Telenor Group has announced its new Chief Executive Officers in three of its Asian subsidiaries- Telenor Myanmar, dtac in Thailand and Grameenphone in Bangladesh.
The changes are effective as of 1st February 2020.
Author: Mei Ling Tan
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Telenor Group welcomes new leadership for Asian divisions
Sharad Mehrotra, CEO of Telenor Myanmar, has been appointed the new CEO of dtac, Telenor Group’s mobile operator in Thailand. He replaces Alexandra Reich, who is seeking new leadership opportunities. Hans Martin Hoegh Henrichsen, currently Chief Corporate Affairs Officer in Telenor Myanmar, will become acting CEO after Mehrotra. Grameenphone’s Deputy CEO and CMO, Yasir Azman has been appointed the new CEO of the Bangladeshi operation, with current CEO Michael Foley relocating to Africa, where his family is based.“After leading our Thai mobile operator through a challenging transition including new spectrum and network rollout and a renewed focus on customer satisfaction and distribution excellence, Alexandra Reich has delivered solid results according to the back-to-growth strategy outlined in dtac’s Capital Markets Day in June 2019. We are grateful to Reich for her willingness to step in and support dtac in the very important transformational phase, and we wish her all the best in her next leadership role. With Reich seeking new opportunities, we are pleased that Sharad Mehrotra will join dtac and bring valuable insights and knowledge to Thailand from Myanmar and India, where he has managed a strong commercial turnaround,” says Sigve Brekke, President and CEO of Telenor Group.“I am also pleased Yasir Azman has accepted the challenge to lead our operations in Bangladesh. While also serving as deputy CEO, he has run one of our best performing sales and distribution organizations in Telenor Group. Having risen through the ranks, it’s extra special to welcome Azman as the first home-grown CEO of Grameenphone. I’d like to take this opportunity to thank Michael Foley for leading the company through an impressive digital transformation as well as his valuable contributions also in Pakistan and Bulgaria,” adds Brekke. -
Advancing digital education in Asia Pacific
The current digital transformation has brought about sweeping change that not only affects the political and economic sectors of a country but most importantly, introduced a number of important social changes as well triggered by the growth of knowledge in the information and communications technologies (ICT); namely in the field of education.
As we have seen, education in the 21st century is incomparable to previous generations and is unlike anything we have seen before. The topic of education has been a nuanced one in Asia Pacific, which is one of the fastest developing regions in the world. Despite their similarities, many countries in the region have vastly different socio-economic and cultural landscapes that contribute significantly to each of its society’s pursuit of knowledge. With 45% of the world’s youth calling Asia Pacific home, it’s a sad reality to know that many young people in the region are struggling to find a balance between what they are being taught in schools and the whirlwind digital ecosystem that they are expected to traverse once they graduate.
Furthermore, the fact that many young people living in the region’s developing countries have no access to educational resources, let alone the ability to secure employment, has not only widened the disparities between rural and urban areas but also exacerbated underlying issues like socio-economic inequality and social exclusion amongst youth.
In this situation, various questions arise; will digital education be able to bridge this gap? Would students be able to reconcile their current learning strategies with the ever-evolving, fast-paced digital technologies outside the classroom? What should we do as a society to ensure that no one gets left behind?
One of the methods proposed by institutional stakeholders would be to take advantage of the rapidly growing and increasingly tech-savvy mobile technology subscriber base in Asia Pacific. With almost half of the population already having access to mobile devices, a number which is expected to rise exponentially by 2020, it is absolutely crucial that higher education institutions and relevant government bodies seize the opportunity to leverage the versatility of mobile technology to boost educational reform and provision in areas where it is most needed. Mobile technology like smartphones, laptops, tablets, and others offer a more customizable and flexible form of learning for students, regardless of their location.
