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Xaythany Traffic Police Fine Vehicles with LED Spotlights

Police fine a motorist with LED spotlights.

Last week, police in Xaythany District set up checkpoints to inspect vehicles for LED spotlights.

Aon Insights Series Asia 2022 to Explore Better Decision Making in an Increasingly Volatile Business World

SINGAPORE – Media OutReach – 23 August 2022 – Aon plc (NYSE: AON), a leading global professional services firm, has announced it will host its annual Aon Insights Series Asia in a hybrid format from 6-7 September 2022 at the Hilton Singapore and virtually.

This year’s theme is “Clarity and Confidence to Make Better Decisions” and the event will map out the core issues impacting organizations and the critical decisions that leaders and their teams grapple with day-to-day.

Aon experts from Asia and around the world will be joined by senior business leaders, including Bey Soo Khiang, vice chairman, RGE and chairman of APRIL Group; James Deng, senior vice president and general manager for BD in China, and R Mukundan, managing director and CEO of Tata Chemicals.

The two-day programme will comprise more than 10 breakout sessions led by subject matter experts including Tony Soh, deputy CEO of the National Volunteer and Philanthropy Centre; Anthony Rodriguez, head of Treasury and Credit/Investor Relations at Integrated Micro-Electronics; and Visakha Damania, senior director, Total Rewards Solutions for Salesforce. Greg Case, Aon’s chief executive officer, and Anne Corona, Aon’s chief executive officer – Asia Pacific, will officially open the event.

More than 500 attendees are expected to attend both in-person and virtually. The agenda for the first day will address challenges such as climate change, making sustainable decisions with environmental, social and governance (ESG) programmes, supply chain risks, cyber security, and building workforce resilience. The second day will be a trading floor for client and insurer meetings.

“Businesses in Asia are facing new forms of volatility including geopolitical uncertainty driving inflation and interest rate increases, cyber threats, increasing scrutiny of ESG programmes and a challenging talent market. With this uncertainty comes a pressing need for businesses to make more informed decisions. The Aon Insights Series Asia provides an exchange of new strategies and real-life case studies from the region to help leaders navigate through this increasingly complex environment and help shape decisions for the better,” said Corona.

The Aon Insights Series will also take place in Melbourne and London in October and November, respectively.

To view the agenda and register, please visit the event registration page.

Hashtag: #Aon

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

About the Aon Insights Series 2022

The is a series of events taking place online and around the world that will map out the core issues impacting organizations and the critical decisions that leaders and their teams grapple with day-to-day.

The Aon Insights Series will bring together global subject matter experts, industry thought leaders and senior decision makers to provide the clarity and confidence to make better decisions, so organizations, and the people they rely on, are protected and able to grow.

About Aon

(NYSE: AON) exists to shape decisions for the better – to protect and enrich the lives of people around the world. Our colleagues provide our clients in over 120 countries with advice and solutions that give them the clarity and confidence to make better decisions to protect and grow their business.

Follow Aon on and . Stay up-to-date by visiting the and sign up for News Alerts .

iZeno becomes the first APAC Partner to achieve Atlassian ITSM specialisation

Singapore – Media OutReach – 23 August 2022 – iZeno, a Logicalis Company, has become the first official Atlassian Specialized Partner in ITSM in the Asia Pacific. A validation of the Atlassian Platinum Solution Partner’s deep knowledge, extensive experience, and delivery of consistent, high-quality services to optimize customer satisfaction and outcomes.

“iZeno is always adding value for our clients and accelerating their digital transformation journey. Our strategic partnership with Atlassian across Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand and the Philippines and our industry-leading capabilities has enabled us to become a leader in the ITSM space. This milestone aligns with our strategy to empower our customers to migrate to the cloud and integrates with our DevSecOps and App Modernisation capabilities,” said Jason Lin, Managing Director, iZeno.

“Atlassian would like to recognize iZeno for their specialized delivery practice, as they have proven successful at implementing service management principles based on ITIL methodology for improved satisfaction and cost-efficiencies,” said Ko Mistry, Atlassian’s Head of Global Channel.

“The level of commitment in the ITSM Specialization Program recognizes these Atlassian Partners’ effort and dedication to delivering consistent, high-quality services to optimize a customer’s experience and success.”

iZeno is the first company in APAC to achieve the Atlassian ITSM Specialization since the program was launched on April 5, 2022.

