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The Boom of Tourism in Tainan has sparked discussions again – Tainan City Bureau of Tourism prepares for the recovery of Tourism in Tainan

“Someday or One Day” shooting site spotted in Tokyo subway station

TAINAN, TAIWAN – Media OutReach – 3 October 2022 – At the end of 2019, the Taiwanese TV series “Someday or One Day” was broadcasted in various Asian countries and it created a wave of nostalgia for Tainan in the 1990s. There was a lot of discussion amongst the fans when the Series was being filmed in Tainan, and with the upcoming remake, the Tainan City Bureau of Tourism used the historical and cultural attractions of the Series to create advertisements in South Korea, Singapore, and Malaysia to prepare for the recovery of tourism in Tainan.

Advertisement at Shinjuku Station

Advertisement at Shinjuku Station

Tainan, located in the southern part of Taiwan, is where everything started for Taiwan and has a long history and culture. It’s only 80 minutes on the HSR from Taoyuan International Airport, and only a 50-minute drive from Kaohsiung International Airport.

Tainan Mayor Huang Wei-che said that Tainan is the capital of tourism and the city has been actively making improvements to match international tourism. Even with the impact of COVID-19, Tainan is still one of the few cities with improving tourism. Kuo Chen-hui, director of Tainan City Bureau of Tourism, said that Tainan has always been a hot spot for Japanese tourists, and before the epidemic, they accounted for 1/3 of all foreign tourists in Tainan. A lot of the monuments, temples, and old houses have a historic touch that appeals to Japanese tourists for learning about history and culture. The still of Hsu Feng Hao Old building evokes the beautiful memories of traveling in Tainan, it also depicts how Tainan has missed its friends from Japan. Taiwan is expected to gradually open its borders, and it is expected that there will be a boom of tourists from Japan. The Tainan City Government has not only worked hard to promote its tourism online, but also locally promoted the City in various countries to showcase Tainan and welcome tourists once the borders have been reopened.

Hashtag: #TainanCityGovernment

FIFA President: Indonesia Stadium Stampede a ‘Tragedy Beyond Comprehension’

Petals are placed on Aremania monument outside the Kanjuruhan stadium to pay condolence to the victims of the stadium stampede.
Petals are placed on Aremania monument outside the Kanjuruhan stadium to pay condolence to the victims of the stadium stampede (Reuters).

The deaths of at least 174 people in a stadium stampede in Indonesia “is a tragic day for all involved in football and a tragedy beyond comprehension,” FIFA president Gianni Infantino said on Sunday.

Luxury Vehicle Found Floating in Mekong River Near Vientiane

Residents in Hatxayfong District report a vehicle floating in the Mekong River.
Residents in Vientiane's Hatsaifong District report a vehicle floating in the Mekong River.

A Mercedes-Benz SUV was found floating in the Mekong River in Vientiane’s Hatsaifong District yesterday and is believed to be connected to another crime.

Hundreds Killed in Indonesian Football Stadium Stampede

Police carry an injured man from the field during a football riot in East Java.
Police carry an injured man from the field during a football riot in East Java.

At least 129 people died in a stampede at a football match in Indonesia on Saturday in one of the world’s worst stadium disasters.

Become a Master of the Future Economies: National University of Singapore Postgraduate by Coursework Fair 2022

Learn about NUS’s offerings and explore a variety of world-class postgraduate by coursework programmes at a two-day virtual education fair with 14 booths, 14 masterclass sessions, 23 information sessions, and more than 30 distinguished speakers.

SINGAPORE – Media OutReach – 1 October 2022 – More than a tourist destination, Singapore is renowned for being an academic hub in Southeast Asia. It is home to the National University of Singapore (NUS), a top-tier university with cutting-edge research facilities and highly-regarded Postgraduate by Coursework programmes. In the QS World University Rankings 2023, NUS came in at 11th globally and top in Asia for the fifth year running, with sixteen of its academic programmes placed in the top 10 worldwide.

