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Global Organizations Concerned Digital Attack Surface is Spiraling Out of Control

Trend Micro study reveals visibility and control gaps are undermining security

HONG KONG SAR – Media OutReach – 7 June 2022 – Trend Micro Incorporated (TYO: 4704; TSE: 4704), the leader in cloud security, today announced the findings of a new global study indicating that organizations are struggling to define and secure an expanding cyber-attack surface, hampering risk management efforts.

Trend Micro surveyed 6297 IT and business decision makers across 29 countries to compile the study. To read the report: https://www.trendmicro.com/explore/trend_global_risk_research_2/the-challenge-of-man

The study revealed that three-quarters (73%) of global organizations are worried about their growing attack surface. Over a third (37%) said it is “constantly evolving and messy,” with only half (51%) able to fully define its extent.

Over two-fifths (43%) of respondents went further, admitting the digital attack surface is “spiraling out of control.”

Visibility challenges appear to be the main reason organizations are struggling to manage and understand cyber risk in these environments.

Almost two-thirds (62%) said they have blind spots that hamper security, with cloud environments cited as the most opaque. On average, respondents estimated having just 62% visibility of their attack surface.

These challenges are multiplied in global organizations. Two-thirds (65%) of respondents claimed that being an international enterprise that spans multiple jurisdictions makes managing the attack surface harder.

Yet a quarter (24%) are still mapping their systems manually and 29% do so regionally—which can create further silos and visibility gaps.

“IT modernization over the past two years was a necessary response to the ravages of the pandemic, but in many cases it unwittingly expanded the digital attack surface, giving threat actors more opportunities to compromise key assets,” said Bharat Mistry, Technical Director at Trend Micro. “A unified, platform-based approach is the best way to minimize visibility gaps, enhance risk assessments and improve protection across these complex, distributed IT environments.”

The study also revealed that over half (54%) of global organizations don’t believe their method of assessing risk exposure is sophisticated enough. This is borne out in other findings:

  • Only 45% have a completely well-defined way to assess risk exposure
  • More than a third (35%) only review/update their exposure monthly or less frequently
  • Just 23% review risk exposure daily
  • Keeping up to date with the ever-changing attack surface is the top area organizations struggle with

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.

#TrendMicro

Mead Johnson Nutrition Hong Kong Happy Parenting Index Survey Results Show Nearly 70% of Respondents Expect to Have Children, Almost 90% of Parent Respondents Find Their Life More Fulfilling with Children

Understanding parenting from different aspects helps couples to begin the happy journey, say experts

HONG KONG SAR – Media OutReach – 7 June 2022 – Under the pandemic, has family planning between couples been affected as changes arise all the time? Hong Kong parents and kids spend longer time at home together, do parents have enough communication on childcare? Mead Johnson Nutrition Hong Kong (“Mead Johnson”) earlier surveyed more than 1,000 individuals who plan to get married or married[1], looked to understand more about childcare and family planning among couples in Hong Kong.

The Happy Parenting Index Survey found that 70% of respondents expected to have children, and the majority of the parent respondents (90%) believed raising children could bring happiness and fulfillment to family life.

Raising children offers an essential source of happiness despite difficulties

Parenting difficulties are scaring away many couples from having children of their own. More than 85% of the respondents were concerned about the financial burden of raising a child (86%); while nearly 70% deemed that raising a child will bring pressure (69%). Despite the realistic difficulties, nearly 70% expected to have kids (66%) with most wanted to have at least 1 to 2 children.

Exaggerated fears arise before parenthood while parents highlight the joy behind

The survey also highlighted that parents value the joy of parenthood as compared to couples without a child. About 40% of respondents without children worry about the impact of parenting on their careers (43%), while only 27% of parents have the same concerns. An expectation gap exists and indicates that parenting may not be as difficult as imagined. Nearly 90% of parents believed that their children could bring a more fulfilling life (89%), compared with about 50% of those without children (53%).

Dr. Gregory Mak, a psychiatric specialist, pointed out that couples planning for their future families may be less inclined to have children because of the anticipated or imagined challenges. When planning to have children, he recommended that couples consider different perspectives, such as asking friends who have children for advice, and avoiding overthinking the challenges. Mr. Cyril Chung, a registered social worker, suggested couples remain open-minded in the course of discussion, and set a limit for overthinking the parenting challenges.