Read about how iZeno works with SpaceDC to streamline their processes https://www.izeno.com/case-study/spacedc-enhances-business-processes/

Hashtag: #iZeno

About iZeno

iZeno was founded in 2003 to provide enterprises with the best-in-class technology solutions they need to keep their business running seamlessly. Our team draws on industry experiences in accomplishing a portfolio of mission-critical applications, integrating , , , & , and other leading technologies with our client’s existing IT frameworks.

For more information, please reach out to us at Or visit

Singapore to Repeal Colonial-era Law Banning Sex Between Men

Singapore repeals colonial-era ban on gay sex (Photo: Reuters)
Singapore repeals colonial-era ban on gay sex (Photo: Reuters)

Singapore has stated that it will decriminalize sex between men by repealing a colonial-era law.

Bokeo SEZ Registers Lao and Foreign Workers

Over 1,000 Lao workers have recently been registered by the Department of Labor and Social Welfare in Bokeo Special Economic Zone.

VinAI AI day returns in 2022 themed ‘Empower The Future’

HANOI, VIETNAM Media OutReach22 August 2022 – VinAI AI Day 2022 with the theme of “Empower the Future” will return on August 26-27 at VinUniversity via Zoom.

The event is among Vietnam’s largest and most prestigious AI events and has attracted some of the world’s greatest AI minds and the tech community.

Banner-AI-Day-22.png

AI Day is an annual event held by VinAI Artificial Intelligence Application and Research JSC (a member of Vingroup), accompanied and partnered with the Ministry of Science and Technology, the Vietnam National Innovation Center, VinFuture Prize, VinUniversity and leading giants in the technology field such as Intel, HPE, AMD, Qualcomm, NVIDIA, Google, ASUS, PIXTA and Urbox.

Under the theme “Empower the Future,” AI Day 2022 investigates the three themes that matter to the industry: AI for Global Equality, AI for Sustainable Development, and AI for Safety.

“AI for Sustainable Development” is a recent initiative to integrate greater societal and environmental considerations in designing, developing and deploying AI systems. The focus of this panel during AI Day will explore opportunities this new technology presents to improve lives around the world and address the challenges and barriers to its application.

Regarding the “AI for Safety” panel, some of the world’s leading and up-and-coming experts on the topic will explore central questions and reveal insights into developing safe and reliable AI systems.

Another discussion bound to attract attention is “AI for Global Equality.” The panel will delve into the overarching differences between the world and Vietnam when leading/operating and working in the technology sector, focusing on AI.

Dr Hung Bui, CEO of VinAI, said: “After two successful years held online, AI DAY 2022 returns in both online and offline formats. We are extremely excited to welcome, in person, some of the best and brightest minds in the AI Industry. This is also a great chance for the unique profiles in the Vietnamese AI community to meet and discuss with seniors and colleagues worldwide.”

The two-day event will feature keynote presentations from industry leaders, expert panel discussions covering the topics that matter to AI today, casual talks, various hands-on workshops and educational tutorials.

Participants will also be exposed to advanced AI products and features in the exhibition booths of VinAI and prestigious sponsors.

The event will play host to industry-leading experts and cutting-edge researchers and scientists, including:

  • Prof. Wolfram Burgard – Professor for Robotics and AI, Technical University of Nuremberg
  • Prof. Alexander J. Smola – Distinguished Scientist / VP, Amazon Web Services (AWS)
  • Prof. William T. Freeman – Thomas and Gerd Perkins Professor of Electrical Engineering & Computer Science, MIT
  • Prof. Toby Walsh – Laureate Fellow & Scientia professor of AI, UNSW Sydney
  • Dr Hung Bui – Founding Director & CEO, VinAI
  • Dr Duong Van Nguyen – Head of ADAS Department, Panasonic Automotive Europe
  • Prof. Inderjit S. Dhillon – Gottesman Family Centennial Professor of Computer Science and Mathematics at the University of Texas
  • Ayush Batra – Regional Technology Enablement Director, Intel.

In addition to leading experts in the industry, leaders and reputable entrepreneurs in the field of Artificial Intelligence will join together to discuss and answer the question: How can we shape the Artificial Intelligence ecosystem to develop humanity to provide a better life for everyone?

For more information and to register, please visit https://www.vinai.io/aiday2022.

