GLC

• silkmagic

  5 Nov 02, 15:29

  Recently there have been a spate of news about GLC. I am disturbed by these news as GLC are supposed to be run by the brightest from the government sector and to be a model for other companies to follow.
  
  But a few of these companies are in red and there are rumours that they will be bailed out by other GLC. Is that feasible as we know that doing this will actually affect the Singapore economy which is similar to what had happend in Japan and Korea with companies bailing out each other because of relationship.
  
  Furthernore the director for these companies in red are earning alot of money and there is a trend that we should not questioned them on how much they are receiving. I personally believed that they should be paid according to how the company is performing just like a salesman earning a basic wage with commission earned for every sales closed. It is ridiculous for a director to be paid $60,000 a month while the company is losing money.
  
  Furthermore the GLC are headed by people from the govenment sector which might restrict their prospective compared to people who have been working in the real business world. Being a GLC, they should be manned by the best talent available be it from the private or public sector. This will enable the GLC to grow further and help the Singapore economy
• silkmagic

  6 Nov 02, 14:04

  How come there is no comment. You can agree or disagree with me but I would like to hear your views.
• Viper52

  6 Nov 02, 15:22

  Originally posted by silkmagic:

  How come there is no comment. You can agree or disagree with me but I would like to hear your views.

  Relac lah...just finished my thesis which caused me to average 3 hrs sleep over the past week, including 2 sleepless nites doing the damn report....
  
  GLCs...they're not as bad as certain quarters make them out to be, but neither do they walk on water as certain higher-ups would like you to believe...
  
  The fact is that certain infrastructure assets are best left in public(ie state) control. Public transport, roads, ports, national airlines etc.The fact is that there are lots of relatively successful companies out there are GLCs, Telstra to name as example in Australia. As long as there is transparency and a certain degree of effieciency. Heck, without Aussie government financial backing of Telstra, all areas out of the cities in Australia will be living in the stone age without telephones, and before anyone starts telling me " There such a thing called Mobile phones" to bash that statement of mine, let me ask, who do you think provides mobile phone connections to Outback Australia?
  
  But I disagree with the Singapore government's perspective of GLCs. Singapore is about the only country I know whose only "effective" competition to GLC is another GLC. I find the whole notion ridicullous to begin with. Take that facade with MediaCock...errr I mean MediaCorp and Mediaworks to begin with. Remember the ridiculous ST Forum exchange about government subsidies they had sometime ago, did anyone else here laugh or shake their heads in disbelief at the farce being played out on our national papers? I mean, think about it, who owns Mediaworks? SPH. And who owns MediaCorp and SPH? Go figure....
  
  Instead of letting this GLC vs GLC situation go on, those supposedly in charge of "remaking" Singapore should look into this, by all means have GLCs, but then don't squeeze out the local private enterprises by letting them face two GLCs when the try to break into certain market sectors. Facing on monolith with state financial backing is bad enough...but two?
  
  As for scholars, the less said about them, the better, I have yet to meet scholars who impressed me. And yes, that includes scholars from my own family. 'Nuff said....
  
  Will the issue of GLC & GLC vs local businessmen ever be sorted out, I refer to the old saying "hope for the best prepare for the worst". My gut feeling? Certain groups are too much of control freaks into a power trip to actually "remake" anything
  
  
• Viper52

  7 Nov 02, 13:18

  Just found this thread in the New Sintercom forum, showing how pervasive the GLCs are in the local economy. And we wonder why there are not enough local entrepreneurs. What do you expect when every sector in the local economy is dominated by GLCs and their deep pockets?
  
  http://forums.delphiforums.com/n/mb/message.asp?webtag=sintercom&msg=909.1&maxT=11
  
  I repeat my previous statements, the prevalance of GLCs in the local econmony must stop to allow private individuals more access to become entrepreneurs. This is one of the ways to reviatalise the economy. Have GLCs, by all means, but this situation where 2 or 3 GLCs are the only ones around(such as in the so-called "deregulated" telecoms sector) must end.
• Atobe

  8 Nov 02, 04:44

  
  Having GLCs to operate strategic national services certainly is acceptable by any means, and operate it profitably is preferred.
  
  However, when the GLCs become pervasive and also threaten the minimal service sector that used to be attended to by individual families (from NTUC to Cheers), this should be cause for alarm.
  
  A significant part of our annual surplus seems to be derived from Government revenues from internal production and internal consumption, without any further significant manufacturing development that can be exported (compared with Taiwan or Hongkong).
  
  There has to be a limit to this growth, and our present economic problems seem to be due to this pervasive dominance of GLCs in every nook and corner of the economic activity of SGP.
  
  The SGP citizen become the favorite "whipping boy" for the ineptness of Government policies - one wonder at times, where is the real source for this lack of talent.
  
  
• silkmagic

  8 Nov 02, 12:47

  I agree that GLC should control our strategic resources but having them competing each other just ot show that there is competition is a waste of resources. Like Singtel mobile, M1 and Starhub, they are all in some way or the other owned by GLC. They should expand compete in the international arena to earn other countries money.
  
  Furthermore it is time that the best talent led the GLC and not some bird brain scholar. Just imagine if Mr Sim from Creative was to lead a GLC, the resources available at his disposal will enable him to lead the GLC to greater heights.