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Tag: asia

  • Bamboo Airways expects profits to take off in 2020

    Bamboo Airways expects profits to take off in 2020

    Private budget airline Bamboo Airways says it expects profits in the first quarter next year as its fleet expands to 30 aircraft.

    The carrier’s deputy chairman Dang Tat Thang said at a press conference Tuesday that it was operating 20 aircraft with over 100 trips a day, but an airline typically needs to operate at least 25-30 jets.

    “We hope that by having 30 aircraft in the first quarter next year we will record profits. By expanding our fleet to 30, we can stabilize operations and launch more routes.”

    The airline had recorded cumulative losses of VND329 billion ($14.2 million) at the end of April, three months after its first flight, according to the Ministry of Finance.

    Bamboo Airways chairman Trinh Van Quyet explained the losses at a shareholders’ meeting in June, saying the airline had to pay salaries for a team big enough to operate 30 aircraft, while the fleet was just 10 then.

    Quyet also expects profit from its direct U.S. flights. The airline is set to receive its first wide-body Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner this month, which will be used for direct flights to the U.S. in late 2020 or early 2021.

    Bamboo Airways is in the process of selecting an U.S. airline partner for its direct route, Thang said Tuesday. It is also mulling direct routes to Germany and the Czech Republic.

    The airline plans to launch an initial public offering next year to raise around $100 million. It is eyeing investors from Japan, the U.S., and Europe, he added.

    Foreign investors can own up to 34 percent of a Vietnamese airline, according to a government decree set to take effect January 1, 2020.

    The entrance of Bamboo Airways earlier this year has eaten into the market share of national flag carrier Vietnam Airlines and budget carrier Vietjet.

  • Bali gears up for the holiday season with extra AirAsia seats

    Bali gears up for the holiday season with extra AirAsia seats

    The Christmas and New Year holidays always see a spike in both local and foreign visitor arrivals to Bali. And this year is expected to be no different.

    In anticipation of more traffic, local news wires are reporting AirAsia Indonesia would be adding an additional 65,000 seats from December 1 to January 5, 2020.

    Speaking to reporters in Jakarta, Head of Communications at Indonesia’s Transportation Ministry, Baskoro Adiwiyono, said AirAsia Indonesia would also be bringing in an additional fleet of Airbus A320s and adding extra flights for several domestic routes to and from Jakarta.

    The Ministry is expecting a significant increase in seat occupancy rates for flights in mid-December 2019 to early 2020, especially to favorite holiday destinations such as Singapore, Lombok, Bali, and Surabaya. The Jakarta to Bali route, for example, will have an additional two flights per day until December 14.

    “Towards the Christmas and New Year holiday period we plan to increase the frequency of flights from the Jakarta to Denpasar to 13-times per day for the period December 15 to January 5,” said Baskoro.

    Prices tend to increase significantly as the major holidays approach and the Transportation Ministry is encouraging prospective passengers to book early to get the best prices while tickets are still available.

    AirAsia is also suggesting customers check the company’s social media accounts to take advantage of any holiday promotions.

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  • This airline is opening a restaurant that only serves plane food

    This airline is opening a restaurant that only serves plane food

    Out of the many repulsive things about air travel, airline food probably ranks high. But not for AirAsia.

