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KUALA LUMPUR: National postal operator Pos Malaysia Bhd will remain a significant player in the mail and parcel business segment despite stiff challenges coming from competitors. Chief executive officer Charles Brewer said that despite the challenges, including foreign exchange fluctuations and regional geo-political concerns, Pos Malaysia will continue to upscale its operations across all business segments. He said that over the last decade, traditional mail, which has long been Pos Malaysia’s core business, has experienced a decline ranging from -2 per cent to -38 per cent. “This downward trend was exacerbated globally during the Covid-19 pandemic, with mail volumes experiencing low double-digit declines due to various disruptions,” he told The Exchange Asia in a recent interview. Pos Malaysia handles around one to one and a half million letters daily, and the decline in the business segment was due to COVID-19, which significantly contributed to the decrease in the already diminishing business sector. While the company continues navigating the challenges, Pos Malaysia expects another year of continued decline in mail volumes, a downtrend the company has faced over the past ten years. Charles said that the situation has somewhat stabilised post-Covid and is returning to pre-pandemic decline rates of 6 per cent to 8 per cent. The company’s core business is divided into two significant segments – traditional mail and parcel – presenting distinct challenges. The mail and parcel segment is Pos Malaysia’s primary business. Charles emphasised that, as the nation’s postal operator, Pos Malaysia has a vital duty to keep Malaysians connected, ensuring the timely delivery of mail. He said that in adapting to current and new challenges, Charles emphasised innovation and resilience as Pos Malaysia explored strategies for diversifying its services and reimagining its business model to remain relevant in an era where traditional mail is steadily declining. “In addressing new challenges, Pos Malaysia looks towards a future marked by innovation and strategic transformation,” Charles noted. Despite continued growth in parcel volume, which is contributed by the booming e-commerce industry, the segment has attracted many new players who are establishing their own logistics solutions, squeezing further Pos Malaysia’s tight margin. “What was initially seven, eight, or nine years ago, a significant upside opportunity is still an opportunity, but it is harder and more competitive to make a decent return in that space,” Charles said. Explaining further operations, Charles said the logistics services sector in Malaysia operates within a relatively open market, with limited regulatory constraints on new entrants. He said there are approximately 120 courier operator licenses in Malaysia, serving a population of 30 million. “To provide a perspective, the contrast with Indonesia is stark, where only about 30 licenses serve a population of 350 million. With a population of 70 million, Thailand has a similar number of licenses. “The competitive nature of Malaysia’s logistics market is one of its distinctive features, offering opportunities and challenges. The abundance of licenses contributes to a vibrant but relatively deregulated environment, becoming the first challenge in the parcel sector,” he said. Charles said the government and relevant agencies must look into creating a conducive playing field for the domestic courier industry, particularly limiting the number of foreign players to give local players a more significant market share. “We have more than 15,000 employees, and Pos Malaysia is one of the oldest companies operating in Southeast Asia and certainly one of the oldest companies in Malaysia. “We have a fantastic history, a fantastic brand, and much to be proud of. “So a big part of our transformation is transforming our culture, making sure that all of our 15,000 employees are very clear about how we need to operate and behave to keep the customers we have—more customer centricity and employee centricity, which sits right at the heart of that cultural transformation,” Charles said.

KUALA LUMPUR: With a strong presence in Malaysia, Singapore, and Taiwan, Xamble Group Ltd is now eyeing expanding its influencer marketing services to other regions or markets. The Australian Securities Exchange (ASX)-listed Malaysian company is focusing on expanding across the ASEAN and New Zealand markets to attract more investors into its investor community. Xamble Group worked with more than 300 brands, including KFC, Unilever, P&G, and Hasbro and has access to over 20,000 influencers that reach over 20 million consumers in Malaysia, Singapore, and Taiwan through influencer marketing arm Nuffnang. Just recently, Nuffnang added The Body Shop, Taiwan Tourism, Standard Chartered and Mr DIY to its current portfolio. Xamble Group executive chairman Ganesh Kumar Bangah said more prominent brands are typically subject to more criticism from the public, especially during critical seasons involving important global events. “We work tirelessly so that our clients and brands care for us even more than usual,” he told The Exchange Asia. When asked how Xamble strengthens its relationships with existing clients and attracts new brands, Ganesh said that by strengthening relationships, the company attends to the client’s pain points to understand what they want to achieve. In addition, Xamble Group also hosts beneficial events like Nuffnang’s TMRW/TDY (Tomorrow/Today) to help clients better understand upcoming topics in the digital and influencer marketing industries. Ganesh said that in attracting new brands, Xamble Group innovates new products to supplement existing offerings, such as the Influencer Scorecard, a dedicated strategy team in place that focuses on bringing more creativity and innovation to campaigns, and the Talent Squad, an in-house talent management team that directly manages social media campaigns for influencers. “The primary objective of the investment initiative is to fortify and expand the outreach to the small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) segment through the Xamble Creators platform. “This entails strategic technological investments aimed at augmenting the platform’s functionality facilitates a seamless and direct interaction between influencers and SME brands. “The integration of an influencer solution tailored for SME brands holds the potential to amplify the scale of our business operations substantially,” said Ganesh. Xamble Creators is an innovative platform to enhance collaboration between micro and nano influencers and brands. The platform allows influencers to monetise their content by connecting them with brand campaigns that align with their interests. The platform, integrated with OpenAI’s ChatGPT, also empowers users with suggested social media posts based on campaign briefs and influencers’ preferred tones. Xamble also features a virtual robot, Xb, for tutorials and post suggestions. It is available on iOS, Android, and Huawei AppGallery and operates on SaaS (software-as-a-service) and fintech models. Targeting