Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam (CLV) signed a joint statement on Sunday establishing a CLV parliamentary summit, according to a press release issued by the Cambodian National Assembly.
70% of Asia-Pacific businesses see sustainability as important, but less than half say they are committed towards net zero: New Vodafone study
- Only 24% of APAC businesses agree that they have a well-developed plan to tackle climate change.
- 74% of APAC businesses reporting higher profits have a formal ESG program in place.
SINGAPORE – Media OutReach – 21 November 2022 – Vodafone Business today released the APAC edition of its annual global study, revealing that APAC businesses see a strong case for sustainability. Additionally, the study also highlights that more needs to be done to account for climate change in business planning to meet net zero targets with technology and collaboration playing a key role.

The annual global study, commissioned by Vodafone Business and conducted by B2B International – Fit for the Future[1] – surveyed 3,101 businesses across 15 countries, including 748 businesses across the APAC region. The study found a gap between businesses’ view of sustainability and actual action being taken:
- 70% of APAC businesses view sustainability as a necessary or important strategic goal.
- 1 in 2 businesses in APAC (52%) agree that businesses should focus on preventing climate change.
- However, less than a quarter (24%) of APAC businesses agree that they have a well-developed plan in place to tackle climate change.
- Additionally, less than half (41%) say they are committed to moving towards net zero emissions, and only a third (35%) say they are taking action to offset their carbon impact.
Business case for environmentally sustainable practices driven by strong customer and investor demand in APAC
APAC businesses implementing sustainability practices into their business planning are realising significant business benefits from doing so. The study found 74% of businesses reporting higher profits this year, have a formal ESG program in place. This is significantly higher compared to firms that reported lower profits, where less than half (47%) said they have such programs in place.
This is largely due to increased customer and investor interest. Customer demand (50%) emerged as the top factor driving APAC businesses to view ESG as a key competitive differentiator.
More than half (58%) also say that customers and clients are becoming more demanding of the companies they buy from to practise environmental sustainability.
Whilst majority of APAC businesses believe that there is a strong customer demand for sustainability, only about a third (34%) say customers are willing to pay more for environmentally sustainable products and services. This points to how customers expect companies to adopt sustainable practices, without translating into higher costs for them.
Investor demand is also a key driver, with 58% of large enterprises in APAC reporting that their investors are focusing on sustainable businesses.
Tech skills and innovation needed to overcome barriers to sustainability
The report also found that the top three top barriers to sustainability in APAC are:
- The lack of maturity of key technologies that will enable sustainability (31%).
- Lack of skills in green technologies (30%).
- Lack of understanding on how to improve sustainability in their organisations (29%).
More collaboration (78%) and breakthroughs in technology are needed to drive progress towards sustainability goals in the region.
In particular, the top three areas where technology innovation is needed are adoption of renewable energy (41%), improving data connectivity (41%), improving traceability (e.g., using data analytics and blockchain) to make better supply chain decisions (41%).
“While there is recognition across APAC on the importance of environmental sustainability, there is a clear opportunity for businesses to take more concrete actions, particularly driven by customers and investor demand. Technology plays a key role in helping businesses overcome the barriers and move towards sustainability goals, with over 70% of businesses in APAC agreeing that technology breakthroughs are needed to enable progress,” said Bhupinder Singh, President, Asia Pacific & Middle East, at Vodafone Business, “Fit for the Future businesses recognise the importance of creating a sustainable future, and Vodafone Business is ready to collaborate on innovative solutions to support businesses on both their sustainability and digital transformation journeys.”
Read the Fit for the Future APAC report here, and global report here.
Research methodology
We started our Fit For The Future project with a programme of secondary research. Vodafone Business’ Insights team analysed many sources, drawing out and extrapolating themes and business needs. This thinking was then taken into qualitative and quantitative research to test it and dig deeper. Key business challenges were explored amongst businesses as a whole and through the lens of being “Fit For The Future”.
Our qualitative research took place in UK, Germany, Italy, Spain and South Africa and consisted of 31 depth interviews with business decision makers, investors and journalists. 3,101 businesses of all sizes and sectors were surveyed via a 15 minute quantitative survey across 15 different markets (Australia, China, Germany, Spain, Ireland, India, Italy, Netherlands, Portugal, Romania, Singapore, South Africa, UAE, UK and USA).
Hashtag: #Vodafone
About Vodafone
Unique in its scale as the largest pan-European and African technology communications company, Vodafone transforms the way we live and work through its innovation, technology, connectivity, platforms, products and services.
Vodafone operates mobile and fixed networks in 21 countries, and partners with mobile networks in 47 more. As of 30 September 2022, we had over 300 million mobile customers, more than 28 million fixed broadband customers, and 22 million TV customers. Vodafone is a world leader in the Internet of Things (IoT), connecting more than 150 million devices and platforms.
