SeaPRwire

S’pore on ‘knife’s edge’, Covid-19 community cases can go either way over next few weeks: Lawrence Wong

aseanpr
3 minutes

SINGAPORE - Singapore is now on a "knife's edge", and the country's community case numbers can go either way over the next few weeks, said Education Minister Lawrence Wong on Tuesday (May 11). "We have a chance of getting things under control by the end of the month," he said in a ministerial statement to update Parliament on the Republic's Covid-19 situation. "But as we know from experience, it only takes one lapse or one irresponsible action for an infection to happen; and that infection may end up being a super-spreader event in the community." There are currently more than 10 active coronavirus clusters here, the largest of which is at Tan Tock Seng Hospital, with 43 cases. Singapore has tightened its rules on social gatherings since last Saturday to stop the spread of Covid-19 in the community. Mr Wong, who co-chairs the multi-ministry taskforce tackling the pandemic along with Health Minister Gan Kim Yong, noted that several public holidays are coming up. Muslims here will celebrate Hari Raya Aidilfitri on Thursday, while Buddhists here will observe Vesak Day on May 26. He acknowledged that the safety measures, which include tighter restrictions on social gatherings and house...

SeaPRwire

1,200 travellers daily at Changi in March, but number of workers arriving still insufficient: Lawrence Wong

aseanpr
4 minutes

SINGAPORE - Arrivals at Changi Airport have increased from about 820 a day last November to 1,200 in March. Giving an update to the House on the Government's response to Covid-19 on Tuesday (May 11), Education Minister Lawrence Wong said in Parliament that one reason for this increase is the taking in of more migrant workers in the construction, marine and process (CMP) sectors, as well as foreign domestic workers. This group was also the largest contributor to Singapore's imported cases, at about 40 per cent over the past six months, although a tighter screening and quarantine process was implemented even as the numbers went up, he said. "These imported cases were already in SHN (stay-home notice) when we detected them, and were not in contact with the community," he said, adding that the increased inflow was still insufficient to meet the needs of firms here. Mr Wong also said that while there was no medical evidence that new Covid-19 variants have a longer incubation period, there was always a "very small tail risk" of such cases. This was why Singapore moved recently to a tighter, 21-day SHN regime for travellers from all higher-risk countries during this period of heightened a...

SeaPRwire

Singpost senior V-P charged with corruption and deceiving company into paying him $840,000 in wages

aseanpr
2 minutes

SINGAPORE - A senior vice-president (V-P) of Singpost allegedly cheated the company for more than four years, getting them to pay him more than $800,000 in salaries. Liang An Wey, 46, is also alleged to have attempted to get $1 million in bribes from a contractor after he was made a senior V-P of the company. On Tuesday (May 11), he was slapped with one charge for corruption and another for cheating. According to court documents, Liang deceived Singpost into believing he was employed by private firm GSM Holdings between 2012 and June 2013 at a salary of $14,500. He allegedly submitted the false information in his job application to Singpost in 2013. Singpost then paid him a monthly salary of $15,000 for a total of 56 months. The total amount he was paid in the position over the period was $840,000. In March 2015, as a senior V-P of Singpost, he attempted to obtain a bribe of $1 million from the chief operating officer of Bintai Kindenko, a mechanical and engineering contractor. The bribe was allegedly to have been in return for him recommending Bintai Kindenko as a sub-contractor for the construction works involved in the redevelopment of the Singpost Centre Retail Mall and works r...

