A public awareness campaign to spark conversations about diversity, equality and inclusion in Hong Kong and Asia
HONG KONG SAR – Media OutReach – 19 October 2022 – Biopharma Gilead Sciences and Gay Games 11 Hong Kong 2023 (GGHK) joined hands to unveil the “Colors of Life” (CoL) campaign, an initiative that celebrates stories of remarkable individuals that embody the spectrum of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI).
The CoL campaign is a one-year community project that aims to inspire the Asia community to reflect, rethink and redefine the broader DEI agenda by sparking conversations. Through public dialogue, both parties hope we can take a big step towards building a more diverse and inclusive society collectively. Personal stories from singer Joyce Cheng, para-badminton athlete Daniel Chan Ho-yuen, actress Asha Cuthbert, actor Victor Tang, and award-winning comedian Vivek Mahbubani, will reveal their inspiring journeys on their way to becoming representative figures in their respective fields. For the next 12 months, videos depicting their stories will be released on social media to inspire public dialogue.
Inspiring personal stories
The launch event featured a fireside chat on the importance of fostering an inclusive culture in our community. Daniel Chan Ho-yuen, ranked world’s second in para-badminton and a bronze medal winner at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games, shared how he overcame his disability and the corresponding discrimination to succeed as an athlete.
Award-winning stand-up comedian Vivek Mahbubani shared his personal experience growing up as a member of an ethnic minority struggling to excel.
Lisa Lam, Co-Chair of GGHK shared her team’s arduous journey to realizing the Games, and how it will re-energize the Hong Kong economy by bringing back travellers from around the world.
Dustin Haines, Vice President, General Manager, Asia 5 of Gilead Sciences talked about how he hopes to start an open dialogue on DEI with the CoL campaign, inspiring community members to unleash potential within the community through the appreciation of DEI.
Dustin Haines, Vice President, General Manager, Asia 5 of Gilead Sciences said, “As the sole biopharma supporting the Gay Games 11 Hong Kong 2023, we believe that now is a good time to start a public dialogue on DEI in the region, one year ahead of the world’s largest sports and cultural event open to all coming to Hong Kong and Asia for the first time. DEI is part of
our company’s DNA and we believe that building an inclusive and diverse workforce is critical to enabling Gilead’s mission and will ultimately help us create a colourful and healthier world.”
Lisa Lam, Co-Chair of Gay Games 11 Hong Kong 2023 added, “GGHK’s slogan is Unity Through Diversity, because we believe in our collective power to transform our world to one of harmony, multilateral engagement and cooperation. These values extend beyond LGBTQ+ related issues and affect all of us. As a world city Hong Kong has for centuries been a cultural melting pot where east meets west. We are in a unique position, through the unifying power of Sport, Arts and Culture, to embody the change we want to see. GGHK is thrilled to team up with Gilead Sciences for this meaningful campaign.”
Gilead Sciences and GGHK believe that only in building an inclusive and diverse society, can we unleash the innovative potentials of our community, for our future generations and each community member can play a part in fostering an inclusive culture, empowering people around us to thrive and shine with their own colors. The CoL campaign calls for public participation on this important dialogue with the hashtag #colorsoflife.
For more details, please tune in to the following channels:
Gilead Sciences, Inc. is a biopharmaceutical company that has pursued and achieved breakthroughs in medicine for more than three decades, with the goal of creating a healthier world for all people. The company is committed to advancing innovative medicines to prevent and treat life-threatening diseases, including HIV, viral hepatitis and cancer. Gilead operates in more than 35 countries worldwide, with headquarters in Foster City, California.
About Gay Games 11 Hong Kong 2023
Gay Games 11 Hong Kong will take place in 3-11 November 2023, the first event of its kind in Asia. Under the theme “Unity in Diversity” the Games will feature a wide variety of sporting events, opening closing ceremonies, festival village, and arts & culture events. Supporting organisations include the Equal Opportunities Commission, InvestHK, BrandHK and the Hong Kong Tourism Board. Platinum sponsors are Marriott Bonvoy and YouTube.