Bringing a child to birth can be an amazing experience, but it is not an easy process. Those planning to have children felt that they would have to spend 8.6 months on average to prepare for pregnancy both mentally and physically. But the survey also showed that over 40% of male respondents were unaware of the preparation time for pregnancy (42%), highlighting a clear gap between females’ and males’ understanding of pregnancy preparation, which might result in conflicts between couples.

Mr. Chung recommended couples have transparent communication before getting married in order to match their expectations. Their thoughts may change from time to time, and therefore effective communication is important to avoid possible conflicts. Check out the Family Planning Tips” from Mr. Chung to help couples navigate the arduous task of communicating and preparing to have children.

Experts highlight the need for encouragement as two-thirds of parents argue over childcare work division

The pandemic is making childcare more strenuous, creating situations that could trigger conflicts between parents more often. The survey found that two in three parents have argued with their partner over the division of labor for childcare (67%). Half reported that the conflict significantly impacted their relationships (50%).

Such conflicts may arise from childcare work division between parents. While most parent respondents expected childcare duties to be evenly split, more than 75% of surveyed mothers felt they contributed more (76%), with almost 60% of fathers in the survey agreed (58%). Despite the discrepancy between expectations and practices, more than 80 percent of respondents (83%) indicated their spouses could motivate them to contribute more to parenting.

Dr. Mak, suggested that parents should assign roles based on their strengths, and express gratitude to improve the relationship. Individuals are often too shy to express appreciation in Chinese culture. Genuine expressions of appreciation, however, are highly effective reinforcements. Check out the “3 Missions to Childcare Work for the secret recipe to a happy family suggested by Dr. Mak.

“We are committed to nurturing children’s best start in life, in which the role of a happy family is pivotal. Communication and interaction between parents play an important role in children’s healthy development and happiness,” said Mr. Pankaj Agarwal, General Manager, Hong Kong, Taiwan & Cross-Border of Mead Johnson Nutrition (Hong Kong) Limited. “With this survey, we aimed to help parents and couples better understand each other’s needs and expectations about childcare and family planning. We hope to empower them to nurture happy, fulfilling family lives for the next generation.”


[1] FRC (Hong Kong) Ltd, an independent research firm, was commissioned to conduct the survey between 22 November to 3 December 2021. There were 1,010 randomly selected respondents, including 303 unmarried individuals who are in a relationship and have a plan to get married, 309 respondents who are married without a child and 398 individuals who are married and have children.

About Mead Johnson Nutrition (Hong Kong) Limited

Mead Johnson Nutrition has been established for more than a century. Since its founding in 1905, the renowned infant and child nutrition brand has led the way in developing science-based pediatric nutrition products, guided by the mission to nourish the world’s children for the best start in life. Currently, Mead Johnson Nutrition provides more than 70 products in over 50 countries.

Excellent quality has helped Mead Johnson Nutrition earn the trust of nutritionists and parents. Its dedicated and rigorous approach, continuous innovation, tireless pursuit of excellence, and caring feedback to the community have also helped establish a good brand image.

Mead Johnson Nutrition (Hong Kong) Limited has been in Hong Kong for half a century. It provides Hong Kong parents with high-quality, science-based products, various parenting information, and professional advice, gaining trust and support from parents.

Mead Johnson Nutrition’s scientists and healthcare professionals are focusing their efforts on the formula for children with special nutrition needs. Mead Johnson Nutrition is one of the very few brands that insist on producing the formula for children with metabolic disorders, giving them hope.

For more information, visit

#MeadJohnsonNutrition

Many Lizards in Laos and Vietnam Remain Unknown to Science

A new scientific research article suggests that remote parts of Laos and Vietnam are home to a large number of geckos which remain undescribed by scientists. 

Fortinet Introduces Self-Learning AI Capabilities in New Network Detection and Response Offering

FortiNDR leverages machine learning and deep neural networks – the next-generation of AI – to identify cyberattacks based on anomalous network activity and limit threat exposure

HONG KONG SAR – Media OutReach – 7 June 2022 –

John Maddison, EVP of Products and CMO at Fortinet

“With the introduction of FortiNDR, we’re adding robust network detection and response to the Fortinet Security Fabric. Powered by purpose-built machine learning, deep learning, pragmatic analytics, and advanced AI capabilities, FortiNDR automatically detects and responds to abnormal network activity to thwart security incidents. Fortinet’s full suite of detection and response offerings feature native integration for a coordinated response to empower security teams to move from a reactive to a proactive security posture.”

