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Tag: Singapore

  • Card Payments To Exceed One Billion In Hong Kong

    Card Payments To Exceed One Billion In Hong Kong

    Despite the dominance of cash, card payments volume in Hong Kong is expected to surpass one billion in 2020, says GlobalData.

    The convenience of electronic payments, robust payment infrastructure and the emergence of contactless payments are expected to drive the total number of card payments from 642.0 million in 2015 to 1 billion in 2020, according to GlobalData, a data and analytics company.

    Hong Kong’s high banked population, growing preference for contactless technology and, the growing e-commerce market will further support the use of payment cards over the next five years,” said Nikhil Reddy, Banking and Payments Analyst at GlobalData in a media statement on Monday.

    Hong Kong has a highly penetrated payment card market, with each individual holding more than three cards in 2019. The steady progress in the adoption and use of payment cards, plus the high penetration, are supported by the government and banks’ efforts to provide banking services even in remote areas.

    The expansion of banking infrastructure through the introduction of mobile banking branches, new physical bank branches and the establishment of virtual banks, were also factors.

    Hong Kong’s payment card market is mainly driven by credit and charge cards, which accounted for 67.9 percent of total card payment value in 2019, GlobalData’s Payment Cards Analytics reveals. The total card payment value in the country is forecast to increase from HK$43.3bn in 2019 to HK$59.6bn in 2023.

    The pricing benefits such as referral programs, installment facilities, cashback and discounts associated with credit and charge cards are some of the key reasons for their preference. In addition, these cards are increasingly preferred for online shopping and for transactions overseas.

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  • Singapore Tops List For Mobile Payment Usage

    Singapore Tops List For Mobile Payment Usage

    Singapore is ranked global leader in mobile payment usage among Chinese tourists, fueled by the country’s maturity in mobile payment solutions, according to a joint report by Nielsen and Alipay. The availability of mobile payment is among the top three factors affecting Chinese tourists’ overseas shopping habits.

    The Southeast Asia region maintains its leadership in mobile payment usage among Chinese tourists, with Singapore and Thailand positioned at #1 and #6 in the global ranking, reflecting the region’s maturity in mobile payment solutions. Other countries on the list of «Top 10 countries where Chinese tourists love to use mobile payments» include South Korea, Japan, Australia, France, New Zealand, Canada, the UK, and the U.S.

    In Singapore, an early adopter of Chinese mobile payment solutions, almost all merchants (97 percent) indicated steady improvement compared to the previous year in terms of mobile payment usage and the amount of mobile spending by Chinese tourists. «Chinese mobile payment engagement level and the depth of usage among Chines tourists continued to increase…as such, overseas merchants are showing a more open attitude towards the application of Chinese mobile payment platforms and digital operations,” said Justin Sargent, President of Nielsen China in a media statement.

    These results are encouraging more overseas merchants to deepen the use of Chinese mobile payment platforms as they go digital. Nearly seven out of ten (66 percent) surveyed merchants in Singapore, South Korea, and the U.K. hope to carry out more digital store operations through Chinese mobile payment platforms and hope to further their promotional and marketing activities leveraging Chinese mobile payment platforms.

    «The trend of more overseas merchants going beyond payment to adopt more digitalized services is a promising one, as it helps brick-and-mortar businesses become better integrated with the digital economy while bringing more personalized experiences for consumers around the world,» said Angel Zhao, President of Ant Financial’s International Business Group. Slightly under two-thirds of merchants surveyed in Singapore, South Korea and the U.K. (63 percent) said that they are likely to recommend Chinese mobile payment systems to their industry peers.

    Surveying 4,837 Chinese travelers and 547 overseas merchants, the report provides a new look at the digitalization trend of the overseas retail sector at a time when online and offline businesses are increasingly merging and Chinese tourists are poised to have even more influence as they travel abroad.

    Destination related insights

    • Among all the countries surveyed, the usage of Chinese mobile payments in Singapore, South Korea, and Japan was highest, with Singapore in the leadership position.
    • 77% of Chinese tourists in Singapore use mobile payments for their transactions.
    • Total spending via mobile payment of Chinese tourists increased significantly in countries where Chinese mobile payment adoption is relatively mature.
    • In Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Japan, and South Korea, the usage rate of mobile payment among Chinese tourists was high, reaching 70% in both 2018 and 2019.
    • Correspondingly, the total amount spent by Chinese tourists increased by 14% in Singapore and Thailand and 23% in Japan and South Korea between 2018 and 2019.

