Hiring Women In The Workplace

Women are part of the untapped workforce that employers need but often sidestep

Women today have been described as the main driving force behind decades of growth.

With technology and education within reach, women have infiltrated the gender barrier over the decades, and are now able to ascend the corporate ladder and start their own business ventures, which were previously dominated by men.

It is estimated that women account for more than half of the world’s output. By 2025, the number of women in the workforce is expected to surpass men by 2 to 11. In the United States alone, women hold 49. 1 per cent of the nation’s jobs, while in Asia, the female labour force participation has been growing steadily over the last five years. Nonetheless, more can be done to encourage women, particularly those who have been out of the workforce, to come back to work.

Workplace Diversity

Diversity in the workplace is key to maintaining an organisation’s competitive advantage. Research has shown that a diverse workforce not only promotes creativity, but also encourages critical analysis. This is helpful in improving company practices and services. The positive vibe will help to attract the best talents and develop the company’s brand as an employer of choice.

Talent comes in all shapes and sizes and from various backgrounds and lifestyles – new mothers and mature women with grown children included. Such diversity can bring positive change to the organisation. For example, in a traditionally male-dominated industry, women can not only bring a refreshing change to the workplace but also present alternative perspectives.

With the current economic climate and widespread retrenchments, skill shortages are prevalent in some industries while those who were spared the axe are faced with greatly increased workloads. Women rejoining or entering the workforce, especially trained professionals who have been upgrading themselves, can help to bridge skills gaps.

However, while many women are keen to enter or re-join the workforce, they face unique challenges such as the fear of prejudice from employers or the difficulty of translating their skills in raising children and managing the household to the corporate world.

The Glass Ceiling

According to a study by the University of Texas in the United States, the top three reasons why women exit the workforce are family-centric – personal or familial obligations, excessive work hours that prevented them from meeting familial obligations and the personal choice to be a stay-at-home wife or mother.

Recessions will compel many women to enter or rejoin the workforce to supplement the household income. However, many of them will find themselves disadvantaged primarily because they have been out of the workplace for some time and their skills are no longer relevant.

Furthermore, with employers’ more stringent hiring requirements, these women face fierce competition from the retrenched, fresh graduates and mid-career switchers.

Additionally, women’s obligations to family are also seen negatively by some employers who equate family priorities to lack of commitment. Such perceptions also hamper women’s opportunities to advance their careers.

Paradigm Shift

To attract and retain valuable women staff, there must be a paradigm shift where mindsets are concerned. Working mothers and older women can still contribute to the organisation, given a supportive work environment to help them balance work and family commitments.

During tough economic times, flexibility can bring some of the best talent to fill in the gaps, especially if hiring permanent employees is not an option. Studies have shown that organisations with high levels of flexibility reported strong job satisfaction.

For women who are keen on returning to the workforce full-time, part-time or flexi-work can also be implemented as a gradual transition to full-time work. For working mothers, flexible working arrangements can help them manage their familial obligations without compromising their responsibilities at work.

Additionally, career-development or leadership programmes not only motivate working mothers, but also demonstrate how they are valued by their employers. Such practices will promote loyal staff while building up the employer brand.

With a supportive network and family-friendly environment, working women can more easily attend to their personal lives and individual career goals. Being more focused and committed at work would mean they are able to contribute to the organisation to the best of their abilities.

 

 

Want To Be Headhunted?

Follow these tips and get noticed

You hear about a friend landing a great job through a headhunter and you wonder what he has that you haven’t.

How does someone become a target for headhunters? What do they look for?

These days, employers are very specific about their needs, and using headhunters to locate talent has become a popular option.

Here are some of the more employable traits that employers and headhunters seek:

Expertise In Your Field

When headhunters start mapping an industry, they talk to people within that industry. They ask these people to recommend who they think is the best or is known for a specific line of work. This means you need to be visible and be among the best in your field. Some people do this by attending industry events and conferences. Others write articles and speak at conferences, so they are known and looked up to for their opinions and views.

