Latest news with #ASIA
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Classic rock band removes guitarist after one concert: ‘a round peg in a square hole'
In the 'heat of the moment,' the newest guitarist for ASIA Featuring John Payne didn't make the grade. Francis Dunnery has parted with the group after just one performance, according to a Facebook post from the band. ASIA Featuring John Payne — one iteration of the British rock supergroup — made the announcement following a show in New Paltz, New York. 'Covering Asia's works from 1982 to 2006 was not Frank's wheelhouse,' the post states, adding that 'we were trying to hammer a round peg into a square hole!' Dunnery's résumé includes collaborations with music icons such as Robert Plant, Santana, and Lauryn Hill, as well as fronting the British band It Bites in the 1980s. His long-running solo career spans over 15 live and studio albums. The post describes the turn of events as 'not an acrimonious parting, far from it,' and goes on to compliment Dunnery's abilities as a guitarist. 'Frank's works live and in the studio are beyond superb, from It Bites to Robert Plant and everything in between,' the announcement reads, noting that 'we both worked so hard to make this work.' Dunnery also took to social media to explain the situation, emphasizing that there are 'absolutely no weird or hard feelings.' 'John needs a guitar player who can come in and play all the styles and all the sounds that are on the records and unfortunately that's not what I do,' Dunnery wrote in an Instagram post. 'There are much better people at doing that than me. It is impossible for me to adapt to that role, I don't have the personality or the playing style to fulfill what he needs.' In Dunnery's place, Jeff Kollman, the band's guitarist and vocalist of 20 years, will step in for a handful of August performances. More music content
Business Times
17-07-2025
- Business
- Business Times
How Chinese consumer brands are muscling into South-east Asia
EVERY tourist arriving in Ho Chi Minh City visits the 110-year-old Ben Thanh Market. Its surrounding streets pulse with local eateries, coffee joints, and souvenir shops. Yet amid these Vietnamese staples stands a branch of Miniso, a lifestyle chain that may appear Japanese but is actually Chinese. Since entering Vietnam in 2016, the brand has grown to 66 locations, taking prime spots in malls and bustling street corners. It's not the only one. Number of outlets of Miniso, PopMart, Cotti, Haidilao as of 30 June 2025; Luckin, Chagee as of 30 March 2025, Mixue as of 30 September 2024. SOURCE: TECH IN ASIA RESEARCH Chinese consumer brands are expanding at breakneck speed across South-east Asia, snapping up flagship corners and turning passers-by into fans. That said, the region is far from being one single market, and brands sticking to a particular homegrown playbook could stumble. Scale advantage Chinese consumer brands are not new to South-east Asia. Haidilao, China's largest hot pot chain, entered Singapore 13 years ago. Meanwhile, Mixue, now the world's biggest F&B player by outlet count, picked Vietnam as the site for its first overseas store in 2018. A NEWSLETTER FOR YOU Friday, 8.30 am Asean Business Business insights centering on South-east Asia's fast-growing economies. Sign Up Sign Up SOURCE: TECH IN ASIA RESEARCH Yet Chinese brands have only started expanding aggressively across the region in the past three years. By the end of 2024, more than 60 Chinese F&B brands were operating over 6,100 outlets in South-east Asia. That's triple the 2022 figure of less than 2,000, according to research firm Momentum Works. With China's consumer market still flat post-pandemic, South-east Asia, with a population of 700 million people, 30 per cent of whom are aged 15 to 34, has become a good target for brands, said Lina Yan, consumer analyst at HSBC Global Investment Research. SOURCE: OVERSEAS COMMUNITY AFFAIRS COUNCIL OF TAIWAN, WORLD BANK Cultural ties play an important part here. Four of South-east Asia's six biggest countries have the world's highest ethnic Chinese population shares. 'Southeast Asian markets are definitely more China-friendly than the US and Western countries,' Jason Yu, managing director at Beijing-based CTR Research, told Tech in Asia. Among Chinese brands, Mixue stands out in scale, with 4,700 outlets across South-east Asia as at September 2024, according to its prospectus. Over 84 per cent of them are in Indonesia and Vietnam. Mixue sells ice cream and cold drinks for under US$1, with all its stores in the region run by franchisees. Most of its revenue comes from selling supplies to them. The company's scale of 40,000 outlets in China gave it a foundation of a low-cost, reliable supply chain that no competitor can match. Its optimisation level is simply in a league of its own. That operational edge lets it keep franchise fees low to scale fast and earn from ingredient sales, according to Jason Ong, master transformation strategist at Axxelerated Transformation, a Singapore-based consulting firm specialising in retail innovation. 'It's intensely competitive in China,' he said. 'Anyone who survives there and expands abroad must already have a strong playbook.' Other Chinese beverage chains such as Luckin and Cotti also ran tens of thousands of stores in China before entering South-east Asia. In contrast, the region's biggest homegrown coffee brands – Thailand's Cafe Amazon and Indonesia's Point Coffee – have around 4,400 and 1,200 outlets, respectively. Beyond sheer numbers, some Chinese brands are making South-east Asia the centrepiece of their global push. For example, Miniso's largest store in the world is not in China but in Indonesia. Opened in August 2024, the flagship spans 3,000 square metres. New approach Miniso began by positioning itself as Japanese-influenced. However, it later ditched Japanese elements in its styling after a backlash in China driven by consumer nationalism. Now it touts itself as a global lifestyle brand. Its makeover has signalled a bigger shift. Chinese consumer brands, long deemed budget copycats of Western or Japanese labels, are winning on their own paths. Leading Chinese brands are reshaping their image by investing heavily in design, R&D, and customer experience, said Mark Greeven, professor of innovation and strategy and dean of Asia at the International Institute for Management Development. While Miniso partners with well-known global intellectual properties such as Disney, Harry Potter, and Sanrio, Pop Mart has sparked a global craze among young consumers with Labubu figures from its exclusive IP. This applies not only to South-east Asia. These brands are 'winning over new generations of consumers worldwide,' Greeven added. Moreover, Chinese brands are not just about low prices anymore. Chagee, which positions itself as a premium milk tea chain, prices its drinks roughly on par with Starbucks coffee in Singapore. Bumps on the road Still, Chinese brands face challenges from South-east Asia's diverse market. SOURCE: IPSOS' RESEARCH (2024) 'The region is deeply nuanced,' said Ryan Wei, founder of Indonesia-based Sino Indo Pacific (SIP) Group and former chief business officer at Indonesian F&B giant Boga Group. 