Issue 44
Vision Eye Institute
Staying 20/20 in 2020VEI is at the leading edge of ophthalmology, helping to maintain people’s eyesight with its team of expert clinicians, innovative technologies and sizeable footprint across the eastern seaboard of Australia Writer: Jonathan Dyble | Project Manager: Callam Waller It’s hard to truly comprehend how sight is actually possible. Our eyes are woven from 107 million cells that are each sensitive to light; this intricate natural system of photoreceptors and electric impulses illuminates the incredible biosystem that allows us to see. For James Thiedeman, a curiosity of this complex structure was understandably too hard to ignore. “I was interested in the miracle of the human body from a very early age,” he explains. “I’ve always found the complexity and interdependence of the various anatomical and physiological features of the body to be amazing and perplexing.” Resultantly pursuing a career in the health sector, Thiedeman has spent the past 30 years in healthcare administration and management, now standing as the CEO and Managing Director of Vision Eye Institute (VEI). “I jumped at the chance to take the reins at VEI; I couldn’t turn this opportunity down,” he continues.“VEI was the world’s first publicly listed ophthalmic company and one of the earliest publicly listed group medical practices, so it has a very interesting history. When I joined, it had also recently been acquired by a large Beijing-based parent company – Jangho Group – and the chance to work with a highly motivated, entrepreneurial owner was the clincher for me.” Today, the enterprise is renowned as the largest holistic provider of ophthalmic care in…
Tereos FKS Indonesia
Reversing the Import TideTereos FKS Indonesia is determined to reverse the trend of reliance on food imports, the joint venture now supplying more than a quarter of the nation’s demand for corn starch Writer: Tom Wadlow | Project Manager: Ben Weaver Indonesia is something of a regional posterchild when it comes to telling the story of Southeast Asia’s economic rise. The fourth most populated country in the world, the archipelago nation is also home to incredible cultural diversity, made up of more than 300 ethnic groups who pool together to power what is the largest regional economy. The country’s rise has been impressive. Since the Asian financial crisis of the late 1990s, Indonesian GDP per capita has risen markedly, from just $823 in 2000 to $3,932 in 2018. Poverty in Indonesia has been reduced by more than half (to 9.4 percent in 2019), with the nation now a member of the G-20 and home to the 10th largest economy in the world in terms of purchasing power parity. So, in short, there is a lot to be optimistic about. However, something of an elephant in the room is the fact that Indonesia, despite its enormous agrarian potential, is over-reliant on food imports. “Indonesia is enjoying economic growth of more than five percent compared to the global economic growth of three percent, and increasing demand in the food and beverage industry is also developing in terms of quantity and product type,” explains Maya Devi, Commercial and Operations Director at Tereos FKS Indonesia. “Unfortunately, lots of our food ingredient supply has been dominated…
Solstad Offshore ASA
Solstad Offshore ASA continues to serve customers new and old, its unwavering approach to vessel quality backed up by unrivalled in-house local support.
MERX GROUP
Unlocking Ultimate Potential The Merx Group continues to deliver projects for clients across Asia, from aviation hangars and office builds to hospitality landmarks Writer: Tom Wadlow | Project Manager: Ryan Gray While a year may not be considered a long time in the grand scheme of business, a lot can happen in the space of 12 months. Around nine in 10 new businesses fail within this timeframe. Sudden, momentous global events can happen at any moment and impact companies for prolonged periods – the recent outbreak of COVID-19 being a prime example. For Singapore and Hong Kong based Merx Group, 2019 and the start of 2020 has been lively.“Our strategy revolves around continuing to drive into the sectors, services and geographies we have identified. We will continue to offer end-to-end solutions and are always looking at new lines of services and to research new markets, combined with evolving the ways we work internally. The foundation has been set for the next three years.” These were the words of William Forwood when Asia Outlook last caught up with the Group CEO in October 2018. Fast-forward to the present day, and the plan is materialising. “Last year was certainly an interesting one for us with numerous opportunities and challenges along the way – we enjoyed a much improved H2 after a tough first half of the year,” Forwood says. “The Singaporean market I believe will continue to be strong this year, and Hong Kong I hope will continue to be as busy as it was for us in 2019.” The aerospace segment was identified by Forwood…
Mediguide International
