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ISCA Forms Partnership with Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University (XJTLU) to Establish Singapore Chartered Accountant Qualification Programme in China

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SINGAPORE – Media OutReach Newswire – 24 February 2025 – The Institute of Singapore Chartered Accountants (ISCA) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University (XJTLU) in Suzhou, China, to establish pathways for students in China to pursue the Singapore Chartered Accountant Qualification (SCAQ). The newly-formed partnership marks the first collaboration with a university in China for ISCA, since the launch of its first ever Representative Office in Nanjing in November 2024.

ISCA’s Partnership to Nurture Accountancy Talent in China

Under the partnership, eligible undergraduate accounting students from International Business School Suzhou (IBSS) at XJTLU will enjoy exemptions for selected subjects under the Foundation Programme (FP) of the SCAQ. Upon completion of the FP, students will be conferred the Professional Business Accountant (PBA) title, which is the first step in their journey towards becoming a Chartered Accountant of Singapore. The exemptions provide XJTLU accounting students with an accelerated pathway towards a career in professional accountancy, and helps to further foster interest in accountancy as a study of choice in China. In addition, ISCA will award 20 scholarships amongst the top 5% of students annually, which will cover the fees of the FP.

The collaboration between ISCA and XJTLU will be the first stage of a deeper and longer-term partnership between both institutions. Accounting students from IBSS will be connected with companies in China such as Tencent, DBS China, PwC China and the Singapore Nanjing Eco Hi-tech Island (SNECO), who have been recognised as an Accredited Training Organisations (ATO) of ISCA. The network of ATOs in China is expected to grow over the next few years.

Professor Jorg Bley, Dean of IBSS, said: “We are immensely proud that our BA Accounting programme has become the first in China to receive accreditation from ISCA. This milestone not only underscores the global recognition of our programme’s academic rigor and quality but also reflects our commitment to nurturing future-ready accounting professionals who meet international standards. At IBSS, we strive to bridge East and West by providing our students with world-class education and opportunities to excel in a competitive global landscape. The cooperation with ISCA is a testament to our dedication to innovation, excellence, and the continuous pursuit of delivering value to our students and the broader business community.”

The MOU was signed earlier today by Mr Tan Wei Luo, Divisional Director for Qualification, Market & Growth at ISCA, and Professor Jorg Bley, Dean of IBSS at XJTLU’s Suzhou Industrial Park campus. The signing ceremony was attended by leaders from Suzhou Industrial Park, representatives from ISCA and XJTLU, invited guests from the accounting and business sectors in China and Singapore, as well as the inaugural batch of 20 student scholarship recipients from IBSS at XJTLU.

Establishing ISCA’s Presence in China

As part of broader plans to expand ISCA’s presence in China, ISCA will also be launching ISCA Professional Services (PS) Centres in 10 cities around the world by June. These PS centres will serve as a conduit to promote regionalisation and availability of professional services such as sustainability, legal, and other corporate services, to meet the needs of Singaporean businesses in China and vice versa.

The ISCA PS Centre is poised to amplify the demand for professional services and accounting expertise. Hence, our partnership with XJTLU marks a pivotal first step in our strategy designed to nurture and grow a robust pipeline of accounting professionals. This collaboration is essential in addressing the growing needs of the business ecosystem in China.” said Ms Claire Qian, ISCA Chapter Chairperson for Shanghai.

“The cooperation between ISCA and XJTLU will deepen the cooperation and exchanges between China and Singapore in the field of accounting and other professional services,” said Mr Qian Fudan, Director (Performance and Asset Management Division) at the Financial Audit Bureau in Suzhou Industrial Park. “This will ensure the growth of more accounting talent with professional capabilities and global experience to support the vision and goal of building a world-class high-tech park with innovation and excellence.”

Hashtag: #ISCA #Accountancy #DifferenceMakers #西交利物浦大学

The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

About the Institute of Singapore Chartered Accountants (ISCA)

The Institute of Singapore Chartered Accountants (ISCA) is the national accountancy body of Singapore with over 39,000 ISCA members making their stride in businesses across industries in Singapore and around the world. ISCA members can be found in over 40 countries and members based out of Singapore are supported through 12 overseas chapters in 9 countries.

Established in 1963, ISCA is an advocate of the interests of the profession. Complementing its global mindset with Asian insights, ISCA leverages its regional expertise, knowledge, and networks with diverse stakeholders to contribute towards the advancement of the accountancy profession.

ISCA administers the Singapore Chartered Accountant Qualification programme and is the Designated Entity to confer the Chartered Accountant of Singapore – CA (Singapore) – designation.

ISCA is a member of Chartered Accountants Worldwide, a global family that brings together the members of leading institutes to create a community of over 1.8 million Chartered Accountants and students in more than 190 countries.

For more information, visit .

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Woodfibre LNG Marks 2025 as a Year of Construction Progress, Environmental Stewardship and Community Partnership

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SINGAPORE – Media OutReach Newswire – 24 December 2025 – Woodfibre LNG recently marked 2025 as a year of significant progress across construction, environmental protection and community partnerships, as the project moved deeper into its development phase toward delivering responsibly produced Canadian liquefied natural gas to global markets.

