Latest news with #Ting
Borneo Post
2 days ago
- Business
- Borneo Post
Malaysia sees tourism boom in 2024 as Gawai festivities light up Sarawak airports
Ting (second left) and Progressive Democratic Party (PDP) Pelawan women chief Anna Lau (third left) present goodie bags to tourists arriving at Sibu Airport. SIBU (June 2): Sarawak's airports came alive with the spirit of Gawai Dayak yesterday, as Tourism Malaysia, in collaboration with Malaysia Airports Holdings Berhad (MAHB), hosted festive celebrations at Kuching International Airport (KIA) and Sibu Airport. The events, held in conjunction with the Visit Malaysia 2026 (VM2026) campaign, aimed to share the cultural richness and warmth of Gawai with both domestic and international travellers. Arriving passengers were welcomed with festive goodies, including Sarawak's iconic kek lapis (layered cake) and promotional materials for VM2026. At Sibu Airport, Agatha Ting, special duties officer to federal Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture Dato Seri Tiong King Sing, and Rubiah Tul'Adwiyah Md Yusof, director of Tourism Malaysia Sarawak, were present alongside representatives from partner agencies and tourism associations. Guests and travellers were also treated to captivating cultural performances by a local dance troupe, showcasing Sarawak's diverse Dayak heritage. Malaysia welcomed 38 million international visitors last year, marking a 31.1 per cent increase from 2023, and 8.3 per cent above the pre-pandemic 2019 levels. In a press release yesterday, Tourism Malaysia said the visitor receipts also surged, generating RM106.78 billion, reflecting a substantial 43.7 per cent growth over 2023 and exceeding 2019 figures by 20 per cent. 'This positive trend has continued into early 2025, with the first four months recording 13.4 million visitor arrivals, a 21.0 per cent year-on-year increase. Between January and April 2025, Singapore remained Malaysia's top visitor-generating market, followed by Indonesia, China, Thailand, India, Brunei, South Korea, the Philippines, Australia and the United Kingdom. Tourism Malaysia noted that the Gawai Dayak Festival is part of its ongoing effort to promote the essence of Sarawak's cultural tapestry and to invite visitors to experience Malaysian hospitality. Gawai Dayak lead Sibu Airport Tourism Malaysia Visit Malaysia 2026
Business Times
2 days ago
- Business
- Business Times
BT Money Hacks: Is now the time for ETFs?
If you've been spooked by the current investment landscape of volatility in global markets, you might be looking for alternatives. Exchange-traded funds (ETFs) are low-cost investment vehicles that allow investors to track popular indexes or benefit from experienced manager selections aiming to outperform the market. Unlike open-end mutual funds, ETFs are traded on exchanges throughout the day. In the latest episode of Money Hacks by The Business Times, Howie Lim, speaks to Dina Ting, senior vice president, head of Global Index Portfolio Management, Franklin Templeton to gain a better understanding of ETFs and if they are right for skittish investors. The increasing popularity of ETFs Ting shares that ETFs provide investor choices that they haven't had before. Many strategies are now packaged into ETFs at a very low cost. The popularity of ETFs she says is skyrocketing, pointing out that new records in net flow into ETFs are being set almost every year. With market volatility on the rise due to political factors, ETFs might offer precise exposure and a variety of strategies. Whether it's a strategy that protects against volatility, doubles it, or balances income and performance, there's an ETF for that. 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 What are the risks Despite their benefits, ETFs face headwinds similar to specific stocks. The main concern is liquidity during extreme market events. However, historical performance has shown ETFs to be reliable reflections of their underlying holdings, providing an alternative liquidity source when traditional markets are closed. In stressed markets, Ting suggests that ETFs could offer easier liquidity, especially in fixed income investments. She expands on this in the podcast which makes this a key highlight. Diversification investment strategy ETFs are just a wrapper for various investment strategies. They offer advantages like tax efficiency, especially for US investors, and the ability to trade throughout the day unlike mutual funds, which trade only at day's end. ETFs are competitively priced, and the variety of available strategies has contributed to their increasing popularity among institutional and retail investors alike. Ting highlights why investors should consider international diversification, given tariff uncertainties suggesting that this is an opportunity now to balance investment portfolios. Listen now to learn more about ETFs and make an informed decision on whether this is an appealing entry point into the stock market for you if you are a new investor. If you have feedback or an idea for a podcast