Singapore could have a Covid-19 vaccine by early 2021; close to $300m commitment from S’pore authorities to make and buy vaccine

aseanpr 10 11 月

4 minutes

SINGAPORE - Singapore could have a Covid-19 vaccine by early next year. The first shipments of the vaccine co-developed by Singapore researchers are expected in the first quarter. Arcturus Therapeutics, the American pharmaceutical company working with Duke-NUS scientists on the vaccine, said this on Monday (Nov 9), as it announced positive preliminary results from the early stage clinical trials ongoing in Singapore. Singapore's Economic Development Board (EDB) is pumping in some US$45 million (S$60.5 million) into the manufacture of the vaccine, said Arcturus. EDB will also have the right to purchase up to $175 million of the vaccine at pre-negotiated prices, with shipments expected to begin in the first quarter of 2021, said Arcturus. Duke-NUS Medical School's Professor Ooi Eng Eong, who had co-developed the vaccine with Arcturus, said the results so far show that the vaccine could be effective as a single dose. "This differentiates this investigational vaccine from many other Covid-19 vaccines in development," said Prof Ooi, who is also a member of Arcturus' Vaccine Platform Scientific Advisory Board. "The vaccine has the potential to provide important public health benefits by ...

SeaPRwire

Three new features on national job portal to weed out discriminatory hiring

aseanpr 10 11 月

4 minutes

SINGAPORE - Three new features have been rolled out on the national jobs portal MyCareersFuture to strengthen progressive hiring practices among employers. A key thrust of the portal is to "provide as many job seekers as possible a fair chance at the roles advertised", said Workforce Singapore (WSG), the Tripartite Alliance for Fair and Progressive Employment Practices (Tafep), and the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) in a joint statement on Tuesday (Nov 10). The features aim to set a new standard for other job portals to follow, they said. They are: 1. Prompting employers to adhere to TGFEP when placing job advertisements An "Employer Prompt" feature reminds employers to adhere to the Tripartite Guidelines on Fair Employment Practices (TGFEP) when crafting job postings, and before they are published on MyCareersFuture. 2. Better guidance for employers in crafting neutral job ads Social listening technology is used to review all job postings published on MyCareersFuture, and potentially discriminatory terms or mentions are flagged to employers. Employers are guided on how they can improve their job postings, so they are better able to attract and find the most suitable candidates. Employ...

SeaPRwire

Port of Singapore named best seaport in Asia for the 32nd time

aseanpr 10 11 月

2 minutes

SINGAPORE - Singapore beat out three other contenders - Hong Kong, Shanghai and Shenzhen - to clinch the title of best seaport in Asia, for the 32nd time. The Port of Singapore won the "Best Seaport - Asia" award at the 2020 Asian Freight, Logistics and Supply Chain (Aflas) Awards held in Hong Kong on Monday (Nov 9), said the Maritime and Port Authority (MPA) on Tuesday (Nov 10). "This is a testament to the Port of Singapore's efficiency and continued leadership in driving maritime innovation," said MPA. The Aflas Awards are organised by the publication Asia Cargo News to recognise organisations that demonstrate leadership as well as consistency in service quality, innovation, customer relationship management and reliability. The winners emerged from votes cast by readers of the publication. "As a global hub port, the Port of Singapore continues to play a key role in keeping global supply chains going, particularly as the world economy starts re-opening," said MPA chief executive Quah Ley Hoon. "While we are humbled by this affirmation and thank the industry for their support, we will continue to strive to uphold high standards of service and drive initiatives that enable a low-car...

SeaPRwire

Morning Briefing: Top stories from The Straits Times on Nov 10

aseanpr 10 11 月

2 minutes

Good morning! Here are our top stories to kick-start your Tuesday, Nov 10. Up to 100 patrons allowed at clubs under S'pore nightlife pilot; karaoke joints open to groups of up to 5 Patrons must show proof of having taken a Covid-19 test in the last 24 hours before they can enter. READ MORE HERE Biden announces 13-member Covid-19 task force, urges Americans to wear masks as cases soar "A mask is not a political statement,” said Mr Biden. READ MORE HERE Biden's memorable visit to S'pore in 2013 included surprise stop at hawker centre He drank $3 lime juice at the hawker centre and stopped to chat with diners. READ MORE HERE More on this topic Related Story ST newsletters: Get alerts on the latest news Republican Senator McConnell says Trump within his rights to probe US election 'irregularities' McConnell did not acknowledge Biden as president-elect or Harris as vice president-elect. READ MORE HERE Why Pfizer's ultra-cold Covid-19 vaccine will not be at the local pharmacy any time soon The vaccine needs to be kept at minus 70 deg C or below, posing logistical and storage challenges. READ MORE HERE TraceTogether check-in at venues is better, (cyber) safer New system is more effective ...

