Chinese ‘pig butchering’ scams targeting American suckers – Asia Times

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BANGKOK – Human “pig butchering” scams have stolen billions of dollars from Americans rendering them financially devastated, heartbroken from fake love, and in worst cases suicidal, according to a new US Institute of Peace ( USIP ) report on Chinese-dominated transnational crime based in Southeast Asia.

In a sad bend, many of the estimated 300, 000 lying, sweet-talking scammers – largely from developing nations – likewise suffer because they are supposedly imprisoned and brutalized by the Chinese-run groups.

The armed groups trap or steal them to Myanmar, Cambodia, and Laos and “deploy abuse to employ victims in driven criminality”, the USIP statement said.

There are presently no reports of any Americans being trapped in these facilities, but there have been a small amount, according to USIP visiting specialist Jacob Sims in an interview.

” A couple of years ago, an American was in a compound]in Cambodia ] – and treated as a criminal once he got out, by the Cambodian government – and eventually found his way back to America.

” And there was another who was repatriated to Thailand and then returned to America from a mixture on the Thai-Myanmar border.

” That one was I think more just, maybe three months ago, something like that”, Sims said.

” He was released during a large release of some, like adjacent to a thousand persons, that were being held. ” Some of them ended up getting released, and some ended up getting deported,” back home in China.

He claimed that he was allegedly brought up to the US after being slowly brought back to Thailand.

According to Sims,” It is actually highly probable that there are Americans or British people working willingly in these compounds, but the incentives do n’t work out against Americans ]against their will because the US government is then going to be more aggressively reacting against the compounds.”

According to USIP Burma ( Myanmar ) country director Jason Tower,” there are a lot of law enforcement representatives from all over the world who have traveled to that area,” where compounds are clustered along Thailand’s Myanmar side.

” The 30-some-odd materials which are there, are all smuggling people and keeping citizens enslaved”, Tower said.

Beijing is one of the nations attempting to stop the organized crime that started years ago when illegitimate net Chinese gambling sites discovered heinous methods of money transfer.

” China’s government and law enforcement, after failing to take this issue seriously for years, are now using the reputation of Chinese-led violence groups in other countries to support dramatic increases in the presence of China’s authoritarian authorities around the globe”, said the 68-page report.

” The United States and China ]are ] the two most strongly affected victims of the online scamming industry”, it said.

Deceitful, scripted attempt at relationship resulting in stolen funds through online scams and fraudulent financial applications and websites, are known in China as” sha zhu dish” – animal killing.

Individual Americans and other foreign survivors who fall in love with their con artists and invest in fake opportunities frequently experience extreme emotional and financial stress as a result of the deceptive con.

According to the Washington-based USIP report,” this scamming industry could soon rival fentanyl as one of the top dangers that Chinese criminal networks pose to the United States.”

” I am on the ground, listening to what victims are actually experiencing in the United States”, said Erin West, an international cross-agency Rapid Enforcement Allied Computer Team ( REACT) prosecutor and Santa Clara County, California, deputy district attorney.

” In the United States, and in many other countries around the world…this particular scam does n’t end until they ]victims ] have lost every last penny they have”, she said.

The pig butchering scam is similar to that. And I refer to it as devouring our victims from snout to tail.

They are using the courtship period to find out exactly how much our victims have and where the assets are located, she said.

West made the remarks at the Foreign Correspondents ‘ Club of Thailand in June during a Transnational Crime in Southeast Asia panel discussing the release of the USIP’s May report.

The cyber gigolo knows “exactly how much is still available that they can get these people to invest,” she said when the delusional one-sided romances turn into dreams of big profits being made through cryptocurrency investments.

These fake relationships start with a cold call made by an unidentified person who attempts to meet cute with the patsy online and patiently cultivates them until the victims agree to invest an initial US$ 5, 000 or so in cryptocurrency.

Their funds are transferred to an online crypto account that the con artists control. Soon, the victims of love-struck are instructed to be brave and aim for much bigger profits by depositing more and more.

When victims try to withdraw their investment, the scammers tell the now-panicking dupes they must first pay a 25 % tax bill” from new funds.”

” They’re mortgaging their homes, they’re taking high-interest loans, and borrowing from everyone they know,” West said.

Then the scammers disappear into cyberspace.

