News In Brief

Welcome to our ‘News In Brief’ column in which we digest all the news releases for you and write them in no more than five paragraphs. Below are snippets of all the media releases that we received from July 26 till August 1. Please check back throughout the week for more updates.

Homegrown DOC2US Launches Rapid Test Kits

Kuala Lumpur, July 26: DOC2US has launched its proprietary system to test, record, manage and report COVID-19 cases for corporations and the public. 
The system provides a cost-effective, credible and convenient means to comply with guidelines set by the Ministry of International Trade and Industry for economic sectors allowed to operate under phase two of the National Recovery Plan. 
‘The MITI guidelines require employees to be screened for COVID-19 twice before a resumption of work and twice per week thereafter,’ DOCS2US CEO Dr Raymond Choy said in a media statement. 
‘With most businesses suffering a loss of revenue due to the lockdowns, it is critical to provide a credible solution that is convenient and economical, thus enabling sectors to resume their activities while complying with the MITI guidelines.’
RTKis (pronounces as Ar-Tee-kis) is a comprehensive solution consists of a Medical Device Authority (MDA) approved home-use RTK antigen test kit that allows user to conduct COVID-19 self-testing at home with their identity verification and test process validation as well as test result validation using artificial intelligent (AI) on the DOC2US RTKis platform. 
Positive results will then be uploaded to the Public Health Laboratory Information System (SIMKA) which is synchronised with the MySejehtera app. 

Malaysia Continues National Journey To Fight Hepatitis With Global Partners

Kuala Lumpur, July 27: FIND, the global alliance for diagnostics, is partnering with the Ministry of Health (MoH) Malaysia, the Malaysian AIDS Council (MAC), World Health Organization (WHO) and the Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative (DNDi) to launch a hepatitis C virus self-testing impact study in Malaysia.
Shared ahead of World Hepatitis Day 2021, the impact study announcement was made during the webinar Hepatitis C can’t wait, Malaysia isn’t waiting – following WHO advisory of the new hepatitis C virus self-testing recommendations shared at the International AIDS Society (IAS) Conference.
“Through this impact study, we will be able to understand if self-testing can increase testing uptake among people currently not reached by facility-based testing, which can expand equity and access in hepatitis C care, ” Ministry of Health, National Head of Gastroenterology and Hepatology Datuk Dr Muhammad Radzi Abu Hassan said in a statement.
Earlier in June, Malaysia announced conditional approval for ravidasvir to treat hepatitis C.
Being part of this global hepatitis C self-testing impact study solidifies Malaysia’s commitment to eliminate hepatitis C by 2030.
It is estimated that more than 400,000 people are living with hepatitis C in Malaysia, but only one per cent of them have been treated.

Coway Malaysia Geared To Vaccinate Nearly 10,000 Staff

Kuala Lumpur, July 28: Coway Malaysia has taken the initiative to speed up vaccination efforts for its staff to ensure their health and safety.
The company has participated in the Public-Private Partnership COVID-19 Industry Immunisation Programme (PIKAS) to safeguard the well-being of over 22,000 Coway professionals nationwide.
“Under PIKAS, Coway Malaysia aims to vaccinate nearly 10,000 members of the Coway family that have yet to be vaccinated under the conventional National COVID-19 Immunisation Programme (PICK), ” Coway Malaysia managing director Kyle Choi said in a statement. 
“They include Coway Ladies (Codys), Service Technicians, Coway Technicians, Health Planners, Homecare Technicians as well as staff at its headquarters.”
“To facilitate these vaccination efforts, Coway has allocated a budget of about RM1.1 million for this special medical initiative by the company. 

AFC Medical Conference Qatar 2022 set for March

Kuala Lumpur, July 28: The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) will welcome the Continent’s top sports science and medical practitioners to the 7^th AFC Medical Conference Qatar 2022 which will take place from March 8 to 10.
With the theme “Football and sports medicine – celebrating diversity,” the highly-acclaimed 7^th AFC Medical Conference Qatar 2022 will focus on women’s football, youth, recreational footballers of all ages, and footballers with special needs. 
“Sports medicine continues to evolve rapidly, and Asia must be in the forefront to ensure that the health and recovery of our footballers remain as the highest priority,” AFC’s General Secretary Datuk Windsor John said in a statement.
The programme includes keynote addresses, lectures, symposia, free papers, poster presentations and clinical cadaver workshops, and will highlight areas of contention on the return to football during the COVID-19 pandemic and evolution of diversity and inclusion in football.
The AFC Medical Conference has grown tremendously since its inception in 1995 with the 6^th AFC Medical Conference in Chengdu, China PR in 2019 attracting a record-high of more than 1,000 delegates.

