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As Mentor by eDriving Passes 3.5 Billion Miles Driven, Analysis Confirms Program’s Ability to Reduce Risky Driving Behaviors

CAPE MAY, NJ, Jan 26, 2023 - (ACN Newswire via SEAPRWire.com) - eDriving's digital driver safety program, Mentor(SM), featuring the FICO(R) Safe Driving Score, helps risky drivers become safer behind the wheel in just six months - and further improves behaviors over longer periods of time - according to findings from an analysis of the program. The analysis was performed after the program reached the milestone marking 3.5 billion miles driven in Spring 2022. The eDriving study identified the initial risk level of active[1] business drivers using the Mentor app (i.e., Very High Risk, High Risk, Medium Risk, Low Risk or Very Low Risk[2]), based on their first month's FICO Safe Driving Score - a score derived from smartphone-based driving behavior telematics. It then measured progress[3] over periods of six months, 12 months, and 18 months of using the app.Over a six-month period, those initially categorized as Very High Risk or High Risk experienced up to a 51% increase in their FICO Safe Driving Score, moving them up into the Medium Risk category. Over a longer period of 18 months, those initially categorized as Very High Risk or High Risk experienced an even greater average increase in their FICO Safe Driving Score of up to 70%, moving them up into the Low Risk category.While FICO Safe Driving Score improvement was the most significant for drivers who were initially identified as Very High Risk or High Risk, those identified as Medium Risk also improved, and Low-Risk drivers maintained their good performance levels.The study also showed there was a significant decrease in the negative driving behaviors measured by Acceleration, Braking, Cornering, Phone Distraction, and Speeding events for business drivers using Mentor's patented approach involving driver scoring, eLearning, gamification, and coaching.Speeding Reduction- Over a six-month period, those initially categorized as Very High Risk or High Risk experienced up to a 57% decrease in Speeding events.- Over a period of 18 months, those initially categorized as Very High Risk or High Risk experienced up to an 85% decrease in Speeding events, confirming a sustained improvement in driver behavior when using the Mentor app over a longer period.Distraction Reduction- Over a six-month period, those initially categorized as Very High Risk or High Risk experienced up to a 60% decrease in Distraction events.- Over an 18-month period, those initially categorized as Very High Risk or High Risk experienced up to an 88% decrease in Distraction events, again demonstrating a significant and sustained improvement in driver behavior when using the multi-faceted Mentor program over a longer period.Other significant findings:- Mentor use showed a reduction of in-vehicle calls among Very High-Risk or High-Risk drivers by up to 53% over a six-month period and 85% over 18 months. Phone manipulations (i.e., texting or handling the phone while driving) were reduced among these risky drivers by up to 62% over 6 months and 89% over 18 months.- Over a six-month period, those initially categorized as Very High Risk or High Risk experienced up to a 62% decrease in Hard Acceleration, Hard Braking and Hard Cornering events, with up to an 89% decrease over 18 months."Mentor was designed from the ground up to support our global clients who made the safety of their employees driving for work purposes a strategic imperative," said Ed Dubens, Founder and CEO of eDriving. "Over 20 years of driver risk management combined with the FICO Safe Driving Score, delivers the perfect combination of leading and lagging indicators to help Mentor proactively identify the most at-risk drivers for further support and coaching. 3.5 Billion Mentor miles later, it is incredible to see how quickly we have been able to turn smartphones from villains into catalysts for positive change that can save the lives of not just drivers, but also those they share the road with including pedestrians and cyclists."Launched globally in 2018, Mentor by eDriving is used by organizations around the world to help improve driver behavior among employees driving for work purposes, and has been shown to reduce collisions by up to 67%. The digital program uses smartphone sensors to collect and analyze data on the driving behaviors most predictive of risk. These include Acceleration, Braking, Cornering, Speeding, and Phone Distraction, one of the biggest threats to road safety today.Through eDriving's partnership with industry analytics leader FICO, driver on-road performance is converted into an individual FICO Safe Driving Score, which has been validated to help predict the likelihood of a driver being involved in a collision. Personalized insights are provided privately to drivers after each trip, showing both positive and negative driving events and exactly where they occurred. Additionally, engaging, interactive micro-training modules are delivered directly to the driver in-app to help promptly remediate identified risky behaviors. At the time of the 3.5B mile analysis, over 7.7 million eLearning modules had been viewed by Mentor users. Gamification and rewards are also employed by Mentor to promote driver engagement and friendly competition, while coaching support is included to help sustain behavior improvements over time."The FICO Safe Driving Score continues to provide a consistent and objective measure of driver risk," said Rachel Bell, Vice President of Scores and Analytics at FICO. "We are pleased to see that the FICO Safe Driving Score continues to help organizations keep their drivers safe and limit risks on the road."About SoleraSolera is the global leader in vehicle lifecycle management software-as-a-service, data, and services. Through four lines of business - vehicle claims, vehicle repairs, vehicle solutions and fleet solutions - Solera is home to many leading brands in the vehicle lifecycle ecosystem, including Identifix, Audatex, DealerSocket, Omnitracs, LoJack, Spireon, eDriving/Mentor, Explore, cap hpi, Autodata, and others. Solera empowers its customers to succeed in the digital age by providing them with a "one-stop shop" solution that streamlines operations, offers data-driven analytics, and enhances customer engagement, which Solera believes helps customers drive sales, promote customer retention, and improve profit margins. Solera serves over 300,000 global customers and partners in 100+ countries. For more information, visit www.solera.com.About eDrivingeDriving, a Solera company, helps organizations around the world improve safety, reduce injuries, license violations, carbon emissions, and total cost of fleet ownership through its patented digital driver risk management programs. These include the Mentor by eDriving(SM) smartphone app with FICO(R) Safe Driving Score; the patented, five-stage Crash-Free Culture(R) risk reduction program; and the Virtual Risk Manager(R) platform, all designed to work together within a privacy-first, data-secure environment that supports drivers and their managers every step of the way. eDriving is the digital driver risk management partner of choice for many of the world's largest organizations, supporting over 1,200,000 drivers in 125 countries. Over the past 25 years, eDriving's research-validated programs have been recognized with over 125+ awards around the world. For more information, visit www.edriving.com.Press contact, eDriving:Sheila Leveronepress@edriving.comAbout FICOFICO (NYSE:FICO) powers decisions that help people and businesses around the world prosper. Founded in 1956, the company is a pioneer in the use of predictive analytics and data science to improve operational decisions. FICO holds more than 200 US and foreign patents on technologies that increase profitability, customer satisfaction and growth for businesses in financial services, telecommunications, health care, retail, transportation and supply chain, and many other industries. Using FICO solutions, businesses in more than 120 countries do everything from protecting 2.6 billion payment cards from fraud, to helping people get credit, to ensuring that millions of rental cars are in the right place at the right time. Learn more at https://www.fico.com/.Press contact, FICO:Julie Huangpress@fico.com+1 925-405-7803[1] At least one trip per month[2] FICO(R) Safe Driving Scores were initially categorized as Risky, Poor, Average, Good and Great. These were updated to the new corresponding categories on July 29, 2020.[3] Analysis used data from trips classified as 'Business' only (no 'Passenger' or 'Personal' trips)Mentor Product Sheet https://www.edriving.com//wp-content/themes/edriving/images/pdf/ProductSheets/mentor_ENT_product_sheet.pdfSOURCE: eDriving Copyright 2023 ACN Newswire. All rights reserved. (via SEAPRWire)

