WASHINGTON: US President Joe Biden welcomes India’s Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, on Wednesday (Jun 21) for two days of talks that the White House sees as bolstering “one of the defining partnerships of our age”, despite ongoing concerns about human rights. Washington wants India to be a strategic counterweight toContinue Reading
The integrated resort also uses food tracking technology to help chefs manage, monitor and reduce food waste, said Ms Yeh.
Its efforts come ahead of a law that will take effect next year.
It will make it mandatory for the owners and operators of commercial and industrial premises, where large amounts of food waste are generated, to segregate their food waste for treatment. Such premises include large hotels and malls, and large industrial developments housing food manufacturers or food caterers.
To give businesses flexibility to pursue different ways of managing their food waste, the Sustainability and the Environment Ministry also allows for off-site treatment.
One food recycling plant in Tuas, Envcares, sees an average of 100 tonnes of food waste a day.
This includes unsold and expired food like bread and canned drinks.
“(The items) come from big food manufacturers, and they are all MNCs (multi-national corporations). These are the by-products from their manufacturing stream,” said the firm’s business development director Ong Gin Keat.
The firm has seen a “good increase” over the years and projects a year-on-year increase of about 5 to 10 per cent, he said.
Envcares processes the waste into various components.
For instance, the company crushes cans and extracts the liquid. This liquid will then be mixed to create compost, which will be sold to landscaping companies, vegetable farms and nurseries.
GrabSoutheast Asia’s leading ride-hailing and food delivery app, Grab, says it is cutting 1,000 jobs – amounting to 11% of its workforce.
The company’s boss said the cuts were needed to bring down costs and ensure affordable services in the long term.
The Singapore-based firm offers deliveries, rides and financial services in eight Southeast Asian countries.
In 2018, Grab took over the operations of US-based rival Uber in the region.
In an email to employees, chief executive Anthony Tan said the cuts, which are the biggest since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, were not “a shortcut to profitability.”
He also highlighted the impact of new technology and rising borrowing costs: “Change has never been this fast. Technology such as generative AI [artificial intelligence] is evolving at breakneck speed. The cost of capital has gone up, directly impacting the competitive landscape.”
The so-called “super-app”, known as “the Uber of Southeast Asia,” offers services across the region, and is present in countries such as Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam.
In March 2018, Grab announced that it had bought Uber’s operations in the region, in a deal it described as “the largest-ever of its kind in Southeast Asia.”
Grab’s last round of job cuts was in 2020, when it shed 360 positions due to the pandemic.
The company’s New York-listed shares dipped by 1.2% on Wednesday.
The announcement comes as other gig economy companies across the world have also cut jobs.
Indonesian ride-hailing firm GoTo, Grab’s rival in Southeast Asia, cut about 12% of its workforce last year and shed another 600 jobs in March.
Also in March, food delivery firm Just Eat said that it would cut 1,870 jobs in the UK after a slowdown in sales. The firm said it would stop employing its own couriers and use contractors instead, resulting in 1,700 job losses.
And in April, US ride-hailing app Lyft announced that it would cut more than 1,000 jobs, or more than a quarter of its workforce. It also said that it would not recruit for another 250 vacant positions.
In addition, those who were unemployed or stayed in transitional jobs during the coronavirus pandemic would re-enter the job market, further intensifying the competition, he added. The number of recently graduated jobseekers who remain unemployed could exceed millions, according to media reports. Lu noted that it is necessary to placeContinue Reading
Startups received 8 weeks of mentorship, consultations from RHB Group units
Program mentored startups in micro banking, customer experience & insurance
RHB Banking Group announced the graduation of seven growth-stage startups from its inaugural RHB Xcelerator programme.
In a statement by 1337 Ventures, RHB’s partner for RHB Xcelerator, the firm said the accelerator programme…Continue Reading
ReutersFormer Nissan boss Carlos Ghosn has reportedly sued the carmaker for more than $1bn.
The filing marks Mr Ghosn’s latest effort to clear his name after he was ousted from the firm in 2018 and arrested in Japan on financial misconduct charges.
Mr Ghosn has said the claims were aimed at derailing his plans for a merger between Nissan and Renault.
