Women in China who don't get married after a certain age
are often called 'leftover women'. By telling what many of these single
women are really thinking, a cosmetics ad has gone viral.
Now for more discussion, we are joined in the studio by social affairs critic Han Hua. Ms.
Marriage isn’t the only path to bliss
“I AM a sheng nu,” Jenny Yan, 30, proclaimed.
The car sales executive has been single for about a year after breaking up with her boyfriend of three years.
“I am now searching for my life partner with the frame of min
d of a sheng nu,” she said.
Literally “leftover women”, sheng nu is a derogatory term in China for single women who, in the eyes of society, have passed the ideal time to get married and still remain unattached in their late 20s and beyond.
The term sheng nu suggests that Chinese society sees the singletons as undesirable, almost like the coarser particles that are left on a sieve.
Single men, on the other hand, are known as sheng nan (leftover men) or guang gun (bare sticks).
The situation seems to be more dire for men, as they will outnumber women by 24 million by 2020 due to the country’s gender imbalance, but they are less stigmatised than single ladies in the patriarchal society.
While Yan said her parents look forward to her settling down, they are not putting too much pressure on her. She is taking the initiative to search for a suitor.
“When I was in my 20s, I relied solely on feelings and paid no heed to all the realistic factors, but now I won’t have too much expectations,” Yan said.
“To create more chances for myself, I’ll agree to meet and get to know the other person whenever friends recommend possible suitors to me.”
The stigma surrounding sheng nu often leads to heated discussions, with single ladies determined to shake off the shame and outdated judgment that society forces on them.
A recent advertisement by Japanese beauty products brand SK-II rightly triggered a flood of support from women in China.
Themed “Change Destiny”, the four-minute long clip walked viewers through the humiliation single ladies faced in China, which more often than not resulted in self-doubt and self-criticism.
“Maybe I should give up on someone I love for someone who’s suitable,” one of the ladies said to the camera, dabbing her eyes with a tissue.
Their parents were a major source of pressure, urging them to stop being so choosy and quickly settle down. Instead of being supportive, they were critical of their daughters.
“I used to think my daughter has great personality.
“She is not too pretty, just average. That’s why she is a leftover,” a mother said with a light chuckle, while her daughter, who was sitting next to her, tried hard to contain her tears.
A father said: “As long as you are not married, I cannot die in peace.”
One of the single women featured in the advertisement said remaining single is considered not filial in China.
“Maybe I am being selfish. I want to say sorry to them,” she said, breaking down in sobs.
In the advertisement, the ladies decided to attend the Shanghai Marriage Market, a weekend fair at the People’s Park where parents “promote” their single and available daughters and sons with details such as age, height, profession, income and assets.
In a turn of events, it was revealed that the ladies were not there to look for partners but to tell their parents that marriage isn’t the only path to happiness.
Professional portraits which depicted them as confident and glowing women were exhibited in the park, along with a personal message.
“I don’t want to get married just for the sake of marriage. I won’t live happily that way,” one of them, identified as Li Yuxuan, 33, said.
Another lady, whose mother has previously dismissed her as just average-looking, said to the camera: “Even if I am alone, I can be happy, confident and have a good life.”
Since it was posted on SK-II’s official Weibo account, the video has recorded two million views and was shared 25,000 times.
Sindy Huang, 36, said she was touched by the advertisement.
“The details in the advertisement were moving, such as their skin condition, their sleep-deprived look, and the helplessness in their eyes. I feel like I am watching myself,” she said.
The Beijing-based journalist who hailed from Zhejiang province said Chinese society has the tendency to sympathise with single ladies.
“Many people think sheng nu is the main cause of an unstable society, and parents are desperate for us to get married because they don’t want us to grow old alone,” she said.
Both Yan and Huang said while they yearn for true love and a family of their own, they would not rush into a relationship and preferred to wait for the right person to come along.
Huang said girls have to have a strong inner centre to help them face the pressure from society.
When ridiculed by married friends, she said she would retort by asking them if they are in a state of perfect happiness.
“That shuts them up. Some of them even conceded that I was right,” she added.
However, not everyone held the SK-II advertisement in high regard.
Some were in the opinion that the short film has exploited single women’s weaknesses to boost views.
A writer identified as Gu Yingying likened the advert to “a bottle of dirty water splashing onto (women’s) independence and confidence”.
Towards the end of the short film, one of the mothers exclaimed, “Sheng nu should be proud!”
In taking an apparent jab at this particular line, Gu wrote on her WeChat official account: “Sheng nu is not an honour, and neither is marriage. This is just a life choice and has nothing to do with honour.”
She said the women yearned for marriage and love but had to emphasise, with teary eyes, in front of the camera that they are okay being single.
Huang disagreed with the comments that dolling the ladies up in the advertisement is just a typical way to confront the dominant ideology of patriarchy.
“There isn’t anything wrong with dressing up. Those who are not sheng nu will never understand the pain of singletons.
“I am okay with the creative execution of the advertisement. It isn’t targeted at men or housewives, after all,” she said.
As for Yan, she said she won’t search blindly, but she won’t slack either in finding a suitor.
“Since I have reached the appropriate age to get married and get pregnant, I should be more proactive,” she said.
“I am planning to participate in mass dating events. Let’s see how it goes.”
China urges Taiwan to give fraud suspects "punishment they deserve"
20 fraud suspects from Taiwan arrive in Taoyuan airport in Taiwan on Friday, April 15, 2016 after being deported from Malaysia. [Photo/IC]
A Chinese mainland spokesman on Saturday urged Taiwan to give fraud suspects "the punishment they deserve," stressing that the release of them will only make fraud more rampant and harm cross-Straits law enforcement cooperation.
Taiwan police earlier on Saturday released 20 fraud suspects who were deported from Malaysia Friday evening, citing a lack of evidence. They were among 52 people from Taiwan arrested in Malaysia for suspected telecommunication fraud.
"By releasing the suspects, Taiwan authorities disregarded many victims' interests and harmed them a second time. It also harmed the two sides' cooperation in jointly cracking down on crimes," said An Fengshan, the spokesman with the State Council Taiwan Affairs Office.
Taiwan phone scammers come clean
Phone scams are nothing new, and yet the people behind this faceless crime continue to swindle billions of yuan from hapless victims every year.
