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Tag: asia

  • Samsung targets Millennials with Galaxy S8-enabled experience zones

    Samsung targets Millennials with Galaxy S8-enabled experience zones

    Samsung has created four unique experience zones across 11 partner retail locations in Singapore as part of its Galaxy S8 nationwide launch. Titled “Galaxy Plus”, the campaign was conceptualised and produced by Cheil Worldwide, and will run for three months until the end of August.

    In a statement, Samsung’s spokesperson said the company will primarily be using print, out-of-home and social channels to promote the Galaxy S8, in addition to “Galaxy Plus”. The campaign’s objective is to show how the Galaxy S8 and its ecosystem allows Millennials to explore experiences that was previously not possible.

    Each “Galaxy Plus” zone is specially designed and created to showcase the characteristics and benefits of a particular Galaxy S8 feature or companion product.

    1. #throwback360 – The nation’s first 360° photo booth, designed to recreate nostalgic memories of growing up in Singapore with the Gear 360 (2017) camera.

    2. VRcade – A VR gaming area featuring the new Gear VR with Controller, where shoppers immerse themselves in Singapore’s first nationwide VR game tournament.

    3. DeXspace – A multi-media zone that brings to life the DeX Station: a dock that allows the Galaxy S8 to connect to a bigger screen so it can be used just like a desktop.

    4. Samsung Pay – A zone that is a cross between a Lego play area and an old-school game arcade. It lets shoppers experience the secure way to pay with Samsung Pay, and earn virtual tokens for a chance to win their very own Lego figurine from a classic claw machine.

    The four zones also feature prominent social media influencers – Andrea Chong (#throwback360), Jessica Tham (DeXspace) and Eden Ang (VRcade) – who will host monthly activities for families with prizes to be won.

    “‘Galaxy Plus’ was borne out of a desire to let millennials experience the Galaxy S8 product ecosystem for themselves in the most relevant ways,” said Eugene Goh, VP, Mobile & IT,Samsung Singapore. “So they see firsthand just how the S8 truly unboxes the passions they care about, in an in-store idea that goes far beyond traditional advertising.”

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  • Hong Kong’s 1st Diploma in Cruise Service offered to meet growing talent demand

    Hong Kong’s 1st Diploma in Cruise Service offered to meet growing talent demand

    In view of the growing demand for skilled workers in the cruise and hospitality sectors, the Hong Kong Cruise Academy (HKCA), a member of Hong Kong Cruise & Yacht Industry Association (HKCYIA), and Hong Kong Cruise Services Academy (HKCSA) will jointly organize a Diploma in Cruise Service and Hospitality Management. The programme will cultivate young talents for the industry by providing professional training in tourism, hospitality and cruise services. Kara Yeung, Executive Director of HKCA, and Sunny Ng, School Manager and CEO of HKCSA, have signed a co-operation agreement to officially launch the programme in September.

    The programme is designed to equip students with the knowledge and skills needed for a successful career in the cruise services industry. The 1-year programme covers cruise and hospitality knowledge, cruise operations, overview of tourism industry, customer services, foreign languages, Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers (STCW) Certificate, as well as other vocational skills and management knowledge. The entry requirement for the programme is five HKDSE subjects at Level 2; or five passes in HKCEE; or other equivalent qualifications. The programme will be held at Kai Tak Cruise Terminal, with a shuttle bus service which will operate between Kowloon Tong and the cruise terminal.

    The programme is the first diploma programme in Hong Kong that includes the STCW Certificate. Graduates of this programme who have completed an internship and passed the examination can get a STCW Certificate, the minimum legal requirement for working in the hotel department on international cruise lines.

    Combining theoretical learning with hands-on practical training, the programme provides students with internship opportunities in ground services in cruise terminal and commercial yacht management services. Internship opportunities in international cruise lines, such as Costa Cruises, MSC Cruises and Carnival Cruise Line, will also be arranged to allow students to apply their knowledge to real world situations. The programme also offers a comprehensive job referral network, helping graduates start their careers in cruise services.

    Enrolment for the programme is now open. For details, please visit www.hkcsa.edu.hk or call 2728 0638.

  • MobiCash Announces Launch of MobiSpaza in South Africa

    MobiCash Announces Launch of MobiSpaza in South Africa

    MobiCash, a mobile financial services and technology company, today announced a spaza sector-focused mobile platform called MobiSpaza in South Africa. MobiSpaza is an inclusive business tool that builds bridges between spaza sector stakeholders, such as private corporations, state-owned entities, co-operatives, and not-for-profit organizations, and the township communities they serve. MobiSpaza promotes spaza entrepreneurship with turnkey integration across the value chain including suppliers, distributors, retailers, and customers.

