Latest news with #Singaporean
Vogue Singapore
20 minutes ago
- Entertainment
- Vogue Singapore
Where to eat, drink and shop according to Vasunthara Ramasamy
No one hosts quite like Vasunthara Ramasamy. A self-taught chef and MasterChef Singapore alum, she runs Cutlery Optional, a buzzy private dining outfit where South Indian culinary heritage takes centre stage. She is also known as the unofficial Little India whisperer—guiding friends through Tekka's spice stalls and thosai counters like it's a sensory sport. If you want to get to the heart of Singapore's culinary landscape, eating with her is a good first step. For Ramasamy, home represents ease. 'I have lived in Mumbai and New Zealand for short periods. These experiences were enriching and broadened my view of the world and life. However, now that I'm in my 40s, I'm certain that Singapore will always be my true home. Ultimately, living abroad made me realise how much of a Singaporean I am at heart.' On her food adventures around the island, Ramasamy has made many discoveries and hidden gems—some of which she believes should receive more recognition. 'I wish that the food cultures of migrant workers could be more acknowledged and celebrated,' she reflects. 'Migrant workers have their own temporary enclaves to gather and relax on their rest days. It is in these spaces where I have found some of the best and most affordable Southeast Asian and South Asian eats.' Here, the chef share her favourite third spaces in Singapore—from the local eatery she'd rather gatekeep to under-the-radar stores, bars and neighbourhoods she keeps coming back to. André Wee 1 / 6 The local stall you tend to gatekeep: This is a difficult one to answer as many of my favourite food stalls have shuttered over the years. But Impian Wahyu (Block 462 Crawford Lane) has managed to stand the test of time. My favourite dishes are their Ayam Penyet and Sup Buntut. Their food reminds me of what you find in Indonesian warungs and the sambal they serve on the side has got a good kick of chilli heat too. I've patronised this stall for years and was heartbroken when they closed briefly after the passing of Abang Batman, one of the co-owners. He was incredibly personable and I'm glad that Wahyu Ning, his wife, overcame the odds and reopened at a new location. @vasunthara.r 2 / 6 The third space where you feel the most you: Does the wet market count as a third space? I spend a lot of time at Tekka Market and the grocery shops all over Little India. There's always some new ingredient to appreciate and learn about from the stall owners. As a private dining chef, these spaces allow me to dream up new dishes and ideas. Courtesy of Atlas 3 / 6 The ultimate destination for a good night out: I like Atlas Bar for its beautiful interiors and Caffe Fernet for sweeping views of Marina Bay and (most importantly) its Negronis. Courtesy of Jothi Store & Flower Shop 4 / 6 A hidden gem shopping address: While not really a hidden gem, Jothi Store & Flower Shop has existed since the 1960s and more people should know about it. It's an excellent place for Indian cookware and all types of stainless steel paraphernalia for sauces, dips, prep and service. They have extensive variety at very affordable prices. Courtesy of Ichigo Ichie 5 / 6 Best date-night spot: I may be biased as I have done two collaborations with chef Akane of Ichigo Ichie, but my husband and I love the food there. Each visit to the Japanese kappo restaurant guarantees a different experience since the menu isn't fixed and chef Akane only uses seasonal ingredients while adding her own artistic flair. I especially love that diners will occasionally taste some Indian elements, inspired by our collabs over the years, like fermented Indian chilli pastes and spices popping up amid Japanese flavours. It makes the experience fun, interesting and very memorable for a special date. Getty 6 / 6 Your favourite coffee haunt: I have the privilege of mostly working from home so my daily cup of coffee is usually a Lungo from a Nespresso pod. But on days when I really need a caffeine boost, it's a stovetop espresso or South Indian filter coffee using coffee beans sourced from my travels to India. Vogue Singapore's July/August 'Home' issue is out on newsstands and available online.
Business Wire
30 minutes ago
- Business
- Business Wire
Starfall, a Nonprofit, Seeks Help From U.S. Counterintelligence to Protect Children From Alleged Chinese Intellectual Property Hijacker
BOULDER, Colo.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Starfall Education Foundation, a publicly supported nonprofit, made a request today under the Freedom of Information Act (5 U.S.C. § 552) to the U.S. Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency and other DOD agencies for Documents relating to the "inclusion of Tencent Holdings Limited on the Department of Defense List of Chinese Military Companies Operating in the United States," "consumer data collection activities," "revenues derived from activities," and the "ability of the Chinese Military to access personal information about Americans." Starfall's request comes one week after it filed an amendment to its lawsuit in the Federal district court of Denver against Tencent Holdings (TCEHY) and its Singaporean subsidiary, Proxima Beta Pte. Ltd ( collectively "Tencent") alleging that "Tencent has hijacked Starfall's United States trademarks to attract children" and that it collects "personal information from children" and "places it under the control of a foreign entity." Tencent Holdings Ltd is a world-leading internet and technology company with headquarters in Shenzhen, China. This January, the US Department of Defense designated Tencent Holdings Ltd as a Chinese Military Company. The lawsuit alleges that Tencent's activities "were committed knowingly or recklessly" and Starfall is entitled to injunctive relief and damages, including disgorgement of Tencent's profits damages, treble damages, and reasonable attorney fees and costs "in an amount to be determined at trial but believed to be in excess of $1,000,000." Founded over two decades ago, Starfall is widely used in schools and homes for all children including English language learners. Starfall™ games, movies and books are known as a place "Where Children Have Fun Learning." Earlier this year, Starfall released a successful interactive kindness exhibit for museums that is being translated into ten languages including Chinese, Japanese, Korean, and Malay.
