Businesses should serve society to stay relevant - Azman

Businesses today should not just operate to gain profit and benefit stakeholders, but should also start to serve society to stay relevant.

Managing Director of Khazanah Nasional Bhd, Tan Sri Azman Mokhtar, said improving living standards of society was no longer the roles of just the government and non-governmental organisations.

"We have to figure out how to be a part of the solution, otherwise we would become part of the problem," he said during a session, 'The Future of Business: Transforming the Present From the Future' at the Global Transformational Forum 2017 here today.

Azman said he preferred to call it the 'creative disruption' as it would create more job opportunities.

"However, we have got to be transparent and have accountability and governance," he said.

Meanwhile, Co-founder/Chief Executive Officer of Catcha Group, Patrick Grove, said there would be mobile revolution in the next five to 10 years.

"A survey with some 1,000 users in Southeast Asia two months back on bringing between a mobile phone and their spouse if deserted on an island for six months, resulted in 85 per cent opting to bring their mobile phones," he added.

"We believe there are multiple opportunities for regional entrepreneurs that will create sizeable opportunities and businesses if we really focus on them," he said.

Catcha Group controls a number of publicly-listed and private media, new media, online classifieds and electronic-commerce businesses, and is one of the largest investors in the digital sector in emerging markets, notably Association of Southeast Asian Nations. - BERNAMA