Case Studies

In early 2020, Singapore Airlines Limited (Singapore Airlines) faced severe liquidity issues as the global pandemic halted its flights and uncertainty loomed. Erstwhile massive cash reserves were quickly running out, and the airline’s executives pondered how to save the company from insolvency. Singapore Airlines’ majority shareholder, Temasek Holdings Limited, agreed to subscribe to a massive capital-raising exercise of up to S$15 billion via a proposed rights offer and mandatory convertible bonds (MCBs). Although minority shareholders were not convinced that the rights issue would be a good investment in such uncertain times, they had to decide whether to vote for it and whether to subscribe to the rights issue and MCBs.

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On September 26, 2018, the Chinese hotpot chain Haidilao International Holding Ltd. launched an initial public offering, during a time of ongoing trade tensions between the United States and China, and started trading of the company’s shares on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. The Beijing-based company sold 424.5 million shares at HK$17.8 (US$2.27) per share, which was on the high end of the indicative price range. Its price-to-earnings ratio of 30.2 was higher than that of its peers, which ranged from 16 to 27. In addition, the CSI 300 Index, which monitored the performance of 300 stocks on the Shanghai Stock Exchange and the Shenzhen Stock Exchange, was down 27 per cent year-to-date at that time. Another key factor was that the company’s stock would likely be included on the Stock Connect program that enabled access from Mainland China to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. Investors had an opportunity to value the company at the time of the initial public offering launch and analyze the information provided in the company’s prospectus. Based on their assessment, investors had to decide if the company’s stock was a good investment.

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On September 6, 2018, a couple was enjoying a meal at a hotpot restaurant in Weifang, Shandong Province, China. The restaurant was a branch of the popular Chinese hotpot restaurant chain owned by Xiabuxiabu Catering Management (China) Holdings Co. Ltd. (Xiabu Xiabu). Halfway through the meal, the pregnant wife found a dead rat in her soup. The news spread on social media, and according to some analysts, Xiabu Xiabu’s share price dropped US$190 million in market value. Had Xiabu Xiabu’s lack of quality assurance undermined the company’s success? How could the company improve its risk and crisis management?

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On June 8, 2020, Sembcorp Marine Ltd. (SCM) announced a S$2.1 billion recapitalization plan to be followed by a demerger from Sembcorp Industries Ltd (SCI). SCM’s business had been significantly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and a collapse in oil prices, resulting in a critical need for liquidity. The recapitalization would be done through a rights issue. The demerger would be conducted through a subsequent share distribution of SCI’s stake in the recapitalized SCM to SCI’s shareholders. The case seeks to provide a reasonable valuation of SCM based on its past financial performance and other relevant market information. It also analyzes the rationale of the demerger and the impact of the demerger on shareholders of SCM and SCI.

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Greenpac (Singapore) Private Limited (Greenpac) was a green packaging solution provider led by the founder and chief executive officer. Under her vision, Greenpac aimed to become a world-class knowledge-based company that offered innovative and environmentally friendly packaging solutions. Greenpac was also a champion of corporate social responsibility (CSR), advocating for environmental sustainability and social issues. In 2019, the head of the CSR team was tasked with evaluating the company’s current CSR efforts and suggesting strategies to advance Greenpac’s CSR efforts. She has the results of three published evaluation frameworks to use and an engagement survey of company employees and executives.

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Guangzhou KingMed Diagnostics was the leading third-party independent clinical laboratory in China. On the eve of the Lunar New Year in 2020, the chairman and CEO of Guangzhou KingMed Diagnostics mobilized the whole group to respond to the outbreak of the new coronavirus from Wuhan. With the group’s tremendous growth in both business and size since its initial public offering, there were growing concerns about the provision of quality customer service and the group’s profitability. While the chairman and CEO was proud to see how swiftly his team had responded to the COVID-19 pandemic, he had many questions about the efficiency of the entire group's resource deployment and the consistency of performance across subsidiaries. Post COVID-19, how should Guangzhou KingMed Diagnostics adjust its transformation strategy?

For NUS Business School: (Faculty only)
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In 2019, SATS Ltd. (SATS), the primary ground handling and inflight catering service provider at Singapore’s Changi Airport, was considering its growth strategy for the next five years. China and Japan were identified as target markets in the cold chain logistics sector. Should the company consider the Chinese air cargo market, which was in a stage of high growth but fraught with bureaucracy? Or should it focus on the Japanese air freight industry, which was more established but challenging for foreign investments? The senior vice-president of SATS needed to choose between the two opportunities.

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Since 2000, Infineum International Limited had been expanding rapidly throughout the Asia Pacific region. The company launched its inclusion and diversity program in 2009, which saw strong progress after 2013, when the company established its inclusion-first vision. From 2016 on, numerous inclusion and diversity activities were held to generate involvement and feedback from the locally engaged inclusion and diversity champions. In February 2020, the company’s global talent and learning manager shared his concerns about the company’s future inclusion and diversity journey. He had devoted time and energy in the past few years to organize activities through town hall meetings, leadership training workshops, and the company’s intranet, but hoped to make the inclusive approach even more meaningful in the future. What kind of measures should they apply to assess what they have done so far? To what extent should human resources actions be aligned with the inclusive culture? More importantly, would the current model of inclusion and diversity be sustained in the future?

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To obtain a free copy of the case, please contact Ms Kwok Siew Geok (bizksg@nus.edu.sg)

In May 2019, the founder of SaladStop!, a Singapore-headquartered healthy salad chain with locations across Asia, was looking for innovative ways to improve the customer experience at SaladStop! stores worldwide. In six months, the founder was planning to renovate one of his branches in Singapore. This renovation would set a precedent for future outlets in terms of layout and design. The founder was aware of rising customer dissatisfaction caused by some service quality issues. As such, there was an urgent need to find a way to maintain customer interactions at SaladStop! while paying attention to customers’ expectations. Should SaladStop! embrace new technologies in the restaurant business, or should it continue to focus on offering a truly authentic customer experience by relying on traditional human touchpoints?

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SATS Ltd., an airline service provider headquartered in Singapore, was the largest air cargo terminal operator at Singapore’s Changi Airport. As a key player in the Asia-Pacific region, it had built its reputation as one of the top air cargo terminal operators in the world. With meticulous strategic planning, it had developed technological capabilities to navigate through many challenges and stay ahead of its competitors. In 2019, multiple challenges were arising from the external factors that had transformed the nature of the global air cargo value chain. An impending labour crisis, coupled with changing customer expectations and the threat of substitutes, meant that the company faced a fresh set of challenges. To fight these challenges, it had to decide whether to further develop its automation capabilities or to focus on driving digitalization within its operations to improve its operational efficiency.

For NUS Business School: (Faculty only)
To obtain a free copy of the case, please contact Ms Kwok Siew Geok (bizksg@nus.edu.sg)