Tuesday 5 February 2013
Healthy job outlook for finance and accountancy
SINGAPORE- The job market for finance and accounting professionals might be optimistic this year, recruitment firm Robert Half said today.
In a survey of 300 Chief financial officers (CFOs) and finance directors here, Robert Half found that business leaders were confident about their business prospects in 2013.
Of the respondents in the survey, 150 were from the Banking and Financial Services sector, and another 150 were from the Commerce and Industry sector.
As much as 78 per cent of CFOs in commerce and industry said they are positive about Singapore’s economic prospects, and 89 per cent are optimistic about their company’s fortunes.
Among the Banking and Financial Services group, 83 per cent said they are confident about Singapore’s economic future, while 85 per cent feel positive about their company’s prospects.
This confidence has been reflected in a strong start to hiring, with 31 per cent of CFOs and finance directors in commerce and industry planning to add new permanent finance and accounting staff in Q1 of 2013.
Another 56 per cent said they would be maintaining their current headcount.
Only nine per cent are freezing all new hires, and four per cent are forecasting a reduction in headcount.
In the banking and finance services sector, 33 per cent said that they plan to add new permanent staff in the first three months of 2013, with a further 50 per cent maintaining current levels.
Only 11 per cent are freezing all new hires while six per cent are looking to reduce headcount.
Ms Stella Tang, Director of Robert Half Singapore, said: “As we enter 2013, companies are still optimistic about their prospects, and many are cautiously adding additional headcount. Companies may also be looking to improve productivity to get more from their existing workforce.”
“If the global economic climate improves, then companies will very quickly enter the employment market to make new hires to boost capacity,” she added.
She also said that CFOs need to continuously invest in recruitment and retention programmes to ensure that they do not lose existing staff to other opportunities or miss out on top talent.
The survey also revealed that losing finance, accounting and banking staff to other opportunities is a serious concern for Singapore companies in 2013.
A majority (86 per cent) of CFOs in commerce and industry and almost all (92 per cent) senior business leaders in banking and financial services said they are concerned about losing top performers to other job opportunities.
CFOs also find it challenging to hire professionals with the right skill sets.
This situation is further complicated as staff might not be retained by pay raises in 2013.
“The continued confidence in the market is putting finance and accounting talent with the right skills in a strong position to move to more attractive opportunities,” Ms Tang warned.
Employers should not only focus on salary packages when trying to retain their workers, she said.
Other factors which affect the employee’s decision to stay or leave include having a clear career path, flexible work arrangements and the opportunity to work with a mentor and in an environment where the employee can play a significant role in executing business strategy.
Healthy job outlook for finance and accountancy
The bedrock of Singapore
(This article was originally posted on http://berthahenson.wordpress.com)
I don’t know if you have read TNP on Sunday, but you should go buy it. It has an interview with the mother of the two boys who died in that horrific crash in Tampines. Not because I think people should prey on her grief, but to have an insight to a typical Singaporean household – it breaks my heart. It is so familiar.
In all that discussion about what kind of Singapore we want to be and what sort of numbers, immigrants and babies we should have, do we know enough about how most Singapore families live and the values they hold?
The Yaps live in a four-room HDB flat – father in the SAF, mother who was Indonesian turned citizen and two school-going children. It’s not just this profile and housing type which struck me but the mother’s account of the children’s growing up years and the family’s daily life.
Grandparents helped look after the elder son, Nigel, in his early years. The family was worried about his hyper-active condition, trying both Western and traditional medicines to soothe him. The couple tried unsuccessfully at first for Baby Number 2. But complications arose, she had to abort her baby.
Then Donovan came along, some six years after Nigel, and with it came the usual worries about the age gap between the two boys.
The family does the usual family things – a Universal Studios trip the weekend before was their last outing.
There were the usual concerns too about education. Teachers were worried for Nigel, who was just glad enough to pass his PSLE. He was not embarrassed to tell people about his aggregate score of 121. It was an achievement, and he looked at it that way. He was posted to a Normal Technical stream. (I think a more middle-class or upper class family would have kept the score quiet…)
I don’t think the boys had private tuition but education seemed important to the family. Nigel’s teachers were in touch with the parents. The mother’s last instruction to Nigel was to remember to teach Donovan his spelling.
The mother had quit her factory job to look after the children for a while but returned to work part-time at McDonalds. She said it was because it seemed that Nigel, at 12, was able to step into the role of the younger brother’s care-giver. From what she let fall, he did the dishes and what household chores she used to have to do. She was proud of him.
She cycles and so did Nigel. When she found it tough to pick up Donovan after his wushu (a Chinese martial art sport) CCA because of work, Nigel offered to do so.