An analysis of case studies discussed in the book “Mobile Learning in Higher Education in the Asia Pacific Region: Harnessing Trends and Challenging Orthodoxies” highlighted the sustainable utilization of mobile learning strategies within the Asia Pacific region. In Japan for example, a mobile app known as SCROLL aims at linking learning in formal and informal environments to enhance opportunities for students to engage in informal learning. This allowed users to record everyday learning experiences with their smartphones and, if they chose to do so, share these experiences with other learners. The initiative was implemented in various communities and universities across Japan; with new configurations constantly being added to further improve and refine the system.
In South Korea, a pilot project employing the use of mobile instant messaging (MIM) was conducted to alleviate social and cultural challenges faced by international exchange students when it came to learning the Korean language and conversing with Korean speakers. The interesting aspect of this experience is that users are able to facilitate language contact with each other in other locations around the world and do not necessarily need to be sitting next to each other. This allows international students learning Korean to combine MIM texts and visual tools in order to grasp the language skills in a short amount of time.
In addition to mobile technology education, another mode of digital learning has also surfaced and gained traction in the region in recent years. Massive open online courses or MOOCs enable greater participation and the ability to address common issues prevalent in education such as inequity and inefficiency. Although MOOCs in the US are spearheading the digital education revolution, the ones in Asia Pacific are not far behind; with homegrown MOOCs thriving in countries like the Philippines, China, Malaysia and India. Many of these initiatives can be seen predominantly in a higher education setting like India’s Delhi University and the University of the Philippines’ Open University’s MODeL, to name a few.
Considering that MOOCs is a relatively new system, there is still much to be done in terms of research and availability of resources. Due to this, several overriding issues have surfaced such as low completion rates as well as language barriers; as most lessons are conducted in English and inadequate learning support in developing countries. Even with these inevitable teething problems, MOOCs have facilitated greater access to education, but it is only a matter of time that we would be able to see if marginalized groups that deal with the issues mentioned above are also allowed access to this method of learning without being left behind by the strong current of rapid digitization.
Intelligent tutoring systems (ITS), on the other hand, are computer-based learning environments that employ AI to give students a customized educational experience. This system not only provides students with a personalized mode of study but also uses hints and remediation, cognitive and metacognitive scaffolding, effective support, and alternative teaching approaches as tools to engage with students and fuel motivation. One of the major factors for ITS’ popularity is its ability to be deployed in situations where there is a lack of adequately trained educators. Although some ITS activity has been documented in developing countries in Asia Pacific, with a specific focus on cultural factors, mobile gadgets, and language support, most of the research has been done in developed nations like Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Japan and Hong Kong.
Clearly, there is still a lot to be done in terms of evolving the digital education scene in Asia Pacific to make it accessible and adaptable to all communities across the region. In cases like these, it is important that the governments of these countries work closely with non-governmental organizations and tech support groups to build infrastructure that will allow for the continuous sharing of knowledge on a digital platform that is not only user-friendly but is considerate of cultural boundaries and regional and socio-economic factors.
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A long road ahead for young Pakistani tech innovators
Omar Majid Warraich knew his idea could help thousands earn more from their crops, but the problem was he did not know how to execute it.
“As a start-up, you tend to need advice about the dos and don’ts, when to pitch an idea, what to pitch to investors, apply for grants, get the loans,” he told AFP.
The co-founder of Agrim@art is one of Pakistan’s start-up success stories — his platform has more than 700 registered and verified farmers and a $100,000 grant from Karandaaz, an investment platform sponsored by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
Officially launched in August last year, Agrim@art reported sales worth 5.5 million rupees ($36,000) in its first three months, and predict they will have 2 000 farmers working with them by March 2020.
Like tech entrepreneurs around the world, Warraich turned to a start-up incubator for help getting his idea off the ground -the National Incubation Center (NIC), a public-private partnership based in Lahore.
The challenges he faced are not uncommon in Pakistan, where the education system is weak, and the economy is faltering.