As part of the university’s efforts to encourage lifelong learning, NUS announced it is organising the NUS Postgraduate by Coursework Fair (NUS PGCF 2022) from October 4 to October 5 2022, from 10am to 9:30pm daily. The event aims to impart to attendees the value of lifelong learning and the knowledge and skills needed in a digital age. Attendees can get an inside look at how its postgraduate programmes and premier Colleges, Schools, Faculties and Institutes prepares one for the emerging economies. The event’s theme is “Become a Master of the Future Economies”, and attendees can expect to gain new insights into how the future is evolving and how an NUS Master’s Degree by Coursework can help them advance their careers and leverage key growth sectors including the Digital Economy, Green Economy, Care Economy, and Industry 4.0 Economy.

Organised by the Academic Programmes Business (APB) unit under the NUS Office of the Vice Provost (Masters’ Programmes & Lifelong Education), the event is an avenue for attendees to explore postgraduate study options. By providing more in-depth information about programme structures and curricula, this event could help prospective students in their decision-making process. The Colleges, Schools, Faculties and Institutes that will be present at the event are: Faculty of Arts & Social Sciences, NUS Business School, School of Computing, School of Continuing and Lifelong Education, Faculty of Dentistry, College of Design and Engineering, Faculty of Law, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music, Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health, Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, Faculty of Science, Institute of Systems Science and Risk Management Institute.

The event has been thoughtfully designed to provide attendees with a rewarding experience while addressing most of their questions and concerns. One of the highlights is the virtual booth exhibition featuring NUS Colleges, Schools, Faculties and Institutes as well as their Master’s Degree by Coursework offerings.

There are also Masterclasses shared by esteemed NUS faculty members who are experts in their fields, which prepare attendees for economic transformations brought on by key growth areas. The Masterclasses cover various trending topics, including Industry 4.0, Maritime Technologies and the Internet of Things.

One of the Masterclasses will be presented by Dr Prahlad Vadakkepat, a Professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the College of Design and Engineering, who will be sharing insights from his three decades of experience in the field of robotics and exploring how individuals and organisations can stay competitive in the fourth industrial revolution (Industry 4.0) by adapting to change and leveraging on the latest technological developments.

The fair will also showcase Information Sessions, where speakers discuss particular Master’s Degree by Coursework programmes and respond to live questions. Attendees can learn more about the curricula and determine which one best suits their interests and needs. Computing, Science, Supply Chain Management, Energy Systems, Business Analytics, and the Arts are among the programmes featured in these sessions.

Attendees can also participate in an event-exclusive contest and stand a chance to win an iPad Air. This is done by signing in to the event portal at any time throughout the event and answering a few questions correctly.

This two-day virtual education fair gives attendees a rare opportunity to deep dive into what NUS has to offer. By registering just once, individuals will be able to participate in all the activities at the fair. To learn more about NUS Master’s Degree by Coursework programmes, sign up for the NUS PCGF 2022 here: https://www.gevme.com/nuspgcf2022

Hashtag: #NationalUniversityofSingapore

2022 Taitung Blue Ocean Daily—Taitung’s First Ever Long-Distance Outrigger Canoe Challenge Rediscovers the Glory of the Austronesian Origin Point

TAITUNG, TAIWAN – Media OutReach – 30 September 2022 – Taitung launched its new Taitung Blue Ocean Daily festival on September 17 at four of the county’s iconic maritime venues: Shanyuan Bay, Jinzun, Flowing Lake, and Green Island. There will be 5 weeks of activities between these famous locations. Many paid a visit to Shanyuan to witness the spectacle that is the Outrigger Canoe. For this year’s event, Kimokeo Kapahulehua (Unkle K), an international expert from Hawaii, was invited to share his story about how his Austronesian ancestors thousands of years ago sailed from Taiwan to Hawaii on canoes. Unkle K arrived in Taiwan to sail on the Outrigger to further connect with his ancestors. On Thursday, 22 September, the Taitung County Government collaborated with Kimokeo Foundation in Hawaii, and the local Duli tribe to undergo the challenge to sail a long-distance on an outrigger canoe on Taiwanese waters for the first time. The canoe departed from the coastal waters of the Pacific Ocean and sailed towards the traditional waters of the Duli tribe, establishing a meaningful milestone for the 2022 Taitung Blue Ocean Daily.

