Media OutReach

NHG Health and DFI Retail Group Collaborate to Empower Holistic Wellness in Asia

Published

8 months ago

09/10/2025

Start of a long-term partnership to explore clinically relevant solutions

HONG KONG SAR – Media OutReach Newswire – 9 October 2025 – NHG Health and DFI Retail Group, a leading Asian retailer, today signed a Collaboration Agreement (CA) to make preventive care and everyday health and wellness more accessible to the public in Singapore and across Asia. This kickstarted a long-term partnership between the organisations to jointly explore more opportunities in science-backed and clinically relevant health and wellness solutions for the region.

DFI Retail Group and NHG Health have established a new partnership to make preventive care and everyday health and wellness more accessible to the public in across Singapore and Asia, and will collaboratively develop affordable solutions for general well-being, healthy ageing and family health.

This partnership seeks to address the growing public health need by offering clinical-based solutions for better health management in the areas of general well-being, healthy ageing and family health. These solutions emphasise preventive care, empowering individuals to take charge of their health early: act early to lower the risk of escalation to severe conditions and potential to reduce the need for future clinical treatment.

Addressing a Critical Regional Need

Asia has been experiencing some of the world’s fastest demographic transitions of rapidly ageing populations¹ and rising lifestyle-related diseases², with increasing prevalence of conditions such as diabetes, hypertension, and metabolic disorders. This has created complex healthcare needs that require early intervention and culturally-sensitive preventive strategies.

Traditional hospital-centric models alone cannot meet these demands at scale, as communities require care that is accessible, culturally-attuned, and focused on staying well, not just treating illnesses. Preventive care delivered at the community level, where it can be most effective, remains a significant gap.

This partnership between NHG Health and DFI Retail Group recognises these regional realities and brings clinical expertise into everyday community touchpoints—supporting preventive health and general well-being and enabling successful ageing in place.

Under this partnership, NHG Health will provide clinical expertise, research capabilities and public health experience. This includes providing clinical and scientific guidance on unmet clinical needs, supporting clinical research and health studies, and driving public education on preventive health and early intervention. DFI Retail Group will contribute retail expertise, customer insights, and omnichannel distribution across its Guardian and Mannings stores to ensure wide accessibility of these solutions. Beyond physical retail distribution, DFI will also support with customer engagement and education, marketing and e-commerce capabilities.

This partnership underscores the importance of public-private collaboration in shaping the future of healthcare, with Singapore as a launchpad for impact across Asia. By combining clinical depth and trusted infrastructure of the public sector with the innovation, scale and reach of the private sector, this partnership will support new pathways to preventive care and health ownership in a strategic and sustainable way for consumers in Singapore and across Asia.

The Collaboration Agreement (CA) to formalise this partnership was signed by Professor Benjamin Seet, Group Chairman Medical Board (Research), NHG Health, and Ms Fann Yuen, Group Own Brand Director, DFI Retail Group.

Prof Seet said, “With population health as a national priority, there is greater focus on care provided in the community, rather than in hospitals and clinics. This partnership with DFI achieves exactly that. Through its extensive retail network, we will be able to reach millions of people across Singapore and the region, allowing us to bring evidence-based solutions closer to home to impact more lives.”

Andrew Wong, Chief Executive Officer, Health & Beauty, DFI Retail Group, said, “This partnership sets a new benchmark for public-private healthcare collaboration, and we are very proud to be the first retailer in Asia to lead the way with NHG Health. In the growing wellness space where health and beauty converge, customers are increasingly looking for holistic solutions so they can take charge of their well-being. Teaming up with NHG Health strengthens Guardian’s and Mannings’ role as the trusted advisors for wellness, delivering accessible, affordable and relevant solutions to the communities we serve in Singapore and across Asia.”

Long-term Partnership

Singapore’s value as a launchpad for healthcare innovation across Asia reflects both its unique advantages and the broader regional opportunity. Our robust and well-established healthcare system, supportive regulatory environment, and strong smart nation foundation create an ideal testing ground for these new health and wellness solutions. Our multicultural population can also provide valuable insights that can be applied across diverse Asian markets.

