WOMEN ENTREPRENEURS FROM ASEAN AND JAPAN DRIVE INNOVATION, SUSTAINABILITY, AND INCLUSIVITY AT THE ASEAN-JAPAN WOMEN ENTREPRENEURS’ SUMMIT IN KUALA LUMPUR

^{Speakers and organizers during the ASEAN-Japan Women Entrepreneurs Summit (Photo: Business Wire)}


KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia, Feb 14 (Bernama-BUSINESS WIRE) -- The ASEAN-Japan Centre (AJC), in collaboration with the ASEAN Youth Organization and with the support of the ASEAN Coordinating Committee for Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (ACCMSME) and Women Leadership Foundation Malaysia, successfully hosted the ASEAN-Japan Women Entrepreneurs’ Summit in Kuala Lumpur. The Summit emphasized the pivotal role of women entrepreneurs in driving economic innovation, sustainability, and inclusivity across the ASEAN-Japan region. This milestone event, held in alignment with Malaysia’s 2025 ASEAN Chairmanship, highlighted the critical role of women entrepreneurs in advancing economic innovation, sustainability, and inclusivity across the region. ASEAN Secretary General Kao Kim Hourn, Japan Ministry of Economy, Trade and Investment (METI) Director Yumiko Hata, and Malaysia Ministry of Entrepreneurship and Co-operatives Development Minister Ybhg. Ewon Benedick delivered the Welcome Remarks, Opening Remarks, and Message of Support to Women Entrepreneurs, respectively, through video messages.

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Bringing together over 100 women entrepreneurs, investors, business accelerators, and ecosystem enablers from across the ten ASEAN Member States and Japan, the Summit fostered dynamic discussions on the challenges and opportunities in the evolving business landscape. The Summit takes stock of where we currently are in enabling the 60 million women entrepreneurs in the ASEAN region in scaling their contribution to economic and social growth.

Dato’ Munirah Looi, Board Member of MyDigital Corp and Advisor and Regional CEO of BlueOnion delivered an inspiring keynote, emphasizing agility, resilience, customer experience, and employee engagement as essential factors in building business adaptability—particularly in navigating economic disruptions like the COVID-19 pandemic.

A key session, “Harnessing AI and Digital Skills,” explored how technology can drive growth for women-led enterprises. Lennise Ng, CEO of Borong, Malaysia, stressed that digitalization must precede AI adoption, highlighting the urgent need for stronger digital infrastructure. The speakers voiced the role of governments in crafting policies to make innovation accessible and available for women entrepreneurs across geographical and socio-economic boundaries.

The session on “Strategic Access to Finance and Gender-Lens Investment”, highlighted the remaining need for investment literacy for women entrepreneurs, from understanding various forms of grants and funds to accessing the right network of investors and business accelerators that can expand their access to finance. Equally important is women representation within investment companies, that truly understands the unique financial challenges of women-led businesses.

The session on “Easing Women’s Burden: Innovations in the Care Economy” showcased transformative solutions that are reshaping care services. Malaysia-based Kiddocare, for example, utilizes digital platforms to efficiently match care providers with families in need, significantly reducing search time and ensuring quality in the caregiving sector. Equally important is the recognition of the role of fathers in sharing the caring responsibilities of parents in families, as emphasized in the work of Better Dads Malaysia, a community of fathers who actively empower fathers to actively partake in the caregiving burden and change the narrative towards inclusive parenting and caring.

The session on “Leveraging Sustainability for Growth and Impact”, reveal the value of business mentors and networks for women to grow their businesses, and how mentorship is instrumental in empowering women entrepreneurs. Capping off the Summit, the session on “Closing the Gender Divide and Enabling Women-owned Enterprises to Scale” encapsulated the remaining steps to scaling up women owned enterprises in the region. Finance, access to market and mentorship are key resources for women to scale their businesses. The speakers offered that entrepreneurial and innovative mindset should start from an early age, as becoming part of the educational curriculum to change the sociocultural narrative and create a culture of women empowerment.

The ASEAN-Japan Women Entrepreneurs’ Summit underscored the power of collaboration between businesses, investors, governments, and communities in empowering women-led MSMEs. By fostering inclusivity, innovation, and sustainable practices, the Summit paves an important step toward achieving stronger economic integration and long-term growth in the region.

