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Symphony wraps up 2021 with two acquisitions, new partnerships and an expanded global leadership team

NEW YORK, US and LONDON, UK – News Direct – 14 December 2021 – Symphony, the leading markets’ infrastructure and technology platform, is now serving over 1000 financial institutions, capping off a year that was marked by significant growth for the company. Symphony spent 2021 executing on partnerships, acquisitions, and continuing to build its global leadership team. Continual technological advancements throughout the year have proved Symphony’s commitment to solving markets challenges, providing secure communications and networked infrastructure while consolidating itself as the largest secure community of financial firms and professionals in the world.

On June 24, Symphony announced it had acquired Cloud9 Technologies, an innovative trader voice and electronic communication business, and on August 2, the company announced the acquisition of StreetLinx, the counterparty mapping platform, to offer the most complete and secure verified identity directory in financial services.

In the last year, Symphony also chose Google Cloud as its primary cloud provider as part of a strategic multi-year deal, while also establishing partnerships with AccessFintech, Saphyre, Unqork and Quant Insight. Symphony had previously announced a partnership with low-code, no-code Genesis to provide the financial markets community with interoperable technology and applications, built and deployed both securely and at speed.

The company has successfully proceeded with the rollout of Symphony 2.0, the second generation of its core collaboration platform, built in close partnership with financial firms to address their workflow needs, from front to middle, to back office and from the buy-side to the sell-side. Additionally, HSBC Global Private Banking engaged Symphony to develop and deploy HSBC GPB Chat, a client engagement platform that enables the private bank’s clients to interact with their relationship management team via one-to-one chat, group chat, document sharing and video/audio conferencing on WhatsApp or WeChat, in a secure and compliant way.

Global leadership team

2021 also saw the appointment of Brad Levy as CEO. “We continue to be committed to delivering networked market infrastructure,” Levy said. “We are thrilled to enter 2022 with an expanded team and are energized by the momentum from this year’s new partnerships and acquisitions.” Levy had joined Symphony in July 2020 as president and chief commercial officer.

In addition to Levy, Corinna Mitchell was named general counsel, Benjamin Chrnelich, the company’s chief financial officer, assumed the additional role of president, while Dietmar Fauser became chief information officer. Also, Michael Lynch joined as Symphony’s new chief product officer, Gary Godshaw – former CEO of Streetlinx – was named the company’s chief revenue officer, and Jim Miller – Cloud9’s former COO – was named chief customer experience officer.

Additionally, industry veteran Marie Patton joined Symphony as managing director for APAC.

The team actively engaged with employees, customers and industry partners in London, Paris, Sophia Antipolis, New York, Boston, Washington, D.C., Miami and Sunnyvale when travel resumed post COVID-19 restrictions.

Innovate conference

On November 2, the firm hosted its flagship conference Innovate, where it showcased a live demonstration of how it is integrating the technology of Symphony, Cloud9 and StreetLinx into one powerful inter-firm workflow, and introduced new features such as the Secure Event Service and Groups. The audience heard from senior leaders from BlackRock, BNY Mellon, Citi, JP Morgan Asset Management, Zoom and Google Cloud on lively and relevant discussion panels.

About Symphony

Symphony is the most secure and compliant markets’ infrastructure and technology platform, where solutions are built or integrated to standardize, automate and innovate financial services workflows. It is a vibrant community of over half a million financial professionals with a trusted directory and serves over 1000 institutions. Symphony is powering over 2,000 community-built applications and bots. For more information, visit www.symphony.com.

#Symphony

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

Hong Kong Residential and Investment Markets Scaled New Heights in 2021, With Pandemic Contained and Economy Recovering Property Market Set to Further Improve in 2022 with Border Reopening

HONG KONG SAR – Media OutReach – 14 December 2021 – Global real estate services firm Cushman & Wakefield announced the Hong Kong and Greater Bay Area (GBA) Property Market 2021 Review and 2022 Outlook today. With the pandemic being gradually contained and a steady economic recovery in 2021, Hong Kong’s property market shows signs of recovery:

–       The residential market has been active as the number of sale and purchase agreements (S&P) reached a peak since 2012. Private home prices show a significant rise with some housing estates breaking record highs.

–       The number of major investment transactions increased by more than double on the previous year, with industrial buildings and development sites among the most active sectors.