Some 64 percent of Pakistanis are under the age of 30, and youth unemployment stood at six percent in 2019, according to a report commissioned by the UN.
Incubation centers fostering innovation and entrepreneurship in the tech sector are “the solution”, believes Faisal Sherjan, program director at NIC.
Its hub, with its colorful walls, state of the art labs and quirky furniture, is far removed from the daily grind of the heaving, traffic-choked, polluted city of 11 million.
Teams there have six months to set up their businesses while utilizing its facilities, which include Facebook’s newly installed VR lab to a host of business workshops.
There are supervisors and mentors to help entrepreneurs navigate Pakistan’s daunting business environment.
There have been some homegrown tech hits: Bykea, a motorbike-hailing app, raised more than $7 million in 2019 and is expected to raise another $15 million in the first quarter of 2020.
The country has both a huge talent pool and a huge market, offering the “right mix” for investors, says Khurram Zafar, director of Karandaaz and 47 ventures, a fund that only invests in Pakistan.
But there are concerns about how tech start-ups can successfully navigate a messy business environment.
Pakistan was still ranked a dismal 122 out of 137 on the Global Entrepreneurship Index in 2018, and 108th on the World Bank’s ease-of-doing-business list.
Kalsoom Lakhani, founder and CEO of the fund Invest2Innovate (i2i), cited the “bureaucratic headaches”, “the difficulty of bringing money into the country and the impossibility of getting it out”, and the “very debilitating” taxation, as key issues.
Bribery and corruption are widespread, while government efforts to tackle graft have resulted in an unfriendly regulatory environment “towards investors and entrepreneurs alike”, i2i said in a 2019 report on Pakistan’s start-up ecosystem.
The government is enthusiastic about start-ups and has launched incubators in dozens of universities and tech schools, which it hopes will help develop the sector.
Global tech giants are also taking an interest. Ride-hailing app Uber has partnered with a government fund to bring its #UberPitch to Pakistan, where budding businesses are given a chance to present their ideas, while Google and Facebook have awarded grants to start-ups featured on Pakistani reality show Idea Croron Ka (Million Dollar Idea).
But, compared to countries such as neighboring India, investment has been slow to come, making it hard for start-ups to grow beyond their incubation period.
Many tech entrepreneurs are out of touch with the realities of Pakistan and the unique needs of consumers there, said Maryam Mohiddin Ahmed, co-author of a report on Pakistani start-ups entitled “Beyond the Buzz”.
“We don’t need people to get our emails to arrive faster but our crops to grow better. If a large chunk of the population is not being served by innovations, then what is the point of innovating?” she added.
What Pakistan needs is more “game-changing startups” on a human and environmental level, she argued.
But despite the challenges, there is room for optimism.
With Pakistan’s young population rapidly digitizing, “never have the opportunities for social, economic and political progress been so great”, the UNDP stated.
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Leading tour operator reports losses
Vietravel reported a VND14.1 billion ($606,000) loss in the last quarter of 2019 largely due to rising financing costs.
Its profit margin slipped in the final quarter, with sales rising by 9.13 percent to VND1.45 trillion ($62.33 million) but cost of goods sold increasing by 10.48 percent to VND1.35 trillion ($58.03 million), according to the company’s latest consolidated financial statement.
Vietravel’s revenues mainly came from selling tours, goods and tickets on flights it chartered. Q4 financial expenses topped VND26.66 billion ($1.15 million) after ballooning seven-fold year-on-year as the company obtained over VND160 billion ($6.89 million) in short-term loans from various banks.
Vietravel merely said the loans were to supplement operating capital without elaborating.
The loss came after three profitable quarters, and in the same quarter of 2018 the company had made a post-tax profit of VND7.3 billion ($313,800).
Consolidated revenues for full-year 2019 came to VND7.26 trillion ($312 million), up 0.28 percent year-on-year, while post-tax profits fell 32 percent to VND39.93 billion ($1.72 million).
