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2016-06-10T20:20:00.000-07:00

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Parkson’s decline a sign of the times for retail stores

2016-06-10T20:17:00.004-07:00

Report from The STAR (Malaysia) dated 11 June 2016 :-

Parkson’s decline a sign of the times for retail stores

Stiff competiton: File picture showing workers sorting out packages at an express delivery company in Beijing. Like many other traditional retail stores, Parkson has no answer to the rapid rise of e-commerce. Apart from AliBaba, there are many other websites that cater to e-shoppers. – AFP

IT came as a shock when I was told that an Indonesian masseur based in Petaling Jaya orders baby napkins for her newborn online. That to me was the ultimate testament of the fate of Parkson and its travails in China.

For the longest time, the Lion Group’s greatest success story in China was breaking into the retail market through its Parkson chain of outlets. Since it started operations in the 1990s in Beijing, the operations of Parkson in China have been a roaring success.

However, in the last five years, the profits have been trending down and in the latest financial year, Parkson Retail Group Ltd (PRG) chalked up losses. According to the company, which is listed in Hong Kong, the losses are due to expenses incurred from a one-off litigation suit.

This may have been the case for PRG last year. Notwithstanding the cost arising from the suit, PRG would have been in the black, the company had stated in its annual report.

However, the overall downward trend in the profitability of PRG is obviously based on its declining margins.

Five years ago, the retail chain enjoyed an operating margin of more than 9%. In 2014, the margins based on its turnover and operating profit were down to less than 2%.

The reason for the declining profitability points to the likes of e-commerce websites such as AliBaba that have taken China by storm.

Five years ago, Parkson’s success story in China was the epitome of the Lion Group’s perseverance in breaking into that country where competition is stiff. The middle-class population in that country is now 300 million and expected to grow to 500 million in the next 10 years.

Parkson, which has a presence in 34 cities and operates 59 stores, was positioned as the best retail outlet to take advantage of the growing spending power of the consumers in China.

However, it is not the case now. Like many other traditional retail stores, it has no answer to the rapid rise of e-commerce. Apart from AliBaba, there are many other websites that cater to e-shoppers.

Five years ago, the view was that technology could not replace certain brick-and-mortar businesses such as retail outlets. The “feel-and-touch” experience was irreplaceable and could withstand the onslaught of online shopping.

However, increasingly, there are other factors that have come into play affecting the sales in retail outlets and outweighing the “touch and feel” effect.

Primarily, it all boils down to the goods being way cheaper when purchased via e-commerce websites. Firstly, the discounts are “dynamic” online. Prices are active as they change often.

Secondly, the discounts are generally higher than what is offered at the retail outlets. According to a shopper who fancies a certain American shoe brand, the discount she gets with online purchases is as high as 70%. The best she gets at the retail stores is 50%.

Thirdly, the delivery system has improved significantly. It does not take a month or more for goods purchased online to be delivered. The standard time frame for delivery is less than two weeks. Some websites offer cash-on-delivery facilities, which means that payment is done when the goods are delivered.

There is also offers of “money-back guarantee” if customers are not satisfied with the items purchased online.

Lastly, online shopping is not time-consuming. A young working colleague who spends hours behind the computer even says that she prefers to shop online for her clothes due to time constraints.

So, where does this leave the traditional “brick-and-mortar” retail outlets such as Parkson?

The operating cost is much higher for retail outlets compared to online businesses. Hence, offering bigger discounts would not solve their problem of maintaining profitability.

Perhaps, consolidation in the retail sector is a trend that will happen in the future. Having fewer outlets that offer a wider range of clothes, shoes or perfumes could help beef up sales.

Parkson China is already broadening its array of products to include private labels to have some sense of exclusivity in its products.

Shopping for fun at retail outlets is not dead although online shoppers are growing. But the retail sector has to go through consolidation. It hit the Western world two years ago and now it has come to Asia.

Technological changes take place at a slow pace. But once the change begins, the growth is rapid and explosive. Just look around and almost everybody has purchased something through the Internet.

The future wave could be the birth of “personal shoppers” where they shop for others for a fee.

A “personal shopper” acts as a conduit to connect individual purchasers with online websites in other countries such as the United States that do not provide delivery services of their products to this part of the world.

The personal shopper takes down orders, secures an appropriate price and sources for the products in a foreign country. The personal shopper then handles the delivery from the foreign country to the customer.

And it is all done at a fraction of a cost compared to what the boutiques charge.

At the moment, celebrities generally engage the services of “personal shoppers” also known as “personal groomers” to source for their clothes.

In recent times, services of “personal shoppers” have been engaged by professionals and the working crowd to get the best bargains from the Internet.

The retail landscape is changing and at a fast pace to the extent that it is in a crisis. The dwindling profit margin of Parkson in China is ample proof that the giant retail outlets can become unprofitable if they do not change.

If margins continue to crimp, then the next phase is consolidation and a slow death for those who refuse to reinvent themselves.

No silver spoon in this Malaysian billionaire’s daughter’s mouth

2016-03-22T04:41:00.003-07:00

No silver spoon in this Malaysian billionaire’s daughter’s mouth

FMT Reporters

| March 22, 2016

Despite being the daughter of Robert Kuok, Yen Kuok learnt through trial and error how to make her online second-hand luxury fashion goods store, 'Guiltless', a success.

PETALING JAYA: Yen Kuok was never handed anything on a silver platter. In spite of being the daughter of Malaysia’s richest man, Robert Kuok, she worked her way through trial and error to make a success of her online consignment fashion store in Hong Kong.

In an article by social news network SAYS Malaysia, Yen relates how she had a no-nonsense upbringing and went to school with only a moderate amount of pocket money.

“The way my family brought me up was very strict. In fact, I was not given much pocket money. When I was in school, my friends’ pocket money was usually much more than mine,” she was quoted as telling the media in Hong Kong.

She even talked about how her first piece of branded clothing by Viktor & Rolf was a gift from her brother when she was 17 years old.

Yen explained that her grandmother set these strict rules when advising her son that her granddaughter should not be raised like a “princess” just because she came from a wealthy family.

Even her father’s approach to education was unconventional, because unlike many other parents of today, he never pressured her to bring home a string of As.

“My father kept telling me that going to school is not only about studying and getting good grades, but instead, education is meant to expand one’s horizons,” Says Malaysia reported her as saying.

