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Trading, Simplified: Bybit Launches Unified Trading Account, Transforming the Trading Experience for Investors

DUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES – Media OutReach – 26 January 2023 – Bybit, the third most visited cryptocurrency exchange in the world, is excited to announce the launch of its new unified trading account (UTA), allowing investors to trade across multiple markets from one account.

Bybit’s UTA is an all-in-one upgrade optimized for a seamless trading experience for traders. It provides all clients with a unified margin account, which makes it easier for investors to diversify their trades and orchestrate their trading strategy.

With the ability to trade across instruments such as spot, futures, perpetuals, and options all from one account, traders can quickly switch between different strategies without manually transferring assets between accounts. It also offers a clear view of risk and margin requirements.

Moreover, Bybit’s UTA is an attractive option for traders thanks to features like shared margin, which allows traders to offset losses with gains without closing trades. UTA supports over 60 asset types for cross-margin trading and unrealized profits can be used to open new positions. The ability to cross-collateralize lending and borrowing within UTA offers unparalleled flexibility and capital efficiency.

The UTA also supports trading across five products: spot trading, margin trading, USDT perpetual, USDC perpetual and USDC options with more to come. For professional and institutional traders, the Open API option has been upgraded to Open API v5 for better precision and simultaneous connection.

“Deploying a UTA at Bybit resembles holding the master key to your personal trading universe. Trading and holding contracts across the digital asset space in a market that never sleeps is not always humanly possible. We understand that, for traders, managing multiple accounts and margins can be time-consuming and irksome,” said Ben Zhou, co-founder and CEO of Bybit.

“That’s why we’ve created our unified trading account to streamline the process and enable traders to upgrade all holdings into a single account and optimize their floating P/L. The UTA, when combined with Bybit’s ultra-fast trading platform and deep liquidity, is a powerful tool for any trader looking to optimize their strategy.”

“This is the end game for Bybit’s account system,” said Hao Yang, head of options at Bybit, highlighting its risk management advantage. “For instance, if you are a spot trader who bought BTC, you can buy a corresponding option to hedge your risk.”

Find out more about UTA

Hashtag: #Bybit

The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

About Bybit

Bybit is a cryptocurrency exchange established in 2018 that offers a professional platform where crypto traders can find an ultra-fast matching engine, excellent customer service and multilingual community support. Bybit is a proud partner of Formula One’s reigning Constructors’ and Drivers’ champions, the Oracle Red Bull Racing team, esports teams NAVI, Astralis, Alliance, Made in Brazil (MIBR), and Oracle Red Bull Racing Esports, and association football (soccer) team Borussia Dortmund.

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Laos First Country in ASEAN to Achieve ICM Midwifery Education Accreditation

Midwifery training in Laos (National Round Table Process).
Midwifery training in Laos (National Round Table Process).

The International Confederation of Midwives (ICM), an accredited non-governmental organization representing midwives and midwifery to organizations worldwide, has officially made a decision to accredit three centers of excellence for midwifery education in Laos. 

Amazon Web Services powers Bondee to take the Asia social media scene by storm

SINGAPORE – Media OutReach – 26 January 2023 – Bondee, a social media app, officially launched on the App Store. Within a few days of its release, it climbed to the top of the App Store rankings and entered the spotlight. Metadream, a tech startup based in Singapore, developed Bondee to create a virtual world where users can design avatars, share their moods, statuses, and daily lives, and add friends to chat and interact with online. Users can also personalize their spaces, visit friends, and post comments as if they were living with them in person.

Security, compliance, and privacy protection are of the utmost importance to Bondee. According to the team at Amazon Web Services (AWS), Bondee’s computing, storage, networks, databases, and data analytics are powered by AWS. This means that users can be assured of Bondee’s data security and compliance with regional privacy protection laws. In addition to providing security accreditation, capabilities, and organizational support, AWS has a dedicated team that delivers high service levels. Backed by this team, AWS has leveraged the latest security technologies and services to build Bondee’s world-class personal information security system, ensuring user privacy and data security.

“Relying on the global footprint of AWS infrastructure, Bondee inherits the best practices of AWS security, compliance, and data privacy, and builds a proactive and agile system with security capability,” says an AWS Global Services Team PM. “Bondee boosted its security posture and protected its accounts, workloads, and data with AWS Identity and Access Management (IAM) for secure access management, AWS CloudHSM for compliance on data security, Amazon GuardDuty for intelligent threat detection and continuous monitoring, and AWS Security Hub for automated security checks and centralized security alerts.”

