SeaPRwire

Dole’s $3.60 bananas come with promises and purpose

elean
1 minute

Time was when eating fruits was not something that, well, exercised you over much. You peeled a banana, gulped the flesh and looked for a convenient place to dispose of the skin. Or cut a pineapple and either had it fresh, or put it in the fridge for a bit to enjoy the sense of crunching into something sweet and cold. Who cared to consider how that banana reached your table? Or what happened to the pina remnants once the fruit left the tree? Companies, unlike consumers, have to be more mindful. This is the age of being woke and that extends in many directions. New phrases such as "eco-anxiety" and "ecocide" - a play on anxiety over the environment and environmental genocide - are in vogue. Many see in all this both a moral imperative and a business opportunity. 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

When a billionaire files for divorce

elean
1 minute

(NYTIMES) - In 2014, Mr Scott Hassan, known by some as the third Google founder, sent Ms Allison Huynh, his wife of 13 years, a text message that their marriage was over and that he was moving out of their home. Nearly seven years later, the pair are still locked in litigation over how to divide an estate with tech investments and prime California properties estimated to be worth billions of dollars. 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.

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What’s behind the decision to close Yale-NUS College?

aseanpr
12 minutes

SINGAPORE - More than a week since the shock announcement that Yale-NUS College will close its doors in 2025, students and alumni are still wondering if they will get a more detailed explanation of the decision. On Aug 27, the National University of Singapore (NUS) said in a statement that this year's intake at Yale-NUS, a liberal arts institution that it set up with America's Yale University in 2011, would be its last. Calling the move a "merger", NUS said the best elements of Yale-NUS and its own 20-year-old University Scholars Programme (USP) will form the basis of a yet-to-be-named new college, which will open next year. NUS president Tan Eng Chye said NUS was extremely proud of what Yale-NUS has achieved in the past 10 years, and that the experience has contributed to a reimagining of undergraduate education at NUS. "Our strong belief in the importance of interdisciplinarity, forged through our valuable partnership, has led to the establishment of the New College," he added. In a statement from New Haven, Connecticut, Yale president Peter Salovey offered his best wishes to the new college, and thanked the Singapore Government for having made the partnership possible. The agree...

SeaPRwire

Older adults resilient in the face of Covid-19 but social support needed: SMU report

aseanpr
4 minutes

SINGAPORE - Older adults have adapted to the challenges of the pandemic in novel ways, such as by starting online businesses to generate new sources of income or developing new exercise routines as working from home became the norm. But social support that extends beyond what is offered by family members, involving friends and neighbours, remains key to their well-being. These were among the key findings in a report released on Thursday (Sept 2) by Singapore Management University's Centre for Research on Successful Ageing (Rosa). The report compiled research that Rosa had conducted in the past year on the well-being of older adults, and included new findings from seven focus groups with 35 participants aged 56 to 75. The aim of the focus groups was to learn more about how older adults coped during the Covid-19 pandemic as well as provide context for trends that were identified in previous research. For example, previous research had found that while the coronavirus outbreak disrupted the provision of chronic care to older adults suffering from chronic ailments, respondents' satisfaction with health remained constant. The focus groups suggested that the increase in work-life balance...

SeaPRwire

China Evergrande’s billionaire boss exudes calm even as debt risks grow

elean
4 minutes

HONG KONG (REUTERS) - Mingling with power brokers at celebrations to mark the centenary of the Chinese Communist Party on July 1, a beaming Hui Ka Yan showed no signs that his company, China Evergrande, was facing mounting pressure with debt repayments. Mr Hui, wearing a navy-blue suit and open-neck shirt, looked relaxed as he stood on a podium overlooking the festivities in Tiananmen Square, an invitation many considered a show of support for the billionaire businessman. A month earlier, the Evergrande group chairman had hosted a rare meeting with more than 1,000 suppliers and was once again flanked by the business elite, as he spoke of his deleveraging goals. But now Mr Hui's highly leveraged business strategy is unravelling. Debts at Evergrande, the country's No. 2 developer, triggered warnings on Aug 19 from the central bank and regulators worried that its 1.97 trillion yuan (S$410 billion) of liabilities - the size of Finland's GDP - could result in contagion if the company was not stabilised. The company warned on Tuesday (Aug 31) of default risks if it failed to dispose of more assets and renew loans. Evergrande and Mr Hui did not respond to requests for comment. The 62-year...