–       The office leasing market has stabilized, with total absorption in 2H21 standing at 513,000 sf NFA and rental declines slowing.

–       The retail leasing market has begun to pick up, as vacancy in prime retail districts begins to drop and rents in some districts start to rise.

–       In the GBA, Shenzhen and Guangzhou continue to dominate major investment deals and residential transactions, with other GBA cities catching up. Foreign investors’ presence has also grown, up to a 49% share in 2021.

Data source: Cushman & Wakefield Research

Chart 1: Number of Residential Sale & Purchase Agreements

Chart 2: Major investment transaction volume by HK$ Bn (2012-2021)

Chart 3: Rental change in Grade A offices by district in Hong Kong

Chart 4: Retail rents in prime districts in Hong Kong

Chart 5: Commercial property and investment deals in GBA

Hong Kong residential market: total S&Ps in 2021 reached a 9-year peak; overall home prices rose by 6.5%, with an increment of around 5-10% expected for 2022

The residential market was active in 2021, with more than 6,000 monthly S&Ps for six consecutive months for the period from February to July, 2021. Despite a decline in S&P cases since August 2021, the average number stood firmly at around 5,000 transactions a month. Total annual transactions are expected to reach 74,600 units, a new high since 2012. The secondary market has been particularly active, with more than 57,000 transactions this year, another new high since 2012.

 

Prevailing low interest rates and strong demand from end-users have gradually pushed overall home prices up since the beginning of 2021, peaking in August and September this year, after which prices fell slightly. Overall home prices are estimated to rise by around 6.5% by the end of 2021. Cushman & Wakefield’s home price tracker showed that prices at mass housing estates, such as City One Shatin, surpassed the prior peak of June 2019 in September this year, with a record high of HK$19,800 psf, and are now expected to slightly decline to HK$19,200 psf by the end of 2021. Prices at mid-market housing estates, such as Taikoo Shing, and luxury homes, such as Residence Bel-Air, are also approaching historical highs. Taikoo Shing is within 9.3% of its prior peak of June 2019, while Residence Bel-Air is now just 4.2% short of the 2019 peak.

 

Cushman & Wakefield’s Director and Head of Research, Hong Kong, Keith Chan, commented: “The residential market has been active in 2021, with transaction volumes reaching a 9-year high. As property prices have gradually approached their historical highs, transaction and price growth slightly slowed in 2H21. We expect that the residential market will continue to prosper in 2022. There will likely be around 18,500 private units available in the market, with no surprise in supply anticipated. The high base number of 2021, combined with a shrinking stock of small-value units, will likely diminish the 2022 transaction volume by around 10% y-o-y. However, an improved economic environment will likely drive a further rise in home prices. We anticipate home prices to climb by around 5% to 10% next year. Luxury homes in urban areas will likely benefit more.”

 

Major investment transactions: deal count and total transactions both reach new peaks since 2019

Major investment transactions in 2021 (each with a consideration of over HK$100 million) were mainly driven by local investors and foreign funds. A total of 180 transactions were anticipated in 2021, more than double that of last year. The total annual transaction volume for 2021 is now estimated to reach HK$80 billion, a jump of 67% y-o-y. Industrial properties and development sites were among the most well-sought after assets, each taking a share of approximately 30% of the total volume. The popularity of industrial properties amongst institutional investors is due both to their relatively small consideration and their flexibility to convert to alternative uses, such as self-storage facilities or data centers. Due to the continued impact of social unrest and the COVID-19 pandemic in the past two years, demand for office and retail space shrank, weakening investment demand. The office sector’s share of total transactions dropped significantly to 15% in 2021, compared to 62% in 2020.

 

Cushman & Wakefield’s Executive Director and Head of Capital Markets, Hong Kong, Tom Ko, pointed out: “We anticipate that the total major transaction volume in 2022 will surpass 2021, reaching a total of 200 deals and HK$100 billion. Demand for industrial buildings in 2021 was at a historic high, and we expect this to continue in 2022. Investors worldwide have recently been drawn to emerging multi-family conversions, such as serviced apartments and hotel properties. The aforementioned asset classes will likely benefit from the revival of tourism activities when the border gradually reopens. The proposed lowered threshold for compulsory sales will likely trigger more development site transactions in 2022. To sum up, we expect industrial buildings, residential development sites, and multi-family conversions to become the three key pillars of the investment market in 2022.”

