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Me & My Career: She left comfort zone in banking to pursue passion in nursing

elean
9 minutes

SINGAPORE - The death of a friend in 2014 was not just a stark reminder to Ms Vivian Leong Wan Yee that life is short, it also pushed her to start a new career that she had always wanted to try - nursing. Her family had not wanted her to pursue nursing after her O levels as it was perceived back then as a "dirty job" dealing with other people's body waste and hygiene, so she worked as an engineer and then went into banking. Her opportunity to take up nursing came in 2015 through a Professional Conversion Programme (PCP) run by what is now Workforce Singapore, and, this time, she had the full support of her family as they saw how passionate she was. "We will never know what will happen next, so why not try out something that I had always wanted to do. At least, I will not have any regrets even if I tried and failed," says Ms Leong, 43. She now works as a senior staff nurse in a renal medicine ward at Singapore General Hospital (SGH). She took a pay cut when she switched careers, but enjoys her job as she feels satisfied when patients get better or when she helps fulfil their last wishes. The 2018 gross median monthly salary for local nurses who joined healthcare institutions that ye...

SeaPRwire

Will petrol stations become drive-in cafes?

elean
4 minutes

(REUTERS) - If more vehicles are going to be powered by electricity, what is going to happen to the ubiquitous petrol stations? The head of Thailand's biggest petrol station network is betting US$1.5 billion (S$2 billion) that motorists will soon be stocking up on a different kind of fuel - coffee. That is the sum that Ms Jiraporn Kaosawad, chief executive of PTT Oil and Retail Business (PTTOR), is placing on rolling out thousands of coffee shops at home and abroad, along with other non-oil businesses, as global auto and fuel players gear up for a future dominated by electric car growth. A month on from Thailand's biggest initial public offering of the year, Ms Jiraporn's plans for the Cafe Amazon business - already the No. 1 Thai coffee shop chain - present PTTOR's take on the task facing oil majors from BP to Total: How to maximise profit from fuel networks as drivers of the future wait for their electric vehicles (EVs) to be charged up. These strategies are dependent on mass-scale take-up of EVs, now being promoted by governments and international organisations as one key to capping and ultimately reducing the emissions that stoke climate change. "Our investments and partnership...

JCN Newswire
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Hitachi Astemo to showcase advanced mobility solutions at Auto Shanghai 2021

ruth
3 minutes

TOKYO, Apr 9, 2021 - (JCN Newswire via SEAPRWire.com) - Hitachi Astemo is pleased to announce that Hitachi Astemo (China) Ltd., our regional head office in China, will exhibit at the 19th Shanghai International Automobile Industry Exhibition (Auto Shanghai 2021), held from Monday, April 19 through to Wednesday, April 28 in Shanghai, China.The company will showcase its advanced mobility solutions that improve safety and comfort, and contribute to the protection of the environment for a sustainable future.China, the world's largest automotive market, has government targets to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 2030 and to become carbon neutral by 2060. To achieve these targets, aggressive policies are under review that include policies such as limiting new vehicle sales to both "environmentally friendly vehicles", split between new energy vehicles, mainly electric vehicles, and hybrid vehicles. This policy could be in place by 2035.Advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) and related products, which contribute to reducing traffic accidents, traffic congestion and driver burden, are seeing increased demand worldwide with demand forecast to increase significantly, notably in China.In ...

SeaPRwire

As US prospects brighten, Fed chief sees risk in global vaccination pace

elean
4 minutes

WASHINGTON (NYTIMES) - Jerome Powell, the Federal Reserve chair, stressed on Thursday (April 8) that even as economic prospects look brighter in the United States, getting the world vaccinated and controlling the coronavirus pandemic remain critical to the global outlook. "Viruses are no respecters of borders," Mr Powell said while speaking on an International Monetary Fund panel. "Until the world, really, is vaccinated, we're all going to be at risk of new mutations and we won't be able to really resume activity with confidence all around the world." While some advanced economies, including the US, are moving quickly toward widespread vaccination, many emerging market countries lag far behind: Some have administered as little as one dose per 1,000 residents. Mr Powell joined a chorus of global policy officials in emphasizing how important it is that all nations - not just the richest ones - are able to widely protect against the coronavirus. Kristalina Georgieva, IMF managing director, said policymakers needed to remain focused on public health as the key policy priority. "This year, next year, vaccine policy is economic policy," Ms Georgieva said, speaking on the same panel. "It ...

