SINGAPORE – Media OutReach – 30 July 2021 -Tuas Power, Singapore’s market leader in power generation and electricity retailing, signed a Memorandum of Understanding earlier in June with NEFIN, a leading solar photovoltaic developer and investor in carbon neutrality solutions, to jointly bid for the 100 megawatts (100MW) of zero-carbon electricity import from Malaysia into Singapore. 

To support the Singapore Government’s move to enhance energy security through leveraging on regional power grids, Tuas Power and NEFIN are participating in this initiative with the aim to help overcome the challenges of clean energy import and to develop best practices for the industry.

Mr. Michael Wong, Chief Operating Officer of Tuas Power, said, “Tuas Power is taking a wholistic view to find a sustainable and reliable blend of electricity generated from renewable and fuel-based sources to feed into the national grid. Arising from our sustainable energy eco-system approach, Tuas Power is actively exploring the combined use of solar power and other renewable sources or low-carbon solutions to achieve a zero-carbon electricity import. At the same time, we are exploring solutions that address the intermittency of solar power during non-generating hours.” 

Tuas Power is Singapore’s leading electricity retailer, and is committed to bringing cleaner, more cost-competitive energy to its customers. With its knowledge and experience, Tuas Power has helped them develop and implement many energy efficient programmes. It has a large pool of customers from the data centre, semiconductor and petrochemical industries who are interested to take up the clean energy import.

Mr. Bor Hung Chong, NEFIN’s Head of Business Development and Managing Director for NEFIN Malaysia, commented, “NEFIN is a market leader in distributed solar project development in Malaysia. We have a track record of many customers who have signed up to 20 years of Power Purchase Agreements (PPA) with us, and we are excited to partner Tuas Power to foray into electricity imports into Singapore. If successful in our joint bid, it will allow NEFIN to bring its extensive experience in implementation of renewable energy projects and provision of carbon-neutral solutions to sustain the energy landscape of Singapore.”

NEFIN Malaysia is a Malaysian company under the project development arm of the wider NEFIN Group and specialises in project development and implementation of renewable energy projects in the Southeast Asia region, with Malaysia as one of NEFIN Group’s key markets. NEFIN Malaysia is a market leader in providing zero-carbon solutions, including distributed solar project development and has developed several iconic projects such as the largest commercial solar PPA in Malaysia of more than 10 selected Lotus’s (formerly TESCO) stores in its first phase and the completion of the first solar PV project for Puratos Group in Malaysia. NEFIN Malaysia also provides carbon neutrality related consulting and technical advisory services for its clients.

About Tuas Power Ltd

Tuas Power is a key provider of energy solutions and multi-utilities in Singapore. The company is a member of China Huaneng Group, one of the largest and most forward-looking power producers in China and the world.

Tuas Power has a licensed capacity of 2,670 MW, and is a leading power generation company in Singapore. It has five combined cycle plants and a steam plant in its power station in the Tuas industrial region, and develops efficient and environmentally responsible energy solutions through its retail arm. Tuas Power also supplies utilities such as steam, high-grade industrial water, demineralised water and waste water treatment services in Tembusu, Jurong Island, and provides solid industrial waste treatment through its waste-to-resource plant in Tuas.

About NEFIN Group

NEFIN Group is a regional renowned carbon neutrality solutions provider and investor with a bespoke unified energy management platform committed to achieve carbon neutrality for organizations. Founded by a core management team of DuPont Solar Business, the management team has grown into a well-rounded team of engineers, legal experts, investment bankers and techno-commercial experts with the combined experience of over 40+ years of project development in Asia and 50+ years of engineering experience. NEFIN Group has collectively delivered over 300MW of utility-scale, commercial, and industrial rooftop solar systems regionally. As a strong cohesive team, NEFIN Group is able to offer a comprehensive 360 degree assessment and full-suite of services on socially responsible and commercially viable projects through innovative approaches to technology under its unified energy management platform. NEFIN believes the future of the world is everyone’s responsibility and strives to redefine energy boundaries towards a sustainable future. Please refer to NEFIN’s website www.nefinco.com for more information.

#NEFINGroup

SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA – Media OutReach – 30 July 2021 – K-pop continues to dominate the conversation on Twitter globally, even during unprecedented times. Fans turn to Twitter to connect with their favorite K-pop artists and the #KpopTwitter community around the world. In the recent year between the period from July 1, 2020 to June 30, 2021, there were 7.5 billion Tweets about K-pop, setting yet another record for the most number of Tweets annually related to K-pop.

K-pop conversations around the world: Countries Tweeting the most about K-pop

Passionate and vibrant #KpopTwitter conversations continue to reverberate around the world as K-pop fans connect with each other. Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand, South Korea, and the United States are the top countries with the highest number of K-pop related Tweets.

