Tag: asia

  • Singapore Firms Eye Malaysia Digital Bank Licenses

    Singapore Firms Eye Malaysia Digital Bank Licenses

    Five licenses are up for grabs under a new regime announced by Bank Negara Malaysia, the country’s central bank.

    Singapore-based ride-hailing giant Grab and gaming technology firm Razer are exploring the feasibility of applying for a Malaysian digital bank license.

    Local lenders Hong Leong Bank, Maybank, CIMB, as well as Ant Financial, Malaysian telecommunications conglomerate Axiata and BigPay, the financial services arm of low-cost airline AirAsia, are also reportedly interested in the license.

    Grab, together with telecoms giant SingTel, and Razer, as the lead in a six-member consortium, were among the 21 applicants for up to five licenses to be issued under Singapore’s digital bank regime, set to be launched in 2020.

    In December, Malaysia’s central bank announced that it would issue five new digital banking licenses under a proposed framework that will be finalized in the first half of 2020, which will cater to online banks offering both conventional and sharia-compliant services.

    The draft proposal said the new Internet-based lenders could help close the gap in Malaysia’s underserved customers and unbanked individuals. The minimum capital requirement of RM100 million ($24.5 million) for the virtual bank’s foundational phase, which would be increased to RM300 million subsequently, is substantially lower than Singapore’s requirements.

  • First Mott 32 Singapore restaurant opens at Marina Bay Sands

    First Mott 32 Singapore restaurant opens at Marina Bay Sands

    Hong Kong restaurant chain Mott 32 is launching at Marina Bay Sands today in partnership with Maximal Concepts.

    After Hong Kong, Las Vegas, Seoul and Vancouver, the opening of Mott 32 Singapore brings the brand’s approach to regional Chinese cuisine to the Lion City.

    The restaurant is known for its use of recipes handed down across the generations, prepared using progressive cooking techniques and premium ingredients.

    “At Mott 32, we are dedicated to serving authentic, timeless recipes that pay homage to the rich heritage of Chinese cuisine,” noted Mott 32’s executive chef Chan Wai-Keung. “Our approach to cooking is to retain the essence and original flavors of the dish while elevating it using quality produce.”

    “Singapore has a sophisticated and incredibly talented dining scene,” said Maximal Concepts co-founder Xuan Mu. “The opening of Mott 32 Singapore marks a significant milestone for us, and we hope that it will be well-received amongst Singaporeans.”

    “We welcome guests from all around the world to explore the intricacies of Chinese cuisine at Mott 32 Singapore, and look forward to showcasing a combination of Mott 32’s iconic dishes and Singapore-exclusive creations,” said Chan.

  • ComfortDelGro Gets OCBC Green Loan

    ComfortDelGro Gets OCBC Green Loan

    The transport operator becomes the first Singapore land transport company to adopt a green loan, which will be used to finance its hybrid bus fleet in Melbourne, Australia. Singapore land transport operator ComfortDelGro’s Australia subsidiary has received a A$25 million ($17.2 million) green loan from OCBC Bank, a joint statement on Tuesday announced.

    The loan was structured in accordance with the Green Loan Principles issued in 2018 by the Loan Market Association and Asia Pacific Loan Market Association. It will be used to purchase 50 hybrid buses that use 30 percent less fuel and emit significantly less noise when idling.

    As an environment-conscious transport company, sustainability considerations are indeed at the core of our business strategy, and this green financing is a natural fit for us, Yang Ban Seng, managing director and Group CEO of ComfortDelGro, said in the statement.

    The ComfortDelGro was added to the Dow Jones Sustainability Asia Pacific Index (DJSI Asia Pacific), which serves as a benchmark for investors who integrate sustainability considerations into their portfolios, in September 2019.

    OCBC said the green loan is an important step towards its goal of building a S$10 billion ($7.42 billion) sustainable finance portfolio by 2022.

    «We hope this green loan by ComfortDelGro sends a positive message to encourage peer industry players to take steps to support sustainable urban development through green financing options,» Elaine Lam, OCBC’s head of Global Corporate Banking, said.

  • Japanese franchise Kura Sushi to launch in China

    Japanese franchise Kura Sushi to launch in China

    Japanese restaurant franchise Kura Sushi is launching in its third overseas market, China.

