Laos has recorded 873 new cases of Covid-19 across the country today, with three new deaths.
Covid-19 Continues to Spread as Laos Confirms Over 800 Cases
Prime Minister of Laos Orders Full-Scale Preparations for National Reopening
The Prime Minister of Laos has ordered full-scale preparations for reopening the country amid the launch of the Laos-China Railway.
72 countries celebrated the World Business Angel Investors Week
HONG KONG SAR – Media OutReach – 2 November 2021 – WBAW China: The World Business Angel Investors Week (WBAW) 2021 has successfully concluded on 24 October 2021. The Week is a global platform from which to campaign for solutions to critical issues of early-stage equity and capital markets, startup economies, and other worldwide concerns at the United Nations, the European Union, the ASEAN Economic Community, the OECD, and in G20 countries, and regional and local economies. It is celebrated every third week of October, under a global theme. The Week is coordinated globally by the World Business Angels Investment Forum (WBAF) – an affiliated partner of the G20 Global Partnership for Financial Inclusion (GPFI).
This year’s global theme is Business Diplomacy for International Entrepreneurship. The event took place over 18-24 October 2021 and hosted more than 80,000 entrepreneurs, startups, investors, innovators, policy makers, and thought leaders from around the world. Baybars Altuntas, Global Chair of the Week and Executive Chairman of the World Business Angels Investment Forum, kicked off the Week with a Grand Opening Ceremony hosting a long list of honorary speakers including H.E. Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović, President of the Republic of Croatia (2015-2020) and ministers from Costa Rica, Canada, North Macedonia, Monaco, Mexico, Jamaica, Thailand, and UAE, regional leaders of angel investors, as well as continental chairs of the Week including Derik Kim, Continental Chair Asia.
Mariana Kou, WBAW Country Chair China, highlighted during the 21 October 2021 session for China that innovation and technology advancement were key to social and economic development and encouraged all stakeholders in the public and private sectors to collaborate and contribute to the startup economy in China, Asia, and globally. Raymond Wong, head of Investment at the Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation, gave a keynote speech sharing the role of Hong Kong in China’s entrepreneurial journey. Keynote speaker Emily Lam-Ho, founder of 8Shades, co-founder of EcoDrive, and managing partner of Empact28 shared how she worked towards building a greener world with an impact investing platform, a NGO, and a startup venture. A roundtable moderated by Roland Yau, managing partner of CoCoon Ignite Ventures invited Lavine Hemlani, founder of Xccelerate, Theodore Ma, founder of MPower, and Lara Wang, co-founder of Link Resources Asia to speak about their views and expectations on the future of work. The WBAW China session concluded with a fireside chat on the East and West venture capital landscape, hosted by Anson Bailey, head of consumer and retail of ASPAC and head of technology of Hong Kong with speaker Kent Ho, founder and general partner of S28 Capital, member of board of directors, Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation, and Honorary Trustee of Peking University.
Re-live all sessions at www.angelsweek.org
World Business Angels Investment Forum
As an affiliated partner of the G20 Global Partnership for Financial Inclusion (GPFI), the World Business Angels Investment Forum (WBAF) is committed to collaborating globally to empower the economic development of the world by fostering innovative financial instruments for startups, scaleups, innovators, entrepreneurs, and SMEs and to promoting gender equality and women’s participation in all sectors of the world economy. WBAF invites you to join our global efforts to ease access to finance, promote financial inclusion, and create more jobs and social justice.
Strategic Partners of the World Business Angels Investment Forum
Strategic Partners are some of the world’s top industry leaders representing diverse regions and industries; they are committed to the idea that interaction between multiple stakeholders can be a positive force in creating change. They work in close cooperation with the Forum to help shape regional and global agendas in the global and regional investment markets. Through this cooperation, Strategic Partners contribute to the global knowledge base and benefit from it as they determine the agenda of Forum meetings and develop the focus of Forum initiatives. WBAF has signed strategic collaborative agreements with global and regional institutions to empower the economic development of the world.
- International Finance Corporation of the World Bank Group (IFC)
- London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG)
- World Association of International Investment Promotion Agencies (WAIPA)
- International Association of Science Parks and Areas of Innovation (IASP)
- The Middle East Business Angels Network (MBAN)
- The African Trade Association for Business Angels (ABAN)
- The World Free & Special Economic Zones Federation (FEMOZA)
- The Association of Chambers of Commerce and Industry of the Mediterranean (ASCAME)
- International Chamber of Commerce (ICC)
- Junior Chamber International (JCI)
#WorldBusinessAngelInvestorsWeek #WBAW
Every sixth Malaysian came across Forex before, and they are likely to become regular traders, OctaFX reports
KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA – Media OutReach – 2 November 2021 – If all the people familiar with Forex lived in the same city, it would have to be bigger than Kuala Lumpur. This conclusion was reached by the analysts of the global broker OctaFX. The broker recently researched the Forex market capacity in Malaysia. While many people have at least heard about Forex, as discovered by the research team, how many of them use this investment tool regularly? Let’s take a closer look.
