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StraitsX and Grab pilot use of Purpose Bound Money during Singapore Fintech Festival 2022

The collaboration will contribute towards an innovative, interoperable, and inclusive digital currency infrastructure leveraging on an open-sourced blockchain

SINGAPORE – Media OutReach – 1 November 2022 – StraitsX, a part of Southeast Asia Digital Financial Services Group, Fazz, and Grab, a leading superapp in Southeast Asia, today announced they will be testing the issuance of Purpose Bound Money (PBM)[1] in the form of commercial digital vouchers during the Singapore Fintech Festival (SFF) 2022.

During SFF, 5,000 selected trial participants will be able to utilise PBM in the form of digital vouchers through their preferred blockchain e-wallet application. They can use the vouchers sponsored by Temasek to make purchases at selected F&B outlets at the SFF 2022, as well as participating Grab’s merchant-partners such as Ishiro at Expo, and Flash Coffee, Han’s, Hotpot by Seoul Garden, and LiHo at Changi City Point.

GrabPay, Grab’s payment service, is working with StraitsX and digital currency payment gateway TripleA to support the last-mile settlement of PBM. This is done by accepting StraitsX’s XSGD on the Polygon chain, and reflecting the Singapore-dollar pegged stablecoin as SGD in the participating merchants’ GrabPay accounts. GrabPay will also be the main merchant payments processor for the PBM pilot at SFF this year – it will pay out to participating merchants in SGD on an on-demand basis, and remove any need for merchants to invest in end-of-day reconciliation between two accounting systems.

“We see this as transformative for the development of the digital assets space as PBM could form a new foundation infrastructure for payments, ensuring secure transactions, ease of use and seamless integration. Building on the work StraitsX has done with the Singapore dollar stablecoin, XSGD, the issuance of PBMs further demonstrates how blockchain technology and stablecoins can be applied in real-world scenarios. We are thrilled to work with industry leaders like Grab to showcase how the programmability and interoperability of stablecoins can make payment systems more efficient, environmentally friendly, and inclusive,” said Liu Tianwei, Deputy CEO of Fazz.

“We believe technology can be harnessed to economically empower our communities in Southeast Asia. The blockchain technology and applications for digital assets have the ability to accelerate financial inclusion. This pilot with StraitsX and the MAS is a great opportunity for us to test how the technology can be used to benefit the everyday user. We are excited to have our merchant-partners participate in this pilot and with their feedback, we hope to uncover more ways to help our users seamlessly participate in this technology and gain from the benefits.” said Wong Wenbin, Head of GrabFin Singapore.

About the pilot

PBM is explored as part of Project Orchid, building upon the concept and capabilities of both programmable payment and programmable money. This pilot project will delve into the enablement of PBM for the widespread distribution of money for commercial purposes, and its interoperability with e-wallets, payment systems and rails, and blockchains, allowing consumers to purchase goods and services through their preferred platform with PBM tokens.

PBM will enable individuals and organisations to embed logic-based conditions in the form of smart contracts that are automatically verified when submitted for transfers. At the same time, payments can be made more efficient, as the PBM token will unwrap and release the underlying digital currency, transferring it to a merchant’s digital wallet in real-time. The digital currency can then be used by the recipient immediately for other payouts. In this pilot, the digital currency will be reflected as SGD and paid out to the participating merchants in SGD.

Apart from StraitsX, Grab and Temasek, other supporting partners include: ADDX, AltLayer, Automata, Coinbase Wallet, Digital Treasures Centre (DTC), Fomopay, Sequence, TripleA, Trust Wallet and VISA.

This pilot is part of Project Orchid, first announced at SFF 2021, to explore the foundational technology infrastructure and technical competencies necessary to issue retail Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDC). Project Orchid builds on the key learnings from the Global CBDC Challenge, which was organised by MAS and its global partners, including IMF, World Bank and ADB, innovative solutions were sought to enhance payment efficiencies and promote financial inclusion. StraitsX was among 15 finalists selected from over 300 applications representing over 50 countries.