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30 S’pore residents who experienced serious Covid-19 vaccine side effects to get financial assistance

aseanpr
4 minutes

SINGAPORE - There have been 104 applications for financial assistance for those suffering from serious side effects related to Covid-19 vaccines, as at May 3. Of these, 30 qualified for compensation. Health Minister Gan Kim Yong told Parliament on Tuesday (May 11) that the 30 cases included 21 of hypersensitivity or allergic reactions, four neurology-related cases, three cardiology-related cases, and one case related to haematology (blood disorders) and dermatology each. Another 45 applications were rejected and the remaining 29 applications are still pending. In a ministerial statement on the Covid-19 situation, Mr Gan addressed various questions from MPs on the vaccines. Ms Sylvia Lim (Aljunied GRC) of the Workers' Party (WP) had asked for the Vaccine Injury Financial Assistance Programme figures. Mr Dennis Tan (Hougang), also a WP MP, had asked whether there are current studies by the health authorities to ensure that the currently approved Covid-19 vaccines do not come with the risk of rare blood clots seen in other vaccines in use elsewhere. As at May 9, about 1.8 million individuals had received at least one dose of the vaccine, Mr Gan said. Of this number, about 1.2 million ...

SeaPRwire
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Over 25,000 tested as part of efforts to detect cases linked to TTSH Covid-19 cluster: Gan Kim Yong

aseanpr
5 minutes

SINGAPORE - As at Monday (May 10), close to 12,500 people have been tested as part of special testing operations carried out to detect any cases linked to the Tan Tock Seng Hopsital (TTSH) cluster. Additionally, 12,000 TTSH staff and 1,000 patients, as well as close to 2,500 individuals who have been quarantined, have also been tested, Health Minister Gan Kim Yong said in Parliament on Tuesday. Giving an update on the cluster, Mr Gan stressed that though the first detected case of the cluster was a staff nurse who developed symptoms on April 28 and dutifully reported them, this does not mean that she was the first confirmed case and had brought Covid-19 into the wards. "Her responsible act enabled us to pick up the cluster at TTSH," said Mr Gan, adding that investigations are still ongoing. Of the 43 cases in the TTSH cluster, seven staff and two patients had received full doses of the Covid-19 vaccine, said Mr Gan, who is co-chair of the multi-ministry task force tackling Covid-19. "They were all either asymptomatic, or only exhibited mild symptoms, and none of them required oxygen support," he noted. Of the remaining 34 who were not fully vaccinated, six required oxygen, two are ...

JCN Newswire
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Eisai’s Statement of Commitment for Carbon Neutrality by 2040

ruth
4 minutes

TOKYO, May 11, 2021 - (JCN Newswire via SEAPRWire.com) - Eisai Co., Ltd. announced today that it has pledged to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emission which causes global warming, with an aim to achieve carbon neutral, and has set its new medium- to long-term target for achieving the goals.- Medium-term target: Achieving 100% renewable energy usage by 2030Eisai will switch all electric energy, which accounts for 65.3% (as of FY2019) of the total energy usage used by the entire corporate group, to renewable energy. (Aiming zero CO2 emitted by the use of electric power classified in Scope 2.)- Long-term goal: Achieving carbon neutrality by 2040Eisai will ensure the ratio of CO2 emission to absorption across the entire Group is to come out even. (Following the achievement of the reduction target of Scope 2, Eisai will aim to reduce the CO2 emitted with use of fossil fuels classified in Scope 1 to net zero.)Eisai will promote the following efforts to achieve these goals mentioned above; To continue to install energy-saving equipment and to upgrade it; To expand utilizing renewable energy; To switch company- owned vehicles used in business activities to electric vehicles or fuel cell vehi...

SeaPRwire

PropNex Q1 profit nearly doubles to $14.8 million on higher revenue

elean
2 minutes

SINGAPORE (THE BUSINESS TIMES) - Real estate agency PropNex on Tuesday (May 11) posted a first-quarter net profit of $14.8 million, nearly double the $7.6 million the year before. This came amid higher revenue due to an increase in commission income from agency services and project marketing services. The results translate to earnings per share (EPS) of 4.01 cents for the three months ended March 31, against an EPS of 2.05 cents the year prior. Revenue was up 63.3 per cent on the year to $220.6 million, from $135.1 million. The group earned $47.5 million in commission income from agency services and $38 million from project marketing services. This was a result of a higher number of transactions completed in the first quarter following improvements in both the Covid-19 situation and the economy. PropNex said the growth in both its top and bottom line is also attributable to improved market sentiments. There was a "strong take-up" of new project launches, it added. No dividend has been declared for the period, unchanged from a year ago, due to the company's policy of distributing dividends on a semi-annual basis. Shares of PropNex closed at $1.09 on Monday, down $0.04 or 3.5 per cen...