Boiler rooms run by scammers from Taiwan were responsible for over 50 percent of all telecom fraud in China's mainland. Nearly all major cases with reported losses in excess of 10 million yuan ($1.54 million) were organized by scammers from Taiwan, according to the Ministry of Public Security (MPS).
In the past seven days, 77 alleged fraud syndicate members, including 45 from Taiwan, were repatriated to China's mainland from Africa.
In interviews with Xinhua, some of the suspects from Taiwan came clean about this illicit practice.
WHO, HOW ?
20 fraud suspects from Taiwan arrive in Taoyuan airport in Taiwan on Friday, April 15, 2016 after being deported from Malaysia. [Photo/IC]
One suspect from Taoyuan in Taiwan, identified only by his surname Jian, traveled to Kenya to join a boiler room in 2014.
According to Jian, the organization he worked for divided its members into first-, second- and third-tier groups according to their roles. All worked off pre-written scripts when talking to their "clients."
The first-tier group, a team of about a dozen people, masqueraded as managers of medical insurance accounts to acquire their victims' personal information, Jian explained.
In the calls, the victims were told that they were victims of identity theft, and their "case" would be transferred to the police after they had confirmed certain information.
Then it was time for the second-tier group, the "police officers," to take over the case. This team informed the victims that their identities had been used to facilitate money laundering, said Jian, who was one of the "police officers."
The victims were then pressed for more information, such as family background, occupation, income and bank account details. The second-tier group would then try and wheedle out how much cash the victims had in their bank accounts.
"If there was not much money, we would talk the victims into transferring their balance to us," said Jian, "however, if they were holding large deposits we would transfer the case to the third-tier group."
Another suspect, who was identified by the surname Xu, was a member of this third-tier group. His bluff was that he was the director of the financial crime department.
"We told the victims that their money must be transferred to our 'safe account' for investigation, and instructed them how to do this at an ATM," said Xu.
The fraudsters used software that changed the numbers they called from to those registered to mainland police stations.
"Any 'savvy' victim could check the number while we were on the phone," he said, "and they would be reassured."
The gang even played recordings of police stations or hospitals as background noise during the calls to further win the trust of their unsuspecting victims.
According to the police, members of the gang received a monthly salary based on their performance. The third-tier group, usually the most skilled fraudsters, earned the most, getting up to eight percent of the money earned in each deal.
Police said that the bosses and core members of many fraud rings were from Taiwan. In Jian and Xu's case, only members of the first-tier groups were from the mainland, who were usually new to the world of telecom scams.
Investigators found that during recruitment, fraud rings often favored those with criminal records.
"I am familiar with how phone scams work, so that was why the boss asked me to join," said Xu, who served a seven month sentence for fraud in Taiwan's Taichung City in 2010.
Mainland urges Taiwan to give fraud suspects 'punishment they deserve'
EXPORTING FRAUD
20 fraud suspects from Taiwan arrive in Taoyuan airport in Taiwan
on Friday, April 15, 2016 after being deported from Malaysia. [Photo/IC]
The people of Taiwan have been aware of phone scams and for this reason, around 2002, fraud rings from Taiwan began to target mainlanders.
These fraud gangs are oldhands at writing convincing scripts and devising new methods to cheat victims out of their money and information, said Zhang Jun from the criminal investigation department of the MPS. Some, he added, even create mirror websites of mainland judicial agencies to further support their back stories.
Authorities on the mainland and Taiwan worked hard to improve cooperation and stamp out telecom fraud across the Strait. However, rather than packing up and "going straight," many gangs just relocated to Southeast Asia, Africa and Oceania.
Since 2011, police from both sides have arrested more than 7,700 suspects implicated in telecom fraud gangs working in Southeast Asia, with about 4,600 of them from Taiwan.
"To hide from the police, many telecom fraud rings established themselves far from Chinese eyes, like Kenya in this case. But we are confident that we will find them, no matter where they are," said Zhang. - Xinhua)
Chinese telecom fraud suspects repatriated from Kenya
https://youtu.be/9ATJqOjmbSg
BEIJING, April 13, 2016 (Xinhua) -- Chinese telecom fraud suspects deported from Kenya get off a plane after arriving at the Beijing Capital International Airport in Beijing, capital of China, April 13, 2016. Kenyan police deported 77 Chinese telecom fraud suspects, including 45 Taiwanese, to the Chinese mainland. The first group of 10 people had been repatriated on Saturday and the remaining 67 were sent back by a chartered plane on Wednesday. (Xinhua/Yin Gang)
The first 10 people were repatriated on Saturday and the remaining 67 on Wednesday, the Ministry of Public Security (MPS) has confirmed. It is the first time that China has repatriated such a large group of telecom fraud suspects from Africa.
In recent years, syndicates led by suspects from Taiwan and based in Southeast Asia, Africa and Oceania have been falsely presenting themselves as law enforcement officers to extort money from people on the Chinese mainland through telephone calls, according to Chinese police.
In one case cited by the MPS in a statement, a person surnamed Yang from Duyun City of Guizhou Province was cheated by a syndicate, led by a Taiwan suspect, of 117 million yuan (18.1 million U.S. dollars) in December 2015.
Victims in other cases included migrant workers, teachers, students and elderly people from the Chinese mainland, and some of them committed suicide under the pressure of their economic losses, according to the statement.
The MPS said judicial organs on the Chinese mainland have legal rights of jurisdiction over the repatriated suspects.
Mainland police will investigate Taiwan suspects in strict accordance with the law and keep Taiwan authorities informed, the statement added.
The 77 suspects are from two telecom fraud syndicates. On Nov. 29, of 2014, Kenyan police arrested 48 people from the Chinese mainland and 28 from Taiwan over telecom scams. On April 8 of 2016, 19 suspects from the mainland and 22 from Taiwan were apprehended on similar charges.
In the past few years, police from the mainland and Taiwan have arrested more than 7,700 suspects, about 4,600 of them from Taiwan, in 47 joint operations to fight telecom frauds based in Southeast Asia.
However, in many of the cases handled by Taiwan judicial organs, Taiwan suspects were not brought to justice and victims on the mainland were unable to retrieve their lost money, An Fengshan, spokesperson for the State Council's Taiwan Affairs Office, told a news conference on Wednesday.
Quite a few Taiwan suspects were released as soon as they were returned to Taiwan and some resumed their wrongdoing soon after, An said.
"They have caused a tremendous loss to people on the Chinese mainland... triggering strong discontent," according to the spokesperson.