 

Grade A office market: positive absorption in two consecutive quarters, rental decline softened

The performance of the Grade A office market has recovered from its sluggish state in 1H21 for two consecutive quarters. Absorption for 4Q21 stands at 185,500 sf NFA, despite a total net absorption of negative 578,700 sf NFA recorded in 2021. This is also a major improvement from the negative 2.3 million sf NFA recorded in 2020. The banking and finance sector, and insurance industry, dominated new leasing transactions, with a total share of 42%. Overall rents on average have fallen by 4.7% in 2021, at a much slower pace than the negative 19.3% seen in last year. The improved economic environment and positive absorption performance in 2H21 have brought availability down by 80 bps to 13.6% in 4Q21, compared to 14.4% in 2Q21.

 

Surrender stock has been slashed from the peak of 724,000 sf NFA in 1Q21 to 367,000 sf NFA in 4Q21, a reduction of 49.3% from its peak.

 

Cushman & Wakefield’s Executive Director, Head of Office Services, Hong Kong, Keith Hemshall, mentioned: “With the completion in 2022 of over 2 million sf of new grade A office space in Two Taikoo Place in Hong Kong East, 98 How Ming Street in Kowloon East, and Airside atop Kai Tak MTR Station, we expect overall availability to increase to 16% to 17% by the end of the year and accordingly, for average rents to drop by 1% to 3%. That said, we expect that anticipated border re-opening will drive an improvement in the economy and the demand for office space will increase with an estimated net take up of 300,000 – 500,000 NFA for 2022. We expect Banking & Finance, Insurance and Business Centre / Co-working to continue to be active.”

 

Retail market: vacancy dropped across the board; rental levels have bottomed out

Retail sales growth in the jewellery & watches and fashion & accessories sectors (Jan-Oct 2021) has remained the strongest in 2021, with a y-o-y increment of 29.2% and 22.9%, respectively. Total sales in the retail industry in 2021 rose to HK$288.9 billion, a y-o-y increase of 8.5%. Retail rents in core districts have bottomed out beginning from 2H21. Increased local consumption has driven recovery of F&B rents in the range of 2.2% to 2.8% y-o-y from their bottom. The y-o-y vacancy rates in prime districts have fallen, especially in Causeway Bay and Tsimshatsui, to 7.9% (negative 520 basis points) and 13.1% (negative 480 basis points) respectively, with many new short-term leases evident.

 

Cushman & Wakefield’s Executive Director, Head of Retail Services, Hong Kong, Kevin Lam, mentioned: “With Hong Kong bringing the pandemic under control, the domestic economy gradually recovering, and the employment rate picking up, we anticipate an improvement in the consumer market in 2022. We believe retail rents have bottomed out and vacancy will decline further. Overall high-street rents will likely recover further in 1H22 at a range of between 2% and 5%, with Central district expecting to reach to as much as 5% to 8%. The reopening of the border will help bring tourists back, boosting major brands for their expansion plans next year. Central is expected to lead the recovery, followed by Tsimshatsui and Causeway Bay. However, a net population outflow is expected at the initial stage of the border reopening, bringing short-term pressure on retail sales, and particularly impacting F&B businesses during weekends. Accordingly, the return of tourists and their related consumption activities will drive recovery in the longer-term. The wellness and athleisure trends we saw driven by the pandemic are expected to continue in 2022.”

 

GBA: Shenzhen and Guangzhou still dominate, but other GBA cities will catch up in 2022

Most of the commercial property investment deals realised in the GBA in 2021 were still centred on Shenzhen and Guangzhou, together taking 98% of total transactions. The annual transaction volume is expected to reach RMB60 billion, a rise of 9% y-o-y, and also the second highest by total volume in the last five years (2017–2021). This demonstrates a highly active market, despite a smaller average deal size than before. Most transactions were low in value.

 

In terms of property types, non-traditional asset classes such as industrial / logistics and data centers continue to remain attractive. However, data center assets are limited by the available supply, and accounted for about 1% of total transactions. Meanwhile, neighbourhood malls are expected to be emerging investment targets. These three areas are expected to become the mainstream investment classes into the future.

 

Cushman & Wakefield’s Executive Director, Capital Markets, Greater China, Queeny So, commented: “We expect the total GBA investment volume in 2022 will be about the same as 2021, with its investment market continuing to mature. Investment opportunities are gradually expanding to other cities beyond Shenzhen and Guangzhou, with further investment activities expected. More foreign investors are now exploring investment into the region, with 49% of the total investment volume in 2021 coming from foreign capital, compared to 17% in 2020.”