“My father had never forced me to get an A in my exams, and he said it doesn’t matter if I get a B.”

That approach worked wonders, as Yen excelled academically and was eventually accepted into both Stanford and Harvard (opting for the former in sunny California) before settling down in Hong Kong upon graduation.

Her online consignment store, called ‘Guiltless’, is the first of its kind in Hong Kong to offer luxury goods at “pre-loved” prices, “with a first-class retail experience”, she told Wundrful, an online platform that highlights the people behind their respective brands.

“Besides collecting and curating second-hand luxury goods, the site also offers new items from past collections at up to 80% off their original retail price,” SAYS Malaysia reported.

But even after she had overcome various obstacles to establish her business, it wasn’t always smooth sailing for the self-made entrepreneur.

With little in her pocket when she first started out her business, Yen resorted to modelling the clothes herself and cropping off her head before uploading the pictures onto the site.

Soon, profits started trickling in, and she was able to hire real models and pay professional photographers to take better shots of her merchandise.

“Finally, I worked on the packaging to improve the buyer experience. After about five months of trial and error, we finally got it right,” she told Wundrful.

Her father must certainly be proud.

Alibaba likely to surpass Walmart as world’s top retailer

2016-03-22T02:05:00.002-07:00

Alibaba likely to surpass Walmart as world’s top retailer

Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba is expected to surpass US multinational firm, WalMart soon as the world’s largest retail platform with its total trading volume this fiscal year set to exceed US$463.3 billion, Press Trust of India (PTI) reported, citing an official media.

An official announcement by Alibaba Group Holding Ltd is expected to be made at the end of this fiscal year on March 31.

WalMart Stores Inc posted net sales of US$478.6 billion for its fiscal year ending Jan 31, while the latest trading volume figure for Alibaba amounted to three trillion yuan (US$463.3 billion), the company said yesterday.

It is equivalent to China’s Sichuan province's gross domestic product (GDP) last year, when the province’s GDP ranked sixth on the Chinese mainland, state-run China Daily reported today.

Zhang Yong, the company’s chief executive officer, said in Hangzhou that the figure was recorded on the company's business-to-customer platform Tmall, consumer-to-consumer platforms Taobao and Rural Taobao, and group-buying site Juhuasuan.

Zhang said he expected the company to achieve an annual trading volume of six trillion yuan by 2020 (about US$980 billion) and that “in 2024, we wanted to be a business platform serving two billion consumers and tens of millions of enterprises at home and abroad”.

According to Zhang, the company will strive to combine cloud computing and big data technologies with the internet and the Internet of Things, as well as consumer terminal equipment, to spur its development.

The Internet of Things is the network of physical objects - devices, vehicles, buildings and other items - embedded with electronics, software, sensors and network connectivity that enables these objects to collect and exchange data.

Citing the National Bureau of Statistics and McKinsey & Co figures, Gao Hongbing, director of AliResearch, said that of Alibaba's 3 trillion yuan in total trading volume, about 660 billion to 1.17 trillion yuan is newly increased consumption.

“Online shopping has been an important engine to promote consumption, which meets the nation's strategy of promoting domestic demand,” Gao said.

Last year, Chinese consumers’ willingness to spend reached the highest level since 2012, despite the economic slowdown, according to a study published in February by The Nielsen Company.

“This is a result of China’s commitment to shifting from an investment-driven to a consumption-driven economy,” said Kiki Fan, managing director of Nielsen China, China Daily reported.

“Booming online shopping provides more variety and convenience to customers, thus fuelling their spending desire,” the daily quoted Fan as saying.

Despite its economic growth falling below 7 percent for the first time since 2009, China surpassed the US last year to become the largest e-commerce market in the world, according to statistics from multinational consultancy Forrester Research Inc.

The Chinese government has fixed 6.5 percent to seven percent GDP target for this year.

- Bernama 22 March 2016

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2016-03-20T20:31:00.001-07:00

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Internet ad spend to overtake TV by 2017

2016-03-20T20:23:00.004-07:00

Internet ad spend to overtake TV by 2017

Businesses around the world are set to spend more on Internet advertising than on television commercials for the first time in 2017, forecaster ZenithOptimedia said on Monday.

Zenith said it expected Internet advertising to grow at more than three times the rest of the industry in 2016, driven by demand for ads on social media, online video and paid search.

The forecaster had said in December it expected ad spending on the Internet to overtake TV only in 2018.

“The global economy faces clear challenges,” it said.

“But advertisers’ confidence has remained largely unshaken, and our forecasts for global growth in 2016 have barely changed since we published our last forecasts in December.”

ZenithOptimedia, owned by France’s Publicis, trimmed its expectation for growth in global advertising this year to 4.6 percent from a forecast of 4.7 percent it gave in December.

That is still ahead of 3.9 percent growth in 2015.

The industry will be boosted in 2016 by advertising around the Rio Olympics, the European soccer championships and the U.S. Presidential election.

However conditions in China, Russia and Brazil, along with uncertainty regarding Britain’s membership of the European Union, were among the challenges to the global economy, it said.

-- Reuters 21 March 2016

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2016-03-17T23:06:00.001-07:00

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Twitter an awkward child as it turns 10

2016-03-17T21:29:00.003-07:00

Twitter an awkward child as it turns 10

SAN FRANCISCO: As Twitter marks its 10th birthday Monday, it is somewhat of an awkward child – having become a powerful communication tool but still struggling to win users and reach profitability.

Since making a star-quality entrance a decade ago, Twitter has become a must-have tool for journalists, activists and celebrities but has struggled to show it can expand beyond its devoted "twitterati" to become a mainstream hit.

While Internet lovers might have trouble envisioning life without Twitter, the San Francisco-based company has seen its stock tank, a chief executive leave, and its staff cut.

Twitter's woes include a slump in its stock price to all-time lows this year – down nearly half from its 2013 stock market debut – and ongoing losses, even as its revenue grows.

Twitter's base of monthly active users remained stuck at 320 million at the end of 2015. While that is a big accomplishment, Twitter has failed to keep pace with fast-growing rivals and to expand beyond its base.

The troubles have forced Twitter to bring back co-founder Jack Dorsey as chief executive, but that has not stemmed rumours about a possible buyout or merger.

"It's not dead yet," independent analyst Rob Enderle of the Enderle Group said of Twitter.

