The United States has donated food and hygiene packages valued at over USD 100,000 to the Provincial Emergency Operations Committees in Khammouane and Savannakhet provinces.
United States Provides Food and Hygiene Supplies to Returnees at Quarantine Centers in Khammouane and Savannakhet

Okta Reaches 100 Percent Renewable Electricity for Global Offices and Workforce; Pioneers Hybrid Work Emissions Study
SINGAPORE – Media OutReach – 1 October 2021 – Okta, Inc. (NASDAQ:OKTA), the leading independent identity provider, today announced the company has reached 100 percent renewable electricity for its global offices and employees’ work-from-home consumption in FY22, and launched the Dynamic Work Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Emissions Study, a study designed to measure the environmental impact of today’s hybrid workforce. The study found that in a Dynamic Work environment, Okta’s hybrid work framework which provides equity across work environments, per employee emissions are estimated to be 21 percent lower than they were prior to implementing Dynamic Work.
As Okta expands its global presence and embraces Dynamic Work, quantifying the company’s new environmental footprint has become a critical piece of Okta’s Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) process. Okta partnered with Global Sustainability Consultancy Anthesis to run an analysis comparing its FY20 pre-pandemic, pre-dynamic year of work (Feb 1, 2019 – Jan 31, 2020) with an FY23 projected year with Dynamic Work in place to understand the impact Okta’s Dynamic Work framework has on its greenhouse gas emissions inventory. The study found that Dynamic Work can reduce GHG emissions, due to reduced employee commuting and reduced workplace square footage per person, even when accounting for incremental increases in home energy use.
“As a business, the way we evaluate our environmental footprint has evolved along with the way we work. Just as we need to be responsible for the environmental impact of the buildings we occupy and the services we provide, now we need to account for and help our employees to understand, measure and reduce their environmental impact in this new distributed, Dynamic Work model,” said Erin Baudo Felter, Vice President, Social Impact & Sustainability, Okta. “This study is an important first step in understanding and quantifying our impact with Dynamic Work.”
“Businesses around the globe are setting targets to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions as part of their climate change strategies. Anthesis is a critical partner to our clients in their efforts to not only create sustainable business models but to also measure impact”, said Emma Armstrong, Executive Director with Anthesis. “As the workplace evolves to accommodate changing needs accelerated by the pandemic, we were excited to partner with Okta to understand how a model that supports this new way of work impacts the environment. The projected reduction in emissions per person resulting from Okta’s Dynamic Work model is significant, and provides an example for how other companies might examine their workplace emissions in the future. We look forward to partnering with Okta to measure the actual impacts resulting from the full roll out of Dynamic Work, which we anticipate will further inform emissions measurement and workplace strategies through the lens of sustainable performance”.
The launch of the Dynamic Work GHG Emissions Study follows Okta achieving 100 percent renewable electricity this year for its global offices, including coworking spaces, and global employee work-from-home electricity consumption. This critical milestone was reached by purchasing renewable energy certificates (RECs) equivalent to 100 percent of its global office and work-from-home employees’ electricity consumption, and a commitment to energy efficiency with both LEED Silver and WELL Silver certified Okta offices. The majority of the RECs Okta purchased were from the California Bright Schools solar program, which helps to realize the most cost-effective energy-saving opportunities, supports renewable energy education and the installation of solar on schools across the state.
To build on these milestones and to further maximize benefits to society, the environment, and all of its stakeholders, Okta has committed to:
- Providing employees with a guide for bringing sustainability into their work environments, wherever they are based
- Integrating climate into enterprise-wide risk management process, as per the Task Force on Climate Related Financial Disclosures
- “Listening and learning” tour with climate and environmental justice organizations to inform the company’s climate strategy
- Incorporating social equity and justice into climate work through grantmaking, as seen with investments in GRID Alternatives and the CLIMA Fund, as climate change disproportionately impacts historically excluded communities, including communities of color
To learn more about Okta’s sustainability strategy, please read the latest update here. To read more about the methodology behind the Dynamic Work Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Emissions Study, please visit the Okta blog here.