It applied for a license for setting up an airline last year, and said it plans to launch its first flight late this year using either the narrow-body Airbus A321neo or Boeing 737.
In the last two years it operated around 300 charter flights a year, both domestically and internationally.
If licensed, Vietravel Airlines will enter a fiercely competitive aviation market which already has six players: Vietnam Airlines, Vietjet, Jetstar Pacific, Vietnam Air Services Company (VASCO), Bamboo Airways, and newly-licensed military-run carrier Vietstar Airlines, the last two making their debut last year.
Analysts have forecast 2020 to be a difficult year for tourism companies with the outbreak of the new deadly nCoV pneumonia virus, which has caused Vietnamese airlines to suspend most flights to China.
The arrival of Chinese tourists, who accounted for 32 percent of all visitors to Vietnam last year, is also expected to fall sharply.
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% Arabica expands in Indonesia
Japanese coffee chain % Arabica is launching four locations in Indonesia.
The stores, scheduled to open in Jakarta and Bali next month, are the result of three years’ planning and were designed by German architect Alexis Dornier.
According to an Instagram post by the company’s Indonesia partner, the first store to open will be at District 8, a mixed-use development in SCBD, South Jakarta, followed by one in Central Park, West Jakarta and one in Bali’s Seminyak Village the following month. The last of the first four stores, which is set to open in Ubud in May, will be % Arabica’s Indonesian flagship.
% Arabica now operates 56 outlets in 13 countries since first opening in Kyoto in 2014. The chain has two stores in the Philippines, three in Singapore, and one in Cambodia, with a Bangkok store expected to launch shortly as well as new outlets in Malaysia and Vietnam on the horizon.
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Hong Kong Customs seize counterfeit US-bound goods
Hong Kong Customs has seized some 10,000 counterfeit products destined for the US in a targeted operation to combat cross-boundary counterfeiting activities.
The goods had an estimated street value of about HKD1.1 million (US$141,000), were seized, including medicines, mobile phones, handbags, shoes and clothing.
The seizures resulted from a sharing of intelligence with US regulatory authorities, something Hong Kong Customs says it expects to continue as it targets cross-boundary counterfeiting activities to a variety of other countries.
Under Hong Kong’s Trade Descriptions Ordinance, anyone who imports or exports goods with a forged trademark commits an offense. The maximum penalty upon conviction is a fine of HKD500,000 ($64,400) and imprisonment for five years.
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Grab enters wealth-management space with Bento Invest buy
Grab has bought Singapore-based robo-advisory start-up Bento Invest which will be rebranded as GrabInvest, offering wealth management solutions to drivers, merchant partners and consumers through the Grab app.
Grab’s move adds another business vertical under its financial-services division Grab Financial Group which will now be led by Bento Invest founder and CEO Chandrima Das. The investment app will join Grab’s existing financial services including GrabPay, GrabRewards, GrabInsure and GrabFinance.
Reuben Lai, senior MD of Grab Financial Group, said there is a lack of access to affordable wealth-management products and retirement planning solutions for most people in Southeast Asia.
He said Grab’s purchase of Bento Invest aims to “democratize” access to retail wealth-management products, an opportunity traditionally restricted to affluent individuals and institutional investors. The app will provide a low-cost model that is easy for customers to understand by allowing them to transact on a platform they are familiar with.
“As we face an increasingly volatile and uncertain economic environment, it is imperative for Southeast Asians to acquire the tools and knowledge to protect their future by sustainably building wealth for themselves and their families,” said Lai.
“The launch of GrabInvest brings us a step closer to democratizing access to affordable financial solutions that will help them achieve the financial stability they need well into their retirement years.”
Founder Das, a former MD at Bank of Singapore and CEO of ING Investment Management, has more than 20 years of leadership experience with banks and asset managers across Asia and the UK.