Today, thousands of criminals are posting counterfeit profiles of non-existent, good-looking, romantic people on Meta, Facebook, Linked In, Tinder, Whats App, Telegram, and other online social media to fool victims.

Thieves fabricate images to resemble their fictitious personalities to mimic the lifestyles of their targets.

Pig butchering call centers have smaller operations in the US and other countries, but are primarily located in Southeast Asia, according to investigators.

Eager job seekers, who are primarily from Asia, are frequently conned into visiting Myanmar, Cambodia, and Laos through websites and chat groups describing fantastic positions at hotels, casinos, and other locations.

Those three relatively impoverished countries, clustered around Thailand, are ideal because widespread corruption enables the gangs to operate.

” Thailand offers the enclaves reliable energy, stable telecommunications, and easy access to a major financial center,” USIP said.

When new, unsuspecting employees arrive, they are captured, brutalized, and forced to work in guarded, hidden buildings using the gang’s computers and encrypted telecommunications, USIP said.

Because of their language prowess, Indians, Malaysians, and other English-speaking people are regarded as pig butchers in the US and Europe.

According to USIP,” China-origin criminal networks” that are “running the scams from Southeast Asia during 2023” are estimated to have lost$ 3.5 billion.

Worldwide, up to$ 64 billion was stolen from millions of people last year, they said.

Sean Gallagher, a senior researcher at Sophos, a cybersecurity firm, said he investigated pig butchering in 2023 by pretending to be a potential sucker.

A 40-year-old woman posing as a 40-year-old woman allegedly lied to Gallagher as a Hong Kong-based con artist who instructed him to download and use secretly infected software to upload his signed identification papers and deposit money into an account holding gold.

In Gallagher’s second test”, a Cambodia-based Chinese organized crime operation” tried to lure him into a cryptocurrency scam, Sophos reported.

In 2023, Sophos discovered two “malicious” apps on the Apple and Google Play Store, prompting Apple and Google to remove them.

One of the bad apps was” Ace Pro” which disguised itself in the app store as” a QR code-checking application.”

The other fake app was” MBM_BitScan” which offered” a real-time data tracker for cryptocurrencies “and” a fake crypto trading interface,” Sophos reported.

According to USIP, “pig butchering scams have also exposed vulnerabilities in the US financial system,” with one instance involving the closure of a state-owned bank in Kansas and the prosecution of a victim facing criminal charges.

Richard S Ehrlich is a Bangkok-based American foreign correspondent reporting from Asia since 1978, and winner of Columbia University’s Foreign Correspondents ‘ Award. Excerpts from his two new nonfiction books”, Rituals. Killers. Wars. &amp, Sex. — Tibet, India, Nepal, Laos, Vietnam, Afghanistan, Sri Lanka &amp, New York “and” Apocalyptic Tribes, Smugglers &amp, Freaks “are available here.

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Malaysian startup, Wise AI raises 8-figure Series A from MTDC, VT-SBI and Sunway Group

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  • aims to develop modern IDs for the 680 million people who live in Southeast Asia.
  • NIST ranks in the top 25 worldwide for facial recognition corresponding accuracy according to the US-based NIST.

David Lim, founder and CEO of Wise AI (4th from left) with Mohd Jerry Tan (1st left), Principal of VT-SBI and Raymond Hor (2nd left), Director of Sunway iLabs Ventures; along with his team.

Wise AI, a Malay company specialising in eKYC and Digital Identity options, said it has raised an eight-figure Sequence A money, without disclosing the number. The funding round was led by Malaysia Technology Development Corporation ( MTDC ), VentureTech SBI Sdn Bhd (VT-SBI ) and Sunway Group’s Sun SEA Capital. Wise AI expects the agreement, which was launched in September 2018, to further its goal of developing electric names for the 680 million people in Southeast Asia.

Sun SEA Capital is a duplicate trader, having invested in an earlier round along with&nbsp, PH Capital from Hong Kong.

MTDC said” With this strategic investment from MTDC, we are excited to support Wise AI in launching cutting-edge e-KYC ( Know Your Customer ) solutions across new markets, both locally and internationally. With its cutting-edge online identity services, Wise AI stands at the vanguard of this trend. AI technology is changing business everywhere. This collaboration demonstrates our commitment to advancing technology development and placing Malaysia as a leader in AI development.

