Goods & Services Tax; Malaysia

The Malaysian GST (Goods and Services Tax) is scheduled for implementation by 2015 with inflation, as estimated by some analysts, accelerating to 4% from the current 2.1% annual average.

Are you curious about how the 6% GST would impact your businesses and you?

NAWEM Penang will start its New Year 2014 with the above one-day seminar, and do mark your calendar and register yourself by Dec 27.

The event is organised with full support of the local Royal Malaysian Customs Department, which provides venue, speakers and food - thus, registration is necessary.

Some 300 people are expected and a bit more is okay as the hall can accommodate up to 400. However, the participants should be comfortable to ensure better learning, right? So grab your seat today - first come first serve!

To date, some 150 have registered. We look forward to see you all in Seberang Jaya for some great networking too.

Come prepared with questions you want answered by the authorities like:

• Why GST?
• What are the salient features of GST in Malaysia?
• How to file a GST Return?
• What are the transitional issues?
• How to prepare your business for GST? (prices, cash flow, business process, computer system, etc)

This GST talk is held in line with NAWEM's objectives to:

• Act as liaison between the Government of Malaysia, State, and local agencies and organisations as well as external agencies and bodies
• Conduct seminars, workshops, training programmes and conferences
• Provide counselling and constituency services
• Promote, propagate and enhance women's capabilities and potentials. 

NAWEM Pg members with Penang Customs senior officers. Seated centre is the director Dato' Zulkifli Yahaya

Again, to register, click on the poster above or go here http://ow.ly/rlRzZ. Direct any inquiries to the organising chairperson Ai Li Yeap: hp 017 582 3699, ailiyeap@gmail.com / nawempg@gmail.com or Fax: 04-538 8471

* * *

You are also welcome to join NAWEM Penang's Christmas Lunch on Dec 28. Simply bring along a gift (worth RM50 minimum) for exchange and to spread the holiday cheers!
Ongoing details shall be posted at its Facebook fan page.    

Women CEO Korean Trade Mission

Ten Korean companies will be in Kuala Lumpur this month, looking to promote their products to Malaysia and the Southeast Asian region, to explore business opportunities and to share technology.

It will be an exclusive event, meeting their top officials on 1 on 1 basis, and confirmation has been made a month earlier for the limited seats available. NAWEM members received their online invitation and registered through its secretariat.

The Korean participants include cosmetic manufacturers like Ecoment, which makes the Vieco brand natural cosmetic, and Eunsung that produces makeup tools and accessories and is known for its Silstar brand silk pore cleansing brush. 

Korean cosmetic products

J World Tech that makes the popular Lovpe brand hair curling tong will also be there to promote its other home appliances like food blender, etc. So are Aphome, famous for its handmade jewellery and accessories, and pomegranate + wild berry health juice manufacturer Health Love.  

Other participating Korean companies are Seshin (die-cast aluminum cookware), Rollpack (home vacuum sealer Foodkeeper), Clear Lighting Tech (LED lights), Heemang (multi mobile charger), and Care (adult diaper and pad as well as sheet for pet).

They all are part of the Gyeonggi Small and Medium Business Centre. Gyeonggi is the biggest state in South Korea with the largest concentration of brilliant product manufacturers and high technology companies like Samsung, LG, Hyundai and KIA.

The one-day trade event will take place on Thursday, Nov 21, at the JW Marriott Hotel, KL. Interpreter service is provided for non-Korean participants, so no worries...

The organiser, Gyeonggi Business Centre Kuala Lumpur (www.gtrade.or.kr/kuala), is the Southeast Asian business hub representing the Gyeonggi government to assist Korean SMEs to penetrate the SEA markets through the promotion of regular trade missions with local buyers and specific trade meetings.    

The Koreans are looking for potential local business partners to assist them in distributing/manufacturing their products either through exclusive marketing, joint venture or investment into Malaysia set-ups. 
 

We wish all the participants a fruitful meeting and happy networking!

Hands-on Business Loan Clinic

It takes efforts to get others to open their wallet and give you money, especially money to expand your business. There are procedure to follow and documentation to get ready; and SME Bank Clinic is one place where you can learn first-hand how to secure such funding.

NAWEM has organised several SME Bank Clinics in Kuala Lumpur and NAWEM Penang wants to extend similar service here, to benefit members and other women entrepreneurs up north. 




 Entrepreneurs and business owners must prepare the following to attend the SME Bank Clinic:

1) A full set of MOA, forms 24,49,9,442) Directors' IC-copy and profile(s)
3) Company profile
4) 3 years audited account (most important)
5) Cash flow projection
6) Project plan
7) Other supporting documents (cost-benefit analysis) as per consultation, according to industry and loan objectives (machine, new outlet, etc.)
8) Application form

SME Bank will conduct the clinic for minimum of 5 participants. Register yourself with the organising chairperson Jac Lynn (016-4109048 or jacquelinelaherballe@yahoo.com). Help her to quickly get the number, then she can set up the date for the clinic in the 4th Quarter.