Improving Outcomes with Alternate OpinionsMediGuide is removing the geographical limitations of healthcare, its global network of partners and employees helping to bring on-demand diagnoses to patients in 152 countries around the world Writer: Jonathan Dyble | Project Manager: Callam Waller “I was always intrigued by the idea of people living longer and longer. In every year since 1983 – the year I entered the insurance industry – the average life expectancy of an individual living in our part of the world has extended by about three months. “People are living longer, but the question is are they living healthier? When I started in the health insurance sector, it was a known fact that around 80 percent of the medical expenses spent on one person would come in the last 12-18 months of their life. If you lived until 78, fourth fifths of your medical expenditure would occur between 76.5 and end of life. “What we don’t know, however, is that if we now live until 85, does this same 80 percent come between 83.5 and 85, or are we still suffering from conditions at the age of 76.5 and now have treatments sophisticated enough to treat those conditions and continue living?” Paul Vermeulen, CEO of MediGuide International, is well aware of the challenging landscape facing health insurance companies. Much like its fellow subsectors, health insurance has always been evidence-based, where a statistical analysis of what has gone before is used to predict what will happen now and into the future. However, owing to the ongoing and rapid advances being made in medicine and…
Jonathan Charles Fine Furniture
The Vietnamese Hallmark of Quality Jonathan Charles Fine Furniture has built a reputation for blending modernity with craftsmanship from its highly specialised facility in Vietnam, the passion of its people a defining factor in its ongoing success story Writer: Tom Wadlow | Project Manager: Kyle Livingstone When Jonathan Sowter discovered the world of furniture making during woodwork classes at high school, little did he know that his company would be crafting a dining table worth $240,000 from a facility in Vietnam. Fast-forward to the present day, and this is exactly what has happened. Sowter is the Founder and CEO of Jonathan Charles Fine Furniture, a specialist designer and manufacturer of the highest-quality European antique replicas and in-house unique pieces. One of which was an extraordinary dining table for a client in the Middle East, this single item the perfect demonstration of what the company represents – the finest craftsmanship money can buy in the world of furniture making. But how did a British high school student end up running his own business based out of Vietnam? It is a fascinating story, one driven by a desire to combine practical skills with a flair for design – in short, to provide an alternative to the mass-produced mainstream. “My mother was an interior designer, and I have always enjoyed making things and am intrigued by craftsmanship and materials,” Sowter says. “I realised when I was about 12 or 13 that this was what I wanted to do, so I left…
G&P Professionals
Inspiring Modern InfrastructureG&P Professionals is an emblem of modern engineering in Malaysia, the organisation helping to deliver a variety of critical projects to the country owing to its advanced and ever-expanding expertise Writer:Jonathan Dyble | Project Manager: Ryan Gray Malaysia’s marriage with modern infrastructure is a healthy one. Currently accounting for 23 percent of national GDP, construction is incredibly important to the country’s economic success. Be it the iconic Petronas Towers and Kuala Lumpur Tower or an impressive array of civil engineering projects including state-of-the-art transport links, Malaysia has become a leading light in the charge towards contemporaneity in Southeast Asia. Indeed, recent forecasts made by the national Finance Ministry in its Economic Outlook Report 2020 anticipate industry growth of 3.7 percent this year, indicating that Malaysia’s infrastructural curve will continue to move upward in the near term. Given this context, the future for organisations like G&P Professionals Sdn Bhd looks incredibly bright.“G&P Professionals started off as a geotechnical specialist consultancy with only five staff members,” explains Dato’ Ir. Dr Gue See Sew, the company’s Chief Executive Officer. “Today, we have grown into a one-stop shop for all professional engineering services encompassing areas of civil, structural, infrastructure, geotechnical, mechanical, electrical, maritime, project management, highway, railway, water resources and dams.” Owing to the booming demand for engineering consultancy that has exploded across Malaysia in the past 15 years, there is an element of being in the right place at the right time with G&P. To say that this is the sole ingredient in its recipe for success would be naïve, however. Indeed, G&P has…
dwp|design worldwide partnership
