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Tag: asia

  • Physical Exchange Results in Bitcoin Robbery in Hong Kong

    Physical Exchange Results in Bitcoin Robbery in Hong Kong

    A 37-year old man in Hong Kong allegedly sought to sell bitcoin for cash but ended up being swindled during an in-person transaction in a vehicle and kicked out.

    The victim had originally scheduled to meet two individuals to trade 15 bitcoin at HK$235,000 each ($30,000), or HK$3 million in total, outside of a hotel in Hong Kong, according to a report citing police sources.

    The vehicle proceeded to move to another location while the bitcoin transfer was being made. Upon completion, another car showed up and three more individuals related to the original two fraudulent buyers robbed the victim’s cash, two mobile phones, and kicked him out.

    Local police claim that the six robbers were non-Chinese men aged around 30 and have yet to be captured.

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  • Huawei will end up among the globe’s top smartphone manufacturers this year

    Huawei will end up among the globe’s top smartphone manufacturers this year

    Back in 2015, the head of Huawei’s consumer products unit, Richard Yu, made a bold forecast. He said that in two to three years, Huawei would surpass Apple to become the second-largest smartphone manufacturer in the world. He added that in five years, Huawei would top Samsung to become the world’s largest producer of smartphones. And sure enough, that is basically what happened. Huawei passed Apple and last year it finished second to Samsung. Earlier during the second quarter of this year, Huawei outshopped Samsung and for a brief period of time it was the top smartphone manufacturer on the planet.

    Despite meeting its goals for a short period of time, the long term outlook for the phone and networking equipment manufacturer is not good. That’s because the U.S., considering Huawei to be a national security threat, has made doing business difficult for the company. Last year, it placed Huawei on the Entity List preventing it from accessing its U.S. supply chain without permission from the Commerce Department. As a result, heavyweights like Micron and Google have stopped supplying memory chips and software to Huawei respectively.

    And the Trump administration aimed right at Huawei’s Achilles heel this year by adding new export rules that prevent foundries using American sourced technology from shipping chips to Huawei, The latter can’t even take delivery of cutting-edge chips that it designed itself. The U.S. actions against Huawei led it to sell its sub-brand Honor division for $15 billion. And even if President-elect Joe Biden, when he takes office in two-weeks, were to remove all sanctions against Huawei, the company will still see a sharp drop in shipments. Part of that will be due to Honor becoming a rival of Huawei instead of a sub-brand. Research firms IDC and Strategy Analytics estimated that in the first half of last year, Honor made up 28% and 38% of Huawei’s shipments respectively.

    So what is expected from Huawei this year? According to research firm TrendForce, Huawei will drop from its third-place finish last year to seventh place this year. That is a rather large fall for a company that has been considered one of the top smartphone manufacturers in the world. In 2018, Huawei delivered 208 million handsets. In 2020 that figure declined to 170 million and a further decline to 45 million is forecast for this year; that is a 73.5% decline for this year. The decline will also result in Huawei losing much of its share of the 5G market from 30% last year to 8% this year, also a 73.3% decline.

    TrendForce says that global smartphone shipments will rise 9% this year to 1.36 billion units, an anemic rebound from the 11% decline in smartphone production last year. The top six smartphone manufacturers this year could be, in order, Samsung, Apple, Xiaomi, Oppo, Vivo and Transsion. These six brands will make up 80% of global smartphone shipments this year. Transsion is a phone manufacturer based in Shenzhen, China and is popular in Africa. The researchers also say that the number of 5G phones produced will rise this year to 500 million units from the 240 million made in 2020. Chinese brands could make up as much as 60% of 5G phones produced in 2021.

    Huawei recently released its new Mate 40 flagship series and early next quarter we could see the unveiling of the photography-based P50 line. This year, Huawei could finish seventh with Honor right behind at number eight. Besides its one-time standing as a top global smartphone producer, the company is also the world’s top networking equipment manufacturer.

    The U.S. considers Huawei to be a national security threat because of its alleged ties to the Communist Chinese government.

