Business

Finnoventure Fund I backs growth of local tech startups
Business, Singapore, World

Finnoventure Fund I backs growth of local tech startups

Mr Sam says KFIN concentrates on three sectors for tech investment: fintech, e-commerce and automotive. Krungsri Finnovate (KFIN), a corporate venture capital arm under Bank of Ayudhya (BAY), launched a startup fund on Thursday for high net worth investors interested in tech companies. The move aims to support the growth of local tech startups in the long term, said Sam Tanskul, managing director of KFIN. Finnoventure Fund I claims to be the first startup private equity trust fund in Thailand and Asean to provide an option to institutional and high net worth investors under the regulation of the Securities and Exchange Commission, he said. The size of Finnoventure Fund I is set at 3 billion baht with a 10-year maturity, with investment focused on Series A startups, said Mr Sam. Invest...
Hong Kong-style cafés boast vast menus that reflect the steeped cultures of the region. Here’s what you should order
Business, Singapore, World

Hong Kong-style cafés boast vast menus that reflect the steeped cultures of the region. Here’s what you should order

To understand the breakfast menu at a cha chang tang, often called a Hong Kong-style diner, is to understand the region’s layered history. Hong Kong’s role as a port city and former British colony has resulted in a cuisine that is a mishmash of (among others) British, Portuguese, Japanese, Malaysian, Cantonese and Singaporean flavours. It’s why the menu offers steak and eggs alongside satay beef with vermicelli, accompanied by a tall glass of ying yang, a milk tea mixed with coffee; and my personal favourite, macaroni soup with ham. It’s a no-fuss dish of elbow macaroni in a clear broth with diced luncheon meat. The soup is such a breakfast staple in Hong Kong that it is served both at luxury hotels and at McDonald’s. It’s not fusion cooking per se, but a culinary record of how cuisines
Harris rebukes China in speech on Indo-Pacific vision
Business, China, Singapore, World

Harris rebukes China in speech on Indo-Pacific vision

SINGAPORE (AP) — U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris delivered a sharp rebuke to China for its incursions in the South China Sea, warning its actions there amount to “coercion” and “intimidation” and affirming that the U.S. will support its allies in the region against Beijing’s advances. “We know that Beijing continues to coerce, to intimidate and to make claims to the vast majority of the South China Sea,” she said in a foreign policy speech Tuesday in Singapore in which she laid out the Biden administration’s vision for the Indo-Pacific. “Beijing’s actions continue to undermine the rules-based order and threaten the sovereignty of nations.” Harris, who is on a weeklong swing through Southeast Asia, declared that the U.S. “stands with our allies and our partners” in the face of threats f
New Vulnerability Assessment Tool from Toshiba and Peraton Labs Strengthens Cyber Resilience of Infrastructure
Business, World

New Vulnerability Assessment Tool from Toshiba and Peraton Labs Strengthens Cyber Resilience of Infrastructure

New Vulnerability Assessment Tool from Toshiba and Peraton Labs Strengthens Cyber Resilience of Infrastructure Identifies critical cyber security threats on industrial control systems TOKYO—Toshiba Corporation (TOKYO: 6502) and Peraton Labs today announced a new jointly-developed vulnerability assessment tool that emulates cyberattacks on industrial control systems. Dubbed Automated Attack Path Planning and Validation (A2P2V), this powerful new tool automatically generates cyberattack scenarios and simulates attacks that combine advanced offensive techniques to test and determine control system security status. It verifies results to identify security threats that need to be prioritized among the increasing number and range of cyberattacks. A2P2V combines industrial control system confi
Thousands jam Philippine vaccination sites over false news
Business, World

Thousands jam Philippine vaccination sites over false news

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — Thousands of people jammed coronavirus vaccination centers in the Philippine capital, defying social distancing restrictions, after false news spread that unvaccinated residents would be deprived of cash aid or barred from leaving home during a two-week lockdown that started Friday. Officials placed Metropolitan Manila back under lockdown until Aug. 20, as a new spike in COVID-19 infections that health officials say could be due to the highly contagious delta variant threatens to overwhelm hospitals. Three other regions, including nearby Laguna province, were also placed under lockdown until Aug. 15. Only authorized workers for essential businesses and residents on medical emergencies or food-buying errands can venture out. An eight-hour curfew was imposed in t
Recession fears mount as cases rise
Business, Singapore, World

