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Table of contents COVER PAGE [ * ] Spotlight [ 6 ]

Front Page [ 1 ] Focus [ 8 ]
News [ 2 ] Talking About [ 10 ]
Entrepreneur @ Work [ 3 ] In Sight [ 13 ]
The Original Disr... [ 4 ] People [ 15 ]
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Table of contents All pages Page 2 > Page 1
Get the flash under control
Pua Khein-Seng, CEo of USB flash control specialist Phison Electronics, says its
easy to lose your head, become extravagant and forget whats important when things
are looking good and the...
Page 1 Table of contents Next article >
Get the flash under control
Photo: ZHAFARAn nASIB

are looking good and the money starts to come in.
Page 8
these days pen drives come in fun, eye-catching designs, not just your plain van
illa type.
WEALTH and self-importance can make people forget who they are, and so, for Phis
on Electronics Corp chairman and chief executive officer Datuk Pua Khein-Seng, 4
1, its important to always keep a level head and be on your toes.
Entrepreneurship is about chasing ideals, about feeling successful from being abl
e to create something from nothing, from having trained employees and seeing the
m live well, buying houses or cars, and starting a family, he says.
This view serves as a timely counterpoint to those who are caught up with the st
artup craze of million dollar valuations and who thinks that entrepreneurship is
about making money alone.
Pua is part of a team of five, comprising two Malaysians, two Taiwanese and one
from Macau, who in 2000 founded Phison, the Taiwan-based original design manufac
turer specialising in flash controllers. In 2012, Phison set up a 1,800-sq ft re
search and development (R&D) centre at the Bayan Lepas Industrial Estate in Pena
ng, with a staff of eight.
It was back in 2000, when he was 26 that Pua formed the company with his team in
Taiwan, coming up a year later with the first single chip USB flash controller
(or known as system on chip or SOC), which manages how data flows from a USB drive
to and from the computer). This lead to them patenting the product, which they
trademarked as Pendrive.
The company was listed in 2004 in the Taiwan stock exchange.
Phison under Puas leadership hit the US$1bil revenue mark in 2010, and this year,
in its 15th year, the company achieved a revenue of US$500mil for the first hal
f of 2015.
A graduate in electrical control engineering from the National Chiao Tung Univer
sity (NCTU) in Taiwan, Pua says getting their business started was far from a st
roll in the park. In fact, it was as bad as one could imagine, with nasty employ
ers and lawsuits thrown into the mix.
During his university days, he signed up as a researcher with a professor of his
on a programme that was developing NAND flash technologies controller for flash
drives.
My plan was to get a good job in a Taiwanese or Japanese factory in Malaysia afte
r graduation, he recalls.
But, as fate would have it, he met his future business partners in the course of
the research programme, and this would take his working life down a path differ
ent from the one he had in mind.
The five were transferred to work for a company in the campus, then known as Fei
ya Technology Corp-FTC, which was cooperating with universities in research work
on flash technologies.
We became their core technicians, sometimes sleeping in the office and barely att
ending class, Pua remembers.
They eventually succeeded in helping to develop a workable compact flash control
ler during the programme. While this was a happy break-through, Pua and his frie
nds decided that they were not being properly remunerated for their efforts. The
y then made up their mind to find a better-paying position since they had earned
their degree and were in post-graduate programmes.
But the company threatened to sue any employer who would hire us. When we decided
not to work as hard as before, they decided to start a new company for us to do
research on NAND flash technology, Pua recounts.
He was appointed general manager and promised a fund of US$1mil, but Pua and his
friends were made to sign a non-competition agreement, which listed areas they
were forbidden to work on.

Despite all this, they got less than a quarter of the money promised, and the co
mpany subsequently sent them a letter of no-confidence and decided to shut them
down.
Obviously, they had been led down a deadend.
So the five decided to strike out on their own. In September 2000, they incorpor
ated Phison, which basically means five persons, raising money from their own savi
ngs, with some contribution from their 12-strong workforce and other investors.
By October of 2000, they had managed to raise US$1mil themselves and proceeded t
o rent a 648 sq ft basement space from the Industrial Technology Research Instit
ute (ITRI) Incubation Centre in Hsinchu, Miaoli, Taiwan.
With no products of their own yet, it was a challenging situation. They used up
half a million dollars in the first nine months of operations for rental, salari
es, machinery and R&D expenditures, and as such, Pua says, the fledging company
took up any jobs that came their way from designing USB card readers to MP3 play
ers and voice recorders.
Actual manufacturing was outsourced to other companies.
Later, they received a request to design a USB flash drive, and that was when th
ey started to turn a profit. This attracted the attention of their previous empl
oyer, FTC, which sued them for breach of contract, among other things, based on
the non-competition agreement they had signed previously.
During one of the court proceeding, Pua remembers becoming angry when an FTC gen
eral manager said: You young people are shameless. You stole our design, claimed
it as yours and profited from it.
We signed the non-competition agreement earlier because we needed the work permit
, but it doesnt mean that we stole their product as it was developed by us. We de
veloped the compact flash controller (for FTC) but this was a USB flash controll
er, he points out.
Although he could just returned to Malaysia and brush the whole thing off as jus
t a bad dream, Pua felt the need to to stay the course as they had employees who
se livelihood they were responsible for.
I told the media the real story, and FTC did not respond. If I had lied, they wou
ld surely have sued us, he says, adding that they finally settled out of court in
2006 at the request of the courts (after Phison had won the case twice and FTC
continued to appeal against the decision).
After that incident, the company started to grow from strength to strength, and
Pua made it a practice to patent what the company designed. Phison spent about U
S$66,000 a month on patents from 2008 onwards, and has increased the figure to a
bout US$100,000 a month since early this year.
From then on, whenever anyone tried to sue him, his answer was short and sweet: S
ure, go get your lawyers and we will see you in court.
According to Pua, he was able to weather all the challenges because he had on hi
s side not fair-weather friends but shareholders, suppliers and clients who had
faith in what the company was doing.
Sometimes, we meet our clients needs even when we lose money on the deal because t
hey are the people who will be around not just to give us better deals in the fu
ture, but also when times are bad, he says.
With a staff of 1,100 in a 40,000-sqm R&D centre in Jhunan, Miaoli, Taiwan and R
&D offices in Penang (Malaysia), Hefei (China), Silicon Valley (US) and a logist
ics office in Tokyo (Japan), Phison has an export market that covers the US, Eur
ope, Japan and China.
Concluding the interview, Pua says the company remains humble and focused, with
a strong leadership guiding it.
The partners now president, chief technology officer (CTO) and directors at Phis
on have remained with the company through thick and thin.
The five of us have something in common: we are not addicted to money, stresses Pu
a.
We have cars and houses, but nothing fancy. In fact, one of my partner continue t
o rent an apartment and takes the taxi to work. We are proud that our employees
live in bigger houses than we do, he says.
Table of contents All pages < Page 1 Page 3 > Page 2
Trade compliance: an opportunity
STRONG economies, coupled with the shift in manufacturing of low-value goods fro
m China to South-East Asia and the continuous reduction of trade barriers, have
driven regional trade to a new...
Page 2 Table of contents < Previous article Next article >
Trade compliance: an opportunity
Having to comply with international trade regulations, which can be complex and
bewildering, may be daunting, but it puts your business in an advantageous posit
ion to grow, writes RAYMOND YEE.
Raymond Yee is DHL Expresss vice president of customs and regulatory affairs, Sou
th and South-East Asia.
123RF If you want to expand your market overseas in Asia, then you have to be ab
le to navigate the complex and varying trade regulations.
STRONG economies, coupled with the shift in manufacturing of low-value goods fro
m China to South-East Asia and the continuous reduction of trade barriers, have
driven regional trade to a new peak, with intra-Asia trade now accounting for 25
% of Asias US$6 tril in annual exports, and the number is rising.
To capitalise on this, an outward-looking business would have to be able to nego

