Published on: Friday, October 23, 2009 |
He said the global business industry is constantly changing and at the same time a number of countries have begun to liberalise their markets, presenting high growth opportunities.
"So leaders in the business field need to overhaul their approach and become more effective in addressing opportunities and challenges," he said at the opening of Blue Ocean Strategy (BOS) Conference 2009 at Sutera Harbour Resort, here.
Hence the BOS conference, he said, reflects the need to adapt to changes and overcome obstacles such as the current financial crunch.
He said there is a need for them to keep on exploring new geographical value sources that recognise differences in the market and to promote networking so that ideas can flow rapidly, laying the groundwork for long-term growth.
To survive today's business environment, he said, they must be able to enhance their competitive advantage.
"Instead of simply waiting for change in prices, we need to create new business opportunities by developing or exploiting advantages what we have," he said.
Musa, who is also Finance Minister, said global players are good at re-inventing themselves and at producing different types of products and services to suit the needs of different customers.
Thus, he said, they would be in a better position to weather global volatile climates and emerge stronger.
In this respect, he said, businesses in Sabah also must do the same. He said they could not afford to get into a situation of stalemate, where profits are cyclical.
However, Musa admitted that it might not be an easy task as they would be confronting some deep-rooted patterns of the mindset and ways of doing business.
One thing would always be constant in the business world, he said, is that consumers are demanding for a more diverse range of market products and services to meet their needs.
On other developments, Musa said Sabah is fast gaining momentum and prominence as a development hub in Borneo.
It not only has a strategic location in Southeast Asia and but also qualified manpower to make things happen.
He noted that collaboration is in progress to launch the K-Borneo Portal, an initiative involving Sabah, Sarawak, Brunei and Kalimantan in Indonesia. "This portal would increase access and exchange of information in Borneo and help support research and intellectual discourse," he said.
Also present were Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Seri Joseph Pairin Kitingan, Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Peter Pang, Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Yahya Hussin, Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Datuk Masidi Manjun, Youth and Sports, Industrial Development Minister Datuk Raymond Tan and Professor W. Chan Kim.
