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Category: General

Retail News Asia is committed to providing both local and global retailers with the latest General Retail news throughout the Asian market. This on a daily base.

  • Biggest AWS consumer from Singapore stole multiple identities for mining cryptocurrencies

    The Amazon Web Service cloud service had recently received one of its biggest consumers from Singapore, but it was quickly discovered after a small investigation that the user was impersonating several US-based personalities and thus using the computing power for his own benefit by mining several cryptocurrencies such as BTC, ETH, and LTC.

    Ho Jun Jia, also known as “Prefinity” and “Ethereum Vendor” was arrested in Singapore in September 2019 and is waiting for the United States court to decide if they want to extradite him from the country.

    This is very likely to happen as the US and Singapore have an extradition treaty. If the extradition does happen, Ho will have to face fines above the $5 million’s worth of computing power he consumed as well as some jail time for identity theft and fraud.

    Who did Ho impersonate?

    According to the investigation, Ho was impersonating an unnamed game developer in California, which was actually paying the bills on Ho’s illegal activity on the AWS. Furthermore, Ho had also undertaken the identity of a Texas-based individual and an Indian businessman.

    In total, Ho had consumed a staggering amount of $5 million’s worth of computing power, thus potentially generating far more in profits than anticipated.

    Investigators also say that Ho was using trading bots to then speculate with the cryptocurrencies he had generated through his illegal activities.

    It is easily understandable as according to this Bitcoin Trader review on InsideBitcoins, the larger the amount deposited on a Bitcoin trading robot, the higher the chance of not making too much of a scene, therefore helping Ho keep his identity a secret.

    It’s assumed that Ho made far more from speculations than he made with simply mining the cryptocurrencies, thus the unauthorized exchange of securities could also be added to his list of illegal activity.

    Why will Singapore approve the extradition?

    According to investigators, it is assumed that Ho was also hiding his identity in Singapore as well, therefore he was not subject to any type of income or capital gain tax that is active within the country.

    Therefore, it’s easy to say that even if Ho is not extradited he will have to face charges of tax evasion in Singapore, which, although garners a much lighter punishment, would still mean the disclosure of the fortune he accumulated as well as several years served in prison.

    However, considering that most of the damage was caused to US-based individuals as well as companies, Singapore is very unlikely to deny the extradition and allow US authorities to punish Ho.

    In the end, all victims will be compensated for the damage they received from Ho’s illegal activities and further security measures will be implemented on the AWS and Google Cloud platforms.

  • Vietnam Airlines cleared to fly to the US

    Vietnam Airlines cleared to fly to the US

    Vietnam Airlines has been allowed to operate direct flights from Hanoi and Saigon to several American destinations. It is the first Vietnamese airline to receive such permission, according to FlightGlobal, a leading news site about the global aviation community.

    The national flag carrier will be allowed to operate flights from Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi, Vietnam’s two biggest metropolises, to Los Angeles, San Francisco, New York, Seattle and Dallas-Fort Worth. It can also continue these routes to the Canadian cities of Vancouver, Montreal and Toronto.

    The permit also allows Vietnam Airlines to operate its flights to the U.S. via stops in Taiwan’s Taipei and Japan’s Osaka and Nagoya airports.

    The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) granted a Category 1 rating to the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam (CAAV) under its International Aviation Safety Assessment program last February, which meant the latter met safety standards to operate flights to the U.S.

    Besides Vietnam Airlines, low-cost air carrier Vietjet Air and Bamboo Airways are in the running to launch direct flights to the U.S. and are ordering aircraft for the purpose.

    There are currently no nonstop flights between Vietnam and the U.S. Flights now take 20.5 hours to fly from Ho Chi Minh City to San Francisco via South Korea’s Incheon International Airport, while the planned direct service to major cities along the U.S. West Coast would take only around 13 hours.

    Thanks to simplified visa requirements, Vietnam has emerged among the fastest-growing international travel destinations for Americans, who are big spenders in the country, shelling out on average $3,233 per trip, according to a survey released last year by travel insurance comparison site Squaremouth.

    Americans are among the top foreign visitors to Vietnam, with 687,226 arrivals last year, an 11 percent year-on-year increase.

    An ethnic Vietnamese population of over 2.1 million in the U.S. is also expected to be a steady source of travel demand.