SeaPRwire

Trafigura said to hire Temasek’s Khodor Mattar in expansion push

elean 10 11 月

2 minutes

AMSTERDAM (BLOOMBERG) -Commodities trader Trafigura Group is hiring Temasek Holdings executive Khodor Mattar, as it seeks to team up with the world's biggest private equity firms and sovereign funds for investments, people familiar with the matter said. Mr Mattar is joining Trafigura in a newly-created position as head of capital development, the people said, asking not to be identified because the information is private. He's currently a managing director for the Americas at Temasek, the Singapore state-owned investment firm. In his new role, Mr Mattar will develop debt and equity partnerships with top alternative capital providers, the people said. Trafigura aims to team up with these funds for investments that will help it expand across petroleum products, metals and minerals and renewables, the people said. Mr Mattar plans to move from New York to Geneva in 2021, according to the people. Representatives for Trafigura and Temasek declined to comment. The move shows the efforts by large commodities traders to find alternative financing methods at a time when conventional lenders are getting more conservative in extending their balance sheets. ABN Amro Bank said in August it would...

SeaPRwire

Jack Ma’s botched Ant IPO becomes a boost for China’s state-run banks

elean 10 11 月

4 minutes

BEIJING (BLOOMBERG) - China Merchants Bank and other state-backed lenders have emerged as the biggest winners from new regulations that derailed Ant Group's massive stock listing, as China aims to level the playing field between fintech giants and traditional banks. Merchants Bank, known as the retail bank king in China, soared 16 per cent in Hong Kong this month, its biggest six-day advance in more than five years. Other Chinese lenders gained, including Agricultural Bank of China, while Alibaba Group Holding, an affiliate and one-third shareholder of Ant, lost 1 per cent. Chinese banks, trading near record low valuations, rallied after financial regulators last week proposed new rules to curb the rapid growth and leverage at the nation's more than 200 micro-loan lenders, putting a surprise halt to Ant's US$37 billion (S$49.9 billion) initial public offering. Ant and other fintech giants such as Tencent Holdings, using big data and cloud computing, have grabbed market share from commercial banks in the lucrative consumer lending space by providing easier access to credit for younger users online, many of whom have little income nor credit history. "The regulations move the dial ba...

SeaPRwire

Oil soars 8% on promising Covid-19 vaccine results

elean 10 11 月

2 minutes

NEW YORK (REUTERS) - Oil surged about 8 per cent on Monday (Nov 9), putting it on track for its biggest daily gain in more than six months after Pfizer announced promising results for its Covid-19 vaccine, boosting risk assets around the globe. Brent crude was up US$3.11, or 7.9 per cent, at US$42.56 a barrel at 1:35pm EDT (1835 GMT), while US West Texas Intermediate crude rose US$3.31, or 8.9 per cent, to US$40.45. Both contracts rose more than US$4 earlier in the session and traded more than 120 per cent of last session's volumes. "The oil complex is joining in the bullish euphoria of today's optimistic vaccine headlines as well as the weekend election results by trailing the equities higher," said Jim Ritterbusch of Ritterbusch and Associates in Houston. Pfizer said its experimental vaccine was more than 90 per cent effective in preventing Covid-19, based on initial data from a large study, a victory in the battle against a pandemic that has forced lockdowns around the world and led to a drop-off in fuel demand. Wall Street, which oil prices often follow, reached all-time highs after the announcement. Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia said an Opec+ oil output deal could be adjusted to bal...

SeaPRwire

STI up 1.19% as Asian equities rally after Biden’s election win

elean 10 11 月

2 minutes

Singapore stocks rallied yesterday following news that Democrat challenger Joe Biden was declared president of the United States at the weekend, easing the uncertainty over the outcome of the election. Asian markets elsewhere continued to register gains from last week, with key benchmarks for Tokyo, Hong Kong, Seoul, Jakarta, and Kuala Lumpur all ending higher. State Street Global Markets' senior multi-asset strategist Daniel Gerard said Mr Biden's win "has been embraced by markets as it provides a narrative of desire for reconciliation, diplomacy and more international cooperation". "Asia, particularly emerging markets Asia, will be a strong beneficiary of the current environment, due to its relatively better handling of the pandemic, its exposure to technology and recovering consumer and global trade story," he said. However, near-term risks, including renewed geopolitical tensions and a resurgent pandemic, could threaten to reverse gains in global trades, he added. The local blue-chip benchmark Straits Times Index (STI) ended yesterday up 1.19 per cent to 2,609.36. Gainers outpaced losers 319 to 166, with 1.74 billion securities worth $1.24 billion changing hands. The best perfo...

