Laos’ new oil refinery in Xieng Khouang Province will begin processing crude oil in the coming months.
Sun Life Hong Kong Clinches Sponsor of the Year and Intermediary of the Year at BENCHMARK’s MPF Awards

The Benchmark “Sponsor of the Year” award recognizes MPF Sponsors who have demonstrated excellence in their product designs, fund manager selection, cost structuring, and engagement and the Benchmark “Intermediary of the Year” award recognizes MPF intermediaries that excel in product knowledge, technology application, relationship building and marketing techniques better than others in the industry.
Sun Life Hong Kong receives a total of nine awards across different categories from BENCHMARK, including Sponsor awards, Trustee Awards and Top MPF Awards as shown below:
Grand Award
Sponsor of the Year
Intermediary Award
Intermediary of the Year
BEST-IN-CLASS
Sponsor Awards – Investor Education Award
Sponsor Awards – Intermediary Support Award
Top MPF Fund Awards – Hong Kong Equity
Top MPF Fund Awards – Lifestyle – (>20-40% Equity)
Top MPF Fund Awards – Lifestyle – (>40-60% Equity)
Top MPF Fund Awards – Lifestyle – (>60-80% Equity)
OUTSTANDING ACHIEVER
Trustee Awards – Member Servicing
Rainbow Pan, General Manager, Wealth & Pensions at Sun Life Hong Kong Limited, said, “It is such an honour to receive Sponsor of the Year and Intermediary of the Year at the BENCHMARK Fund of the Year Awards 2021. We are delighted that our efforts in investor education, intermediary support and high extent of digital client experience are fully recognised by the industry, this will encourage our relentless debut to deepen our commitment to the overall betterment of Hong Kong’s working class.”
Source: BENCHMARK MPF of the Year Awards (https://www.benchmark.today/mpf-awards/)
About Sun Life
Sun Life is a leading international financial services organization providing insurance, wealth and asset management solutions to individual and corporate Clients. Sun Life has operations in a number of markets worldwide, including Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Hong Kong, the Philippines, Japan, Indonesia, India, China, Australia, Singapore, Vietnam, Malaysia and Bermuda. As of December 31, 2021, Sun Life had total assets under management (“AUM”) of C$1.44 trillion. For more information please visit www.sunlife.com.
Sun Life Financial Inc. trades on the Toronto (TSX), New York (NYSE) and Philippine (PSE) stock exchanges under the ticker symbol SLF. Sun Life Financial Inc. is the holding company of Sun Life Assurance Company of Canada. Sun Life Hong Kong Limited is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Sun Life Assurance Company of Canada.
#SunLife
The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.
CompAsia Opens Latest E-Store In Singapore As It Champions The Recommerce of Mobile Gadgets in Southeast Asia
CompAsia, which is championing the recommerce of mobile gadgets in Southeast Asia with unrivalled success in Malaysia, is inviting more customers to consider purchasing second hand gadgets such as smartphones, laptops, and smartwatches with the opening of new e-stores in Singapore and Thailand, and the promise of high-quality products at affordable prices.
“We have seen an exponential growth of 2,500% in our e-store business in Malaysia over the last two years largely driven by movement restrictions that amplified the convenience of doing business on the CompAsia platform, and the assurance that we only trade in original products and we offer the highest quality second hand gadgets,” said Julius Lim, Founder and CEO of CompAsia, which currently operates in nine markets in the region.
“Customers trust that we are giving them excellent prices both when buying back their devices and selling them preowned ones on our e-stores,” he said, adding that CompAsia’s 32-step quality check that every device goes through, along with the secure data erasure to protect both buyers and sellers alike have also proven to be leading reasons for its growing customer base.
With deep expertise in the device business, CompAsia provides access to high quality devices that are backed by responsive after-sales service support unlike anything you’ll find in regular C2C platforms or second-hand phone retailers. To date, CompAsia has sold over 500,000 devices globally and continues to ramp up sales at a blazing pace.
“The network upgrading from 4G to 5G is further pushing the sales of smartphones and customers are actively looking for the best deals and reliable trade-in options, which is why we are already seeing increasing traffic to our new e-store in Singapore,” Julius said.
CompAsia.sg, which promises always affordable prices, is offering customers in Singapore an additional 5% discount on all devices as an opening special till 30 April 2022 that translates to almost S$300 off on its highest priced items. Customers will also enjoy CompAsia’s three-month free warranty (extendable up to 24 months) and next day shipping. Payment options in Singapore are supported by GrabPay, MasterCard, Google Pay, Zip, PayNow and Visa.
“CompAsia is changing customers’ mindsets in buying second hand gadgets as we are giving them the very best quality in each item and making every brand accessible to everyone,” Julius said. “When you buy on a recommerce site, you are not only extending the lifespan of the item, but you are also diverting waste from landfills, which means a healthier planet.”
About CompAsia
CompAsia is leading the recommerce of original high-quality second-hand gadgets in Southeast Asia with a mission to transform smart device ownership by maximising affordability and minimising e-waste.
Established in 2012, CompAsia currently operates in nine markets and collaborates with telcos, mobile operators, manufacturers, retailers, financial institutions, and insurance companies to offer customers a single partner for all their mobile gadget needs. CompAsia offers four strategic solutions in its ecosystem: Buyback & Trade-in, Remarketing, ReNew+ and InstaCover.