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Sports Illustrated CBD product range to be launched by Authentic Brands Group
Authentic Brands Group (ABG), the owner of the Sports Illustrated brand, announced a strategic partnership with Sentia Wellness, a distributor of CBD-infused wellness products. Through this partnership, Sentia Wellness will develop, produce and distribute Sports Illustrated and Sports Illustrated Swim-branded CBD-infused topicals. A Limited-Edition Recovery Cream will debut this weekend, followed by a full rollout later this year.
“Sports Illustrated has been at the forefront of sports and culture for over 65 years and is a name that resonates with the athlete and fan in all of us,” said Daniel W. Dienst, vice chairman at ABG. “We are excited to partner with Sentia, a leader in the wellness industry, as we continue to expand the Sports Illustrated brand and create trusted, high-quality consumer products.”
“As we continue to develop products for active, health-conscious individuals who understand that there is so much more to sport than the game itself, it became clear that Sports Illustrated was the perfect brand to partner with,” said Amy McClintick, COO, licensed brands division of Sentia Wellness. “We are excited to see the initial response from consumers, and cannot wait for the full rollout of complementary products later this year.”
ABG’s portfolio of brands generates more than $10 billion in annual retail sales and includes Marilyn Monroe, Mini Marilyn, Elvis Presley, Muhammad Ali, Shaquille O’Neal, Sports Illustrated, Dr. J, Greg Norman, Neil Lane, Thalia, Nautica, Aéropostale, Juicy Couture, Vince Camuto, Herve Leger, Judith Leiber, Barneys New York, Frederick’s of Hollywood, Nine West, Frye, Jones New York, Louise et Cie, Sole Society, Enzo Angiolini, CC Corso Como, Hickey Freeman, Hart Schaffner Marx, Adrienne Vittadini, Taryn Rose, Bandolino, Misook, 1.STATE, CeCe, Chaus, Spyder, Tretorn, Tapout, Prince, Volcom, Airwalk, Vision Street Wear, Above The Rim, Hind, Thomasville, Drexel and Henredon.
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Hennessy partners with Chinese artist Zhang Huan
Hennessy has collaborated with contemporary Chinese artist Zhang Huan in a Chinese New Year promotion running at Singapore’s Changi Airport until February 9.
The cognac brand has adapted its successful space in Terminal 1, one of the longest-running pop-ups for both the brand and Changi Airport, into an experiential zone offering special New Year-packaged products and interactive features with souvenir photos and personally engraved products.
“At Hennessy, we recognize that travel retail is an amazing platform to build brand desirability in front of affluent and sophisticated consumers,” said Laurent Boidevezi, Moet Hennessy’s global travel retail president.
“Crafting experiences is at the heart of Moet Hennessy’s DNA. This Chinese New Year, along with DFS Group and Changi Airport Group, we wanted to combine the traditional with the modernity by presenting customers with a revolutionary molecular tasting experience using Hennessy VSOP. We want to inspire them to re-create a classic cocktail for their own experiences during this festive season,” he said.
At the heart of the promotion was the commissioning of a work of art from Zhnag Huan, called Eaux-de-vie. The artwork features throughout the pop-up space, including on packaging, as a backdrop to photos in a selfie booth and on red packets. The limited-edition VSOP bottle is an Apac travel retail exclusive, available only at Changi Airport.
At the Terminal 1 pop-up store, a ‘molecular tasting bar’ allows travelers to immerse themselves “in the spirit of Eaux-de-vie”. Travelers can discover two different Hennessy VSOP cocktails encapsulated in molecular pearls that explode in one’s mouth.
Airport partnership
Teo Chew Hoon, group senior VP of airside concessions at Changi Airport Group, said the Changi endeavors to work with partners to create experiential installations to interest travelers passing through the airport.
“Changi Airport Group continues to work with Hennessy and DFS Group to create unique and one-of-a-kind activations. Located next to the Social Tree at Terminal 1, the walk-through Chinese New Year pop-up concept ingeniously combines art and retail to bring novel experiences for our travelers this festive season,” he said.