    Patrick Gordon Ngabonziza, MobiCash Founder and Chairman said, “As a company at the forefront of financial inclusion initiatives all across Africa, MobiCash continuously seeks innovative ways to help meet our customers’ and partners’ needs. Each market presents unique challenges and opportunities and finding the best fit is what sets us apart. Through MobiSpaza, inclusive business is a layer added to financial inclusion and in the end people benefit as well as businesses.”

    MobiSpaza creates opportunities for businesses to successfully operate in the townships by providing a sector-focused solution for products and processes adaptation driven by mobile payments and spaza banking. The system includes convenient remote and proximity payment authentication mechanisms for physical goods and value-added services including remittances. For the spaza shops, there are also in-built features designed to maximize productivity and sustained earnings through collective stock procurement or buying power, social networking and market dominance.

    “We developed a B2C, or Brands to Customer, application as an added element of the MobiSpaza value offering. With MobiSpaza, brands can promote their products directly to the last mile whereby interested consumers can redeem coupons in real time at their nearest spaza shop,” said Donald Mudenge, COO of MobiCash South Africa. “The ultimate goal is to make goods and services more affordable and accessible in the townships while giving businesses reason to stay and grow.”

    Today some shoppers would forgo spaza shopping simply because there are no rebate systems and no points to be earned. This is mostly due to the lack of “sophisticated equipment” required to run such systems at spaza level. However, MobiSpaza is also set to introduce a new flair to township shopping by enabling spazas to begin offering points-based rebates and loyalty systems.

    MobiSpaza benefits South Africa township communities in areas such as human development and increased access to financial products and services. Businesses, on the other hand, now have better and improved access to these markets and forge mutually beneficial partnerships and collaborations to help serve the communities better.

    MobiCash, introduced to promote financial inclusion, is the technical platform behind spaza sector-orientated MobiSpaza.

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  • Global Blue links with EuroPass,WeChat to boost Chinese tourist spend in Europe

    Global Blue links with EuroPass,WeChat to boost Chinese tourist spend in Europe

    Global Blue has inked a deal to make it easier for Chinese tourists to claim tax refunds on goods they buy in UK and European stores by linking up with major mobile payments specialist EuroPass. And the deal has a major WeChat social media element too.

    Chinese shoppers now have more options for claiming back the VAT when they shop in Europe

    Anything that makes it easier for Chinese shoppers to spend has to be good news with the consumer group particularly important for fashion and luxury stores in key European cities.

    London in particular has seen a Chinese surge of late. According to the Global Blue tax-free spend figures last month, with 21% of the total tax free sales, Chinese shoppers made up the biggest share of tax-free spend in the UK and they also showed the biggest growth in spend since last year.

    The company, which handles sales tax refunds, said this week it has acquired a stake in EuroPass, the European WeChat payment specialist. It has signed an exclusive contract to introduce retailers to the firm’s mobile payment solution to directly deliver tax refunds to Chinese shoppers.

    EuroPass has developed a mobile payment solution for WeChat, the social network that’s hugely popular in China with over 938 million active users. The solution allows Chinese travellers to use their apps to pay for transactions in Europe.

    Global Blue said the deal will help it to further develop its offering to Chinese travelling shoppers and enable it to offer affiliated merchants access to WeChat’s payment ecosystem in Europe.

    Aside from payments, EuroPass also offers a WeChat mobile ticketing solution and a European marketplace, helping drive WeChat customers to European merchants.

    Global Blue’s affiliated merchants will now be able to accept WeChat Pay in their stores, as well as other payment systems as, in recent months, the company has made major investments in this area with  new refund solutions with Alipay and UnionPay.

    As Global Blue’s exclusive tax-free partner, in the future EuroPass will also allow tax refunds from transactions to be paid directly to travellers’ AliPay and WeChat Pay wallets.

    CEO Jacques Stern said: “Chinese Globe Shoppers are vital to the retail industry worldwide. WeChat is the number one social network in China and an increasingly important player in the global payments space, so it is a natural platform for us to focus on.”

  • Brazil beef imports halted, citing food safety concerns

    Brazil beef imports halted, citing food safety concerns

    1.9 million pounds (861,825 kilograms) of Brazilian beef products were refused entry to the U.S. The United States announced Thursday a halt to all imports of fresh beef from Brazil, the world’s second-largest producer, citing “recurring” food safety concerns.