tiate the various trade regulations of Asian countries.
Unlike the EU, Asias trade environment is fragmented and heterogeneous. As a resu
lt, complying with trade regulations is critical in helping companies minimise r
isks and allow them to deal with these complexities more effectively.
Failure to follow trade laws and regulations can potentially result in a range o
f negative consequences. Besides reputational damage, assets may be seized in so
me instances. But in more severe cases, companies may be charged penalties or co
mpany executives could potentially be imprisoned. In either case, a non-complian
ce issue could put a companys supply chain at risk.
Furthermore, trade regulations in the region are wide-ranging and constantly evo
lving, such as health, safety, security, environment, biodiversity, etc. These r
egulations are often complex and at times, overlapping.
Complying with the myriad of regulations is challenging to any company relying o
n cross-border supply chains for growth. However, the ability to do so will beco
me a strategic advantage.
SMEs account for more than 90% of all businesses and employ between 60% and 80%
of the workforce in Asia Pacific. In Malaysia, the current SME contribution is 3
5% to GDP, with plans to increase this to 41% by the year 2020. Making it easier
for SMEs to trade is an important aspect to the overall economic success for th
e region.
Among the globalisation challenges faced by SMEs, navigating differing legal, re
gulatory and technical requirements were identified as one of the top trade barr
iers. For SMEs in developing economies, these varying regulations can be particu
larly daunting given the challenges they may face in obtaining reliable and accu
rate information.
Furthermore, tight resources often make these SMEs reluctant to invest in headco
unts, processes and knowledge build-up required to understand and comply with re
gulations.
Both the public sector and the SMEs themselves play a part in overcoming the cha
llenge.
The critical success factor is for SMEs to truly recognise the complexity of reg
ulations and the potential cost impact to supply chains due to an incidence of n
on-compliance. Not meeting regulations can potentially be a costly affair, not j
ust in terms of monetary loss, but also loss of business opportunities.
For example, we have seen companies having to postpone or cancel significant pro
duct launches because they had overlooked licensing requirements for products to
be shipped across borders.
To avoid such costly and risky issues, SMEs should put in place dedicated resour
ces to make sure all relevant regulations are known and understood. One would al
so encourage the senior management of SMEs to see beyond the immediate investmen
ts required and focus on the long-term business benefits.
In the early stage of setting up a trade-compliance process, SMEs can consider g
oing to external trade specialists for guidance on the framework to shorten the
learning curve. However, while SMEs can rely on external partners to facilitate
trade, they should take equal, if not more, responsibility as compliance is esse
ntially a business risk.
On the other hand, governments and related agencies should consider the impact t
o businesses when formulating or making changes to regulations. They can also pl
ay the pivotal role of educating SMEs through workshops and channels of providin
g advice to get them on board with new trade regulations quickly.
Having clear guidelines, transparent processes and easy-to-use tools will reduce
the burden on businesses when it comes to getting a firm grasp of any regulator
y change. Governments should keep in mind that they hold the power to remove or
create trade barriers, and in turn, the responsibility to strike a good balance
between regulatory restrictions and promotion of free trade.
Regional initiatives such as the harmonisation of regulations under the Asean Ec
onomic Community (AEC), the Asean Single Window and the Harmonised Tariff Nomenc
lature are proof that governments in the region are working together and taking
steps to create a more trade-friendly environment. However, more needs to be don
e.
If supported by trade promotion measures undertaken by governments, SMEs stand t
o benefit from regional and global trade provided, of course, they understand ho
w regulations affect trade, fully comprehend the regulatory process and have the
right compliance strategy.
My constant hair concern
Its said that you started working at age 10? I came from a poor family background
in Malacca. My grandparents and parents constantly advised me to study hard if
I...
FUN FACTS
What are you afraid of? Hair loss. One word that describes you: Positive. Favour
ite food: Chicken rice balls.
My constant hair concern
Bryan Tay, 37, founder of Miracle Hair Expert, says his constant concern for his
mane, which his mother once remarked threatened to break the mirror, led him to
realise there could be people losing hair and in need of assistance. JESSIE LIM
writes.
Its said that you started working at age 10?

I came from a poor family background in Malacca. My grandparents and parents con
stantly advised me to study hard if I wanted to change my life. So not only did
I study hard from primary and secondary school, and all through university, I al
so wanted to help ease my parents financial burden.
I decided to work to earn a little side income. I worked at a cocoa plantation p
lucking cocoa pods, I cleaned houses, planted trees at a tourism area and waited
tables.
Low self-esteem doesnt seem to be a problem to you. How did you overcome that?
There was a bit of that because of my background. People kept comparing me to ot
hers, and the only way to change that was to study and work hard. Its not uncommo
n that when you have achieved something, people will give you the recognition. I
t is through the compliments and recognitions that I built my confidence.
Now, I make sure to recognise and encourage my staff for jobs well done, as I be
lieve this helps them to perform better and feel good about themselves.
How did you get into the haircare and treatment business?
There was a time when I was selling haircare products. I didnt think of why I wan
ted to sell them. All I wanted was to earn an income. But as I continued to sell
, I noticed that there was actually an opportunity for the haircare business to
grow because it was still a niche market back then.
Another factor was my constant concern for my hair. My mother would always tell
me that the mirror would break someday because I looked at it so often. My conce
rn for my hair has also made me realise that there could be people who were losi
ng hair and were in need of a treatment.
What was your biggest challenge in starting the business?
Capital. Ill admit that its no easy feat to sustain once youre in the business. Eve
ry month it was difficult to cover what was spent, and within half a year I was
facing problems. I was struggling to keep the business going.
What has been your formula?
I have always applied the principles of ancient warfare strategies from the Chin
ese drama series,
The Three Kingdoms, to my business situations. How you manage the country is lik
e how you manage the company. Your generals represent the management of the comp
any, and your soldiers are your staff. The business capital is the food that nee
ds to be given to the soldiers and their horses before they go to war.
In addition, I also believe that you need to have both intelligence quotient (IQ
) and emotional intelligence (EQ). In business, you need to constantly be able t
o calculate your profits and losses and analyse the figures accurately so you ar
e able to make informed decisions. You also need to know how to deal with people
staff and customers. Take care of your staff, always motivate them and know how
to manage their differences.
Make your customers happy by giving them a good experience and taking care of th
eir needs.
What are some lessons you have learnt in business?

