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  • Public Outcry in China as Louis Vuitton Wins Trademark Case Against Popular Beverage Chain Molly Tea

    Public Outcry in China as Louis Vuitton Wins Trademark Case Against Popular Beverage Chain Molly Tea

    French luxury fashion giant Louis Vuitton is currently in the midst of public disapproval in China, following its array of trademark lawsuits including a significant victory against the well-liked beverage chain, Molly Tea. In June, a court in Suzhou, Jiangsu province, concluded that Molly Tea, based in Shenzhen, had violated seven of LV’s registered four-petal floral trademarks. The beverage chain was subsequently ordered to pay 10.3 million yuan (approximately US$1.5 million) in damages and legal costs. Despite Molly Tea’s indication of appealing the decision, the verdict has garnered public discontent and stimulated a fervent debate across the country.

    The Dispute Fuels Chinese Public Opinion

    Initially, the argument centered on the resemblance between Molly Tea’s logo and LV’s trademarks, and the reasoning behind the fashion house’s lawsuit against a company operating in a completely different sector. However, the debate soon shifted towards determining the fine line between protecting intellectual property rights and monopolizing elements of shared cultural heritage. As seen from public discourse, a large proportion of Chinese citizens compared the four-petal floral trademarks to various elements of their cultural heritage, including the baoxiang floral designs on Tang dynasty pipa instruments, decorative window patterns in Suzhou’s classical gardens, and even older public toilet ventilation grilles and floor tiles. The critics argue that while the LV monogram has a history of about 130 years, the four-petal flower motif has been a part of Chinese culture for more than a millennia. This case has also rekindled public resentment over perceived cultural appropriation by international luxury brands.

    Public Relations Woes Despite Legal Victories

    Despite its legal defeat, Molly Tea appears to have garnered significant public support. The beverage chain’s official social media account on Weibo witnessed a surge in followers in the days following the lawsuit. Moreover, the brand gained even more backing after donating to the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, which had been affected by a typhoon.

    Meanwhile, Louis Vuitton continues to actively enforce its trademark rights in China, with numerous cases of opposition filed against designs similar to its four-leaf or four-petal trademarks. Despite some defending the luxury brand’s actions, many have accused it of monopolizing ancient Chinese motifs and exploiting smaller businesses. This controversy has impacted the brand’s foot traffic and resale market prices of popular handbags.

    Spring Chang, founding partner of IP law firm Chang Tsi and Partners, considers these controversies to highlight the gaps in legal application and communication. “If public opinion swings entirely to the view that any enforcement by a big company is bullying, that will weaken the basis for legitimate enforcement and confidence in the system over time,” she noted.

    Questions & Answers

    What is the source of the conflict between Louis Vuitton and Molly Tea?
    The conflict stems from a lawsuit filed by Louis Vuitton, claiming that Molly Tea infringed on seven of its registered four-petal floral trademarks with its logo.

    What has been the public’s reaction to the lawsuit in China?
    The lawsuit has ignited a public debate about cultural appropriation and intellectual property rights. While some defend Louis Vuitton’s actions, many see it as an example of a global luxury brand exploiting smaller businesses and monopolizing shared cultural symbols.

    How has this controversy affected Louis Vuitton’s business in China?
    The controversy has led to a noticeable drop in foot traffic in Louis Vuitton boutiques in several cities, including Shanghai, and a decline in the resale market prices of some of its popular handbags.

  • Ease Your Commute: Singapore Offers $46 Public Transport Vouchers to Qualifying Households

    Ease Your Commute: Singapore Offers $46 Public Transport Vouchers to Qualifying Households

    Singaporean households that meet the eligibility criteria can now submit their applications for public transport vouchers valued at S$60 (equivalent to US$46). These vouchers are intended to alleviate the increased cost of commuting.

    Details of the Voucher Scheme

    The vouchers became available on Tuesday and will continue to be so until October 31. The eligibility requirement is set at a monthly household income per person of S$1,800 or lower.

    This move signifies the second phase of the program. The first round of vouchers was issued last month, benefitting approximately 300,000 households.

    In the current round, households that did not previously receive a voucher and those seeking additional assistance, including households that do not meet the income requirement, can apply. Applications can be submitted either online or in person at local community centers and clubs.

    These vouchers can be applied towards topping up fare cards or purchasing monthly passes. They are redeemable until March 31, 2027.

