28.1 C
Vientiane
Monday, June 30, 2025
spot_img
Home Blog Page 2969

Alibaba Printing Continues To Dominate The Printing Industry With Sticker Printing Service

SINGAPORE – Media OutReach – 6 May 2021 – Alibaba Printing is an established marketing company in Singapore that offers the most reliable flyer printing and distribution services among other marketing services. The company is the leading flyer printing service provider that caters to every marketing needs and specific concern of the customers. Alibaba Printing offers reliable and trustworthy services with more than 10 years of experience in the industry. Even with the pandemic, the company is still able to continuously serve the customers with their online website.

Alibaba Printing provide the best when it comes to sticker printing in Singapore. They offer various types of sticker printing services such as custom stickers printing and waterproof sticker printing. Their stickers come in various types of high-quality materials such as vinyl, polyester, and polypropylene with strong adhesive that can stick to any surfaces with excellent durability.

Beside cheap sticker printing, Alibaba Printing offers instant sticker printing services to fulfil business needs and allow them to get their order as fast as they require. Stickers have multiple uses and their versatility makes it beneficial since they can be utilized on almost anything including focused promotional campaign all over multiple platforms.

Stickers can become an awesome and good means of providing information to the clients and businesses can utilize it to highlight vital details which can boost the possibility of closing a sale. The company is committed to work hand-in-hand with the clients in understanding requirement and proceed with lay-outing and designing the stickers with the most suitable colour and fonts.

If you are regularly involved in exhibitions and trade shows, your trade stickers can be an awesome add-on too. It’s as powerful as handing business cards and flyers since it allows you to send a specific message to your customer. Another list of advantages that stickers have are its ability as a call-to-action to encourage the customers to purchase the product, and a promotional tool as a way to offer discounts, vouchers codes, or even free-shipping. Stickers are affordable and easy to print, which is great for printing larger quantities compared to other marketing tools since the excess ones can be used for another campaign.

Alibaba Printing values the need of the customers and will always be the go-to solution. The company guarantee their clients that the stickers are unique, well-designed, and distinguishable from others in order to stand out in the crowd.

To know more about their services and what they do as a marketing and printing company, visit https://www.alibabaprinting.sg.

#AlibabaPrinting

CUHK Business School Research Finds FinTech Innovations Can Enhance the Stability and Profitability of Financial Institutions in Emerging Markets

HONG KONG SAR – Media OutReach – 6 May 2021 – The rapid development of financial technology, also known as FinTech, in recent years has transformed how people use financial services. On the one hand, the increasing use of automation in banking services has brought with it greater convenience for consumers. On the flip side, the advent of new technological developments such as cryptocurrency, high frequency and algorithmic trading, the rise of the digital wallet or peer-to-peer (P2P) lending, are all examples of FinTech that have brought new challenges to traditional financial service providers to some extent. Given the disruptive influence of FinTech, it was only natural that a group of researchers sought to closely examine its effects on the stability of traditional financial institutions. What they found was that the result very much depended on the market.

The stability of financial institutions usually refers to the ability of these institutions, such as banks, brokerage firms or credit unions, in performing their roles in financial transactions or other intermediation functions without assistance from external forces such as the government. The promise behind FinTech is that it would help financial institutions to enhance transparency, efficiency and make its services more convenient for users. For example, mobile banking has allowed consumers to conduct their daily financial activities, such as transferring funds or paying bills, without the need to talk to a teller or visit a bank branch.

On the downside, Fintech could amplify volatility in financial markets and make the financial system more vulnerable. For instance, the speed and ease of moving cash between banks in response to financial market performance enabled by FinTech can increase volatility. The heavy reliance on third-party service providers for the FinTech activities could also pose a systemic risk to financial institutions. Finally, online lending platforms often fail to conduct effective credit checks on borrowers, which can lead to higher default risk.

For example, China’s P2P lending industry, once the world’s biggest, has completely collapsed in just a few years. Many Chinese P2P lending platforms were plagued by fraud, defaults and even alleged Ponzi schemes, which eventually led to a government crackdown. The Deputy Governor at The People’s Bank of China Chen Yulu announced in January that it had eliminated all P2P lending platforms in the country, however more than 800 billion Chinese yuan in debt is still left unpaid, state media Xinhua News reported.

More recently, two of China’s homegrown fintech champions, Ant Group and Tencent, are coming under intense regulatory scrutiny by domestic regulators over business models that some worry will lead to a dangerous accumulation of systemic financial risk.

Ying Versus Yang

“Where there is light there must also be shadow,” says Jason Yeh, Associate Professor in the Department of Finance at The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) Business School, and one of the authors of a new study. “Given the disruptive nature of technology, the rise of FinTech is bound to have an impact on traditional financial institutions. So it’s kind of fitting that we find that the bright and dark sides of FinTech seem to offset each other and the promotion of FinTech doesn’t necessarily make financial institutions more vulnerable.”

Titled Friend or Foe: The Divergent Effects of FinTech on Financial Stability, the study was co-conducted by Prof. Yeh with Profs. Derrick Fung, Wing Yan Lee and Fei Lung Yuen at The Hang Seng University of Hong Kong.

To examine the impact of the rise of FinTech on the stability of financial institutions, the researchers looked at the introduction of FinTech regulatory sandboxes. A FinTech regulatory sandbox is a way for a financial regulator to allow companies to try out new business models, products or services (under a controlled and supervised environment) that are not covered or permitted by existing legislation. The first such sandbox was introduced in the U.K. in 2016. Since then, 73 similar initiatives have been set up in 57 countries around the world, according to the World Bank.

The team sampled all listed banks worldwide that were active on the Thomson Reuters Datastream platform between 2010 and 2017. Their final sample included 1,375 banks from 84 countries. Using a common measurement of bank stability, the research team found that the introduction of sandboxes did not have a statistically significant impact on the financial stability of the institutions in the same jurisdiction.

They found that the positive and negative effects of these FinTech sandboxes on financial stability tended to offset each other after discounting for the characteristics of individual firms or markets, or macroeconomic and other bank-specific factors. In general, they also found that FinTech increases the stability of financial institutions in emerging financial markets and decreases it in developed financial markets.