About Okta
Okta is the leading independent identity provider. The Okta Identity Cloud enables organizations to securely connect the right people to the right technologies at the right time. With more than 7,000 pre-built integrations to applications and infrastructure providers, Okta provides simple and secure access to people and organizations everywhere, giving them the confidence to reach their full potential. More than 13,050 organizations, including JetBlue, Nordstrom, Siemens, Slack, Takeda, Teach for America, and Twilio, trust Okta to help protect the identities of their workforces and customers.
#Okta
Malaysian traders share their success stories inspired by OctaFX
KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA – Media OutReach – 1 October 2021 – Global broker OctaFX released the final episode of their YouTube interview project ‘Honest Stories of Success’. The interviews showcased the success stories of Malaysia’s prominent people as they actually happen, unfiltered. However, the project had more to it than famous people revealing the ups and downs of their career journeys. It provoked a unique dialogue between Malaysian traders who shared their own stories in the comments.
In the global broker’s interview series ‘OctaFX: Honest Stories of Success’, Malaysian celebrities reflected on the difficult paths that brought them to prosperity. The viewers heard from businessman Datuk Aliff Syukri, actor Dato’ Aaron Aziz, actress Janna Nick, comedian Harith Iskander, musician Altimet, and fashion entrepreneur Wak Doyok. Popular actor Fizo Omar interviewed the guests.
The project sparked genuine interest—its six episodes have been viewed over one million times. What makes it even more valuable, the interviews received a strong response from the audience. The viewers flooded the comments section under each video with their own stories of struggles and triumphs.
Overcoming work-related obstacles
The commenters told each other about the obstacles on their career paths—lack of support from family and colleagues and changes caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, such as losing a job and finding new ways to make a living.
Despite the difficulties, these people applied different strategies to stay afloat. Some changed jobs in search of better conditions, and others kept ‘pushing themselves to the limit’ while also dealing with the uncertainty of their personal lives. Besides that, many shared that they became Forex traders in pursuit of additional income or to improve their pandemic-stricken financial situation. One of them who became the OctaFX client observed that ‘trading helps generate income with any initial investment’.
Many felt inspired and motivated by the interview project and said that such initiatives help stay focused and persistent when guided by the example of financially successful people.
Financial management: what should’ve been done differently?
‘If I could step back in time, I would focus on financial management,‘ a viewer said. Other commenters shared their personal rules of financial planning they developed by trial and error. They included getting a stable job and not being afraid of starting from the bottom, segmenting the income and ‘putting needs ahead of wants’, learning about investments from the experts and allocating a portion of income to it, avoiding debts, and finding extra sources of income such as side businesses, unit trusts, and Forex trading. The viewers also emphasised the importance of investing with trusted brokers and named OctaFX as one of them: ‘Save and deposit money to a trusted platform like OctaFX’, ‘OctaFX is the best to start investing’.
Saving money and using the income from investments
Those who shared their financial strategies found discipline and precision essential for financial planning. Many recommended putting a fixed amount, 10 to 20 percent of income, to savings, distinguishing ‘needs’ from ‘wants’ to avoid ‘financial waste’, and fighting the urge to spend money on non-essential things. As for the next step, they recommended reinvesting the income from Forex or other investments in real estate or small businesses: ‘I always think: let the money work for me, and not I work for money to achieve freedom’.
Monetising a hobby
As the guest celebrities of ‘OctaFX: Honest Stories of Success’ talked about all the work experiences they’ve had before becoming prosperous and famous, the viewers got inspired to reflect on their own hobbies and things they tried to do. Many commenters confessed that they were seriously thinking about turning these activities into prospective jobs. They mentioned spheres like graphic designing, coding, drone flying, photography, video editing, and gaming among others.