Value-Added Skills

In this multi-cultural and diverse environment, some profiles stand out even more. Headhunters seek people with skills, experience or exposure that can add value to their clients’ organisations. This includes overseas postings, assignments or educational exposure and the ability to speak other languages. One headhunter recommends that young managers gain overseas exposure and be willing to live and work abroad.

Positive Image

While social networking sites such as LinkedIn and Facebook are popular, people in senior or high-profile positions must be vigilant in monitoring what gets published about themselves. Also monitor what your children say about you in sites like Facebook. Their comments may be fine in a social setting but if you are interviewing for a job, some personal information is best kept private.

Background

Where you come from in terms of education, family background and your social circles are important in some jobs. Some headhunters want to know more about your background and family circumstances because they know that sometimes it just takes one family member to influence a candidate from taking a job.

Employment Status

A company usually uses headhunters when it wants to reach passive candidates who are not actively looking for a change. From a headhunter’s perspective, being unemployed can make you less attractive as a candidate. However, it is prudent to discuss your desire to move from your current role with those you trust.

People You Know

The headhunting profession thrives on connections, so whom you know is important. Stay on friendly terms with headhunters: they will remember you and keep you in their contact base.

Experience

You would have spent a substantial time in a role, job or company to make a sufficient impact and build a successful track record. For a more senior position, employers are probably looking for depth of experience. However, on the flip side, headhunters and employers can also consider breadth of experience a plus, as it can point to a candidate’s versatility and adaptability to different challenges and environments and cultures.

Strategic Career Move

Be strategic with your career move. Don’t get enticed by just the lure of an attractive package or title. While you know this is common sense, even very senior-level candidates make this mistake. Consider longer-term impact, employability and lifestyle changes when you accept an offer.

Credibility of Headhunter

The term “headhunting”can be used rather loosely. Just approaching a prospect about an available job isn’t really headhunting. Check out the headhunter before you divulge any information about yourself. Company reputation, experience in the business and reputation of the senior leadership team are all factors that separate a good headhunter from one who is just trying to earn a fee. Career decisions are big decisions, and getting headhunted is just the start of that process. Be open to discussion and be wise.

 

 

Do Detox Diets Work?

After all, no evidence shows that harmful chemicals accumulate in the body

If your holiday diet consisted of heavily processed and artificial food, you may be thinking about going on a “detox” plan. With the ultimate goal of purging the body of harmful 21st-century toxins – food additives, pesticides, pollutants and other synthetic compounds – and with glowing promises of increased energy, clearer skin, headache relief, decreased bloating and perhaps even weight loss, detoxing sounds like an ideal solution.

But do these regimens really work? Do they safely help rid the body of toxins better than the normal metabolic processes of the liver, kidney, skin, lymph nodes and so on?

Basic ingredients of a detox diet

All detox diets are combinations of fasting, food restriction and supplementation. They typically begin with a “cleansing phase”, which is typically two or three days of consuming only liquids. Brown rice, fruit and steamed vegetables are added about a week later, when other foods – except red meat, wheat, sugar, eggs and pre-packaged foods – may be reintroduced. This final phase is expected to continue indefinitely for maintenance.

Of course, with no standard definition of a “detox diet”, programmes vary considerably. Most include elimination of caffeine, nicotine and alcohol, and many restrict meat and solid foods altogether. The diets also tend to involve consumption of large amount of liquid, fibre and raw vegetables – ingredients that are thought to purge the gastrointestinal system of accumulated harmful substances.

A variety of “cleansing boosters” may be incorporated – herbal laxatives, “colonics” (that is, enemas, flushing out of the rectum and colon with water), probiotics to repopulate the natural intestinal flora and antioxidants.

Some programmes even include relaxation therapies such as massage, sauna, aromatherapy baths, deep-breathing exercises and walking.

