Skip to main content

Posts

Showing posts with the label 2018

FIFA World Cup 2018 holds lessons for successful team building

The FIFA World Cup 2018 is widely seen as one of the best World Cups in recent memory, with many surprises and goals aplenty. One talking point was the role of teamwork as opposed to just superstar talent. What lessons can businesses learn from the beautiful game? Leon Perera, CEO of Spire Research and Consulting, shared his thoughts in The Business Times – Views from the Top section on 23 July 2018. As World Cup fever draws to an end, the game lived up to its hype with breath-taking goals and outstanding performances. Perera highlighted the role of 'team effort' over mere individual talent, which was evident in the early failure of teams with world-class superstars like Argentina and Portugal. Perera also pointed out the importance of investing in new talent pipeline development, which paid rich dividends for France, the winning team and also one of the youngest teams in the World Cup. The game also highlighted the role of risk-taking. A relentless approach t

Is a Korean peace treaty on the cards?

The historical and unprecedented meeting between the two leaders of Korea is a monumental development. Can both leaders use this opportunity to enhance geopolitical stability and open up new economic development possibilities? Leon Perera, CEO of Spire Research and Consulting, shared his thoughts in The Business Times – Views from the Top section on 7 May 2018. Marking a remarkable change, the unprecedented meeting between the leaders of the two Koreas underlines the possibility of a peace treaty and denuclearization agreement. However, Perera expressed scepticism about North Korea’s commitment to completely renounce nuclear strike capability against Japan and South Korea, since this is the only factor ensuring regime survival. World leaders need to take this chance to limit the North’s nuclear capability while accepting that it may never be completely voided, bring the North into the global framework and work towards economic development on the Korean peninsula. For furt

China's measured reaction to US trade tariffs

The recent US trade tariff announcement will impact Chinese imports worth USD60 billion. Will China’s reaction and the prospect of continuing tit-for-tat tariff hikes cause more panic across global markets? Leon Perera, CEO of Spire Research and Consulting, shared his thoughts in China Daily – Asia Weekly. As the US Treasury explores restrictions on Chinese investment in the country, the value of stocks plunged across Asian markets. Industries that might come under more scrutiny for possible higher trade tariffs include maritime equipment, new materials, automated machine robotics and tools along with new advanced information technology and high-tech shipping to name a few. Voicing concern, Perera pointed out that China’s focus will still be on minimizing an escalation of mutual tariff hikes. China has hugely benefitted from global trade and FDI flows. However, China is clearly prepared to pursue retaliatory tariffs of its own for strategic reasons – it has announced tariff h

Spire talks about retail trends at International Franchise Conference 2018

Spire Research and Consulting group’s Deputy Chief Executive Officer Jeffrey Bahar was honoured to be a guest speaker at the International Franchise Conference 2018. The conference was held on 21 April 2018 in Kuala Lumpur, organized by the Malaysian Franchise Association. Jeffrey Bahar shared insights on the growth of the regional retail industry, focusing on key trends and the attractiveness of various emerging markets across Asia. With global retail sales set to rise from USD25 trillion in 2018 to USD28 trillion in 2020, the Asia Pacific is expected to record USD10 trillion in retail sales by the end of 2018. Bahar highlighted that Asian players were also among the top 250 global retailers in 2016, with China’s e-commerce player JD.com and Japan’s retailer Seven & I Holdings at the 28th and 20th rankings respectively. With technology development, urbanization and the rise in working women, customers are demanding more innovative services, and retailers are responding. For e