“Bondee ensures the security and data privacy of applications and data in the cloud, and has won the trust of users around the world,” says Kyu Nam, head of local operations at Metadream. “We worked well with AWS and built a robust information security ecosystem to pave the way for future development. Thanks to the support of their tech team, we have created a safer and more reliable world in Bondee.”

In the future, Bondee plans to continue to use the professional and efficient services of AWS for data and product security. As a world leader in cloud computing, AWS has been committed to innovative and leading technologies for over 15 years and its fully-featured services are used by millions of corporate customers worldwide across a broad range of industries.

Metadream is headquartered in Singapore with product development and operations teams based in Japan and South Korea. The company has also established independent data centers in Singapore, Japan, and the United States. To serve local users, it plans to set up regional operations centers in Thailand and the Philippines. After acquiring the full intellectual property rights to the startup app True.ly in May 2022, Metadream developed the creative concept further and internationalized the app, launching it as Bondee in various parts of the world at the end of 2022. According to sources at Metadream, the company was founded by investors in the United States and Australia.

Hashtag: #Bondee #AWS

The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

Opium Poppy Cultivation Surges in Myanmar Since Military Coup

Opium farmers in Myanmar (UNODC)
Opium farmers in Myanmar (UNODC)

Opium poppy cultivation in Myanmar increased significantly after the military coup of 2021 as a result of farmers being forced to produce the crop by political and economic unrest.

Singapore firms can now tap on Temus-IMDA’s talent conversion programme to fill tech roles

  • Singapore’s Minister for Communications and Information Mrs Josephine Teo officiated the launch of Temus’ Step IT Up programme, supported by Infocomm Media Development Authority’s (IMDA) under Techskills Accelerator (TeSA) initiative, for public sector agencies and private companies to jointly ‘place and train’ people for tech roles in under five months.
  • The talent conversion programme, in partnership with IMDA and supported by Digital Industry Singapore (DISG), focuses on helping people with no prior tech training.
  • More than 800 applied for its pioneer cohort in November 2022 and 22 graduates are expected to join Temus’ more than 200-strong workforce in March 2023.
  • Temus has started recruiting trainees for Step IT Up’s April intake and is poised to develop up to 400 tech talents by 2025.

SINGAPORE – Media OutReach – 26 January 2023 – Minister for Communications and Information Mrs Josephine Teo officiated the launch of Step IT Up for organisations in Singapore’s public and private sectors to tap on digital transformation services company Temus’ accelerated talent conversion programme for their tech talent needs.

(Back row) Minister for Communications and Information Josephine Teo (centre), with (from left to right) Temus Founding Member and Chief Revenue Officer Srijay Ghosh, Temus CEO KC Yeoh, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Communications and Information, and Cybersecurity, Smart Nation and Digital Government Joseph Leong and IMDA CEO Lew Chuen Hong with the first cohort of Step IT Up trainees
(Back row) Minister for Communications and Information Josephine Teo (centre), with (from left to right) Temus Founding Member and Chief Revenue Officer Srijay Ghosh, Temus CEO KC Yeoh, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Communications and Information, and Cybersecurity, Smart Nation and Digital Government Joseph Leong and IMDA CEO Lew Chuen Hong with the first cohort of Step IT Up trainees

Initiated by Temus in Singapore in November last year, the Step IT Up programme expects to see 22 trainees join Temus as full-time software developers when they graduate this March. Through Step IT Up’s accelerated talent conversion programme, trainees will receive the technical know-how, confidence and assurance of a career conversion to thrive in a competitive digital economy.

In partnership with Temus, organisations will be able to leverage Step IT Up to draw on a wider bench of non-technically trained individuals in Singapore for their tech talent and digital transformation plans. Trainees will be hired by Temus before they undergo a rigorous curriculum for under five months, customised based on the organisations’ transformation goals. Step IT Up’s ‘place and train’ protocol will enable graduates to transition seamlessly into full-time tech roles within these organisations.

Globally, Step IT Up has already seen marked success, enabling over 1,100 people from non-tech backgrounds secure tech jobs at leading multinational companies.

Converting non-tech talents for Singapore’s digital economy needs

Mr Kiren Kumar, Deputy Chief Executive for IMDA said, “Tech talent continues to be in strong demand as Singapore based companies drive their digital transformation strategies. We thank Temus for their leadership and partnership on the Step IT Up programme that blazes a trail to hire and provide on the job training to Singaporeans for various tech roles. Talent graduating from this programme will enjoy a wide range of opportunities in Temus and other partner companies to drive digital transformation efforts. We look forward to continue partnering with industry leaders like Temus to train Singaporeans in emerging tech skills to build Singapore’s digital future.”