We think that the development or program of AI is still in its early stages in Southeast Asia, which raises the possibility of substantial business development, according to Mohd Jerry Tan, Principal of VT-SBI. The practical knowledge its Artificial technology is bringing made it more logical for VT-SBI to make an investment in the owner’s inspiring vision more meaningful.

According to Raymond Hor, Director of Sunway iLabs Ventures,” Wise AI has placed Malaysia at the vanguard of the global AI field. Our commitment to proprietary AI technologies and intellectual property was recognized when we became the first and only Malaysian company to receive ISO30107 and the National Institute of Standards and Technology ( NIST ) of the United States for our superior deep-tech capabilities and defense against phishing identity deepfakes. It ranks in the major 25 worldwide, in accordance with NIST, for its visual recognition matching accuracy.

David Lim, the founder and CEO of WISE AI, is convinced that the money will help bring Wise AI to new levels thanks to the assistance of seasoned colleagues. ” Every deal begins with personality, and the center of the online business revolves around one thing – your company’s identification. There has n’t yet been a dominant player in Southeast Asia as this industry grows. We envision becoming this country’s leading eKYC and online personality service. We want to expand our options by working with partners in each nation to better serve their needs, he said. Wise AI is working with partners and vendors from Thailand, Indonesia, Philippines, Vietnam, and Brunei. It&nbsp, did then further improve its&nbsp, existence in these countries.

Wise began expanding its R&amp, D capabilities from 2020, going into Generative AI, Machine Learning, and Large Language Models ( LLM) to enhance its solutions and services.

Its amazing AI systems verify the authenticity of government-issued Authentication, compare them against their physical biometrics, and identify deepfakes. This technology gives the government and the private sector the assurance they need to properly and mildly accredit customers.

The Indonesian government’s AI Governance and Ethics model was chosen based on Wise AI as the case for its national success. In this case, Wise AI demonstrated the position of its eKYC answer with seven principles of AI Ethics, including justice, responsibilities, equality, resilience, protection, joy, and transparency. For example, under the transparency process, Wise AI ensures evidence is provided when an AI option is claimed to be custom and never using third-party Artificial systems. This is done to protect customers from false representations made by buyers. &nbsp,

David Lim with Aminuddin Hassim, secretary-general of the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (Mosti) at the 2024 World AI Conference in Shanghai, where it was the only Malaysian company invited to exhibit.

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Carsome secures US.39mil financing facility from AmBank

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  • Statements this to be its largest bank-backed service
  • Center at this size a significant endorsement of Carsome’s business model

Christopher Yap (left), MD, Business Banking, AmBank Group and Eric Cheng, CEO of Carsome Group watch as Patrick Chin (left), Head of Commercial Banking, AmBank Group and Nicholas Wong, MD, Carsome Capital Malaysia sign the RM100 million financing facility.

Carsome Group has secured US$ 21.39 million ( RM100 million ) in financing facility from AmBank Group to expand its liquidity, bolster its capacity for growth significantly and enhance its capacity to innovate.

The company, Southeast Asia’s largest included vehicles e-commerce system which just crossed 500, 000 cars sold since its 2015 founding, claims this to be its largest bank-backed service.

Christopher Yap, Managing Director, Business Banking, AmBank Group said,” With AmBank’s help, Carsome said it will be able to further expand different levels of the used car buying process, offering a comprehensive, hassle-free practice to its clients. The company’s commitment to supporting Carsome underlines its commitment to encouraging the development of forward-thinking companies and fostering the development of the regional automotive industry.

Eric Cheng, Carsome Group’s Co-Founder and CEO said,” We are thrilled to mate with AmBank, marking a key time in our quest to improve the electrical business. A leasing facility of this size strengthens Carsome Group’s total financial viability and provides strong validation of the company’s business model. It also demonstrates our commitment to elevating the experience of owning a car and offering attainable solutions to our customers. We will use this partnership, CARSOME Capital, to further increase our service offerings, expand our effect, and keep up our innovation in the automotive ecosystem across Southeast Asia.

While it started off as a used car trading system, Carsome has grown into an end-to-end used vehicle habitat across Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore and Indonesia with over 80 Carsome centres across over 50 cities offering a comprehensive set of services including vehicle inspections, sales, funding, and after-sales help. There has been constant rumors about its pending listing, which is not expected to occur until 2025.

