HONG KONG SAR – Media OutReach – 7 September 2022 – Chinachem Group (the “Group”) today announces that the Group has confirmed with Helical Plc for the purchase of the 150-year long leasehold interest of Kaleidoscope, an office property situated in an emerging new tech cluster in London, at £158.5 million, reflecting a capital value of £1,789 psf. The lease from Transport for London was granted in 2018 and has a head rent geared to 10% of contracted rents. Completion is due to take place in ten days. This transaction marks the Group’s first overseas acquisition, which will help drive its portfolio diversification and sustainable growth.
Newly completed in 2019, this six-storey 88,580 sq. ft. office building sits above the Farringdon East Crossrail Station. This well-connected area has attracted many tech companies to settle there, while the UK headquarters of Amazon and Snapchat are nearby.
Situated at Lindsey Street, EC1, Kaleidoscope is currently fully occupied by Tiktok, the popular short form video hosting service owned by ByteDance, who took a 15-year lease in March 2021 at £7,633,053 per annum (an average rent in excess of £86 psf). The PLP designed scheme is accredited BREEAM Excellent, WiredScore Platinum and provides a 5,000 sq. ft. roof terrace together with spa quality end of journey facilities and features integrated artwork by Dutch artists De Makers Van.
Donald Choi, Executive Director and CEO of Chinachem Group, said: “We’re delighted to have acquired Kaleidoscope successfully as it is located in a prime position in one of London’s most dynamic, vibrant and culturally rich sub-markets with impressive rental growth. We intend to hold this property for long-term investment.”
He added: “Having now made our London entrance, we will incrementally increase our exposure in gateway cities of other major developed markets in order to move further forward our diversification objectives and build a long-term resilient income stream. However, Hong Kong still remains our home and the core market of our business operations.”
Matthew Bonning-Snook, Property Director at Helical, commented: “Kaleidoscope was the first over station development to complete on the Elizabeth Line and we were able to attract one of the world’s fastest growing tech businesses due to its striking design, highly accessible location, excellent amenities and strong environmental credentials. We will now seek to recycle the proceeds from the sale into delivering new highly sustainable ‘best-in-class’ Central London office schemes, where occupier demand remains strong.”
Since 1960, Chinachem Group has been a leading property developer in Hong Kong, with a portfolio covering residential, commercial, retail and industrial buildings for sales and investment, in addition to operating hotels and property management services. The Group actively seeks to make a positive contribution to society through its adherence to the ‘Triple Bottom Line’, a commitment that its activities will benefit People, bring Prosperity to the community and preserve the Planet. Please visit www.chinachemgroup.com/en
MEAT ZERO’s Nuggets, Cooked Patty (Garlic & Herb) and Benja Chicken are among the products to receive stars and available in Singapore
SINGAPORE – Media OutReach – 7 September 2022 –CP Foods Thailand has bagged accolades for six of its products at the Superior Taste Award 2022, which is hosted by the prestigious International Institute of Taste. Three of the products are currently retailing in Singapore, which are as follows: MEAT ZERO’s Nuggets and Cooked Patty (Garlic & Herb) as well as Benja Chicken, the world’s first brown rice-fed chicken. The other three products are for CP sausages, which are not in Singapore currently.
The prestigious Superior Taste Award 2022 is an annual event held in Brussels, Belgium. The awards are certified by a jury of over 200 professional taste experts, who are members of esteemed chef and sommelier associations Le Guide Michelin and Gault & Milau. The awards mark the first time Thailand has won for its chicken meat and sausage products. They are also CP Foods Thailand’s first-ever wins, with Benja Chicken bagging two stars under the meat category as well as MEAT ZERO’s Nugget attaining three stars and Cooked Patty (Garlic & Herb) getting one star in the alternative meat category. The scoring tiers are as follows:
3 stars (Exceptional): Scoring above 90%
2 stars (Remarkable): Scoring between 80% and 90%
1 star (Notable): Scoring between 70% and 80%
Below are more information about the products available in Singapore.