    Merchant related insights

    • More overseas merchants intend to deepen the use of Chinese mobile payment platforms as they go digital.
    • 66% of surveyed merchants in Singapore, South Korea, and the UK hope to carry out more digital store operations through Chinese mobile payment
    • 66% hope to further their store’s promotional and marketing activities leveraging Chinese mobile payment platforms.
    • 97% of surveyed merchants in Singapore indicated steady improvement compared to the previous year in terms of mobile payment usage and the amount of mobile spending by Chinese customers.
    • 63% of surveyed merchants in Singapore, South Korea, and the U.K. said that they are likely to recommend Chinese mobile payment systems to their industry peers.

    Tourism-related insights

    • In 2019, destinations located a four-hour flight away such as Japan, South Korea, Thailand, and Singapore, remained the most popular choices for Chinese tourists.
    • In addition, the U.S., Australia, U.K., and Canada were also among the top 10 countries, which indicated that Chinese tourists were fairly keen on traveling to English-speaking countries.
    • Thailand and Singapore were among the Top 10 overseas destinations visited by Chinese tourists in 2019 and the Top 10 Countries for Overseas Travel Plans in 2020.
    • In 2019, compared with last year, Chinese tourists born in the 1990s spent nearly 12% more on a single overseas trip while those born in the 1980s spent 15% more. An underlying reason for the increased travel expenses may be the desire for a more in-depth experience of local cultures.
    • Top three factors affecting Chinese tourists’ overseas shopping habits are:
      • Payment methods accepted by the merchant (37%);
      • Product variety and quality (36%); and
      • Product price (36%)
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  • Clarins Skin Spa opens at Singapore’s Ion Orchard

    Clarins Skin Spa opens at Singapore’s Ion Orchard

    Clarins Skin Spa opened at Singapore’s Ion Orchard last week. The luxury beauty brand unveiled its new home having spent the past 24 years at its former Wheelock Place location. The new outlet’s cozy interior of light oak, whites, and lush greens reflect the brand’s late founder Jacques Courtin-Clarins’ belief that healing begins from within.

    A launch event was attended by Clarins Group executive VP Southeast Asia Guillaume Nagy along with Clarins Group president of North America and Asia-Pacific Christophe de Pous and several celebrity guests.

    To celebrate the occasion, all 60-minute facial and body treatments given at the new location will be discounted from February 1 through to June 30.

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  • DBS Launches QR-Based B2B Payments

    DBS Launches QR-Based B2B Payments

    DBS helps further propel Singapore’s cashless movement by introducing quick response code-based payments for the business-to-business segment.

    The bank hopes to boost payment speeds and is piloting the solution first in the F&B industry – a sector with limited penetration with nine out of 10 payments still being made through cash or bank transfers, according to a statement. The bank developed the solution after nearly 20 digital workshops with F&B businesses to identify bottlenecks in the payment process.

    In the new solution, which executes payments through its fund transfer service PayNow, users can consolidate multiple invoices per transaction and make full or partial payments for multiple invoices. This is also expected to effectively help improve credit terms due to the instantaneous and flexible nature of the process. The bank will roll out the new payment solution to the broader F&B ecosystem, logistics companies, and traders by the end of 2020.

    Aside from the retail segment, SMEs are expected to be a major growth driver for digital players in finance given a large gap between needs and demand.

    Many SMEs we speak to want to realize productivity gains by becoming more digital but don’t have the expertise or infrastructure to do so,» said Joyce Tee, group head of SME banking at DBS. «The lender is looking to understand SMEs’ pain points and then lay the foundation for enhanced payments capabilities one sector at a time.

    In November last year, Singaporean rival UOB also launched a payment solution aimed to capitalize on the cashless market for businesses. UOB’s Mcollect is a QR-based solution that enables instant payment and reconciliation to improve what it estimates is otherwise, on average, a four-day manual process.

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  • Global exclusive Kiehl’s Lunar New Year store launched at Changi Airport

    Global exclusive Kiehl’s Lunar New Year store launched at Changi Airport

    New York skincare brand Kiehl’s has launched one of its largest-yet airport pop-up stores in the region, at Singapore’s Changi Airport.