Mr KC Yeoh, Chief Executive Officer, Temus said, “We believe that the success of any meaningful digital transformation depends on the capabilities of its people. This is why Temus aspires to support our customers to build a strong digital talent pool. Our first cohort of Step IT Up trainees are making very good progress. This gives us the confidence that with the right learning agility, motivation, and resolve, people from a broad range of backgrounds can make a successful career transition to the digital workforce.”

Applicants to last year’s recruitment drive, which received over 800 applications, came from a wide variety of backgrounds, including fresh graduates and career switchers, from optometrists and private tutors to platform delivery riders and chefs.

Ms Abigail Mary Chieng, a Step IT Up trainee from the programme’s pioneer intake and previously medical technologist, said, “After graduating from Life Sciences, tech felt out of reach. Even so, I know it is a thriving field that will drive our future. Step IT Up presented itself as a rare opportunity for me to get my foot into a growing industry, despite having little or no programming background.”

As the programme’s first graduation date nears, another Step IT Up trainee, Mr Thaddeus Loei, has high hopes about breaking into the tech industry. “Due to the long, arduous hours working as a chef, I had little energy or time to sign up for tech courses. But Temus was willing to sponsor the required training for me to make the career conversion”, he said. “If a company was willing to do this even for its own job vacancies, then it showed that the company was invested in its own people. And this makes Temus a company worth growing alongside with.”

According to Temus’ Founding Member and Chief Revenue Officer, Mr Srijay Ghosh, “Apart from the favourable feedback and response from the trainees of our pioneer cohort, we are equally delighted by the level of interest from our customers in both the public and private sectors, to partner with Temus to ‘place and train’ non-tech talent.” He adds, “Step IT Up forms a key thrust of Temus’ ‘Vision to Value’ offering, enabling our customers to grow and develop their talents in tandem with their broader enterprise-wide transformation efforts.”

Applications to Step IT Up’s April intake closes on 20 February 2023

Temus has commenced recruitment for its April cohort which will ‘hire, place and train’ up to 22 candidates in low code app development. Low code has gained significant popularity globally as they enable the fast development of digital applications that improve efficiency, automate processes, and help organisations respond faster to changing business needs while staying competitive.

Temus is pioneering the growth of low code in this region, harnessing OutSystems. Some of Temus’ over 30 customers for low code include, a Singapore mainboard-listed Telco, a leading global pharmaceutical company, and Singapore’s largest private education institution, to name a few. Graduates from the April intake of Step IT Up will be trained and credentialed to be low code developers in OutSystems and join Temus’ low code team in catalysing digital transformation for customers such as these. Aspiring trainees should apply to the programme at www.stepitup.temus.com before 20 February 2023.

Hashtag: #Temus #DigitalTransformation #StepITUp #StepITUpxTemus

The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

Temus

Temus was established by Temasek in partnership with UST, to provide digital transformation solutions for the private and public sectors as we aspire to be a strategic partner in realising the Singapore Government’s Smart Nation vision. We are headquartered in Singapore and have more than 200 employees across a wide range of disciplines in strategy, design, architecture, technology, data & AI.

For more information, please visit .

Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA)

The Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) leads Singapore’s digital transformation with infocomm media. To do this, IMDA will develop a dynamic digital economy and a cohesive digital society, driven by an exceptional infocomm media (ICM) ecosystem – by developing talent, strengthening business capabilities, and enhancing Singapore’s ICM infrastructure. IMDA also regulates the telecommunications and media sectors to safeguard consumer interests while fostering a pro-business environment, and enhances Singapore’s data protection regime through the Personal Data Protection Commission.

For more news and information, visit or follow IMDA on Facebook IMDAsg and Twitter @IMDAsg.

Step IT Up x Temus

Step IT Up x Temus is an accelerated ‘place, and train’ programme, supported by Infocomm Media Development Authority’s (IMDA) under Techskills Accelerator (TeSA) initiative, aimed at growing digital talents for Singapore. The programme was launched in August 2022 and will benefit 400 people from non-tech backgrounds over the next three years. Step IT Up has been successfully conducted across multiple countries since its inception 8 years ago by Temus’ strategic partner, UST. Beyond Singapore, the programme has run in the United States, Mexico, Poland, Australia, Costa Rica, and Israel.

For more information, please visit: .

Free 4×4 Driving Course Offered to Drivers in Phongsaly

Off road 4x4 driving

Motorists in Phongsaly Province have been invited to attend a free 4×4 driving course to improve their driving skills. 

Mind-controlling Fungus Likely Exists in Laos

HBO Television Series - The Last of Us
HBO Television Series - The Last of Us (Photo: HBO).

The type of mind-controlling fungus popularized by the television show and video game “The Last of US” may exist in Laos, but is unlikely to affect humans.