Taitung County Government collaborates with the Kimokeo Foundation from Hawaii, and the local Duli tribe to undergo first-time long-distance outrigger canoe sailing on Taiwanese waters.

Taitung County Government collaborates with the Kimokeo Foundation from Hawaii, and the local Duli tribe to undergo first-time long-distance outrigger canoe sailing on Taiwanese waters.

The Austronesian Culture feat. Indigenous Tribal Life Experience was held on Thursday, September 22, marking the first time Taiwan has ever sailed in the Pacific Ocean along the coast on an outrigger canoe. When the outrigger canoe sailed near Pacefongan, the traditional waters of the Duli tribe, sailors blew through conch shells to announce their visit. Meanwhile, the people shoreside responded friendly by blowing bamboo horns in a canoe welcoming ceremony. After the outrigger canoe successfully landed on the shore, the elders presented the oarsman on the outrigger canoes with the traditional Amis ornaments to express their welcome. The outrigger canoe was named Pera (meaning the sea water splits) after the rocks on the river mouth at the Duli tribe as a means to re-establish tradition and camaraderie among the islands of the Austronesian tribes.

After the canoe welcome ceremony, the Duli tribe invited the representatives from the Kimokeo Foundation of Hawaii to visit the Amis Folk Center to conduct a house worship ceremony and fired blanks from bamboo cannons to salute and bless the visitors as well as to share the legacy of the Amis culture.

The Taitung County Government claims that Taiwan is the home of the Austronesian tribes. Taitung is home to 6 Austronesian tribes: Paiwan, Bunun, Rukai, Pinuyumayan, Yami (Tao), and Kavalan tribes. As Taitung is the only county with the most indigenous tribes in Taiwan, these tribes help form Taitung’s diverse local culture. As the Austronesian tribes have over 3000 years of history building connections and friendships amongst the island nations by sailing across the Pacific Ocean on outrigger canoes, hence Taiwan is the homeland of the Austronesians. The Taitung County Government intends to re-create the cultural legacy of the Austronesian tribes and introduce the diverse tribal cultures, the longest and the most beautiful coastline in Taiwan, as well as the unique charm of the local seaside city to the world.

For more information, please visit Taitung Blue Ocean Daily’s FB page:
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100083162535238
Hashtag: #2022TaitungBlueOceanDaily

Irish Developer Bartra To Repay Over €90 Million To Immigration-By-Investment Clients – Projects Delivered on Time and on Budget and Sold to Institutional Investors

HONG KONG SAR – Media OutReach – 30 September 2022 – Bartra, one of Ireland’s leading real estate developers, has announced the repayment in 2022 of €93 million to investors who invested in social housing and nursing home projects with Bartra via Ireland’s immigration investment programme. The repayment is being made following the successful completion and sale of a number of social housing and nursing home projects to institutional investors in line with the business plans for these projects.

The construction of Bartra’s social housing and nursing home schemes is funded by investors participating in the Irish Immigrant Investor Programme (IIP). The IIP was introduced by the Irish government in 2012 and uses the immigration system to incentivise foreign investment into critically needed infrastructure such as social housing and nursing homes. The programme is managed by the Immigration Service Delivery (ISD) Unit, a dedicated department within the Irish Department of Justice.