    Asia’s largest low-cost carrier is betting people love its food so much that it opened its first restaurant on Monday, offering the same menu it sells on flights. It’s not a gimmick, either: AirAsia, based in Malaysia, said it plans to open more than 100 restaurants globally within the next five years.
    The quick-service restaurant’s first location is in a mall in Kuala Lumpur. It’s called Santan, meaning coconut milk in Malay, which is the same branding AirAsia uses on its in-flight menus.
    AirAsia’s Pak Nasser’s Nasi Lemak is served at the restaurant. Entrees cost around $3 USD and include local delicacies such as chicken rice and the airline’s signature Pak Nasser’s Nasi Lemak dish, a rice dish with chili sauce. Locally sourced coffee, teas and desserts are also on the menu.
    “We have seen a significant appetite for our in-flight menu offerings beyond our flights across the region and this is our answer to that demand,” the brand’s general manager Catherine Goh said in a press release.
    AirAsia hopes its Asian-specific food will attract people over its western competitors. It’s also part of the company’s broader plan to become a lifestyle brand, according to a recent interview CEO Tony Fernandes gave.
    The interior has kiosks where customers can order. Malaysia and neighboring southeastern Asian countries are increasingly attracting American restaurants. Domino’s Pizza plans to have 300 locations in Malaysia by next year, KFC has 700 restaurants and growing and McDonald’s recently announced a $300 million investment in the region to grow to more than 400 restaurants.
    AirAsia is also the first airline to bring its in-house food offerings to the ground. Typically, airlines attract high-end chefs from restaurants to craft in-flight menus. For example, JetBlue partnered with New York-based Saxon and Parole for its meals, and British Airways offers items for sale on some of its flights from regional retailer Marks and Spencer.
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  • Carrefour Taiwan launches Asia’s first private-label cage-free eggs

    Carrefour Taiwan launches Asia’s first private-label cage-free eggs

    Carrefour Taiwan has launched its first line of private label cage-free eggs, responding to growing consumer demands for sustainable products.

    The range, originating from an Asian retailer at its Neihu Store in Taipei’s north, marks another step in the brand’s local Act For Food initiative, which is intended to project Carrefour as a leader in food transition.

    As part of the launch, one Taiwanese dollar from every box sold will be donated to promote the welfare of farm animals, with proceeds going to the Environment & Animal Society of Taiwan.

    “When I saw firsthand the rich and active lives of hens on cage-free farms,” said Carrefour Taiwan director of CSR and communications Marilyn Su, “it was clear to me the role retailers must play in the food transition.

    “As a large international retailer, Carrefour is constantly thinking about how it can exercise corporate social responsibility to make Taiwan a better, more beautiful place because of our presence.”

    Carrefour Taiwan announced its four-step commitment to going cage-free in May last year. The chain currently stocks 24 cage-free egg SKUs in Taiwan, and the market share has already risen to 17 percent.

    Last month the firm conducted a survey of almost 1000 consumers, with results showing that nearly 80 percent of Taiwanese consumers care about the production system of the eggs they buy, and almost nine in 10 are concerned about antibiotics use, antibiotic residues, and unhygienic rearing environments.

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  • Malaysia retail sales forecast remains gloomy

    Malaysia retail sales forecast remains gloomy

    Malaysian retail sales are expected to fall for the third consecutive quarter.

    Retail Group Malaysia, which prepares quarterly reports for the Malaysia Retailers Association, is now projecting total sales of RM107.5 billion (US$25.75 billion) for the financial year to March 31, a 3.7-per-cent growth over last year. However, early projections suggest a more positive performance next year with an expected growth of 4.6 percent.

    “The coming New Year will remain a challenge for the Malaysian retail industry,” said RGM MD Tan Hai Hsin. “Externally, trade disputes among countries are not expected to end soon. Internally, economic policies that can stimulate consumer spending are limited in the near term.”

    Particularly worrisome figures for the supermarket and hypermarket sector predict a contraction of around 9 percent for this year’s final quarter.

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  • Breitling opens new concept store at Hong Kong airport

    Breitling opens new concept store at Hong Kong airport

    Swiss luxury watchmaker Breitling has opened a new boutique at Hong Kong International Airport.

    The new outlet features the brand’s industrial loft concept, inspired by mid-20th-Century interior design. The boutique is located at the departure level of Terminal 1 East Hall at HKIA.

    “We especially opened our new boutique at the HKIA as it not only represents Breitling’s century-old association with aviation but we also hope to share our brand history and DNA with travelers all over the world,” said Breitling CEO Georges Kern. “To celebrate the opening of this boutique, the new Aviator 8 Mosquito watch, inspired by the legendary de Havilland Mosquito plane, will be exclusively available in the HKIA store.”