Business Times
an hour ago
- Business
- Business Times
Secretive family behind Tetra Pak bets US$9 billion on stocks via Singapore entity
[KUALA LUMPUR] A mysterious entity based in the heart of Singapore's financial district emerged as the biggest shareholder in International Flavors & Fragrances (IFF) nine years ago. It turned out that the owner was the Rausing family, which hails from Sweden and made a fortune from Tetra Pak cartons. It is now also clear that the stake was one of the first public disclosures about how the media-shy clan deploys its billions. Today, the family has amassed a stock portfolio worth around US$9 billion and spanning more than 100 companies in Europe and the US, according to a Bloomberg analysis of regulatory filings. Through entities in Liechtenstein, Singapore and Switzerland the Rausings have a US$1.9 billion stake in IFF, US$2.4 billion in industrial-gas company Linde and US$2.2 billion in flavour-maker Givaudan, and smaller holdings in companies from Apple to Wells Fargo, regulatory filings show. The scale of these bets, which has not previously been reported, and the entities that hold them, highlight the growing sophistication in how some of the world's richest families manage their money, and the broader boom in the family office industry. Representatives for the Rausing family-owned corporation Tetra Laval, and the different entities, either declined to comment or did not respond to requests for comment. BT in your inbox Start and end each day with the latest news stories and analyses delivered straight to your inbox. Sign Up Sign Up The vast majority of the US$9 billion is concentrated in just five stocks: IFF, Linde, Givaudan, Sensient Technologies, which makes speciality ingredients, and consumer-packaging company SIG Group. Those investments have been held by Singaporean companies that ultimately are controlled by a Liechtenstein entity called Haldor Foundation. A Switzerland-based investment firm called Longbow Finance held a portfolio of about 80 US-traded securities that added up to US$835 million as of March 31. Longbow has catered to the Rausing family's wealth for decades. Another Swiss investment firm, called Freemont Management, also held a broad portfolio of securities worth US$304 million at the end of March. Freemont was established in 1994 and was recorded as a subsidiary of Tetra Laval as recently as May 2025, according to Orbis, a database of company data. The disclosures only comprise holdings in publicly traded securities that meet certain thresholds for size or complexity. It is possible that the three entities hold investments in other assets with different transparency rules. Longbow's assets, for example, have also included hedge funds, private credit and real estate. It is difficult to discern how the bets have played out because the filings largely show their present value but often not their purchase price. IFF's shares, for example, have returned -29 per cent since the Rausings first disclosed their stake in the New York-based company, compared with 242 per cent for the S&P 500 Index. By contrast, Givaudan has returned 41 per cent since the stake appeared in its annual report for fiscal 2022, almost double the Swiss Exchange Performance Index. But the portfolio has kept growing regardless of share prices. Filings in Singapore show that two subsidiaries there – Winder Investments and Winder – periodically received infusions of tens or hundreds of millions of US dollars, respectively. The source of the money remains unclear, like much else about the finances of the Rausings and Tetra Laval. The closely held company doesn't disclose its complete results, so it's not possible to determine how much of its potential profits is distributed to the owners. It's also not clear which family members are the ultimate beneficiaries of the three investment entities. Previous news reports have named Finn, Jorn, and Kirsten Rausing, grandchildren of Tetra Laval founder Ruben Rausing, as the beneficiaries of Haldor. The Bloomberg Billionaires Index credits each of the siblings with one-third of Tetra Laval, which helps put their respective net worth at about US$5.9 billion. But the index does not allocate them a specific slice of either of the three investment firms. The siblings, who are in their 60s and 70s, came in line to take over the business after their father, Gad Rausing, bought out their uncle in 1995. Gad's father, Ruben, was born in the small community of Raus in southern Sweden in 1895. He spent several years in New York where he studied at Columbia University. He saw the city's self-service grocery stores and figured the concept would soon be adopted in Europe, which would drastically increase demand for hygienic and practical consumer-sized packages of grocery staples. He returned home and started a packaging company. The tetrahedron-shaped milk carton, developed in the 1940s and 1950s, became a breakthrough product. Last year, the company produced 178 billion packs and collected US$18.5 billion of revenue. BLOOMBERG
Business Times
an hour ago
- Business
- Business Times
Secretive family behind Tetra Pak bets US$9 billion on stocks