SeaPRwire

Amazon borrows US$18.5 billion it doesn’t need as companies take advantage of cheap money

elean
3 minutes

NEW YORK (BLOOMBERG) - Amazon.com sold bonds to refinance debt and buy back stock, as cheap borrowing costs prove too tempting to resist even for a company with tens of billions of dollars in cash. The online retail giant raised US$18.5 billion (S$24.5 billion) across bonds of eight different maturities. It set a record in the corporate bond market on Monday, getting closer to the level of interest paid by the US government than any US company has previously managed in a fundraising, the Financial Times said. On its US$1 billion two-year bond, it paid just 0.1 percentage points more than the yield on equivalent US Treasury debt, a record according to data from Refinitiv. Companies have been taking advantage of wide-open bond markets and spreads at three-year lows to score cheap borrowing, even if they don't need it. With the economy rebounding from the pandemic, US investment-grade firms are increasingly tempted to spend their cash cushions on acquisitions and dividend hikes, or borrow even more. At US$18.5 billion, it's Amazon's biggest bond sale ever, and the second-largest this year behind Verizon Communication's US$25 billion offering in March. The company was said to originall...

SeaPRwire

Ethereum hits new record high again, dogecoin slumps

elean
3 minutes

NEW YORK (REUTERS) - Cryptocurrency ethereum climbed to a new peak for a third straight day on Monday (May 10) on continued optimism about further growth in decentralised finance or "DeFi", although some analysts said it was overvalued at current levels. Ethereum has soared this year, fuelled by the boom in DeFi, which are platforms that facilitate crypto-denominated lending outside traditional banking. Many DeFi applications are embedded in the ethereum blockchain. Ethereum, the second-largest coin by market capitalization, hit an all-time high of US$4,200 (S$5,570) and was last up around 5.2 per cent at US$4,133.40. "The myriad possibilities of decentralised ledger technologies should be likened to a technological force of nature that will continue to disrupt finance and other businesses," said Paolo Ardoino, chief technology officer of cryptocurrency exchange Bitfinex. An upcoming technical change to its software seen as reducing its supply has also provided a boost, while new institutional investors in the crypto sector have warmed to it amid a tepid quarter so far for bitcoin. "(Crypto has) got a lot more institutional involvement than people who haven't followed the market be...

SeaPRwire

Dow streak of records ends, Nasdaq sinks

elean
2 minutes

NEW YORK (AFP) - Tech shares were hammered Monday (May 10) and the Dow finished modestly lower to snap a three-day streak of records and retreat from an intraday jump above 35,000 points. The topsy-turvy session marked a choppy open to a week that includes upcoming retail sales and consumer price data seen as influential in shaping expectations for US monetary policy. Industrial names such as Caterpillar and 3M still mustered solid gains, but large tech names like Amazon and Facebook sank. "It really is kind of a tale of two cities if you will," said JJ Kinahan of TD Ameritrade. The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended down 0.1 per cent at 34,742.82 after climbing above 35,000 points for the first time ever earlier in the day. The broad-based S&P 500 shed 1.0 per cent to 4,188.43, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index dropped 2.6 per cent to 13,401.86. US stocks had risen on Friday following a disappointing April jobs report that bolstered expectations the Federal Reserve will keep interest rates low for a long period of time to support the economic recovery. In addition to data on consumer prices and retail sales, this week's calendar also includes a report on producer prices. ...