The results from this programme will be used to inform the future phases of Project Orchid in the design and selection of infrastructures for a digital Singapore dollar.


[1] PBM refers to a protocol that specifies the conditions upon which an underlying digital currency can be used. PBMs are bearer instruments, with self-contained programming logic and transferrable between two parties without intermediaries.

Hashtag: #StraitsX

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

About StraitsX

StraitsX is the pioneering payments infrastructure for the digital assets space in Southeast Asia. StraitsX is a Major Payment Institution licensed by the Monetary Authority of Singapore and is part of the Fazz’s ecosystem of financial services which powers business banking in Southeast Asia. StraitsX offers personal and business account holders to mint and redeem StraitsX stablecoins, manage payments as well as connect their accounts to digital asset platforms. Business accounts can also access B2B API-enabled payment rails for digital asset platforms.

About Grab

is a leading superapp in Southeast Asia. Grab operates across the deliveries, mobility and digital financial services sectors in over 480 cities in eight countries in Southeast Asia, including Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. Grab enables millions of people each day to access its driver- and merchant-partners to order food or groceries, send packages, hail a ride or taxi, pay for online purchases or access services such as lending, insurance, wealth management and telemedicine, all through a single “everyday everything” app.

Grab was founded in 2012 with the mission to drive Southeast Asia forward by creating economic empowerment for everyone, and since then, the Grab app has been downloaded onto millions of mobile devices. Grab strives to serve a triple bottom line: to simultaneously deliver financial performance for its shareholders and have a positive social and environmental impact in Southeast Asia.

UNFPA Provides Dignity Kits to Lao Youth Union For Emergency Response

Last week, the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) handed over 486 sets of Dignity kits to the Lao Youth Union to prepare them for immediate response to natural disasters or emergencies. These kits will be available at the Lao Youth Union for immediate dispatch to affected women and girls between the reproductive ages of 15-49 when needed.

Phiminer launches Cloud Mining Service for Dogecoin

Cloud Mining with Phiminer

HONG KONG SAR – Media OutReach – 1 November 2022 – Cloud Mining is one way of cryptocurrency mining that utilizes various devices around the world as data processing center with shared calculated power. It usually takes devices with powerful processing ability to complete the shared tasks to support the efficiency and save power consumptions. In this month, Phiminer developed a new service that allows users to save time and money while still reaping mining Dogecoin rewards with different devices, to begin crypto cloud mining at Phiminer, users could simply utilize their unused processing power through laptops, mobile devices or tablets.

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The new cloud mining service offers a glorified incentives scheme to its users, aiming to encourage a higher hash rate transmitted to users’ cryptocurrency cloud mining accounts. The users would access higher hash rates by more frequent trade practice and as a result of higher hash rate and increase in passive cash return. Novice users could increase their hash rate by simply exchange with Phiminer Mining. When user reaches the required trade volume in first 30-day period, the mining hash rate will be automatically promoted to the next level. Cryptocurrency mining in dogecoin has become easier for average users and more return per investment.

New miner often look for the most profitable cryptocurrencies to mine. Bitcoin and Ethereum are usual top choices, however the investment is not affordable for novice to start with. The platform speculate in potential blockchain projects. The application would notify the users for better options and the next upcoming superstars. Phiminer would gather user’s fund to stake in different high return staking institution by optimize staking schedule. As a result, create a more enormous staking size in different groups. Other than dogecoin, traders could diversify their cryptocurrencies investment selection by simply staking multiple cryptocurrencies at the same time in one click through the user-friendly UI. Full-fledged dashboard user interface helps users to manage their progress conveniently and check up-to-date statistics for each miner and the entire network.

Phiminer understands a secured trading platform is essential for traders. Thus in the last two year, the platform had run through more than 150 times of internal DDOS attack running in sandbox environment. The platform strives to provide a safe and secure environment for users to trade digital assets and offer a variety of features to help users manage their portfolios.