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  • HSBC sees Vietnam growing slower than earlier forecast

    HSBC sees Vietnam growing slower than earlier forecast

    HSBC has revised downward its Vietnam GDP growth forecast for 2021 from 8.1 percent to 7.8 percent, pointing to the slow recovery in tourism.

    Travel-related services such as accommodation and transportation remained in a deep slump, it said in a note.

    “There is nothing to be surprised when immigration restrictions are still in place, although Vietnam has made some travel agreements with neighboring countries.”

    The tourism industry could hardly revive until an effective vaccine for Covid-19 was developed and there was a new approach toward global tourism co-operation.

    It also said the inflation rate in 2020 was probably 3.3 percent, much below the 4 percent target set by the State Bank of Vietnam.

    Though the country escaped the worst effects of the pandemic, its businesses and consumers affected by Covid-19 needed great support, but it would be difficult since Vietnam’s public debt-to-GDP ratio was 65 percent.

    The fiscal deficit would increase to 5.2 percent of GDP in 2020 before falling to 4.6 percent in 2021, resulting in public debt falling below 60 percent.

    With the economy likely to revive, the central bank would stick to its monetary policy in the first quarter of 2022 before raising interest rates by 0.25 percentage points in the third quarter.

    Vietnam would remain a “shining star” in 2021, and also benefit from a technology-driven revival, consistent FDI inflows and various trade agreements, HSBC said.

    The only challenge was likely to come from the labor market since, despite some improvement in the third quarter of 2020, unemployment was still on the rise and salaries were declining.

    If this continued, consumer spending, a major factor boosting the economy, would take longer to recover.

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  • Olive Young eyeing Southeast Asia through Shopee

    Olive Young eyeing Southeast Asia through Shopee

    CJ Olive Young, the country’s largest health and beauty product store, opened an online shop on Southeast Asia’s biggest e-commerce platform Shopee, Tuesday, as part of its global expansion plans.

    “From now on, Olive Young will actively seize opportunities in the global market to grow and lead the globalization of Korean cosmetics,” a CJ Olive Young official said.

    Shopee is a subsidiary of Sea Group, which sells various products from daily necessities to cosmetics and electronic goods online. It is referred to as the Amazon of Southeast Asia, as it focuses on Singapore, Thailand, the Philippines, Vietnam, Indonesia and Malaysia. Last year, the number of accumulated mobile application downloads of the Shopee platform surpassed 200 million.

    In 2020, Olive Young also signed a memorandum of understanding with Dairy Farm to launch several of its products in Guardian stores, a drug store chain in the region.

    The health and beauty product store is entering foreign markets through local retailers because it wants to minimize risks and analyze the markets first.

    CJ Olive Young has started selling 300 items from its six house brands on Shopee ― Wake Make, Colorgram, Round Around, Botanic Heal Boh, Bring Green and Filli Milli ― which are good value local brands sold for reasonable prices that are popular among international customers.

    The health and beauty product stores’ items will be available in Indonesia and Malaysia first. This is because they have a high proportion of young people who are interested in K-beauty and mobile shopping. It wants to introduce Korean products as well as improve the firm’s brand awareness in the two countries.

    CJ Olive Young sold some of its shares to the domestic firm Glenwood Private Equity last month. After the stock purchase agreement, the private equity fund became the second-largest shareholder with 24 percent interest.

    During the purchase, Glenwood valued Olive Young at 1.8 trillion won. The health and beauty product store plans to go public on the Korean bourse next year and raising its corporate value is important as it will have to pay back money to strategic investors after listing.

    Olive Young is already successful with its bricks-and-mortar business here, which has a nearly 70 percent market share. However, its online business is a whole other story. Online retail giants Coupang and eBay Korea have established gigantic sales platforms that give no reason for customers to go only to Olive Young’s online mall.

    For this reason, Olive Young decided to eye the Indonesian and Malaysian markets. Although sales in the two countries may not produce good profits at first, it has to look beyond the domestic online market that is already too competitive.