    The ban will remain in place until satisfactory “corrective actions” are taken, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said in a statement.

    “Although international trade is an important part of what we do at USDA, and Brazil has long been one of our partners, my first priority is to protect American consumers,” U.S. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue said.

    “That’s what we’ve done by halting the import of Brazilian fresh beef.”

    The statement said all meat imports from Brazil had been inspected since March, when some of the country’s top meat producers became embroiled in a tainted-meat scandal.

    During that time, the Department of Agriculture’s food safety and inspection service rejected 11 percent of Brazilian fresh beef imports, compared with only one percent of shipments from other nations, it added.

    Since implementation of the increased inspection measures, 106 lots — approximately 1.9 million pounds (861,825 kilograms) — of Brazilian beef products were refused entry to the U.S. “due to public health concerns, sanitary conditions, and animal health issues.”

    “It is important to note that none of the rejected lots made it into the U.S. market,” the statement added, noting that the “Brazilian government had pledged to address those concerns, including by self-suspending five facilities from shipping beef to the U.S.”

    “Today’s action to suspend all fresh beef shipments from Brazil supersedes the self-suspension,” it added.

    Brazil’s beef production is second only to that of the United States, according to USDA data.

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  • Global maritime shipping industry at the tipping point of digitisation

    Global maritime shipping industry at the tipping point of digitisation

    The maritime industry and broader ocean supply chain are suffering from major and costly inefficiencies due to ineffective data sharing and poor cross-industry collaboration, according to a new report and industry survey released by the Business Performance Innovation (BPI) Network in coordination with Navis and XVELA, both part of Cargotec’s Kalmar business area.

    The study, “Competitive Gain in the Ocean Supply Chain: Innovation That’s Driving Maritime Operational Transformation”, finds huge opportunities to improve performance and customer service through better use of technology across the ocean supply chain.

    The study is based on a global survey of more than 200 executives and professionals from terminal operators, carriers, logistics providers, vessel owners, port authorities, shippers, consignees and other members of the global ocean supply chain. It was developed in partnership with maritime industry technology leaders Navis and XVELA.

    The study indicates that importers, exporters, container carriers, terminal operators, vessel owners and other stakeholders suffer from poor visibility and predictability around shipments and are losing money due to a lack of partner synchronisation and insufficient data insight.

    However, there is recognition, particularly among industry leaders interviewed, that digitisation and mindset shifts are afoot, and will be a boon to all players in the industry. “Everyone benefits from collaboration and data sharing,” says Andreas Mrozek, Global Head Marine & Terminal Operations for the Hamburg Sud Group, one of the world’s largest container shipping lines. “It starts with the customers and moves to the carriers, then the terminal operators, vendors, freight systems, truck companies, and keeps going down the line. Closer collaboration is a compelling value proposition for each supply chain partner.”

    90 percent of survey participants said real-time data access and information sharing was important to increasing the efficiency and performance of the shipping industry. Some 80 percent said the industry needs to improve supply chain visibility.

    The push for improvements will likely come from a combination of forces, according to industry executives. Shippers will push for better operational visibility; alliances will demand better ways for their carrier members to share information to improve efficiencies and customer service; and terminals and port authorities under pressure to increase utilisation and optimise existing infrastructures.

    On average, surveyed executives estimated that each of a wide range of ocean supply chain processes could be improved by as much as 66 percent and no less than 55 percent if the industry updated its IT systems and improved its ability to share data with other members of the supply chain.

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  • Ocean Bank finds new foreign owner

    Ocean Bank finds new foreign owner

    Although the buyers identity was undisclosed, the private source confirmed that the two sides are finishing the paper works.

    One Member Limited Liability Global Petroleum Bank (GPBank ), another zero VND bank, may be sold to a consortium of a foreign financial institution and an investment and real estate development company.

    The last zero VND bank, Vietnam Construction Bank (CBBank), is said to be implementing its restructuring plan before merging with a domestic bank.

    Besides, DongA Joint Stock Commercial Bank (DongA Bank) is said to be merging with Ho Chi Minh City Housing Development Bank (HDBank).

    At a press conference at the beginning of 2017, Nguyen Van Hung, deputy chief inspector of the State Bank of Vietnam’s Inspection and Supervision Agency, said that there would be solutions to address the five weak commercial banks, including three banks acquired by SBV for zero VND (CBBank, Ocean Bank, GPBank), DongA Bank, and Saigon Joint Stock Commercial Bank (Sacombank).

