Retail News CRM

Tag: asia

  • Malaysian AirAsia X Launching Direct Flights to Kazakhstan

    Malaysian AirAsia X Launching Direct Flights to Kazakhstan

    The airline plans to conduct regular flights four days a week—Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays, and Sundays—using an A-330 aircraft for the Kuala Lumpur-Almaty route.

    AirAsia X, established in 2006, is a segment of the AirAsia Aviation Group. It boasts a fleet exceeding 270 aircraft and operates flights across 400 routes spanning 25 countries.

    AirAsia X ‘s most popular destinations are: Asia (Bali, Sapporo, Tokyo, Osaka, Seoul, Busan, Jeju, Taipei, Kaohsiung, Xi’an, Beijing, Hangzhou, Chengdu, Shanghai, Chongqing, Wuhan, Maldives, New Delhi, Jaipur, Mumbai and Kathmandu), Australia (Sydney, Melbourne, Perth and the Gold Coast) New Zealand (Auckland), the Middle East (Jeddah and Medina) and the United States of America (Hawaii).

    The airline operates in three hubs: Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok and Denpasar, Bali.

  • Gasoline, diesel prices drop

    Gasoline prices went down for the second time in a row Thursday, while diesel declined for the third straight time.

    The popular gasoline RON95 fell 2.17% to VND23,020 ($0.95) per liter.

    Diesel went down 2.87% to VND20,280.

    Starting this week, the government will adjust retail fuel prices every Thursday instead of every 10 days as before.

    Global fuel prices dropped slightly in the last ten days due to a decline in demand caused by economic recessions and rising U.S. crude oil inventory.

    RON92 fell 2.9% to $91.09 per barrel, while RON95 dropped 2% to $97.26. Diesel declined 2.4% to $105.15.

    Lees ook:

  • Wexco to represent DHL Aviation in Oceania

    Wexco to represent DHL Aviation in Oceania

    DHL Aviation has tapped ECS Group subsidiaries Wexco Group and Wexco NZ to provide GSSA services in Australia and New Zealand starting 1 December 2023.

    The four-year contracts were finalised in end-September, which will see Wexco sell the capacity on board 45 weekly flights, with 550 tonnes of capacity to be filled each week. DHL operates 26 flights from Australia and 19 flights from New Zealand transporting perishable commodities alongside regular horse shipments.

    “The wide variety of perishable commodities alongside regular horse shipments, make DHL Aviation an exciting airline partner and we are therefore all the more delighted to enter into this partnership,” stated Wexco general manager, Richard Valenzuela.

    DHL Aviation connects to many international destinations out of Australia and New Zealand, including Singapore, Seoul, Hong Kong, Bahrain, US, and various European locations. Its Australian flight schedule offers a Melbourne (MEL) to SIN connection, 5 times per week; Sydney (SYD) to SIN operations, 7 times per week; MEL to Auckland (AKL) to Christchurch (CHC), 5 times per week; and SYD–AKL–CHC, 6 times per week. Weekly uplift consists of meat, chilled salmon and other perishable produce to Asia, whilst exports to New Zealand include general cargo, e-commerce, regular horse movements, and perishables, which are predominantly stone fruits.

    Out of New Zealand, DHL flies from CHC via AKL to SYD, 6 times per week, and CHC–AKL–MEL, 5 times per week, connecting with intra-Australian road feeder services where necessary. Main commodities include fish, dairy, general cargo and horses to Australia, and meat, fruit, and seafood to destinations in Asia.

    “DHL operates a fleet of more than 20 Asia Pacific dedicated aircrafts and is committed to ensuring reliable and efficient service performance, in particular when it comes to supporting trans-Tasman trade. We have invested heavily in Oceania over the past five years and partnering with equally driven partners is essential to the success of our challenging growth strategy,” says Nathan Vellasamy, Vice President at DHL Aviation, Air Capacity Sales, Asia Pacific.

    Parent GSSA company ECS Group now represents DHL in more than 20 countries across the globe.

    Lees ook:

  • Mastercard JV Approved to Begin Domestic Payments Processing in China

    Mastercard JV Approved to Begin Domestic Payments Processing in China

    Mastercard today announced that its joint venture entity, Mastercard NUCC Information Technology (Beijing) Co., Ltd., has received formal approval from the People’s Bank of China (PBOC) and the National Administration of Financial Regulation (NAFR) to commence domestic bankcard clearing activity in China.  