Problems and solving them is a part of life. Never take problem-solving as a pro
blem because it will then take up too much of your time and energy till it hinde
rs you from moving forward. What Ive learnt is that your dreams need to be bigger
than the problems.
Often, we perceive our problems to be bigger, which overshadows our dreams, or w
e place our problems right in front of us, blocking out our dreams. Thats when we
fail to progress. Always make sure you dont lose sight of your dreams.
Problems will always occur. You just need to solve them as you go along.
Also, from what I have observed, before any good thing comes there is a great ch
allenge. And it is the challenge that will make you feel down or want to give up
. But we need to face it positively, and then the outcome will be that much more
rewarding.
Also remember that when a challenge comes to us, its a time to learn.
The pathway of an entrepreneur is like climbing a staircase. The business stairc
ase has a lot of uneven steps unlike a real staircase. This means that in busine
ss, there are many changing situations, which is why we need to be adaptable to
these situations in order to keep moving up.
Do you have one principle that you stick by?
How to be better, and whats next? From experiences, I have learnt that I need to fr
equently ask myself this. We need to always ask ourselves how we can constantly
improve, and what is going to be the next step to get closer to our goals.
Being a leader, you need to constantly motivate the people around you. Whats your
source of motivation?
Dreams are what keep me going. Dont stop, keep on expanding them. From a haircare
and treatment business, we are preparing to venture into the slimming and beaut
y skincare line.
I also do reality checks. I look at
ee how far theyve come, and remind
too. Last but not least, it is from
nding myself to stay positive every
attract positive things.
other people who have achieved so much, to s

myself that if they can get there, then I can
within that I seek positivity. Im always remi
day because if youre positive, then you will
How do you see your competitors?

We have market leaders and also upcoming businesses. I believe Miracle Hair Expe
rt is somewhere in between. I dont really see the market leaders, or competitors,
as competition but a benchmark for us to constantly learn from to push, grow an
d improve ourselves. They are good at what they do. Its healthy competition. I do
nt see them as hindrances to our growth.
Whats your advice to aspiring entrepreneurs?
When you start a business, make sure to operate within your means. If you have l
imited resources, then start small and choose a niche market. If you start in a
big market, the market leaders will crowd you out as they already have a strong
footing in the industry.
So get into an industry that you can focus on. Once your business is successful,
then go and expand it. Being ambitious is good but dont forget that you need to
start from scratch. Be real.
Last but not least, stay positive. Obstacles, rejections and challenges may brin
g you down but as long as you stay positive, your mind will see possibilities fo
r solutions and progress.
FUN FACTS
What are you afraid of?