    “Although these banks’ operating activities have been improved to avoid the collapse of the whole banking system, they need a complete overhaul,” Hung said.

    Between the end of 2015 and October 2016, the bad debts of the three zero VND commercial banks declined by about 8 per cent. Of the total, the bad debts of Ocean Bank and GPBank significantly decreased. GPBank and CBBank’s outstanding loan balance for enterprises and individuals decreased dramatically. In addition, CBBank’s deposits even increased between the end of 2015 and November 2016 by nearly 14 per cent.

    At the 2017 conference on implementing plans for Ocean Bank, Do Thanh Son, chairman of Ocean Bank, said that in 2015 and 2016 the bank continuously reported profit, which partially covered its losses accumulated in the past.

    In 2017, Ocean Bank targets to receive more than VND30 trillion ($1.2 billion) in deposits and to report an outstanding loan balance of nearly VND18 trillion ($720 million).

    In February 2017, Ha Van Tham, former chairman of Ocean Bank, and 47 other former leaders and employees of the bank were tried for charges including breaching the regulations on loans of credit institutions, abusing their positions and power while on duty, and intentionally acting against the state’s laws on economic management, causing serious financial loss in the period before 2014.

    The Ocean Bank case is one of the six biggest economic crimes that the Central Anti-Corruption Steering Committee was asked to bring to trial. In the trial, Tham admitted to misconduct and said his actions were caused by a need to complete his quota and avoid being dismissed. He asked the court to reduce the legal responsibilities of his accomplices because they were forced to adapt to the difficult circumstances at the time.

    According to the indictment of the People’s Procuracy, Ha Van Tham, as Ocean Bank’s chairman at the time, directed his employees to approve Pham Cong Danh’s borrowings. Pham Cong Danh was the former chairman of Vietnam Construction Joint Stock Commercial Bank. He took up significant loans from Ocean Bank through Trung Dung Company without meeting the bank’s prescribed requirements and did not submit collateral. By lending to Danh, Ha Van Tham violated lending procedures, causing a loss of VND350 billion ($14 million) for Ocean Bank.

    Besides, Nguyen Xuan Son, who was the bank’s general director and the representative of Vietnam National Oil and Gas Group (PetroVietnam) capital contribution to the bank, had worked with Tham to illegally pay interest outside deposit contracts to customers, which caused a loss of nearly VND69 billion ($2.8 million) to the bank.

    A wide range of employees involved committed extremely serious violations in lending, mobilising deposits, and paying customers higher interest rates than the ceiling regulated by the central bank.

    In total, through their rampage of violations, Ha Van Tham and his employees caused a loss of nearly VND2 trillion ($80 million) to the bank, affecting the central bank’s monetary market management policy and hindering the implementation of the state’s monetary policy.

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  • Undersea internet cable out of action for another three weeks in Vietnam

    Undersea internet cable out of action for another three weeks in Vietnam

    Repair work on the broken international cable won’t start until July 3 and will take at least 10 days to complete. International internet connections in Vietnam are likely to remain slow for another three weeks with repair work to a major internet cable which broke off central Vietnam last week expected to take until July 14, a service provider said.

    The source told us that repair work on the Asia Pacific Gateway won’t start until July 3 and is expected to take 10 days. The cable should be fully reconnected by July 14, depending on the extent of the problem, said the representative.

    The cable snapped on Tuesday afternoon about 125 kilometers off the coast of Da Nang.

    Service providers such as Viettel and VNPT said they have prepared contingency routes to minimize downtime.

    No announcement on the cause of the problem has been made.

    The cable was officially launched on January 3, but was quickly hit by a technical problem that took two weeks to fix.

    The cable cost $450 million and has a capacity of more than 54 Tbps, promising to double internet speeds in Vietnam and ease reliance on the notorious Asia America Gateway, which has ruptured or been shut down for maintenance on numerous occasions since 2011.

    The new system took four years to build, and links Japan with Hong Kong, mainland China, Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam.

    Nearly 49 million people in Vietnam, or more than half of the country’s population, are online.

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  • Hong Kong Book Fair Opens Next Month with About 670 International Exhibitors

    Hong Kong Book Fair Opens Next Month with About 670 International Exhibitors

    About 670 exhibitors from 35 countries and regions will present books on a wide range of topics and in various languages at the 28th edition of the HKTDC Hong Kong Book Fair, which will be held 19-25 July at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre (HKCEC). More than 310 cultural events catering to different interests and age groups will take place during the week-long event to raise public cultural awareness and interest in reading.

