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FWD Hong Kong collaborates with LoveXpress to organise #LiveBoundless scented candle workshop for families with autism

The workshop for autistic children and their parents is part of FWD’s social inclusion initiative and provides participants with a space to enjoy quality time

HONG KONG SAR – Media OutReach – 16 January 2023 – FWD Hong Kong (“FWD”) collaborated with LoveXpress, a local charity organisation, to hold a #LiveBoundless scented candle workshop for autistic children and their parents in late December 2022. The workshop aimed to encourage creativity and collaboration while enriching the community with love and care, bringing FWD’s brand promise, ‘Celebrate living’, to life. As a continuation of FWD’s exclusive #LiveBoundless campaign, the handmade scented candle collection was created to encourage people to enjoy the special moments in life through pleasant scents, while the relaxing nature of each candle symbolises the comprehensive protection that FWD is committed to providing for the community. An online #LiveBoundless personality test concluded in 2022 and, as a gift, for every participant that took part FWD will donate HK$5 donation to LoveXpress. Together with an internal donation, a total of HK$30,000 will be donated to support the organisation in promoting Community Care and social inclusion.

FWD collaborated with LoveXpress, a local charity organisation, to hold a #LiveBoundless scented candle workshop to promote social inclusion and provide autistic children and their parents with a comfortable environment to relax and enjoy quality time.
FWD collaborated with LoveXpress, a local charity organisation, to hold a #LiveBoundless scented candle workshop to promote social inclusion and provide autistic children and their parents with a comfortable environment to relax and enjoy quality time.

The #LiveBoundless scented candle workshop was led by Ms Kai Lai Poon, the Founder of LoveXpress, and celebrity Grace Chan, along with a professional team from BeCandle, a local fragrance brand. Participants used their creativity to draw personalised patterns on candle holders and mix their favourite fragrance oil blends to create their own unique scented candles. The #LiveBoundless scented candles collection is inspired by FWD’s five core values: the ‘Friend’ candle showcased in the workshop represents the brand’s commitment to ‘caring’ about customers and the community, offering access to a wide range of protection products that support them to enjoy the special moments in life.

FWD collaborated with LoveXpress to host a scented candle workshop to create their exclusive scented candle - ‘Friend’, which represents FWD’s care for autistic families as a warm and supportive friend.
FWD collaborated with LoveXpress to host a scented candle workshop to create their exclusive scented candle – ‘Friend’, which represents FWD’s care for autistic families as a warm and supportive friend.

Paul Tse, Chief Marketing and Digital Officer, FWD Hong Kong and Macau, said: “At FWD, we’re committed to serving the community and creating positive changes. Through our meaningful collaboration with LoveXpress, we offered an opportunity for families with autism to explore their passions. FWD is dedicated to promoting social inclusion and the importance of wellbeing and health. Through our participation in charitable programmes, we’ll continue to support community members in need, unleashing their potential and building their confidence, allowing them to live life to the fullest.”

During the workshop, autistic children were invited to get creative by designing personalised patterns on a candle holder and uncovering new experiences, from mixing their favourite candle oil blends to observing how the candle was formed. Parents also got to understand their protection needs and exchanged thoughts with peers.
During the workshop, autistic children were invited to get creative by designing personalised patterns on a candle holder and uncovering new experiences, from mixing their favourite candle oil blends to observing how the candle was formed. Parents also got to understand their protection needs and exchanged thoughts with peers.

Ms Kai Lai Poon, the founder of LoveXpress, said: “Families with autism had fewer opportunities to take part in activities outside the home due to the pandemic. Being able to physically interact with people is an important part of children’s learning and development. With that, we’re grateful for FWD’s support and for organising this scented candle workshop, which allowed autistic children and families to interact, create and collaborate in person. It brought a positive impact to the personal development and growth of children with special needs, while also allowing their families to feel love and support from their community. Our shared value of social inclusion brought us together and we’re pleased to join hands with FWD in building a harmonious and caring community.”

Inspired by the FWD’s five core values, the ‘Friend’ candle represents the brand’s commitment to offering access to the widest range of protection products that support customers to enjoy the special moments in life.
Inspired by the FWD’s five core values, the ‘Friend’ candle represents the brand’s commitment to offering access to the widest range of protection products that support customers to enjoy the special moments in life.