Hashtag: #VinAI #Vingroup

About the organiser

– formerly the VinAI Research Institute of Artificial Intelligence under Vingroup – is the only representative from Vietnam in the top 20 leading global companies in AI research in 2022.

VinAI is headquartered in Hanoi, Vietnam, with many offices in the US and Australia. As part of the sprawling Vingroup ecosystem, which ranges in many fields from real estate and manufacturing, to healthcare and education, VinAI is a pioneer in digitising the user experience using Artificial Intelligence technology.

To learn more about VinAI, please visit .

Seminar for Strategies of Entering GBA Market – Qianhai, Witnessing 1st Anniversary of the Qianhai Plan

HONG KONG SAR – Media OutReach – 22 August 2022 – To celebrate the 25th Anniversary of the establishment of the HKSAR, Qianhai has recently introduced nine supportive measures for Hong Kong. Qianhai will also celebrate the first anniversary of the Plan for Comprehensive Deepening Reform and Opening Up of the Qianhai Shenzhen-Hong Kong Modern Service Industry Cooperation Zone (Qianhai Plan). To keep Hong Kong SMEs abreast of the latest policies and talent services in Qianhai Zone, Hong Kong Small and Medium Enterprises Association (HKSME) and the Hong Kong Management Association (HKMA) jointly organized a hybrid seminar entitled “Strategies for Entering GBA Market – Qianhai” with Qianhai International Liaison Services Limited. Co-organizers include Dedicated Fund on Branding, Upgrading and Domestic Sales (BUD) and Qianhai International Talent Hub. The seminar began with welcoming remarks from Ms Titania Woo, Executive Director of HKMA, Professor Witman Hung, JP, Principal Liaison Officer for Hong Kong, The Shenzhen Qianhai Authority, and Mr Andrew Kwok Chi Wah, President of HKSME. Guest speakers included Mr Ip Yuk Kin, Head of BUD of Hong Kong Productivity Council, Ms Yvonne Wong, General Manager of Qianhai International Liaison Services Limited, Andy Chen, Business Development Division (FTZ Affairs Division) Principal Staff of the Authority of Qianhai, Liz Li, Talent Activities Development Manager of Shenzhen Qianhai International Talent Service Center Co., Ltd., and Sean You, General Manager of Kings (Shenzhen) International Limited.

Group photo of representatives of joint organizers and guest speakers of the Seminar for Strategies of Entering GBA Market – Qianhai

Group photo of representatives of joint organizers and guest speakers of the Seminar for Strategies of Entering GBA Market – Qianhai

Professor Hung remarked, “since the announcement of the Qianhai Plan, Qianhai introduce new policies and measures to benefit Hong Kong continuously. The policies push Hong Kong-Shenzhen collaboration to a new level. The Qianhai e-Services Hong Kong-Macau Station in Hong Kong has also officially launched to facilitate Hong Kong companies or individuals to get Shenzhen Qianhai business licenses in Hong Kong. To commemorate the 25th anniversary of the establishment of Hong Kong SAR, Qianhai has recently introduced nine Hong Kong-related facilitation measures. Furthermore, the pilot policy for supporting science and technology innovation has been recently announced, and the Hong Kong Enterprise Compliance Development Service Centre was just opened to assist Hong Kong enterprises to develop in Qianhai.” Prof. Hung supplemented that application deadline for the Qianhai-Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao-Taiwan Youth Innovation and Entrepreneurship Competition has been extended to 26 August 2022. Young people who wish to start their business in Qianhai should grasp the final chance to join the competition and share the cash prize of RMB 7 million together.

Hong Kong Entrepreneur in Qianhai, Mr. Sean You said, “There are tremendous opportunities for Hong Kong people to start their businesses in Qianhai. There is a vast market potential and policy dividends in the Greater Bay Area. We can have a wide range of industries and good atmosphere for entrepreneurs and research and development. The complete supply chain and industrial chain, and low business set up costs makes GBA attractive. Young business owners may face challenges due to different political and economic systems in mainland. They may face uncertainties in global markets and policies, difficulties in fund raising and talents recruitment, and competitive markets at the same time.” Sean added that being an entrepreneur is like joining a marathon. We need the facilitation from markets, supportive measures and talents support.