News Summary

Fortinet® (NASDAQ: FTNT), a global leader in broad, integrated, and automated cybersecurity solutions, today announced FortiNDR, a new network detection and response offering that leverages powerful artificial intelligence and pragmatic analytics to enable faster incident detection and an accelerated threat response.

SecOps Teams Must Leverage AI to Stay Ahead of Threats

Security operations teams are faced with advanced, persistent cybercrime that is more destructive and less predictable than ever before, an attack surface that continues to expand with hybrid IT architectures, and ongoing staff shortages due to the cybersecurity skills gap. Those using legacy security solutions are also challenged with overwhelming and tedious manual alert triage that pulls important resources away from high-priority tasks such as mitigating threats. As cybercriminals become more sophisticated, so too must an organization’s security tools.

FortiNDR Accelerates Threat Detection with Artificial Intelligence

With the introduction of FortiNDR, Fortinet is delivering full-lifecycle network protection, detection, and response powered by AI to:

  • Detect signs of sophisticated cyberattacks: With self-learning AI capabilities, machine learning, and advanced analytics, FortiNDR establishes sophisticated baselines of normal network activity for an organization and identifies deviations that may indicate cyber campaigns in progress. Profiling can be based on IP/Port, Protocol/Behavior, Destination, Packet Size, Geography, Device Type and more. Taken together, this means earlier detection as organizations no longer need to rely on generic threat feeds, which depend on threats or components to become globally known in order to identify indications of compromise.
  • Offload intensive human analyst functions with a Virtual Security Analyst: FortiNDR includes a Virtual Security Analyst (VSATM), which employs Deep Neural Networks – the next-generation of AI, and is designed to offload human security analysts by analyzing code generated by malicious traffic and determine its spread. VSATM comes pre-trained with more than 6 million malicious and safe features that can identify IT- and OT-based malware and classify it into threat categories. These features can accurately pinpoint patient zero and the lateral spread of multi-variant malware by analyzing the entire malware movement. VSATM is also capable of identifying encrypted attacks, malicious web campaigns, weak cipher/protocols and classifying malware.
  • Identify compromised users and agentless devices: Not all devices in an organization (for example, personal, third party, IoT, or OT devices) can have an endpoint detection and response agent installed to detect a compromise. FortiNDR addresses this by deploying a dedicated network sensor to analyze traffic originating from all devices.


Coordinated Response with Security Fabric Integration

FortiNDR also features native integrations with the Fortinet Security Fabric as well as API integrations with third-party solutions for a coordinated response to discovered threats to minimize their impact. Common automations to speed response include quarantining devices generating anomalous traffic, enforcement with third party devices via an API framework, triggering an orchestrated process guided by SOAR, and more.

As the industry’s highest performing cybersecurity mesh platform powered by FortiOS everywhere and a common management framework, the Fortinet Security Fabric enables broad visibility, seamless integration and interoperability between critical security elements, and granular control and automation.

Fortinet’s Robust Portfolio of Detection and Response Solutions

FortiNDR rounds out Fortinet’s existing portfolio of detection and response solutions, including managed detection and response (MDR), endpoint detection and response (EDR), and extended detection and response (XDR) solutions.

Organizations looking to add detection and response capabilities to their traditional prevention-oriented security controls can choose from:

  • FortiGuard MDR Service: For smaller organizations with a single IT/Security team (or larger organizations looking to offload first line alert monitoring and triage), managed detection and response (MDR) is a good option to add security monitoring capabilities without needing the specialized expertise to run it effectively.
  • FortiEDR: For mid-size to mainstream organizations with dedicated (but small) security teams, endpoint detection and response (EDR) is a good option to add deep, host-level analysis that is necessary to identify the signs of ransomware activity on the endpoint.
  • FortiNDR: For larger organizations or robust security teams who have already implemented EDR, network detection and response adds broader analytics and anomaly detection across network segments or even the entire organization, insight into activity from devices without agents (whether IoT or unmanaged devices), and faster deployment with zero impact to production systems.
  • FortiXDR: For organizations with multiple Fortinet security controls, extended detection and response adds curated detection analytics, AI-powered alert investigation and automatable incident response.