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JP Morgan, Citi, BNP Paribas, Barclays, and Lloyds Banking Group make new strategic investment in operational risk management firm Acin

LONDON, Dec 15, 2022 - (ACN Newswire via SEAPRWire.com) - Acin, the global operational risk control data network, today announced it has closed $24 million in Series B funding from a strategic consortium of industry-leading banks, comprised of JP Morgan, Citi, BNP Paribas, Barclays, and Lloyds Banking Group.The funding round was also supported by existing investors Notion Capital, Talis Capital and Fitch Ventures, the equity investment arm of Fitch Group.This funding will enable further strategic product development in partnership with investing banks and existing clients. Additionally, it will enable Acin to expand and accelerate into new areas across the financial services industry.Acin's platform empowers financial institutions to digitise their operational and non-financial risk analysis, using ground breaking data analytic capabilities. Acin has established a network that calibrates data and facilitates the sharing of best practice between firms, underpinned by a standardised library of risks and controls. The results revolutionise the understanding and management of firms' operational and non-financial risk positions accelerating their journey to become safer and more efficient. Minimising operational risk capital is a shared industry ambition and Acin's solution is a key building block.Click on, or paste the following link into your web browser, to view the associated PDF document.http://www.rns-pdf.londonstockexchange.com/rns/7475J_1-2022-12-14.pdf This information is provided by Reach, the non-regulatory press release distribution service of RNS, part of the London Stock Exchange. Terms and conditions relating to the use and distribution of this information may apply. For further information, please contact rns@lseg.com or visit www.rns.com. Copyright 2022 ACN Newswire. All rights reserved. (via SEAPRWire)

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Professional stealers: opportunistic scammers targeting users of Steam, Roblox, and Amazon in 111 countries

- Over 50 million passwords stolen in 7 months of 2022- Underground market value of stolen logs and compromised card details around US$5.8 million- India saw the highest number of infected devices in the Asia Pacific, followed closely by Indonesia, Philippines and VietnamSingapore, Nov 29, 2022 - (ACN Newswire via SEAPRWire.com) - Group-IB, one of the global leaders in cybersecurity, has identified 34 Russian-speaking groups that are distributing info-stealing malware under the stealer-as-a-service model. The cybercriminals use mainly Racoon and Redlinestealers to obtain passwords for gaming accounts on Steam and Roblox, credentials for Amazon and PayPal, as well as users' payment records and crypto wallet credentials. In the first seven months of 2022, the gangs collectively infected over 890,000 user devices and stole over 50 mln passwords. All the identified groups orchestrate their attacks through Russian-language Telegram groups, although they mainly target users in the United States, Brazil, India, Germany, and Indonesia. In 2022, info-stealing malware has grown into one of the most serious digitalthreats.Classiscam graduates By tracking the evolution of the popular scam scheme Classiscam, Group-IB Digital Risk Protection analysts revealed how some "workers" (low-rank online scammers) started shifting to a more dangerous criminal scheme that involves distributing info stealers. Moreover, the illicit business of stealers, which is coordinated via Telegram groups, uses exactly the same operational model as ClassiscamAn info stealer is a type of malware that collects credentials stored in browsers (including gaming accounts, email services, and social media), bank card details, and crypto wallet information from infected computers, and then sends all this data to the malware operator. After a successful attack, the scammers either obtain money themselves using the stolen data, or they sell the stolen information in the cybercriminal underground. According to Group-IB, stealers are one of the top threats to watch in the coming year. The threat actor responsible for the most recent attack on Uberpurchased the credentials compromised with the Racoon stealer.According to the Group-IB Digital Risk Protection team, (part of the Unified Risk Platform), the mass Telegram groups and bots designed to distribute info stealers first appeared in early 2021. By investigating a number of accounts, Group-IB analysts were able to confirm that members of several scam groups that previously participated in the Classiscam scheme began using stealers. In 2021 and 2022, Group-IB experts identified 34 active groups on Telegram. On average, such info stealer distribution groups have around 200 active members.The most popular stealer among the groups examined by Group-IB is RedLine, which is used by 23 out of 34 gangs. Racoon ranks second: 8 groups employ this tool. Custom stealers are used in 3 communities. Administrators usually give workers both RedLine and Racoon in exchange for a share of the stolen data or money. However, the malware in question is offered for rent on the dark web for $150-200 per month. Some groups use 3 stealers at the same time, while others have only one stealer in their arsenal.Having switched from scamming users of classified websites to stealers, some threat actors reproduced not only the hierarchy and model of Classiscam, but also its technical capabilities. In particular, Telegram bots that generate malicious content, communication between members, and all their shady accounting. The tasks of workers, the scammers of the lower-ranks, have also changed — they must now drive traffic to bait scam websites impersonating well-known companies and convince victims to download malicious files. Cybercriminals embed links for downloading stealers into video reviews of popular games on YouTube, into mining software or NFT files on specialized forums and direct communication with NFT artists, and into lucky draws and lotteries on social media.Telegram Stealers world tour Group-IB estimates that between March 1 (when Group-IB started researching the scheme) and December 31, 2021 stealers operated via Telegram groups were able to compromise 538,000 devices. In the first 7 months of 2022, Telegram stealers were found to be almost twice more active infecting more than 890,000 devices in 111 countries.The top 5 most often attacked countries in 2022 were the United States, Brazil, India, Germany, and Indonesia with 91,565, 86,043, 53,988, 40,750, and 35,345 infected devices respectively.List of countries in Asia Pacific by the number of infected devices include India, Indonesia, Philippines, Vietnam and Singapore. In India for example, from March - December 2021, the operators of the stealers in question infected 19,249 devices. In the first seven months of 2022, the number grew to 53,988. Scammers were able to retrieve 4,547,020 passwords, 4,657 sets of payment records, and 4,428 sets of crypto wallet information such as credentials, seed phrases, etc.Indonesia closely follows with a total of 35,345 infected devices and where scammers were able to retrieve 2,372,893 passwords. The Philippines recorded a total of 31, 745 infected devices and Vietnam with a total of 22,739 devices infected and scammers retrieving 2,032,278 passwords. Australia had 5,794 devices infected and 549,640 passwords retrieved by scammers. Singapore saw 2,179 devices infected, with 185,689 passwords retrieved.According to the analysis of Telegram groups, for the last 10 months of 2021 cybercriminals collected 27,875,879 sets of passwords, 1,215,532,572 cookie files, 56,779 sets of payment records, and data from 35,791 crypto wallets. In the first 7 months of 2022, threat actors stole 50,352,518 passwords, 2,117,626,523 cookie files, details of 103,150 bank cards, and data from 113,204 crypto wallets. The underground market value of just the stolen logs and compromised card details is around $5.8 million, Group-IB experts estimate.According to Group-IB, in 2021, threat actors worldwide most frequently collected PayPal account credentials (more than 25%) and Amazon credentials (more than 18%). In 2022, the most targeted services are the same, namely PayPal (more than 16%) and Amazon (more than 13%). However, over the course of the year, cases of stealing passwords for gaming services (Steam, EpicGames, Roblox) in the logs have increased almost five-fold."The influx of a huge number of workers into the popular scam Classiscam — which Group-IB's Unified Risk Platformidentified, at its peak, comprised over a thousand criminal groups and hundreds of thousands of fake websites — has led to criminals competing for resources and looking for new ways to make profits," says Ilia Rozhnov, head of Group-IB's Digital Risk Protection in the Asia Pacific. "The popularity of schemes involving stealers can be explained by the low entry barrier. Beginners do not need to have advanced technical knowledge as the process is fully automated and the worker's only task is to create a file with a stealer in the Telegram bot and drive traffic to it. For victims whose computers become infected with a stealer, however, the consequences can be disastrous."To minimize potential risks, Group-IB Digital Risk Protection experts recommend that users refrain from downloading software from suspicious sources, use isolated virtual machines or alternative operating systems for installation, avoid saving passwords in browsers, and regularly clear browser cookies. To prevent digital risks and unwanted consequences, companies should take a proactive approach to their brand's digital security and use modern technologies for monitoring and response, such as Group-IB's Digital Risk Protection.About Group-IBGroup-IB, with its headquarters in Singapore, is one of the leading solutions providers dedicated to detecting and preventing cyberattacks, identifying online fraud, investigating high-tech crimes, and protecting intellectual property. The company's Threat Intelligence and Research Centers are located in the Middle East (Dubai), Asia-Pacific (Singapore), and Europe (Amsterdam).Group-IB's Unified Risk Platform is an ecosystem of solutions that understands each organization's threat profile and tailors defenses against them in real time from a single interface. The Unified Risk Platform provides complete coverage of the cyber response chain. Group-IB's products and services consolidated in Group-IB's Unified Risk Platform include Group-IB's Threat Intelligence, Managed XDR, Digital Risk Protection, Fraud Protection, Attack, Surface Management, Business Email Protection, Audit & Consulting, Education & Training, Digital Forensics & Incident Response, Managed Detection & Response, and Cyber Investigations. Group-IB's Threat Intelligence system has been named one of the best in its class by Gartner, Forrester, and IDC. Group-IB's Managed XDR, intended for proactively searching for and protecting against complex and previously unknown cyber threats, has been recognized as one of the market leaders in the Network Detection and Response category by KuppingerCole Analysts AG, the leading European analyst agency, while Group-IB itself has been recognized as a Product Leader and an Innovation Leader. Gartner has named Group-IB a Representative Vendor in Online Fraud Detection for its Fraud Protection. In addition, Group-IB was granted Frost & Sullivan's Innovation Excellence award for Digital Risk Protection (DRP), an Al-driven platform for identifying and mitigating digital risks and counteracting brand impersonation attacks, with the company's patented technologies at its core. Group-IB's technological leadership and R&D capabilities are built on the company's 19 years of hands-on experience in cybercrime investigations worldwide and over 70,000 hours of cybersecurity incident response accumulated in our leading DFIR Laboratory, High-Tech Crime Investigations Department, and round-the-clock CERT-GIB.Group-IB is an active partner in global investigations led by international law enforcement organizations such as Europol and INTERPOL. Group-IB is also a member of the Europol European Cybercrime Centre's (EC3) Advisory Group on Internet Security, which was created to foster closer cooperation between Europol and its leading non-law enforcement partners.Group-IB's experience in threat hunting and cyber intelligence has been fused into an ecosystem of highly sophisticated software and hardware solutions designed to monitor, identify, and prevent cyberattacks. Group-IB's mission is to protect its clients in cyberspace every day by creating and leveraging innovative solutions and services.For more information, please contact:pr@group-ib.com+65 3159-3798https://www.group-ib.comhttps://www.group-ib.com/blogTwitter | LinkedIn |Facebook |Instagram |Telegram Copyright 2022 ACN Newswire. All rights reserved. (via SEAPRWire)