JCN Newswire
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Toyota Launches LS and Mirai Equipped with “Advanced Drive” that Enables Drivers and Cars to Drive Together in Japan

ruth
2 minutes

Toyota City, Japan, Apr 8, 2021 - (JCN Newswire via SEAPRWire.com) - Toyota Motor Corporation (Toyota) seeks, as a mobility company, to enrich people's lives through mobility. As a part of this effort, Toyota has positioned safety as a top-priority issue in accordance with its ultimate goal of reducing fatalities from traffic accidents to zero and is developing safety and automated driving technologies to offer unrestricted mobility to all. Toyota will review once again what true safety is for customers and what customers believe is true convenience and will link the results of its inquiries to people's happiness.The approach for achieving this is the Mobility Teammate Concept--an automated driving concept unique to Toyota that seeks to enhance communication between drivers and cars, enable them to reach out to each other for mutual assist, and enable coordinated driving similar to that by close friends. Rather than cars taking over driving from people and taking their place, drivers and cars act as partners to protect one another so that drivers can enjoy the experience of driving while deferring to automated driving at times, achieving truly safe, secure and unrestricted mobility...

SeaPRwire

Average of 12 people a year taken to task for not providing safe conditions for maids cleaning windows: MOM

aseanpr
3 minutes

SINGAPORE - The authorities here took about 60 people to task from 2016 to 2020 for failing to provide safe working conditions for their maids while cleaning windows. The Ministry of Manpower (MOM) said those implicated included employers and their household members. It added that they were warned, issued with composition fines or prosecuted, depending on the severity of the case. The ministry was responding to queries from The Straits Times on the 26-year-old Indonesian maid who died in hospital after being found at the bottom of a block of flats near Hougang MRT on March 29. The police said that they had received a call for assistance at Block 464 Upper Serangoon Road at 4.53pm. The woman was unconscious when she was brought to Sengkang General Hospital by the Singapore Civil Defence Force, where she later died. She is believed to have been cleaning windows when she fell. MOM said that it is investigating the incident. "MOM expresses our deepest condolences to the deceased's family. The Centre for Domestic Employees is in touch with her family members and employer to provide assistance," said an MOM spokesman on Thursday (April 8). The ministry added that it takes a serious view ...

SeaPRwire
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Man accused of selling replica guns allegedly tried to engage unsuspecting Grab driver to deliver goods

aseanpr
3 minutes

SINGAPORE - A man accused of selling replica guns online allegedly tried but failed to engage an unsuspecting private-hire car driver to deliver the goods, a district court heard on Thursday (April 8). Liu Huijian, now 41,is on trial for an offence under the Arms and Explosives Act. According to court documents, the Singaporean allegedly had in his possession 156 guns from which pellets could be discharged, as well as component parts of such guns. They were found in a Sims Place flat on Nov 16, 2018. The Grab driver, Mr Tan Chee Pheow, took the stand on Thursday, the first day of Liu's trial. He recalled receiving a booking at around 9am to transport a passenger from the Sims area to Woodlands. However, Mr Tan told the court he could not remember the date of the booking. He said when he arrived at the pick-up point, a man knocked on the window of his car. Mr Tan told District Judge Sharmila Sripathy-Shanaz that the man then handed him a box, claiming it contained items such as books and magazines. But he sensed something was amiss when he found that the box was heavy. Mr Tan told the man to open the box as he was "worried" that it might contain "something illegal". The man initiall...

SeaPRwire

Activists get their moment in Japan with US$21 billion Toshiba bid

elean
5 minutes

TOKYO (BLOOMBERG) - The surprise takeover bid for Toshiba is a palpable demonstration of the growing influence in corporate Japan of activist investors, who have gone from largely impotent onlookers to kingmakers in the space of just a few years. The offer from CVC Capital Partners, while still in the early stages, comes just weeks after Toshiba chief executive officer Nobuaki Kurumatani lost a landmark shareholder vote, forcing an independent investigation into alleged issues with voting at its annual general meeting last year. That loss has piled pressure on Mr Kurumatani, who barely won re-election at last year's meeting and is seen as unlikely to survive another. The vote was triggered by Toshiba's largest shareholder, the secretive Singapore-based hedge fund Effissimo Capital Management. Any deal for Toshiba faces legal hurdles, and analysts say that investors such as Effissimo would likely insist on a substantial premium from its closing price on Tuesday (April 6). But the episode shows that the influence of activism in Japan is becoming hard to deny. "There have been false dawns before," said Justin Tang, head of Asian research at United First Partners in Singapore. "But act...

