Experts warn that their business outlook will remain choppy over the coming 12 months, although firms with a strong presence in foreign growth markets could offset domestic constraints.

A quick look at the companies with financial years ending on March 31 showed that a number of retailers and food and beverage (F&B) service providers had mixed performances.

Retailer Courts Asia’s full-year net profit gained 16.8 per cent year on year to S$20.3 million (US$14.91 million), while Metro reported a 20.8 per cent drop in earnings to S$113.1 million.

In the F&B segment, Tung Lok Restaurants lifted full-year net profit by 6.4 per cent to S$611,000 while Old Chang Kee’s earnings dropped 5.9 per cent to S$5 million.

These uneven figures point to a fragile domestic market. Metro, which operates three department stores here and nine in Indonesia, suffered a 21.2 per cent year-on-year drop in turnover here to S$30.8 million in the three months to March 31, following the closure of Metro City Square and Metro Sengkang. Even for standout performer Courts Asia, full-year Singapore revenue – which is 65.6 per cent of the group’s total turnover – inched up only 0.1 per cent.

Courts’ business in Singapore, where it runs 15 stores, is resilient but sluggish, chief executive Terry O’Connor told The Straits Times.

“There is no hiding the fact that the local retail market is difficult. We did well last (financial) year but the growth came more from Malaysia, and we are just starting to grow in Indonesia,” he said.

“There are bright spots for us in the region, but in Singapore, conditions are tough due to the cocktail of labour issues, unjustifiably high rental costs and credit cooling.

“The impact of the property-cooling measures is also spilling over to the consumer demand for furniture and electronics associated with house moving.

“The long-term fundamentals of Singapore are still there, but for now, it’s about managing inventories and margins very carefully.”

Old Chang Kee, with 83 outlets here as at March 31, faced similar issues. Selling and distribution expenses rose around S$2.4 million or 8.5 per cent year on year in the 12 months, amounting to 40.9 per cent of full-year revenue.

The increase stemmed mainly from staff cost adjustments of around S$1.1 million amid the competitive labour market and higher rental expenses of around S$800,000, the company said.

Overall conditions for consumer-driven businesses are looking tough, said UOB economist Francis Tan. “Discretionary spending here is slowing alongside the economy…The staple products will be more resilient, but the luxury segment will certainly suffer,” Tan said.

This was reflected in the results of luxury watch retailers Cortina and The Hour Glass. Cortina’s full-year net profit plunged 44.9 per cent to S$8.4 million, while earnings at The Hour Glass slipped 9.7 per cent to S$52.3 million.

Tan added: “To hedge against the slowdown here, having good regional exposure is important.

“The developing economies around us are seeing stronger economic and wage growth, with a larger percentage of the young population getting into the middle class.”

CMC Markets analyst Margaret Yang agreed: “Jumbo Group is another good example.

“The move to open two new restaurants in Shanghai was behind its good quarterly results.”

But she noted there is no guarantee which market will be bullish, citing Jardine Cycle & Carriage’s 20 per cent drop in first-quarter net profit due to reduced earnings and the currency impact in Indonesia.

“Ultimately, the consumer business can be very unpredictable, because the demand will be reliant on not just economic conditions but also consumption patterns, and these factors are constantly changing,” Yang noted.

(US$1 = S$1.36 as of 6/13/2016 via oanda.com)

Dragon Law marketing manager Shermin Oh said they were only offering guided legal document drafting services.

Other services such as a help desk, legal support and having documents doubled checked by partner-lawyers are still limited to Hong Kong clients.

“In Malaysia, we’re offering our suite of legal documents for free, while any advice requested will be referred to our partner lawyers,” she said at the Rise start-up conference here.

Dragon Law client services director Chris Sykes said they had consulted Malaysian lawyers to ensure the service was compliant with local regulations and to prepare documents tailored to local needs.

“We provide documents specific to the country, as certain things like employment law is very specific to Malaysia.”

He confirmed that they had not approached the Malaysian Bar.

The Bar Council, which regulates lawyers and legal services, is known to be strict in ensuring the Legal Profession Act (LPA) 1976 is upheld.

Its chairman Steven Thiru said the Bar was aware of the start-up opening shop in Malaysia, adding that the matter was being studied.

Intellectual Property lawyer Foong Cheng Leong said it would be “interesting” to see what the Bar Council, especially its Legal Pro­fession Committee, would do.

“Dragon Law says it will refer those who use the template to a qualified lawyer. But they have to be careful as it may amount to touting for such lawyers,” he said.

