News In Brief

Welcome to our ‘News In Brief’ column in which we digest all the news releases for you in no more than five paragraphs. Below are snippets of all the media releases that we received from Jan 17 till Jan 23. Please check back throughout the week for more updates.

RACV Launches Home Insurance Campaign

Melbourne, Jan 17: With residents of South-West Victoria spending more time at home over the summer break, a new advertising campaign from RACV is hoping to get people thinking and talking about what they need to make their homes safer, more comfortable, as well as valuable.
Titled ‘Ask anyone’, the RACV advertising campaign aims to get people talking about their own Home experiences and what it’s like to be an RACV Home Insurance customer. Residents of Geelong, the Surf Coast and down the Great Ocean Road to Apollo Bay will hear and see RACV’s ‘Ask anyone’ advertisements on radio, in their local newspaper, at the cinema, as well as on billboards.
RACV Executive General Manager Home Nicole Brasz said RACV has been supporting and engaging with South-West Victoria for nearly 100 years and the focus on home insurance is part of RACV’s commitment to making lives better.
“Many of us have a strong association with RACV, particularly through our advocacy in the motoring space,” Brasz said.
RACV is the market leader in home insurance in Victoria so we’re taking the opportunity with our new advertising campaign to get people in the South-West talking about RACV Home Insurance and the importance of being insured by a trusted organisation when you need it most.”

F&N Remains Resilient Amidst Challenges

Kuala Lumpur, Jan 17: Fraser & Neave Holdings Bhd held its 60th Annual General Meeting today. Shareholders supported the Group’s strategies and long-term direction presented by F&NHB Chief Executive Officer Lim Yew Hoe on behalf of the Board of Directors and management to manage the current landscape while keeping F&NHB on track to drive future growth.
In his presentation, Lim said the market condition in FY2022 continues to be tough due to the lingering COVID-19 pandemic and commodity prices that are expected to rise further, but this does not distract F&NHB from its strategic initiatives for a more sustainable future.
“Regardless of the short-term outlook, we remain confident in the long-term potential of our markets. The Group has weathered many storms in our 139-year history, and key to our longevity has been the ability to embrace short-term impact for long-term sustainability,” he added.
Moving into 2022, Lim said that the Group would prioritise improving and managing our costs, particularly our Cost of Goods Sold (COGS).
The Group will also leverage its strong manufacturing capability, diversify its range of products, and refine its product mix and pricing to maximise profitability.

BioBlitzes Held On Feb 25 

Sydney, Jan 18: UNSW scientists are behind a citizen science event which will document the bushfire recovery of plants, animals and fungi across three bushfire affected regions in New South Wales.
The Big Bushfire BioBlitz starting on February 25 is a series of weekend-long events which will generate new evidence on the impacts of large-scale fire on biodiversity.
The BioBlitzes will take place in the Gondwana Rainforests of Washpool National Park, the Blue Mountains World Heritage Area, and Murramarang National Park on the south coast.
Thomas Mesaglio, iNaturalist curator and PhD candidate at the UNSW Evolution & Ecology Research Centre, said that the BioBlitzes will give people the opportunity to contribute meaningful biodiversity data that help inform our understanding of how the environment recovers after large scale bushfires, and in turn contribute to research and conservation.
“Citizen science events such as BioBlitzes provide an invaluable opportunity to maximise the amount of data collection, intensely focusing on particular areas, as well allowing people of all skill levels to be involved,” he said.

Frank Au Joins AFG

Singapore, Jan 18: ASEAN Fintech Group has appointed Frank Au as a new member of its Board of Directors.
Frank is a renowned former investment banker who was instrumental in bringing many of the first wave of Chinese Internet unicorn IPOs to the US capital markets (NYSE/NASDAQ).
He has over 20 years of experience covering the technology and Internet investment banking sector in China and has more than 15 years of experience as an entrepreneur.
Amongst Frank’s previous positions in investment banks, he was the President of China Renaissance Holdings (1991.HK) and former CEO of Cowen and Company Asia (NASDAQ:COWN).
In the past, Frank has successfully led capital markets and advisory transactions in the e-commerce, online search, mobile services, online gaming, social media, live streaming, IT services, software and telecom equipment sectors. 