[KUALA LUMPUR] A mysterious entity based in the heart of Singapore's financial district emerged as the biggest shareholder in International Flavors & Fragrances nine years ago. It turned out that the owner was the Rausing family, which hails from Sweden and made a fortune from Tetra Pak cartons. It is now also clear that the stake was one of the first public disclosures about how the media-shy clan deploys its billions. Today, the family has amassed a stock portfolio worth around US$9 billion and spanning more than 100 companies in Europe and the US, according to a Bloomberg analysis of regulatory filings. Through entities in Liechtenstein, Singapore and Switzerland the Rausings have a US$1.9 billion stake in IFF, US$2.4 billion in industrial-gas company Linde and US$2.2 billion in flavour-maker Givaudan, and smaller holdings in companies from Apple to Wells Fargo, regulatory filings show. The scale of these bets, which has not previously been reported, and the entities that hold them, highlight the growing sophistication in how some of the world's richest families manage their money, and the broader boom in the family office industry. Representatives for the Rausing family-owned corporation Tetra Laval, and the different entities, either declined to comment or did not respond to requests for comment. BT in your inbox Start and end each day with the latest news stories and analyses delivered straight to your inbox. Sign Up Sign Up The vast majority of the US$9 billion is concentrated in just five stocks: IFF, Linde, Givaudan, Sensient Technologies, which makes speciality ingredients, and consumer-packaging company SIG Group. Those investments have been held by Singaporean companies that ultimately are controlled by a Liechtenstein entity called Haldor Foundation. A Switzerland-based investment firm called Longbow Finance held a portfolio of about 80 US-traded securities that added up to US$835 million as of March 31. Longbow has catered to the Rausing family's wealth for decades. Another Swiss investment firm, called Freemont Management, also held a broad portfolio of securities worth US$304 million at the end of March. Freemont was established in 1994 and was recorded as a subsidiary of Tetra Laval as recently as May 2025, according to Orbis, a database of company data. The disclosures only comprise holdings in publicly traded securities that meet certain thresholds for size or complexity. It is possible that the three entities hold investments in other assets with different transparency rules. Longbow's assets, for example, have also included hedge funds, private credit and real estate. It is difficult to discern how the bets have played out because the filings largely show their present value but often not their purchase price. IFF's shares, for example, have returned -29 per cent since the Rausings first disclosed their stake in the New York-based company, compared with 242 per cent for the S&P 500 Index. By contrast, Givaudan has returned 41 per cent since the stake appeared in its annual report for fiscal 2022, almost double the Swiss Exchange Performance Index. But the portfolio has kept growing regardless of share prices. Filings in Singapore show that two subsidiaries there – Winder Investments and Winder – periodically received infusions of tens or hundreds of millions of US dollars, respectively. The source of the money remains unclear, like much else about the finances of the Rausings and Tetra Laval. The closely held company doesn't disclose its complete results, so it's not possible to determine how much of its potential profits is distributed to the owners. It's also not clear which family members are the ultimate beneficiaries of the three investment entities. Previous news reports have named Finn, Jorn, and Kirsten Rausing, grandchildren of Tetra Laval founder Ruben Rausing, as the beneficiaries of Haldor. The Bloomberg Billionaires Index credits each of the siblings with one-third of Tetra Laval, which helps put their respective net worth at about US$5.9 billion. But the index does not allocate them a specific slice of either of the three investment firms. The siblings, who are in their 60s and 70s, came in line to take over the business after their father, Gad Rausing, bought out their uncle in 1995. Gad's father, Ruben, was born in the small community of Raus in southern Sweden in 1895. He spent several years in New York where he studied at Columbia University. He saw the city's self-service grocery stores and figured the concept would soon be adopted in Europe, which would drastically increase demand for hygienic and practical consumer-sized packages of grocery staples. He returned home and started a packaging company. The tetrahedron-shaped milk carton, developed in the 1940s and 1950s, became a breakthrough product. Last year, the company produced 178 billion packs and collected US$18.5 billion of revenue. BLOOMBERG
AsiaOne
an hour ago
- AsiaOne
Daily roundup: Man arrested for slashing ex-girlfriend's neck with knife at Malaysian university — and other top stories today, World News
Stay in the know with a recap of our top stories today. 1. Man arrested for slashing ex-girlfriend's neck with knife at Malaysian university A 21-year-old man was arrested in Malaysia for slashing his ex-girlfriend on the neck with a knife at the Taylor's University campus in Selangor on Monday (July 14)... » READ MORE 2. 'There's no one whose kin doesn't die': Jet Li reveals his thoughts on death, why he doesn't attend funerals, daughter being suicidal Jet Li, who was frequently plagued by rumours of his own demise, got candid about death in an interview recently... » READ MORE 3. Asia's 50 Best Bars 2025: 5 Singapore bars make the list, a drop from last year's 11 The results of Asia's 50 Best Bars 2025 are out, and while several of our local bars have done us proud once again, the number of Singapore-based establishments on the list this year has dropped compared to last year's... » READ MORE 4. 'A lesson learnt': Singaporean woman fractures rib while attempting viral Chongqing motorcycle trend It sounds romantic — a rendezvous with a handsome man on a motorcycle, with the splendour of Chongqing's night skyline in the background... » READ MORE editor@
