Fact: Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina directed the National Board of Revenue (NBR) not to increase taxes on food, agro-related items, and fertilizers in the upcoming budget.
HTFX has become the gold sponsor of Cypriot EuroNASCAR driver Vladimiros Tziortzis, who is competing in the Nascar Whelen Euro Series Championship with Italian Academy Motorsports driving a Ford Mustang V8.
In June 2022, a male Sumatran orangutan named Rakus sustained a facial wound below the right eye during a fight with another male orangutan at the Suaq Balimbing research site in Indonesia. Rakus treated the wound using a plant called Akar Kuning, known for its pain-relieving and wound-healing properties. The wound did not show signs of infection and closed within five days. This behavior suggests that orangutans may have cognitive capacities for wound treatment with plants, similar to humans.
The United States is concerned about Iran’s oil being moved with the help of service providers based in Malaysia, particularly near Singapore. Treasury official Brian Nelson visited Singapore and Malaysia to counter Iran’s financing and revenue generation efforts in Southeast Asia. Treasury imposed sanctions on Malaysia-based companies supporting Iran’s drone production. Nelson also mentioned progress in sanctions against Russia, affecting Moscow’s oil sales and global energy markets. Shipping hub Singapore faces challenges in verifying compliance with the Russian oil price cap.
Amazon Web Services (AWS) plans to invest S billion in expanding its cloud computing infrastructure in Singapore over the next four years. Additionally, AWS has already invested S.5 billion in the Asia Pacific Region until 2023, with a total planned spend of more than S billion by 2028. Other tech giants like Apple and Microsoft are also making significant investments in the region, indicating the growing interest in Southeast Asia’s tech market.
Microsoft will invest .7 billion over the next four years in expanding cloud services and artificial intelligence in Indonesia, including building data centers.
Fact: Comedian Katerina Vrana will give a presentation titled ‘Fitting In’ regarding access to art at the A.G. Leventis Gallery in Nicosia on May 15 as part of the 1,2,3…Paint exhibition.
OCI Group is expanding its polysilicon facility in Malaysia to compete with Chinese rivals, taking advantage of low utility bills, labor costs, and taxes in the country. The company plans to increase its manufacturing capacity of solar-grade polysilicon to 56,000 tons a year by 2027. Malaysia offers benefits such as lower electricity costs, corporate taxes, and labor costs compared to South Korea. OCIM has also benefited from US sanctions on Chinese polysilicon.