SeaPRwire

S’pore cannot afford to close borders completely to foreign workers: SBF

elean
3 minutes

SINGAPORE - Singapore cannot afford to close its borders completely to foreign workers as its economy will be affected, warned the country's apex business chamber. Without access to sufficient manpower, there will also be "serious impact" on businesses and the livelihoods of Singaporeans, both in the immediate and longer terms, said the Singapore Business Federation (SBF) on Monday (May 10). This comes after the Ministry of Manpower's (MOM) move last Friday to stop accepting new entry applications for work pass holders from higher-risk countries or regions. This was in response to the resurgence of Covid-19 in several countries and the emergence of new virus variants. The ministry is also reducing entries from these areas, meaning that some work pass holders who had earlier obtained approval will be rescheduled to arrive later. The SBF expects this to put a further squeeze on sectors with unfilled labour demand and have a "significant impact on businesses". It hopes the new restrictions on entry approvals will be relaxed as soon as the situation allows. "In the interim, we hope that the list of lower-risk countries or regions for which the new restrictions do not apply can be expan...

ACN Newswire
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Trintech Releases 2021 Global Financial Close Benchmark Report

indie
4 minutes

DALLAS, TX / ACCESSWIRE, May 11, 2021 - (ACN Newswire via SEAPRWire.com) - Trintech, a leading provider of financial software solutions, today announced the release of its 2021 Global Financial Close Benchmark Report. Trintech surveyed over 480 financial professionals across the globe in Q1 of 2021 to evaluate which parts of the financial close process have been automated, which are in the process of being automated and where finance and accounting (F&A) organizations are looking to adopt automation in the future.2020 was a defining year for the CFO as they broke out of the compliance box and returned to their role as an essential strategic leader of the organization - one relied upon to shape critical business decisions when COVID-19 impacted businesses of all sizes. As companies transitioned to remote operations, organizations that relied heavily on manual processes found it difficult to continue to do their jobs at the same level - let alone deliver on the new expectations required of them to provide timely, critical business insights. What is certain is that these expectations are now essential for businesses moving forward, however, the ad hoc processes many organizations ...

ACN Newswire
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Ngern Tid Lor (SET: TIDLOR) debuts shares on SET

indie
5 minutes

BANGKOK, May 10, 2021 - (ACN Newswire via SEAPRWire.com) - Ngern Tid Lor PCL (SET: TIDLOR) received a warm welcome from investors on the Stock Exchange of Thailand today closing 25% higher at THB 45.75 per share with a trading volume of more than THB 33 billion. TIDLOR became the largest IPO ever in the Thai Finance and Securities Sector, as well as one of the five largest IPOs ever in the history of the Thai equity market, with a total offering size of THB 38,089 million (including an overallotment option) and market capitalization at the IPO price of THB 84,643 million, demonstrating Ngern Tid Lor's strong fundamentals as the leading vehicle title loan-provider and top-3 retail-focused insurance broker, ensuring the Company' rapid growth. Driven by technological innovation and an omni-channel distribution platform, Ngern Tid Lor is ready to take its success in listing on the SET to another level by expanding its network of branches and boosting efficiency. The company plans to continue to invest in improving technological and digital platforms in order to maintain its leadership status and create sustainable growth opportunities. Stabilization activities will be in place for a pe...

SeaPRwire
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Crypto Currency Companies Leverage AsiaPresswire’s Press Release Distribution in Vietnam

pandora
3 minutes

Hanoi, Vietnam / SEAPRWire / Vietnam is a new battlefield for Crypto Currency giants. They leverage AsiaPresswire's Vietnam press release distribution services to build their brand image and draw awareness of investors. Marketers in the Crypto Currency industry are recognizing the value of the digital trend in Vietnam as it relates to content campaigns and branding purposes. By analyzing customer and internal data in Vietnam, businesses can optimize their operational procedures and effectively serve wider audiences. For Crypto Currency company executives, AsiaPresswire's Vietnam Press Release Distribution Platform offers effective content marketing channels through its large networks of varied downstream partners. To achieve their marketing target in Vietnam, content marketers and SEO specialists will need to take advantage of the potential that data science possesses in relation to campaigns, according to Sammy Tisa, CEO of CryPlusTo. In a recent press release in Vietnamese language, CryPlusTo discussed the importance of business and customer data and how said data can be crucial when developing campaigns and navigating an industry. CryPlusTo went on to mention how these data sets...