Hair loss.
One word that describes you: Positive. Favourite food:
Chicken rice balls.
Learning on the job
YOUNG entrepreneurs often ask me whether they should get a degree in business, s
ince I left school at an early age to launch a startup. Ive learned a lot in...
Learning on the job
The university is a good place to build a knowledge base, but it isnt for everyon
e. For entrepreneurs, especially, learning by doing is just as important, if not
more so.
By Richard Branson
123rF
YOUNG entrepreneurs often ask me whether they should get a degree in business, s
ince I left school at an early age to launch a startup.
Ive learned a lot in my many years away from the classroom, including that in our
field, nothing beats on-the-job experience, so I always urge them to avoid long
, costly journeys through the higher education system.
The most valuable commodity anybody has is time, and it shouldnt be wasted on stu
dies that wont produce a good return on investment. For people who hope to go int
o professions like mathematics or the sciences, university may be the best place
to build a knowledge base. But that isnt a blanket rule.
So for the rest of us, heres a shortcut: four important lessons that I learned on
the job, and which I wouldnt have learned at university.
Nothing beats a real-life pressure test
Nobody can deny that taking endless exams in school is stressful and doing well
requires commitment. But for young entrepreneurs, all that time and effort might
be put to much better use.
I was quite shy when I was starting out, and the thought of launching a startup
setting up meetings, pitching ideas and leading a team was daunting. Attending c
lasses on how to make a great presentation or manage a company wouldnt have done
me any harm, but the only way to learn was by doing.
Whether they have formal training in business management or not, all entrepreneu
rs learn by trial and error when theyre starting out. As you sort out what works
and what doesnt, you polish your style and grow more confident.
Delaying that process by sitting in lecture halls for years seems like an odd id
ea to me.
Adventurousness is essential
Work as an entrepreneur requires that you embrace adventure. You need to teach y
ourself everything you can about your industry, and gather a wide group of frien
ds and acquaintances who are working on similar problems but those people may be
from many different fields and regions.
Your advisers shouldnt just be your neighbours.
My parents were careful to encourage me to explore the world from a young age, a
nd Ive noticed that many entrepreneurs seem to be inquisitive and brave. Its alway
s evident in our staff at Virgin when we launch a new business or enter a new ma
rket or even at our parties.
We encourage our employees to get out of the office, meet people and do their ow
n research.
While many students work hard at making social connections at university, its a f
airly small pool. There may also be only limited opportunities to travel and mee
t people off-campus.
Specialising isnt always a good idea
After youve launched one business, it can be amazing how often a knowledge of one
industry can help you in another, sometimes very different, sector.
In the 1980s Virgin was primarily known as a music brand, so the conventional wi
sdom when we announced that we were starting up an airline was that we were clue
less and the venture was sure to fail.
However, we knew how to entertain people, and we put that knowledge to use when
we were creating the in-flight programming and entertainment systems. The busine
ss we created, Virgin Atlantic, was fun and cool, and we were able to carve out
an important niche in an established industry.
Our fresh perspective may have made the difference between success and failure.
Learning is for life
All industries are changing rapidly, as technological advances increase the spee
d of innovation at an exponential pace. Anyone who wants to succeed in business
has to be prepared to learn every day in order to adapt to and stay ahead of the
latest developments.
Over the past few years, Ive invested in a number of tech startups that are build
ing on the sharing economy or disrupting financial technology services two areas
that were new only a couple of years ago. Listening to pitches, meeting the peo
ple behind the startups and learning about how they operate has helped to educat
e me about these exciting new sectors.
Keep on pursuing your passions, and youll learn a great deal.
In order to truly understand something, you often have to live it, rather than j
ust read about it. This especially applies to entrepreneurship. No matter what r
oute you choose as you prepare to launch a business, at some point, you just hav
e to leap. Distributed by The New York Times Syndicate Questions from readers wi
ll be answered in future columns. Please
send them to RichardBranson@ nytimes.com. Please include your name, country, e-m
ail address and the name of the website or publication where you read the column
.
Its Brolly good
AFTER she spent a hectic year working as a restaurant manager in Melbourne, TY O
oi made up her mind to swear off a career in the food and beverage industry....
Its Brolly good
A road trip across the US of A inspired TY Ooi to get back into the food busines
s big-time. She opened Crab Factory, then Smoking Hog, and now a nine-in-one foo
d establishment called Brolly. KELLY TEY reports.
Heart and soul: Everything about Brolly, from the concepts, to the menu, to the
interior design, was envisioned by ooi.
AFTER she spent a hectic year working as a restaurant manager in Melbourne, TY O
oi made up her mind to swear off a career in the food and beverage industry. Or
so she thought.
One thing kept reeling her back in, though her great respect for the chefs, mana
gers and floor staff who keep restaurants running, whatever the difficulties, to
please the customers.
Well, that, and the fact that she just loves food.
Ooi came back to Malaysia in 2008 to help out with her familys school uniform bus
iness, but her passion for food was never extinguished. Two years ago, when she
took a road trip in the United States and was introduced to Louisiana-styled sea
food dishes, she came back with an idea for a new business.
Within four months of arriving home, Ooi opened the first Crab Factory in SS2 wi
th her partners. Some 10 months later, she opened the doors to Smoking Hog, a sp
eakeasy diner specialising in smoked bacon, located just above Crab Factory. She
sure came back inspired, on fire. I never looked back, says Ooi. Two eateries? Sh
e wasnt done yet. Ooi found herself hungry to share more gastronomic experience w
ith a wider spectrum of customers.
This drove her to start her most prized project yet a unique all-in-one dining c
oncept called Brolly.
According to Ooi, the name Brolly is exactly what it implies: an umbrella of din
ing experiences with nine different menus on offer. It brings with it an extensi
on of Crab Factory, plus eight other new dining concepts.
The main anchors include Crab Factory, Ember & Bara BBQ, Raksaksa Mirai, which s
pecialises in Japanese curry dishes, and Nove 9 for Spinach-dough thin crust piz
zas.
The supporting acts include Moleys Oyster Bar, Bang Bang Baller Bar for specially
crafted drinks, chicken wings galore from My Wing Man, Vari. Eat. y with its bi
tes and bar snacks, and Sweet Endings desserts served in parcels or mason jars.