In the longer term, NHG Health and DFI Retail Group will explore co-developing health and wellness solutions for Asia in other areas such as preventive screening tools, lifestyle interventions including wellness offerings and nutritional solutions, and integrated care solutions. These address unique health challenges facing Asian populations, particularly ageing demographics and rising lifestyle-related diseases.

1. ESCAP Asia Pacific Report on Population Ageing 2022
2. Asian Development Bank: Redirecting Revenue Toward Health Could Curb Asia’s Chronic Disease Surge

Hashtag: #DFIRetailGroup #NHGHealth #Mannings #Guardian

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

About DFI Retail Group

DFI Retail Group (the ‘Group’) is a leading Asian retailer, driven by its purpose to ‘Sustainably Serve Asia for Generations with Everyday Moments’.

At 30 June 2025, the Group and its associates operated over 7,500 outlets and employed over 83,000 people. The Group had total annual revenue in 2024 of US$24.9 billion and reported revenue of US$8.9 billion.

DFI is dedicated to delivering quality, value and service to Asian consumers through a compelling retail experience supported by an extensive store network and highly efficient supply chains.

The Group, including associates, operates a portfolio of well-known brands across five key divisions: health and beauty, convenience, food, home furnishings and restaurants. The principal brands are:

Health and Beauty

Mannings on the Chinese mainland, Hong Kong and Macau S.A.R.; and Guardian in Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and Vietnam.

Convenience

7-Eleven in Hong Kong and Macau S.A.R., Singapore and Southern China.

Food

Wellcome and Market Place in Hong Kong S.A.R.; Cold Storage and Giant in Singapore; Lucky in Cambodia.

Home Furnishings

IKEA in Hong Kong and Macau S.A.R., Indonesia and Taiwan.

Restaurants

Hong Kong Maxim’s group on the Chinese mainland, Hong Kong and Macau S.A.R., Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

The Group’s parent company, DFI Retail Group Holdings Limited, is incorporated in Bermuda and has a primary listing in the equity shares (transition) category of the London Stock Exchange, with secondary listings in Bermuda and Singapore. The Group’s businesses are managed from Hong Kong. DFI Retail Group is a member of the Jardine Matheson Group.

About NHG Health

NHG Health is a leading public healthcare provider in Singapore recognised for its quality clinical care and its commitment in enabling healthier lives through preventive health, innovative solutions and person-centred programmes tailored to every life stage. Our integrated health system, which spans primary care, hospitals and national specialty centres, includes Tan Tock Seng Hospital, Khoo Teck Puat Hospital, Woodlands Health, Yishun Community Hospital, NHG Polyclinics, the Institute of Mental Health, National Skin Centre and the National Centre for Infectious Diseases.

Together with academic and industry partners, we advance medical education, research and healthcare innovation in Singapore, addressing areas that are critical to Singapore’s population needs. As the Regional Health Manager for Central and North Singapore, NHG Health partners general practices and health and social care agencies to ensure the physical, mental and social well-being of residents in the community.

Together, we are committed to building healthier and resilient communities, and Adding Years of Healthy Life to the people we serve.

More information at www.nhghealth.com.sg.

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Media OutReach

Survey: AI Investment Boom in Asia Pacific Fuelled More by Fear of Missing Out Than Actual Results

Published

18 hours ago

12/06/2026

Media Outreach

SINGAPORE – Media OutReach Newswire – 12 June 2026 – Enterprise AI spending is climbing rapidly, with boards racing to deploy the technology faster than they can measure whether it works. According to the latest IDC InfoBrief, commissioned by Expereo*, around 70% of organizations are investing in AI, motivated by its potential or by the fear of falling behind the competition, but they lag in disciplined ROI evaluation, and one in five (20%) admit they are investing aggressively in AI with little evaluation, driven by the fear of being left behind.