ACN Newswire

乐享互动一季度成绩单：视频电商业务营收大增143.58%

tallulah
1 minute

HONG KONG, May 10, 2021 - (亚太商讯 via SEAPRWire.com) - 2021年5月10日，港股上市营销科技公司乐享互动（06988.HK）发布2021年一季度业绩情况更新。公告显示，一季度，乐享互动实现营收2.48亿港元，同比增长33.26%；实现毛利7740万港元，同比增长64.16%。实现毛利率31.16%，较去年同期增长5.87个百分点。从具体业务来看，一季度，乐享互动互娱及其他数字产品营销业务营收为2.20亿港元，同比增长26.31%；电商产品营销业务营收达到2845万港元，同比增长143.58%。随着短视频电商浪潮的崛起，视频电商业务正在成为乐享互动业绩的最大增量。一季度，乐享互动互娱及其他数字产品营销业务毛利5465万港元，同比增长44.96%；而视频电商业务毛利达到2276万港元，同比增速高达143.68%，占整体毛利的比重不断提升。与此同时，乐享互动另一项核心业务营销SaaS服务也在高速增长。目前，乐享互动通过自己的营销SaaS平台接入内容发布者，为其提供流量变现服务。公告显示，截至一季度末，乐享互动接入的微信公众号达55616个，环比增长36.01%。在短视频方面，公司接入的抖音号达29828个，环比增长37.01%，同时还接入了11567个微信视频号。整体来看，乐享互动合作的移动新媒体可变现接入点数量达63.90万个，环比增长35.96%，进一步夯实业务增长基础。 Copyright 2021 亚太商讯. All rights reserved. (via SEAPRWire)

ACN Newswire

Joy Spreader’s First Quarterly Results: Video E-commerce Business Soars 143.58%

indie
2 minutes

HONG KONG, May 10, 2021 - (ACN Newswire via SEAPRWire.com) - On May 10, 2021, Joy Spreader (6988.HK), a MarTech company listed in Hong Kong, released the business update of the first quarter of 2021. According to the announcement, in the first quarter, Joy Spreader achieved revenue of HK$ 248 million, representing an increase of 33.26% over the same period last year, gross profit of HK$77.4 million, representing an increase of 64.16% over the same period last year, and gross profit margin of 31.16%, representing an increase of 5.87 percentages points as compared with the same period last year.In terms of specific business, the revenue of Joy Spreader's interactive entertainment and other digital products marketing business in the first quarter was HK$220 million, representing an increase of 26.31% over the same period last year, while the revenue from e-commerce products marketing business was HK$28.45 million, representing an increase of 143.58% over the same period last year.With the emerging short video e-commerce, video e-commerce business is becoming the largest increment of results of Joy Spreader. In the first quarter, the gross profit of the Joy Spreader's interactive enter...

JCN Newswire
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ENEOS and Toyota Come Together to Make Woven City the Most Hydrogen-Based Society

ruth
6 minutes

TOKYO, May 10, 2021 - (JCN Newswire via SEAPRWire.com) - ENEOS Corporation (ENEOS) and Toyota Motor Corporation (Toyota) announced that they have agreed on a new partnership to explore the utilization and application of hydrogen energy at Woven City, the prototype city of the future that Toyota has started to develop in Susono City, Shizuoka Prefecture. ENEOS and Toyota, together with Woven Planet Holdings (Woven Planet), a subsidiary of Toyota, leading the Woven City project, intend to conduct testing and demonstration in areas related to a hydrogen-based supply chain, from production, delivery to usage of hydrogen, in and around Woven City. Through this effort, they aim to help achieve a carbon-neutral society by 2050 as Japan and many other countries around the world have committed.ENEOS is a leading company in the hydrogen business, operating 45 commercial hydrogen refueling stations in the four major metropolitan areas in Japan. In anticipation of a fully hydrogen mass-consumption society and to promote the overall low-carbon use of energy, ENEOS is also developing technologies that facilitate hydrogen production and building an entire supply chain based on CO2-free hydrogen.P...