"Watching all the metrics, you see they are not getting a lot worse but they don't seem to be getting better either."

Some analysts believe Twitter's true value is being demonstrated in the US presidential race, especially by the Republican frontrunner, Donald Trump.

"Eight weeks ago I would have said the days of Twitter are over; I don't say that anymore," Global Equities Research analyst Trip Chowdhry told AFP.

Twitter has 'legs'

The analyst said Trump has shown how potent Twitter can be for those who embrace it.

"I think that probably the worst for Twitter is over," Chowdhry said. "This platform has legs."

Chowdhry said Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi also used Twitter effectively to win his campaign and Tesla founder Elon Musk has been shaking up the auto sector with the help of the messaging platform.

Twitter and other social media have been important tools in movements such as the Arab Spring, and in protests in Turkey, where the government has sought to ban it.

An advantage of Twitter is that it lets users "amplify" messages with tweets that echo on the Internet, and assess public sentiment in real-time by getting quick feedback.

Trump has boosted the number of his followers to nearly seven million, and has managed to beat rivals with a campaign largely based around Twitter.

"I am pretty sure most of his followers are not on Twitter, but they know what he is saying on Twitter," analyst Omar Akhtar of the technology research firm Altimeter Group, said of Trump.

"The Twitter effect cannot be ignored. Twitter has a life beyond its platform, the trouble is it doesn't know how to monetise that part."

The research firm eMarketer lowered its revenue estimates for Twitter this month, saying its "monetisation" efforts – the selling of advertising or "promoted tweets" for those who use the platform without logging in – are falling short.

"Events like the US election and Summer Olympics this year may prove pivotal to the success of this strategy," said eMarketer's Martin Utreras.

Change brings risk

Twitter bears the weight of being measured against Internet titans such as Facebook, which is only a few years older but has eclipsed the billion-user mark.

Flight VC partner Lou Kerner, whose investor group watches emerging companies, said Twitter has done "an amazing job" creating a new communication medium but appears to have leveled off instead of becoming ubiquitous.

"Like any other company, Twitter is judged on growth," Kerner said. "They have stagnated."

Even more troubling, Kerner noted, is that engagement at Twitter has been ebbing in an indication that "people have tired of it".

While Facebook has evolved with new features, Twitter has changed little since it began, according to Kerner.

"In order to reignite engagement, they would have to make profound changes to what they do," he said.

"The problem is, you can't make a make a massive change without a massive risk."

Some say Twitter has become a victim of its own success – it has become so cluttered with information that it becomes hard to navigate.

"Twitter is still incredibly relevant when it comes to major cultural events, major news events, the kinds of things people are discussing around the world," said Debra Aho Williamson of eMarketer.

"But anyone who follows just a couple of hundred people can easily be overwhelmed by the amount of information. It becomes work rather than fun."

Dorsey currently is managing two firms, Twitter and mobile payments startup Square – both multibillion dollar companies struggling to achieve profitability.

Dorsey said Twitter priorities for this year include making it more intuitive to use; live-streaming video, and making it safer for people to freely express themselves on the platform.

Twitter recently revamped its timeline, allowing the "best" tweets to rise to the top, despite warnings of a revolt from members loyal to the real-time flow of the messaging platform.

"If you look at the 10 years as a whole, you will see that Twitter really has revolutionised the way we communicate," Akhtar said.

"To me, it is a utility like electricity or the phone – it is really part of everyday life."

— AFP 18 March 2016

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Study: Almost 30 per cent of 'super wealthy' Malaysians considering migrating abroad

2016-03-15T00:11:00.000-07:00

Study: Almost 30 per cent of 'super wealthy' Malaysians considering migrating abroad

KUALA LUMPUR: Approximately 26 per cent of Malaysia's existing ultra-high-net-worth-individuals (UHNWIs) are considering migrating in the next decade, in comparison to the regional average of 16 per cent, according to independent global property consultancy, Knight Frank.

"This is particularly interesting given that we do a study of the region, and Malaysia's UHNWIs shows the highest propensity to find other domiciles," said its Asia Pacific Head of Research, Nicholas Holt.

Knight Frank Malaysia managing director, Sarkunan Subramaniam said that there multiple push and pull factors contributing to this.

"This desire to domicile elsewhere is not unique given that Malaysians are becoming more international.

In fact 26 per cent versus the regional 16 per cent is not that significant, when you look at the grander scope of things."

The firm had earlier shared that Malaysia's UHNWIs, which is defined as those who have US$30 million of investable assets, excluding their current residential, had been impacted hard by the challenging economic climate brought upon by the fall in global oil price and ringgit devaluation.

"Malaysia has a 1,168 of UHNWIs in 2014, but that number dropped to 993 by end of 2015," said Holt.

Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi had yesterday said that a total of 54,406 Malaysians have renounced their citizenship from 2010 until Jan 31 this year.

“The reason given for their surrender (of citizenship) is because they have chosen not to retain their Malaysian citizenship, and have obtained citizenship in other countries,” said Zahid in a parliamentary session yesterday.

In January this year alone, 1,102 Malaysians had renounced their citizenship.

A total of 11,080 Malaysians had renounced their citizenship in 2011, while another 10,644 chose not to retain their citizenship the year before.

Since then, the number of Malaysians renouncing their citizenship has reduced. Zahid said 8,983 people gave up their Malaysian citizenship in 2012, followed by 6,678 in 2013, 7,843 in 2014 and 8,076 last year.

----- The New Straits Times ( Malaysia ) 15 March 2016

Using failure to your advantage

2016-03-11T03:05:00.000-08:00

Using failure to your advantage

By DR TRAVIS BRADBERRY editor@leaderonomics.com

One of the biggest roadblocks to success is the fear of failure. Fear of failure is worse than failure itself because it condemns you to a life of unrealised potential.

A successful response to failure is all in the approach. In a study recently published in the Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, researchers found that success in the face of failure comes from focusing on results (what you hope to achieve), rather than trying not to fail.

While it’s tempting to try and avoid failure, people who do this fail far more often than those who optimistically focus on their goals.

“Success is stumbling from failure to failure with no loss of enthusiasm.” —Winston Churchill

This sounds rather easy and intuitive, but it’s very hard to do when the consequences of failure are severe. Researchers also found that positive feedback increased people’s chances of success because it fuelled the same optimism you experienced when focusing solely on your goals.

Attitude is key

The people who make history—true innovators—take things a step further and see failure as a mere stepping stone to success.