In Asia Pacific (APAC), that pressure is even more pronounced as 37% of organizations admit investing aggressively with little evaluation – nearly double the global average, and well ahead of the US (10%) and Europe (13%). The pressure is most acute in Australia (45%) and Vietnam (44%), while in Singapore, more than one in three organizations admit the same.

The IDC InfoBrief, based on a survey of 800 technology leaders across APAC, Europe, and the US, found that AI has become one of the most prioritized technology investments globally, with 51% of organizations planning to prioritize AI or machine learning investment over the next 12 months – rising to 61% across APAC. However, returns are failing to keep pace with the hype. Just 19% of global organizations surveyed say their AI implementations have exceeded expectations, and only 5% report they have significantly exceeded them¹.

Across APAC, 40% say implementations have exceeded or significantly exceeded expectations – ahead of the global average but still leaving the majority falling short. Globally, the most-cited reasons for underperformance are inadequate or poor-quality training data (51%), higher-than-expected costs or ROI not achieved (47%), and AI not performing as well as expected (46%). For APAC specifically, the picture is broadly similar – though costs bite harder: 49% cite poor-quality training data, 54% cite cost overruns or ROI not achieved (rising to 80% in Malaysia), and 46% say AI has simply not performed as expected.

Where organizations have the right foundations in place, the results speak for themselves. Across APAC, 87% report productivity improvements in the business units most affected by AI, and 82% say quality of work has improved.

Underpinning many of these challenges is also a network and infrastructure readiness gap. Globally, 26% of organizations whose AI implementations have failed to meet expectations cite inadequate network or connectivity performance as a contributing factor. Looking ahead, 54% of organizations say they need more flexible and scalable networks to thrive in an AI-driven environment, and 51% need greater resilience and reliability to maximize uptime². In APAC, the gap is acute as only 9% of organizations describe their network infrastructure as fully ready to support new AI, cloud, and digital initiatives, and 37% say it will need upgrading or replacing soon. The need is most acute in Thailand (74%) and Singapore (58%), both of which rank above the regional average on demand for flexible, scalable networks. In Indonesia, nearly half of all organizations (48%) say their infrastructure will need upgrading or replacing soon.

Ben Elms, CEO, Expereo, says: “Every enterprise we speak to is investing in AI, yet the data shows a clear gap opening up between AI ambition and AI outcomes. More often than not, that gap comes down to the network underneath. AI only delivers on its promise when the infrastructure carrying it is built to support it.

Without resilient, scalable, cloud-optimized networks, even the most well-funded AI programs will struggle to deliver ROI. Getting the network right is no longer an IT decision; it is one of the most important conversations happening in the boardroom today to help fulfill AI ambition.”

APAC is also leading on adoption, with 35% of organizations reporting extensive AI use across the business, against a global average of 25%³. Yet adoption alone is not enough without the right foundations beneath it.

Eric Wong, President, APAC, Expereo, says: “Asia Pacific is moving aggressively on AI adoption, but many organizations are discovering that scaling AI successfully requires more than just investment in applications and models. The underlying network, cloud connectivity, and operational readiness matter just as much. Across the region, we are seeing enterprises reassess whether their infrastructure is truly ready to support AI at scale, particularly around performance, resilience, governance, and visibility. Organizations that address those foundations early are generally seeing stronger outcomes and faster operational impact from their AI initiatives.”

Boardrooms are also waking up to the longer-term risks of unchecked AI investment. According to the survey, 54% of global tech leaders cite the creation of new security risks as a significant potential future threat for their organization’s use of AI, while 39% globally are concerned about losing track of AI-related costs and ROI once the technology is embedded across the business⁴. In APAC, that concern is sharper still as 41% of technology leaders in the region are worried about losing oversight of AI-related costs and ROI as adoption deepens – a figure that rises to 54% in Malaysia. Digital sovereignty is also moving up the strategic agenda, with 38% of APAC organizations rating it a high or top priority as they look to retain control over data and navigate an increasingly complex regulatory landscape.

