Around 900 students and teachers from vocational schools and colleges across 18 provinces got together for “Clean Up Laos Day”, an event organized by the European Union Delegation to Laos and the Ministry of Education and Sports.
Laos Records a Trade Deficit of USD 233 Million in September

Laos recorded a trade deficit of USD 233 Million in September, according to the latest information from the Lao trade portal.
UN General Assembly Condemns Russia’s Annexation Attempts in Ukraine
The UN General Assembly passed a resolution with an overwhelming majority on Wednesday, urging nations and international organizations to not recognize the four regions of Ukraine that Russia has claimed.
DocDoc and QBE launch Asia’s first proactive group health insurance solution
- DocDoc and QBE Singapore is collaborating to launch a differentiated group health insurance product – Group Medical Prestige. This product will be offered in Singapore starting October 2022 and subsequently other markets in Asia.
- This collaboration will unify the aspirations of both companies to answer a growing need for innovation in the health insurance market.
- DocDoc will provide members with the personalised information they need to make informed decisions across Asia’s largest and most data-rich doctor network. Their data-driven platform utilises cutting edge clinical informatics and artificial intelligence to optimise the member’s healthcare journey.
- The partnership aims to make obsolete legacy approaches through automation and personalisation thereby reducing inefficiencies and improving member experiences.
SINGAPORE – Media OutReach – 13 October 2022 – DocDoc today announced a collaboration with QBE Singapore to launch a differentiated group health insurance product: Group Medical Prestige. This product will be offered to employers through partnerships with leading brokers in Singapore starting October 2022 and subsequently other markets in Asia in time to come.
In a market where incumbents tackle inefficiencies retrospectively, largely with analog systems, Group Medical Prestige represents Asia’s first data-driven proactive health insurance solution. Powered by DocDoc’s AI engine: the Heuristic for Outcome, Price and Experience (HOPE), Group Medical Prestige empowers members with the personalised information they need to make informed decisions across Asia’s largest and most data-rich doctor network.
For DocDoc, this collaboration personifies our evolution from an insurance technology provider to becoming the primary architect of game changing health insurance solutions. For QBE, this collaboration marks an exciting opportunity in the fastest growing segment of insurance in Asia and the prospect of becoming the preferred health insurer for employers and their employees.
Cole Sirucek, Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder of DocDoc commented, “We are ecstatic to partner with QBE Singapore in advancing our collective vision of enabling a more resilient future through innovation. The health insurance market in Asia has witnessed an increasing number of exits that underpin issues centred around profitability and scale. We believe that this is driven by legacy inertia within the industry preventing innovation and the transition to a digital, member-centric approach. DocDoc harnesses cutting edge clinical informatics and artificial intelligence to increase the efficiency of health service management. We aim to make obsolete legacy approaches through automation and personalisation thereby reducing inefficiencies and improving member experiences.”
Ronak Shah, Chief Executive Officer at QBE Singapore commented, “The collaboration with DocDoc holds steadfast to our ongoing commitment to leverage digital technologies to provide a user-centric experience for employers and employees alike. DocDoc’s approach to simplifying employee’s experience in finding care is exactly what the industry needs. Moving forward, we remain focused on creating a customer-centric business that is increasingly digitally enabled.”
Hashtag: #DocDoc #QBE
About DocDoc
DocDoc is reimagining health insurance for the 21st century and beyond. The company is built on the fundamental belief that the world needs a better way to access, consume, and pay for healthcare. To achieve this, we built a proactive digital insurance platform that learns and improves with each interaction, empowering employers and their employees to achieve optimal healthcare outcomes, efficient pricing, and a personalised and convenient customer experience. Our end-to-end digital health ecosystem makes it easy for employees to navigate their healthcare journey – from finding the right care to processing and paying medical bills quickly.
About QBE Insurance (Singapore) Pte Ltd
QBE has been in Singapore since 1891. QBE is a trusted provider of specialist expertise and professional insurance services. Our insurance specialists develop leading-edge products that are client-focused, delivering cover tailored to deal with everything from complex risks to more simple and straightforward insurance needs. QBE Singapore is part of the International Division of QBE Insurance Group Limited. QBE Insurance is listed on the Australian Securities Exchange, headquartered in Sydney, and operates in 27 countries.
Azbil to Exhibit at Industrial Transformation ASIA-PACIFIC (ITAP)
— Showcasing DX-based Solutions That Contribute “In Series” to a Sustainable Society —
TOKYO, JAPAN – Media OutReach – 13 October 2022 – Azbil Corporation (Tokyo Stock Exchange Code: 6845) announced that it will return as a physical exhibitor at the fifth edition of Industrial Transformation ASIA-PACIFIC (ITAP) to be held from October 18 to 20. Azbil’s exhibition, themed “A Sustainable Future through Digital Technology,” will focus on the company’s industrial automation and building automation solutions that promote DX and help contribute “in series” to a sustainable society.