Hashtag: #FWDHongKong

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

About FWD Hong Kong & Macau

FWD Hong Kong & Macau are part of the FWD Group, a Pan-Asian life insurance business with approximately 10 million customers across ten markets, including some of the fastest-growing insurance markets in the world.

It offers life and medical insurance, employee benefits, and financial planning. FWD Macau provides a suite of life and medical insurance.

FWD is focused on making the insurance journey simpler, faster and smoother, with innovative propositions and easy-to-understand products, supported by digital technology. Through this customer-led approach, FWD is committed to changing the way people feel about insurance.

For more information about FWD Hong Kong & Macau, please visit and .

About LoveXpress

LoveXpress Foundation Limited is a charitable organisation formed in 2015 (Charity file number: 91/13813).

The organisation aim at nurturing love and integration of individuals with autism in our society by co-creating a platform with partners from different sectors of the community, integrating their skills and resources, and together, create synergy to empower the autistic community.

PMGC: The rise of the international division will set up a larger stage for the PUBG Mobile E-sports events

SHENZHEN, CHINA – Media OutReach – 16 January 2023 – On the evening of January 8, in Jakarta, the capital of Indonesia, the 2022 PUBG Mobile Global Championship (PMGC) came to an end. After three days of fierce competition within a total of 18 maps, the three Chinese teams – Four Angry Men (4AM), Nova Esports and Wolves Esports finally ranked 8th, 9th and 11th respectively, and the champion belonged to Turkish S2G Esports.

As the team that won the last two Global Finals of PMGC, Nova Esports was not able to defend its title and failed to retain the championship trophy representing the world’s highest level of the Peacekeeper Elite League (PEL) in the China Division. However, looking at the whole competition, the competitiveness of overseas teams was indeed beyond the expectations of many people, which also provided more focus and topic for the competition at the international level, and lent new vigor into the international pattern of the PUBG Mobile E-sports events.

From the 24 teams participating in the first PMGC in 2020 to a total of 50 teams from the eight major regions of the world, the PMGC has experienced two consecutive expansions.

Speaking of the expansion of the competition, we have to mention the World Cup. As the world’s most high-profile sports event, the Federation international of Football Association (FIFA) officially announced as early as 2017 that it would increase the number of participating teams from 32 to 48 at the 23rd FIFA World Cup in 2026. This will not only bring more income to FIFA, but also further increase the influence of the World Cup in the world and attract more people to participate in football.

For the PMGC, PEL also hopes to enhance the influence and popularity of the event through the expansion of the army.

Let’s talk about the 16 teams that have reached the final. Brazil and China each have three seats. Mongolia, Turkey, Nepal and Thailand have contributed to two teams respectively, and the last two seats belong to the Malaysian GEEK Esports that successfully broke through in the competition and the Indonesian AE Esports which is directly invited.

After entering the finals, the overseas teams have always been in the leading position of the table. Although the Chinese team led by 4AM made a great effort to catch up on the last day, it still could not prevent S2G from winning the championship.

In the deciding game, S2G, who has always been at the top of the table, did not fight steadily, but attacked decisively uncharacteristically. With a wonderful “return shot”, they caught the 4AM team unprepared and discard all thought of achieving three consecutive championships in the PEL. Due to the excellent performance, Player “TOP” of Mongolia was named FMVP after leading Godlike Stalwart to a fourth-place, with 31 knockouts and 10074 total injuries.

In addition, in all four individual honors, 4AM Wwx was awarded the “Eagle Eye”, while the other individual awards of “Field Medic”, “Gunslinger” and “Grenade Master” were awarded by VPE FlukeTH from Thailand, STE Top from Mongolia and T2K Sand3shS from Nepal.

The ownership of individual honors and awards also confirms the overall rise of the overseas power of the PUBG mobile.

For many spectators, people hope to appreciate and learn the skills and tactics of professional teams and players by watching the event representing the highest level. Therefore, at the PMGC representing the highest level of the PUBG Mobile E-sports event, the most expected thing for the audience is the confrontation between the world’s best teams in this event.