MEAT ZERO — Affordable and Incredible-tasting Plant-based Meat Products
MEAT ZERO is one of Thailand’s best-selling plant-based meat products. It took more than two years to produce MEAT ZERO’s plant-based meat products and 2,000 experiments helmed by hundreds of researchers and teams from CPF Food Research and Development Centre. MEAT ZERO obtained the intellectual property right to the Plant-Tec innovation by partnering with world-class plant-based product manufacturer Fuji Oil from Japan and experts from the U.S and Taiwan.
Traditionally, low-moisture extrusion is used to texturise protein into meat analogue. For MEAT ZERO, the high-moisture meat analogue process is used to texturise vegetable proteins into a product with a fibrous texture akin to animal meat. The appearances, mouthfeel and texture of the products are similar to those of real meat. They are of equal nutritional value. High-fibre, non-GMO soy — which keeps cholesterol levels in check — as well as pea, wheat and corn, are the key ingredients.
Nuggets 200g ($4.50): When deep- or air-fried to a golden-brown perfection, the nuggets have an airy crisp and a bite that is indistinguishable from the meat version. Pair it with roasted sweet potato fries for a guilt-free western-style meal!
Cooked Patty (Garlic & Herb) 240g ($4.50): With this offering, making katsu burger at home is a cinch. The crunchy crumb is infused with the sharp note of garlic and the fragrance of herbs. The cooked patty is high in protein and free of trans fat.
Benja Chicken — The World’s First Brown Rice-fed Chicken
Hailing from Thailand, this 100% natural product boasts a rich flavour profile, and is more tender and juicier than the market’s chicken meat by up to 55%. The brand’s offerings are wildly popular in Thailand and are preferred by chefs of Michelin-starred restaurants such as Saneh Jaan, Siam Wisdom and Paste.
Benja Chicken uses an innovative animal feed to raise its chickens. The formula comprises specially selected brown rice grains, which are rich in Gamma-Aminobutyric acid, antioxidants and vitamins B3, B6 and B9. It also helps to strengthen the chickens’ muscle structure. No growth hormone or antibiotic is added to the feed, which has been certified by the American NSF International.
An ethical company that is also a proponent of sustainability, Benja Chicken adheres to the Five Freedoms for Animal Welfare. The brand believes in cage-free farming — the chickens wander and roam freely around the farms, where the air and temperature are carefully controlled. The temperature is kept at 25 degrees Celsius, the optimal temperature for chickens of all ages. They are also raised with clean water that has been purified by a filtering system. Periodically, the chickens undergo health checks to ensure they are in the pink of health. All these factors help contribute to the wonderful taste and high quality of the meat.
Products available in Singapore include Chicken Skin-on Boneless Leg ($11.50), Chicken Skinless Boneless Leg ($10.50), and Chicken Skinless Boneless Breast ($12.90).
PROMOTION
To celebrate this achievement, CP Singapore will be running a special 50% off promotion. Enjoy Meat Zero Nuggets promotion 2 packs for $6.50 (UP$4.50 per pack) from September to October 2022 at all major supermarkets.
Being one of Asia’s leading agro-industrial and foods conglomerates, CPF Group strives to maintain its leading position in the industry and successfully compete in the international arena (U.S.A., Europe and Asia). The Company is determined to fulfill its vision of becoming the “Kitchen of the World”, placing significant importance on research and development to improve production quality, safety and efficiency.
CPF’s success story is tied closely to the company’s fully integrated farming and production process. CPF controls every single process from the first step of breeding to the eventual branding and marketing of its food products. It pays close attention to the freshness of ingredients at every stage to ensure customers get the best quality products.
The Company is dedicated to providing food products, which are high in quality, nutritious, hygienic and safe. Its world-class plants meet many international regulations, requirements and certifications including HACCP, GMP, BRC, OSHAS, ISO and Animal Welfare Standard. Every step of the farming and production process is based on the practice of good animal welfare and concern for the environment, by being safe and drug-residual free. CP Foods shrimp farms also practice the green shrimp technology that prohibits the use of antibiotic medicines. Instead, friendly microbes for the growth of healthy shrimp are used.
UN experts denounced a recent court decision in Malaysia on Monday that denied women the same rights as men to automatically confer citizenship to their children, saying affected women are less likely to leave abusive relationships and their children risk statelessness.