'There's no single playbook – you will not win in Vietnam the same way you do in Indonesia or Thailand. It's not like expanding to another province in China.' For example, Luckin and Chagee have maintained both franchising and direct operations models in the region – different in each country. SOURCE: MOMENTUM WORKS (2025) Finding the right local partners is crucial when entering a new market, said Nathanael Lim, Asia-Pacific insight manager for beverages at data analytics firm Euromonitor International. Some brands do not get it right the first time, however. Chagee, for instance, abruptly exited Singapore in early 2024 after operating for five years through a franchise partnership model. It later returned with direct operations and now runs six stores in the city-state. SOURCE: EUROMONITOR INTERNATIONAL That said, localisation isn't just about business models. It also demands cultural awareness. In April 2025, Chagee planned to open its first Vietnam store along one of Ho Chi Minh City's most premium streets. But it pulled out after a public outcry and boycott calls from locals. The backlash was triggered by a map on the company's app and website showing the nine-dash line – China's disputed territory claim in the South China Sea that overlaps with Vietnam's own. No apology, no update. Chagee's Vietnam entry is likely off the table. Commenting on the incident, CTR Research's Yu said it's not easy for Chinese brands to navigate politically sensitive issues abroad. If a brand removes the nine-dash line to follow local laws, it risks backlash at home if the situation gains traction on Chinese social media. 'They will need to strike a delicate balance to please both Chinese and foreign sentiment when dealing with politically charged topics,' he explained. But while Chinese brands excel in tech and operations, many still lack international finesse, argues SIP Group's Wei. A large number of them have only started expanding overseas in the last five years, while American and Japanese companies have decades of global experience. Missteps are then inevitable. 'But at the end of the day, success belongs to those who keep outgrowing themselves,' Wei added. 'And on that front, I believe Chinese players are learning and evolving faster than most local brands.' TECH IN ASIA
Time of India
16-07-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Central banks ramp up buying at euro zone bond sales
Central banks are increasing their purchases of euro zone bonds, signaling confidence in the euro amid concerns about the U.S. dollar's stability. Increased demand, particularly from Asian institutions, is driven by Europe's political stability, lower deficits, and room for ECB rate cuts. Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads ASIA DEMAND Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Central banks have ramped up buying at euro zone bonds sales this year, data shows, in a positive sign for the euro as the bloc looks to benefit from diversification away from U.S. markets.U.S. President Donald Trump's confrontations with longstanding allies over trade and security, along with attacks on the Federal Reserve, have raised concerns around the safe- haven status of the U.S dollar, the world's No.1 reserve currency , which has tumbled 9% this euro meanwhile has surged 12% and policymakers are keen to seize the moment to boost its role as a reserve currency. Higher demand from central banks, which manage trillions of dollars in currency reserves , is therefore institutions, which include central banks and sovereign wealth funds , have bought a fifth of euro zone government debt sold at syndications year-to-date, up from 16% for the whole of last year, a Barclays analysis showed, using debt management office sales where official institutions were allocated large shares include 55% of a 30-year German bond sale a day after the country announced a historic shift to looser fiscal policy in March, and 27% of a 10-year Spanish bond sale in through which governments hire banks to sell bonds directly to investors, allow for results to be closely tracked to monitor shifts in sales raised over 200 billion euros ($232.40 billion) last year for euro zone governments, and are a key source of to official institutions did not increase in 2024, the data showed, after rising from 8% in 2021, following which euro zone interest rates turned positive after almost a decade of below-0% who run the debt sales said demand from Asian institutions stood out this year and was spread across the board."Some Asian clients in particular are coming back into the euro zone government bond space," said Benjamin Moulle, global head of primary credit for sovereigns, supranationals and agencies at Credit Agricole CIB."Large Asian central banks are very confident, more comfortable than previously when it comes to investing in EGBs."Political stability in Europe, relatively lower budget deficits and lower inflation which gives the European Central Bank more room to cut rates further if needed, made the region's debt attractive to central banks, Moulle Diaz Alvarez de Toledo, director general for treasury and financial policy at Spain's economy ministry, told Reuters the country was seeing higher demand for its bond sales over the last two years from official institutions in the Nordics, Middle East and rising demand for the bloc's debt is positive, bankers stressed it was too soon for central bank reserve managers to be shifting currency allocations meaningfully in response to developments this banks may be shifting their euro zone bond holdings into longer maturities as they had not really been buying long paper in recent years, said a second banker who arranges government debt remain U.S. dollar-focused and usually adjust their asset allocation models later in the year, so a major change will not have happened yet, the banker said, asking not to be identified."What's actually happening on the ground, that is incredibly hard to say," said Rohan Khanna, head of euro rates strategy at Barclays."I have had these conversations with sovereign wealth funds out of China, out of Europe. Their viewpoint has been that it's too early."While such investors are considering whether to invest incremental flows they received outside the U.S., they acknowledged that the U.S. Treasury market does not have a real alternative, Khanna said. ($1 = 0.8606 euros).
