The US Embassy in Laos proudly revealed six captivating murals created by talented Lao artists on 24 May. These extraordinary artworks were brought to life as part of the Ambassador’s Fund for Cultural Preservation.
ULI Names Ten Exceptional Real Estate Projects as Winners of 2023 Asia Pacific Awards for Excellence
Established in 2019, the ULI Asia Pacific Awards for Excellence recognises projects representing the highest standards and practices in the real estate community.
HONG KONG AND SINGAPORE – Media OutReach – 26 May 2023 – Ten outstanding real estate development projects have been named as the winners of the 2023 Urban Land Institute (ULI) Asia Pacific Awards for Excellence, one of the real estate industry’s most prestigious honours. This year’s winners include projects in Australia, China, Japan, Singapore, and Thailand.
The winning development projects, selected out of 20 finalists in seven markets across Asia Pacific, will be announced at the 2023 ULI Asia Pacific Summit on May 31, 2023, which brings together over 700 decision makers to address current and future challenges facing the region’s built industry. Winners will also be automatically qualified as nominees of the 2023 ULI Global Awards for Excellence.
The winners (by location) are:
- Nightingale Village — Brunswick, Australia
(Developer: Duckett Acquisition Collective Pty Ltd; Designers: Architecture Architecture, Austin Maynard Architects, Breathe, Clare Cousins Architects, Hayball, Kennedy Nolan) - Quay Quarter Sydney by AMP Capital — Sydney, Australia
(Developer: AMP Capital; Designers: SJB, Studio Bright, Silvester Fuller, 3XN, BVN, ASPECT Studios) - Tiexiang Temple Riverfront — Chengdu, China
(Developer: Chengdu High-Tech Investment Group Co., Ltd.; Designer: Sichuan Provincial Architectural Design And Research Institute Co., Ltd.) - Caoyang Centennial Park — Shanghai, China
(Developer: Putuo District Municipal Government; Designer: Atelier Liu Yuyang Architects) - Xintiandi Plaza — Shanghai, China
(Developer: Shui On Land; Designer: UNStudio, Tianhua, DLC, Inhabit, ag licht/LEOX, DPDI) - Xichuan River Ecological Restoration — Zhengzhou, China
(Developers: Pulo China; Designers: Horizon & Atmosphere Landscape Co.) - Orandajima House — Yamada-machi, Japan
(Developer: Orandajima Foundation; Designers: van der Architects) - CapitaSpring — Singapore
(Developer: CapitaLand Development, CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust, Mitsubishi Estate Co. Ltd; Designers: BIG – Bjarke Ingels Group, Carlo Ratti Associati, RSP Architects Planners & Engineers (Pte) Ltd) - NUS SDE4 and SDE1 & 3 — Singapore
(Developer: National University of Singapore; Designer: SDE4: Serie + Multiply Consultants Pte Ltd with Surbana Jurong Consultants Pte Ltd | SDE1&3: NUS College of Design and Engineering with CPG Consultants Pte Ltd) - HOMA Phuket Town — Phuket, Thailand
(Developer: ACRE NOON; Designer: Oracle Architects)
“It is a pleasure to highlight some of the best works in the region at the 2023 ULI Asia Pacific Awards of Excellence,” said David Faulkner, President, ULI Asia Pacific. “This year’s winners demonstrated exceptional innovation and practice in land use, particularly in terms of establishing a deep connection with the community in which they are located, enriching liveability, and elevating connectivity to surrounding amenities. The winners represent the highest standards of development practice in the region’s private, public, and non-profit sectors.”
The ULI Asia Pacific Awards for Excellence recognises the full development process of a project beyond just architecture or design.
“The jury thoroughly enjoyed the process of going through a total of 45 outstanding project entries, which represented the innovation and tremendous calibre of the region’s development sector,” said jury co-chairs Gordon Hatton, vice president, head of development and delivery (Japan), Colt Data Centre Service, and Ko Iwahori, managing partner, Acadia Capital. “The winners selected from the 20 finalists gave us great confidence that we will continue to see more phenomenal projects within Asia Pacific.”
The 2023 ULI Asia Pacific Awards for Excellence jury members comprised leading ULI members representing multidisciplinary real estate expertise, including finance, design, sustainable urbanism, development, and other professional services. Besides Gordon Hatton and Ko Iwahori, the other jury members were: Belinda Bentley, director, 9Springs; David McCracken, principal, Voda Management; Joburt Betadam, executive director of design, Events Investment Fund; Albert Chan, director of Shui On Land; Fan Guo, principal and SEDS Regional Leader for Asia Pacific, Callison RTKL; Christine Lam, global design principal, Aedas; Chris Law, founding director, Oval Partnership; Nina Yang, CEO, SJ CITYGLOBAL; Dan Cerf, principal, Devinqi Advisors; Anupam Yog, XDG Labs Pte Ltd; Angela Lacson, independent consultant; and Tesoc Hah, founder & principal, SCALe Architecture & Technology.
