Day: September 23, 2021

SMOORE, a global leader in offering vaping technology solutions, today has made its mark at The Global Tobacco & Nicotine Forum (GTNF) 2021. Senior Vice President of SMOORE and President of FEELM, the flagship atomization tech brand belonging to SMOORE, Frank Han makes the keynote speech to outline SMOORE’s mission of “atomization making life better.”

The Global Tobacco & Nicotine Forum (GTNF) is the world’s leading annual forum discussing the future of the tobacco and nicotine industries. The annual industry conference brings together key stakeholders from around the world, including global tobacco companies, vaping brands, scientists, public health experts, NGOs and policymakers.

In his speech, Frank Han calls upon all stakeholders of the industry to join the mission of “atomization making life better”, promoting the evolution of atomization ecosystem. He asserts that policymakers and NGOs should take the lead in institutional innovations to promote the healthier industry development and more balanced regulations, embracing vaping as a strategy to improve public health while safeguarding against youth vaping. Global media could also involve more people in the unbiased public dialogue on vaping.

Moreover, industry leaders should work together to build up more comprehensive industry standards. As one of the key industry standard setters, SMOORE has developed its vapor and material safety standards, which involve over 300 physical and chemical tests. These standards have also covered all of PMTA tests and the safety evaluation of over 50 atomization materials, thereby guaranteeing industry-leading product quality.

In terms of product innovation, Frank Han indicates that the underlying technology of vaping—atomization, has showed promising prospects in other fields, such as healthcare. With one of its R&D focus on the atomization application in healthcare, SMOORE has made significant progress on the research of atomized medication in the past three years.

“In the near future, more and more people will inhale medicines or vaccines with atomization devices. It could help the world pull through the pandemic,” said Frank Han.

According to Frank Han, SMOORE’s innovations are based on its insights into global consumers’ requirements and the commitment to improving user experience, which is the company’s first principle of product development. Based on the principle, SMOORE launched the world’s first Taste Evaluation Model in 2020, covering 4 dimensions and 51 indexes, so as to establish a scientific system to evaluate vaping tastes.

Moreover, Frank Han points out that scientific innovation is the driving force of the industry’s evolution. Industry pioneers are constantly committed to the cross-disciplinary fundamental research of “atomization science”, to explore the mechanism of atomization.

As the world’s leading atomization tech platform, SMOORE has recruited R&D experts from different backgrounds and built up 7 global research centers around the world. In addition to in-house R&D resources, SMOORE has partnered with top universities to leverage the latest scientific discoveries and transform them into cutting–edge applied technologies.

The industry is also embracing intelligent manufacturing to improve resource efficiency. For example, SMOORE introduced the first fully automated pod production line in the world. Now, a single line of SMOORE can produce 7,200 standard vaporizers per hour.

In partnership with clients, SMOORE has also adopted sustainable practices in all stages of product development, especially manufacturing, so as to fulfill its commitment to reducing carbon footprint.

“Innovation and sustainability are the ideas to which the whole industry has been adhering, since the advent of vaping. The two ideas share a common goal, that is ‘atomization making life better’, which echoes SMOORE’s corporate mission,” said Frank Han.

Committed to the mission of “Atomization making life better”, SMOORE will continue to discover more diversified atomization methods and more advanced technology roadmap while jointly promoting a more inclusive dialogue mechanism along with partners from different sectors.

About SMOORE

SMOORE is a global leader in offering vaping technology solutions, including manufacturing vaping devices, and vaping components, with advanced R&D technology, strong manufacturing capacity, wide-spectrum product portfolio and diverse customer base. The Company is the world’s largest vaping device manufacturer in terms of revenue, accounting for 18.9% of the total global market share.