K-pop popularity continues to grow: Countries with the most K-pop fans on Twitter

From Asia Pacific to South America, the global K-pop fanbase continues to grow on Twitter. Peru and Colombia join the top 20 countries list with the most number of people Tweeting about K-pop.

Introducing the most discussed K-pop artists

For the first time, we are announcing the top 20 most talked about K-pop artists so that fans can celebrate their favorite artists on Twitter. BTS (@BTS_twt), NCT (@NCTsmtown), BLACKPINK (@BLACKPINK), and EXO (@weareoneEXO) are among the most discussed groups.

Newcomer TREASURE (@treasuremembers), who debuted just in August last year, emerged fifth on the inaugural list in a spectacular entrance. Since August 2020, TREASURE have already conducted four #TwitterBlueroom Live Q&A sessions across six months while actively engaging with their fans on Twitter. Similarly, new boy band ENHYPEN (@ENHYPEN) that only debuted in late November last year is ranked seventh.

Here are the most Retweeted Tweets from each of the Top 5 most discussed K-pop artists (*Period: 2020.07.01 ~ 2021.06.30)

●      BTS: https://twitter.com/BTS_twt/status/1303343927676731392

●      NCT: https://twitter.com/NCTsmtown/status/1308330220563308546

●      BLACKPINK: https://twitter.com/BLACKPINK/status/1366402849685590022

●      EXO: https://twitter.com/weareoneEXO/status/1391770182922629123

●      TREASURE: https://twitter.com/treasuremembers/status/1406584320760770562

Twitter Blueroom LIVE program connects artists with fans in the new normal

#TwitterBlueroom continues to connect fans globally to their favorite K-pop artists by bringing exclusive interviews and Q&A sessions for them to get closer to their idols. From 2PM (@follow_2PM), a second-generation K-pop group with a comeback after five years, to third-generation Kpop groups like DAY6 (@day6official) and iKON (@YG_iKONIC), artists and K-culture leaders engaged with their fans in real time on #TwitterBlueroom. ITZY (@ITZYofficial), one of the hottest K-pop girl groups, hosted a LIVE Q&A with over one million viewers while JUSTB (@JUSTB_Official), who just debuted last month, did so via a showcase live-streamed on #TwitterBlueroom, bringing fans from all over the world together virtually.

Watch these Blueroom sessions again:

●      2PM (@follow_2PM) 7/3: https://twitter.com/follow_2PM/status/1411263519912173572

●      DAY6 (@day6official) 7/2: https://twitter.com/day6official/status/1410885968211726339

●      iKON(@YG_iKONIC) 3/5: https://twitter.com/YG_iKONIC/status/1367671185656279044?s=20

●      ITZY (@ITZYofficial) 5/2: https://twitter.com/ITZYofficial/status/1388795702390628357

●      JUST B (@JUSTB_Official) 6/30: https://twitter.com/JUSTB_Official/status/1410191562143789064

YeonJeong Kim, Head of Global K-pop Partnerships at Twitter, said, “Whether they are global powerhouses or emerging stars, K-pop fans are talking about and engaging with their favourite artists regularly on #KpopTwitter. Culturally, we have seen the phenomenal rise of K-pop across the world, but this trend is not new on Twitter as we have experienced the growth in conversation first-hand. We will continue to work with artists and their labels to bring more content for the K-pop community.”

In 2021, K-pop is bigger than ever – there is always something happening on #KpopTwitter, from #TwitterSpaces to #TwitterBlueroom, and more. If you missed an event, catch up on what has happened on the Twitter blog. Here are some of the top moments from 2021 so far:

●      #SMTOWN_LIVE delivered a message of Hope… Generated 12 M Tweets!

●      SEOTAIJI concert “Quiet Night” grabbed 3.2M viewers worldwide on Twitter

●      Twitter brings #FanTweets to #Kpop starting with #BLACKPINK #ROSÉ

●      #BTS_Butter spread Twitter with 300M Tweets globally in 1 month

●      88rising #AsiaRisingTogether livestream on Twitter to #StopAsianHate

●      Kpop Generation Analysis: BTS set an example for the 4th gen on Twitter

●      World Music Day Celebration #KpopTwitter Campaign

●      3 of the top 5 most listened-to Twitter Spaces are K-pop artists (GOT7 Bambam, NCT, TWICE)

Join the #KpopTwitter conversation with other fans and your favorite K-pop idols today!

About Twitter, Inc.

Twitter is what’s happening and what people are talking about right now. To learn more, visit about.twitter.com and follow @Twitter and @TwitterKorea. Let’s talk.

