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Tag: asia

  • Flash Coffee opens Singapore flagship

    Flash Coffee opens Singapore flagship

    Singapore-based Flash Coffee has announced plans to rapidly expand across Asia after securing $15m investment from investors including DX Ventures, Global Founders Capital, and Conny & Co. In a press release, the coffee chain said it intended to debut in Hong Kong, Taiwan, South Korea, Japan, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Vietnam in 2021.

    First launching in January 2020, Flash Coffee currently operates 50 locations across Singapore, Thailand, and Indonesia. Despite opening amid the Covid-19 pandemic, the company reports the majority of its stores are profitable.

    Flash Coffee says it is currently opening three new outlets per week and plans to increase the rate to 10 stores per week in order to achieve its target of 300 additional stores across the Asia by end of 2021.

    “Our dream is to have a Flash Coffee every 500 metres in all major Asian cities,” said Flash Coffee CEO David Brunier. “We will also build a regional HQ in Singapore and expand our regional tech hub in Jakarta to 50 people to support our vision of fully leveraging technology to improve customer experience, proactively drive growth and significantly increase operational efficiency.”

    The value-focused coffee chain deploys a similar ‘new retail’ model popularised by China’s Luckin Coffee. Customers can order drinks for pick-up via an app and online, with the brand stating its intention to ‘digitise today’s offline-dominated coffee industry’. Like Luckin Coffee, Flash Coffee is also seeking to catalyse growing demand for premium coffee and aspirational hospitality concepts among Asia’s growing young middle-income demographic.

    There is undoubtedly vast untapped potential for domestic and international coffee chains alike across East Asia. World Coffee Portal data shows the region’s branded coffee chain market grew 5.1% in 2020 to exceed 74,500 outlets, with 13 out of 17 markets achieving outlet growth during the period.

    China is, however, curiously absent from Flash Coffee’s intended growth markets. East Asia’s second-largest branded coffee shop market after South Korea grew 2.1% to exceed 21,400 outlets in 2020, with consumers already highly familiar with app-based transactions, pick-up and beverage delivery. 86% of Chinese consumers surveyed by World Coffee Portal in 2020 indicated they have previously ordered coffee for delivery, with more than half doing so 2-3 times per week.

  • Gold price hits 12-month high

    Gold price hits 12-month high

    Vietnam’s gold price climbed to a 12-month high Monday even as global prices dropped.

    Prices at state-owned Saigon Jewelry Company rose 0.05 percent from Saturday to VND57.98 million ($2,552.79) per tael Monday. A tael equals 37.5 grams or 1.2 ounces.

    Other companies sold their gold 0.17 percent higher at VND58 trillion, a 12-month high.

    Vietnam’s gold price is now VND10 million higher than global rates, widening from VND8 million a month ago.

    Global gold prices were subdued Monday over fears the U.S. Federal Reserve would start paring its stimulus this year despite Friday’s weak job data.

    Spot gold inched 0.1 percent lower to $1,755.68 per ounce.

    Spot gold may bounce into the $1,763-$1,768 range, before resuming its fall towards a support of $1,724, according to Reuters technical analyst Wang Tao.

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  • Waze launches soothing experience to combat negative effects of driving

    Waze launches soothing experience to combat negative effects of driving

    We live in a world where driving has become an activity that often affects our mental health. Traffic is probably in top three reasons for stress, and can many times lead to much worse effects, including back pain, depression, and even blood pressure.

    To help combat these negative effects of driving, Waze launched a new Headspace experience that is meant to help drivers learn “how to find more joy and meaning on the road.” Headspace is a new Waze theme that provides users with custom navigation prompts from the mindfulness teacher and Director of Meditation, Eve Lewis Prieto.

    There are five moods that can be selected when listening to the Headspace experience: Aware, Bright, Hopeful, Joyful, and Open. Also, the new theme allows users to swap out the in-car icon with an air balloon.

    Equally important is the fact that drivers can stream a custom Spotify playlist with music and content from Headspace, which is also available via the Waze Audio Player. The Headspace experience is rolling out today and is available for a limited time in English, French, Spanish, and Portuguese.

    If you’re looking for a soothing driving experience, you can activate the new theme by tapping My Waze to find the “Drive with Headspace” banner.

