Life insurer Prudential Singapore ("Prudential") today announced the official launch of Prudential Financial Advisers ("PFA"), its financial advisory arm. With PFA, Prudential now offers a wider range of insurance products including general insurance and wealth solutions. This is in addition to Prudential's core solutions in whole and term life, health, savings, retirement and group insurance.

The new financial advisory firm will complement Prudential's existing distribution ecosystem. Customers will have access to a broad range of products and services including general insurance such as travel insurance and motor insurance and wealth solutions such as unit trusts. They can also tap on the complementary solutions and auxiliary services including estate planning, family office and tax advisory, provided by PFA's partners.

Mr Dennis Tan, CEO of Prudential Singapore, said the financial advisory business aims to better support Singapore residents who are living longer as the country's life expectancy continues to rise.

"We are excited to launch Prudential Financial Advisers as it adds to the breadth and depth of our offerings to address people's enhanced needs for financial security and healthcare at every stage of their life. The new entity will also strengthen our distribution network as we continue to grow our agency of more than 5,000 financial consultants, to serve the needs of all individuals."

PFA will be led by Mr Bernard Chai, an industry veteran of more than 40 years. In almost two decades with Prudential, he has held key roles such as Head of Standard Chartered Bank (SCB) Partnership, Director of Partnerships Development, and Head of Business Development. He was most recently Prudential's Head of Agency Transformation before being appointed the CEO of PFA.

Mr Bernard Chai, CEO of Prudential Financial Advisers, shared that the financial advisory channel has seen steady growth in the last few years.

"Customers today are expecting more one-stop solutions to meet their needs for all-of-life, especially on the back of rising life expectancy, and Prudential Financial Advisers is well-placed to meet this need. We bring the best of both worlds to our customers - Prudential's life insurance offerings as well as general insurance and wealth management solutions from our partners. In this way, we help them to address their healthcare needs, as well as to protect and grow their wealth, so that they can better plan for their retirement."

With the addition of PFA, Prudential's distribution ecosystem comprises:

- Financial advisory firm: This new channel will offer a range of insurance and wealth solutions to customers at various stages of their financial planning journey.

- Tied agency: We have one of the largest tied agency networks in Singapore with more than 5,000 financial consultants who distribute our protection, savings and investment products.

- Bancassurance: Our exclusive bancassurance partners are United Overseas Bank (UOB) and Standard Chartered Bank (SCB), and we work closely with them to develop and deliver innovative insurance solutions to customers.

- Digital channels: We also offer PRUShield and microinsurance plans on Pulse by Prudential, our digital health and wellness app. Examples of microinsurance plans include: PRUSafe BreastCancer, PRUSafe Prostate Cancer, PRUSafe Dengue, PRUSafe COVIDCover, and PRUSafe Guard 22.

In photo. Dennis Tan, CEO of Prudential Singapore (2nd from left), Bernard Chai, CEO of Prudential Financial Advisers (2nd from right), Ben Tan, Chief Distribution Officer & Chief Corporate Development Officer, Prudential Singapore (1st from right), and Jackie Chew, Chief Risk Officer, Prudential Singapore (1st from left), celebrating the official launch of Prudential Financial Advisers.

Singapore-based Global Schools Foundation (GSF) has announced a strategic partnership with India’s Vikaasa schools – a pioneer in ICSE schools in Tamil Nadu state, which currently owns and operates five reputed ICSE schools in Madurai.

The partnership between GSF’s personalised and adaptive learning programmes and the 50-year-strong legacy of Vikaasa schools promises to open new avenues of expansion for students in the new-age education driven by data analytics and artificial intelligence.

Vikaasa schools offers education in international curricula like Cambridge IGCSE & ICSE. Their meritorious legacy of academic excellence has run through generations, with many alumni going on to have illustrious careers in high positions in different fields like finance, banking, etc. One alumnus, Mr. Anand Selvakesari, was recently appointed the Chief Operating Officer of Citigroup Inc.