Book recommendations
Last but not least, the viewers shared some good reads that either helped them understand financial planning or inspired them to work towards their financial goals. They recommended ‘The New Market Wizards’ by Jack D. Schwager to ‘peek into conversations with America’s top traders and get to know their thinking’. Someone named ‘The Alchemist’ by Paulo Coelho: ‘It is a fable about following your dream. Everyone needs to have big dreams as they cost us nothing but give us hope.’ ‘Currency Trading for Dummies’, ‘Reminiscences of a Stock Operator’, ‘The 4-Hour Workweek: Escape 9-5, Live Anywhere, and Join the New Rich’, and ‘Psychology of Selling’ were also among the recommendations.
‘OctaFX: Honest Stories of Success’ turned out to be a meeting point for Malaysian celebrities and common people striving for financial freedom. The former talked sincerely about how they reached their current status and the real stories of what this path was for them, while the latter realised that even successful people do not always get what they want and have to work hard and overcome many obstacles to achieve success.
OctaFX previously shared the success stories of its traders. However, this project is the first to bring sincere personal stories of famous people to light and make them relatable for common people. The interviews received passionate feedback from the viewers and provoked them to share and discuss their own concerns and achievements with others through the comments. Through this mutual dialogue, celebrities and viewers reflected on the complexity of financial success, learnt valuable financial lessons, and, most importantly, felt less alone on their journeys.
About OctaFX
OctaFX is a global broker that provides online trading services since 2011. It offers a state-of-the-art trading experience to over 7 million trading accounts worldwide. OctaFX has won more than 45 awards since its foundation, including the ‘Best ECN Broker 2021’ award from World Finance and the ‘Best Forex Broker Asia 2021’ award from Global Banking & Finance Review.
#OctaFX
Mister Model International Laos 2021 Unveils National Costume
The Mister Model International Laos 2021 public relations team has released teaser photos of the national costume design to be worn by Mr. Viengkham Chanthavongsa as he competes in the international Mister Model international Pageant 2021 in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic in October.
PolyU signs MoU with three strategic partners in support of “GBA PolyVentures 2025”
HONG KONG SAR – Media OutReach – 30 September 2021 – The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) today signed memoranda of understanding (MoU) with three strategic partners to further propel the “GBA PolyVentures 2025” blueprint laid down by the University to leverage PolyU’s experience in innovation and entrepreneurship education to provide the necessary support for nurturing deep tech ventures and accelerating their growth. The collaboration also aims to translate research excellence into societal impact to contribute to the development of innovation and technology in the Greater Bay Area (GBA). The MoU were signed between PolyU and its strategic partners, namely Everbright Limited, StartupHK Fund and Hai Robotics.
In his welcoming remarks at the signing ceremony, Dr Lawrence Li Kwok-chang, PolyU’s Deputy Council Chairman, said, “The signing of the MoU between PolyU and its strategic partners echoes with the needs of our Nation and leverages the strengths of PolyU and other parties in working together for the development of innovation and technology in the GBA. Hai Robotics, one of our strategic partners today, was nurtured under PolyU’s entrepreneurship ecosystem and has recently become a unicorn.”
Hai Robotics is a start-up that provides autonomous case-handling robotic systems. It was founded in 2016 by 2012 graduate Mr Richie Chen and 2014 graduate Mr Bing Fang of PolyU’s Department of Electronic and Information Engineering. The start-up witnessed rapid growth by making use of the manufacturing advantages of the GBA and benefitting from the enormous opportunities of the Mainland China market. Hai Robotics announced last week that it has completed two rounds of financing garnering US$200 million in total, and its valuation has exceeded US$1 billion.
The Secretary for Innovation and Technology of the HKSAR Government, Mr Alfred Sit, commended the GBA PolyVentures 2025. He said that the National 14th Five-year Plan indicates clear support for Hong Kong’s development into an international I&T hub and integration into the overall development of the country. The deepening collaboration with the Mainland, active participation in the development of the GBA and the integration into the nation’s development are pivotal to the future innovation and technology development in Hong Kong. The HKSAR Government has all along attached great importance to university-industry-research collaboration. It is hoped that the synergies generated can enhance the innovation power in Hong Kong, drive the innovation and technology development in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area and contribute to national innovation and achieve high-quality technological self-reliance.
