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Australia and Southeast Asia: Invested in Our Shared Economic Future

The countries of Southeast Asia are poised to be major drivers of global growth in the decades ahead, writes Nicholas Moore AO, Australia’s Special Envoy for Southeast Asia.

This Summer Broke the World Record for the Highest Temperature Officially Recorded

A cyclist tops a hill on a hot day at sunset, Aug 20, 2023, in San Antonio. UN weather agency says Earth sweltered through the hottest summer ever as record heat in August capped a brutal, deadly three months in northern hemisphere (AP Photo/Eric Gay, File)
A cyclist tops a hill on a hot day at sunset, Aug 20, 2023, in San Antonio. UN weather agency says Earth sweltered through the hottest summer ever as record heat in August capped a brutal, deadly three months in northern hemisphere (AP Photo/Eric Gay, File)

GENEVA (AP) — Earth has sweltered through its hottest Northern Hemisphere summer ever measured, with a record warm August capping a season of brutal and deadly temperatures, according to the World Meteorological Organization.

Arup celebrates relocation of its Shanghai office, reinforcing its commitment to a greener China

SHANGHAI, CHINA – Media OutReach – 11 September 2023 – Arup commemorated the relocation of its Shanghai office last week with an open house event at the new premises in Xujiahui Centre, located in the heart of Shanghai’s CBD. More than 150 clients and partners joined the celebration, gaining exclusive insights into Arup’s innovative approaches and cutting-edge technologies to drive sustainable development in China.

As we proudly open our new Shanghai office, we renew our unwavering commitment to China and its economy. For 40 years, we have been transforming China’s urban landscape while benefitting from its rapid growth. As China embarks on a new chapter of urbanisation, we are dedicated to leveraging our overseas experience and accumulated local know-how to support China’s ‘dual carbon’ ambition.

– Andy Lee, East Asia Region Chair, Arup

The evening featured inspiring discussions on sustainability, including topics such as low-carbon planning, climate risk assessment and resilience strategies, and decarbonising buildings. The highlight was the premiere of Abundance, an Arup-produced short fiction film that explores nature-based solutions and inspires designers to envision our collective regenerative future. The guests also had the opportunity to experience Arup-incubated smart building platform, Neuron, and Total Digital Design tool.

Over the past four decades, Arup has grown alongside China’s urban development, delivering iconic buildings, strategic infrastructure, and visionary city planning that resonate with the local context and evolving needs. Today, we unite our global expertise with China’s call for high-quality sustainable development, helping our clients decarbonise their assets with the transformative power of digital technology, towards a net-zero future.

Throughout the years, Arup has left an indelible mark on Shanghai’s skyline. Today, we are proud to relocate to this landmark engineered by Arup. We will continue to explore innovative solutions and collaborate with local clients and partners to shape a green and prosperous future for Shanghai and beyond.

– Penny Cheung, Mainland China and Shanghai Office Leader, Arup

Hashtag: #Arup

The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

About Arup

Dedicated to sustainable development, Arup is a collective of designers, consultants and experts working globally. Founded to be humane and excellent, we collaborate with our clients and partners using imagination, technology, and rigour to shape a better world.

Establishing our East Asia headquarters in Hong Kong in 1976, we embarked on our mainland China journey in the early 1980s. With offices in Shenzhen, Shanghai, Beijing, Guangzhou, Wuhan, and Chongqing, we have helped deliver some of the most remarkable local landmarks and strategic infrastructure. We are also pioneering the delivery of sustainable buildings and communities, and our advisory roles in ambitious development zones such as Qianhai, Nansha and Hengqin are shaping China’s cities of the future.

Domestic and Foreign Investment Banks, Including Citi, UBS, Nomura Orient, Industrial Securities, Huaxi Securities, and Kaiyuan Securities are Bullish on Fosun International’s Strong Profitability in Core Businesses and Sufficient Liquidity

HONG KONG SAR – Media OutReach – 11 September 2023 – Fosun International Limited (HKEX stock code: 00656, “Fosun International” or the “Company”), together with its subsidiaries (“Fosun” or the “Group”), announced its interim results at the end of August, a number of domestic and foreign securities firms and investment banks, including Citibank, UBS Securities, Nomura Orient International Securities, Industrial Securities, Huaxi Securities, and Kaiyuan Securities, have successively published research reports, expressing their bullish views on Fosun International’s strong profitability in core businesses and sufficient liquidity. Many domestic and foreign securities firms and investment banks have assigned the Company a “Buy”/”Overweight” rating. In particular, Citibank, Nomura Orient International Securities, and Industrial Securities have assigned the Company target prices of HK$7.1, HK$7.5, and HK$9.06 respectively, with approximately 45% – 85% upside.