Open daily from 7am to midnight, the Hennessy pop-up at Changi Airport’s Terminal 1 remains open until February 9.
Activations were also set up at Terminals 3 and 4 to showcase Zhang Huan’s artwork for the tripartite partnership between Hennessy, DFS Group and Changi Airport.
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Sustainable wines gaining popularity in SEA
As Chinese wine consumers – and those across Southeast Asia – are growing a taste for wine, so too they are embracing sustainable wines.
Although global wine consumption continues to rise, disruption to the wine industry is resulting in changes to production methods, packaging, and marketing techniques. Discerning wine consumers are increasingly looking for good quality wine that is produced with minimal impact on the environment. As a result, new innovations are improving sustainability which is helping winemakers connect to a wider audience.
Analysis of wine drinking by The International Wine and Spirit Research predicts that within the next three years, the global consumption of organic wine will reach 1 billion bottles. China’s demand for wine, increasingly being met through online sales, is still growing, and research undertaken by the University of Adelaide predicts a continuing rise in Southeast Asia’s consumption of fine wine. Meeting these consumer demands responsibly, but without compromising on taste and quality, is now a priority for wine producers.
Accessing high-quality, sustainable wine
As wine consumption continues to rise in Asia, China has recently overtaken the US to become the world’s number one buyer of online wine, creating great opportunities for internet wine retailers. Through ordering a wine subscription box online, consumers can enjoy carefully selected, high-quality wine that is chosen to match personal preferences and taste profiles.
More wine producers are using sustainable farming techniques such as natural pest control, composting and crop rotation, that are not only ecologically beneficial but economically and socially responsible too. By bottling their own wine produced using these techniques, a company that fulfills subscription orders itself can ensure the delivery of quality wine that is produced in an efficient and environmentally friendly manner.
Reading wine labeling now goes beyond understanding and recognizing the basic appellation credentials. Increasingly, consumers are also looking for signs that a glass of wine is naturally produced or organically grown, reflecting the efforts made to reduce the environmental impact of wine production. Natural wines are made without chemical additives, and organic wines are grown from grapes untouched by pesticides or synthetic fertilizers.
As well as being more environmentally friendly, a recent paper looking at the reasons behind Chinese consumers’ organic wine purchase found that the health benefits of increased natural production methods were also highly appealing. Although wine manufacturers are not required to ingredients on wine labels, on wine that is produced naturally in the US, the Department of Agriculture’s organic label reassures consumers that the wine contains no added preservatives, sulfites, or sugar.
Reducing the impact of transportation
Discerning taste in fine wine is increasingly being coupled with a desire to minimize environmental impact. Another way for consumers to reduce the environmental impact of wine drinking is to purchase more wine from local sources.
Although connections with French wine producers are strong, already 80 percent of all the wine that is enjoyed in China is domestically produced. Half of this wine is produced in The Yantai-Penglai region alone, where over 140 different wineries can be found.
Through supporting local wine producers in the Yamanashi wine region in Tokyo, or buying from wineries based in the Asoke Valley near Bangkok, Japanese and Thai consumers can enjoy distinctive local wines while minimizing the financial and environmental costs of transportation. However, with the introduction of biodegradable and plastic-free bottles made from innovative, sustainable materials, in the future, these costs could be drastically reduced even when importing wine from abroad.
As global wine consumption continues to grow, discerning drinkers are increasingly looking to look for evidence of organic production and sustainable manufacturing methods. Wine producers are responding by producing high-quality wines grown without chemicals and unnecessary additives and made easily available to both local and wider markets worldwide.
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Hong Kong retail sales dropped in December
Hong Kong retail sales in December slumped 19.4 percent, a softer fall than November’s 23.7 percent, but continuing the decline which began with the civil unrest after June.