SeaPRwire

US stocks end mixed amid contradictory economic signs

elean
2 minutes

NEW YORK(AFP) - With US and global economic data sending differing signals as the surge of Covid-19 infections continues to take a toll on the recovery, Wall Street equities ended mixed on Wednesday (Sept 1). Weak private hiring data along with solid growth in manufacturing that was held back by difficulty finding workers were key factors for investors awaiting the Labour Department's jobs report for August due on Friday. The benchmark Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 0.1 per cent to close at 35,312.53, while the broad-based S&P 500 ended essentially flat at 4,524.09. But the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index gained 0.3 per cent to kick off September by finishing at an all-time high of 15,309.38. US stocks have posted steady gains and a series of records for months, as the economy has roared back from the worst of the pandemic shutdowns. But the Delta variant of Covid-19 has hit manufacturing in China, which economists fear will be echoed in the United States. Investors initially seemed unconcerned by the big miss in private US hiring in August, which payroll services firm ADP reported as 374,000, about half what economist had been expecting. The data "highlighted a downshift in...

SeaPRwire

High Court awards PM Lee $370,000 in damages in defamation suits against TOC editor Terry Xu and article author

aseanpr
3 minutes

SINGAPORE - The High Court has awarded Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong a total of $370,000 in damages for two defamation suits he filed over an article published on The Online Citizen (TOC) website. He had separately sued TOC chief editor Terry Xu and Ms Rubaashini Shunmuganathan, the Malaysian author of the article that was published on Aug 15, 2019. The article, titled "PM Lee's wife Ho Ching weirdly shares article on cutting ties with family members", had quoted a Facebook post by PM Lee's sister, Dr Lee Wei Ling, saying their father, founding prime minister Lee Kuan Yew, had been misled by PM Lee into believing the family house at 38 Oxley Road had been gazetted by the Government. Ms Rubaashini did not enter an appearance to defend the suit against her and judgment in default was granted in favour of PM Lee. In a 64-page judgment released on Wednesday (Sept 1), Justice Audrey Lim said she was unable to accept Mr Xu's inference that PM Lee had, with an ulterior motive, misled Mr Lee Kuan Yew into believing that the house had been gazetted. "On the contrary, the evidence shows that (PM Lee) had supported (Mr Lee Kuan Yew's) wishes to demolish the house as he wanted to respect his ...

SeaPRwire

Briton allegedly linked to Wirecard case charged in Singapore with abetting to falsify document

aseanpr
3 minutes

SINGAPORE - A man allegedly linked to a case involving German payments company Wirecard has been charged with one count of abetting to falsify a document. James Henry O'Sullivan, 46, appeared in a Singapore district court via video-link on Wednesday (Sept 1). In March 2017, the Briton allegedly instigated then director of local accounting firm Citadelle Corporate Services R Shanmugaratnam to falsify a document. According to court documents, O'Sullivan, who was arrested on Monday, purportedly instructed the Singaporean to issue a letter from Citadelle to a Wirecard subsidiary known as Cardsystems Middle East FZ. The letter is said to have stated that Citadelle held a balance of about 86.4 million euros (S$137 million) in an escrow account as of Dec 30, 2016 - when, in fact, Citadelle did not maintain such an account. Escrow is an essential service in capital markets that supports transactions such as mergers and acquisitions. O'Sullivan's lawyer Tito Isaac on Wednesday asked for his client to be allowed bail, stressing that the Briton had assisted the authorities with investigations. Mr Isaac said O'Sullivan's ties to Singapore are strong, adding that he and his wife are working her...