    “We are pleased to have reached this milestone with our local partner NUCC. Mastercard’s deeper participation in the Chinese market will benefit the country, its consumers and its businesses, while simultaneously boosting our company’s mission of connecting and powering an inclusive digital economy that benefits everyone and unlocks priceless possibilities for all,” said Michael Miebach, CEO of Mastercard.  

    In February 2020, the PBOC principally approved the application from Mastercard NUCC to begin formal preparations to set up a domestic bankcard clearing institution in China. Since that time, the JV has established standards, rules, structures and infrastructure in line with local regulatory requirements, and obtained the required certificates for a local switch business.  

    “Mastercard NUCC is committed to being in China as an active partner, working to expand issuance and acceptance of Mastercard-branded products for the benefit of local businesses and consumers. As we ramp up our domestic operations, we look forward to working with customers and partners in China to harness technologies and innovations in a way that empowers local businesses and delivers the best payments experiences to people every day,” said Ling Hai, chairman of the board of Mastercard NUCC and co-president, international markets at Mastercard.  

    In recent years, Mastercard has built a strong cross-border portfolio in China that includes tens of millions of bank cards and millions of acceptance points across the country, helping power connectivity to the global economy and driving cross-border and inbound commerce in China. Earlier this year, Mastercard enabled inbound acceptance via Alipay and Tencent wallets so that international cardholders can pay safely and conveniently like a local at tens of millions of QR payment points when traveling around China.  

    Lees ook:

  • Embraer E2 jets gain type certification in Singapore

    Embraer E2 jets gain type certification in Singapore

    Embraer’s E190-E2 and E195-E2 have attained type certification from the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS).  Scoot, low-cost subsidiary of Singapore Airlines, is due to operate the E190-E2 from 2024.

    The E190-E2 and E195-E2, considered the world’s quietest and most fuel-efficient single-aisle aircraft, were certified by three key civil aviation authorities in 2018 and 2019, which include the FAA in the US, EASA in Europe and ANAC in Brazil. 

    Embraer and CAE recently announced plans to establish a state-of-the-art E2 full flight simulator and pilot training programme in Singapore, which will commence operations by the end of this year. The full flight simulator is based at the Singapore-CAE Flight Training Centre which is located at SIA Training Centre.

    Lees ook:

  • Vegetable, fruit exports reach $5.2B record

    Vegetable, fruit exports reach $5.2B record

    Vietnam’s vegetable and fruits exports surged 70% year-on-year in the first 11 months to $5.2 billion, a new historic peak.

    Durian accounted for 40% of the value, followed by jackfruit, watermelon, grapefruit and longan, all recording growth between 50% and 200%, according to the Vietnam Fruits & Vegetables Association (VFA).

    This was the first time that vegetables and fruits exceeded the export value of key agricultural produce such as rice, cashew nuts and coffee.

    China was the biggest market in the first 10 months at $3.2 billion, accounting for 66% of the total. Growth was 2.7% year-on-year.

    It was followed by the U.S., down 3% to $212 million, South Korea, up 25% to $187 million and Japan, up 7% to $151 million.

    The surge in demand from China and other countries helped exports to reach new heights, said Dang Phuc Nguyen, VFA general secretary.

    More durian farming areas have been approved for exports to China this year and this helped increase shipment, he said, adding that improved infrastructure and logistics also contributed to the growth.

    China is considering importing fresh coconuts from Vietnam and the fruit if approved, will likely be another one that records billions in exports.

    Vietnam is negotiating with the U.S. and Australia to export passion fruit there. It is also in talks to ship grapefruit to Japan, South Korea, Australia and India.

    Lees ook:

    Lees ook:

  • Australian wine sales up despite lowest production in 15 years

    Australian wine sales up despite lowest production in 15 years

    Australian wine sales rose by 11 percent despite the lowest wine production in 15 years, according to the Wine Production, Sales and Inventory Report 2023 by Wine Australia.

    In the fiscal year 2022-23, 964 million liters of wine were produced, while sales remained steady at 1.07 billion liters, with a slight increase in domestic sales offsetting the decline in exports.

    Peter Bailey, manager of marketing insights at Wine Australia, said this is the first time in five years that the total sales volume remained steady year-on-year.

    “Sales of Australian wine have been decreasing in our domestic market and export markets over the past five years due to declining wine consumption combined with increased cost-of-living pressures and the effects of the significant duties on Australian wine to China,” he explained.

    The national wine inventory decreased by 4 percent to an estimated 2.2 billion litres in June last year due to sales exceeding production. However, inventory levels remain high, particularly for red wine.

