A Lao man took his own life after assaulting his ex-wife and a young girl in Bang Sao Thong District, in the central province of Samut Prakan, Thailand on Tuesday.
Oscars 2023: raising the curtain on the recovery and risks in the entertainment industry
- Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty (AGCS) has insured five of the 10 movies nominated in the Oscars’ Best Picture category this year
- The recovery of the entertainment sector is well underway after the pandemic, but it is not immune to the current challenging economic environment
- Health and safety protocols, crowd safety, more extreme weather and technology risks are key industry concerns while ESG has a growing influence.
SINGAPORE – Media OutReach – 9 March 2023 – With the Oscars taking place on March 12, all eyes are on the global entertainment industry. The glamour, revenues and audiences may all be returning post-pandemic, but the movie and live events business has yet to fully recover from the Covid crisis and is having to constantly evolve in a new environment driven by economic, technology and sustainability risk trends, according to insurer Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty (AGCS)’ new outlook for the sector. AGCS is a major player in the global entertainment insurance market and has insured five of the 10 movies nominated in the Oscars’ Best Picture category in 2023, continuing a long tradition of partnership with the film industry that goes back as far as the movies of Charlie Chaplin 100 years ago.
“The entertainment industry had a very positive year in 2022 and a welcome recovery is definitely underway, but we are not out of the woods yet,” says Michael Furtschegger, Global Head of Entertainment at AGCS. “In the three years since the coronavirus first hit the headlines, the world has changed. The sector must continue to evolve in line with new technologies, proliferating platforms, and seismic shifts in patterns of consumption, as well as changes in the public mood, particularly among younger generations.”
Despite the headwinds, consumers are heading back to their favorite entertainment venues or platforms in encouraging numbers. Global box office receipts hit $25.9bn in 2022, reports Gower Street Analytics, a 27% gain on 2021, but still 35% behind the average for the three years before the pandemic (2017 to 2019). Live music revenue is expected to exceed pre-pandemic levels in 2024, with digital music streaming subscriptions fueling growth in recorded music, where revenues are projected to reach $45.8bn in 2026, up from $36.1bn in 2021, according to PwC. Live theater is also staging a comeback with rising receipts and attendances, while the global sports industry is proving particularly resilient supported by media rights, sponsorship deals, and a calendar of fixed international events and tournaments.
The big picture
However, as with other industry sectors, the entertainment sector is not immune to economic trends such as rising costs or staff shortages. “Our entertainment clients are feeling the effects of inflation, with increased production and live-event costs.,” Furtschegger explains. “Staffing costs have risen following the skills shortage that occurred in the wake of the pandemic when many left the industry. Venues are scarcer than they were because there are still many shows postponed from the pandemic that need to take place in addition to new events and festivals. Bigger events may be thriving, but smaller events are more challenged by factors such as venue, transportation, and energy costs. We expect to see more consolidation in the industry, with smaller, struggling production companies and venues being bought by larger operators.”
Quality not quantity
Technology has lowered the barriers to entry for content creators, when almost anyone can upload to TikTok, YouTube or Instagram, while at the other end of the scale, the major studios and tech businesses are launching their own platforms. The sheer volume of content that is now being created and distributed makes quality a key differentiator in a crowded market.
“We see a move towards quality in film production, but this doesn’t come cheap,” says Wanda Phillips, Head of North America Entertainment Insurance at AGCS. “Businesses need to know they have sufficient insurance cover for sophisticated productions. Where costs increase, so, too do exposures because the costs are higher with each day of shooting, and this could be reflected in any insurance loss.”
Getting vigilant about sustainability
There is a growing influence of ESG, or environmental, social, and governance issues on the sector. This year’s Oscars ceremony will see green dresses on the red carpet as the Academy encourages a more responsible approach to awards-season fashion. In live events, British band Coldplay has pledged to halve the carbon emissions associated with its current ‘Music of the Spheres’ world tour, compared to 2016-2017, and has made a raft of sustainable commitments, including paying a surcharge for aviation fuel, sourcing ethical, sustainable merchandise, and planting a tree for every ticket sold.
“Younger generations are particularly concerned about sustainability, and festival organizers are responding to this,” says Furtschegger. “More and more entertainment organizations are committing themselves to sustainability targets to reduce the emissions associated with live tours.”
The virtual future
With streaming now fundamental to the entertainment and media landscape, virtual conferences are a particular growth area. The global virtual events market was valued at over $114bn in 2021 and is expected to grow at a CAGR of 21.4% from 2022 to 2030. Even without a live audience, virtual conferences still carry risks, including transmission failure because of a weather event or natural catastrophe, fire affecting the broadcast unit, or network issues impacting broadcasting infrastructure. Rented equipment and studio space can also be vulnerable to property and casualty liabilities.