For more information about the ULI Asia Pacific Awards for Excellence, please visit: https://asia.uli.org/awardsforexcellence/.
Hashtag: #Design #ULI #Architecture #RealEsate #BuiltEnvironment
The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.
About the Urban Land Institute
The Urban Land Institute is a non-profit education and research institute supported by its members. Its mission is to shape the future of the built environment for transformative impact in communities worldwide. Established in 1936, the Institute has more than 45,000 members worldwide representing all aspects of land use and development disciplines. For more information on ULI, please visit uli.org or follow us on
Twitter,
Facebook,
LinkedIn and
Instagram. ULI has more than 2,600 members in the Asia Pacific region. For more information on ULI Asia Pacific, visit
asia.uli.org or follow us on
Facebook,
Instagram,
LinkedIn,
Twitter, and
YouTube.
About the ULI Awards for Excellence programme
The ULI Asia Pacific Awards for Excellence was launched in 2019 as a regional version of the ULI Global Awards for Excellence programme. ULI first began the Awards for Excellence programme in 1979 to recognise truly superior development efforts in the private, public, and non-profit sectors. Winning projects represent the highest standards of achievement in the development industry—standards that ULI members deem worthy of attainment in their professional endeavours. Today the development community widely recognises the ULI Global Awards for Excellence programme as one of its most prestigious awards programmes. More information available at uli.org/gae.
Road Rage Incident Involving Foreigner Triggers Public Outrage in Laos

Social media users in Laos have criticized a Chinese truck driver who blocked the road during rush hours on Thursday after traffic police pulled him over for driving without documents.
President of Laos Visits the Emperor of Japan in Tokyo
President of Laos Thongloun Sisoulith paid a visit to Japan’s Emperor Naruhito on Thursday during his official trip to attend the Future of Asia Conference in Tokyo.
Flagship Medical Tourism Hospitals to Advance Malaysia’s Healthcare Brand on a Global Scale
Championing outcome-based medical excellence, service excellence best practices and international branding
KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA – Media OutReach – 26 May 2023 – Spearheaded by the Malaysia Healthcare Travel Council (MHTC), the Flagship Medical Tourism Hospital Programme is an integral part of the five-year Malaysia Healthcare Travel Industry Blueprint. This first-of-its-kind programme has witnessed Malaysia’s top private medical establishments increasing their commitment and efforts to raise the bar of excellence in delivering exceptional end-to-end services to their patients, all with the goal of reinforcing Malaysia’s position as a safe and trusted destination for top-notch healthcare services, and elevating excellence in medical and service offerings.

This is in alignment with the Malaysian Ministry of Health’s efforts to strengthen the nation’s healthcare ecosystem. “I trust that the Flagship programme will promote innovation and excellence in medical services while bringing us closer to achieving a more resilient healthcare system for the country and establishing Malaysia Healthcare as a world-renowned and credible global healthcare brand,” added Dr. Zaliha Mustafa, Malaysia’s Minister of Health.
Four shortlisted finalist Flagship Medical Tourism Hospitals were announced in April, namely the National Heart Institute (Institut Jantung Negara or IJN), Island Hospital, Mahkota Medical Centre and Subang Jaya Medical Centre.
According to Datuk Dr. Aizai Azan bin Abdul Rahim, the Chief Executive Office of IJN, the Flagship Medical Tourism Hospital Programme provides a platform to support the national agenda of making Malaysia a top healthcare travel destination. “Apart from maintaining quality healthcare, we aspire to bring in the latest technologies and techniques for the benefit of the public. These are key in ensuring that we are at the top of clinical excellence and people’s minds, so they are assured of receiving the best heart care,” he said.
Mr. Mark Wee, the Chief Executive Officer of Island Hospital, found that the Flagship Medical Tourism Hospital Programme aligned well with the hospital’s vision for growth. “We conceived the Island Medical City in 2016 as our commitment towards taking medical tourism in Malaysia to the next level. This ambitious project marks the evolution of Island Hospital into a leading regional quaternary healthcare provider offering the Best in Class to our patients. This vision dovetails perfectly with the goals of the Flagship Medical Tourism Hospital Programme. With the opening of our new facilities, the Peel Wing in 2022, we are poised to achieve our goal of healthcare travellers making up to 80% of our revenue in the next few years,” he shared.