The (lack of) science behind detox diets

No evidence shows that harmful chemicals accumulate in the body (in fact, the liver and kidneys are pretty good at getting rid of toxins). And even if toxins do accumulate in the body, there’s no reason to believe that these detox diets would get rid of them.

Toxicologists A Jay Gandolfi, associate dean for research at the college of pharmacy at the University of Arizona, and Linda Birnbaum, director of the experimental toxicology division of the Environmental Protection Agency, made the following points in an LA Times article:

1. High volumes of liquid consumption could theoretically help remove water-soluble chemicals like arsenic, but not fat-soluble chemicals (which make up most pollutants);
2. Fiber consumption may help eliminate toxic chemicals that accumulate in the liver, but not chemicals that are located in other parts of the gastrointestinal system;
3. Raw vegetables have no special detoxifying properties other than that their high fibre content that further help bulk up stools;
4. Most chemicals of concern are fat-soluble and stored in fat. The best way to get rid of these potential toxins is not through a detox diet, but through weight loss. Slender people get rid of toxins more quickly than overweight and obese individuals.

Possible dangers

While consuming a lot of fibre and staying hydrated are healthy when done in moderation, using colonics and laxatives that are intended to “purify” the digestive tract are dangerous.

Their use can lead to metabolic disturbances, fainting episodes, dehydration and muscle cramps, among other complications. The more extreme programmes also leave individuals protein- and nutrient-depleted. This can lead to decreased lean muscle mass and slowed metabolism.

But what about the great benefits countless detox followers have pronounced?

The benefits may exist, but they are likely not due to detoxification. The decreased bloating is likely from eating less food; the clearer skin from increased hydration; and the decreased headaches, exercise and relaxation components of the programme; and psychological factors.

That’s not to say all forms of detox diets should be strictly avoided. In fact, there may be some benefit in a short-term (one- to three-day) laxative-free “detox” programme, but not for its purification.

As a health-promoting practice, committing to a detox regimen helps people stop and consider the healthy and unhealthy components of their lifestyles; and make changes – eating less, examining health habits and getting rid of junk like processed foods, nicotine, caffeine and alcohol.

Some dieticians even recommend a “gentle cleanse” to clients. That is, a healthy diet consisting of primarily fruits, vegetables, non-meat proteins and lots of water while excluding substances such as nicotine, caffeine and alcohol.

American Council on Exercise

7 Ways To Get More Done

Learn how to optimise your time at work and be more productive with these tips

It is important to be productive at work when layoffs occur, as those still employed are left to do the jobs of their former co-workers. They are often doing the work of two people. This means they are working longer hours when they would rather be at home with their families.

Give me more time

If you had one more hour a day, how would you spend it?

More than half of those polled in a survey said that if they were only more productive at work, they would spend more time with their families. Instead, the work piles up, time speeds by, and you play tug-of-war between your task lists and your desire for personal time.

Here are some time-tested methods to apply to your everyday routine. You will optimise your time at work, so you can enjoy life outside the office.

1. Silence your visual noise

Work on silencing your visual noise – the clutter in your workplace. More than a quarter of those surveyed say they can’t concentrate with a messy desk. Eliminate unneeded items – paper piles, empty cups, even unnecessary cables. For example, I use a wireless optical mouse, which not only eliminate wires but also the mouse pad.

2. Tame the e-mail ogre

E-mail can either be your friend or foe, depending on how you use it. While it can be efficient, it can also be a big distraction. Do you check your inbox each time you are alerted to new mail? Is Instant Messenger stopping the delivery of your work?

Rather than read your e-mail whenever it comes in, set aside specific times a day to read and respond to it. Create signature files for common responses to questions. Use filters to automatically organise your incoming mail. Instead of firing off a long e-mail message, call or meet with the person.

3. Take a productivity pause

Even a five-minute walk around the building will help clear your mind and give you new perspective. You will return to your workspace ready to tackle your work with new energy.