The idea for this sprouted last year, it just seemed so crazy at the time that we
never took it forward, Ooi recounts. But when we found this ideal place (in Menar
a Felda, Kuala Lumpur) earlier this year, we re-visited the idea.
We just bit the bullet and went ahead, she shrugs.
Ooi says the idea was simply to have nine restaurants in one place so people wou
ld not have to go out of their way to taste new things.
Its like a melting pot of food, she explains, adding that the concept is new to the
country.
The RM2mil establishment is everything Ooi had in mind, from the naming and the
concepts, to the crafting of the menu and the interior design, down to how the p
lace is to be run. The naming part she especially enjoyed.
For instance, she named Raksaksa Mirai as a tribute to the Ultraman series she l
oved watching growing up, while Moleys Oyster Bar took her own nickname, Moley an
d stemmed from her love of the shellfish.
As for the interior design, Brolly is set up to look like an old garage, but in
a more modern light.
I like cars and thats why the place is car-centric, she explains.
Ooi had mufflers converted into lights and tyres into sinks; she used rear view
mirrors as vanity mirrors and decked car rims over the entrance into the VIP roo
ms.
She even had an old Datsin 210Y hung upside-down, with a disco ball fitted insid
e it. Ooi attributes the heavily automotive-themed Brolly to her penchant for th
e Initial D television series about street racing.
But ultimately, good food is what Ooi wants to provide. She teamed up with her b
and of chefs to design recipes that were out of the box.
Like with Nove 9, we have an unconventional Italian pizza called the Thai Beef Gu
ava Salad. And the curry dishes from Raksaksa Mirai, theyre different from what w
ere accustomed to here, says Ooi.
I visited 11 places in Tokyo just to learn about the way they make their curry; i
t wasnt all just Japanese spices. There was a good mix of Indian curry too, she el
aborates.
At Bang Bang Baller Bar, Ooi concocted one-of-a-kind drinks. Some of the notewor
thy ones include beergeritas or fruit puree-infused beer and pu-er ice tea mocktai
ls.
Brolly is the embodiment of what Ooi had learned and encountered in her journeys
as a foodie.
Im an experience-based person, I hope to translate that into my business. Thats why
Brollys tagline is experience further, she says.
As her businesses gain traction, Ooi says they will make price adjustments frien
dly to patrons.
Because we have expanded, our volumes have increase, hence the materials get chea
per. We dont have to be expensive, or rather, wed like to pass on the savings to c
ustomers, she says.
Ooi also believes in doing her bit for social good, hence she is starting the Sav
ing for a rainy day initiative. She is going to sell wind-proof umbrellas, with 8
0% of the proceeds going towards funding scuba-diving course for underprivileged
kids between 15 to 21 years of age, as well as to sponsor the childrens access t
o Aquaria KLCC.
I want to share this experience with those who are not usually able to do so, and
in the process, people will learn more about conservation of the ocean, says Ooi
.
The initiative will officially kick off at Brollys grand launch sometime in Novem
ber.
Show your stuff
ALLIANCE Bank Malaysia Bhd has shortlisted entries for its SME Innovation Challe
nge 2015 down to the top 20 finalists. And those shortlisted will be going throu
gh a series of business...
Show your stuff
the 20 finalists of the SME Innovation Challenge 2015 with Liew (centre, in whit
e shirt) and Khor (in coat).
ALLIANCE Bank Malaysia Bhd has shortlisted entries for its SME Innovation Challe
nge 2015 down to the top 20 finalists. And those shortlisted will be going throu
gh a series of business coaching as they vie for the RM1mil cash prize.
The finalists include Freshcart Grocer, Signature Snack, The Alphabet Press, Sna
pSell and LYL Technology.
The young startups response to SME Innovation Challenge for the past three years h
as been positive and is a clear demonstration of the thriving entrepreneurial sc
ene in Malaysia, says Victor Khor, Alliance Bank executive vice president and hea
d of group transaction & SME banking, at the annual BizSmart Academy Young Entre
preneurs Conference at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre.
Since its inception in 2013, the programme has received more than 1,000 good qual
ity submissions from a wide range of industries including retail, e-commerce, fa
shion, food and beverage as well as social enterprises.
Its no secret that the SMEs in Malaysia power the engines of growth for our countr
y. They represent 98% of businesses in Malaysia and employ 57% of the nations wor
kforce.
About 79% of Malaysian SMEs are microenterprises with less than five employees an
d 45% of them are young, with operations of less than five years. It is because
of this that Alliance Bank has made it its mission to help business owners succe
ed at their enterprise aspirations, starting with the young Malaysian SMEs, Khor
adds.
The finalists will undergo a two-month structured business coaching and mentorin
g with established business icons and subject matter experts. They will also eng
age with various media for brand exposure.
All these will culminate in a final business idea pitch to the panel of judges a
nd the public in early December 2015.
This is my third year as the chairman of the judging panel, and I am happy to not
e that we continue to have an interesting mix of finalists, says Tan Sri Liew Kee
Sin of Eco World Development Group Bhd.
There were quite a few innovative ideas presented. Im always refreshed to hear how
these young entrepreneurs, even those in traditional businesses, are using the
Internet and digital communication platforms to enhance or reinvent the way busi
ness is carried out, he comments.
While the path to becoming a successful entrepreneur is not easy, Liew notes tha
t the 20 finalists are privileged to receive a huge leg-up through their partici
pation in the Alliance Bank SME Innovation Challenge.
He is optimistic the participants will be able to learn much from the structured
training, as well as gain invaluable opportunities to network and learn from ea
ch other.
Many of the programmes alumni have mentioned that the journey has been the springb
oard to their young companys growth, chips in Khor.
Being in the programme has provided them with greater media exposure, thereby hel
ped create greater brand awareness for their company, networking opportunities w
ith industry leaders especially through the CEO Chatroom sessions, and most of a
ll, an invaluable networking and collaborative platform stemming from the friend
ships made during the challenge, he adds.
Alliances SME Innovation Challenge 2015 is supported by Eco World, Manulife Insur
ance Bhd, Visa Malaysia, HyppTV, Cradle Fund Sdn. Bhd (Cradle), BFM89.9 and Lead
eronomics.
Something from nothing
1, its important to always keep...
Fact file
Number of staff: 1,100 staff Revenue for first half of 2015: USD500mil R&D centr
es: three
Something from nothing
For Phison CEO and co-founder Pua Khein-Seng, entrepreneurship isnt about chasing
money so much as it is about creating value out of nothing and nurturing people
, whether employees, suppliers or clients, wrties LIM WING HOOI.
Photo: ZHAFARAn nASIB