    “The Hong Kong Book Fair Cultural Events Advisory Panel chose the theme of Travel for this year’s Book Fair,” said HKTDC Deputy Executive Director Benjamin Chau, as he explained how the event would move forward from last year’s focus on Chinese martial arts literature. “We hope that readers can learn about the world through reading the works of Hong Kong travel writers, even though they themselves may not have the opportunity to travel around the globe,” Mr Chau said, adding that the HTKDC will be “bringing in publishers and cultural promotion institutions from around the world as well as organising a series of cultural events to feature the cultures of different countries, under the theme ‘Reading the World – People, Places, Passions’.”

    Travel Writing in Focus

    In keeping with the travel theme, this year’s Book Fair Art Gallery, to be located outside the 3/F convention hall, will showcase a thematic exhibition “Around the World Through Words”. The exhibition will feature a number of Hong Kong travel writers with varied backgrounds covering litterateurs, cruise expert, explorer, historians, war correspondent, novelist as well as writer and photographer, of which Leung Ping Kwan (Ye Si), Xi Xi, Rebecca Lee and Zhou Yijun are included. The gallery will feature their works together with photos taken and souvenirs gathered during their journeys, to build understanding about their travel works and generate interest in reading.

    The Art Gallery will also host an exhibition called Beyond the Picture to showcase photographs, paintings and various printed matter telling stories about different places in the world over the ages. It includes a section organised with National Geographic magazine to feature award-winning photographs that capture the culture, landscape and architecture of Hong Kong and other locations around the world. The series will also showcase “old Hong Kong” through the paintings of famous local artist Lee Chi-ching as well as photographs, postcards and other printed matter.

    Rounding out the Art Gallery will be “A Journey to Sichuan”, introducing the Chinese province often referred to as “Nature’s Storehouse”. Visitors will be able to take in photographs of the scenery in Sichuan, as well as manuscripts by famous writers from the area, a series of prized exhibits from Sanxingdui Museum, and performances of Sichuan opera face-changing, tea arts and folk music.

    Renowned Writers Gather from Around the World

    This Book Fair features eight seminar series to invite an international line-up of writers in various genres to share their viewpoints and writing tips. The HKTDC continues to collaborate with Ming Pao and Yazhou Zhoukan to co-organise the Renowned Writers Seminar Series. Speakers in the series will include the Chinese mainland writers Ye Xin, Hang Shaogong, Fang Fang, Zhou Meisen, Liu Xiaoqing, Wang Chaoge, Xu Zhiyuan, Lu Nei, Zhou Bing, Xiao Han and Hao Jingfang. Also taking part are writers from Taiwan, including Chu Tien-hsin, Tang Nuo, Liu Ka-shiang and Yang Ze, and from Hong Kong, Leung Man-tao and Craig Au-Yeung Ying Chai.

    The Book Fair also encourages the public to read books in other languages to broaden their horizons. The English Reading and Creative Writing Seminar Series, supported by the British Council, will feature three renowned UK authors, including crime fiction writer Sophie Hannah and travel writers Sara Wheeler and Tim Moore.

    The World of Knowledge Seminar Series, supported by the Consulate General of France in Hong Kong & Macau, will feature three French writers including illustrator Cedric Fernandez, film critic Arnaud Lanuque who studies Hong Kong films and Afro-French novelist Alain Mabanckou. The Consulate General of Spain in Hong Kong is also contributing to the international line-up, by arranging for Peter Gordon and Juan Jose Morales to introduce their new book on the China-Mexico route Ruta Via de la Plata which dates back to the 16th to 19th centuries.

    Well-known Chinese mainland entrepreneur Wang Qiang, who created his own Think in American English programme, will also attend the fair to share his reading experience, as will renowned local authors, including prominent designer Kan Tai-keung, President of the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology Prof Tony F Chan, as well as the pilot Hank Cheng and engineer Gary Tat who together assembled a light aircraft in Hong Kong and completed a journey around the world.

    Other seminar series include the Theme of the Year Seminar Series, where a number of travel writers, academics and travel experts will share their views on travelling and writing as well as travel writing styles, the Children and Youth Reading Series, which covers child growth and education, parent-child reading and children literature, and the Personal Development and Spiritual Growth Seminar Series, in which travel expert James Hong, Hong Kong swimmer Stephanie Au and the physiotherapist Elton Ng who conquered Mount Everest will share tales of inspiration.