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eDriving Integrates Greater Than’s EcoScore Into Their Digital Driver Safety Application, Mentor, To Help Fleets Achieve Sustainability Targets

CAPE MAY, NJ and STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN, Nov 17, 2022 - (ACN Newswire via SEAPRWire.com) - eDriving(SM), a Solera company and leading global provider of digital driver risk management solutions, today announced a partnership with Greater Than (GREAT:ST), the global provider of technology that converts GPS data into powerful insights and driver scores. Through the collaboration, eDriving will integrate Greater Than's EcoScore into a new feature in its award-winning digital driver safety app Mentor(SM). The new feature, to be named EcoDrive powered by Greater Than, enables eDriving to further support its global clients in achieving their sustainability goals.Revolutionising driver risk management for over 25 years, eDriving is the trusted partner of choice for many of the world's largest sales, service, and delivery fleets, supporting over 1.2 million drivers in 125 countries with award-winning digital driver risk management and safety solutions. eDriving's smartphone-based Mentor programme identifies and remediates drivers' risky habits behind the wheel with training, coaching, and gamification, achieving up to an 89% reduction in risky driver behaviour over 18 months.The integration of Greater Than's EcoScore is a strategic step for eDriving to elevate the sustainability benefits of Mentor for their customers on a global scale by contributing to carbon footprint reductions of up to 20%. In addition, the EcoScore facilitates more accurate Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) reporting with harmonised data on an organisation's CO2 emissions and savings."Our customers are keen to take ownership of their climate impact and help their drivers minimise their CO2 emissions as well as safely return home to their loved ones at the end of each workday. This exciting new partnership between eDriving and Greater Than will help to accelerate that goal," said Ed Dubens, CEO/Founder of eDriving. "Greater Than's EcoScore is yet another example of how eDriving's Mentor ecosystem brings together the best of the best into one world-class solution focused on driver risk management, safety and sustainability. FICO's Safe Driving Score, Sfara's Collision Detection, Bosch's Emergency Response Services, and now Greater Than's EcoScore continue to evolve and sustain Mentor's unique value proposition supporting the world's largest enterprise organisations."Mentor's EcoDrive powered by Greater Than will incorporate Greater Than's unique pattern-AI technology which conducts real-time driving analysis to calculate CO2 emissions per individual driver. With a uniform measure of environmental impact, EcoDrive powered by Greater Than enables fair, transparent, unbiased evaluation of individual drivers' eco performance, regardless of vehicle type or global location. Drivers will be able to see carbon emissions reported in grams and percentages following each trip on their Mentor dashboard, making it the perfect sustainability analysis and reporting tool for organisations with mixed vehicle types."We are very excited that eDriving is introducing its new EcoDrive feature based on our EcoScore to its Mentor customers. Our partnership is another proof of the scope of use for our DriverDNA AI analysis. With EcoScore integrated into the Mentor app, eDriving customers will have greater control over their environmental impact and the necessary insights to reduce them, as well as valuable data of absolute CO2 emissions to facilitate comprehensive sustainability reporting, which looks set to be mandatory for many companies in coming years," said Liselott Johansson, CEO, Greater Than.EcoDrive powered by Greater Than will be available in eDriving's flagship Mentor business solutions, as well as Mentor Defender, eDriving's newest app for individuals and family members, distributed through insurers, auto safety membership organisations and driving schools.Press contact, eDriving:Sheila Leverone, Chief Marketing Officerpress@edriving.comPress contact, Greater Than:Eva Voors, Chief Communications Officereva.voors@greaterthan.eu+46 708 884 880About SoleraSolera is the global leader in vehicle lifecycle management software-as-a-service, data, and services. Through four lines of business - vehicle claims, vehicle repairs, vehicle solutions and fleet solutions - Solera is home to many leading brands in the vehicle lifecycle ecosystem, including Identifix, Audatex, DealerSocket, Omnitracs, LoJack, Spireon, eDriving/Mentor, Explore, cap hpi, Autodata, and others. Solera empowers its customers to succeed in the digital age by providing them with a "one-stop shop" solution that streamlines operations, offers data-driven analytics, and enhances customer engagement, which Solera believes helps customers drive sales, promote customer retention, and improve profit margins. Solera serves over 300,000 global customers and partners in 100+ countries. For more information, visit www.solera.com.About eDrivingeDriving, a Solera company, helps organisations around the world improve safety, reduce injuries, licence violations, carbon emissions, and total cost of fleet ownership through its patented digital driver risk management programmes. These include the Mentor by eDriving(SM) smartphone app with FICO(R) Safe Driving Score; the patented, five-stage Crash-Free Culture(R) risk reduction programme; and the Virtual Risk Manager(R) platform, all designed to work together within a privacy-first, data-secure environment that supports drivers and their managers every step of the way. eDriving is the digital driver risk management partner of choice for many of the world's largest organisations, supporting over 1,200,000 drivers in 125 countries. Over the past 25 years, eDriving's research-validated programmes have been recognised with over 120 awards around the world. For more information, visit www.edriving.com.About Greater ThanGreater Than is an AI data analytics company that predicts crash probability and CO2 impact per driver in real-time, revolutionising auto insurance pricing and new business solutions for the automotive, new mobility and fleet industries.Our AI has experienced the equivalent of 855,000 man-years of real driving and has to date discovered over 7 billion unique driver DNAs: learning that makes it the most experienced AI driver in the world.Greater Than is appointed as an InsurTech100 company and AIFinTech100 company and has been named Provider of AI Automotive Product of the year, 2021. Greater Than (GREAT) is listed on Nasdaq First North Growth Market. FNCA Sweden AB is the Company's Certified Adviser. Learn more at www.greaterthan.eu.EcoDrive Product Sheet https://www.edriving.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/EcoDrive-product-sheet.pdfSOURCE: eDriving Copyright 2022 ACN Newswire. All rights reserved. (via SEAPRWire)