Whether this confrontation is at the tactical or technical level, the professional players’ choice of firearms, the grasp of the time of entering the safe circle, the ability of team cooperation, the overall competitive level of the participating teams can improve the viewing of the event.

It is worth mentioning that the PMGC has also optimized its own competition system while expanding the army, so as to ensure the excellence of the competition.

Under the new competition system, those teams that failed to break through the group stage can still win the final five seats in the finals through the survival stage and the last chance stage. At the recent 2022 FIFA World Cup, many spectators who did not know much about football questioned the suspension rules of red and yellow cards.

In fact, at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, FIFA introduced the rule of the yellow card reset in the semi-finals for the first time.

That is to say, if a team that has entered the top four carries a yellow card in the previous competition, it will be reset after entering the semi-finals. Such rules can ensure that famous players will not miss the World Cup finals because of accumulated yellow cards, which will affect the viewing rate, topic popularity and income of the finals.

Therefore, when the PMGC added the survival and breakthrough stages on the basis of the group stage, the update of the competition not only gave the eliminated teams the opportunity to “revive” in the group stage, but also effectively reduced the impact of randomness in the competition process on the viewing of the finals, thus ensuring the fairness of the competition.

In addition to the upgrading of the competition system, the bonus of 2022 PMGC has also been further improved compared with the previous ones. According to the statistics of the website of Esports Charts, the total bonus of PUBG Mobile ranked second in all the e-sports events in 2022, and the 2022 PMGC contributed up to $4 million in total bonus.

In the end, S2G Esports from Turkey became the big winner of the 2022 PMGC. This team not only won the championship trophy with a total score of 190 points, but also took 12.75% of the total prize pool, and pocketed the championship bonus of $510000.

For a global event, the high bonus, the increase of overseas teams and the improvement of their strength would certainly attract more attention from the world. On overseas social platforms, discussions about the progress of the game and the performance of the team were endless.

Standing on the stage of the World Competition, they not only represent the teams and individuals, but also bear the honor of the country and the region.

During the group match of Yellow Group, overseas players even said that “the 4AM is as strong as the dawn soldiers who always get up early”, but at the same time, he did not forget to cheer on the GEEK Esports he supports. “Their struggle was fiercely sniped by uHigh of GEEK, and the title of Malaysian champion seems to be their great motivation.”

For the teams and players, the field is the stage for their battle, while under the field, the fierce discussion between the audience and the supporters of the team is also a different “battlefield”. However, whether it is a battle on the field or off the field, it will ultimately push the influence of the event on the international scale to a higher level.

For the Global Finals of PMGC, the positive impact of its international voice increasing is not only on the event itself, but also on the PEL, which has continuously promoted the overseas layout in the past few years.

On March 7, 2022, on the PEL Media Open Day, the league announced that it would replace FPP (first-person mode) with TPP (third-person mode) in the new season.

In addition, the four seasons will also be officially adjusted to spring season and summer season. Each season is divided into four stages, namely: pre-season qualifying, regular season, playoffs, and finals. After the regular season of each season is over, there will be a two-week playoff, and 15 teams will enter the finals to win the championship.

The adjustment of the competition system before the start of the spring competition in 2022 also means that PEL is officially in line with the international competition.

At the same time, PEL has also attracted the attention of international traditional sports clubs through its growing popularity.

On December 21, 2022, Fosun Sports, where Wolves Esports is located, officially announced its entry into PEL and will compete in the 2022 PMGC in the name of Wolves. As a club with traditional sports experience, the joining of the Premier League giants Wolves Esports will help the PEL further enhance its influence in the world.

During the global finals, Xu Zhuoer, the head of the E-sports business of Peacekeeper Elite, was interviewed by the media. He said: “The experience of these three years has proved that the E-sports event of Peacekeeper Elite is an independent and influential event at home and abroad.

After many cross-border combinations, we will also focus on the improvement of the content. Whether it is our own internationalization system which will attract more attention to the global finals, or we will make more content specific to the mobile tactical competitive category in the exchange stories of domestic and foreign team players in the future, which will be our continuous goal.”

At the opening ceremony of the finals, after the countdown of 10 seconds, as the cabin door slowly opened, the camera jumped down from the sky, and the perspective also came to the center of the stage, and the Slogan of “Who Will Be The # 1” slowly appeared in front of the audience.