SeaPRwire

S&P 500 edges to record as Fed eyes inflation risk

elean
2 minutes

NEW YORK (AFP) - The S&P 500 edged to a record on Wednesday (April 7) while the Nasdaq dipped as US President Joe Biden again called for infrastructure investment and Federal Reserve minutes showed inflation fears have risen somewhat. US equities avoided major swings throughout the session as Biden cast his proposed US$2 trillion (S$2.7 trillion) infrastructure plan as a make-or-break moment for ensuring US supremacy on the world stage against a rising China. The president's remarks came as Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen campaigned for a global minimum corporate tax that would align other major economies with the Biden's administration plan to increase business taxes to finance the public works package, which has drawn opposition from congressional Republicans. Meanwhile, Fed minutes showed most policy makers viewed inflation as stable, even as "several" central bankers worried that strong demand "could push up price inflation more than anticipated." The Dow Jones Industrial Average edged up 0.1 per cent to 33,466.26. The broad-based S&P 500 added 0.2 per cent at 4,079.95 to narrowly overtake Monday's record, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index slipped 0.1 per cent to 13,68...

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S’pore woman on ‘quest for revenge’ against doctor has appeal dismissed, ordered to pay costs

aseanpr
3 minutes

SINGAPORE - A woman, deemed by the court to be on a "quest for revenge" against a doctor, had her appeal dismissed on Wednesday (April 7). Ms Serene Tiong, who was sued for defamation by Dr Julian Ong, had sought the court's permission to sue HC Surgical Specialists (HCSS) chief executive Heah Sieu Min on behalf of HCSS for alleged breach of director's duties relating to the company buying an additional 19 per cent stake in Dr Ong's firm. The High Court dismissed her application last year after it found that she had a vendetta and lacked good faith. On Wednesday, the Court of Appeal dismissed her appeal against last year's judgment, noting that Ms Tiong was driven by revenge and has a history of conflict with Dr Ong. In 2018, Ms Tiong made a complaint against Dr Ong, alleging that he and another medical specialist had colluded to have sex with vulnerable women patients. Dr Ong sued her that year for defamation after she circulated the complaint to other doctors. The Singapore Medical Council is currently still investigating. On Sept 25, 2019, a day before HCSS' annual general meeting (AGM), Ms Tiong bought 100 shares in the company. She did so to attend the AGM and raise concerns a...

SeaPRwire

What happens when women run the economy? We’re about to find out

elean
6 minutes

WASHINGTON (REUTERS) - Women now hold many of the jobs controlling the world's largest economy - and they're trying to fix it. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo and trade czar Katherine Tai hold top jobs in US President Joe Biden's administration and many of his economic advisers also are women, as are nearly 48 per cent of his confirmed cabinet-level officials. This sea change may already be affecting economic policy - a new US$2.3 trillion Z(S$3 trillion) spending plan introduced by Mr Biden last week includes US$400 billion to fund the "care economy", supporting home- and community-based jobs taking care of kids and seniors, work normally done by women that has mostly gone unacknowledged in years past. The plan also has hundreds of billions of dollars more to fix racial and rural-urban inequalities that were created in part by past economic, trade and labour policies. Ms Yellen says the focus on "human infrastructure," and the earlier US$1.9 trillion rescue bill should result in significant improvements for women, whose share of the workforce had hit 40-year lows even before the crisis, and for everyone else as well. "In the end, it might be that ...