    The main goal of the initiative is to assist lower-income families in counterbalancing the recent increase in public transport fares.

    Changes in Public Transport Fares

    The basic bus and train card fares for adults in the city-state have seen a hike of 9-10 cents per trip, an approximate increase of 5% based on distance. At the same time, the express bus services have levied a surcharge, marking its first-ever introduction.

    In addition to the vouchers, the cost of monthly passes has been cut by 5% for adults, senior citizens, and individuals with disabilities as a measure to support frequent users of public transit.

    Questions & Answers

    What is the purpose of the public transport vouchers?
    The vouchers are intended to help lower-income families mitigate the impact of the recent increase in public transportation fares.

    Who is eligible to apply for these vouchers?
    Families with a monthly household income per person of S$1,800 or lower can apply for these vouchers. In the latest round, even those households that didn’t receive a voucher in the first round or do not meet the income requirement can apply for additional assistance.

    How can these vouchers be used?
    These vouchers can be used to top up fare cards or to purchase monthly passes. They are redeemable until March 31, 2027.

  • Public Cloud Services to Reach US$165.2 Billion in 2026

    Public Cloud Services to Reach US$165.2 Billion in 2026

    The public cloud services market in Asia Pacific, excluding Japan, will reach US$165.2 billion in 2026, according to IDC. The PCS market is to grow at a higher year-over-year (YoY) rate in 2022 at 31.4% in comparison to 30.0% in 2021, as cloud migration continues to accelerate. However, IDC expects the YoY growth rates to slow down beginning in 2023 with a YoY growth of 28.3%, to 22.4% in 2026.

    “Majority of organizations have pivoted rapidly toward a digital-centric modus operandi to adapt to new ways of operating, working and selling products and services amid various disruptions. These organizations progressively demand better outcomes from their adoption of digital technologies to increase efficiency, accelerate time to market, provide empathetic customer experience, make quicker decisions and respond faster to customers. In IDC’s view, cloud technologies are the core building blocks for the future of digital infrastructure that can meet these challenges,” said Estelle Quek, senior research manager, Cloud Services, IDC Asia/Pacific.

    Infrastructure as a service (IaaS) will achieve a market value of US$80.7 billion and make up 48.8% of the Asia-Pacific  PCS market in 2026. IDC predicts more organizations will continue to accelerate IaaS adoption to reduce risks associated with capital expenditure and to operate more efficiently and profitably. Organizations are progressively pursuing consistency, security, performance and compliance across all resources by deploying, operating and scaling digital infrastructure in dedicated datacenters (DCs), private cloud, PCS and edge locations.

    Platform as a service (PaaS) will reach a market value of US$27.4 billion, contributing to 16.6% of the Asia-Pacific PCS market in 2026. Growth is fueled by organizations that are gradually shifting application development in-house to have better control and those exploring ways to allocate development functions to non-IT staff using low-code/no-code platforms.

    Software as a service (SaaS) will grow almost three times, from US$20.8 billion in 2021 to US$57.1 billion in 2026, contributing to 34.6% of the entire Asia-Pacific PCS market by then. SaaS growth is attributed to continued adoption of core enterprise applications, such as customer relationship management (CRM) and enterprise resource management (ERM). These remain top priorities as organizations desire to obtain 360-degree visibility and better service for their customers and to improve internal planning and operations by streamlining business processes and activities.

    “The PCS market’s growth is fueled by organizations’ DX acceleration and cloud-first approach with continuous adoption of hybrid work, business, or operations and the desire to drive better business outcomes, improve efficiencies, and create an empathetic customer experience to augment customer retention rate and enhance pr

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  • Hanoi plans motorbike ban after 2025

    Hanoi plans motorbike ban after 2025

    Hanoi plans to ban motorbikes in core districts after 2025, five years earlier than an earlier plan, in order to reduce traffic congestion and emissions.

    The ban will apply to all districts within the third ring road and on three major roads: Truong Sa, Hoang Sa and National Highway 5, according to a plan being prepared by the city administration.

    After 2030 the ban will expand to all districts within the fourth ring road.

    The plan is set to be voted upon on Tuesday.

    The capital has around 5.6 million motorbikes and 600,000 automobiles.

    Poor public transportation development has driven the use of personal vehicles in Vietnam as a whole and in its major cities, in particular.