 

In the GBA’s residential sector, the total number of transacted units in the first 10 months of 2021 fell by approximately 5.7% compared to 2020 on a like-for-like basis, with Huizhou and Dongguan dropping the most, down 32.8% and 25.5%, respectively.

 

Cushman & Wakefield’s Vice President, Greater China, Head of Consulting, Greater China, Alva To, concluded: “Homes in Shenzhen and Guangzhou remain the most expensive amongst the mainland GBA cities, although Foshan, Dongguan and Zhongshan are catching up with double-digit growth increases. Meanwhile, the residential market is likely to remain stable, although concerns over future government policies remain.”

 

Please click here to download photos.

 

Photo 1

Photo 1 Caption:Spokespersons of Cushman & Wakefield announced the Hong Kong and Greater Bay Area (GBA) property market 2021 review and 2022 outlook today.

 

About Cushman & Wakefield

Cushman & Wakefield (NYSE: CWK) is a leading global real estate services firm that delivers exceptional value for real estate occupiers and owners. Cushman & Wakefield is among the largest real estate services firms with approximately 50,000 employees in over 400 offices and 60 countries. Across Greater China, 22 offices are servicing the local market. The company won four of the top awards in the Euromoney Survey 2017, 2018 and 2020 in the categories of Overall, Agency Letting/Sales, Valuation and Research in China. In 2020, the firm had revenue of $7.8 billion across core services of property, facilities and project management, leasing, capital markets, valuation and other services. To learn more, visit www.cushmanwakefield.com.hk or follow us on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/company/cushman-&-wakefield-greater-china).

#Cushman&Wakefield

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

The Launch of the Inaugural Integrity Labs – Israel Cyber Security Day

Bringing together cyber security experts to share knowledge on cutting-edge technologies and open the door for cooperation between Hong Kong and Israeli organizations

HONG KONG SAR – Media OutReach – 14 December 2021 – COVID-19 has expedited the digital transformation of Hong Kong enterprises and reshaped people’s work patterns and online habits. This shift has brought cyber security to the fore, emphasizing the risks that must be tackled with the ascendancy of hybrid workplace models, online business processes, and remote collaboration. Grappling with these contemporary issues, the inaugural Integrity Labs – Israel Cyber Security Day, a new flagship event for the industry, took place today at The Langham Hotel in Hong Kong. Hosted by Integrity Labs (“i-Labs”), Hong Kong’s leading Information and Communication Technology company, the seminar revolved around the key question: “Are you prepared for the next level of cyber challenges?” The event fostered in-depth discussions about finding synergies between cyber security technology businesses and related industries, as well as opportunities for collaboration across Hong Kong and Israel, a nation at the forefront of cyber security innovation.

Certificate presented by Ms. Katherine Li to Mr. Amir Lati, the Consul General of the State of Israel in Hong Kong & Macau  

 

Integrity Labs – Israel Cyber Security Day successfully attracted more than 50 industry delegates, with Mr. Amir Lati, the Consul General of the State of Israel in Hong Kong & Macau, acting as the officiating guest. In his speech, he expressed, “We saw a big increase of overseas funds in Israel in these years. And in fact, it’s not surprising that the sector that attracted most of the foreign investments was Information Technologies that is essential for internet communication services during the corona (46%), second after it is life sciences. IT technologies will continue to be a leading role in the days of COVID and after, whether it’s for communication, cloud storage, protection of information, data analysis and more. I am happy that today there are representatives with us from the Israeli companies in this broad field that already have operations in Hong Kong. We see Hong Kong as an important partner and our consulate’s first and foremost mission as to enhance the economic ties with Hong Kong on governmental cooperation (for example to implement the industrial R&D agreement between Israel and HKG), as well as the corporate and investor side.”  

Due to geopolitical factors, Israel attaches great importance to cyber security. Education on this topic starts in middle school and extends to specialized undergraduate and postgraduate training. Israel even became the first country to offer Ph.D. programmes in cyber security. As a result, it is now a cyber security powerhouse at the centre of an $82 billion industry, with more than 300 local cyber security businesses, exporting $6.5 billion in cyber security products last year, convincing more than 30 multinationals to open local R&D centres, and attracting a plethora of foreign investors. Reflecting the country’s ongoing commitment to promoting cyber security around the world, Integrity Labs – Israel Cyber Security Day aims to establish a platform for exchange and cooperation that connects Hong Kong and Israel’s enterprises, inviting cross-regional industry leaders and experts to share knowledge, foster symbiotic partnerships, and promote cyber security as a beacon of economic promise for China and the rest of the world.

