Migrants best country

This article first appeared in The Edge Malaysia Weekly, on June 20, 2022 - June 26, 2022. - A + A THE momentum to adopt environmental, social and governance (ESG) criteria and sustainability practices in the capital market has picked up significantly in the past few years. By the third quarter of 2021, assets in global sustainable funds hit a record high, according to investment research firm Morningstar. At the same time, more than 70 countries — including the biggest polluters — have set a net-zero target and over 1,200 companies have put in place science-based targets to reach net-zero emissions, according to the United Nations. In Malaysia, at least 44 out of the 54 Sustainable and Responsible Investment (SRI) funds approved by Securities Commission Malaysia were launched in the last two years. As at December 2021, 94% of the top 50 listed companies in Malaysia had ESG strategies and 68% had emissions reduction policies, according to PwC’s research. … [Read more...] about HONOURING MALAYSIA’S BEST PERFORMERS IN ESG EXCELLENCE: The Edge to roll out Malaysia’s first ESG awards

A while back, we wrote about the Bigshot camera , a panoramic, 3-D capable camera kit by Columbia University professor Shree Nayar. Now, Bigshot is on the market. advertisement advertisement “We live in an age where software rules,” Nayar tells Co.Design. “That’s a good thing from my perspective. On the other hand, I’m a firm believer that we want the next generation to know how to build the stuff that software sits on top of.” Conscious that the prize of a camera itself could bribe kids into building one, Nayar carefully crafted the Bigshot to focus just as much on the educational journey as the entertaining destination. “I’ve put in things that I could use as an excuse for describing concepts,” he tells Co.Design, like a hand-cranked power generator and the dynamo cover, which can explain electro-magnetics. “I’m using the camera as a draw, as a hook, as a bait.” By trade, Nayar isn’t a designer. (The professor concentrates on the science of … [Read more...] about The Best Camera For A Child May Be One They Have To Build

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin How to move to Canada from the U.S.—it’s a question many people started asking as soon as the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade last week, with Google searches for the topic “how to move to Canada” spiking . The phrase “How to become a Canadian citizen” also spiked 550% in the hour after the decision came out. This isn’t the first time this has happened. During the 2016 election, so many American were looking into how to move out of the U.S. that the Canadian Citizenship and Immigration website crashed . Canada’s appeals are obvious: the nature, the livable cities , the publicly funded health care, the diversity, the lower crime rates. Also helping drive the recent interest: Abortion is legal in Canada. But there are downsides, too. Canada’s cost of living is higher than the U.S. The taxes not for the weak-willed: The more money you make, the more income tax you will pay. And it’s colder than much of the U.S. … [Read more...] about Escape From The U.S.: How To Move To Canada

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin When the German government announced in late 2021 its plan to legalize recreational cannabis sales in Germany , experts and cannabis enthusiasts put great expectations on the so-called "traffic light" government's plan to regulate the industry. Although Germany and other European countries focused in recent months on the war in Ukraine following the Russian invasion in February and the resulting efforts to detach themselves from Russian energy dependence, German officials had time to speed up the process of legalizing recreational cannabis . The consultation process Commissioner for Addiction and Drug Issues Burkhard Blienert officially announced on July 13 the kickoff of the first of five expert hearings to prepare for the planned legislative process to legalize recreational cannabis. More than 200 leading German and international experts will exchange their views on the legalization. The planned … [Read more...] about Inside The Process To Legalize Recreational Cannabis In Germany

Kim Jong-jin The author is assistant director-general and regional representative of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations. It wasn’t so long ago that internet connectivity faded the moment one left a populated area like a city or big town. “No service” was the take-away message back then. But thanks to 3G, 4G and now 5G mobile technology — and coupled with the widespread installation of cellular towers in rural areas across the country — the frustrating message shows up much less frequently. Most importantly, the rapid spread of internet connectivity and mobile telephony has resulted in countless opportunities to help address chronic problems such as poverty, malnutrition and inequality after the service reached into the most remote rural communities. From farmers to fishers to herders, digital technologies are increasingly relied upon to help transform and enhance livelihoods for hundreds of millions of people each day. From farmers with their … [Read more...] about Leaving no one behind in digitization