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  • Vietnam wants to be top 15 organic farming countries

    Vietnam wants to be top 15 organic farming countries

    The agriculture ministry seeks to turn Vietnam into one of world’s top 15 organic farming countries by 2030, and has its sights on the EU market given trade deals. Under a draft proposal it will submit to the prime minister in the fourth quarter, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development plans to have 7-10 percent of the farming area in the country under organic crops by then.

    The targeted rates are at least 5 percent for animal husbandry and 100,000 hectares of ponds, or 7-8 percent of the total for aquaculture.

    Tran Thi Loan, deputy director of the Center for Sustainable Rural Development (SRD), said at a recent forum that organic farming in Vietnam is mostly small in scale.

    Industry insiders said Vietnam lacks policies to encourage organic farming and a system of certification and supervision to ensure quality.

    Olivier Catrou, head of the organic farming division at France’s National Institute of Origin and Quality, said the government needs to establish such a system so that farmers can produce in larger scales.

    Vietnam has great potential to export organic produce to the EU thanks to the upcoming EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement, the agriculture ministry said. Last year, with almost 13,000 tons, the country ranked 39th in organic exports to the EU.

    Data from the ministry shows organic farming is done in 40 localities on a total area of 23,400 hectares, 97.5 percent of them are under EU, U.S. and Japanese standards, and most of the produce are vegetables, fruits and tea.

    Domestic consumption of organic produce is worth around VND500 billion ($21.5 million) a year in Hanoi and VND400 billion ($17.2 million) in Ho Chi Minh City.

    There are 20 exporters of organic produce who ship 260,000 tons a year worth almost $15 million.

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  • Bamboo Airways exec leaves for property firm

    Bamboo Airways exec leaves for property firm

    Duong Thi Mai Hoa, who used to be deputy chairwoman of startup Bamboo Airways, has moved to real estate firm Sunshine Group. A spokesperson for Sunshine Group told VnExpress she had joined as deputy chairwoman earlier this month.

    A Bamboo Airways spokesperson said Hoa would be replaced internally.

    Hoa had been with Bamboo for almost a year and before that the CEO and CFO of Vingroup between 2012-2017, and the CEO of ABBank and Vietnam International Bank before that.

    The 50-year-old graduated from the Hanoi University of Technology and holds a master’s degree in business administration from the Free University of Brussels, Belgium. She is a member of the Association of Certified Public Accountants (ACCA).

    Sunshine Group is also in construction, education and technology.

  • Bamboo Airways eyes fleet expansion

    Bamboo Airways eyes fleet expansion

    Bamboo Airways plans to have a fleet of 100 aircraft by 2024 with the majority of them being Boeing 787-9 or Airbus A321.

    The carrier said in a statement Thursday it would lease the first Boeing 787-9 in October since the 10 it has ordered would not be delivered until the fourth quarter of 2020.

    Bamboo has received permission from the Ministry of Transport to operate 30 aircraft, and it plans to achieve this number by the end of the first quarter of 2020. The airline, which began flying in January, has yet to break even.

    Its chairman, Trinh Van Quyet, has said that with 30 aircraft the carrier could get into the black by the first quarter of 2020. The carrier now flies 10 aircraft on 26 domestic routes besides international charter flights.

    Vietnam hopes to grow its aviation market by 16 percent a year in 2015-20 and 8 percent in 2020-30.

    This means there will be a possible 117 million air travelers by 2023, 85 percent by Vietnamese carriers, which will require 340 aircraft, according to the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam.

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  • Facebook, the 800-pound gorilla homegrown Vietnamese social media

    Facebook, the 800-pound gorilla homegrown Vietnamese social media

    Vietnam got its latest in a long line of social networks Tuesday but doubts remain about the viability of homegrown players in a Facebook-dominated country.

    Lotus belongs to media company Vietnam Communications Corporation (VCCorp), which has invested VND700 billion ($30.2 million) in it and is seeking to raise another VND500 billion ($21.6 million).

    VCCorp hopes to have four million regular users within a year and partner with 500 content creators in various areas.

    Many Vietnamese social networks have made their debut this year after Minister of Information and Communications Nguyen Manh Hung said the country needs to have its own social media, which should garner at least 60 million accounts and 60-70 percent of the country’s social network pie by 2022.

    In February Nhat Viet Manufacturing and Investment company, which makes metal tools, launched VietNamTa, which is said to have an almost identical interface as Facebook. But it loads slower and there are also concerns about security.

    In June tourism-oriented social network Hahalolo debuted, and it seeks to have two billion users within five years and list on Nasdaq in the U.S.