A fire that started in a motorbike repair shop near Soutsaka Institute of Technology in Phonepanao Village, Xaysettha District on Sunday has wiped out several houses and shops in the vicinity.
A hand shake after signing the Mou for a clean energy project between Ms. Phonevanh Outhavong and Mr. Dai Hong Gang | sportupdate.org
The government has recently approved the conducting of a feasibility study on clean energy development in three northern provinces by CGN Energy Technology (Laos) Co., Ltd.
SINGAPORE – Media OutReach – 19 October 2022 –The Munich-based indie haircare company ikoo is sold to the Hongkong-based parent company Whealthfields in the course of a corporate takeover.
After the self-financed founding of the company and the successful development of an international distribution network, the intended exit is now taking place. The founding team around Christopher and Katrin von Hallwyl is pleased about this successful transaction and the fact that the ikoo brand will continue to grow as part of the portfolio integration at Whealthfields. “With the financial, marketing and supply chain power and the international positioning of the Whealthfields Group, as well as the defined M&A approach to add further brands to the portfolio, we as founders and scaling experienced managers can leverage synergies and also help further brands to be acquired to achieve significant growth under the Whealthfields Holding umbrella, explains Christopher von Hallwyl, Co-Founder and Managing Director of ikoo who founded ikoo together with his wife Katrin. She is also looking forward to working under the Whealthfields Holding umbrella: “We bring expertise in product groups, innovations and categories that have not previously been part of the Whealthfields Holding portfolio, but which are characterized by strong growth prospects.
The openness to investment and the strong desire for entrepreneurial growth on the part of Whealthfields Holdings management were the decision drivers for the partnership, he said. Christopher’s and Katrin’s dynamism, innovation, and technology know-how as well as their access to internationally relevant distribution channels and their strong network of experts and decision-makers were decisive for Whealthfields to make this acquisition. Christopher and Katrin also bring a great network and contacts to founders who are interested in selling their company.
Prior to founding ikoo, Christopher held various executive roles at international companies, while Katrin spent 10 years responsible for building a market-leading provider of aircraft interiors. The parties have agreed not to disclose the details of the transaction or the purchase price. All employees and managers involved will remain part of the company and will contribute to the further growth of the company.
Hashtag: #Whealthfields
The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.
About ikoo:
Since its founding in 2013, ikoo has grown to become a fast and profitable growing independent haircare brand in the APAC, GCC and U.S. regions and is the only independent brand of scale that sits at the intersection of professional, prestige retail and digital channels. ikoo’s clean, PETA certified and highly effective award-winning portfolio of haircare products and styling-tools has earned the brand numerous accolades, including No.1 rank at the UK Hair Awards and Nr. 2 indie partner brand at Beauty Systems Group. Through its commitment to professional-quality products and an inclusive Female-First ethos, ikoo has built a passionate and diverse community of consumers and salon professionals. Today, due to its successful omni-channel strategy, ikoo is sold at premium retailers such as Sephora and JCPenny, in the e-tail segment at customers such as Tmall and Boutiqaat, and on direct channels such as Amazon and ikoohair.com, with the brand being particularly strong in the U.S., China and the Middle East. Key innovations include scalp exfoliators and serums, IP-protected styling tools, each of which include complete routines of shampoos, conditioners, masks, and styling products. For more information on ikoo, visit ikoohair.com
Trend Micro research highlights risks posed by more seamless log-in technology
HONG KONG SAR – Media OutReach – 19 October 2022 – Trend Micro Incorporated (TYO: 4704; TSE: 4704), a global cybersecurity leader, today released a new report warning that exposed biometric data creates a serious authentication risk across a wide range of digital scenarios, including the metaverse.