An said the office's director Zhang Zhijun informed Taiwan's mainland affairs chief Andrew Hsia about the repatriation on Tuesday.
The legal rights and interests of the repatriated Taiwan suspects will be guaranteed in accordance with the law, he said.
"Judicial departments from Taiwan are welcome to visit the mainland to explore ways of strengthening cooperation between the two sides in cracking down on such international telecom fraud," said the MPS. - Xinhua
Kenya right to extradite Taiwan suspects to mainland
Taiwan's "Ministry of Foreign Affairs" criticized the Chinese mainland Monday after eight out 23 Taiwanese people were deported from Kenya to the Chinese mainland following their acquittal on telecommunications fraud charges. The news, hyped up by the Taiwanese media, soon became a focus of attention on the island. The Taiwan government has demanded the mainland immediately return the eight to Taiwan.
Taiwan's public opinion sphere has launched strong protests and criticism against the mainland's "illegal abduction." However, Taiwan's judiciary authority acknowledged Tuesday that although the eight Taiwanese were acquitted of unlicensed business activities related to telecommunications, they still face charges of fraud, and the mainland's extradition conforms to international laws.
It is not news that some Taiwanese involve themselves in telecommunications fraud, with mostly mainland people as victims. Mainlanders' losses reached NY$500 million ($15.4 million) reportedly.
The responses from the Taiwanese public opinion sphere, especially the pro-independence media, is politicized, which, to a large extent, has contributed to the local authorities' attitude. The pro-independence camp always associates cross-Straits disputes with the mainland "suppressing" Taiwan, provoking "anti-mainland" sentiments on the island to the maximum.
It is indisputable, both in law and in the One China policy, that the Chinese mainland can extradite the eight Taiwanese involved in the fraud charges. The mainland's handling of the case is supported by international laws.
As the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) will take office soon, the radical forces on the island are increasingly active and arrogant. Targeting the mainland and the One China policy, they are responsible for the surging number of petty actions on the island.
The mainland needs to respond firmly to the radical pro-independence forces of Taiwan. The mainland has many more tools at its disposal now to punish these forces, compared with 16 years ago when Chen Shui-bian came to power. The mainland won't intentionally seek trouble with the other side, even after the DPP assumes power.
But the new Taiwan administration must hold itself with dignity, exercising restraint and opposition to the extreme show of radical forces. The mainland will be able to see clearly if the new administration is appeasing them.
As the DPP moves closer to taking office, Taiwan is shrouded in an aggressive atmosphere.
Whether Taiwanese are allowed to use a "Republic of Taiwan" sticker on their passport is being debated in the legislative body. Now Taiwan is making a fuss about the mainland extraditing Taiwan suspects from abroad. Don't expect the mainland to yield to these disgraceful acts.
Taiwanese society should pursue dignity from development and progress, not from "national sovereignty." The latter is an illusion to Taiwan which the DPP is trying to sell.
Taiwan should approach this latest incident from a cross-Straits judiciary cooperation perspective and negotiate with the mainland. It is important that the Taiwan side does not politicize the matter. - Global Times
Experts defend mainland's jurisdiction over Taiwanese fraud suspects
Kenya's deportation of Taiwanese telecom fraud suspects to the Chinese mainland within the past week was lawful and reasonable, according to legal observers on the mainland.
There were 45 Taiwanese among 77 Chinese alleged fraud syndicate members who arrived in the mainland on Saturday and Wednesday. It is the first time that China has such a large group of telecom fraud suspects repatriated from Africa.
"As all victims are from the mainland, judicial organs on the mainland have legal rights of jurisdiction over the repatriated Taiwanese suspects, according to the principle of territorial jurisdiction required in international criminal litigation," said Lin Wei, vice president of China Youth University of Political Studies.
The deportations have sparked debate in Taiwan about the mainland's jurisdiction in the case. Mainland authorities said Taiwan has been too lenient in its handling telecom fraudsters in the past.
In many of the cases handled by Taiwan's judicial organs, suspects were not brought to justice and victims on the mainland were unable to retrieve their lost money, according to the Ministry of Public Security.
Quite a few Taiwanese suspects were released as soon as they were returned to Taiwan and some resumed their wrongdoing soon after, said Liu Huawen, assistant director of the Institute of International Law under the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.
"They have caused a tremendous loss to people on the Chinese mainland," said Liu.
"Telecom fraud has been regarded as quite a petty act of swindling in Taiwan, with short prison sentences and light financial penalties," said Fan Chongyi, a professor at China University of Political Science and Law.
Taiwanese authorities should be tougher on such criminals, Fan said. - Xinhua
Software rules: Less than 20 of the iPhone comprises hardware and labour costs. The real profit is in software, which is all about knowledge and mindsets. – Bloomberg
WHO dominates the phone dominates the Internet. The whole world of information is now available in your hand, replacing your own mind as a memory base for instant decision-making.
The reason why traditional bank shares are dropping like a stone is that mobile phone companies and financial technology (FinTech) platforms “get it”. Banks and conventional financial institutions are stuck with so much legacy hardware (branches and outdated mainframes) and complex regulation that their CEOs feel beseiged by bad news – cyberattacks, privacy leakages (like the recent Panama leak), capital requirements and huge fines.
No wonder top bank talent is leaving the industry. In Silicon Valley they get fat bonuses to become “cool” without regulations. Regulated bank CEOs are held personally responsible for everything that goes on in their bank, having to deal with soul-destroying staff and expenditure cuts, on top of their own pay cuts.
I was at the Singapore Forum this month moderating a panel on FinTech when the Alibaba strategist mentioned that the current battle for market share is all about “mindset and handset”. The mindset of the Internet age is that you do not need to own any assets – you simply share or rent them from those who have excess capacity. The mobile handset is where most of the world’s population is moving towards doing business, from dating to buying a house, phone, using your fingerprint and retina as digital signature.
Finance today is an information business and FinTech (see below) can deliver payment services at 1-2 cents per transaction compared with US$10-US$12 per paper-based payment. Increasingly, we spend more on apps and software than on the actual hardware.
Did you know that the fastest adopters of technology in the world are porn, gambling and politics, in that order?
The financial consultants Oliver Wyman have come up with a major report on “Modular Finance”, which argues that technology has transformed finance into modular parts – modular supply (provision of financial services by specialists); modular demand (buying new services from such specialists).
