by Ferry Bayu | May 31, 2024 | Business
Singapore, May 27, 2024 – VRITIMES, the Tokyo-based media technology startup, today announced a strategic partnership with Daily.LensaNusantara.co.id, a prominent online news portal in Singapore. This partnership aims to combine VRITIMES’s advanced distribution technology with Daily.LensaNusantara.co.id’s extensive journalistic reach, enhancing the delivery and quality of news across SEA.
Through this collaboration, Daily.LensaNusantara.co.id will integrate VRITIMES’s innovative distribution platform to expand its news reach both locally and internationally, bringing insightful and timely news to a broader audience. This integration will leverage VRITIMES’s analytics tools to understand reader engagement and optimize content delivery effectively.
Ferry, CEO of VRITIMES, expressed enthusiasm about the partnership, stating, “We are thrilled to partner with Daily.LensaNusantara.co.id. This collaboration is a testament to our commitment to revolutionizing news distribution through cutting-edge technology. Together, we will enhance how news is consumed in Singapore, making it more accessible and engaging.”
Future plans involve exploring innovative ways to use artificial intelligence and machine learning to further refine content personalization and distribution strategies, ensuring that readers receive news tailored to their interests and needs.
by Ferry Bayu | May 31, 2024 | Business
Electronic Transfer & Advance Processing, Inc. (eTap), the country’s leading self-service payment kiosk provider, has showcased its groundbreaking achievements in revolutionizing convenience and shaping the future of finance at the Asia Retail and eCommerce Innovation Summit Philippines 2024.
Asia Retail and eCommerce Innovation Summit Philippines 2024
“We are thrilled to join the Asia Retail and eCommerce Innovation Summit Philippines 2024 as a Gold sponsor and share our vision for the future of finance. At eTap, we are dedicated to pushing the boundaries of innovation to deliver transformative solutions that streamline payment processes and empower businesses to thrive in today’s dynamic market,” said Carlo Hernandez, eTap Solutions President and CEO.
The event, held at the Marriott Hotel on May 24, brought together over 200 senior experts, top retailers, and tech innovators to shape the future of e-commerce and retail. It served as a platform for exchanging insights and innovations, drawing participants from various sectors.
Five eTap officials shared valuable insights during the event in a keynote session titled “Revolutionizing Convenience: How eTap is Shaping the Future of Finance.” The session attracted a large audience of industry leaders and innovators eager to gain valuable insights from eTap.
[L-R] – eTap representatives Carlo C. Hernandez/President & CEO, Gabrielle Rubio/Finance Manager, Paolo Lorenzo Macaraeg/Brand Manager, Erica Natividad/Marketing Supervisor, Reinier Allan Cruz/VP for Finance and Operations and Joe Muldera/Business Development Manager
Each speaker brought a unique perspective to the session, highlighting various aspects of eTap’s strategic initiatives and the significant impact of their technology on the retail and e-commerce landscape.
Currently, eTap offers users a comprehensive platform for various financial transactions, including eMoney services (GCash, Maya, Shopee Pay, and Diskartech), banking (BPI and AUB), loans (Home Credit and AEON Credit Service), mobile and internet (Globe, Smart, Sun Cellular, PLDT, DITO Telecoms, and Converge), gaming (Genshin Impact and Mobile Legends), and rider services (Grab and Dragonloans).
Hernandez said that the introduction of eTap kiosks has been a game-changer in providing convenience to the public. These self-service payment kiosks have significantly streamlined payment processes, offering a quick, efficient, and user-friendly transaction method. By enabling customers to conduct a wide range of financial activities, such as real-time bill payments, money transfers, and prepaid services, eTap kiosks have reduced the need for traditional counter services, minimizing wait times and enhancing the overall customer experience.
“Our kiosks are designed with the user in mind, ensuring every transaction is simple, secure, and swift. We believe that accessibility and ease of use are paramount, and our kiosks are strategically placed in high-traffic areas to maximize convenience for everyone,” said Hernandez.
[L-R] – Colin Christie/Chairman, Advisory Council (Analytics & Artificial Intelligence Association of the Philippines), Reinier Allan Cruz/VP for Finance and Operations, Joe Muldera/Business Development Manager, Gabrielle Rubio/Finance Manager, Paolo Lorenzo Macaraeg/Brand Manager, Erica Natividad/Marketing Supervisor
Hernandez said eTap expects to surpass its 65% income increase in 2023, demonstrating robust financial growth through continuous expansion by adding 2,000 machines annually.
As of May, the Filipino-owned company has more thank 2,000 kiosks nationwide and plans to double this number by the end of the year to further enhance its reach and accessibility. Its number of transactions also increased from 5,781,570 in 2022 to 22,332,702 in 2023. By December, it targets to register at least 38,500,000 transactions and around 3.6 million monthly active users.
To date, eTap continues to champion the transformative power of technology to uplift communities. Its self-service payment kiosk system caters to a diverse range of users, ensuring that technology becomes an inclusive force for positive change. Whether individuals need to settle bills, top up their e-wallets, purchase prepaid loads, or make loan payments, eTap’s kiosk system provides a seamless and user-friendly solution for many financial transactions.
For more information about eTap, please visit www.etapmo.com.
by Penny Angeles-Tan | May 31, 2024 | Beauty
It’s Careline’s birthday, and she is turning 19! We’ve all grown up with Careline, from those first drugstore experiments to our current TikTok makeup routines. It’s a true Gen Z staple, and to celebrate 19 years of slayin’, they’re having a MAJOR sale.
Get. Every. Single. Careline. Product. For Only ₱190 This June! That’s right, stock up on all your faves (and discover some new ones) without breaking the bank.