For more information about the Summit and the ASEAN-Japan Centre’s ongoing initiatives on women entrepreneurs, please contact: info_rpa@asean.or.jp

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Contact

Research and Policy Advocacy Team
ASEAN-Japan Centre
TEL: +81-(0)3-5402-8001
E-mail: info_rpa@asean.or.jp

Source : ASEAN-Japan Centre

ONLYONE TRAVEL, A PIONEER IN UNIQUE CUSTOM-MADE JOURNEYS, RAISES 100 MILLION YEN

^{Victoria falls tour operated by ONLYONE TRAVEL (Graphic: Business Wire)}


Launching Curated Adventurous Tours and Hotel Management Business to Bring "Life-Changing" Travel Experiences to More People


TOKYO, Feb 12 (Bernama-BUSINESS WIRE) -- Only One Corp. (Headquarters: Tokyo; CEO: Yosuke Yamada), which specializes in planning and attending custom-made journeys, has successfully raised 100 million yen through more than 20 individual investors.

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The Company operates as a travel agency that curates unique, one-of-a-kind experiences worldwide. Our vision is to deliver a once-in-a-lifetime journey by blending "the beauty of our one and only planet" with "your one and only life." We provide entirely bespoke travel experiences tailored to our clients’ family structures, life stages, and financial situations. Founded in 2012 in Panama, we expanded into Africa in 2018 and now offer tours across Latin America, Africa, and inbound travel to Japan.
 

In the travel industry, it is common for different entities to handle tour planning, sales, and on-site service operations, often leading to increased costs due to multiple intermediary fees. By managing planning, sales, and operations in-house, our Company reduces customer costs while enhancing the value we deliver.

CEO Yosuke has traveled the world for over 20 years and deeply believes that "life-changing" travel experiences enrich lives. Inspired by these personal experiences, our Company has designed "only one" unique travel experiences worldwide while extensively researching "experiential luxury," which prioritizes the value derived from experiences over material wealth.

The funds raised will be utilized for business expansion and to maximize experiential value, aiming to provide "life-changing" travel experiences to a broader audience.

Purpose of Fundraising:

(1) Launch of "Curated" Adventurous Tours
Leveraging our expertise in custom-made tours, we will introduce small-group curated tours. These tours will offer exclusive access to remote locations and extraordinary experiences that are difficult to reach independently. By the end of 2025, we aim to launch at least three small-group tours per country across 30 countries, totaling 100 tours.

(2) Commencement of Hotel Management Business
In addition to tour services, we are launching a hotel management business, covering safari lodges in Kenya, estates with vast landscapes, and beach resorts. This initiative will establish a new revenue stream while offering our signature "experiential luxury" in collaboration with partner hotels.

(3) Expansion into New Global Markets
We will establish offices in Southeast Asia, Taiwan, and India to attract more travelers from these regions.

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Contact

Company Name: Only One Corp.
PR: Aya Kashiwagi
Contact: sales@onlyone.travel

Source : Only One Corp.

SALIENCE LABS CLOSED SERIES A ROUND LED BY APPLIED VENTURES AND ICM HPQC FUND

^{Image by Shabbir Bashar}


Appointment of Dr. William Jeffrey to the Board and Bonnie Tomei as CFO


OXFORD, England, Feb 7 (Bernama-BUSINESS WIRE) -- Salience Labs Limited, a leader in photonic solutions targeting connectivity for AI datacenter infrastructure, today announced the successful close of $30 million in Series A financing led by ICM HPQC Fund and Applied Ventures, LLC, the venture capital arm of Applied Materials, Inc., to further the development of its optical switches for large scale AI connectivity. Applied Ventures and ICM HPQC Fund are joined by Strategic Investment Fund, Braavos, and continued participation from existing investors Oxford Sciences Enterprises, Cambridge Innovation Capital, and leaders from the global semiconductor industry including Silicon Catalyst and Jalal Bagherli.