Reality and live content are also continuing to grow, facilitated by on-demand services and social media platforms. Virtual reality (VR) is the fastest-growing entertainment and media segment, reports PwC, with global VR growth between 2021 and 2026 expected to bring the segment to $7.6bn. Gaming is forecast to be 85% of total VR revenue by 2026.
“As the worlds of gaming, music and entertainment continue to converge, gaming platforms such as Fortnite and Roblox are increasingly serving as entertainment and social hubs, while gaming content is crossing over to social media and streaming platforms,” says Furtschegger. HBO debuted ‘The Last of Us’, a video-game adaptation set in a post-apocalyptic world, in January 2023 to critical acclaim. Meanwhile, video games continue to develop as a spectator sport, with the total number of esports viewers worldwide possibly exceeding 640 million by 2025 according to a recent report.
Emerging risks on the scene
Health and safety protocols, particularly in the event of future pandemics, increasing weather hazards and crowd safety are some of the key risk concerns that the entertainment industry needs to monitor closely. “The Covid crisis and the recent tragic shooting incident on a film set have shown that the industry needs to remain vigilant about its health and safety protocols,” says Furtschegger. Climate change is another cause for concern. “We’re seeing more abnormal weather-related events – heavy storms and flooding in Europe and bushfires in California, for example. These inevitably cause havoc for live events, both in terms of cancellation exposure but also damages and human safety.”
“Crowds have always carried inherent risks,” adds Kurt Miner, Managing Director, Entertainment, at Allianz Risk Consulting, North America. “Event organizers are now better able to monitor large groups of people and keep them safe, as well as artists, with the use of real-time video monitoring. Safety experts can remotely monitor two or three events, which could each be taking place over 15 acres or more, spotting risks concerns such as blocked exits or damaged barriers. They can also monitor social media to pre-empt gate-rushing and prevent stampedes, sending a security contingent to the location before the situation gets out of hand.” Slips and falls are the most common cause of claims from live-event policies, so organizers should ensure medical staff and transport to local medical facilities are on site.
Hashtag: #AGCS #BusinessInsurance #Oscars2023 #Allianz
https://www.linkedin.com/company/allianz-global-corporate-&-specialty-agcs-/
The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.
About Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty
Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty (AGCS) is a leading global corporate insurance carrier and a key business unit of Allianz Group. We provide
risk consultancy,
Property-Casualty insurance solutions and
alternative risk transfer for a wide spectrum of commercial, corporate and specialty risks across nine
dedicated lines of business and
six regional hubs.
Our customers are as diverse as business can be, ranging from Fortune Global 500 companies to small businesses. Among them are not only the world’s largest consumer brands, financial institutions, tech companies and the global aviation and shipping industry, but also floating wind farms or Hollywood film productions. They all look to AGCS for smart solutions to, and global programs for, their largest and most complex risks in a dynamic, multinational business environment and trust us to deliver an outstanding
claims experience.
Worldwide, AGCS operates with its own teams in more than 30 countries and through the Allianz Group network and partners in over 200 countries and territories, employing around 4,200 people. As one of the largest Property-Casualty units of Allianz Group, we are backed by strong and stable
financial ratings. In 2021, AGCS generated a total of €11.2. billion gross premium globally.
For more information please visit our website www.agcs.allianz.com
Top PH FinTech GCash banners financial inclusion story at Mobile World Congress

Before a global audience of industry leaders, Sazon highlighted that, “GCash is now a National Champion that helps transform a nation, and gives hope to many Filipinos. Powered by game-changing innovation, and driven by a burning platform.”
The leading e-wallet and financial services app in the Philippines has been aggressively launching innovations aimed at making its vision of Finance for All a reality.
“GCash is an everyday super app: for payments and transfers; fair lending for all; affordable investments; accessible insurance; empowering a green and digital lifestyle– all of these are anchored on customer’s needs, with them as our north star for all our innovations,” said Sazon.
She shared how the e-wallet has become ubiquitous in the Philippines with over 76 million registered users, evolving into a verb for many, “‘i-GCash mo na yan!’ translating to ‘Just pay with GCash!'”. GCash is the first and only duacorn in the Philippines and, “one of the very few financially sustainable fintechs in the world.”
Likewise, the platform’s net promoter score (NPS), a gauge measuring customer experience and predicts business growth has been best in class at 83.9%, surpassing globally loved brands.