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  • Americans should be glad that Google Assistant’s “Do Nothing” mode is not available in the states

    Americans should be glad that Google Assistant’s “Do Nothing” mode is not available in the states

    We’ve often pointed out how Google Assistant is the best of the virtual digital helpers. Unlike Siri, which often refers users to a webpage to get the answer to a question, Google Assistant will many times directly post the answer to a query. Ironically, you’ll see this in action often when asking a question about an Apple device. In addition, Siri seems to have a big problem trying to understand some of the questions it is being asked.

    There is a new “Do Nothing” mode that does, well, nothing. Unfortunately, though, most of you will not be able to see Google Assistant “Do Nothing” because the feature was developed in conjunction with Cadbury’s 5 Star, a chocolate bar offered in limited markets including India. To activate the “Do Nothing” mode, you can say “Eat a 5 Star” in one of the markets that support the feature. Once the “Do Nothing” mode is activated, Google Assistant says, “I feel like doing nothing now. And I’m going to help you chill too. Ask me anything.”

    The responses that come forth from Google Assistant in “Do Nothing” mode are equal parts funny and equal parts useless. For example, in this mode, if you ask Google Assistant “Egg-first or Chicken?,” the response will be “Depends on which one you ordered first.” Not exactly an answer that will elicit a chuckle or two, but that is kind of the point. Ask for the nearest salon and you might get a response from Google Assistant that says, “You’re in luck. Bushy eyebrows, hairy armpits, and no makeup selfies are in fashion.” Ask about the weather, and Google Assistant will say, “HaHa…as if you’re going to step out.”

    After perusing some of these jokes, perhaps it is just as well that the Google Assistant “Do Nothing” mode cannot be activated in the states.

  • China buoys Tiffany & Co holiday sales

    China buoys Tiffany & Co holiday sales

    U.S. jeweler Tiffany & Co said it reported record sales for the 2020 holiday period as consumers stuck at home shopped more online and shoppers in China spent more on jewelry.

    The company, which will soon be bought by France’s LVMH , said its overall preliminary net sales rose about 2% for the period Nov. 1 through Dec. 31, compared with a year earlier, with e-commerce sales surging more than 80% during the period.

    The 2020 holiday season was unusual as the virus outbreak upended shopping patterns, with more consumers avoiding malls and retail stores and opting to shop online.

    Tiffany, known for its engagement rings and robin’s egg blue boxes, said net sales in the Asia-Pacific region soared 20%, with mainland China posting a growth of over 50%.

    “During this period, we saw the Chinese Mainland market continue to drive our overall sales growth,” Chief Executive Officer Alessandro Bogliolo said.

    However, net sales in Americas and Europe declined as it lost out on some crucial in-store sales in certain markets.

    Last week, Tiffany’s shareholders overwhelmingly voted in favor of LVMH’s $15.8 billion deal, about $400 million lower than the European luxury giant’s first offer.

  • Chinese Payment Apps Hit by Trump Ban

    Chinese Payment Apps Hit by Trump Ban

    Ant Group’s Alipay, Tencent Holdings’ QQ Wallet and WeChat pay are among the apps banned by executive order.

    Tensions between Washington and Beijing are set to rise with the latest executive order from U.S. President Donald Trump, which bans transactions with eight Chinese software applications.

    The move is aimed at curbing the threat to Americans posed by Chinese software applications, which have large user bases and access to sensitive data, citing a senior administration official.

    According to the order, the U.S. must take «aggressive action» against developers of Chinese software applications to protect national security.

    In October 2020, the U.S. State Department submitted a proposal to add Ant Group to a trade blacklist to deter U.S. investors from taking part in its lucrative initial public offering. The proposal was ultimately rejected. Trump has also previously tried to block some U.S. transactions with WeChat and the Chinese-owned video app TikTok.

    U.S. president-elect Joe Biden is set to be inaugurated on January 20, though his stance on China is still unclear.

  • YouTrip Inks Deal for Regional Expansion

    YouTrip Inks Deal for Regional Expansion

    The multi-currency mobile wallet has inked a six-year partnership with Visa to grow its reach across Southeast Asia, starting with Malaysia and the Philippines.

