Daily Briefing: Razer sets up mask manufacturing line in Singapore amidst COVID-19 shortage; KKR shelves to sell Goodpack amidst market turmoil

And Manpower minister plans on penalties for firms who are not following the guidelines.

From Channel News Asia:

Gaming company Razer plans to set up an automated face mask manufacturing line within 30 days to produce a couple of million certified masks each month.

The company said that it had initially converted existing product manufacturing lines in China to make and donate masks for immediate relief, with initial shipments going out earlier this week.

However, the company had been inundated by requests due to an extreme shortage of face masks and PPEs in SEA, and decided to set up a line in Singapore.

"Many of the face masks in the market are not properly manufactured, do not meet certification standards and offer little or no protection to the users," said Razer in its release.

The company said that its masks will be a standard three-layer face masks, supplying both the local and regional market.

From DealStreetAsia:

KKR & Co. shelves to sell Singapore-based Goodpack, an immediate bulk container maker, after the coronavirus outbreak impacted valuations for the proposed deal, according to multiple sources.

The group received bids from a few consortiums after tapping more than a dozen potential buyers late last year for a deal that could value Goodpack at about $2b.

However, the effects of the COVID-19 outbreak took a toll on Goodpack’s sales process.

According to Refinitive, a successful deal would have ranked as one of the largest PE-backed sales in the past few years in Asia, excluding Japan and Australia.

From Bloomberg:

Singapore is working on penalties for companies that don’t follow regulations on social distancing and telecommuting, according to Josephine Teo, the country’s minister for manpower.

Last week the government ordered more than 30 companies to stop work immediately after it found they hadn’t been following safe-distancing measures. It will be an offense for employers not to put in telecommuting measures where the nature of the work permits it, the authorities have said.

However, only some 40% of workers in the city’s central business district are following government directives to work from home.

Teo added that regulations are being worked out for companies that don’t follow the guidelines.

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