SHENZHEN QIANHAI – Media OutReach – 7 September 2022 – September 6, 2022 marks the first anniversary of the promulgation and implementation of “the Plan for Comprehensive Deepening of the Reform and Opening Up of the Qianhai Shenzhen-Hong Kong Modern Service Industry Co-operation Zone” (“Qianhai Plan”) issued by the State Council. With emphasis on “expansion” and “reform and opening up”, Qianhai has carried out a number of key tasks in Shenzhen-Hong Kong collaboration, international cooperation, opening up of the financial industry, opening up of legal affairs, technological innovation, business environment, clustering of talents, etc. Achievements are apparent. In 2021, the GDP of Qianhai District was 175.567 billion yuan, with an annual increase of 10.5%. The actual use of foreign capital was US$ 5.822 billion, with a yearly increase of 14.9%. Total customs area import and export goods was 1.74 trillion yuan accounting for an increase of 20.3%. From January to June 2022, the actual use of foreign capital was US$3.533 billion, representing a rise of 17.4%.
After the announcement of “Qianhai Plan”, the Qianhai Authority launched various preferential measures for Hong Kong in the past one year
1. Deepening reform
The Qianhai Cooperation Zone has launched 725 institutional innovations in investment, trade, finance, and rule of law, among which 65 were replicated for national-wide use. The National Development and Reform Commission approved Qianhai’s national first standards such as “Format Specifications for Enterprise Credit Reports Based on Cross-border Activities” and “Electronic Warehouse Receipts for Bulk Cargo”. Furthermore, Qianhai’s preferential corporate income tax policy has been expanded to five categories with 30 items.
2. Deepen Shenzhen-Hong Kong collaboration
Qianhai Authority announced nine Hong Kong-related facilitation measures on June 30, 2022. On September 2, 2022, the Shenzhen Qianhai Authority and the Financial Services & the Treasury Bureau of the Hong Kong SAR Government jointly promulgated 18 measures for Supporting the Linked Development of Shenzhen and Hong Kong Venture Capital Investments in Qianhai. The measures will provide facilitation and preferential policies for the Hong Kong private equity industry and promote the development of a mechanism that links the Shenzhen and Hong Kong Venture Capital industry. The 18 measures complement the three-step strategy implemented by Hong Kong for developing the private equity fund market, i.e. 1) introducing the limited partnership fund (LPF) regime; 2) offering tax concessions for carried interest distributed by eligible private equity funds; and 3) establishing a mechanism to attract foreign funds to re-domicile in Hong Kong, thereby providing clear support for the convergence of rules between Hong Kong LPFs and Qianhai Qualified Foreign Limited Partnerships (QFLPs). On the other hand, the practical filing scope of Hong Kong and Macao professionals was expanded to 16 professions, such as tax accountants and tour guides. In order to improve the efficiency of cross-border cargo transportation between Shenzhen and Hong Kong, Qianhai will provide a “water transport connection and diversion” mode.
3. International Cooperation
To actively build up overseas industrial parks, more than 200 Qianhai companies have their presence in the Djibouti International Free Trade Zone and Sri Lanka’s Hambantota Port Industrial Park. Furthermore, Qianhai is committed to strengthening its aviation and shipping hub. Shenzhen Airport has 57 cargo destinations, and the international cargo and mail throughput reached 540,000 tons in 2021. Besides, international organizations such as the ICC International Court of Arbitration and the Singapore International Mediation Centre have now established a presence in Qianhai.
4. Opening up
Peking University and the University of Cambridge jointly initiated Qianhai Sino-British Research Institute, and King’s School, Canterbury will have new Hong Kong children’s classes. Furthermore, Qianhai launched a business notification and commitment system of “Approval for Engaged in Seafarer Assignment Business”. Dachan Bay Port was approved to be incorporated into the Shenzhen National Oceanic Fishery Base with the position of a tuna trading centre. In addition, the first 5G smart port in the Greater Bay Area, Mawan Smart Port, is in operation. In 2021, the container throughput of Qianhai was 14.607 million TEUs, with an annual increase of 10.7%.