Hashtag: #Phiminer

About Phiminer

is a cloud crypto mining and investing service provider. With years of experience in cryptocurrency and crypto mining business, Phiminer now offers a variety of contract alternatives and employs the most profitable strategy to their clients. Phiminer has evolved their services and products where they believe crypto economy could be established with everyone with different budget consideration and technology background. Phiminer is also a leading exchange platform that offers users a wide range of assets to buy and sell. The platform supports a variety of well-known cryptocurrencies, such as Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH), as well as stablecoins such as Tether (USDT). In addition, Phiminer also allows users to exchange various cryptocurrencies by USDT. For more information, visit

Phiminer | Cloud Mining Service at your Hand

CATL and VinFast reach global strategic cooperation to promote global e-mobility

OSAKA, JAPAN – Media OutReach – 1 November 2022 – Contemporary Amperex Technology Company (“CATL”) and VinFast Trading & Manufacturing Joint Stock Company (“VinFast”) today announced a Memorandum of Understanding for Global Strategic Cooperation to expand collaboration in areas including CIIC (CATL integrated intelligent chassis) skateboard chassis products.

Mr. Pham Nhat Vuong - Chairman of Vingroup and Mr. Robin Zeng - Founder and Chairman of CATL (center) witnessed the signing of a memorandum of understanding on strategic cooperation between CATL and VinFast in Osaka, Japan on October 30, 2022

Mr. Pham Nhat Vuong – Chairman of Vingroup and Mr. Robin Zeng – Founder and Chairman of CATL (center) witnessed the signing of a memorandum of understanding on strategic cooperation between CATL and VinFast in Osaka, Japan on October 30, 2022

The MOU signing ceremony is witnessed by Dr. Robin Zeng, founder and Chairman of CATL, and Mr. Pham Nhat Vuong, Chairman of Vingroup and VinFast. According to the agreement, CATL and VinFast intend to explore various forms of cooperation on CIIC skateboard chassis on top of the current cooperation on battery supply with CTP (cell-to-pack) technology between the two companies, which will provide VinFast rapid access to the global market.

CIIC skateboard chassis integrates battery packs, electric motors, and other critical units into a single layer at the bottom of the vehicle, lowering purchasing cost, vehicle weight and energy consumption while maximizing cabin space for optimal driving experiences.

In addition to the collaboration on CTP batteries and skateboard chassis, CATL is poised to cooperate with VinFast with respect to other areas, thus promoting battery innovation and e-mobility transition.

Madam Le Thi Thu Thuy, Vingroup Vice Chairwoman and VinFast Global CEO shared: “VinFast connects global intelligence to promote research and production of smart electric vehicles. Collaboration with CATL – a global leader of new energy innovative technologies – is the next development milestone of VinFast in applying advanced technology to enhance driving range and experience while offering competitive pricing, making smart electric vehicles more efficient and accessible to everyone.”

By leveraging CATL’s cutting-edge batteries, VinFast’s innovative EVs will reach new heights in terms of range, safety, and intelligent driving. The cooperation will also enable CATL to enhance its global footprint, especially in emerging markets, and promote the application of new EV technologies.

The elevated cooperation will enable both companies to promote innovation of battery technologies and global e-mobility, contributing to global drive for energy transition and carbon neutrality goals.

Hashtag: #VinFast #Vingroup

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

About CATL

Contemporary Amperex Technology Co., Limited (CATL) is a global leader in new energy technology innovation, committed to providing premier solutions and services for new energy applications worldwide. In June 2018, the company went public on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange. According to SNE Research, in the year 2021, CATL’s EV battery consumption volume ranked No. 1 in the world for five consecutive years, and it ranked first in the market share of global energy storage battery production. CATL also enjoys wide recognition by global OEM partners. To achieve the goal of realizing fossil fuel replacement in stationary and mobile energy systems with highly efficient electrical power systems that are generated through advanced batteries and renewable energy and promote the integrated innovation of market applications with electrification and intelligentization, CATL maintains continuous innovation in four dimensions including material and electrochemistry system, structure system, extreme manufacturing and business models. Learn more at:

About VinFast

VinFast – a member of Vingroup – envisioned to drive the movement of global smart electric vehicle revolution. Established in 2017, VinFast owns a state-of-the-art automotive manufacturing complex with globally leading scalability that boasts up to 90% automation in Hai Phong, Vietnam.