Prudential plc to open branch in Macau to provide life and health insurance solutions

MACAU and HONG KONG SAR – Media OutReach – 26 January 2023 – Prudential plc (Prudential) today announced it has received approval from the Macau Special Administrative Region to establish a branch of its Hong Kong business in Macau. With the addition of Macau, Prudential will have a presence in 24 markets across Asia and Africa.

Prudential will initially offer life and health insurance solutions in Macau through its digitally-enhanced agency force. These solutions include multi-currency options to meet customer needs in savings, healthcare and protection.

Lilian Ng, Managing Director, Strategic Business Group, Prudential said the new Macau branch completes the company’s footprint in China’s Greater Bay Area (GBA).

The GBA is made up of nine cities in the Guangdong Province and the two Special Administrative Regions of Hong Kong and Macau. Its substantial population of 86.7 million people contributed to 11 per cent of China’s GDP[1] in 2021.

While we have seen rapid economic development in Macau, insurance penetration remains low. With the city’s fast-ageing population, there is strong demand from its residents for solutions that can help them access private healthcare facilities in Macau and elsewhere in the GBA.

“The Macau branch will play a pivotal role in our strategy to make healthcare and financial security more accessible to people in the GBA, as we leverage our 50-year experience of providing insurance to customers in Hong Kong,” said Ng.

Macau has a life insurance penetration rate at 6.4 per cent in 2021[2] – slightly over one-third of Hong Kong’s 17.3 per cent. In 2021, the gross written premium of Macau’s life insurance industry grew 26 per cent year-on-year to reach MOP 33 billion[3] (approximately USD 4 billion[4]), driven by rising demand for protection and wealth accumulation products in the city.

Lawrence Lam, Chief Executive Officer of Prudential Hong Kong, who will have management and performance oversight of the Macau branch, said, “We are delighted to have the opportunity to offer our innovative insurance solutions to the people of Macau. The establishment of the Macau branch is a key milestone for the Group’s GBA strategy.”

Chris Ma appointed as General Manager of Prudential Macau

Prudential has appointed Chris Ma to be the General Manager of Prudential Macau with immediate effect. In this role, Ma will be responsible for driving the operational strategy, establishing the distribution channels and building a comprehensive suite of products in Macau. He will lead key initiatives to launch the company’s agency advisory and customer support services.

With a strong track record of driving agency productivity and recruitment, Ma brings with him more than 30 years of solid experience in the insurance industry. He was the Chief Executive Officer of AIA Macau prior to joining Prudential.

Prudential’s Macau branch is located at 12 Andar A, FIT Centre of Macau, Avenida Doutor Mario Soares. It will provide a wide range of services, including policy enquiries and payment services. Customers can also contact Prudential Macau at (+853) 8293 0833.


[1] Source: HKTDC Research: https://research.hktdc.com/en/article/MzYzMDE5NzQ5 and https://research.hktdc.com/en/article/MzIwNjcyMDYx, based on the exchange rate of CNY1 to USD0.157 as of December 2021.

[2] Source: Swiss Re Institute – Sigma report “World insurance: inflation risks front and centre” (P.43): https://www.swissre.com/institute/research/sigma-research/sigma-2022-04.html

[4] Based on the currency exchange rate of USD1 to MOP8.03 on 26 January 2023.

Hashtag: #Prudentialplc

The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

About Prudential plc

Prudential plc provides life and health insurance and asset management in 24 markets across Asia and Africa. The business helps people get the most out of life, by making healthcare affordable and accessible and by promoting financial inclusion. Prudential protects people’s wealth, helps them grow their assets, and empowers them to save for their goals. The business has more than 19 million life customers and has dual primary listings on the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong (2378) and the London Stock Exchange (PRU). It also has a secondary listing on the Singapore Stock Exchange (K6S) and a listing on the New York Stock Exchange (PUK) in the form of American Depositary Receipts. It is also a constituent of the Hang Seng Composite Index.

Prudential is not affiliated in any manner with Prudential Financial, Inc. a company whose principal place of business is in the United States of America, nor with The Prudential Assurance Company Limited, a subsidiary of M&G plc, a company incorporated in the United Kingdom.

Forward-looking statements

This document may contain ‘forward-looking statements’ with respect to certain of Prudential’s (and its wholly and jointly owned businesses’) plans and its goals and expectations relating to its future financial condition, performance, results, strategy and objectives. Statements that are not historical facts, including statements about Prudential’s (and its wholly and jointly owned businesses’) beliefs and expectations and including, without limitation, statements containing the words ‘may’, ‘will’, ‘should’, ‘continue’, ‘aims’, ‘estimates’, ‘projects’, ‘believes’, ‘intends’, ‘expects’, ‘plans’, ‘seeks’ and ‘anticipates’, and words of similar meaning, are forward-looking statements. These statements are based on plans, estimates and projections as at the time they are made, and therefore undue reliance should not be placed on them. By their nature, all forward-looking statements involve risk and uncertainty.