  • Singapore to Expand Quarantine-Free Travel

    Singapore to Expand Quarantine-Free Travel

    Following its announcement of more Vaccinated Travel Lanes (VTLs) on Saturday, the city-state has said it is working to expand travel to more countries, including its regional neighbors.

    Singapore aims to reestablish the city-state as an international aviation hub with the expansion of its VTL scheme to more countries ahead of the year-end holidays.

    From October 19, VTLs will be launched with Canada, Denmark, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, the United Kingdom, and the United States, with South Korea to be added on November 15. Singapore currently has VTLs with Germany and Brunei, launched September 8 under a pilot scheme.

    Under the scheme, fully vaccinated travelers will be able to enjoy quarantine-free travel both ways. However, there is currently a limit of 3,000 arrivals under the scheme.

    Pre-Covid, these countries accounted for about 10 percent of arrivals, Transport Minister S. Iswaran said on Monday.

    These countries under the VTL scheme are «collectively an important set of partners» for Singapore, Iswaran said in an interview, noting that the countries have significant investments in Singapore and are among the top 20 trading partners, with sizeable business communities and families here.

    We want to do more, but in a manner that is cautious and calibrated,» the minister said, adding that Singapore is currently in discussions with counterparts around the world, including its regional neighbors.

    Since the announcement over the weekend, there has been a rush to secure tickets. Singapore Airlines’ website crashed on Saturday afternoon amid the surge in demand, while visitors to its service center at Ion Orchard had to wait in line for several hours.

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  • Google wants you to think of its search app when it comes to breaking news

    Google wants you to think of its search app when it comes to breaking news

    Twitter, on the other hand, has been able to attract viewers looking for live coverage of breaking news. During such events, anyone with a smartphone can become a photojournalist sharing live video and audio from the scene. In 2015, Google and Twitter reached a deal that elevated tweets to the top of Google Search results for queries related to breaking news. Now, Google would like to be more like Twitter.

    Inside the company, Google’s initiative is called Big Moments and is still considered an experiment. As such, Google isn’t saying exactly how it might display tweets covering breaking news in the future. A small group inside the Google Search team is working on Big Moments and the failure of Google Search to display relevant breaking news during the attack on the U.S. Capitol and the Black Lives Matter protests has insiders on the Google Search team working on ways to fix things.

    “We are continually experimenting with ways to ensure that people who come to Google can find the most authoritative and up to date information when they need it,” a Google spokesperson said in a statement. “Any feature or improvement to our systems goes through a rigorous testing and evaluation process to ensure it delivers value to people.”

    Early last year when word about COVID-19 started to be the big story almost every day, Google revised its Search format so that video and data from medical authorities stood out more in the results. This is what Google would like to do with other timely breaking news events. Still, Google argues that it is not a publisher and should be viewed as a platform.

    The changes that Google wants to bring to Search include the addition of historical context to a story. In addition, Google would add information to a breaking news event that it doesn’t already include such as updating the most recent death and injury counts connected to a breaking news story, in real-time. Currently, those interested in news turn to Google Search after an event is over instead of heading to the app while the event is taking place.

    Twitter has made itself one of the most visited sites during a breaking news event when the event is taking place. As we explained above, part of what makes Twitter so good with breaking news is the way live video from the scene of an event can be posted in seconds and those close to the event can obtain up-to-date information. Google hopes to catch up to Twitter with Big Moments which is being led by Elizabeth Reid, a senior executive who took over as the head of Search experiences in April.

    Big Moments will use algorithms to make editorial decisions instead of having human editors make these decisions. The SearchEngine Journal said that using algorithms to curate news in real-time will be a big challenge for Google especially with stories that are “polarizing.” Google already comes under attack for showing bias is some search results and would probably have to deal with more critics complaining on the bigger news stage.

    Google recently added a notice that appears on Search when a story is moving too quickly to appear on the Search app. The message says: “It looks like these results are changing quickly. If this topic is new, it can sometimes take time for results to be added by reliable sources.” In a situation like this, human curators would take too long to bring the story to Google which is why the company is using algorithms since the goal for the company is to get the latest news out as fast as possible.

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  • Air tickets sell fast after domestic routes reopen

    Air tickets sell fast after domestic routes reopen

    National flag carrier Vietnam Airlines has sold more than 80 percent of seats on domestic flights after ticket sales opened Oct. 10.

    Flights between Hanoi and HCMC, and HCMC and the central localities of Thanh Hoa and Hue, Hanoi and Da Nang, have been the most booked.