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GPDRR: Indonesia offers sustainable resilience to tackle disaster risk

Nusa Dua, Bali, May 27, 2022 - (ACN Newswire via SEAPRWire.com) - At the 2022 Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction (GPDRR) event, the Government of Indonesia offered the world the concept of sustainable resilience as a solution to address the challenges of systemic disaster risk.President Joko Widodo (R) discusses with UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed (L) before the opening ceremony of the Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction 2022 in Nusa Dua, Bali, Wednesday. (ANTARA FOTO/Akbar Nugroho Gumay/foc)Indonesian President Joko Widodo highlighted this concept at the opening ceremony of the 2022 GPDRR in Nusa Dua, here, on Wednesday.The sustainable resilience concept is considered to be a solution to tackle all forms of disasters, including facing a pandemic and concurrently supporting the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), Jokowi remarked.He highlighted the need to apply several measures to build sustainable resilience."First, we should strengthen an anticipatory, responsive, and adaptive disaster preparedness culture as well as institutions in dealing with disasters," President Jokowi stated.According to the president, disaster mitigation education and government institutions that are synergistic and responsive to disasters must become a shared priority.Jokowi explained that the second measure deemed necessary is for every country to invest in science, innovation, and technology, including in ensuring access to finance and technology transfer."Access to funding is an important issue that we must take seriously. Indonesia has developed a strategy for funding and disaster insurance by establishing a pooling fund and using development funds at local levels to support disaster mitigation and preparedness," he stated.The third measure is by building infrastructure that is resilient to disasters and climate change."(This is) in addition to mitigating (the impacts on) physical infrastructure, such as dams, breakwaters, reservoirs, and embankments; green infrastructure, such as mangrove forests, shrimp seedlings on the coast; ... as well as the development of open spaces to be part of the realization of infrastructure development," Jokowi pointed out."The protection of vulnerable groups living in high disaster risk areas must also get special attention," he stressed.Lastly, the Indonesian president invited all countries to commit to implementing global agreements at the national and local levels."The Sendai Framework, the Paris Agreement, and the SDGs are important international agreements in the efforts to reduce disaster risk and climate change. I invite all countries to be committed and serious about implementing it," Jokowi stated.He affirmed that disaster risk reduction is an effective investment to prevent future losses."To that end, we affirm Indonesia's commitment to implementing the Sendai Framework as well as other international commitments," he stressed.The head of state also expressed Indonesia's readiness to share experiences and knowledge in disaster mitigation."As a disaster-prone country, Indonesia has accumulated knowledge and experience that can be an important lesson for the world, but Indonesia is also eager to learn from international experience," Jokowo emphasized."Let's work together to mitigate (impacts and manage risks with regard to) the rise in disasters for a better life today and tomorrow," he concluded.AppreciationOn the occasion, several United Nations (UN) officials -- President of the 76th Session of the UN General Assembly Abdulla Shahid, UN Deputy Secretary General Amina Mohammed, and Special Representative of the UN Secretary General for Disaster Risk Reduction Mami Mizutori -- lauded Indonesia for being successful in controlling COVID-19, so that the 2022 GPDRR forum could be held in-person in Nusa Dua, Bali."I would like to convey the appreciation of the UN to the president of Indonesia and the people for hosting the 2022 GPDRR," Mohammed stated at the opening ceremony."I would like to congratulate and appreciate Indonesia for the measures that have been taken to address COVID (as a) response that had allowed us to meet in this conference here in-person," she stated.According to the UN deputy secretary general, Indonesia's efforts to vaccinate its population of 217 million people is a major achievement."We applaud the leader of Indonesia for its vaccine program for keeping everyone safe and reacting and responding to the COVID pandemic," she stated.She also affirmed that Indonesia is a critical partner that has taught the world a lot about disaster risk reduction."Your willingness to host this important gathering is a testament to the leading role that you (Indonesia) play in sustaining development and climate action," she remarked.Meanwhile, the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR) Director Ricardo Mena lauded Indonesia as a country that is leading in the global efforts for disaster risk reduction."This is a very important (effort), and I think this is where we think that Indonesia is leading in terms of the global efforts to reduce disaster risks," Ricardo Mena stated in a special interview with ANTARA here on Monday (May 23).Mena remarked that Indonesia has put forth a strong message about the importance of disaster risk reduction efforts by hosting the 2022 GPDRR."We believe that Indonesia is giving a very strong message through the engagement and hosting of the GPDRR here in Bali. We are very thankful to the Indonesian Government for that," he remarked.The UNDRR director also highlighted Indonesia's leadership in adopting the long-term disaster risk reduction plan."I think what I would like to highlight is that Indonesia is one of the few countries in the world that has adopted a very long term plan to reduce disaster risks," he remarked."This is very important because if you want to really address the root causes, and you cannot do it in two, three, or five years. It is impossible, and we look and welcome very much the fact that Indonesia has a plan to reduce disaster risks that goes even beyond 2040," he added.To that end, Mena also encouraged other countries to follow Indonesia's steps in adopting long-term plans for disaster risk reduction.Indonesia hosts a series of meetings of the 7th Session of the Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction (GP2022) in Bali on May 23-28, 2022.Written by: Yuni Arisandy Sinaga, Editor: Fardah Assegaf (c) ANTARA 2022 Copyright 2022 ACN Newswire. All rights reserved. (via SEAPRWire)