Sazon culminated the session following separate presentations from Tjodolf Sommestad, president of Candy Crush mobile game developer King and Lauren Kunze, CEO of conversational AI developer Iconiq.
GCash, along with its parent the Globe Group, represented the Philippines at the MWC in Barcelona, as they showcased how the tech conglomerate has been leading progress and innovation in the Southeast Asian nation.
Hosted by GSM Association, a global organization unifying the mobile ecosystem, the MWC is the world’s largest and most influential exhibition for the connectivity industry.
According to GSMA, this year’s theme, Velocity, highlighted five key discussions on 5G acceleration, Reality+, OpenNet, FinTech, and Digital Everything.
This is the second in-person MWC since the event was canceled during the pandemic. The annual gathering reached a record 109,000 attendees in 2019 while this year saw total attendees of 88,500.
Hashtag: #GCash
The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.
abrdn Islamic World Equity Fund marks its 10-year anniversary
Shariah-compliant fund offers diversity, sustained growth and stability to face dynamic market conditions
KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA – Media OutReach – 9 March 2023 – abrdn today marked the 10th anniversary of abrdn Islamic World Equity Fund. The fund is well diversified across multiple sectors and countries, providing investors with a combination of growth and stability in sectors such as IT, communications, consumer discretionary and health care.
Gerald Ambrose, CEO for abrdn Islamic Malaysia Sdn Bhd, said: “Amid increasing geopolitical tension and economic uncertainty, we believe that it is important to invest in a globally diversified portfolio which can ride market volatility and capture growth potential. With compound growth of 7.2% per annum over the past 10 years, abrdn Islamic World Equity Fund has delivered sustained growth for Malaysian investors and allowed them to achieve long-term savings goals. I am confident that our award-winning team will continue to bring value for investors through all conditions for many decades more.”
Launched in February 2013, the Malaysia-domiciled global Islamic fund seeks to achieve long-term capital appreciation through investments in Shariah-compliant equities and equity-related securities. The MYR 577 million strategy[1] has dedicated resources in place including a Shariah compliance officer, plus Shariah screening and monitoring by an independent Shariah Adviser. Shariah-compliant companies typically have less debt compared with conventional firms, and companies that have less debt, particularly during downturns, can focus on their businesses with fewer concerns about their cash flows, hence are better positioned to offer steady growth for investors.
abrdn’s bottom-up stock-picking approach allows the fund to invest in high quality companies that produce less volatile earnings streams, have greater margins of safety and can better navigate an uncertain future. This is achieved by drawing on the Group’s expertise of a 120+ strong equity investment team operating across 13 markets worldwide [2], combining local insights with global perspectives. Research is fundamental to our investment process and the significant majority of our fundamental stock research is produced by our own investment professionals.
Martin Connaghan, co-manager of abrdn Islamic World Equity Fund and Investment Director of Global Equities, said: “As we continue to face a challenging backdrop globally, we seek to maintain a diversified portfolio focused on businesses best positioned to manage financial pressures through to times of greater market stability. We believe periods of market weakness represent an opportunity for the long-term investor. Therefore, we reiterate the importance of a diversified portfolio with a bottom-up investment approach focused on quality characteristics. Come rain or shine, the portfolio aims to offer sustainable growth and stability when it matters most. Market downturns are unavoidable, however we embrace a team-based approach in an effort to capture the best Shariah-compliant investment opportunities for our clients, regardless of the external environment.”
abrdn opened its Kuala Lumpur office in 2005 and has over a decade of experience in managing global, regional and domestic Shariah portfolios, reaching an AUM of USD 800 million[3] .
Hashtag: #abrdn
The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.
About abrdn
At abrdn, we enable our clients to plan, save and invest for their futures.
We structure our business into three areas – and together they reflect our focus on enabling our clients to be better investors:
- Investments: We work with clients to create solutions across asset classes, regions and markets globally – combining multi-layered research and market insights with technology and diverse thinking.
- Adviser: We offer market-leading platform technology and tools that enable UK wealth managers and financial advisers to create more opportunity for their business and their clients.
- Personal: We help people throughout the UK plan for their financial futures – through our financial planning business and our digital investing services.