For the full IDC InfoBrief, commissioned by Expereo, “Enterprise Horizons 2026: Where Innovation Meets Reality“ (doc #EUR154457526-IB, May 2026) please visit: [LINK]

Hashtag: #Expereo, #Network, #ArtificialIntelligence, #AI, #Technology, #AIInvestment

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

Expereo

Expereo is a world-leading Managed Network as a Service provider that connects people, places, and things anywhere. Solutions include Global Internet, SD-WAN/SASE, and Enhanced Internet. With an extensive global reach, Expereo is the trusted partner of 60% of Fortune 500 companies. It powers enterprise and government sites in more than 190 countries, with the ability to connect to any location worldwide, working with over 2,300 partners to help customers improve productivity and empowering their networks and cloud services with the agility, flexibility, and value of the Internet, with optimal network performance.

Expereo was acquired in Feb 2021, by Vitruvian Partners which acquired a majority shareholding from Seven2.

Media OutReach

Taylor Swift Wax Figure Arrives in Singapore for Limited-Time

Published

19 hours ago

12/06/2026

Media Outreach

Following last summer’s historic global launch of 13 Taylor Swift wax figures across four continents, one of the world’s most celebrated icons is now making a dazzling limited-time stop at Madame Tussauds Singapore.

SINGAPORE – Media OutReach Newswire – 12 June 2026 – In news guaranteed to send Swifties into a frenzy, Madame Tussauds Singapore today announces the arrival of its touring Taylor Swift wax figure, inviting fans to feel as if they’ve stepped on stage at Taylor Swift | The Eras Tour.

Taylor Swift Wax Figure

Originally launched as part of Madame Tussauds’ biggest figure release in its 250-year history, this Taylor Swift wax figures celebrates the Lover era, showcasing the look that became the post image for the Taylor Swift | The Eras Tour concert film. The figure is dressed in a replica of the pink, blue and silver embellished Versace leotard. The look is completed with mesmerising, hand-applied strass Christian Louboutin knee-high boots, donated by the Maison, and bespoke embellished microphone created by Rebel Stage Gear UK, the specialist customisation company behind the original microphones Taylor used during the tour.

The campaign will run from 26 June to 27 September 2026. Designed as the ultimate fan celebration, it combines interactive experiences, limited-time activities and social moments inspired by Taylor Swift as one of the most influential and enduring artists of the 21st century.

Guests can enjoy an exclusive online promotion from 26 June to 12 July 2026, with 20% off tickets using promo code TAYLOR20; fans can also participate in a special social media giveaway activity following Madame Tussauds Singapore’s Instagram account to win two pairs of attraction tickets.

Inside the attraction, Swifties will have the opportunity to fully immerse themselves in the experience through a series of themed activities, including:

DIY Friendship Bracelet Booth (26 June to 12 July) – All ticket holders can create their own friendship bracelets inspired by the fan-favourite tradition made famous during The Eras Tour. Available while stocks last.

Concert-Inspired Photo Props – Strike a pose with our exclusive concert-style blazer photo props for the ultimate concert-style photo moment.

“Show Us Your Era” Challenge (26 June to 31 July) – Guests who take a photo with Taylor Swift wax figure, post it on social media and tag Madame Tussauds Singapore with #MadameTussaudsSG #MTSG will receive a free gift onsite, limited to the first 100 participants only.

Steven Chung, General Manager of Madame Tussauds Singapore said: “Last year’s global Taylor Swift figure launch became a cultural moment in itself, and we’re thrilled to bring one to Singapore. This summer, we welcome all Swifties to celebrate the joy, nostalgia and connection Taylor Swift has created for millions of fans around the world at Madame Tussauds Singapore.”

The Taylor Swift touring figure will be available exclusively at Madame Tussauds Singapore from 26 June to 27 September 2026. For this limited time only, Swifties in Singapore will have the rare opportunity to step into one of her most iconic eras and create unforgettable moments of their own.