    Also on the schedule are the Lifestyle Seminar Series, where local artists Steve Lee and Gigi Wong will share cooking tips, as well as sessions by Yim Ho to share healthcare tips, by field photography group Wandering Photography to share the joy of photography, and the Hong Kong Cultural and Historical Seminar Series, where Dr Ting Sun Pao, Dr Clarence Yau and Louis Koo who is the leading actor of A Step into the Past, television series adapted from popular novel of same name, will discuss the works of the late martial arts novelist Huang Yi. Hong Kong artist Rebecca Pan will bring the audience to the cinematic stage through her own experience, and the renowned Cantonese Opera actor Franco Yuen will talk about Cantonese Opera education in Hong Kong. For more details and registration of the seminars, please visit the Hong Kong Book Fair website.

    Wang Qiang, Founder of the Think in American English Programme, Production Director of Lonely Planet and other industry experts from around the world will also participate in the International Publishing Forum to explore developments in this sector during a session targeting publishing industry players.

    Reading about the World

    The International Cultural Village at the Book Fair features 26 countries and regions. France, Germany, Italy and Poland are among the countries setting up the European Union Pavilion to exhibit books as well as organise a number of cultural events to increase public understanding of their local cultures. Japan will return to the fair with a group pavilion which represents 11 cities and prefectures including Niigata, Wakayama and newcomers Fukuoka and Tottori. The pavilion exhibitors will join forces with the Japan National Tourism Organization and the Japan Kadokawa Group to showcase aspects of Japanese culture.

    Besides the seven-day Book Fair, the HKTDC will organise “Cultural July” citywide campaign which will include more than 310 cultural events to promote reading. Taking place from the end of June until the end of July, it will involve cultural institutions, libraries, museums, educational institutions, shopping malls and cafes, in a combined effort to encourage greater public participation in diverse cultural events.

    Concurrent Hong Kong Sports and Leisure Expo

    Tickets to the Book Fair are now available for public purchase, and visitors can also purchase tickets on-site at the fairground ticket office. The Hong Kong Sports and Leisure Expo will be held concurrently from 21-25 July at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre. The Sports and Leisure Expo features over 90 exhibitors to showcase sports-related products and equipment, as well as photography and art products and special interest classes. The fair will feature free trials of activities such as indoor rock-climbing and street workout workshops. Visitors can visit the Sports and Leisure Expo with a valid Book Fair ticket.

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  • Centara Wins Recognition of Chinese Guests with “Best City Hotel” Award

    Centara Wins Recognition of Chinese Guests with “Best City Hotel” Award

    Over 10 million Chinese tourists visit Thailand each year. The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) polled many of them for the 2017 People’s Choice Awards and Centara Grand & Bangkok Convention Centre at Central World was voted “Best City Hotel.” The poll, just completed in June, is evidence of Chinese visitors’ growing importance to Thailand, and Centara’s success in meeting their needs.

    Centara Hotels & Resorts, Thailand’s largest hotel operator, is making a concerted effort to appeal to Chinese guests. Their 66 deluxe and first-class properties includes 43 Thailand hotels across all major tourist destinations and another 23 located in prominent international destinations. The award-winner, Centara Grand & Bangkok Convention Centre at CentralWorld, is one of the group’s premier properties, located in the heart of Bangkok’s central shopping district and integrated with a popular convention and shopping complex.

    Centara also operates properties in Vietnam, Sri Lanka, the Maldives and Oman. The group offers diverse formats — integrating multi-ethnic restaurants, Thai spas, Kids’ Clubs, water parks, and other innovative features – that appeal to couples, individuals, families, and business professionals. Thailand’s famous hospitality culture is also a key ingredient of the brand’s recipe for success.

    Most Centara hotels and resorts have Chinese-speaking staff and serve Chinese meals including breakfast. Centara offers Chinese information about its hotels and destinations, promotions, and online booking on its official website, which is now hosted in China for optimum speed. The group also accepts the popular Chinese payment channel UnionPay, in addition to major credit cards, and is active on China’s leading social media applications, Wiebo and WeChat.

    The Centara management team led by 3 top executives; Tom Thrussell – Vice President of Marketing, Paul Wilson – Vice President of Sales and Harry Thaliwal – Group Director of Operations, recently completed a roadshow that included five major Chinese cities and Hong Kong. The tour raised awareness of the Centara brand and shared news of the group’s expansion plans into China and the Middle East with members of China’s travel industry and key trade and consumer media.

