Daughter of Malaysian Tycoon Gives Up Inheritance for Love

Agencies
August 5, 2017

London, Aug 5: Angeline Francis Khoo, the daughter of Malaysian tycoon Tan Sri Khoo Kay Peng, has revealed that she gave up her share of the family fortune to marry the man her father had disapproved of.

Kay Peng, the 78-year-old is the chairman of Malayan United Industries, an investment holding firm with substantial stakes in lifestyle brand Laura Ashley UK and the Corus group of luxury hotels.

Forbes, which estimated his net worth at US$300mil (RM1.27bil), ranked him 44th on its list of Malaysia's 50 richest people in 2015.

Angeline, the fourth of Kay Peng's five children with his ex-wife and former Malaysian beauty queen Pauline Chai, met Carribean-born data scientist Jedidiah Francis while studying at Oxford University in 2008.

Kay Peng and Chai married in 1970, and had five children before splitting up in 2013. They have spent more than £6 million (RM34mil) between them on lawyers to fight their financial dispute, according to The news agency.

Angeline told her father she wanted to marry Francis but he refused to give her his blessing.

"I believed dad's stance was wrong, so there was no question about what was right," she said in the interview.

"I've been fortunate to have that perspective: you can have money and it's a blessing; it allows you to do things and gives you options, but there are also things that come with it, such as control.

"Money amplifies negative characteristics and that can cause problems. To walk away from that was actually very easy. I didn't even consider it."

The couple reportedly wed in the chapel of Pembroke College where Francis worked.

It was a modest £1,500 affair attended by 30 guests, with no one from the Khoo family attending.

Until her marriage, she appeared destined to work for the family business.

She spent her university holidays (she first moved to Britain in 2001 to study law at the University of Buckingham) working in the different departments of Laura Ashley, as the plan was that she would get involved in the retail side of the company.

Now a fashion designer, she also claimed she had no idea about the size of her father's wealth until it was revealed in court during a long-running divorce saga between her parents, who were married for 43 years.

Her father was ordered by a British court in April this year to pay £64mil to her 68-year-old mother as settlement for their divorce, which the latter filed for on Valentine's Day in 2013 citing his "unreasonable behaviour".

Angeline was the only witness called in her parents' divorce.

She expressed hope in the interview that her father could one day "let go of his anger and his hurt" so they could share a cordial relationship.

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Agencies
June 12,2020

Mumbai, Jun 12: Following an overwhelming response for the mega rights issue of Mukesh Ambani-owned Reliance Industries, the partly paid-up rights shares are set to debut on stock exchanges on June 15.

The biggest ever Rs 53,124 crore rights issue was subscribed 1.59 times and received bids worth Rs 84,000 crore on June 3.

Reliance said the rights issue saw a huge investor interest, including from lakhs of small investors and thousands of institutional investors, both Indian and foreign.

In 2019, Ambani said in the Reliance's annual general meeting that the company will be net zero debt by March 2021. The company is on course to achieve its target ahead of the deadline.

"In spite of the COVID-19 crisis and the lockdowns, the due-diligence by Saudi Aramco for the planned investment in the O2C business is on track as both the parties are committed and actively engaged," he said recently.

"With a strong visibility to these equity infusions, Reliance is set to achieve net zero debt status ahead of its own aggressive timeline. We believe rights issue was a part of the company's strategy of deleveraging its balance sheet," said Ambani. 

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Agencies
March 12,2020

Thiruvananthapuram, Mar 12: In the wake of COVID-19 outbreak, Internet service providers in Kerala have agreed to step up the network capacity by 30 to 40 per cent of the present capacity to meet the demand, especially in view of the spurt in work-at-home mode.

"The decision was made at a meeting of representatives of various telecom service providers in Kerala circle and officials of the Telecommunication Department convened by the Secretary, Electronics and IT, following a direction by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan to look into the issue," said a press release by the IT Department.

The decision will be beneficial for those working in IT institutions. The government has come out with a set of suggestions to avoid social gatherings at public places in view of coronavirus spread. Telecom service providers have assured the government that they are well equipped to face the current situation.

The major part of Internet consumption in Kerala is made available through local servers. Moreover, global Internet traffic is very low as compared to the overall consumption. So, increasing the capacity won't be difficult, service providers informed.

"Complaints regarding the low availability of the Internet due to the spurt in consumption of the Internet can be made to the service providers to their complaint redressal number or inform state government call centre (155300). But complaints regarding the insufficiency in the current network infrastructure should be strictly avoided," said the release.

The IT Department will also demand daily reports from various telecom service providers. By analysing these reports, steps for remedies will be taken after bringing the sudden increase in consumption to the service providers.

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Agencies
June 9,2020

Soon, you may be able to withdraw cash from an ATM without touching any part of the machine. AGS Transact Technologies, a provider of cash and digital payment solutions and automation technology, on Monday said it has successfully developed and tested a touchless ATM solution in light of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The ‘contactless' solution, currently under demo at interested banks, enables a customer to perform all the steps required to withdraw cash from an ATM using the mobile app itself. 

The customer simply has to scan the QR code displayed on the ATM screen and follow the directions on their respective bank's mobile application. 

This includes entering the amount and mPIN required to dispense the cash from the ATM machine. 

According to the company, the QR code feature makes cash withdrawals quicker and more secure, and negates the chances of compromising the ATM Pin or card skimming.

"The new Touchless ATM solution is an extension of the flagship QR Cash solution which ensures safety of the users and will provide a seamless cash withdrawal experience with enhanced security," said Ravi B. Goyal, Chairman and MD, AGS Transact Technologies Ltd.

With minimum investment, the banks can enable this solution for their ATM networks by upgrading the existing software.

AGSTTL has so far installed, maintained and managed a network of over 72,000 ATMs across the country and also provides customised solutions to leading banks. 

The company earlier introduced UPI-QR based Cash withdrawal solution in partnership with Bank of India. 

This is how the solution works.

Open the Bank mobile application on your smartphone and select QR Cash Withdrawal. Enter the amount you wish to withdraw on the mobile app and scan the QR code on the ATM screen.

Next, confirm the amount by clicking on ‘proceed' in the app and enter the mPin to authenticate the transaction. Now collect the cash and receipt and you are done.

"The seamless, cardless and touchless withdrawal method is designed to provide easy transaction flow, without the need to touch the ATM screen or enter the pin," said Mahesh Patel, President and Group Chief Technology Officer, AGS Transact Technologies.

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