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Laos-China Railway Confirms Passenger Fares

Laos-China Railway Announces Passenger Fares


Passenger fares for trips on the upcoming Laos-China Railway have been confirmed by the Ministry of Public Works and Transport.

Laos Confirms Record Eight Covid-19 Deaths

Vientiane Covid Update

Laos has confirmed 1,425 cases of Covid-19 across the country today and a record number of deaths attributed to the virus.

iShopChangi Wishes You Happy Haul-idays With Exclusive Deals This Festive Season

SINGAPORE – Media OutReach – 1 December 2021 – Christmas is just around the corner, but don’t fret – iShopChangi has you covered with Happy Haul-idays festive promotions this month. With massive discounts of up to 70% off available on thousands of products site-wide and over S$700 in vouchers to snap up, there’s bound to be something for you, your friends, and your loved ones online. Till 3 January 2022, keep your eyes peeled for the best in beauty, electronics, fashion, accessories, make-up and more!

iShopChangi lifts the Christmas spirit with these incredible Happy Haul-idays deals! Head online to shop with exclusive and attractive discounts, and save your money with the added luxury of tax and duty-absorbed shopping.

 

Pre-Christmas Hustle

From 3 – 16 December 2021, you can complete all your last-minute Christmas gift shopping! From women’s jewellery to Japanese whisky collection, simply spend at least S$300 to shake off $50 from your order with promo code HAUL50. Use HAUL10 to enjoy S$10 off for a S$100 minimum spend. Don’t miss out on the 12.12 Flash deals between 12 and 14 December 2021 where you can enjoy 10% off with no minimum spend, capped at S$50.

 

Boxing Day Flash

On Boxing Day, take part in iShopChangi’s Boxing Day Flash from 26 – 29 December 2021. Enjoy 10% off with no minimum spend, capped at S$50, with the promotion code BOXING10. Each user is entitled to three redemptions, which you might like to spend on a pair of women’s flats by Pazzion or a tote bag from Furla. If you miss out on the Boxing Day Flash, there’s still hope. Redeem one purchase with the code HAUL20 between 31 December 2021 and 3 January 2022 to get S$20 off minimum spends of S$180, and stock up on essentials for Christmas.

 

Deals and delivery!

If all these deals weren’t enough, you can also gain access to free delivery Singapore-wide when you spend S$59 or more at the checkout! At iShopChangi, you can enjoy the perks of not only tax and duty-absorbed prices, but also with the Changi Rewards programme, where you can reap the benefits of even more exclusive offerings and earn up to 3% in rebates. Sign up today – it’s free, and you’ll receive 10% off your first purchase after joining!

 

Changi Pay Exclusive

With Changi Pay, Changi’s newest digital wallet, you’ll now be rewarded with more deals! Changi Pay users can download a S$5 welcome voucher when they sign up via the iChangi app, earning Changi Rewards at the same time. When you spend S$50 with Changi Pay during this festive period, you can enjoy more perks including redemption of a Disney Tsum Tsum premium at S$8.90 plus an additional complimentary one, a return voucher of S$8 off S$35 with a spend of S$50, and get 12% off with code CHANGIPAY12 or 15% off S$200 with code CHANGIPAY15.

 

‘Win With Changi’

Stand a chance to win big when you shop at iShopChangi. These include a total of 100 million Changi Rewards points in the form of weekly prizes of 1 million Changi Rewards points (worth S$5,000) and quarterly prizes of 10 million Changi Rewards points (worth S$50,000), as well as monthly giveaways of credits from iShopChangi. One lucky finalist will be picked each month in the lead up to the Grand Draw event at the end of the campaign period, for a shot at winning Porsche’s first all-electric sports car, the Taycan. Simply spend S$50 to participate. Shoppers who pay with Changi Pay will receive 10x chances.

 

Head to iShopChangi this Christmas!

For the best in deals, discounts and promotions, there’s no place like iShopChangi this Christmas. Make the most of exclusive offerings as part of iShopChangi’s Happy Haul-idays sale, with additional stackable discounts courtesy of payment partners. Redeem your vouchers online today to save!