ITAP is the Asia-Pacific’s counterpart to HANOVER MESSE, the world’s leading industrial tradeshow, and is the region’s premiere B2B event for promoting Industry 4.0. Because the Asia-Pacific region continues to be a prime hub for Industry 4.0 and digital transformation, the event is designed to aid businesses looking to adopt advanced manufacturing solutions and technology. This year’s theme of “Industry 4.0 for Business Sustainability” is intended to help regional businesses start, scale and sustain their adoption of Industry 4.0 processes and solutions.
Azbil considers ITAP as an important exhibition for the purposes of expanding business in Southeast Asia and further increasing recognition in the region. The company will feature its latest products under the following categories.
・Process automation, with examples of smart field devices that contribute to plant safety, stable operation, and improved productivity.
・Factory automation, which features the company’s measurement, control, and networking technologies that can improve factory operation through IoT, big data, and other innovations.
・Building automation, with a focus on how Azbil’s Digital Twin applications to help realize smart facility management (which is advocated by the Singaporean government), contribute to energy conservation and drive sustainability for businesses.
The company will also give a live presentation on “Chiller Plant Digital Twin: Smart Facility. Energy Optimization” on Day 1 of the event, as detailed in “Event” in the following overview.
■ Event overview
Event | Industrial Transformation ASIA-PACIFIC (ITAP) | |
Dates | Tuesday, October 18 to Thursday, October 20, 2022 | |
Location | Singapore Expo, Hall 2 & 3 Booth 3B17 |
|
Registration | https://www.gevme.com/industrial-transformation-asia-pacific—a-hannover-messe-event-2022-23506269/?promo=AZBIL (Free registration for Visitor Pass) |
|
Azbil Showcase | https://itap-connected.com/?co=42c33cfce3b64a98b76e (Available until November 4, 2022) |
|
Product Showcase | Process automation
・Early Warning System for Time Series Data ・Control Valve Maintenance Support System ・Remote Seal DP Transmitter Exchangeable Flange Adapter / Multivariable vortex flowmeters (insertion model) / Smart valve positioner Factory automation ・Network Instrumentation Module Smart Device Gateway* Model NX-SVG * A communication gateway that allows the interchange of information between various kind of control device without programming, enabling smarter development work. ・Single Loop Controller Model C1M Building Automation |
|
Event | Presentation:
Title: Date: Time: Venue: |
Chiller Plant Digital Twin: Smart Facility. Energy Optimization
18 Oct 2022 14:45 – 15:15 (SG Time) LIVE Stage, Hall 3 |
For details, please visit the following website.
https://www.azbil.com/corporate/seminar/index.html
Based on the azbil Group philosophy of “human-centered automation,” Azbil is contributing “in series” to the achievement of a sustainable society and continues to build long-term partnerships with customers.
Hashtag: #Azbil
The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.
About Azbil Corporation
Azbil Corporation, formerly known as Yamatake Corporation, is a leading company in building and industrial automation, using its measurement and control technologies to provide customers with high value-added solutions to make their operations more efficient and sustainable. Founded in 1906, Azbil serves customers across the globe in a broad range of industries and aims to contribute to people’s safety, comfort and fulfilment, and global environmental preservation. At the end of March 2022, Azbil employed over 10,000 people worldwide and generated ¥256 billion in revenue.
For more information, please visit https://www.azbil.com/.
Over 100 Gas Stations in Ho Chi Minh City Run out of Fuel

Vehicles were seen queuing for hours outside gas stations in Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam as 121 petrol stations, i.e. 20 percent of the city’s fuel retailers, ran out of fuel and were unable to restock in time.
Microban International Enjoys Successful TITAS 2022
Redefining clean with innovative built-in antimicrobial and odor control technologies
Microban International, a global leader in antimicrobial and odor control solutions, recently attended Taipei Innovative Textile Application Show (TITAS) 2022 at the Taipei Nangang Exhibition Center from 12th to 14th of October. Microban showcased its latest innovations and demonstrated how to improve textile hygiene, cleanliness, and sustainability with next generation antimicrobial and odor control technologies.
Microban has recently launched two brand new technologies, DuraTech™ by Microban and Refresh™. Nisa Fan, Associate Product Manager at Microban International, highlighted the key features of these two technologies during the product launch seminar at TITAS on October 13th.
DuraTech by Microban is a groundbreaking antimicrobial technology designed for cotton applications. It has been proven to inhibit the growth of odor-causing bacteria by up to 99.99 percent, even after 75 home launderings, far exceeding industry standards. Meanwhile, Refresh is Microban’s newest, patent-pending and sustainable odor capture technology that is metal free. This innovative technology is proven to reduce odors by up to 93 percent on polyester and polyester-rich blends, even after 30 home launderings.