    The global-exclusive Kiehl’s Lunar New Year store at Terminal 3 was formally opened in partnership with the airport’s beauty-products concessionaire The Shilla Duty-Free and will trade until February 9.

    At Friday’s launch, popular Chinese actor, singer and model, Dylan Wang, best known for his appearances in Chinese television series Meteor Garden, made a guest appearance, greeting 35 young fans from across Asia who had won a contest to attend the event and wowing KOLs from Mainland China.

    The pop-up store artwork was created by Australian artist Eirian Chapman and features a mascot Rock-it the Rat traveling through a cinematic New York to the garden city of Singapore. Chapman also designed Year-of-the-Rat labels for three of Kiehl’s’ most-popular products, the Ultra Facial Cream, Avocado Eye Cream, and Calendula Herbal Extract Alcohol-Free Toner, sold in a travel-exclusive boxed set. Playing on the theme of the mischievous rat lighting up the sky and the year, Chapman also illustrated a Rat on a firecracker she has ‘set alight’.

    More than a just a large, high-profile store, the Kiehl’s Lunar New Year pop up features an interactive game where visitors can win prizes for tapping the rat as it pops up on a digital screen, an onsite calligrapher drawing Chinese characters and customizable messages on souvenir fans, and Instagrammable spots, including a Singaporean rickshaw.

    On an interactive screen, visitors can write New Year blessings on a rocket graphic, then decorate it with their choice of colors and stickers, before virtually blasting it off into the sky, to be shared with friends via email.

    Cellophane-free packaging

    Sustainability issues and the Kiehl’s commitment to the environment were also highlighted at Friday’s event. Petrina Kho, GM of Kiehl’s Travel Retail Asia Pacific, revealed the brand has eliminated all cellophane wrapping of its products as part of a commitment to reducing its environmental footprint.

    The company also presented a cheque for US$30,000 to Singaporean charity the Jane Goodall Institute which supports student-initiated activities under its Roots & Shoots program, encouraging and empowers youth to help solve human, animal welfare, and environmental problems in their communities. The funds will allow local youngsters to plant 800 saplings and monitor their growth and wellbeing over three years.

    “I am very proud that we continue to successfully engage customers in an evolving retail landscape while supporting a meaningful cause that gives back to the community,” said Kho.

    Jeff Lee, MD of The Shilla Duty-Free Singapore, says the Kiehl’s pop up helps his company create unique shopping experiences to excite airport travelers. “Working closely together with Kiehl’s Travel Retail Asia Pacific and Changi Airport Group, we strive to push the boundaries in delivering exceptional customer-centric retail experiences.”

    Teo Chew Hoon, group senior VP of airside concessions at Changi Airport Group said the Kiehl’s pop up kicked off Lunar New Year festivities for Changi Airport Group. “Travellers can engage in fun and memorable experiences at the interactive space, while shopping for the perfect gifts for their friends and families.”

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  • Braun Buffel unveils new store design at Ion Orchard

    Braun Buffel unveils new store design at Ion Orchard

    Braun Buffel has launched its new store concept at Ion Orchard in Singapore, creating a brand experience with multiple physical and digital touch-points.

    The store’s facade features Champagne-gold fonts against soft white frames. To create a modern look, marble stone tiles in light grey with streaks of white tones are used. Hand-brushed finishes on the cement provide a three-dimensional textured effect on both the floors and walls. Pastel rose pink is chosen as the themed color for the walls.

    The Braun Buffel store at Ion Orchard has also unveiled its Spring/Summer 2020 collection with the theme of “Individualism” featuring different selections for men and women.

    Founded 1887, Braun Buffel is exclusively distributed in the Asia Pacific region by Lianbee-Jeco, and has boutiques in The Shoppes at Marina Bay Sands, Ion Orchard, VivoCity, Suntec City Mall, Westgate, and Terminals 2 & 3 (Departure/Transit Lounge) at Changi Airport, as well as counters in selected department stores.

  • Singapore Airlines Set To Fly The Airbus A350 to Ahmedabad

    Singapore Airlines Set To Fly The Airbus A350 to Ahmedabad

    Singapore Airlines will roll out one of its A350-900s on its new route between Singapore and Ahmedabad in Gujarat, India. Singapore Airlines’ new service is set to take flight from 1 February 2020. Ahmedabad will be the airline’s seventh Indian destination.

    The service would operate six days a week from the start of February, ramping up to a daily service at the beginning of April 2020.