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VCREDIT Announces 2021 Annual Results

HONG KONG, Mar 24, 2022 - (ACN Newswire via SEAPRWire.com) - VCREDIT Holdings Limited ("VCREDIT" or the "Group"; stock code: 2003.HK), a leading independent online consumer finance provider in China, is pleased to announce its audited consolidated results for the year ended 31 December 2021 (the "Year"). During the Year, the Group's total income increased significantly by 34.4% year-on-year to RMB3,458 million (2020: RMB2,573 million). The Group successfully achieved a turnaround, with net profit of RMB1,179 million (2020: net loss of RMB870 million). The Group is committed to creating sustainable investment returns for its shareholders, sharing the fruits of success in its operations. Therefore, following the declaration of dividend for the first time during its interim results, the Board has recommended a final dividend of HK15 cents per share for the Year. Together with the interim dividend and special dividend totalling HK20 cents per share already paid out, the full year dividend was HK35 cents per share. Although the COVID-19 pandemic and evolving macro-economic environment brought challenges and uncertainties, VCREDIT delivered an outstanding operating performance and promising financial results during the Year driven by its technology-focused risk management and dynamic operational strategies. As a result of the recovery of the macro economy in China, the loan origination volume achieved significant growth, coupled with the Group's strategies in migrating to a higher-quality borrowers and customer acquisition model, the Group successfully improved its overall asset quality, leading to a significant increase in loan facilitation service fees by 115.9% to RMB1,540 million. The interest income amounted to RMB1,972 million, remained at a stable level as compared to the previous year.The Group primarily offers two credit products through its pure online loan origination processes, including credit cards balance transfer products and consumption credit products, both of which are installment-based. For the Year, the total number of transactions was 3.4 million. The average term of the Group's credit products was approximately 9.4 months and the average loan size was approximately RMB11,965. The Group constantly adjusted its risk management and credit policies to maintain a prudent risk approach and efficiency of operations, so as to deliver outstanding business growth and a controllable credit risk performance. Both quantity and quality of the customer base witnessed remarkable growthAs a result of its proactive management, enhanced communication channels, focused marketing and higher profile brand recognition, the Group successfully expanded its user base. The number of registered users of VCREDIT reached the level of "over 100 million" and increased to 112.5 million during the Year, which also led to a significant increase in its loan facilitation volume. Meanwhile, with the application of big data customer acquisition models driven by artificial intelligence, the Group improved its operational efficiency and enhanced the target customer identification and market penetration. In addition, the Group continued to refine its online APPs and system to enhance customer experience, which has improved the loyalty and retention rate of customers. Benefitting from this, the Group has successfully transitioned its customer base towards higher quality near-prime and prime borrowers, resulting in a significant improvement in its delinquency levels.Optimising risk management to enhance asset qualityThe Group places great emphasis on technology-focused risk management, iterating its credit risk models through the introduction of multi-dimension data sources, deep analytics of credit risk performance, and sophisticated testing. The Group also constantly adjusted its risk management and credit policies to maintain a prudent risk approach and efficiency of operations to deliver outstanding business growth and a controllable credit risk performance. In addition, the Group's credit risk management capability enables it to maintain its core competitiveness and well positions it to sustain healthy business growth and defend macroeconomic uncertainties. During the Year, through adjusting policy timely and optimising risk models, the Group managed to maintain its first payment delinquency ratio at an industry-wide low level of around 0.42%, which is conducive to improving the Group's asset quality.Win-win collaboration and close partnership with funding partnersTo support the rapid and sustainable development of its businesses, the Group worked closely with 69 external funding partners during the Year, including nationwide joint-stock commercial banks, consumer finance companies and trusts, that constituted a diverse and affluent funding pool. These long-term and stable collaborative relationships have allowed the Group to improve its funding costs. Furthermore, the Group's guarantee companies, third-party guarantee companies and asset management companies form an ecosystem that ensures the Group's funding flexibility and provides protection to its funding partners.OutlookLooking ahead, to create sustainable investment returns for its shareholders, the Group will seek to provide shareholders with regular dividends with a normal target payout ratio of between 20% to 30% of the Group's audited consolidated net profits each year, subject however to factors that the Board deems relevant namely the Group's financial results, available distributable reserves and cash position, etc. At the same time, in order to contribute to further growth in its consumer finance business and fulfilling the financial needs of high-quality customers, the Group will strive to proactively hone its business strategies and upscale its technology, in order to better serve its customers to improve brand recognition. While enhancing risk management capability through ceaselessly evolving technology and artificial intelligence, the Group will strengthen regulated and long-term collaborations with licensed financial institutional partners and other business partners, in hopes of building a wide moat for business development. In addition to growing its existing consumer finance operation organically, the Group will also seek to expand and diversify its business through actively identifying suitable investment and acquisition targets, thus maintaining its competitiveness in an ever-changing macro environment.About VCREDIT Holdings Limited (2003.HK)VCREDIT Holdings Limited ("VCREDIT") is a leading player in China's consumer finance industry with over 10 years of track record. The Group caters to prime and near-prime borrowers underserved by traditional financial institutions by offering online consumption products. To match the funding needs for these products, the Group primarily engages institutional funding partners through three types of sustainable and scalable funding structures: trust lending, credit-enhanced loan facilitation and pure loan facilitation. Through such funding structures, VCREDIT provides institutional funding partners with solutions at varying levels of risk discretion and flexible profit-sharing arrangements.Website: http://www.vcredit.com/ Copyright 2022 ACN Newswire. All rights reserved. (via SEAPRWire)