The key benefit of the IIP for many investors is the prospect of residency rights in Ireland within a short timeframe. It typically takes six months for approval and Ireland does not require investors to spend any more than one day per year in the country to maintain their residency. Due to Ireland’s strong and robust economy, high-quality education system, and excellent accessibility to its EU and UK neighbours, the IIP is currently growing at a fast pace, particularly in Asia. According to the Irish Ministry of Justice, from 2016 to 2021, there were 2,226 IIP applications with most investments made into the Enterprise option (61%).

Bartra provides social housing and nursing home IIP investment opportunities under the Enterprise investment route for high-net-worth families who are interested in emigrating to Ireland.

“Both of these asset classes are priority investment areas for the Irish State and Bartra has a strong track record of delivering projects in line with business plan and repaying investors. The total successful repayment amount of over €90 million to be made this year will mark one of the largest IIP repayments in history from a single Irish developer.” Daniel Hinds, Bartra Wealth Advisors Chief Operating Officer commented.

Hinds added: “Bartra Wealth Advisors was established to provide one-stop-shop Irish immigration services. With our unique business model and the backing of our parent company, we are able to support clients throughout the investment and immigration process, from immigration consulting and applying for qualified IIP programmes to landing services and ensuring investments are repaid. To date, Bartra has maintained a 100% application approval rate, 100% renewal rate and 100% repayment rate.”

Bartra intends to continue to raise funds from the IIP to develop bundles of social housing and nursing home projects on sites it owns, providing full visibility to IIP investors on the nature of the projects that they are investing in.

Batra launched its social housing business to focus on the provision of much-needed family homes and has completed three projects to date, with three more under construction. The company has established a dedicated social housing team, which is tasked with identifying development sites suitable for social housing where Bartra can deliver attractive investment opportunities to investors. Andrew Ennis, Director of Investments and Structuring at Bartra, says, “Our plan is to deliver at least 3,000 new homes between now and 2030, with our primary focus on the continued delivery of sustainable social housing. We want to build more homes for social and affordable tenants and believe social housing – the right homes, in the right places – could play a bigger role in reducing the impact of the housing supply crisis.”

In the healthcare sector, Bartra builds, manages and operates projects from start to finish, providing premium clinical care services for residents. Led by Declan Carlyle, Bartra’s Healthcare division delivers a nursing home portfolio with superior elderly care facilities designed to meet the Irish government’s highest standards as imposed by the Health Information Quality Authority (HIQA). Bartra intends to build more much-needed healthcare homes in Ireland, in proximity to major hospitals and transport hubs, to service an ever growing elderly population cohort.

And as nursing homes qualify as essential infrastructure, institutional investors with long-term investment horizons are contributing to elderly care projects as part of their investment portfolios. Selling the healthcare developments to institutional investors is also part of Bartra’s development exit strategy to repay their IIP investors. Last month, Bartra sold a portfolio of nursing homes to Belgian Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) Aedifica for approximately €161 million. The portfolio, which has capacity for 617 residents, consists of two brand new nursing homes located in Loughshinny (Skerries) and Northwood (Santry), an HSE transitional care unit in Beaumont (Artane), and the forward purchase of Clondalkin Lodge nursing home, which is currently in development.

Hashtag: #Bartra

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

About Bartra Wealth Advisors

Bartra Wealth Advisors (Bartra) is part of the wider Bartra Group, specialising in providing independent Irish immigration investment advisory services. With well-established business, extensive Irish immigration experience, expertise in the investment field, professional landing teams and strong business network support, Bartra Group has successfully carried out a significant number of social housing and nursing home Immigrant Investor Programme (IIP) projects and has helped hundreds of families successfully immigrate to Ireland.

Bartra Wealth Advisors prides itself on delivering streamlined, in-group, end-to-end services. Its unique business model supports clients throughout their investment and immigration journey, from immigration advisory and government backed IIP projects through to exit executions. It maintains a 100% application approval rate, a 100% renewal rate and a 100% repayment rate. For details, please visit to the company website .