    Modern-retro elements in the store include a neon Breitling logo from the 1940s and 1950s and yellow mesh walls with the stylized “B” vintage logo combined with bespoke furniture. The boutique brings together all of Breitling’s collections, including the latest novelties and some exclusive limited editions. In addition, the boutique also features a VIP area for more personal and discrete customer service.

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  • Vingroup, Masan to form Vietnam’s biggest retail group

    Vingroup, Masan to form Vietnam’s biggest retail group

    Vietnamese business giant Vingroup has agreed to merge its retail and agriculture unit with Masan Consumer Holdings, aiming to form Vietnam’s biggest retailer.

    The deal has the effect of spinning off Vingroup’s retail assets into a new company in which it will hold a minority stake, freeing Vietnam’s largest privately-owned to focus on its industrial businesses, including car manufacturing, smartphones and a new flatscreen television brand it is launching.

    Under the agreement, Vingroup will convert shares in VinCommerce JSC (retail) and VinEco (agriculture) into shares of the post-merger company in which Masan Group will take control while Vingroup will be a minority shareholder.

    The new company will take over VinCommerce’s retail network including 2600 VinMart and VinMart+ outlets across the country together with 14 high-tech farms of VinEco.

    The new venture will merge the country’s largest retail group with its leading FMCG player, creating a farm- or factory-to-store business entity.

    Vice-chairman and general director of VinGroup, Viet Quang Nguyen, said the main reason for the merger is that the group has changed its development strategy to focus on the technology industry, especially its new VinFast car company and VinSmart phone business.

    “Vingroup has completed its mission to create the pioneering and most effective clean agriculture and retail system in Vietnam,” says Cong Thang Truong, chairman of Masan Consumer. “And now we will carry this flag to continue our mission to serve consumers while ensuring a fair retail market for Vietnamese manufacturers.”

    VinCommerce has strengthened its retail presence by a combination of organic growth and by acquiring rival retail groups including 23 Fivimart supermarkets, 87 Shop&Go convenience stores, and the smaller Queensland convenience-store chain.

    Masan Consumer is one of Vietnam’s largest FMCG companies, manufacturing and distributing food-and-beverage products, including sauces, instant noodles and bottled beverages.

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  • Shake Shack to double down in Singapore, Philippines

    Shake Shack to double down in Singapore, Philippines

    Fast-food chain Shake Shack has announced new outlets in Singapore and Manila after enjoying early success with its debut stores in the two Southeast Asian cities.

    In Singapore, the US fast-food chain is bringing what it describes as its “design-driven restaurant” concept to Singapore’s CBD next year after its successful debut at Jewel Changi shopping center.

    Located in a historic building at 89 Neil Road, the restaurant will work closely with local artists and suppliers and will promote its mission to ‘Stand For Something Good’. Without, a hoarding will bear the artwork of Singaporean artist Sam Lo who blends Shake Shack’s icons with traditional Peranakan cultural patterns.

    Meanwhile, in Manila, the company will open a new outlet at SM Megamall next week seven months after its debut in the Philippines.

    Besides its menu items such as ShackBurger, Shack-cago Dog, crinkle-cut fries, beer, wine, and frozen custard ice cream, the Philippine outlets offer exclusive items including Ube shake and Calamansi Limeade.

    Launched in 2004 in a food truck, Shake Shack has expanded to more than 250 locations in the US and more than 85 international locations including London, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Singapore, Philippines, Mexico, Istanbul, Dubai, Tokyo, Moscow, and Seoul.

    The next year will see Shake Shack expand further both domestically and internationally. Global revenues grew by nearly 32 percent in the third quarter, the company reported.

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  • AirAsia restaurant concept brings its inflight menu down to earth

    AirAsia restaurant concept brings its inflight menu down to earth

    A new AirAsia restaurant opened in a Kuala Lumpur shopping mall is serving inflight meals on the ground.

    The Malaysian-headquartered budget carrier has opened its first restaurant Santan and T&CO in Kuala Lumpur, marking its footprint in the retail food business. More outlets are already being planned along with an offshore foray.

