Dennis Lui

🚀 Latest Update from the Hong Kong Institute of Certified Public Accountants: "From Compliance to Competitive Edge: SMPs Helping SMEs Navigate the Green Shift" This insightful article discusses the critical role that small and medium enterprise practitioners (SMPs) play in guiding the transformation of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) towards sustainability. As businesses face increasing demand to adopt sustainable practices, SMPs provide valuable support by integrating sustainability into core strategies rather than just compliance. 🌟 Article Highlights: 📖Advisory role: Small and medium-sized accounting firms are taking the lead in guiding SMEs to adopt sustainable practices and integrate sustainability into business strategies. 💎Value Creation: Emphasis on sustainability not only for compliance but also as a driver of long-term growth. 📈Growing demand: Demand for sustainability consulting is increasing due to regulatory and stakeholder pressure. 👓Interprofessional teams: Bring in diverse expertise to effectively address ESG challenges. ⚖Education & Challenges: Stay informed of changing regulations and educate clients on the benefits of sustainability. 🎯Future Outlook: Embracing sustainability opens up new growth opportunities and ensures long-term resilience. 🔗 Discover how SMPs are becoming strategic partners in sustainable development: https://shorturl.at/774nH #Sustainability #ESG #SMP #SME #BusinessGrowth #SustainableDevelopment #HKICPA

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https://lnkd.in/gJtUKgTq Of course. Public agencies in Singapore, like ACRA, is not covered under the PDPA for the collection, use and disclosure of personal data. Personal information is considered "Personal Data" under the Act if it can identify the individuals, and due to that, they should be protected. Also, that's the point that NRIC needs to be disclosed in ACRA platform because directors and shareholders information need to be identified in connection with their roles for reason of public accountability. Anyway, the full name and address are already disclosed alongside the NRIC. So in this context it is not so much a matter of identification risk but that bad actors can actually use these NRICs for illicit purpose, social engineering and criminal/fraudulent activities.

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Law 101 for Tax Professionals Series: Tax Crimes and Money Laundering 10 Jan 2025 | 3pm to 5pm | Zoom webinar

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This update discusses the recent public consultation by SGX RegCo, whereby it proposed amendments to the SGX-ST Listing Rules to impose an obligation on issuers to facilitate the convening and conduct of shareholder-requisitioned meetings under sections 176 and 177 of the Companies Act 1967 of Singapore. #Corporate #SGXPublicConsultation #ProposedRegulatoryChanges #ShareholderMeetings #SGXListingRules #Publications

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Do the things right. Do the right things. Do well. Do Good. Keep doing a good job is important, but this team is all about trying and succeeding in new things. Philanthropy - Green - Talents These are all important topics, but they do not link directly to Innovation, Technology and Entrepreneurship. Actually, they do. What can be better than doing good, raising talents, promoting Green and leveraging on resources from outside? Keep your eyes on us. We will continue to imagine new things.

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When I cover regulatory issues in my CG course, I use the latest statistics from this monthly report from SGX. In particular, the parts of this table showing the distribution of issuers in terms of Mainboard, Catalist and secondary listings, and Singapore vs overseas companies (including Chinese companies). What they tell us is net number of listings have fallen continuously over many years; more are Catalist listings which are generally poorer quality, and the number of overseas listings particularly Chinese companies have fallen drastically. Many of the overseas listings that disappeared especially Chinese companies were because of fraud, irregularities or major CG lapses. No accountability for those responsible in most cases and no recourse for investors. That’s what any attempt to revive our exchange is up against.