#Twitter

Over half of respondents optimistic about home prices as pandemic situation improves, despite reduced interest in property ownership

HONG KONG SAR – Media OutReach – 29 July 2021 – Citi Hong Kong conducted a survey in June 2021 on residential property ownership in Q2 2021, examining the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on local residents’ attitudes towards residential property ownership. According to the survey results:

• With the COVID-19 pandemic being eased, Q2 2021 witnessed a significant recovery of confidence in the property market. Over half of the respondents believed that property prices would rise in the coming year. Only about 10% of respondents were pessimistic about the property market, a lower percentage compared with the previous quarter.
• 14% of respondents expressed interest in property ownership, down from the previous quarter. Based on the survey results, it was projected that close to 500,000 people toured new home developments in May and June this year.
• 7% of respondents considered it was a good time to buy a home in Q2 2021, a figure that remains higher than those recorded throughout the eight-year period between 2012 and 2019, before the COVID-19 outbreak.
• Approximately half of the respondents mentioned they have higher levels of household income than expenditure, down from nearly 60% recorded in the previous quarter. With close to 40% of respondents who just managed to strike a balance between income and spending, the survey findings show a lower percentage of respondents with surplus funds.
• With the improving pandemic situation, “zero local COVID-19 infections” were recorded for most of the days in Q2 2021, which helps boosting respondents’ confidence in rising property prices. However, there is a drop in the percentage of respondents expressing interest in purchasing a home, probably due to fewer respondents having surplus funds.

Over half of respondents expect a rise in property prices in the coming year; based on the survey findings, an estimated 500,000 people toured new home developments in May and June this year

According to the results of the Q2 2021 survey, 7% of respondents considered Q2 2021 a good/an excellent time to buy a home, a percentage similar to that of the previous quarter but higher than that recorded throughout 2012 to 2019, the eight-year period before the pandemic outbreak.

In Q2 2021, 14% of the respondents expressed interest in buying a home, a slightly lower figure compared with the previous quarter. Estimated based on the survey findings, about 495,000 people visited a show flat in May and June this year, up nearly 10% compared with the previous quarter. This shows that more people have gone house-hunting amid the gradually easing pandemic.

Indicating a continued recovery of confidence in the property prices in the coming year, 54% of respondents were optimistic about a rise in property prices, up from 33% in the previous quarter, while 35% of the respondents expected property prices to remain unchanged. The percentage of respondents holding bearish views on the property market also fell to 12% this quarter from 20% in the previous quarter, reflecting stronger confidence in rising property prices. This view was probably fueled by the significantly improving pandemic situation, as “zero local infections” were recorded on most of the days in June this year, when the survey was conducted. However, when respondents were asked about their household income and expenditure, approximately 50% of them mentioned having higher household income than expenses, down from the close to 60% recorded in the previous quarter. 36% of the respondents just managed to strike a balance between income and spending, compared with 14% who considered themselves to spend more than their household income. The survey findings reflect a lower percentage of respondents with surplus funds compared with the previous quarter. This is probably one of the reasons contributing to the reduced level of interest in purchasing a home.

“The survey results show a recovery of confidence in the property market in Q2 2021,” said Josephine Lee, Head of Retail Bank at Citi Hong Kong. “More than half of the respondents expected property prices to rise in the coming year, and the number of respondents who considered it a good time to buy a property in Q2 2021 has remained at a higher level compared with that seen before the pandemic outbreak. However, fewer respondents with surplus funds were recorded, which may explain the reduced level of interest in buying a property. Amid the continued improvement in the pandemic situation, the economy is expected to recover further. We recommend that interested homebuyers comprehensively assess their financial condition and seek an appropriate mortgage plan as part of the detailed planning necessary to fulfil their dream of home ownership.”

Citibank commissioned the University of Hong Kong Social Sciences Research Centre to conduct the survey, interviewing a random sample of more than 500 Hong Kong respondents by phone in June 2021. Since 2010, Citibank has been conducting quarterly surveys on the Hong Kong housing market to assess the current state of home ownership in the SAR, gauge public intentions towards home ownership, and track public expectations of future housing price trends.

Source: Citibank Q2 2021 Residential Property Ownership Survey

About Citi

Citi, the leading global bank, has approximately 200 million customer accounts and does business in more than 160 countries and jurisdictions. Citi provides consumers, corporations, governments and institutions with a broad range of financial products and services, including consumer banking and credit, corporate and investment banking, securities brokerage, transaction services, and wealth management.

Additional information may be found at www.citigroup.com | Twitter: @Citi | YouTube: www.youtube.com/citi | Blog: http://blog.citigroup.com | Facebook: www.facebook.com/citi | LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/citi

#Citi #Citibank