    Located at the Mid Valley Megamall, the AirAsia restaurant offers dishes from its existing inflight menu, including Pak Nasser’s nasi lemak, Nyonya curry laksa and signature Malaysian rice dish with chili condiment.

    Santan and T&CO feature a smart menu to recommend popular dishes based on time, past ordering patterns as well as demographic taste. Customers also can order directly from the restaurant’s website and mobile app.

    “We have seen a significant appetite for our in-flight menu offerings beyond our flights across the region and this is our answer to that demand,” says Catherine Goh, general manager of Santan and T&CO restaurant.

    Believing in the potential success of the new concept, Group CEO of AirAsia Tony Fernandes is already planning to franchise the brand internationally.

    The company plans to open five outlets this year and 100 outlets over the next five years with expansions in global markets.

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  • Deutsche Bank Hires Tech Duo in India

    Deutsche Bank Hires Tech Duo in India

    Deutsche Bank hires a duo in India focused on overseeing and enhancing the bank’s technology, data and innovation capabilities.

    Dilip Khandelwal joins as the bank’s managing director and head of technology centers. In his Pune-based role, he will oversee the bank’s tech centers globally to create «one, consistent strategy». In addition, Khandelwal was also named as the bank’s APAC head of technology, data and innovation as well as chief information officer for human resources, legal and communications.

    The bank also appointed Gil Perez as managing director and head of strategy and innovation. According to an announcement, Perez will oversee innovation strategy, thought leadership and technology innovation partnerships to match the bank’s needs with relevant third party tech solutions.

    Khandelwal and Perez both join from software provider SAP where they’ve had experience with undergoing various forms of tech transformation. Khandelwal led a large scale transformation to accelerate client adoption of cloud services at SAP while Perez spent 8 years with former employer where he guided enterprise companies with their respective digital transformation journeys.

    The opportunity to transform technology at a global company like Deutsche Bank is a unique challenge for talented and ambitious technologists, said Bernd Leukert, head of technology, data and innovation at Deutsche Bank.

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  • HSBC Brings Clients to Borneo

    HSBC Brings Clients to Borneo

    HSBC Jade invited clients to a trip traditionally reserved for senior staff and private banking clients to promote climate change awareness.

    The HSBC Sustainability Expedition was based in Malaysian Borneo where clients ventured into the Danum Valley’s rainforest encountering various animals including orangutans, Borneo pygmy elephants, flying squirrels and gibbons. The expedition was done in partnership with Earthwatch Institute and joined by science from the Royal Soci<ty South East Asia Rainforest Research Partnership (SEARRP).

    High net worth individuals in Asia are showing increased interest in sustainable living and incorporating ESG factors when investing, said Toby Chan, group head of Jade and Top Tier, HSBC retail banking and wealth management.

    We created the Sustainability Expedition for Jade to improve our clients’ knowledge of climate change and deepen understanding of sustainability through hands-on scientific research and expert conversations.

    The bank invited HSBC Jade clients from mainland China, Hong Kong and Singapore to engage in a myriad of activities including habitat assessment; the gathering of evidence on plant and animal life; and the planting of 80 Dipterocarp trees, a species prevalent in Borneo. In addition, the bank educated clients on sustainable investing and its role in transitioning to a low carbon economy.

    Five days in Danum Valley allow you to be really immersed in the whole ecosystem, the greenery, taking in what is living on earth, and how we should save our planet, said one Singapore client, according to the bank’s release.

    I will remember these particular actions on sustainability that I can do in my own ability – for example, decision making in terms of vendor purchasing, renovations, and any other matters where I’m responsible.

  • BMW India Launches New ‘BMW Smart Repairs’ Across Its Service Network

    BMW India Launches New ‘BMW Smart Repairs’ Across Its Service Network

    BMW India announced the introduction of ‘BMW Smart Repairs’ across its service network in the country. According to the company, the new repair service will ensure faster repairs and a reduction in cost for small and medium-size repairs. Targeted repairs without having to replace bigger parts will be carried out by the company.