JCN Newswire
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TOYOTA GAZOO Racing Presents World Debut of the New GR 86

ruth
4 minutes

Toyota City, Japan, Apr 5, 2021 - (JCN Newswire via SEAPRWire.com) - On April 5, 2021, TOYOTA GAZOO Racing (TGR) gave the new GR 86 its world debut in an online event held together with Subaru Corporation (Subaru). Following the GR Supra and GR Yaris, the new GR 86 is the third global model in TGR's GR series of sports cars. The new GR 86 is scheduled to launch in Japan in autumn 2021.Toyota developed the original 86 with the goal of delivering the dreams and the joy of driving inherent in sports cars to its customers. Conceived as a front-engine, rear-wheel-drive vehicle with intuitive handling and instinctive responsiveness, the 86 launched in 2012. Since then, the vehicles have been utilized as base models for a variety of participatory motorsports, including rallies, one-make races, gymkhana, and dirt trials, while others have been uniquely customized. A total of more than 200,000 86s have been sold worldwide, playing the role of reliable partners for their owners.TGR's new GR 86 and Subaru's new BRZ were jointly developed. Yet, although the two vehicles share the same vehicle base, the two companies focused on imbuing their respective models with a distinct driving feel. While...

SeaPRwire

Man charged with murder of 49-year-old at Bedok Reservoir Road flat

aseanpr
2 minutes

SINGAPORE- A man who allegedly killed another in a Bedok Reservoir Road flat last weekend appeared in a district court on Monday (April 5) and was charged with murder. Naing Lin, 49, is said to have stabbed the victim, who is of the same age, last Saturday. There is no further information on the weapon used as of this point. In an statement on Saturday evening, police said that they were alerted to the incident at around 10.15am that day. Officers arrived at the unit and found the victim lying motionless at the scene. A resident, who lives in the same block and wanted to be known only as Mr Seow, 55, had earlier told Chinese-language newspaper Shin Min Daily News that the unit was cordoned off at noon on Saturday. He said: "There were about six police officers along the corridor. They did not disclose what happened and told me only to leave quickly." Another neighbour, domestic helper Ms Yato, 32, said that she had heard two men quarrelling in the unit on Friday night. According to her, one of the men then shouted: "Stop it! I'm already angry." Naing Lin is remanded at the Central Police Division and his case has been adjourned to April 12. Offenders convicted of murder will face t...

SeaPRwire

Here come hot desks, Zoom rooms – and holograms?

elean
1 minute

NEW YORK (NYTIMES) - Since the pandemic sent workers home last year, a slew of modifications have been made to office buildings to protect against the spread of the coronavirus. Now, as companies prepare to bring workers back, experts say even more changes are on the way. Expect expanded gathering spaces and fewer personal workstations, for instance, changes that are being fuelled by the success of working from home. Companies like Google, Microsoft and Walmart have already announced proposals for hybrid work models that will allow employees to continue to work remotely at least a few days a week. 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

Me & My Money: Out to cut expenditure, set aside funds for investment

elean
1 minute

SINGAPORE - Many of us might be bristling at the restrictions on travel and other activities, but finance executive Henry Sewell reckons that the reduced level of spending brought about by the pandemic makes this a great time to build up wealth. Indeed, lockdowns and circuit breakers have shown us that we are capable of splashing out far less than we usually do, so why not start setting aside a portion of our savings for investment, he notes. 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.

JCN Newswire
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Chubu Miraiz and MC Launch New Assisted-Living JV

ruth
2 minutes

TOKYO, Apr 1, 2021 - (JCN Newswire via SEAPRWire.com) - Chubu Electric Power Miraiz Co., Inc. (Chubu Miraiz) and Mitsubishi Corporation (MC) are pleased to announce their establishment today of a new joint-venture company that will specialize in providing assisted-living services across Japan. Named Chubu Electric Power Miraiz Connect Co., Inc. (CEPM Connect), the new company will provide a wide range of services designed to improve citizens' quality of life, including monitoring of elderly relatives, assistance with child raising, and general food and healthy-lifestyle services.Driven by its mission to develop lifelong customer connections, CEPM Connect will create multi-generational family ties and link how we live, form our communities, and engage in business, thereby providing services that have a meaningful impact on Japan's regional and societal development.These services, which will be developed in a stepwise fashion, will include life-planning and insurance advice, a seniors-monitoring system that takes advantage of network servers and electronic data, and collaborations with one of Japan's largest convenience-store chains, Lawson.CEPM Connect's first project, a partnership...