Thomas Edison is a great example. It took him 1,000 tries to develop a light bulb that actually worked. When someone asked him how it felt to fail 1,000 times, he said, “I didn’t fail 1,000 times. The light bulb was an invention with 1,000 steps.”

This attitude is what separates the successes from the failures. Edison wasn’t the only one. J. K. Rowling’s manuscript for Harry Potter was only accepted after 12 publishers denied it, and even then, she was only paid a nominal advance.

Oprah Winfrey lost her job as a Baltimore news anchor for becoming too emotionally involved in her stories, a quality that became her trademark. Henry Ford lost his financial backers twice before he was able to produce a workable prototype of an automobile. The list goes on and on.

“If you think you can do a thing or think you can’t do a thing, you’re right.” —Henry Ford

So, what separates the people who let their failures derail them from those who use failure to their advantage? Some of it comes down to what you do, and the rest comes down to what you think.

The actions you take in the face of failure are critical to your ability to recover from it, and they have huge implications for how others view you and your mistakes.

There are five actions you must take when you fail. This will enable you to succeed in the future and allow others to see you positively in spite of your failure.

1 Break the bad news yourself

If you’ve made a mistake, don’t cross your fingers and hope that no one will notice, because someone is going to—it’s inevitable.

When someone else points out your failure, that one failure turns into two. If you stay quiet, people are going to wonder why you didn’t say something, and they’re likely to attribute this to either cowardice or ignorance.

2 Offer an explanation, but don’t make excuses

Owning your mistakes can actually enhance your image. It shows confidence, accountability, and integrity. Just be sure to stick to the facts.

“We lost the account because I missed the deadline” is a reason. “We lost the account because my dog was sick all weekend and that made me miss the deadline” is an excuse.

3 Have a plan for fixing things

Owning up to a mistake is one thing, but you can’t end it there. What you do next is critical. Instead of standing there, waiting for someone else to clean up your mess, offer your own solutions.

It’s even better if you can tell your boss (or whomever) the specific steps that you’ve already taken to get things back on track.

4 Have a plan for prevention

In addition to having a plan for fixing things, you should also have a plan for how you’ll avoid making the same mistakes in the future. That’s the best way to reassure people that good things will come out of your failure.

5 Get back on the horse

It’s important that you don’t let failure make you timid. That’s a mindset that sucks you in and handicaps you every time you slip up.

Make enough time to absorb the lessons of your failure, and as soon as you’ve done that, get right back out there and try again. Waiting only prolongs bad feelings and increases the chance that you’ll lose your nerve.

Your attitude when facing failure is just as important as the actions you take. Using failure to your advantage requires resilience and mental strength, both of which are hallmarks of emotional intelligence.

When you fail, there are three attitudes you want to maintain:

Perspective

It is the most important factor in handling failure. People who are skilled at rebounding after failure are more likely to blame the failure on something that they did—the wrong course of action or a specific oversight—rather than something that they are.

People who are bad at handling failure tend to blame failure on their laziness, lack of intelligence, or some other personal quality, which implies that they had no control over the situation. That makes them more likely to avoid future risk-taking.

Optimism

It is another characteristic of people who bounce back from failure. One British study of 576 serial entrepreneurs found that they were much more likely to expect success than entrepreneurs who gave up after their first failure.

That sense of optimism is what keeps people from feeling like failure is a permanent condition. Instead, they tend to see each failure as a building block to their ultimate success because of the learning it provides.

Persistence

Optimism is a feeling of positivity; persistence is what you do with it. Persistence is thus, optimism in action. When everybody else says “enough is enough” and decides to quit and go home, persistent people shake off those failures and keep going.

Persistent people are special because their optimism never dies. This makes them great at rising from failure.

Bringing it all together

Failure is a product of your perspective. What one person considers as a crushing defeat, another sees as a minor setback. The beauty is that you can change how you see failure so that you can use it to better yourself.

How do you handle failure?

Dr Travis Bradberry is an award-winning co-author of Emotional Intelligence 2.0, and co-founder of the world’s leading provider of emotional intelligence tests and training. His bestselling books have been translated into 25 languages and are available in more than 150 countries. To learn how to work with emotional intelligence in your organisation, write in to training@leaderonomics.com.

27 February 2016

Email inventor Ray Tomlinson dies at 74

2016-03-07T20:27:00.003-08:00

Email inventor Ray Tomlinson dies at 74

US programmer Ray Tomlinson , pictured on October 22, 2009 invented the user@host standard for email addresses

RAY Tomlinson, the American programmer widely credited with inventing email, has died. He was 74.

Before Tomlinson invented direct electronic messages between users on different machines on a certain network in 1971. Before then, users could only write messages to others using the same computer.

"A true technology pioneer, Ray was the man who brought us email in the early days of networked computers," his employer, Raytheon, said in a statement.

"His work changed the way the world communicates and yet, for all his accomplishments, he remained humble, kind and generous with his time and talents, He will be missed by one and all."

A company spokesman said Tomlinson passed away on Saturday, and the cause of death was not yet confirmed.

Tributes poured in from the online world.

"Thank you, Ray Tomlinson, for inventing email and putting the @ sign on the map. #RIP," Google's Gmail team tweeted.

Vint Cerf, considered one of the fathers of the Internet who was once a manager of the US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (Darpa), lamented the "very sad news" of Tomlinson's passing.

When Tomlinson invented the user@host standard for email addresses, it was applied at Darpa's ARPANET, the Internet's precursor. He was the first to use the @ symbol in this way, to distinguish a user from its host.

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology graduate detailed his creation on his blog, in an attempt to prevent legend from overtaking the facts.

"The first message was sent between two machines that were literally side by side" connected only through ARPANET, he wrote on his blog.

" I sent a number of test messages to myself from one machine to the other. The test messages were entirely forgettable and I have, therefore, forgotten them.

"Most likely the first message was QWERTYUIOP or something similar," he added, referring to the first letters on the traditional English-language keyboard.

"When I was satisfied that the program seemed to work, I sent a message to the rest of my group explaining how to send messages over the network. The first use of network email announced its own existence."

– AFP 7 March 2016

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South Korea and S’pore nab top spot in world’s best airport ranking

2016-03-04T03:50:00.003-08:00

South Korea and S’pore nab top spot in world’s best airport ranking

March 4, 2016

Asia can claim bragging rights to being home to the world's best airports, with South Korea, Singapore, and China taking the top three spots in a new airport ranking.