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VCREDIT Announces a Final Dividend of HK15 cents

HONG KONG, Mar 24, 2022 - (ACN Newswire via SEAPRWire.com) - VCREDIT Holdings Limited ("VCREDIT" or the "Group"; stock code: 2003.HK), a leading independent online consumer finance provider in China, is pleased to announce its audited consolidated results for the year ended 31 December 2021 (the "Year"). During the Year, the Group's total income increased significantly by 34.4% year-on-year to RMB3,458 million (2020: RMB2,573 million). The Group successfully achieved a turnaround, with net profit of RMB1,179 million (2020: net loss of RMB870 million). The Group is committed to creating sustainable investment returns for its shareholders, sharing the fruits of success in its operations. Therefore, following the declaration of dividend for the first time during its interim results, the Board has recommended a final dividend of HK15 cents per share for the Year. Together with the interim dividend and special dividend totalling HK20 cents per share already paid out, the full year dividend was HK35 per share. Although the COVID-19 pandemic and evolving macro-economic environment brought challenges and uncertainties, VCREDIT delivered an outstanding operating performance and promising financial results during the Year driven by its technology-focused risk management and dynamic operational strategies. As a result of the recovery of the macro economy in China, the loan origination volume achieved significant growth, coupled with the Group's strategies in migrating to a higher-quality borrower and borrower acquisition model, the Group successfully improved its overall asset quality, leading to a significant increase in loan facilitation service fees by 115.9% to RMB1,540 million. The interest income amounted to RMB1,972 million, remained at a stable level as compared to the previous year.The Group primarily offers two credit products through its pure online loan origination processes, including credit cards balance transfer products and consumption credit products, both of which are installment-based. For the Year, the total number of transactions was 3.4 million. The average term of the Group's credit products was approximately 9.4 months and the average loan size was approximately RMB11,965. The Group constantly adjusted its risk management and credit policies to maintain a prudent risk approach and efficiency of operations, so as to deliver outstanding business growth and a controllable credit risk performance. Both quantity and quality of the customer base witnessed remarkable growthAs a result of its proactive management, enhanced communication channels, focused marketing and higher profile brand recognition, the Group successfully expanded its user base. The number of registered users of VCREDIT reached the level of "over 100 million" and increased to 112.5 million during the Year, which also led to a significant increase in its loan facilitation volume. Meanwhile, with the application of big data customer acquisition models driven by artificial intelligence, the Group improved its operational efficiency and enhanced the target customer identification and market penetration. In addition, the Group continued to refine its online APPs and system to enhance customer experience, which has improved the loyalty and retention rate of customers. Benefitting from this, the Group has successfully transitioned its customer base towards higher quality near-prime and prime borrowers, resulting in a significant improvement in its delinquency levels.Optimising risk management to enhance asset qualityThe Group places great emphasis on technology-focused risk management, iterating its credit risk models through the introduction of multi-dimension data sources, deep analytics of credit risk performance, and sophisticated testing. The Group also constantly adjusted its risk management and credit policies to maintain a prudent risk approach and efficiency of operations to deliver outstanding business growth and a controllable credit risk performance. In addition, the Group's credit risk management capability enables it to maintain its core competitiveness and well positions it to sustain healthy business growth and defend macroeconomic uncertainties. During the Year, through adjusting policy timely and optimising risk models, the Group managed to maintain its first payment delinquency ratio at an industry-wide low level of around 0.42%, which is conducive to improving the Group's asset quality.Win-win collaboration and close partnership with funding partnersTo support the rapid and sustainable development of its businesses, the Group worked closely with 69 external funding partners during the Year, including nationwide joint-stock commercial banks, consumer finance companies and trusts, that constituted a diverse and affluent funding pool. These long-term and stable collaborative relationships have allowed the Group to improve its funding costs. Furthermore, the Group's guarantee companies, third-party guarantee companies and asset management companies form an ecosystem that ensures the Group's funding flexibility and provides protection to its funding partners.OutlookLooking ahead, to create sustainable investment returns for its shareholders, the Group will seek to provide shareholders with regular dividends with a normal target payout ratio of between 20% to 30% of the Group's audited consolidated net profits each year, subject however to factors that the Board deems relevant namely the Group's financial results, available distributable reserves and cash position, etc. At the same time, in order to contribute to further growth in its consumer finance business and fulfilling the financial needs of high-quality customers, the Group will strive to proactively hone its business strategies and upscale its technology, in order to better serve its customers to improve brand recognition. While enhancing risk management capability through ceaselessly evolving technology and artificial intelligence, the Group will strengthen regulated and long-term collaborations with licensed financial institutional partners and other business partners, in hopes of building a wide moat for business development. In addition to growing its existing consumer finance operation organically, the Group will also seek to expand and diversify its business through actively identifying suitable investment and acquisition targets, thus maintaining its competitiveness in an ever-changing macro environment.About VCREDIT Holdings Limited (2003.HK)VCREDIT Holdings Limited ("VCREDIT") is a leading player in China's consumer finance industry with over 10 years of track record. The Group caters to prime and near-prime borrowers underserved by traditional financial institutions by offering online consumption products. To match the funding needs for these products, the Group primarily engages institutional funding partners through three types of sustainable and scalable funding structures: trust lending, credit-enhanced loan facilitation and pure loan facilitation. Through such funding structures, VCREDIT provides institutional funding partners with solutions at varying levels of risk discretion and flexible profit-sharing arrangements.Website: http://www.vcredit.com/ Copyright 2022 ACN Newswire. All rights reserved. (via SEAPRWire)

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Diversifi in Partnership with Cloverly Launched Green Crypto for Institutions