    The brand has already enjoyed some success in the US and Taiwan, and is now set to open its first Chinese mainland location in Shanghai. Ten further locations are planned for the territory later this year.

    According to a Nikkei report, the firm’s current strategy is to “double its revenues outside Japan to ¥300 billion (about US$2.7 billion) in 2030 by increasing its total number of outlets worldwide to 1000”.

    The move coincides with Kura Sushi’s launch of its global flagship in Tokyo, where it expects to serve 2000 people per day, including around 600 tourists.

  • Analysts Downgrade Thailand’s Oldest Banks

    Analysts Downgrade Thailand’s Oldest Banks

    Siam Commercial Bank, one of Southeast Asia’s largest lenders, has prompted cuts from analysts on concerns of its loan book.

    After the bank reported its fourth-quarter results, nearly a third of the analysts who cover the Thai bank cut their recommendations the past week, wiping out nearly $2 billion from its market value. Asia Plus, Credit Suisse and J.P. Morgan Chase were among the brokerages that cut ratings.

    Thailand’s economy in 2020 is still surrounded by negative factors. Asset quality is still at risk and needs to be watched closely. said Therdsak Thaveeteeratham, an analyst at Asia Plus Securities.

    Siam Commercial and other Thai lenders have closed branches while increasing digital banking in an effort to boost earnings. However, a struggling economy has increased bad loans at the bank, which is more than a century old and counts King Maha Vajiralongkorn as its biggest shareholder.

    Siam Commercial’s shares posted their biggest one-day decline since 2008 on January 20, the first trading day after the fourth-quarter earnings report showed a jump in bad-loan provisions.

    Still, the downgrades and reaction may be overdone as Siam Commercial raised loan-loss provisions in 2019, according to Diksha Gera, a Bloomberg Intelligence analyst. The bank may consider boosting the net interest margin and cut costs to counter weak revenue, she said.

    The bigger risk we see is potential M&A following recent moves of other local competitors such as Bangkok Bank to make acquisitions, she notes.

    Bangkok Bank last month announced that it would acquire a controlling stake in Indonesia’s PT Bank Permata for about $2.7 billion to expand its presence in Southeast Asia’s biggest economy.a

  • Louis Vuitton inks multi-year marketing deal with NBA

    Louis Vuitton inks multi-year marketing deal with NBA

    French luxury house Louis Vuitton has inked a multi-year marketing deal with the National Basketball Association (NBA), which includes the crafting of the first LVMH official trophy travel case for the US sports organization.

    The deal will also see Louis Vuitton create an annual limited-edition capsule collection, with details to be announced at a later date, the NBA announced.

    The trophy case, hand-crafted in Louis Vuitton’s historic Asnières workshop on the outskirts of Paris, is coated in the House’s emblematic monogram canvas and fitted with traditional brass fixtures.

    It will house and display The Larry O’Brien Trophy that is presented annually in June to the NBA team that wins the finals.

    According to Michael Burke, Louis Vuitton chairman and CEO, Louis Vuitton and the NBA are both icons and leaders in their respective fields, and the joining of the two promises exciting and surprising moments, forging historic memories together.

    Mark Tatum, NBA deputy commissioner and chief operating officer, said the partnership with Louis Vuitton creates a natural synergy with the NBA.

    “The tradition, heritage and identity of Louis Vuitton create a natural synergy with the NBA, and this partnership provides a unique and befitting way to showcase our championship trophy to our fans around the world,” Tatum said.

    The NBA and LVMH did not disclose any financial details or clarify as to how many years the partnership would last.

    The NBA has previously partnered with Swiss watch brand Tissot and ExxonMobil.

  • Azimut Yachts Hong Kong Concludes a Remarkable 2019

    Azimut Yachts Hong Kong Concludes a Remarkable 2019

    Azimut Yachts celebrated the group’s 50th anniversary year packed full of exciting events, sales, new launches, deliveries and awards throughout 2019. Azimut Yachts Hong Kong, with its offices and dealer partners in Hong Kong, China, Taiwan, and Singapore saw a wave of confidence across the region with an impressive number of yacht sales and handovers plus a series of well-planned and well-attended event. The busy year also saw the opening of two new sales offices; in Aberdeen, Hong Kong and Shenzhen Bay Yacht Club, Guangdong China.