    “This is a move in the right direction for the sector as it responds to the challenge of rebalancing supply and demand,” adds Bailey. “However, it is only a small reduction after the lowest vintage in 20 years, and stocks of red wine remain at historically high levels.”

    The report noted that the stock-to-sales ratio for red wine was still 45 percent above the 10-year average despite decreasing by 7 percent due to the decrease in inventory.

    While supply and demand for white varieties appeared to be more balanced, Bailey pointed out that sales of white wine in 2022-23 were considerably lower than the 10-year average production.

    “Rebalancing supply and demand remains a real challenge for the sector,” he concluded.

    “Our situation reflects the global environment, as world wine production has exceeded yearly consumption for at least the past ten years. This prolonged oversupply, equivalent to more than twice Australia’s production yearly, has put increasing pressure on all wine-producing countries.”

  • Google Messages loses Reminder and Google Photos integration features

    Google Messages loses Reminder and Google Photos integration features

    Google Messages, the default messaging app for many Android users, has recently lost two key features: message reminders and Google Photos integration. These removals have been met with confusion and frustration from users, who are hoping that the features are simply bugs and not intentional changes.

    Some users — both on stable and beta versions of the app — have reported that the alarm clock icon, used to set reminders for messages, is no longer visible in the toolbar when selecting a message. While the “Remind 1 hr” shortcut in incoming notifications still works, the full reminder functionality seems to be missing. This is a strange occurrence considering the feature was introduced back in 2019 and has since then become a popular feature among users.

    Additionally, the Google Photos integration that allows users to upload videos to the cloud and send them as links, is also missing. This feature was particularly useful for sharing high-quality videos without the limitations of SMS/MMS. However, this feature is now completely missing from the Messages app settings, when it would normally appear right above the aforementioned “Remind 1 hr” setting.

    The removal of these features has led many users to believe that they are intentional decisions by Google. However, it is more likely that these are bugs or glitches rather than planned changes, likely due to the recently planned upgrades currently in testing— such as noise cancellation and markdown text support.

    The selective removal of reminders and the complete disappearance of the Google Photos integration are not likely to be permanent or deliberate actions when considering how popular and helpful these features are. However, it is essential to note that this isn’t the first time a helpful feature has disappeared from the Messages app, such as has been the case with the “View messages by category” feature that filters personal from business messages.

    Google has not yet addressed the missing features in Google Messages. Hopefully, the company quickly fixes these issues and restores the functionality that users have come to rely on sooner rather than later.

    Lees ook:

  • DHL Express unveils newly expanded hub in Hong Kong

    DHL Express unveils newly expanded hub in Hong Kong

    DHL Express has completed the expansion of its Central Asia Hub or CAH in Hong Kong, which can now handle six times more shipment volume than when it was first established in 2004.

    The leading express operator has spent 562 million euros on the Hong Kong hub over the last 19 years with two phased developments in both 2008 and 2017. Given its location in Hong Kong, the hub is important gateway to Asia and the rest of the world and today it handles close to 20 percent of the company’s global shipment volume.

    DHL Express said it initiated the final expansion of the facility to complement the launch of Hong Kong International Airport’s three-runway system, which is set to be completed by 2024.

    With direct access to airside and landside, the newly expanded state-of-the-art facility, with double the total warehouse space at 49,500 square metres, is currently the only dedicated and purpose-built air express cargo facility at Hong Kong International Airport with an automated material handling system and peak handling capacity of 125,000 shipments per hour. It currently handles over 200 dedicated flights per week.

    DHL Express said that it expects to handle plus 50 percent of the current volume or up to 1.06 million tonnes per annum when operating at full capacity, six times the shipment volume of when the hub was first established in 2004.

    The company’s Asia Pacific air network operates with four hubs, one in Hong Kong, Shanghai, Singapore and Bangkok, linking to 900 express facilities in the region. The newly expanded hub in Hong Kong is expected to help strengthen the world city’s role as a trans-shipment hub for the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, as well as support Hong Kong airport’s long-term goal to become the ‘e-commerce fulfillment centre of Asia’.

    To address the issue of sustainability, DHL has installed solar panels on the hub’s roof and deployed a battery storage system that can store excess solar power and release it as needed,saving 125,000 kWh of electricity annually and reducing 49 tonnes of carbon emissions. Other environmentally friendly features include electric forklifts, LED lights and highly efficient air-cooled chillers.