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“What our customers want is a photonic switch to connect their AI clusters that is compatible with existing infrastructure while delivering high bandwidth, low latency and significant power savings. The completion of this round will further our development and help us bring our product to customers to enable not just the savings, but large cluster connectivity,” said Vaysh Kewada, Co-founder and CEO of Salience Labs. “We are also excited to be working closely with our strategic investors who are industry leaders to advance our go-to market schedule.”

“Silicon photonics is a promising technology to deliver significant advancements in energy-efficient performance for AI data centers,” said Anand Kamannavar, Vice President and Global Head of Applied Ventures. “Salience's optical switch solution has the potential to enable a new generation of interconnect network architectures for faster and more efficient AI systems.”

“Salience Labs has done a tremendous job in developing a portfolio of innovative silicon photonics products that addresses critical needs in data center and AI infrastructure market,” said Dr. Jalal Bagherli, investor of Salience Labs and former CEO of Dialog Semiconductor that was acquired by Renesas. “Their customer focused approach in addition to the technology that are based on over a decade of research makes Salience Labs a clear leader to win in this enormous market.”

“Salience Lab’s optical switches will enable unprecedented bandwidth and scalability for the next generation of AI and high-performance data centers. By leveraging light, they will unlock the full capability of modern servers while decreasing power consumption and cost. ICM HPQC is excited to work with Vaysh and the Salience team as lead of the Series A raise,” said Dr. William Jeffrey, Chairman of the technical advisory committee on the ICM HPQC Fund and newly appointed Board Member of Salience Labs.

Appointment of Dr. William Jeffrey as new Board Member

In conjunction with the closing of the Series A financing, Salience Labs is appointing Dr. Jeffrey to the Board of Directors, where he joins Jack Edmondson, Chief Investment Officer of Oxford Sciences Enterprises, and Daniel Armbrust, co-founder of Silicon Catalyst, CEO of the SEMATECH semiconductor consortium and appointee to the Industrial Advisory Committee, which advises the Department of Commerce on the R&D strategy for the CHIPS Act.

Dr. Jeffrey is an astronomer with a career spanning the Executive Office of the President of the United States, to leading HRL (known for its groundbreaking innovations such as the invention of the laser, integrated circuits and liquid crystal displays), to being the Director of the National Institute of Standards and Technology, an institution boasting three Nobel prize laureates and ties to a dozen more, and he served as the CEO of SRI International. Dr. Jeffrey earned a Bachelor of Science in physics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a Ph.D. in astronomy from Harvard University.

Appointment of Bonnie Tomei as Chief Financial Officer

Salience Labs is also announcing its appointment of Bonnie Tomei, a certified public accountant and an industry veteran located in Silicon Valley, California, as Chief Financial Officer.

“With over 20 years of experience including initial public offerings, de-SPAC and a strong business operations background, Ms. Tomei will be a key member of the executive team to realize our strategic and operational objectives, including expanding to the U.S. to serve our key customers,” said Ms. Kewada.

About Salience Labs

Salience Labs Limited is a leader in photonic solutions targeting connectivity for AI datacenter infrastructure. Founded in 2021 and backed by over a decade of research from the University of Oxford in the UK and University of Münster in Germany, Salience’s innovative developments in photonic switching technology enable high-speed, ultra-low latency networking fabrics that remove infrastructure bottlenecks for AI workloads. Learn more at http://www.saliencelabs.ai

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Contact

Bonnie Tomei
bonnie.tomei@saliencelabs.ai
+1 669 212-1089


Source : Salience Labs

LENDLEASE GLOBAL COMMERCIAL REIT REPORTS LOWER DPU, REVENUE FOR 1H FY2025

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 4 (Bernama) -- Lendlease Global Commercial Trust Management Pte Ltd, the manager of Lendlease Global Commercial REIT (LREIT) reports a 14.3 per cent drop in distribution per unit (DPU) to 1.8 cents for the first half financial results for 2025 (1HFY2025) ended Dec 31 2024, compared to 2.1 cents in the previous year.

According to a statement, the decline in DPU was primarily driven by higher finance costs, lower net property income (NPI), and an enlarged unit base.

