A Road Map for Corporate Governance in East Asia

Much has transpired since the inadequacies of corporate governance practices in East Asia were glaringly exposed by the Asian financial crisis. The crisis brought to the foreground numerous deficiencies, which had common roots in excessive over-leverage as well as the lack of transparency, disclosure and accountability. These issues have been explicitly recognized with the release of the White Paper on Corporate Governance in Asia by the Asian Roundtable on Corporate Governance in June 2003. By responding in part to the White Paper, this article sets out a roadmap whose ultimate objective is the enhancement of the practice of corporate governance in three jurisdictions, namely Hong Kong , Malaysia and Singapore . These countries are selected as proxies for the region with the choice premised upon their common legal framework, which emphasizes the rule of law, the liquidity of their capital markets and the high mobility of capital without the imposition of any controls. By setting up a roadmap couched in broad principles as regards the roles and duties of directors, shareholders and regulators, this paper seeks to provide some ideas that have the distinct advantage of adaptability across jurisdictions thereby transcending the cultural divide of the East Asian region

Personality Traits as Predictors to Entrepreneurial Self-Efficacy with Gender and Family Background as Moderators

A model of personality traits toward entrepreneurial self-efficacy were assessed with personality traits as the independent variable, gender and family background of the entrepreneurs as moderators and entrepreneurial self-efficacy as the dependent variable. Survey questionnaires were distributed to entrepreneurs through Google Form (n=150) and collected by interview (n=150) of which 215 were returned, and 188 of these were valid. The responses were analysed using SmartPLS 2.0 to build the causal model. The results indicated that personality traits of openness, relational, and decisive significantly predicted entrepreneurial self-efficacy. Secondly, gender of entrepreneurs significantly moderated the relationship between personality traits of neutral and entrepreneurial self-efficacy. Lastly, the family background of entrepreneurs significantly moderated the relationship between personality trait of analytical and entrepreneurial self-efficacy. Future research framework might be expanded to include entrepreneurial intention, entrepreneurs’ education specialization, financial background and support from parents

The predictive and diagnostic accuracy of vascular endothelial growth factor and pentraxin-3 in severe dengue

This study aimed to evaluate vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and pentraxin 3 (PTX-3) as predictive and diagnostic markers in differentiating severe dengue from non-severe dengue. The study was conducted in Ampang Health Clinic, Ampang Hospital and Serdang Hospital. The plasma levels of VEGF and PTX-3 were compared between severe dengue and non-severe dengue by ELISA from the day of presentation until discharged. Multiple logistic regression was used to develop predictive and diagnostic models by incorporating other clinical parameters. The receiver operating characteristics (ROC) analysis was used to assess the accuracy of the biomarkers and the developed models. Eighty-two patients were recruited, 29 with severe dengue and four died. The Area Under the Curve (AUC) was statistically significant in VEGF as diagnostic marker at Day 2 and 3 of illness with sensitivity of 80.00%-100.00% and specificity of 76.47%-80.00%. The predictive model with AUC of 0.84 (p < 0.01) has a sensitivity of 100.00% and specificity of 79.25% for predicting severe dengue. The diagnostic model with AUC of 0.71 (p < 0.01) has a sensitivity of 76.19% and specificity of 73.58% for diagnosing severe dengue. The AUC for PTX-3 was not statistically significant. VEGF may be used in combination with other clinical parameters to predict the severity of the disease. As a single biomarker, it may be used as an adjunct investigation to support the diagnosis of severe dengue. PTX-3 was not able to differentiate severe dengue from non-severe dengue

Financial services: on offer but underpriced?

Should directors be liable for significantly underpricing initial public offerings in Hong Kong, asks Chee Keong Low

E-business and the Singapore construction industry

Examine and access the various e-business solutions currently available in global and local construction industries.Master of Science (International Construction Management