    Currently, in Hanoi, the public bus system plies 140 routes, meeting an estimated 31 percent of total demand.

  • Global public cloud spending to reach $332.3 billion in 2021

    Global public cloud spending to reach $332.3 billion in 2021

    Spending on global public cloud services is projected to reach $332.3 billion in 2021, increasing by 23.1% from $270 billion in 2020. According to Gartner, growth in cloud spending can be attributed to increased adoption in technologies such as virtualization, edge computing and containerization.

    Driven by demand for composable applications, software-as-a-service (SaaS) will account for the largest market segment to reach $122.6 billion in 2021. Gartner cited that SaaS-based applications will be instrumental in countries’ efforts to produce and distribute COVID-19 vaccinations, in areas such as automation and supply chain. These applications will help CIOs validate the shift to cloud.

    Desktop-as-a-service will experience the highest growth at 67.7% to reach $2 billion, while infrastructure-as-a-service will grow by 38.5% this year to reach $82 billion. In 2022, growth in these areas is expected to slow down.

    While cloud services boomed in the past year, Gartner predicts that spending on cloud might take a different note in 2021 and 2022 as enterprises shift away from infrastructure and application migration towards advanced applications integrating AI and IoT and 5G.

    In the first quarter of 2021, research and analytics firm Canalys reported that global cloud services infrastructure spending grew to $41.8 billion to represent a 35% year-on-year increment and 5% quarter-on-quarter growth.

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  • Nokia debuts innovative public cloud charging for CSPs on AWS

    Nokia debuts innovative public cloud charging for CSPs on AWS

    Nokia has today announced the deployment of its cloud-native convergent charging solution on Amazon Web Services (AWS) to accelerate communications service providers (CSPs) migration of business-critical, high-frequency charging applications to the public cloud, and to deliver the benefits of the cloud for 5G.

    This announcement, which builds on an existing relationship with AWS, enables CSPs to efficiently run workloads on AWS and pioneer new monetization schemas as part of their journey towards deploying business support systems (BSS) in the public cloud.

    As a containerized network function (CNF) on AWS, Nokia Converged Charging (NCC) provides true continuous availability, supporting the high frequency, low latency demands of an always-on, real-time convergent charging system built for the needs of the 5G economy. This enables CSPs to tap new revenue streams from 5G capabilities, including differentiated pricing, network slicing, and flexible product offerings, such as IoT and B2B2X.

    According to Analysys Mason, “SaaS and public cloud will make inroads into the market for monetization platforms by growing more than 6.5X from 2019 to 2025 and increase its share to over 14% of the total spend.” NCC’s architecture can support CSPs at every step of their public cloud journey, from the deployment of greenfield sub-brands as a first step towards hosting testing environments to full production workloads of the main brand on the public cloud.

    Fabio Cerone, EMEA Telco Managing Director at AWS, said: “We are pleased that Nokia is expanding its relationship with AWS by offering its cloud-native convergent charging system on AWS and connecting it to various services, such as with analytics to pioneer new monetization schemas. As the world becomes increasingly cloud-centric, it’s important that our customers can leverage cloud-native solutions to unleash the potential benefits of the cloud and 5G.”

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  • Facebook launches tool that lets users see and control data shared

    Facebook launches tool that lets users see and control data shared

    Facebook is making it easier for users to see and control the data that apps and websites share with the social network by launching a new tool called Off-Facebook Activity. The new feature will be gradually rolled out to Facebook users in Ireland, South Korea, and Spain. However, Off-Facebook Activity will be made available to everywhere over the coming months, so don’t lose hope if you’re not living in any of these countries.

    But what exactly is Off-Facebook Activity and is it as useful as Facebook claims? Well, first off, you can see a summary of the information other app and websites have sent Facebook through its online business tools, including Facebook Pixel and Facebook Login.

    Also, you will be able to disconnect all the information you see from your account if you want to. On top of that, you can choose to disconnect future off-Facebook activity from your account. Facebook says that you’ll be able to do that for all your off-Facebook activity, or just for specific apps and websites.

    Once you clear your off-Facebook activity, the social network will remove your identifying info from the data that apps and websites choose to send to Facebook. Basically, Facebook will no longer know which websites a user visits or what they did during their visit.

    Also, Facebook says that it will not use any of the data that users disconnect to target ads to them on apps like Facebook, Instagram or Messenger. The social network expects some impact on its business but believes giving people control over their data is more important.