Securities firms and investment banks have recognized Fosun International’s strategy of focusing on its core businesses and concentrating on the development of core businesses where it boasts clear competitive advantages. During the Reporting Period, the Group achieved a total revenue of RMB97.06 billion, representing a year-on-year increase of 10.9%; the key indicator reflecting the Company’s operational capabilities – industrial operation profit reached RMB3.37 billion, representing a year-on-year increase of 5.5%, if excluding the profit of disposed enterprises (including transactions yet to be completed), industrial operation profit surged 66% year-on-year, demonstrating significant improvement in the profitability of core businesses. Domestic and foreign securities firms and investment banks pointed out that benefitting from consumption recovery and relaxation of travel restrictions globally, Fosun’s Happiness segment, especially tourism and consumer businesses, saw a strong recovery after the epidemic. In addition, the profitability of the Health segment, especially Fosun Pharma, improved significantly, reflecting steady growth in Fosun’s core businesses.

Some securities firms and investment banks pointed out that Fosun’s overseas core subsidiaries, empowered by the Group, have achieved remarkable results in global expansion and have become an important driving force for development. Huaxi Securities pointed out that Fosun International’s leading model of “global organization + local operations” has become more mature, with a business presence in more than 35 countries and regions and nearly 40 overseas brand enterprises. In the first half of 2023, the Group’s overseas revenue reached RMB44.09 billion, accounting for 45.4% of total revenue. Citibank pointed out that the international business of Fosun Insurance Portugal’s total gross written premiums (“GWP”) amounted to EUR832 million, a 19.4% increase year-on-year, highlighting the benefits of Fosun Insurance Portugal’s diversification strategy. MyFidelidade App launched by Fosun Insurance Portugal successfully acquired more than 1.4 million registered users (exceeding 13% of Portugal’s total population). Industrial Securities pointed out that Fosun Insurance Portugal’s total GWP for the first half of 2023 were EUR2.65 billion, maintaining its leading position in the Portuguese market with a 30% market share in Portugal; German private bank HAL’s gross income increased by 24% year-on-year to EUR224 million, with total assets reaching EUR13.3 billion, reflecting the strong growth momentum in Fosun’s overseas business thanks to the Group’s empowerment.

Fosun’s robust technology innovation capabilities are also an important core engine that drives the growth of the Company. In the first half of 2023, the Group’s research and development (“R&D”) investment reached approximately RMB4.2 billion. Nomura Orient International Securities believes that led by global expansion and innovation, Fosun is expected to see business recovery. The firm pointed out that Fosun has established strong globalization capabilities and a unique operating model. Through its global business presence, Fosun has closely integrated global resources with global customers. In addition, Fosun has always maintained high investment in R&D to build a global innovation system led by product innovation, digital intelligence innovation, and management innovation, leveraging innovation to create happier lives for families worldwide.

It is worth noting that domestic and foreign securities firms and investment banks unanimously pointed out Fosun continued to optimize its capital and asset structure, put greater efforts in the disposal of non-strategy and non-core assets, and actively explored financing channels, thereby maintaining ample liquidity. During the Reporting Period, cash inflow from divestment amounted to more than RMB20.0 billion at the consolidated level. In January 2023, Fosun High Technology successfully entered into a syndicated loan agreement for an amount of RMB12 billion with eight domestic banks, attesting to the domestic banking institutions’ firm support for the development of private enterprises. As for public-market financing channels, Fosun High Technology issued two super short-term commercial papers of RMB1 billion each in January and July 2023. In the first half of 2023, the Group has navigated through the maturity wall, and redeemed onshore bonds of RMB6.73 billion as well as offshore debt of over USD2.7 billion. As of 30 June 2023, the Group had no material offshore bonds due in one year. The improved credit profile has also been affirmed by the international market. International rating agency S&P Global Ratings recognized Fosun’s effective efforts in terms of debt reduction driven by asset divestment and debt structure optimization and lifted the Group’s rating outlook to “stable”.