4. Continuously improve

Monitor your activities throughout the day and ask yourself: “Is there a way I can improve how I do this? Can I accomplish this in fewer steps?” There are lots of ways to shortcut your tasks if you invest a few minutes to learn. Macros and programble keys on your keyboard and mouse can help you save time and accomplish more.

5. Redeploy the troops (your past work)

Don’t start from scratch if you have already created work you can re-use, even if it’s just a part. If you need to write a memo, start with the e-mail message you wrote to your boss on this topic. You have already invested time to compose and craft your message and spell check. Tweak that work to fit it with your new text and save time.

6. Tickle your tasks

“Tickle” refers to objectively deciding that something isn’t important enough to spend your time on today. When you subjectively put something off, that’s procrastination!

How do you track those tickled tasks so they don’t get lost? You can do it electronically, by rescheduling the task for a later date. If there are documents related to the task, use a tickler file (also known as an everyday sorter), which has folders for 1 to 31 and Jan to Dec.

Just drop documents related to the meeting, phone call, training or task in the 1 to 31 folder corresponding to the date of the event. That cleans it off your desk, so you don’t need to focus on it until the day it comes up. But make sure you check your tickler daily, so you don’t miss something important.

7. Practise saying “no

Most people are invited to participate in work or non-work endeavours and don’t know how to say “no”.

If you are asked by a co-worker to attend a holiday party-planning meeting and are not interested, say: “Thank you for the invitation. I’m going to pass on the planning committee this year.” By saying “no”, you’ll focus your energies on projects that are more stimulating to you.

By applying a few of these ideas, you will see a tremendous impact on your productivity.

 

Seeing Eye To Eye

You may be able to walk and chew gum at the same time, but do you struggle to maintain eye contact when you talk? When you’re explaining a complicated matter, do you find yourself looking to the distance as you concentrate on your thoughts?

The answer is probably yes. Researchers from Japan’s Kyoto University have found that mutual gaze is so mentally stimulating it not only makes it tricky to think straight, it also makes it hard to come up with verbs.

Their research, published in Cognition in December 2016, shows that eye contact has a unique effect on our cognitive control processes. In the study, 26 participants were asked to look directly at video-animated faces shown on computer screens, while performing a verb-generation task.

The faces were shown either looking straight at the participant or with their gaze averted. The study found that participants were much slower at the verb-generation task when making eye contact with the face on-screen, as opposed to when the face’s gaze was averted, but only during the most difficult verb-generation tasks.

Next time you’re telling a complex story – or a white lie – eye contact may be more than you can manage.

Fall In Love With Your Job Again

In many ways, a new job is like a love affair:

Excitement

The first stage is excitement. It can last from an hour to many years.

You think to yourself: “This job will pay me more money than I’ve ever earned before. The clients will be wonderful to deal with. I’m going to learn so much and do really exciting things.”

The novelty of the job keeps your energy high. You are happy because you are so productive, and you are more productive because you are so happy.

Reality

Then the second stage, reality, sets in. You will enjoy the work you do, but you begin to notice some of the irritants and difficulties. It bothers you that all the phones are ringing when you walk in the door. Deadlines seem endless and impossible. It becomes harder to arrive early or stay late. The novelty starts to wear off.

Disillusionment

And, like love, your job has a third stage too – disillusionment. The pendulum swings past reality, and you find yourself focusing on the negative things.

That’s when the “maybe’s” begin.

“Maybe I could make better money at Company X, and not have to work so hard. Maybe I’d be happier with more responsibility at Corporation Y. Maybe Company Z would let me come in a little later in the mornings or go home earlier at night.”

Rekindle Your First Love

In jobs, as in love, it is very important for the pendulum to swing back. You need to work to regain the exhilaration of the first stage. Such excitement is essential to a fulfilling life.

Think about what you did to keep the thrill in your love life.

Maybe the two of you relived your first date at that little country restaurant, or you thought to thank your loved one for being kind and generous.

Apply the same technique to your career. Rekindle the thrill you felt when you first began your job. You must have had good reasons for taking it.

What were they? Make a list of them and expect to experience those joys again in your daily routine.