We have revolutionised fintech in Africa through M-Pesa, which celebrates its 15th anniversary in 2022. It is the region’s largest fintech platform, providing access to financial services for more than 50 million people in a secure, affordable and convenient way.
Our purpose is to connect for a better future by using technology to improve lives, digitalise critical sectors and enable inclusive and sustainable digital societies.
We are committed to reducing our environmental impact to reach net zero emissions across our full value chain by 2040, while helping our customers reduce their own carbon emissions by 350 million tonnes by 2030. We are driving action to reduce device waste and achieve our target to reuse, resell or recycle 100% of our network waste.
We believe in the power of connectivity and digital services to improve society and economies, partnering with governments to digitalise healthcare, education and agriculture and create cleaner, safer cities. Our products and services support the digitalisation of businesses, particularly small and medium enterprises (SMEs).
Our inclusion for all strategy seeks to ensure no-one is left behind through access to connectivity, digital skills and creating relevant products and services such as access to education, healthcare and finance. We are also committed to developing a diverse and inclusive workforce that reflects the customers and societies we serve.
For more information, please visit www.vodafone.com, follow us on Twitter at @VodafoneGroup or connect with us on LinkedIn at
www.linkedin.com/company/vodafone.
Top Form Group Partners with NEFIN Group to Further Their Sustainability Efforts
NEFIN’S expertise in the full suite of carbon neutrality services will guide Top Form’s roadmap to fulfil their decarbonisation targets
HONG KONG SAR – Media OutReach – 21 November 2022 – NEFIN Group (“NEFIN”), Asia’s leading carbon neutrality solutions provider and investor, is partnering with Top Form Group (“Top Form”), a full-service design and supply chain partner to global brands and retailers, to integrate and streamline sustainable solutions for Top Form Group’s manufacturing operations and facilities.

Through providing professional advisory services, NEFIN will assist Top Form to reach their targeted sustainable milestones, guiding Top Form’s sustainability roadmap throughout their operations and infrastructure. NEFIN’s long standing expertise in carbon neutral solutions will play a key role in Top Form’s development of a long-term strategy towards sustainability, helping Top Form to conduct a market and technical feasibility study to understand the feasible solutions for Top Form’s operating sites and advise the solutions which will generate the most energy savings, and a realistic strategy for Top Form to reach their goals, furthering both company’s collective vision towards a more environmentally friendly tomorrow.
Mr Glenn Lim, CEO of NEFIN Group commented, “Partnering with Top Form to conduct a market & technical feasibility study for carbon neutrality solutions across their sites in Asia provides a platform for cross-region teamwork. NEFIN has regional teams throughout Asia who can manage projects that span across multiple sites. This shows that we are not limited by locality.”
Top Form recognizes the increasing impact of climate change and the urgency for the fashion industry to lower our carbon footprint to keep global warming below 1.5 °C. They have been adopting low carbon manufacturing practices for several years and in 2021, they launched a renewable energy pilot project at one of their most technologically advanced facilities to further reduce their carbon footprint. This project contributed to an estimated 20% of electricity consumption of the factory. Top Form reached out to NEFIN earlier in the year regarding a target to reduce their 2025 Scope 1 & Scope 2 emissions by 15% from a 2020 baseline.
Top Form has announced the release of their latest Sustainability Report detailing the activities they had taken over the past year to protect their people and communities while doing more to limit their impact to the environment. The focus of this year’s report is to highlight their Sustainability Strategy with its Three Pillars and Seven Focus Areas, which aligns with the United Nations Sustainability Development Goals (“SDGs”), to address global challenges in a coherent and holistic way. The report can be downloaded from their website.
The market and technical feasibility study to be conducted by NEFIN for Top Form has kickstarted. “Through this study, we hope to develop an actionable strategy to achieve decarbonisation targets, create a resilient structure for sustainable strategy management, and an effective roadmap that aligns with globally accredited sustainability standards,” said Kevin Wong, CEO of Top Form. “We look forward to our journey with NEFIN and are grateful to be part of a wider movement towards creating a better future for generations to come.”
Top Form will be working with NEFIN Group to evaluate the feasibility of expanding the use of renewable energy on all their operating facilities, exploring innovative green technologies and procurement of carbon offsets.
Hashtag: #NEFIN
About Top Form Group
Headquartered in Hong Kong and listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, Top Form International Limited (HKSE stock code: 0333.hk) is a full-service design and supply chain partner to global brands and retailers with unparalleled expertise in manufacturing intimate apparel. With nearly 60 years of expertise and craftsmanship, we have been well-trusted and recognized by leading brands and retailers all over the world. As of October 2022, Top Form has production facilities across 3 regions in South East Asia with over 7,000 employees worldwide.