Malaysian lawyer Lai Chee Hoe said it was always good to pay a courtesy call to the regulators.

The founder of legal start-up BurgieLaw said so far his had been the only start-up that approached the Council to ensure their service did not run foul of the LPA.

“I’m excited. In fact, I believe most legal start-up techs have one objective in common; that is, to make the legal market more accessible,” he said in an e-mail reply, when asked about the new legal player.

In a statement, Dragon Law chief executive officer Daniel Walker said the service was not meant to replace lawyers but make law firms more efficient by automating some duties, like document drafting.

Dragon Law launched in Hong Kong in January 2015, expanded to Singapore in June 2015 and began operating in Malaysia this month.

Instead, President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo has told the Transportation Ministry to prioritise railway projects outside Java, such as the ongoing trans-Sumatra and trans-Sulawesi projects.

The ministry will see Rp3.7 trillion (US$277.2 million) of its original Rp48.4 trillion budget allocated from the 2016 state budget cut on account of an expected tax income shortfall.

“Based on the President’s principal, the Java railway projects should be sacrificed for the ones outside of Java right now,” said Prasetyo Boeditjahjono, the ministry’s director general for railways.

President Jokowi’s administration is prioritising railway construction to improve interconnectivity. The country has 5,196 kilometres of railways, most of which were built under the Dutch colonial government, as railway construction received low priority in the past.

That has discouraged people from travelling on trains, with the total number of rail passengers increasing but only in Greater Jakarta, while in other parts of the archipelago the number has declined. On the other hand, air travel has gained momentum with skyrocketing passenger numbers, according to Central Statistics Agency (BPS) data quoted by recent research published by Bank Mandiri.

To up the game in rail transportation, the government aims to build 3,258km of new railway tracks by the end of 2019, which will cost about

Rp233 trillion, covering trans-Sumatra, double-track railways in southern Java, trans-Sulawesi, trans-Kalimantan and trans-Papua.

But the expected drop in state income from taxes against the backdrop of weak global and domestic activities has resulted in the railway plans falling short.

Double-track railway construction projects in the southern Java will be postponed, such as the Madiun-Kedungbanteng and the 76km Kroya-Kutoarjo section. All Java railway projects, except for the 95km Solo-Madiun section, were initially slated to commence this year and finish by at least 2019.

Railway development focus is now on trans-Sumatra and trans-Sulawesi, Prasetyo said, as the trans-Papua railway is also likely to see a groundbreaking delay owing to land procurement issues.

For the trans-Sulawesi megaproject, focus will be placed on the 145km Makassar-Parepare section in South Sulawesi and the Manado-Bitung section in North Sulawesi, which are slated to finish construction by 2018.

“Makassar-Parepare was hampered by land procurement issues, but we aim to have at least half of the railway, 70km, to be connected by 2017,” Prasetyo said, adding that construction had commenced on a 16km section.

The trans-Sulawesi railway project, with six routes spanning 1,513km, will require Rp64.81 trillion. Meanwhile, the trans-Sumatra project, covering 1,520km tracks, is estimated to cost Rp77.6 trillion.

For trans-Sumatra, the government will focus on the Binjai-Besitang and Rantauprapat-Duri-Dumai tracks, as well as the Prabumulih-Kertapati double-track railway, among others.

Minister Ignasius Jonan previously said half of the 80km revitalisation plan for the Binjai-Besitang section had been completed in March.

As for railway construction financing, less than 27 per cent will be covered by the state budget, while the remaining funds will be sought from the private sector.

This would increase the industry’s contribution to Singapore’s gross domestic product by the same quantum to an estimated US$65 billion in 2035, said the International Air Transport Association (IATA).

Singapore will remain one of the smallest air travel markets in the Asia- Pacific by passenger numbers but its growth will outpace that of several neighbouring markets including Malaysia, Thailand and Hong Kong.

The forecast bodes well for Singapore, which is investing billions in new infrastructure and facilities to prepare for the growth in Asia’s air travel market, industry experts said.

Changi Airport Terminal 4 will open next year and plans are afoot for T5, a mega passenger terminal to be built about 1.6km away from the existing airport premises. By the time T5 is ready, likely by the end of the next decade, Changi will be able to handle up to 135 million passengers a year, up from 66 million now.

IATA expects that, in 2035, Singapore will handle about 117 million passengers – 87 per cent of the planned capacity. The projection takes into account factors including the region’s growth trends and economic indicators.