Jeong Jae-hong The author is an international affairs and security editor of the JoongAng Ilbo. Gustavo Petro was elected president of Colombia on June 19. According to an analysis in the Washington Post, Columbia, ruled by right-wing politicians over 200 years, elected a left-wing president because the middle-class collapsed due to the Covid-19 pandemic and voters wanted the government to ease economic inequality. Brazil is scheduled to have a presidential election on October 2, and leftist former president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, commonly known as Lula, is getting over 50 percent of support. In addition to Mexico, Argentine, Chile, Peru and Columbia, another left-wing administration is about to launch in Brazil, too The left-wing wave in Latin America largely resulted from right-wing administrations’ failure to cope with the pandemic and the collapse of the middle class in the region. The middle class is the bastion of democracy. A country with a strong middle class … [Read more...] about A class above all others

This article first appeared in The Edge Malaysia Weekly, on June 20, 2022 - June 26, 2022. - A + A LAST week, CTOS Digital Bhd made a bold move to raise its stake in RAM Holdings Bhd (RAM), in which it already owns a 19.225% stake. This is the third acquisition that CTOS has undertaken within a year. CTOS, which bought into RAM shortly after it was listed in July last year, launched a general offer last week to buy out the remaining shares that it does not own in the credit rating agency (CRA) soon after it got the green light from the Securities Commission Malaysia (SC) to own more than 51%. CTOS has so far spent the bulk of the RM173.8 million raised from a private placement in March on mergers and acquisitions (M&A). RAM will be the first local CRA to have a controlling shareholder upon the completion of the takeover offer. Dollars and cents aside, the takeover bid has prompted some quarters to question whether the independence of RAM’s rating … [Read more...] about Making sense of CTOS’ venture into RAM

- A + A HONG KONG/JOHANNESBURG (June 27): Prosus NV is planning to sell more of its US$134 billion stake in Chinese internet giant Tencent Holdings Ltd to finance a buyback programme, reversing a pledge to hold onto the full shareholding. Tencent declined in Hong Kong on Monday as investors pondered the extent to which Prosus, the Chinese company’s biggest shareholder, will unload its stock. The shares fell as much as 2.5% and traded 1.6% lower at the close. “We will keep selling Tencent shares to buy back our own, it’s open-ended and an unlimited programme,” Prosus Chief Executive Officer Bob Van Dijk said in an interview. “It’s actually a small part of Tencent daily traded volumes — it should be maximum between 3% to 5%.” The move represents a change of heart by Dutch e-commerce giant Prosus — majority owned by South Africa’s Naspers Ltd — which said after its last sale in April 2021 it wouldn’t offload more shares for three years. The company, spun off from … [Read more...] about Tencent backer Prosus to cut US$134 bil stake to buy stock

- A + A KUALA LUMPUR (June 27): Dagang NeXchange Bhd (DNeX) on Monday (June 27) signed a memorandum of understanding with Saudi Arabia-based Ajlan & Bros Holding Group (Abilitii) to explore business synergy between the two companies. DNeX said the companies will look into business collaboration in technology, software products and platforms for facilitating trade, oil and gas production and trade, software development, system integration and consultation services. They will leverage each other’s expertise to explore business opportunities and consider establishing a joint venture company in Saudi Arabia to achieve collaborative arrangements, besides including investment from Abilitii in specific ventures undertaken by DNeX. DNeX group managing director Tan Sri Syed Zainal Abidin Syed Mohamed Tahir said in a statement that the partnership allows the group to expand its footprint in the Middle East and Northern Africa (MENA) area. “Together with Abilitii, we … [Read more...] about DNeX signs MoU to explore business synergy with Saudi group