Located in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Veritas is an awardwinning
design firm backed by a team that includes more than 40 qualified
professionals and over 60 support staff. Although it began as an
architectural practice, Veritas now offers a full range of design
services. The firm opened its first overseas representative offi ce
in Dubai in September 2005.
It has always been an objective of Veritas to be "a premier
architecture and design firm worldwide", as stated in our vision
statement. However, the first opportunities to venture abroad only
appeared in the early 1990s, about six years after our inception.
By this time we had grown to about 30 staff and were already
becoming recognized as an up-and-coming local firm.
Managing globalization
Meanwhile, macroeconomic factors were at work. The booming
South-east Asian economy made Malaysian businesses feel invincible
on the global stage and they started exploring international
markets. Simultaneously, foreign companies were coming into
Malaysia. Technological impediments to communication were coming
down as the Internet evolved from an experiment into a reality.
Barriers to trade and travel restrictions were also disappearing,
and soon Malaysians enjoyed visa-free entry into most Asian
nations. Visa requirements into Malaysia were also relaxed.
All of this was a double-edged sword for Malaysian
professionals, however, as it encouraged Western firms to enter our
market and compete against less experienced and marketing-savvy
local architects.
The initial response of the local architecture profession and
its institution (the Malaysian Institute of Architects) was to
"batten-down-the-hatches". There was a lot of defi ance to the
prospect of World Trade Organizationimposed market access by
foreign professionals.
Veritas took a diff erent view. We encouraged the entry of the
foreign professionals. Either we collaborated with them in a
"technology-transfer" spirit, completing many high-profi le
projects that we could not have done alone, or we willingly
competed against these "intruders", sharpening our own skills by
necessity, and occasionally winning. For this we were roundly
criticized by our peers. Then we jumped on the bandwagon ourselves
and started exploring the global market. Our first forays were
modest speculative attempts in Thailand, Viet Nam and later the
Philippines. We got our feet wet, enjoyed minor success and
recognition but did not get anything major built.
In 1996 I began to think the time was right for a serious
international eff ort. We created a dedicated unit, Veritas Global
Sdn Bhd, under the leadership of a talented British managing
director, and soon started to latch on to some serious projects in
Cambodia and India that were led by Malaysian entrepreneurs, and
later even Saudi Arabia. At one time, Veritas Global Sdn Bhd had
more than a dozen staff and was cited regularly in the media.
Emerging from the Asian crisis
Then came the Asian financial crisis of 1997-1998. Within six
months our global work shrank to almost nothing, the managing
director left and the remaining staff were absorbed into the parent
firm, Veritas Architects Sdn Bhd. We thought international work was
just a mirage. We fought hard to survive in the Malaysian market,
which itself had contracted to a fraction of its pre-crisis
activity. After some very hard times, Veritas eventually emerged
with a greater market share by the time the Malaysian economy
rebounded at the turn of the millennium.
To get back in the international game, we started participating
in various "high-risk" invitations, selection exercises and
competitions, and eventually won mid-sized projects in China, Sri
Lanka and Pakistan which we have since completed. Of course, we
lost a few too.
The attraction of Dubai
In 2003 we decided to go to Dubai, uninvited and completely in
awe of the huge potential there. Dubai is a city that is developing
very fast and is a big draw for ambitious architects.
Unfortunately, our all-too-obvious eagerness made us easy prey for
local developers wanting new design ideas on the cheap (or free).
We spent a lot of money and achieved very little other than the
normal kudos for effort.
Fortunately, however, we met one impressive, honest young
developer who controlled a successful property company. Mr Ismail
Abbasi gave us our first real project in Dubai, which is now under
construction. We have since formed a joint venture with his
company, Bonyan Emirates Properties, and opened a Dubai office to
undertake other projects in the United Arab Emirates with him. This
has given us greater confidence to go further afield.
In 2004, Veritas was appointed as architects for major
developments in Iran and Pakistan, and we have recently been
invited for projects in India and Indonesia. Meanwhile, we are
seriously considering reactivating Veritas Global as an independent
profit centre.