    In July Gapo was launched after getting VND500 billion ($21.6 million) from investment firm G-Capital. The developers aim to pay users who contribute attractive content, and claimed to have reached two million users this month out of a target of 50 million by 2021.

    The Ministry of Information and Communications said 436 social networks had been licensed as of last year, but many have failed to attract a reasonable number of people and few survived for more than a year.

    Go.vn, which debuted nine years ago, promised to usurp Facebook’s position within six months with five million users. Its founders aimed for a 40-50 percent share of Vietnam’s social network traffic by 2015, but it is now no longer active.

    Others such as Zingme, Tamtay.vn and Yume.vn have followed the same path.

    Competing with Facebook appears to be a bridge too far for local players. Tran Anh Dung, CEO and founder of digital content startup MOG, said it would be virtually impossible for Vietnamese social networks to surpass Facebook unless the government makes specific policy changes to incentivize them.

    Niche markets could offer them opportunities, but they are not distinguishing themselves enough, he said.

    “Some players are trying to be different but I’m not sure if they are special enough to attract users.”

    Another challenge is resources. If a social network does not get a big infusion of funds in the beginning, it could be fatal, he added.

    Vietnam ranks seventh in the world in number of Facebook users with 58 million, or 75 percent of the population aged 13 or more, according to a report released in July by U.K. advertising agency We Are Social.

    An average Vietnamese uses social media for two hours and 23 minutes a day, same as the global average, according to market research firm GlobalWebIndex.

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  • Go-Viet revolving door sees new general manager quit after five months

    Go-Viet revolving door sees new general manager quit after five months

    Le Diep Kieu Trang has become the second top honcho to leave ride-hailing firm Go-Viet in less than a year.

    Making the announcement Wednesday, Go-Viet said that Trang, also known as Christy Le, had decided to choose her own career path and the company “regretted it.”

    However, the company did not reveal the exact time that Trang is leaving.

    “After five months at the company, Christy has decided to take a different path. We always work hard to find a mutually agreeable way forward, but were unable to do so in this instance,” Go-Viet said in a release.

    The company made no mention of her replacement.

    Trang was appointed general manager of Go-Viet last April. She said her new job “was unique and interesting.”

    In an interview with KrASIA, a technology business media site based in Singapore earlier this month, Trang expressed her ambition to bring the platform to all Vietnamese consumers.

    This is the second leadership change for Go-Viet in less than a year. Her predecessor, Nguyen Vu Duc left last March along with deputy general director Nguyen Bao Linh.

    Their resignation came amidst increasing competition in Vietnam’s ride-hailing market, with current leader Grab on an expansion spree and new players like Be Group fighting hard for a bigger share of the pie.

    According to a report by market research firm ABI Research, Go-Viet has 10.3 percent of the ride-hailing market in the country, compared to Grab’s 72.9 percent.

    Go-Viet, an affiliate of Indonesian Go-Jek Group, has said it has completed millions of trips since it was launched in September last year. The company offers transport and food delivery services.

    Trang had became the director of Facebook’s operations in Vietnam in March last year and resigned from the position in December, citing “family reasons.”

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  • Vietjet Air among global leaders in revenue from ancillary services

    Vietjet Air among global leaders in revenue from ancillary services

    Vietjet Air ranks 12th in the world among airlines in terms of ancillary services as a percentage of total revenues.

    The budget airline’s income from ancillary services such as on-flight food and souvenirs was $338.2 million in 2018, or 23.5 percent of total revenues, according to the CarTrawler Ancillary Revenue Yearbook recently released by U.S. consultancy IdeaWorks Company.

    Low-cost carrier VivaAerobus of Mexico topped the list with its ancillary earnings making up of 47.6 percent of its revenues, followed by the U.S.’s- Spirit Airlines (44.9 percent and Frontier Airlines (42.8 percent).

    IdeaWorks listed statistics for 76 airlines that disclosed revenues from selling frequent flyer points to partners, fees from passengers choosing seats, commissions from hotel bookings and other such sources. The study found that the carriers earned almost $52.7 billion in ancillary revenues last year.

    For budget carriers, ancillary revenue is a decisive factor in success when its profit margin reaches over 90 percent.

    Vietjet aims to become one of the top five airlines in the world in terms of ancillary revenues. The carrier, owned by billionaire Nguyen Thi Phuong Thao, has the largest domestic market share of 44 percent.