Strongly committed to the mission for a sustainable future for everyone, VinFast constantly innovates to bring high-quality products, advanced smart services, seamless customer experiences, and pricing strategy for all to inspire global customers to jointly create a future of smart mobility and a sustainable planet. Learn more at: .

About Vingroup

Established in 1993, Vingroup is one of the leading private conglomerates in the region, with a total capitalization of $35 billion USD from three publicly traded companies (as of November 4, 2021). Vingroup currently focuses on three main areas: Technology and Industry, Services and Social Enterprise. Learn more at: .

Navigator Launches ELEVATE Adviser Enablement Ecosystem for Insights and Resources

SINGAPORE – Media OutReach – 1 November 2022 – Navigator Investment Services, an integrated investment platform under Singlife with Aviva, a leading homegrown financial services company, announces the launch of ELEVATE, an enablement ecosystem that handpicks best-in-class insights, resources and value-added services to support financial advisers in delivering meaningful advisory to their clients.

In its first phase, ELEVATE curates a wide range of insights, programmes and events for advisers to better serve investors across a holistic wealth journey. The platform is part of Singlife’s commitment to support financial advisers throughout their professional careers and in turn, enhance customer communications. The ecosystem also taps into Singlife’s network of resources, from thought leaders in its Investment Office to industry partners, to provide the better support for financial advisors.

Users of ELEVATE in the initial phase can look forward to the following features:

  • Unbiased Insights – A combination of daily bite-sized financial news, weekly market insights from Singlife’s Investment Office and monthly product performance reports delivered by Navigator’s research partners;
  • Curated Learning — Specialised courses to further enhance advisers’ repertoire of skills, completed at their own pace;
  • Bespoke Programmes – Wealth management and onboarding programmes tailored for advisers of different professional development stages;
  • Exclusive Events – Quarterly, monthly and adhoc invite-only sessions with experts for advisers to keep abreast of the latest ideas and trends.

Yirong Wee, Head of Business Enablement, Navigator, said: “Investor needs are constantly evolving. Unprecedented market conditions and ever-increasing competition would mean that financial advisors have to keep up in this dynamic environment. ELEVATE is an enabler for the advisers of tomorrow to unlock the opportunities in today’s wealth management industry.”

ELEVATE is launched today (31 Oct) in conjunction with the annual Singapore Fintech Festival’s Innovation Lab Crawl.

Hashtag: #SinglifewithAviva

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

About Navigator Investment Services Ltd

is a financial services company of the Singlife Group. Navigator enables financial advisers to deliver meaningful advice with insights and content, manage portfolios seamlessly and access a robust range of financial products to better serve their end customers across a holistic wealth journey. Navigator seeks to work hand-in-hand with financial advisers to play a meaningful role in people’s lives and allow them to be better positioned for the wealth opportunities of tomorrow.

About Singlife with Aviva

is a leading homegrown financial services company offering consumers a better way to financial freedom. Through innovative, technology-enabled solutions and a wide range of products and services, Singlife provides consumers control over their financial wellbeing at every stage of their lives.

In addition to a comprehensive suite of insurance plans, employee benefits, partnerships with financial adviser channels and bancassurance, Singlife offers investment solutions through its dollarDEX and Navigator platforms. The mobile-first Singlife Account – with a Singlife Debit Card – allows customers to save, spend, earn and be insured all in one app.

First announced in September 2020 and valued at S$3.2 billion, the merger of Aviva Singapore and Singlife was the largest insurance deal in Singapore at the time and created one of the largest homegrown financial services companies in the republic. Singlife is an official signatory of the United Nations Principles for Sustainable Insurance, affirming its commitment to finding a better way to sustainability.

Laos-Thailand Trade Crosses USD 5 Billion for First Eight Months of 2022

Until August 2022, bilateral trade between Laos and Thailand generated more than USD 5.3 billion.