Ms. Katherine Li, Chief Executive Officer of i-Labs, remarked, “We see that cyber security awareness in Hong Kong is rising, but in general, the private sector lacks support in terms of guidance and regulations to enable proper risk assessment and all-rounded solutions. That’s why we are dedicated to introducing more innovative and new companies that bring simple but comprehensive security solutions to the market and partner with our local manufacturers for overall solutions. Furthermore, we’re thrilled to announce the upcoming launch of our own i-Labs Managed Security Service Provider, a comprehensive security service that allows our clients to assess, mitigate and prevent the threat of cyber-attacks. It provides all levels of enterprise network security services to meet the specific needs of our customers, from SMEs to the most demanding multinational companies.” 

In addition to the thought-provoking discussion on cyber security innovation and applications, the seminar also ignited a conversation on the transformation triggered by COVID-19, which has made cyber security a hot topic for future enterprise development. In response to rising market demand, i-Labs will continue developing products and solutions that combine scientific research and technology applications. Simultaneously, i-Labs is committed to bridging experts and enterprises in Israel and Hong Kong to enhance global cyber security standards.

About Integrity Labs (“i-Labs”)

Same with our company name, we behave with integrity and responsibility. We embody our principles with tremendous passion and motivation to deliver solutions for customers to success from today and future challenges.

We have extensive experience in enterprise networking solutions includes voice & data networking, unified communications, enterprise contact centre and cyber security solutions.

Cyber Security is a key and focus solution from i-Labs to adapt the market needs. To protect organizations, employees and individuals, i-Labs will help organizations and provide services to implement and delivery of cybersecurity tools, training, risk management approaches and continually update systems as technologies change and evolve.

#IntegrityLabs

Tokocrypto selects global CDP Tealium to drive better customer engagement

Customers demand relevant and timely experiences as data-driven marketing and personalisation becomes standard

SINGAPORE – Media OutReach – 14 December 2021 – Tealium, a leader in real-time customer data orchestration solutions, today announced its new partnership with Tokocrypto, Indonesia’s most trusted crypto assets digital exchange platform, to help drive better engagement for its customers. This opportunity will help cement Tealium’s position in Asia

As the pandemic has forced businesses to digitalise and customer interactions have moved online, it is clear that providing great digital experiences has become paramount. Coupled with new customer behavior and the influx of data, there is an increasing need for businesses to prioritize a first-party data strategy. This is where a customer data platform (CDP) comes into play. As the largest independent customer data platform, Tealium’s data-driven capabilities will help Tokocrypto facilitate real-time personalisation to deliver a robust customer experience. 

While Tokocrypto’s vision is to create an open financial system, ensuring greater transparency and equal opportunities for all, it is clear that data is critical in driving the company’s success. With the impending removal of third-party cookies, having a CDP in place is more important than ever. The CDP industry has also shown immense growth in the first half of 2021, reaching a high of $1.6 billion. It is evident that businesses in Asia are rethinking the way they interact and serve individuals. Tealium’s technology will enable Tokocrypto to create a unified view of its customers, delivering valuable data-driven insights.

 

“Before Tealium, we did not have a dedicated solution in place for collecting customer data. Now, with Tealium’s help, we can collect and activate data across all our digital touchpoints, building a more accurate view of our customers,” said Nanda Ivens, CMO of Tokocrypto. “Tealium’s solutions have helped us drive better business outcomes and gain maximum return on our investments.”

 

“Customer data platforms have become a foundational element in today’s digital economy and we’re thrilled to work alongside Tokocrypto in deploying powerful and relevant data-driven experiences for their customers,” said Mark Van Den Haak, VP Sales Asia, Tealium. “We are excited to integrate Tealium’s data orchestration layer and bring our expertise in helping Tokocrypto  effectively track and target its customer’s behavior, and ultimately deliver better customer experiences moving forward.”