According to the OctaFX research, almost 80 percent of the working-age population in Malaysia are familiar with the Forex market. This is over 12 million people—more than eight times the population of the country’s capital.
The global broker conducted a large-scale study of Malaysia’s population and found that a significant number of people of different sex, age and profession consider Forex a promising investment tool. In the related survey, more than 4.7 million people claimed to trade Forex actively.
In other words, one out of six adult Malaysians invests in Forex, and this figure is expected to grow. About 215 thousand residents of the country are actively engaged in trading every month.
Forex expert Kar Yong Ang makes an optimistic forecast about the Forex market growth in Malaysia: ‘With the recent economic changes due to the pandemic and lockdowns, more and more people are seeking an alternative source of income, and I believe that trading is one of the most attractive vehicles to make an additional income. You can trade on the go or from the comfort of your own home. You can also choose how much time to dedicate to it. As more people start to realise the importance of investing, I believe many will also start to see the benefits of Forex as a way of gaining an additional income or even as their preferred investment type.‘
The current number of active traders seems realistic, in particular when supported by similar figures from a reputable industry source. According to Finance Magnates, Malaysian traders invest over 76 million USD per month in Forex, making Malaysia one of the four most promising countries for development on this market.
One of the most curious results of the OctaFX study suggests that women are most interested in Forex trading between the ages of 18 and 29. Presumably, a liberal university environment allows women to think out of the box and feel more freedom to try new things. As the data shows, they willingly—and, quite successfully—claim their places in trading and other spheres traditionally occupied by men. Meanwhile, men are most active in Forex between the ages of 30 and 44.
The researchers were also interested to learn some common reasons for people to stop investing in Forex. As discovered, one of the significant barriers is a lack of knowledge or experience in trading. Fortunately, today there are many freely available educational materials—it just takes dedication to study them.
Trading expert Gero Azrul emphasises the importance of continuous training and development to trade successfully. ‘Beginner traders or those who are not confident enough in their skills should consider first practising on demo accounts. Many brokers offer them, and they are a great tool for strategy testing. It is also necessary to dedicate enough time to reading educational articles, watching webinars, and attending Forex online courses. Also, it is always good to return to the definitions of basic terms, strategies, and theories. Finally, you should always follow the latest financial news,’ noted Mr Azrul.
As Malaysia’s Forex market continues to grow, expect more people around you to become involved. Watch out to not bump into a person in front of you, distracted by a phone. They are probably trading right now.
About OctaFX
OctaFX is a global broker that has been providing online trading services since 2011. It offers a state-of-the-art trading experience to over 7 million trading accounts globally. OctaFX has won more than 45 awards since its foundation. In 2021, Global Banking and Finance Review marked its achievements with the ‘Best Forex Broker Asia’ award, and World Finance named it the ‘Best ECN Broker’. The company is well-known for its social and charity activities. It is also committed to educating its clients about trading and investing in accessible and appealing ways.
#OctaFX
New Shipment of AstraZeneca Covid-19 Vaccines from COVAX Facility Arrive in Laos
Laos received a new shipment of 523,200 doses of the AstraZeneca Oxford Covid-19 vaccine from the COVAX Facility on Sunday.
Namiton Launches the First Special Water Purifier with Hollow-Fiber Nanofiltration Membrane – Pushing the Envelope with Membrane Technology Innovation from Singapore
SINGAPORE – Media OutReach – 2 November 2021 – A special water-purifier series developed by Singapore-based Namiton Pte.Ltd. to provide direct access to drinking water has received a great response upon its launch. Based on hollow-fiber nanofiltration membrane (HFNM) technology, this commercial drinking water solution boasts a host of excellent features, including ultra-low pressure, large flux, and selective ion removal.
Rapid economic development has brought ever more challenges to our lived environment, in particular to the quality of the drinking water that is of vital importance to every human being. The safety of drinking water and its treatment is a priority for the future of our society.
With its hollow-fiber nanofiltration membrane, the Special Water Purifier is a flagship product developed for the commercial water purification industry led by the team of Namiton licensed the latest membrane technology from Nanyang Technological University (NTU) which is ranked no. 1 in the world for the strength of its Materials Science expertise. The purifier features the first charge-selective, low-pressure, hollow-fiber nanofiltration membrane (HFNM) in the world, enabling efficient filtration, mineral retention, and effective prevention of secondary pollution. Unlike ultrafiltration membranes (which can‘t remove heavy metals or limescale) or reverse osmosis membranes (which screen good particles along with the bad), the new model will filter 99.99% of suspended particles, microorganisms, bacteria, viruses, heavy metals, and other harmful substances from water while retaining trace minerals that are beneficial to the human body. Once passed through the HFNM, this so-called “nanofilted water” is healthier and safer, meeting the drinking water needs of campuses, hotels, companies, medical institutions, office buildings, parks and green spaces, and other public areas.