Hero MotoCorp Invests In Gogoro and Poema Global

Taiwan, Jan 18: Gogoro Inc, a global technology leader in battery swapping ecosystems that enable sustainable mobility solutions for cities, and Poema Global Holdings Corp.
Poema Global is a publicly traded special purpose acquisition company, today announced its strategic partner, Hero MotoCorp, Engine number one and another investor will be making a PIPE investment, raising the oversubscribed PIPE from US$257 million to US$285 million.
“We are proud to be adding PIPE investors Hero MotoCorp, a global leader in two-wheel vehicles and Engine number one, a strategic investment group focused on creating long-term value by harnessing the power of capitalism to drive greater ESG thinking,” Gogoro founder and CEO Horace Luke said.
“Gogoro is transforming urban mobility in the world’s most densely populated cities by changing how people use and share portable energy and we are well positioned to transform the urban mobility landscape and capitalise on the electric transition of more than a half billion two-wheel vehicles in Asia.”

RACV Sola Powers Warrnambool

Melbourne, Jan 19: The Warrnambool Stadium is now equipped with a solar and battery system thanks to RACV’s $1 million Solar in the Regions program, providing energy reliability to the stadium and cost savings which will benefit the community.
The solar and battery system is insurance against the grid going down as it provides reliable back up power for essential services such as refrigeration.
Warrnambool Stadium was identified as a suitable regional location for a solar and battery installation as it is the largest recreation centre in the area, and Warrnambool also provides relief to all the towns around the area.
The stadium offers 2500 square metres of floor space and could potentially play a role in supporting the community in or after an emergency event, as it has during previous bushfires.
Warrnambool City Council Mayor, Richard Ziegeler said the project was positive for the wider community and would benefit regular stadium users, including community groups, expos, youth events, dance workshops and after school programs.

Kofax Releases Kofax TotalAgility 

Singapore, Jan 19: Kofax , a supplier of intelligent automation software for digital workflow transformation, today announces the latest release of Kofax TotalAgility, Kofax’s intelligent automation platform.
Kofax delivers the only platform with content intensive document capture, business process and dynamic case management, RPA task automation, the generation of personalised communications with or without embedded e-signature capabilities and analytics for monitoring and reporting workflow performance – delivered on premise or via the Kofax Cloud or an organisation’s cloud of choice. 
“Kofax has been instrumental in helping us harness TotalAgility for health information management, transforming the document capture processes,” Susan Marquez, Enterprise Document Management Program Manager at Cerner said.
“We consider it a win any time we’re able to eliminate manual tasks, and the wins keep coming with TotalAgility.” 
The new release makes it easier for professional and citizen developers to quickly develop, deploy and manage automated workflows, helping organizations deliver a superior customer experience and optimise internal processes. 

Spritzer Gives New Life To Bottles 

Kuala Lumpur, Jan 19: Spritzer is inviting visitors to celebrate the Year of the Tiger at the decorated Spritzer EcoPark in Taiping, Perak from Jan 18 till Feb 18. 
Thousands of recycled Spritzer Natural Mineral Water bottles have been given new lives as traditional lunar new year decorations such as ingots and ornaments lighting up Spritzer EcoPark and giving cheer to the seasonal celebrations as the Company takes the initiative to encourage and inspire everyone to recycle their waste, including bottles, that can be turned into other uses while helping to keep the environment clean.
Admission to the Spritzer EcoPark is free and visitors can stroll through the park to admire the festive decorations made from recycled bottles while taking pictures to keep as memories. 
Spritzer EcoPark would like all visitors to have fun and enjoy themselves while continuing to adhere strictly to all standard operating procedures, including checking in through MySejahtera, social distancing, having masks on at all times and with sanitisers provided at various locations around the park.
As part of the festive celebrations and Valentine’s Day this year, pre-orders of customisable seasonal gifts, handmade bouquets and gift boxes are available for pre-order.