Oliver Wyman’s report begins with a cartoon about a customer buying a house, arranging a mortgage and insurance, selling stocks and wealth products for the downpayment and paying for all fees through a single mobile phone. Equipped with the latest encryption, digital signatures and right apps, the mobile phone has empowered the customer to everything what used to take several visits and weeks to the bank, the lawyer, real estate agent and even land registry to complete the transaction.
In short, the game of finance is being fought by one super-bank to rule them all (Goldmans?) or one phone to rule them all.
The global supermarket model (one brand to rule them all) is having a serious re-think about being labelled G-SIFIs (global systemically important financial regulations), requiring special regulatory attention and additional capital and liquidity requirements. Increasingly, these universal banks do not need to own and supply all services in-house – they simply outsource the back-office or even key services to trusted specialists.
On the other hand, FinTech aims to change our lifestyles through different types of technology.
First, frictionless and seamless inter-operability integrates businesses like logistics with payments, such as Alibaba, making it easier to buy, pay and deliver in one pass.
Second, Big Data analytics, which Amazon uses suggest to you what to buy next and understand how customers are changing.
Third, Blockchain and Distributed Ledger technology, which makes systems more secure.
Fourth, artificial intelligence, such as robo-advisers on investments.
Fifth, data secrecy and unique identity codes that ensures privacy and confidentiality.
FinTech platforms have less staff, less legacy assets, less regulation and more flexible mindsets. These barbarians at the gate are only stopped by regulations that currently protect the banking franchise. This is not to say that they don’t have defects, such as lack of attention to anti-money laundering, terrorist funding and cyberattacks. When they reach super-scale, they are also Too Big to Fail.
The rapid evolution of FinTech means that Asia now has the money and the technology to transform our antiquated financial systems into the 21st century.
The Asian population is young, tech-savvy, mobile and willing to experiment with new services and equipment, which we are creating in Asia. The good news is that if our young startups get it right, the world is their market. The bad news is that if our regulatory and government support services don’t allow our startups to compete, our markets and jobs will be someone else’s lunch.
What is holding back this transformation to FinTech Asia is still mindsets. Look at how Jakarta taxi drivers are protesting against Uber. Regional banks are expanding their footprints by buying the franchises of retreating European and American banks in investment and private banking. But they and their regulators have not thought through how to use FinTech to cut back their legacy systems, many of which are obsolete and operating under-scale, because many regulators still insist on each bank owning and running their own hardware and branches. To be fair, not all regulators think that way.
Barriers to FinTech are sometimes regulatory mindsets. Asian regulators are more willing to accept the entry of financial institutions from outside the region than from their neighbours. Without regulatory concurrence, many banks and financial institutions do not dare to experiment with new technology.
We now have Asian customers moving to global service providers like Apple, Google and Amazon, if Asian financial service providers do not get their act together. Compe-tition is good – look at how Sri Lanka is negotiating with Google to provide balloon-suspended cheap high-speed wifi coverage.
Asian bankers and regulators need to think hard about what Asian customers really want to achieve global scale in terms of efficiency, stability and trust.
FinTech and mobile handsets are not the solution to all our problems, but they will change how the problems are resolved. The real problem is our mindset. Less than 20% of the iPhone comprises hardware and labour costs. The real profit is in software, which is all about knowledge and mindsets.
That belongs to the realm of politics and education, which is another story.
Andrew Sheng writes on global issues from an Asian perspective.
Fintech, the healthy disruptors of forex
SINCE the global financial crisis of 2008-2009, investment banks have spent much of their time and energy on regulatory compliance, leaving them “on the back foot” innovation wise.
Faced with growing regulatory demands in recent years, investment in new technology has had to take a back seat. This does not come as a surprise given the lack of deals and flows as well as the broad-based decline in commodity prices. That little space innovation wise has been quickly filled by fintech firms.
There are traditional fintech firms that act as ‘facilitators’ (larger incumbent technology firms supporting the financial services sector) and there is emergent fintech firms who are “disruptors” (small, innovative firms disintermediating incumbent financial services firms with new technology).
The fintech space can be further broken down to four major sectors – payments, software, data and analytics and platforms.
In the foreign exchange market environment, a typical trading would include sourcing for the best price either via electronically or via the voice broker.
In Malaysia’s financial market landscape of foreign exchange trading, the wholesale price or in other words interbank market is dominated by investment banks facilitated by money brokers who source the best available price to match foreign exchange trades.
With the wholesale market dominated by firms with deep pockets and ample liquidity, customers are subject to a spread cost, whereby prices they receive naturally takes into account a spread from the screens and a spread from the interbank price as well as a spread that is subject to the credit profile of the customer.
Global fintech firms however are altering this process or at least are gradually making inroads.
These firms provide a platform that offers a comprehensive foreign exchange solutions, including live mid-market exchange rates updated in real-time, customised foreign exchange rate alerts, a fully automated transaction information dashboard, multi-user and multi-subsidiary control panel as well as on-demand forex reports.
The best part is, these firms charge a flat fee of which is detailed before each currency trade with absolutely no additional or hidden fees.
Until recently, SMEs have had little choice in terms of where to go, other than to the banks, but now it seems a different foreign exchange model is emerging in the fintech sector, giving banks a run for their money.
The crux of these business models by fintech firms in the foreign exchange business is service via the use of technology.
The automation of the process, eliminates the middlemen and therefore reducing cost, fintech has enabled companies to be more transparent with their pricing.
In the case of Malaysia, SME’s play a vital role in Malaysia’s economy, with foreign exchange risks increasingly being a volatile variable in their cost structure.
These form of fintech solutions are likely to witness exponential growth, but the cost would be, a gradual erosion of SMEs foreign exchange business that are currently held by our local investment banks.
Fintech firms’ foreign exchange model broadly encompasses four major steps, namely, the SME firm carries out their foreign exchange transaction by selecting the currency, the amount, delivery date and beneficiary account and confirm the exchange rate.
Once this is done, the next step is, the SME firm sends the fund to the fintech firm whereby the fund is segregated and held in a local bank.
Bear in mind these funds don’t form the part of the assets of the fintech firm and are held separately to ensure full client fund security at all times.
The third step is, the fintech firm’s matching engine will proceed to the exchange, matching the SME firm’s fund with another company or through the wholesale foreign exchange market.
Throughout the process, the SME firm is provided full transparency on prices, giving the SME firm the liberty to be fully in control.