 

About Tealium

Tealium connects customer data across web, mobile, offline, and IoT so businesses can better connect with their customers. Tealium’s turnkey integration ecosystem supports more than 1,300 built-in connections, empowering brands to create a complete, real-time customer data infrastructure. Tealium’s solutions include a customer data platform with machine learning, tag management, an API hub and data management solutions that make customer data more valuable, actionable, privacy-compliant and secure. More than 850 leading businesses throughout the world trust Tealium to power their customer data strategies. For more information, visit www.tealium.com.

#Tealium

About Tokoscape and Tokocrypto

Tokoscape is a complete blockchain ecosystem that spans an exchange (Tokocrypto), an offline community hub (T-Hub), an NFT marketplace (Tokomall), and a projects incubator (Tokolaunchpad), powered by a native utility token called Toko Token (TKO). The ecosystem was initiated by Tokocrypto, Indonesia’s most trusted crypto assets digital exchange and also the first entity in Indonesia to be registered under the country’s Trade and Futures Exchange Ministry (BAPPEBTI).visit www.tokoscape.com

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

New York Skin Solutions Wraps Up Another Successful Year with 2021’s Awards

SINGAPORE – Media OutReach – 14 December 2021Presented to brands that stand out in Trustworthiness and Credibility, Quality, Value, Understanding of Customer Needs as well as Innovation and Social Responsibility, Reader’s Digest Asia reviews companies within this in-depth criteria.

Equipped with a dedicated team of skincare experts, award-winning New York Skin Solutions provides one-on-one skincare services suited for all genders in Singapore. 

Clinching not only the Reader’s Digest Asia Gold Trusted Brands Award but also the Superbrands Award for consecutive years now, New York Skin Solutions shows its commitment in upholding its mission and philosophy.

Racking Up Reviews as Singapore’s Premium Skincare Company


Established in 2004, New York Skin Solutions has helped numerous individuals resolve their many skin problems effectively through professional consultations and customised treatment solutions. Backed by customer’s testimonials and reviews, New York Skin Solutions proves itself as a trusted brand to those experiencing skin problems in Singapore.

This is not the first time New York Skin Solutions has led in its category, having won the Trusted Brand Award since 2016 and Superbrands Award since 2015. The brand also earned the Singapore’s Women Weekly Spa Awards 2021 for its Eye Rejuvenation Treatment – giving customers the assurance of its all-round expertise.

With a constant emphasis on customer satisfaction, Chief Executive Officer, Mr Woo Kian Lip, says, “New York Skin Solutions will continue to provide top-notch skin care services and customised treatments to ensure that every customer achieves their desired skin condition.”

How Their One-on-One Treatments Work


Under the care of their consultants, customised treatment plans are provided to ensure that each customer has their unique needs met. Eye Rejuvenation Treatment, for example, targets dark eye circles, eye bags, fine lines, Crow’s Feet and wrinkles. This treatment is designed to stimulate collagen regeneration, improve blood circulation and drain accumulated toxins around the eye area.

 

Besides their Eye Rejuvenation Treatment, another customer favourite treatment in their arsenal is the award-winning HydroCollagen+ Skin Treatment. It addresses multiple problems through the use of hydrolysed marine collagen to repair the deep skin layers. This treatment can tackle common skin issues from dry, dehydrated skin, to rough and dull skin. It can also help to lighten pigmentation and reduce skin ageing.

 

On the other hand – where “maskne” has increasingly become a problem for many in Singapore amidst the Covid-19 pandemic –, New York Skin Solutions has specially developed their new Activ-Clear Acne Treatment to keep problems such as oily skin, pimples and acne at bay. Both men and women can benefit from this treatment and continue to wear masks with confidence. Interested parties can get started by simply booking an appointment on their preferred date to review their skin condition with New York Skin Solutions.

 

With ten outlets conveniently located near MRT stations around Singapore, customers can find the nearest New York Skin Solutions outlet to them with ease.

About New York Skin Solutions

With more than 30 outlets located in Singapore and Malaysia, New York Skin Solutions hope to bring the best skincare treatment with excellent services and convenience. For more enquiries, call 6363 5566 to learn more today.

#NewYorkSkinSolutions

First Impressions of the Laos-China Railway

Passengers aboard the Laos-China Railway (Photo: Teng)
Passengers aboard the Laos-China Railway (Photo: Teng)

The long-awaited Laos-China Railway officially opened nearly two weeks ago amid much fanfare. The Laotian Times spoke with passengers to find out about their experiences.