For the whole year, total retail sales decreased by 11.1 percent in value and by 12.3 percent in volume terms (after accounting for price fluctuations) compared with 2018.
A government spokesman said that Hong Kong retail sales in December continued to decline sharply, as the impact of the local social incidents on consumption- and tourism-related activities remained “severe”.
“The business environment for retail trade has become even more difficult recently, with the threat of the novel coronavirus infection heavily weighing on inbound tourism and local consumption sentiment,” the spokesman said.
“The near-term outlook for retail sales depends critically on how the situation of the novel coronavirus infection will evolve.”
According to figures from The Census and Statistics Department (C&SD) the value of total Hong Kong retail sales in December was estimated at HKD36.2 billion, (US$4.66 billion). After adjusting for inflation, December sales were down 21 percent year on year compared with a 25.5 percent decline in November.
Listed in terms of their impact on total sales, the worst-performing categories were jewelry, watches, clocks and valuable gifts, down by 36.7 percent, supermarket sales down by 3.1 percent; apparel by 22.1 percent; and department-store sales by 25.3 percent.
Food, alcoholic drinks and tobacco sales were down by 1.9 percent; electrical goods and other consumer durable goods, by 17.4 percent, other consumable goods not otherwise classified by 14.5 percent; medicines and cosmetics fell 29.9 percent; footwear and accessories by 20.4 percent; furniture and fixtures by 1.4 percent; books, newspapers, stationery and gifts by 14.8 percent; Chinese drugs and herbs by 9.8 percent; and optical shop sales fell 19.3 percent.
The only category of Hong Kong retail sales in December to show growth was fueled, up by 13.5 percent.
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First Tiffany store opens in New Delhi
The first Tiffany India store has opened, located in New Delhi’s upmarket The Chanakya shopping center.
The 2600sqft store was described as “an important milestone for our iconic brand” by Tiffany & Co CEO Alessandro Bogliolo.
“As a global luxury jeweler with stores in many of the world’s most important cities, Tiffany’s emergence in New Delhi presents a unique opportunity, particularly given India’s growing luxury consumer base and passion for jewelry,” he said.
The Tiffany India store stocks the full range of Tiffany’s jewelry collections, hardware, and home & accessories collections.
Meanwhile, Tiffany & Co shareholders have approved a multibillion-dollar takeover offer by French luxury-goods maker LVMH, scheduled to take effect later this year.
Tiffany operates more than 300 stores in more than 25 countries, including 80 in the Asia-Pacific region.
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Macau closing casinos as coronavirus outbreak widens
Macau’s government has ordered the closure of the territory’s casinos for at least two weeks over fears coronavirus might be spread through venues.
The closures followed a reduction of some 87 percent in the numbers of mainland Chinese visiting Macau during recent weeks, the result of the mainland government banning outbound group tours.
The casino closure is likely to decimate sales at the territory’s malls, most of which are located in the same mixed-use resorts housing the largest of the casinos.
As at 10 am ICT Wednesday, 24,503 cases of coronavirus had been reported, the vast majority in Mainland China. To date, 492 have died, all but two of those on the mainland, the other being in the Philippines and Hong Kong.
Meanwhile, in Hong Kong, tourist destinations Disneyland and Ocean Park have been closed indefinitely and Shanghai Disneyland has also been closed due to the coronavirus outbreak. Disney said in a statement that it expects its theme parks in Shanghai and Hong Kong to be shut for two months, resulting in a US$175 million hit to its operating income this quarter.
Retailers across Mainland China continue to close stores. Ralph Lauren says it has now closed about half of its 110 stores on the mainland. Tiffany has closed an undisclosed number in areas worst affected by the virus crisis. Hugo Boss has also closed an undisclosed number of stores in the market, where it experienced double-digit growth in the last quarter of last year.