Supporting Quotes

As our trusted security vendor, we’re pleased to see Fortinet continue to deliver cutting-edge technology as an integrated extension of what we have already deployed in our network. The addition of artificial intelligence for malware analysis in FortiNDR will give us a huge advantage in defending against cybercrime, and we are excited to expand this capability to our network activity. This is the latest example of our ability to gain even more value out of our initial investment in the Fortinet Security Fabric.”
– Carolina Masso S., CEO, Gamma Ingenieros SAS

“As enterprises struggle to coordinate threat detection and response across individual point products, the ability for them to leverage a complete set of integrated SOC capabilities as part of a cybersecurity platform promises significant improvement in the effectiveness and efficiency of discovering and mitigating threats. Fortinet’s portfolio of detection and response products such as FortiNDR, FortiEDR, FortiXDR, and more, which are all integrated as part of a platform, should be considered for any organization looking to improve their security operations function.”
– John Grady, Senior Analyst, Cybersecurity at ESG

Additional Resources

About Fortinet

Fortinet (NASDAQ: FTNT) makes possible a digital world that we can always trust through its mission to protect people, devices, and data everywhere. This is why the world’s largest enterprises, service providers, and government organizations choose Fortinet to securely accelerate their digital journey. The Fortinet Security Fabric platform delivers broad, integrated, and automated protections across the entire digital attack surface, securing critical devices, data, applications, and connections from the data center to the cloud to the home office. Ranking #1 in the most security appliances shipped worldwide, more than 565,000 customers trust Fortinet to protect their businesses. And the Fortinet NSE Training Institute, an initiative of Fortinet’s Training Advancement Agenda (TAA), provides one of the largest and broadest training programs in the industry to make cyber training and new career opportunities available to everyone. Learn more at , the , or .

Copyright © 2022 Fortinet, Inc. All rights reserved. The symbols ® and ™ denote respectively federally registered trademarks and common law trademarks of Fortinet, Inc., its subsidiaries and affiliates. Fortinet’s trademarks include, but are not limited to, the following: Fortinet, FortiGate, FortiGuard, FortiCare, FortiManager, FortiAnalyzer, FortiOS, FortiADC, FortiAP, FortiAppMonitor, FortiASIC, FortiAuthenticator, FortiBridge, FortiCache, FortiCamera, FortiCASB, FortiClient, FortiCloud, FortiConnect, FortiController, FortiConverter, FortiDB, FortiDDoS, FortiExplorer, FortiExtender, FortiFone, FortiCarrier, FortiHypervisor, FortiIsolator, FortiMail, FortiMonitor, FortiNAC, FortiPlanner, FortiPortal, FortiPresence , FortiProxy, FortiRecorder, FortiSandbox, FortiSIEM, FortiSwitch, FortiTester, FortiToken, FortiVoice, FortiWAN, FortiWeb, FortiWiFi, FortiWLC, FortiWLCOS and FortiWLM.

Other trademarks belong to their respective owners. Fortinet has not independently verified statements or certifications herein attributed to third parties and Fortinet does not independently endorse such statements. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary herein, nothing herein constitutes a warranty, guarantee, contract, binding specification or other binding commitment by Fortinet or any indication of intent related to a binding commitment, and performance and other specification information herein may be unique to certain environments. This news release may contain forward-looking statements that involve uncertainties and assumptions, such as statements regarding technology releases among others. Changes of circumstances, product release delays, or other risks as stated in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, located at , may cause results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in this press release. If the uncertainties materialize or the assumptions prove incorrect, results may differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements and assumptions. All statements other than statements of historical fact are statements that could be deemed forward-looking statements. Fortinet assumes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements, and expressly disclaims any obligation to update these forward-looking statements.

#Fortinet

Laos Exports Sticky Rice to China through Railway System 

Lao sticky rice.

Laos exported the first large quantity of sticky rice to China from the Southern Vientiane Railway Station.

Taiwan Placemaking Festival Makes Its Way to Taitung at the End of November; Magistrate Yao to Show Slow Economy to the World

TAITUNG, TAIWAN – Media OutReach – 7 June 2022 – The world’s economic development professionals are all taking notice of the 2022 Taiwan Placemaking Festival. The venue for such an event is none other than the birthplace of Taiwanese regional revitalization: Taitung. This year’s event will be bigger than before letting the world see all of Taiwan’s placemaking work and experiences.