About NEFIN Group
NEFIN is a premium green independent power producer (IPP) offering bespoke carbon neutral technologies & financing solutions in Asia Pacific. NEFIN, funded by ACEN Corp., has collectively installed over 3,400 MW of utility-scale, commercial and industrial renewable energy systems. ACEN is listed in the Philippines (PSE: ACEN) and is part of the Ayala Corporation, one of the largest conglomerates in Philippines, founded by the Ayala family in 1834. With its regional and multidisciplinary team, NEFIN offers comprehensive assessments and a full-suite of services to evaluate the ESG impact and commercial viability of projects through innovative approaches to technology under its unified energy management platform.
With a mission of “Achieving Carbon Neutrality for You”, NEFIN is committed to the global climate goals and aims to accelerate the decarbonisation of our client portfolios. NEFIN believes the future of the world is everyone’s responsibility and strives to redefine energy boundaries towards a sustainable future. Please refer to NEFIN’s website www.nefinco.com for more information and follow us at
https://www.linkedin.com/company/nefin/.
OPPO Inspirational Games: Football is Full of Passion and Inspiration
OPPO Inspirational Games interviewed three witnesses to share their stories about football
SHENZHEN, CHINA – Media OutReach – 21 November 2022 – OPPO today published a documentary Inspirational Games based on three witnesses’ stories of the most inspiring games in the UEFA Champions League. The 67-year history of the UEFA Champions League is an epic full of passionate and inspiring memories. Looking at the throwback highlights, we can still feel the passion encapsulated in each moment.
For fans of the UEFA Champions League to relive the strong emotions of the most exciting games in history, OPPO hosted a global campaign to vote for the competition’s top three inspiring games of all time. This was followed by actually finding those who witnessed the game during the time, then interviewing them and finally bringing these stories of inspiration to everyone. As part of the campaign “Inspirational Games”, OPPO believes that these stories strike up conversations between even strangers and unify football fans. Furthermore, it rekindles the passion for the game to inspire more people around the world.

“Going to the stadium to watch a game always draws your best memory,” Nam Kunn, a graphic designer and photographer based in Paris told us, “Football always brings the strongest emotions and never makes you bored.” As a supporter of PSG since 2000, Nam was a field photographer that happened to witness the amazing 4-0 during the first leg between Paris Saint-Germain and Barcelona, and the histrionic 1-6 during the second. The strongest emotions that football gave him continue to inspire his life till this day.
As Nam puts it, supporting a club is more than a logo or a jersey. It describes your values, philosophy, and life. Deriving from his love for football, Nam was inspired to start a project to record the most inspiring moments of his travels, which include fashion, photography, and of course football. For him, football is a sport about cultural diversity. A sport for everyone to connect and share their passion.
Tonín el Torero, a hardcore fan who holds another identity as the owner of a famous pub in Madrid would agree with Nam. He shared with us the inspiring moments when his pub brought total strangers from different countries together with football. “The passion for Real Madrid builds bonds.” Tonín recalls the time fans went wild when their team scored an amazing goal. That memory was a perfect depiction of a community coming together to embrace joy and hope.

Football invokes our emotions and inspires underdogs to outperform their opponents. We’ve heard so many stories from football fans, however, OPPO is lucky to have interviewed Mike Ferney, a visually impaired fan who enjoys matches in a different way.
“How could someone who is visually impaired enjoy a football match in a stadium?” you might ask. The answer is passion. The passion for football he had since childhood has now turned into a lifelong habit, and all of the matches that he experienced have become an unstoppable force that drives him ahead.
Mike Ferney was diagnosed with visual impairment from birth, but this has not affected his zeal for football and Liverpool which started from a young age and has continued to this day. Though life with impaired vision is difficult at times, Liverpool’s victory at Istanbul moved him deeply at the age of 13. There he learned the life lesson “never give up,” and Mike describes it as his biggest takeaway from Istanbul 2005.
“It’s being three nil down against one of the best teams in Europe,” Mike still remembers that feeling of intensity while recounting the story, “It could have been easy to roll over and give up, but they carried on. And I think the moment is short. Then things that happen help me believe that, even though it is football, it can be tied to a life lesson.”
Mike’s cousin Stephen assists him by giving him a visual description of everything that’s happening on the field, and he enjoys standing in the stadium to experience the matches. Because to Mike, there are more senses to feel at a matchup than simply watching. There is a special energy when you stand in the stadium with the crowd around, Mike calls it the “feeling of synergy,” and that goes beyond visual aspects to various sensations like the noise of fans celebrating and the ground beneath him shaking. Therefore, even with his visual impairment, Mike still experiences the games to a great extent and gains inspiration from football.

