The Ministry of Finance in Laos has issued a notice requiring foreign e-commerce and tech platforms to register for Value Added Tax (VAT) in the country.
Expanding Globally, Appointing CTO, and Winning Prestigious Awards
GRAND JUNCTION, US – News Direct – 6 April 2022 – Cloudrise Inc., a technology-enabled services firm focused on data protection, cloud security, and privacy, continues to make waves with a flurry of exciting news to kick-off 2022.
Cloudrise is pleased to announce the acquisition of CyberOrchard, an information security managed service organization located in the United Kingdom. Cloudrise CEO, Rob Eggebrecht, shared his thoughts: “The merger of the two companies brings a breadth of knowledge and expertise to Cloudrise, paving the way to expand our portfolio of data protection services to the global market.”
As part of the acquisition, Jason Bird, CyberOrchard’s Founder and CEO, has been named Chief Technology Officer (CTO) at Cloudrise. Bird has over 25 years of experience in cybersecurity, managed services, data governance, and privacy. “Data protection is becoming more complex every day, and at Cloudrise we believe collaboration is the path to better protection for our customers. We are partnering with the strongest data-centric technology companies to bring innovative solutions to our customers, such as Netskope, AWS, Digital Guardian, Microsoft, OneTrust, Varonis, BigID, and Veritas, just to name a few,” said Bird.
This news comes just a week after Netskope named Cloudrise as their Global Services Partner of the Year. “This achievement illustrates Cloudrise’s commitment to delivering innovative service offerings to customers worldwide,” said Joe Infantino, Chief Operating Officer at Cloudrise.
Additionally, Cloudrise is pleased to announce that CRN®, a brand of The Channel Company, has named Cloudrise to its Managed Service Provider (MSP) 500 list in the Managed Security 100 category for 2022. Winners are recognized for helping end users increase efficiency, simplify solutions, and maximize their return on investment.
Cloudrise is a technology-enabled services firm, specializing in delivering data-centric services customized to meet organizations’ business needs. Drawing from 20+ years of experience in the field, they have tailored their services to be focused on securing organizations’ data wherever it resides. Cloudrise knows how to identify gaps, build and optimize controls and integrations across the enterprise, and deploy data-centric technologies across multiple industries, geographies and organizational sizes – all with the expertise to navigate an ever-changing data compliance and regulatory landscape. Cloudrise can be found at Cloudrise.com or on LinkedIn.
#Cloudrise
About CyberOrchard
UK-based CyberOrchard is an information security managed services organization, home to experts with over 20 years of data security experience. Whether the risk to organizations’ data lives in transit on the network, at rest in storage, or in use at an endpoint, CyberOrchard provides the necessary data security bundled service offerings, consultancy and managed services to significantly reduce organizations’ risk of data loss. CyberOrchard can be found at cyberorchard.com or on LinkedIn.
HANOI, VIETNAM – Media OutReach – 6 April 2022 – According to the Viet Nam Beekeepers Association, the majority of beekeepers are currently in the Central Highlands and the Northern Midlands and Mountainous Area. The number of honeybee swarms in the Central Highlands accounts for a large proportion of the total 1.5 million honeybee swarms in Viet Nam per year, producing around 64,000 tons of honey, including 50,000 tons to export to the American market (80 per cent of total export volume).
The Central Highlands forest ecology is an important ecosystem. Some areas own relatively intact closed forest ecosystems, such as Kon Ha Nung Valley, which was acknowledge by UNESCO “Man and the Biosphere” (MAB) as the world biosphere reserve in 2021.
The UNESCO acknowledgement of the biosphere reserve in Viet Nam has given international accreditation to the value of biological diversification and effort in preserving nature and sustainable development in Viet Nam. Authorities in these areas and other villages in the buffer zone have worked together to protect forests.
Bee pollination can also contribute to the growth and diversifying development of botanical species, which helps improve air quality and increase the recoverability of planted trees. The health of bees and their swarms peak when being kept in gardens and biodiversity forests.
On November 17, 2021, the DOC (US Department of Commerce) issued a conclusion stating that the honey of Viet Nam dumped into America was being taxed from 410.93 to 413.99 per cent (Buon Me Thuot Honey JSC – 413.99%, Dak Lak Honey JSC – 410.93%) and is applying equivalent temporary tax.
On January 3, 2022, the DOC announced that they would apply retroactive tax for all honey consignments imported from Viet Nam from August 25, 2021. It is expected to have a final conclusion in April 2022.
The level of anti-dumping tax means that honeybee production in Viet Nam must stop producing for a period due to the loss of the main market. Aside from the direct economic damage, this also harms the forest ecosystem, tree-planting productivity, and livelihoods of low-income groups (who are mainly ethnic minorities in upland areas).