    Flights on these routes are almost full on Oct 10-12, according to a Vietnam Airlines representative. One-way tickets on the Hanoi – HCMC and HCMC – Thanh Hoa routes cost VND3.5 million ($154) each; HCMC- Hue and Hanoi – Da Nang, VND2.4 million each.

    “I have tried to book a flight back to Hanoi, but the Vietnam Airlines website informed me seats have already been fully booked till Oct. 13,” Bui Ngoc Quang, a quality assurance officer at the HCMC University of Social Sciences and Humanities said.

    Quang said he wants to fly back to his hometown, a village in Hanoi’s outskirts, as soon as possible, because his wife had recently given birth to a girl baby, their first child, but he has been unable to meet them for weeks. In late August, aviation authorities had instructed airlines to stop selling tickets until further notice as the Covid-19 outbreak raged.

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  • Mercedes-Benz Vietnam recalls 1,700 cars

    Mercedes-Benz Vietnam recalls 1,700 cars

    Mercedes-Benz Vietnam is recalling more than 1,700 C200 cars locally assembled from 2014 -2018 to remove a generator-related software bug.

    The recalled cars were produced between Dec. 2014 to Feb. 2018. Short-circuited diodes in their generator were making coils overheat, leading to fire risks, the carmaker said. The recall will run from Sept. 25, 2021 to Dec. 31, 2025.

    The solution is to update the engine control software to optimize generator operation. The free update would take about 30 minutes at authorized Mercedes-Benz dealers in Vietnam.

    These vehicles were manufactured from Nov. 2016 to Feb. 2017. The solution is to replace the entire steering shaft, a procedure lasting about 1.5 hours.The German carmaker also made two other recalls in Vietnam from Oct. 1-7. These relate to several different models, including 49 A-class cars, CLA, and the imported GLA that have an error in the steering shaft mechanism.

    Mercedes-Benz sold 2,558 units in Vietnam in 2020.

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  • Call For Rise in Banking Salaries

    Call For Rise in Banking Salaries

    Bank employee representatives have set their demands for this fall’s wage negotiations. Their objective is to raise salaries at the lower end.

    The Swiss Bank Employees Association is advocating a general wage increase and raise of at least 2.2 percent, or 300 francs a month for bank employees, according to a statement Thursday.

    The call is the outcome of a salary survey among more than 4,000 employees and a meeting of employee representatives in mid-September. The boost would help those on lower wages, in particular, the statement says.

    The association points out that while wages in the banking industry are rising, on the whole, not everyone is seeing the benefit. On an individual level, only 32 percent of respondents got a boost in 2021, down from 37 percent in the last survey.

    Banks were profitable, despite the Covid 19 crisis, and results from this year have continued to be good, with most banks having saved costs from people working from home.

    Next year the association will focus on fair and transparent rules for the wage-setting process.

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  • WatchBox opens in eight new cities

    WatchBox opens in eight new cities

    Luxury watch retailer, WatchBox, is accelerating its expansion plan with eight new locations, including its debut in Tokyo.

    The brand said it will open five stores during the next six months. The eight new locations will be rolled out by the end of next year with five in the US and three international locations – Zurich, Riyadh, and Tokyo.

    “This is an incredibly exciting time for WatchBox,” said Justin Reis, global CEO of WatchBox. “We have seen profitable growth year-over-year and expect to achieve 40-per-cent revenue growth this year.”

    The company said it will reach US$300 million in net revenue this year, exceeding US$1 billion in lifetime revenue before the end of the year. WatchBox currently has a presence across Dubai, Hong Kong, Neuchatel, Singapore and the US.

    McKinsey & Company estimates the primary and secondary watch markets will grow from US$66 billion to US$97 billion by 2025.

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  • Siam Piwat takes Thai retail concepts to Malaysia with Pavilion Group

    Siam Piwat takes Thai retail concepts to Malaysia with Pavilion Group

    Thai mall operator Siam Piwat has partnered with Malaysia’s Pavilion Group to take Thai retail concepts to the new Kuala Lumpur lifestyle mall Pavilion Bukit Jalil.

    The launch of Siam Piwat brick-and-mortar stores in Malaysia is part of its plan to further expand its global reach. The partnership will see the debut of three Thai brands – IconCraft, Ecotopia and Absolute Siam.