Readly Subscription Makes The Perfect Father’s Day Gift

Sydney, July 28:  Readly, Sweden’s fastest growing media company has chosen Australia and New Zealand as its next destination to digitise content with unlimited access to over 5,000 magazines.
With that in mind, the company believes that a subscription to Readly digital magazine app can also make the perfect gift for dad’s this Father’s Day – as one can instantly access magazines on their smartphone, tablet or laptop.
With Readly offering unlimited “all-you-can-read” access to thousands of national and international magazines in one app – there is something for everyone. 
Fathers can sink into the magazine world, specifically catered to the activities they love, as well as explore interests that they’ve never had time to develop in the past. 
And because Readly gives users five profiles per household, the whole household can benefit from the gift too!

Alphaus enters Singapore market

Kuala Lumpur, July 29: Alphaus Inc, a prominent start up in the Cloud Financial Management space in Japan, has made a successful foray into the Singapore market in line with its strategic growth plans. 
The company will provide its suite of cloud financial management (CFM) solutions to the fast-growing Managed Services Provider (MSP) Cloud Comrade.
The overall value of Alphaus’ solutions and support, with the ability for bespoke integrations to the financial services system, were key considerations for Cloud Comrade to switch to Alphaus’ products as critical components for its business operations.
Signing Cloud Comrade- the first Singapore-headquartered AWS Premier Consulting Partner that is also a Google Premier Partner and Microsoft Gold Cloud Platform partner- as a client gives Alphaus great impetus in achieving its strategic goals for the Southeast region. 
Its growing Global Delivery Centre in Kuala Lumpur, established last year, is a testament to the company’s commitment to provide dedicated support for the unique needs of a diverse clientele across various countries and industries in this high-potential region.

Canon and Employees Provide Food Aid to Families

Kuala Lumpur, July 29: The economic fallout of the pandemic threatens to devastate more livelihoods, especially among the vulnerable communities that are already struggling to provide food on the table.
To help affected Malaysians continue to have access to food during these trying times, Canon Marketing Malaysia has stepped up their effort with a joint contribution from its employees amounting to RM48,000 and would supply about 500 food-insecure households with essentials across six states.
“Giving back to the community is a fundamental spirit of our corporate philosophy, Kyosei, which means living and working together for the common good.
“It has been a challenging and devastating year, but I’m heartened to see our staff members embodying the Kyosei spirit by helping the community as one,” Canon Marketing Malaysia, CEO and President Andrew Koh said in a statement.
The fundraising and food gathering efforts were driven by Canon and its staff from the headquarters and five branch offices nationwide. 

Latest Update On The AFC U23 Asian Cup Uzbekistan 2022 – Qualifiers

Kuala Lumpur, July 29: The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) has taken note of the DPR Korea Football Association’s withdrawal from the qualifying competitions of both the AFC U23 Asian Cup Uzbekistan 2022 and the AFC Women’s Asian Cup India 2022.
Consequently, the variance in the number of teams across the different groups of the AFC U23 Asian Cup Uzbekistan 2022 Qualifiers East Zone has now reached more than one, with just Japan and Cambodia the remaining teams in Group K, as a result of DPR Korea’s withdrawal. 
Therefore, in order to maintain the balance of the number of teams across all groups, the AFC will conduct a draw to move one team from Groups G to J, to be placed in Group K, to be conducted virtually on August 11.
The draw will consist of one pot comprising all teams from Groups G to J, except the teams in position 1 of their respective Groups and the Host Teams in order not to affect the group balance and hosting arrangements already in place following the draw conducted on July 9. 
Accordingly, the following eight teams will be involved in the draw: Group G: China PR and Brunei Darussalam, Group H: Timor-Leste and Philippines, Group I: Myanmar and Hong Kong and Group J: Malaysia and Laos.