The seminar attracted more than 200 participants online and offline. The organizer received overwhelmed responses about the Qianhai policies and the Qianhai e-Services Hong Kong-Macau Station services.

Hashtag: #Qianhai

About Qianhai International Liaison Services Ltd

Established in August 2014, Qianhai International Liaison Services Limited is a window company of the Shenzhen Qianhai Authority servicing Hong Kong. We shoulder the responsibilities “to foster industrial collaboration, talent exchange, legal cooperation and co-development proposal, and to serve Hong Kong people and enterprises” and make “Support Hong Kong, Service mainland, Face the world” its mission. The “Qianhai e-Services Hong Kong-Macao Station” is now operated by the company, offering 223 free services to Hong Kong and Macao individuals to handle government services without travelling to Qianhai, including business registration, tax-related services, social security and government administrative services.

Tongcheng Travel Announces 2022 Interim Results

Maintains Resilience Against Headwinds

HONG KONG SAR – Media OutReach – 22 August 2022 – Tongcheng Travel Holdings Limited (“Tongcheng Travel” or the “Company”, together with its subsidiaries the “Group”, stock code: 0780.HK), an innovator and leader in China’s online travel industry, today announced its unaudited consolidated results for the three months (“2022 Q2”) and the six months ended 30 June 2022 (the “period under review” or “2022 1H”). In the face of unprecedented disruptions and escalating pressure on the travel industry brought about by the COVID-19 spike across the nation, the Group remained resilient, maintained profitability, and outperformed the industry.

Operational highlights for 2022 Q2:

  • Increased market penetration – accelerated the penetration in lower-tier cities, with approximately 87.1% of registered users from non-first-tier cities. New paying users on Weixin platform from tier-3 or below cities increased by 2.4 percentage points from 59.3% to 61.7% when compared to the same period in 2021.
  • Effective user acquisition initiatives – number of paying users (“APUs”) for the 12 months ended 30 June 2022 rose by 8.0% year-to-year to 197 million.
  • Broadened business coverage – achieved rapid year-to-year growth in the bus ticketing business and delivered solid performance in the hotel business.
  • Increased internal efficiency and optimized organizational structure – implemented cost control measures and flexibly adjusted marketing strategies in response to the market changes.

In 2022 Q2, the Group’s total revenue amounted to RMB1,319 million. With effective cost control measures and flexible operating strategies, the Group recorded an adjusted net profit of RMB112.0 million. Adjusted net margin stood at 8.5%. Number of average monthly active users (“MAUs”) and number of average monthly paying users (“MPUs”) amounted to 198 million and 26.1 million, respectively.

In 2022 1H, the Group recorded a total revenue of RMB3,037 million and an adjusted net profit of RMB357.0 million. The adjusted net margin was 11.8%. MAUs and MPUs amounted to 221.2 million and 28.9 million, respectively.

Mr. Ma Heping, Executive Director and CEO of Tongcheng Travel, said, “The travel industry was under intense pressure in 2022 Q2 due to the resurgence of COVID cases. We have swiftly adjusted our business strategies, further extended our reach to lower-tier cities and underpenetrated markets. We also strengthened our cost control and optimized organizational structure to achieve higher operating efficiencies, paving the way to capture future growth associated with travel demand rebound. Looking ahead, while we expect the market to remain volatile in the near term, we are seeing signs of gradual recovery and are positive about the industry outlook. It is expected that the market growth will be driven by local and short-haul leisure travels, as well as the increase in the number of business trips. Building on our solid market foothold, we are confident about the industry prospects and development outlook of the Company.”

Explored Diversified Service Applications to Enhance Brand Awareness and User Engagement

During the period under review, Tongcheng Travel continued to diversify its service scenarios. Through its Weixin mini program and deepened collaboration with Tencent, Tongcheng Travel maintained stable and effective traffic channels. To reach out to the younger generation, Tongcheng Travel launched a series of e-Sports events in several cities using popular IP rights entitled by Tencent. It also teamed up with Hengdian World Studios and KuGou to organize the Water Music Festival. These initiatives effectively increased the Company’s brand exposure among the younger generation.