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  • Google Maps is rolling out a new feature allowing public event creation

    Google Maps is rolling out a new feature allowing public event creation

    Google Maps is a staple not only for Android users but for many iPhone and PC users as well. Its rich functionality is just as helpful when you’re on the go as it is when you’re relaxing at home and want to explore another city, whether that’ll be through satellite pictures or Google Street View.  It’s no secret that the majority of the information that can be found on Google Maps has been added by the users themselves. Business owners add the locations of their offices, stores, restaurants and everything else you can think of. On the other end, customers get to add their comments, ratings and pictures to each place they’ve visited. Recently Google also introduced some of the features of Waze to Google Maps, allowing users to mark speed traps and car accidents.

    Now, even more power to add content is coming to the people, as Google has added the option for users to add public events. The new feature was noticed by SlashGear and the way it works is described on the Google Maps support page. You can add an event either from your Contribute tab, where you’ll see a new “Add a public event” button (you might need to scroll down a bit to see it) or from the Events tab. After that, you get to fill out the standard set of information: type of the event, location, time and description.

    Once you post an event, it will appear at the selected location for everyone to see, so be careful what you post. Google has a set of steps on its website for deleting public events you’ve created, but at least for us, the “Delete this event” button mentioned on the support page was nonexistent.

    It seems there’s some more work to be done on this feature, which is likely why it’s not actually available to everyone right now. We haven’t been able to pinpoint exactly who has access to it, but it appears to be just some Android users for now. If you have the Events tab on the Your contributions page, then you’re part of the early adopters.

    A new wave of unique events is coming

    Either way, this feature is a good way for people to promote more casual events that aren’t tied to a specific commercial location. For example, you might need people for a game of basketball or fellow hobby enthusiasts to join your RC car race. Or maybe you’re a street performer that has something new to show and you want to organize a premiere.

    Utility companies or city administrations can also make use of these public events to let people know when certain streets will be closed, Google has added a “Parade” category for a reason. Another helpful category is Volunteering & activism. You’re planning to clean up an area as part of the now trending #trashtag challenge? Set up a public event and gather helpers in no time.

    We see, however, a potential for this feature to be abused and people creating fake events to draw a crowd somewhere. There is a “send feedback” button for the created event that lets you report if there’s anything wrong with it. Perhaps Google will use such feedback to limit the rights of people that create fake events.

    Hopefully, there won’t be much of that going on and people will use the feature for its intended purposes. It will probably take a while before it becomes popular and we get to see more interesting events around us. Once the option to add one is available to everyone, however, it will be a matter of time before you start noticing them around.

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  • Zen Corporation Thailand completes IPO

    Zen Corporation Thailand completes IPO

    Thai restaurant operator Zen Corporation secured THB975 million (US$31.35 million) via an IPO issued last Wednesday. The firm sold all 75 million shares on offer, representing 25 per cent of its registered capital, at THB13 each. Its stock price grew 17.69 per cent over the course of its trading debut, as strong demand pushed the value per share up to THB15.30 on the first day.

    Zen Corporation is known for its various restaurant chains, including its eponymous brand as well as Musha by Zen, Sushi Cyu Carnival Yakiniku, AKA, On the Table Tokyo Cafe, Tetsu and de Tummour.

    The firm also operates food delivery, catering, restaurant management and consultancy services, as well as food retail operations.

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  • Vietnam’s PV Power to list with billion-dollar market cap

    Vietnam’s PV Power to list with billion-dollar market cap

    PV Power, the country’s second largest power producer, will list on the Ho Chi Minh bourse this month with a market capitalization of $1.5 billion. The Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange (HoSE) has approved that the firm lists 2.34 billion shares (trading code POW) on January 14 at VND14,900 (64 cents) per share. This would bring the market capitalization of PV Power to VND34.9 trillion ($1.5 billion).

    PV Power finished its last transaction on UPCoM, the market for unlisted public companies, on December 27 at VND16,000 (69 cents) per share.

    PV Power was established in 2007 with 100 percent capital from the state. The company finished equitization in the middle of last year with a charter capital of VND23.42 trillion ($1 billion).

    State-owned oil and gas giant PetroVietnam remains PV Power’s largest stakeholder, with 79.94 percent of its charter capital. Foreign investors currently own 14.3 percent. The company is subject to a foreign ownership cap of 49 percent.