Aim for best in class
- A strong local base. From our
experience, firms with international ambitions need to already be
one of the "best in their class" in their local environment in some
important or niche area. They need to have a strong financial base.
Going overseas out of desperation is a sure road to disaster.
- Interest in the wider world. They
also need to possess a culture of adventure, a thirst for challenge
and a healthy curiosity about alien culture, religion, food, etc.
It helps if the people in the firm are multilingual, multiracial or
multi-cultural. Given the global business disposition towards
English (in most places), being fluent in this language is very
important.
- Excellent grasp of technology.
Technology plays a big role in being internationally competitive.
At Veritas, the computerization of all design and drafting work has
ensured a greater level of coordination and attention to detail.
The Internet is the greatest "field-balancer", making even small
firms visible and enabling them to market themselves as niche
players. But to be truly competitive internationally, a small firm
going global must leverage technology to the maximum. An impressive
web site, high bandwidth access, good internal communication
infrastructure, mobile capability and preferably a file transfer
protocol (FTP) service are the minimum requirements nowadays.
- Meeting international standards.
Standards are critical to the success of service exports in a world
where diversity is the norm. In my industry, it is important to
develop capability in a set of standards in compliance with either
British and/or American standards. Further, achieving international
quality recognition through ISO is a great way to be accepted
wherever you go.
Respect creativity
There is also a proposal to policy-makers: please respect the
creative output of your service sector professionals. Give them due
credit for their intellectual innovations, which are the
intangible, yet most valuable asset they have to trade. For too
long the developing world has placed too much emphasis on the
physical entity at the expense of the non-physical, the
service/intellectual dimension. Even in Malaysia today, our
creative output, which appears as drawings on paper, is not fully
appreciated until it gets translated into actual buildings. Then it
is the developers and contractors who get all the credit. Yet it is
precisely in this area that developing or transitional economies,
leveraging communications technology, can leapfrog up to or over
their peers from developed countries.
So please raise the rank of your service professionals to the
position they deserve in society. Respect their copyright. Credit
them for their contribution to the economy. Only then will they
build up the self-esteem to truly become world players.
Promoting service exports - A checklist
Government, trade support institutions and the private sector
all play a strategic part in helping to promote exports of
services.
Government: National brand building, iconic
local projects, charismatic leaders and a culture of quality. Also
needed: tax incentives, double deduction for marketing, discounts
for increases in international remittance and government projects
overseas such as investments, embassies/trade offices and
exhibitions. Overseas trade office/embassy promotion support could
include a professional services officer and professional services
exhibits, flyers or brochures. Trade associations for professional
services could gather information on international opportunities,
organize professional consortia for international projects and
arrange inbound/outbound trade delegations.
Government-to-government agreements could cover visa
facilitation, telecommunications infrastructure improvement,
negotiation to avoid double taxation and mutual recognition of
professional credentials.
Institutions: The trade promotion organization
could take the lead in initiatives aimed at:
- raising general professional standards to gain access to
international opportunities;
- creating a directory of professional practices;
- organizing talks, lectures or training to encourage interest in
exporting;
- arranging international tours or trade delegations;
- encouraging professionals to attend and exhibit at trade events
overseas;
- gathering and disseminating intelligence on international
opportunities; and
- publishing a world-class magazine of local professionals.
Corporate: Company initiatives could include
building a culture of excellence to compete internationally,
creating a Business Development Unit for international projects;
entering international design competitions; maintaining a network
of international associates;
investing in an effective information and communications technology
system and tie-ups with local contractors; lobbying local
corporations with global aspirations; lobbying multinationals with
global business interests; engaging in joint ventures with overseas
partners; and joining international networking organizations.
Small firms, especially, can consider joining consultant
consortia for more efficient market penetration and building
relationships with foreign consultants for joint ventures on
international projects.
David Mizan Hashim is a founding member of Veritas
Architects Sdn Bhd, Malaysia. This article is extracted from Mr
Hashim's presentation to ITC's 2005 Executive Forum on National
Export Strategies. The fullpresentation is available on
ITC's web site
(http://www.intracen.org/execforum/ef2005/montreux/programme.htm
).