SeaPRwire

Engineer retrained to take on new role in company

elean 10 11 月

1 minute

Traditionally, career paths within a company progress along the lines of one's area of expertise. But with change becoming a norm in many industries, it is not unusual for employees to switch jobs within the same company. Please subscribe or log in to continue reading the full article. Get unlimited access to all stories at $0.99/month Latest headlines and exclusive stories In-depth analyses and award-winning multimedia content Get access to all with our no-contract promotional package at only $0.99/month for the first 3 months* Subscribe now *Terms and conditions apply.

SeaPRwire

XanPool Launches XanPay – New and More Efficient form of Payment Routing

pandora 9 11 月

3 minutes

Reducing Cross Border Routing and Settlement Costs For Payment Service Providers and Their Merchants. Hong Kong - Hong Kong-based Fintech Company XanPool (the "Company") having just raised raised it's US$4.3 million in a Pre-A financing last quarter, is pleased to announce that it has launched its latest, product XanPay. XanPay is a unique payment routing technology that utilizes the Company's proprietary C2C-routing-technology and its network of Digital Currency Liquidity Providers to enable cross-border payments between payment service providers, merchants and their customers. XanPay's software allows its partners to instantly route and settle their cross border payments without any custody risk, simply by integrating with XanPay's REST API. What this means in practice, is that payment service providers that use XanPay's routing technology, are now able to settle their merchant payments instantly, at minimal cost. Whereas conventional payment routing requires long settlement times – from days to weeks – to clear payments between merchant and customer. The Company is currently already integrated with over 20 payment service providers and merchant acquirers in Asia, helping them ro...

JCN Newswire

DOCOMO Licenses Lens Production for VR Headset to NTKJ

ruth 9 11 月

3 minutes

TOKYO, Nov 9, 2020 - (JCN Newswire) - NTT DOCOMO, INC. and Nihon Tokushu Kogaku Jushi Co., Ltd. (NTKJ) announced today that they have reached a licensing agreement to manufacture advanced lenses for DOCOMO's virtual reality (VR) headset, which pairs with smartphones for ultra-wide-angle VR experiences. Scheme of licensed manufacture and sale of lensesThe agreement includes the use of DOCOMO's patents and design documents for the manufacture and sale of lenses that NTKJ will begin providing to headset manufacturers on November 16. Thereafter, the manufacturers will collaborate with NTKJ to produce end-user headsets (googles) based on DOCOMO's basic designs.Existing low-end VR headsets coupled with smartphones only achieve narrow viewing angles, causing users to feel as if they are looking through a hole. In the new VR headset, however, high-magnification Fresnel lenses surround ordinary-magnification aspherical lenses to create a wider field of vision. Objects appearing in the center are in focus and peripheral images are somewhat blurred, similar to human vision. Incorporating two types of lenses with different levels of magnification makes VR images appear highly realistic, result...

ACN Newswire

Alinma Bank signs acquiring agreement with JCB International for local acceptance in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

indie 9 11 月

4 minutes

Riyadh & Tokyo, Nov 9, 2020 - (ACN Newswire) - Alinma Bank has partnered with JCB International Co., Ltd. (JCBI), the international operations subsidiary of JCB Co. Ltd., Japan's only international payment brand, to enable the acceptance of JCB Cards through its POS and ATM network devices deployed in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The expansion is in line with the Kingdom's strategic vision to promote both a cashless society and financial inclusion as part of Vision 2030.The partnership is also a continuation of JCB's plan for entering the market in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, a destination of ever-increasing importance for its cardholders around the world for both business and tourism. The partnership will significantly give added convenience to JCB cardholders from the Islamic world, who frequently travel to Saudi Arabia for religious tourism."I am delighted that we have entered into this partnership with Alinma Bank for the acceptance of JCB Cards," said Mr. Yoshiki Kaneko, President and COO of JCBI. "Saudi Arabia has always been a very important destination for many of JCB cardholders, from both a business and religious perspective. With the strategic plan for Vision 2030, ...