Boosting Stability and Profits

Looking at specific market characteristics, the study also found that the promotion of FinTech through the setting up of regulatory financial sandboxes can at the very least enhance the stability of financial institutions if the market has low financial inclusion, with

  • A bank branch ratio of less than 11.7 per 100,000 adults;
  • A central bank assets to GDP ratio of less than 1.6 percent;
  • An industry-wide bank net interest margin of less than 2.4 percent, or
  • A provisions to nonperforming loans ratio of less than 44.2 percent.

On the other hand, the launch of financial sandboxes in markets with high financial inclusion can undermine financial stability, the study found.

Moreover, Prof. Yeh says that FinTech can also improve the stability of financial institutions by boosting profitability. According to the study, when a country has fewer bank branches than 11.4 branches per 100,000 people, a central bank assets to GDP ratio of less than 1.7 percent, bank net interest margin of less than 2.2 percent, or a provisions to nonperforming loans ratio of less than 45.6 percent, promoting FinTech by setting up regulatory sandboxes can increase the profitability of financial institutions.

But why does FinTech enhance the profitability of financial institutions in emerging financial markets? The authors speculated this may be due to three reasons. First of all, FinTech has been widely adopted in emerging financial markets and has greatly increased the profitability of the banks that invested in these FinTech start-ups. Second, the operational efficiency of the banks in emerging financial markets improved as a result of collaboration with technology companies. Third, the products provided by FinTech companies are often complementary to the existing services provided by banks. These banks gain more customers as a result, and the complementary effect is greater in emerging financial markets.

“FinTech is disruptive but it is also a force for emancipation. Not only has it democratised the access to financial services for the masses in emerging markets, but it also plays a pivotal role on the road to greater financial inclusion,” Prof. Yeh says.

Policy Implications

As the FinTech industry continues to grow, policy makers and financial institutions are seeking ways to reap the benefits of technology further. Prof. Yeh and his co-authors think that their research findings can help policy makers and regulators to better utilise FinTech in different markets.

For developed financial markets, the researchers advise regulators to focus on implementing measures that can address the instability caused by FinTech. In contrast, regulators in emerging financial markets should consider designing specific measures to promote FinTech innovations.

“Regulators should give up on the idea of a one-size-fits-all regulation for FinTech,” Prof. Yeh comments. “What they need is to come up with a tailor-made framework that matches the characteristics of their own financial markets.”

Reference:

Derrick W.H. Fung, Wing Yan Lee, Jason J.H. Yeh and Fei Lung Yuen. Friend or foe: The divergent effects of FinTech on financial stability. Emerging Markets Review, Volume 45, December 2020, 100727

This article was first published in the China Business Knowledge (CBK) website by CUHK Business School: https://bit.ly/3swNHfZ.

About CUHK Business School

CUHK Business School comprises two schools – Accountancy and Hotel and Tourism Management – and four departments – Decision Sciences and Managerial Economics, Finance, Management and Marketing. Established in Hong Kong in 1963, it is the first business school to offer BBA, MBA and Executive MBA programmes in the region. Today, CUHK Business School offers 10 undergraduate programmes and 18 graduate programmes including MBA, EMBA, Master, MSc, MPhil and Ph.D. The School currently has more than 4,800 undergraduate and postgraduate students from 20+ countries/regions.

In the Financial Times Executive MBA ranking 2020, CUHK EMBA is ranked 15th in the world. In FT‘s 2021 Global MBA Ranking, CUHK MBA is ranked 48th. CUHK Business School has the largest number of business alumni (40,000+) among universities/business schools in Hong Kong – many of whom are key business leaders.

More information is available at http://www.bschool.cuhk.edu.hk or by connecting with CUHK Business School on:

Facebook: www.facebook.com/cuhkbschool

Instagram: www.instagram.com/cuhkbusinessschool

LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/school/cuhkbusinessschool

WeChat: CUHKBusinessSchool

#CUHKBusinessSchool

Driving Competitiveness by Closing Skills Gaps – Over Half of Employers Need External Help

  • 75% of employers see the importance of carrying out regular training needs analysis for their workforce to drive the competitiveness of their business.
  • 55% of employers agree that they need external help to assess the skills gaps of their employees.
  • 52% of employers believe that external assessments provide reliable and more accurate results.

SINGAPORE – Media OutReach – 6 May 2021 – To remain competitive in Singapore’s recovering economy, three- quarters (75%) of employers in Singapore see the importance of carrying out regular training needs analysis for their workforce to drive the competitiveness of their business. However, more than half of them (55%) say they need external help to assess the skills gaps of their employees, alluding that more help is needed by companies to carry out effective skills mapping and learning, and development strategies.

These are some of the key findings in the recent NTUC LearningHub (NTUC LHUB)’s Employer Skills Survey report. The survey, which was conducted in February 2021 with business leaders across Singapore, aimed to uncover the most in-demand skillsets a year post-pandemic. The findings include the top skills by industry clusters: Built Environment, Essential Domestic Services, Lifestyle, Manufacturing and Professional Services, and Trade and Connectivity.

In addition, when asked if getting their employees’ capabilities assessed by an external consultant would yield a more accurate and actionable result compared to it being done internally, 52% of the respondents agreed or strongly agreed, while 30% were neutral, 14% disagreed and only 6% strongly disagreed.


Commenting on the findings, NTUC LHUB’s Director of Institute of Business Excellence and Healthcare Academy, Jenaline Low, says, “With the evolving market demands and diversity across different sectors, learning can no longer be delivered through a ‘cookie cutter’ approach. We have observed that as much as companies are investing time and resources into training and upskilling their workforces, many of them still require help in their skills competency mapping and training needs analysis.”

“At NTUC LHUB, we offer companies advisory services to support for their specific learning needs. Working hand-in-hand with companies, we help them to be better poised to capture new business opportunities through workforce redesign for job expansion and enlargement. This is then supported by training needs analysis to re-skill and upskill through customised training solution design and delivery, and with back-end support such as funding and claims administration.”