TT-image.jpg
The world’s economic development professionals are all taking notice of the 2022 Taiwan Placemaking Festival. The venue for such an event is none other than the birthplace of Taiwanese regional revitalization: Taitung.

Magistrate April Yao leads the Taitung County Government Team to promote Taitung’s Slow Economy: a natural and true development economic model. Yao believes as the world becomes more internationalized, cities need to further develop their local assets, only then will that place’s true value be shown. In the case of Taitung, it’s not better for a million visitors who visit once, but rather ten-thousand visitors making one-hundred return visits, cementing their lasting impressions and memories of Taitung. In recent years, many local groups have created many excellent examples of regional revitalization by using Taitung’s superior natural environment and deep inside knowledge of its ethnic communities.

This year’s Taiwan Placemaking Festival will have 600 placemakers from regional revitalization groups coming from all over Taiwan. They will be visiting 11 locations between the East Coast, the South-Link, the East Rift Valley, and Taitung City to observe, learn, and network. It serves as a stage for these groups to organically cultivate Taitung, so that this piece of land’s authenticity, friendliness, and beauty will be seen and understood by all.

Planet Water Foundation And Hung Yen Knitting & Dyeing Co. Ltd Renew Commitment To Deliver Clean Water Access To Communities In Hung Yen Province

By the end of the year, the partnership will have provided safe water access to over 10,000 people

HUNG YEN PROVINCE, VIETNAM – Media OutReach – 7 June 2022 – Planet Water Foundation, a nonprofit organization that addresses global water poverty by providing clean water access and hygiene education programs, and Hung Yen Knitting & Dyeing Co. Ltd – an Italian leading textile manufacturer operating in Vietnam since 2008 – have completed the deployment of their latest clean water project in Hung Yen Province, Vietnam.

The project took place in Lac Hong Primary School in Văn Lâm, Hung Yen, with volunteers from Hung Yen Knitting and Dyeing Co. Ltd., supporting the Planet Water Foundation team in deploying an AquaTower community water filtration system which will provide the students and surrounding community members with access to clean, safe drinking water for many years to come.

Since the partnership began in 2020, Hung Yen Knitting & Dyeing has supported the deployment of four AquaTower systems. Each AquaTower system produces 1,000 liters of clean, safe drinking water per hour, enough to meet the drinking water requirements of up to 1,800 people, and includes an integrated handwashing station with liquid soap dispensers.

Each project is deployed together with Planet Water’s comprehensive hygiene education program to help spread knowledge on healthy hygiene habits, and Planet Water’s AquaSan mobile surface disinfection system which helps sanitize the school environment.

“We are honored to contribute back to the communities of the Hung Yen Province” said Ms. Claudia Anselmi, General Manager and Director of Hung Yen Knitting & Dyeing. “Throughout the partnership with Planet Water Foundation, we are proud to see the results that our support has brought to the children in each school we have deployed projects in, giving access to clean and safe drinking water, and making a positive impact to the families and the community surrounding the schools.”

Later this year, the two organizations will be deploying two additional AquaTower projects in Hung Yen province, further extending the impact of the partnership.

“We are extremely grateful for the support of Hung Yen Knitting & Dyeing” said Mark Steele, Founder & CEO of Planet Water. “By the end of this year, through our partnership we will have brought access to clean, safe drinking water to up to 10,800 people, and provided hygiene education to over 4,000 students and community members.”

Following the deployment of each AquaTower project, the Planet Water team will be conducting sustainability visits over the course of four years to ensure the long-term success of each project.

About Planet Water Foundation

Planet Water Foundation is a non-profit organization focused on bringing clean water to the world’s most impoverished communities through the installation of community-based water filtration systems and the deployment of hygiene education programs. Planet Water Foundation projects are focused on children, schools, and rural/peri-urban communities across Asia and Latin America. Since 2009, Planet Water has deployed more than 1,500 projects that provide clean water access to more than two million people across 15 countries. For more information, visit

#PlanetWaterFoundation

About Hung Yen Knitting & Dyeing Co. Ltd.