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Clifford Capital’s CEO on scaling infrastructure debt financing | FinanceAsia

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Clifford Capital is an equipment credit leasing program focused on creation, distribution, and investment across infrastructure and other genuine assets globally.

The Singaporean government supports the business, which has a plan authority to boost exports and foreign investments, and has pledged to fund projects around the world since it was founded in 2012. &nbsp,

The largest transaction to date for Clifford Capital recently sold for$ 5 million, making it the fifth public infrastructure asset-backed securities ( IABS ) transaction. A subsidiary of Clifford Capital and a wholly owned and newly incorporated distribution vehicle of Bayfront Infrastructure Management ( Bayfront ), which also includes the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank ( AIIB ) as a shareholder, is Bayfront Infrastructure Capital V ( BIC V ).

BIC V features a collection size of approximately$ 508.3 million multiply across 37 personal money and bonds, 36 tasks, 15 states and 10 market sub-sectors. BIC V has an original aggregate main balance of US$ 218.4 million of ready green and social resources, as defined under Bayfront’s Sustainable Finance Framework, which represent 4 % of the overall principal balance of the profile.

FinanceAsia&nbsp, recently caught up with P. Murlidhar ( Murli ) Maiya, Clifford Capital’s group chief executive officer, to discuss the infrastructure debt financing landscape and its scalability.

FA: Describe your company and the sweeping changes being made to the environment of structured financing options, especially in network purchases, on which Clifford Capital focuses.

Maiya ( pictured&nbsp, above ): &nbsp, Clifford Capital was established 12 years ago, with the support of the Government of Singapore, to address a financing gap in long-tenor credit for infrastructure companies and projects with a nexus to Singapore. We as a group enjoy over$ 5 billion in government guarantees, which give us the ability to raise money at a very competitive price, which in turn allows us to extend credit across long tenors.

Our main areas of focus have always been on the power and coastal infrastructure sectors. However, the concept of system has evolved significantly over time, especially with technological&nbsp, development and the growing emphasis on responsible and socially equal development. As a result, we internally redefined infrastructure to encapsulate all sectors that provide essential services to people and raise the standard of living.

From a credit standpoint, conducting an in-depth analysis of the organization’s or project’s likely cash flows has always been a part of infrastructure financing. One of the keys to our success has been our constant effort to uphold a high standard of analytical rigor throughout the credit process. This analytical rigor is readily applicable to what is now a much wider range of relevant infrastructure sectors, enabling us to provide clients with creative debt financing solutions even for those that were previously viewed as infrastructure.

FA: Could you describe some of the subtleties of these industries and how you see them as the originators of long-term debt financing deals?

Maiya: Beyond renewable energy and digital infrastructure, there is a lot of interest in the data center market, which will grow as demand increases as AI becomes more prevalent. Unlike conventional real estate projects, data centres often enter long-term contracts with hyper-scalers, like major cloud service providers, and these long trem contracted cash flows provide the basis on which non-recourse debt can be structured.

Given the important roles that social infrastructure plays in society and their advantages over traditional long-tenor financing, such as schools, universities, and hospitals.
In industrials and transportation, we see sectors like steel, cement, and aluminum in transition to cleaner and more energy efficient production methods. Financing for intriguing new technologies is also being fueled by a combination of policy support and corporate sustainability goals.

Additionally, the transportation sector is undergoing significant changes, particularly in the electric vehicle space. Parts of the electric vehicle ( EV ) value chain, such as charging infrastructure and batteries lend themselves to infrastructure-like financing solutions. This evolution demonstrates how important verticals, such as transportation and industrials, are both experiencing significant shifts in sustainability.

Lastly, for our natural resources vertical, our focus is on new resources like green hydrogen, green ammonia, and key mineral resources like lithium, nickel, etc. to propel the upcoming sustainable economy.

FA: Given your various strategic priorities, how do you decide which client opportunities to pursue?

Maiya: We primarily assist businesses with debt financing when they want to invest regionally or globally. We do this by supporting those with strong ties to Singapore. We look into any financing issues they might have in commercial markets. Notwithstanding our government support, we operate on a commercial basis, and always ensure rigorous credit assessment and market-based pricing.

Our industry groups all benefit from our credit analysts ‘ expertise. We have been making real progress on this front, and sustainability is another area of focus for us. In 2023, 52 % of new primary loans originated were for infrastructure projects that are green and/or sustainable.

FA: Could you elaborate on how sustainability is affecting the industry you run in?