In addition, Tongcheng Travel integrated online and offline channels to diversify traffic sources. The Company optimized its App interface and enriched tourism-related content to add value and provide better user experiences, and continued to cooperate with China’s major handset vendors and provided users with one-stop products and services through its quick Apps on mobile devices. It also worked with location-based Apps to expand user acquisition channels. It also embarked on new marketing campaigns. For the first time it marketed its membership program through a popular TV drama on Tencent Video platform. Furthermore, the Company cooperated with the Jiangxi Provincial Department of Culture and Tourism to launch marketing activities that targeted university students.

Consolidated Online and Offline Resources to Tap into Underpenetrated Lower-tier Cities

The Company continued to pursue offline user acquisition to attract users from underpenetrated lower-tier city markets. During the period under review, it launched various effective user acquisition initiatives, such as adding QR code scanning functions at hotels and tourist attractions to direct users to book through its mini-program, and establishing strategic cooperation with urban and rural bus operators to increase nationwide transportation business coverage. In 2022 Q2, Tongcheng Travel’s bus ticketing business achieved rapid year-to-year growth. As of 30 June 2022, the number of registered users residing in non-first-tier cities in China accounted for approximately 87.1% of the total registered users.

Pursued Technology Advancement and Promoted Digitalization of the Industry

Tongcheng Travel continued to develop and apply innovative technology to transform from online travel agency (“OTA”) to intelligent travel assistant (“ITA”). The Company further optimized and utilized the Huixing system to provide intelligent travel solutions, and promoted the digitalization of the travel industry by leveraging its technological innovation and deepened cooperation with upstream suppliers. It also started to cooperate with more airport operators to improve their operational efficiencies. In 2022 Q2, the Company cooperated with Urumqi Airport in Xinjiang and helped the airport develop a mini-program to facilitate passenger flight transit. In addition, it also contributed to the digitalization of the bus ticketing industry through implementing the bus ticketing system and expanding the coverage of smart ticketing equipment nationwide. Tongcheng Travel’s property management system (“PMS”) brands, Zhuzhe, Jintiane, and Yunzhanggui continued to provide the PMS system and technical services to domestic individual hotels and small- and medium-sized hotel operators to help them reduce costs and increase efficiency.

Committed to Corporate Social Responsibility

Tongcheng Travel is committed to positively influencing society and proactively participating in social activities. It has implemented various measures to provide support to its partners. During the period under review, the Company initiated an empowerment program to provide wide-ranging free online professional courses for tourism professionals, in order to help them overcome the difficulties caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and the uncertain market situation. In the summer of 2022, Tongcheng Travel, in conjunction with over 100 domestic hotels, launched a charitable campaign called “Tongcheng Service Point” (同程小站), converting hotel lobbies into the service points to provide resting spaces for outdoor workers in hot weather, thereby facilitating more hotels to integrate into the community.

Going forward, the Company will continue to innovate and enhance its products and services, and seek investment opportunities that align with its core strategies to drive business growth. Concurrently, it will put more effort into corporate governance, environmental protection, and social responsibility to generate long-term sustainable value for stakeholders and the communities it serves.

Hashtag: #TongchengTravel

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

About Tongcheng Travel Holdings Limited (HKSE Stock Code: 0780.HK)

Tongcheng Travel (formerly known as Tongcheng-Elong) is an innovator and market leader in China’s online travel industry. It was formed out of the merger of Tongcheng and eLong, the leading online travel agencies in China, in 2018. It is a one-stop shop for users’ travel needs. With the mission “make travel easier and more joyful”, Tongcheng Travel offers a comprehensive and innovative selection of products and services covering nearly all aspects of travel, including transportation ticketing, accommodation reservation, tourist attraction ticketing, and various ancillary value-added travel products and services designed to meet users’ evolving travel needs throughout their trips primarily through its online platforms, which comprise its Tencent-based platforms, its proprietary mobile apps, quick apps and other channels.

As a technology-driven company, Tongcheng Travel leverages big data and AI capabilities to better understand the preferences and behaviors of users, thereby offering users customized products and services. Tongcheng Travel has a strategic focus on lower-tier cities in China and seized opportunities there supported by its and diversified traffic sources, product innovation capability and flexible operation strategies. Through the in-depth understanding of user experience and advanced technological capabilities, Tongcheng Travel has been revolutionizing what consumers expect from the online travel industry, making the entire travel process more convenient, personalized and enjoyable than ever. Tongcheng Travel aims to develop and apply its advanced technology to transform from an online travel agency to intelligent travel assistant.

For more information, please visit the Group’s website at