REFER to last Wednesday's article, 'When times are bad, prepare for good times'.

The comprehensive coverage and impressive page presentation of the article generated much interest. Judging by the numerous e-mail messages and personal comments I have received, readers are mostly in support of what I said on managing during turbulent times.

However, it has been pointed out my comment that retrenchments are 'morally wrong' may not apply to all companies. My view on retrenchments arises from the perspective of a real estate business, where manpower costs, unlike in say manufacturing and other industries, are a relatively small component of overall cost structure. At CapitaLand, retention of talent is a significant leverage of our business - talent in timing deals, land selection, creativity in design and project development management, project development and asset management, property management (including tenancy management), and capital and financial management. Equally important is corporate loyalty between company and staff - a core value we fiercely cherish. From day one, Building People has been our group mantra, and retrenchment of staff is definitely not in line with this strong corporate value.

Liew Mun Leong
President and CEO
CapitaLand Group

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