episode, contact us at btpodcasts@ Stay tuned for more episodes of Money Hacks. --- Written and hosted by: Howie Lim (howielim@ With Dina Ting, senior vice president, head of Global Index Portfolio Management, Franklin Templeton Edited by: Howie Lim & Claressa Monteiro Produced by: Howie Lim & Chai Pei Chieh A podcast by BT Podcasts, The Business Times, SPH Media --- Follow BT Money Hacks podcasts every Monday: Channel: Amazon: Apple Podcasts: Spotify: YouTube Music: Website: Do note: This podcast is meant to provide general information only. SPH Media accepts no liability for loss arising from any reliance on the podcast or use of third party's products and services. Please consult professional advisors for independent advice. --- Discover more BT podcast series: BT Correspondents: BT Market Focus at: BT Podcasts at: BT Branded Podcasts at : BT Lens On:
Express Tribune
3 days ago
- Express Tribune
North of North review: warm hearts in the icy Arctic
A long, long time ago, when I was in grade three, we had a geography book called First Series Geography, by A.B. Archer & that was published by Gin in 1936. Each chapter was about a child belonging to different areas of the world, which included Hirfa in the Arabian desert, Bombo in the Congo, and Pedro in the Andes Mountains. However, the second chapter was about a boy called Tooktoo who lived in Baffin Island, located in Canadian High Arctic territory of Nunavut. I remember there were some black and white pictures of igloos and seals. That was my first impression of Eskimos and the cold, cold Arctic. From then up until now, apart from news or documentaries about the Arctic, I haven't had the opportunity to see or learn much about the northern-most part of the world, particularly in drama format. However, the title of a new Netflix series North of the North intrigued me. It might sound like a documentary, but it isn't. In fact, it is the perfect film series to watch in Pakistani summer. With Netflix, I have travelled to India, Spain, China, Korea, Japan, Kuwait, US, Norway, Austria and Italy, and now reached the highest and the coolest place on earth, in North of the North. It is set in set in a remote village deep in the Arctic region of Canada, where snow blankets miles and miles of rolling hills and flat land, ice grey waters lap the icy shores, and even in spring and summer, the characters are bundled up in fur hats, puffy jackets, and sealskin boots. Sitting snug in the Arctic Circle, is the fictional town of Ice Cove where lives the close-knit Inuit community. This is where the heart of the North beats. Give me as many series around small-town shenanigans as you like, with any number of episodes, as long as it is picturesque, there is great community spirit and everyone's nose is in everyone's business so that they love, eat, pray together in any beautiful part of the world, and I will lap it up. Co-produced with CBC in partnership with APTN, North of North happens to be a significant milestone for Netflix, as well as the larger Canadian entertainment industry. As the first production of its scale filmed in the Arctic Canadian territory of Nunavut, it brings to us the fascinating cultural and geographic richness of Canada's northernmost territory. Created by Stacey Aglok MacDonald, an Inuk film and television producer from Kugluktuk, Nunavut, Canada, and Alethea Arnaquq-Baril, an Inuk filmmaker, known for her work on Inuit life and culture, the show follows a young Inuk woman Siaja (Anna Lambe), pronounced See-aa-ya, who is a 26-year-old homemaker married to highly admired Ting (Kelly William), and mother to a seven-year-old named Bun (Keira Belle Cooper). Longing for something more substantial in her life, she dumps husband Ting when she feels he doesn't see the person in her, other than her prescribed roles as a good Inuk woman. She moves in with her mother and brick by brick, she builds something for herself. The upbeat soundtrack which is a mix of pop hits is notable. It includes Inuktitut-language covers of pop hits and original pop music by Inuit artists. Wait, but who are Inuks, you must be wondering. Inuks, or Inuit, are indigenous peoples who traditionally inhabit the Arctic regions of North America, Canada, Eastern Russia, Alaska and Greenland. The word "Inuit" means "the people" in their language, Inuktitut, and "Inuk" is the singular form. They have a strong connection to their land and increasingly prefer to be known by the names they use in their own languages, such as Inupiaq or Yupik. Historically, they used to have a nomadic lifestyle that centred around fishing and hunting seals, whales, caribou, and walruses, for food, clothing, and tools. But now they are mostly sedentary and live in heated homes and not igloos! While "Inuit" is the current term used in Alaska and across the Arctic, and the word Eskimo is fading from use. The Inuit Circumpolar Council prefers the term "Inuit" but some other organisations still use the word Eskimo. Although the setting is unique and offers fascinating visuals, we have come across the