 

About iShopChangi

iShopChangi was launched in 2013 as an extension of Changi Airport’s promise to deliver greater comfort and convenience to travellers in its suite of airport retail offerings. Passengers can browse and purchase tax- and duty-free products across all terminals between 30 days to 12 hours pre-flight on the e-store – and choose to collect their items at Collection Centres within departure, upon arrival or have them delivered free in Singapore. Providing easy access to over 30,000 products across 900 brands and exclusives such as Changi First product launches, the site has since received global recognition with its award for Best Website – Retail Customer Facing at The Moodies: the Airport and Travel Retail Digital Media Awards 2018. In early 2020, the e-commerce store started to retail a selection tax- and duty-absorbed products to Singapore-based residents without the need to fly.

#iShopChangi

SEEDS Capital and Real Tech Fund Participate in AI startup, Sentient.io, in its Series B1 Investment Round

SINGAPORE – Media OutReach – 1 December 2021 – Singapore-based AI startup, Sentient.io, announced today that SEEDS Capital, the investment arm of Enterprise Singapore, has invested in its Series B1 funding round following co-investor, Real Tech Fund.  The new funds raised will be used for scaling the platform and business expansion into Asia Pacific markets, especially to fulfil the surging demand for Digital Transformation from local and Japanese corporations.

 

Sentient.io is also backed by A*ccelerate Technologies, the commercialising and venture arm of Singapore’s leading Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), global technology venture capital team from BEENEXT and several Japanese companies such as, Digital Garage Group together with ABC Dream Ventures which is a corporate venture capital firm of Asahi Broadcasting Group Holdings Corporation and Real Tech Fund which is managed by Real Tech Holdings Co. Ltd out of Japan.  To date, the Company has raised more than USD$7 million in investment since its inception in May 2017.

 

Mr Christopher Yeo, Founder and CEO of Sentient.io, said: “We are delighted that SEEDS Capital has participated in our Series B1 funding round following co-investor, Real Tech Fund.  SEEDS Capital’s strategic investment is in support of Sentient.io’s market expansion plans for Japan and the rest of South-East Asia.  We believe that Sentient.io’s unique AI and Data platform will accelerate innovative solutions and bring these to the markets at a quicker pace. This will also help to fulfil our vision of benefiting humanity with augmented intelligence.”    

 

Ms Tan Kaixin, General Manager of SEEDS Capital, said: “SEEDS Capital is pleased to participate in the current fundraising round of Sentient.io, an AI-as-a-Service startup. Companies today are increasingly looking to leverage the use of AI technologies and Sentient.io’s platform helps to accelerate the adoption of such AI-enabled solutions into existing business processes. We are excited to be part of the company’s journey as they scale their platform into more industry verticals and overseas markets.”

 

Sentient.io has built a unique AI and Data platform of over 60 AI functions that seek to short-circuit the development cycle of software developers by providing easy-to-use pre-trained AI microservices that are domain-specific. This will empower software developers to simultaneously develop their smart applications and embed advanced AI capabilities into existing workflows without wasting too much time on training AI models.

 

Sentient.io’s AI & Data platform can help big data owners like governments and multinational companies to streamline collaboration within multiple teams of developers to keep all their AI algorithms and data in a central repository. This reduces IT complexity and keeps all their AI and data microservices in sync, and increases productivity in building prototypes and smart applications that are powered by AI and for data. For example, Sentient.io is helping analytics development teams in a local defence organisation to standardise access to APIs and data to enhance existing applications and generate new values from their data assets.  Sentient.io. will continue to advance its AI capabilities and develop businesses in the Manufacturing, Logistics and Digital Economy industries as an AI service provider.

 

About Sentient.io

Sentient.io is a Singapore artificial intelligence (AI) company founded in 2017 by Mr. Christopher Yeo who has a strong Computer Science and Mathematics background and is also an experienced technology entrepreneur. Its aim is to enable software developers to build AI and Data-driven solutions quickly and easily by offering domain-targeted AI and Data as API services.

