,500 companies is included, the total registered capital added to the economy this year is more than VND5,500 trillion, an increase of 39.3 percent year-on-year.

    The GSO report says a survey on business sentiment in the manufacturing and processing sectors in the fourth quarter of 2020 found 40.6 percent of enterprises experiencing improvement in business performance over the previous quarter, while 24.7 percent faced difficulties and 34.7 percent said their business remained stable.

    Almost 43 percent of companies expect things to get better in the first quarter of 2021, while 19 percent foresee more difficulties and 38.2 percent believe the situation will be stable.

    Vietnam’s economic growth slowed to 2.91 percent this year, its lowest level in a decade, given the negative impacts of Covid-19, natural disasters and a sluggish global economy. However, it was one of the few economies in the world to record positive growth, most others experiencing contractions.

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  • Dairy Farm announced difficult third quarter

    Dairy Farm announced difficult third quarter

    Dairy Farm International Holdings Limited today issues its Interim Management Statement for the third quarter of 2020. The Group’s overall performance in the third quarter improved relative to the first half.  While the Group’s results continued to be affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, the impact was partially offset by the receipt of government support.  Grocery Retail performance continued to be supported by operational improvements as part of the Group’s multi-year transformation program, as well as changing customer behaviors as a result of the pandemic. Reduced sales and profit in Health and Beauty and Maxim’s, however, continued to impact the Group’s overall performance.

    The Group’s Grocery Retail businesses reported strong like-for-like sales growth, which led to strong profit growth.  In Southeast Asia, changing customer behaviors, as well as the ongoing execution of the Group’s multi-year transformation plan, supported strong profit growth in Singapore and Malaysia.  Performance in Indonesia, however, was impacted in the period by government restrictions on movement and significantly reduced traffic into hypermarkets and malls.

    The Group’s Convenience businesses reported improved like-for-like sales performance compared to the first half of the year.  However, 7-Eleven Singapore continued to be impacted by reduced footfall.  Better sales performance drove higher profitability compared to the first half.

    The performance of the Group’s Health and Beauty businesses were significantly impacted by the effects of the measures taken by governments to counter the pandemic, as well as the continuing lack of custom from overseas tourists in Hong Kong.  In North Asia, whilst like-for-like sales performance improved compared to the first half, the profitability of Mannings continued to be materially impacted by the lack of tourists.  In Southeast Asia, like-for-like sales were affected by reduced footfall in malls which, in turn, impacted profitability.

    Sales in the Home Furnishings business were higher than the equivalent period last year and like-for-like sales improved compared to the first half.  Strong e-commerce growth and the annualization impact of new stores opened in the prior year more than compensated for the impact of pandemic-related measures on customer visits.  Profitability also improved compared to the equivalent period last year, as a result of lower pre-opening expenses and improved gross margins resulting from the lower cost of goods sold.

    The Group’s 50%-owned associate, Maxim’s, continued to be impacted by government restrictions on movement, as well as a reduction in the number of restaurant customers.  However, mooncake sales performance during the Mid-Autumn Festival was encouraging.  Yonghui’s underlying performance in the third quarter was impacted by reduced sales, while Robinsons Retail’s underlying performance was affected by government lockdown restrictions on its discretionary retail formats.

    The launch of Yuu Rewards, Hong Kong’s largest loyalty program, at the end of July was a significant milestone in driving the Group’s digital transformation.  The popularity of the program has exceeded the Group’s own expectations, with two million members joining in the first month.  High membership engagement has supported the performance of the program sponsors.

    On 16th October 2020, the Group announced it had signed an agreement to deepen its partnership with Philippines-listed multi-format retail group Robinsons Retail Holdings Inc. (‘RRHI’) and to build a leading pharmacy business in the Philippines by combining the Group’s interest in wholly-owned Rose Pharmacy Inc. with RRHI subsidiary South Star Drug Inc.  This transaction, which included the sale of Dairy Farm’s direct interest in Rose Pharmacy Inc, completed on 30th October 2020.

    The well-being of our employees and customers remains a top priority, and the Group continues to take a number of measures to mitigate the impact of the pandemic, including the adoption of a range of health and safety measures.  Given the extraordinary circumstances, we would like to express our deep gratitude for the continuing dedication and resolve of team members in putting customers first during these difficult times. 

    Dairy Farm remains committed to its multi-year transformation which is delivering sustainable improvements to the business over time and continues to pursue the strategic initiatives which will drive medium- to long-term growth.

    Dairy Farm is a leading pan-Asian retailer.  The Group, together with its associates and joint ventures, operates over 10,000 outlets – including grocery retail, convenience stores, health and beauty stores, home furnishings stores, and restaurants – employing some 240,000 people, and had total sales in 2019 exceeding US$27 billion.  Dairy Farm International Holdings Limited is incorporated in Bermuda and has a standard listing on the London Stock Exchange, with secondary listings in Bermuda and Singapore.  It is a member of the Jardine Matheson Group.

