SINGAPORE – Media OutReach – 22 February 2022 – Known for its healthy bird’s nest product, LENE has adopted a new take on its brand. Hinging on the Chinese culture of swallows being commonly associated with femininity, grace & beauty, LENE is adopting a more oriental approach. Aligning with the swallows being symbolic of new beginnings and a good omen of something good to happen, LENE’s rebrand and new premium gift boxing hopes to enable its brand to reach new heights.

Bird’s nest is the partially dissolved nest of a native small Southeast Asian bird –– swiftlet. These salivary secretion of nest swiftlets are a highly-prized health supplement rich in epidermal growth factor and glycoproteins, leaving you with smooth, glowing and healthy skin. LENE’s sugar-free double-boiled bird’s nests are harvested for human consumption, especially sought after in Chinese culture due to their rarity, health benefits and rich flavour.

Focusing on sustainable harvesting, LENE’s bird’s nests are derived from house nests, allowing better control over optimal conditions for swiftlets while ensuring ethical harvesting methods. LENE relies on our very own bird’s nests farm in Malaysia and trustworthy suppliers, establishing a brand grounded in sustainable harvesting known for its quality bird’s nest.

Cleaned by hand using filtered water absent of toxins and chemicals (eg. bleach), LENE places trust in our quality suppliers who are able to provide 100% pure, premium-grade bird’s nests for one’s wellness that our brand stands for. Further, using monk fruit extract (luo han guo) for a natural zero-calorie sweetener, LENE uses its antioxidants called mogrosides, for the natural sweetening of our bird’s nest. Its low glycaemic index gives rise to its diabetic-friendly nature, making it the ideal option for all.

As a firm believer of the Chinese philosophy “beauty begins from within”, LENE aims to combine the concept of modern wellness with wisdom stemming from rich Chinese heritage (eating well to exude outward beauty). From the beginning selection of the finest ingredients to the final stages of sealing and bottling, we ensure the best quality is reflected at every step of our production process. Much thought goes into our new design and revamped final aesthetic appearance of the brand package such that a harmonious blend of both tradition and modernity is achieved, striving to appeal to all ages.

Using sustainable sources for bird’s nest ingredients with no added sugar, LENE is keenly differentiated from many other similar companies, priding ourselves on bringing you nothing less than the best. Using only whole bird’s nests (yan zan) for enhanced flavour, the unabridged quality is clearly seen through the fine, intact strands of the bird’s nests.

Making efforts in improving its premium packaging, LENE’s Japanese-imported bottle now has a gold logo which aptly matches the gold cap of the bottle, making it an ideal choice for practical yet beautiful decoration around the house. The matte-coating paper-lined cardboard boxes with traditional designs also underscore Chinese beliefs and values, aligning with LENE’s overall rebranding efforts.

About us

Launched in 2021, LENE offers freshly cooked bird’s nest sourced sustainably and made from pure and highest quality ingredients providing only the best nutrition. LENE aims to bring more people on board to the journey of beauty and better health.

#LENE

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

HONG KONG SAR – Media OutReach – 22 February 2022 – Professor Xiang-dong LI, Dean of Faculty of Construction and Environment, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU), was honoured with the Clair C. Patterson Award 2022 in recognition of his innovative and dynamic work in environmental geochemistry, including research in the fields of regional contamination, urban air PM_2.5 pollution, and the origin and dissemination of antimicrobial resistance.

Professor Xiang-dong Li, Dean of Faculty of Construction and Environment, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, was honoured with the Clair C. Patterson Award 2022 in recognition of his innovative and dynamic work in environmental geochemistry.

The Clair C. Patterson Award is presented to only one recipient annually by the Geochemical Society for an innovative breakthrough in environmental geochemistry of fundamental significance within the last decade, particularly in service to society.

Professor Li said, “I am very proud to be presented with this prestigious award. In addition to the international recognition, the award indeed acknowledges the dedication of the research team here at PolyU in making an impact in the communities we serve. By addressing real-world environmental problems, we hope our research will bring about practical benefits for Hong Kong and the rest of the world.”

Professor Li’s current research covers a wide range of topics including emissions, transport and environmental fate of metal and organic pollutants, contaminated soil remediation, and the environmental loadings and implications of emerging pharmaceutical-related contaminants in surface environments.

Over the years, he has published more than 250 papers, mostly in leading international journals. He has also been the principal investigator of numerous research projects funded by the Hong Kong Research Grants Council (RGC) and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC).

Professor Li is also the Director of the Research Institute for Sustainable Urban Development (RISUD), Chair Professor of Environmental Science and Technology, and Ko Jan Ming Professor in Sustainable Urban Development at PolyU.