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Covid-19 booster jabs: Some may not get same vaccine from earlier shots

aseanpr
8 minutes

SINGAPORE - When Covid-19 booster shots are rolled out in Singapore, some may be given the same vaccine they took earlier while others may be administered a different one. "Both approaches are being considered, with pros and cons to both strategies," Associate Professor Lim Poh Lian, director of the High Level Isolation Unit at the National Centre for Infectious Diseases, told The Straits Times. "We have to look at which is more effective in protecting against the current and future virus strains circulating. We have to look at safety issues and different segments of the population. "What might be good for older adults might have more side-effects in younger persons, so it may not be a one-size-fits-all recommendation. Those kinds of data just take time to be collected, analysed and reported," said Prof Lim, who is also a member of the Expert Committee on Covid-19 vaccination. Those who got inactivated Covid-19 vaccines such as Sinovac may benefit from receiving an mRNA booster jab, some experts said. mRNA vaccines include the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, which are part of Singapore's national vaccination drive. Professor Ooi Eng Eong from Duke-NUS Medical School's Programme in Eme...

SeaPRwire

SMU molestation case: Man, 25, convicted of outraging woman’s modesty

aseanpr
3 minutes

SINGAPORE - A Singapore Management University (SMU) student has been convicted of molesting a woman on campus in 2019. On Tuesday (Aug 31), District Judge Sharmila Sripathy found Lee Yan Ru, now 25, guilty of one count of molestation. In delivering her verdict, the judge noted that Lee did not deny committing the sexual act on the victim, who was then 21 years old. Instead, he had claimed that the victim was "fine" with his advances and that she had been "coy" with him. During an earlier court proceeding, Lee had testified that he assumed the victim did not mean it when she told him to stop committing the offence. On Tuesday, Judge Sharmila noted that the woman was asleep when Lee started performing the sexual act on her. As such, she was in no position to consent to it. The judge also found that the woman had been truthful in court, and added that Lee "was fully aware (the victim) wanted him to desist". The victim, who was then studying at another university, cannot be named due to a gag order to protect her identity. During the trial that started in September last year, the court heard that she got to know Lee on social media platform Instagram around December 2018 and that they ...

SeaPRwire

Where Temasek, GIC and other institutional investors are putting their money

elean
9 minutes

SINGAPORE (BLOOMBERG) - As if the pandemic wasn't warping global markets enough, China's regulatory crackdown is suddenly adding new unpredictability. So how best to invest in these strange times? Bloomberg News spoke with institutional investors with US$3 trillion in combined assets under management to ask how they're navigating economic turmoil caused by unpredictable recoveries and China's shifting rules, which have frozen US listings and almost erased the online education sector. Some are ramping up allocations to hedge funds - reversing a years-long retreat - hoping that active management can plot a path through a landscape of Covid-19 lockdowns and rebounds. Others are switching to undervalued stocks in Europe and India, avoiding the U.S.-China regulatory fracas. All recommended heightened caution and warned of a difficult recovery ahead. What follows is a look at their strategies. - Temasek Holdings: AUM of S$381 billion Over the next 12 months, Singapore's massive state-owned investor will look to companies that focus on digitization, e-commerce, cyber-security providers and increased sustainability, according to Nagi Hamiyeh, joint head of its investment group. The latter ...

ACN Newswire

Electrolyte manufacturers are expanding for the global competition, the high-end solvent supplier Shida Shenghua becomes the key enterprise

indie
2 minutes

HONG KONG, Aug 30, 2021 - (ACN Newswire via SEAPRWire.com) - According to Mitsubishi Chemical in Japan, it will spend billions of yen on increasing the output of lithium-ion battery electrolyte. These funds will invest in upgrading the equipment of factories in the United States, Britain and China, which aims to increase the annual global production capacity to 90000 tons by 2023.It is reported that at present, Mitsubishi Chemical holds a 20 per cent share of the global market in lithium-ion battery electrolyte. Over the past decade, Mitsubishi Chemical has cooperated with Shida shenghua (603026:CH), a exclusive supplier of solvents, which underlines its advantages by the means of the high-performance electrolyte that contains additives for protecting electrodes to inhibit the generation of gases.Mitsubishi Chemical and Shidashenghua together have nearly 300 patents related to the electrolyte. They will find the best manufacturing method for battery manufacturers by the means of these patents. At present, the products have spread in vehicle lithium batteries in Japan, the United States, Europe and other markets.Except Mitsubishi Chemical, other Japanese material manufacturers such ...