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  • Cebu Pacific launches new inflight menu

    Cebu Pacific launches new inflight menu

    Cebu Pacific is launching a new selection of inflight meals for purchase starting October this year.

    The new meals include a Singaporean dish (Hainanese Chicken Rice shown above), Filipino cuisine, and a vegetarian option.

    “As every Cebu Pacific flight is a journey to or from home, we have designed this refreshed inflight menu to bring a feeling of comfort in the form of simple meals and familiar tastes,” said JB Bueno, director for inflight catering and sales at Cebu Pacific.

    Below are some of the meals passengers traveling with the airline can buy starting next month:

    Roasted Chicken Sandwich (toasted panini bread with roasted chicken, sautéed spinach, and grated cheddar cheese with a garlic aioli spread).

    Lechon Paksiw (slices of roasted suckling pig stewed in a blend of vinegar, sugar, and spices, served with white rice).

    Other meals include the following:

    • Pinoy Spaghetti
    • Beef Salpicao
    • Chicken Yakisoba
    • Crab Salad Sandwich

    In addition to being available for purchase on flight, passengers can also pre-order the meals before the flight, according to Cebu Pacific. The carrier also added that the meals come with information on nutrition to cater to health-conscious travelers flying with Cebu Pacific.

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  • Cebu Pacific holding ‘9.9’ promo fare sale

    Cebu Pacific holding ‘9.9’ promo fare sale

    Cebu Pacific is holding another seat sale from Sept. 9 to 10. The airline did not specify fares but said new destinations will become available every 8 hours starting midnight Sept. 9.

    From 12 a.m. to 8 a.m. all local destinations except Batanes and Marinduque will be on offer.

    From 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Cebu Pacific will offer promo fares to Japan, Korea, China, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau.

    Promo fares to ASEAN destinations, Dubai and Australia will be offered from 4 p.m. to 12 a.m.

    The fares will be valid for travel from April 1 to Aug. 31 next year.

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  • CU convenience store chain to open in Vietnam

    CU convenience store chain to open in Vietnam

    South Korea’s CU convenience store chain will expand its footprint to Vietnam, its second international market after Mongolia.

    BGF Retail, the operator of CU, signed a master franchise agreement with CUVN, a Vietnam-based convenience store operator, on Tuesday. CUVN will be in charge of investment and operations in Vietnam market as BGF Retail contributes its brand and business background.

    BGF Retail and CUVN plan to open their first store in Vietnam by June next year.

    Park Jae-koo, CEO of BGF Retail, said the company will continue to expand internationally making forays into growing emerging markets.

    With the new expansion, the South Korean convenience store operator expects to gain a strong position in the Southeast Asian market as Vietnam’s economy has witnessed significant growth during recent years.

    Rival network GS25 has already launched in Vietnam, opening stores in Ho Chi Minh City.

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  • AirAsia celebrates 600 million guests flown with BIG Sale

    AirAsia celebrates 600 million guests flown with BIG Sale

    Airasia the world’s best low-cost airline for 11 years running, is celebrating 600 million guests flown with a BIG Sale and six million promotional seats.

    Enjoy promotional all-in AirAsia BIG Member fares from as low as RM12 for flights from Kuala Lumpur to Penang, Kuantan, Johor Baru, Kota Kinabalu, and Kuching, from RM50 for flights to Surat Thani, Krabi, Visakhapatnam, Maldives (Male), Bangkok, Can Tho and many more.

    Fly AirAsia X from as low as RM196 from Kuala Lumpur to Tianjin, Seoul, Taipei, Gold Coast, Osaka and other exciting long-haul destinations. For extra comfort and perks, try our award-winning Premium Flatbed from Kuala Lumpur to Wuhan, Busan, Fukuoka, Melbourne from only RM796.

    Enjoy 16% off Pick A Seat when making seat selection with flights during the initial booking stage, up to 40% off bookings for selected hotels and up to 60% off flight-plus-hotel holiday packages. BIG members will earn an additional 600 BIG points when booking activities during the BIG Sale period (minimum spending of RM200).

    Book at airasia.com or the AirAsia mobile app from September 23 (0001h GMT +8) to Sept 26 (2400 GMT +8) for travel between Feb 10 and Dec 15, 2020 .

    AirAsia group chief commercial officer Karen Chan said, “As a show of appreciation to our 600 million guests flown, we are pleased to announce a BIG Sale across our network. As we further transform into a travel tech platform company, the AirAsia BIG Sale will become more than just flight promotions. Be sure to look out for exclusive discounts on selected hotels, activities and flight-plus-hotel packages when you book your next journey on airasia.com.”