To download the Employers Skills Report 2021, visit https://www.ntuclearninghub.com/employer-skills-report-2021/.

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 2.5 million training places across more than 500 courses with a pool of over 460 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

Covid, Cyber, Compliance and ESG top risk concerns for financial services sector: Allianz

  • New AGCS report identifies key risks and loss trends for the financial services sector.
  • Covid-19 may drive market corrections and insolvencies – which could impact financial institutions’ balance sheets, increase exposures for directors and result in litigation.
  • AGCS analysis of $1bn of insurance industry claims show cyber incidents, including crime, is the top cause of loss. Insurers see a rising number of losses from outages or privacy breaches with third-party service providers a potential weak link.
  • Compliance issues are already one of the biggest drivers of claims and the burden is growing – particularly around ESG factors and climate change.

JOHANNESBURG/LONDON/MUNICH/NEW YORK/PARIS/SAO PAULO/SINGAPORE – Media OutReach – 6 May 2021 – Financial institutions and their directors have to navigate a rapidly changing world, marked by new and emerging risks driven by cyber exposures based on the sector’s reliance on technology, a growing burden of compliance, and the turbulence of Covid-19, according to a new report Financial Services Risk Trends: An Insurer’s Perspective from Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty (AGCS). At the same time, the behavior and culture of financial institutions is under growing scrutiny from a wide range of stakeholders in areas such as sustainability, employment practices, diversity and inclusion and executive pay.

“The financial services sector faces a period of heightened risks. Covid-19 has caused one of the largest ever shocks to the global economy, triggering unprecedented economic and fiscal stimulus and record levels of government debt,” says Paul Schiavone, Global Industry Solutions Director Financial Services at AGCS. “Despite an improved economic outlook, considerable uncertainty remains. The threat of economic and market volatility still lies ahead while the sector is also increasingly needing to focus on so-called ‘non-financial’ risks such as cyber resilience, management of third parties and supply chains, as well as the impact of climate change and other Environmental Social and Governance (ESG) trends.”

The AGCS report highlights some of the most significant risk trends for banks, asset managers, private equity funds, insurers and other players in the financial services sector, as ranked in the Allianz Risk Barometer 2021, which surveyed over 900 industry respondents: Cyber incidents, Pandemic outbreak and Business interruption are the top three risks, followed by Changes in legislation and regulation – driven by ESG and climate change concerns in particular. Macroeconomic developments, such as rising credit risk and the ongoing low interest rate environment, ranked fifth.

The Allianz Risk Barometer findings are mirrored by an AGCS analysis of 7,654 insurance claims for the financial services segment over the past five years, worth approximately €870mn ($1.05bn). Cyber incidents, including crime, ranks as the top cause of loss by value, with other top loss drivers including negligence and shareholder derivative actions.

Covid 19 impact
Financial institutions are alive to the potential ramifications of government and central bank responses to the pandemic, such as low interest rates, rising government debt and the winding down of support and grants and loans to businesses. Large corrections or adjustments in markets – such as in equities, bonds or credit – could result in potential litigation from investors and shareholders, while an increase in insolvencies could also put some institutions’ own balance sheets under additional strain. “Claims may be brought against directors and officers in the financial services industry where there has been a perceived failure to foresee, disclose or manage or prepare for Covid-19 related risks,” says Shanil Williams, Global Head of Financial Lines at AGCS.

Cyber – highly exposed despite high level of security spend

The Covid-19 environment is also providing fertile ground for criminals seeking to exploit the crisis as the pandemic led to a rapid and largely unplanned increase in homeworking, electronic trading and a rapid acceleration in digitalization. Despite significant cyber security spend, financial services companies are an attractive target and face a wide range of cyber threats including business email compromise attacks, ransomware campaigns, ATM “jackpotting” – where criminals take control of cash machines through network servers – or supply chain attacks. The recent SolarWinds incident targeted banks and regulatory agencies, demonstrating the potential vulnerabilities of the sector to outages via their reliance on third-party service providers. Most financial institutions are now making use of cloud services-run software which comes with a growing reliance on a relatively small number of providers. Institutions face sizable business interruption exposures, as well as third party liabilities, when things go wrong.

“Third-party service providers can be the weak link in the cyber security chain,” says Thomas Kang, Head of Cyber, Tech and Media, North America at AGCS. “We recently had a bank client suffer a large data breach after a third-party vendor failed to delete personal information when decommissioning hardware. How financial institutions manage risks presented by the cloud will be critical going forward. They are effectively offloading a significant portion of cyber security responsibilities to a third-party. However, by partnering with the right cloud service provider, companies can also leverage the cloud as a way to manage their overall cyber exposure.”

Compliance challenges around cyber, cryptocurrencies and climate change

Compliance is one of the biggest challenges for the financial services industry, with legislation and regulation around cyber, new technologies and climate change and ESG factors constantly evolving and increasing. Indeed, the report notes that there has been a seismic shift in the regulatory view of privacy and cyber security in recent years with firms facing a growing bank of requirements. The consequences of data breaches are far-reaching, with more aggressive enforcement, higher fines and regulatory costs, and growing third party liability, followed by litigation. Regulators are increasingly focusing on business continuity, operational resilience and the management of third party risk following a number of major outages at banks and payment processing companies. Companies need to operationalize their response to regulation and privacy rights, not just look at cyber security.

Applications of new technologies such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), biometrics and virtual currencies will likely raise new risks and liabilities in future, in large part from compliance and regulation as well. With AI, there has already been regulatory investigations in the US related to the use of unconscious bias in algorithms for credit scoring. There have also been a number of lawsuits related to the collection and use of biometric data. The growing acceptance of digital or cryptocurrencies as an asset class will ultimately present operational and regulatory risks for financial institutions with uncertainty around potential asset bubbles and concerns about money laundering, ransomware attacks, the prospect of third-party liabilities and even ESG issues as “mining” or creating cryptocurrencies uses large amounts of energy. Finally, the growth in stock market investment, guided by social media raises

mis-selling concerns – already one of the top causes of insurance claims.