SeaPRwire

Archegos fallout wipes over US$9b from market value of Credit Suisse, Nomura

elean
4 minutes

LONDON (REUTERS) - Investors on Wednesday (March 31) tallied the fallout from Archegos Capital's dramatic meltdown, with Nomura and Credit Suisse shares losing a collective US$9 billion (S$12.1 billion) while heightened scrutiny of the hedge fund industry loomed. The downfall of Archegos, a family office run by former Tiger Asia manager Bill Hwang, has rocked a handful of stocks that have been linked to the fund's massive margin call while weighing on shares of banks that did business with the New York-based fund. Investors said it could also increase scrutiny of family offices while making money managers more wary of holding stocks that have experienced large, unexplained moves like many of the shares linked with Archegos' margin call did. "For the time being it appears as though this was an isolated instance of using too much leverage," said Art Hogan, chief market strategist at National Securities in New York. "We're gonna be hyper vigilant to make sure that there's not a plethora of other cases with family offices using too much leverage," he added. Credit Suisse and Nomura were slower than rivals to cut their exposure to the fund. Global lenders that acted as brokers for Arche...

ACN Newswire
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WIKA Books Positive Performance amid Pandemic

indie
2 minutes

JAKARTA, Mar 31, 2021 - (ACN Newswire via SEAPRWire.com) - PT WIJAYA KARYA (Persero) Tbk. [WIKA] booked a net profit of Rp322.34 billion on the back of Rp16.54 trillion in sales in the financial year ended on 31 December 2020. The achievements marked WIKA's success to exceed its revised targets due to the COVID-19 Pandemic by 54.81%.The largest contributor to sales was the infrastructure and building sector, followed consecutively by manufacturing industry, energy and industrial plants, and property sector.Despite the COVID-19 Pandemic, the Company's financial position remains healthy, as reflected by the positive cash flows provided by operating activities amounting to Rp141.28 billion.WIKA's President Director, Agung Budi Waskito (Agung BW) viewed the Company's ability to perform beyond expectations as the result of adaptability and innovation culture that have been long ingrained in the Company as well as due to various measures to create efficiencies."We want to ensure that WIKA remains healthy, where we implemented adaptive and resilient business processes to weather the pandemic. As a contractor, WIKA establishes active communications and strives to align its interests with t...

SeaPRwire

Economic growth and investment in education critical to reducing inequality: Yale-NUS panel

aseanpr
5 minutes

SINGAPORE - The Covid-19 pandemic has exacted a disproportionate toll on women, who risk dropping out of school and the workforce because of additional household responsibilities. But while policies such as flexible work arrangements are helpful, what is critical in the long run is sustained economic growth and investments in education. These in turn create good jobs for the middle class and reduce inequality for all, not just women. This was the conclusion drawn by experts on Tuesday (March 30) at the virtual Yale-NUS Global Affairs Lecture moderated by Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy dean, Professor Danny Quah. Speaking on addressing global inequality, former World Bank chief economist and Yale University economics professor Pinelopi Goldberg said that during the Ebola epidemic in West Africa from 2014 to 2016, more girls than boys dropped out of school and were less likely to return after the epidemic ended - something which could also happen with Covid-19. Due to widespread lockdowns and shuttered businesses, many women - who are overrepresented in services sectors hardest hit by Covid-19 such as food and beverage, retail and entertainment - found themselves out of work. T...

SeaPRwire
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Singapore’s million-dollar HDB flats: Where are the 6 most expensive units ever sold located?

aseanpr
2 minutes

SINGAPORE - In spite of the Covid-19 pandemic, a total of 82 Housing Board flats were sold for at least $1 million last year, compared with 64 in 2019. The first two months of this year saw 36 such transactions, compared with just eight in the same period last year. HDB flats that crossed the $1 million mark have been a fairly recent phenomenon. The first such sale was recorded in July 2012 for a 150 sq m executive apartment in Block 149 Mei Ling Street in Queenstown. Three months later, in October 2012, a 163 sq m executive maisonette in Block 194 Bishan Street 13 was sold for $1.01 million. The appetite for such flats has grown over the years. Up till last month, there have been 338 such transactions, according to data provided by real estate portal SRX. The most expensive unit so far is a five-room flat in Block 1B at The Pinnacle @ Duxton that sold for $1.258 million in September last year. Analysts, however, were quick to point out that million-dollar HDB transactions were few and far between. They made up just 0.3 per cent of total resale transactions in the first eight months of last year. Here's a look at the six most expensive flats sold in Singapore: Why are people willin...