And that was that…
Isn’t this the closest portrait you can have a Singapore family? Hardworking, interested in education, close-knit. Birthday celebrations and family outings. Brother looking after brother. No maid. Mother making some extra dough for the family. Grandparents pitching in to help. Framed pictures of the family around the house, including what looks like a kindergarten graduation photo – that so important picture in a Singapore family. A void-deck wake.
I think families like the Yaps are all over Singapore, the silent majority. Resilient. Their stories appear only when tragedy strikes or when a major surprise happens. I reckon it’s one reason we grieve along with the family. Not just that they lost two sons, but also that their family story is “familiar” and so everyday-like.
These are the people who make up Singapore. Not those who can afford sky suites or a second property, or send their children for Gifted tuition classes, or ferry them to school in the family car.
Some of us have gone through the process and come out on top, with good grades, good jobs, good housing and good incomes. As we gripe loudly about the quality of life, let’s not forget the people who are the bedrock of Singapore. People like the Yaps. I thank The New Paper on Sunday for the reminder.
Finally, my sincere condolences to the family.
(Bertha Henson started reporting in 1986, after graduating from the National University of Singapore with a bachelor’s degree. She has handled several beats and editing portfolios since then, both in The Straits Times and The New Paper. Her last position was Associate Editor of The Straits Times. She is now NUS University Town’s Journalist-in-Residence and has a media training and consultancy firm, Newsmakers. Her blog, Bertha Harian, which gives her take on the news of the day, can be found at berthahenson.wordpress.com)
(The views and opinions expressed by the author and those providing comments are theirs alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of inSing.com and SingTel Digital Media Ptd Ltd.)
The bedrock of Singapore
Singapore"s top spot in hotel sector sees challenge from Vietnam
Singapore continues to maintain its leading position in the hotel industry, having invested US$598 million (S$736 million) in hotels here to date, according to recently released figures from the Ministry of Hotels and Tourism.
Vietnamese investment, however, is expected to surpass Singapore’s after companies from Vietnam last month signed a deal with Nay Pyi Taw to invest $300 million in hotels. The massive build-operate-transfer deal was the first surge of investment into the hotel sector since the new foreign investment law was passed.
Ministry figures show that foreign investors have poured about $1.4 billion into the hotel sector. Thai investment totals $236 million, which will put it in third spot after the Vietnamese funds arrive. Japanese investors will be fourth with a combined $183 million, followed by Hong Kong investors ($77 million) and Malaysian investors ($20 million).
Investment from western countries is beginning to enter the sector with $3 million from the United Kingdom. Ministry figures shows foreign companies have invested in 36 hotel projects, including 30 that have been completed.
The number of tourist arrivals surpassed one million for the first time last year, leaving hotels in major tourist destinations struggling to meet demand.
Singapore"s top spot in hotel sector sees challenge from Vietnam
Monday 4 February 2013
Singapore buyer plans Raimon redo
PROPERTY
After buying a 24.97% stake in listed developer Raimon Land Plc (RML) from IFA Hotels Resorts 3 Ltd last week, Singapore investor JS Oil Pte Ltd plans to expand RML in the US and Southeast Asia this year.
Lionel Lee, owner of JS Oil, did not disclose details about new investment at yesterday’s press conference, saying only a concrete plan for RML will be announced in a couple of weeks. Mr Lee, 40, is also group managing director of Singapore-listed Ezra Holdings, the offshore oil and gas services company.
“We intend to increase RML’s portfolio and bring it to the next level,” he said. “In the US, our family-owned Jit Sun Investments are exposed to the commercial and hospitality property business and we are looking for new expansion.”
Jit Sun Investments has oil and gas businesses in the US. For RML, US investment would be well timed as the SP Index in the last two weeks has hit its highest point since 2007.
Last Friday, JS Oil bought 893 million shares in RML at 2.40 baht each, representing 24.97% of the total issued shares for a cost of 2.14 billion baht.
RML’s board of directors and members of the executive committee who represented IFA resigned last Friday.
Their seats were taken by Mr Lee; Tan Chin Kwang Johnson, managing director of IB Partners who also advised on the acquisition; and Thai politician Pradit Phataraprasit, who is new chairman of the board.
Though Mr Pradit has no RML shares, he has had a close relationship with Jit Sun since it invested in PTTEP and Chevron (Thailand) 20 years ago.
RML’s chief executive Hubert Viriot said IFA needed to diversify its investment back to the Middle East, its flagship base.
Shares of RML closed yesterday on the SET at 2.26 baht, down six satang, in trade worth 143 million baht.
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About the author
Writer: Kanana Katharangsiporn
Position: Business Reporter
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Singapore buyer plans Raimon redo