Looking ahead to Fosun International’s future performance, domestic and foreign securities firms and investment banks are optimistic about the Company’s accelerated divestment of non-strategy and non-core assets and optimization of capital structure to sharpen its focus on core businesses. A securities firm pointed out that the Company’s results performance is expected to see rapid growth as compared to the full year of 2022. Since major factors affecting the share price have already been reflected, the Company’s current valuation is attractive, thus a number of domestic and foreign securities firms and investment banks have recommended investors to buy the Company’s shares.

Hashtag: #Fosun

The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

Lao Vice President to Lead Foreign Delegation at Vladivostok Economic Forum

Lao Vice President to Lead Foreign Delegation at Vladivostok Economic Forum
Lao Vice President Pany Yathotou to lead foreign delegation at Vladivostok, Russia economic forum next week

The Vice President of Laos, Pany Yathotou, is reportedly the top foreign guest at an economic forum in Vladivostok, Russia next week, said the Kremlin on Saturday.

DETERMINANT Debuts New Cotton Waterless Dye Technology Collection

HONG KONG SAR – Media OutReach – 11 September 2023 – DETERMINANT — a men’s shirt and apparel brand focused on functional technology, exceptional quality and modern style — proudly unveils its debut Cotton Waterless Dye collection, showcasing a ground breaking innovation that boldly reimagines the textile industry’s reliance on water.

DET Store 3.jpg

With a vision to set the foundation for a zero-waste future by taking a holistic approach to creating value for people and the planet, 360BETTER is DETERMINANT’s sustainability strategy. 360BETTER buildsbold new standards that redefine the “conscious clothing” industry, and covers five key topics of focus by 2025:

– Championing water stewardship
– Reducing textile waste
– Rethinking packaging
– Extending the life of our clothing
– Empowering social mobility

Their first focus is water conservation and stewardship. With global water scarcity on the rise, DETERMINANT is taking bold actions to revolutionize the fashion industry’s textile-manufacturing practices through innovation and collaboration with ECOHUES. Till now, 65% of all water used in cotton clothing production goes towards the textile dyeing process. The new cotton waterless dyeing technology offers breakthrough features including:

  • the use of a green, recyclable organic solvent instead of water as the medium for reactive dyeing, completely displacing the huge amounts of water needed to dye and wash off excess color in traditional water-bath dyeing
  • with more than 99% of the green solvents reused and zero hazardous chemical residuals discharged, this technique is safe and environmentally friendly
  • the dye utilization rate of reactive dyeing is typically only 60-70%; whereas ECOHUES’ innovation has a dye utilization rate of 97%
  • a significant reduction of resources: water consumption (reduced by 100%) and energy consumption (reduced by 39.26%) in the fabric dyeing process.

The debut of the new Cotton Waterless Dye collection is marked with the launch of the “Lead The Wave Forward” campaign, focused on prioritizing water-conservation education. This campaign seeks to raise consumer awareness of fashion’s water footprint, and how conscious wardrobe choices can lower environmental impact. DETERMINANT’s proposition is that consumers shouldn’t need to pay a green premium to make green choices. That’s why the Waterless Dye collection offers the same quality, performance, and design, at the same price as regular products.

The “Lead The Wave Forward” campaign supports its Strategic Charity Partner, A Drop of Life, through a donation drive. Affiliated campaign partners include: Central Market, CITA, Lab Concept, Redress, Sustainable Fashion Business Consortium, Shan Shui Conservation Center, Slowood, Y.L. Yang Foundation.

Hashtag: #DETERMINANT

The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

NUOL Reopens Enrollment for More Than 1,500 Applicants Due to Low Student Numbers

Students taking the entrance exam at NUOL (Photo: NUOL News)

The National University of Laos (NUOL) announced on Saturday that it is reopening enrollment across a variety of majors for the 2023–2024 academic year because it has not yet met the enrollment targets set by the Ministry of Education and Sports (MOES).

Prudential launches PRUShield EasySwitch to enable more seamless switch of plans for Shield policyholders

Recognition of original inception date of existing policy and simplified underwriting questionnaire make it simple and easier for Shield policyholders to switch plans

SINGAPORE – Media OutReach – 11 September 2023 – Policyholders of Shield Plans[1] can now switch more easily from their existing plans with other insurers to Prudential Singapore’s (“Prudential”) PRUShield[2] policies and supplementary plans (riders), through PRUShield EasySwitch (“EasySwitch”).