Once the trade is matched, the funds are sent to the chosen beneficiary account of the SME firm, either its own, a subsidiary or directly to its supplier.
A four-step approach that uses the middle rate of the foreign exchange, removes the so called spread cost that is usually charged by banks to these SME firms and finally gives full transparency on the whole process itself.
With the clout and importance of these fintech firms, the Monetary Authority of Singapore recently announced the formation of a new FinTech & Innovation Group (FTIG) within its organisation structure.
FTIG will be responsible for regulatory policies and development strategies to facilitate the use of technology and innovation to better manage risks, enhance efficiency, and strengthen competitiveness in the financial sector. The upcoming Singapore FinTech Festival, to be held in Singapore from Nov 14 to Nov 18 will be an event to watch.
Organised in partnership with the Association of Banks in Singapore, the week-long event, which is the first of its kind in Asia will bring together a series of distinct, back-to-back fintech events.
Bottom-line, Malaysia’s financial sector, in particular its foreign exchange market needs vibrancy and fintech firms are likely to add spice to the local foreign exchange market, aside from creating value added business processes and technology intensive jobs, it would provide a healthy competition to the local investment banking scene.
Suresh Ramanathan believes gone are the days when foreign exchange trading was noisy, loud and unruly. It’s more about savvy technology driven trading. He can be contacted at skrasta70@hotmail.com
The market is saying that this recovery
in oil prices will be pretty positive for the Malaysian economy," said
Kelvin Tay, chief. Exchange rates | Rightways
SAN FRANCISCO: Facebook on Tuesday extended its reach beyond online socializing by building artificial-intelligence powered “bots” into its Messenger application to allow businesses to have software engage in lifelike text exchanges.
The move announced at the leading online social network’s annual developers conference in San Francisco came as the number of monthly users of Messenger topped 900 million and the Silicon Valley company works to stay in tune with mobile Internet lifestyles.
“We think you should be able to text message a business like you would a friend, and get a quick response,” Facebook co-founder and chief Mark Zuckerberg said as he announced that developers can build bots that could even be better than real people at natural language text conversations.
Bots are software infused with the ability to “learn” from conversations, getting better at figuring out what people are telling them and how best to respond.
The bots could help Facebook over time monetize its messaging applications and get a start on what some see as a new way of interacting with the digital world, potentially shortcutting mobile applications and sidestepping search.
“Our goal with artificial intelligence is to build systems that are better than people at perception -- seeing, hearing, language and so on,” Zuckerberg said while laying out a long-term vision for Facebook.
A look at the number and types of services that titans such as Facebook, Google and Apple have rolled out in the last couple of years, it appears the companies are “trying to dominate the customers’ mobile moments,” Forrester analyst Julie Ask told AFP.
Getting smarter
Artificial intelligence is already used in Messenger to recognize faces in pictures, suggesting recipients for messages and for filtering out spam texts.
“Soon, we are going to be able to do even more,” Zuckerberg said.
He promised a future in which Facebook AI would be able to understand what is in pictures, video or news articles and use insights to recommend content members of the social network might like.
Bot-building capabilities will be in a test mode with Facebook approving creations before they are released, according to vice president of messaging products David Marcus.
Some of the latest tools include one for the creation of “high-end, self-learning bots,” along with ways for them to be brought to people’s attention at Messenger, Marcus said.
“If you want to build more complex bots, you can now use our bot engine,“ Marcus told a packed audience of developers.
“You feed it samples of conversation, and it’s better over time. You can build your bot today.”
The list of partners launching Messenger bots included Business Insider, which said it will use the technology to deliver news stories to people in real-time.
“We are excited about this new offering because we know that messaging apps are exploding in popularity,” Business Insider said in a story at its website announcing the move.
Cloud computing star Salesforce planned to use the platform to help businesses have “deeper, more personalized and one-to-one customer journeys within the chat experience,” said Salesforce president and chief product officer Alex Dayon.
Bridges, not walls
Zuckerberg laid out a future for Facebook that, aside from Messenger, included ramping up live video streaming and diving into virtual reality.
“We think we are at the edge of the golden age of video,” Zuckerberg said.
Facebook opened its Live platform to allow developers to stream video content from their applications to audiences at the social network.
Zuckerberg demonstrated with a drone that flew over those seated, streaming live video to Facebook while he spoke.
Messenger and Live will be built out further in coming years, along with virtual reality technology at Facebook-owned Oculus, according to Zuckerberg.
When his daughter takes her first steps, Zuckerberg said he planned to record it in 360-degree video so family and friends can experience it in virtual reality as if they were there for the moment.
At one point, Zuckerberg’s comments took on a political tone, with the Facebook chief maintaining that the mission to connect the world is more important than ever given rhetoric about building walls and fearing those who are different.
“If the world starts to turn inward, then our community will have to work even harder to bring people together,” Zuckerberg said.
“Instead of building walls, we can build bridges,” he added, in an apparent reference to the fiery rhetoric of Donald Trump. - AFP
BATU KAWAN: Malaysia is targeting to attract RM40bil worth of investments from the manufacturing and services sectors this year.
Malaysian Investment Development Authority (Mida) chief executive officer Datuk Azman Mahmud said that of the RM40bil, about RM800mil would be for the medical device segment.
“For the first quarter of the year, we have approved RM651mil investments for the medical sector, compared to RM194.7mil achieved in the same period of 2015.
“The approved medical device investments would create 1,610 job opportunities,” he said.
Azman said this after the ground-breaking ceremony of Boston Scientific new plant at the Batu Kawan Industrial Estate.
The RM40bil investments would come mainly from the United States and Europe, according to Azman.
“We are now negotiating for these investments,” he added.
Deputy Minister of International Trade and Industry (Miti) Datuk Lee Chee Leong represented Minister Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed at the event to officiate the groundbreaking ceremony.
Lee also read out Mustapa’s speech.
In the speech, Mustapa said in 2015, the exports of medical devices increased by 15% to RM15.5bil from 2014.
“According to the National Export Council (NEC), revenues from the export of medical devices are projected to grow to RM26bil by 2020.
“In this regard, industry players in Malaysia will be able to enhance their exports by capitalising on the liberalisation of markets such as Asean, facilitating access to the region’s 620 million strong market,” Mustapa said. Also present at the event was Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng.
Boston Scientific’s new medical device manufacturing plant, which will involve investments running more than hundreds of millions of ringgit, is scheduled to be operational in the fourth quarter of 2017.