are looking good and the money starts to come in.
Page 8
these days pen drives come in fun, eye-catching designs, not just your plain van
illa type.
1, its important to always keep a level head and be on your toes.
Entrepreneurship is about chasing ideals, about feeling successful from being abl
e to create something from nothing, from having trained employees and seeing the
m live well, buying houses or cars, and starting a family, he says.
This view serves as a timely counterpoint to those who are caught up with the st
artup craze of million dollar valuations and who thinks that entrepreneurship is
about making money alone.
Pua is part of a team of five, comprising two Malaysians, two Taiwanese and one
from Macau, who in 2000 founded Phison, the Taiwan-based original design manufac
turer specialising in flash controllers. In 2012, Phison set up a 1,800-sq ft re
search and development (R&D) centre at the Bayan Lepas Industrial Estate in Pena
ng, with a staff of eight.
It was back in 2000, when he was 26 that Pua formed the company with his team in
Taiwan, coming up a year later with the first single chip USB flash controller
(or known as system on chip or SOC), which manages how data flows from a USB drive
to and from the computer). This lead to them patenting the product, which they
trademarked as Pendrive.
The company was listed in 2004 in the Taiwan stock exchange.
Phison under Puas leadership hit the US$1bil revenue mark in 2010, and this year,
in its 15th year, the company achieved a revenue of US$500mil for the first hal
f of 2015.
A graduate in electrical control engineering from the National Chiao Tung Univer
sity (NCTU) in Taiwan, Pua says getting their business started was far from a st
roll in the park. In fact, it was as bad as one could imagine, with nasty employ
ers and lawsuits thrown into the mix.
During his university days, he signed up as a researcher with a professor of his
on a programme that was developing NAND flash technologies controller for flash
drives.
My plan was to get a good job in a Taiwanese or Japanese factory in Malaysia afte
r graduation, he recalls.
But, as fate would have it, he met his future business partners in the course of
the research programme, and this would take his working life down a path differ
ent from the one he had in mind.
The five were transferred to work for a company in the campus, then known as Fei
ya Technology Corp-FTC, which was cooperating with universities in research work
on flash technologies.
We became their core technicians, sometimes sleeping in the office and barely att
ending class, Pua remembers.
They eventually succeeded in helping to develop a workable compact flash control
ler during the programme. While this was a happy break-through, Pua and his frie
nds decided that they were not being properly remunerated for their efforts. The
y then made up their mind to find a better-paying position since they had earned
their degree and were in post-graduate programmes.
But the company threatened to sue any employer who would hire us. When we decided
not to work as hard as before, they decided to start a new company for us to do
research on NAND flash technology, Pua recounts.
He was appointed general manager and promised a fund of US$1mil, but Pua and his
friends were made to sign a non-competition agreement, which listed areas they
were forbidden to work on.
Despite all this, they got less than a quarter of the money promised, and the co
mpany subsequently sent them a letter of no-confidence and decided to shut them
down.
Obviously, they had been led down a deadend.
So the five decided to strike out on their own. In September 2000, they incorpor
ated Phison, which basically means five persons, raising money from their own savi
ngs, with some contribution from their 12-strong workforce and other investors.
By October of 2000, they had managed to raise US$1mil themselves and proceeded t
o rent a 648 sq ft basement space from the Industrial Technology Research Instit
ute (ITRI) Incubation Centre in Hsinchu, Miaoli, Taiwan.
With no products of their own yet, it was a challenging situation. They used up
half a million dollars in the first nine months of operations for rental, salari
es, machinery and R&D expenditures, and as such, Pua says, the fledging company
took up any jobs that came their way from designing USB card readers to MP3 play
ers and voice recorders.
Actual manufacturing was outsourced to other companies.
Later, they received a request to design a USB flash drive, and that was when th
ey started to turn a profit. This attracted the attention of their previous empl
oyer, FTC, which sued them for breach of contract, among other things, based on
the non-competition agreement they had signed previously.
During one of the court proceeding, Pua remembers becoming angry when an FTC gen
eral manager said: You young people are shameless. You stole our design, claimed
it as yours and profited from it.
We signed the non-competition agreement earlier because we needed the work permit
, but it doesnt mean that we stole their product as it was developed by us. We de
veloped the compact flash controller (for FTC) but this was a USB flash controll
er, he points out.
Although he could just returned to Malaysia and brush the whole thing off as jus
t a bad dream, Pua felt the need to to stay the course as they had employees who
se livelihood they were responsible for.
I told the media the real story, and FTC did not respond. If I had lied, they wou
ld surely have sued us, he says, adding that they finally settled out of court in
2006 at the request of the courts (after Phison had won the case twice and FTC
continued to appeal against the decision).
After that incident, the company started to grow from strength to strength, and
Pua made it a practice to patent what the company designed. Phison spent about U
S$66,000 a month on patents from 2008 onwards, and has increased the figure to a
bout US$100,000 a month since early this year.
From then on, whenever anyone tried to sue him, his answer was short and sweet: S
ure, go get your lawyers and we will see you in court.
According to Pua, he was able to weather all the challenges because he had on hi
s side not fair-weather friends but shareholders, suppliers and clients who had
faith in what the company was doing.
Sometimes, we meet our clients needs even when we lose money on the deal because t
hey are the people who will be around not just to give us better deals in the fu
ture, but also when times are bad, he says.
With a staff of 1,100 in a 40,000-sqm R&D centre in Jhunan, Miaoli, Taiwan and R
&D offices in Penang (Malaysia), Hefei (China), Silicon Valley (US) and a logist
ics office in Tokyo (Japan), Phison has an export market that covers the US, Eur
ope, Japan and China.
Concluding the interview, Pua says the company remains humble and focused, with
a strong leadership guiding it.
The partners now president, chief technology officer (CTO) and directors at Phis
on have remained with the company through thick and thin.
The five of us have something in common: we are not addicted to money, stresses Pu
a.
We have cars and houses, but nothing fancy. In fact, one of my partner continue t
o rent an apartment and takes the taxi to work. We are proud that our employees
live in bigger houses than we do, he says.