Across our investments, adviser and personal businesses we manage and administer £500 billion of assets for our clients, and abrdn plc has over 1 million shareholders. (Figures as at 31 December 2022)
abrdn.com
Disclaimer
Investors should read and understand the master prospectus dated 25 April 2022 in respect of abrdn Islamic World Equity Fund (collectively, “Master Prospectus”) as well as the Product Highlights Sheet in respect of AIWEF which can be obtained at our office or from any of our approved distributors, or seek relevant professional investment advice, before making any investment decision. A copy of the Master Prospectus has been registered with the Securities Commission of Malaysia (“the SC”). Investors should consider the fees and charges involved before investing. Investments in the unit trusts are not deposits in, obligations of, or guaranteed or insured by abrdn Islamic Malaysia Sdn. Bhd. (the “Manager”), and are subject to investment risks, including the possible loss of the principal amount invested. Unit values and income therefrom may fall or rise. Past performance is not indicative of future performance. Units will only be issued on receipt of the application form referred to in and accompanying the Master Prospectus, subject to the terms and conditions therein. Investors are advised to read and understand the contents of the unit trust loan financing risk statement before deciding to borrow/seek financing facility to purchase units.
The information herein shall not be disclosed, used or disseminated, in whole or part, and shall not be reproduced, copied or made available to others. The Manager reserves the right to make changes and corrections to the information, including any opinions or forecasts expressed herein at any time, without notice.
The registration of the Master Prospectus dated 25 April 2022 with the SC does not indicate that the SC recommended or endorsed the product and service. This document has not been reviewed by the SC.
abrdn Islamic Malaysia Sdn. Bhd.
Registration Number: 200801026015 (827342-W)
Okta Appoints Clarence Cheah as Head of Growth Strategies, APJ
Cheah will oversee Okta’s strategic growth initiatives and drive regional business development and expansion.

Cheah was pivotal to the successful business launch and market expansion in Japan. He has over two decades of experience in the technology industry, leading sales and engineering teams and executing sales strategies to foster business growth. He was most recently Identity Lead, Asia Pacific and Japan for Okta and has also held senior sales leadership and consulting positions at global IT firms, including Oracle, IBM, and Novell.
Ben Goodman, Okta’s Senior Vice President and General Manager for Asia Pacific, said: “Demonstrating strong business acumen and leadership skills, Cheah has been pivotal to Okta’s expansion in APJ over the years. His deep understanding of the industry, technology, and customers’ identity needs puts him in a prime position to help launch Okta on its next phase of hyper-growth.”
“In today’s fast-evolving digital environment, the need for innovative, robust, and dependable identity solutions has never been greater,” said Cheah. “I am proud to be at the forefront of Okta’s efforts to help customers turn their identity investments into a business asset that can truly deliver impact to their bottom lines.”
Hashtag: #Okta
The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.
About Okta
Okta is the World’s Identity Company. As the leading independent Identity partner, we free everyone to safely use any technology—anywhere, on any device or app. The most trusted brands trust Okta to enable secure access, authentication, and automation. With flexibility and neutrality at the core of our Okta Workforce Identity and Customer Identity Clouds, business leaders and developers can focus on innovation and accelerate digital transformation thanks to customizable solutions and more than 7,000 pre-built integrations. We’re building a world where Identity belongs to you. Learn more at okta.com.
With the launch of a low transaction threshold virtual asset dealing service starting from March 2023, Victory Securities is making virtual asset investment easier for investors
Apart from offering virtual asset dealing services, Victory Securities can also provide professional investors with virtual asset private fund subscription services, while retail clients can purchase virtual asset exchange traded funds (EFTs) to allocate virtual asset to their investment portfolios. A dedicated virtual asset dealing hotline + 852 2175 0998 has also been established by Victory Securities, which is available to investors for 20 hours per day during bank working hours (09:00am – 05:00am).
Victory Securities’ research team has consistently affirmed the value of virtual asset in the future. In addition to strengthening investor education with the ” HONG KONG’S FIRST VIRTUAL ASSET RESEARCH CONFERENCE ” held in January 2023, Victory Fintech Company Limited (“VFCL”), an associate of Victory Securities, has submitted a license application to the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission for Type 1 (dealing in securities) and Type 7 (providing automated trading services) regulated activities. This will further strengthen Victory Securities’ virtual asset business scopes. Executive Director of Victory Securities, Kennix Chan, believes that Victory Fintech Company Limited ‘s operation of a virtual asset trading platform, given with the regulatory approval in the coming future, will enhance the range of services to be provided to investors and bring synergies to the group’s various business lines, as well as build up new clients and market.