By David Tan The Star/ANN
Boston Scientific plant in Penang to be ready by 2017
GEORGE TOWN: Boston Scientific’s new medical device manufacturing plant in Batu Kawan Industrial Park, which will involve investments running more than hundreds of millions of ringgit, will be operational in the fourth quarter of 2017.
Boston Scientific vice-president (operations) Dave Mitchell told StarBiz the group would move production equipment into the facility in the second quarter of 2017.
“The plant will be operational in the fourth quarter of 2017, and we expect to ship our first “Made-in-Malaysia” product before the end of 2017,” Mitchell said in an e-mail.
The construction of the facility will begin in the first half of 2016 and scheduled for completion in the second half of 2017.
Mitchell said the site and facility were designed to accommodate at least 10 years of growth, including new products, additional volume and added capabilities, which might include research and development (R&D) or distribution.
“We anticipate having more than 400 employees at the Penang site within four years of operation, with room to grow significantly beyond that.
“Initially we will focus on building manufacturing capability and capacity in the Penang facility.
“We have the space and ability for additional capabilities at the site, including both R&D and distribution,” he said.
On the outlook of the global medical device market, Mitchell said that according to research firm Euromonitor, in 2016 the medical device industry was expected to record strong growth of almost 6% to reach US$315bil.
“Unlike the traditional markets such as Western Europe and the US, the Asia-Pacific medical device market is projected to to grow and gain a wider market in 2016,” he said.
Boston Scientific was founded in 1979 and is the worldwide developer, manufacturer and marketer of medical devices.
Its products and technologies are used to diagnose or treat a wide range of medical conditions, including heart, digestive, pulmonary, vascular, urological, pelvic health, and chronic pain conditions.
Feb 5, 2016 ... KUALA LUMPUR: The property market is expected to remain challenging, with
the hike in house prices slowing to between 5% and 8% this ...
DURING a recent shopping session with my family, I saw an interesting promotion for a television set at a big retail store.
The retail price for the said television set was RM4,999. A 22% discount was offered for cash purchasers which brought the price down to RM3,899.
While the price seemed attractive enough, I saw another sweetener for the deal, stating that the special price under its flexible payment plan was RM2,729.30, apparently a massive 45% discount from the retail price!
At first glance, the flexible payment plan was the best deal. As the deal seemed too good to be true, I decided to do some calculation to see the rationale behind it.
Under the flexible payment plan, the weekly installment was RM26.72 for a total of 5 years.
The price of the television set would end up to be RM6,947 instead of RM2,729 upon the last payment.
I was surprised with the huge difference between a cash purchase and the flexible payment plan. This incident has also highlighted some blind spots we have in our spending.
Many a time, there are instalment plans that offer seemingly low interest rates as their marketing strategy.
As consumers, we may end up spending more than we thought if the effective interest rate and other financial concerns are not taken into account.
Taking the television set as an example, the total amount paid for the instalment plan is 78% higher than the cash purchase.
The effective interest rate per year for the financing of 5 years is about 45%, which is way higher than our fixed deposit rate of only 4%.
Bear in mind the high amount that we pay is for a depreciating item. With more advanced technology introduced year after year, the television set we buy today would not have much value left.
Thus, what looks like an attractive deal initially does not ring true anymore after factoring in high effective interest rates and accelerated depreciation in values.
Looking at the high premium charged for the instalment plan, it would be better to go for a cash purchase if the situation permits.
Often, it is better to evaluate our needs before making the decision to purchase depreciating items.
I always encourage prudent spending especially in testing times when we are faced with uncertainty in the economic environment.
Imagine if we can channel the money spent on depreciating items to assets such as investments or properties for the same period of 5 years.
Our money would have grown and helped to improve our financial position, or at least to hedge against inflation.
Other than potential value appreciation, the interest we pay for a housing loan is lower compared to other loans such as personal, credit card and car loans.
The effective rate for a housing loan is as advertised, and the rate is calculated based on the reducing balance (only pay interest on the remaining loan balance).
On the other hand, for car loans and flexible payment plans like the one mentioned above, their interest rates are calculated based on the full loan amount throughout the term, which makes the actual interest rate higher than the advertised rate.
For instance, the interest rate for credit cards is calculated based on 1.5% per month, hence the effective rate per year is 18% (1.5% times 12 months).
On the other hand, for a RM100,000 car loan with a 2.5% interest rate and a 7-year loan tenure, the interest amount would be RM17,500, making the total amount for the car RM117,500.
As a result, the effective interest rate for this car loan is 4.7% instead of 2.5%.
On many occasions, we tend to be drawn in by the “attractiveness” of easy payment plans without weighing the hidden financial commitments.
Though it helps us to obtain an item immediately, we may overlook the true value of the item and the potential financial burden it brings.
Therefore, if a deal is too good to be true, most of the time, it is just too good to be true and worth a second thought.
By Alan Tong food for thought
Datuk Alan Tong was the world president of FIABCI International for 2005/2006 and awarded the Property Man of the Year 2010 at FIABCI Malaysia Property Award. He is also the group chairman of Bukit Kiara Properties. For feedback, please email feedback@fiabci-asiapacific.com.
Mar 12, 2016 ... Datuk Alan Tong has over 50 years of experience in property development. He is
the group chairman of Bukit Kiara Properties. For feed...
Feb 16, 2016 ... Datuk Alan Tong has over 50 years of experience in property development. He
was the World President of FIABCI International for 2005/2006 ...
Jan 11, 2016 ... Datuk Alan Tong was the world president of FIABCI International for 2005/2006
and Property Man of the Year 2010 at FIABCI Malaysia Property ...
The market is saying that this recovery in oil prices will be pretty positive for the Malaysian economy," said Kelvin Tay, chief investment officer for southern Asia Pacific at UBS Wealth Management in Singapore.
SINGAPORE: Malaysia's ringgit has done a stunning about-face this year, with surging capital inflows turning it into Asia's best-performing currency from the region's worst in 2015.
Still, few expect the ringgit to regain all the ground lost last year, as inflows may have peaked as Malaysian risk assets are starting to look pricey to investors and analysts.
The ringgit strengthened 10 percent against the U.S. dollar in January-March, its largest quarterly gain since 1973, Thomson Reuters data shows.
In 2015, the ringgit had its worst year since 1997, shedding 18.5 percent on the back on plunging oil prices, anticipated higher U.S. interest rates and a financial scandal at state-owned 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB).