Results of the 2015 Airport Service Quality Awards suggest that flyers passing through the major hubs in Asia are more likely to be satisfied with their airport experience than other parts of the world.

In the category of airports with more than 40 million passengers, Korea’s Incheon Airport and Singapore Changi tied for first place; Shanghai Pudong and Beijing tied for second; and Guangzhou Baiyun placed third.

Flyers were asked to rate airports in categories such as access, check-in, security, facilities, food and beverage and dining.

The Airport Service Quality awards is organized by the Airports Council International — and is hardly the only one of its kind.

Lists ranking the world’s best airports are also released by groups like Skytrax and Sleeping in Airports, which compile the results based on surveys.

The ASQ awards, however, is touted as the only global airport survey that polls passengers while they’re at the airport. For the 2015 edition of the awards, about 500,000 passengers were interviewed prior to boarding their flight at over 300 airports in 80 countries last year.

New in 2015, the results have been expanded to break down winners by size and region.

Here are some of the winners:

Best airports over 40 million passengers a year
First place (tie): Seoul Incheon; Singapore
Second place (tie): Beijing; Shanghai Pudong
Third place: Guangzhou Baiyun

Best Airport by Region (over 2 million passengers per year):

North America
First place: Indianapolis
Second place (tie): Dallas Love Field; Grand Rapids; Jacksonville; Ottawa; Tampa
Third place (tie): Austin; Detroit; Sacramento; San Antonio; Toronto Billy Bishop

Africa
First place: Mauritius
Second place (tie): Cape Town; Durban
Third place: Johannesburg

Asia-Pacific
First place (tie): Seoul Incheon; Singapore
Second place (tie): Beijing; Mumbai; New Delhi; Sanya Phoenix; Shanghai Pudong
Third place (tie): Guangzhou Baiyun; Taiwan Taoyuan; Tianjin Binhai

Europe
First place (tie): Moscow Sheremetyevo; Pulkovo; Sochi
Second place (tie): Dublin; Malta; Prague; Zurich
Third place (tie): Copenhagen; Keflavik; London Heathrow; Porto; Vienna

Middle East
First place: Amman
Second place (tie): Abu Dhabi; Doha
Third place (tie): Dammam; Dubai; Tel Aviv

Latin America-Caribbean
First place: Guayaquil
Second place: Quito
Third place: Punta Cana

– AFP Relaxnews

Consumers still prefer credit cards to paying with a smartphone

2016-03-04T02:25:00.000-08:00

Consumers still prefer credit cards to paying with a smartphone

March 4, 2016

As Google gears up to launch its digital wallet service, Android Pay in the UK, many experts are still less than convinced that the idea of replacing a credit card with a smartphone is really going to gain mainstream consumer appeal.

According to Juniper Research, by the end of 2016, 148 million people around the world will be reaching for their handsets to make payments at in-store point of sales (POS) terminals.

In its latest white paper, “Contactless Payments: ‘NFC Handsets, Wearables & Payment Cards 2016-2020,” the research firm highlights that one-in-five POS terminals in the US now supports NFC (one of the technologies that facilitates payments by smartphones) and points to Apple as a catalyst for consumer interest in the technology. When Apple Pay went live in China in February, 40 million cards were added to the system in just 24 hours.

However, registering cards and using them via a handset are not the same thing.

Apple Pay has been live in the US for 18 months and Samsung Pay and Android Pay for a little over six months. Yet, according to research from Crone Consulting, just 12 million consumers regularly use Apple’s mobile payment system while 5 million use either Samsung Pay or Android Pay.

This means that so far, just 22 million Americans have made the switch from physical to virtual wallets.

And this is despite the fact that Samsung Pay has a distinct advantage over other systems, as it works with any type of POS terminal, new or old. Or the fact that the systems, although competitors, all have one thing in common — they’re mores secure than traditional magnetic swipe credit cards.

On Tuesday, Samsung announced that Wells Fargo Bank had become the latest financial institution to support its mobile payments technology. That means that 70% of America’s credit and debit card market is Samsung Pay compatible.

In Europe, where all three companies are now turning their attention, NFC credit and debit cards are already popular, allowing consumers to tap to pay for small purchases, and existing cards are much more secure, requiring a type-in PIN number for larger transactions.

Therefore, how UK consumers — considered the most tech savvy in mature markets — embrace the technology will highlight if the services are the shape of the future or simply a fad.

– AFP Relaxnews

Manulife: M’sians most indebted in Asia

2016-03-02T23:52:00.000-08:00

Manulife: M’sians most indebted in Asia

March 3, 2016

Survey shows 68 per cent of Malaysians have debt, highest amongst eight countries in Asia.

KUALA LUMPUR: A recent survey by Manulife shows that 68 per cent of Malaysians currently have debt, the highest proportion of all eight markets surveyed in Asia, and more than double the regional average of 33 per cent.

The survey, the Manulife Investor Sentiment Index, was based on 500 interviews in Hong Kong, China, Taiwan, Japan, Singapore, Malaysia, the Philippines and Indonesia.

In a statement, Manulife said the average debt for Malaysians was RM56,000, nearly 10 times the average monthly personal income, mostly due to daily living expenses (60 per cent), with rental payments (44 per cent) and children’s education (37 per cent).

“Worryingly, much of the debt is long-term, with a quarter of those in debt not expecting to be able to pay it off for three years or more.

“The high debt levels reflect poor financial management, with investors failing to effectively manage their cash flow,” it said.

While 89 per cent of the surveyed Malaysian respondents track their expenses regularly, 44 per cent of investors spend 70 per cent or more of their monthly income every month, suggesting they are not acting on their tracking by curbing expenses.

Manulife Holdings Bhd Group Chief Executive Officer Mark O’ Dell said investors need to better manage their finances and track expenses to prevent them from incurring too much debt, especially considering the backdrop of more volatile financial markets and slowing economic growth.

“Without effective debt management, Malaysians are less likely to achieve their long term savings goals, which could jeopardise their future financial security,” he added.

– BERNAMA

Oxfam: Richest 1pc own more than the rest of us

2016-01-17T20:14:00.003-08:00

Oxfam: Richest 1pc own more than the rest of us

PARIS, Jan 18 — The richest one per cent of the world’s population now own more than the rest of us combined, aid group Oxfam said today, on the eve of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos.