ESG factors taking center stage

Financial institutions and capital markets are seen as an important facilitator of the change needed to tackle climate change and encourage sustainability. Again, regulation is setting the pace. There have been over 170 ESG regulatory measures introduced globally since 2018, with Europe leading the way. The surge in regulation, in combination with inconsistent approaches across jurisdictions and a lack of data availability, represents significant operational and compliance challenges for financial service providers. “Financial services may be ahead of many other sectors when it comes to addressing ESG topics, but it will still be an important factor shaping risk for years to come,” says David Van den Berghe, Global Head of Financial Institutions at AGCS. “Social and environmental trends are increasingly sources of regulatory change and liability, while increased disclosure and reporting will make it much easier to hold companies and their boards to account.”

At the same time, activist shareholders or stakeholders increasingly focus on ESG topics. Climate change litigation, in particular, is beginning to include financial institutions. Cases have previously tended to focus on the nature of investments, although there has been a growing use of litigation seeking to drive behavioral shifts and force disclosure debate. Besides climate change, broader social responsibilities are coming under scrutiny, with board remuneration and diversity being particular hot topics, and regulatory issues. “Companies that commit to addressing climate change and diversity and inclusion will need to follow through. For those that do not, it will come back to haunt them,” says Van den Berghe.

Claims trends and its impact on the insurance market

The AGCS report also highlights some of the major causes of claims that insurers see from financial institutions. The fact that compliance risk is growing is concerning, as compliance issues are already one of the biggest drivers of claims. “Keeping abreast of compliance in a rapidly-changing world is a tough task for companies and their directors and officers,” says Williams. “Their compliance burden is enormous, and is now accompanied by growing regulatory activism, legal action and litigation funding.”

Cyber incidents already result in the most expensive claims and insurers are seeing a rising number of technology-related losses including claims made against directors following major privacy breaches. Other examples include sizable claims related to fraudulent payment instructions and “fake president” scams. Such payments can be in the millions of dollars. AGCS has also handled a number of liability claims arising from technical problems with exchanges and electronic processing systems where systems have gone down and clients have not been able to execute trades, and have made claims against policyholders for loss of opportunity. There have also been claims where a system failure has caused damages to a third party; one financial institution suffered a significant loss after a trading system crashed causing processing failures for customers.

Recent loss activity, compounded by Covid-19 uncertainty, have contributed to a recasting of the insurance market for financial institutions, characterized by adjusted pricing and enhanced focus on risk selection by insurers, but also a growing interest for alternative risk transfer solutions, in addition to traditional insurance. Insurance is increasingly an important part of the capital stack of financial institutions and a growing number are partnering with insurers to manage risk and regulatory capital requirements or utilizing captive insurers to compensate for changes in the insurance markets or to finance more difficult-to-place risks.

“At AGCS, we are committed to engaging with financial institutions to help them mitigate their exposures and develop adequate risk transfer solutions for a sector that is embarking on a major transformation, driven by fast-paced technology adoption and growing ESG issues, while having to master the impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic,” says Schiavone.

About Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty

Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty (AGCS) is a leading global corporate insurance carrier and a key business unit of Allianz Group. We provide risk consultancy, Property-Casualty insurance solutions and alternative risk transfer for a wide spectrum of commercial, corporate and specialty risks across 10 dedicated lines of business.

Our customers are as diverse as business can be, ranging from Fortune Global 500 companies to small businesses, and private individuals. Among them are not only the world’s largest consumer brands, tech companies and the global aviation and shipping industry, but also satellite operators or Hollywood film productions. They all look to AGCS for smart answers to their largest and most complex risks in a dynamic, multinational business environment and trust us to deliver an outstanding claims experience.

Worldwide, AGCS operates with its own teams in 31 countries and through the Allianz Group network and partners in over 200 countries and territories, employing over 4,400 people. As one of the largest Property-Casualty units of Allianz Group, we are backed by strong and stable financial ratings. In 2020, AGCS generated a total of €9.3 billion gross premium globally.

www.agcs.allianz.com

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

The statements contained herein may include statements of future expectations and other forward-looking statements that are based on management’s current views and assumptions and involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results, performance or events to differ materially from those expressed or implied in such statements. In addition to statements which are forward-looking by reason of context, the words “may”, “will”, “should”, “expects”, “plans”, “intends”, “anticipates”, “believes”, “estimates”, “predicts”, “potential”, or “continue” and similar expressions identify forward-looking statements.

Actual results, performance or events may differ materially from those in such statements due to, without limitation, (i) general economic conditions, including in particular economic conditions in the Allianz Group’s core business and core markets, (ii) performance of financial markets, including emerging markets, and including market volatility, liquidity and credit events (iii) the frequency and severity of insured loss events, including from natural catastrophes and including the development of loss expenses, (iv) mortality and morbidity levels and trends, (v) persistency levels, (vi) the extent of credit defaults, (vii) interest rate levels, (viii) currency exchange rates including the Euro/U.S. Dollar exchange rate, (ix) changing levels of competition, (x) changes in laws and regulations, including monetary convergence and the European Monetary Union, (xi) changes in the policies of central banks and/or foreign governments, (xii) the impact of acquisitions, including related integration issues, (xiii) reorganization measures, and (xiv) general competitive factors, in each case on a local, regional, national and/or global basis. Many of these factors may be more likely to occur, or more pronounced, as a result of terrorist activities and their consequences.

The matters discussed herein may also be affected by risks and uncertainties described from time to time in Allianz SE’s filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The company assumes no obligation to update any forward-looking statement.

#Allianz

Coface Quarterly Barometer: US leads the global recovery, emerging economies lag behind

HONG KONG SAR – Media OutReach – 6 May 2021 – More than a year after the start of the pandemic, global economic trends are uneven due to lingering uncertainties around the spread of COVID-19. The acceleration of the vaccination process, as well as its effectiveness, are key to an economic recovery. In this context, the prospects for a return to normalcy are both uneven and uncertain across sectors of activity and geography, according to the latest barometer from Coface, a leading player in the credit insurance industry.