Maiya: The rise of green and sustainable initiatives has a significant impact on the growth trajectory of infrastructure debt financing. Across client organisations, we’ve observed varying approaches, but they all converge on a common challenge: the immense funding needed for the green transition to achieve net zero emissions. The Asia-Pacific region receives only about 10 % of global funding, despite having a third of the world’s funding needs. This discrepancies offer significant opportunities for businesses like us.

Another powerful tool is blending finance, which can sometimes be a challenge in Asia, to unlock funds for sustainable development. Local governments, multilateral development banks, and other concessional capital sources are making tangible commitments to blended finance.

For instance, the MAS’s Financing Asia’s Transition Partnership ( FAST-P), a blended finance initiative that aims to mobilize up to$ 5 billion to finance transition and marginally bankable green projects in Asia.

Clifford Capital is also responsible for its commercial operations, and it is crucial to demonstrate positive commercial outcomes. By delivering returns to our private sector shareholders, we are also demonstrating our ability to combine public policy objectives with private capital initiatives. This demonstration demonstrates that it is possible to incorporate a public policy goal into a successful business model, allowing it to catalyze other sources of capital over time.

FA: How do you stand out from the competition when it comes to providing debt financing for infrastructure projects?

Maiya: Due to our ability to take on greenfield construction risk and longer tenor financing, we have a unique approach in comparison to most institutional capital providers. Institutional capital frequently struggles with construction risk, preferring to invest in already-active assets that generate cash flow.

Our area of expertise is in managing risks at this stage. We develop a specialized financing plan that addresses the needs of the borrowers while upholding a code of ethics for creditworthiness and market-clearing pricing. Due to the variations in contracts and economic business models, this combination calls for specialized technical skill sets that vary by industry. We have invested a lot of time in developing teams and procedures that make it easier for us to operate in the demanding world of infrastructure credit.

FA: How do you intend to expand your debt-free solutions to make room for the significant funding gap?

Maiya: Clifford Capital has a proven method for distributing infrastructure credit. We established the Infrastructure ABS asset class in Asia and still run a highly profitable securitization business under the name” Bayfront.” We also obtain loans from both primary and secondary loan markets, primarily from the banking industry, in addition to originating our loans from corporate clients. Then, based on their risk appetites, we then divide the loans into securitized portfolios and divide them into various tranches. We keep a sizable portion of these structures ‘ original losses.

Our end-to-end origination and distribution model makes the company’s ability to raise significant capital quickly, allowing us to fund higher credit volumes without having to rely solely on our own, expanding the company’s scalable business model. Through Infrastructure ABS, our efforts to bring institutional debt capital into the infrastructure market bridge the financing gap in the Asia Pacific region for green infrastructure. &nbsp,

¬ Haymarket Media Limited. All rights reserved.

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Malaysia to take lead in data centres: Q3 2024 report by Juwai IQI 

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  • Malaysia’s solid market has driven need in the data center market
  • Country’s data center market prospect excels in SEA due to enormous strength, skilled labor

Malaysia to take lead in data centres: Q3 2024 report by Juwai IQI 

In the second quarter of 2024, Malaysia became the fastest-growing data center business in the company’s fastest-growing area, according to new insights released by international real estate and proptech firm Juwai IQI.

Malaysia is becoming a major contender in data centers as a result of its rapid transformation, according to Juwai IQI co-founder and team CEO Kashif Ansari. ” If all the state’s planned new data centres come online, Malaysia will become Asia’s third biggest market, behind just Japan and India. He continued, adding that that will result in tens of thousands of local jobs that are qualified.

International Changes

According to Ansari, the global data centre industry is growing quickly this year because of demand from artificial intelligence ( AI), machine learning, e-commerce, and cloud computing. ” All four fields use significant amounts of computing power from data centers. Their rapid development has resulted in the growth of large-scale data centers. The largest example of these large services is comparable to Vatican City in size, measuring roughly the size of 75 sports fields. By comparison, a typical medium-colocation information center is only about 10, 000 m² in length. That is equivalent to around two soccer grounds”, he added.

” Data centers consume so much power that, in the next two and a half years, the consumption of AI electricity will likely account for 50 % of all global electricity consumption, and it will only continue to grow.” Every 100 times, almost every 100 days, AI’s need for computing power doubles. The supply of power is such high that power supply has become a major drag on the growth of data centers in every significant industry, from Singapore to Virginia. According to Ansari, designers are responding by creating new data centers close to existing power plants or by constructing new ones in addition to their existing data center projects.