A number of important factors could cause actual future financial condition or performance or other indicated results to differ materially from those indicated in such forward-looking statement. Such factors include, but are not limited to, current and future market conditions including fluctuations in interest rates and exchange rates, inflation (including interest rate rises as a response), sustained high or low interest rate environments, the performance of financial and credit markets generally and the impact of economic uncertainty, slowdown or contraction, (including as a result of the Russia-Ukraine conflict and related or other geopolitical tensions and conflicts) which may also impact policyholder behaviour and reduce product affordability, asset valuation impacts from the transition to a lower carbon economy and derivative instruments not effectively mitigating any exposures; global political uncertainties, including the potential for increased friction in cross-border trade and the exercise of laws, regulations and executive powers to restrict trade, financial transactions, capital movements and/or investment; the impact of Covid-19 outbreaks, including adverse financial market and liquidity impacts, responses and actions taken by governments, regulators and supervisors, the impact on sales, claims and assumptions and increased product lapses, disruption to Prudential’s operations (and those of its suppliers and partners), risks associated with new sales processes and technological and information security risks; the policies and actions of regulatory authorities, including, in particular, the policies and actions of the Hong Kong Insurance Authority, as Prudential’s Group-wide supervisor, as well as the degree and pace of regulatory changes and new government initiatives generally; given its designation as an Internationally Active Insurance Group, the impact on Prudential of systemic risk and other group supervision policy standards adopted by the International Association of Insurance Supervisors; the physical, social and financial impacts of climate change and global health crises on Prudential’s business and operations; the impact of not adequately responding to environmental, social and governance issues (including not properly considering the interests of Prudential’s stakeholders or failing to maintain high standards of corporate governance); the impact of competition and fast-paced technological change; the effect on Prudential’s business and results from, in particular, mortality and morbidity trends, lapse rates and policy renewal rates; the timing, impact and other uncertainties of future acquisitions or combinations within relevant industries; the impact of internal transformation projects and other strategic actions failing to meet their objectives or adversely impacting the Group’s employees; the availability and effectiveness of reinsurance for Prudential’s businesses; the risk that Prudential’s operational resilience (or that of its suppliers and partners) may prove to be inadequate, including in relation to operational disruption due to external events; disruption to the availability, confidentiality or integrity of Prudential’s information technology, digital systems and data (or those of its suppliers and partners) including the Pulse platform; the increased non-financial and financial risks and uncertainties associated with operating joint ventures with independent partners, particularly where joint ventures are not controlled by Prudential; the impact of changes in capital, solvency standards, accounting standards or relevant regulatory frameworks, and tax and other legislation and regulations in the jurisdictions in which Prudential and its affiliates operate; and the impact of legal and regulatory actions, investigations and disputes.

These and other important factors may, for example, result in changes to assumptions used for determining results of operations or re-estimations of reserves for future policy benefits. Further discussion of these and other important factors that could cause actual future financial condition or performance to differ, possibly materially, from those anticipated in Prudential’s forward-looking statements can be found under the ‘Risk Factors’ heading in Prudential’s 2022 Half Year Financial Report and the ‘Risk Factors’ heading in Prudential’s 2021 Annual Report. Prudential’s Prudential’s 2022 Half Year Financial Report and 2021 Annual Report are available on its website at .

These factors are not exhaustive as Prudential operates in a continually changing business environment with new risks emerging from time to time that it may be unable to predict or that it currently does not expect to have a material adverse effect on its business. Any forward-looking statements contained in this document speak only as of the date on which they are made. Prudential expressly disclaims any obligation to update any of the forward-looking statements contained in this document or any other forward-looking statements it may make, whether as a result of future events, new information or otherwise except as required pursuant to the UK Prospectus Rules, the UK Listing Rules, the UK Disclosure Guidance and Transparency Rules, the Hong Kong Listing Rules, the SGX-ST Listing Rules or other applicable laws and regulations.

Cautionary statements

This document does not constitute or form part of any offer or invitation to purchase, acquire, subscribe for, sell, dispose of or issue, or any solicitation of any offer to purchase, acquire, subscribe for, sell or dispose of, any securities in any jurisdiction nor shall it (or any part of it) or the fact of its distribution, form the basis of, or be relied on in connection with, any contract therefor.