Tel Aviv, Israel and Atlanta GA, USA, Nov 25, 2021 - (ACN Newswire via SEAPRWire.com) - Diversifi, the first tech-driven crypto risk management platform for institutions, and Cloverly, a sustainability-as-a-service platform, cooperate on helping the crypto industry offset its environmental footprint. Diversifi automatically offsets the carbon footprint of crypto holders by calculating the carbon footprint and utilizing Cloverly?s carbon offset API. The offset addresses the impact of Bitcoin mining, Ether mining, and smart contracts execution, including minting NFTs."We remove the complexities from the process. We want crypto investment to be a safe, positive and responsible thing: we provide ways to hedge against risk and protect against losses without affecting the environment. No other company offers that," says Eitan Katz, the CEO at Diversifi.The service is available through the Diversifi platform dashboard. Users need to specify the amounts (BTC or ETH) they want to offset. The Diversifi platform calculates the costs and executes via the Cloverly API."The Cloverly team is very excited to be working with Diversifi. Combining crypto and sustainability is a much needed offering due to the energy-intensive nature of this industry. Diversifi are clearly thought-leaders in their space by bringing this offering to market."We welcome the shift of miners to more usage of renewable energy, as well as the move to less polluting consensus mechanisms (i.e. PoS). In the meantime, we invite every HODLer, trader, asset manager and miner to invest responsibly in more sustainable cryptocurrency. Funds, corporates, asset managers, family offices could already use the new service. To celebrate the launch, and for a limited period of time, Diversifi will not incur any additional fees other than the fees charged by its partners. The service is available today in every jurisdiction. Contact us to get access to it: diversi.fi.About DiversifiDiversifi offers financial institutions a risk management platform that includes sophisticated andcompliant financial products to address crypto volatility, risk and environmental impact. Itsmission is to enable and increase the adoption of crypto investments while reducing risk and the potential impact on the environment.About CloverlyCloverly is a sustainability-as-a-service technology provider that makes it incredibly easy to bring innovative solutions to the market. Leveraging Cloverly's carbon-offsetting API, businesses can integrate this offering with a wide variety of digital transactions to develop new solutions that bring sustainability front & center within the customer experience.For inquiries:hello@cloverly.cominfo@diversi.fiPress:Dan Bonnet - dan@cloverly.comAigerim Omarbekova - aigerim@diversi.fi Copyright 2021 ACN Newswire. All rights reserved. (via SEAPRWire)

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Morning Briefing: Top stories from The Straits Times on Sept 7

Good morning! Here are our top stories to kick-start your Sunday, Sept 7. Covid-19 infections linked to S'pore bus interchange clusters rise to 504, with 30 new cases The cluster at Toa Payoh bus interchange has 161 cases, after nine new cases were added. READ MORE HERE S'pore's new measures to control spread of Covid-19: What you need to know The new measures are aimed at buying Singapore time to get more people vaccinated, and slow down transmission. READ MORE HERE 2,000 new daily infections in a month's time if current rate of spread continues The number of new cases in the community almost doubled to more than 1,200 cases last week, up from around 600 cases the week before.  READ MORE HERE More on this topic   Related Story ST newsletters: Get alerts on the latest news What's the difference between Covid-19 quarantine order, health risk warning and health risk alert? Health risk warnings and health risk alerts will be issued to people whenever a new cluster is detected. READ MORE HERE askST: Can I enter Malaysia if I am not fully vaccinated against Covid-19? Anyone vaccinated elsewhere also need to have their vaccination certificate verified by health authorities upon arrival in Malaysia. READ MORE HERE 5 MRT stations to use video analytics to detect maskless commuters, unattended luggage The system will be rolled out at Outram Park, Chinatown, Dhoby Ghaut, Little India and Serangoon for a start. READ MORE HERE A curtain divides male, female students as Afghan universities reopen Female students are being segregated in class, taught separately or restricted to certain parts of the campus. READ MORE HERE Nasa confirms Perseverance Mars rover got its first piece of rock The target was a briefcase-sized rock nicknamed Rochette. READ MORE HERE Demand for inclusive pre-schools in Singapore grows as more are aware of benefits The first inclusive pre-school, Kindle Garden, was set up here in 2016. READ MORE HERE Over 100 residents evacuated from fire at Telok Blangah Crescent HDB block The fire involved numerous items that had been placed along the corridor on the ninth floor, said SCDF. READ MORE HERE

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VCREDIT 1H21 Achieves a Significant Turnaround, Total Income Rises Sharply by 56.2% to RMB1,880.0million

HONG KONG, Aug 26, 2021 - (ACN Newswire via SEAPRWire.com) - VCREDIT Holdings Limited ("VCREDIT" or the "Group"; stock code: 2003.HK), a leading independent online consumer finance provider in China, is pleased to announce its unaudited interim results for the 6 months ended 30 June 2021 (the "Period"). During the Period, the Group's total income increased by 56.2% to RMB1,880.0 million year-on-year (1H 2021: RMB1,203.8 million). The Group adjusted Net Profit RMB805.0 million (1H 2020 Adjusted Net Loss : RMB1,042.0 million), achieving a significant turnaround. The Board has recommended an interim dividend of HK10 cents per ordinary share of the Company(the "Share") and a special dividend of HK10 cents per Share for the Period to shareholders of the Company.During the Period, we completed changes that we initiated in the second half of 2020 to adjust our risk management and shift our strategy focus towards better prime and near-prime customers. At the same time, we have improved our operational efficiency and enhanced our target customer identification and market penetration by dynamic involvement within diversified channels and customer experience optimization. Also, the improved economic and market conditions of China has leaded to a continuing strong demand for consumer financing. The above helped the Company to deliver an outstanding operating performance and financial results for the Period.The Group primarily offers installment based credit products through our pure online loan origination process, services including, direct lending, trust lending, credit-enhanced loan facilities and pure loan facilitation. For the Period, the total number of transactions was 1.7 million and the average term of our credit products was approximately 9.6 months and the average loan size was approximately RMB13,091.Initiate Strategy ChangesThe Group has, through the combination of these changes in our strategy focus and proactive management, expanded our user base, with the number of our registered users reaching 103.5 million, and achieved a significant increase in our loan facilitation volume. In order to reach more of our target customers, the Group has expanded our network of customer acquisition channels and use of industry platforms, such as collaborating with newly-partnered channels, such as OPPO, Xiaomi and China Telecom. To improve our delinquency ratios and asset quality metrics, the Group focused on better prime and near-prime customers. Those ratios are currently at levels that are considerably better than pre-COVID 19 pandemic levels. Promising outcomes of asset quality are driven by the iteration of our credit risk model.Continuous Improvement of Asset QualityDuring the Period, new generations of multi-source scorecards have been implemented, further boosting our risk management capability. Sophisticated testing was conducted throughout the Period based on the ever-changing macro environment and customer behavior, which brought more insights into our risk policy optimization strategy. Among our key leading indicators of asset quality, our first payment delinquency ratio remained at a similar level during the Period to the first payment delinquency ratio of around 0.4% for the fourth quarter of 2020. Meanwhile, our M1-M3 ratio and M3+ ratio reached their lowest levels ever in our history, declining to 2.06% and 1.40%, respectively, in the second quarter of 2021 from 2.50% and 2.86%, respectively, in the fourth quarter of 2020.Stable Funding SourceBy the end of the Period, the Group had long-term collaborative relationships with 64 external funding partners, including commercial banks, consumer finance companies and trusts, providing a stable funding source to ensure we fulfill the under-served borrowing needs of customers. Through solid cooperation, funding costs continue presenting a declining tendency. The Group has been exploring potential co-operation business opportunities with third-party guarantee companies and asset management companies, including offering our talents in product operation, marketing strategy and credit risk modelling, to secure our funding flexibility and protection to our funding partners.OutlookLooking forward, as an innovation-oriented and technology-driven finance company, we will strive to maintain our agile, efficient and regulated business approach. The Group will continuously through systemize marketing strategies, upgrade credit risk algorithms and models, and optimize product operation to fulfil our prime and near-prime customers under-served credit demands. At the same time, the Group will streamline and extend our credit solutions to better serve our customers, enhance risk-centered technology capability through constant research and development. The operating environment remained competitive as progressive regulations tightened, but with our flexible attitude, we will continue to observe the market situation closely and react. Together with our dynamic enterprise value and culture, the Group believed that we can maintain a steady growth in the industry. VCREDIT, the financial services at your fingertips.About VCREDIT Holdings Limited (2003.HK)VCREDIT Holdings Limited ("VCREDIT") is a leading player in China's consumer finance industry with over 10 years of track record. The Company caters to prime and near-prime borrowers underserved by traditional financial institutions by offering online consumption products. To match the funding needs for these products, the Company primarily engages institutional funding partners through three types of sustainable and scalable funding structures: trust lending, credit-enhanced loan facilitation and pure loan facilitation. Through such funding structures, VCREDIT provides institutional funding partners with solutions at varying levels of risk discretion and flexible profit-sharing arrangements.Website: http://www.vcredit.com/For media enquiries, please contact:Chatwin Financial PR Company LimitedTel: (852) 3182 3912 / 3182 3909Email: team@chatwinpr.com Copyright 2021 ACN Newswire. All rights reserved. (via SEAPRWire)