As the most advanced and unique water purification membrane material in the world, HFNM‘s low-pressure selective nanofiltration core represents a paradigm shift in water purification technology. HFNM features hydrophilicity, oxidation resistance, heavy-duty corrosion resistance, and high temperature resistance, while the membrane module itself has the advantages of lower operating pressure (-35%) and larger flux (+40% ) than traditional spiral wound nanofiltration membranes, in addition to selective control of ion removal. It also saves energy and water, with a waste-water rate only 1/3 that of an ordinary RO membrane. It is also manufactured with the most effective energy-saving and water-saving technology, decreasing utility costs by more than 70% compared with traditional water purifiers. Thanks to its excellent performance, the purifier has a range of applications, including mains water upgrades, drinking water purification on campus, seawater desalination, municipal water supply treatment, industrial treatment and reuse of toxic wastewater, chiral drug separation for medical purposes, dialysis membrane materials, and more.
Namiton is committed to providing highly scientific, environmentally friendly, and ever more cost-effective solutions to meet market needs, with special focus on the following:
1. Our commercially integrated drinking water machine
This is a drinking water solution for large public areas, meeting the needs of multiple users with just a single device.
The most competitive high-end water purifier in the industry is built around a unique ultra-low pressure nanofiltration membrane that features a range of benefits, including 3 seconds of rapid heating, freely adjustable water temperature, large flux, no barrel, a dual-temperature water outlet, five-stage filtration, fresh drinking water, higher water quality, low pressure without a pump, greater energy-saving, click-and-out, a low wastewater rate, and water savings up to 300%. Its suitable locations are airports, shopping malls, office spaces, etc.
2. Our commercial central system/vertical pipeline machine
Designed for sites with heavy traffic and greater demand for drinking water outlets, their water flux is up to 3.6l/h via multiple machines connected in parallel. It allows for flexible water use,and customized drinking water solutions based on user needs for large-flow water purification. 800-gallon, hollow-fiber nanofiltration cartridges and five-stage nanofiltration ensure the purification of every last drop of water; full automation, including microcomputer control and regular cleaning, reduce the need for maintenance and result in a safer and more user-friendly experience. Its suitable locations are factories, multi-floor office spaces, etc.
3. Our commercial drinking water dispenser
An exclusive public drinking water solution designed for campuses with high demand for drinking water and drinking water outlets. The progressive heating system can effectively avoid “water that boiled multiple times” and “Yin Yang water”, ensure the supply of warm water and reduce the risk of scalding; this is especially suitable for locations such as schools, offices, libraries, dormitories, etc.
Namiton‘s successful launch of new product lines has attracted great attention from the industry and the market, and the latest four models have come to symbolize the innovative power of the company‘s R&D. With its HQ and R&D center in Singapore, Namiton brings cutting-edge water purification technology and talents from across the nation together under one roof. Namiton is committed to benefiting the world with the country‘s leading membrane purification technology, offering integrated membrane technology solutions that showcase new materials R&D and water-treatment solutions, with sales of materials and equipment for high-end commercial water purification. It is our mission to promote the green and health-conscious development of China’s environmental protection industry.
In the future, Namiton will strive to “honor its social responsibility and devote itself to building an ecological culture”, contributing to water treatment, drinking water safety, the ecology of the urban environment, and green and low-carbon development through ongoing technological innovation and improvements to the industrial supply chain.
#Namiton
Jenny Tonkham Phonchanheuang Crowned Miss Universe Laos 2021
Ms. Tonkham Phonchanheuang, a 26-year-old from Vientiane Capital has officially been crowned Miss Universe Laos 2021.
Singapore Environment Council and Equinix’s Reverse Vending Machine pilot in polytechnics highlights Public-Private-People Partnerships as the way forward in driving recycling efforts
Conscious consumption and responsible recycling promote a sustainable lifestyle and safeguard the environment for future generations
SINGAPORE – Media OutReach – 2 November 2021 – The Singapore Environment Council (SEC) and Equinix, the world’s digital infrastructure companyTM, have concluded a four-month Reverse Vending Machine (RVM) pilot project at Republic Polytechnic and Temasek Polytechnic to promote students’ recycling habits. A total of 3,555 and 3,442 used beverage containers were collected at Temasek Polytechnic and Republic Polytechnic respectively, with a contribution of $10,800 made towards benefitting underprivileged students at the two polytechnics. The pilot demonstrated the potential and capability of public-private-people partnerships to deliver green solutions with the ability to scale up to more educational institutions and food and beverage (F&B) establishments in retail environments.