“Runaway inequality has created a world where 62 people own as much wealth as the poorest half of the world’s population—a figure that has fallen from 388 just five years ago,” the anti-poverty agency said in its reported published ahead of the annual gathering of the world’s financial and political elites in Davos.

The report, entitled “An Economy for the 1%”, states that women are disproportionately affected by the global inequality.

“One of the other key trends behind rising inequality set out in Oxfam International’s report is the falling share of national income going to workers in almost all developed and most developing countries... The majority of low paid workers around the world are women.”

Although world leaders have increasingly talked about the need to tackle inequality “the gap between the richest and the rest has widened dramatically in the past 12 months,” Oxfam said.

Oxfam’s prediction, made ahead of last year’s Davos meeting, that the richest one per cent would soon own more than the rest of us, “actually came true in 2015,” it added.

While the number of people living in extreme poverty halved between 1990 and 2010, the average annual income of the poorest 10 per cent has risen by less than US$3 (RM13.27)-a-year in the past quarter of a century, a increase in individuals’ income of less than one cent a year, the report said.

Few dozen super-rich people

More than 40 heads of state and government will attend the Davos forum which begins tomorrow and will end on January 23.

Those heading to the Swiss resort town for the high-level annual gathering also include 2,500 “leaders from business and society”, the WEF said in an earlier statement.

Describing the theme — the Fourth Industrial Revolution — WEF founder Klaus Shwab has said it “refers to the fusion of technologies across the physical, digital and biological worlds which is creating entirely new capabilities and dramatic impacts on political, social and economic systems.”

Oxfam International executive director Winnie Byanima, who will also attend Davos having co-chaired last year’s event, said: “It is simply unacceptable that the poorest half of the world’s population owns no more than a few dozen super-rich people who could fit onto one bus.”

World leaders’ concerns about the escalating inequality crisis have “so far not translated into concrete action — the world has become a much more unequal place and the trend is accelerating,” she warned.

End tax-havens era

As a priority, Oxfam is calling for an end to the era of tax havens which has seen the increasing use of offshore centres to avoid paying taxes.

“This has denied governments valuable resources needed to tackle poverty and inequality,” the report said.

As much as 30 per cent of all African financial wealth is estimated to be held offshore, it added, costing an estimated US$14 billion in lost tax revenues every year.

Getting hold of the proper level of taxes will be “vital” if world leaders are to meet their goal, set last September, of eliminating extreme poverty by 2030.

Byanima challenged those attending the Davos meeting “to play their part in ending the era of tax havens, which is fuelling economic inequality and preventing hundreds of millions of people lifting themselves out of poverty”.

Of the 62 people said to hold as much wealth as the poorest 50 per cent, Oxfam said that 53 are men and just nine are female, highlighting that women are ill-represented even at the highest levels.

The headline Davos guests include British Prime Minister David Cameron, US Vice President Joe Biden, French Prime Minister Manuel Valls and newly-elected Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

President Mauricio Marci of Argentina, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Alexis Tsipars, the Greek prime minister, are also due to attend.

Oxfam said it had calculated the wealth of the richest 62 people using Forbes’ billionaires list.

— AFP

Even as a kid, Bill Gates demonstrated this super-important habit of successful people

2016-01-08T18:08:00.000-08:00

Even as a kid, Bill Gates demonstrated this super-important habit of successful people

In a recent Forbes interview, Bill Gates’ dad reveals what the Microsoft billionaire was like growing up.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, the young Gates was an extreme bookworm:

Just about every kind of book interested him — encyclopedias, science fiction, you name it. I was thrilled that my child was such an avid reader, but he read so much that Bill’s mother and I had to institute a rule: no books at the dinner table.

That Gates loved to read as a kid is hardly surprising. Today, his personal blog “GatesNotes” features upwards of 150 book recommendations for everything from scientific histories to graphic novels.

Among the world’s richest and most successful people, a passion for books and for lifelong learning is hardly uncommon. Author and self-made millionaire Steve Siebold has interviewed more than 1,200 of the world’s wealthiest people over the past three decades and has noted that reading for self-education is a common thread among them.

Investing legend Warren Buffett reportedly spends about 80% of his day reading, and continues to include book recommendations in his annual shareholder letters.

In 2015, Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg resolved to read a book every two weeks, and even started a book club called “A Year of Books” so that he could discuss those books with the Facebook community.

Media mogul Oprah Winfrey selects a book every month for readers to discuss online as part of “Oprah’s Book Club 2.0,” and when tech billionaire Elon Musk is asked how he learned to build rockets, he reportedly answers, “I read books.”

Experts say reading is crucial for anyone in a leadership position. Writing in The Harvard Business Review, author John Coleman argues that reading can make you a better communicator and more empathetic.

Meanwhile, Scotty McLennan, a lecturer in political economy at Stanford Graduate School of Business, suggests that novels can boost leadership skills by showing readers reality in a way that case studies and business books can’t.

Obviously, there’s no one secret to becoming wildly successful.

But a weekly trip to your local library is an almost surefire way to increase your knowledge and your effectiveness in business settings.

Entrepreneurs should mind their own personal business

2015-11-10T18:40:00.003-08:00

Entrepreneurs should mind their own personal business

November 11, 2015

Learning and loving should be the first order of business for every self-employed businessperson

Being a self-employed entrepreneur is gratifying when you’re applauded for having had the guts, determination, skills and know-how to create a startup company. You suddenly join the ranks of legendary, self-made titans of industry who ‘did it their way’ and are memorialized in books, films and even memes.

But while it is fulfilling to be able to make a living by pursuing your passion (and being your own boss), the proverbial ‘sweat and tears’ abound for those of us who run our own businesses. Your ‘to do’ list is never-ending; partners and employees sometimes let you down; deals suddenly fall through; and with the Ringgit in the gutter and the economic climate stormy, your company’s wellbeing is a daily worry.

But don’t let setbacks derail you. Remember what the great Nietzsche said: “that which does not kill us makes us stronger”. And it’s true: every letdown I experienced helped me grow, every defeat made me tougher. Above all, what helped keep me anchored and on an even keel was keeping my mind focused on ensuring that I:

Am surrounded by loved ones
They’re your rock during your low points, and the ones you celebrate with when you’re on top of the world. They make it worthwhile, keep you grounded, and remind you of who you are and why you’re doing what you’re doing. Even when you’re talking business, only your family or true friends will tell you the truth, no matter how brutal it is. They will crush you before your competitors do – and help you rebound from it.