Global Schools Foundation is reputed for offering a range of international opportunities to its students and teachers through collaborations and exchange programmes and University Connect programmes that provide good higher learning opportunities to all. Their students have received offers from Ivy League universities such as Oxford, Cambridge, London School of Economics, Harvard and the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), among many other leading universities.

GSF’s extensive network of international teachers will also be available to Vikaasa teachers, who can expand their skills through collaboration and polish their competencies through professional development courses. In addition, GSF University – the skills and development arm of GSF – will also offer courses to staff to help train them in skills and develop their subject-matter expertise.

“We believe that this GSF partnership will further bolster our existing programmes of student exchange, great academic results, and university counselling to nurture students into global leaders,” said Vikaasa’s founder, Mr. Biju Sudhakaran. “l am excited to see the positive impact it will have on our student community.”

Welcoming the partnership, GSF India Country Director Mr. Ashish Tibdewal said, “We are pleased to be strategically partnering with Vikaasa. The school’s rich legacy and incredible commitment to values-based education have produced thousands of success stories at national and international levels. We believe GSF’s innovation capabilities will help us accelerate these successes to touch newer heights.”

With these partnerships, GSF India now operates 16 top international schools across six cities in India to date.

About GSF

GSF, a Singapore-based not-for-profit foundation, has a network of 35 campuses across 11 countries and educates 32,000 students from 70 nationalities. It is a recipient of more than 450 international awards. Its schools provide multiple international curricula, including International Baccalaureate, Cambridge IGCSE, British National Curricula, American common core and IPC.

GSF schools rank high in the list of schools performing well in IB programmes, with over 100 students scoring World Topper (45/45) and Near Perfect Scores (44/45) in the IB Diploma exams. Over 800 of its Cambridge students have scored A and A* in all subjects to date, and 84% of its cohort scored A or A* in all subjects.

From 1 – 30 April, iShopChangi kickstarts the month with great April “fuels" from Kinohimitsu, its brand of the month. Enjoy fantastic savings of up to 78% off the health & wellness brand storewide, with complimentary gifts up for grabs at various minimum spends. What’s more, shave off further when you cart out during the sitewide 4.4 flash sale.

Throughout April, it’s shopping galore on the health & wellness brand, with a new themed deal every week. Beginning with Collagen Week, 1 – 9 April, Kinohimitsu collagen products take the spotlight with Kinohimitsu's [Bundle of 3] MarineGem Collagen 180g retailing at S$108, an impressive 45% off its usual price of S$194.70. Another highlight of the week is the Kinohimitsu Collagen Men 16's x 2 + Collagen Nite 32's. Retailing at S$169.00, this collagen product for men is going 44% off its usual price of S$299.60.

Bird's Nest Week, happening 10 – 16 April, presents amazing deals on Kinohimitsu's best-known products. Retailing at 67% off its usual price of S$279.20, the Kinohimitsu [Bundle of 2] Bird's Nest with Chrysanthemum, Cassia Seed & Wolfberry 24's + Bird's Nest with White Fungus & Rock Sugar 24's is a steal at S$92.00.

Following up is Detox Week, happening 17 – 23 April. Enjoy the best products for clearing out toxins from Kinohimitsu. Take the Kinohimitsu Detox Box Deluxe: Detox Enzyme 30's + Kiloscut 30's + D'Tox Plum Juice 6's + SKNNY Coffee 14's set, for example. Retailing at S$100.00, it is going at 54% off its usual price of S$219.60. It is a deal not-to-be-missed with multiple products bundled together for maximum efficacy. The Kinohimitsu Detox Box I: Wellness Smooth'D Cleanse & Shape 15's + Detox Enzyme 30's + D'Tox Plum Juice 6's + SKNNY Coffee 14's is a great choice as well. At S$82.00, it is a good 57% off its usual S$189.60.