He fled Japan in a box while awaiting trial and now lives in Lebanon.
The lawsuit, filed in Lebanon, accuses Nissan, two other companies and 12 people of crimes including defamation and libel, according to Bloomberg and Reuters. A hearing has been scheduled for September.
Nissan declined to comment.
The damages that Mr Ghosn is seeking represent more than 5% of the company’s roughly $16bn market value.
Mr Ghosn once ran the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance, one of the biggest car-making groups in the world.
Credited with reviving Nissan from near bankruptcy in the early 2000s, Mr Ghosn was appointed chief executive of French carmaker Renault in 2005, becoming the first person to run two global Fortune 500 companies simultaneously, according to his official biography.
Mr Ghosn says his pursuit of a full merger between Nissan and Renault led to his downfall, alarming some who feared French influence over the Japanese carmaker.
He was arrested in Japan in late 2018, on a number of charges, including claims he deliberately misreported his earnings and used company money to fund his own lifestyle.
Mr Ghosn has denied wrongdoing and called the Japanese justice system “rigged”. He is currently unable to leave Lebanon, as he is the subject of an Interpol Red Notice issued by Japan.
His escape from the country, in which he disguised himself to go unnoticed through the streets of Tokyo and was hidden in a large music equipment box, grabbed global headlines.
In 2021, an American father and son were extradited from the US and sentenced to prison in Japan for helping Mr Ghosn flee.
In 2022, French authorities issued an arrest warrant for Mr Ghosn, after an investigation into whether he had diverted company funds for personal use. At the time, he said he was confident he could prove his innocence should any charges emerge.
Lebanon, where Mr Ghosn spent part of his childhood, does not extradite its citizens.
In the filing, Mr Ghosn said the claims would “linger in people’s minds for years” and that he would “suffer from them for the remainder of his life, as they have persistent and lingering impacts, even if based on mere suspicion”, Bloomberg reported.
Nissan and Renault, meanwhile, have been working to finalise an agreement announced earlier this year aimed at “rebalancing” their partnership, which would reduce Renault’s voting power over Nissan.
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and China signed a US$4.8 billion deal on Tuesday (Jun 20) to build a 1,200-megawatt nuclear power plant, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said, hailing the investment by a country that Pakistan views as its most dependable ally. Work on the Chashma 5 project would begin immediately, Sharif saidContinue Reading
Singapore-based digital securities exchange, ADDX, has appointed former Singapore Exchange (SGX) senior managing director, Sutat Chew, as chair.
Chew brings to the firm over 25 years of experience across financial services, including 14 years spent at the Singaporean bourse, where he led the global sales origination team and helped the business expand across 10 international locations. In terms of other prior experience, he has held senior roles at Standard Chartered, OCBC Securities and DBS.
The leadership appointment offers ADDX strategic direction as it looks to expand overseas. Specifically, Chew will be responsible for driving growth and innovation, the company release stated.
Speaking to FinanceAsia, Chew said that his priorities in coming on board involve cultivating strategic collaborations and partnerships so that ADDX is “poised to advance” its mission to democratise investment for wealth creation.
“We hope to meet the needs of customers in North Asia and the Middle East in the second half of this year through appropriate partnerships and joint ventures (JVs),” he said.
Operating on a private, permissioned blockchain that is regulated by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), ADDX offers issuers access to a larger pool of capital than is available through traditional fundraising means.
The platform’s employment of sophisticated digital processing technology enables it to manage the issuance, custody and distribution of private market products at a lower administrative cost compared to traditional markets and thus, the firm is able to reduce the fundraising entry threshold, inviting a wider community of investors to participate in capital exchange.
Regulation and innovation
Reflecting on progress and innovation across Asia’s capital markets, Chew said that it is the development of new forms of market infrastructure to support the advancement of digital assets, that excites him the most.
“Initiatives such as Project Ubin, Project Orchid and Project Guardian aim to explore the potential of blockchain and distributed ledger technology (DLT) in areas such as payments, settlements, digital identity, and cross-border transactions – which should enhance efficiency, transparency, and security in the financial sector,” he told FA.