Kent Yar, deputy managing director and global head of aerospace at Morgan Philips Executive Search, said the forecast is in line with developments in the industry and growth prospects in China and other strong markets.

The growth will bring opportunities for the aviation industry and related sectors such as the retail and hotel industries, he said.

The Association of Aerospace Industries (Singapore) is gearing up for the new jobs that will be created, particularly in the repair and maintenance of aircraft and parts.

There are several areas of focus, a spokesman said. The first is to develop aircraft repair capacity and infrastructure through investments at Seletar Aerospace Park and Changi – in tandem with the expansion of Changi Airport. Another priority is to improve productivity and competitiveness by investing in technology and automation, he said.

The study by IATA – the first of its kind for the region – aims to encourage governments and industry players to invest in the necessary infrastructure and services to take advantage of the industry uptrend.

It is estimated that, by 2030, there will be more people flying to, from and within Asia than Europe and North America combined, the association said.

“This growth is generating large regional economic impact from aviation. However, there is concern that the development of aviation infrastructure in the region is not keeping pace with growth in demand, putting some of the potential future economic benefits of aviation at risk,” the report said.

Aviation is a key driver of economic success, IATA said, citing Singapore as an example. While many factors have contributed to Singapore’s success as a trading centre and business hub, “the quality and range of air services available at the country’s main airport, Changi Airport, is a major, if not critical, contributing factor”, it said.

Singapore’s position as a global trading and business hub would not be possible without the high degree of air connectivity – passenger and cargo – provided by the airport, it added.

The air service at the airport also enables employees of multinational businesses to travel to clients, regional offices and global headquarters, it said. “Many of the businesses with regional headquarters in Singapore would not be located there without the mobility that the country’s air services provide.”

In addition, all members must pay attention to using raw materials sustainability and value-adding to their products, President of Lao Furniture Association KhamphaySomsana said recently at a meeting ahead of the first Lao Home and Living Fair.

The association has already promoted Lao furniture on international stages such as at the China-Asean Expo (CAEXPO) in Nanning province, China, International Furniture Fair Singapore (IFFS), International Furniture and Crafts Fair Indonesia (IFFINA), Export Furniture Exhibition (EFE) in Malaysia, Thailand International Furniture Fair (TIFF), and Asean-China (Chongqing) Home and Living Expo.

“Through the Lao Wood Furniture Fair in 2015 and this year, and the 2016 Vientiane Furniture Fair, the association has gained good experience so we decided to organise this event,” he said.

The furniture association will stage the Lao Home and Living Fair from July 18-24 in cooperation with the Trade and Product Promotion Department of the Ministry of Industry and Commerce.

The event offers opportunities for furniture businesses and makers to meet and exchange information and experience with each other on new technology, designs, skills, quality and marketing.

In addition, operators will have the chance to meet their domestic and foreign customers and sell products at the event.

The association expects more than 200,000 people from home and abroad will attend the fair.

Organisers will invite business operators to display their ODOP products at the event with lucky draws and state performances set to entertain visitors.

Khamphay said the fair would be an important event for furniture businesses allowing them to bring their new products to display and sell.

The association was established in 2003 and has created job opportunities for local people and contributed to national socio-economic development.

The bottleneck at the dilapidated port was caused by a spike in demand for goods as the opening up of the economy accelerates following a historic election win by Aung San Suu Kyi‘s National League for Democracy (NLD) in November.

“Because of the general growth of the economy we are packed. The ships have nowhere to go,” said Ma Cherry Trivedi, managing director of Ayuroma International, an adviser to Myanmar Industrial Port (MIP), where congestion has been worst.

Myanmar boasts one of the world’s fastest growing economies, expanding at 7-8 per cent in the years since the military relinquished direct control in 2011.

But its main port has changed little since the end of British colonial rule nearly 70 years ago – emblematic of ramshackle infrastructure that could hold back the foreign investment Suu Kyi needs to live up to sky-high expectations and remake a country impoverished by decades of junta rule.

The number of ships docking in Yangon has doubled over the past decade and the number of containers has jumped fourfold, data show, clogging up inadequate storage space, overwhelming sclerotic logistics systems and delaying deliveries.

“We bring in the steel, the cement, everything you can think of … as infrastructure grows, which is the key aspect of any development in a country like Myanmar, you are going to see massive growth in imports,” Ma Cherry Trivedi said.

Western shipping lines are largely confined to a single creaking terminal within the port, because of reluctance to use other facilities operated by Asia World, whose majority owner Steven Law remains subject to US sanctions.