    Bringing Azimut Yachts to Asia’s Doorstep

    A series of more than 10 events across Asia further promoted and elevated Azimut Yachts in the region. Through each of the events, Azimut Yachts celebrated with existing yacht owners as well as, provided an opportunity to showcase new yachts to potential new Azimut owners.  Events included the Macao Boat show, the Shenzhen Bay Yachting Festival – where Azimut Yachts Guangdong hosted the La Dolce Vita Italian Night – filmed by “Dolce Vita” Chinese TV and exclusive private bank and supercar events in Singapore and Hong Kong. In the coastal Taiwanese city, Tainan,, the first new S6 delivered to the region was handed over at the new Argo Yacht Club. The regional event of the year was the Azimut Yachts Party at the Singapore Yacht Show, where over 200 guests enjoyed live music and dance performances waterside against the backdrop of the New Azimut 55 and 25m Grande.

    Introducing New Yachts to Asia

    In October Azimut Yachts Guangdong proudly welcomed the first new Atlantis 45 to a captivated audience in Shenzhen, China. The Atlantis 45 is the successor to the Atlantis 43, a very popular yacht that exceeded all expectations by delivering over 140 yachts worldwide in four years. Featuring Volvo IPS propulsion, this new model takes on design cues from her larger sister, the Atlantis 51. The vertical bow stretches forward to boost the dynamics of a boat bringing out the sharpness of this yacht’s contours and its sporty soul.

    A series of successful 2019 Deliveries

    The Group completed an impressive number of deliveries across Asia. In 2019 several new models, including the S6, Atlantis 45, Azimut 55, Azimut Grande 25M and Azimut Grande 32, were delivered to new and repeat clients in Taiwan, Shenzhen, Singapore and Hong Kong. In addition, throughout the year, there was a steady stream of deliveries of the ever-popular Flybridge and Magellano models across all regions, and during the summer season alone no fewer than four  Azimut Grande models were delivered to Hong Kong and Singapore clients.

    In 2020 the Group  will introduce the latest new Azimut models to Asia, such as the stunning new S Range sisters the S10 and S8,  and the Azimut 78 Flybridge, all recently launched at the Cannes Yachts Festival in September.  New Azimut models are always hugely anticipated and these are no exception, with and S8 and 78 Flybridge already set for Hong Kong and Singapore deliveries before the summer.

    Regional Awards

    In addition to several industry awards won by the Group in 2019, Marine Italia Ltd, Azimut Yachts Hong Kong was awarded “Best after-sales support Worldwide (Excluding USA)” during the Azimut Yachts GLOBAL dealers meeting 2019 for their exceptionally high-quality customer service work and investments in customer support for the region.

    Azimut|Benetti closed out the 50th anniversary year, confirming its place for the 20th time as the world’s leading builder of high-end mega yachts, based on the international Global Order Book 2020 ranking of top yacht builders recently published by the highly- reputed magazine Boat International.

  • Indian fashion star Sabyasachi Mukherjee seals deal with H&M

    Indian fashion star Sabyasachi Mukherjee seals deal with H&M

    H&M has collaborated with Indian designer Sabyasachi Mukherjee to launch a new collection this year.

    The Sabyasachi x H&M collaboration themed “Wanderlust” will feature apparel for men and women, jewellery and accessories. “Taking cues from India’s rich textile, craft and history, the collection mixes modern and traditional silhouettes with a nod towards athleisure and glamping,” the company said in a statement.

    “H&M gives us the opportunity to spread the Sabyasachi aesthetic to a wider audience in India and worldwide,” said Sabyasachi Mukherjee. “Having done couture for the majority of my career, it is very exciting to bring that finesse of craft to ‘ready-to-wear’ and create whimsical and fluid silhouettes that bring relaxed sophistication to everyday life.”

    The new collection will be available in stores across India as well as selected flagship stores around the world on April 16, under the label Wanderlust.

    Prior to H&M, Sabyasachi has collaborated with other international designers and brands including Karl Lagerfeld, Christian Louboutin, Pottery Barn, Balmain and Versace.

    Sabyasachi Mukherjee launched his eponymous label in 1999. The designer has 5 flagship stores across India and has also founded Sabyasachi Art Foundation, a tribute to his artist mother.