Bartra team and project images

Bartra Insights

For more insights about Ireland, visit Bartra Wealth Advisors’ blog:

Equities First Holdings News: Collaboration with The Economist Group to Launch Podcast Series, “Shelter from the storm: Investing in the Era of Uncertainty”on Podcast Channel “Asia Perspectives by Economist Impact”

HONG KONG SAR – Media OutReach – 30 September 2022 –

Equities First Holdings Partnership

Equities First Holdings Limited is thrilled to announce a collaboration with Economist Impact to bring forth a new series on the massively popular podcast channel, Asia Perspectives by Economist Impact. The new podcast series, Shelter from the storm: Investing in the Era of Uncertainty, aims to help listeners understand the financial risks in the current climate, hear from wealth management experts about how these risks can be managed, and identify emerging investment opportunities. From the Sino-American trade war to hiking interest rates, the series will explore current geopolitical and economic events with seasoned wealth management professionals, and weigh up strategies they employ to protect financial assets against these threats.

A subsidiary of The Economist group, Economist Impact works with corporations, foundations, NGOs and governments across big themes and pressing issues, such as climate change, health security and gender equality, and drives value and change through uncovering insights from benchmarks, economic and social impact analysis, white papers, forecasting and scenario modelling. The new partnership sees the marriage of Economist Impact’s extensive geographical reach and evidence-based policy research, and Equities First Holdings’ abundance of experience and knowledge in the financial industry and economy at large.

Securing the future amidst troubled waves

‘Can Asia Pacific benefit from deglobalisation?’ , the first episode of Shelter from the storm, inspects the globalised economy under threat from COVID-19, deteriorating trade relations between superpowers, Russian invasion of Ukraine, and more. This episode will explore the longevity of the ‘friendshoring’ trend and the possible consequences on industries and economies, as well as investment strategies to mitigate risks and capture opportunities.

Managing risks with Equities First Holdings Financing

Be prepared for the coming storm. Equities First Holding’s equities-based financing service provides a strong alternative to traditional financing solutions, allowing our partners to unlock liquidity without giving up the potential upsides of current holdings or existing positions at unfavourable prices. While the financing itself is non-purpose, Equities First Holdings’ holds a stringent standard in risk management and diversification of its portfolio. As the world economy looks poised to continue polarising, it is made a priority for Equities First Holdings’ risk management policy to adapt and hedge against incoming adversities and protect Equities First Holdings Limited and our partners’ assets.

Hashtag: #EquitiesFirstHoldings

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

About Equities First Holdings

Founded in 2002, Equities First Holdings is a global investment firm specialised in long-term equities-based financing. Equities First Holdings’ equities-based financing approach overcomes traditional limitations and redefines the financing experience through providing efficient access to capital for listed companies and accredited investors, sophisticated investors, professional investors, and otherwise qualified investors (who have sufficient knowledge and experience in entering into securities financing transactions) , against publicly traded securities. The total value of loans transacted is more than US$4 billion as of May 2022. Equities First Holdings’ investment strategy involves a diverse portfolio across global markets and sectors. The talented investment team analyses the alpha of its portfolio, investing in quality securities based on robust fundamental and technical analysis, risk management, and ongoing trading and portfolio rebalancing activities. Equities First Holdings’ risk management policy forbids short-selling or lending equities to third parties.

Headquartered in Indianapolis, United States, Equities First Holdings’ international footprint reaches twelve offices in eight countries, including the United States, United Kingdom, Spain, China, South Korea, Thailand, Singapore, and Australia. Equities First Holdings is licensed and/or registered in all jurisdictions where required. As both an equities-based financing provider and a value investor, Equities First Holdings is the pioneer of Progressive Capital – a partnership approach to investment, rooted in respect, mutual interest and understanding. Equities First Holdings delivers liquidity solutions that are vital, transformative and move partners forward.

Disclaimer:
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