    “This collaboration will not only open up additional sales channels for SMEs to help them expand beyond online or e-commerce platforms but will also help drive the Thai economy,” said Usara Yongpiyakul, CEO of retail business group at Siam Piwat.

    “This new partnership to introduce Thai products to an overseas market will make Siam Piwat’s another significant stride towards building a solid network with powerful business leaders.”

    Dubbed ‘Discover Siam’, the store is situated on the third floor of the shopping centre, spanning 1200sqm. The Siam Piwat store is scheduled to open on December 3.

    Meanwhile, Ecotopia provides products for an eco-conscious community, and IconCraft offers Thai crafted items from more than 800 local creators, designers, and local communities. Absolute Siam is a multi-brand concept store, featuring a mix of more than 60 fashion and lifestyle brands under one roof.

    “Malaysia and Thailand have very close ties and share not only borders but also various cultural similarities,” Yongpiyakul added. “We believe that this collaboration is just the beginning and will lead to even greater things, such as joint efforts to boost the region’s economy and initiatives to showcase and nurture the uniqueness and magnificence of ASEAN nations.”

    Siam Piwat is the owner and operator behind Thailand’s major retail developments, such as Siam Paragon, Siam Center and Siam Discovery, and a joint venture partner in IconSiam and Siam Premium Outlets.

    “We recognise the value and delicate magnificence of Thai culture and the creativity of Thai artisans, designers, and creators,” said Dato’ Joyce Yap, CEO of retail for Kuala Lumpur Pavilion, the retail planner of Pavilion Bukit Jalil.

    “These new stores will provide Malaysians and international visitors the chance to experience a hint of Thai culture without leaving KL.”

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  • Vietnam footwear exports slip on Covid-19 impacts

    Vietnam footwear exports slip on Covid-19 impacts

    Vietnam’s footwear exports plunged 44.2 percent year-on-year to about $700 million in September, according to the Vietnam Leather, Footwear and Handbag Association (Lefaso).

    Meanwhile, handbag exports also decreased by 48 percent.

    However, the industry still recorded positive growth overall thanks to increased momentum in the first half of the year.

    In the first nine months of 2021, footwear exports crossed $13.3 billion, up nearly 10 percent over the same period in 2020, while handbags exports slipped 3.7 percent year-on-year to around $2.24 billion.

    The U.S. remained a major export market for Vietnamese footwear and handbags, accounting for 41 and 44 percent of the total, respectively. EU ranked second at nearly 23 and 22 percent of footwear and handbag exports.

    Lefaso said prolonged social distancing has forced 80 percent of leather and footwear factories in HCMC, Dong Nai, Binh Duong, An Giang, and Kien Giang, accounting for 70 percent of the industry’s import and export turnover, to stop production.

    Businesses in the northern and central regions reduced production by 30-50 percent due to labor shortages, supply chain disruptions and other factors.

    The lack of containers, high cost of logistics and international shipping (5-10 times), expensive fuel and the rising price of imported raw materials have majorly impacted the industry.

    The association also said that conditions for receiving Covid-19 relief were too tough and relevant administrative procedures too complicated, making it difficult for businesses to access the promised support.

    Although the situation has improved since the end of September, production under the “new normal” has a long way to go, it said.

    Lefaso recommended that leather and footwear businesses reduce costs, take advantage of supportive policies and create favorable conditions, in line with safety protocols prescribed by the Ministry of Health to attract workers back to work.

    Businesses also need to make good use of incentives under free trade agreements, especially CPTPP and EVFTA, to boost exports in the last months of 2021, the association said.

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  • Viber rolls out disappearing messages feature in group chats

    Viber rolls out disappearing messages feature in group chats

    After surpassing one billion Google Play downloads worldwide, Viber announced a new feature that was previously available only for one-on-one chats: disappearing messages. Starting today, Viber is rolling out this option for group chats too.

    More importantly, users won’t need to go through a multi-step process to change the status for messages in the group, as the feature has been implemented so that members can easily toggle it on and off right within the chat.

    On top of that, Viber added new functionality to the feature, so users can now set messages in a group chat to disappear 10 seconds, one minute, one hour, or one day after being read. Furthermore, on devices running Android 6 and up, Viber will completely disable forwarding, copying, or taking a screenshot of a message when the disappearing option is enabled.

    For those using older Android smartphones, as well as all iOS users, group chat members will be automatically notified if a member of the chat takes a screenshot of a message set to disappear. Although Viber personal and group chats are end-to-end encrypted, the new feature will surely add another layer of security for both Android and iOS users.