AFC Confirms The Withdrawal Of Myanmar Clubs

Kuala Lumpur, Jan 19: The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) has taken note of the Myanmar Football Federation (MFF)’s confirmation of the withdrawals of Shan United FC and Hantharwady United FC from the 2022 editions of the AFC Champions League and AFC Cup respectively.
Hantharwady United FC were recently drawn in Group I of the AFC Cup 2022, while Shan United FC were due to participate in the AFC Champions League 2022 Preliminary Stage.
The matter will now be referred to the relevant Committees before a decision is announced in due course.
Catch all the latest updates on the AFC Club Competitions here.

The Asian Women’s Football Tournament Starts Today

Kuala Lumpur, Jan 20: When the first match between China PR and Chinese Taipei kicks off on Thursday at 3.30pm, it will mark the start of a thrilling campaign in the AFC Women’s Asian Cup India 2022 where Asia’s leading women’s national teams go head-to-head for the coveted trophy.
Played across three venues at the D.Y. Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai, the Mumbai Football Arena and Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex in Pune, the showpiece will celebrate women’s football across the Continent and provide a platform for the current and future stars to shine.
The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) President Shaikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa sent his best wishes to all participating teams, highlighting the importance of the tournament in the development of the sport.
“The AFC Women’s Asian Cup is a competition that is rich in history and continues to be the catalyst for the development of women’s football in Asia,” he said.

vivo Releases ‘Shout it Out’

Kuala Lumpur, Jan 20: vivo Malaysia released a short film titled ‘Shout it Out’ featuring a deaf Malaysian girl’s determination in reaching for her dreams to be a national athlete.
The nine minutes 30 seconds film was shot with the vivo X70 Pro, the professional photography flagship smartphone with advanced mobile imaging technology co-engineered with ZEISS.
Inspired by a true story, ‘Shout it Out’ follows the story of Siti, a deaf Malaysian since young who, against all odds, fights her way to master Karate and represent Malaysia in an international Karate tournament. Set in scenes where she constantly faces various challenges and rejections, being laughed at and self-doubt, the film highlights her strong determination coupled with her teacher’s unwavering guidance to get her on the world stage as a national athlete.
Directed by Mallory Lee, the ‘Shout it Out’ short film is now available and can be viewed on vivo Malaysia Official Youtube Channel.

Coway Bags CXP Best Customer Experience Award 2021 

Kuala Lumpur, Jan 20: In accordance with Coway Malaysia’s brand direction of Customer Experience (CX), they ensure a wholesome customer experience from the beginning of a new customer’s journey up until a life-long user experience.
Coway Malaysia was recently awarded the CXP Best Customer Experience Award 2021, Asia’s regional awards for excellence in customer experience.
This recognition reflects on Coway’s well-rounded approach of customer service while touching the hearts of 2 million customers.
“We always prioritise our customers who have supported us throughout our 15 years in Malaysia and we promise that with Coway’s high-tech products, we will continue to change lives with the best customer service,” Coway Malaysia MD Kyle Choi said.
Coway has also won two other awards resounding the best customer satisfaction namely the Trusted Brand Award 2021 and the Asia Halal Brand Award (AHBA) 2021. 

Malaysian Teams Rank Among Top 10 Worldwide 

Kuala Lumpur, Jan 20: The recently concluded Alibaba Global Digital Talent (GDT) Global  Challenge 2021 saw Malaysian teams excelling, with two entries being shortlisted as Global Top 10 out  of more than 2,000 entries.
Overall, a total of nine teams from Malaysia that stood out in the national  round of the competition successfully entered the global finals, which featured 82 teams shortlisted from  around the world.
The Global Challenge is an international entrepreneurial competition under Alibaba Group’s GDT  Program.
More than 2,000 teams from over 10 markets such as China, Colombia, Malaysia, Mongolia, South  Korea, the Philippines, the United Kingdom and the United States participated in the challenge this  year.
Contestants had access to live training from industry experts and entrepreneurs from the Alibaba  GDT Network to learn about necessary skills in the journey of starting a business in the digital age. The  Global Top 10 finalists were selected based on five broad criteria, namely consumer insight, innovation,  business execution, digital marketing power and team execution power. 