Mr. Stanley Lam, the Chief Executive Officer of Mahkota Medical Centre, elaborated on the hospital’s commitment to reinforcing the country’s healthcare ecosystem. “We are one of the largest and most comprehensive hospitals in Southern Peninsular Malaysia. The investments we will be making with this programme will further reinforce Mahkota Medical Centre as one of the most reputable referral hospitals across South East Asia, and better serve local and regional communities. Our expansion plans include a beautiful seafront location, located in the heart of Melaka, a UNESCO world heritage site,” he said.
Meanwhile, Mr. Bryan Lin, the Chief Executive Officer of Subang Jaya Medical Centre, expressed his anticipation at contributing to the growth of the country’s healthcare travel industry. “We see the Flagship Medical Tourism Hospital Programme as an opportunity for collaboration and growth, not just for Subang Jaya Medical Centre but also for Malaysian healthcare globally. Through this Programme, we hope to contribute strongly to growing the healthcare travel market by at least 30% yearly. We are excited to take our capabilities to the next level to become a premier healthcare travel destination of choice,” he said.
The shortlisted finalists were carefully selected through an extensive and rigorous qualifying process in 2022 that involved data analysis and on-site assessments by international bodies Joint Commission International (JCI) and IQVIA, and have advanced to the next phase of the programme, the Acceleration Period, which is from 2023 to 2025. During this time, they will be granted several incentives, including fast-track facilitation to support the development milestones, flexibility of testing concepts with healthcare technology sandbox, access to programme mentors/advisors that will assist with programme development, progress assessment and monitoring, and a special Investment Tax Allowance (ITA) for qualifying capital expenditures.
Malaysia, a popular global destination for healthcare travellers, has won numerous awards, including the coveted “Destination of the Year” title by UK-based healthcare travel authority International Medical Travel Journal (IMTJ) numerous times in recent years. The country attracted 1.22 million healthcare travellers in 2019. With countries across the world moving towards endemicity, this figure is anticipated to increase.
With Malaysia Healthcare enroute to providing the “Best Healthcare Travel Experience by 2025”, it is imperative for the country to fortify its foothold on the global frontier. “The Flagship Medical Tourism Hospital Programme acts as a catalyst in expediting global recognition of Malaysia’s healthcare, empowering our private healthcare institutions to identify gaps and areas for improvement along the end-to-end patient journey and address them, guided by international standards and benchmarks,” said Farizal bin Jaafar, Acting Chief Executive Officer of MHTC.
View https://youtu.be/3CarQ0JEIrs to find out more about the Flagship Medical Tourism Hospital Programme.
For more information on Malaysia Healthcare and its services, please visit https://malaysiahealthcare.org/ or visit its social feeds at: www.facebook.com/MHTCMalaysia or at LinkedIn (Malaysia Healthcare Travel Council).
Hashtag: #MalaysiaHealthcareTravelCouncil
The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.
ABOUT THE MALAYSIA HEALTHCARE TRAVEL COUNCIL
The Malaysia Healthcare Travel Council (MHTC) is a government agency under the Ministry of Health Malaysia that has been entrusted with the responsibility of curating the country’s healthcare travel scene. Founded in 2009, MHTC works to streamline industry players and service providers in facilitating and growing Malaysia’s healthcare travel industry under the brand “Malaysia Healthcare” with the intended goal of making Malaysia the leading global healthcare destination. MHTC works closely with over 80 private healthcare facilities in Malaysia, who are registered members of MHTC.
Cambodia’s Top Opposition Party Barred From July Elections, Leaving Hun Sen’s Party Unchallenged

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP) — Cambodia’s top opposition party was barred Thursday from participating in elections set for July after the Constitutional Council refused to overturn a decision not to register the party over a paperwork issue.
Laos to Plant Over 3 Million Trees for Arbor Day Next Month
Laos will plant over 3 million seedlings nationwide to celebrate the Arbor Day on 1 June.
New Research Finds that APAC Consumers Expect both Security and Ease-of-Use when Interacting with Brands Online
An Okta survey of nearly 5,000 consumers in Asia Pacific discovers that many are frustrated with traditional password logins, and would prefer passwordless, social login or biometric options
SINGAPORE – Media OutReach – 26 May 2023 – Launched today, new research from Okta, the leading independent identity provider, reveals that when interacting and transacting with brands online, Asia Pacific consumers want both assurance that their private data are protected, as well as an easy, seamless experience.