Asia’s prominent influencer segment, Xamble Creators focuses on authenticity and frequent audience engagement. It also includes a verified list of influencers, ensuring brand fit and addressing common concerns. This innovation aims to diversify revenue streams, enter new markets, and target the SME sector for long-term growth. Ganesh said Xamble Creators, introduced last year, continues to empower creators and influencers. “Via the app, we can access even more influencers looking for a way to connect, collaborate, and create content to earn. “Currently, we have more than 1,000 active influencers on the app, Ganesh noted. In October last year, Xamble Group signed a subscription agreement to receive an A$400,000 (RM1.2 million) investment from Georg Chmiel, a leading tech entrepreneur and public markets expert. Chmiel’s investment came in via the subscription of new chess depositary interest (CDI) at 3.5 cents per CDI. He also received 2 million options at 4.5 cents per CDI, vesting equally over five years, contingent on his directorship at each vesting date. Chmiel joined the Xamble Group board in November as an independent non-executive director. “In light of our consistently positive cash flow, as evidenced in prior ASX market announcements, Xamble Group is strategically allocating surplus funds towards future growth initiatives. “This proactive approach involves significant investments in enhancing our technology platform, primarily focusing on developing new features. “Notably, we are constructing a self-service influencer platform tailored for SMEs within our targeted markets,” Chmiel said. Chmiel and Ganesh have reviewed the strategic direction of the business and agreed on the growth path forward. Xamble Group noted that there will be continued investment in the platform, influencer community, and operations. The board is also assessing additional organic and inorganic mergers and acquisition growth opportunities as they emerge. Chmiel brings over three decades of expertise in disruptive online businesses, significantly influencing decision-making at Xamble Group. He excels at reassessing strategies, optimising team dynamics, and securing support for investment decisions through a robust network in the financial investor community. With a proven track record overseeing 40 successful mergers and acquisitions, Chmiel demonstrates a keen understanding of effective governance and the importance of technology platforms for rapid business scaling. In summary, his extensive experience and strategic vision have been instrumental in shaping Xamble Group’s direction, fostering innovation, and ensuring sustained success.

KUALA LUMPUR: The Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre (KLCC) anticipates 2024 to be a strong year for international conventions and exhibitions based on current industry trends and confirmed bookings. The country’s premier purpose-built venue also emphasises attracting more meetings, conventions, exhibitions, and corporate events segment (MICE), including banquets and functions, this year due to their contribution to the local economy. “The target or expectation for our corporate segment this year remains the same as last year with a slightly modified strategy. “We will be placing a higher emphasis on these segments whilst for the corporate segment, we will be focused on growing our recurrent client base through continued service quality,” KLCC general manager John Burke told The Exchange Asia. In 2023, KLCC generated over RM656 million in economic impact from local expenditure benefitting layers of the business events supply chain ecosystem, such as thevenue, hotels and hospitality, retail, event contractors, as well as associate industries like media, advertising and marketing, transportation, food and beverage and so forth. Research also shows that business event visitors spend over three times more than the average tourist and have a significant multiplier effect, with 60 per cent returning later as tourists. According to John, Malaysia also benefits significantly from these events’ knowledge transfers, learning, and trade activities. “Malaysian businesses, through business events can learn about international best practices and solutions they can apply in their organisations,” he said. John also pointed out that Malaysian businesses, through participation in international conventions or exhibitions, they can learn about global best practices, new technologies, trends relevant to their industry, and upcoming products and solutions, which they can apply in their organisations. “These events not only present new business opportunities but also provide great platforms for businesses and individuals to network with industry colleagues and potential new clients or employers from all over the world,” he said. When asked about the outlook in terms of the number of events secured and the target KLCC aims to achieve by the end of 2024, John said the centre opened the year with 37 convention bookings and 50 confirmed exhibitions. These numbers, he said, are expected to go up as more national conferences and exhibitions, short lead meetings and events are confirmed for the year. “Our focus for the year and moving forward is not so much focused on the number of events, but rather the opportunity that those events provide. “This could be in revenue, exposure, or economic impact. It is about selecting the right events for Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur and KLCC,” John pointed out. KLCC currently has 32 confirmed conventions for 2024, with 26 being international. When asked how KLCC plans to attract and secure more international events, John said the centre has a research team that studies the opportunity to bring suitable events to Malaysia. “We look at conventions and exhibitions that are especially relevant to existing and new industry sectors contributing to Malaysia’s economic, infrastructure and social growth. “We build relationships with local associations, assist them in putting together a compelling bid and presenting it to the association committee or council. “And, when bidding, we first sell Malaysia as the destination, followed by the host city, Kuala Lumpur,” he said. He said that as the premier purpose-built venue in Malaysia, KLCC also works very closely with its national bureau, the Malaysia Convention and Exhibition Bureau (MyCEB), to position Malaysia as the preferred destination for business events in the region. “We participate in all the global industry trade shows, representing Malaysia, showcasing our compelling offerings for international event organisers,” John noted. Some of the events lined up at KLCC for this year are the Ancaro Imparo Dental Conference, February 22-26, the International Café & Beverage Show, May 23-25, the 21st AILA World Congress, August 11–16, European Society for Radiotherapy and Oncology (ESTRO) meets Asia, August 23-25, the International Surgical Week, August 26-29, the Aesthetic Medicine & Surgery Conference & Exhibition (AMSC), AestheticMedicine & Surgery Conference & Exhibition (AMSC), September 20-21 and the International Union of Architects (UIA) Forum from November 15-17.