Retail News CRM

Author: Mei Ling Tan

  • Vietnamese remain keen on gold

    Vietnamese remain keen on gold

    Despite stock, Bitcoin boom, Vietnamese investors are still interested in gold, according to the World Gold Council.

    Local individual investors’ demand for gold would climb when the pandemic is controlled, the vaccination rate increases and economic growth becomes more stable, Andrew Naylor, the WGC’s CEO for the Asia-Pacific (excluding China), said.

    A report titled ‘Gold Demand Trends Q3, 2021’ it released recently said consumption of both jewelry gold and gold bars and coins halved year-on-year in the third quarter to one ton and two tons.

    He said gold sales in Vietnam were affected mainly by social distancing imposed to battle Covid-19.

    He hoped Vietnam would establish an electronic trading floor for gold investors.

    Many Vietnamese are interested in buying gold online, and could buy small quantities of gold rings or coins every month instead of a large quantity at one time, he said.

    However, other investment options such as stocks and cryptocurrencies are more attractive than gold now.

    Vietnam’s benchmark VN-Index downed 0.56 percent to 1,444.3 Wednesday after reaching a new peak Tuesday. Trading value on the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange (HoSE), on which the index is based, rose nearly 50 percent to VND43.21 trillion.

    Meanwhile, Bitcoin surged to over $63,000 on Nov. 2, up from $43,000 on Oct. 1.

    Vietnamese have recently tended to invest more in high-risk asset classes, but remain interested in gold, while conservative investors always consider gold a safe investment, Naylor said.

    Real estate remains an attractive option though the market has slowed down amid the Covid outbreaks.

  • Skype takes the first step toward greatness, new update released

    Skype takes the first step toward greatness, new update released

    Microsoft revealed last month a large plan to rehabilitate Skype and bring it on par with other instant messaging apps. A bunch of new features has been confirmed to be delivered to Skype in the coming months, but no roadmap has been unveiled.

    Today, Microsoft announced a new Skype version is making its way to Android and iOS devices. The update adds several important new features and improvements that many users have been expected for quite a while.

    First off, Skype on the Web can now be used on an Android phone or tablet. Background blur for Skype on the Web video calls is now available for all users, as well as support for audio calls in Mozilla Firefox.

    The camera function on Skype for iOS has been updated to take full advantage of Office Lens. Improvements have been made to the Meet Now flow too, while issues with video rendering on mobile have been fixed.

    The update also adds the ability to pin participants to the active call stage. Last but not least, expect some visual changes meant to modernize Skype’s look. The new features and improvements are rolling out gradually over the next couple of days, so if you don’t see them right away, check again after a while.

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  • Bamboo Airways signs $2-bln deal with Safran, GE

    Bamboo Airways signs $2-bln deal with Safran, GE

    Bamboo Airways has signed a EUR1.73-billion ($2 billion) deal with France’s Safran and the U.S.’s General Electric for aircraft engines and equipment.

    The Vietnamese carrier on Wednesday signed a memorandum of understanding with Safran and GE to purchase equipment for 50 narrow-bodied Airbus A321neos and 30 wide-bodied Boeing 787-9s.

    Safran makes high-class airplane seats and other cabin equipment.

    Bamboo Airways currently operates seven A320neos and 5 A321neos.

    “We are looking forward to developing a strong relationship with Bamboo and being part of its future growth,” Alexandre Ziegler, Safran’s senior executive vice president of international and public affairs, said in a statement.

    The deals were signed in the presence of Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and French Prime Minister Jean Castex during the former’s working visit to France from Nov. 3-5.

    Earlier low-cost Vietnamese carrier Vietjet also signed an agreement with Safran.

    The two parties had an existing $10-billion deal for engines and engine maintenance, and it has been expanded to cover more aircraft engine deals and a number of other aspects such as seats and interiors.

    Vietjet operates a fleet of 90 aircraft.

    Safran is a global technology company with interests also in the defense and space markets, 76,000 employees and annual sales of 16.5 billion euros ($19.15 billion).

  • Talks for Hong Kong-China Border Reopening in Final Stages

    Talks for Hong Kong-China Border Reopening in Final Stages

    Authorities from Hong Kong and China are reportedly nearing a final decision on travel resumption, despite a fresh outbreak on the mainland.