Hung Yen is a fabric manufacturer factory established in Vietnam in 2008 by the Italian Carvico Group, one of the largest global players in the textile industry for over 50 years. Carvico Group has been leading the market through innovative technological know-how, and a sustainable and ethical approach to production, top quality and service that characterizes the Italian excellence and expertise in textile and industrial management. Hung Yen variety of fabrics widely ranges from swimwear to active wear, with a portfolio of over 300 customers all around the globe including major global brands. “Our motto Quality with Ethics is expressed into the everyday challenge to promote the use of recycled materials – on which the largest part of Hung Yen fabric collection is based on – and into the support of the wellbeing of our employees and their communities and most important to produce in respect with the environment and the natural resources. The result of our engagement to research and development translates every year into new trend settings proposals and is laying the foundation of new ambitious targets for the growth of the company and its employees, consolidating a distinctive presence in the market as innovators and in the supply chain as industrial model.”

For more information, visit

AIA Singapore partners with Franklin Templeton to introduce the first Shariah Balanced ILP fund in Singapore catering to a fast-growing Muslim consumer base

AIA Shariah Global Diversified Fund also expected to appeal to non-Muslim consumers keen on ethical and socially responsible investments

SINGAPORE Media OutReach7 June 2022 – AIA Singapore today launched the AIA Shariah Global Diversified Fund which will be made available to customers through these investment-linked plans (ILPs) – AIA Pro Achiever, AIA Pro Achiever 2.0, AIA Pro Lifetime Protector, AIA Pro Lifetime Protector (II) and AIA Invest Easy (Cash/ Supplementary Retirement Scheme (SRS). Existing customers of these plans may perform a fund switch or a top-up into this fund.

“AIA Singapore is thrilled to be Singapore’s first insurer to be launching the Shariah Balanced ILP fund to meet the increasing demand amongst Muslim consumers here where such investment options are limited. The overlap between Shariah-compliant finance and Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) principles will also see non-Muslim consumers interested in the fund to maximise capital growth while investing responsibly,” said Liu Chun Yen, Chief Investment Officer, AIA Singapore. She is also a member of the Sustainability in Insurance Committee (SIC) in Singapore.

Shariah-compliant funds do not invest in industries or businesses whose underlying activities are involved in any non-halal items such as gambling, alcohol, tobacco, pork and adult entertainment, to name a few. These funds also do not invest in interest-bearing instruments.

This Singapore dollar denominated ILP sub-fund is a diversified portfolio of global Shariah-compliant equities and Sukuk backed by the expertise of award-winning fund management house Franklin Templeton which currently manages more than US$3.3 billion in Shariah-compliant strategies globally[1].

The asset allocation of the ILP sub-fund is as follows:

  • Templeton Shariah Global Equity Fund: Providing diversification benefits by investing principally in Shariah-compliant equity and equity-related securities across geographies and sectors including Healthcare, Energy and Info Tech. Quality of the portfolio is constantly upgraded to own more defensive, dividend-paying holdings in a late cycle environment with resources allocated to pursue the best long-term investment opportunities in overlooked market segments.
  • Franklin Global Sukuk Fund: Investing in Sukuk – Shariah-compliant fixed income securities – which is the second-biggest sector in Islamic Finance and a rapidly growing asset class. Global sukuk outstanding rose by 12.7% within a year to reach US$711.3 billion in 2021. Green and sustainable Sukuk volumes increased by 17.2% year-on-year to US$15 billion last year[2].
  • Franklin Shariah Technology Fund: Capturing potential in technology which continues to see accelerated growth as businesses prioritise digital transformation. The investment team seeks to own the best ideas across each one of the sub-themes that are supportive of Digital Transformation with ESG analysis embedded into their fundamental investment process.


    Clement Lee, Head of Retail Sales, Southeast Asia, Franklin Templeton said: “
    As one of the leading global asset managers with dedicated expertise and a strong track record in Shariah investing, we are delighted to partner with AIA Singapore for the launch of the Shariah Balanced ILP fund and we are very excited to make Shariah-compliant solutions more accessible to investors in Singapore.”

    Managed by AIA Investments, the ILP sub-fund will tap into the growth potential of the Islamic finance industry which is projected to rise to US$4.94 trillion in 2025, a significantly upward trajectory of more than 46% from US$3.374 trillion in 2020[3].