storyline and plot of this light comedy series several times before — the young woman making up her mind about dumping a husband who doesn't see the person in her, an alcoholic mother and her backstory, and a father appearing in your life so that you and your kid both have to work on repective relationships with him — we have been there before. The community centre, Siaja's efforts to liven up the weekly 'elders' night,' by bringing young people in after tempting them with slushies, fundraising, town baseball match, and small-town camaraderie is shared by a number of serials. Ofcourse, all these activities and ideas make great content for fun episodes. Lambe is thoroughly winning as Siaja. I can't imagine better casting as she is perfect for her character of an energetic young woman who is navigating through the messes in her life, and being determined to fight what she can't instantly beat. Her ethnic Innuit beauty, her traditional hair styles with braids and beads, her magnetism and her aptitude for getting into trouble and out of it, makes her a delightful and unforgettable character. You might find it revolting or gross to see that raw meat is party food for them, and grown-ups and kids alike, nibble or munch on it like brownies, but the fact that their sealskin boots are not chemically treated and get destroyed by salt that is typically used on icy roads, comes as interesting nuggets of information about their lives, so the Inuits sand roads instead of salting them. The 'white-person' reference, casually used quite a few times in the series, mostly pertaining to the Helen (Mary Lyn Rajskub), non-Inuit/Canadian manager of the community centre in the fictional town of Ice Cove, is done in a light, non-abrasive and funny way. Since Helen is Canadian, she often doesn't know or understand the Inuit way of things, their traditions or customs. Looking at the harsh terrain, the weather conditions and the freezing cold shown in the series, one wonders curiously, what kind of gargantuan effort, time and resources have been put in to produce a show like North of the North. Since both Aglok MacDonald and Arnaquq-Baril are Inuit women who live in the Arctic, a lot of what you see in North of the North is life experienced firsthand. "It was crucial to film a show about Arctic in the Arctic and it's incredibly challenging doing something of this scale there," said Aglok MacDonald in an interview. "It cannot be replicated anywhere." The series was shot in the spring of 2024, still a time when they wear furs and boots. Filming in the far North may sounds like quite an adventure, but apparently the creators, cast and crew not only battled the harsh weather and the monumental task of moving everything across vast distances, but even something as simple as fly-away hair became a major hurdle when hairspray froze solid! During the filming in Iqaluit, Nunavut's real-life capital and most populous city, where the local curling rink was used as the production stage for the show's sets, hundreds of people from the town helped bring the show to life. Along with the 45 cast members, there were 500 locals serving as background actors — even the mayor! Not just that, the work behind the scenes involved over 300 Canadian crew members, and over 225 Canadian vendors including more than 60 from Nunavut, who worked on the production that took 61 days and 20 shooting locations across Nunavut and Toronto. "In the North, we have such a strong sense of community," Arnaquq-Baril said. "And we think that we have something to teach the big cities all around the world about what it means to live in community and be there for each other." With community camaraderie, romance, and laughter, the show taps into universal themes of family dynamics and the search for identity. Its powerful and successful portrayal of Indigenous communities, peoples, and their long-suppressed cultures, certainly qualifies a second season. The series shines a light on their strength and determination in protecting their heritage and societies, despite being colonised in the past. The show also brings into spotlight indigenous voices that need to be recognised, respected, represented. More productions about native communities in the US, the Aboriginal Australians, and Māori communities in New Zealand would create a presence and awareness about them, instead of a complete absence from media and entertainment. Once you start watching these heartwarming characters going about their intriguing lives in the icy Arctic, you won't remember the heatwave outside. By the way, I found out that Tuktu means caribou. In Inuit culture, names are often chosen to reflect a connection to the environment, and caribou are a significant part of Inuit life. While "tuktu" might be used as a name, it's more common to refer to the caribou themselves as "tuktu," reflecting the importance of this animal in Inuit culture and
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Tucows Inc (TCX) Q1 2025 Earnings Call Highlights: Strategic Shift to Capital-Light Model and ...