    The two sides are banking on an international travel recovery and hope to solve a pain point for Southeast Asian travelers by enabling access to cross border payment solutions such as wholesale exchange rates and no foreign currency transaction fees.

    Malaysia and the Philippines – two of the fastest-growing Southeast Asian countries in mobile payment adoption– have «massive untapped potential,» with outbound travel expenditure expected to reach $12.4 billion and $12 billion respectively in 2021, YouTrip noted.

    The partnership «will enable YouTrip’s continued growth to drive the next generation of payment innovation of cross border payments,» Caecilia Chu, co-founder and CEO of YouTrip said.

    Having partnered with Mastercard and EZ-Link to launch in Singapore in August 2018, YouTrip took over the role of issuer and holder of stored value accounts from EZ-Link while continuing the current brand partnership. It also closed a record $25.5 million pre-Series A fundraise in May 2019.

    The platform’s plans to tap on the booming regional travel market were nixed with the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, but it has since pivoted to overseas e-commerce payment and recorded a three-fold increase in quarterly transactions, compared to the same period last year, YouTrip said.

    Currently also available in Thailand, the e-wallet has over 1 million downloads to date.

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  • KardiaChain CEO aims to popularize blockchain in Vietnam

    KardiaChain CEO aims to popularize blockchain in Vietnam

    The KardiaChain platform founded by Pham Minh Tri has attracted Vietnamese experts globally to join the local blockchain sector.

    After graduating with a master’s degree in science from the University of East Anglia, famous for practical research, in London in 2013, Tri is now focusing on location-based messaging, text-speech processing, computer vision, and augmented reality.

    During his tumultuous years outside Vietnam, blockchain attracted Tri’s attention. He first approached this technology in 2012, after learning about the core peer-to-peer network of decentralized systems.

    Five years later, Tri had the opportunity to delve into and invest in new blockchain projects in London. In 2018, he and Huy Nguyen, currently senior technical manager at Google, Silicon Valley, founded KardiaChain, which rapidly researched blockchain interoperability.

    This breakthrough technology has helped solve the problem of communication between networks, allowing the transfer of data and assets from one blockchain to another. Important applications of cross-chain blockchain include decentralized exchanges.

    Today, only a few companies have successfully built cross-chain infrastructures like Polkadot and Cosmos, all worth billions of dollars, according to the KardiaChain CEO.

    Studying the potential market, Tri considered Vietnam one of the most promising environments for blockchain development due to its legacy system, golden population, and open regulatory environment.

    Unlike the U.K. or U.S., blockchain in Vietnam enjoys less competition with existing systems according to centralized design. Digital conversion and digitization of data are still in the early stages, so if combined with blockchain nation, our country would be able to take a shortcut, said Tri. Besides, its young population, rapid increase in education, and strong development of the middle class are all suitable for newly introduced and well-received technology products.

    More importantly, the Vietnamese government supports the startup movement, especially industries in the 4.0 revolution like blockchain and AI. Besides, the legal corridor for Fintech that is gradually being improved is also a great driving force for blockchain users.

    Returning to Vietnam in 2018, he and his partner founded KardiaChain, specializing in developing blockchain platforms. One of its most outstanding inventions is its non-invasive cross-chain technology Dual Node, pending patent. This technology helps blockchains communicate with each other despite algorithmic differences.

    KardiaChain’s decentralized platform allows any business to build transparent, secure applications with open functionality. According to business representatives, this makes blockchain infrastructure invisible, like electricity and the Internet, through mobile applications to benefit end-users.

    One of the most successful application units of KardiaChain is Youth Union in District 5, Ho Chi Minh City. The solution called TuoiTre Q5 helps the unit manage 10,000 youth union members, update daily news, support online assignments, and recognize emulation and rewards.

    With the above advantages, the app has received nearly 8,000 good reviews in recent surveys. The product initially asserted that the blockchain platform, when properly applied, is a useful tool to transform traditional models to suit contemporary society.

    From initial research and application, in April this year, KardiaChain raised $19.2 million from 2,500 investors through the Gate.io platform. KardiaChain then successfully signed a strategic cooperation with LG CNS – a subsidiary specializing in providing technology solutions of LG Group to develop blockchain infrastructure in Vietnam.