    AIA Investments is responsible for managing over US$330 billion in assets[4]. It has one of the largest teams of investment professionals in Asia Pacific, consisting of more than 250 investment specialists. AIA Investments’ approach to investment management is focused on delivering superior long-term sustainable results.

    AIA was recently recognised for its ‘Achievement of Compliance’ for the third consecutive year by the CFA Institute’s Global Investment Performance Standards (GIPS®) as an asset owner in Asia and globally. GIPS® standards are a rigorous set of investment performance measurement standards adopted in 48 markets to reflect a company’s adherence to the highest quality of performance reporting for its assets. It is testament to the robustness and governance of processes that underpin the company’s investment programme.

    AIA is the only regional insurer in Asia – as an asset owner – to claim GIPS® compliance recognition.

    About AIA

    AIA Group Limited and its subsidiaries (collectively “AIA” or the “Group”) comprise the largest independent publicly listed pan-Asian life insurance group. It has a presence in 18 markets – wholly-owned branches and subsidiaries in Mainland China, Hong Kong SAR[5], Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, Australia, Cambodia, Indonesia, Myanmar, New Zealand, the Philippines, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Taiwan (China), Vietnam, Brunei and Macau SAR[6], and a 49 per cent joint venture in India.

    The business that is now AIA was first established in Shanghai more than a century ago in 1919. It is a market leader in Asia (ex-Japan) based on life insurance premiums and holds leading positions across the majority of its markets. It had total assets of US$340 billion as of 31 December 2021.

    AIA meets the long-term savings and protection needs of individuals by offering a range of products and services including life insurance, accident and health insurance and savings plans. The Group also provides employee benefits, credit life and pension services to corporate clients. Through an extensive network of agents, partners and employees across Asia, AIA serves the holders of more than 39 million individual policies and over 16 million participating members of group insurance schemes.

    AIA Group Limited is listed on the Main Board of The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited under the stock code “1299” with American Depositary Receipts (Level 1) traded on the over-the-counter market (ticker symbol: “AAGIY”).

    About Franklin Templeton

    Franklin Resources, Inc. [NYSE:BEN] is a global investment management organization with subsidiaries operating as Franklin Templeton and serving clients in over 155 countries. Franklin Templeton’s mission is to help clients achieve better outcomes through investment management expertise, wealth management and technology solutions. Through its specialist investment managers, the company offers boutique specialization on a global scale, bringing extensive capabilities in equity, fixed income, multi-asset solutions and alternatives. With offices in more than 30 countries and approximately 1,300 investment professionals, the California-based company has 75 years of investment experience and approximately US$1.5 trillion in assets under management as of April 30, 2022. For more information, please visit franklintempleton.com.sg and follow us on LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook.

    As one of the few global asset managers with dedicated Shariah offerings, Franklin Templeton has over US$3.2 billion in assets[7] in its Shariah business line which is led from its office in the Dubai International Financial Centre. In addition to the UAE, the firm offers dedicated Shariah investing expertise in Singapore and Malaysia, which combined cover a range of asset classes and strategies including Sukuk and global, regional and local equities.

    All Franklin Templeton Shariah portfolios are independently reviewed by the Amanie International Shariah Supervisory Board, highly regarded for their extensive Shariah and technical understanding. The firm also leverages best-in-class technology utilizing criteria established by its Shariah screening provider Ideal Ratings, which analyses approximately 40,000 global securities.



    [1] Source: Franklin Templeton, as of 31 March 2022

    [2] ‘Promising Outlook for Global Sukuk Market Following Robust 2021’ (January 11, 2022) Fitch Ratings. https://www.fitchratings.com/research/islamic-finance/promising-outlook-for-global-sukuk-market-following-robust-2021-11-01-2022

    [3] ‘Refinitiv release findings of 2021 Islamic Finance Development Indicator’ (November 17, 2021) Refinitiv. https://www.refinitiv.com/en/media-center/press-releases/2021/november/refinitiv-releases-findings-of-2021-islamic-finance-development-indicator

    [4] Source: AIA, as at 30 June 2021.

    [5] Hong Kong SAR refers to Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.

    [6] Macau SAR refers to Macau Special Administrative Region.

    [7] Source: Franklin Templeton, as of 31 December 2021.

    #AIA