HKTDC Twin Jewellery Shows Comes To An End

Hong Kong, July 29: The 37th HKTDC Hong Kong International Jewellery Show and 7th HKTDC Hong Kong International Diamond, Gem & Pearl Show, organised by the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC), ended today. 
In addition to trade buyers, the twin shows were also open to jewellery-loving public visitors for the first time this year. 
The five-day shows attracted more than 13,700 industry buyers and over 17,000 public visitors who came to explore and purchase a wide array of jewellery products. 
The twin shows also run online until August 5 to enable global jewellers and traders to engage in business talks via video conferencing, with more than 1,200 online meetings between exhibitors and buyers arranged. 
As of today, the online edition of the shows recorded some 2,500 buyers exploring products and conducting business discussions online.

Businesses Still Struggle To Close The Gap Between Purpose And Action

Kuala Lumpur, July 29: A vast majority (98 per cent) of global business executives say that it is now critical for organisations to have a corporate purpose, according to a new brief Purpose Drives Profit: How Global Executive Understand Value Creation Today.
The interdependency of purpose and profit is clearer than ever before, with executives reporting a significant jump in investor interest in purpose, values and culture.
This was reinforced during the COVID-19 pandemic which demonstrated the links between protecting the well-being of key stakeholders and corporate performance.
However, a majority do not feel that they have the tools and techniques to incorporate broader performance measures into strategic decisions. And only a small minority, 11%, are making extensive use of broader performance metrics in strategic decisions. 
Compiled by Black Sun, in collaboration with the Value Reporting Foundation and the Association of International Certified Professional Accountants, the unified voice of AIPCA & CIMA, the brief, which is the fourth in the Value of Value reporting series, analyses the link between purpose and profit, and how to combine them to create value for all stakeholders.

Jordan to host AFC Women’s Club Championship 2021 

Kuala Lumpur, July 30: The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) has confirmed that the Jordan Football Association (JFA) will host the upcoming AFC Women’s Club Championship – Pilot Tournament, in a milestone decision which marks the first time a Continental women’s club competition will take place in West Asia.
In addition, the four participating clubs have also been confirmed with host side Amman Club, FC Bunyodkor from Uzbekistan, Islamic Republic of Iran’s Shahrdari Sirjan and Gokulam Kerala FC from India scheduled to compete for Continental supremacy from November 7 to 12 at the Aqaba Development Corporate Stadium in the country’s capital of Amman.
The selection of Jordan as host marks another significant milestone for the development of women’s football in the country after becoming the first West Asian nation to host the AFC Women’s Asian Cup – the Continent’s flagship women’s national team competition – in 2018, following the highly successful staging of the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup in 2016.
Launched in 2019, Japanese side Nippon TV Beleza were the first side to win the inaugural pilot women’s club tournament in Yongin, Korea Republic, after emerging ahead of China PR’s Jiangsu Suning Ladies Football Club, host club Incheon Hyundai Steel Red Angels and Australia’s Melbourne Victory.
Due to the travel restrictions and logistical challenges caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, there was no host interest from the Clubs in the East and the AFC will announce the following steps in due course.

AFC Champions League (East) centralised matches to be staged in Korea Republic

Kuala Lumpur, July 30: The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) has today confirmed that the AFC Champions League 2021 (East) – Quarter-final and Semi-final single-leg centralised matches will be held in Jeonju, Korea Republic from October 17 to 20, 2021.
The race to the AFC Champions League Quarter-finals will take centrestage on September 14 with the commencement of the Round of 16 (East) battles, which will see reigning champions Ulsan Hyundai FC take on Japan’s Kawasaki Frontale, while Daegu FC, who will be appearing in the Round of 16 for the first time, will face-off against Nagoya Grampus on the same day.
The thrilling action will continue on September 15, as two-time champions Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors meet Thailand’s BG Pathum United, who will also be making their maiden appearance in the Round of 16.
The fourth East Round of 16 match-up is between Japan’s Cerezo Osaka and Korea Republic’s FC Pohang Steelers, the fourth team from Korea Republic to advance from the Group Stage.
Meanwhile, the centralised venue for the AFC Champions League 2021 (West) – Quarter-final and Semi-final single-leg matches as well as the eagerly-anticipated Final will be communicated in due course.

Legend Capital Invests In BioMap

Hong  Kong, July 30:  BioMap, a biological computing platform enterprise, has recently completed the Series A funding round worth over USD$100,000, which Legend Capital participated in.
The funds will be used for R&D and talent recruitment.
BioMap is positioned as an innovative medicine R&D platform driven by a biological computing engine.
It was co-founded by Robin Li last November who currently sits on the company as the chairman.
Through advanced computing and biotechnology, BioMap draws maps on disease targets and drug design to realize the global first-in-class original drugs.