Carsome Flags Off First Mobile Digital Toppers

Kuala Lumpur, Jan 20: Southeast Asia’s largest car e-commerce platform Carsome became one of the first adopters of a newly launched mobile programmatic digital out-of-home (pDOOH) advertising, as part of its effort to reach out to more people within the untapped offline markets.
The company’s latest advertising activation aims to showcase the quality assurance when one buys from Carsome, where consumers have access to the largest selection of over 1,000 Carsome Certified cars covered by the Carsome Promise. 
Carsome Certified is also an industry-leading standard that provides peace of mind for consumers who want to move forward in mobility solutions.
Carsome Chief Brand Officer Derek Tan explained that Carsome, being a data-driven technology company, gravitates towards the latest in innovation. 
“Through this highly innovative advertising technology, Carsome can create impactful communication and amplify our peace of mind message to offline markets, now also powered by data,” he said.

Instarem Launches Mobile App in Malaysia

Kuala Lumpur, Jan 21: Instarem, leading digital cross border payments business, today announced that its mobile application is now available in Malaysia, enabling users to send funds effortlessly.
The new app will allow instant onboarding for Malaysian Nationals and expats through local partners.
Users will be able to access the app with their fingerprint and will be able to transfer instantly to specific destinations via an intuitive function called Quick Send.
The app will allow users in Malaysia to send money to beneficiaries in over 55+ markets in the world, within minutes, as well as gain faster access to recent transfers in the app dashboard.
Instarem currently operates in six continents and over 100 markets, serving more than 130 million end customers. It processes more than US$6 billion in transaction volumes annually and makes the majority of payments in less than 15 minutes.
To use the service, users have to download the Instarem app on Google PlayStore (for Android users) or on App Store (for iOS users). 
For more information, please visit www.instarem.com/en/my.

12,000-plus Undergraduates Benefit From #DIY4UM

Kuala Lumpur, Jan 21: More than 12,000 undergraduates from Universiti Malaya have had a more comfortable transition back to on-campus learning, thanks to the #DIY4UM initiative. 
A joint collaboration between MR D.I.Y. Group (M) Berhad (MR D.I.Y.), Touch ‘n Go Group (Touch ‘n Go), and Universiti Malaya (UM), #DIY4UM saw Malaysia’s largest home improvement retailer distribute over RM3.6  million to help the undergraduates prepare for the return to campus. 
Under #DIY4UM, each UM undergraduate received RM300 in cash aid, to be used for the purchase of everyday essentials and learning equipment. 
The funds were distributed through the Touch ‘n Go’ e-wallet in three equal payments over November and December last year. 
“Our founder, Mr. Tan Yu Yeh, is an alumnus of this university, and over the years, has helped us initiate a number of different programmes to benefit the university, its students and the community it serves,” MR D.I.Y. Chief Executive Officer, Adrian Ong said
His wish, and our vision, has been for these efforts to spur other organisations to help Malaysians forge through these challenging times.”

Powerledger Presents Virtually At Davos       

Perth, Jan 21: Australian energy trading technology company Powerledger has presented ‘virtually’ at the Global Blockchain Business Council event held on January 18-19th.
As a result of ongoing challenging times due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Global Blockchain Business Council (GBBC) postponed its fifth in-person annual Blockchain Central Davos to the European summer 2022 and instead held a virtual event.
Perth-based Powerledger’s CEO Dr Jemma Green presented on the virtual panel on Jan 18, telling the audience there is an ability for blockchain to offer really meaningful solutions to the clean energy transition, as different pockets of the market move at different paces.
“Powerledger is grateful to have been invited to speak at the important Blockchain Central Davos event and showcase to the world how our blockchain-enabled renewable energy trading platform can make a difference to a sustainable future,” Powerledger CEO Dr Jemma Green said.
Powerledger has over 30 clients in more than 10 countries including with The Kansai Electric Power Co., Inc. in Japan, American PowerNet in the US, as well as the Uttar Pradesh Government in India.

Edinburgh Business School Establishes Advisory Board

Putrajaya, Jan 21: A business advisory board (BAB), comprising key industry  players, was announced today by Edinburgh Business School (EBS) at Heriot-Watt University  Malaysia (HWUM).
The advisory board is tasked to provide counsel to the school in its role as a leading player in  business and management education and research in Malaysia.
The board will provide  insights for world-class business programmes that meet the demands of today’s industry and  commerce.
In line with advice from the Malaysian Qualifications Agency (MQA), the BAB will also identify  relevant industry developments for the Edinburgh Business School that nurture future ready  business leaders, equipped with the skills and knowledge to navigate an increasingly volatile,  uncertain, complex and ambiguous (VUCA) business world.
For more information on Heriot-Watt University Malaysia and its world-class programmes visit here.