Begin each day with a smile. Anticipate having a productive, stimulating day. Isn’t that how you used to come to work in the morning?

If you really expect to be productive, almost nothing can stop you.

Here are some practical staying-inn-love techniques:

• Have a good breakfast to give you the energy and protein which you need first thing in the morning.
• Dress with as much pride and attention to detail as you did on your first day of work.
• Start each day with motivated people who talk about the good things in their lives. Once a week or so, take the initiative to get up a little earlier and have breakfast with some of these people.
• Get to work as early as you can and spend some quiet time settling in before everyone else arrives. If this is hard, offer yourself some small personal award.
• Do the “icky” things first. Even the most fantastic job includes tasks that are not much fun. If you get them out of the way, the rest of the day will fly by.
• Make a list at the end of every day of what you learnt, what was the most fun, who was the most fun to interact with, and how you feel you added to your group’s success.

Also make a list of the “beyond the pay cheque” benefits. If you only work for the pay cheque, you will be employed, but not “employable” long term.

There are many realistic ways to keep your relationships and your job exciting and challenging.

Ultimately, your happiness depends on how good you feel about yourself at work, in love and just living every day.

Try doing something nice for your job and yourself. Fall in love all over again!

How To Finance Your Advanced Degrees

In today’s competitive job market, more fresh graduates and working adults are seeking postgraduate qualifications to move up the corporate ladder. However, a major concern many prospective postgraduate students face is the issue of financing their studies.

There are several possible sources of funding for those who want to pursue postgraduate studies.

Postgraduate Scholarship

A postgraduate scholarship is a form of gift aid as you are not required to repay the organisation that awards you the scholarship, though some scholarships may require the recipients to serve the awarding body for a number of years.

Those seeking scholarships should begin researching them at least one year before the commencing of the course of study.

Scholarship information resources include Malaysian scholarship websites; overseas scholarship databases such as Germany’s DAAD scholarship database; websites of major scholarship-awarding institutions or corporations such as the public service department, Mara, Petronas, Bank Negara and newspapers.

Universities also offer full or partial scholarships for students.

Check with the institutions that you are interested in applying to, for details on criteria and application procedures.

Education Loans

Education loans must be repaid. A major provider of education loans for Malaysian students is the National Government Higher Education Student Loan Scheme (PTPTN). This scheme enables students to obtain financial assistance and to repay that loan at low interest rates. For a Masters degree, the loan is capped at RM10,000 per year and for a PhD, RM26,000 per year.

In the private sector, a number of banks in Malaysia also have education loan schemes for working adults as well as fresh graduates to undertake postgraduate study.

Teaching/Research Assistantships

There are full-time students positions funded by the university in exchange for some part-time work. Teaching assistants aid university professors in various teaching-related duties, while research assistants assist faculty members on their research projects.

Personal Savings

Consider using your savings to fund your postgraduate study. The current interest rate for fixed deposits is less than 3% per year. The reduction of the interest rate on PTPTN study loans from 3% to 1% beginning Jan 1, 2009 gives you a valid reason to put the money to better use – such as pursuing a postgraduate degree.

Employer-Funded

Some companies encourage their employees to pursue higher education and have pre-existing staff development education schemes to provide various forms of financial assistance to help. One such method is to provide interest-free loans, whereby repayment instalments can be subbsequently deducted from staff salaries.

EPF Account 2

Working adults may also withdraw money from Account 2 of their Employees Provident Fund (EPF) to finance their postgraduate education at an institution of higher learning either locally or abroad. However, this option requires you to have been working and contributing consistently to the EPF for a number of years.

Full-Time Employment/Part-Time Study

Many postgraduate courses can be studied on a part-time basis, allowing you to cover the costs with your full-time job.

In part-time postgraduate courses, classes are held only two to three times per week, or during weekends.