Over the past year, the project advanced from planning into visible, on-the-ground execution. Major construction milestones included the pouring of foundations for key modules, continued progress on marine piling, and further implementation of modular construction techniques designed to reduce on-site footprint while accelerating delivery timelines.

These advancements were achieved through close collaboration with project partners, suppliers and contractors, and in partnership with the Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Úxwumixw (Squamish Nation).

In 2025, Woodfibre LNG, a member of the RGE group of companies founded by Sukanto Tanoto, continued to operate its floatel workforce accommodation solution, designed to minimise pressure on local housing and community services. As of November, two floatels were in active operation, providing high-quality, safe and comfortable living conditions for the project workforce while supporting construction efficiency.

Environmental protection remained a central focus throughout the year. The project’s Marine Mammal Monitoring Programme, which includes hydroacoustic monitoring, exclusion zones and shore-based observation posts, delivered measurable outcomes by enabling real-time operational decisions, including pauses to marine activities when marine mammals entered exclusion areas.

In parallel, remediation of legacy materials from the former pulp mill site continued, with hundreds of thousands of tonnes of historical waste removed. These efforts have contributed to improving site conditions for both local communities and marine and terrestrial ecosystems in Howe Sound.

Woodfibre LNG’s Operator Training Programme, delivered in partnership with the Squamish Nation Training and Trades Centre and the British Columbia Institute of Technology (BCIT), progressed throughout the year. The programme’s first cohort of graduates transitioned into full-time roles, supporting the development of long-term, skilled local employment opportunities linked to the project.

Through its Community Partnership Programme (CPP), Woodfibre LNG continued to invest in local communities across the Sea-to-Sky corridor. In 2025, the programme surpassed $1 million in total grants since its inception, supporting initiatives in sports, healthcare, emergency services, arts and culture, and youth development.

Luke Schauerte, CEO of Woodfibre LNG, said, “2025 has been a year of significant progress for Woodfibre LNG. We are proud of what our team and partners have accomplished together and look forward to building on this momentum in the year ahead.”

With more than half of the project’s development now complete, Woodfibre LNG remains focused on advancing construction safely and responsibly, while maintaining strong partnerships with Indigenous communities, local stakeholders and regulators.

As the project looks ahead to 2026, Woodfibre LNG continues its work toward delivering lower-carbon, responsibly produced Canadian energy to international markets.

Hashtag: #RGE #PacificEnergy #PacificCanbriamEnergy #WoodfibreLNG #LNG #environment #partnerships #LNG #liquefiednaturalgas #energy #sustainability

The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

About Woodfibre LNG

The Woodfibre LNG Project is owned by Woodfibre LNG Limited Partnership, owned 70 per cent by Pacific Energy Corporation (Canada) Limited and 30 per cent by Enbridge Inc. The Woodfibre LNG facility is being built on the site of the former Woodfibre pulp mill site, which is located about seven kilometres southwest of Squamish, B.C. Woodfibre LNG will source its natural gas from Pacific Canbriam Energy, a Canadian company with operations in Northeastern British Columbia. Pacific Canbriam is an industry leader in sustainable natural gas production. Woodfibre LNG and Pacific Canbriam Energy are subsidiaries of Pacific Energy Corporation Limited. Woodfibre LNG is the first industrial project in Canada to recognise a non-treaty Indigenous government, Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Úxwumixw (Squamish Nation), as a full environmental regulator.

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New Opportunities in Southeast Asia’s Digital Shift: Thailand Emerges as the New ASEAN’s AI Hub

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BANGKOK, THAILAND – Media OutReach Newswire – 24 December 2025 – As global attention remains fixed on the AI race, Thailand is now carving out a new identity as an emerging “AI Hub for Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).” The government is steadily advancing its “Thailand 4.0” initiative, positioning the digital economy as the key driver of national transformation.

The expansion of AI and data centers (DCs) in Thailand is driving several transformative trends:

  • Changing data traffic patterns. As DCs multiply in Bangkok, Chonburi, and beyond, Thailand is evolving from a traditional data “transit point” into a regional “convergence hub.” East-west digital traffic is accelerating, with Thai DC clusters increasingly meeting the computing demands of Southeast Asia and the broader Asia-Pacific.
  • Optimized data routing. Data flows that once relied on submarine cables via Hong Kong and Singapore are gradually shifting to land-based digital corridors linking China, Laos, and Thailand. This route reduces data transmission latency from southwestern China to Southeast Asia.
  • Elevated business expectations. Demand is shifting beyond “sufficient bandwidth” toward “high-quality experience.” Thailand sits in a “latency sweet spot” for key Asia-Pacific markets, with latencies to Singapore, Vietnam, and Malaysia falling within an optimal range—a crucial advantage for latency-sensitive sectors like autonomous driving, telemedicine, and fintech.