New Metaverse Investment Conference Takes Place

Hong Kong, Jan 21: LBS (Leverage Big Strategies) Communications Consulting Limited, a professional strategy-based investor relations consulting firm based the Greater China region with global presence, today successfully organised the first Virtual Investment Conference, “Invest For a Better World With Innovation – from SPAC to the Metaverse” in 2022, along with New Vision Asset Management and Mileage Communications from Singapore and under the support from our media platform partner, Futu and Hong Kong Economic Digest.
Over 20 industry leaders and professional institutional investors analysed the listing overview and options of Special Purpose Acquisition Companies (“SPACs”) in the United States, Hong Kong, and Singapore, and explored the winning strategy of digital asset investment in Metaverse via a virtual forum and exhibition booths.
The forum was supported by Futu as the platform partner and Economic Digest as media partner.
For more information about the conference visit here.

Malaysia Signs MOU With Verofax Asia

Dubai, Jan 21: A memorandum of understanding was signed on Jan 12 to create the first digital ASEAN B2B cross-border trade platform to facilitate a potential of RM 50 Billion Malaysian trade internationally with seamless digital transactions over the next 5 to 10 years.
The collaboration between Distichain and Verofax Asia will offer a platform that delivers Digital B2B marketplaces as a service (MAAS) to enterprises by offering full marketplaces or through API integration.
The signing was witnessed by Malaysian Minister of Communications and Multimedia Tan Sri Annuar Musa with the participation of Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC between Capt. Koh Chen Tien, Chairman of Verofax Asia, and Haisam Jamal, CEO of Distichain. 
The event took place at the Address Dubai Marina, where attendees from around the world were present for the opening of Malaysia Digital Week, taking place at Expo 2020 in Dubai, UAE.

Expect A Cash Rate Rise In Coming Months

Sydney, Jan 21: The Reserve Bank of Australia is expected to raise the cash rate in the coming weeks.
Westpac’s Home Loans at Compare Club General Manager Matthew Gatt, General Manager said that the new year may see the same story for homeowners and new buyers with one of the four banks raising their fixed interest rates across the products.
“Even two-year fixed term loans are edging ever closer to three per cent and while Westpac’s five year fixed term rate of 3.69 per cent is one of the highest on the market, I’d fully expect other lenders will follow suit in time.
“Any homeowner who has a fixed term mortgage that’s soon to expire, or simply hasn’t reviewed their current mortgage in more than a year really needs to think about finding a more competitive product quickly.
“With the average homeowner owing $600,000 on their mortgage, it could only take a small increase in repayments to make the cost of living seriously tight for many Australian households.”
“Westpac have now indicated that they expect official cash rates to start to increase later this year, and homeowners should factor this into their decision making process.” 
“There are still some lenders who offer very competitive rates, the key is speaking to an experienced adviser who can quickly present you with competitive offers, so the quicker people act, the more they could save in the long run,” he said.

Latest Update On The AFC Women’s Asian Cup India 2022

Kuala Lumpur, Jan 23: The Asian Football Confederation has confirmed that the AFC Women’s Asian Cup India 2022 match between Chinese Taipei and India at the D.Y. Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai could not be played today.
Following several positive cases of COVID-19, India failed to name the required minimum of 13 players for the Group A match against Chinese Taipei.
In accordance with Article 4.1 of the ‘Special Rules Applicable to AFC Competitions during the COVID-19 pandemic’ (Special Rules), India was therefore unable to participate in the match and the full provisions of Article 4.1 will apply.
Further, the inability of India to participate in the match also triggers Article 6 of the AFC Women’s Asian Cup India 2022 regulations.
The AFC Women’s Asian Cup India 2022 will continue to be played as scheduled with the Group winners, runners-up and the two best third-placed teams qualifying to the Quarter-finals.