...MINI-CASE: NINE DRAGONS PAPER1 The Global Recession "This time is really different. Large and small are all affected. In the past, the big waves would only wash away the sand and leave the rocks. Now the waves are so big, even some rocks are being washed away." - Cheung Yan, co founder and Chairwoman of Nine Dragons Paper2 The first week of January, 2009, was proving to be a challenge for Nine Dragon’s Paper. The company had to repeatedly deny rumors that it was on the edge of bankruptcy. A variety of media reports over the past two weeks had reported that the company’s inability to service its debt would lead to a bankruptcy filing. Incorporated in Hong Kong in 1995, Nine Dragons Paper (Holdings) Limited, had become an international powerhouse in the paper industry. The company's primary product was linerboard, with a product line including kraftlinerboard, testlinerboard and white top linerboard in a portfolio of paperboard products used to manufacture consumer product packaging. The company had expanded rapidly and spent extensively. But by January 2009 the world economy was spiraling downward. Squeezed by market conditions and burdened by debt, Nine Dragons Paper (NDP), the largest paperboard manufacturer in Asia and second largest in the world, saw its share price drop to HK$ 2.33, 90% off its high and less than half of book value. As the economic crisis of 2008 bled into 2009, export-oriented industries suffered. Rumors had been buzzing since October that NDP was on...
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...Nine Dragons Paper – 2009 The market waits for no one. – Cheung Yan, Chairwoman • What is the business model? • Why did Mrs. Cheung succeed? • What is her support structure? • Who owns the company? • What did go wrong? How it could have been avoided? • Will you do what Mrs. Cheung did? • How would have advised Mrs. Cheung? Sales CapEx and Operating Cashflow Stock Price Nine Dragons Paper – 2009: Case Questions 1. How does Mrs. Cheung think? What does she believe in when it comes to building her business? How would you summarize the company's financial status? How does it reflect the business development goals and strategies employed by Mrs. Cheung? Is NDP in trouble? How would your answer differ if you were an existing shareholder, a potential investor, or an analyst? 2. 3. 1. How does Mrs. Cheung think? What does she believe in when it comes to building her business? – Mrs. Cheung believes in a rapid growth strategy in which she is building productive capacity, which she hopes and expects, to dominate her industry segment in years to come – Her strategy of vertical and horizontal integration is ‘old style’, most companies today choosing to focus on specific activities in an industry’s value chain which have the larger margins. And choosing not to own all links in the value chain – Mrs. Cheung’s approach is one which she believes will reduce all significant risks in the company’s ability to grow rapidly, not being dependent on China’s infrastructure...
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...International Finance Assignment 1 Nine Dragon Paper NDP case study By: Ehab M. Helmy Marina Emad Supervised By: Dr. Abir Zein How Mrs. Cheung does think? What does she believes in when it comes to building her business? She always thinks ahead and has a strong long-term vision of where her company should be. She has strong industry knowledge and so much enthusiasm for her work. This is the quality that good management must have. She wants to make NDP a 100 years old business, not only a lifelong career for her but a business lasts for generations. (The answer was taken from a research on Mrs. Cheung business history) How would you summarize the company’s financial status? How does it reflect the business development goals and strategies employed by Mrs. Cheung? While trying to analyze a company’s financial status, we have to take a look on three main statements: Balance sheet statement – Cash flow statement – Income statement | | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | Rate of Change | | Liquidity Ratio | Current Ratio | 1.312961 | 1.014966 | 1.277426 | -3% | Ability of the firm to pay its short term obligations | | Quick Ratio | 0.993251 | 0.71159 | 1.0084 | 2% | | | Returns | | -0.22696 | 0.258589 | | | | | | | | | | Assets Management Ratios | Inv. Turn Over | 9.53362 | 6.475214 | 7.604922 | -20% | Utilization of the firm's Assets | | Days of sales outstanding DSO | 75.68459 | 68.40927 | 94.96364 | 25% | | | Fixed Assets TO |...