5. Open up of the financial industry
Qianhai has “three first batches” of financial innovations. They are: the first batch of pilot bank accounts integrating local and foreign currencies, the first batch of pilot projects for the integrated domestic and foreign currency pool business of multinational companies, and the ” Cross-boundary Wealth Management Connect” in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. In Qianhai Shenzhen-Hong Kong International Financial City, 200 financial institutions have signed up to settle in, of which 30% are Hong Kong-funded or foreign-funded institutions. The Qianhai Mercantile Exchange (QME) launched a new soybean variety, and the cross-border transactions are priced and settled in RMB.
6. Open up in legal affairs
The Supreme People’s Court issued opinions on supporting and safeguarding Qianhai’s reform and opening up, applying extraterritorial laws and cross-border judicial assistance arrangements. Qianhai Shenzhen-Hong Kong International Legal-services District has introduced 122 legal institutions, including China (Shenzhen) Intellectual Property Protection Center. The foreign-related or Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan-related commercial cases and cases under the application of Hong Kong law handled by the 32 Hong Kong jurors and 16 Hong Kong, Macao, Taiwan and foreign mediators appointed by the Qianhai Court ranked first in the country’s basic people’s courts. The Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area International Arbitration Center has been established.
7. Technological innovation
In August 2022, Qianhai issued measures to promote the reform and innovation of Qianhai’s technology development system and mechanism. The “Technology China” Greater Bay Area Consortium was established in Qianhai. Projects such as the Qianhai Copyright Public Service Platform and Copyright Blockchain Network were selected as pilot projects for innovative blockchain applications by the Cyberspace Administration of China. The National (Shenzhen Qianhai) New Internet Exchange Center is under trial-running.
8. The business environment ranks top tier in the world
The Qianhai e-Services Hong Kong-Macao Station provides 223 services such as “Easy Registration”, “Easy Taxation” and “Social Security Link”. The first Shenzhen Qianhai business license printing machine has been in service since early September. The e-Station provides further convenience to Hong Kong companies and individuals to tackle government-related stuff without leaving the Hong Kong border. Qianhai’s business environment has been further improved, and approval time has been shortened from 49 days to 13 days.
9. Clustering of Talents
Qianhai International Talent Hub provides 100 tailor-made services for international technology talents. It partnered with well-known organizations, such as Boston Consulting Group and Ernst & Young and provided different training courses for senior executives. The services have covered more than 2,500 organizations and more than 520,000 talents. Qianhai International Talent Hub and Hays jointly published the “2022 Greater China Salary Guide Technology Industry Supplement” report.
Professor Witman Hung, Principal Liaison Officer of the Shenzhen Qianhai Authority said that he and his team have conducted about 100 seminars for the Qianhai plan. From the feedback of the audience, Qianhai Plan is welcome by different sectors in Hong Kong.
Trend Micro research reveals visibility challenges as attack surface expands
HONG KONG SAR – Media OutReach – 7 September 2022 – Trend Micro Incorporated (TYO: 4704; TSE: 4704), a global cybersecurity leader, today that reveals global organizations are increasingly at risk of ransomware compromise via their extensive supply chains.
Trend Micro commissioned Sapio Research in May and June 2022 to poll 2,958 IT decision makers across 26 countries. The research revealed that 79% of global IT leaders believe their partners and customers are making their own organization a more attractive ransomware target. The challenge is particularly acute considering that potentially less well-secured SMBs make up a “significant” portion of the supply chain for over half (52%) of these organizations.
A year ago, a sophisticated attack on a provider of IT management software led to the compromise of scores of MSPs and thousands of downstream customers. Yet only 47% of organizations share knowledge about ransomware attacks with their suppliers. Additionally, 25% said they don’t share potentially useful threat information with partners.
This could be because organizations don’t have information to share in the first place. Detection rates were worryingly low for ransomware activities including:
“We found that 52% of global organizations have had a supply chain organization hit by ransomware, potentially putting their own systems at risk of compromise”, said Bharat Mistry, Technical Director at Trend Micro. “But many aren’t taking steps to improve partner cybersecurity. The first step towards mitigating these risks must be enhanced visibility into and control over the expanding digital attack surface.”
The supply chain can also be exploited by attackers to gain leverage over their targets. Among organizations that had experienced a ransomware attack in the past three years, 67% said their attackers contacted customers and/or partners about the breach to force payment.