Driving the currency's U-turn is the return of foreign investors, who have poured into Malaysian stocks and bonds on better crude oil prices, a surprisingly resilient economy and easier monetary policies from major central banks.
"The market is saying that this recovery in oil prices will be pretty positive for the Malaysian economy," said Kelvin Tay, chief investment officer for southern Asia Pacific at UBS Wealth Management in Singapore.
In February, exports rose faster than expected. Sales of electrical and electronic products, the biggest item, increased 8.9 percent from a year earlier.
JACKED-UP HOLDINGS
Through the week ended April 1, foreign investors bought a net 5.5 billion ringgit ($1.4 billion) of Kuala Lumpur stocks this year, data from the research arm of Malaysian Industrial Development Finance showed. Last year had total outflows of 19.5 billion ringgit, it said.
Offshore investors have raised their local bond holdings by 11.8 billion ringgit in January-March, central bank data shows, with increased interest in longer-tenor debt. For all of last year, foreigners slashed holdings by 11.1 billion ringgit.
The cautious stance of Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen on U.S. rate hikes has caused investors to seek higher yields in Asia, aiding flows into Malaysia.
"This combination of an attractive currency valuation and higher yields in a world of low or negative interest rates is drawing foreign investors back to the local Malaysian market," said Eric Delomier, Asia fixed income investment specialist for Capital Group of the U.S.
Analysts and investors have concerns, including valuations of Malaysian assets and leadership of the central bank as its internationally-respected governor, Zeti Akhtar Aziz, retires at the end of April, and her successor has not been named.
Malaysian bonds seem "a bit rich," said Maybank Investment Bank's fixed income analyst Winson Phoon in Kuala Lumpur. Earlier this month, the 10-year yield fell to 3.77 percent, the lowest since February 2015.
SMALL INFLOWS AHEAD?
"I don't expect to see a repeat large inflows in months ahead, although the direction should remain slightly positive," Phoon said.
On share valuations, "Malaysia is actually not particularly cheap or attractive, compared to other markets," Tay of UBS said. "We don't think earnings growth has actually improved among Malaysian corporates."
Local stocks were trading at about 17.3 times the past 12 months' earnings, according to Thomson Reuters data. That compared with 11.8 times for Indonesian stocks, according to exchange data.
Zeti has led Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) since 2000, and investors are hoping for a successor with her credibility to help Malaysia's standing at a time of political crisis for Prime Minister Najib Razak, chairman of 1MDB's advisory board.
"Given the near-term challenges to a new BNM governor, oil prices and festering political risk from 1MDB, among other things, the ringgit's upside is limited," said Andy Ji, Asian currency strategist for Commonwealth Bank of Australia in Singapore.
His year-end target for the ringgit is 3.70 per dollar, 16 percent appreciation from its 2015 closing. Late Friday, the ringgit was at 3.90.- Reuters
China starts buying Malaysian bonds
Ong: ‘The Chinese government is keen to buy more Malaysian bonds
KUALA LUMPUR: China’s government has started buying more Malaysian government securities (MGS) and this inflow of new foreign money could rise to 50 billion yuan (RM30bil) in total, according to International Trade and Industry Minister II Datuk Seri Ong Ka Chuan.
In an exclusive interview with The Star, Ong said a senior representative of the Bank of China told him about this development recently when he met with the bank on issues pertaining to the use of yuan and ringgit in Malaysia-China direct trade.
“This could be one of the key factors contributing to the strength of the ringgit lately. China’s purchase of our MGS, which I am under the impression could rise to 50 billion yuan, will be very positive for our currency as it shows China’s confidence in our economy,” Ong said.
Other factors that had contributed to the strength of the ringgit in recent weeks included the recovery of crude oil prices, softer US dollar and the successful debt rationalisation of 1MDB, he added.
If China were to buy RM30bil worth of MGS, it would mean supporting 8.5% of Malaysia’s debts in the current MGS market. According to Bank Negara’s website, the value of outstanding MGS stood at RM352.06bil as at April 5, 2016.
Meanwhile, Malaysia’s debt markets saw inflows of RM11.5bil, versus RM1.4bil of outflows in February. The March foreign inflow was the largest monthly inflow since May 2014, according to a Nomura research note on April 7.
The inflows pushed foreign holdings of MGS to a historical high of RM171.5bil, the Japanese research house said. As a result, foreign ownership in outstanding MGS has risen to 48.7%.
Ong noted that Chinese Premier Li Keqiang had pledged to support the Malaysian economy – which was hit by a slowdown, local political problems, heavy outflow of funds and consequent plunge of the ringgit – when he visited Kuala Lumpur last November.
On Nov 23, the Chinese leader announced at a local forum that China would buy more MGS, issue yuan bonds in Kuala Lumpur and grant local institutional funds a quota of 50 billion yuan under the Renminbi Qualified Foreign Institutional Investor programme to invest directly in Chinese equities in the mainland.
The following day, the ringgit reacted positively gaining about 1% and the currency stabilised at around 4.25 to a US dollar in early December. MGS also gained.
“I was told China would use its reserves to buy our bonds. Its international reserves are high, at US$3.21 trillion (RM12.5 trillion) in March. With this development, I don’t think our ringgit will fall to 4.46 again,” said Ong.
Last month, Bank Negara said there were now more foreign governments and central banks holding MGS. A total of 29% was held by these two groups and 13% by pension funds.
The presence of these long-term investors is seen as reducing the risk of Malaysia facing sudden and massive outflows of capital in the event of unfavourable conditions, just like what had occurred last September, which saw the ringgit weakening to a multi-year low of 4.46.
Foreign inflow into the local stock market might be another factor that has boosted the ringgit. According to a Credit Suisse report, Malaysia saw a record net foreign equity inflow of RM6.1bil in March, which contributed to the ringgit’s 10.3% rise against the dollar in January-March 2016. At late trades on Friday, the ringgit stood at 3.9096.
Due to the recent new inflows, Bank Negara’s foreign exchange reserves had risen to RM412.3bil (US$96.1bil) as at March 15 from RM408.5bil (US$95.1bil) as at Jan 15.
This reserves figure is an important buffer against capital flows and has an impact on the ringgit and the sovereign credit rating of the country. Moody’s recently noted this buffer has improved.
Ong also said China would like to see Malaysia conducting roadshows in the mainland so that there is better understanding of Malaysia’s fundamentals and its bonds.