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...Nine Paper Dragons Case Questions 1) How does Mrs. Cheung think? What does she believe in when it comes to building her business? It is interesting to read how NPD gained its’ success through the waste or trash of the United States and Europe. I think this is right in line with how Mrs. Cheung thinks; she wants to be ahead of all her competitors and gain every competitive advantage possible. By utilizing the paper waste of higher quality products in the US and Europe, she was able to bring this quality back to China where it was nonexistent. As you can see in the reading as well, Mrs. Cheung believes in rapid expansion to maximize revenue opportunity and that long term profits will come from taking on a lot of debt. But even as she said when speaking about the economic crisis: “Now the waves are so big, even some rocks are being washed away.” The economic crisis of 2008 did not only affect the small companies, but also the large and profitable ones like Nine Paper Dragons. 2) How would you summarize the company’s financial status? How does it reflect the business development goals and strategies employed by Mrs. Cheung? I would summarize the company’s financial status as struggling at the point this article was written. The company’s unsecured notes were rated as BBB- in April, 2008 and downgraded even lower to BB+ in October of 2008. On top of that, even though the company had a successful IPO in March of 2006, the debt accumulated after this IPO really hurt...
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...Jay Schumacher 301083363 July 24 2012 ASSIGNMENT 2 CMNS 261 - Documentary Research in Communication Course Authour: Donald Gutstein Course Tutor Marker: Vincent Andrisani Policy document Research and Analysis Canada. Access to Information Review Task Force. (2002, June). Access to Information: Making it Work for Canadians. Page 2 Policy document Research and Analysis Canada. Access to Information Review Task Force. Overview: The decision to implement an Access to Information Act (ATIA) in Canada was a process initiated in the early 1970s and only in 1982 was a workable law established in this country. Through many years, the preliminary actions were taken by a few and only after the government officially decided to develop the law, was a real concerted effort expended on the Access To Information Act (ATIA). Heralded as an example to be followed, it has been many years since the law was amended to keep up with the times of the changing face of information access. As a result the Canadian act has languished for many years with a constant whittling away at the right to access culminating with the current outcry that the law must be made more workable. This is a brief search of the actions that have been taken and their results. Historical aspects of Access to Information in Canada: The existing Access to Information Act (ATIA) as passed by the Federal Parliament in 1982, and was enacted in1983 after years of attempts...
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...Marijuana is one of the world’s oldest plants to come to wide practice of production, sale, and consumption originally used for medical purposes. This generated rapidly growing industries based around the variety of uses for the easily grown plant species. Hemp has been used for a variety of everyday purposes in Americas past including paper, clothing, food, and fuel; the economic potential for this plant type surpasses many plants which are considered staple crops today. Marijuana is America’s number one cash crop surpassing corn and other items. Its decriminalization would open new tax revenues and slash old tax budgets as funds are re appropriated to satisfy a hungry criminal justice system. There have been many non-violent convictions in the justice system that costs the country potentially hundreds of billions of dollars every year and have since the start of the war on drugs during the Reagan era. These convictions could be avoided if the government let each American decide if the production and consumption of marijuana violated their moral and ethical values as individual liberties. As Americans, we are given, at birth, unalienable rights to life, liberty, and the freedom to pursue happiness through whatever means beyond any clear and eminent harm. The combined benefits that would be experienced from legalization are obvious, evident, and too important to remain illegal; the decriminalization of marijuana is more a matter of time due to the variety and abundance of positive...
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...MP3 Player Supply and Demand of the Market Abstract A brief research report along with an analysis of data of: the supply and demand of the MP3 Player market. This report includes statistics in regards to target market, market share, as well as elasticity of demand and supply of this good. The paper also details the affects of some complements and some substitutes for in market. Introduction In this research paper we will analyze the supply and demand of the MP3 Player market. We will start by getting acquainted with the general scope of this market by looking at characteristics such as the state of the market, the competition, and market share. When analyzing supply, we will consider certain market trends and economic principles such as the various determinants of supply and its elasticity. Likewise, we will consider variables and statistics when discussing demand. We will also analyze the differentiation between a complement and a substitute in this market, and why it is important to consider various interpretations in this regard. Market The MP3 Player market has been growing steadily over the past decade. As of 2006, 20% of Americans over the age of 12 own an MP3 Player and 6% of people own more than one. Over a five year period, ownership of MP3 Players has almost doubled (ISPOS.com)1. Because of the great demand, many firms have been working hard to establish their brands using unique selling propositions. These firms include Apple (iPod), ScanDisk (Sansa), Creative...