Recession fears mount as cases rise

Asoke junction along Sukhumvit Road, usually jammed with traffic, is dead as people work from home during the lockdown. (Photo: Varuth Hirunyatheb) Thailand will likely be the worst economic performer in Southeast Asia this year, with economists continuing to slash the country's growth forecast amid surging Covid-19 infections, mounting political tensions and fading hopes for a tourism revival, according to Bloomberg. The Fiscal Policy Office (FPO) downgraded the country's 2021 economic forecast to 1.3% GDP growth, a dip from an April projection of 2.3%, on the assumption new infections of Covid-19 will peak in the middle of August, said director-general Kulaya Tantitemit. However, the FPO expects the situation to improve in 2022 as the business sector gradually returns to normalcy, lea...
China Plans to Ban U.S. IPOs for Data-Heavy Tech Firms
Business, China, World

China Plans to Ban U.S. IPOs for Data-Heavy Tech Firms

China's stock regulator plans to propose new rules that could thwart internet companies' plans to list in the U.S. A trader works June 30 during the IPO for Chinese ride-hailing firm Didi Global Inc on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange in New York City. Beijing plans to propose new rules that would ban Chinese firms with large amounts of sensitive consumer data from going public in the U.S. China plans to propose new rules that would ban companies with large amounts of sensitive consumer data from going public in the U.S., people familiar with the matter said, a move that is likely to thwart the ambitions of the country's tech firms to list abroad. In recent weeks, officials from China's stock regulator have told some companies and international investors that the new rules would...
Huawei to ramp up tech investment in support of Thailand 4.0
Business, World

Huawei to ramp up tech investment in support of Thailand 4.0

Huawei to ramp up tech investment in support of Thailand 4.0 Abel Deng, chief executive of Huawei Technologies Thailand Global tech powerhouse Huawei Technologies has vowed to deepen its investment in 5G, cloud and data centres, digital power and talent development to support Thailand 4.0 initiative. Thailand continues to take a leading role in 5G deployment in Asean, the company said. "The pandemic accelerated the adoption of technology as businesses need digital transformation and continuity of operations. The pandemic doesn't stop 5G rollout and usage," Abel Deng, chief executive of Huawei Technologies Thailand, said during a virtual meeting with the press. He said every crisis delivers both dangers and opportunities. "For a technology provider, this creates opportunity," Mr Deng ...
Bank of Thailand head says virus fight may need 1 trillion baht more
Business, World

Bank of Thailand head says virus fight may need 1 trillion baht more

Bank of Thailand head says virus fight may need 1 trillion baht more Weeds are seen growing around taxis parked at a company parking lot, after drivers were unable to pay rent on them due to the economic hardship of Covid-19 and more than a year of no incoming foreign tourism, in Bangkok, on July 20, 2021. (AFP file photo) The governor of the Bank of Thailand (BoT) has called for an additional 1 trillion baht in government spending to counter coronavirus, saying the blow to the economy from the pandemic is greater than from the Asian financial crisis in 1997. The government can fund additional spending by borrowing more, BoT Governor Sethaput Suthiwartnarueput said Monday at a briefing in Bangkok. Even if public debt tops 70% of gross domestic product by 2024, that would be manageable g...
Virtual expo offers marketing bargains
Business, China, World

Virtual expo offers marketing bargains

The homepage of Virtual Property Expo 2021. Event organiser Rightman Co and digital marketing group YDM (Thailand) aim to achieve 5 billion baht in sales at a four-day virtual property expo which costs a fraction of a traditional brick-and-mortar fair. Kampol Nisitsukcharoen, vice-president of event organiser Rightman Co, said that expos are one of the most powerful marketing tools as they can generate high sales volumes from one place where a large number of exhibitors and buyers congregate. "Exhibitions might be halted by the pandemic shutdowns, so every business needs to move on amid the unpredictable, struggling times," he said. "As volume makes an impact, we will hold a virtual expo for Thai properties to boost sales online." Virtual Property Expo 2021, through www.propertyexpo.ne...