‘Online Fatigue’ Puts A Damper on Workforce Upskilling Efforts

  • Over half of employees (53%) say that they experience ‘online fatigue’ when it comes to workplace upskilling during COVID-19.
  • To overcome challenges posed by remote workplace arrangements, employers are seeking to ‘change the training approach to adapt to remote learning’ (voted by 50%), ‘try out more innovative methods of training’ (voted by 47%) and ‘adapt new technology platforms’ (voted by 39%).
  • Over two thirds of employees (68%) prefer to attend instructor-led programmes, as compared to pre-recorded online training (6%). Instructor-led programmes are preferred regardless of whether it is conducted face-to-face (37%) or virtually (31%).

SINGAPORE – Media OutReach – 14 December 2021 – Work-from-home arrangements remain for many in Singapore, affecting how employers upskill their workforce amidst COVID-19. One of the top challenges faced by 53% of employees in Singapore when participating in training programmes is online fatigue, thereby putting a damper on company training efforts.

These are some of the key findings from NTUC LearningHub (NTUC LHUB)’s recent Workforce Learning in Workplace Transformation (WLWT) report. The report is based on a survey with 150 business leaders and 300 employees across industries in Singapore, and interviews with human resource experts.

 

In particular, employees between the ages of 30 to 39 are the most likely to experience online fatigue (63%). This is followed by those between the ages of 16 to 29 (59%), and 40 to 54 (48%). Employees above 55 years old are the least likely to experience online fatigue when it comes to training (41%).

 

To tackle this, employers say that exploring new methods of conducting training can overcome challenges posed by remote working arrangements and to increase employee engagement. The top three methods voted by employers are to ‘change the training approach to adapt to remote learning’ (50%), ‘try out more innovative methods of training’ (47%) and ‘adapt new technology platforms’ (39%).

 

Many employers view that remote workplace arrangements are disruptive to implement effective employee training (39%), and COVID-19 restrictions continue to be a challenge to training (37%). Therefore, most (78%) reveal that their companies are planning to improve training programmes offered to better adapt to the transformed workplace.

 

The report also uncovered that two thirds of employees (68%) prefer to attend company provided instructor-led programmes, regardless of whether it is conducted face-to-face (37%) or virtually (31%). This is in comparison to only 6% that voted for pre-recorded online training programmes as a preferred mode of learning.

 

Commenting on the findings, NTUC LHUB’s Strategy Director, Soh Hooi Peng, says, “As COVID-19 hits its second-year mark, online fatigue is becoming a prominent problem that causes burnout in employees, thereby posing a challenge not only to their work but also their learning and development. To combat this, learning must evolve alongside the future of work. We must explore and constantly develop new modes of training delivery to develop and engage the workforce. At NTUC LHUB, we will continue to work with companies to explore adult learning trends in order to transform the learning experience of lifelong learners to keep them motivated in terms of continuous learning and upskilling.”

 

­­To download the Workforce Learning in Workplace Transformation report, visit https://www.ntuclearninghub.com/workforce-learning-2021. To find out more about the courses, training and grants, contact NTUC LHUB at https://www.ntuclearninghub.com/.

About NTUC LearningHub

NTUC LearningHub is the leading Continuing Education and Training provider in Singapore which aims to transform the lifelong employability of working people. Since our corporatisation in 2004, we have been working with employers and individual learners to provide learning solutions in areas such as Cloud, Infocomm Technology, Healthcare, Employability & Literacy, Business Excellence, Workplace Safety & Health, Security, Human Resources and Foreign Worker Training.

To date, NTUC LearningHub has helped over 25,000 organisations and achieved over 2.6 million training places across more than 500 courses with a pool of over 900 certified trainers. As a Total Learning Solutions provider to organisations, we also forge partnerships and offer a wide range of relevant end-to-end training solutions and work constantly to improve our training quality and delivery. In 2020, we have accelerated our foray into online learning with our Virtual Live Classes and, through working with best-in-class partners such as IBM, DuPont Sustainable Solutions and GO1, asynchronous online courses.