About FEELM

FEELM is a high-end atomization technology brand belonging to SMOORE. Focusing on the research of cutting-edge atomization technology, FEELM also specializes in the development and manufacturing of high quality atomization devices driven by FEELM ceramic coil. “FEELM inside” symbol is on the closed system pods of a number of global leading tobacco companies and vaping companies around the world. The accumulated sales volume of FEELM has surpassed 3 billion pieces per year.

Source: Antara News

The target to reduce extreme poverty by 20 percent in 2021 in seven provinces would be the toughest challenge for the government, according to Vice President Ma’ruf Amin.

“For 2021, we have targeted to (eradicate extreme poverty) in 35 districts and cities in seven provinces. This is the toughest target on account of the current challenging situation. However, we will do the utmost,” Amin stated here on Thursday.

The seven provinces are West Java, Central Java, East Java, Maluku, East Nusa Tenggara, West Papua, and Papua. Five districts and cities in the respective provinces have recorded a high rate of extreme poverty.

The National Team for the Acceleration of Poverty Reduction (TNP2K) has set a target to reduce extreme poverty by 20 percent in 2021, or some 2.1 million of the total 10.86 million people living in extreme poverty in Indonesia.

“This will be a tough challenge, as we do not have much time left,” he stated.

The extreme poverty rate would be further reduced by 35 percent in 2022 and 2023 respectively and 10 percent in 2024.

According to Statistics Indonesia (BPS), the extreme poverty rate in the country had reached four percent of the population, or some 10.86 million. However, poverty rate, in general, had reached 10.14 percent, or some 27.54 million, as of March 2021.

President Joko Widodo has targeted to reduce the extreme poverty rate to zero percent by 2024.

According to the World Bank’s standard of poverty, people with earning less than US$1.91 per day are classified as those living under the extreme poverty line.

The World Bank projects the global extreme poverty to increase to 88 million to 115 million in 2021 as an impact of economic contraction in several countries due to the COVID-9 pandemic.

In 2020, the global extreme poverty rate had reached its record high in the past two decades, the World Bank stated.

Source: Antara News

The Surakarta branch of the Indonesian disability rights organization — Movement for Indonesian Deaf Welfare (Gerkatin) — underscored the importance of facilitating people with disabilities to earn a livelihood and become economically independent.

“The lack of opportunities for people with disabilities to become economically independent is an issue we often encounter, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic,” Surakarta Gerkatin Branch Head Galih Saputro stated in Surakarta, Thursday.

As a disability rights organization, Gerkatin has a mission to educate and assist its members to achieve their fullest potential, he noted.

Saputro welcomed corporations committed to supporting people with disabilities to regain their personal and economic independence, particularly through the online marketplace Shopee, which provided digital business classes for disabled individuals on the occasion of International Day of Sign Languages, commemorated every September 23.

“The training class, provided by the online marketplace Shopee, is a good start to educate and encourage the deaf community to participate in the emerging digital business. We also need to collaborate with other parties and assist more communities,” Saputro remarked.

The Surakarta Gerkatin branch head expressed optimism that Shopee’s training class, commencing in October 2021, would attract the deaf community to enter the digital business.

Indira Maritha, a member of the deaf community that participated in the Shopee digital business training, drew attention to the difficult situation often faced by the Surakarta deaf community amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Some of us who had lost our jobs are struggling to look for new job opportunities. Some of the others attempted to open a business, but they are also struggling,” Maritha noted.

She pointed to the lack of accessible online business knowledge and information that had impeded them from starting an online business.

“We are glad Shopee provided a learning opportunity for us, as we could bring the information to the deaf community where we could continue the discussion and sharing our business ideas,” Maritha affirmed.

Meanwhile, Head of the Public Affairs Department of Shopee Indonesia Radynal Nataprawira stated that the company had striven to expand its network to reach more communities, including the deaf community.

“We believe everyone deserves an equal opportunity and access regardless of their background or physical ability. When we discussed this issue with Gerkatin, we discovered that the deaf community was struggling to look for job opportunities, and they have zero knowledge about online business,” Nataprawira stated.