Working 24/7

The tipping point into a crisis came when MIP miscalculated the volume of incoming shipments before a three-week holiday in April, when the country largely shut down, shipping companies operating at the terminal said.

That meant up to 10 ships faced delays of as long as two weeks to have their cargo unloaded, causing the biggest jam the port had seen in modern times.

Industry sources said the hold-up costs major shipping lines millions of dollars a week.

“There was no proper cooperation between shipping lines, container storage facilities and terminal operators. Chaos,” said Aye Lwin, joint secretary-general of Myanmar’s Chamber of Commerce, who was involved in efforts to resolve the jam.

Myanmar’s presidential office announced emergency measures in the middle of last month to tackle the congestion, including 24-hour port operation and customs clearance, and ordered daily reports from the ministers of commerce and transport.

Some of the biggest shipping companies, such as Denmark’s Maersk Line, dispatched their own specialists to help manage the situation.

By Thursday, the backlog had been largely cleared, Ma Cherry Trivedi said, although additional staff flown in by shipping lines remained in place, as did the emergency measures, to prevent cargoes piling up once more.

Tatsuya “Ricky” Ueki, managing director at shipping company MOL Myanmar, said the port infrastructure has not caught up with the economic development of the country.

“There’s no easy way out of this, but billions of dollars in the country’s development hinge on how aggressive the government is in solving the problem,” he said.

The port jam underscores the challenges Suu Kyi‘s government faces to keep growth going and attract investment to a country struggling to compete with neighbours in industries such as garment exports, which rely on accurate and timely deliveries.

“Lead times are very important,” said Jacob Clere, who works on a European Union-funded project to improve Myanmar’s garment industry.

“Taking a few days longer than those in the region, they [garment brands] will avoid Myanmar until the lead time is shortened.”

How is the HCM City real estate market evolving?

The HCM City property market is the most active in the whole country with intense competition.

After a long period of inaction, since the end of 2013 the real estate market has been recovering and is back on track.

The recovery can be traced to timely changes in policies by the Government and local authorities as well as the efforts of developers.

Since last year the property market has seen strong development in all districts and all segments – social housing, apartments, luxury apartments and low-end apartments for lease.

Many housing projects were envisaged last year to take advantage of public infrastructure projects like the metro.

In 2015 the market size doubled over the previous year as 26,500 apartments were sold.

Around VND140 trillion (US$6.4 billion) worth of credit flowed into the city property market last year, accounting for 12.3 per cent of all lending. This is higher than the national level of 10.3 per cent.

Last year the city saw $1.3 billion worth of foreign direct investments flow into the property sector, which ranked second in terms of FDI.

What are the shortcomings the market faces?

Despite significant development, the market continues to face many challenges.

Property prices are still too high compared to people’s incomes at around 20 times. In other countries it is only seven times.

Last year there was massive development in the luxury property segment, and prices increased by 5-15 per cent from 2014.

In this segment, there are an increasing number of secondary investors who buy luxury properties and re-sell them for profit. Last year the volume of such transactions surged three-fold and accounted for 15 per cent of all transactions.

Another shortcoming related to the inventories. The city now has 1,219 projects of which 11.2 per cent [equivalent to 137] have been suspended or investors lost their licence because of delay.

Construction cannot begin on 52 other projects due to lack of land clearance. Appropriate solutions are needed to enable developers to soon complete the projects to safeguard the interests of both developers and the society.

Another problem pertains to the disputes at apartments over management fees, private and common ownership, parking and management. These conflicts should be fixed soon since the trend of living in apartments is growing in big cities, including HCM City.

Where do you see the market headed this year and in the next few years? Which segments will develop strongly?

In the first five months of this year the market has seen a stagnation compared with the same period last year.

It was caused by some factors including the notary office refusing to notarise contracts for mortgaging future developments.

The draft amendments to circular No 36/2014/TT-NHNN limiting credit to the propety sector have also had an impact on the market.

Through our visits to constructions in the city, we believe that the HCM City property market’s development will not be less than in 2015.

The money will move to the social housing segment and small apartments priced at around VND1 billion.

More funds will flow into industrial and tourism properties, service apartments and office-tel to grab the chances brought by integration, including the Trans-Pacific Partnership.

Since the beginning of this year many investors and investment funds have flocked to the city property market. This will continue.

Thanks to that, products will become diverse and management skills will improve. Prices will fall thanks to tough competition among developers who are under liquidity pressure.