    “China now represents our most significant inbound market and the numbers will continue to rise”, said Tom Thrussell. “We are committed to developing a deep understanding of Chinese guests’ needs and by visiting key Chinese cities and partners, engaging with our guests and soliciting feedback, we are able to communicate more effectively, better meet their travel needs and ultimately equipped ourselves to manage successful properties in China itself.”

    Centara is planning to open its first properties in China in 2019.

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  • Hong Kong’s Octopus Cards launches Octopus App

    Hong Kong’s Octopus Cards launches Octopus App

    Hong Kong’s Octopus Cards has launched a new mobile app designed to let customers manage their Octopus cards and Octopus O! ePay accounts via a single location.

    The new Octopus App can display card balances and transaction histories viewable through NFC-enabled Android smartphones, or iOS devices paired up with an Octopus Mobile Reader.

    The app’s O! EPay function supports peer-to-peer payment and fund transfer between O! ePay, designated bank accounts, registered Octopus cards and Octopus Mobile SIMs.

    In addition, Octopus App supports online payments, including shopping, e-ticketing bill payments and donations with charity, as well as offers and eCoupons from merchant partners.

    Customers using the previous Octopus branded app will be able to upgrade to the new app and retain all their current information, eliminating the need to re-register. New users can download the app from the Apple App Store or Google Play and sign up with their email addresses and mobile numbers.

    “The all-new Octopus App further demonstrates our commitment to making everyday life easier,” Octopus Cards CEO Sunny Cheung said.

    “We are also very pleased to bring in major business partners like TurboJET and China Mobile to serve customers’ payment needs through our new Octopus App – thus maximising the ‘one card, one app’ customer benefit.”

    He said the company plans to continue introducing innovations in its mobile payment services, such as QR code payment, to improve the customer experience.

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  • Etihad partners with DHL to enhance MRO logistics

    Etihad partners with DHL to enhance MRO logistics

    Etihad Airways Engineering, the largest commercial aircraft maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) services provider in the Middle East, has signed a Letter of Intent with DHL Supply Chain, the contract logistics specialist within Deutsche Post DHL Group, to outsource its entire internal logistics functions.

    DHL Supply Chain will manage stores, local transport movements and associated supply chain planning at the Etihad Airways Engineering hub at Abu Dhabi International Airport.

    Jeff Wilkinson, chief executive officer of Etihad Airways Engineering, said: “We see this agreement as a win-win opportunity not just for Etihad Airways Engineering and DHL Supply Chain, but also for our customers around the world who will be served more efficiently and cost effectively as an outcome of the partnership.”

    David Christmas, CEO DHL Supply Chain Middle East, Russia & Turkey, said: “This is a significant business win for DHL in the United Arab Emirates. We have a long-standing relationship with Etihad Airways Engineering, which will continue to maintain our aircraft. Our new partnership will build on and broaden this relationship, synergizing the unique strengths of each partner to maximize efficiency and profitability.”

    “The supply chain performance and solution has a major impact on the effectiveness of the MRO function. Our expertise and services will help Etihad Airways Engineering to progress towards its vision and meet its strategic agenda effectively. Transforming the MRO logistics and warehousing solution will help them to remain competitive today and build capability for tomorrow.”

    The supply chain will be scalable in order to respond to MRO sector growth and will be able to adapt to future operational requirements. By introducing logistics planning and control, DHL brings robust processes to Etihad Airways Engineering’s supply chain to which aligned storage capacity planning and inventory policies compose a major element. Response lead times will be reduced through efficient pick processes and performance indicators for every logistics and warehousing function. Apart from process optimization, DHL will also introduce several changes in the layout of Etihad’s current warehouse, improving the space already available and setting up an external off-airport warehouse able to accommodate necessary inventory and part storage.

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  • Vietnam’s pepper export revenue loses spice due to oversupply

    Vietnam’s pepper export revenue loses spice due to oversupply

    With supply exceeding demand, farmers are being told to hold on to their stocks and wait for prices to rise. Vietnam’s pepper shipments are forecast to reach around 101,000 tons for the first six months of 2017, up 13 percent on-year, but revenue is likely to fall 13 percent, according to Vietnam Pepper Association (VPA)’s chairman Do Ha Nam.

    “When supply exceeds demand, importers try to pull prices down. Vietnam, which provides some 60 percent of the global pepper output, will be heavily affected,” Nam told.

    In the peak harvest season, farmers need to sell large volumes of pepper to cover expenses, causing prices to fall. Local farmers are stuck in a dilemma: the more pepper they sell, the sharper prices decline.

    Domestic pepper prices have been falling throughout May and June, so the VPA is urging local farmers to hang on to their stocks and wait for prices to recover.