    A second meeting is expected soon between Hong Kong and mainland China authorities to make a final decision on travel resumption, according to a report by local media «Sing Tao» citing unnamed sources.

    The focus of the discussion is on whether or not Hong Kong will adopt the mainland’s health code system which classifies individuals as red, yellow or green – the latter color being the only classification cleared for travel to the mainland.

    Other rules being discussed include initial quarantine-free travel and a «circuit breaker» to immediately suspend the system in the event of an emergency.

    The latest update occurs in the backdrop of growing concerns from the international business community that called for Hong Kong to reopen borders to foreign countries and learn to coexist with the virus.

    Chief executive Carrie Lam responded by reiterating the city’s two major priorities: reopening with mainland China and a zero-Covid policy.

    Meanwhile, China, which has also adopted a zero-Covid policy stance, is reportedly experiencing its worst outbreak since the start of the pandemic with more than 600 local infections recently found in 19 out of 31 provinces.

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  • Royal Enfield’s Parent Company Eicher Motors’ Net Profit Grows 9% In Q2 FY2022

    Royal Enfield’s Parent Company Eicher Motors’ Net Profit Grows 9% In Q2 FY2022

    Eicher Motors Limited (EML), the parent company of Royal Enfield, has announced its audited consolidated financial results for the second quarter of FY 2021-22. For the quarter from July to September 2021, Eicher Motors Limited’s consolidated net profit rose 9 percent to ₹ 373 crore, as against ₹ 343 crore in the same period last year. The company recorded total revenues of ₹ 2,250 crore, up by 5.4 percent as compared to ₹ 2,134 crore in the same period a year ago. Royal Enfield sold 1,23,515 motorcycles during the quarter, a decline of 17.2 percent from 1,49,120 motorcycles sold over the same period in FY 2020-21.

    The Royal Enfield Meteor 350 along with the 650 Twins and the Himalayan have been spearheading the company’s push in the international markets.

    The silver lining was that Royal Enfield ended the quarter with best ever performance in international markets for the second successive quarter with total exports at 17,922 units, more than 132 percent increase over the 7,714 units exported in the same period last year, and almost 41 percent increase over Q2 FY 2019-20.

    Commenting on Eicher Motors’ performance, Siddhartha Lal, Managing Director of Eicher Motors Ltd. said, “The second quarter of the FY 2022 saw a remarkable performance by Royal Enfield in international markets with a growth of more than 130% over the corresponding period last year. Our consistent growth in volumes and global retail presence is testament to the company being on track to realize its vision of becoming the first premium global consumer brand from India.”

    The quarter marked the launch of the all-new Royal Enfield Classic 350, one of the most awaited motorcycles from Royal Enfield this year. On the apparel side of the business, Royal Enfield extended the Make It Yours (MiY) program to its range of riding jackets. In a collaboration that symbolizes an amalgamation of authenticity and safety, Royal Enfield joined hands with TCX to introduce a new range of CE Certified protective riding and lifestyle shoes.

    Royal Enfield marked its maiden foray in motorsports this year, with the first edition of the Continental GT Cup 2021. 2021 marks the 120th anniversary of Royal Enfield, and there are several initiatives planned to celebrate this milestone.

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  • Telegram brings global chat themes to iPhones, hyper-speed scrolling

    Telegram brings global chat themes to iPhones, hyper-speed scrolling

    Telegram has gained a lot of users after the Facebook/WhatsApp outage a few weeks ago, and that probably affected the developer’s update roadmap, hopefully, for the better. Today’s update doesn’t bring too many new features, but it does improve some of the existing ones.

    For example, a new date bar has been added on the side of the Shared Media page to faster scrolling. Users can even pinch to zoom in and out to have a better look at anywhere from two big thumbnails to a dozen small squares per row.

    Additionally, Calendar View for Shared Media is now available for Telegram users so that they can quickly find media from a specific time. Simply tap on the date bar to open a calendar window with media previews, then tap to see all the media from that date. New filters also available for shared media to show only photos, only videos, or both.

    As far as iOS users go, Telegram is getting global chat themes. The same 8 themes that could be set for individual chats are now available for the entire app on iOS. The themes can be personalized, their colors tweaked, and the pattern changed.

    Also, Settings on iOS have been redesigned to match the style of iOS 15. Finally, the update brings new interactive emoji on both Android and iOS versions of the app.