From the opening of the first PEL preliminaries in September 2019 to the successful conclusion of the 2022 PMGC, as Xu Zhuoer mentioned in the interview, one thing PEL has always been doing in the past three years is to open up the international system and let the Peacekeeper Elite E-sports move towards the goal of “The # 1” of mobile tactical and competitive games.

For this year’s PMGC, although the victory of Turkish S2G broke the monopoly of the Chinese team on the championship in the past two years, the regret of losing the championship will certainly become the driving force for the Chinese team to move forward.

In 2023, the Chinese team will face more severe challenges, whether it is the 19th Asian Games Hangzhou 2022 nine months later or the PMGC after that. I believe that those who have tasted the bitterness of losing will show more convincing performance and achievements, and help the Peacekeeper Elite E-sports to take a more solid step towards the goal of the global E-sports project. In this way, they will not fail PEL’s efforts and efforts in overseas layout for three years.
Hashtag: #Tencent

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

Laos National Circus Undergoes Renovations to Attract More Visitors

A performance in Lao National Circus in October. ( Photo: Jason Rolan).

The Ministry of Information, Culture, and Tourism (MIT) and two private companies have joined hands to renovate the Lao National Circus or Russian Circus to attract more visitors.

Japan Builds Da Nang Pedestrian Overpass as Gift for Vietnam

Da Nang Overpass Built by Japan
Proposed Da Nang Overpass to be Built by Japan (Photo: VN Express)

Construction of a Japanese-funded pedestrian walkway across a busy street in Da Nang City, Vietnam, began over the weekend.

Five Drug Trafficking Suspects Killed After Clash With Thai Army

Five Drug Smugglers Killed After Clash With Thai Military in Thailand
Thai authorities investigating the crime scene after the battle (photo: Thairath)

Last week, a patrol team from the Thai military engaged in a gun battle with an alleged drug trafficking gang before killing five members and seizing over 500,000 methamphetamine pills in Thailand’s Chiang Rai province near the Golden Triangle.

Nanyang Polytechnic develops world’s first unagi cell lines and plant-based growth serum

Consumers can expect to enjoy lab-grown unagi and other fishes as early as 2024

SINGAPORE – Media OutReach – 16 January 2023 – Nanyang Polytechnic’s School of Applied Science (SAS) successfully developed proprietary cell lines for high value fish species that cannot be farmed. These cell lines are the first in the world to grow on an ethically viable plant-based alternative to the more commonly used fetal bovine serum.

Caption

As the world becomes increasingly vulnerable to supply shocks and disruptions, food resilience and sustainability have steadily become a top priority. Currently, for example, Singapore imports more than 90% of its food, leading to its Government setting a “30 by 30” goal of meeting 30% of Singapore’s nutritional needs by 2030.

In addition, with rampant overfishing causing marine populations to dwindle drastically, enjoying traditional seafood dishes may soon become a problem. One-third of commercial fish stocks are harvested at biologically unsustainable levels, and a staggering 90% are exploited.[1]

The development of the fish cell lines was led by Mark Richards, NYP’s Lead Specialist in Aquaculture Technology, with funding support from the Singapore Food Story R&D Grant managed by Singapore Food Agency and A*STAR. To address ethical concerns raised on the usage of fetal bovine serum for cell lines, the NYP team used an alternative serum extracted from a plant source. With significant cost savings from using the plant-based serum, fish cells can now be grown in a more sustainable manner, and at a larger scale.

Dr Joel Lee, Director of Nanyang Polytechnic’s School of Applied Science, said, “We’ve worked on a variety of food fish species, but we have had the most success with unagi, which is unfarmable today. Through our R&D, we were able to transform and develop the fish cells into products like fish cakes and fillets, while prioritising and addressing the sustainable and ethical concerns of seafood farming.”

NYP has licensed three of the in-house developed proprietary cell lines to Umami Meats, a Singapore-based food tech start-up developing sustainable seafood, for retail. They include the Japanese eel/unagi (Anguilla japonica), humpback grouper (Cromileptes altivelis), and orange-spotted grouper (Epinephelus coioides). It is expected that seafood products developed using these cell lines will be available as early as 2024.