Rooted in Hong Kong for over 50 years, Victory Securities (stock code: 8540. HK) offers comprehensive and licensed financial services. It is licensed by the SFC to conduct Type 1 (dealing in securities), Type 2 (dealing in futures contracts), Type 4 (advising on securities), Type 6 (advising on corporate finance) and Type 9 (asset management) regulated activities in Hong Kong. With Victory Securities, investors can take advantage of a comprehensive range of financial services, including Hong Kong and Global securities trading, primary and secondary securities financing, corporate finance(ECM&DCM), asset management, and fund management. The launch of virtual asset dealing services is not only an important move for Victory Securities to expand its business territory, but is also in response to investors’ demand for a diversified investment portfolio. Virtual assets have recently received increasing attention from investors as an emerging investment product. In addition to offering dealing services on mainstream virtual assets such as Bitcoin and Ethereum, Victory Securities also offers professional investment advice and risk management solutions to help investors better understand the virtual asset market and mitigate risk.
As a regulated, diversified, and security-oriented licensed corporation, Victory Securities is dedicated to promote the popularity of virtual asset. It is Victory Securities’ goal to continue to provide professional services to investors and increase their investment value by investing more resources in investor education, risk management, and trading convenience.
Hashtag: #VictorySecurities
The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.
Cyber-Threat Detections Hit a Record-Breaking 146 billion in 2022
Trend Micro annual roundup report warns of exponentially expanding attack surface
HONG KONG SAR – Media OutReach – 9 March 2023 – Trend Micro (TYO: 4704; TSE: 4704), a global cybersecurity leader, today announced a massive 55% increase in overall threat detections in 2022 and a 242% surge in blocked malicious files, as threat actors indiscriminately targeted consumers and organizations across all sectors.
To read a full copy of the report, Rethinking Tactics: 2022 Annual Cybersecurity Report, please visit: https://www.trendmicro.com/vinfo/hk/security/research-and-analysis/threat-reports/roundup/rethinking-tactics-annual-cybersecurity-roundup-2022
Jon Clay, VP of threat intelligence at Trend Micro: “The unrivaled breadth of Trend Micro threat intelligence* reveals 2022 as a year when threat actors went ‘all-in’ to boost profits. A surge in backdoor detections is particularly concerning in showing us their success in making landfall inside networks. To manage risk effectively across a rapidly expanding attack surface, stretched security teams need a more streamlined, platform-based approach.”
The roundup report reveals several interesting trends for 2022 and beyond:
The top three MITRE ATT&CK techniques show us that threat actors are gaining initial access through remote services, then expanding their footprint within the environment through credential dumping to utilize valid accounts.
An 86% increase in backdoor malware detections reveals threat actors trying to maintain their presence inside networks for a future attack. These backdoors primarily targeted web server platform vulnerabilities.
A record number of Zero Day Initiative (ZDI) advisories (1,706) for the third year in a row is the result of a rapidly expanding corporate attack surface and researcher investment in automated analysis tools, which are finding more bugs. The number of critical vulnerabilities doubled in 2022. Two out of the top three CVEs reported in 2022 were related to Log4j.
The ZDI observed an increase in failed patches and confusing advisories, adding extra time and money to corporate remediation efforts and exposing organizations to unnecessary cyber risk.
Webshells were the top-detected malware of the year, surging 103% on 2021 figures. Emotet detections were second after undergoing something of a resurgence. LockBit and BlackCat were the top ransomware families of 2022.
Ransomware groups rebranded and diversified in a bid to address declining profits. In the future, we expect these groups to move into adjacent areas that monetize initial access, such as stock fraud, business email compromise (BEC), money laundering, and cryptocurrency theft.
Trend Micro recommends that organizations adopt a platform-based approach to managing the cyber-attack surface, mitigate security skills shortages and coverage gaps, and minimize the costs associated with point solutions. This should cover the following:
- Asset management. Examine assets and determine their criticality, any potential vulnerabilities, the level of threat activity, and how much threat intelligence is being gathered from the asset.
- Cloud security. Ensure that cloud infrastructure is configured with security in mind to prevent attackers from capitalizing on known gaps and vulnerabilities.
- Proper security protocols. Prioritize updating software as soon as possible to minimize the exploitation of vulnerabilities. Options such as virtual patching can help organizations until vendors provide official security updates.
- Attack surface visibility. Monitor disparate technologies and networks within the organization, as well as any security system that protects them. It may be difficult to correlate different data points from siloed sources.
* It covers endpoints (Android & iOS, IoT, IIoT, PCs, Macs, Linux, servers), email, web and network layers, OT networks, cloud, home networks, vulnerabilities, consumers, businesses, and governments globally.
Hashtag: #TrendMicro
The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.
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.
Two Thais Arrested While Trying to Smuggle 47 Macaques to China Through Laos
Police in the province of Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand, nabbed two men on a pickup truck who were attempting to smuggle 47 macaques into China through Laos on Monday.