SeaPRwire

Discover hidden heartland gems with new tours around Singapore’s neighbourhoods

aseanpr 9 11 月

3 minutes

SINGAPORE - For those who have always wanted to explore the nooks and crannies of Singapore's heartland, a new series of tours launched on Monday (Nov 9) hopes to do just that. The first of 10 tours will be on Nov 29, taking participants through the estates of Ang Mo Kio and Kebun Baru. Around 80 spots are available for the tour, which includes stops at locations of historical and cultural significance around Ang Mo Kio Town Central and Kebun Baru Neighbourhood Centre. Led by guides from City Tours, these heartland jaunts will last approximately three and a half hours, and will involve eight groups of no more than 10 people moving around the districts. In Ang Mo Kio, one will be able to explore wall murals and visit old shops and stores that have been standing for decades. And in Kebun Baru, tour participants will visit hidden gems like the district's bird cage street, where bird singing competitions used to be held. Foodies can also anticipate stops at the Mayflower Market and Hawker Centre, and Ang Mo Kio Central Market and Food Centre. The tour will also include a ride on a FunVee open-top double-decker bus, complete with live commentary. Those who are unable to go for the tours...

SeaPRwire

Singapore team’s Covid-19 neutralising antibody test kit is first to get US FDA approval

aseanpr 9 11 月

4 minutes

SINGAPORE - A kit that detects whether someone has antibodies which neutralise the coronavirus, invented by local researchers, has become the first of its kind to receive authorisation from the United States' Food and Drug Administration (FDA). On Friday (Nov 6), the FDA said on its website that it had given emergency use authorisation for the kit, known as cPass. cPass was invented by a team led by Professor Wang Linfa, director of Duke-NUS' emerging infectious diseases programme, and co-developed with biotech company GenScript Biotech Corporation and the Agency for Science, Technology and Research's (A*Star) Diagnostics Development Hub (DxD Hub). It can be used to see if vaccines work, check what proportion of the population has already been infected, and to assist in contact tracing by enabling the health authorities to retrace the steps of the virus. cPass also does not require highly specialised equipment or training to use, and returns results in just an hour. On Sunday, Prof Wang told The Straits Times that the FDA's approval was extremely significant not just for his team, but for Singapore as well. He said: "To have the FDA approval as the first and only commercial kit to ...

SeaPRwire

20-year-old among 14 charged for selling electronic vaporisers online

aseanpr 9 11 月

2 minutes

SINGAPORE - From June to August 2020, 14 people were charged for selling electronic vaporisers (e-vaporisers) and related items in Singapore. More than $50,000 worth of goods were seized from them, and they were fined a combined total of $255,500. All 14 cases were unrelated. The youngest offender, aged 20, was sentenced to a 15-month supervised probation, while the rest were fined between $5,500 and $47,500. Aged between 20 and 43, the offenders bought e-vaporisers and related accessories from suppliers overseas and sold them illegally on social media and e-commerce platforms, said the Health Sciences Authority (HSA) in a statement on Monday (Nov 9). E-vaporisers, which include e-cigarettes and e-cigars, are battery-powered devices that heat a liquid containing nicotine to produce a vapour which is then inhaled. E-vaporisers and accessories seized from the peddlers. PHOTO: HEALTH SCIENCES AUTHORITY HSA said that the offenders were caught as part of its cyber-surveillance and enforcement activities against to the illegal import and sale of e-vaporisers and related accessories in Singapore. From 2018 to today, HSA has prosecuted 35 people for selling e-vaporisers and related accesso...

SeaPRwire

Youth trespassed into NUS dorm multiple times and took women’s undergarments

aseanpr 9 11 月

2 minutes

SINGAPORE - A youth trespassed into a dormitory at the National University of Singapore (NUS) eight times over the course of about six weeks as he wanted to take women's undergarments. Goh An Soon, now 20, who was not an NUS student at the time of the offences, pleaded guilty on Monday (Nov 9) to one count each of misappropriating the lingerie and trespassing. Deputy Public Prosecutor Tan Pei Wei said that Goh would go to the dormitory at King Edward VII Hall in Kent Ridge Road whenever he felt an urge to look at the undergarments. He did so between Dec 19, 2018, and Feb 1 last year. He would check washing machines at the dormitory's laundry areas, or among the clothes hung to dry in the common corridor for lingerie left unattended. The DPP added: "He claimed that he would then take the undergarments to pantry rooms in neighbouring blocks of the campus to look at them up close, and that he left the undergarments behind in these rooms thereafter." But according to court documents, he took more than just women's underwear. For instance, on Jan 16 last year, he took five laundry bags containing items including a pair of socks, two towels and a pair of men's underwear. The following mo...