Sentient.io’s value proposition to enterprises is to speed up business innovation, reduce IT complexity as well as protect existing AI investments. It also enhances existing applications and is highly scalable. The early backers of the team are A*ccelerate, the commercialising arm of A*STAR, Origgin and BEENEXT. For more information, please click: https://sentient.io/en/

About SEEDS Capital

As the investment arm of Enterprise Singapore, SEEDS Capital catalyses smart investments into innovative Singapore-based early-stage startups with strong intellectual content and global market potential. We adopt a co-investment model, working hand in hand with institutional investors from around the world. Leveraging our collective expertise and networks, we help startups commercialise, realise their business development plans and expand globally. We focus our investments into emerging and strategic sectors aligned with national priorities, including Manufacturing, Trade & Connectivity, Human Health & Potential, Urban Solutions & Sustainability, and Smart Nation & Digital Economy.


#Sentient.io

Miss Grand Laos Spices Up Pageant with Papaya Salad Costume

Miss Grand Laos 2021 Papaya Salad National Costume
Miss Grand Laos 2021 Papaya Salad National Costume


Miss Grand Laos 2021, Ms. Daomixay Pachansitti, has spiced up the national costume competition at the Miss Grand International 2021 pageant with a piece inspired by payapa salad.

Carousell report finds Philippines most receptive to secondhand in the region

MANILA, PHILIPPINES – Media OutReach – 1 December 2021 – The Philippines is the most receptive market for secondhand goods in the Greater Southeast Asian region. This is one of the findings in the inaugural Carousell Recommerce Index (2021 report), a Carousell Green initiative that highlights the importance of sustainability and recommerce in the region. The report is part of several programs organized by Carousell Group, the leading classifieds group in Greater Southeast Asia, to help address the issue of overconsumption and covers findings from four Carousell Group brands namely Carousell, Chợ Tốt, Mudah.my and OneKyat, across eight markets – Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan and Vietnam, involving over 3,000 buyers and sellers.

Recommerce refers to the selling and buying of previously-owned products, including both new and used in condition. In the Philippines, 92% of consumers responded that they’ve bought secondhand items including unused and brand-new items by casual everyday sellers. This is the highest among all Carousell Group markets. It was shown that 58% percent of Filipino online consumers are most comfortable buying secondhand apparel, while 75% of Filipino merchants choose to sell secondhand apparel.

When it comes to buying secondhand items, 74% of Filipino consumers prefer purchasing secondhand items due to their affordable price, while 72% of consumers who have never bought a secondhand item said that having authentication and warranty of products will motivate them to buy secondhand items.

Regionally, consumers had an estimated 102,556 unwanted items at home that could be sold. The Philippines is one of the markets that had the most users forecasting 100 unwanted items to sell, and tied with Hong Kong in third place for the highest average items per user at 43 unwanted items. While most consumers estimated earning between PHP 2,501 to PHP 5,000 for selling their unwanted items, 11% believed they could earn more than PHP 35,0000.

Overall, the study revealed that while Women’s Fashion has held a steady position at the top category for secondhand items on Carousell Philippines, Men’s Fashion and Hobbies & Toys climbed the charts in 2020 to be in second and third place respectively. T-Shirts & Polo Shirts saw the most interest for Men’s Fashion, while the demand for Children’s Books was the highest in Hobbies & Toys. The top categories for supply are similar, with secondhand cars breaking out into third place. Listing views for used cars rose by 37% during the pandemic.

“Recommerce offers the second-best sustainable option by extending the life cycle of each garment and material, keeping it out of landfills, and replacing the need to produce new items, and limiting consumption,” said Ralph Garcia, Country MarketingHead, Carousell Philippines. “Since the pandemic drastically changed consumer behavior in the past months, we came up with  the Carousell Recommerce Index to find out  where we are now, and what we can do to encourage Filipinos to consider buying  secondhand as their first choice to promote a circular economy and encourage them to practice a  more sustainable lifestyle.”