Gross revenue for the period fell 13.6 per cent year-on-year (YoY), dropping from SG$119.9 million to SG$103.6 million. This led to a 19.8 per cent decrease in NPI, from SG$93.4 million in the same period last year to SG$74.9 million. (SG$1=RM3.27)

This was mainly attributed to the absence of supplementary rent in relation to the lease restructure of Sky Complex that was received and recognised upfront in December 2023.

On a proforma basis, after adjusting for this factor, gross revenue for 1HFY2025 was 0.4 per cent higher, while NPI was 2.2 per cent lower YoY.

LREIT’s portfolio committed occupancy improved to 92.3 per cent, with retail at 99.9 per cent while office at 86.6 per cent, with a weighted average lease expiry (WALE) of 7.2 years by net lettable area (NLA) and 4.6 years by gross rental income (GRI).

The rental reversion remained positive at 10.7 per cent, while office rental uplift was 1.2 per cent. Tenant retention rate was also maintained at a rate of 86.1 per cent.

Construction of a 48,200 square feet multifunctional event space adjacent to 313@somerset has commenced, with completion expected in the second half of 2026 with an estimated seating capacity of 3,000, the state-of-the-art music hall will feature multiple rooms and stages set up to host international tours as well as local artistes.

LREIT has secured SG$560 million in unsecured sustainability-linked loan facilities to refinance loans maturing in 2025. As of Dec 31, 2024, gross borrowings stood at US$1.565 billion, with a gearing ratio of 40.8 per cent.

--BERNAMA

HKTDC Twin Jewellery Shows Set To Open In March

 

Hong Kong International Jewellery Show and Hong Kong International Diamond, Gem & Pearl Show (Photo: Business Wire)

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 3 (Bernama) -- The Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC) is set to host the 41st HKTDC Hong Kong International Jewellery Show and the 11th HKTDC Hong Kong International Diamond, Gem & Pearl Show in March 2025 at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre and AsiaWorld-Expo, respectively.

Under the theme Symphony of Sparkles, the two concurrent events are expected to attract over 4,000 exhibitors worldwide, showcasing finished jewellery, loose stones, and raw materials, according to HKTDC in a statement.

The Hong Kong International Jewellery Show, taking place from March 4 to 8, will feature themed zones including the Hall of Extraordinary and Hall of Fame, whereas the Click2Match session will start from Feb 23 to March 13.

The Hall of Extraordinary will showcase high-end collections mounted with stunning diamonds, precious stones, jadeite, and pearls from renowned exhibitors, such as Dehres, On Tung, and Lili Jewelry, while the Hall of Fame will feature international brands like Giorgio Visconti from Italy, Lao Feng Xiang from Mainland China, and Cheté from Hong Kong.

A new Gold Jewellery zone will also debut, highlighting innovative gold designs and exquisite craftsmanship.

Building on this spirit of creativity, the Hong Kong Jewellery Design Competition will also take place, inviting designers to create pieces based on the theme Lasting Brilliance. The winning pieces will be showcased during the award ceremony at the International Jewellery Show.

Meanwhile, running from March 2 to 6, the Hong Kong International Diamond, Gem & Pearl Show will display exceptional selections of diamonds, pearls, and quality gemstones, alongside raw materials for jewellery from various origins.

The shows will feature specialised sections like the Hall of Fine Diamonds and Treasures of Nature, showcasing exquisite rubies, emeralds, and sapphires, and Treasures of Ocean, dedicated to natural sea pearls.

Both shows will also deliver an all-rounded programme with jewellery parades, seminars, buyer forums, and networking events that bring trending market intelligence to industry players.

-- BERNAMA

ZENAS BIOPHARMA TO PRESENT AT GUGGENHEIM SMID CAP BIOTECH CONFERENCE ON FEB 5

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 3 (Bernama) -- Zenas BioPharma Inc, a clinical-stage global biopharmaceutical company, has announced its management team will present in a fireside chat at the Guggenheim SMID Cap Biotech Conference on Feb 5.

According to a statement, the presentation will be available via a live webcast, and an archived replay can be accessed under the "Events and Presentations" section of the Investor & Media Relations page on the Zenas BioPharma website.

Zenas is committed to becoming a leader in the development and commercialisation of transformative immunology-based therapies, aiming to improve the lives of those facing autoimmune and rare diseases.

-- BERNAMA