Madame Tussauds Singapore continues to bring fans closer to the world’s biggest stars through immersive and interactive celebrity experiences, creating unforgettable memories for guests of all ages. For more information, please visit www.madametussauds.com/singapore/
Hashtag: #MerlinEntertainments #MadameTussaudsSingapore

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

Madame Tussauds Singapore

Madame Tussauds has been inviting people to walk the red carpet and get closer to the revered – and feared – for over 250 years. With 22 attractions in the world’s top destination cities, we are dedicated to giving millions of visitors the opportunity to mingle with the mighty from A-listers to music legends, heroes of sport, to infamous world leaders. Today, we continue to partner with the global icons of a generation to create astonishing lifelike figures from sittings and offer exciting and interactive experiences to ensure guests have never felt closer to fame.

About Merlin Entertainments
Merlin Entertainments is a world leader in branded entertainment destinations, offering a diverse portfolio of resort theme parks, city-centre gateway attractions and LEGOLAND Resorts which span across UK, US, Western Europe, China and Asia Pacific. Dedicated to creating experiences that inspire joy and connection, Merlin welcomes more than 62 million guests annually to its growing estate, with over 140 sites across 23 countries. An expert in bringing world-famous entertainment brands to life, Merlin works with partners including the LEGO Group, Sony Pictures Entertainment, Peppa Pig, Dreamworks and Ferrari to create destinations where guests can immerse themselves in a wide array of brand-driven worlds, rides, and uplifting learning experiences. See www.merlinentertainments.biz for more information.

Media OutReach

AIVA Launches a Pioneering, New Model for AI Vehicle Industry

Published

1 day ago

11/06/2026

Media Outreach

BEIJING, CHINA – Media OutReach Newswire – 11 June 2026 – AIVA, an AI-native mobility brand, was officially unveiled in Beijing on 9 June 2026.

AIVA will collaborate with Volcano Engine, ByteDance’s cloud and AI platform, to jointly define, design, and develop a new generation of AI vehicles. Volcano Engine will provide AIVA with advanced capabilities, including the Doubao AI Foundation Model and intelligent cockpit, enabling smarter in-vehicle interactions.

At the launch event, AIVA unveiled its brand name and logo, introducing a development philosophy centered on “AI-first vehicle creation”—where AI comes before the car itself. It is believed that AI-native vehicles will fundamentally redefine the relationship between people and automobiles. AIVA also showcased the AIVA Origin Concept, while AIVA ME7, its first mass-production model, is scheduled to debut in 2026. The AIVA lineup will target the mainstream market segment priced above RMB 200,000.

AIVA, short for Artificial Intelligence Voyage Ahead, reflects the brand’s vision of AI accompanying users on every journey toward the future. Built around AI-native mobility, AIVA aims to create embodied AI companions powered by advanced intelligence, transforming vehicles from mere transportation tools into trusted partners that understand, accompany, and serve their users.

When AI is deeply integrated into the vehicle, users no longer need to navigate complex menus. Instead, AI operates around human intent, making the interaction intuitive and direct. By understanding real-time context and user preferences, it can proactively anticipate needs and coordinate vehicle capabilities, delivering a more natural, personalized mobility experience.

As an independently operated company backed by a powerful alliance of strategic shareholders, AIVA will oversee brand development, product strategy, and business operations. SERES Group, as a key shareholder and industrial partner, will provide expertise in vehicle manufacturing and supply chain management. CATL will contribute comprehensive battery solutions. Shaci Zhiyuan, a strategic institutional investor, will provide industrial resource support.

Looking ahead, AIVA will broaden its product lineup through rapid innovation and iteration. By focusing on AI-powered interaction, intelligent experiences, emotional companionship, and safety-centered care, AIVA is committed to creating vehicles that not only move people, but understand them, unlocking a new era of intelligent mobility.
Hashtag: #AIVA

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