It’s definitely a 19th birthday to remember! Here’s what you NEED to cop:
Top Picks for Your Flawless Look
Click on the image for the details of each product.
Ready to stock up on your Careline faves? Head over to Shopee, Lazada, TikTok, or your nearest Careline store. This sale is CRAZY and runs for the whole month of June, so don’t miss out! See you there, Careline fam! #Careline19 #MakeupSale #Flawlesssss
See the full list of participating stores below:
by Ferry Bayu | May 31, 2024 | Business
Singapore-based Quantedge surged 22% in Q1 to an all-time high AUM and is primed for future growth.
Quantedge Global Fund surged 22% in Q1 this year to an all-time high AUM of $3.8bn, making it one of Asia’s biggest quant macro funds. The fund delivered a near 30% gain in 2023, even as the MSCI Asia-Pacific index gained 11.8% and the average Asia fund was up almost 4%.
CEO Suhaimi Zainul-Abidin told With Intelligence in an interview that directional equity risk premia strategies, market-neutral long/short strategies, and directional commodities strategies were the key drivers of first-quarter performance.
The ultra-diversified fund trades across nearly 300 markets spanning equities, fixed income, commodities, currencies and reinsurance. In addition to its core directional risk-premia strategies, Quantedge also employs long/short strategies that are dynamically adjusted daily. The fund has expanded its range of strategies over the years to include market-neutral, factor-based strategies, which have done well in the past 2 years.
Speaking to With Intelligence, Suhaimi spoke about how technology has always been at the heart of what Quantedge does. He remarked that even though AI is still nascent and developing, investment firms will already be able to leverage on AI to improve trading efficiency, speed and quality of research, and also programming.
When asked about future growth plans, Suhaimi remarked that it was “within the realms of possibility” that the fund doubles its size every three or so years. “Could we be managing $10 billion within the next 5 to 10 years? I think it’s possible. We certainly have the strategy, systems, and the people to handle that amount of capital. Whatever the case, we want to ensure that we can deliver the same or better quality of returns for our investors.”
While Quantedge’s investors include institutions such as university endowments and (re)insurance companies, a large majority of its investors are family offices and high-net-worth individuals. The fund remains open to new investors and additional subscriptions.
Suhaimi described the high interest rate environment as a healthy state to be in for diversified strategies. “When interest rates are too low, risk premia tend to be compressed with higher correlation across markets and asset classes, especially in times of market stress. That’s not healthy. With meaningful interest rates, we expect more normal risk premia levels and lower correlation between equities and bonds; between risky and safe-haven assets, which is good for any highly diversified investment strategy. There is thus good reason to be optimistic.”
by Ferry Bayu | May 30, 2024 | Art and Science
Couplet Art might sound unfamiliar to some people. Therefore, we will reveal and take a look at what’s interesting about this art.
A couplet is a pair of lines in poetry that usually has set tones in it. It is usually incorporates with Chinese calligraphy that is written out using brush and ink. Those compositions combine the beauty of written words with an aesthetic visual of an artwork.
This is an example of the couplet art. It was created by an Indonesian-Chinese Calligrapher, Hidajat Purnama (born circa 1941). Alongside being a businessman, Hidajat Purnama or Fang Fu Jie (方福捷) is a poet & calligrapher.
The couplet (讀書 寫字種花草, 聽雨觀雲品酒茶。) has been quite popular in the calligraphy community since 2022. “It represents the writer’s daily life in his retirement age. It is a humble expression yet deep with philosophical reflections that resonate with many other poets or calligraphers. Hence, it’s frequent use as a calligraphy material,” said Rin Fang, Purnama’s daughter.
At first, some people in the community couldn’t find the original writer of the poetry. Then, there was speculating information about the wonderful couplet art by Mr. Hidajat Purnama. Some of them (in the community) mistakenly thought that it was written by ancient poets from either the Song or Tang Dynasty.
The writer found out that his couplet was widely used when he saw his couplet was rewritten by his friend on Facebook, who is also a calligraphy enthusiast. Then, he also found it appeared on other platforms such as YouTube and shared videos.
He began to search for his own poetry on Google, and the results showed that his couplets were being shared and became topics. It is beyond what he expected. “We were so happy and entertained to know that his couplet got accepted and used as material by Mandarin Calligraphers in another country. And, it’s such an honor for him as a writer from Indonesia,” said Rin Fang.
Hidajat Purnama had been interested in classical Chinese literature since he was young. His daughter, Rin Fang, revealed that her father also likes to write poems & prose. Mr. Purnama likes to share his artwork starting on a local daily. As a writer, he has also participated in international-scale calligraphy events, became the chairman of the Association of Calligraphy and Chinese Painting in Semarang, and has received multiple awards locally and internationally.
![[L-R] - eTap representatives Carlo C. Hernandez/President & CEO, Gabrielle Rubio/Finance Manager, Paolo Lorenzo Macaraeg/Brand Manager, Erica Natividad/Marketing Supervisor, Reinier Allan Cruz/VP for Finance and Operations and Joe Muldera/Business Development Manager](https://i0.wp.com/slvrdlphn.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/etap-representatives.jpg?resize=500%2C281&ssl=1)
![[L-R] - Colin Christie/Chairman, Advisory Council (Analytics & Artificial Intelligence Association of the Philippines), Reinier Allan Cruz/VP for Finance and Operations, Joe Muldera/Business Development Manager, Gabrielle Rubio/Finance Manager, Paolo Lorenzo Macaraeg/Brand Manager, Erica Natividad/Marketing Supervisor](https://i0.wp.com/slvrdlphn.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/etap-attendees.jpg?resize=500%2C281&ssl=1)
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