As outlined in the barometer, Coface assumes that the economic recovery will gain momentum from the summer of 2021, when a large enough share of the population in the United States and Europe will be vaccinated. However, there is a risk of delay in the vaccine roll-out, notably due to supply constraints for manufacturers, resulting from shortages of certain components and export restrictions.

Nevertheless, Coface’s global growth forecast has been revised upwards by half a point (+5.1% for 2021), thanks to stronger than expected growth in the United States. In this more favourable macroeconomic outlook, Coface is upgrading 35 sectors of activity against only 3 downgrades.

In addition to the United States, several other sectors of the world economy – industry and global trade – are likely to return to their pre-crisis level of activity by the summer. Nevertheless, other sectors are lagging behind, notably in services and especially those that involve physical contact with customers, and across the European economies. Finally, in some major emerging economies, the recovery is also being held back by rising inflation, which is forcing central banks to tighten monetary policy.

US economy goes into “high pressure” mode

Since the beginning of 2021, the balance of surprises is tilting to the positive side, despite the many health uncertainties.

The expected growth gap between the eurozone and the United States is usual, particularly in a recovery phase. This is partly due to weaker automatic stabilizers in the US, which accelerate adjustments in employment and income.

But this time, the reasons for the for the US growth gap are different: less restrictive mobility restrictions than in the eurozone, both in 2020 and early 2021, and a more rapid vaccine deployment.


Differences in economic policy may also explain US outperformance. The US Federal Reserve (Fed) has increased the size of its balance sheet. Its asset purchase program rose by about 13% of GDP in 2020, compared with 9% for the European Central Bank (ECB). Finally, and most importantly, greater fiscal support will allow the US economy to return to its pre-crisis GDP level more quickly.

Adopted in March 2021, the new US support plan amounts to 1.9 trillion dollars (USD), and will bring the total fiscal response to the crisis to an amount equivalent to 27% of US GDP, more than any other mature economy. Coface expects that the public deficit could be up to 56 billion dollars higher than it would have been without the stimulus package.

The aim of this strategy is to put the US economy under “high pressure”, i.e. to implement expansionary monetary and fiscal policies that encourage a return to work for the least employable people (long-term unemployed or inactive due to discouragement, low-skilled people and categories of the population suffering from discrimination in hiring).

Eurozone: corporate insolvencies remain hidden

The eurozone is unlikely to return to its pre-crisis GDP level before 2022. If the main mobility restrictions are lifted by the end of the summer, this will go hand in hand with a gradual halt to business support measures, which could cause unemployment to rise. In addition, the increase in corporate debt – made possible by government-guaranteed loans – is likely to limit their investment capacity.

Until now, the main government support measures implemented in 2020 have not yet been withdrawn. Despite the stabilizing effect of government aid, the financial health of companies has deteriorated significantly in 2020, which should normally lead to an increase in insolvencies. According to Coface, insolvencies in 2020 should have increased by 19% in Spain, 7% in Italy and 6% in France and Germany. Coface estimates the number of hidden insolvencies at 44% of those recorded in France in 2019, 39% for Italy, 34% for Spain and 21% for Germany.

Emerging economies: rising inflation forces central banks to tighten monetary policy

According to the International Monetary Fund’s April 2021 forecasts, emerging economies will be more permanently affected by the current crisis than mature economies.

In 2024, GDP in emerging economies will be 4% lower than it would have been had it not been for the COVID crisis. For mature economies, the gap would be only 1% (compared to 10% following the global financial crisis). There are several reasons for this expected lag between the recovery of mature and emerging economies.

First, the vaccination process is more advanced in mature countries, even if some emerging economies are well on track, such as the United Arab Emirates, Chile and, to a lesser extent, Turkey and Morocco, where at least 10% of the population had been fully vaccinated by April 8. But apart from these few cases, the fact that the United States and Europe have acquired the majority of vaccinations means fewer doses for other countries. Among the four main vaccine-producing areas (China, the United States, Western Europe and India), the temptation to implement protectionist measures is increasingly strong. For example, India has already announced a temporary halt to the export of vaccines to prioritize vaccine deployment in India, where the number of cases has risen significantly since the beginning of March.

In addition to these uncertainties, many emerging economies are doubly hit by their exposure to economic sectors hardest hit by the crisis (tourism and transport in particular).

On the positive side, however, the rise in the price of oil and agricultural commodities is good news for economies that suffered from the opposite trend last year. In addition, the positive outlook for US consumption should fuel strong export volumes, especially among consumer goods producers.

On the other hand, the widening of the US budget deficit is encouraging capital outflows from emerging markets, as upward revisions of the US GDP growth outlook push up long-term US interest rates, narrowing the gap with its emerging market counterparts, and making the latter less attractive to financial investors. This has resulted in a depreciation of emerging currencies, notably in Turkey and Brazil.

The complete barometer is available here.

Coface: for trade

With 75 years of experience and the most extensive international network, Coface is a leader in trade credit insurance and adjacent specialty services, including Factoring, Debt Collection, Single Risk insurance, Bonding and Information services. Coface’s experts work to the beat of the global economy, helping ~50,000 clients, in 100 countries, build successful, growing, and dynamic businesses across the world. Coface helps companies in their credit decisions. The Group’s services and solutions strengthen their ability to sell by protecting them against the risks of non-payment in their domestic and export markets. In 2020, Coface employed ~4,450 people and registered a turnover of €1.45 billion.

www.coface.com

COFACE SA. is listed on Compartment A of Euronext Paris.

ISIN Code: FR0010667147 / Mnemonic: COFA

#Coface

Etiqa Launches AMBER – A Holistic Retirement Ecosystem That Supports Customers with Their Physical, Mental and Financial Health for Better Quality of Life

SINGAPORE – Media OutReach – 6 May 2021 – Today marks the launch of AMBER by Etiqa (“AMBER”), a retirement ecosystem by Etiqa Insurance Singapore. The new platform complements the insurer’s growing range of financial solutions tailored to savings and retirement planning, by offering customers a more holistic approach to life in retirement.