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...Parting at the Crossroads: The Development of Health Insurance in Canada and the United States, 1940-1965 Author(s): Antonia Maioni Source: Comparative Politics, Vol. 29, No. 4 (Jul., 1997), pp. 411-431 Published by: Ph.D. Program in Political Science of the City University of New York Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/422012 . Accessed: 12/10/2013 14:05 Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at . http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp . JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact support@jstor.org. . Ph.D. Program in Political Science of the City University of New York is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to Comparative Politics. http://www.jstor.org This content downloaded from 130.63.180.147 on Sat, 12 Oct 2013 14:05:01 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions Parting at the Crossroads The Development of Health Insurance in Canada and the United States, 1940-1965 AntoniaMaioni Frequentlyraised in recent discussions abouthealth care reformin the United States has been the model of the Canadianhealth insurancesystem.' While debates about health insurance often...
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...Student Number: Assignment Title: BE Reaction Paper 2 Course Code: RSM 1160 HF Course Title: In submitting this work for grading, I confirm: That the work is original, and due credit is given to others where appropriate Acceptance and acknowledgement that assignments found to be plagiarized in any way will be subject to sanctions under the University’s Code of Behaviour on Academic Matters. 1002799750 Business Ethics Section #: 1 2 AM Professor Name: 3 PM Richard Powers 4 5 Please pay attention to the course outline for specific formatting requirements set by instructors. Assignments are to be submitted using student ID numbers only; do not include your name. Please note that assignments that include names or that do not have the box below checked will not be graded. Please check the box and record your student number below to indicate that you have read and abide by the statements above. ☒ 1002799750 Final Page Grade:_________ MAPLE LEAF FOOD OR MADLY BAD FOOD? Another food safety issue in developed country 1. THE CONTAMINATION Born and raised in Asia, I’m not surprised to hear story that chemical pesticide is overused by farmers, that even multinational company such as Nestle withdrew billion of rupees worth of Maggie instant noodles over unsafe level of lead or that baby products were adulterated with melamine which is known to cause renal and kidney stones. Even though in some scandals...
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...BUSINESS ETHICS AND STAKEHOLDER ANALYSIS Kenneth E. Goodpaster Abstract: Much has been written about stakeholder analysis as a process by which to introduce ethical values into management decision-making. This paper takes a critical look at the assumptions behind this idea, in an effort to understand better the meaning of ethica] management decisions. A distinction is made between stakeholder analysis and stakeholder synthesis. The two most natural kinds of stakeholder synthesis are then defined and discussed: strategic and multi-fiduciary. Paradoxically, the former appears to yield business without ethics and the latter appears to yield ethics without business. The paper concludes by suggesting that a third approach to stakeholder thinking needs to be developed, one that avoids the paradox just men* tioned and that clarifies for managers (and directors) the legitimate role of ethical considerations in decision-making. So we must think through what management should be accountable for; and how and through whom its accountability can be discharged. The stockholders' interest, both short- and long-term, is one of the areas. But it is only one. Peter Dnicker, 1988 Harvard Business Review W HAT is ethically responsible management? How can a corporation, given its economic mission, be managed with appropriate attention to ethical concerns? These are central questions in the field of business ethics. One approach to answering such questions that has become popular during...
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...INTRODUCTION * Economics is divided into two branches: Microeconomics and macroeconomics. 1. Microeconomics is the study of how individual Households and firms make decisions and how they interact with one Another in markets. 2. Macroeconomics is the study of the economy as a whole. The Goal of macroeconomics is to explain the economic changes that affect many Households, firms, and markets at once. * Macroeconomists address diverse questions: * Why is average income high in some countries while it is low in others? * Why do prices rise rapidly in some periods of time while they are more stable in other Periods? * Why do production and employment expand in some years and contract In others? * What, if anything, can the government do to promote rapid growth in Incomes, low inflation, and stable employment? * These questions are all macroeconomic in nature because they concern the workings of the entire economy. * Because the condition of the overall economy profoundly affects all of us, changes in economic conditions are widely reported by the media. Indeed, it is hard to pick up a newspaper without seeing some newly reported statistic about the economy. The statistic might measure the total income of everyone in the economy (GDP), the rate at which average prices are rising (inflation), the percentage of the labor force that is out of work (unemployment), total spending at stores (retailsales), or the imbalance of trade between...