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  • Alibaba eyes to invest in online fashion retailer Farfetch

    Alibaba eyes to invest in online fashion retailer Farfetch

    Alibaba Group Holding Ltd 9988.HK is in advanced talks to invest nearly $300 million in online luxury fashion retailer Farfetch Ltd FTCH.N, the Information reported on Monday, citing people familiar with the matter.

    Shares of London-based Farfetch jumped about 16% to $32.59 following the news.

    The two companies are also in talks to create a Chinese joint venture, the report said here, adding that Cartier-owner Richemont, which has teamed up with Alibaba to create mobile applications, is also considering investing in Farfetch alongside the Chinese e-commerce giant.

    Both Farfetch and Alibaba were not immediately available for comment.

    Farfetch, which counts Alibaba’s competitors JD.com 9618.HK and Tencent Holdings Ltd 0700.HK among its investors has been betting on China’s burgeoning online luxury goods world. Chinese consumers make up a third of luxury goods purchases worldwide.

    Terms of the current and past deals with Tencent and JD would not prevent Alibaba from investing in Farfetch, the Information said, citing a source.

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  • Help small businesses instead of AirAsia

    Help small businesses instead of AirAsia

    A political economist has questioned the decision of the government-owned Sabah bank to lend AirAsia RM300 million and said the money should instead be spent to help small and medium enterprises in the state.

    Firdausi Suffian of Sabah UiTM said he was surprised to read reports that the budget airline has secured an RM300 million loan from Sabah Development Bank, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the state government.

    Firdausi said while there was nothing wrong with a bank to issue loans to a company, a state-owned bank’s priority should be to assist companies in Sabah, particularly SMEs, which have been badly affected by Covid-19.

    “Against the backdrop of Covid-19, one would think that the focus would be on SMEs rather than a company which has been making huge profits for the past few years.”

    Last week, SAPP president Yong Teck Lee had urged the state government to stop the loan, as the bank was mandated to provide financing for projects in Sabah and not on “risky ventures”.

    However, in a stock exchange filing on Friday, the airline said the loan had been secured and disbursed and would be used to enhance logistics in Sabah, helping to create over 100,000 new jobs.

    Firdausi said SMEs were the backbone of the economy, and that Sabah had 55,000 SMEs employing over 150,000 people.

    “SMEs are only getting the assistance of around RM90 million in the two Sabah government stimulus packages,” he said, pointing out that the sector contributes close to 57% of Sabah’s gross domestic product.

    Another economist, Barjoyai Bardai of Universiti Tun Abdul Razak, said he could not see the Sabah government’s rationale in wanting to loan AirAsia so much money that could be used to support struggling businesses in the state.

    “It is a different story if they are investing in the company. I think the state government will have to explain the rationale behind this decision because it will come under scrutiny.”

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  • UBS Hires Former Mainland Regulator for China Integration

    UBS Hires Former Mainland Regulator for China Integration

    UBS will look to integrate its China business units in a rapidly changing regulatory environment under the leadership of an ex-official from the mainland banking regulator.

    Alan Wang (or Wang Wei), a former senior official with the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission, joins the bank as a managing director and China integration lead, according to a report citing an internal memo.

    The bank will look to leverage Wang’s experience to integrate its various mainland business units in accordance to the local regulatory environment. In the Hong Kong-based role, Wang will work closely with UBS’s China country head David Chin and report to APAC president Edmund Koh.

    I am confident that his expertise in regulation and knowledge of the onshore market and network will be a great asset to foster long-term strategic development in the region, Koh added.

    UBS’s ambitions in mainland China are no secret with a nearly comprehensive set of businesses including wholly-owned units in wealth management, asset management, futures alongside a fund management joint venture called UBS SDIC Fund Management.

    Ownership aside, the bank has also been rapidly expanding these business units and had reportedly hit its hiring target ahead of time to double headcount from 600 in 2016 to 1,200.

  • Indonesian retail bussineses starts shutting down as coronavirus crisis gets worse

    Indonesian retail bussineses starts shutting down as coronavirus crisis gets worse

    The Indonesian retail sector has begun to shut down in the wake of the coronavirus crisis, with shopping centers and retail chains voluntarily closing the doors to non-essential categories.

    More than 30 shopping malls have been shut down in the country despite no order from authorities. Lippo Malls Indonesia Retail Trust (LMIRT) has temporarily closed 11 out of 23 shopping malls in the Greater Jakarta region, Bandung and Bali.

    According to LMIRT, the company will close its malls until April 9 and waive rent for all affected tenants. Essential services including supermarkets and pharmacies remain open during the shutdown.

    Other shopping malls across Jakarta closed include Senayan City, Plaza Indonesia, Aeon Malls, Mall of Indonesia and Lotte Shopping Avenue.

    Meanwhile, McDonald’s Indonesia will cease dine-in services across the country for two weeks starting from April 1. The company said on its social media channels that it still offers to take away, drive-through and home delivery services.

    As Indonesian retail continues to wind down, many local restaurants have also closed their doors but continue to operate through third-party apps like Gojek and Grab.