Tax Incentives

The government provides income tax relief of up to RM5,000 on education fees for all postgraduate studies (Masters and doctorate level). Working adults are eligible to claim the tax relief provided that the postgraduate studies are at institutions or professional bodies in Malaysia which are recognised by the government. In addition, postgraduate students may also claim tax relief on the purchase of books up to RM1,000 annually.

 

 

 

Tips To Improve Performance Management

 

The following tips are associated with high performance businesses. The tips will also help businesses to maximise efficiency in the current economic environment.

Strategic Planning

A formal process for strategic planning will help the business to perform better. If staff continually participate in the generation of ideas, the business will have a better chance of success. However, if your business is focused on maximising efficiency, you are more likely to be successful if your planning process is less formal and there is less staff participation.

Strategy Implementation

Strategy should be implemented and controlled through a combination of budgets and performance management systems (such as the Balanced Scorecard). Businesses focused on maximising efficiency should use their performance management systems to monitor and manage deviations from targets and hold management and staff accountable for pre-determined targets.

Information Sharing

Businesses should seek to encourage greater information sharing between management and staff by using performance management systems more intensely., rather than budgets. Using performance management systems may also encourage staff to direct their attention towards emerging opportunities.

Organisational Structure

Mechanisms to improve coordination across an organisation should include task forces, project committees and cross-functional teams. Staff autonomy is also considered important in an effective organisational structure. For businesses focused on maximising efficiency, the structure should facilitate top-down management. This can be delivered through operating procedures and targets. Flatter management structures generally yield better results.

Human Resources

If the values of individual staff members are similar to those that underpin the objectives of the business, then the staff member will be more likely to act in accordance with those objectives. The business should therefore endeavour to select staff with values similar to those of the organisation and ensure their ongoing commitment to those values. To help achieve this, the business should consider formally codifying and documenting their values, purpose and direction.

Measuring Staff Performance

Measures of performance, such as the quality of products and services and social responsibility, should be used in conjunction with measures such as financial performance and customer satisfaction to measure staff performance.

Staff Compensation

Research suggests that performance improves when a part of the staff compensation is contingent on the achievement of targets. Businesses with high performance management systems tend to favour objectively determined compensation based on short-term performance outcomes.

Management Policies and Procedures

Staff activities and risks taken by staff should be limited by the use of codes of conduct supported by sanctions for any breaches. Businesses should also consider reviewing, guiding and restricting staff action on projects through frequent reviews conducted before the projects begin.

What Makes Your Boss Tick?

“Figure this out and you will be happier at work”

The art of management involves managing relationships upward as well as downward in your organisation. To be able to progress in your career path, achieve results and to make a name for yourself, you will need to learn how to manage the relationship you have with your superiors. 

Take A Long-Term View

Do not expect to manage the working relationship with your boss overnight. All good things take time to develop. When you get to know your boss better and are familiar with his preferences and quirks, you will be in a better position to form an effective management strategy.

Study Your Boss

Ask people who know about his preferences. Is your boss a task-master? Is he expressive, amiable or analytical?

Remember the principle that people like people who are like themselves. When you communicate with your boss, do so in a way that says you understand him and how he likes things to be done.

Pick The Right Time

Learn to read your boss’s mood. A good source of information is the boss’s secretary or a good ally.

Some bosses like to start off their day in a whirlwind of meetings and activities, so mornings may not be a good time to ask them to deliberate on a decision. Approach them after lunch, after they have been through the tough issues in the morning.

Others are in a good frame of mind at the start of the day, before they have had to deal with complicated matters. Get in your request early.

Keep Your Boss Informed

Update him on the progress you are making on your projects, the results achieved, the challenges or problems you are facing and what your recommendations are.

Learn the technique of breaking bad news in small doses. If something goes wrong, explain the what, why and how and let your boss know what you are going to do to fix it. Ask his opinion if your boss is the controlling type.

Be Open, Loyal and Frank

Help your boss look good, buy you don’t have to be subservient. Let your honesty surface and be a man or woman of your word.