    “If farmers can hold on for the next 1-2 months, prices will rise again,” Nam said.

    The VPA has attributed falling prices to a 15 percent increase in pepper output in for this crop and the 20,000 tons of Cambodian pepper Vietnam has shipped in.

    However, the greatest problem facing the sector is the expanding pepper plantations.

    If the plantations continue to expand at their current rate, pepper prices will suffer as supply exceeds demand in the future.

    To reduce these risks, the VPA has advised farmers to stop growing pepper in unsuitable soil and switch to alternative crops to provide an additional income.

    Despite these warnings, farmers are continuing to expand their pepper plantations.

    The reason is that a hectare of pepper can earn farmers at least VND240 million ($10,600), while the same area of coffee will make them only VND100-150 million.

    In addition to this, Vietnam’s pepper industry also faces food hygiene and safety concerns in foreign markets.

    For example, in order to export 40,000 tons of pepper to the European Union, Vietnamese firms need to import 22,000 tons of clean pepper from Cambodia, Malaysia or Indonesia to process and export.

    Similarly, in order to ship the product to Japan, local companies must import raw pepper to process first.

    This is because in the past, Vietnamese pepper has been found to contain excessive chemical residue.
    To address the issue, Vietnamese and foreign firms are working with farmers to clean up the plantations.

    According to experts, organic pepper is slowly catching on, which may mean lower productivity but should ensure higher prices in a more stable market.

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  • Courts names new CEO in Indonesia

    Courts names new CEO in Indonesia

    Singapore-based tech retailer Courts has appointed a new boss for its operation in Indonesia. Joseph Greenway has been named as the new country CEO. Greenway rejoins Courts after two years as COO of Fantastic Furniture in Australia. Prior to that, Greenway spent 15 years at Courts in a variety of executive roles in Singapore and Malaysia. The appointment comes after Roy Santoso resigned from his role as Indonesia country CEO at Courts to pursue other career opportunities.

    Courts board stated: “Given his knowledge and experience of Courts business, Mr Greenway was shortlisted as one of the preferred candidates. He was put through various levels of interviews with senior management before the final selection. The board opined that he has the requisite experience to take the country CEO role.”

    Listed on the Mainboard of the Singapore Exchange in October 2012, Courts Asia is a leading electrical, IT and furniture retailer in South East Asia. The retailer’s expansion into Indonesia was led by the opening of a megastore in Kota Harapan Indah, Bekasi in October 2014. The second Courts megastore in Indonesia opened in BSD City, Tangerang in January 2016.

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  • Visa, Validus to provide virtual card solutions for SMEs

    Visa, Validus to provide virtual card solutions for SMEs

    Visa has teamed up with FinTech platform Validus to provide SMEs with virtual card solutions designed to help scale their businesses. The partnership seeks to unlock capital for SMEs to reinvest in their products and services.

    The solution has already been adopted by GroXers Inc Pte Ltd, a food and beverage distributor in Singapore.

    Under this partnership, Validus is working with Visa to facilitate immediate cash flow to SMEs with unpaid invoices in their payment cycles. By clearing invoices for SMEs using a Visa virtual commercial card, Validus helps SMEs expand faster and have a faster turnover for their products and services.

    The food & beverage (F&B) businesses, have to deal with a large number of buyers ranging from “Small businesses often face challenges such as access to capital to fund their business growth and this makes them vulnerable. Similarly, suppliers for these businesses may be challenged to provide adequate credit, as they do not have the skills to underwrite higher credit lines,” commented Vikram Kshettry, head of B2B Partnerships and Small Business Asia Pacific at Visa.
    “It is essential that businesses are able to access credit from specialist lenders to invest in their businesses, and for suppliers to be paid on time. The presence of such lenders, who can respond faster to business needs, is key to Singapore’s continued SME growth.”

    GroXers Inc, a leading enterprise run by well-known Singaporean entrepreneur, Nichol Ng, stated that the solution has freed up their cash flows considerably.

    “We have been looking for a solution that bridges the gap between our cash flow and account receivables and this is our biggest untapped asset. It is interesting to see how this solution has enabled us to receive our money faster and more seamlessl,” Ng aid.

    “At GroXers Inc, 100% of our receivables from B2B retailers are now on credit card payment. We genuinely feel that in today’s economy, we should free our time and cash flow to focus on growing our business.”

    Validus and Visa will look to increase their commitment to supporting SMEs in Singapore across a range of industries. This includes businesses that specialize in the distribution, services and manufacturing sectors.