Make time for exercise
When stress kicks in, running becomes an essential part of my coping mechanism.
It gives me space to not think about anything, or to figure things out when I need to. Studies have shown that exercise, in addition to making you physically fit, helps your mind to connect the dots, think more creatively, and, of course, releases your endorphins.

Meditate
Many great, self-made figures meditate – Oprah Winfrey, Mark Zuckerberg and Deepak Chopra, to name a few. Meditation keeps me rooted in the present and gives me the clarity I need to achieve things I envision. It’s amazing how much focusing on my breathing and ‘letting go’ can do in helping me manage the chaos all around me.

Understand what makes me happy
If you can identify the experiences that make you happy, you can work towards creating more of them. Even little moments of happiness will accumulate to make you a more positive person – a happier person. That is important, because happiness brings success both to you and your business.

From an article published by coffeepreneur and traveler Isabelle Thye in http://www.theartsycraftsy.com/

For more illuminating reflections, lifestyle lessons and inspiring thought pieces, visit www.theartsycraftsy.com; or follow the blogazine on Facebook @theartycraftsyblog; or on Instagram and Twitter @theartsycraftsy.

Get in line for online shopping

2015-10-29T19:41:00.005-07:00

Get in line for online shopping

October 30, 2015

Start with a click – and before you know it, you’ve ‘clicked’ with the best way to shop (for practically anything)

The internet is now the world’s largest marketplace, and shoppers have traded strolling through malls for surfing through cyberspace in search of products and services. With your fingers doing the walking, you can spend all day searching for all sorts of merchandise and facilities at the best deals – and have them delivered right to your doorstep (or booked from a great distance).

If you’re still not on the online shopping bandwagon, here’s what you’re missing out on:

Fashion finds

Everyone – from big, international labels to small, home-based designers; premium luxury brands, to affordable, ready-to-wear names – has made cyberspace an extension of their brick-and-mortar shops. From suits to bikinis, handbags to shoes – you have a wide variety of merchandise, styles and designs to choose from. Top regional portals like Zalora and Lazada showcase items in great detail – with high-resolution photos, material information and guides to sizes – so there’s little risk of not getting what you paid for. And the latest collections tend to hit the web first – so you’ll always be first in line for what’s most in vogue.

Bonanza deals

One of the biggest attractions of online shopping is finding exclusive deals, discounts and privileges. And the more you search, the more you’ll find! Local portals like Groupon and SavingMart, for instance, are unparalleled sources of coupons and special offers on everything from spa treatments to vacation packages, electronics to furniture that you CANNOT find offline. And lest you think the deals are only for third-rate, little-known products and services – think again!

Convenience

Forget about dressing-up, braving traffic, hunting for parking and roaming the nearest mall just to search for a pair of socks. Instead, simply pop online, browse, choose and order (then wait for you bell to ring). And we’re not just talking about durable goods and clothing. More and more Malaysians are even ordering groceries online and having them delivered to their door. ASEAN food portals likeHappyFresh and Food Panda offer a wide variety of top-notch foodstuff as well as freshly-cooked dishes – so, in theory, you won’t ever have to shop for food outside ever again!

First published by fierce ‘n fabulous fashion/lifestyle blogger Carinn Tan in http://www.extraordinarinn.com/

For more outside-of-the-box lifestyle solutions, snazzy fashion features and beastly-good beauty tips, visitwww.extraordinarinn.com; or trace Carinn Tan’s footsteps on Facebook @CarinnCarerynn; on Instagram and Twitter @Carerynn; or drop her a line at carinn.tan93@gmail.com.

E-commerce to drive Asean retail growth

2015-06-02T01:39:00.001-07:00

E-commerce to drive Asean retail growth

E-commerce can help grow Asean's retail sector and will benefit both consumers and retailers in the region, the Asean Business Advisory Council (Asean BAC) said in its latest report.

In its 2015 report to leaders, Asean BAC said business-to-customers Internet sales in Asean account for only one per cent of total sales as opposed to eight per cent in developed economies.

According to global management consulting firm AT Kearney, Singapore is the only Asean country to be placed in the top 30 in a ranking led by the US, China and United Kingdom.

In the firm's 2015 Global Retail E-Commerce Index, Singapore ranked 14th with a 41.5 score in terms of online market attractiveness.

The study said the city state has infrastructure that makes the retail environment conducive for online shopping.

In terms of consumer behaviour, Singapore was rated at 89.4, a score higher than the US, which indicated a favourable consumer base for online transactions.

Asean BAC said e-commerce technology is essential for the integration of Asean's retail sector as it makes shopping easier for consumers. It also helps grow businesses without having to contend with too many pre-existing impediments.

But in order to develop e-commerce, the council said Asean needs to work on its logistics, develop an online payment system and promote access to finance.

Asean should also consider the establishment of a region-wide e-payment regulation system that will help companies identify their clients.

To speed up the payment process, an e-payment escrow solution could also be explored, the council said in its report.

Asean should also encourage partnerships between e-retailers and logistics players to improve trade efficiency.

The integration of logistics systems in Asean must be accelerated. The council added in its report that the Asean Single Window system should be fully-implemented.

Asean BAC said access to finance and use of regional e-commerce platforms will help Asean e-commerce players keep up with their international competitors.
------ The Brunei Times 2 June 2015

WeChat is Tencent's ace in China's online entertainment race

2015-05-13T02:32:00.001-07:00

WeChat is Tencent's ace in China's online entertainment race

The logo of Chinese instant messaging platform called WeChat on a mobile device which has taken the country by storm in just three years.

BEIJING/LOS ANGELES, May 13 (Reuters)

- In a multi-billion dollar dogfight with Alibaba Group Holding Ltd for leadership in China's online entertainment market, mobile messaging app WeChat is Tencent Holdings Ltd's trump card.

The wildly popular app allows Tencent to channel 500 million monthly active users to its entertainment services, a huge consumer base for subscriptions or marketing - pay dirt for media and advertising partners.

Combined with a willingness to throw cash at top-tier film, television, game and music content, Tencent has locked down exclusive deals with some of the biggest names in Hollywood, eager to piggyback on the $190 billion (S$252.8) Chinese group's growing success.