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  • DBS to Ramp Up Intelligent Banking Capabilities

    DBS to Ramp Up Intelligent Banking Capabilities

    The bank is setting aside more funds to bolster infrastructure, talent and technology to deliver hyper-personalized experiences to better serve wealthy and retail customers.

    DBS Bank aims to boost hyper-personalized experiences across its digital and physical touchpoints and will be investing S$300 million ($222 million) over the next year to boost its digital and intelligent banking capabilities.

    This investment represents a 14 percent year-on-year increase, and will go towards enhancing tech infrastructure and talent, embedding predictive technology in more financial solutions to better empower self-directed customers, and scaling the bank’s capabilities across both online and offline touchpoints across the region, DBS announced on Tuesday.

    According to the bank, its Intelligent Banking engine combines predictive analytics, artificial intelligence and machine learning technologies to transform raw data into personalized insights and nudges for every customer.

    This predictive technology is currently used in its «Client Connect» frontline advisory tool, and to generate smart insights and nudges for retail and wealth customers on its digibank platform. DBS said it plans to scale the use of Intelligent Banking across other key markets and extend it to the its PayLah! app.

    It’s still early days, but we are confident in the value-add that Intelligent Banking can bring to the banking industry, and we are in this for the long haul, Sim S. Lim, group head of consumer banking and wealth management, said.

  • VanEck Expands in Singapore

    VanEck Expands in Singapore

    New York-headquartered fund house VanEck expands in Singapore with the hire of a new marketing manager.

    VanEck hires Tiffany Tan as a marketing manager based in Singapore, according to a statement.

    Prior to joining, Tan was an investment writer at Nikko Asset Management Group. Previously, she also worked for Eastspring Investments as a fixed income portfolio specialist and Partners Group as a product manager.

    We are continuing to see strong appetite for our strategies, said VanEck Asia Pacific chief executive and managing director Arian Neiron.

    In addition, we expect further momentum to build in the Asia-Pacific region as the low-interest rate environment has seen an uplift in institutional investor risk-taking in the pursuit of income strategies, and thematic ETFs drawing attention from investors seeking structural growth opportunities.

  • Toyota Joins Opposition To Proposed US EV Tax Credit

    Toyota Joins Opposition To Proposed US EV Tax Credit

    Toyota urged Washington on Tuesday not to “play politics” with environmental issues by offering tax credits for US-made electric vehicles, joining a chorus of foreign opposition to the issue. President Joe Biden’s focus on helping blue-collar American workers led to a proposal in his Build Back Better legislation to offer $4,500 in tax credits for electric vehicles built in the United States by union workers.

    Toyota, with 10 US-based auto plants employing 36,000 workers, favors “incentives for the purchase of electric vehicles to speed the transition” to all-electric, the company said in a statement.

    However, the Japanese automaker said the proposed credits for union-made vehicles devalue the work of those who chose not to join a union, and send a message that promoting unions is more important than combating climate change.

    “Let’s not play politics with the environment, the American autoworker or the American consumer,” Toyota said.

    “This isn’t fair. This isn’t right.”

    Washington’s major trading partners Canada and Mexico also sent letters to American congressional leaders in the past week objecting to the tax credits, saying they violate US commitments under the United States–Mexico–Canada Agreement governing trade.

    Canadian Trade Minister Mary Ng also warned the action would undermine the highly integrated continental auto industry.

    “If passed into law, these credits would have a major adverse impact on the future of EV and automotive production in Canada, resulting in the risk of severe economic harm and tens of thousands of job losses in one of Canada’s largest manufacturing sectors,” Ng said.

    “US companies and workers would not be isolated from these impacts.”

    A letter from Mexico’s US ambassador Esteban Moctezuma Barragan and two dozen other ambassadors said the tax credit “conflicts with the goal of the quick deployment of new sustainable technologies” since it would apply to only two vehicles out of over 50 electric vehicles currently available.

  • Siri’s Konami Code Easter Egg has three different responses to tell you

    Siri’s Konami Code Easter Egg has three different responses to tell you

    A new Easter Egg has been discovered for iOS and the iPhone that is based on the Konami Code. The latter is a sequence of controller button presses that was created as a cheat by games developer Kazuhisa Hashimoto, who used to work for Konami. Hashimoto died last year at the age of 79 and one of the games he worked on was Gradius.