Hashtag: #TrendMicro
About Trend Micro
Trend Micro, a global cybersecurity leader, helps make the world safe for exchanging digital information. Fueled by decades of security expertise, global threat research, and continuous innovation, Trend Micro’s cybersecurity platform protects hundreds of thousands of organizations and millions of individuals across clouds, networks, devices, and endpoints. As a leader in cloud and enterprise cybersecurity, the platform delivers a powerful range of advanced threat defense techniques optimized for environments like AWS, Microsoft, and Google, and central visibility for better, faster detection and response. With 7,000 employees across 65 countries, Trend Micro enables organizations to simplify and secure their connected world. www.trendmicro.com.hk
Roads were damaged in La District after the decrease of floodwater.
Department of Public Works and Transport in Oudomxay Province has estimated that more than LAK 60 billion will be required to rebuild roads damaged by the flooding caused by tropical storm Ma-on. They expect to finish construction within two years.
Easy-to-use non-invasive wearable device could prevent development of glaucoma in mild and pre-glaucoma patients
Glaucoma is a leading cause of vision loss affecting about 80 million people worldwide[1] and every year 3.6 million people lose their vision permanently due to the eye disease. It is also the leading cause of registered, permanent blindness in Hong Kong (23%)[2].
Caused by interocular pressure (IOP) on the optic nerve, glaucoma is painless and progresses slowly, however there are no preventative therapies to reverse glaucoma.
Current therapeutic approaches to preserve failing vision involve reducing IOP, but are only available for diagnosed patients and may involve invasive surgery or daily doses of eyedrops that may have side effects
HONG KONG SAR – Media OutReach – 7 September 2022 – This year’s Hong Kong national James Dyson Award winner attempts to find a new solution to solve this problem.
O_Oley is non-invasive, physiotherapy device that can stop the development of glaucoma in mild and pre-glaucoma patients. Users wear a set of comfortable curved-shell goggles for contactless thermal stretching of their eyes. Through customisable adjustments, the device actively stretches the ocular muscles of the eye, enhances tear secretion and improves ocular compliance.
Comprising a corneal tissue compliance improvement (CTCI) system and multiple visible and IR spectrums to increase the temperature of the ocular tissue, the O_Oley boosts blood circulation and induces relaxing thermal stretching of the ocular tissue to strengthen its ability to withstand intra-ocular pressure. This reduces stress in the ocular tissues and decreases the risk of optic nerve damage caused by glaucoma.
Unlike other treatments for glaucoma for diagnosed patients, O_Oley is non-invasive and offers a comfortable warming therapeutic experience suitable for home use.
The Inventor O_Oley was designed by a team from Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, comprising Kin Nam Kwok (leader), Kwun Chung Chan, Minji Seo and Yuen Yin Leung.
The HKUST team hopes their design can help reduce the global prevalence of glaucoma with an easy-to-use device that can be adjusted for different users’ needs and is comfortable enough to keep using on a daily basis.
Winning the Hong Kong national leg of the James Dyson Award will inject £5,000 into the O_Oley project, enabling the team to patent their design and kickstart a startup so they can make O_Oley smaller, lighter, and more effective.
Kin Nam Kwok says: “Our passion and curiosity helped brainstorm and bring ideas together for this device. Inspired by hot yoga, our team decided to explore the same concept for healthy eyes. Further inspired by Dyson’s bladeless fan, we implemented contactless inductive stretching, rather than full contact stretching like commercial ocular massagers.”
Steve Yeung, Hong Kong judge: “While built-up eye pressure is the major risk factor of glaucoma, I am glad to see O_Oley present a wise approach that utilizes regulated negative pressure and IR irradiation to ease such conditions.Its goggle-format design is commendable because it makes this therapy possible at home and encourages patients to keep performing the treatment without strain. This is a promising solution and good news for all glaucoma patients.”
The first engineering and clinical prototype of O_Oley took the form of swimming goggles with a flat crystal sheet at front that allowed the team to monitor ocular conditions under different stretching levels. By 3D scanning a face model the team could test and examine the fit of various goggle shapes. For the commercial prototype, they simplified the design, making it more comfortable and robust.