Time of India
28-06-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Adityapur entrepreneurs seek extension of factory license return filing date
Jamshedpur: The Adityapur industrial area entrepreneurs have sought from the department of factories to extend the factory license annual return filing date. The factory owners have said that on-line filing of the return is exhaustive and complex due to which several entrepreneurs are experiencing difficulty in filing the return. "The return filing demands comprehensive details about the safety measures, working hours, workers strength including permanent and temporary, vendors workforce, compliance with labour laws, wages, etc," said Sameer Singh, factory owner and member of the Industrial Stability and Reforms Organization (ISRO), a representative body of the entrepreneurs of Adityapur. The department of factories in April this year issued notification making it mandatory for the micro and small industries to file factory license returns by June 30. The factory license annual return provision, under the Factories Act 1948, was there for all manufacturing plants including micro, small, medium and heavy industries but it was not mandatory for the micro and small units. "We have given a representation to the Chief Inspector of Factory Manish Kumar and have requested him to exclude micro and small units from the mandatory clause," said Santosh Khetan, senior entrepreneur and former president of Adityapur Small Industries Association (ASIA). Earlier this week, both ASIA and ISRO organized special camps wherein the expert hands assisted the factory owners in filing the return. About 250 plus entrepreneurs filed their return at the camps but several have not filed the return yet. "We would urge the industry department to set-up help desk and give more time for filing the return. The best would be to remove the mandatory clause," said entrepreneur Mahesh Sonthalia. Notably the industrial area houses 1000 plus factories with the overwhelming majority being the ancillaries of the Tata Motors plant. The Chief of Factory, Manish Kumar, has said that extending the last date for filing the return is a matter which is at the discussion level in the department but nothing can be said at this point of time. The officer said that there's no possibility of either dropping the mandatory clause or excluding the micro and small units from the compliance provision for now as it is a policy decision of the state government.
Geek Culture
17-06-2025
- Geek Culture
ASUS Gaming V16 RTX 50 Series Laptops Launch In Singapore From S$1,699
ASUS has announced the latest version of its ASUS Gaming V16 laptop line-up, now equipped with the latest Intel processor and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 50 Series laptop GPUs, currently available for purchase in Singapore at the ASUS Exclusive Store, ASUS Online Store, and all authorised retailers. Featuring a futuristic chassis design, the ASUS Gaming V16 is decked out in a silky Matte Black finish, supplemented by a Turbo Blue keyboard backlight, neon-highlighted transparent WASD and arrow keys, alongside twill-textured side details to round off the look. Under the hood, the laptop packs in the power required to handle intense gaming on the go, and with up to an Intel Core 7 processor (Series 2) and the latest RTX 5060 laptop GPU, players can enjoy smooth performance with the help of NVIDIA's DLSS 4 and Multi Frame Generation. The device also includes up to 32GB of 5600MHz DDR5 RAM in dual memory slots, alongside SSD storage to drastically reduce load times, all while its dual fan and heat pipe cooling setup helps to ensure cool temperatures even after extended play sessions. To provide maximum gaming immersion, the laptop also features a 1920 x 1080 FHD resolution IPS display capable of outputting at a 144Hz refresh rate, boasting an 89% screen-to-body ratio for uncompromising gaming on a mobile device. For an improved user experience, the ASUS Gaming V16 also packs in an ergonomic touchpad that's 40% larger than similar models and an intuitive ErgoSense keyboard, which, coupled with its US military-grade laptop durability standard, MIL-STD-810H, allows users to take their gaming on the move with confidence. The ASUS Gaming V16 is now available, with prices starting from S$1,699, at the ASUS Exclusive Store Singapore, the ASUS Online Store, and all authorised retailers. Kevin is a reformed PC Master Race gamer with a penchant for franchise 'duds' like Darksiders III and Dead Space 3 . He has made it his life-long mission to play every single major game release – lest his wallet dies trying. Asus ASUS Gaming V16 Gaming Laptops