BUY ONE, GET ONE TREE! Cathay Pacific to plant mangrove trees across Southeast Asia

SINGAPORE – Media OutReach – 1 November 2022 – Cathay Pacific today shared the next development of its 1 Ticket, 1 Tree initiative, with the announcement of a Southeast Asia-wide initiative that will see trees planted in various mangrove forests[1] across the region.

The initiative, announced at a tree-planting event organised by Cathay Pacific at the Taman Wisata Alam Mangrove, Anke Kapuk, Indonesia, will see the airline plant a tree for every ticket purchased on its website from Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, the Philippines, Vietnam and Cambodia, from 1 to 30 November 2022. This is part of Cathay Pacific’s sustainability efforts in supporting local communities, ecological restoration, and climate resilience.

1 Ticket, 1 Tree was launched last year in Thailand, one of Cathay Pacific’s key destinations in Southeast Asia. A similar initiative, Join For Trees, was rolled out earlier this year in Indonesia and the Philippines, where the airline committed to plant a tree for every new member sign-up.

With both these efforts combined, Cathay Pacific has planted more than 1,000 trees in the mangrove forests of Thailand, Indonesia and soon the Philippines. Today, About 50 volunteers comprising Cathay Pacific employees, trade agents and other partners came together at Taman Wisata Alam Mangrove to plant saplings to kick start this year’s initiative.

With 1 Ticket, 1 Tree covering more countries this year, Cathay Pacific hopes to plant significantly more trees this year than last. “This initiative underscores our commitment to our customers in Southeast Asia,” Dominic Perret, Regional General Manager, Southeast Asia and Southwest Pacific, said at the planting event. “1 Ticket, 1 Tree is in line with our broader sustainability efforts, which include contributing purposefully to the communities we serve. We embarked on this tree-planting effort because many of our communities in Southeast Asia depend on mangroves for food, protection and income. As always, we strive to make a meaningful impact, both in service and sustainability.”

For more information on 1 Ticket, 1 Tree, please visit:
SingaporeMalaysiaIndonesiaPhilippinesCambodiaThailandVietnam

Cathay Pacific’s commitment to sustainability

Cathay Pacific strives to be one of the world’s leading service brands, embracing a responsibility to serve customers and also future generations. This ambition has laid the foundation of a commitment to corporate responsibility and sustainable development.

For more information on our commitment to sustainability, please visit https://www.cathaypacific.com/cx/en_SG/about-us/sustainability.html.


[1] Mangrove forests located in Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, the Philippines and Vietnam.

Hashtag: #CathayPacific

Unbalanced Diet, Physical Inactivity and Inadequate Sleep Among the Top Unhealthy Habits APAC Consumers Want to Kick in Next 12 Months – Herbalife Nutrition Survey

Virtual Run by Herbalife Nutrition is back for the third year running to spur actions for building healthy active living habits among Asia Pacific consumers

HONG KONG SAR – Media OutReach – 1 November 2022 – Premier global nutrition company, Herbalife Nutrition released the findings from its Asia Pacific Personal Habits Survey today, revealing that 8 out of ten consumers in the APAC region want to kick unhealthy lifestyle habits they developed during the pandemic. In particular, eating an unbalanced diet (53%), not exercising regularly (53%), and not getting adequate sleep (52%) are the top three unhealthy habits that they plan to break in the next 12 months.

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The survey also revealed that poorer stamina or fitness levels, excess weight gain and a weaker immune system are the most common negative impacts resulting from the unhealthy lifestyle habits adopted in the last two years. Among those who reported gaining excess weight, over half (51%) put on three to five kilograms, while 21% added six to 10 kilograms, mostly attributed to:

  • Eating too much unhealthy food (53%)
  • Binge-eating due to stress (53%)
  • Not getting enough sleep (29%)
  • Consuming alcohol on a more frequent basis (13%)

“These unhealthy habits can in turn pose serious health risks. But habits can be changed – with a little determination, motivation and support from like-minded people, it is possible to swap out unhealthy habits for healthier ones,” said Stephen Conchie, Regional President, Asia Pacific and China, Herbalife Nutrition.