Malaysia’s Fast Rise

Let’s take a look at why Malaysia’s information center industry is expanding so fast. The state is Southeast Asia’s most fast growing data center market- its strategic location, advantageous government policies, proximity to Singapore, and tastefully priced land, power, and water are behind this growth. In Malaysia, the data centre business development network consists of 1.2 GW, which represents 600 % rise over the next five times”, Ansari said.

Major cloud service providers such as Amazon Web Services ( AWS), Microsoft, Nvidia, and Google have recognised Malaysia’s attractive market. All have pledged to invest a lot of money in this. Also, Malaysia’s robust economic efficiency has helped raise demand in the data center industry.

The country’s GDP growth rate has been consistently high by global standards. The nation has also undergone a transformation in its economy, shifting from a reliance on exports of raw materials to a diversified economy with a significant services sector. Services now make up more than half of GDP, the report highlighted.

The Malaysian data center market also benefits from government policy support, it added. The government has offered tax incentives, grants, and regulatory support to attract data centre investments.

Additionally, a single point of contact between the Malaysian Investment Development Authority and the Malaysian Digital Economy Corporation has been established to facilitate digital investments. Additionally, they created the Green Lane Pathway, which would allow for 12 months for new data centers to get electricity.

The existence of a highly developed telecommunications infrastructure in Malaysia is another sign of a far-sighted government, according to the report. This ensures high-speed internet connectivity and low latency, both essential for data centre operations.

According to the study, data centers deserve government support because they produce significant employment, adding that there are direct employment there as well as by many external employees and clients and suppliers. A single hyperscale data center can take more than five years to build, and it has more than 1, 000 employees working on-site every day. This is also labor-intensive when building data centers.

Malaysia’s Key Market Metrics

The data centers in Malaysia have the power to keep 280 megawatts of computers running all the time, and the power is measured in megawatts ( MW). According to the report, other data centres are already under construction, about to start construction, or in the planning stages. In total, the live capacity and the under-construction and planned capacity equal 3, 221 MW.

It highlights that: &nbsp,

• Total Live Capacity: 280 MW&nbsp,

• Total Under Construction Capacity: 159 MW&nbsp,

• Total Committed Capacity: 766 MW&nbsp,

• Total Early-Stage Capacity: 2, 016 MW

Key players in the Malaysian data centre market include NTT Global Data Centres, AWS, Microsoft, Google, and local firms such as TIME dotCom and Bridge Data Centres. Greater Kuala Lumpur and Johor are almost entirely the early-stage planned construction of new data centers, with about 55 % of new projects planned for this year.

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Merchantrade Money Biz set to challenge corporate credit cards

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  • aims to make price management simpler for a variety of businesses.
  • Promises to be M’sia’s second business prepaid cards, redefining expense management

Merchantrade Money Biz set to challenge corporate credit cards

There are no longer days of “pay & say,” where many hours are squandered with the trouble of mixing personal and professional funds, or insurance delays that raise the risk to employee finances and good governance.

By digitising and automating old processes, Merchantrade Asia Sdn Bhd ( Merchantrade ), a leading innovator in digital financial services, unveiled their Corporate Card, Merchantrade Money Biz, which it claims is Malaysia’s first Visa Business Prepaid Card.

This cutting-edge product aims to make expense management simpler for a variety of businesses, from corporations to SMEs, by enabling them to save time, lower errors, and sustain better control over their finances with a flexible solution.

A multi-currency eWallet-linked expense management portal with functions designed for the modern business are seamlessly combined with a Visa Business Prepaid Card ( with a US$ 10,600 ( RM50, 000 ) cap and unlimited card issuance per company ).

Merchantrade Money Biz set to challenge corporate credit cardsMerchantrade Money Biz’s founder and managing director Ramasamy K. Veeran ( pic ), said the company intends to disrupt traditional corporate credit cards issued by banks. Merchantrade Money Biz helps employees at all levels with business prepaid cards, in contrast to traditional cards made for senior managers. This innovation eliminates the risk of overspending and interest-free transactions, giving employers a powerful expense management system and a viable alternative for businesses unable to obtain classic corporate credit cards.