William Malik, vice president of infrastructure strategies at Trend Micro said, “The use of biometrics is championed by some as a more secure, easier to use alternative for passwords. However, unlike passwords, our features can’t be easily changed. So a compromise could have a long-lasting impact on users. Hijacking a user’s metaverse profile in the future could be similar to gaining complete access to their PC today.”
Trend Micro defines the metaverse as: “a cloud distributed, multi-vendor, an immersive-interactive operating environment that users can access through different categories of connected devices.”
As such, those able to impersonate individuals inside this new iteration of the web could gain access to everything from online banking accounts and cryptocurrency stores to highly sensitive corporate data.
As outlined in the report, threat actors in the future may be able to use stolen or leaked biometric data to trick connected devices, such as VR/AR headsets, into logging them in as someone else. That could open the door to data theft, fraud, extortion, and much more.
Metaverse user profiles may also be an attractive target as a valuable source of additional biometric data, such as detailed 3D user models that mimics a person’s real-life bio features.
Trend Micro’s report is intended to generate more dialog in the IT and security community about how to head off such potential risks. It warns that huge volumes of biometrics details, including face, voice, iris, palm, and fingerprint patterns, are already being exposed online in high enough quality to trick authentication systems.
It can be found in images and audio content posted on social media and messaging platforms, news media sites, and government portals that people use every day.
As well as helping threat actors bypass authentication checks, judicious use of leaked or stolen biometric data could also help to create deepfake models en masse, the report warns.
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
LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM – Media OutReach – 19 October 2022 – The Malaysia Healthcare Travel Council (MHTC) took home a Bronze Stevie trophy in the Communications or PR Campaign of the Year – Healthcare category for its “Malaysia, the World’s Healthcare Marvel” campaign at the 2022 (19th Annual) International Business Awards on 15 October 2022 in London. This international acknowledgement at the world’s leading business awards competition highlighted Malaysia’s success in building a solid reputation as a safe and trusted global destination for healthcare travel.
Representing the Malaysia Healthcare Travel Council (MHTC) to receive the Bronze Stevie trophy for its ‘Malaysia, the World’s Healthcare Marvel’ campaign at the recent International Business Awards in London were (left) Shobena Singam (Vice President – Communications) and (right) Farizal Jaafar (Chief Strategy Officer).
The recognition was judged by the PR/Corporate Communications and Publications Awards Judging Committee, including chair Jules Brooke, Founder of Handle Your Own PR in Australia; Murat Avalin, Founder of CANVAS Communications in Turkey; Samir Bagga, Chief Marketing Officer of L&T Technology Services (LTTS) in the United States; Nicole Capper, Owner & Managing Director of MANGO-OMC in South Africa; Saraida De Marchena Kaluche, President and CEO of Markatel in the Dominican Republic; Henry Albert R. Fadullon, President of Phoenix Petroleum Philippines, Inc., in the Philippines; and Dr. Nicky Garsten, Senior Lecturer (PR and Marketing) at the University of Greenwich in the United Kingdom, to name a few of the elite judges.
The International Business Awards encompasses a broad array of categories that recognise achievements in every aspect of the professional world. These include management, new products, marketing, public relations, customer service and more. This year, there were more than 3,700 nominations submitted by organisations from 67 nations. The award placements were then determined by the average scores of participants in a stringent 3-month process.
“We are humbled to receive this recognition. It is a testament to the commitment and diligence, not only of the team at MHTC, but also of all our partners and other stakeholders, in elevating the Malaysia Healthcare name across the global stage. We are inspired to keep building upon our strengths and improving our service delivery to reinforce global trust in our country’s excellent healthcare ecosystem,” said Farizal Jaafar, the Chief Strategy Officer of MHTC.
Malaysia has earned the confidence of healthcare travellers from all over the world with its strong foundation, which is built upon public-private partnerships, encompassing ministries, government agencies, private healthcare facilities, third-party administrators, airlines, travel agents, health facilitators and other relevant industry players.
