Meeting of the international club of investors and entrepreneurs #ITWorks. On January 27, from 12:00 to 14:00, investors, startups and representatives of technological entrepreneurship development institutes from Russia, Finland, Singapore and the UK will meet in an online format. The topic of the meeting: automation of processes in the venture industry. Moderator - permanent Larisa Katysheva Speakers: Stan Li, founder of MVP Factory, will follow the development of automation trends, whether crowd intelligence can replace artificial intelligence. Runa Capital - will tell about their own experience in automating the processes of working with startups. Tony Hughes, curator of the Global Entrepreneur Program, presents the opportunities that are provided to foreign technology companies when registering in the UK jurisdiction. Source
Technologies
Singapore cancels quarantine for those who have had covid and are fully vaccinated. Singapore authorities cancel testing and mandatory quarantine upon arrival in the country for those who have had a coronavirus infection within the last 90 days, provided they are vaccinated with drugs approved by the World Health Organization (WHO). This was announced on Friday at a press conference by the Minister of Health On Ye Kun. Source
Education
The latest achievements in the use of solar energy A research team from the Singapore Research Institute of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering of the National University of Singapore has set a new record for the efficiency of energy conversion of solar cells made using perovskite and organic materials. Source
In Singapore, scientists have invented a fitness bracelet that detects depression Researchers at Nanyang Technological University have presented a fitness tracker that helps to identify the risk of depression with an accuracy of up to 80 percent. According to the World Health Organization, about 264 million people worldwide suffer from depression. At the same time, in half of the cases, it is not diagnosed and is not treated - about 800 thousand people die from this disease every year. Source
Finance
Singapore held the listing of the first SPAC company The Singapore Stock Exchange has listed a SPAC company for the first time in its history. It became Vertex Technology Acquisition, owned by Vertex Venture, which in turn is a subsidiary of the Singapore state-owned company Temasek. This is reported by CNBC. According to the publication, the company's shares opened at a maximum of 5.25 Singapore dollars, but then adjusted growth and closed at 5.05 Singapore dollars, which is 1% higher than the placement price. During the transaction, Vertex Technology Acquisition raised 200 million Singapore dollars (more than $148 million). Source
Core inflation in Singapore rose to 2.1% in December In December, core inflation in Singapore rose to 2.1 percent year-on-year, compared with 1.6 percent published in November, official data released on January 24. Source
Indonesia and Singapore signed an investment cooperation agreement Indonesian President Joko Widodo said that Indonesia and Singapore have signed an investment cooperation agreement worth $9.2 billion, Kompas reports. Singapore is Indonesia's largest investor. Singapore's investments in Indonesia from January to September 2021 amount to $7.3 billion. Source
Culture
Chinese door deities with Malay dagger guard Singapore in Chinese New Year exhibition Wood prints of door deities once adorned homes in villages during Chinese New Year, in hopes of driving away bad omens and evil spirits. The deities that local artist John Soo depicted for the Nian Hua (Chinese New Year prints) exhibition at the revamped Sun Yat Sen Nanyang Memorial Hall in Balestier have a local touch. "For example, the Chinese door spirits hold a keris - a powerful weapon (dagger synonymous with Malay culture) that casts away spirits. This year's exhibition, titled 'Nian Hua: Of Deities, Guardians and Auspicious Art', was organised in collaboration with Three Gorges Museum in Chongqing, China. It features close to 70 artefacts originating from different Chinese provinces. Nian Hua, which translates to "new year prints", are auspicious symbols dating back to the Qing dynasty. The prints are usually carved on woodblock, with the more intricate details painted by hand. Source
Aviation industry
Singapore Airshow to shrink amid strict COVID-19 health controls Asia's biggest aviation event, the Singapore Airshow, is set to shrink for the second time since the COVID-19 pandemic hit, with strict health controls for trade visitors and a lack of public days for locals dampening potential attendance. The Feb 15 to Feb 18 show will require daily antigen rapid tests for attendees at a time when cases of the fast-spreading Omicron variant of COVID-19 are rising in the city-state and dining out remains limited to groups of five... Source