From 1 September 2023 to 31 December 2023, eligible individuals[3] will only need to answer three health questions instead of undergoing the underwriting process from scratch and completing the full health questionnaire.

If their application is accepted, the inception date of their existing Shield policy will be recognised for their new PRUShield policy. This means that Prudential will take into consideration the date of inception of the Shield policy with the existing insurer as the policy inception date with Prudential, and all benefits and the claims assessment process will also apply accordingly. It also means that for conditions where waiting periods are usually applicable, such waiting periods will now be waived, subject to the duration of the previous policy.[4]

There are about 71 per cent (2.9 million lives)[5] of Singapore residents who are protected by Integrated Shield Plans (IPs) which provide coverage on top of MediShield Life.

Mr Ben Tan, Chief Corporate Development Officer of Prudential Singapore, said: “We introduced PRUShield EasySwitch to make it simple and more convenient for Shield policyholders who want to switch their plans to Prudential. Individuals may wish to do so for reasons such as consolidating their policies under one insurer for convenience or enjoying better benefits. Some people hesitate to switch as they worry about undergoing the full underwriting process again, and others may also find porting their Shield policies to a new insurer to be a complex and time-consuming process. With EasySwitch, they have more peace of mind.”

Additional information
Eligible customers are Singaporeans and Permanent Residents or foreign residents who are:

  • 50 years old or below
  • with an existing in-force Shield Plan[6] with any other Integrated Shield Plan (IP) insurer
  • able to provide the Cover Start Date and the Certificate of Life Assurance for their existing in-force Shield Plan
  • able to fulfil the three health questions

Eligible customers will need to switch their Shield Plans between 1 September 2023 and 31 December 2023, to enjoy the benefits provided through the PRUShield EasySwitch initiative.

For more information on the eligibility and about the PRUShield EasySwitch campaign, please visit PRUShield EasySwitch (please refer to PRUShield EasySwitch’s T&Cs under “Important Information”).


[1] This includes Integrated Shield Plan (IP) providing coverage to Singaporeans or Permanent Residents, and Shield Plan providing coverage to foreigners.
[2] PRUShield is Prudential’s Medisave-approved IP which offers comprehensive medical coverage on top of MediShield Life, Singapore’s national health insurance scheme. For more information on PRUShield, please visit: https://www.prudential.com.sg/products/health-insurance/medical/prushield
[3] Please refer to section on “Additional information” in this press release.
[4] Customers are subjected to the following waiting period from inception date of the previous insurer’s policy: (1) PRUShield Plus and Premier policy holders: Serious pregnancy and delivery related complications – 10 months, Congenital Abnormalities for a female Life Assured’s biological child – 10 months, Congenital Abnormalities of the Life Assured (as charged) – 24 months, and Living organ donor transplant – 24 months. (2) PRUShield Standard policy holders: Serious pregnancy and delivery related complications – 10 months.
[5] Source: https://www.lia.org.sg/media/3947/20230811_lia-1h2023-results_media-release.pdf
[6] This includes Integrated Shield Plan (IP) providing coverage to Singaporeans or Permanent Residents, and Shield Plan providing coverage to foreigners.
Hashtag: #Prudential



The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

About PRUShield

PRUShield is Prudential’s Medisave-approved IP which offers comprehensive medical coverage on top of MediShield Life, Singapore’s national health insurance scheme. It offers customers benefits such as minimised out-of-pocket expenses and comprehensive cancer treatment coverage, affordable plans tailored for different budgets, as well as value-added services to improve the overall hospitalisation experience. For more information, please visit:

About Prudential Assurance Company Singapore (Pte) Ltd (Prudential Singapore)

Prudential Assurance Company Singapore (Pte) Ltd is one of the top life insurance companies in Singapore, serving the financial and protection needs of the country’s citizens for 92 years. The company has an AA- Financial Strength Rating from leading credit rating agency Standard & Poor’s, with S$49.4 billion funds under management as at 31 December 2022. It delivers a suite of well-rounded product offerings in Protection, Savings and Investment through multiple distribution channels including a network of more than 5,000 financial consultants.