Fact file
Number of staff: 1,100 staff Revenue for first half of 2015: USD500mil R&D centr
es: three
A farm boy at heart
LOOKING back, Phison Electronics Corp chairman and chief executive officer Datuk
Pua Khein-Seng says he doesnt have any special interest in electronics. I studied
electronics because my father asked me...
A farm boy at heart
WING HOOI by LIM
LOOKING back, Phison Electronics Corp chairman and chief executive officer Datuk
Pua Khein-Seng says he doesnt have any special interest in electronics.
I studied electronics because my father asked me to, he reveals.
Im still in this business because I am aware of the responsibility that I hold. I
am responsible to my employees, and their families to ensure that the company wo
uld remain relevant in todays world, he says.
Pua, who still maintains a punishing schedule, says he only has five days of con
tinuous vacation with his family a year.
Its not because I like it but because technology is developing so quickly that I h
ave to keep up with it, he explains.
Pua, who was raised in a farming family in Sekinchan, Selangor, holds to his fat
hers maxim: You can wait for others but never let others wait for you.
After completing his studies at Pin Hwa High School in 1992 at age 19, he went t
o the National Chiao Tung University (NCTU) in Taiwan to pursue a degree in elec
trical control engineering.
I remember I was very poor, and when I needed a pair of glasses due to reading a
lot using the lamp, my father had to pick vegetables to sell before he managed t
o get the RM20 for my glasses, Pua recalls.
And in NCTU, he worked at the universitys grocery store and library to pay for hi
s college fees.
Insisting that we are just regular folk not blessed with ridiculously high IQs, Pu
a says it was the will to do what needed to be done that matters most in ones end
eavours.
Ive known some entrepreneurs who get pretty self-important even before their compa
nies get off the ground. Theyd get themselves a new hair cut, a new suit, and sta
rt driving a nice car.
I often tell my employees that such behaviour would lead to their downfall. And
Im usually right; they would go down within a year, he says.
Pua says he can see the potential in the storage device technology, with people c
hanging their device every 18 month while doubling their devices storage capacity
, but his first love, he says, is actually farming. Perhaps its no surprise then t
hat he still uses a feature phone along with a smartphone.
In 2009, Phison invested about US$1mil in a 7,000-sqm land to undertake organic
farming, with the vegetables and fruits distributed to employees.
Its a place where they can gather, relax and de-stress. They can go and pluck thei
r favourite fruits there, he concludes.
Purr-fect miao chow
MOST people would have something from Adabi in their kitchen, whether its curry p
owder, ready-to-use condiments, sauces or canned food. A household name in Malay
sia, Adabi Consumer Industries Sdn Bhd...
Purr-fect miao chow
Adabi is a household name when it comes to packaged food stuff, but now they hav
e also branched into a totally new market: cat food, reports ZIEMAN.
Powerpets Food was established specifically to focus on making and selling pet f
ood, say Adrian.
MOST people would have something from Adabi in their kitchen, whether its curry p
owder, ready-to-use condiments, sauces or canned food. A household name in Malay
sia, Adabi Consumer Industries Sdn Bhd seems to have been with us forever, but t
he company actually first appeared in the market only in 1984.
But they are aggressive and their products are diverse.
And now Adabi has branched into something new: cat food.
It appears theres a high demand for cat food in the country, and this led Adabi t
o come up with its own PowerCat kitty food through its subsidiary Powerpets Food
. PowerCat is also the first locally produced cat food in Malaysia, and its halal
.
We introduced our wet cat food at the end of 2013, and the response was extremely
good. All this while cat lovers have been buying imported cat food. Powerpets F
ood was established specifically to focus on manufacturing and sales of pet food
. Our wet cat food factory is in Muncar, Surabaya, says Adrian Hj Roslan, preside
nt of Adabi.
Every month, between 500 000 and one million packets of PowerCat are produced an
d packed in 400g cans (RM3.90 each) and in 85g packets (RM1.20). the flavours in
clude Fresh Ocean Tuna, Fresh Ocean Fish, Fresh Mackerel and Fresh Tuna and Sard
ine all very fishy.
The success of this line spurred Powerpets Food to launch their dry cat food las
t year. The products, made from fresh fish, posted impressive sales within three
months.
The 32% protein content of the dry cat food is on par with imported cat food bran
ds, says Mohd Zahiruddin Idrus, general manager of Powerpets Food.
PowerCat is made from natural ingredients using the best raw materials, of high q
uality and contains complete nutrition for a cat. The fish used is caught and pr
ocessed on the same day, is salt free with no artificial preservatives.
We set high standards for all the raw materials, with strict controls by the qual
ity control department during the production process, adds Zahiruddin.
The Dry Cat Food comes in two flavours, tuna and regular fish, and is sold in th
ree different sizes: 500gm (RM6.20), 1.4kg (RM15) and 8kg (RM63). The PowerCat f
actory in Rawang can produce at least one tonne of dry cat food in an hour.
PowerCat refinery has also gained certification from GMP and HACCP, meaning prod
uct quality standards are in accordance with international benchmarks.
Powerpets hopes to meet their sales target this year of around RM20mil in the Ma
laysian market.
Adabi
ompany
anshor
eryone
believes in giving only quality food to its consumers. Since the time the c
was founded in March 1984, our founder and managing director Datuk Syed M
Syed Mahmood has been very strict about quality. It has to be good for ev
the Malaysian market, as well as people from all over the world.
He says consuming tasty food is one of lifes greatest pleasures. Similarly, Adabi
consumers should have the same pleasure when they eat our food, says Adrian.
We welcome feedback on our products, he stresses.
If we get any negative report on our products, we will set up a team to look into
it and take the necessary action. We value customer feedback because it gives a
n insight into how we can improve our products.
Adabi has come a long way since its humble beginning as a small factory operatio
n in Batu Caves in 1984. Twelve years later, they moved to their present four-ac
re site at the Rawang Integrated Industrial Park. The site presently houses the
companys production, warehousing and administrative facilities.
In all, five factories are used to manufacture their seven main categories of pr
oducts, mainly curry, soup, paste, flour, sauce, canned food and beverage. The m
ost popular product is the curry powder range, spices, soup and flour.
For the last 31 years, our business has steadily developed and grew. We are hopin
g to chart bigger growth this year with the introduction and re-branding of prod
ucts, says Adrian.
With more than 100 products, Adabi posts turnovers of more than RM360 million a
year.
Our company has gone through rapid growth from a staff strength of 25 and annual
sales of RM2mil in 1984, to more than 800 personnel with annual group sales last
year at RM360 mil, he reveals.
All our Adabi products are guaranteed 100% halal, hygienic, wholesome and healthy
. We introduce new products to diversify like our popular variety of flours. We
started off with the original chicken coating flour and now we already have four
different types of flour like fried banana coating flour, multipurpose coating
flour and spicy chicken coating flour, Adrian adds.
Adabi has managed to penetrate the minds of consumers outside of Malaysia, espec
ially in the Indonesian cosmopolitan areas of Medan and Jakarta. Their products
are also exported to Singapore, Japan, Hong Kong, the Middle East and Britain.
Adabi is still the market leader for its spices and paste products, with about 7
5% market share.
Each time we come out with a new product, we spend half a million for the R&D, pa
steurised technology, packaging, product launch, marketing and the whole works.
We are committed to give the best to our customers, says Adrian. Bersih dan asli
is the brands tagline. Before the year is out, Adabi will have launched its onlin
e shopping portal.
We have looked into all the logistics. Those who purchase online will get fresh p
roducts right from our factories in Rawang, and they can return the goods to the
distributor if they are not happy. Delivery is free for purchase of RM30 and ab
ove, says Adrian.
Oz, NZ vie for Chinese tourist$
AUSTRALIA and New Zealand risk losing a global arms race for big-spending Chines
e holidaymakers unless they improve their services and infrastructure, jeopardis
ing hopes that tourism will fill the economic hole...
Oz, NZ vie for Chinese tourist$
With mining losing steam in the former and tourism set to leapfrog dairy as top
earner in the latter, Australia and New Zealand are gearing up to lure Chinese t
ourists to fill the gap in a worsening economic outlook.
Tourism New Zealand New Zealand wants a chunk of the Chinese tourist dollar too.
AUSTRALIA and New Zealand risk losing a global arms race for big-spending Chines
e holidaymakers unless they improve their services and infrastructure, jeopardis
ing hopes that tourism will fill the economic hole left by the commodities downt
urn.
While both countries are enjoying record numbers of tourists from China, industr
y executives warn they need to improve their Chinese language skills and offer b
etter highend hotels and transport infrastructure.
Were number one in terms of where they want to go, but were only number 15 in terms
of where they actually go, Matt Bekier, the chief executive of casino operator E
cho Entertainment, says in Sydney.
Bekier likens the competition for market share to an arms race in which US$1.3 tri
of tourism infrastructure is being developed around the world.
Countries are making it easy for people to come and visit not just once but multi
ple times, he says.