Better still, come meet Jac Lynn in person this Saturday, Sept 28 during NAWEM Penang sharing session, where she will speak on "Make-up for Business." Expect some tips on how to create a more professional appearance & great first impression to help you garner more business!

Some more sharing by two Penang members who attended the recent NAWEM lecture on "Crowdfunding - what is it and is in it for you?"

Date     :	28 Sept 2013 (Saturday)
Time    :	10.00 a.m – 12.00 p.m. (Committee Meeting) 12.00 noon – 1.00 p.m (Sharing Session) 1.00 p.m. – 2.00 p.m. ( Lunch Networking)

  
The venue is at NAWEM Penang's shared premise at One Precinct, 1A-2-01, Lengkok Mayang Pasir, Bayan Baru, 11900 Penang (near Bayan Baru market and Sunshine Square).

Successful Women & Wine this June

Five from NAWEM Penang were among the 1,100 delegates from 72 countries, who attended the Global Women's Summit held in Kuala Lumpur earlier this month. By comparison, the 2012 summit in Athens, Greece gathered 800 participants.

Delegates to Global Women's Summit 2013 in Kuala Lumpur

NAWEM Penang committee meeting this month (June 29) will be a time for them to re-live exciting moments connecting first hand with numerous successful women from all over the world.

After the committee meeting, vice-chairperson Catherine will do a 10-minute sharing on the summit with all members and guests. This is great opportunity for women entrepreneurs, who didn't attend, to find out and decide if they would want to commit to next year's Global Women's Summit in Paris.

The Kuala Lumpur summit, among others, featured as a speaker Malaysian Amanda Nasim who, as a 19-year old student, won the master franchise for Tutty Fruity Europe and opened her first outlet in London over a year ago. Read her story here

NAWEM Penang representatives with Amanda Nasim (centre)

Other successful women, who shared their wisdom with the participants, included IBM Thailand MD Parnsiree Amatayakul, Bank Consortium of Hong Kong CEO Lau Ka Shi and France BETC founder Mercedes Erra.

Join us this Saturday to hear what are the take-away wisdom gained by the summit participants from NAWEM Penang. More over, we have a new meeting venue on the mainland for a change, and for a good reason. We shall meet in Bukit Mertajam at Fine Wine Resources (near Tesco) and learn from the resident wine expert Loo Lip Moon.

Date:  29 June 2013 (Saturday)
Time: 10am - 12.30pm Committee Meeting
          1.15pm - 3.30pm Sharing Session (open to guests)

Speakers: Catherine Heah & wine expert Loo Lip Mun

Venues: 
Committee Meeting
Straight Talk Business Services
30-F, 2nd Floor, Taman Jaya,
Jalan Kulim, Bukit Mertajam

Lunch/Sharing Session
Fine Wine Resources
27, Lorong Seri Impian 2
Taman Seri Impian
Bukit Mertajam, Pulau Pinang


P.S. There probably be more sharing from the June 18th Malaysian Investment Development Authority (MIDA) Penang Lunch Networking Session. Three NAWEM Penang members had attended it.

The networking lunch was for representatives from prominent agencies and key players in the local industry. This is where they shared ideas on future direction, issues and challenges of the industry and got updated on the latest development in the industry.

Besides strengthening networking across industries, MIDA uses such occasion to identify the assistance needed especially in coordinating all facilities including grants and funds.


BTW, NAWEM Penang has confirmed our industry visit to MIDA Penang on July 3rd at 10am. Its director Ms Azhana Mohamed Saleh will be hosting.

Both members and guests are welcome to join this industry visit. Simply register yourself first with the organising chairperson Wendy. Email her at wendy@penexpo.com.my to state your name, company and the questions you want to post to MIDA.

Info on MIDA is available at www.mida.gov.my and its Penang address is below:

Malaysian Investment Development Authority (MIDA)
Unit 4.03, 4th Floor
Menara Boustead Penang
39, Jalan Sultan Ahmad Shah
10050 Penang

How to Market on Facebook, etc

Another interesting sharing is due this Saturday, May 18, following NAWEM Penang monthly committee meeting.

The speaker is Jason Gan of Tribeup, a digital marketing agency & innovation lab and Instapps, DIY toolset software for online sellers to setup full functioning Facebook stores.

Instapps Social Store is a full fledge Facebook ecommerce system that sits on your Facebook page. It allows your fans to browse and search your products effectively at a fully functional shopping cart.

Your customers can choose to pay via Paypal or opt for manual payment or online banking. The whole Paypal transaction process will be done within Facebook environment. If a customer choose to pay via manual payment, they can come back to update payment at the Purchase Management Panel, which you, the seller, will be notified immediately. Instapps also feature a full fledge inventory system to help you take care of your stockkeeping headaches, plus another 20 over cool features.