ACN Newswire
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ACDX Launches Leveraged (XCH BBS) Trading Option for Chia Tokens (XCH)

indie
2 minutes

Seychelles, May 10, 2021 - (ACN Newswire via SEAPRWire.com) - ACDX, the crypto derivatives exchange offering structured products for sophisticated traders, is launching the first leveraged BBS trading option for Chia Tokens (XCH). This is the first crypto exchange to kick off such a leveraged listing, empowering users to trade an XCH Bull Bear Strike Token (XCH BBS) with multiple times leverage.Chia is the first enterprise-grade digital money, using the first Nakamoto consensus algorithm since Bitcoin. Chia Network is building a better blockchain and smart transaction platform: more decentralized, efficient and secure. Founded by Bram Cohen, inventor of BitTorrent, Chia's being built to improve global financial and payments systems."We are always looking for innovative, secure, and efficient projects to list on ACDX. Chia Network is exactly what we are seeking," commented Andy Cheung, founder and executive chairman of ACDX. "We have been closely monitoring the decentralized financial space. Many financial and payments projects are flourishing in 2021, with even greater potential to continue in 2022. We are responding to our community's needs in exploring this field."Given the mass ...

ACN Newswire
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Wintermar Offshore (WINS:JK) Reports 1Q2021 Results

indie
6 minutes

JAKARTA, May 10, 2021 - (ACN Newswire via SEAPRWire.com) - Wintermar Offshore Marine (WINS:JK) has announced results for 1Q2021. Wintermar is back in the black with net profit before tax of US$0.2 million, after three quarters of net losses.Business conditions have improved in 1Q2021 since the worst of the pandemic in 2020. Utilization still remains below the level achieved in 1Q2020, but the trend is positive. Total revenue of US$10.2 million recorded in 1Q2021 is still 21% below the level of US$12.9 million achieved in 1Q2020. Despite this, the Company was able attain a positive contribution at the gross profit, operating profit and also at the comprehensive net profit level for 1Q2021 due to cost control measures taken in 2020.--Owned Vessel DivisionOwned Vessel Revenue for 1Q2021 was 16% YOY lower at US$8.35 million as utilization remains at 61% compared to 69% in 1Q2020. There was a delay in the commencement of operations for a large project in Indonesia due to repairs needed on the rig which caused some committed vessels to be idle. However, due to a 29% YOY reduction in direct costs, the Owned Vessel division showed a YOY jump of 170% in Gross Profit of US$1.8 million compar...

SeaPRwire
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Global Internet of People Inc. Posts Robust 2020 Business Growth

pandora
3 minutes

SHANGHAI, May 7, 2021 - (ACN Newswire) - Global Internet of People, Inc. (NASDAQ:SDH), an operator of a knowledge sharing and enterprise service platform via mobile application and through local centers in China, is one of the few knowledge-sharing platform companies that has reported robust business performance in the past year. The company has posted strong growth and generated $23.18 million revenue in 2020, representing a 29.28% increase from the same period of 2019. Its net income was $11.96 million in 2020, also growing by 27.51% from the same period of 2019. These were all driven by strong corporate client demand for gaining an insight into how to deal with such a "black swan" event as the COVID-19 pandemic.SDH worked hard in developing digitalization-related services in 2020 to support enterprise clients seeking a recovery via industrial innovations during the pandemic period. The company invited experienced entrepreneurs, investors and scientists to share their counter COVID-19 strategies in marketing, service and digital innovations and jointly held global capital market summit to help establish a platform for dialogue so that enterprise clients were able to inter-communi...