    BMW Smart Repair includes body and paint related jobs including plastic parts, dents, spot paint job, headlight, alloy wheel, and leather works.

    Rudratej Singh, President and Chief Executive Officer, BMW Group India said, “BMW Smart Repair follows a technology-driven, targeted approach to ensure quality BMW service for small and medium repairs instead of replacing whole parts. It significantly reduces service-related costs and turn-around time, so our customers can enjoy complete peace of mind. Whether the job is big or small, they know that their BMW will receive the finest care.”

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  • Amazon Web Services Puts Mahindra Electric In Top Gear

    Amazon Web Services Puts Mahindra Electric In Top Gear

    With India planning to replace a significant portion of its conventional internal combustion engine fleet by electric vehicles (EV) in the next decade and target 30 percent of all cars on the road to be EVs by 2030, the segment leader Mahindra Electric is witnessing a robust uptick for its vehicles not just in metro cities but also tier-1 and tier-2 cities, its CEO Mahesh Babu told IANS on Wednesday. Mahindra, the biggest electric car seller in the country, terms its eVerito “India’s first electric sedan”.

    Its electric 3-wheeler range Treo and Treo Yaari — India’s first lithium-ion electric 3-wheelers — is also witnessing a great adoption.

    As the company sees the future of the mobility as both electric and digital, the daunting task of handling data and maintaining an agile, scalable and secure workflow — anticipating millions of connected electric vehicles soon on the Indian roads — is what concerns Mahindra Electric the most.

    Amazon’s Cloud arm Amazon Web Services (AWS), which is organizing its annual flagship conference “AWS re: Invent” here this week, fits the bill for them.

    “Electric vehicles are bringing in best of the technologies together. The rapid progress demands us to be agile, secure and quick. AWS has empowered us better with handling data,” Babu said.

    “We are using load balancers and services that can auto-scale as the load increases. Agility comes from their serverless architecture that helps us to innovate faster. AWS Managed Services are compliant and have built-in security measures that include security updates and patching, etc,” he elaborated.

    Driven by an urge to cut pollution in the cities, enhance national fuel security and make it a major global manufacturing hub for electric vehicles, India has announced several incentives this year to boost the EV sector, ranging from tax cut to allow sale of electricity as “service” for charging of electric vehicles in a bid to attract investments into charging infrastructure.

    The government has introduced an outlay of Rs 10,000 crore for Phase 2 of the Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Hybrid and Electric Vehicles (FAME 2) scheme to boost electric mobility.

    According to Babu, With FAME 2 and other benefits, they have seen an uptake in the sales of electric three-wheelers and electric cars in the fleet segment.

    “We expect the demand to come from the mass mobility segment first (3-wheelers, 2-wheelers, buses and fleet cars) followed by personal segment. Mahindra’s electric vehicles are witnessing demand not only in metro cities but also tier-1 and tier-2 cities have shown strong acceptance to our electric three-wheeler Treo,” Babu told IANS.

    Close on the heels of the Union Budget providing tax relief for buying EVs, the GST Council in its 36th meeting in July cut the tax on EVs from 12 percent to 5 percent. The Council also slashed rate for EV chargers from 18 percent to 5 percent making electric vehicles affordable for the buyers.

    Road transport accounts for around 90 percent of the total emissions in the transport sector in India. Given the large import dependence of the country for petroleum products, it is imperative that there should be a shift of focus to alternative fuels to support our mobility in a sustainable manner, according to the Economic Survey 2018-19.

    The lithium-ion powered three-wheelers are set to be a natural progression for the industry and Mahindra Electric is looking to ramp up its efforts in the li-ion battery space.

    “Mahindra Electric was the first to bring in lithium-ion powered auto with the launch of Treo. We have an experience of our 170 million electric kilometres in this technology in India that has helped us to understand the economics around EVs,” informed Babu.

    In 2018, the company announced collaboration with LG Chem to bring in global Li-ion technology to India.