Release Date: May 27, 2025 For the complete transcript of the earnings call, please refer to the full earnings call transcript. Tucows Inc (NASDAQ:TCX) is focusing on becoming a capital light, asset light ISP, which could improve operational efficiency and reduce debt. The company has a productive 10-year relationship with the City of Westminster, Maryland, showcasing successful partnerships. Tucows Inc (NASDAQ:TCX) has identified a white space opportunity in the market for capital light ISPs, which could lead to growth. The company has best-in-class penetration, ARPU, and churn metrics, indicating strong operational performance. Tucows Inc (NASDAQ:TCX) is generating free cash flow of between $5 to $6 million per quarter, providing financial flexibility. Concerns were raised about Ting's balance sheet, which is considered unacceptable and potentially unsustainable. The shift to a capital light model results in lower net operating margins, from around 70% to 25-30%. The company faces challenges in normalizing or benchmarking its metrics against private equity firms. There is uncertainty and elevated costs associated with capital and construction projects. The current quarter experienced slightly elevated levels of balance sheet due to a seasonal receivable build. Warning! GuruFocus has detected 5 Warning Signs with TCX. Q: What is Tucows' strategy for Ting's balance sheet and future outlook? A: Eliot Noss, President and CEO, explained that the best path forward is leveraging their 130,000 owned addresses to reduce debt and transition to a capital-light, asset-light ISP model. This involves separating the ISP operations from the physical network infrastructure, a strategy pursued by major private equity firms. The goal is to improve operational efficiency and financial performance by shifting network maintenance costs to Netcos while focusing on customer relationships. Q: How does the capital-light ISP model affect financial margins? A: Eliot Noss noted that in a capital-light model, net operating margins shift from around 70% in a fully penetrated, traditionally capitalized network to 25-30%. This model offers a different risk-reward balance, with the ISP bearing the risk of penetration and ARPU but also benefiting from outperforming these metrics. Q: What are the key metrics for Tucows' domains growth initiatives? A: Dave Warra, CEO of Tucows Domains, stated that for storefronts, they focus on the number of orders processed and revenue and margin per order. For cloud hosting, the critical metric is the number of websites added. Both areas are currently modest in scale, but progress will be shared as they become more material. Q: How does Tucows plan to manage its free cash flow and stock repurchase decisions? A: Eliot Noss highlighted that a typical quarter in 2025 is expected to generate $5-6 million in free cash flow. The decision to repurchase stock is guided by three considerations: stock value, available cash, and any ongoing discussions that might preclude repurchases. There is no trade-off between servicing debt and repurchasing stock. Q: What is the significance of Tucows' reseller channel? A: Dave Warra emphasized the value of the reseller channel for broad distribution and low customer acquisition costs. However, the channel's success is measured by the pace of adoption, which is crucial for expanding their market reach. For the complete transcript of the earnings call, please refer to the full earnings call transcript. This article first appeared on GuruFocus.
Borneo Post
26-05-2025
- Borneo Post
SMC chairman raises alarm over surge in dog bite cases in Sibu
A recent photo of dogs roaming in a commercial area in Sibu. – Photo by Peter Boon SIBU (May 26): Sibu Municipal Council (SMC) chairman Clarence Ting has voiced deep concern over the alarming number of dog bite incidents in the district, which reached approximately 300 cases last month. Quoting data from the Ministry of Health (KKM), Ting revealed that the majority of the dog bites were inflicted by pet dogs owned by individuals, not strays. 'According to KKM's data, there were 216 cases of dog bites involving pets owned by individuals, whereas stray dogs were responsible for 74 cases in April. 'I am deeply concerned with the high number of dog bites incidents here. These are recorded cases when victims sought treatments in hospital or clinics. 'What about those that did not seek treatment? So, the number of incidents may be higher,' Ting told reporters after SMC's full council meeting today. He further pointed out that the statistics translate to an average of 10 people bitten by dogs every day. 'On average, about 10 persons got bitten by dogs every single day. This is unacceptable. This is a very big concern,' he cautioned. In this regard, Ting urged the public to continue working with the council to reduce the number of dog bites. 'You should confine your pet dogs to your house compound. If you need to let it out, ensure your canine is on a leash.' Additionally, he explained that in Sarawak, the enforcement of responsible dog ownership is governed mainly by local authority by-laws under the Local Authorities Ordinance 1996 and supported by public health regulations. 'The Sibu Municipal Council (Licensing of Dogs) By-Laws contains clauses that: limit number of dogs per household (especially in urban areas), require dogs to be confined within the owner's compound and penalize owners of dogs causing nuisance or injury.' Clarence Ting dog bites lead rabies sibu municipal council