Mark your calendar if you are keen on learning more about Facebook promotion, marketing and sales!

Date     :	18 May 2013 (Saturday)
Time    :	10.00 a.m – 12.00 p.m. (Committee Meeting) 12.00 noon – 1.00 p.m (Sharing Session by  Jason                               Gan (open to guests)                        1.00 p.m. – 2.00 p.m. ( Networking session )

  

The venue is at NAWEM Penang's shared premise at One Precinct, 1A-2-01, Lengkok Mayang Pasir, Bayan Baru, 11900 Penang (near Bayan Baru market and Sunshine Square).


In April, we had Jason Teh, a certified retail coach and CEO of two companies, who shared on SoLoMo Marketing that targets online-mobile users.


The following is a brief on what NAWEM Penang members had been up to recently.


> Three members and two guests were in KL for the promotional conference on the 10th China-Asean Expo 2013, which is scheduled for 20-24 September in Nanning, China. They returned excited to share 'this very valuable information' to members and all.


MATRADE is organising the Malaysian participation in the 10th CAEXPO, a major annual event that has been credited as an important platform for the promotion of trade and investment between Malaysia and China.The expo theme this year is 'Regional Cooperation and Development: New Opportunities, New Impetus and New Stage.'

There is an incentive of RM10,000 to Malaysians who are interested to take up booths at the expo and two NAWEM members are keen to do so.

Chairperson Wendy recommended members to attend such promotional conference to better understand the incentives offered by MATRADE for promoting Malaysian products to the overseas market.


>Wendy also attended the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Regional Forum in KL, where an Indonesian delegate highlighted that not all countries provide subsidy for participation in the forum. So Malaysians are the lucky lot because they have such subsidy.


>Five members took part in the 13th Penang Career & Post Graduate Expo at PISA. The organiser PenExpo Event (via Wendy) had sponsored a double booth for NAWEM Penang. Some great results were obtained.


Firstly, two lady entrepreneurs were attracted to join NAWEM, one filled up the application form right away :), mostly thanks to Pauline.


Swe Ee received 50 applications for her company special programme, Jac got 15 job applications for her business with one successful candidate, Jace and Ai Li promoted their company products and services.

Jac said the expo was a good platform to get job candidates and to showcase your business to audience in the northern Malaysia. She recommended that more NAWEM members should participate in future expos.

SME Corp Penang Visit

Get ready to visit SME Corp Penang this month and learn face-to-face the business incentives they have to offer to entrepreneurs and women entrepreneurs in particular. The visit is scheduled for 13 May 2013 starting 2.30pm.

This follows NAWEM Penang's fruitful industry visit to the Malaysia External Trade Development Corporation (MATRADE) Penang office last month where, among others, the members gained a better understanding of the market development grants it provides to different types of business.

Member Chuat Tien said: "Matrade is indeed a source of both technical and financial support besides providing useful advice based on its vast experience and contact throughout the world."

As for the Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) Corp, currently our member Jacquelin has the pleasure of working with them on the franchising project of her La Herballe skin care and beauty business.

Both NAWEM Penang members and guests are invited to join this industry visit, and take the opportunity to find out more what are the various services, business incentives and assistance available from SME Corp to entrepreneurs.  

You need to sign up by May 9 and provide the organising chairperson Wendy some basic info to ensure a smooth and successful visit. You can email her at wendy@penexpo.com.my to give your:

1. name
2. telephone number
3. email address
4. company name
5. nature of business
6. questions for SME Corp and/or information needed

On the day of visit, please gather at least 15 minutes early at the below address:

SME Corp Malaysia
No.16, Lorong Perindustrian Bukit Minyak 2
Taman Perindustrian Bukit Minyak
14100 Simpang Ampat
Pulau Pinang

Cheers and hope to see you there!

Online Marketing & Mobile Users

By 2015 most Internet traffic is expected to come from mobile devices. How can businesses target, engage and turn those online into your customers?

Retail coach Jason Teh would give you some answers this Saturday, April 27. He will be the guest speaker for NAWEM Penang sharing session. Jason of Biz Coach Firm Sdn Bhd shall tackle the subject of 'How to increase via SNS your sales, profit & customers without marketing budget increase.'

So please mark your calendar:

Date     :	27  April 2013 (Saturday)
Time    :	10.00 a.m – 12.00 p.m. (Committee Meeting) 12.00 noon – 1.00 p.m (Sharing Session by                          Jason Teh, open to guests) 1.00 p.m. – 2.00 p.m. ( Networking session )

  
The venue is at NAWEM Penang's shared premise at One Precinct, 1A-2-01, Lengkok Mayang Pasir, Bayan Baru, 11900 Penang (near Bayan Baru market and Sunshine Square).