    The outbound flights will push back from Singapore’s Changi Airport at dinner time for a mid-evening arrival into Ahmedabad’s Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport. The return flight is a late evening departure from Ahmedabad, flying through the night for a breakfast time arrival into Singapore. Flying time is five hours and 40 minutes. For the first two months, the flights will not operate on Wednesdays.

    The Singapore Airlines A350 is a popular option for the Simple Flying team. In April 2019, Jay Singh flew from Singapore to Johannesburg on an SQ A350, an experience he described as ‘almost perfect.’

    Well, he was drinking Charles Heidsieck and eating a chicken curry rustled up through the airline’s ‘Book the Cook’ service. What’s not to like about that?

    Now he wants to do the ultra long haul Singapore to Newark A350 flight.

    A few months later, Nick Cummins found himself on the same aircraft type when flying Singapore Airlines. He flew from Germany to Singapore in October 2019. Nick liked it so much he made a video about it.

    Having had a few dodgy airline ham and cheese toasties in his time, he’s now on a quest to discover the best and worst airline ham and cheese toasties. The Singapore Airlines toastie got the thumbs up. Nick’s only real complaint was the airline didn’t have an endless supply of desserts.

    This all bodes well for passengers on the same aircraft type on the new service to Ahmedabad. If, like Nick and Jay, you are lucky enough to be in business class, you’ll enjoy your Piper with 40 other passengers relaxing in lie-flat seats in a 1-2-1 layout. Even back in the main economy 3-3-3 cabin, the 263 passengers can enjoy one of the best economy class products in the sky.

    Services will be six days a week initially before going daily two months later. Photo: Singapore Airlines.
     

    The new service to Ahmedabad will provide local residents with one-stop access to North America, Oceania, Asia, and if you are not put off by a little backtracking, Africa, the Middle East and Europe.

    The six days a week Singapore Airlines A350 service between Singapore and Ahmedabad will begin on 1 February 2020. It will become a daily service on 29 March 2020.

  • Citi Singapore Adjusts Gender Wage Gap

    Citi Singapore Adjusts Gender Wage Gap

    In a move to narrow wage gaps between male and female staff, Citi Singapore has adjusted the pay of women at its bank. Its female staff did not receive equal compensation when compared with their male peers of equal work performance.

    In Singapore, the bank’s female representation at the assistant vice president to managing director level roles has increased from 32 percent in December 2017 to 36 percent in December 2019, but their remuneration has not necessarily kept up, according to figures released by the bank.

    «While we have moved forward in our goals, more needs to be done. We are committed to meet our global goal of having at least 40 percent of women in these roles by 2021 and to provide a level playing field to all our employees to enable them to succeed,» said Jorge Osorio, head of human resources, Citi Singapore.

    The pay adjustment in Singapore for women is in line with the global tweaks made in 2019, where the bank found that women, despite delivering equal work performance against their male peers, did not get the same remuneration.

    This follows a global pay equity review conducted by Citi that was released in January 2019, which showed that women were paid on average 99 percent of what men were paid on an adjusted basis. The adjusted pay gap refers to when pay – including base salary and bonuses – for equal work, has been adjusted for appropriate factors such as job function, level, and geography.

    However, the unadjusted total compensation review showed that the median pay for women globally is 71 percent of the median for men. This means the compensation is not adjusted for factors such as job function, level, and geography.

    The figures suggest that the gap – on an unadjusted basis – is mainly due to differences in gender representation at senior levels of the bank. In turn, this reinforces the importance of increasing the representation of women and U.S. minorities in senior and higher-paying roles at Citi, the bank said.

    The fresh data also come as Singapore’s Ministry of Manpower released a report this month showing that in Singapore, among full-time workers aged between 25 and 54, the unadjusted gender wage gap inched up from 16 percent in 2002 to 16.3 percent in 2018.

    When differences in age, education, occupation, industry and the number of hours worked were accounted for, the adjusted gender wage gap fell from 8.8 percent in 2002 to 6 percent in 2018. It also showed that there is more occupational segregation in 2018 than in 2002.

    Not only do women tend to be in lower-paying jobs compared to men, but men also continue to be over-represented in higher-paying occupations. Across the Asia-Pacific, Citi promoted 14 women or 31 percent out of the total 45 managing directors named in the region in December 2019. That’s up from only eight in 2018, or 21 percent.