#CompAsia
The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.
OPPO’s Battery Health Engine Extends the Lithium Battery Life of Find X5 Pro for Better Users Experience and Environment Sustainability
Not only is battery life a concern for smartphone users, but the issue of ageing, unused and discarded lithium batteries is also an increasingly worrying topic when it comes to the future and sustainability. It is projected that over the next eight years, the global demand for lithium-ion batteries will increase elevenfold, reaching over two terawatt-hours in 2030. The demand is coming from the rise in electric vehicles and small electronic products such as mobile phones.
Smart Battery Health Algorithm
Smart Battery Health Algorithm tracks real-time electric potential across the negative electrodes inside the battery. It can dynamically adjust the charging currency within a reasonable range, effectively minimizing the occurrence of dead lithium while maintaining the maximum charging current. This helps ensure prolonged battery lifespan and faster charging speed.
To fully understand how this innovation works, we should first explain the charging and discharging behaviour of lithium batteries in mobile phones.

– The charging and discharging process can be simply viewed as the movement of lithium ions between positive and negative electrodes.

– Once the active lithium ions can’t return to the positive electrode under the impact of the excessive current or overcharging, they will become dead lithium, and this leads to a reduction in the capacity of the battery.


– Therefore, we need to preserve as many active lithium ions as possible so that we can control the charging current. Currently only by controlling the current and voltage in real-time and within a reasonable range can we reduce the occurrence of dead lithium.
– It’s the potential of the negative electrode that’s an important indicator in helping mobile phones monitor real-time current and voltage. In other words, if the negative electrode potential can be monitored in real-time, we can prevent dead lithium from appearing.
In order to obtain the negative electrode potential in real time, OPPO Institute has been exploring potential solutions in its laboratory for three years. Relying on a large amount of battery performance data, the team has been continuously correcting the accuracy of the battery model to develop the Smart Battery Health Algorithm that can track the potential of the negative electrode of the battery in real-time.
With the blessing of this technology, smartphones could be able to match a reasonable charging current for different battery capacities, charging adapters, battery states, and charging stages by accurately judging the negative electrode potential. From here, we can then maximise the maintenance of lithium-ion activity and prolong battery lifespan.
Battery Healing Technology
In addition to a huge breakthrough in the algorithm, OPPO has also optimised the internal chemical system of the battery in Find X5 Pro, applying a healing feature through the use of Battery Healing Technology. By improving the electrolyte formula, the electrodes are continuously repaired during the battery’s charge and discharge cycles, forming a more stable and durable film called Solid Electrolyte Interface.