New opportunities inevitably bring new challenges, and Thailand also addresses the following three challenges:

1. Massive traffic impacting existing networks: Compared with mature hubs like Singapore, Thailand has insufficient international submarine cables. A large volume of cross-border data still needs to be transmitted through detours. Meanwhile, as DC investments continue to accelerate, traffic will keep rising. Analysis shows that by 2029, Thailand’s DC capacity may reach 2000 MW, with cross-region traffic surging to 630 Tbps. The current network architecture is no longer capable of supporting such heavy traffic.

2. Latency advantages not fully realized: Despite its geographic advantages, Thailand’s network latency performance has yet to reach its full potential. Routes to key markets, like China, still require third-party transit. What’s more, traditional network scheduling lacks intelligent route selection capabilities, making it difficult to provide deterministic assurance for latency-sensitive services like financial transactions and real-time AI interactions.

3. Potential risks in network reliability: Thailand’s network reliability faces structural challenges. Single points of failure have previously caused hours-long interruptions to critical services, directly undermining enterprise users’ confidence.

To overcome these challenges, Thailand can take a systematic approach to upgrading its digital infrastructure, aiming to build next-generation AI-ready networks.

1. Building ultra-high-bandwidth “sea-land” connectivity. By actively introducing new submarine cables, Thailand can significantly enhance its connectivity with the Asia-Pacific region and the world. Meanwhile, accelerating the construction and expansion of key terrestrial cable routes—such as China-Laos-Thailand and Thailand-Malaysia-Singapore—will transform Thailand’s geographic advantage into a tangible connectivity advantage.

2. Optimizing network routes to create a regional low-latency core. Strengthening the Kunming-Laos-Thailand terrestrial cable route will continuously reduce transmission latency between China and Thailand, meeting the needs of real-time applications. In addition, the introduction of autonomous networks will enable automatic selection of the optimal, shortest route, shifting from “best effort” to “deterministic low latency.”

3. Designing a “never-interrupted” high-resilience architecture. Deploying active-active DC networks with millisecond-level switchover capabilities ensures the continuity of core services. Meanwhile, AI-driven intelligent O&M can reduce fault detection and diagnosis from hours to minutes.

Thailand’s booming AI and DC industries are driving rapid growth in regional and cross-border business demand. In this trend, network infrastructure construction centered on DCs is the core engine that drives AI transformation, propelling Thailand toward its vision of becoming the new AI hub for ASEAN.

Hashtag: #huawei

The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

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MyRepublic Launches Card Sub, Singapore’s First Subscription Service for Trading Card Game Fans

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SINGAPORE – Media OutReach Newswire – 23 December 2025 MyRepublic today announced the launch of Card Sub, a new subscription-based service designed for Trading Card Game (TCG) enthusiasts. Card Sub offers subscribers a convenient way to receive Magic: The Gathering (MTG) products monthly, including access to premium booster packs not typically available through standard retail purchases.

MyRepublic Launches Card Sub, Singapore’s First Subscription Service for Trading Card Game Fans

Card Sub introduces a structured monthly subscription model in which customers pay a fixed monthly rate and receive up to 3 Play Booster packs or 2 Play booster boxes from the current MTG release. In addition, subscribers will receive free premium booster packs or boxes. These premium boosters may include Collector Booster Packs or Boxes, such as the highly sought-after Final Fantasy Collector Booster, which is constantly sold out worldwide which features the extremely valuable serialised Golden Chocobo card
“The trading card community in Singapore is incredibly passionate, and Card Sub is our small way of adding value to that ecosystem,” said Terry Williams, Head of Consumer at MyRepublic. “As TCG players ourselves, we wanted to offer something to the community to provide an easier access to the latest release every month, and the chance to secure premium packs that might not be readily accessible to players. We see Card Sub as a community-driven initiative, open to all who share a passion for growing the hobby.”
The subscription tiers available at launch are:
MyRepublic Card Sub Plans
MyRepublic Card Sub Plans

Card Sub will be available to both MyRepublic and non-MyRepublic customers. All product redemptions will take place in person at the upcoming Card Arena by MyRepublic, located at Suntec City. Customers will redeem their Premium booster or box in-store.

Card Sub is positioned to serve cost-conscious TCG consumers by providing reliable monthly access to boosters with the added benefit of premium packs or boxes at no additional charge. The inclusion of Collector Boosters in the premium pool provides an opportunity for subscribers to obtain higher-value products through a predictable monthly model. MyRepublic also plans to expand Card Sub to additional TCG franchises, including Pokémon.
Card Sub is open for sign-up at cardsub.net and available to everyone in Singapore. Monthly redemption of subscription items will be fulfilled exclusively at:
Card Arena by MyRepublic
Suntec City, 3 Temasek Boulevard, #02-323/324

Hashtag: #CardSub, #MyRepublic #MyRepublicCardSub #CardSubSG #TCG #GeeksUseUs





The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

MyRepublic

MyRepublic is an award-winning telecom operator whose values lie in the future of connectivity, the next opportunity to disrupt, and innovations that will make a real difference. The provider’s priority is to redefine broadband and mobile connectivity in the markets it operates and empower customers to understand what a true modern connectivity experience can be.
For more information, please visit
cardsub.net

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