“To inspire people in Asia Pacific to make positive lifestyle changes, we are introducing region-wide initiatives with a focus on helping them cultivate healthy nutrition and workout habits, while nurturing community support for achieving their goals. For instance, we recently held the Healthy Recipe Challenge to encourage building good eating habits. And this month, we will hold our annual Virtual Run in 13 markets across the Asia Pacific, to help people get moving with a healthy active lifestyle.”

Herbalife Nutrition’s Asia Pacific Personal Habits Survey was conducted in August 2022, and polled 5,500 consumers aged 18 and above in Australia, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam. It aimed to uncover the changes to lifestyle behaviors of consumers in the region since the start of the pandemic, and the unhealthy habits that they plan to kick in the next 12 months.

Changes in Lifestyle Habits

Dietary/nutrition: Overall, seven out of 10 APAC consumers (69%) picked up unhealthy dietary/nutrition habits during the pandemic, with incessant snacking topping the list of bad eating habits. The survey also revealed that Gen Z and Millennial segments were more likely to pick up unhealthy dietary/nutrition habits compared to older generations such as Gen X and boomers (79 vs 59%).

Exercise: There were also marked changes in activity, as about one-third (33%) of respondents exercised more while near half (46%) admitted that they had stopped exercising or become less active. Many of the latter attributed this change to lack of motivation, as they were preoccupied with anxieties arising from the pandemic.

Sleep: On average, more than half of respondents (56%) said their sleep was affected, such as having irregular sleeping patterns or trouble falling asleep, citing stress as the main reason. Compared with older generations, more Gen Z and Millennials have experienced negative changes in sleep habits.

Making Positive Lifestyle Changes in The Next 12 Months

With the impact of the unhealthy habits keenly felt by APAC consumers, it is no surprise that eight in 10 intend to make positive lifestyle changes in the next 12 months, focusing on improving both physical and mental health. Healthy habits they plan to adopt:

  • Being more consciously active (58%)
  • Eating more nutritious foods (56%)
  • Developing an exercise regime (53%)
  • Starting a regular sleep schedule (49%)
  • Finding ways to destress (46%)
  • Taking nutritional supplements (29%)

Importance of A Support Group in Building Healthy Habits

To build good habits, respondents recognize the need for support groups in achieving their goals. This is strongest among Gen Z/Millennials, with 60% feeling a support group would be extremely or very important in helping them achieve positive lifestyle changes. In general, respondents agreed that a support group would enable them to:

  • Tap into sharing of knowledge and expertise (58%)
  • Work on shared goals and concerns together (56%)
  • Keep each other accountable and motivated (54%)

Herbalife Nutrition Virtual Run 2022

The Herbalife Nutrition Virtual Run 2022 is a highlight event of the company’s Get Moving with Good Nutrition campaign, an annual initiative to help Asia Pacific consumers adopt healthy active living habits, and foster communities that support each other to achieve their health and wellness goals.

To be held in its third year, the Virtual Run 2022 will take place in Australia, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Macau, Malaysia, New Zealand, Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam from 1st till the 30th of November. With the introduction of a brand new mobile app, this year’s running challenge will be more interactive, with more seamless progress tracking. The Virtual Run will also contribute to raising funds to support the Herbalife Nutrition Foundation with providing good nutrition to needy children in the Asia Pacific through its flagship Casa Herbalife Nutrition program.

Hashtag: #HerbalifeNutrition

About Herbalife Nutrition Ltd.

Herbalife Nutrition (NYSE: HLF) is a global company that has been changing people’s lives with great nutrition products and a business opportunity for its independent distributors since 1980. The Company offers science-backed products to consumers in 95 markets through entrepreneurial distributors who provide one-on-one coaching and a supportive community that inspires their customers to embrace a healthier, more active lifestyle. Through the Company’s commitment to nourish people, communities and planet, Herbalife Nutrition pledges to achieve 50 million positive impacts – tangible acts of good – by 2030, its 50th anniversary.