“Malaysia’s capabilities in delivering excellent quality, affordability, accessibility, communication and hospitality has paved the way for the progress of the country’s healthcare travel industry. These, complemented by our seamless end-to-end services that prioritise patient safety and peace of mind, have seen the Malaysia Healthcare brand grow from strength to strength to become a top-of-mind destination among healthcare travellers from around the world. Hence I would like to take this opportunity to invite everyone to come experience true care with Malaysia Healthcare,” added Farizal.
The Malaysia Healthcare Travel Council (MHTC) is a government agency under the Ministry of Health Malaysia that has been entrusted with the responsibility of curating the country’s healthcare travel scene. Founded in 2009, MHTC works to streamline industry players and service providers in facilitating and growing Malaysia’s healthcare travel industry under the brand “Malaysia Healthcare” with the intended goal of making Malaysia the leading global healthcare destination. MHTC works closely with over 80 private healthcare facilities in Malaysia, who are registered members of MHTC.
About The Stevie Awards
Stevie Awards are conferred in eight programmes: the Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards, the German Stevie Awards, the Middle East & North Africa Stevie Awards, The American Business Awards®, The International Business Awards®, the Stevie Awards for Great Employers, the Stevie Awards for Women in Business, and the Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service. Each year, more than 12,000 nominations from more than 70 nations are judged by more than 1,000 professionals in Stevies competitions. Honouring organisations of all types and sizes and the people behind them, the Stevies recognise outstanding performances in the workplace worldwide.
The Vientiane Judo Club got first place in the 11th Lao Judo Championships Minister of Education and Sports Cup, winning six gold, 11 silver, and three bronze medals.
Adopting State-of-the-art Machinery to Increase its Competitiveness in the Local and Global Market
The new integrated facility also supports the local SMEs F&B operators in their business expansion @koufu.sg | #koufu
SINGAPORE – Media OutReach – 19 October 2022 – In conjunction with Koufu’s 20th Anniversary, the Group is proud to announce the official opening of its latest 7-storey integrated facility – Koufu Headquarters (HQ). Minister of State, Ministry of Trade and Industry & Ministry for Culture, Community and Youth, Ms. Low Yen Ling graced the grand opening as the Guest-of-Honour.
Located strategically at 1 Woodlands Height along Woodlands Avenue 12, Koufu invested a total of $55 million in the integrated facility of about 20,000 sq m and is more than 5 times larger than its previous central kitchens and corporate headquarters. Placing Koufu on a digital trajectory that is still making strides, the integrated facility harnesses the use of state-of-the-art machinery that enables the group to enhance national competitiveness with the increase in quality and productivity without compromising on its environmental sustainability efforts.
The integrated building will be used to optimize Koufu’s business operations which includes the production of tim sum, bakery, pastries and dough products for distribution to its outlets islandwide. In addition, Koufu also supports the business expansion of the local small & medium (SME) F&B operators including the stall holders operating under its network of 70 food courts and coffee shops. 20 units of food processing kitchens each ranging from 1400 to 3500 sq ft and a 11,000 sq ft Cloud Kitchen space of 24 units each ranging from 170 to 850 sq ft are for lease to F&B operators. The building also houses a training academy, a staff dormitory, a Koufu Canteen which is opened to the public and its Corporate HQ office all under one-roof. Central procurement, preparation, processing and distribution functions have also been expanded and streamlined all within the premises to better support its outlets and external customers.
Under the umbrella of Koufu Group are a portfolio of diversified food and beverage (F&B) concepts operating at 180 locations islandwide. With a total of 12 brands, innovative concepts such as elemen and Grove continue to drive Singapore’s sustainability trend of meatless cuisine; Dough CultureandDeliSnackspreservea well-loved tradition of oriental snacks with their grab-and-go snacks like fried dough fritters and banana fritters; R&B Tearedefines today’s tea experience with over 30 tea-base concoctions showcasing one of Singapore’s best brown sugar milk tea and fruit tea, and Rasapura Masters, a food court housed within The Marina Bay Sands is Singapore’s hawker food destination of choice.