The large inventories will foster mergers and acquisitions with appropriate policies.

What do you think are the weaknesses that developers should address at a time the country is integrating?

The biggest weakness is shortage of resources. Now the funds are coming mostly from bank credit and buyers. These sources are for the medium term only.

Secondly, they are not professional, especially in researching the market. This should be mitigated soon.

Developers have to understand what the market wants and needs to achieve sustainable development. But many companies have failed to do that.

Poor management is another shortcoming.

To overcome these weaknesses, developers should closely co-operate and set up business groups so that they can compete when the country integrates.

Founder of Sisterhood Handicrafts, a social enterprise of Sisterhood for Development Noimaniphone Lorbliayao told Vientiane Times at a recent One District, One Product (ODOP) Fair that the group was formed in 2012 to promote handicraft abilities of Hmong women from around the country who are currently living in Vientiane.

“Hmong women have gained their skills in handicrafts, sewing and knitting since the birth of their ethnic group but many disadvantaged women have no chance to demonstrate their skills for earning basic incomes,” she said.

Currently the group has almost 80 members and all of them have been given different responsibilities including sewing, knitting and cultivating the hemp trees to be used in production process.

“Now, we have more than 100 iteof products made from hemp, silk, cotton, and bamboo. These are all made from environment-friendly materials,” Noimaniphone said.

She said a variety of handbag products, textiles, and other handicraft goods made by sisterhood artisans have been sent to Europe and America, noting that around 60 percent of products were exported to foreign countries.

The maximum price of her goods is 320,000 kip per one item and the minimum price is 30,000 kip per item.

As a part of this contemporary product collection, sewing traditional Hmong motifs generates income for Hmong ethnic women in Laos.

Hemp products in Vientiane are part of the value chain with local farmers in Huaphan province. They are cultivating the young hemp trees to support the handicraft group in the capital.

In addition, these women continue to contribute to the cycle of economic and social community growth by training new groups of ethnic women in Laos in business development, handicrafts design, production and marketing.

“This year’s ODOP fair, we don’t expect an increased volume of products to be sold but we want members of the public to acknowledge our products,” Noimaniphone said.

Despite the fact that hemp products are not popular for today’s Hmong women, many small Hmong communities in northern Laos continue the practice of making the traditional pleated skirts made from hemp.

So, Sisterhood Handicrafts as a social enterprise look set to promote and generate income for disadvantaged Hmong women by forming a group as a platform to showcase their sewing skills and make incomes possible to earn.

“Although the ability to supply the demand of foreign customers is still low, the influx of foreign tourists to Laos, especially Vientiane will open up the opportunity for us to sell more products in the years to come,” Noimaniphone added.

Capa Center for Aviation said in a report the country already posted “high” single digit growth in terms of passenger volume in 2015. The top three growth markets were Thailand, Vietnam and Cambodia, each with double digit growth, it said.

However, Capa noted Cambodia’s tourism sector was showing a slowdown, while the Philippines was seeing an upswing in demand “boosted by a surging economy.”

Last year, the Philippines saw domestic passenger growth at 8.5 percent to 22.1 million flyers, and 10.5 percent on the international side to 19.8 million. That means total passenger growth last year was at 9.4 percent.

“Growth in the Philippines will likely again be in the high single digits—or even perhaps the low double digits—in 2016. It was the fourth fastest-growing market in Southeast Asia, but could be the third fastest-growing in 2016 as growth in Cambodia slows,” Capa said.

Low oil prices have helped profitability, as well as the acquisition by Cebu Pacific of Tiger Airways (now called Cebgo) in 2014. That left just three main players in the domestic space: Philippine Airlines, Cebu Pacific and Philippines Air Asia.

Capa said growth was also being driven by massive re-fleeting activities, especially by the region’s low-cost carriers.

In a separate report, Capa said regional low-cost carrier fleets were growing, albeit at a slower pace. The 21 budget airlines in the region are now operating close to 600 planes, about 50 more than the start of 2013. This year, Capa projected their combined fleet to grow by 10 percent.

Cebu Pacific is tied with Indonesia’s Wings Air as the operator with the third largest fleet, each with 49 planes, data from Capa showed. The top two are Indonesia’s Lion Air (113 planes) and Malaysia’s Air Asia (81 planes).

“While the rate of growth has been slowing, the order book suggests at some point the rate of low cost carrier growth in Southeast Asia will re-accelerate,” Capa said.

It added Southeast Asian budget carriers currently have over 1,100 orders, including almost 90 wide-body aircraft.