Established in 1955, the Geochemical Society is a non-profit scientific organisation that aims to encourage the application of chemistry to the solution of geological and cosmochemical problems as well as to promote understanding of geochemistry through various programmes. Membership is international and diverse in background, and includes thousands of scientists and engineers from around the world.

#TheHongKongPolytechnicUniversity(PolyU)

SINGAPORE – Media OutReach – 22 February 2022 – Following Singapore’s “Charting Our New Way Forward Together” Budget announcement on 18 February 2022, KPMG has released a Singapore Budget 2022: Capturing opportunities at a new dawn publication, entailing our views on how Singapore will help businesses, residents and workers look forward to a prosperous and sustainable future.

Capturing opportunities at a new dawn

How will it prepare Singapore to harness growth in an economic sunrise?

FOREWORD

Optimism is in the air as most countries adjust their economic recovery strategies to live with COVID-19. Having weathered the crisis better than most – supported by high vaccination rates – the time is ripe for Singapore to position itself for the upturn and capture new opportunities for growth. Building on its core strengths and riding on new trends, Singapore has the potential to become a formidable regional leader in environmental, social and governance (ESG) initiatives and a global hub for top businesses and talent. Budget 2022 lays pivotal steps towards these aspirations. Not only does it chart a fairer post-pandemic social compact supported by progressive taxation policies, but it also outlines a vision of Singapore as a “bright green spark” for the world and a forerunner in innovation.

At the same time, fast-developing challenges remain. Amid a renewed purpose towards sustainability, countries are recognising that they will need to deliver on their environmental commitments with urgency. Businesses, too, are facing the heat from stakeholders to be more transparent, consistent, and accountable on their ESG targets. Singapore has made some bold climate-related commitments in Budget 2022. The most notable would be the acceleration of the net-zero emissions timeline to 2050.

Other challenges on the horizon include the new global tax rules that could kick in next year and growing concerns over inflation and the costs of living. Coupled with the pressure for growth and expansion, businesses could be squeezed on all fronts as they look to survive and thrive. Against this backdrop, Singapore should capitalise on its strengths and reputation as a hub for business and innovation. In the wake of a pandemic that has accelerated the move to a digital future, this means supporting businesses in their recovery and digitalisation efforts, while ensuring that R&D and innovation ecosystems here are being cultivated steadily. Singapore will also have to be cognizant of how its various tax and non-tax measures can attract large multinationals and fast-growing enterprises to anchor their operations here.

In the times ahead, enterprises will need to build greater agility and resilience amid unpredictability. Businesses will have to keep prioritising the development of digital capabilities in emerging areas and attract highly nimble talent who are able to transform disruption into growth.

Today, Singapore can stand proud as it holds the recipe for building lasting companies and societies that will make a positive mark on the world. It will be a pivotal year and Budget 2022 sets the stage towards an economic horizon filled with boundless possibilities.

Ong Pang Thye

Managing Partner, KPMG in Singapore

A NEW WAY FORWARD

Evoking how the Singapore spirit shone through the difficult years of the COVID-19 pandemic, Budget 2022 is positioned as a “new way forward together”. It includes tangible measures that businesses, residents and workers can look forward to improve their prosperity in the years ahead – and more fundamentally sets a comprehensive path towards national economic recovery and sustainable growth, aided by progressive policies on the taxation of income, consumption, and wealth. Here is KPMG’s analysis of three key themes:

Singapore as a key driver of ESG in the region

Budget 2022 details an ambitious vision for Singapore to help lead the world’s transition to a net-zero carbon future. Bringing additional risks of extreme weather events, climate change represents an existential threat to Singapore’s way of life and requires it to take decisive steps to overcome its lack of renewable energy resources.

Building on its commitment to halve peak emissions by 2050, as well as last year’s launch of the Singapore Green Plan 2030, Singapore will now seek to bring forward its achievement of net-zero emissions through a higher carbon price. A total of $35 billion in green bonds was announced to fund public sector infrastructure projects. The Budget also emphasises the government’s desire to minimise car use (including by phasing out internal combustion engines by 2040), incentivise the adoption of electric vehicles and boost the public transport network.

Introduced in 2019, Singapore’s carbon tax will be gradually increased from its current $5 per tonne of emissions to $25 per tonne by 2024; $45 per tonne by 2026; and between $50 and $80 per tonne by 2030. While these increases are higher than the rates many were expecting, they should not come as a major surprise to businesses given recent global trends, the greater urgency to address climate change-related issues and the general drive towards more sustainable solutions. Industries that are most affected can take some comfort from the fact that the first rise will not be effective until 2024, and that a “transition framework” is being drawn up which will provide allowances based on efficiency standards and decarbonisation targets. There will also be a support package for households to offset rising electricity prices.