  • Starbucks unveils ambitious sustainability commitment

    Starbucks unveils ambitious sustainability commitment

    Starbucks CEO Kevin Johnson has announced a multi-decade commitment to be a “resource-positive” company – aspiring to give more than it takes from the planet.

    “As we approach the 50th anniversary of Starbucks in 2021, we are looking ahead with a heightened sense of urgency and conviction that we must challenge ourselves, think bigger and do much more in partnership with others to take care of the planet we share,” said Johnson. “By embracing a longer-term economic, equitable and planetary value for our company, we will create greater value for all stakeholders.”

    The firm released plans to expand plant-based options, migrating toward a more environmentally friendly menu, as well as a shift from single-use to reusable packaging. It also intends to invest in “innovative and regenerative agricultural practices, reforestation, forest conservation and water replenishment in Starbucks supply chain”.

    Furthermore, Starbucks is committing to making investments in better ways to manage waste, both in its stores and its communities, to ensure more reuse, recycling and elimination of food waste. It will also develop more eco-friendly stores, operations, manufacturing and delivery processes.

    Johnson also outlined three preliminary targets for 2030, including a 50-per-cent reduction in carbon emissions in Starbucks direct operations and supply chain; a 50-per-cent conservation or replenishment of water withdrawal for direct operations and coffee production with a focus on communities and basins with high water risk; and a 50-per-cent reduction in waste sent to landfill from stores and manufacturing.

    “It is encouraging to see Starbucks embrace a data-driven and team-driven approach to creating a resource positive future,” said strategic consultancy firm SustainAbility’s executive director Mark Lee. “Their most senior leadership was directly involved in the creation of this plan, and they did an outstanding job convening experts in the field in the course of its development, inviting them to help Starbucks dream big on what’s possible for the planet. This puts Starbucks in the vanguard of corporate sustainability leaders, and we hope more businesses will be inspired to develop similarly robust approaches to addressing the world’s most pressing sustainability challenges.”

  • Kenzo opens on Tmall Luxury Pavilion

    Kenzo opens on Tmall Luxury Pavilion

    Luxury fashion brand Kenzo has launched a flagship store on Tmall Luxury Pavilion, marking the brand’s first partnership in China with an e-commerce provider.

    This also makes Kenzo the first LVMH-owned fashion label to open a standalone store on Alibaba Group’s dedicated platform for luxury and premium brands.

    Kenzo’s flagship store features items from its ready-to-wear, footwear, bags and accessories collections. The brand also launched its kung fu-inspired Chinese New Year capsule collection on the Pavilion, featuring Kenzo’s Kung Fu Rat character, a nod to the zodiac animal of the new lunar year.

    Two items from the new capsule,  a red cap and a zipped card case, also made their global debut on the Pavilion.

    To engage young shoppers, the brand also released a Kung Fu Rat-themed animation and interactive racing game inspired by 1950s comics and martial-arts movies from the 1970s. Pavilion users can play the game, featuring Kung Fu Rat and his Chinese-zodiac companions in a race across a hand-painted landscape, to win special perks and benefits.

    As part of the launch, Kenzo is also offering some of its first Pavilion customers special-edition boxes for purchases as well as interest-free, flexible payment options via Ant Financial’s consumer-lending service, Huabei.

  • Burberry bullish despite Hong Kong sales collapsing

    Burberry bullish despite Hong Kong sales collapsing

    Burberry sales slumped by half in Hong Kong in the third quarter – but the British luxury-fashion label is lifting its full-year forecast as revenue elsewhere compensates.

    Global same-store sales rose by 3 percent as consumers continued to embrace the new collections overseen by incoming creative director Riccardo Tisci.

    The company said the improvement was underpinned by growth in full-price sales although that was undermined in part by ongoing disruptions in the Hong Kong retail market and lower levels of marked-down inventory available.

    Sales in Asia Pacific grew by a low single-digit percentage driven by Mainland China up mid-teens. American sales were stable, while in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, sales grew by a high single-digit percentage.

    “This was another good quarter as new collections delivered strong growth and we continued to shift consumer perceptions of our brand and align the network to our new creative vision,” said CEO Marco Gobbetti. “While mindful of the uncertain macroeconomic environment, we remain confident in our strategy and the outlook for the full year.