    The sequence of the Konami Code, Up Up Down Down Left Right Left Right B A, was used by video game players to power up their characters in Gradius and other games. Now, that sequence is an Easter Egg for iOS users. Simply activate Siri by saying, “Hey, Siri” and read the directions of the cheat to the Virtual Assistant.

    Siri will respond by calling you a “cheater,” or a “nerd. Or Siri might say, “I’m getting dizzy.” The Konami Code also works on other platforms. Try it with Alexa and Amazon’s voice assistant will say, “Super Alexa mode: Activated. Starting reactors: Online. Enabling advanced systems: Online. Raising dongers. Error: Dongers missing. Aborting…”

    Back in 2003, Hashimoto said that he created the code to make it easier for him to play-test the game. Another game called Contra gave 30 extra lives to those who used the Konami Code on their controller when the title screen appeared. Keep in mind that the code also worked with non-NES games. On the PlayStation, the code would be Up, Up, Down, Down, Left, Right, Left, Right, O, X.

  • New Samsung Internet Browser beta adds better tabs

    New Samsung Internet Browser beta adds better tabs

    Samsung released Internet Browser 16 beta back in September, which added several important improvements to the Android app. Today, the South Korean company revealed even more new features coming to the mobile app this week.

    Some of the most important changes introduced by Samsung Internet 16 include the updated Chromium engine and the improved user experience. If you haven’t tried Samsung Internet 16 beta, you can find it in the Google Play Store or Galaxy Store, but keep in mind that this is still a work in progress.

    Without further ado, here is what you can expect from the new beta version of Samsung Internet Browser:

    • Results that are pre-loaded domains or answer suggestions
    • Search suggestions related to the user input
    • Bookmarks & history suggestions

    Besides the enhanced search experience, Samsung Internet Browser 16 beta adds Smart Protect against transparent pixels, a type of malicious tracker where tracking sites use a very small image to see what websites a user visits across domains. Also, this beta version of the browser features page zoom support on both phones and tablets.

    Today, Samsung announced it has released another small iteration of its mobile browser, which includes a couple more improvements. The newest Samsung Internet Browser beta 16.0.2 brings some interesting improvements.

    For example, the address bar can now be moved to the bottom of the screen. Also, Samsung has added support for tab groups to make it easier to keep related tasks together. It will allow users to create, edit and delete tab groups.

    More importantly, developers announced that with the new version of Samsung Internet Browser beta users can switch on support for https, which is meant to make connections to websites more secure.

  • Vietnamese company seeks full divestment from LienVietPostBank

    Vietnamese company seeks full divestment from LienVietPostBank

    Vietnamese construction and real estate company Thaiholdings said it has registered to sell all 22.4 million shares of lender LienVietPostBank to restructure its portfolio.

    The transaction is scheduled to take place between Nov. 4 and Dec. 3 through order matching and put-through orders.

    With the LienVietPostBank (LPB) share trading at VND21,150 ($0.9) on Nov. 1, down nearly 30 percent against June. 3, Thaiholdings will get nearly VND474 billion if it successfully sells all the shares.

    In late October, State Securities Commission, Vietnam’s stock market watchdog, fined Thaiholdings to the tune of VND260 million for buying over 145,000 LPB shares in May and selling nearly 720,000 LPB shares in June without publicizing its plans regarding the two transactions in advance as stipulated.

    Nguyen Duc Thuy, Thaiholdings’ founder, is LienVietPostBank vice chairman, so the company is subject to publicize its planned share transactions.

    Now, the founder of Thaiholdings has no positions in the company, merely owning a 24.5 percent stake in the firm.

    LienVietPostBank reported pre-tax profits of over VND2.8 trillion in the first nine months of this year, posting a year-on-year surge of 60 percent. Its total assets stood at more than VND254 trillion.

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  • MG Astor Deliveries Begin In India

    MG Astor Deliveries Begin In India

    MG Motor India has commenced the deliveries for the Astor compact SUV, which went on sale in the country last month. On the auspicious occasion of Dhanteras, the Chinese-owned British carmaker has delivered the first batch of over 500 units of the Astor to customers despite the ongoing chip shortage. The company plans to deliver about 4000 units to 5000 units by the end of next month. MG is now accepting bookings for the Astor for delivery in 2022. Prices for the SUV start from ₹ 9.78 lakh for the base Style variant, and go all the way up to ₹ 17.38 lakh for the top-of-the-line Sharp (O) (all prices are introductory ex-showroom, India).