A recent retirement study1 conducted by Etiqa in collaboration with YouGov in October 2020 revealed inadequacies in the retirement planning landscape, namely with regards to retirement planning guidance, with 3 in 10 Singaporeans unsure how to begin, and solutions, with only 3 in 10 confident that CPF pay-outs can sustain their retirement lifestyle. Similarly, only 3 in 10 believed CPF pay-outs is sufficient to cover the potential medical costs of ageing.

As lives lengthen among the local ageing population and demand for retirement-oriented services continues to rise, AMBER seeks to educate customers about the importance and process of planning for retirement, as well as to provide viable methods to finance of a longer, more active and more fulfilling one.

Among Etiqa’s present retirement offerings is ePREMIER retirement, a retirement insurance savings plan that provides a guaranteed monthly retirement income as well as the freedom to choose one’s preferred retirement age and premium term. The policyholder enjoys protection throughout the policy term. Another soon-to-launch retirement product by Etiqa will provide coverage for age-related illnesses, and flexible retirement income options for policyholders.

Addressing in turn the physical and mental health aspects of ageing, the AMBER ecosystem also presents an array of retirement-related information and services to add value to the lives of pre-retirees and retirees. Etiqa’s retirement survey1 brought to light three pressing retirement needs among people in Singapore: to remain emotionally healthy and mentally able (98% in agreement), to be physically healthy (98%) and to be less dependent on others (97%).

Reflecting the organisation’s motto, ‘Humanising insurance’, AMBER responds to these demands with Amber Adviser, a matching service to connect customers to available local service providers based on their unique needs, from nursing homes, caregiving and nursing care to professional services such as physiotherapy and dental care. AMBER members enjoy member rates on any services booked through the platform.

AMBER also features an itinerary of diverse curated activities, including arts and crafts workshops, and yoga and fitness sessions. While creative workshops help stimulate the mind, physical exercise helps to strengthen and condition the body, a potentially preventative measure against the physical inconveniences that accompany old age. Meanwhile, participating in group activities promotes social interaction, which can support emotional and mental well-being. Member rates are available on all curated activities.

In addition to these benefits, AMBER members also gain access to exclusive promotions, gifts and platform privileges. As AMBER continues to expand, customers can look forward to new features and services towards the end of the year.

Mr Raymond Ong, Chief Executive Officer of Etiqa Insurance Singapore, shares, “Etiqa believes in supporting and empowering our customers to build the future they deserve. AMBER by Etiqa aims to help Singapore’s pre-retirees fill any gaps in their retirement plans, and give access to solutions for a happier, healthier retirement.”

Ms Jess Tan, Chief Distribution Officer, adds, “AMBER may be a new platform but the intentions behind it are certainly not. Etiqa has always been about more than just insurance, and this new channel will allow us to deliver tailored financial and lifestyle solutions to our customers more effectively.”

As part of the launch campaign, the first 150 customers who register between 6 May and 31 July 2021 enjoy free credits of AMBER Dollars worth S$100 to spend on AMBER Retirement Ecosystem services, and Etiqa eWallet credits worth S$50 when they purchase Etiqa’s retirement plan. Terms and conditions apply. More information about this promotion is available here.

Better tomorrows begin today with AMBER by Etiqa. For more information, visit the AMBER Retirement Ecosystem at www.etiqa.com.sg/amber.

Terms apply. Protected up to specified limits by SDIC.

1Etiqa’s Retirement Study was conducted by YouGov from 15 to 19 October 2020 surveying non-retirees in Singapore, with sampling based on the national representation of Singapore. The final sample size is 1,235, of which 1,158 are non-retirees.

About Etiqa Insurance Pte. Ltd. (Etiqa Singapore)

Protecting customers since 1961, Etiqa Singapore is a licensed life and general insurance company regulated by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and governed by the Insurance Act.

The local insurer is the Singapore operating entity of Etiqa Insurance Group – a leading insurance and takaful business in ASEAN offering life and general insurance as well as family and general takaful products through its agents, branches, offices and bancassurance network in the region. Etiqa is rated ‘A’ by credit ratings agency Fitch for the group’s ‘Favorable’ business profile and ‘Very Strong’ capitalisation.

Etiqa is owned by Maybank Ageas Holdings Berhad, a joint venture company that combines local market knowledge with international insurance expertise. The company is 69% owned by Maybank, the fourth largest banking group in Southeast Asia, and 31% by Ageas, an international insurance group with footprints across 16 countries and a heritage that spans over 190 years.

#EtiqaInsurance #EtiqaSingapore

Largest global survey analyzing healthcare leaders, Philips’ Future Health Index 2021 report reveals Singapore’s ambitions for digital transformation, but staff shortages and inexperience could hinder progress

  • Findings indicate that Singapore’s healthcare leaders are prioritizing investment in artificial intelligence (AI) and are highly ambitious about shifting care delivery to the home over the next three years, but staff’s lack of experience with new technologies is impeding planning for more than half
  • 49% of Singapore’s leaders expect implementing sustainable practices in healthcare will be among the primary priorities of their role in three years’ time
  • Largest global survey of its kind features critical insights from almost 3,000 healthcare leaders across 14 countries on meeting the demands of today and their vision for healthcare three years from now

SINGAPORE – Media OutReach – 6 May 2021 – Royal Philips (NYSE: PHG, AEX: PHIA), a global leader in health technology, today announced the publication of its Future Health Index (FHI) 2021 Singapore report: ‘A Resilient Future: Healthcare leaders look beyond the crisis’. Now in its sixth year, the Future Health Index 2021 report is based on proprietary research across 14 countries, including Singapore, representing the largest global survey of its kind to analyze the current and future priorities of healthcare leaders worldwide.

Feedback from healthcare leaders – including executive officers, financial officers, technology and information officers, operating officers and more – explores the challenges they have faced since the onset of the pandemic, and where their current and future priorities lie, revealing a new vision for the future of healthcare. With a focus on patient-centred healthcare enabled by smart technology, their vision is shaped by a fresh emphasis on partnerships, sustainability and new models of care delivery, both inside and outside the hospital.