    According to Tri, the process of popularizing blockchain in Vietnam is a long journey, requiring a combination of technology, people, law and timing. But with careful preparation, we believe we will achieve this goal, inspiring people with the same passion and understanding of blockchain, he said.

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  • Solar power boom poses a distribution challenge

    Solar power boom poses a distribution challenge

    The increasing solar power capacity has made it difficult for national utility Vietnam Electricity (EVN) to ensure stable power distribution nationwide.

    The nature of solar power capacity, which accounts for 25 percent of the total, is to produce high volumes during the day and no production in the evening. This poses difficulties for EVN in operating the national grid, the national utility has said in a report.

    There have been times when the grid was oversupplied during the low-demand hours between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. when solar radiation is at peak, the report says.

    On the contrary, when power demand is at the highest, the 5:30-6:30 p.m. period, solar power production falls to nearly zero and the traditional power generators have to be mobilized.

    “The ratio of renewable power generation is increasing and with it comes instability in operation,” the report says.

    Vietnam’s solar power capacity was roughly 16,500 megawatt by the end of last year, nearly 48 percent of it coming from rooftop panels and the rest from plants.

    Solar power production reached 10.6 billion kilowatt-hours last year, accounting for 4.3 percent of total.

    There was a surge in the number of solar power projects after the government offered an incentive feed-in tariff scheme to promote renewable energy production to meet rising demand in a fast-growing economy.

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  • Jack Ma went missing?

    Jack Ma went missing?

    Once the poster boy for a new generation of multi-billionaire Chinese business and tech leaders, Alibaba founder Jack Ma’s fortunes have taken a serious dip in the last three months. Since a controversial speech in China in October 2020, where he lamented the country’s financial regulatory system and called for it to be reformed, the billionaire has been facing a series of actions from the Chinese authorities.

    He has faced a number of business setbacks since, including a block on his plans for a stellar listing on the stock market, actions which have in turn left the market wary of his firms.

    And he has now not been seen in public for more than two months – highlighted by his mysterious withdrawal from a scheduled appearance on his own reality TV show.

    Who is Jack Ma?

    Born in Hangzhou in eastern China, the 56-year-old came from a poor family and was once an English teacher. He bought his first computer aged 33, and in the last two decades rose to become a shining star of China’s booming economy through the success of his e-commerce giant Alibaba.

    Ma stepped down as chairman of Alibaba in 2019, but has remained in the public eye through media appearances and philanthropic work. During the Covid-19 pandemic he has donated masks and ventilators to the US – an effort that drew praise from several US politicians – and he is the face of a talent show to support young entrepreneurs.

    Where is Jack Ma?

    Ma’s removal from the good books of the Chinese authorities appears to have been even quicker than his rise to fame and fortune. The billionaire, who is known to speak freely, at a summit in October 2020 came down heavily on China’s financial regulators.

    He called for reforms in the financial system, speaking to an audience that included many officials of the regulatory organisations he was criticising.

    The response was swift. In November, a planned IPO of Ma’s Ant Group was suspended by the Chinese authorities and later, in December, the buyback plan of shares worth billions of pounds also failed to excite the investors. The authorities also opened an investigation against his firms.

    After years as the outgoing face of his companies – Ma once danced in front of tens of thousands of his company’s employees dressed in an outfit inspired by Michael Jackson – he is now conspicuously absent from the stage, without a public appearance in weeks or even a tweet in three months.

    Jack Ma net worth

    Jack Ma has various business interests. Apart from being the founder of Alibaba, he also has a stake in the online payment service Ant Group.

    It’s a dramatic change for a man who once taught English for $15 (£11) a month. He says he was rejected for 30 other jobs – including one serving at KFC – before he founded his own company.

    At one point Ma became Asia’s richest person – though he was later supplanted by another Chinese businessman.

    According to Bloomberg’s Billionaires Index, his net worth is about $50.6bn (£37bn), making him the 25th richest person in the world.