For more information, visit www.ntuclearninghub.com

#NTUCLearningHub

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

Prenetics Scales Health Testing Capabilities Globally with AWS

With AWS, the leading genomic and diagnostic testing company performed more than 6 million COVID-19 tests globally during the pandemic, scaling daily testing capabilities by 8x

HONG KONG SAR – Media OutReach – 14 December 2021 – Today, Amazon Web Services (“AWS”), an Amazon.com company, announced that Prenetics, a global leader in genomics and diagnostic testing, is running its entire infrastructure on AWS, the world’s leading cloud, to provide millions of consumers globally with at-home testing. Prenetics’ COVID-19 tests are approved and recognized by the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and United Kingdom governments, and supported by many global organizations including the Hong Kong Standard Chartered Marathon, Hong Kong International Airport, London’s Heathrow Airport, Cathay Pacific Airways, Delta Air Lines, and the English Premier League (EPL). The breadth and depth of AWS’s cloud capabilities, including computing, developer tools, and databases, have enabled Prenetics to significantly scale its testing capabilities while also making the testing process faster, more efficient, and cost effective.

 

As the COVID-19 pandemic spread worldwide, people needed quick, accurate, and easily accessible testing to verify their health status, seek timely treatment, and prevent transmission. To meet this demand, Prenetics used the cloud to develop health solutions, including its COVID-19 testing services, that helped people navigate the pandemic safely. With AWS’s full suite of developer services including AWS CodeBuild, AWS CodePipeline, and AWS CodeDeploy, Prenetics has automated the building, testing, and deployment phases of application development, saving time for developers to focus on inventing new health products and features. For example, Prenetics developed Circle HealthPod, a portable, reusable, and rapid detection system that can test consumers for COVID-19 at home and at point-of-care locations, like hospitals, in approximately 20 minutes. Prenetics is developing single-use capsules for Circle HealthPod to detect other infectious diseases like influenza and sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). To run these new tests and access the results, users simply use the Circle HealthPod’s mobile app, which also runs on AWS.

 

Using Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (Amazon EC2) Auto Scaling, which enables organizations to automatically add or remove Amazon EC2 instances according to conditions they define, Prenetics automatically scales microservices for testing-related tasks, including user registration and test result processing. Amazon Relational Database Service (Amazon RDS), a service that helps customers set up, operate, and scale a relational database in the cloud, enables Prenetics to minimize database management time and focus on managing the testing process. To rapidly scale based on user demand for COVID-19 tests while remaining secure, Prenetics uses AWS Web Application Firewall (AWS WAF) to protect its web applications and application programming interfaces (APIs) against common web exploits and bots that try to compromise security or consume excessive infrastructure resources. In 2020, Prenetics set up a cloud infrastructure in four days to achieve data compliance and minimize latency in Europe by using AWS. Prenetics also built a digital health passport in ten days in the cloud for the English Premier League, allowing all 20 football clubs to conveniently and securely reveal their COVID-19 status to make training sessions and matches safer, bringing the excitement of the game back to fans worldwide.

 

“By tapping into AWS’s array of services and proven infrastructure, we accelerated COVID-19 testing with new innovations and easily expanded operations globally,” said Peter Wong, CTO of Prenetics. “We look forward to using AWS’s advanced cloud capabilities, including machine learning, to further support our international customers by providing the best healthcare services.”

 

“Organizations leading the charge in healthcare and life sciences use the cloud to help improve patient care, lower costs, and advance precision medicine,” said Robert Wang, Managing Director, Hong Kong and Taiwan, AWS. “The COVID-19 pandemic is spurring rapid innovation and transformation in the industry, and Prenetics is using the expertise and the breadth and depth of AWS’s secure, reliable, and scalable cloud capabilities to transform the testing experience for both patients and providers.”

About Amazon Web Services

For over 15 years, Amazon Web Services has been the world’s most comprehensive and broadly adopted cloud offering. AWS has been continually expanding its services to support virtually any cloud workload, and it now has more than 200 fully featured services for compute, storage, databases, networking, analytics, machine learning and artificial intelligence (AI), Internet of Things (IoT), mobile, security, hybrid, virtual and augmented reality (VR and AR), media, and application development, deployment, and management from 81 Availability Zones within 25 geographic regions, with announced plans for 27 more Availability Zones and nine more AWS Regions in Australia, Canada, India, Indonesia, Israel, New Zealand, Spain, Switzerland, and the United Arab Emirates. Millions of customers—including the fastest-growing startups, largest enterprises, and leading government agencies—trust AWS to power their infrastructure, become more agile, and lower costs. To learn more about AWS, visit aws.amazon.com.

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