An optimistic outlook

Although still grappling with the pandemic, 84% of Singapore’s healthcare leaders are confident in their hospital or healthcare facility’s ability to deliver quality care in the next three years – which is higher than the confidence levels of healthcare leaders in Australia (66%), China (58%) and the average of those in the 14 countries that Philips surveyed (75%).

The vast majority (93%) also feel that Singapore’s healthcare system has shown resilience in how it has coped with the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“The past year has undoubtedly taken a significant toll on Singapore’s healthcare system. Frontline healthcare workers have faced greater pressure than ever before, while senior leaders have been tasked with leading their institutions in the most trying of times,” said Caroline Clarke, Market Leader and EVP, Philips ASEAN Pacific. “Yet the Future Health Index 2021 report highlights just how skillfully the country has risen to the challenge. It is encouraging to see Singapore emerging with such resilience and confidence for the future.”

Bold ambitions for shifting care from hospital to home; AI is a major focus for the future

The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated radical shifts in care delivery for both patients and providers around the world and the report reveals that, as Singapore’s healthcare leaders consider what comes next, they are pragmatic about where and how care is delivered.

Healthcare leaders anticipate that, three years from now, on average about a quarter (26%) of routine care delivery will take place outside the walls of Singapore’s hospitals and healthcare facilities, up from around 20% today.

Singapore’s healthcare leaders are also highly ambitious about shifting care delivery to home settings. While those surveyed said that just 19% of routine care being provided outside of the hospital is currently delivered in the home, they predict that 45% will be delivered at home three years from now – a bold target, which is far higher than any of the other countries that Philips surveyed (17% 14-country average) and the APAC[1] average (18%).

Singapore is leading the way in championing AI, too; nearly three in four of Singapore’s healthcare leaders (71%) say that this is one of the digital health technologies that they are currently investing in – again far above the average healthcare leader across the 14 countries surveyed (36%) and in APAC (46%).

AI investment in Singapore is currently focused primarily on administrative tasks like automating documentation, scheduling appointments and improving workflow, above clinical and diagnostic applications. However, this looks set to change in the near future, as Singapore’s healthcare leaders plan to invest in AI for clinical decision support (35%), to predict outcomes (33%) and to integrate diagnostics (28%).

Skills gaps must be addressed to achieve digital transformation

Despite these bold ambitions, staff inexperience and staff shortages could impede progress if not urgently addressed.

Philips’ research found that staff’s lack of experience with new technologies ranks among the top internal barriers to future planning in Singapore, with around half of Singapore’s healthcare leaders (52%) citing it as a current impediment, whilst one in four (25%) say that staff shortages are also holding them back.

Lack of training is also cited as the biggest barrier to the wider adoption of digital health technologies by nearly half of Singapore’s healthcare leaders (47%), followed closely by difficulties with data management (43%) likely relating to high volumes of data and a lack of clarity around ownership.

“The pandemic has confirmed the viability of remote care, and it is equally encouraging to see that Singapore is placing such a big focus on AI for the future. However, it is vital that the country’s hospitals and healthcare facilities invest in adequate training and address staff shortages to move beyond purely administrative applications of these game-changing technologies and unlock their full potential,” added Caroline Clarke.

Industry poised for unprecedented move on sustainability

Philips’ Future Health Index 2021 report also finds that implementing environmental sustainability practices is set to become a dominant trend in Singapore, and globally, within the next three years.

While not a current concern for many, 49% of Singapore’s healthcare leaders expect to prioritize the implementation of sustainability practices in their hospital or healthcare facility three years from now, up from just 2% today, and in line with the trend seen across healthcare leaders in the 14 countries surveyed (58% three years from now, up from 4% today globally).

Since 2016, Philips has conducted original research to help determine the readiness of countries to address global health challenges and build efficient and effective health systems. For details on the Future Health methodology and to access the Future Health Index 2021 report in its entirety, visit: https://www.philips.com.sg/a-w/about/news/future-health-index/reports/2021/healthcare-leaders-look-beyond-the-crisis.html.



[1] APAC countries surveyed for FHI 2021: Australia, China, India, Singapore

About Royal Philips

Royal Philips (NYSE: PHG, AEX: PHIA) is a leading health technology company focused on improving people’s health and well-being and enabling better outcomes across the health continuum – from healthy living and prevention, to diagnosis, treatment and home care. Philips leverages advanced technology and deep clinical and consumer insights to deliver integrated solutions. Headquartered in the Netherlands, the company is a leader in diagnostic imaging, image-guided therapy, patient monitoring and health informatics, as well as in consumer health and home care. Philips generated 2020 sales of EUR 19.5 billion and employs approximately 77,000 employees with sales and services in more than 100 countries. News about Philips can be found at www.philips.com/newscenter.

#Philips

Largest global survey analyzing healthcare leaders, Philips’ Future Health Index 2021 report reveals APAC’s ambitions for digital transformation, but staff shortages and inexperience could hinder progress

  • Findings indicate that APAC’s healthcare leaders are championing predictive analytics, but staff’s lack of experience with new technologies is impeding planning for more than half
  • Anticipation of care delivery outside the hospital in the future, but some in the region are not prioritizing virtual care now
  • Largest global survey of its kind features critical insights from almost 3,000 healthcare leaders across 14 countries on meeting the demands of today and their vision for healthcare three years from now

SINGAPORE – Media OutReach – 6 May 2021 – Royal Philips (NYSE: PHG, AEX: PHIA), a global leader in health technology, today announced the publication of its Future Health Index (FHI) 2021 report: ‘A Resilient Future: Healthcare leaders look beyond the crisis’. Now in its sixth year, the Future Health Index 2021 report is based on proprietary research across 14 countries, including the APAC region (Australia, China, India, and Singapore), representing the largest global survey of its kind to analyze the current and future priorities of healthcare leaders worldwide.

Feedback from healthcare leaders – including executive officers, financial officers, technology and information officers, operating officers and more – explores the challenges they have faced since the onset of the pandemic, and where their current and future priorities lie, revealing a new vision for the future of healthcare. With a focus on patient-centred healthcare enabled by smart technology, their vision is shaped by a fresh emphasis on partnerships, sustainability and new models of care delivery, both inside and outside the hospital.