RVMs are one way to encourage the domestic recycling of used beverage containers at source. Utilising the technology of the in-built camera to capture images of the container, the software identifies the type of container before sorting them into different storage bins with the collection data recorded for viewing by an online system. All containers are collected weekly by SembWaste and sent for recycling at Sembcorp’s material-recovery facility, avoiding incineration and landfilling.
Yee May Leong, Managing Director of Equinix South Asia, said, “As a Fortune 500 company with over 230 International Business ExchangeTM (IBX®) data centers globally, Equinix has a responsibility to connect and support local communities, and power the world in a sustainable manner. Through sponsoring the RVM Polytechnic project, we are pleased to have contributed to the national recycling programme, whilst educating students and helping those in need along the way. We hope this meaningful project encourages everyone, especially the youths who are our leaders of tomorrow, to do more together to create a better future.”
The joint pilot project is indicative of Equinix’s efforts in catalysing collective action in the community for the betterment of society through utilising new technologies and innovations.
Jen Teo, Executive Director of SEC, said, “We are extremely heartened by the support of the schools and students for this project pilot. While COVID-19 has certainly presented challenges, the pilot has nevertheless allowed us to get a better sense of sentiment on the ground. With the National Environment Agency (NEA) expected to roll out its Deposit Refund Scheme by 2022, the insights will help us refine how we engage not just the schools but the community as a whole. We believe that such an approach is critical as we work together with the government to drive Singapore towards a zero-waste nation.”
Over 467 million plastic drink bottles are used in Singapore each year, equivalent to the size of 94 Olympic-sized swimming pools. COVID-19 has aggravated plastic waste from takeaways and food deliveries. A 2020 study conducted by NUS Alumni found that Singapore households generated an extra 1,334 tonnes of plastic waste from takeaways and food deliveries during the country’s two-month circuit breaker in 2020. And yet, according to the NEA’s 2020 Waste and Recycling Statistics, only 4% of plastics were recycled last year. This pales in comparison with 11% for glass and 19% for food waste and shows the vast scope for recycling plastics.
Alongside packaging waste, Singapore has designated e-waste and food waste as priority streams under its Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) framework. The first phase of the EPR will be the Deposit Refund Scheme (DRS). To be rolled out by 2022, this is a nation-wide system to take back and recycle used beverage containers. DRS aims to aggregate the collection of post-consumer plastic waste and ensure a steady supply of feedstock for recycling, ultimately closing the plastic-waste loop. As envisaged in the Singapore Green Plan 2030, DRS will bolster national efforts to reduce waste per capita sent to landfills by 30 per cent by 2030.
Ms Teo added, “We strongly believe that collaboration between the private, public and people sectors is the way forward to make a deeper impact on recycling beverage container waste and contribute to our nation’s zero-waste goals. We hope that as more forward-thinking companies and organisations step forward to partner us, we can collectively accelerate efforts to make recycling convenient to consumers through the Reverse Vending Machine and other recycling touchpoints.”
Note to the Editor:
Please refer to the Annex for additional quotes from Temasek Polytechnic and Republic Polytechnic.
ANNEX
Name |
Designation |
Tertiary Institution |
Quote |
Gary Png |
Director, Estates & Facilities Management Department |
Temasek Polytechnic |
“This partnership with SEC may be a small step, but we believe it would go a long way towards educating the Temasek Polytechnic community on how we can play our part to protect the planet for future generations.” |
Xavier Ang |
Diploma student, Green Building & Sustainability |
“The Reverse Vending Machine project is a great initiative as it allows us to do our part for the environment by recycling bottles and cans rather than indiscriminately throwing them into bins.” |
|
Shyam Srinivasan |
Diploma student, Environmental Science, Year 2, and member of Conservation Interest Group |
Republic Polytechnic |
“As there are many students on campus who buy bottled and canned drinks, it’s great that we are able to be proactive in recycling our used containers through the Reverse Vending Machine.” |
Devaanantham Ramachandran |
“It is critical that we come up with innovative solutions to address the global challenge of waste management. The Reverse Vending Machine is one such solution, and I look forward to more machines being rolled out across the different locations in Singapore.” |
ABOUT THE SINGAPORE ENVIRONMENT COUNCIL
The environmental sustainability advisory for businesses and future business leaders, SEC partners companies in their sustainability journeys through its globally recognised environmental certification programme under the Global Ecolabelling Network (GEN).
In line with the national targets outlined in the SG Green Plan 2030, SEC’s public arm focuses on raising public awareness on sustainability issues and fosters capability and capacity building through Public Private People Partnerships (4Ps).
As a not-for-profit, non-governmental organisation (NGO), SEC is approved under the Institution of Public Character (IPC) which extends tax exemption to donors.
For details, please visit https://www.sec.org.sg.
#SingaporeEnvironmentCouncil