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AFA Annual Report 2023 is now officially published. The report summarizes key activities and achievements of the Federations, as well as highlighting the key events from AFA members during 2023. https://lnkd.in/gbCSwHQ8

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A positive report by the IMF. The Public Finance and Fiscal Responsibility Act (FRA) that was passed in 2023 sends the right signals about the Government's commitment to good governance and sustainable fiscal management. Reforms like subsidy retargeting and progressive tax policies have clearly demonstrated our discipline to execute initiatives towards meeting FRA targets. This has helped to build confidence. Moving into 2025, we will be navigating an uncertain landscape from the ongoing middle east conflict, political changes in key economies, and climate change. The focus therefore, must be on sustaining this momentum, and continue building on our economic fundamentals to weather any potential headwind. #EkonomiMADANI https://lnkd.in/g54igD43

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🏆 CBM Awarded the ACAP Premium Status! 🏆 We are thrilled to share that CBM has been awarded the “Assisted Compliance Assurance Programme (ACAP) Premium” status by the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (IRAS) from 1 February 2024 to 31 January 2029. The ACAP status is a compliance initiative for businesses that establish a robust GST Control Framework as part of good corporate governance. The premium status is granted based on a visible GST reporting structure and a function to evaluate the impact of GST on business transactions, ensuring the completeness and accuracy of GST reporting. CBM will be able to enjoy these benefits for the next 5 years: 1) Step-down from IRAS-GST compliance activities unless significant anomalies are noted in GST declarations; 2) Expeditious GST refunds, if no anomalies are noted; and 3)Expeditious handling of GST ruling and GST issues We would like to thank CBM’s finance department for a job well done in securing us the ACAP Premium Status. To more success come! 🎊👏 #CBM #GST #ACAPPremium #BusinessExcellence #CBM #TaxCompliance

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If you're in Singapore, here's your chance to get great insights from the wonderful Serene Koh and Sai Ming Liew

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At the ministerial meeting of anti-crime on 18 June 2024, the Government of Japan compiled comprehensive measures in light of the alarming increase in victims of scams, including investment scams, on social networking services. Major operators, in particular, will be tasked with verifying the identity of ad placers and fortifying their screening procedures. It also encourages business associations to promptly remove advertisements and posts or freeze accounts of users who report false advertisements impersonating celebrities or posts aimed at investment fraud, for example, if users report them. In addition, to promote the control of 'black part-time jobs' on the internet or SNS, the Government will use AI to collect information to identify them and apply it to countermeasures quickly. The measures include the provision of information on fraudulent methods from the police to financial institutions to counter the misuse of corporate accounts, including details on frozen accounts at other banks, and from the police through associations, which is a further step from the measures taken in March last year and is expected to be effective. https://lnkd.in/gjzvSp-h https://lnkd.in/gVTZzz9D

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Provision of free and frank advice to Ministers I stumbled across a 2015 speech to IPANZ given by Andrew Kibblewhite as CE for DPMC and Head of Policy Profession; I think still useful. Great to see some practical scenarios included too!! 1) Free - best advice given freely (not publicly) 2) Frank - give hard truths in a constructive and palatable manner 3) Full - provide a full range of options 4) Focused - consider 'what matters the most' 5) without Favour - politically/sector/interest neutral - mindful of capture 6) Fearless - to innovate requires risk 7) Fallible - be honest about risks and any new ideas will need evaluation 8) Future - plan for the future not just respond to the current urgent "Senior leaders have to set and reiterate clear expectations and act as exemplars. "

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I’m concerned with this. What does SGX Regco mean to reduce market frictions and to allow companies to take value focused actions? Queries can certainly be improved as often queries beat around the bush and the snake slithers away. But does it mean that SGX Regco will now let poor disclosures go if it thinks a transaction will increase value? How is SGX Regco going to make this assessment? Is this a new merit-based disclosure regime that SGX Regco is moving to? Is this why it did not query SingPost on why it did not issue clarifications on the Australian news reports about SingPost looking for buyers for its Australian business? My worry is more uncertainty and inconsistency in applying the rules and issuing queries. And I don’t think such decisions to change surveillance or enforcement should be left for SGX Regco to make as it’s after all part of SGX.