    Japanese fashion brand Uniqlo is among the latest retailers to temporarily close their stores in Indonesia.

    As of today, Indonesia has confirmed 1414 positive cases of Covid-19 including 122 deaths and 75 recovered.

  • Stanchart Pushes Back Target as Earnings Surge

    Stanchart Pushes Back Target as Earnings Surge

    Standard Chartered on Thursday has pushed back its target return on tangible equity, despite posting a commendable increase in annual profits. The revenue growth came from its main markets.

    The lender posted a pretax profit of $3.71 billion for 2019, up from $2.55 billion in 2018, according to its results statement. The 45.5 percent increase in profits defied the headwinds of global trade tensions and protests in Hong Kong.

    However, this is slightly below the $3.94 billion average of analysts’ forecasts compiled by the bank.

    The bank highlighted that its target of a 10 percent return on tangible equity, previously set for 2021, would be pushed back. In October, the global lender said that the goal had become more difficult amid worsening global economic conditions.

    These headwinds are expected to be transitory, but we now believe it will take longer to achieve our RoTE target of 10 percent than we previously envisaged,” it said in an earnings statement to the stock exchange.

    Stanchart’s results announcement comes after rival HSBC Holdings warned it could suffer loan losses of up to $600 million if the virus outbreak continues into the second half of the year.

    The bank added it has approved the buyback of up to $500 million worth of shares, which will commence shortly. It is in the midst of reviewing whether to do further capital return upon completing the sale of its stake in Indonesian lender Permata.

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  • Vietjet to venture into cargo business in Malaysia

    Vietjet to venture into cargo business in Malaysia

    In order to enhance and further develop its cargo network, the new-age carrier Vietjet is pleased to announce that its subsidiary and cargo arm, Vietjet Cargo is opening a tender for a cargo General Sales Agent (GSA) in Kuala Lumpur and is inviting companies to bid for the first time in Malaysia on February 2020.

    The GSA will be responsible for all the commercial activities for sales, marketing and promotion on Vietjet’s flight network connecting to over 400 flights daily covering more than 140 destinations across Vietnam and internationally such as Malaysia, China, Japan, Korea and Taiwan, etc. which includes a daily flight from Kuala Lumpur to Ho Chi Minh City.

    The GSA will also be actively controlling the pricing policy and space management, working with the cargo warehouse and ground handling agency, supervising the operations, maximizing the uplifted cargo and securing the service level commitment to clients directly.

    Nguyen Thanh Son, Vietjet Vice President, said: “At Vietjet, we believe in diversification to create sustainable business prospects. Following the establishment of Vietjet Cargo in 2014, we have independently and strategically developed and grown demand for air cargo services in Vietnam in addition to our main function as a commercial airline. Today, we have grown internationally, taking the necessary steps to expand our cargo business to the Malaysian market.

    To-date, Vietjet has transported nearly 100 million passengers in Vietnam with a fleet of 80 Airbus aircraft, comprising the Airbus A320/A321 aircraft, a world-class high-tech airplane in the aviation industry, with a capacity of four to five tons of cargo per flight and more.

    Moving forward, Vietjet will continue to work towards the establishment of its subsidiaries in the aviation industry worldwide, bringing a wide range of services and business opportunities to potential partners not only in Malaysia, but also in other countries while expanding Vietjet’s flight network globally.

  • UBS in Asia Undergoes Major Khan-Led Shakeup

    UBS in Asia Undergoes Major Khan-Led Shakeup

    UBS’s wealth management arm undergoes a major restructuring exercise led by the business’ global co-head Iqbal Khan and Tom Naratil.

    Through the reorganization, Khan will make his mark on the wealth management business’ highest growth market by region with the goal of improving costs and efficiency at the bank.

    The bank has appointed LH Koh, head of the China business, as the APAC co-head of the global family office, alongside the current head of the unit, Anurag Mahesh. David Man, a UBS veteran since 1996 credited for building a sizable international wealth business in Taiwan, was also appointed as vice-chairman of wealth management for Greater China.

    Post-restructuring, the Asia Pacific wealth business will be led by co-heads Amy Lo and August Hackete. In Hong Kong, Marina Lui will be sector head for China likely absorbing Koh’s former responsibilities overseeing the bank’s international China business. Succeeding Man to man the Taiwan helm is Francis Liu who was previously focused on the ultra-wealthy segment for Greater China. Also joining them in the city is Adeline Chien, sector head for Hong Kong and Southeast Asia.

    And in Singapore, the bank named Patricia Quek, as sector head for Singapore and Malaysia; Tian-Ong Foo, sector head for Thailand and Philippines; and Raymond Ang, sector head for Indonesia, Greater China and offshore Japan.

    Asia’s restructuring follows EMEA where Khan and Naratil divided the business into three parts to better responds to changing client needs. The restructuring is reportedly expected to help shed 500 jobs globally with affecting management layers in Asia alongside noteworthy portions of Europe. Switzerland and the U.S. are expected to be less impacted by the cuts.