To facilitate more communities to participate in online business, Shopee is glad to provide business classes for the deaf community, as they will have more choices to explore new opportunities and regain their economic independence, he noted.

Source: Antara News

Regional Representatives Council (DPD) Speaker AA LaNyalla Mahmud Mattalitti has asked Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati to endorse the budget for orphans, which has been approved by Commission VIII of the House of Representatives (DPR), without delay.

“I think the budget for orphans is important to be allocated, especially amid the COVID-19 pandemic, where many children have lost their parents due to COVID-19 exposure,” he said in an official statement received here on Thursday.

Mattalitti said he would ask his side at DPD to monitor fund distribution and ensure only eligible recipients receive assistance.

“We need to oversee this budget to be received by the orphans who are eligible to receive the assistance. No data error is allowed,” he said.

In an earlier session, a budget of Rp 11.6 trillion for orphans was approved by Commission VIII of the House of Representatives. The assistance will be provided to 4.05 million beneficiaries in the 2022 fiscal year, Mattalitti said.

“This budget is a form of the government’s concern for orphans. We know that the number of orphans has increased quite significantly due to many parents succumbing to COVID-19,” he added.

Mattalitti also invited the public to take part in supervising the fund distribution process to make ensure the funds reach those who truly meet the criteria. According to him, the public should oversee the distribution process starting from the data collection stage to the disbursement stage since people residing near the orphans know their real conditions best.

“Maybe there are those who do not understand the mechanism so they do not register (to get the fund). In this case, the community needs to help those orphans,” the DPD speaker remarked.

Source: Antara News

A senior legislator on Thursday claimed that several top officials in the Papua provincial and regional governments may be funding Papuan separatist terrorist groups to support their fight against Indonesia.

The officials support the terrorist groups by giving them firearms, money, and military trainers, alleged Dave Akbarshah Fikarno Laksono, member of Commission I of the House of Representatives (DPR).

He said his allegations against the officials were based on “reliable reports” received by the House’s Commission I Overseeing Defense and Foreign Affairs.

Speaking at a webinar entitled ‘Winding Road for Crushing Armed Papuan Separatist Terrorists’ on Thursday, Laksono said the officials must be brought to justice if their involvement is proven.

“It is our security agencies’ task to uncover who has played the (terror-funding) game. They must uncover who they are and what positions they have,” he added.

To this end, he appealed to the State Intelligence Agency (BIN), National Police, and Indonesian Military (TNI) to continue monitoring and collecting reliable data and evidence against the officials concerned.

If BIN, the National Police, and TNI obtain reliable data and evidence of their crimes, they must be brought to justice, he said.

Laksono also urged BIN, the Financial Transaction Reports and Analysis Center (PPATK), and Financial Services Authority (OJK) to trace the flow of funding to Papuan terrorist groups.

In a separate development on Wednesday, personnel from the Nemangkawi Task Force raided a house in the Ambruk complex area of Yahukimo district, Papua province that was suspected to be a weapons storage facility for Papuan separatist terrorists.

The raid was launched after the task force received a tip from local residents about a truck, owned by the Yahukimo district government, carrying several people and cargo, a police officer revealed.

Acting on the tip, task force personnel were deployed to the place where the vehicle was sighted, deputy chief of the Operation Nemangkawi Task Force, Sen. Coms. Muhammad Firman, stated.

The security personnel found several people and cargo inside the cabin of the truck, which was being driven by a civil servant, identified by his initials as ES, Firman informed in a statement.

ES and the people found inside the truck’s cabin were taken to the Yahukimo district police precinct for questioning, he said.

Based on the suspects’ confession, security personnel raided the house in the Ambruk complex area, where they found 28 pieces of evidence related to the crime, including ammunition, sharp weapons, and a radio rig, he added.