Hashtag: #NanyangPolytechnic

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

About Nanyang Polytechnic

Established as an institution of higher learning in 1992, Nanyang Polytechnic’s (NYP) academic schools offer quality education and training through 40 full-time diploma courses and common entry programmes. NYP also has a full suite of Continuing Education and Training (CET) options for lifelong learning, ranging from specialist and advanced diplomas, to SkillsFuture-supported modules and courses. NYP’s Asian Culinary Institute Singapore and the Singapore Institute of Retail Studies are CET institutes set up in partnership with SkillsFuture Singapore (SSG) to champion and transform Singapore’s F&B and retail sectors respectively. A third NYP CET institute – the National Centre of Excellence for Workplace Learning – also set up in collaboration with SSG, will spearhead the development of progressive workplace learning strategies and programmes for companies here.

South Korea Continues to Strengthen Food Security in Laos

Republic of Korea Continues to Strengthen Food Security in Laos
Officials from South Korea and Laos posing for a group photo with rice bags (photo: Pathedlao)

Ambassador of the Republic of Korea, Mr. Yung Soo Jung handed over a rice donation to the Minister of Labor and Social Welfare, Madame Baykham Khatthiya at the Ministry-United Nations World Food Program’s (WFP) warehouse in Vientiane Capital last week.

“Send more, Earn more” – DBS launching eLaisee function to spread Chinese New Year blessings

HONG KONG SAR – Media OutReach – 16 January 2023 – With Chinese New Year just around the corner, DBS Bank (Hong Kong) Limited (“DBS Hong Kong”) is pleased to announce the launch of new function eLaisee and the “Send more, Earn more” campaign this month to spread good fortune and blessings.

Sending eLaisee on DBS digibank HK app is simple. Input the recipients’ FPS-registered mobile number or email address and customise with a wide range of cheerful Xing Xing Jann Jann mascots eLaisee cover then it is done!

Watch the video to know how to send eLaisee

To celebrate the Chinese New Year, DBS Hong Kong’s “Send more, Earn more” campaign will be start from 12 January to 15 February 2023 to reward customers with eligible eLaisee/eDDA Transfer In/DBS remit transaction with up to HK$288 cash rewards.

Don’t forget to send fun greetings to loved one with our new Xing Xing Jann Jann WhatsApp stickers.

Learn More for eLaisee : go.dbs.com/hk-elaisee-en
Send more, Earn more Campaign details: go.dbs.com/hk-elaisee2023-en
Terms and Conditions apply.

eDDA (Electronic Direct Debit Authorisation) and eLaisee are supported by The Faster Payment System which is provided and operated by Hong Kong Interbank Clearing Limited. Use of related bank services supported by The Faster Payment System are subject to terms and conditions. Please refer to the terms and conditions relating to The Faster Payment System under section M of the Bank Account and Services Terms and Conditions.
Hashtag: #DBS

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

About DBS

DBS is a leading financial services group in Asia with a presence in 19 markets. Headquartered and listed in Singapore, DBS is in the three key Asian axes of growth: Greater China, Southeast Asia and South Asia. The bank’s “AA-” and “Aa1” credit ratings are among the highest in the world.

Recognised for its global leadership, DBS has been named “” by Global Finance, “” by Euromoney and “” by The Banker. The bank is at the forefront of leveraging digital technology to shape the future of banking, having been named “” by Euromoney and the world’s “” by The Banker. In addition, DBS has been accorded the “” award by Global Finance for 14 consecutive years from 2009 to 2022.

DBS provides a full range of services in consumer, SME and corporate banking. As a bank born and bred in Asia, DBS understands the intricacies of doing business in the region’s most dynamic markets. DBS is committed to building lasting relationships with customers, as it banks the Asian way. Through the DBS Foundation, the bank creates impact beyond banking by supporting social enterprises: businesses with a double bottom-line of profit and social and/or environmental impact. DBS Foundation also gives back to society in various ways, including equipping communities with future-ready skills and building food resilience.

With its extensive network of operations in Asia and emphasis on engaging and empowering its staff, DBS presents exciting career opportunities. For more information, please visit .