Conducted in partnership with global research firm Statista, Okta’s Customer Identity Trends Survey 2023 polled more than 20,000 consumers across 14 countries in Asia Pacific, North America and Europe. Japan, South Korea and Australia were covered in APAC. Nearly one-quarter of the survey participants (23%) came from this region. The survey examined attitudes towards convenience, security and privacy, and considered the implications for brands.
Consumers are spending more time and money in the digital space. The e-Conomy Southeast Asia 2022 report put together by Google, Temasek and Bain & Company showed that the size of SEA’s digital economy hit a staggering Gross Merchandise Value (GMV) of USD200 billion in 2022, and will continue to grow to USD300 billion by 2025, before tripling to USD600 billion by 2030.
Enterprises’ ability to provide their customers with top-notch yet secure online experiences has thus become critical to business success.
Privacy is Top of Mind for APAC Consumers
The research found that consumers in APAC are becoming more concerned about privacy, and more protective of their personal data.
For instance, according to the survey, most participants (55%) in APAC understand that their online activities leave a digital footprint. Among the consumers in this group, 40% are taking steps to reduce that footprint’s size.
As much as 77% of survey participants in the region said that it was important to them to have control over their data (such as being able to change privacy settings or limit information-sharing).
The good thing for APAC consumers is that most of them (60%) are aware of their own security practices, and about a third of those consumers are actively taking steps to protect their own data. Their strategies include:
- Using strong passwords (cited by 45% of the respondents who are taking steps to protect their own data)
- Restricting the amount of data they share (cited by 40%)
- Using different passwords for all of their accounts (cited by 38%)
- Deleting cookies regularly (cited by 35%)
- Regularly reviewing/changing privacy settings (cited by 28%)
Such awareness and personal security steps taken to preserve digital privacy are important, as the number of different accounts that people need to manage for various applications, services and websites has surged.
Maintaining access to large numbers of digital accounts, particularly when many of these accounts are inactive or abandoned, increases cybersecurity risk. If a threat actor is able to compromise one of these accounts, they may gain access to user credentials or personal data, and the breach could go undetected for long periods of time.
In the APAC region, the median number of active digital accounts held by each consumer is between 10 and 20. About 73% of consumers have 10 or more active online accounts.
Ease of Use is Top Priority, too
Despite APAC consumers’ awareness of privacy and security, however, they don’t want these concerns to get in the way of a personalised, user-friendly and frictionless experience when interacting with brands.
For example, most APAC survey respondents (54%) said that they are more likely to spend money when offered a simple, secure, and frictionless login experience. This is regardless of whether they are accessing apps and services, or making purchases.
On the flip side, a poor online experience can have lasting repercussions on consumers’ perception of brands. Use of passwords is still widespread among APAC organisations, yet the survey found significant levels of frustration associated with this authentication mechanism.
For instance,
- More than one-third (35%) of respondents in the APJ region report feeling frustrated when they have to create a password that meets certain requirements.
- About 27% reported frustration with needing to create a new password for every online service they use. One quarter (25%) encounter this problem at least once a week.
- When asked which login security measures offered the most security and convenience, APAC respondents ranked social login (with a Facebook, Instagram, Google, etc. account) last, with only 23% of them saying they believed it was an appropriate means of safeguarding their online interactions with brands.
In contrast,
- Biometric authentication (Face ID, Touch ID) was favoured by the largest group (42%) of APAC respondents for its convenience and security. Younger consumers, in particular, are more enthusiastic about biometrics, which suggests that their popularity will climb in the years ahead.
- Multi-factor authentication (such as getting a code by text) is favoured by 35% of respondents in this region.
- Passwordless login is favoured by 24% of the respondents in APAC.
Ben Goodman, Senior Vice President and General Manager, Okta Asia Pacific and Japan, advised organisations to replace their traditional username-and-password login systems with these newer authentication mechanisms.
“The new world of business is online, and enterprises will do well to become more attuned to their customers’ expectations in this arena,” he said. “Moving to passwordless not only reduces friction, it can also boost security, since biometric-based authentication is generally not vulnerable to phishing-style attacks.”
“Importantly, these login experiences are accessible for everyone, including consumers with visual or cognitive impairments, or limited motor function. That means in addition to improving the customer journey, going passwordless expands the size of the market your business can reach.”
The full Okta Customer Identity Trends Survey 2023 global report can be found here.
Hashtag: #Okta #CustomerIdentity #Security #Privacy #UserExperience
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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.