“As a sustainability-focused company, Microban continues to dedicate itself to sustainable textile manufacturing by providing more environmentally-friendly solutions without relying on traditional heavy metal chemistries,” explained Nisa Fan. “The launch of DuraTech by Microban and Refresh perfectly represents our innovation efforts, combining science and creative solutions that enhance textile products around the world.”
With decades of experience in the textile industry, Microban has built partnerships with over 200 brand customers in the Asia Pacific market, and worked closely with renowned textile brands such as Danskin, Samsonite, Deya and Peilou in Taiwan.
For more information, please visit www.microban.com
Contact Details
Microban International
Audrey Jestin
+44 1480 405333
audreyj@kdm-communications.com
Hashtag: #MicrobanInternational
About Microban International
Part of Barr Brands International (BBI), Microban International is home to the most trusted and well-known global brands in the antimicrobial, odor control, and sanitization/disinfection markets – Microban® and Ultra-fresh®. Our organization has experienced over 100 collective years of growth and has revolutionized the industry. As the global leader, our proactive systems keep products cleaner and control odors better by preventing problems before they start. Microban International drives innovation by combining science and creative solutions that enhance high-quality consumer, textile, industrial and medical products around the world. Today, the Microban and Ultra-Fresh brands and our technologies are featured on thousands of products worldwide. The company is headquartered in North Carolina with operations in North America, Europe, and Asia Pacific. For more information, please visit www.microban.com.
Company Website
https://www.microban.com/
Businesses are embracing emerging technologies, but information security focus remains shaped by compliance requirements: KPMG’s 2022 Cyber Trust Insights
- 76 percent of Singapore business leaders admit that information security at their organisation is still shaped by compliance requirements rather than long-term business ambitions
- Top factor affecting trust for Singapore business leaders is recent data breaches or other cyber incidents (42 percent), while global business leaders are more concerned over how data is protected (36 percent).
- 8 in 10 Singapore businesses cite increasing trust across the stakeholder spectrum as the leading consideration for their cyber-risk programme, as they believe increased trust will deliver improved profitability (46 percent), growth in market share (36 percent), and enhanced business reputation (34 percent).
SINGAPORE – Media OutReach – 13 October 2022 – Majority of business leaders globally (65 percent) and in Singapore (76 percent) are planning and implementing their information security based on compliance requirements rather than considering long-term business ambitions. These findings were unveiled in KPMG’s 2022 Cyber Trust Insights report which surveyed 1,881 executives (largely C-Suite and Board members) from over 30 countries.
This comes despite the fact that organisations are placing advanced data and sophisticated analytics at the heart of their operations and reshaping customer experiences with innovative digital services (see Table 1), all of which are likely to introduce new cybersecurity challenges. For instance, majority of business leaders (Global: 78 percent; Singapore: 86 percent) surveyed in KPMG’s 2022 Cyber Trust Insights indicate that artificial learning (AI) and machine learning (ML), that synergises with technologies such as IoT and 5G, raise unique cybersecurity challenges that require special attention.
Wong Loke Yeow, Partner of Cyber Advisory at KPMG in Singapore said, “Majority of businesses are expected to embrace disruptive new platforms (including Web3 and the Metaverse) within two years and, over the next three years, increasingly ramp up their investment in areas such as internet of things (IoT), edge computing and 5G. Against this backdrop, building and protecting trust will be integral to how businesses operate and interact with stakeholders. Weaving cybersecurity into the fabric of the organisation, positioning the role of the Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) as a key executive, securing the support of leadership, and collaborating with other partners in the corporate ecosystem will be key to providing the assurance consumers desire and securing corporate reputation.”
Table 1: Digital Experiences that Global and Singapore business leaders expect to invest in over the next three years
Digital Experiences | Global | Singapore |
Multi-channel integration to improve customer experience/business partners | 36% | 50% |
Use of experience data to customise digital interactions in real time with customers/business partners | 37% | 46% |
Open APIs providing direct access to services for customers / business partners | 28% | 32% |
Chatbots and other AI customer interaction technologies | 28% | 32% |
IOT devices directly interacting with customers/business partners | 29% | 28% |
Hyper-personalised/tailored services or products | 26% | 26% |
Greater use of self-serve channels for customers/business partners | 33% | 26% |
Digital twins modelling and simulating aspects of the business | 24% | 24% |
New digital channels to market | 30% | 22% |
Use of virtual or augmented reality as interaction mode | 29% | 14% |
Source: KPMG’s 2022 Cyber Trust Insights survey
Top factor undermining stakeholder trust is data breaches and cyber incidents
Close to half of Singapore’s business leaders (46 percent) and over one-third of business leaders globally (37 percent) also note that trust in their organisations affects profitability, can deliver growth in market share (Global: 29 percent; Singapore: 36 percent), and is critical for reputation (Global: 30 percent; Singapore: 34 percent).