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...2013 Budget Speech Minister of Finance Pravin Gordhan 27 February 2013 ISBN: 978-0-621-41456-1 RP: 345/2012 To obtain copies please contact: Communications Unit National Treasury Private Bag X115 Pretoria 0001 Tel: +27 12 315 5526 Fax: +27 12 315 5126 Budget documents are available at: www.treasury.gov.za 2013 Budget Speech Honourable Speaker I have the honour to present the fourth budget of President Zuma’s administration. Mr President you said in the State of the Nation address that “we should put South Africa first. All of us have a patriotic duty and responsibility to build and promote our country.” You further said “The National Development Plan provides a perfect vehicle for united action precisely because it has the support of South Africans across the political and cultural spectrum. Leaders in every avenue should be ready to rise above sectional interests and with great maturity, pull together to take this country forward.” This challenge applies to all sections of our society: business, labour, public representatives, activists and citizens in every part of the country. As we pointed out in the 2012 Budget, global economic uncertainty will remain with us for some time. South Africa’s economic outlook is improving, but requires that we actively pursue a different trajectory if we are to address the challenges ahead. 1 2013 Budget Speech Under your leadership Mr President, we have opened new channels of communication and built more cohesion among...
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...2010 1. INTRODUCTION: The National Budget was presented to the nation by the Minister of Finance, Planning and Economic Development, Hon. Syda Bbumba on Thursday 10th June 2010. ULGA as the representative body for the local governments is carrying out a detailed analysis of the budget. Below are some of the critical issues to note: 2. OVERALL BUDGET PRIORITIES: In line with the National Development Plan (NDP)2010-2015, whose theme is “Growth, Employment and Socio Economic Transformation for Prosperity”. The Budget this year focuses on the following priorities: • Infrastructure development in roads and energy. • Promotion of science, technology and innovation to facilitate value addition and employment. • Enhancing agricultural production and productivity. • Private sector development and • Improving public service delivery. Suffice to note that Decentralization remains the key policy of the NRM Government in implementing the NDP. The spending in local governments is largely aligned to government priorities of Education, Health, Agriculture, Transport, Water and Good Governance. As such, financing the local governments is imperative for government to realise its priorities as given in the budget. 3. TRANSFERS TO DISTRICTS AND OTHER LOCAL GOVERNMENTS: Transfers to Local Governments are estimated at Ushs1.474 billion in Fiscal Year 2010/11, accounting for...
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...i GOVERNMENT OF UGANDA Ministry of Health HEALTH SECTOR STRATEGIC PLAN III 2010/11-2014/15 ii TABLE OF CONTENTS FOREWORD BY MINISTER OF HEALTH .......................................................................................... IV ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ......................................................................................................................... V LIST OF ACRONYMS .............................................................................................................................. VI EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ........................................................................................................................ IX 1. INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................................................. 1 1.1 CONTEXT AND RATIONALE FOR DEVELOPMENT OF THE HSSP III ..................................................................... 1 1.2 DEVELOPMENT PROCESS FOR THE HSSP III ............................................................................................................ 1 2. BACKGROUND ..................................................................................................................................... 2 2.1 SECTOR ORGANISATION, FUNCTION AND MANAGEMENT ..................................................................................... 2 2.1.1 The Ministry of Health and national level institutions .........................................................
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...South Africa: Stuck in the Middle? | 2014 | 1. Why is South Africa stuck in the middle? 2. Please find at least three problems to answer the first question. 3. Give your opinion for solving each of the problems mentioned in second answer. | | Contents Africa is experiencing extraordinary growth 2 Challenges 2 Challenge #1 Education 2 Challenge #2 Unemployment 3 Challenge #3 South Africa's growth path is highly resource intensive and hence unsustainable 4 Solutions 4 Solution # 1 - Improve education form the bottom up 4 Solution # 2 – Address unemployment from a new angle and become More attractive to Global business and entrepreneurship 6 Solution # 3 - Reduce the need for commodities and Invest in technology and entrepreneurship 8 Conclusion 8 Africa is experiencing extraordinary growth, In fact this decade has seen more growth for Africa than any other time in history making it six in the world’s 10 rising economy’s. Life expectancy is improving and HIV rates are down almost 30%. Malaria is also down and despite SA having the highest concentration of HIV in the world, African children born today are increasing their life expectancy one year for every three years over the last a decade. Education rates are increasing 25%, and more young educated man are entering the South African workforce. Yet despite these growth factors South Africa, and the continent of Africa as a whole...
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