From 24 April to the end of the month, iShopChangi presents all its Kinohimitsu products at fabulous prices. Expect items like the Kinohimitsu [Bundle of 2] Resvera K°18 10's going at S$62.90, an exciting 52% off its usual price of S$129.80. Not forgetting the Kinohimitsu [1 FOR 1] Superfood Supreme 500g that retails at S$42.00, 53% off its usual price of S$89.80.

Not to mention, iShopChangi is giving away S$100 of ClassPass^ credits weekly to its top spender, with two winners in the first week to kick off the sweepstakes.

iShopChangi shoppers can also enjoy deals and complimentary gifts with a minimum spend on Kinohimitsu products. Expect up to S$32 off and a Kirona Scent Aroma Diffuser worth S$49 to take home. With incredible gifts and attractive deals up for grabs, Kinohimitsu is the brand to snap up from iShopChangi this April.

iShopChangi was launched in 2013 as an extension of Changi Airport’s promise to deliver greater comfort and convenience to travellers in its suite of airport retail offerings. Passengers can browse and purchase tax- and duty-free products across all terminals between 30 days to 12 hours pre-flight on the e-store – and choose to collect their items at Collection Centres within departure, upon arrival or have them delivered free in Singapore. Providing easy access to over 30,000 products across 900 brands and exclusives such as Changi First product launches, the site has since received global recognition with its award for Best Website – Retail Customer Facing at The Moodies: the Airport and Travel Retail Digital Media Awards 2018. In early 2020, the e-commerce store started to retail a selection tax- and duty-absorbed products to Singapore-based residents without the need to fly.

Global home and personal care brand company Colgate-Palmolive ("Colgate") today is bolstering its Asia Pacific (APAC) digital strategy and giving consumers across the region even greater access to its range of products with a three-year partnership with Asia's largest delivery player[1], foodpanda. By leveraging foodpanda's established quick commerce (q-commerce) capabilities, the worldwide leader in oral care aims to drive its leadership within the health and wellness space forward.

The partnership follows prior successful collaborations which have shown a strong demand of Colgate's core range of oral, personal and home care products on foodpanda via pandamart including the key markets of Singapore, Malaysia and Hong Kong, amongst others.

Consumers are able to easily purchase a wide range of Colgate products on-demand and have them delivered within an hour anytime of the day through foodpanda, Asia's largest q commerce player. Popular products purchased on the platform includes Colgate's core range of products such as Colgate Toothpaste and Mouthwash, as well as products from personal care and home care brands like Palmolive, Ajax, Glo and Softlan.

In 2023, the partnership will focus on piloting commercial, marketing and advertising initiatives based on a core range of products across all markets. This partnership will not only allow Colgate to reach more customers and bring an extra convenience to them, but it will also provide the company with deeper insights into consumer purchasing habits to inform Colgate's business and marketing efforts.

"Quick commerce is witnessing strong growth in Asia Pacific and we are confident that our partnership with foodpanda will enable us to better meet customers' needs in a more efficient and effective way, having our products delivered right to their doorstep within minutes." said M Chandrasekar, VP Customer Development, Colgate-Palmolive APAC. "Colgate-Palmolive's digital commerce strategy has driven significant growth for our business and greater integration of q-commerce will further strengthen our leadership across the region."

The demand for q-commerce in the Asia Pacific region has grown rapidly especially in the last few years. Customers have since gotten used to the convenience of q-commerce services. foodpanda has seen a rise in demand across product categories, with a steep increase of Health and Wellness products rising by 216 per cent in the first half of 2022 compared to the same period in 2021.

"As customers' demands for on-demand deliveries continue to grow, we are committed to ensure that our offerings are in line with what our customers want. We are very excited to partner with a leading brand like Colgate to further support the daily needs of our customers," said Julien Tessonneau, Senior Director of Q-Commerce at foodpanda. " By coming on board pandamart, Colgate can leverage our robust q-commerce network and technology to enable even more convenience for customers."