SeaPRwire

Mall guy: Investor mints a fortune in retail scene

elean
4 minutes

(BLOOMBERG) - Mr Igal Namdar has made a fortune buying shopping malls no one else wants. He scoops up struggling centres at bargain-basement prices after their landlords lose faith, betting he can turn a profit before the last tenants turn out the lights. So far, that strategy has netted big gains - as well as lawsuits accusing him of letting his real estate slide into disrepair. In building an empire of 268 properties in 35 US states, he has accumulated a personal net worth of about US$2 billion (S$2.7 billion). The coronavirus pandemic accelerated the shift to e-commerce, forcing many already-ailing department stores and apparel shops to go dark. Landlords that own lower-end malls - with high proportions of tenants that have fallen behind on rents or shuttered stores - have been hit especially hard. For Mr Namdar, that smells like opportunity. He expects a flurry of deals next year as more owners of troubled retail properties head for the exits. "Any seller of retail - malls or open air - any size of portfolio, we're there," Mr Namdar, 51, said in an interview from his base in New York. "We can close immediately, as is, where it is, with no due diligence." The formula for Namdar ...

SeaPRwire

Dilemma of saving for puny returns

elean
6 minutes

(NYTIMES) - If you are saving money for the future, one way or another you had best be prepared to lose some of it. That is the implication of today's upside-down world in the financial markets. The combination of high inflation, strong economic growth and very low interest rates has meant that "real" interest rates - what you can earn on your money after accounting for inflation - are lower than they have been in modern times. This outcome is a result of a glut of global savings and the Federal Reserve's extraordinary efforts to bring the United States economy back to health. And it means the choice for a saver is stark. You can invest in safe assets and accept a high likelihood that you will get back less, in terms of purchasing power, than you put in. Or you can invest in risky assets in which you have a shot at positive returns but also a substantial risk of losing money should market sentiment turn negative. "For people who are risk averse, they have to get used to the worst of all possible worlds, which is watching their little pool of capital go down in real terms year after year after year," said Franklin Templeton Fixed Income's chief investment officer Sonal Desai. Inflat...

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PUB to raise 450m stretch of flood-prone Dunearn Road to reduce risk of flash floods

aseanpr
7 minutes

SINGAPORE - National water agency PUB will be raising a 450m stretch of Dunearn Road, where flash floods have occurred three times this year, to reduce the risk of such incidents there. The works are expected to be completed by November this year, PUB said in a statement on Saturday (Aug 28). Details on how high the road will be raised is still being fine tuned. The raising of the road will be an interim flood-proofing measure before ongoing drainage expansion works along Bukit Timah complete by the first quarter of 2024. PUB said that the drainage improvement project to widen and deepen a 900m section of the Bukit Timah Canal will help to address the problem. Last Tuesday (Aug 24), heavy rain caused a flash flood that resulted in the stretch of Dunearn Road between Sime Darby Centre and Binjai Park to become impassible for about 40 minutes. That day, more rain pelted western Singapore in three hours than the average rainfall for the whole month of August. On July 12 and April 17 this year, heavy rain also caused flash flooding incidents there. PUB said: "When completed, the upgraded canal will enhance flood protection for the surrounding area including Dunearn Road, and reduce the...

SeaPRwire

3 new TEL train stations to serve as emergency shelters

aseanpr
3 minutes

SINGAPORE - The opening of Thomson-East Coast Line (TEL) Stage 2 on Saturday (Aug 28) means there will be three more emergency shelters added to the existing network here - Lentor, Mayflower and Bright Hill MRT stations. With the three latest shelters, there are now 584 civil defence shelters, of which 52 are in underground MRT stations. More will be added over time to shelter more people, said the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF). Like the other shelters, the three stations have been reinforced with air vents that can be shut in the event of chemical warfare - restricting air exchange in and out of the underground shelter but also minimising the amount of contaminated air entering it. The SCDF said it did a study which showed that this method of protection is effective, reducing exposure to safe levels, based on international toxic chemical exposure guidelines. All those entering the shelter during a chemical attack will have to remove their clothes and decontaminate themselves using specially developed wipes, in cubicles that are separated by gender. A standard-issue change of clothes will then be provided. Other than underground MRT stations, shelters have been built in scho...