The Solid Electrolyte Interphase, also known as SEI, is formed by the reduction and reaction of a small amount of polar solvent in the electrolyte. This happens when the lithium-ion battery is charged and discharged after gaining some electrons. It is then distributed on the surface of the positive and negative materials of the lithium battery, which can prevent the damage of the solvent molecules to the electrode materials and improve the cycle performance of the electrodes. Therefore, during the shuttle process of lithium ions between the positive and negative electrodes, the electrolyte can work to repair the SEI – another key factor affecting battery lifespan.
Battery Healing Technology helps the battery to continuously repair the SEI during the charging and discharging cycle, making the SEI more stable and durable in real time. It also reduces the damage inflicted to the electrodes due to charging and discharging, therefore enhancing the battery performance and extending battery lifespan.
In OPPO’s latest laboratory test results, we’ve found that the Battery Health Engine is able to keep a battery at 80% of its original capacity after as many as 1,600 charge cycles. This effectively doubled the lifespan of batteries under current industrial standards.

Since the battery lifespan of the Find X5 Pro is double that of the industry standard, it can maximise the protection of the battery while improving the way people experience their handsets.
Achieving ultimate battery performance
It is OPPO’s constant focus and development in battery technology that has enabling the company to transform users’ charging experience and increase the power of smartphones.
As the leader of charging technology, OPPO knows that the future development of fast charging can not only stop at high power – it should also consider aspects such as safety, portability, compatibility, and battery lifespan.
Here at OPPO, the company is taking big steps towards upgrading the world of smartphone charging to completely revolutionise the user experience of smartphones while contributing to the future sustainability of lithium battery technologies.
For more information, please visit https://www.oppo.com/en/smartphones/series-find-x/find-x5-pro/
Vietnam, Cambodia, and Thailand Open to Free, Independent Travel
Vietnam, Cambodia, and Thailand have opened their countries to free, independent travel with a minimum of restrictions.
Vientiane Mayor Issues Order Banning Loud Music
The Mayor of Vientiane Capital has issued a new order banning loud music that disturbs neighbors or families nearby.
Bybit Named Best Crypto Exchange by CED 2022

The award is testimony to Bybit’s meteoric rise from a niche but formidable derivatives trading platform in 2018 to a fully fledged exchange for all crypto traders — all 6 million of them — of varying risk appetites and skill levels. Backed by its powerful matching engine and robust infrastructure, the platform sailed through the high seas of crypto’s historic trading frenzy in May 2021 unscathed with an up rate of 99.9%.
Bybit joined hundreds of speakers, founders and crypto fans at CED 2022 connected by a colorful vision for the future of blockchain technology.
“The original promise of the internet was to create a level playing field for all,” and somehow web 2.0 was led astray from that vision, said Igneus Terrenus, head of communications at Bybit. “What web3 and the metaverse could do is to give power back to the individual,” he shared at a panel on what the future holds for crypto after the metaverse.
According to him, blockchain could also help us save the world from an impending climate disaster. Existing carbon credit models have a greenwashing problem, and distributed ledger technology could plug the loopholes.
“This is where blockchain can come in to monitor and assess real progress in carbon reduction and carbon capture. And NFTs are about ownership and bragging rights as much as they are tradable assets and financial instruments. These technologies can play a role in addressing the biggest problems of our generation. And if we don’t, we are kicking the can down the road at our own peril,” said Igneus Terrenus.
Bybit also recreated part of its NFT universe in physical form at CED 2022, showcasing interactive metaverse creations, select artists and projects from the Bybit NFT Marketplace.
Crypto Expo Dubai 2022 drew to a successful close on March 17 after an action-packed two days featuring blockchain projects and crypto units from around the world.
About Bybit
Bybit is a cryptocurrency exchange established in March 2018 that offers a professional platform where crypto traders can find an ultra-fast matching engine, excellent customer service and multilingual community support. The company provides innovative online spot and derivatives trading services, mining and staking products, an NFT marketplace as well as API support, to retail and institutional clients around the world, and strives to be the most reliable exchange for the emerging digital asset class. Bybit is a proud partner of Formula One racing team, Oracle Red Bull Racing, esports teams NAVI, Astralis, Alliance, Virtus.pro and Oracle Red Bull Racing Esports, and association football (soccer) teams Borussia Dortmund and Avispa Fukuoka.
For more information please visit: https://www.bybit.com/
For updates, please follow Bybit’s social media platforms on
https://discord.com/invite/bybit
https://www.facebook.com/Bybit
https://www.instagram.com/bybit_official/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bybitexchange/
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#Bybit
Laos Confirms 1,508 New Covid Cases
Laos has recorded 1,508 cases of Covid-19 across the country today.