    PV Power produces and sells electricity. It also imports and distributes coal and operates five electricity plants. It is the second largest power producer in the country after national utility Vietnam Electricity.

    In the 2016-2018 period, PV Power’s revenues were VND28-30 trillion ($1.2-1.29 billion), 96 percent of which came from selling electricity.

    As of September 30, 2018, its total asset value was VND61.4 trillion ($2.64 billion) and its equity was VND26.55 trillion ($1.14 billion).

    Its dividend rate for last year is expected to be 3 percent and is set at 6 percent this year.

  • Mr DIY mulls US$362 million float

    Mr DIY mulls US$362 million float

    Malaysian home improvement brand Mr DIY is considering an IPO to raise about MYR1.5 billion (US$362 million). An industry source has revealed that the firm intends to list its domestic operations later this year on either the Malaysian or Hong Kong exchange with backing from Malaysian private equity firm Creador, which invested in the brand over two years ago.

    A report stated the IPO could bring Mr DIY to a market value of MYR10 billion (US$2.426 billion).

    Mr DIY operates around 600 locations in Southeast Asia. Last October, the company revealed plans to open at least 1000 branches by 2020.

    Head of marketing Andy Chin said then: “We feel that our home improvement retail business model, offering a variety of goods at affordable prices, is suitable for better business growth in the country as well as the Asean market. At the end of this year, we target 700 global branches, and the number may reach 1000 or more by 2020. These will be based on an organic growth.”

    He added that the company’s prospect of Asean-level expansion will be focused on Indonesia, Thailand and the Philippines”.

    Mr DIY is the largest home appliance retailer in Malaysia with more than 20,000 SKUs.

  • Vietnam tops Southeast Asia in IPOs

    Vietnam tops Southeast Asia in IPOs

    Vietnam surpassed Singapore and Thailand to top Southeast Asia in initial public offerings (IPOs) last year, raising $2.6 billion. This figure was 3.7 times that of 2017, according to consultancy Ernst & Young. Two of three largest IPOs in Southeast Asia last year were launched by Vietnamese companies: $1.34 billion from Vinhomes, a real estate developer of Vietnam’s biggest private firm Vingroup; $923 million from Techcombank, the country’s largest private sector lender.

    However, an opposite trend was seen in Southeast Asia as a whole, with the money raised from IPOs dropping 34 percent over 2017 to $7.1 billion.

    The number of IPO deals in the region also decreased by 7 percent to 115, with 56 of them raising less than $10 million.

    Ernst & Young economist Max Loh said that the reason for this drop was U.S-China trade tensions, which affected the capital market in the region, as Southeast Asian countries have close trade relationships with China.

    Experts feel Vietnam has the potential to attract more foreign investments in the future. A report by law firm Baker McKenzie and consultancy Oxford Economics said that Vietnam will top the region in the amount of money raised via IPOs by 2021.

    The rise of Vietnam and other developing countries in Southeast Asia could intensify competition for new listings among the region’s exchanges, said Tham Tuck Seng, PwC Singapore’s capital markets leader.

    This will increase the pressure on Singapore to differentiate itself even more in order to stand out, CNBC quoted Tham as saying.

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  • HKBNES launches free public Wi-Fi at tram shelters

    HKBNES launches free public Wi-Fi at tram shelters

    HKBN Enterprise Solutions (HKBNES) has formally launched a free high-speed public Wi-Fi network on tram shelters across Hong Kong in association with Hong Kong Tramways and Cody Out of Home (Cody OOH).

    The HEREWIFIFREE service provides public free Wi-Fi with unlimited sessions on nine key tram shelters located along the busiest commercial and residential centers on Hong Kong Island.

    HKBN launched a pilot of the new service in May, and usage levels have grown 40% by the end of August. The unlimited usage session enhancement meanwhile launched in June.

    “We are happy to support this high-speed free Wi-Fi service to bring Hong Kongers speedy and convenient online connectivity,” HKBN director Mikron Ng said.

    “Our partnership with Tramways and Cody OOH is another example of how we showcase our win-win-win model in which Tramway passengers, Cody OOH customers and our corporate customers can all benefit.”

    “Hong Kong Tramways is pleased to collaborate with HKBNES and Cody OOH in order to offer innovative services,” added Hong Kong Tramways commercial and corporate affairs manager Antoine Sambin.