    “We now expect full-year total revenue to grow by a low single-digit percentage at CER compared to previous guidance of broadly stable. Adjusted operating margin is expected to remain broadly stable at CER despite the impact of disruptions in Hong Kong.”

    The company said it was continuing to see a strong response from consumers to Riccardo Tisci’s new collections delivering double-digit growth compared to the prior year. “At the end of the quarter, new products accounted for about 75 percent of the range in mainline stores.”

    In China the company continued to focus on inspiring consumers.

    “At the end of December we launched our Lunar New Year campaign which has generated a strong early consumer response. In addition, preparations are underway to take our Autumn/Winter 2020 runway show to Shanghai in April and open our first social retail store in Shenzhen, in partnership with Tencent, in the first half of next financial year.”

    In Japan, the company opened a new flagship store at the Ginza Marronnier building in Tokyo and globally the company continued to refresh stores with about 60 now completed.

  • Netflix CEO admits Disney+ hurt it in the U.S.

    Netflix CEO admits Disney+ hurt it in the U.S.

    Netflix on Tuesday announced its fourth-quarter earnings for 2019 and the streaming video company reported the addition of 420,000 net new subscribers in the U.S. during the period. But before you use that stat as proof that the November launch of Disney+ did not effect Netflix during the fourth quarter, guess again. The company expected that it would report 600,000 new subscribers in the states for the period. The 180,000 subscriber shortfall might have been related to the strong start that Disney+ got off to, with 10 million subscribers signed up in the first 24 hours.
    Netflix CEO Reed Hastings admitted after the earnings announcement that Disney+ has “great” content and said that the rival streamer’s strong lineup “takes away a little from us.” While Netflix often falls short of its estimates (it happens half the time, says the Times), Netflix stated that during this past quarter it was impacted by the seven weeks that Disney+ was up and running during the fourth quarter. In the states, Netflix has 61 million subscribers and expects that figure to keep rising until it hits 90 million.
    Netflix added 8.4 million net new subscribers globally from October through December and set company records for the number of subscribers it picked up in Latin America, Asia and Europe during the period. On a quarterly basis, Netflix saw its global subscriber list rise 5.5% bringing the total to 167.1 million customers.
    Netflix will also have some more competition coming starting in the second quarter of this year when NBC Universal’s Peacock streamer launches. The latter’s inventory of content will include extremely popular fare including The Office. NBC/Universal reportedly paid $500 million for a five-year exclusive run for the sitcom on Peacock starting in 2021. The service will have two ad-supported tiers that will be free to Comcast and Cox subscribers although anyone can pay $4.99 a month for the Premium service. Comcast and Cox subscribers can also pay a monthly fee for ad-free streaming.
    Hastings doesn’t expect that Disney+ will negatively impact Netflix in the long term. “Most of their growth in the future is coming out of the linear TV,” the executive said. And frankly, the same might turn out to be true for Peacock.
    During the fourth quarter, Netflix reported net income of $570 million or $1.30 per share. That compares to net of $134 million or 30 cents per share during 2018’s fourth quarter. But last year’s quarter includes a $438 million tax benefit. Revenue rose 30% from the $4.2 billion recorded during 2018’s Q4 to $5.7 billion in 2019. The company announced that The Witcher was viewed by 76 million member households. But Netflix has changed the definition of a view to mean that a subscriber “chose to watch and did watch for at least 2 minutes — long enough to indicate the choice was intentional.” Previously, a viewer had to watch 70% or more of an episode or film to qualify as a view. As a result, Netflix’s future view counts will be hiked by 35%. For example, the number of views credited to Our Planet went from 33 million under the old definition to 45 million using the new definition.
    For the current quarter, Netflix estimates that it will add 7 million net new subscribers globally vs the 9.6 million it added during last year’s first quarter. Netflix expects to see elevated churn levels in the U.S. from January through March. Once again alluding to Disney+, the company’s Chief Financial Officer Spencer Neumann said that Netflix has been experiencing “some elevated churn from pricing and competition.”
  • Google offers three apps to keep you from getting addicted to your phone