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Ex-PUB officer charged with accepting around $45,000 in bribes and falsifying invoices

aseanpr
3 minutes

SINGAPORE - A former assistant engineer of national water agency PUB was on Friday (Aug 27) charged with accepting around $45,000 in bribes and falsifying invoices. Jamaludin Mohamed, a 58-year-old Singaporean, faces three counts of corruption and two of falsifying accounts. He was bribed by Singaporean Ganisan Suppiah, 51, who was the project manager of a company called Pipe Works. Ganisan, who was also charged on Friday, faces one count of corruption and two of abetting Jamaludin in falsifying invoices. Court documents state that Jamaludin allegedly accepted bribes of around $45,000 from Ganisan in exchange for facilitating and expediting work by Pipe Works that he supervised. The gratification is said to have changed hands on multiple occasions between 2017 and 2018. Sometime in July 2019, Jamaludin allegedly attempted to obtain a bribe of $500,000 from another piping works company in exchange for supporting its bid for a tender to replace water mains. That same month, he allegedly tried to get bribes from a construction company for the same tender. Both companies rejected his requests. Between Nov 16 and Nov 23, 2017, Jamaludin also allegedly prepared fake invoices under a comp...

SeaPRwire

NTUC calls for unemployment support for PMEs beyond current grants

aseanpr
4 minutes

SINGAPORE - The labour movement is calling for monetary support beyond current grants to be given to professionals, managers and executives (PMEs) who have lost their jobs. Speaking to the media on Thursday (Aug 26), Mr Patrick Tay, the assistant secretary-general of the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC), said PMEs are worried about job security, and require greater support in employment and training opportunities. Citing findings from a recent study of 9,000 PMEs between 20 and 60 years old, he added: "We sense a lot of anxieties and fears among PMEs, particularly mature PMEs (above 40 years old), and therefore we hope to see some form of (help) while they are in the midst of involuntary transition into new jobs." Mr Tay, who is co-chair of a task force which comprises NTUC and the Singapore National Employers Federation, said mature PMEs in particular need help as they face heavier financial commitments, often providing for school-going children and caring for elderly parents. They also typically take a longer time to find a new job and might experience a pay cut when they re-enter the labour market or a new industry. Mr Tay said monetary support can be given to them when tra...

SeaPRwire

Queues form early for free masks on morning of Temasek Foundation’s fifth distribution exercise

aseanpr
5 minutes

SINGAPORE - Some outlets distributing free masks ran out of stock around noon on Thursday (Aug 26), the first day of Temasek Foundation's exercise. Under the fifth Stay Prepared initiative, each household can collect 50 medical-grade surgical masks and 25 N95 respirator masks at selected malls and supermarket outlets islandwide from Thursday to Sept 26. Queues began forming over an hour before distribution began at some malls on Thursday morning, with safe distancing ambassadors reminding people to maintain their distance while lining up. Over at Lot One shopping mall in Choa Chu Kang, mall staff could be seen directing the early birds to come back later, or to scan a QR code and join a virtual queue. One such person was retired typist Madam Tan, who arrived at the mall around 9.30am. "I came because (I thought) people may be kiasu, I was worried people would come and queue early," said the retired typist, who declined to give her full name. She said that when she had previously tried to collect free Vitamin D supplements during Temasek Foundation's distribution exercise in March this year, supplies had run out by the second day, so she thought it best to arrive early for this mont...

SeaPRwire

New online platform helps local food brands grow reach

aseanpr
3 minutes

SINGAPORE - A new online e-commerce platform has been launched to showcase local food brands and help lesser-known food start-ups reach a wider market, both in Singapore and globally. Food Culture Singapore, which launched on National Day with about 30 brands, plans to grow to at least 100 brands by the end of the year. Consumers can buy products from these brands on the foodculture.sg website. Founder John Cheng, who is also the director of his family's sugar manufacturing business Cheng Yew Heng, said the Covid-19 pandemic has caused a dip in sales for its products. These include its Jewels line of rock candy, sales of which were heavily dependent on customer traffic at travel nodes such as the terminals at Changi Airport. He said: "Everyone we knew was affected by the Covid-19 pandemic... Rather than just focus on our own brands, we decided to help other brands." Start-up SOS Kitchen, which sells pastes, sauces and jams, said that through the platform, it managed to get its name out quickly and saw its sales grow. Founder Shilpa Sharma said: "Beyond sales, the platform helped us create a better product experience and now provides a pathway for expansion." Food Culture Singapore ...