    In March 2018, the bank rolled out a «Maternity Matters» program in Singapore to boost the support provided to female colleagues during their pregnancy, while they are on maternity leave and upon return to work. Statistics suggest that childbirth is related to the high female attrition in the workforce.

    The bank also launched a #backtowork initiative in November 2019 in partnership with Mums@Work Singapore to encourage talented individuals who have taken time away from their careers and are interested in returning back to the workforce to join Citi.

  • Singapore Launches Framework to Attract Investment Funds

    Singapore Launches Framework to Attract Investment Funds

    The new corporate structure can be used for a wide range of investment funds and provides fund managers greater operational flexibility and cost savings.

    Singapore is courting more funds to base themselves in the city-state with the launch of a new framework that caters to the needs of global investment funds and investors, and a grant scheme to encourage industry adoption of the framework.

    Under the Variable Capital Companies (VCC) framework, announced by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (ACRA) on Wednesday, fund managers will have greater flexibility in share issuance/redemption and the payment of dividends. Managers will also be able to incorporate multiple funds in a single VCC to save costs, the statement said.

    The three-year VCC grant scheme will help defray costs of incorporating or registering a VCC by co-funding up to 70 percent of eligible expenses paid to Singapore-based service providers, capped at S$150,000 for each application, with a maximum of three VCCs per fund manager.

    Marking the launch, a total of 20 investment funds, from a group of 18 fund managers that participated in a VCC pilot program by MAS and ACRA in September 2019, were incorporated or re-domiciled under the new framework on Wednesday.

    Benny Chey, MAS assistant managing director, Development and International, called the launch of VCC a «significant chapter in the development of Singapore as a full-service international fund management and domiciliation hub» and said it would also create new opportunities for Singapore-based fund service providers as more fund managers to use the VCC to structure their investment funds.

    Anshuman Asthana, regional head of Product Management, Securities Services, ASEAN and South Asia, Standard Chartered Bank, called the VCC structure a game-changer for the asset management industry and said the structure would also give Asia’s start-up ecosystem a boost.

    With more private equity and hedge funds expected to domicile in Singapore, they can more easily continue their financing support for Fintech start-ups and help them grow in size. This will help solidify Singapore’s position as a technology and innovation hub for the region,» Asthana said.

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  • Assa Abloy plans 500 Yale Smart Shop franchise stores across Asia

    Assa Abloy plans 500 Yale Smart Shop franchise stores across Asia

    Locks and security-solutions company Assa Abloy plans to expand its Yale Smart Shop franchise network to 500 stores across Asia after a successful pilot in Toa Payoh, Singapore.

    The company has launched a franchise program for Yale Smart Shop with a new store in Tiong Bahru, Singapore.

    The store-in-store retail concept includes modular display cases which are geared for rapid deployment in new stores, the company said in a statement. The e-commerce platform fully supports a scalable yet sustainable business model to translate offline experiences into online purchases.

    To ensure a consistent brand experience and smooth launch and operations at new locations, all franchisees will receive a Yale Smart Shop playbook, a store operator starter kit, and comprehensive training at the pilot store in Singapore.

    “During the first few months, franchisees will receive all the support they need to build awareness in their neighborhood and local area,” said Patrick Ng, GM at Assa Abloy Singapore.

    “We are very encouraged by the record-breaking results recorded at the pilot store in Singapore and look forward to significantly growing the Yale brand and e-commerce sales across the Asia-Pacific region over the next two years,” he added.

    Adding to the eight Yale Smart Shops across five countries already operational in Asia Pacific, Assa Abloy plans to open 100 stores this year and add 400 stores by the end of next year.

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  • Don Don Donki opens largest Singapore store yet

    Don Don Donki opens largest Singapore store yet

    Don Don Donki has opened a new store at Jem mall in Jurong, its largest store yet in Singapore.

    Spanning two floors, Don Don Donki at Jem mall has turned the old Marks & Spencer department-store space into its food court.

    The new Don Don Donki store offers a wide selection of Japanese products including lifestyle, homewares and cosmetics. It also features a sushi counter where its customers can buy freshly made sushi.

    The Orchard Central outlet, which opened in 2017, was previously the brand’s largest store in the city state.

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  • First Grab Kitchen in Singapore opens

    First Grab Kitchen in Singapore opens

    Grab has launched its first Grab Kitchen in Singapore, which takes its cloud kitchen network in Southeast Asia to 50.