    Google offers three apps to keep you from getting addicted to your phone

    The Google Play Store now features three Google apps designed to fight back against phone addiction. One, called Envelope, was developed by the company’s Special Projects – Experiments division and currently supports the Pixel 3a only. This app first requires you to print out a real envelope and put your Pixel 3a into it. There are cutouts only for the fingerprint reader and the main camera in the back. This reduces the functionality of the phone which will be able to make and take calls, give you the time, and take photos and videos. In other words, the app essentially turns your smartphone into a feature phone.
    Keep in mind that the envelope does prevent you from viewing the photos and videos you have just taken. Because the UI uses a black background, the app is battery friendly even if you keep your Pixel 3a inside the envelope all day. The few comments posted on the Play Store mostly gave Envelope a strong review.
    Another app found in the Play Store designed to fight phone addiction is called Activity Bubbles. Each time you unlock your phone, a new bubble is created on the screen. The bubble continues to grow in size until the phone is locked. This gives you a visual look at how often you are using your phone over the course of a day. This app and the Screen Stopwatch were developed by Google Creative Lab. The Screen Stopwatch is somewhat similar to the Activity Bubbles. Every time you unlock your handset, the large stopwatch counts off how long the display has been active over the course of a day. All three of these apps are free.

    Google originally offered the Digital Wellbeing app on the Pixels and it now is available for other Android phones as well. Last year, Google added a new requirement to the licensing agreement that it requires phone manufacturers to sign in order to use the Google Mobile Services version of Android. All phones upgraded to or installed with Android 9 or Android 10 must now come with Digital Wellbeing or feature a similar app developed by a licensed Android manufacturer.

    The topic of screen addiction was addressed in a documentary from 2016 called The Screenagers. In 2018, students from California’s Stanford University made big news by protesting against screen addiction at an Apple Store in Palo Alto. The protestors belonged to a group called Stanford Students Against Addictive Devices or SSAAD. The group was complaining that Apple wasn’t doing anything to stop users from constantly checking their iPhones. Some believe that this protest specifically led Apple to create Screen Time, a feature that tracks the daily usage of an iPhone user. And that led Google to create Digital Wellbeing.
    Screen addiction is a real problem. Last month, a study from London consisting of 42,000 adolescents discovered that 25% of the kids in the study were addicted to their phones and even experienced withdrawal symptoms when they had their handsets taken away from them.
  • Amazon India to use mom-and-pop shops as delivery points

    Amazon India to use mom-and-pop shops as delivery points

    Global online retailer Amazon has partnered with more than 20,000 local “kirana” stores in India to serve as delivery points.

    The move is part of the firm’s “I Have Space” program to build relationships with such stores in 350 Tier 1, 2 and 3 cities within the territory. It reflects competitor Flipkart’s recent investment in its ShadowFax network of neighborhood stores.

    “We believe the recent partnerships are expected to drive Amazon’s momentum across the country’s shoppers and mom-and-pop shops,” read a report by stock research firm Zacks. “Consequently, this will bolster the company’s presence in the retail space of India, which holds immense prospects.”

    Local stores stand to benefit from the initiative from the extra income they may receive as Amazon’s delivery partners.

    The Zacks report notes that Amazon’s stocks have returned just 14.2 percent over the past year, well below the industry’s rally of 22.4 percent.

  • Twitter is adding a major messaging feature to its apps

    Twitter is adding a major messaging feature to its apps

    Perhaps some of you already heard that Twitter is working on a messaging feature that somewhat mimics Apple’s iMessage reactions. The feature was in development and testing for a while now, which is why some of you might already know what’s this all about.

    Today, the social media platform announced that new emoji reactions for Direct Messages are available on the web, Android and iOS. Twitter also explains how to use the new messaging feature and advises users to update to the latest version to get it if they didn’t already.

    You can add an emoji reaction to any type of Direct Message be it text or media attachments. And yes, every time your Direct Message will get a reaction, you will be notified via Twitter. If you don’t like that, you can simply mute these notifications for 1 hour, 8 hours, 1 week, or Forever. This means that you will continue to receive new messages, it’s just that you won’t receive any notifications each time you get them.

    Now, it’s important to note that if you’re using an older version of Twitter that doesn’t support the new messaging feature, you will still get them but they will be displayed as text-based messages.