PolyU’s President, Professor Jin-Guang Teng, said, “In order to further promote the development of research and entrepreneurship in the GBA and to nurture future research talents to address the market needs, PolyU continues to collaborate closely with industry partners through ‘GBA PolyVentures 2025’, providing comprehensive support for start-ups in different stages from education and incubation, to accelerating and strengthening their development. The goal is to distil more than 300 seed stage innovation start-ups into at least 20 deep tech ventures each year and to nurture 25 impactful scale-ups in the GBA in the next few years through collaboration with strategic partners and various supporting initiatives.”
According to the MoU, PolyU and Hai Robotics will explore establishing a joint innovation centre to promote PolyU’s education in innovation and entrepreneurship, nurture talents in “New Engineering”, and conduct applied research in robotics-related topics. PolyU and Everbright Limited will invest resources to help start-ups develop through collaboration between technology and industry, provide support to promising research projects, and roll out an internship programme for nurturing innovation talents. PolyU and StartupHK Fund will co-invest in PolyU’s start-ups and help them enter the GBA market as well as launch initiatives to strengthen entrepreneurship education.
PolyU is also committed to providing high-quality education that keeps pace with the times and meets societal needs. The University will implement departmental scheme-based admissions from the 2022/23 academic year onwards, introducing two new elements of “Artificial Intelligence and Data Analysis” and “Innovation and Entrepreneurship”. In addition, PolyU established the College of Undergraduate Researchers and Innovators and Residential College to encourage undergraduate students to conduct scientific research under the guidance of PolyU’s professors. These initiatives are all designed to inspire students’ scientific curiosity and enhance their innovation capabilities.
PolyU places high importance on nurturing technology ventures. PolyU recently signed an MoU with the Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation (HKSTP) to kick off pre-incubation at university through the PolyU Micro Fund Scheme 2.0, which provides six months of entrepreneurship training to help entrepreneurial projects enter HKSTP’s start-up incubation programme directly.
In addition, PolyU has launched two key programmes that leverage on the unique advantages of the technology and innovation ecosystem in the GBA. The first is PolyU’s GBA Startup Postdoc Programme targeted at PhD graduates who are determined to start their own businesses. Under dual academic and industrial mentorship, participants can simultaneously continue with their research and start their own business for commercialisation of their research outputs. Since the launch of the programme over a year ago, six PhD students have won nine awards in total. Six start-ups have been established to receive post-incubation support; some of them have even received angel investment. PolyU will extend the programme to both Shenzhen and Hong Kong to attract more technology and innovation talents to develop in the GBA.
The second key programme is the GBA Maker Programme for hardware start-ups. PolyU makes full use of its unique advantages and facilities in manufacturing engineering, such as PolyU’s Industrial Centre, to combine Hong Kong’s edge in innovation technology and the manufacturing capabilities of the GBA to nurture top-notch hardware start-ups.
Through “GBA PolyVentures 2025”, PolyU aims to systematically accelerate the growth of start-ups through education and incubation and ultimately contribute to the development of innovation and technology in the GBA by deepening the collaboration with strategic partners and leveraging their resources, experience and network, with the support of PolyU’s new “Entrepreneurship Investment Fund”.
Laos Extends Covid-19 Restriction Measures for 11th Time
The Government of Laos has announced an extension of Covid-19 restriction measures for a further two weeks.
Tan Chong Motor Lao Soon To Introduce Exciting Vehicles Into Laos
Tan Chong Motor (Lao) Co. Ltd. (“TCML”), Sole and Exclusive Distributor of Nissan vehicles in Laos P.D.R. and a wholly-owned subsidiary of Tan Chong Motor Holdings Berhad (Malaysia), has brought many exciting choices of vehicles since it set foot in Laos more than 7-years ago.