The O_Oley will progress to the international stage of the James Dyson Award and the O_Oley team aims to commercialise this product. The team wants to get user feedback to improve the interface and functionality and hopes to build personalized exercise protocols on top of the design based on the users’ conditions and ocular health. The team also wants to develop a mobile app to make the customization process easier and more enjoyable for the users.
The International shortlist will be announced on 12th October, and the International winners on 16th November.
Problem: Dysgraphia is a learning disorder associated with impaired writing ability. People with dysgraphia have difficulty with writing legibly and quickly. Estimated to affect 10% of the global population, including James Dyson, diagnosis for Chinese speakers with dysgraphia involves lengthy assessments by psychologists.
Solution: PreDyctor is the world’s first dysgraphia identifier for Chinese language handwriting. It offers a quick and low-cost pre-screening system that can assess Chinese characters and estimate the chance that the writer has dysgraphia. PreDyctor analyses handwriting using two independent models: a rule-based scoring model and a similarity-based comparison model. It then aggregates the outputs of the two models to estimate the probability that the user has dysgraphia. PreDyctor can identify Chinese-speaking children with dysgraphia for early intervention programs.
James Dyson Award
The James Dyson Award forms part of a wider commitment by Sir James Dyson, to demonstrate the power of engineers to change the world. The Dyson Institute of Engineering and Technology, the James Dyson Foundation and James Dyson Award encourage aspiring engineers, to apply their knowledge and discover new ways to improve lives through technology. To date, James Dyson has contributed over £140m to boundary-breaking concepts in education and other charitable causes. The James Dyson Award has supported over 300 inventions with prize money, and is run by the James Dyson Foundation, an engineering-education charity funded by Dyson profits.
The James Dyson Award forms part of a wider commitment by Sir James Dyson, to demonstrate the power of engineers to change the world. The competition has supported over 300 inventions with prize money, and is run by the James Dyson Foundation, an engineering-education charity funded by Dyson profits.
The Dyson Institute of Engineering and Technology and the Foundation’s work encourage aspiring engineers and problem solvers, to apply their knowledge and discover new ways to improve lives through technology. To date, James and the James Dyson Foundation have contributed over £140m to boundary-breaking concepts in education and other charitable causes.
2021 International winner – HOPES (Singapore) – A device for pain-free, at-home eye pressure testing, opening up access to glaucoma testing, by students of the National University of Singapore.
2021 Medical winner – REACT (GB) – A device to stem bleeding to help save the lives of stabbing victims, by Joseph Bentley from Loughborough university.
Design something that solves a problem. This problem may be a frustration that we all face in daily life, or a global issue. The important thing is that the solution is effective and demonstrates considered design thinking.
The process
Entries are judged first at the national level by a panel of external judges and a Dyson engineer. Each operating market awards a National winner and two National runners-up. From these winners, a panel of Dyson engineers then select an international shortlist of 20 entries. The top 20 projects are then reviewed by Sir James Dyson who selects his international winners.
The prize
International winners, chosen by Sir James Dyson, awarded up to £30,000.
International runners-up receive £5,000.
Each National winner receives £5,000.
The deadline to apply: midnight PST on 6 July 2022.
How to enter
Candidates enter through an online application form via the James Dyson Award website.
Entrants should explain what their invention is, how it works, and their development process. The best entries solve a real problem, are clearly explained, show iterative development, provide evidence of prototyping and have supporting imagery and a video.
All judges will take into consideration the restrictions to prototyping and product development as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Eligibility criteria
Entrants must be, or have been within the last four years, enrolled for at least one semester in an undergraduate or graduate engineering/design related course. This course must be at a university in a country or region chosen to participate in the James Dyson Award.
In the case of team entries, all members must be or have been within the last four years, enrolled for at least one semester in an undergraduate or graduate programme at a university in a country or region chosen to participate in the James Dyson Award. At least one team member must have studied an eligible subject in engineering or design. Those participating in a degree level apprenticeship at Level 6 or Level 7, and those who have completed said apprenticeship in the past four years, are eligible to enter the award.
Further FAQs can be found on the James Dyson Award website.
www.chinachemgroup.com/en 
www.trendmicro.com.hk
The James Dyson Award
Instagram
Twitter
YouTube