For Mike, inspiration also means never giving up his passion for life and inspiring more people with his story. When life gets tough, Mike chooses to go to matches to feel the vibe. The relentless attitude is deeply rooted into his life and also encouraged a group of fans through the bond of Liverpool. Mike started a podcast named “Unfair Rap”, where he retells his story and meets new friends with shared interests and passion. It is always a pleasure for him to inspire the people around him.
There are many people like Mike who are inspired by the passion for football, and advancements in technology allow us to better enjoy and record the game with pocket-sized devices, freezing the seconds of inspiration into everlasting memories. OPPO has been exploring more ways for people to enjoy sports under the brand proposition “Inspiration Ahead”. Especially assistive technology for people like Mike who have visual impairments or other disabilities to experience more inspiration in their lives. For example, Color Vision Enhancement Technology, which made its debut on the OPPO Find X3 series, was designed to improve color identification abilities for those who suffer from color vision deficiency. Thanks to the technology, the screen displays more accurate colors.
OPPO Research Institute Innovation Accelerator, which issued a focus on accessible technology was also a success this year. The accelerator was aimed to turn world changing ideas into reality. Among the winning proposals, we were glad to see innovative ideas like “machine vision solutions for the visually impaired”, and “exclusive mobile phones for the hearing-impaired”. These proposals addressed pressing social issues that deserve our concern.
Guided by the brand proposition “Inspiration Ahead,” OPPO will continue to explore meaningful innovations regardless of the difficulties that lie ahead. The search for witnesses for “Inspirational Games” is not an ending, on the contrary, it marks a new beginning. OPPO will help more people enjoy the inspiration in life, and everyone can become a witness to their own moments of inspiration.
To watch the documentary of star witnesses, please visit: https://youtu.be/-AKaiGTHgwA
Hashtag: #OPPO
Cambodia Wins World’s Best Rice Award for the Fifth Time

Cambodia’s Phka Romduol rice has received the World’s Best Rice 2022 Award at the World Rice Conference (WRC).
Rescued Tiger Cubs Get New Names at Wildlife Center in Thailand
The four Tiger cubs that were smuggled from Laos, have been receiving care at a wildlife clinic in Ubon Ratchathani. They have been named after provinces in Laos and Thailand.
In Laos, Smoking Kills More People than Road Accidents
According to statistics revealed by the Ministry of Health, smoking causes more deaths than road accidents every year.
GMO Announces Initial Net Zero Asset Targets
As part of the NZAM commitment, GMO has submitted its initial net zero targets and transition plan, including:
- Reducing the carbon intensity of included investment portfolios by 65% by 2030, compared to levels in GMO’s baseline year of 2019, and
- Increasing the percentage of GMO assets covered under this target from 53.5% to 60% by 2025.
GMO efforts to meet these goals will include growing the proportion of GMO investments in companies that have put in place science-based targets in line with net zero, engaging with issuers on net zero targets, refining its measurement capabilities to go beyond Scope 1 and 2 emissions to include Scope 3, developing new climate and net zero-aligned strategies, and partnering with the Grantham Foundation on climate solutions.
“There are stark differences between how the world will be impacted by warming of 1.5 degrees Celsius and warming of 2 degrees Celsius, or more, which we believe would pose challenges to our ability to earn returns for our clients. Therefore, we think supporting the goal of net zero emissions by 2050 or sooner to limit warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius is critical to our future investment success. Setting initial net zero targets is an important step in our efforts to aid the fight against climate change and demonstrates our commitment to leading on this issue within the investment industry,” said Deborah Ng, Head of ESG and Sustainability.
“Climate change is the greatest challenge humanity has ever faced. It is the race of our lives. Investing in sustainability means investing in our grandchildren, in our civilization, in our survival as a species. Initiatives aligning with net zero are critical ways our industry can show the leadership that will be a necessary part of combating these challenges. All of us need to make sustainability integral to what we do. It is the fight for our very existence on this planet,” said Jeremy Grantham, Co-Founder and Long-Term Investment Strategist, and a leading global advocate for climate change efforts and investment.
The Net Zero Asset Managers initiative was launched in December 2020 and is designed to enable asset managers to play their part in helping to deliver on the goals of the Paris Agreement. Its signatories now include 291 asset managers with $66 trillion in assets under management, more than half of the entire asset management industry globally in terms of total funds managed.
Hashtag: #GMO
The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.
About GMO
GMO is a global investment manager that brings together focused expertise within our investment teams, industry-leading research, and tailored client service to advance our clients’ goals. Privately owned and renowned for our conviction in a valuation-based, long-term investment philosophy, GMO has been a partner to institutions, family offices, wealth managers, and consultants for over 40 years. For more information, please visit www.gmo.com.