A mixed outlook

According to Philips’ report, nearly three quarters (72%) of APAC healthcare leaders are confident in their hospital or healthcare facility’s ability to deliver quality healthcare in the next three years. Although this is overwhelmingly positive after the challenges of the pandemic, APAC’S confidence levels are slightly below the average (75%) healthcare leader across the 14 countries that Philips surveyed.

The Future Health Index 2021 report also reveals significant differences in optimism across the APAC region, with many more healthcare leaders in Singapore (84%) feeling confident, compared to those in China (58%) and Australia (66%).

“APAC’s healthcare systems have all shown resilience in their responses to the pandemic, however when it comes to confidence about the future, we’re seeing a mixed picture – with Singapore pulling ahead of other countries across Asia,” said Caroline Clarke, Market Leader and EVP, Philips ASEAN Pacific. “While crisis response will continue to be a priority for many healthcare leaders in the months ahead, it is important that they look to the future too, to ensure that they don’t fall behind in technology upgrades and progress towards healthcare digitization.”

Increased anticipation of care delivery outside the hospital, but some in region failing to prioritize virtual care now

The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated radical shifts in care delivery for both patients and providers around the world and the Future Health Index 2021 report reveals that, as APAC’s healthcare leaders consider what comes next, many are pragmatic about where and how care is delivered.

APAC’s healthcare leaders expect that, three years from now, on average around a quarter (25%) of routine care delivery will take place outside the walls of a hospital or healthcare facility, up from 22% today.

Despite this, prioritization of virtual care is patchy across the region. Healthcare leaders in India are among the most likely of all countries surveyed to currently prioritize a shift to remote/virtual care (75%) – well ahead of the average healthcare leader response across the 14 countries surveyed (42%). However, countries in the rest of region are lagging behind with only around four in ten in Singapore (40%), around one in three in China (32%) and about one in four in Australia (27%) making it a current priority.

The fall-out of dealing with COVID-19 could be what is distracting APAC’s healthcare leaders from making remote/virtual care a greater focus, with more than half (60%) saying that preparing to respond to crises is their primary priority right now and 58% citing the pandemic as the main external factor that is impeding their ability to plan for the future.

There are also regional disparities in terms of how and where virtual care will be delivered in the future. Singapore is blazing the trail for shifting routine care from hospitals to home settings – while those surveyed in Singapore said that just 19% of routine care being provided outside of the hospital is currently delivered in the home, they predict that 45% will be delivered at home three years from now, a bold target which is far higher than the APAC[1] average (18%).

By comparison, despite healthcare leaders overwhelmingly prioritizing a shift to remote/virtual care in India, only 5% see the home as a prominent location for routine care delivery there three years from now. Instead, most feel that ambulatory primary care centers like urgent care and walk-in clinics (57%) and out-of-hospital procedural environments like ambulatory surgical centers and office-based labs (33%) will be the focus in India.

Predictive analytics a major focus for the future, but skills gaps must be addressed first

APAC’s healthcare leaders are second only to healthcare leaders in Europe when it comes to championing predictive analytics; 27% of APAC healthcare leaders agree that their hospital or healthcare facility needs to invest in implementing predictive technologies, like artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning to be prepared for the future. This is behind Europe’s 36% but far above the Middle East & Africa’s 6%.

The investment in AI by APAC healthcare leaders is currently focused primarily on administrative tasks like automating documentation, scheduling appointments, and improving workflow, above clinical and diagnostic applications. However, this looks set to change in the near future as APAC’s healthcare leaders look to invest in AI to predict outcomes (33%), integrate diagnostics (33%) and for clinical decision support (26%) in three years.

Despite these ambitions, staff inexperience and staff shortages could impede progress, if not urgently addressed. Staff’s lack of experience with new technologies ranks among the top internal barriers impeding their ability to prepare for the future, with about half of APAC’s healthcare leaders (51%) citing it as a current impediment, whilst around one in four (26%) say that staff shortages are holding them back.

Lack of training is also cited as one of the biggest barriers to the wider adoption of digital health technologies by nearly one third (30%), as are difficulties with data management (41%), likely relating to high volumes of data and a lack of clarity around ownership.

“The pandemic has confirmed the viability of remote care but dealing with the current crisis could be preventing many of APAC’s healthcare leaders from prioritizing this as much as they otherwise would. Likewise, staff inexperience and skill shortages risk hindering further digitization in the region if not urgently addressed. It is vital that APAC’s healthcare leaders invest in the right training to move beyond purely administrative applications of these game-changing technologies to unlock their full potential in the future,” added Caroline Clarke.

Industry poised for unprecedented move on sustainability

Philips’ Future Health Index 2021 report also finds that implementing environmental sustainability practices is set to become a dominant trend in APAC, and across the 14 countries surveyed, within the next three years.

While not a current concern for many, 49% of APAC’s healthcare leaders expect to prioritize the implementation of sustainability practices in their hospital or healthcare facility three years from now, up from just 5% today.

Since 2016, Philips has conducted original research to help determine the readiness of countries to address global health challenges and build efficient and effective health systems. For details on the Future Heath methodology and to access the Future Health Index 2021 report in its entirety, visit: https://www.philips.com.sg/a-w/about/news/future-health-index/reports/2021/healthcare-leaders-look-beyond-the-crisis.html.



[1] APAC countries surveyed for FHI 2021: Australia, China, India, Singapore

About Royal Philips

Royal Philips (NYSE: PHG, AEX: PHIA) is a leading health technology company focused on improving people’s health and well-being and enabling better outcomes across the health continuum – from healthy living and prevention, to diagnosis, treatment and home care. Philips leverages advanced technology and deep clinical and consumer insights to deliver integrated solutions. Headquartered in the Netherlands, the company is a leader in diagnostic imaging, image-guided therapy, patient monitoring and health informatics, as well as in consumer health and home care. Philips generated 2020 sales of EUR 19.5 billion and employs approximately 77,000 employees with sales and services in more than 100 countries. News about Philips can be found at www.philips.com/newscenter.

#Philips