    Jack Ma and Alibaba

    Ma has said he drew the inspiration to start Alibaba from a trip to the US in 1995.  Subsequently, in 1999, Ma along with 18 people including many of his friends founded Alibaba Group from an apartment in Hangzhou, where they pooled in $60,000 (£44,000) for the venture.

    The group struggled early on and by 2002 they only had enough cash coming in to support 18 months of operation. But then came a timely intervention to connect two big markets – the US and China – ensuring that American buyers could get easier access to Chinese manufacturers, and slowly steadying the business.

    Over the years, the group became increasingly profitable and Ma and Alibaba became a force to reckon with. Ma started featuring on the covers of international business magazines – something uncommon for Chinese businessmen at that time.

    As a result, the reach of the Alibaba group, which was once rejected by funders, is now spread over 190 countries. It has become a leading platform for wholesale trade connecting millions of buyers and suppliers. It now has an estimated market cap of about $648.3bn (£474bn).

    With an estimated 100,000 employees, Alibaba now has interests in e-commerce, cloud computing, cashless payment and even movies.

    Ma stepped down from his role as chairman in 2019 and reports suggested he would focus his time and efforts on his philanthropic work.

    But as with many firms, the founder’s shadow looms large over Alibaba’s fortunes – something that the October 2020 controversy has shown. He remains an influential member of the Alibaba Partnership, for instance – a group of 36 members who can influence the nomination of the company’s board of directors.

    The company state’s that its vision is to be in operation for at least 102 years – but if the current trajectory of the crackdown on Ma continues, the dream may end much more abruptly than that.

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  • Asics shutters New York flagship as Covid plagues business

    Asics shutters New York flagship as Covid plagues business

    Japanese sporting goods maker Asics closed down its New York flagship store in December amid the prolonged impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the company announced on Monday.

    The store opened in December 2017 on Fifth Avenue, selling running shoes and sportswear. Asics’s decision comes as high rent bites the company, on top of uncertainties around when the pandemic will end.

    Due to the store’s closure, the sports brand is taking an extraordinary loss of about 2.3 billion yen ($22 million) for the fiscal year ended December 2020. The loss is already included in the latest earnings forecast.

    Asics’ sales in North America declined by 19% between January and September 2020, compared to the same period in 2019. The company is expected to take a net loss of 17 billion yen in fiscal 2020. Sales are forecast to decline by 15% to 320 billion yen.

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  • Third Sephora Hong Kong getting ready to be opened

    Third Sephora Hong Kong getting ready to be opened

    Located at the K11 Art Mall in Tsim Sha Tsui, the 265 square meter store will be Sephora’s first location in Kowloon, marking a new milestone in Sephora’s business expansion in the region.

    Due to open its doors in early January 2021, the new Sephora K11 Store will offer an unparalleled shopping experience with a comprehensive mix of 65 brands with numerous market most loved and exclusives such as Drunk Elephant, SUNDAY RILEY, Supergoop!, Mario Badescu, Pixi, First Aid Beauty, Cha Ling L’esprit du Thé, FRESH, and HERBIVORE BOTANICALS in Skincare; Fenty Beauty, tarte, Huda Beauty, IT Cosmetics, Benefit Cosmetics, and Urban Decay in Makeup; Olaplex, Briogeo, Ouai, Christophe Robin, KRISTIN ESS, IGK, and GHD in Haircare; as well as Maison Margiela and LOEWE in Fragrance. Last but not least, Sephora’s own brand Sephora Collection that covers the key categories.

    The new store will also offer testers and product display for some Online Exclusives including The Ordinary, Dr. Dennis Gross, Dear Dahlia and Natasha Moor.

    With an additional store in the market, Sephora will continue to expand its local beauty community through its exclusive Beauty Pass membership programme designed to offer the latest beauty news and special perks and offers to its members.

    Sephora is thrilled to the opening of its first store in Kowloon by indulging the local community with a unique and interesting beauty experience through a customized virtual game titled “SEPHORA SHAKE OFF” at their store front in K11 Art Mall. Kicking off on December 24th, “SEPHORA SHAKE OFF” presents numerous beauty perks and delights with a series of amazing prizes guaranteed to perk up everyone’s holiday spirit!