Data security continues to be a key determinant of stakeholder trust in Singapore. Local business leaders said the top factor affecting trust in their organisation’s ability to protect and use data is recent data breaches or other cyber incidents (42 percent), while global business leaders cited concerns over how data is protected (36 percent). Table 2 details these factors.
Hence, many companies have made it their priority to build stakeholder trust. 8 in 10 Singapore businesses cite increasing trust across the stakeholder spectrum as the leading consideration for their cyber-risk programme. This high value placed on providing assurance to consumers may stem in part from the accelerating growth of cybersecurity and privacy regulations globally and the repercussions of failing to meet them. Currently, 33 percent of Singapore executives worry about corporate reporting disclosures related to cybersecurity, while 47 percent worry about their ability to meet existing or new cybersecurity regulations when activities are outsourced to digital service providers. This is compared to 34 and 36 percent of global executives respectively.
Table 2: Factors leaders say are undermining stakeholder trust in their firm’s ability to protect and use their data
Factors undermining stakeholder trust | Global | Singapore |
Recent data breaches or other cyber incidents | 30% | 42% |
A lack of clarity over why data is required for a particular service and the benefits of sharing or providing data | 32% | 38% |
Concerns over how their data is protected | 36% | 34% |
Broader public concerns over privacy and data protection | 34% | 34% |
Concerns over a lack of transparency around data use | 31% | 30% |
Concerns over how their data is used or shared | 35% | 30% |
A lack of initiatives to build trust with stakeholders | 26% | 26% |
A lack of confidence in the governance mechanisms in place | 28% | 26% |
Adverse publicity surrounding your organisation | 23% | 24% |
A failure to fully compensate someone for the use of their data | 24% | 16% |
Source: KPMG’s 2022 Cyber Trust Insights survey
Akhilesh Tuteja, KPMG’s Cyber Security Practice Leader, commented “Each new data activity that an organization embarks on exposes them to potential vulnerabilities and risks that should be guarded against to maintain trust. Executives are starting to acknowledge these risks – many of our respondents (78 percent) agree that new technologies [such as AI and machine learning] come with unique, and often ill-understood, cybersecurity and trust challenges. If these challenges aren’t adequately addressed, the risk to an organization can be extreme.”
The increasing emphasis placed on environmental, social and governance (ESG) goals in recent years also means that stakeholder demands for greater transparency and oversight now extend to organisations’ cybersecurity posture. About 3 in 10 Singapore companies (28 percent) see their Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) or information security team as an integral part of their ESG team that drives a wide variety of ESG-related activities compared to 17 percent globally. As organisations recognise the growing social imperative around this topic, that proportion is expected to grow.
Nonetheless, in a separate survey of CEOs by KPMG, nearly three-quarters of organisations (72 percent) in Singapore are confident in their preparedness against a cyber-attack, higher than the 69 percent in Asia Pacific and 56 percent globally1. The Cyber Trust Insights report lends some credence to this, with companies saying that they have implemented risk modelling to quantify their cyber risk and visually report risk to the board (Global: 73 percent; Singapore: 84 percent), and that their risk modelling is based on comprehensive data on threats and vulnerabilities (Global: 67 percent; Singapore: 86 percent).
Businesses can be more proactive on cybersecurity collaborations
An area which businesses see room for improvement is being active members of a broader partnership in the ecosystems they operate in. Businesses know they do not operate in a vacuum, especially as they continue their digitalisation journey.
58 percent of Singapore companies admitted their organisation is not proactive enough in its cybersecurity collaborations, such as with professional bodies and the government, comparable to 53 percent of global companies which had the same sentiment. Companies believe that the biggest advantage of collaborating on cyber security is the reduction in time it takes to identify data breaches (Global: 38 percent; Singapore: 44 percent) and that it allows them to better anticipate cyber-attacks (Global: 44 percent; Singapore: 36 percent).
At the same time, businesses cite understandable concerns such as revealing internal details about their security posture (Global: 36 percent; Singapore: 46 percent) and unnecessarily revealing their security weaknesses or failures (Global: 35 percent; Singapore: 36 percent) as barriers to participating in such external collaborations.
Hashtag: #KPMG
The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.
About KPMG
KPMG in Singapore is part of a global organisation of independent professional services firms providing Audit, Tax and Advisory services. We operate in 144 countries and territories with more than 236,000 partners and employees working in member firms around the world. Each KPMG firm is a legally distinct and separate entity and describes itself as such. KPMG International Limited is a private English company limited by guarantee. KPMG International Limited and its related entities do not provide services to clients.
For more information, visit kpmg.com.sg.
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/kpmg-singapore