Yet rather than intended as a revenue raising measure, the rise in Singapore’s carbon tax is positioned as part of a decisive economic restructuring towards decarbonisation. Budget 2022 makes an impassioned pitch for Singapore to become Asia’s go-to location for green finance, carbon services and an expert in areas such as sustainable aviation, marine fuels and tourism. Besides an increase in carbon taxes, there were also a range of green initiatives and incentives announced for Singapore to establish itself as a “green hub”. In building a more sustainable city, Singapore will also have to look at how it can create good jobs for Singaporeans in the green economy, together with the reskilling and upskilling of employees.

Overall, Singapore’s commitment to building a sustainable future has come across very strongly. The combination of increasing taxes and incentives should be an effective tool to encourage businesses to move towards greener solutions sooner rather than later.

Singapore as a choice destination for businesses

A second major theme of Budget 2022 is Singapore’s determination to be a strategic launchpad for businesses around the world that are looking to expand across Asia. Hence, even as new global tax rules come to the fore in the next 1 to 2 years, the country should consider the balance of tax and non-tax measures that are key in attracting multinational enterprises (MNEs) to continue locating their offices and headquarters in Singapore.

Singapore has a well-established reputation of a leading smart city. Budget 2022 has reaffirmed the government’s commitment to support innovation and R&D – public investments in R&D is set at about 1 per cent of GDP – and the city-state is home to a thriving innovation ecosystem. In addition, the extension of the Approved Royalties Incentive (ARI) to 2028 will continue to encourage companies to leverage on state-of-the-art technologies to capture growth opportunities.

Singapore was also among the world’s first few nations to establish a standalone 5G network. Certainly, the pandemic has turbocharged the trends towards digital acceleration in all sectors of the economy. Budget 2022 has highlighted the need to keep upgrading broadband infrastructure and to invest in future technologies such as 6G. The ability of businesses to prosper and continue creating jobs and opportunities for their workforce, will require them to embrace this transition. As such, the Budget contains an additional $200 million to improve digital capabilities in businesses and workforces. It also commits to keep upgrading broadband infrastructure, invest in future technologies such as 6G – and to pursue new use cases in areas such as virtual and augmented reality and robotics that can generate innovation across the economy.

As we look at the current trend of Metaverse and the virtual world, we are seeing an exponential need for data streaming, high velocity and low latency data. New technology, such as 5G and in the future 6G, will drive the push for more creative ways to integrate immersive experiences within our real world and adjacent “worlds”. These provide opportunities for businesses to engage with consumers differently and market their products. To best capitalise on these emerging technologies, there will be a strong need to drive new ways of working, while encouraging lateral thinkers and problem solvers.

Budget 2022 also aims to anchor Singapore’s traditional strengths. The enhancement of the existing tax incentive schemes for funds managed by Singapore-based fund managers will further cement Singapore’s reputation as an asset management hub. In addition, the extension and rationalisation of various existing withholding tax exemption schemes will further boost Singapore’s position as an international hub for financial services, mediation and arbitration, maritime and aircraft leasing.

Singapore as a magnet for top talent across industries

Thirdly, Budget 2022 contains a comprehensive plan to position Singapore as a global centre of talent. The pandemic has reduced worker and student mobility around the world, leaving nations facing skills shortages. However, as Singapore postures for economic growth, the key policy priority identified in the Budget is achieving a complementarity between luring overseas talent and investing in the local workforce. The Government has correctly recognised the need to expand educational opportunities for Singaporeans through initiatives such as SkillsFuture. It is also committed to the special reskilling challenges facing midcareer workers given their vulnerability to digital disruption and the transformation of local Institutes of Higher Learning.

At the same time, one of Singapore’s hallmarks is its ability to combine local and foreign workforces into diverse, high-performing teams. Changes in Budget 2022 slightly recalibrating eligibility to Employment Pass and S Pass Holders, and tightening the Dependency Ratio Ceiling, are designed to protect mid-level Singaporeans while not interfering with the nation’s ability to bring in professionals to address higher end skills shortages and to welcome talent from around the world. The slight increase in the top marginal personal tax rate to 24 per cent is also unlikely to adversely affect Singapore’s ability to attract top talent.

CONCLUSION

Singapore has the potential to shoot for an economic sunrise, and in doing so, also ascend to be a force for positive influence in the region and globally towards sustainability. But this is contingent on the country and its companies being clear in identifying what they want to be known for in the years ahead. In a world without borders, global competitiveness will also not just be about Singapore, but about ASEAN and the world as a whole. In laying a strong foundation for the country in the areas of sustainability, digitalisation and talent, Budget 2022 is a clear roadmap on the way forward and beyond.

#KPMG

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