The Digital Design Eradwp|design worldwide partnership is better placed than ever before to deliver sustainable, innovative and beautiful designs thanks to sustained investment in people and technology Writer: Tom Wadlow | Project Manager: Ryan Gray “We will need to fundamentally rethink the core of everything we do from our teams, studios and the types of work we do. Themes around travel, the workplace and healthcare will change as the year rolls out. It’s one of those inflection points where what seemed a time of stability and incremental change has suddenly become something that will produce a vastly different industry over the next 12 months.” There is no denying that the coronavirus pandemic will create a new normal in the way many businesses are run around the world. From further embracement of home working to uncompromising office hygiene standards, the COVID-19 outbreak has stretched societal resolve and tested the resilience of companies across every industry, from travel and hospitality to retail and sport. The opening words were spoken by Scott Whittaker, Founder and Group Creative Director at Bangkok-head quartered architecture and interior design firm dwp|design worldwide partnership. When last speaking with us at the end of 2018, Whittaker outlined plans to move towards a truly global practice renowned for design excellence, a goal that is being well and truly advanced towards as we catch up again. While the Founder admits that 2019 was challenging as well as rewarding, the company’s focus on quality projects in hospitality, health and workplaces has paid off and the dwp team is more capable now than ever before. And…
CPC Engineering
In it for the Long HaulCPC is committed more than ever to its long-term relationships with clients, the company continuing to deliver on projects in Asia, Africa and at home in Australia Writer: Tom Wadlow | Project Manager: Donovan Smith No matter what part of the world you are in, 2020 looks set to be defined by the progression of and fallout from the global coronavirus pandemic. From China where the outbreak began to Italy where the disease has taken a particularly strong grip on the older population, consumers, businesses and governments are having to work together in a wartime-like spirit to ensure life goes on. The knock-on effect on industry is and will continue to be enormous. For many organisations an important balancing act is taking place, decisions which must take into account employee and societal welfare alongside the longevity of their enterprises. For Perth-based CPC Engineering, these conversations are happening almost daily. “Quite a few of our plans, as with many organisations, have gone out of the window,” comments CEO Glen Weir. “We’re sitting down on a very regular basis to discuss and evolve our COVID-19 management plan and mitigate the impacts it will have on our business. “It has the potential to severely impact us, so we’re looking at the services we can offer to clients who are also impacted by the virus. For instance, we had one customer who contacted us to say they are moving their plant’s workforce to a two weeks on, two weeks off roster, so we’ve put forward a proposal to supply additional personnel…
CKL Group of Companies
CKL Group of Companies is a story of self-sustained transformation. Once a humble tyre retailer, it is now renowned as a market leader across numerous industry verticals.
Cellcard
Innovation at a Time of CrisisCambodia’s longest standing and only Cambodian-owned mobile network operator has become a shining light for the region in responding to Covid-19 and acting fast to support the medical community at the frontline Project Manager: Donovan Smith As reported cases of COVID-19 rise in Cambodia, Cellcard has switched with incredible speed to safeguard its operations and respond to customers, ushering in a range of new plans and services including the country’s first 5G use case, Telemedicine.Cellcard is the only Cambodian-owned mobile network operator in the country and the longest standing of more than 23 years.The Royal Group of Companies includes more than 30 businesses, including the leading telco Cellcard, and the country’s leading internet service provider EZECOM, the largest e-money company Wing, the Cambodian Broadcasting Service and digital television company Digital Sky.Together they form the Royal Group ICT Division, and united they stand by the vision to lead the full digitalisation of Cambodia and see it move to a middle-income economy by 2030.And so when COVID-19 required each C-level executive in the Royal Group to re-evaluate and respond, there emerged an impressive launch of new products and services with the full backing of the Cambodian Government with Chairman Kith Meng coordinating personally with the Ministry of Health and Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications.With 70 percent of the Cambodian population interacting with a Royal Group company every day, it’s easy to see how impactful a joint response could be in a market that is showing one of the most accelerated uptakes of mobile data and…
Honeywell Aerospace discusses MRO in Asia-Pacific
Although the outbreak of COVID-19 has brought a halt to some air travel in the short-term, aerospace activity is set to grow exponentially in the longer term and create demand for MRO services.
A review of 2020’s Singapore Airshow
Leck Chet Lam, Managing Director of Experia Events, explains the importance of the biannual Singapore Airshow to Asia’s aerospace industry.
How will COVID-19 impact foreign direct investment in Thailand?
COVID-19 is wreaking havoc in economies worldwide. We explore how Thailand, a country that relies on FDI inflows for a number of megaprojects, will cope.
Why businesses must get corporate social responsibility right
Indian entrepreneur Natasha Mudhar discusses why corporate social responsibility is a crucial part of a brand’s image and what it takes to build an effective CSR strategy.