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Morning Briefing: Top stories from The Straits Times on Aug 11

Good morning! Here are our top stories to kick-start your Wednesday, Aug 11. New Covid-19 cases in Singapore fall for fifth day in a row, with 11 in ICU MOH reported 53 local cases, 15 of which are unlinked, and one imported case. READ MORE HERE SIA, Scoot and Changi Airport recognised for Covid-19 safety measures; Changi ends 8-year streak as best airport Singapore Airlines, its budget arm Scoot, and Changi Airport have been recognised for their efforts in facilitating safe international air travel. READ MORE HERE Fire extinguisher bursts, smashes through glass facade of skyscraper's 23rd floor The projectile is believed to have hurtled downwards and ricocheted off the ground floor courtyard, crashing into the glass panels on the first storey of the opposite building. READ MORE HERE More on this topic   Related Story ST newsletters: Get alerts on the latest news 35-year-old woman to be charged with murder of her 8-year-old daughter The police will seek a court order to remand the woman for psychiatric assessment. READ MORE HERE New stock of Sinovac's Covid-19 vaccine to arrive in 4 to 6 weeks; all 200k doses here already allocated MOH said it has been helping private healthcare institutions here to order further supplies of the shot. READ MORE HERE New York Governor Andrew Cuomo resigns after sexual harassment allegations “In my mind, I’ve never crossed the line with anyone. But I didn’t realise the extent to which the line has been redrawn." READ MORE HERE Can small countries win medals at the Olympic Games? Singapore should have an ecosystem which systematically spots talent among our students, says Tommy Koh. READ MORE HERE Weighing Covid-19's impact - on suicide rates, the mentally ill Those with mental health problems are more at risk of being infected with the coronavirus and suffering worse outcomes, says Chong Siow Ann. READ MORE HERE Tiong Bahru residents pen letter of support to family in National Day banner targeted by racist remarks Response shows people value a multiracial, multi-religious, multicultural Singapore, said Indranee Rajah. READ MORE HERE Football: Lionel Messi signs two-year contract with PSG Messi, who will wear a number 30 jersey, has the option of an additional third year. READ MORE HERE

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Ask the Doc: Will eating soy increase my risk of breast cancer?

What are some symptoms of gynaecologic cancers that women should not ignore? Most gynaecological cancers present with abnormal vaginal bleeding such as intermenstrual bleeding, bleeding after sex, or postmenopausal bleeding. Keep a lookout for vaginal discharge that may range from pink, watery and bloody to thick, brown and foul-smelling.  Additionally, symptoms can include pain in the lower abdomen, abdominal swelling or bloating. The uterus, cervix and ovaries are near the bladder and rectum, so cancers can also present with changes in bladder and bowel habits. Other symptoms may include nausea, loss of appetite, loss of weight, fatigue, and feeling full soon after consuming a meal.  Has Stage-4 metastatic breast cancer survival improved in recent years?   Stage-4 metastatic breast cancer is not curable, but very treatable. Survival rates and quality of life of patients have greatly improved with the availability of new treatment options. The five-year survival of metastatic breast cancer is now about 25 per cent (in other words, 25 per cent of all metastatic breast cancer patients can live up to five years). It is important to check for molecular signatures on breast cancer cells, which can help guide targeted therapy options for treatment.  My longest survivor is well eight years on; she has had two targeted therapy and chemotherapy journeys. There are also patients whose conditions are also very well controlled around three to four years on targeted hormonal therapy. Is it true that a high consumption of soy leads to an increased risk for breast cancer? No. Soy contains isoflavones, a plant-based chemical similar only in structure to oestrogen. High levels of human oestrogen have been linked to an increased risk of breast cancer, but studies have shown that eating a moderate amount of soy food (one to two servings a day) does not increase the risk of breast cancer.  Ovarian and endometrial cancers are often associated with obesity, or instances when the body has experienced more hormonal exposure. PHOTO: GETTY IMAGES If women in my family have no history of gynaecological cancers, does it mean I am not at risk? No. Besides family history which may suggest an inherited cause of cancer, many other factors can cause gynaecological cancers. Up to 99 per cent of cervical cancers are caused by the human papillomavirus virus (HPV). At the same time, ovarian and endometrial cancers are often associated with obesity, or instances when the body has experienced more hormonal exposure (have few or no children, early menstruation or late menopause, irregular ovulation patterns in conditions such as polycystic ovary syndrome, some hormone replacement therapy). Why are sexually active women more at risk for cervical cancer? Up to 99 per cent of cervical cancer is caused by HPV, a sexually transmitted infection. Sexual activity exposes an individual to it, and this risk is further increased if a woman has multiple sexual partners, or partners who have other partners. Women who have had unprotected sexual intercourse at an early age are also at risk because cervix changes due to infection during this time are more vulnerable to damage.  Does menopause affect a woman's cancer risk?  The risk of developing cancer increases with age. Menopause does not cause cancer, but because it occurs when women are older, there is an increased risk of developing cancer. Late menopause also suggests that the body has been exposed to more oestrogen, which can increase the risk of breast, ovarian and uterus cancer.  Look out for the next instalment of this series on 15 Apr 2021, where our doctor will answer questions relating to blood cancers. Submit your question by clicking on the ad above or here, and it could be featured. 

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