Eurasia

Chinese banking brands in the ranking are subsiding in brand value with American brands quickly closing the gap. ICBC (brand value down 7% to US$69.5 billion) is the most valuable banking brand in the world, followed by China Construction Bank (brand value down 4% to US$62.7 billion) and Agricultural Bank of China (brand value down 7% to US$57.7 billion).

With the hybrid war approaching the one-year mark, Flashpoint’s comprehensive analysis details ten use cases on the impact of OSINT across cyber, physical, and informational battlefields. Flashpoint, the globally trusted company leader in risk intelligence, recently released a report on the role of open-source intelligence (OSINT) in the Russia-Ukraine war.

EthosEnergy has appointed Mario Cincotta, former Chief Executive Officer of ItalPresseGauss and Senior Vice President of Norican Group as its Executive Vice President of East Hemisphere. As Executive Vice President, Mario will have strategic and operational leadership for the East Hemisphere. He will be based in Italy and report into the CEO, Ana Amicarella.

A 12-year-old Dutch/Nepali rapper and his younger sister have launched a fundraising campaign and benefit concert in Amsterdam to help two children’s homes in Nepal. The final concert will take place on Easter Monday, April 10, 2023, in collaboration with theater City of Wesopa in Weesp. Smaller events will be held leading up to this. On February 1, Dharan and Avana Rimal began this fundraising campaign and will continue with hosting pop-up shows at various places in Weesp and Amsterdam between February 1 and April 10.

Dili-based business, Branditall, is helping families across Timor-Leste to access high-quality sustainable school wear made from recycled materials including plastic bottles. Australian founder and CEO of Branditall, Tammy Kassiou, is committed to ensuring Timor-Leste leads the world in developing and implementing sustainable clothing initiatives that not only help the environment but also offer high quality, durable and comfortable products for people to wear.

DANA and Ant Group launched SisBerdaya, a local initiative dedicated to empower Indonesian women entrepreneurs, primarily those from ultra-micro and micro businesses. The initiative helps these individuals to develop their business management and digital skills, keeping them competitive in the digital economy while advancing their businesses. The SisBerdaya is a 3-month mentorship and competition initiative open to female entrepreneurs in Indonesia.

The freelancer economy has generally grown exponentially in recent years, as more and more businesses look to cut costs and maximize efficiency by hiring international contractors and freelance workers. But what does the freelance landscape really look like going into 2023?

Atradius, a world-famous trade insurance firm, has released its 2023 Regional Economic Outlook report, setting out growth forecasts for key economies in Asia, including the outlook for a newly reopened China, and offering a long-term view on the risks of geo-economic fragmentation resulting from ongoing supply chain reconfigurations and geopolitical tensions.

RFMW, a world-renown specialized distributor of RF and microwave products, announced the intention to acquire MRC Gigacomp (MRCG) and MRC Components (MRCC) in Germany. Both MRCG and MRCC represent and distribute industry-leading manufacturers of RF, microwave, millimeter-wave components, in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and Benelux.

FS-ISAC, the member-driven, not-for-profit organisation that advances cybersecurity and resilience in the global financial system, announced that Google Cloud has joined its Critical Providers Program, designed to strengthen the security of the financial sector’s supply chain. The partnership will focus on reducing third-party cyber risk to avoid service disruptions within the financial sector and foster a community of transparency as critical service providers host, connect, and protect a substantial percentage of financial institutions’ infrastructure.