“The representative of Bank of China also told me the Chinese government is keen to buy more MGS, but they also hope our central bank could go there to market our MGS. I have conveyed this to Bank Negara. It is up to them to act,” says Ong.
Ong, who is also MCA secretary-general, noted that China’s huge direct investments had also boosted the ringgit’s sentiment.
The ringgit rose sharply in March partly due to the conclusion of the sale of 1MDB’s energy assets to China’s state-owned China General Nuclear Power Corp for RM9.83bil, as the absorption of all the debts of Edra Global Energy Bhd has reduced the systemic risk to pubic finance, banking system and economy.
Ong is confident that Kuala Lumpur is able to attract more major Chinese investments into the country this year due to Malaysia’s strong bilateral ties with China as well as the many free trade agreements – including the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement – Malaysia has signed with various countries and groupings.
The South China Sea dispute. The global terrorism threat. Malaysia’s foreign policy is back in the world’s spotlight and it is exciting times for ISIS Malaysia’s Foreign Policy and Security Studies chief.
IN an article titled “Think tanks aren’t going extinct. But they have to evolve”, American scholar James Jay Carafano wrote that the capacity to do rigorous, credible research is “no longer sufficient” for think tanks to manoeuvre their ideas prominently into the policy debate. Instead, think tanks must learn to communicate “in ways that will allow their ideas to break through to decision-makers who are bombarded with information from all sides”.
In that regard, Elina Noor has proven to be a real asset to Malaysia’s premier think tank, the Institute of Strategic and International Studies, or ISIS Malaysia. Her ability to articulate on complex and dynamic global affairs – such as major power relations, cyber warfare, terrorism and conflicts – in succinct yet jargon-free language has also made her a highly sought-after interviewee by the international media.
As a child, Elina wanted to be “everything”, from prime minister to fashion designer. Her parents, who ran a management consultancy firm, however, might have subconsciously put her on her career path by leaving the world news on television all the time when she was growing up.
“My parents would engage in lively debates about international affairs between themselves. As I grew older, I wanted to do law with an eye towards international law, specifically how war and conflict affect people.”
After graduating from Oxford University in the United Kingdom, she specialised in public international law at the London School of Economics and Political Science. This was followed by an internship at the Centre for Non-proliferation Studies at the Monterey Institute of International Studies in Washington DC, specialising in issues of weapons of mass destruction terrorism.
Essentially, she helped compile a database of terrorist groups with chemical or bioweapons capabilities by combing through secondary sources and obtaining intelligence from experts who had gone into the field.
Her days in the United States were cut short, however, by visa limitations. So, after nine months, she returned to Malaysia in 2001.
Her appetite whetted by her Washington experience, Elina joined ISIS Malaysia as a researcher.
Though formally positioned as a research organisation for nation-building initiatives, ISIS Malaysia was set up by former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad in 1983 to serve as a crucial sounding board for the government on foreign policy and security issues.
In addition to research, ISIS Malaysia engages actively in non-governmental meetings between states, known as Track Two diplomacy, and fosters closer regional integration and international cooperation through forums such as the Asia-Pacific Roundtable.
Now, having risen through the ranks, Elina heads a team of eight in the Foreign Policy and Security Studies division.
As a claimant state in the ongoing South China Sea dispute, chair of the Association of South-East Asian Nations in 2015, and currently a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council, Malaysia’s foreign policy direction has drawn renewed interest at home and abroad.
Invariably, Elina is asked questions on Malaysia’s relations with China. Her answer is perhaps best laid out in an article she wrote, titled “Friends with Benefits: Why Malaysia can and will maintain good ties with both the United States and China.”
On the topic, Elina had explained: “Malaysia should or will be subservient to an awakening dragon, but the cost-benefit calculus militates against provoking it. Equally, Malaysia’s location and posture make it a strategic partner for China in South-East Asia.
“It is the mark of a mature and solid friendship when overall relations are not held hostage to single-issue disagreements.”
Elina had added that such overlapping claims in the South China Sea, “should not, if managed well, stultify cooperation between Malaysia and China in other areas of the relationship. For a developing country with high-income and knowledge-economy ambitions like Malaysia, the show must go on”.
Or to put it simply, Malaysia wants to be everybody’s friend. That’s always been the country’s foreign policy from the start, she points out.
On the other hand, this pragmatic approach has also enabled the country to punch above its weight in places where even superpowers fear to tread.
Elina’s other portfolio, cyber warfare and security, is expected to come further into the spotlight with recent headlines claiming that the so-called Islamic State extremist group in Iraq and Syria intended to abduct top Malaysian leaders, including the PM.
“Malaysia up to this point has handled terrorism very well,” Elina says.
Many attempts have been foiled in the past, she adds, and the police have kept it low-key.
“If you follow the issues closely, you’ll notice the police only started publicising their efforts in the run-up to Pota (The Prevention of Terrorism Act 2015), an anti-terrorism law passed by the Malaysian government on April 7, 2015 enabling the Malaysian authorities to detain terror suspects without trial for a period of two years.”
Part of this publicising had to do with the political selling of Pota, but there was a more legitimate, pressing reason: People were taking security for granted in Malaysia.
“Malaysians treat security like it’s not a problem. We often criticise the police but the military and Special Branch in charge of counterterrorism really know what they’re doing. The police have been very vigilant and I think they do good work but haven’t been given enough credit.”
After 14 years, she still enjoys her job because of the intellectual robustness but admits some world-weariness has set in.
Nevertheless, Elina remains motivated by the knowledge that a lot of good Malaysians on both sides of the political divide are doing good work for the country.
Pointing to a faded wristband she has been wearing for “donkey’s years”, the inscription reads: “Malaysia tanahairku (Malaysia, my homeland)”.
“Call me cheesy,” she says, “but I’ve never thought of removing it. Love for country might, but does not always, equate to love for government. I’m a sentimental patriot.”
Pro-singledom ad goes viral
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“I am planning to participate in mass dating events. Let’s see how it goes.”
Fruitful partnership: Lee receiving a souvenir from Boston Scientific executive vice-president of operations Ed Mackey during the ground-breaking ceremony of the company’s facility in the Batu Kawan Industrial estate. It is expected to be operational in the fourth quarter of 2017.
New plant: Artist’s impression of the new Boston Scientific plant at Batu Kawan Industrial Park.