He commended the efforts of Singapore’s market regulators in supporting the city-state’s development as a “world-class global financial hub with a highly competitive and diverse financial ecosystem.”
“Regulators here have been at the forefront of technology and innovation in the financial sector, balancing it with appropriate consideration for education and investor protection,” he explained.
“The progressive stance taken by the MAS in recognising that tokenised securities should be regulated in the same way as traditional securities, gives companies like ADDX clarity to invest and innovate for global clients who can trust the regime.”
Market uncertainty
However, Chew acknowledged that the uncertain market economic climate threatens the capital market advancement.
“One of the challenges to market innovation is reduced investor confidence and risk aversion as part of the uncertain market environment. As investors become more cautious and conservative, that may result in more gradual adoption of new ideas, technologies, and investment opportunities.”
“What we have done is adapt to evolving investor sentiment and risk appetite, communicate transparently, as well as actively educate and engage investors to address their concerns, provide reassurance and offer a suite of products that meet their needs.”
As an example, he shared that the platform had helped four issuers raise more than S$650 million via commercial papers to meet near-term investment needs.
“I believe that regulators and responsible startups or fintech players can continue to work together to keep pace with emerging technologies and financial innovation, whilst striking a balance with appropriate regulatory safeguards,” he added.
In addition to Chew, ADDX’s board comprises Oi-Yee Choo, who serves as CEO; and Inmoo Hwang, the firm’s COO.
Chew also serves as chair of ADDX’s listing committee, a position he has held since 2019; and he has been a board member of ICHX Tech – ADDX’s holding company – since 2018. MAS approved the operational transfer of ADDX from ICHX Tech in May 2022, and the platform began is regulated activities from September the same year.
ADDX’s shareholders include SGX, the Stock Exchange of Thailand, Temasek subsidiary, Heliconia Capital, the Development Bank of Japan, UOB and Hamilton Lane, among others. In April last year, it partnered with UOB to execute the largest foreign currency digital bond in Singapore to date; a sustainability-linked bond, issued by Singtel.
Read also: Temasek-backed venture debt fund tokenises on ADDX
¬ Haymarket Media Limited. All rights reserved.
Mostly existing investors with new investor, EvolutionX Debt, a SG based debt fund
Claims independent biz units have hit profitability with over 30% revenue growth
CARSOME Group announced the closing of its latest fundraising round yesterday, without disclosing the amount raised, but shared that the funding has brought its current liquidity to approximately US$200 million (RM927.9 million).
Highlighting its liquidity position is a response…Continue Reading
SINGAPORE: Two former employees of Wirecard Asia were jailed on Tuesday (Jun 20) for helping their superior embezzle funds from the subsidiary of the German-registered international payment services company.
The alleged mastermind, Wirecard Asia vice-president of controlling and international finance Edo Kurniawan, escaped Singapore before he could be apprehended. He is at large, with an Interpol red notice issued against him.
This is the first Wirecard-related conviction in Singapore and globally. The Wirecard scandal broke three years ago after its auditor could not verify €1.9 billion (US$2.07 billion) supposedly held abroad in escrow by third-party partners, and subsequently refused to sign off on 2019 accounts.
Top executives, including former chief executive Markus Braun, face allegations of fraud and market manipulation in what has been termed Germany’s biggest post-war fraud.
Prosecutors in the Munich trial against Braun charged that those involved had invented phantom revenue through bogus transactions with partner companies to mislead creditors and investors.
Former head of finance at Wirecard Asia, 44-year-old Singaporean Chai Ai Lim, was sentenced by a Singapore court to 10 months’ jail on Tuesday for one count of abetting Edo in conspiring to embezzle S$47,000 (US$35,000) from Wirecard Asia’ bank account. Another charge was considered.
Indonesian citizen and Singapore permanent resident James Aga Wardhana, 39, was handed 21 months’ jail in a separate case.
The former international finance process manager of Wirecard Asia pleaded guilty to three charges of conspiring with Edo to commit criminal breach of trust from Wirecard Asia, instigating someone to falsify an invoice and transferring criminal proceeds. Another six charges were taken into consideration.