Among the items stored in the house, the personnel found a pair of military uniforms belonging to the West Papua National Committee (KNPB), he revealed, adding that ES had also concealed ammunition and a 5.56 magazine.

On August 27, 2021, the Nemangkawi Task Force had arrested EB, the sub-district head, along with 15 members of the KNPB and separatist terrorist groups operating in Yahukimo.

Of the 15 detainees, five were involved in several acts of terror and murders in the district, officials said. The victims of their crimes included police and military personnel as well as civilians, they added.

Source: Antara News

The realization of National Economic Recovery (PEN) funds for micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) has reached Rp52.91 trillion as of September 23, 2021, Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs, Airlangga Hartarto, has informed.

“As of September 23, the total realization of PEN funds for MSMEs is Rp52.91 trillion with 27.39 million debtors,” he informed at a virtual discussion on ‘The Role of Banking in the Future Digital Ecosystem of MSMEs’ on Thursday.

In addition, he said the government has continued to conduct the PEN program by allocating a special budget of Rp95.13 trillion for the interest subsidy program.

“The interest subsidy program of the government’s fund placement in various commercial partner banks aims to support the expansion of working capital loans and the restructuring of MSME loans,” he added.

Furthermore, attempts are being made to encourage the improvement of MSMEs by guaranteeing working capital loans through Productive Aid for Micro Enterprises, cash assistance for street vendors and stalls, as well as final income tax incentives for MSMEs, the minister informed.

Moreover, there is additional support in the form of the waiver on the minimum bill and subscription fees for electricity that can be utilized by MSMEs, he said.

Meanwhile, the banking sector is also providing support for credit and financial restructuring programs that can be enjoyed by the business sector, he added.

“Per July 31 (2021), some 3.59 million MSMEs had utilized the program with a value of Rp285.17 trillion,” Hartarto noted.

In addition, through the National Movement of Proud of Indonesian Products, the government is trying to encourage the digitalization of offline MSMEs as well as encouraging national branding for prominent MSMEs in various marketplaces, he said.

“The movement is expected to increase the exports of MSME products. Currently, some 7.2 million MSMEs have been onboarding since the launching of the movement,” he added.

Furthermore, he emphasized that close coordination with all stakeholders needs to be maintained to improve the competitiveness of MSMEs.

“Various programs initiated by the government will continue to be strengthened and synergized with every stakeholder to support the development of MSMEs, thus the programs can increase the competitiveness of small businesses,” he added.

Source: Antara News

Nestle Milo has said it will help publicize the Papua National Sports Week (PON), the biggest national multi-sport event that will be held from October 2-16, 2021, through advertisements and on digital media platforms.

Business executive officer of PT Nestle Indonesia’s Beverage Business Unit, Mirna Tri Handayani, made the remarks at the Milo’s Support for 2021 Papua PON” virtual press conference here on Thursday.

“The help that we provide in Papua PON is in the form of Milo products, as well as (publication) through communication, whether through television or digital advertisement, in order to keep the spirit alive not just in Papua, but in entire Indonesia,” Handayani said.

The help is part of Milo’s commitment to supporting the government’s efforts to create a generation that is active in sports, she added.

Nestle Milo is committed to building a healthier and more active future generation through initiatives such as the MILO ACTIV movement, she said.

Under the movement, Nestle Milo has invited more than 30 million Indonesian children from 200 cities to participate in events such as the MILO Football Championship, SIRNAS-MILO School Competition, MILO Jakarta International 10K, and MILO Indonesia Virtual Run, she informed.

“We are very proud that we could support the PON event in Papua. We hope that this support can motivate the younger generation to love sports from an early age,” Handayani remarked.

In a written statement, Papua PON’s managers division II head Roy Letlora welcomed the support from Nestle Milo.

“We hope that we can provide energy not just to the athletes who are competing for the championship title, but also the people, especially Indonesia’s youth, to love sports as a healthy and active lifestyle,” Letlora said.

Source: Antara News