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“Permanent Deputy PM Bình, who is also Head of the PM’s Administrative Procedure Reform Working Group, emphasized that administrative procedure reform has always received special attention from the Party and State. The Government has clearly identified it as one of the key tasks and fundamental solutions to create momentum for economic recovery and growth, and improve the investment and business environment. Confirming that “a good administration must operate smoothly and effectively”, the Deputy PM stated that administrative procedure reform must focus mainly on two major stages. Reforming regulations on administrative procedures through policy making, promulgation of legal documents and reforming policy implementation, handling administrative procedures and providing public services for people and businesses.” – Viet Nam News Read more at: https://lnkd.in/gUW4KPC7 Photo: Phương Hoa #AdministrativeReform #VietnamGovernment #EconomicRecovery #BusinessEnvironment #InvestmentClimate #EconomicGrowth #PolicyReform #PublicServices #LegalReform

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I’m thrilled to share the latest strides we’ve made in sustainability at ReThink HK. Our 2023 Sustainability Report is a testament to our commitment to positive impact, and I invite you to explore its highlights. There is an easy-to-consume Executive Summary version available here: https://lnkd.in/guq4hUQs The Report adheres to the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) 2021 Standards to ensure transparency and enable consistent and credible reporting. The selection of GRI allows us to report our most significant impacts on the economy, the environment, and our communities; highlighting our management of these impacts, and paving the way for further improvements and investments. We are a proud signatory of the Net Zero Carbon Events Pledge, a joint commitment across the events and meetings industry to achieve the targets in the Paris Climate Accords, and our Report follows the recommendations and guidance from the “Roadmap to Net Zero for the Events Industry”, published by the NZCE.   Within the NZCE pledge, there are four main goals outlined; target setting, collaboration, measuring, and reporting, and we are proud that our Net Zero target is aligned with global industry expectations. Further to this we are pleased to share that we have, as a minimum, met the expectations set in the pledge and are over-achieving for certain areas - demonstrating our ambition, and commitment to lead by example, setting the pace for sustainable events in Hong Kong. Kudos to Jason Wong and the 2041 Hong Kong team for their remarkable work on this report. Let’s continue driving positive change together! #SustainabilityMatters #ImpactfulLeadership #sustainable #RTHK24 #sustainablebusiness #sustainabledevelopment #AccelerateTheChange #OnlyWayForward

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Interesting that 2 directors who have been charged going for re-election, including one of the IDs. Interesting to understand how the NC deliberated on this and whether it considered the views of SGX Regco in its regulatory column on how NCs should approach such situations. https://lnkd.in/gKrbrTcG

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Expressions of interest to participate in the 2024 Vietnam Innovation Summit 12-16 November are now open. The Vietnam Innovation Summit (VIS) Is an annual #event in Vietnam that brings together #policymakers, #regional funds, leading #corporations, fast growing #startups, #accelerators and #influencers from around the world to discuss the next wave of #innovation. The Cook Government of Western Australia through Invest and Trade Western Australia (ITWA), will #sponsor the #registration fees for up to five Western Australian companies to participate in this event. The ITWA #Vietnam Office will support #WA businesses with targeted industry #intelligence, #partner search, #connection with the Vietnam network and provide post-mission follow-ups. The program comprises 3 days (12-14 November) of business meetings, site visits and #networking events In Hanoi, and 2 days (15-16 November) of the Summit main conference and side events in Ho Chi Minh. WA businesses operating in the following areas (aligned with the themes of VIS 2024) are invited to apply:- ⭐️Sustainable technology solutions in renewable energy, waste management and green transportation ⭐️Cybersecurity and fintech ⭐️Artificial intelligence, robotics, and automation. VIS 2024 is an #opportunity for participating WA companies to form #jointventures, pursue #marketaccess and attract #investment. Expressions of Interest close on Monday, 30 September 2024. More info here - https://lnkd.in/giGWfrwm Department of Jobs, Tourism, Science and Innovation

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