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  • Geneva Motor Show Cancelled For The Third Time

    Geneva Motor Show Cancelled For The Third Time

    Due to industry-wide issues relating to the COVID-19 pandemic, the foundation Comité permanent du Salon international de l’automobile, as organiser of the Geneva International Motor Show (GIMS), has announced that the 2022 edition of the show will be canceled. The decision to cancel GIMS 2022 was made with the best interests of both car manufacturers and automotive fans in mind. The direct and indirect issues relating to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic left the organisers with no alternative.

    On the one hand, direct issues of the pandemic include continued travel restrictions for international exhibitors, visitors, and journalists. On the other hand, indirect issues of the pandemic, such as the semiconductor shortage, have presented car manufacturers with new priorities that they need to solve first. These issues led to several recent cancellations, which resulted in the final confirmation of the show’s postponement

    Maurice Turrettini, President of the Comité permanent du Salon international de l’automobile said, “We have pushed very hard and tried everything to reactivate the Geneva International Motor Show in 2022. Despite all our efforts, we have to face the facts and the reality: the pandemic situation is not under control and presents itself as a big threat for a large indoor event like GIMS. But we see this decision as a postponement, rather than a cancellation. I am confident that the Geneva International Motor Show will come back stronger than ever in 2023.”

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  • Levi beats quarterly estimates as people refresh their wardrobes

    Levi beats quarterly estimates as people refresh their wardrobes

    Levi Strauss & Co on Wednesday beat third-quarter revenue and profit estimates, boosted by an uptick in demand for jeans from people refreshing their wardrobes as they returned to normal social life following easing pandemic restrictions.

    Shares of the jeans maker rose 2% in extended trading after the Dockers brand owner said its board had approved a $200 million share repurchase plan. The company has a market capitalization of $49.49 billion, according to Refinitiv data.

    With schools and offices reopening and people even going on vacations, as cases of coronavirus infections trend down, many are splurging on new apparel.

    Levi, which has been expanding at major retailers including Target and Nordstrom, has also benefited from a reopening of the economy in its European markets and investments in its direct-to-consumer business.

    Analysts expect Levi to faceless supply pressure than peers due to its minimal reliance on Vietnam, an apparel manufacturing hub that has seen several factories close due to COVID-19 outbreaks and lower usage of the congested West Coast port.

    “We have taken pricing actions and believe we have the pricing power to mitigate inflationary pressures,” Chief Financial Officer Harmit Singh said in a statement.

    Net revenue for the company rose to $1.50 billion from $1.06 billion in the third quarter ended Aug. 29. Analysts on average had expected $1.48 billion, according to IBES data from Refinitiv.

    Excluding items, Levi earned 48 cents per share, beating estimates of 38 cents per share.

    The company said it expects holiday-quarter net revenue growth of 20% to 21% from a year earlier, while analysts were expecting growth of 22%.

    Levi also said it expects fourth-quarter earnings per share to be between 38 cents and 40 cents per share, compared with analysts average expectation of 40 cents per share.

  • UOB and ADDX Partner on Sustainability-Linked Bond

    UOB and ADDX Partner on Sustainability-Linked Bond

    This initiative comes amid a rise in the use of digital securities to enhance the efficiency of bonds and other fixed-income instruments.

    UOB and ADDX have completed the digitization and digital custody of a S$50-million portion of the $675 million sustainability-linked bonds recently launched by Sembcorp Industries, according to an announcement on Thursday.

    The ten-and-a-half-year bond is due in 2032 and has been priced at a coupon rate of 2.66 percent per annum if Sembcorp meets a sustainability performance target of reducing its greenhouse gas emissions intensity.

    UOB highlighted the benefits digital bond issuance brings to corporate clients, including faster processing and lower cost in the custody and administration of the bond.

    In the past year, digital securities have achieved a high level of acceptance among blue-chip issuers of bonds and other securities globally, noted ADDX.

    As digital bonds enter a phase of widespread adoption, the cost of fundraising through bonds and other fixed-income instruments will continue to fall, and companies that embrace the new technology will be able to raise capital more efficiently, Oi Yee Choo, ADDX chief commercial officer, said.

    Founded in 2017, ADDX, previously known as iSTOX, is a full-service capital markets platform with MAS lice

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