    Lees ook:

    Lees ook:

    Lees ook:

  • McDonald’s to buy Carlyle’s stake in China business

    McDonald’s to buy Carlyle’s stake in China business

    Fast food chain McDonald’s Corporation has agreed to acquire Carlyle’s 28 percent stake in the consortium that operates the McDonald’s business in Mainland China, Hong Kong and Macau.

    Through its equity affiliate Citic Capital, the Citic Consortium will maintain a 52 percent controlling stake while McDonald’s will increase its ownership in the business to 48 percent.

    “Our strategic partnership with CITIC and Carlyle has been extremely successful in growing McDonald’s presence in the region since it began. China is now our second largest market; we’ve doubled our restaurants to more than 5500 since 2017,” said Chris Kempczinski, McDonald’s president and CEO.

    “We believe there is no better time to simplify our structure, given the tremendous opportunity to capture increased demand and further benefit from our fastest-growing market’s long-term potential.”

    The acquisition comes amid the consortium’s target to reach more than 10,000 McDonald’s stores in the region by FY28 and nearly six years after the burger chain agreed to sell 80 percent of its China and Hong Kong businesses to Citic and Carlyle for up to $2.1 billion.

    “As McDonald’s China’s controlling shareholder, we are thrilled by McDonald’s Corporation’s continued commitment to our long-term partnership and the China market,” said Yichen Zhang, Citic Capital CEO and McDonald’s China chairman.

    The deal is expected to close in the first quarter of next year.

  • iPhone users should expect to receive iOS 17.1.2 next week

    iPhone users should expect to receive iOS 17.1.2 next week

    Get ready iPhone users because iOS 17.1.2 is coming your way. MacRumors says that it has seen evidence of the update in its website’s analytics logs. Some of the higher profile bugs that still need to be exterminated include one that has prevented iPhone users running iOS 17.1 and later from wirelessly charging using the in-car charging pad of their General Motors vehicle. Apple had previously disseminated iOS 17.1.1 to eliminate a bug that broke NFC on iPhone 15 series handsets that charged using BMW’s in-vehicle charging system.

    Without NFC, the damaged iPhone units could not use Apple Pay and some received an error message saying that Apple Pay could not be set up on their devices even if the feature had already been used on these phones. Apple-certified techs were told to use Apple Service Toolkit 2 software in order to revive the NFC chip on damaged units, while some were told that their iPhones had to be opened up to repair or replace some of the hardware. While BMW warned iPhone 15 series users not to use the in-vehicle charger on new vehicles, Apple did push out iOS 17.1.1 to fix the issue at the beginning of this month.

    The iOS 17.1.2 update will probably be released next week since Apple traditionally stays away from releasing any new software builds during the week of Thanksgiving in the U.S. That’s because many of Apple’s employees are given the week off. Last year, a similar situation occurred with iOS 16.1.2 and the latter was finally released on November 30.

    As for iOS 17.2, Apple has been pushing out beta builds of the update with the final version expected in the middle of next month. The update will add support for spatial video recording for the iPhone 15 Pro models; these videos will be viewable with the Apple Vision Pro headset once it is launched. The iPhone’s new Journal feature will be available once iOS 17.2 is installed along with new Clock and Weather widgets, and an option that will allow iPhone 15 Pro series users to have the Translate app open when the Action button is long-pressed on the phone.

    But before iOS 17.2 arrives, iOS 17.1.2 will be released possibly to fix the GM wireless charging bug and any other annoying issues that iPhone users are currently dealing with.

    Lees ook:

  • AirAsia X, Unilode renew partnership until 2027

    AirAsia X, Unilode renew partnership until 2027

    Unilode Aviation Solutions and medium-, long-haul carrier AirAsia X have extended their full-service ULD management partnership until 2027.

    The two have been working together since 2009 and the partnership has been renewed twice in the past 14 years. Unilode manages the ULD supply for AirAsia X’s current fleet of 14 A330 aircraft. The carrier will acquire three more widebody aircraft by the end of this year with plans to grow further over the next few years.

    AirAsia X currently flies to 19 destinations and the ULD repairs are carried out in Unilode’s global MRO network, mainly located in the Asia-Pacific region, to reduce turnaround times and increase asset availability.

    “Unilode has flexibly adapted to our changes in ULD types and met our ongoing ad-hoc demands to enable AAX to increase cargo revenues amongst other key deliverables,” commented Captain Suresh Bangah, chief operating officer of AirAsia X.