    Located at 63 Hillview Avenue, the shared kitchen is operated for 10 restaurants including PlayMade, Wolf Burgers and Thai Dynasty. Occupying a 6000sqft area, Grab Kitchen also has a dine-in area for small lunch groups.

    “Together with our merchant partners, we hope to bridge cuisine demand and supply gaps, complement and expand the variety of food options at different price points in the area,” said Dilip Roussenaly, head of GrabFood Singapore, at the opening of the Grab Kitchen in Singapore.

    As operations in cloud kitchens cost less than setting up physical outlets, the concept has become popular among food and beverage merchants.

    “Partnering with GrabFood has enabled us to have an expanded reach to more consumers while minimizing the hassle for them to travel to a location for food,” said Ian Lin, founder of Thai Dynasty.

    Grab’s food-delivery business has become a major pillar for growth as it expands beyond its taxi-hailing roots into other areas, including financial services. Grab’s food delivery business witnessed 5.2 times growth in gross merchandise value last year, and nearly tripled its number of active users.

    Rivals Deliveroo and Foodpanda already operate their own shared kitchen spaces, also known as ghost or cloud kitchens, in Singapore. The firm’s regional rival Go-Jek has also been testing cloud kitchens in Indonesia.

  • Singapore’s Voids Cafe takes up just 28sqm, carved out of a concrete block

    Singapore’s Voids Cafe takes up just 28sqm, carved out of a concrete block

    Singapore’s tiny Voids Cafe is carved out of a monolithic concrete block, reshaped to produce an operational space in just 28sqm.

    The design, by Studio SKLim’s and featured by online architectural magazine Designboom, was inspired by the “empty space in a coffee cup or matcha bowl” with negative spaces and circular geometries “consistently carried throughout the rest of the built form, carving out seating booths, countertops, display shelves, and overhanging canopies”.

    “In this condensed space, it was essential that we balanced the numerous kitchen inventory with the customer zones, utilizing every nook to add to that experience,” said a representative of the studio.

    The block features several working and customer zones, such as an experience corner, a takeaway counter, booths, and a counter for conducting workshops and making drinks.

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  • Former HSBC Heavyweight Joins OCBC

    Former HSBC Heavyweight Joins OCBC

    OCBC has hired former HSBC Greater China CEO to lead a new wholesale banking unit. OCBC has appointed former HSBC Greater China chief Helen Wong as deputy president and head of global wholesale banking, The veteran with 35 years of banking experience will take the role starting from 3 Feb, 2020.

    Helen is widely regarded as a top female banker in Hong Kong with deep Greater China experience and extensive market knowledge, said OCBC group chief executive Samuel Tsien in a media statement on Wednesday.

    Wong was appointed group general manager of HSBC Group in 2011 and her last position was chief executive of HSBC Greater China, based in Hong Kong. She had held various senior management positions in corporate and investment banking at HSBC, including president and chief executive of HSBC China and head of global banking (Hong Kong).

    In her new role at OCBC, Wong will undertake global responsibilities for all banking relationships with small- and medium-sized enterprises, large corporations and financial institutions, two product groups – cash management and trade under the transaction banking business, as well as the investment banking business.

    At the same time, Ching Wei Hong, currently the Bank’s Chief Operating Officer, will be re-designated as Deputy President, said the local lender.

    This is to reflect his global responsibilities for the wealth management business, private banking under Bank of Singapore, affluent banking under OCBC Premier Banking and OCBC Premier Private Client and personal banking.

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  • Putien opens first outlet in the Philippines

    Putien opens first outlet in the Philippines

    Singaporean Michelin-starred restaurant Putien has opened its first eatery in the Philippines.

    The Cantonese/Fujianese-style brand has been introduced to the territory by The Vikings Group and opens in The Podium in Ortigas as its 67th location internationally.

    “Putien serves characteristically light, down-to-earth, and flavourful food, with an emphasis on fresh ingredients,” the restaurant’s founder and CEO Fong Chi Chung told the Manila Standard. The restaurant specializes in cuisine made from ingredients sourced exclusively from the Fujianese coast.

    “The Fujian flavor gives a unique twist to the usual Cantonese-style food,” said Vikings Group marketing director Charles Lee. “We’re excited for Filipinos to finally try this new type of cuisine that’s making waves in Singapore, Hong Kong, Malaysia, and China for its good quality and service”.

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