When Red Meets Purple: Samsonite Red Launches “BTS x Samsonite Red” Collection
Collection features 11 products that reflects the retro pop mood of BTS’s “Dynamite” Concept
HONG KONG SAR – Media OutReach – 30 September 2021 – Samsonite RED, the global contemporary business casual bag brand launches ‘BTS X Samsonite Red’ collection, combining the musical theme of BTS’ song ‘Dynamite’ and the ‘From Red to Purple’ campaign together.
Inspired by their hit song ‘Dynamite’, this collection features a total of 11 products including suitcases, backpacks, crossbody bags and travel accessories, reflecting the retro pop music theme showcased from the song and music video. ‘Dynamite’, BTS’ first No.1 song on Billboard ‘Hot 100’ songs chart, received worldwide attention by delivering a message of hope to global fans in the pandemic with energetic rhythm and lively performance. The song also made it on the list of the ‘500 Greatest Songs of All Time’ by prestigious U.S. magazine Rolling Stone.
As purple become the symbolic color of BTS, the BTS X Samsonite Red collection also features the alike Sheer Violet as key theme color. The luggage, which are launched in 18-inch and 22-inch sizes respectively, come with a sliver plate in the front and are engraved with both the ‘Dynamite’ logo and silhouettes of the seven members dancing. Each suitcase comes equipped with graphic-inspired luggage stickers featuring lyrics of ‘Dynamite’ such as ‘Tonight’, ‘Ping Pong’, and ‘Stars’, allowing fans to customize the cover of the luggage. The interior features a pastel-toned sky-blue color that echoes with the ‘Dynamite’ artwork.
The collection also features a mini carry-on bag that can either be hand-carried or attached to the carry handle of luggage, and a mini case that can be hooked onto a bag or luggage. The mini carry-on bag comes with a strap embroidered with ‘Dynamite’ logo and can be transformed into a crossbody bag. The spacious storage makes it an ideal companion for occasions such as short-haul trips and camping!
Available in limited quantities only in Korea, the more special backpacks and crossbody bags are embroidered with ‘Dynamite’-inspired artwork. The backpack consists of a dedicated laptop compartment that fits 15.6-inch laptop model, and a smart sleeve that can fit onto the luggage trolley handle, making it more convenient. Various travel accessories such as card holders, pouches, name tags, passport covers and neck pillows that drew on the ‘Dynamic’ concept, are also launched to suit individual tastes and needs of consumers. In addition, the entire interior lining of the product (except neck pillow and name tag) is equipped with antimicrobial technology by Microban®.
Paul Melkebeke, President, Asia Pacific & Middle East, Samsonite said, “The red of Samsonite Red and the purple of BTS are the first and last colors of the rainbow. This ‘BTS X Samsonite Red’ collection consists of a wide range of products too, aiming to satisfy the tastes of the generation Z which is diverse like rainbow. In the ‘From Red to Purple’ campaign video, the light beam shows both red and purple along with disco pop background music. It represents the beautiful encounter between Samsonite Red and BTS.”
The ‘BTS X Samsonite Red’ collection will debut in Korea on Sep 30, 2021, with a special pop-up store at Hyundai Department Store’s Sinchon branch until the end of October. In addition to the pop-up store, the collection can be purchased at the official online mall and Hyundai H-Mall on the same day and can also be purchased at the Samsonite Red stores from October 8 (Fri).
The collection will be launching officially in November in Hong Kong, Macau, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Philippines, Taiwan, Thailand, Vietnam and Cambodia.
About Samsonite Red
Samsonite Red was launched in 2010 targeting young consumers of Millennials and Generation Z. With a variety of product offerings for men’s, women’s and unisex, from backpacks to cross-body bags, tote bags, and suitcases, it has established itself as an urban casual brand for college students and young professionals, by providing bags and luggage with stylish design and excellent quality that can be used in both daily life and business activities. With its popularity, Samsonite Red has successfully established strong presence in more than 20 countries around the world and is continuously growing.
#SamsoniteRed