    Unilode, who claims aa strong presence and customer base in the Asia-Pacific region, said it will continue to strengthen its position in the region with new customers and MRO expansion in the coming months.

  • Vietnam Airlines joins the AAPA

    Vietnam Airlines joins the AAPA

    Vietnam Airlines is the latest member to join the Association of Asia Pacific Airlines (AAPA), as announced by a press release on 14 November, with immediate effect.

    As part of the AAPA, Vietnam Airlines will participate in the Association’s meetings and joint activities, where members can stay updated and exchange information about the trends in the aviation industry. Airline members also receive in-depth insights, forecasts, and advice from the group’s regular monthly distribution.

    On 9-10 November 2023, the AAPA organised its 67th Assembly of Presidents in Singapore, which gathered airline leaders to discuss relevant issues in air transport and aviation, with a core focus on sustainability. The conclusion of the event, which was hosted by airline member Singapore Airlines, saw the passing of a series of resolutions covering sustainability, aviation safety and regulatory impact.

    Airline leaders have agreed to a ‘collective’ target of 5 percent SAF utilisation by 2030, and the trade association is calling on governments, fuel producers, airports, and other industry organisations to come together globally, to accelerate the transition to renewable energy and push the ambitious goal to carbon neutrality by 2050.

    The AAPA’s membership now stands at 15 airlines, which include Air Astana, Air India, ANA, Bangkok Airways, Cathay Pacific, China Airlines, Eva Air, Garuda Indonesia, Japan Airlines, Malaysia Airlines, Philippine Airlines, Royal Brunei Airlines, Singapore Airlines, Thai Airways and Vietnam Airlines.

  • Alibaba records “solid quarter” with revenue growing across segments

    Alibaba records “solid quarter” with revenue growing across segments

    Alibaba Group saw its revenue increase 9 percent year over year to US$30.81 billion for the quarter ended September 30.

    The company’s operating income soared 34 percent to $4.603 billion, with adjusted EBITA up 18 percent to $5.872 billion.

    Taobao and Tmall Group’s revenue was up 4 percent to $13.385 billion, as content and price-competitive strategy drove organic growth of users and order volume increased.

    Alibaba International Digital Commerce Group (AIDC), which operates Lazada, AliExpress, Trendyol, Daraz, Miravia and Alibaba.com, posted a 53 percent increase in revenue to $3.360 billion. AIDC recorded order growth of 28 percent thanks to a solid performance from all major retail platforms.

    Lazada recorded double-digit order growth, with losses per order narrowing both quarter over quarter and year over year.

    Other segments, namely Local Services Group, Cainiao Smart Logistics Network, Cloud Intelligence Group, and Digital Media and Entertainment Group, also saw revenue growths of between 2 and 25 percent.

    For the quarter, the company logged a net income of $3.659 billion, compared to net loss of $3.1 billion in the same quarter of 2022.

    Eddie Wu, CEO of Alibaba Group, said the group delivered a “solid quarter” due to its strategic reorganization.

    “Through a more flexible organizational governance mechanism, we aim to capture brand new opportunities from the ongoing AI technological transformation and create more value for our customers.”

  • Fila records a 35 per cent decrease in revenue

    Fila records a 35 per cent decrease in revenue

    Fila’s parent company Fila Holdings reported overall earnings of US$766.97 million for the third quarter, for which the company credits its global five-year “Winning Together” strategy established last year.

    The group said its operating profit was $71.6 million, boosted by strong sales at subsidiary Acushnet.

    Acushnet’s quarterly revenue increased by 3.3 percent year-on-year to $602.84 million due to strong demand for Titleist golf balls, as well as strong sales of its newly launched Titleist golf clubs and a higher average selling price (ASP).

    Meanwhile, Fila reported $163.44 million in quarterly revenue, a 35.1 percent reduction year-on-year.

    Fila Holdings is paying out a special dividend for the second year in a row, despite the Fila brand’s strategic transition obstacles. The company’s long-term commitment to increasing shareholder value is an important component of its Winning Together strategy.

    “In the face of a challenging business environment, we are striving to improve shareholder value alog with profitability in our main business,” said Fila Holdings CFO Ho Yeon (Aaron) Lee. n

    “We recorded solid consolidated quarterly earnings based on the growth of Acushnet, while we remain committed to our long-term goals with the Fila brand.”

    Fila is enhancing its position as a representative tennis brand, the company said, by participating as an official sponsor in UTS Seoul. This new concept tennis event will be staged in Asia for the first time at the end of this month.