Improving Global Payments, Multi-Currency app, and Advanced Automation Powered by Visa, the firm prepaid cards can be used by people to make payments worldwide, both online and financial, for various company-related expenses. Additionally, it works with a multi-currency app that enables people to turn up to 20 of the world’s most popular foreign currencies at locked-in costs for international payment. The expense management portal, on the other hand, not only facilitates and digitises business techniques, it also provides 100 % rankings on all purchases and includes robust settings, enabling financing groups to close ebooks faster.

” We are delighted to work with Merchantrade Asia to create the initial prepaid card for Malaysian corporates and SMEs,” said Roy Choudhury Debarun, head of Business and Money Movement Answers for Regional Southeast Asia at Visa. Given that we have seen a double-digit increase in business card spending in Malaysia in comparison to the prior year, this is a timely and relevant solution. This demonstrates the rising need for businesses to adopt cutting-edge repayment methods in the nation. With our global community and in-depth knowledge of bills, Visa is committed to empowering companies. Our partnership with Merchantrade serves as a testament to our desire to promote financial inclusion in the B2B payments industry and promote Malaysia’s continued financial growth.

Over 80 businesses have registered for the option during the captain phase so far, indicating a strong demand for the new product and good reception for it. This demonstrates Merchantrade’s commitment to providing comprehensive online financial solutions that properly address the changing needs of Malaysian businesses.

With new instruments, works, and partnerships in growth, the company is confident the answer will transform the way companies operate. Additionally, Merchantrade’s vision aligns with the government’s push to encourage businesses to digitize their operations and embrace automation in order to create a more cashless society.

For more info, visit https ://www.merchantrademoney .com/business/

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Coursera 2024 Global Skills Report: Malaysian learners record 806% rise in GenAI enrollments

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  • Malaysia is ranked fourth in Southeast Asia and 12th in APAC in terms of competence proficiency.
  • Millennials lead GenAI adoption at 48 %, followed by GenXers at 32 % &amp, GenZ at 16 %

Coursera 2024 Global Skills Report: Malaysian learners record 806% rise in GenAI enrollments

Back of AI Appreciation Time on 16 July, Coursera, one of the largest online learning platforms, unveiled insight for Malaysia from its 6th annual World Skills Report, based on data from over 148 million international learners and leading financial indices. The report reveals an 806 % year-over-year ( YoY ) increase in enrollments in Generative AI ( GenAI ) courses among Malaysian learners, highlighting their readiness to acquire GenAI skills.

Coursera 2024 Global Skills Report: Malaysian learners record 806% rise in GenAI enrollmentsIt added that in the APAC area, Malaysia ranks 12th in skill ability, and in Southeast Asia, Malaysia ranks third, followed by Thailand, Cambodia, the Philippines, and Myanmar.

Malaysia aims to strengthen its AI ecology through training and research cooperation, supported by activities like the National AI Roadmap 2021-2025 and the AI Talent Roadmap 2024-2033. Important GenAI training gaining acceptance in Malaysia include Google Cloud’s Launch to Generative AI, Google AI Essentials, and Generative AI for Everyone by DeepLearning. AI. These programs underscore Malaysian learners ‘ commitment to keeping pace with technological developments, bolstering the government’s global digital profitability.

In Malaysia, GenAI adoption is generational with millennials leading the reskilling race at 48 %, followed by GenXers at 32 % and GenZ at 16 %, the study indicated. This pattern demonstrates that middle to senior management is reskilling, as demonstrated by significant enrollments in GenAI courses across different age groups and professions: directors ( 25 % ), managerial leadership positions ( 22 % ), junior individual contributors ( 18 % ), executive management ( 18 % ), and interns ( 5 % ). &nbsp,

” The soaring demand for GenAI classes by Malaysian learners on Coursera reinforces their tenacity and forward-thinking nature needed to thrive in a world driven by rapid technological transitions”, said Raghav Gupta, managing producer, Asia Pacific, Coursera. ” As the GenAI revolutionary unfolds, it is impacting the ever-changing work environment, emphasizing the need to engage in individual capital. Malaysia demonstrates a strong synergy between government, industry, academia, and industry to foster the high-demand human and modern skills needed to create a competitive and equitable workforce.