Thats what we have to compete against. We cant just sit back and say Well, our beach
es are better, he stresses.
Australia-based Chinese student Enni Guan embodies Bekiers concerns. Leading her
visiting parents and grandmother along a Sydney harbour walk to the world-famous
Opera House, she says her relatives never would have made the trip from Guangzh
ou without her to guide them.
My parents only go out when I can accompany them, 23-year-old Enni says, citing th
e lack of Chinese signage in Australias gateway city. They will never come to Aust
ralia again if I am not with them.
Lost in translation
A rapid increase in Chinese visitors has been welcomed by both countries as they
deal with plunging prices for their top export earners iron ore in Australia an
d milk powder in New Zealand.
Australias resource-based economy is struggling with the demise of a once-in-a-li
fetime mining investment boom, with growth below expectations and almost zero in
the last quarter.
Driven by Chinese arrivals, tourism overtook coal as Australias second-largest ex
port earner last year, raking in A$102 bil (US$71bil), while in New Zealand it i
s poised to leapfrog dairy as the top earner.
This is going to be the next mining boom, says Bekier, whose Echo, along with riva
l Crown Resorts, is pinning the success of multibillion dollar new developments
in Sydney and Brisbane on high-rolling Chinese gamblers.
New Zealands central bank noted that tourism was one of the few supportive factor
s in the economy when it announced its third consecutive cut in interest rates e
arlier this month.
In the past year and half, New Zealand has become a hot destination, says Stephen
Lester, general manager of Ngai Tahu Tourism, where Chinese tourists now account
for a quarter of revenues, up from less than 2% four years ago.
Just in terms of pure money in the door, (Chinas) really important, he adds.
Tourism Australia expects spending by Chinese tourists to more than double from
A$5.7 bil last year to A$13 bil by 2020. However, some believe those estimates a
re hugely optimistic, given Australias lack of readiness.
IHG/Oxford Economics predicts that Australia will not rank in the Top 10 markets
for forecast growth in Chinese visitors in the next decade.
Plea for help
North of Sydney, the Great Barrier Reef in Queensland state is one of Australias
biggest tourism drawcards. But even here, many resorts have not been upgraded si
nce a wave of Japanese investment in the 1980s.
The state government is so worried, it has issued a plea for foreign investors t
o take advantage of the weak Aussie dollar and
snap up some cheap tourism assets. It has also warned operators of shabby resort
s that their leases could be cancelled unless they lift their game.
We want to see anyone who will actually look at them, refresh them, rebrand them,
Queensland Treasurer Curtis Pitt says in Brisbane.
I think its well-canvassed that while people are still providing some of the best
service in the world, some of the architecture on those things is slightly out o
f date.
Student Enni compared Australias tourist facilities to her smartphone.
I upgrade my phone for new features, similarly Australia needs an upgrade, she say
s. In China everything is brand new and flashy, Australia is old. Reuters
Connect with your customers
WORKING with people like chef Anthony Bourdain and a senior executive of Marvel
Comics has taught Ng Aik Wye about being sincere in the relationships you build
something small...
Page 15 Table of contents < Previous article
Connect with your customers
Memo to SMEs: Dont shy away from connecting with your customers. Put yourself out
there and make sure they can reach you, a New York-based PR specialist tells FO
O YEE PING.
123rF
WORKING with people like chef Anthony Bourdain and a senior executive of Marvel
Comics has taught Ng Aik Wye about being sincere in the relationships you build
something small businesses can learn from.
What struck me is their professionalism, says Ng, who is vice-president of Finn Pa
rtners, a New York-based communications agency which was named Best Midsize Agenc
y in 2015.
They are passionate about their craft and spend a lot of time researching and und
erstanding the depth of their subject. They are sincere in the relationships the
y build and careful about how they lend their names, and the environments in whi
ch they wish to work, he adds.
According to Ng, 34, Bourdain and C.B. Cebulski, senior vice president of creati
ve & creator development for Marvel Comics, were amazing storytellers who can wea
ve facts and visuals into one great tapestry.
And they really understand their audiences. They are smart business people as wel
l as creative.
Penang-born Ng, who has been working in public relations in New York for the pas
t 13 years, says SMEs should be mindful that PR is not merely about sending out
a press release or making calls to the media to pitch a product.
PR has evolved where it now involves branded entertainment marketing and developi
ng influencer partnerships, he explains.
For SMEs with a limited budget, Ng has outlined several cost-effective ways to p
ut their name out there:
1. Develop messaging on your website for consumers to know the latest company ne
ws.
2. Distribute newsletters to inform customers about your business and the latest
industry trends.
3. Work with influencers to endorse your product. A picture says a thousand word
s in the world of new media. Use Instagram to share news about your business.
4. Videos are key to getting attention. Your website and other channels such as
YouTube should constantly be populated with visuals.
If SMEs can effectively tell their story so that consumers learn intimate details
about their business, then a sense of trust and loyalty will develop, Ng says.
He is emphatic about consistent and quick response to consumer feedback.
It does not matter if it is responding to a complaint or a commendation; always m
ake sure there is a way for your consumers to reach you. Dont be silent. Consumer
s want to be heard and helped. You should be honest and speedy in your response.
Ng says SMEs in Malaysia should combine the best of both worlds our Eastern hosp
itality and Western out-of-the-box thinking in terms of PR outreach.
In this digital and globalisation era, we should try and understand each other be
tter, learn from each other, pick up the best practices and act less defensively
when confronted with criticisms, he advises, adding that he used to take critici
sm badly when he started working in the US but soon realised that people took it
as a way to better themselves.
It reminded me what my grandparents taught me be humble.
Indeed, Ng takes time to credit people who have shaped his character and career.
He is grateful to his parents for giving him an education abroad at State Univer
sity of New York, from which he graduated with a degree in mass communications.
Otherwise, I would not have had the opportunities to test myself in such a compet
itive PR sphere as New York, he remarks.
An uncle who is with the Malaysian Chamber of Commerce, Hong Kong and Macau, tau
ght him management skills.
I cut my teeth on PR work under Tengku Zarina at Hong Leong Bank (where Ng did hi
s internship). She was a kind boss who was very patient in teaching me the ropes
about PR and corporate affairs, he points out.
Ng, who graduated in 2001, joined M. Silver Associates (now a Finn Partners comp
any), one of the top travel and lifestyle PR firms, the following year as a juni
or account executive.
I was fortunate to have the chance to work for them, thanks to the founders, Virg
inia M. Sheridan and Morris Silver, who saw some hope and perhaps talent in me.
When I started working in the US, the one thing that caught my eye was how good
work ethics is usually rewarded.
Ng says the North American media landscape is constantly evolving, especially wi
th emerging new media.
I have learnt so much in terms of crafting effective public relations plans and m
edia pitching skills.
As for Asia, he says there is a lot of innovative and refreshing PR and marketin
g best practices.
I have seen some really cool PR programmes and creative products from businesses
emanating from Penang, Hong Kong, Singapore, Cambodia and Vietnam.
Singapore, he says, had been very effective in developing their attractions and
making them appealing to a wide base of travellers seeking quality and a new exper
ience. Hong Kong has been innovative in building partnerships with influential b
rands like Art Basel.
As the VP, Ngs task is to provide strategic counsel for clients, create PR action
plans, develop branded entertainment/broadcast partnerships, and handle day-today media relations.
The accounts he handles now include Capella Hotels and Resorts (Capella was foun
ded by Horst Schulze, former president of The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company) and Cr
ystal Cruises, which is one of the top luxury cruise companies in the world.
Ng says companies must focus more on corporate social responsibility these days.
It is nothing new, but more and more consumers are becoming more socially conscio
us and if a business can share their CSR practices on a regular basis, that woul
d be a good way to reach their audience as well.
In concluding, Ng again cites his grandparents words: We are all in this world tog
ether, so it is good to help out when you can and be nice to each other.

Table of contents All pages < Page 15 Page 16
Front Page
1
News
2
Entrepreneur @ Work
3
The Original Disruptor
5
Spotlight
7
Focus
9
Talking About
10
11
12
In Sight
13
14
People
15
16

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were forbidden to work on.

To capitalise on this, an outward-looking business would have to be able to nego

Its said that you started working at age 10?

What are some lessons you have learnt in business?

other people who have achieved so much, to s

How do you see your competitors?

What are you afraid of?

Photo: ZHAFARAn nASIB

per for ggk517@yahoo.com

ple times, he says.

per for ggk517@yahoo.com

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