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Vietjet to venture into cargo business in Malaysia
In order to enhance and further develop its cargo network, the new-age carrier Vietjet is pleased to announce that its subsidiary and cargo arm, Vietjet Cargo is opening a tender for a cargo General Sales Agent (GSA) in Kuala Lumpur and is inviting companies to bid for the first time in Malaysia on February 2020.
The GSA will be responsible for all the commercial activities for sales, marketing and promotion on Vietjet’s flight network connecting to over 400 flights daily covering more than 140 destinations across Vietnam and internationally such as Malaysia, China, Japan, Korea and Taiwan, etc. which includes a daily flight from Kuala Lumpur to Ho Chi Minh City.
The GSA will also be actively controlling the pricing policy and space management, working with the cargo warehouse and ground handling agency, supervising the operations, maximizing the uplifted cargo and securing the service level commitment to clients directly.
Nguyen Thanh Son, Vietjet Vice President, said: “At Vietjet, we believe in diversification to create sustainable business prospects. Following the establishment of Vietjet Cargo in 2014, we have independently and strategically developed and grown demand for air cargo services in Vietnam in addition to our main function as a commercial airline. Today, we have grown internationally, taking the necessary steps to expand our cargo business to the Malaysian market.
To-date, Vietjet has transported nearly 100 million passengers in Vietnam with a fleet of 80 Airbus aircraft, comprising the Airbus A320/A321 aircraft, a world-class high-tech airplane in the aviation industry, with a capacity of four to five tons of cargo per flight and more.
Moving forward, Vietjet will continue to work towards the establishment of its subsidiaries in the aviation industry worldwide, bringing a wide range of services and business opportunities to potential partners not only in Malaysia, but also in other countries while expanding Vietjet’s flight network globally.
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CIMB Bank Philippines Partners With Jumio
CIMB Bank Philippines’ all-digital bank has partnered Jumio, a provider of AI-powered end-to-end identity verification and authentication solutions to provide a simple, hassle-free and convenient digital onboarding solution to Filipinos.
Jumio’s identity verification solution uses machine learning, AI, certified liveness detection and face-based biometrics to ensure the person behind a digital transaction is who they say they are by matching a user’s live selfie with the photo shown on their government-issued ID.
Our partnership with Jumio has been integral in achieving our milestones so far as an all-digital bank in the Philippines to deliver a safe and secure banking experience. We are very grateful to have them as an ally in bringing Filipinos closer to financial inclusion, said Vijay Manoharan, CIMB Bank PH CEO in a statement on Tuesday.
In its first full year of formal operations, CIMB Bank Philippines (CIMB Bank PH) signed in almost 2 million Filipinos via the CIMB Bank PH digital platform, 30 percent of which are first-time customers to a bank. CIMB Bank PH is part of the CIMB Group, which has a presence in over 16 global markets.
The all-digital bank offers one of the most attractive savings interest rates of 4 percent, with zero transaction fees and minimum balance. With the bank’s digital proposition, it takes only 10 minutes to open a safe and secured account and 10-minute approval response for personal loans up to Php 1 million.
CIMB Bank PH’s mobile app integrates Jumio’s AI-driven identity verification technology to provide a safe, secure and fast digital onboarding experience. What used to take 15 minutes with a video KYC process now takes less than five minutes, resulting in an increase in conversions. «In the Philippines and across the greater APAC region it’s becoming increasingly important for banks to offer a streamlined digital onboarding process,» said Jumio CEO Robert Prigge.
Leveraging advanced technology including augmented intelligence, AI, biometrics, machine learning, certified 3D liveness detection, and human review, Jumio helps organizations meet regulatory compliance including KYC, AML, and GDPR and definitively establish the digital identity of their customers.
Based in Palo Alto, Jumio has verified more than 200 million identities issued by over 200 countries and territories from the real-time web and mobile transactions. Jumio’s solutions are used by companies in the financial services, sharing economy, digital currency, retail, travel, and online gaming sectors.