    AirAsia BIG Members, BigPay users and AirAsia Credit Card holders will be able to take advantage of a 24-hour priority access period starting Sept 22. Simply log in as a BIG Member on airasia.com to access seats at the lowest fares. (0001h GMT +8). BIG Members will also be able to redeem promotional seats from as little as 500 BIG Points one way on airasiabig.com and the AirAsia BIG mobile app.

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  • Retailers commit to reduce climate footprint

    Retailers commit to reduce climate footprint

    Gen Less, a government sponsored initiative to help New Zealanders and local businesses reduce their climate footprint, launched on Saturday – with several retailers already committing to take part.

    Some of the methods Gen Less puts forward for a business to reduce its carbon footprint are to replace vehicles with EVs, video conference rather than travelling to meet, support low carbon suppliers, encourage staff to commute without a car, switch to LED lights, setting up a ‘green team’ to oversee sustainable initiatives in the business, and better understanding where your business could save energy.

    Countdown, NZ Post, Ecostore and Ethique all voiced their support for the program, with Countdown noting it will reduce its carbon emissions by 60 per cent by 2030.

    “There is no denying the impact that changes to our climate is having, and will continue to have, on the planet,” Countdown general manager of safety and sustainability Kiri Hannifin said.

    “At Countdown, we’ve got an unwavering focus on reducing our emissions and, since 2016, we’ve reduced them by 21 per cent.

    “Our new carbon emissions target makes our intention clear – we want to significantly reduce our emissions even further to help protect Aotearoa for future generations.

    “We absolutely agree that by using less, we can have more. That’s why we are really proud to be a part of Gen Less and encourage anyone wanting to do their bit to join this exciting movement.”

    Skincare brand Ecostore recently announced it would be targeting carbon neutrality by the end of 2019 across its New Zealand and Australian operations.

    “Businesses need to step up and recognise that they can and must be a force for good,” Ecostore managing director Pablo Kraus said.

    “Corporates have an incredible opportunity to pave the way for future generations. We must lead by example, empower others, act, make changes.”

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  • Yahoo launches new Mail app for Android and iOS

    Yahoo launches new Mail app for Android and iOS

    Yahoo is desperately trying to become relevant once again. We’re not sure how many people still own a Yahoo email account, but it looks like the company has just unveiled a brand new logo and a new Yahoo Mail app.

    The new app is available for Android and iOS users starting today and brings some important changes over the previous one. First off, it will allow users to customize their push notification to highlight the type of mail they want to be alerted of, as well as personalize the Yahoo Mail inbox with custom color themes and sounds.

    The new Yahoo Mail app comes with a new view that lets users access all their attachments, including travel documents, tickets, photos, and essential files. There’s another view for subscriptions that allows users to browse shopping emails and unsubscribe from any newsletter with a single tap directly within the app.

    Also, you’ll now have three separate types of deal that you can view in different tabs: Deals View, Location View (iOS only) and Grocery View. Finally, the app will highlight timely updates like package tracking, travel info, or a deal that’s close to expiring (iOS only).

    If you still trust Yahoo to keep your emails, you can now download the new Mail app for iPhone and Android via App Store and Google Play.

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  • Waze is getting Google Assistant support in the US

    Waze is getting Google Assistant support in the US

    Google Assistant support is coming to Waze, which means you’ll be able to use voice commands while navigating to your destination. The new feature is rolling out starting today and should become available to all English-speaking Android users in the United States in the next few days.

    Waze users can now say “Hey Google” within the app to access the Assistant. It will let them make a calendar appointment, play music, make calls, or find a coffee shop nearby, without having to leave the Waze navigation screen.

    If you don’t see Google Assistant when you open Waze, simply tap the mic or head to the Google Assistant settings in Voice & Sound. In the next window, tap “Enable now” to start using Google Assistant in Waze.

    Here are some of the voice commands that you can use in Waze once Google Assistant becomes available:

    • Hey Google, navigate home
    • Hey Google, navigate to a coffee shop
    • Hey Google, find gas stations
    • Hey Google, report traffic
    • Hey Google, what’s my ETA?
    • Hey Google, show alternative routes
    • Hey Google, show directions
    • Hey Google, allow/avoid tolls

    Waze hasn’t mentioned anything about the availability of Google Assistant outside of the United States, nor whether or not non-English speaking users will get it.

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