Below is another sharing worth going to, especially for those having to deal with difficult people. Most of us have to do so, at one point or another. The difficult ones can be our parent, sibling, child, spouse, boss, neighbour, friend or sworn enemy. Hehe...

Tackling the subject matter would Arun Doshi, a retired CEO, trainer, mentor and professional life coach, who enjoys sharing his insights with enthusiasm and humour. His talk would expand your understanding of ego and the skill set required in dealing with difficult people.

The date with Mr Doshi is 2.30pm, Sat 27.4.2013 at the Oasis of Peace, Bayan Baru Brahma Kumaris at No. 36, Solok Kampong Jawa.


If you are in the export business, the following may interest you:

Malaysia External Trade Development Corporation (MATRADE) half-day seminar on "Export Trade Disputes" on Tuesday, April 30 in Kuala Lumpur. 

The objective of this seminar is to equip exporters on how to avoid any possible and future disputes in their export business by using correct documents, internationally accepted and the correct terms of payment and terms of sale like INCOTERMS. 

Register online at http://www.matrade.gov.my/en/online-applications/matrades-exporters-training-programme/470 .  The closing date to register is on 29 April 2013.

Riveting Read on Improving Your Business Page

 From time to time, we shall share some fascinating read found elsewhere, which content should be helpful to the entrepreneurs. The following is such a piece as businesses big and small nowadays use SNS as part of their marketing and branding.

Quote: "Post content that interests your followers and less about how great your company is."

Click through the slides to learn more:


 

Top 10 Tips from Best LinkedIn Company Pages of 2012 from LinkedIn

Business Incorporation & other attractions

Managing director Richard Oon of ConsultNet Tax Services will join the women of NAWEM Penang this Saturday, March 23rd. He will share on the basics of business incorporation, benefits and related issues such as taxes and asset protection.

Richard's sharing session starts at noon.

Don't fret that you'd get hungry for lunch as refreshment is prepared by NAWEM Penang as usual during its meeting, which normally takes place every last Saturday of the month. However, this month NAWEM will hold its AGM on Saturday, March 30th. So its Penang affiliates shall meet a week earlier.

So mark your calendar accordingly, especially if you're looking to faster grow your business organisation this year.

     

Date     :	23rd  March 2013 (Saturday)
Time    :	9.00 a.m – 10.00 a.m. (Breakfast ) 10.00 a.m – 12.00 p.m. (Committee Meeting) 12.00 noon – 1.00 p.m (Sharing Session by                          Richard Oon, open to guests) 1.00 p.m. – 2.00 p.m. ( Networking session )

  
The venue is at NAWEM Penang's shared premise at One Precinct, 1A-2-01, Lengkok Mayang Pasir, Bayan Baru, 11900 Penang (near Bayan Baru market and Sunshine Square).

* * *

As mentioned earlier, NAWEM will hold its 20th AGM and the first 50 members who register will receive door gifts. Registration starts at 9am this March 30th at its Secretariat, at Lot 13, Rumah Puspanita, Jalan Hose, Kuala Lumpur.

While waiting for the AGM to begin at 10am, you can browse and shop at the concourse, where members would have product exhibition/sale. NAWEM trainees, who have participated in the baking and tailoring courses, would also be offering their services and selling their products.

Those who want to participate in the exhibition must register with NAWEM Secretariat by March 25th. A confirmed participant, Elit Purnama, would be offering free any first piece of garment + a second piece for sale at RM10 minimum. All proceed is to be donated to NAWEM charity fund TAN.

Following the AGM, speaker Cassandra Lee would share on 'Tummy Flattening' at noon, and lunch would follow.

* * *

 4 April 2013 (Thursday)

A morning briefing on 'Global Purchasing Centre (GPC) in China' at Menara MATRADE in Kuala Lumpur starting at 8.30am. Participation is free and you must register by April 2nd.

It is a perfect opportunity for businesses looking to export to China. Selected products to participate in this programme will be promoted via seven GPC in key China cities including Beijing, Zhangjiagang, Chongqing, Guangzhou, Chengdu, Shenyang and Wuhan, and thereafter to be distributed to more than 100 retailers throughout China.


  10 April 2013 (Wednesday)

NAWEM Penang will visit MATRADE Penang in Seberang Perai. The appointment is at 3pm. Come have a face-to-face meeting with its director Nyaee Ayup, who will share some of the incentives MATRADE has to offer to entrepreneurs.

10-11 April 2013

Women Entrepreneurs Synergy Network, a programme by SME Corp Malaysia, to be held in Subang. This year's programme carries the theme of 'Retail Transformation toward Economic Growth' and comprises seminar, workshop, networking and trade visit.

 The programme is free and you must register by March 29th. Participation is limited to 5 members of each association. It is designed to provide basic exposure to the retail business, up-to-date technology and best practices.