The court heard that both Wardhana and Chai reported to Edo when they worked at Wirecard Asia, which was the Asian headquarters of Frankfurt Stock Exchange-listed international payment services company Wirecard AG.
In 2018, Edo turned to Wardhana and Chai separately to ask them to help transfer funds from Wirecard.
He told Chai in early October 2018 that he needed to transfer S$100,000 and asked her if Wirecard Asia had the available funds. Chai told him there were.
Edo then approached controlling manager Krystal See Lee Wee and told her he needed cash urgently. He asked See to take a loan from Wirecard Asia before withdrawing the cash for him. He claimed that the loan would be converted into a “bonus” for her, so that she did not need to worry about repaying the loan.
Edo then told Chai about the plan. Although Chai was uncomfortable as she knew the transfer was not really an employee loan, she arranged for a transfer of S$47,000 from Wirecard’s account to See’s personal account, after Edo tweaked the amount to be transferred.
See acted on Edo’s instructions and withdrew S$40,250 in cash, which she passed to an unidentified man.
She withdrew another S$3,310, which she passed to Edo, and spent the remainder of about S$3,440 on her own expenses.
See’s loan was never converted into a bonus. Wirecard Asia suffered a total loss of S$88,200 because of Chai’s offences – including the charge taken into consideration.
She made restitution of S$70,000 to Wirecard Asia a week before pleading guilty, which the prosecution took as a mitigating factor. Their submitted sentence was reduced as a result.
Wardhana was responsible for setting up standard operating procedures for the finance department in Wirecard Asia and also reported to Edo.
In May or June 2018, Edo asked Wardhana many times to find means of obtaining S$100,000. He also told Wardhana that he could arrange for Wirecard Asia to pay the money to Wardhana as a bonus.
Wardhana tried to ask what the money was for, but Edo would not say. Wardhana then said he did not have any means to get the money.
In July 2018, Edo emailed his superior, head of accounting at Wirecard AG Stephan von Erffa, lying that Wardhana wanted to resign.
Edo suggested that the company pay Wardhana S$100,000 as a variable bonus to retain Wardhana, and Mr von Erffa replied: “This is more than OK.”
The email chain was forwarded to Wardhana, who knew that the contents were a lie, and that the purported bonus was for Edo’s use.
Edo arranged for the money to be transferred to Wardhana. Before Wardhana had received the money, Edo asked him to withdraw S$100,000 from his personal bank account and pass it to a person.
Edo did so, and received the S$100,000 “bonus” from Wirecard later. He took this as reimbursement and retained the money for his own use.
Wardhana also followed Edo’s instructions and helped prepare falsified invoices and meet other parties for money transfers. Wardhana’s offences led to Wirecard Asia suffering a total loss of S$223,070.
The prosecution had asked for 10 to 12 months’ jail for Chai. Defence lawyer Riko Isaac asked for no more than seven months’ jail, saying the money was not actually pocketed by Chai.
Chai was acting on Edo’s instructions and received no benefit, said the lawyer.
District Judge Soh Tze Bian said: “If someone asks you to do something unlawful, how can you carry it out and then claim you just followed instructions? I think that cannot be a defence or even be regarded as a mitigating factor.”
Deputy Public Prosecutor Vincent Ong asked for 21 to 28 months’ jail for Wardhana. Defence lawyer Chenthil Kumarasingam tried to argue that Edo had wielded a substantial amount of influence over other Wirecard Asia employees, but Judge Soh interjected.
“If any employee is asked by their employer to commit crime, he has to resign,” said the judge. “He has no choice. Otherwise, a lot of employer crooks will employ employees to do their (crimes), and they will, like Edo, run away.”
Judge Soh also mused over whether it was correct to say the employee did not benefit in this case.
“He doesn’t benefit – but he benefited from keeping his job. In that sense he has benefited,” he said.
The defence lawyer countered that there was no evidence that Wardhana could have lost his job. This was not a case where he was “happily participating in the profits”, he added.
But Judge Soh said Wardhana was a senior executive of the finance department which oversaw the German parent company, and Wardhana was an active participant in the conspiracy, always aware of its moving parts.