Despite the growing support for recommerce across the regions, there are still buyers who are hesitant to purchase secondhand items because they find it difficult to ascertain the quality of a product. In the autos category in Carousell Philippines, this has been circumvented with the launch of Carousell Autos “Inspected” feature which is available to all buyers for free to provide them with confidence and peace of mind when searching for vehicles in the Carousell platform. Carousell will continue to be a gateway for anyone to contribute to the circular economy, encouraging consumers to take their first steps towards more sustainable lifestyles.

Lucas Ngoo, Co-founder, Carousell Group said, “As a pioneer for mobile classifieds in the region, Carousell Group has been constantly working to remove friction and enable secure, seamless transactions. With the use of AI and data, we have been focused on accelerating our recommerce leadership in the region to make buying secondhand trusted and convenient. This, in turn, will help to solve the meaningful problem of overconsumption with recommerce and thus make secondhand the first choice for consumers.”

The Carousell Recommerce Index (2021 Report) is available for download here.

About Carousell Group

Carousell Group is the leading classifieds group in Greater Southeast Asia on a mission to inspire the world to start selling, and to make secondhand the first choice. Founded in August 2012 in Singapore, the Group has a leading presence in eight markets under the brands Carousell, Mudah.my, Cho Tot, OneKyat and Ox Street, serving tens of millions of monthly active users. Carousell is backed by leading investors including Telenor Group, Rakuten Ventures, Naver, STIC Investments and Sequoia Capital India. Visit here for more information.

#CarousellGroup

Trip.com Launches Discounts on Flights and Hotels Bookings in Malaysia

  • Enjoy a RM40 discount off selected flight bookings with Malaysia Airlines
  • Up to 70% off staycation packages through the Last Minute Hotel Booking campaign 

KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA – Media OutReach – 1 December 2021 – From now till the end of the year, users of Trip.com, an international one-stop travel service provider, may enjoy an exclusive RM40 discount off selected Malaysia Airlines’ flights with a minimum spend of RM40 nett. These include one-way domestic flights (such as Kuala Lumpur – Langkawi and Kuala Lumpur – Kuching) and international round-trips from Kuala Lumpur to various destinations such as Bangkok, Bali and Singapore.

 

In addition, Trip.com users planning a last-minute staycation may enjoy discounts of up to 70% through the Last Minute Hotel Booking campaign which features more than 200 hotels across the country, including Kuala Lumpur, Selangor, Penang, and Johor.

 

Ms Stephane Thong, General Manager of Trip.com Malaysia, said: “Trip.com has been working closely with our partners and stakeholders to support the recovery of the travel industry in Malaysia, and we have seen a significant increase in hotels and flights bookings in recent months. It has been a challenging year and many are planning a domestic getaway in December to enjoy quality time with their loved ones. We hope that they will maximise their savings through the discounts on the selected flights and accommodation packages available on Trip.com’s platform. Going forward, we will continue to collaborate with our valued partners and stimulate demand for tourism and travel through various offerings and promotions.”

 

For more information on the campaigns, including the terms and conditions, please visit:

For the latest updates as well as exclusive deals and discount codes, Trip.com users are encouraged to join the Trip Talks Malaysia Telegram group.

About Trip.com

Trip.com is an international one-stop travel service provider, available in 20 languages across 27 countries and regions in 31 local currencies and sites. Trip.com has an extensive hotel and flight network consisting of more than 1.2 million hotels and flights from over 480 airlines covering 2,600 airports in 200 countries and regions around the globe. Trip.com’s world-class 24/7 multilingual customer service as well as additional centres in Edinburgh, Tokyo and Seoul, help to ‘create the best travel experience’ for its millions of customers worldwide. To book your next trip, visit www.trip.com.

#Trip.com

Child Labor Still Prevalent in Laos Tourism Industry

Child labor may increase during Covid-19 pandemic (Photo: UNICEF)
Child labor may increase in Laos during the Covid-19 pandemic (Photo: UNICEF)


Authorities in Laos have admitted that child labor remains an issue for the country, with underage workers still employed in the tourism industry.