Shenzhen-based Tencent, whose WeChat and QQ social networks are as ubiquitous in China as Facebook Inc is elsewhere, has spent billions of dollars in recent years building up its content library and on stakes in entertainment firms, though the company declines to give specific details on its investment.

Last month, Tencent added streaming rights to Twenty-First Century Fox Inc's FOX, FOX Sports and the National Geographic Channel to its media arsenal, which already includes various rights for Sony Corp's Sony Music Entertainment, Warner Music Group, Time Warner Inc's HBO network and the US National Basketball Association.

"We've paid aggressively to buy some of the most popular content, the most established brands," Tencent's Chief Strategy Officer James Mitchell told Reuters in a recent interview.

Founded 17 years ago by CEO Pony Ma, Tencent already operates an online gaming business to rival those of Sony, Microsoft Corp and Nintendo Co. It also owns China's biggest music streaming service by subscribers, and by some measures runs the country's most popular Internet video platform.

The pairing of Tencent's active dealmaking with the success of WeChat and QQ is critical, says Mathew Alderson, who leads the China media and entertainment practice at Harris Moure in Beijing.

"I consider them to be ahead because of the reach and sophistication of their social networking tools," he said.

The stakes are huge.

Revenue in China's online entertainment industry is set to double to more than $46 billion by 2018 for online games and video streaming alone, according to iResearch data, prompting China's biggest Internet companies to spend lavishly on TV shows, films, games, music and sports rights.

"When we have the key content, our traffic makes it more popular than it would otherwise be," said Mitchell, noting that Tencent's online advertising business revenues jumped 65 per cent last year, to 8.3 billion yuan (S$1.78 billion).

Video advertising revenue has at least doubled year-on-year in all of the past six quarters.

Tencent reports January-March earnings later on Wednesday. KNOWING THE SPACE Alibaba, meanwhile, is flush with cash after its record $25 billion share sale in New York last year and, alongside its affiliates, has spent more than $3.5 billion since the start of 2014 on stakes in video, music and gaming firms, including a minority share of Youku Tudou Inc, one of China's biggest Internet video services.

Alibaba's entertainment business claims music distribution deals with Germany's BMG and two of Taiwan's biggest labels.

It has also teamed up with Hollywood studio Lions Gate Entertainment Corp to offer a subscription streaming service in China.

Its operations are led by former members of Tencent's video business, who left following a leadership reshuffle around 2013.

They include Patrick Liu, current head of Alibaba's digital entertainment unit and former head of Tencent Video.

Other firms staking a claim in China's online entertainment market include Internet search leader Baidu Inc and its online video unit iQiyi; Sohu.com Inc ; and Leshi Internet Information and Technology Corp Beijing.

Dealing with Tencent won't be easy, says Mark Natkin, managing director of Beijing-based Marbridge Consulting.

"They understand what users want in terms of entertainment content, they understand how to deliver it," he said.

"Tencent knows that space better than anybody."

Tencent's content library, which also includes South Korean YouTube sensation Psy through a tie up with YG Entertainment Inc, is arguably deeper than that of its rivals.

"You clearly see the growth of (Tencent's) position," said TCL Multimedia CEO Hao Yi, who works with many of China's Internet companies, about the firm's video business.

"A couple of years ago they were nowhere. The WeChat thing, indeed, this is a killer."

In recent months, Alibaba and Tencent have taken their rivalry overseas, both setting up offices in Los Angeles to slug it out for programming deals with Hollywood studios and producers.

While both groups have financial firepower, WeChat could be a clincher for Tencent in winning deals with content producers.

"You can use content to drive very good margins - if you have the right pipes," said one Hollywood executive.
----- Reuters 13 May 2015

WhatsApp reaches 800 million monthly active users

2015-04-21T00:12:00.001-07:00

WhatsApp reaches 800 million monthly active users

Mobile messaging service WhatsApp now has 800 million monthly active users, CEO Jan Koum has revealed in a Facebook post.

SINGAPORE - Mobile messaging service WhatsApp now has 800 million monthly active users, CEO Jan Koum has revealed in a Facebook post.

The app had about 600 million users when Facebook acquired it last year, and it announced that it had reached 700 million users in January this year.

At this rate of expansion, it will reach a billion users by the end of the year, the Wall Street Journal predicted.

In a dig at other messaging services, which often report registered users only, Mr Koum added: "Reminder for the press out there: active and registered users are not the same thing."

Facebook messenger is second to WhatsApp with about 600 million monthly active users, making the company the owner of the two largest messaging services in the world.

Google revolutionises search to help mobile users

2015-04-17T21:25:00.005-07:00

Google revolutionises search to help mobile users

Google search will start factoring in how easy websites are to read on smartphones or tablet computers, underlining the changing way people surf the Internet

SAN FRANCISCO (AFP) - Google search on Tuesday will start factoring in how easy websites are to read on smartphones or tablet computers, underlining the changing way people surf the Internet.

The web titan said that the "mobile-friendliness" of websites will be a factor in ranking results to online searches done using mobile devices.

"As people increasingly search on their mobile devices, we want to make sure they can find content that's not only relevant and timely, but also easy to read and interact with on smaller mobile screens," a Google spokesman told AFP.

The change will affect mobile Internet searches in all languages worldwide and was expected to have a "significant impact" on results to queries, Google said in a February blog post heralding the move.

Lost your Android phone? Now Google can help you find it

2015-04-17T21:22:00.002-07:00

Lost your Android phone? Now Google can help you find it

SINGAPORE - Google's search bar is a calculator, translator and currency convertor, and now it can also find your Android phone.

Just type in "Find my phone" in Google's search engine on the computer, and it will display a map that zeros in on the missing Android phone or tablet.

When I tried it, it located my phone "accurate to 17 metres", but it took a few seconds to load.

For it to work, the user has to have the latest version of the Google app installed on their phone, and be signed into the same Google account on their smartphone or tablet and their computer.

Google made the announcement on Wednesday on its social media platform Google+: "We've all been there - you've searched under your car seat, tossed around the sofa cushions and you still can't find your phone.

If you know where your computer is, you can now ask Google to find your Android phone from your desktop.

If the pesky phone is hiding nearby, Google can ring it for you - or you can see it on the map if you, say, forgot it at the bar.

Just make sure you've got the latest version of the Google app installed on your device!?"