Admit your mistakes and ensure they do not happen again. Be reliable and do what you say you will do. Walk your talk.

Deliver On Your Promise

When the boss asks you to do something, do it promptly and thoroughly. With every problem encountered, provide solutions or alternatives for consideration.

Be ready with as many answers you can think of. Bosses like people with initiative and a “can do”attitude.

Work Together

Your boss is different from you, so conflict is to be expected. Seek agreement on the easy issues, and then work collaboratively on the larger problems. Do not be aggressive; don’t make your boss lose face.

Show Perseverance

Accept challenges and don’t be afraid to put forward your ideas. If you sense that your boss is showing resistance, don’t keep on pushing. Retreat for the moment and approach the subject again on another day.

Be Confident

Act with confidence, even though you feel less than competent when something goes wrong.

Take responsibility, don’t blame other people and have a solution ready. You still might get a telling off, but it is likely that your boss will have fresh respect for you.

At the end of the day, if you establish a mutually respectful working relationship with your boss, your climb up the corporate ladder will be so much smoother.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What To Look Out For In A Prospectus

In every initial public offering (IPO), the vendors, who are mostly the major shareholders of the company, will distribute a prospectus to provide the required information.

However, many investors find it difficult to digest the information provided in the prospectus. In this article, we will briefly go through a few basic pointers for investors to consider before taking up any IPOs.

The most important factor to be considered is the key owners of the IPO company. Despite the lack of track records and the difficulty in determining the quality of the management, we can still get some details on the background, qualifications and experiences of the key owners and management team.

If the majority of the board of directors is comprised of family members, we can expect this family-owned business to exist for a long time.

If the key owner has some corporate finance experiences, we should expect more corporate proposals from this company on, for example, merger and acquisition activities, right issues and share buybacks.

For operational efficiency, the chief executive officer should possess relevant and long period of working experiences in the core business activities of the company.

Besides this, the independent directors need to have adequate financial training and related working experiences to provide useful inputs to the board of directors.

There are two main types of share offerings – offer-for-sale and public issue. The key difference between these two is that the sale proceeds from offer-for-sale will go directly to the vendors whereas proceeds from public issue will go directly to the company.

The company will need to explain how it plans to use the proceeds – whether the money will be used to fund working capital, reduce bank borrowings or for future expansions.

If the majority of the offering is offer-for-sale, then we will need to be careful as this may mean that the IPO is providing an exit strategy for some key owners of the company.

We may also need to take a discount on the future prospects stated in the prospectus.

As there will be a lot of uncertainties on the company’s growth prospects, we need to check whether the expansion plans stated are realistic and reasonable, given the size and capacity of the company.

Sometimes, certain owners may be too ambitious in their outlook.

In addition, we need to understand the company’s background, production capacity, types of products, locations of its factories, key major suppliers, customers and competitors.

We need to check the company’s sustainable competitive advantages, such as possession of any intellectual properties, technology, patents, trademarks, licenses as well as strong and recognisable brands.

Other factors to look at are whether the company is dominant in any particular geographical region and niche market, or whether there is a wide distribution network, strong marketing team as well as research and development capability.

A lot of newly listed companies will also explain in detail the risk factors associated with investing in it in the executive summary of the prospectus. Although some may appear to be standard information, we can still get a feel of the inside risk factors about the company.

Examples of special risk considerations are dependence on a few key customers and suppliers, expiration of its patents as well as special arrangements with key major shareholders, suppliers and customers.

We notice that not many investors were excited about some of the recent IPOs. One of the possible reasons was that the offer price was too expensive.

Despite higher stock market volumes, we still have a lot of listed companies selling very cheap valuations. If the pricing of the IPO is far above the overall market average valuation, the stock may be hammered down below its IPO prices after the listing of the company.

We can use price-earnings ratio and price-to-book ratio to determine the value of the companies. A good company needs to state its dividend payout policy. Even though there may be slight differences compared with the actual dividend payment, investors still need to compute the potential dividend yields from the company’s dividend payments.