SeaPRwire

6,370 jobs available in Singapore’s manufacturing sector; 1 in 10 in hard-hit marine and offshore industry

aseanpr 9 11 月

5 minutes

SINGAPORE - About 6,370 jobs are on offer in the manufacturing sector, with one in 10 from the hard-hit marine and offshore sub-sector. These make up over 60 per cent of the more than 10,400 job, traineeship and training opportunities available as at the middle of last month, said the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) in its weekly jobs situation report on Monday (Nov 9). At 6,370, the number of jobs available is almost double the 3,200 openings in the sector at the end of August. Within the sector, electronics, precision engineering and food manufacturing had the greatest number of available openings, said Manpower Minister Josephine Teo at a virtual media conference on Monday. She added that it is important to give job seekers an idea of the range of options available to them, and help them to get into these openings. Of the jobs available now, seven in 10 are for professionals, managers, executives and technicians (PMETs). Electronics engineers can earn monthly salaries of between $4,300 and $6,000. The median monthly pay is $4,700. The salary for mechanical engineers is about $3,500 and $5,250 a month, with a median of $4,150, while that of manufacturing engineering technicians is $1,...

JCN Newswire

Fujitsu Develops New Tech for Quantum-Inspired “Digital Annealer”, Achieving Megabit-class Performance for Large-Scale Combinatorial Optimization Problems

ruth 9 11 月

6 minutes

KAWASAKI, Japan, Nov 9, 2020 - (JCN Newswire) - Fujitsu Laboratories Limited, in collaboration with the University of Toronto, has successfully developed a new parallel search technology to help achieve megabit-class performance for large-scale problems, representing an important technical milestone for its Digital Annealer. Fujitsu's Digital Annealer is a unique computing architecture that rapidly solves combinatorial optimization problems too large and complex for conventional technologies. Figure 1 Real world problems and scale in bitsFigure 2 Outline of the new technologyFigure 3 Outline of the production schedule problem and the results obtainedThe current, second-generation Digital Annealer Cloud Service, available to customers since May 2018, delivers performance at 8,192 bits to offer users a powerful tool for solving optimization problems in fields including logistics, finance, medicine, and manufacturing. As applications in a variety of industries continue to grow, however, a need continues to exist for a technology that can handle problems at an even larger scale in order to solve a broader range of complex, real-world problems. With this challenge in mind, Fujitsu Labor...

JCN Newswire

Eisai: Sysmex Presents Academic Report with a View to Creating a Simple Method of Diagnosing Alzheimer’s Disease Using Blood

ruth 9 11 月

5 minutes

TOKYO, Nov 9, 2020 - (JCN Newswire) - Sysmex Corporation and Eisai Co., Ltd. announced that the most recent data from the project to develop a method of diagnosing Alzheimer's disease (AD) using blood plasma was presented at the 13th Clinical Trials on Alzheimer's Disease (CTAD) conference, held virtually from November 4 to 7, 2020. Sysmex demonstrated on behalf of the two companies the performance of the amyloid beta (Abeta) in plasma measured on Sysmex's HISCLTM fully automated immunoassay analyzers in predicting amyloid pathology as defined by amyloid positron emission tomography (PET) imaging on the centiloid scale.(1)The total number of those living with dementia across the world is projected to reach 82 million in 2030 and 152 million in 2050, with the total global societal cost of dementia stemming from direct medical and social care costs and lower productivity being estimated to reach 2 trillion USD in 2030.(6) In Japan, the number of those with dementia is thought to have reached approximately 4.62 million in 2012 and is projected to grow to 7.30 million in 20257, with the total societal cost of this disease is estimated to be equivalent to 4.1%8 of the gross domestic pro...

SeaPRwire

Asia shares, US stock futures rise on Biden victory

elean 9 11 月

3 minutes

SYDNEY (BLOOMBERG, REUTERS) - Asia shares and US stock futures climbed on Monday (Nov 9) and the US dollar extended last week’s decline, with markets continuing to show a pattern favorable for risk-taking in the wake of President-elect Joe Biden’s assumed victory. S&P 500 futures were up 1 per cent in early trading, building on the strongest week since April for the US equities gauge, as Biden prepared to launch his transition effort on Monday. Japan's Nikkei index rose 1.2 per cent, Australia's S&P/ASX 200 Index surged 1.5 per cent while South Korea's Kospi index opened up 0.9 per cent. Biden, in his victory speech over the weekend, promised swift action against the pandemic and an orderly transfer of power following the election. By being declared winner in Pennsylvania, Biden passed the threshold of 270 Electoral College votes needed to capture the presidency and media networks at the weekend declared him victorious. President Donald Trump is weighing legal challenges and has so far refused to concede. "The most likely outcome is that Democrats will retain control of the House with Republicans retaining the Senate. This is likely to mean Biden's proposed tax hikes won't pass the...

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