    “The high quality and the user-friendly experience of the free Wi-Fi solution are valued by the tram passengers, pedestrians and retail communities in the near vicinity. We aim to keep contributing to a smarter city thanks to our Tram Shelters network.”

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  • Public cloud demand to drive data center infra market

    Public cloud demand to drive data center infra market

    Synergy Research Group (SRG) revealed that over the last 24 months, quarterly spend on data center hardware and software has grown by 28%, driven by burgeoning demand for cloud services and increased prices for more fully featured servers.

    The main beneficiaries have been vendors supplying public cloud infrastructure, who have seen a 54% growth in revenues over the period. Growth for enterprise data center infrastructure has been much lower and spending was actually in slow decline until the recent spike in server demand and pricing gave vendor revenues a boost.

    Within the enterprise it is private cloud infrastructure that is driving spending with a 45% increase since the second quarter of 2016. In terms of market share, ODMs in aggregate account for the largest portion of the public cloud market, with Dell EMC being the leading individual vendor, followed by Cisco and HPE. The Q2 market leader in private cloud was Dell EMC, followed by Microsoft and HPE. The same three vendors led in the non-cloud data center market, though with a different ranking.

    Total data center infrastructure equipment revenues, including cloud and non-cloud, hardware and software, were $38 billion in the second quarter, with public cloud infrastructure accounting for a third of the total. Private cloud or cloud-enabled infrastructure accounted for over a third of the total. Servers, OS, storage, networking and virtualization software combined accounted for 96% of the Q2 data center infrastructure market, with the balance comprising network security and management software.

    Dell EMC leads in both server and storage revenues, while Cisco dominates the networking segment. Microsoft features heavily in the rankings due to its position in server OS and virtualization applications. Outside of these three, the other leading vendors in the market are HPE, IBM, VMware, Lenovo, Huawei, Inspur and NetApp.

    “We are seeing cloud service revenues continuing to grow by 50% per year, enterprise SaaS revenues growing by over 30%, search/social networking revenues growing by over 25%, and e-commerce revenues growing by over 40%, all of which are driving big increases in spending on public cloud infrastructure,” said John Dinsdale, a Chief Analyst at Synergy Research Group.

    “That is not a new phenomenon. But what has been different over the last three quarters is that enterprise spending on data center infrastructure has really jumped, driven primarily by hybrid cloud requirements, increased server functionality and higher component costs,” concluded Dinsdale.

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  • Fook Tai Holdings seeking to go on the stock exchange

    Fook Tai Holdings seeking to go on the stock exchange

    Jewellery retailer Hong Kong Fook Tai Holdings is seeking an IPO on the growth enterprises market board with the aim of opening more retail stores and improving brand recognition.

    Fook Tai runs seven retail shops under the Fook Tai Jewellery brand in Hong Kong, while also selling products to VIP customers at its office. The company is a wholesaler of products mainly to a few jewellery retailers with stores outside Hong Kong and is a trader of recycled gold products. The company’s products come under three major categories – gold jewelry, platinum, karat gold and silver jewellery, as well as gem-set jewellery for mid- to high-end customers. Those categories accounted for 32.4, 4 and 24.3 per cent of total revenue respectively last year.

    Recycled gold products bought from the public and sold to recycled gold products collector/dealers, who resell them to goldsmiths, generated 39.3 per cent of total revenue.

    All the retail shops of Fook Tai are in residential areas of non-prime districts in Hong Kong, including Tsuen Wan, Jordan, Sham Shui Po, Tseung Kwan O, Sheung Shui and Kwun Tong. Fook Tai believes these locations will help grow a loyal customer base.

    The company intends to grow sales in major shopping and residential areas after going public. It plans to open two street-level shops in North Point and Sheung Shui in June and October respectively this year.

    Fook Tai directors believe the company should broaden its customer base and try to attract mainland customers. The new Sheung Shui store is near the border and is expected to benefit from mainland tourists. Also, North Point’s population includes high-income immigrants from the mainland.

    Fook Tai also plans to refurbish its retail stores after going public, and aims to attract younger buyers.

    Meanwhile, in its IPO prospectus, Fook Tai says its business may be adversely affected by the fluctuation of gold prices, while turnover from retail stores is subject to the risk of decline in the coming years.

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