    “The company is further investing in a new EV manufacturing plant in Chakan (Pune) and a global R&D centre in Bengaluru that will enable us to achieve scalability and agility to roll out new products quickly,” the Mahindra Electric CEO added.

    Mahindra Electric, he said, is now better equipped and flexible to quickly scale up its EV and connected mobility goals.

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  • Hyundai Motor Unveils Plan To Invest $52 Billion Over Six Years

    Hyundai Motor Unveils Plan To Invest $52 Billion Over Six Years

    Hyundai Motor plans to invest about 61.1 trillion won between 2020 and 2025, about one-third of the expenditure focused on electric and autonomous vehicles, the company said on Wednesday. The South Korean carmaker unveiled a “Strategy 2025” roadmap that envisaged annual average spending of 10 trillion won, higher than previous years, and up from a 2018 figure of 6.1 trillion won.

    Hyundai will devote about 20 trillion won of the total investment, spread across six years, to future technologies, it added.

    It also set an ambitious deadline of 2025 to place itself among the world’s top three makers of battery and fuel cell vehicles, with annual sales of 670,000 electric vehicles, including 560,000 battery-based cars.

    Hyundai shares were up 2% by 0136 GMT after the announcement, which included a plan to buy back 259.6 billion won worth of common shares.

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  • Here’s how to watch Apple’s first Music Awards winner show live

    Here’s how to watch Apple’s first Music Awards winner show live

    After issuing a plethora of new hardware this year, starting from new iPads and finishing with the AirPods Pro, Apple is reserving a stage today entirely for its new adventures in content and media. Multimedia.

    It took on cable and Netflix with the upcoming Apple TV channels and TV+ subscription streamer. Game streaming and distribution platforms like Steam or Google’s upcoming Stadia will face the casual but formidable Arcade undertaking. News aggregators and standalone publishers now have another potentially huge platform to consider – News+.In one fell swoop, Apple wiggled its way right smack in the center of the news and entertainment industry, moving swiftly from a hardware to a content creation focal point. None of these newfangled Apple services can take on the established players on its own just yet, but Apple is catching up quickly.

    It just announced… its Music Awards today, “a celebration of the best and boldest musicians of 2019 and the enormous impact they have had on global culture this year.” According to Oliver Schusser, Apple’s vice president of Apple Music and International Content:

    The Apple Music Awards are designed to recognize the passion, energy and creativity of the world’s favorite artists,” said Oliver Schusser, Apple’s vice president of Apple Music and International Content. “The musically diverse group of inaugural winners have sparked deep social conversation, influenced culture and inspired our customers around the world. We couldn’t be more excited to celebrate them.

    Who won? Well, Billie Eilish is Artist of the Year, of course, and the “WHEN WE FALL ASLEEP, WHERE DO WE GO?” is Apple Music’s Album of the Year with over a billion streams. Billie, together with her brother Finneas, also got the Songwriter of the Year award from Apple.

    Lizzo is a Breakthrough Artist of the Year, while for Song of the Year Apple pegged the “Old Town Road” hit by Lil Nas X that became the most streamed song on Apple Music. The physical award itself? We are glad you asked about this raging minimalism, here it is:

    Each award features Apple’s custom silicon wafer suspended between a polished sheet of glass and a machined and anodized aluminum body. The wafers start as a perfect 12-inch disc of silicon with nanometer-level flatness. Copper layers are deposited and patterned by ultraviolet lithography to create connections between billions of transistors. The result of this multi-month process, before it is sliced into hundreds of individual chips, is stunning and distinctive. In a symbolic gesture, the same chips which power the devices that put the world’s music at your fingertips sit at the very heart of the Apple Music Awards.

    In addition, Apple will be streaming live its signature Music Awards event with a “bespoke performance from Billie Eilish at the Steve Jobs Theater at Apple Park.” We can’t wait to see the spectacle that Apple has made out of its first award show, and you can tune in on December 4 at at 6:30 p.m. Pacific | 3:30pm Eastern for the staged festivities.

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