    To launch “SEPHORA SHAKE OFF” game, players simply need to scan a QR code with their smartphones and need to work their arm muscle by shaking their phones throughout it. Starting with a choice between a Day or Night look, the player(s) will be taken on a virtual shopping spree featuring some of Sephora’s best-selling items from its skincare, make-up and hair-care range with an objective to collect as many items as possible by shaking as fast as one can.

    Upon completion of the shopping spree, players will proceed to beautify a virtual avatar with their look of choice, again through shaking their phones in order to complete the look as fast as possible. The final beauty look will be revealed along with the resulting beauty ranking achieved, determining the player(s)’ prize ranging from Beauty Bae, Beauty Enthusiast, Beauty Expert, and to the top rank of Beauty Master. The various prizes consist of star products from top brands including Drunk Elephant, FRESH, Estée Lauder, Sephora Collection and many more.

    As an extension to the two existing Sephora stores in Hong Kong, the design of the new K11 store echoes the same sense of modernity and vibrant energy through its interior elements. An exclusive feature to the K11 store is the Beauty Shout-Out kiosk which is outfitted with a screen featuring key bestsellers and video submissions from the local Sephora Community which offers user-generated content and genuine recommendations of products and services available at Sephora. Also on showcase at the Beauty Shout-Out is a selection of the latest must-haves and testers for trials, as well as a magnetic wall for customers to create their own Sephora photo opportunity.

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  • More Account Suspensions for Exiled Hong Kong Dissident

    More Account Suspensions for Exiled Hong Kong Dissident

    Self-exiled Hong Kong dissident Ted Hui, who was recently spotlighted over frozen accounts at HSBC, has faced even more pressure from the British lender which allegedly canceled credit cards and «unlawfully embezzled» his funds without explanation.

    Ted Hui Chi-fung claimed that HSBC had not only canceled credit card accounts belonging to him and his family but frozen funds within it that resulted from refunded purchases.

    On the credit cards of both my family and myself, as a result of consumption refunds, the credit is more than the debit,» he said on his social media account. «The balances (around a few tens of thousands of Hong Kong dollars) are all private property protected by Hong Kong’s Basic Law. They are now unlawfully embezzled by HSBC without any explanation.

    While Hui’s claims about frozen funds could potentially be contentious, banks routinely assess and close accounts based on legal and compliance risk, especially with regards to politically exposed persons (PEPs).

    This is not the first time Hui has had his accounts frozen after similar moves were made against him and his family’s HSBC Premier accounts in December. At the time, local police issued an official statement confirming it had directed the account suspension over a money laundering and national security law probe.

    Although Hui’s claims that the latest credit card account cancellations were not requested by the police, an HSBC statement indicated otherwise.

    «We have to abide by the laws of the jurisdiction in which we operate and this case is no different,» according to an HSBC spokesperson who said further inquiries should be directed to law enforcement.

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  • Vietnam economy to grow almost five times by 2035

    Vietnam economy to grow almost five times by 2035

    Vietnam’s economy is expected to grow five times, becoming the 19th largest economy in the world in 2035, a report says.

    Steady and consistent growth is set to help it go past major Asian economies like Taiwan and Thailand by 2035, U.K consultancy the Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR) said in its annual league table on the growth prospects of 193 economies released last week. The country now is the 37th largest economy.

    Its GDP growth is forecast at 7 percent a year over the next five years, and 6.6 percent in the subsequent decade.

    The report estimated Vietnam’s nominal GDP by 2035 to be $1.59 trillion from the current $341 billion, a nearly five-fold increase in 15 years.

    Despite the Covid-19 pandemic, the Vietnamese economy, unlike most others, was able to escape a contraction in 2020 thanks to competent handling of the crisis, the report said. It grew at 2.91 percent.

    The government has set a GDP growth target of 6.5 percent for 2021.

    China will overtake the U.S. as the world’s biggest economy in 2035 after outperforming its rival during the global Covid-19 pandemic, according to CEBR.