    Announcing the commencement of deliveries, MG Motor India said, “After receiving a good response for Astor, India’s first SUV with personal AI assistant and first-in-segment Autonomous (Level 2) technology, MG Motor India has delivered the first batch of more than 500 vehicles to customers on the auspicious occasion of Dhanteras. This is particularly special considering the acute shortage of chips. The company is trying its best to improve the availability to meet its initial target of 4000-5000 deliveries by December end 2021.”

    The Astor is one of the most tech-laden SUVs from MG which comes with a personal AI assistant and Level 2 autonomous tech with ADAS features. The SUV is available in four variants – Style, Super, Smart, and Sharp with two engine options on offer – 1.5-litre VTi-Tech petrol and a 1.4-litre 220 Turbo AT petrol. The former is a naturally aspirated unit that makes 108 bhp at 6000 rpm with 144 Nm at 4400 rpm of peak torque. The motor comes mated to a 5-speed manual gearbox and an 8-speed CVT gearbox. The latter is a more powerful turbo petrol engine, which is tuned to produce 138 bhp and 220 Nm. It is paired with a 6-speed automatic torque converter unit as standard.

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  • Netflix brings its thin mobile games library to all Android users

    Netflix brings its thin mobile games library to all Android users

    Netflix is pretty serious about games and while the company doesn’t have a pedigree when it comes to this part of the entertainment industry, it needs to start somewhere if it wants a seat at the big revenue earners’ table.

    After testing its games service in selected regions, Netflix announced today that its entire catalog of games is now available for all Android users who pay for a Netflix subscription. Although the library is quite thin, we’re promised more titles in the future.

    Starting today, Netflix subscribers can play five mobile games: Stranger Things: 1984, Stranger Things 3: The Game, Shooting Hoops, Card Blast, and Teeter Up. It’s important to mention that these games don’t feature any ads, additional fees and in-app purchases, so all you need is a Netflix subscription.

    Netflix subscribers will see a dedicated games row and games tab on their Android devices where they can select any game to download. These games can be played on multiple devices on the same account. Keep in mind that some games may require an internet connection, but there are some that you can play offline.

  • Shipping firms post profit surge

    Shipping firms post profit surge

    Many shipping companies have posted a year-on-year surge in profits in Q3, driven primarily by higher freight rates.

    The Vietnam Maritime Corporation (VIMC) has recorded third-quarter revenues of VND4.127 trillion ($179.4 million), up 71 percent year-on-year, and profits of VND760 billion, compared to nearly VND30 billion in losses during the same period last year.

    The VIMC’s ocean shipping operations transported over 18 million tons of cargo and earned profits of more than VND380 billion.

    The Vietnam Ocean Shipping Joint Stock Company (Vosco), a VIMC affiliate, posted a net profit of nearly VND186 billion in Q3, against net losses of over VND21 billion in the same period last year. Vosco’s total profits in the first nine months rose to VND409 billion, against losses of more than VND139 billion during the same period last year.

    Another VIMC affiliate, the Transport and Trading Services Joint Stock Company (Transco), recorded profits of VND9 billion in Q3, up from VND326 million in the same period last year.

    Meanwhile, Hai An Transport and Stevedoring Joint Stock Company (HAH) made net profits of VND476 billion, up 65 percent, and after-tax profit of over VND100 billion, up 370 percent on-year, the highest profit hike since it became a listed firm in 2014.

    In the first nine months of this year, HAH recorded net revenues of VND1.284 trillion and after-tax profits of VND284 billion, up 50 percent and double year-on-year, respectively.

    A surge in freight rates has been the main contributor to the profit surge, market observers say. The average cost for transporting a standard container from China to the West Coast of the U.S. is $20,586, nearly double that of July and double that of January, Fox Business reported.

    With Covid-19 outbreaks easing in many big economies, import and export activities are surging, and Vietnam is benefiting from the free trade agreements it has signed.

    According to the Vietnam Maritime Administration, seaports nationwide handled over 535 million tons of cargo in the first nine months of this year, a year-on-year rise of 3 percent.

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