“The US Government has put a very high priority on environmental protection by launching important initiatives like the Agriculture Innovation Mission for Climate (AIM4C) and Lowering Emissions by Accelerating Forest Finance and Coalition of Action Sustainable Productivity Growth for Food Security and Resource Conservation (SPG). Viet Nam has actively participated in those initiatives to join the US and global efforts in mitigating climate change impact and environmental protection. Honey bees are vital to keeping the forest healthy. The decision by the DOC may destroy billions of bees, and the rainforests of Viet Nam would be greatly affected. The US Government should consider its social and environmental responsibilities globally in this case,” said Nguyen Do Anh Tuan, Director General of International Cooperation Department, Viet Nam’s Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.
HONG KONG SAR – Media OutReach – 6 April 2022 – The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) has attained remarkable results in the latest Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) World University Rankings by Subject 2022, with three disciplines ranked first in Hong Kong, and five disciplines and one broad subject area ranked among the top 50 in the world. Various Engineering-related disciplines also demonstrated a significant leap from last year.
PolyU ranked top 20 in the QS World Rankings in four disciplines this year, namely Hospitality and Leisure Management (10th), Architecture/ Built Environment (15th), Engineering – Civil and Structural (15th) and Art and Design (16th). The University also ranked 48th in the discipline of Business and Management Studies and 50th in the broad subject area of Social Sciences and Management.
Furthermore, PolyU also rated top in the city in three subjects, namely Hospitality and Leisure Management, Engineering – Civil and Structural and Art and Design, reaffirming the University’s achievement in being a leading institution both globally and locally.
With respect to Engineering-related disciplines and broad subject area, the University achieved remarkable leaps in the Rankings, with Engineering and Technology rising 13 places to 69th, Engineering – Mechanical, Aeronautical and Manufacturing rising 24 places to 74th, Engineering – Electrical and Electronic rising 16 places to 76th, and Computer Science and Information Systems jumping notably by 28 places to 92nd.
PolyU’s President, Professor Jin-Guang TENG, said, “PolyU strives to excel in holistic education and pursuing impactful research for the benefit of Hong Kong, the Nation and the world. We are pleased that the University has received strong international recognition across different disciplines, reflecting our accomplishments in both education and research. We will make reference to the ranking information and other forms of evaluation criteria to identify areas for improvement, in order to capitalise on our strengths and expertise to scale new heights in the future.”
The QS World University Rankings by Subject showcased over 1,500 institutions across 51 subjects in 5 broad subject areas. The subject rankings are weighted based on four components, namely academic reputation, employer reputation, research citations per paper and the H-index.
Prudential Laos Donates Protection Kits to Support Lao Red Cross and Frontliners to Combat COVID-19.
Prudential Life Assurance (Lao) Limited Company (“Prudential Laos”) has completed its donation of 12,000 sets of protection kits, valued at LAK443 million, to the Lao Red Cross in Vientiane Capital to support frontline workers to combat rising COVID-19 cases nationwide.
SINGAPORE – Media OutReach – 6 April 2022 – QuickHR is one of Singapore’s first full-suite HR software providers to allow customers to log in to their Human Resource Management Software (HRMS) using their national digital identity, Singpass.
Users now have the option to access their QuickHR account by scanning a Singpass QR code on QuickHR’s login portal using their trusted Singpass app.
This alternative, fuss-free and highly secure login method will allow customers to quickly access their QuickHR accounts. All while avoiding the inconvenience of remembering multiple credentials like login ID and lengthy passwords.
The HR and payroll software provider says that Singpass Login is used to verify and authenticate customers’ identities with higher assurance during the login process.
The Singpass app ensures easy yet secure logins by requiring the user’s biometrics (fingerprint or face) or a 6-digit passcode on their personal device. It serves as a Two-Factor Authentication (2FA) which provides an additional layer of defence against unauthorised access to user accounts.
Employees and HR administrators can then enjoy direct access to their HR portal to apply/approve leave, submit/approve claims, view itemised payslips, clock in/out attendance and many more.
The award-winning cloud HRMS says it is delighted to be leading the way in incorporating state-of-the-art technology into its HR and payroll solution.
QuickHR’s CEO, Mr. Suki Bajaj, said: “Signing in with Singpass will make it easier and faster for our customers to use our website to access all their HR matters, including payroll, employee self-service, attendance tracking, shift scheduling, and more. Our customers also stand to benefit from the security features implemented by the government for Singpass, especially in the face of increasing cybersecurity threats.”
Singpass provides a convenient and secure platform for users to transact with Government agencies and private sector organisations such as QuickHR. To date, this includes over 700 organisations offering secure access to more than 2,000 digital and online services. For more details about Singpass, visit www.singpass.gov.sg
About QuickHR by Enable Business
QuickHR was developed by Enable Business, a cutting-edge B2B SaaS company headquartered in Singapore, as a holistic cloud-based Human Resource Management System (HRMS) that introduces an innovative approach to address the concerns of traditional HR platforms. Enable Business helps management and HR professionals navigate the ever-evolving technological landscape by covering all aspects of human resource and workforce management.
Cloudrise.com or on 
LinkedIn. 
www.quickhr.co or the company’s official 
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Facebook. 