Koufu, a well-known house-hold name, is one of Singapore’s most established food court operator which operates over 70 foodcourts and coffeeshops in Singapore under the brands of Koufu, Cookhouse, Gourmet Paradise, Fork & Spoon and Happy Hawkers. Overseas in Macau, the Group operates 3 food courts and has also brought R&B Tea to Indonesia and Philippines operating under a franchise model.
“A vision that has now come to life, the establishment of Koufu HQ is a strategic hub which enables us to strengthen Koufu’s supply chain. It also allows for the broadening and consolidation of production, manufacturing and logistics capabilities to achieve greater operating efficiencies and margins. This new ecosystem enables our suite of brands to remain vibrant and competitive in both the local and global arena.”, shares Mr. Pang Lim, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Koufu Group.
Corporate ESG Initiatives
Innovating for a more environmentally sustainable economy, Koufu Group leads with their Smart Waste Compactor and Renewable Solar Energy infrastructure within the integrated facility.
Outfitted with two Chute Compactors with bin lifter, this enables multi-level direct disposal of small-size waste from production levels 3 to 6 of the 7-storey facility. Compactors remove 80% of liquid from the food waste before the discharge into the sewer. This reduction in the weight of the waste allows for alternate days of waste collection instead of a daily schedule. An in-built load cell also automatically generates a waste tonnage report, providing accountability in sustainable waste management to The National Environment Agency. The building also features close to 400 Solar Panels onsite that generates about 300,000 kWh of energy per year, equivalent to 5% of energy consumption saved.
Improving Productivity through Automation
Leveraging on new technologies to unlock numerous opportunities to scale globally beyond the boundaries of Singapore, Koufu invested over $5 million in the automation and capability enhancement processes in its new production facilities. With the introduction of automated processes, the Group has seen an increase in its productivity as well as its capability to handle pent-up demand from existing/new customers and to enter new markets. Some of the automated processes include the Automated Flour Transferring System and the Conveyor and Spiral Cooling Towers. The technology-driven infrastructure optimises business operations, thereby improving its productivity by 140% and supports revenue diversification and network expansion. Koufu through the arm of Deli Asia, supplies frozen and par-fried snack and dough products to its own outlets and third-party businesses. It has achieved an enhanced capability of at least twice its current production volume after the implementation of the automated processes and is now ready to enter new markets including overseas export.
Automation replaces mundane and strenuous job roles while employees are re-deployed to other value-added job functions. With the increase in productivity, the Group will be able to expand its production capacity, optimising its workforce in a more efficient way. The productivity gains are then passed back to the employees through wage increase. Despite the pandemic, employees have seen their remuneration increase up to 30% in 2022 as compared to 2020.
elemenAcademy
Situated on level one is Koufu’s very own chef and service staff training centre, where it is the team’s belief that young chefs should be at the forefront of change. Here, experienced professionals impart their knowledge on meatless cuisines, sharing their passion for an earth diet that is not just wholesome for our bodies but better for the planet. Staying relevant in an age of change, elemenAcademy is where ideas are birthed. elemenAcademy is also opened to the public as the Group encourages sustainability dining where meatless cuisine are served.
Koufu HQ Canteen
Having opened the brand’s first outlet at Toa Payoh in 2002, Koufu HQ Canteen at level 1 beside the main entrance,pays homage to its origins with seating inspired by the iconic dragon playground in Toa Payoh and the nostalgic tiled chess tables found under HDB void decks. Drawing from Singapore’s vibrant hawker heritage, be inspired by the artistic wall mural of a quintessential Singaporean breakfast which involves the aromatic pull of coffee using a traditional coffee sock. More importantly, diners will be spoilt for choice with the array of local and international food offerings such as Koufu’s signature traditional kaya & butter toast sets, wide variety of steamed and fried tim sum, Nasi Padang from the Michelin Bib Gourmand Hjh Maimunah Restaurant, delightfully springy Kolo Mee from Sarawak Noodles and a lean but hearty menu of Korean favourites from O.BBa Jjajang Express and many more.