Various studies for Malaysia include:Coursera 2024 Global Skills Report: Malaysian learners record 806% rise in GenAI enrollments

  • Rising demand for industry micro-credentials for digital jobs: The report highlights a 97 % YoY increase in Malaysian learners ‘ enrollments, underscoring the trend that people are increasingly turning to online micro-credentials to find new jobs and advance their careers. &nbsp,
  • Some of the most common entry-level professional credentials among Malay on Coursera are Google Data Analytics, Google Project Management, Google Marketing &amp, E-commerce.
  • &nbsp, Diverse and Inclusive Learning Demography: Malaysia’s learning community is amazingly diverse and inclusive, with girls constituting 46 % of the entire person people.
  • In STEM fields, women account for 34 % of learners, highlighting their growing presence in traditionally male-dominated places. However, &nbsp, in GenAI-related courses, &nbsp, men represent 71 % of learners and women 29 % of learners.

Coursera claims that it now supports the development of 782, 000 Malaysian learners who have taken more than 1.7 million Coursera programs as of March 2024. It added that more than 4, 400 classes are nowadays available in Simplified Chinese, including some of the most common programs in Malaysia, such as Generative AI for All from DeepLearning. AI, Programming for Everybody from the University of Michigan, and What is Data Science? from IBM.

Highlights from International results include:

  • In the midst of ChatGPT, AI education becomes a global essential. As learners sought out foundational AI skills and enrolled in courses like” Prompt Engineering for ChatGPT” by Vanderbilt University and” Introduction to Generative AI” by Google Cloud, GenAI course enrollments on Coursera increased by 1, 060 % globally over the past year.
  • Micro-credentials continue to create learners for in-demand online jobs Learners are increasingly turning to business micro-credentials, including Professional Certificates, to get essential online skills for jobs. The need for visible learning pathways is more urgent than ever as 60 % of workers by 2027 have retraining. Coursera educators are enrolling in job-relevant Professional Certificates to plan for in-demand tasks, such as data experts, job administrators, and IT specialists.

To download the 2024 Coursera Global Skills Report, visit https ://www.coursera.org/skills-reports/global

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South Australia to boost food and agriculture ties

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In: South-East Asia

Thailand’s” Vision” in line with financial objectives

PUBLISHED: 15 Jul 2024 at 04: 33

State government of South Australia, Frances Adamson, has pledged to work with Thailand to advance the food and agriculture sectors, noting that Australia and Thailand both have identical economic objectives.

During her visit to Thailand from July 8–11, she met government representatives and frontrunners across the arts and culture, crops, power and beverage industries to encourage South Australia’s sector and business investments.

Her attend followed that of David Hurley, the American Governor-General, from Feb 13–17.

In relation to my trip to Thailand, she said in an interview with the Bangkok Post,” Both Thailand and South Australia may labor up on food and agriculture because they both have the same goal in food and agriculture.”

According to her, Australia has been considering Southeast Asia as a significant financial lover in the” South East Asia Economic Strategy 2024,” while Thailand is trying to become an” Agriculture and Food Hub.”

She claimed that one of the government’s main areas of focus has been the food and agriculture business.

Because of its strong hold in this industry, South Australia is also adopting this approach to dialogue with the South Eastern area, and she thinks it might be a good fit for Thailand.

South Australia is a supplier of high-quality meals items to the Thai business, said the state government. ” Thailand is the South Australians ‘ 5th largest export industry behind China, the United States, India and Malaysia, respectively”, she added.

” Corn is one of them. South Australia is the country’s main grain-producing place, which has made Australia become one of the largest producers in the world”, she said.

Regarding the administration’s” Burn Thailand” perception to change Thailand into a global hub for eight important business, Ms Adamson said the vision is pertinent to South Australia’s financial plans.

She stated that the vision includes reducing the use of fertilizers, managing ocean usage, improving yields, and transitioning to alternative energy in the agricultural sectors.

She claimed that many South American businesses have been operating for decades to maximize crop yields by using probes and sensors to cut down on fertilizer apply and determine the best times of year to grow crops.

” So, we have companies capable of working with]Thailand’s ] agricultural sector in what will necessarily be a long term process of adjustment and possibly transformation”, she said. So, we want to learn more about the requirements of your agrarian sectors during this visit.

She noted that listening to what our companions tell us about what they need is one of the things I really want to do when I travel as government. We have a certain advantage, but we need to understand your requirements to see if we can work up.

Adamson: Hopes to function up

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