“With the opening of our new Koufu HQ, it marked an important milestone for Koufu as we celebrate our 20th Anniversary this year. We have always aligned our business expansion plans to the government’s policies and directions especially on our focus on productivity. Tapping on the Enterprise Development Grants administered by Enterprise Singapore since our early years, we managed to speed up our productivity improvement journey for business expansion purposes,” shares Mr. Pang Lim, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Koufu Group.
Koufu‘s humble beginnings started with its maiden food court at Toa Payoh HDB Hub in 2002, with its mission of providing “Better Food Better People Better Life” to its customers, employees and the community.
As Koufu promises value-for-money food offerings to our customers, on this day of 19 October 2022, it has entered a Memorandum of Understanding with the Consumers Association of Singapore (CASE) to participate in listing their food and beverage offerings on Price Kaki, a mobile application launched by CASE to help consumers compare prices of daily essentials and cooked food to stretch their dollar. Consumers will soon be able to compare prices of items sold at more than 70 Koufu’s food courts and coffee shops across Singapore.
Mr Melvin Yong, President, CASE said: “We are happy to collaborate with Koufu to list food and beverage offerings sold in its coffeeshops and foodcourts on Price Kaki, to help consumers compare prices and make better informed purchasing decisions during these challenging times. The collaboration will bring the total number of coffeeshops and foodcourts listed on Price Kaki to 267, achieving our target of at least 200 coffeeshops and foodcourts onto Price Kaki by the end of 2022.”
Committed to improving the welfare of the community, Koufu continues to support various charity initiatives that benefit the less fortunate and the elderly. This includes the distribution of Care vouchers, and donations to community and building funds of different districts with a yearly Charity art exhibition “Share * A Bowl of Rice” held in collaboration with Singapore’s renowned artist, Mr Tan Kay Nguan, who spent four years studying various methods on handling the rice grains as each art piece incorporates a combination of rice grains with acrylic paint. Although rice is the main staple food for most Asians, unfortunately, there are others who might not even be able to enjoy a simple bowl of rice as their everyday meal. Since 2016, this meaningful charity drive collaboration has raised funds for the less fortunate through the sale of art paintings amounting to about $500,000 over the years. Past beneficiaries include the various Community Development Welfare Fund, Blossom World Society, The Straits Times School Pocket Money Fund and Sian Chay Medical Institution. In 2022, Koufu further raised about another $150,000 through this art exhibition charity drive and is committed to continue to support the Singapore community as it enters into a new milestone of its 20 years Anniversary.
Hashtag: #Koufu
About Koufu
“Koufu” refers to the Chinese belief that it is one’s good fortune to feast on good food.
Since our establishment in 2002, we have held this same belief. To bring forth ‘Koufu’ to everyone, we make it our mission to provide good food and services that everyone is able to enjoy through our deep roots in traditional Singaporean cooking and in true coffee shop tradition.
We adopt this comprehensive approach to provide such good fortune for generations of loyal customers.
Koufu’s logo represents the company’s commitment to making a difference to the well-being of everyone through its food services.
Sweeping calligraphic brush strokes depict the Chinese character for the word “mouth”, linking the logo to the food business and the company’s emphasis on treasuring traditions. In contrast to the bold monolithic Chinese character is the Hanyu Pinyin representation of the name underneath. It conveys the youthfulness and friendliness of the business. This juxtaposition between the traditional and the modern demonstrates Koufu’s drive to stay competitive while preserving traditions. The Chinese phrase for Koufu reinforces this ideology.
The colour of the logo conveys the passion Koufu has for the business and also the strength acquired by ensuring excellence from which prosperity will come. This positive spirit extends from the logo to the food and services.
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