Connecting - News - Information: September 2018

Sunday, 30 September 2018

IWBI announces well portfolio participation

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 26 (Bernama) -- The International WELL Building Institute (IWBI) announced today the first participants in WELL Portfolio, a new streamlined pathway for WELL Certification of multiple new or existing buildings and tenant spaces in a single portfolio.

Released as part of the WELL v2 pilot, the latest iteration of the WELL Building Standard (WELL) is part of a suite of enhancements to WELL which addresses the growing demand across the building industry for a programme that helps owners, developers and tenants streamline and scale health and wellness upgrades in their real estate assets.

The addition of an early-phase review process enabling projects to seek the WELL D&O designation introduced in WELL v2 allows portfolio projects to move through the certification process in a more streamlined and systematic fashion across their asset base.

The WELL Portfolio Pathway encourages owners to treat achieving WELL as a journey and not a destination, and to make incremental improvements across their portfolios over time, a statement said.

Tenants, developers and investors from Europe, North America, Australia and Asia have expressed interest in pursuing the WELL Portfolio Pathway, having already used WELL for individual buildings, and are now looking to bring the same value and evidence-based performance to their portfolios.

IWBI is leading the global movement to transform buildings and communities in ways that help people thrive.

WELL is focused exclusively on the ways that buildings and communities, and everything in them, can improve our comfort, drive better choices and generally enhance -- not compromise -- our health and wellness.

For more information, visit https://www.wellcertified.com.

-- BERNAMA

Bombardier gets FAA nod for servicing schedule

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 25 (Bernama) -- The Federal Aviation Agency (FAA) has granted approval for the maintenance intervals escalation of the CRJ700, CRJ900 and CRJ1000 aircraft.

The line maintenance interval (A-check) is extended to 800 flight hours and the heavy maintenance interval (C-check) to 8,000 flight hours, a statement today said.

“We are thrilled that our operators are benefiting from our continuous improvement mindset as with this evolution, the CRJ Series operators can now take advantage of 14 per cent less maintenance days, meaning more days of revenue flying,” said Bombardier Commercial Aircraft CRJ Series programme head, Charles Comtois.

The maintenance intervals have doubled since the launch of the CRJ aircraft family. The new maintenance intervals are applicable for new production deliveries as well as all CRJ700, CRJ900, and CRJ1000 aircraft in service.

For more information, visit www.bombardier.com.

-- BERNAMA

Toshiba launches new power amplifier

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 25 (Bernama) -- Toshiba Electronic Devices & Storage Corporation’s new four-channel power amplifier for car audio, the TCB503HQ, delivers strong resistance to power surges.

Higher reliability is able to be achieved because of Toshiba’s proven development capabilities in ICs for car audio.

The product supports 6V operations suitable for vehicles equipped with idling reduction systems and helps suppress the popping sounds that occur when power voltage fluctuates.

Other features include a built-in filter to improve resistance to extraneous high-frequency noise and to prevent the generation of abnormal noise even when there is high-frequency noise from mobile phone radio waves and adjustment of door mirrors.

Sample shipments start today, said a statement, with mass production scheduled to begin in the first quarter of 2019.

For more information, visit https://toshiba.semicon-storage.com

-- BERNAMA

NEXTDECADE RECEIVES FERC SCHEDULING NOTICE FOR RIO GRANDE LNG

THE WOODLANDS, Texas, Sept 5 (Bernama-BUSINESS WIRE) -- NextDecade Corporation (“NextDecade”) (NASDAQ: NEXT) announced today that the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (“FERC”) has issued a notice of schedule for environmental review of NextDecade’s Rio Grande LNG project in South Texas, as well as the associated Rio Bravo Pipeline to originate in the Agua Dulce area.

According to the notice, FERC will issue its final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) on April 26, 2019, based on issuance of a draft EIS in October 2018. FERC has established a 90-day Federal Authorization Decision Deadline on July 25, 2019.

Assuming a favorable FERC order, NextDecade anticipates a final investment decision on the project in 3Q 2019.

Rio Grande LNG and Rio Bravo Pipeline regulatory timeline


Section 3(a) & 7(c) FERC Application			May 5, 2016
Draft Environmental Impact Statement			October 2018
Final Environmental Impact Statement			April 26, 2019
Federal Authorization Decision Deadline			July 25, 2019

About NextDecade Corporation

NextDecade is an LNG development company focused on LNG export projects and associated pipelines in Texas. NextDecade intends to develop a portfolio of LNG projects, including the 27 mtpa Rio Grande LNG export facility in Brownsville, Texas and the 4.5 Bcf/d Rio Bravo Pipeline that would transport natural gas from the Agua Dulce area to Rio Grande LNG. NextDecade’s common stock is listed on the Nasdaq Capital Market under the symbol “NEXT.” NextDecade is headquartered in The Woodlands, Texas.

http://mrem.bernama.com/viewsm.php?idm=32616

Friday, 28 September 2018

Tinubu Square strengthens global presence with three sales experts

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 27 (Bernama) -- Tinubu Square has added three sales experts to consolidate its international market presence in Europe, North America and Asia-Pacific region.

The three vice presidents of sales are Ronan Cloarec, VP Receivables Finance Sales Europe; Daniel Fitzgerald, CPCU, VP Insurance Sales North America and Puneet Mehta, VP Receivables Finance Sales APAC.

The leading provider of credit insurance, surety and trade finance solutions said the objective is to enhance communication with its existing customers and to roll-out its integrated enterprise solution platform in SaaS mode alongside major accounts in targeted markets.

“We are planning to work with talented collaborators, renowned within the sector for their experience, skills and networks of influence during this new growth phase. We are convinced that they will actively contribute to the future success of Tinubu Square,” said Deputy Chief Executive Officer of Tinubu Square, Olivier Placca.

According to the company’s statement, Ronan Cloarec will be responsible to develop and manage major bank accounts in Europe, drawing from his experience in the digital transformation of financial institutions.

Daniel Fitzgerald will develop sales in the credit insurance and surety market in North America with 30 years’ experience working within the property and casualty industry plus 20 years’ experience with technology sales focused on improving insurance company operations.

Puneet Mehta will also develop sales in the financial institution markets in the Asia-Pacific region with more than 15 years of experience in selling software solutions to major international accounts.

Tinubu Square has built an ecosystem of customers in over 20 countries worldwide and has a global presence with offices in Paris, London, New York, Montreal and Singapore. More details on www.tinubu.com

--BERNAMA

China´s Shandong invites overseas Chinese students to start business

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 28 (Bernama) -- Shandong - a coastal province in eastern China - is welcoming overseas-educated Chinese students home to start their own businesses.

Governor of Shandong, Gong Zheng in his invitation said Shandong - with 145 universities and colleges -- firmly believes that while development is the top priority, talents are the most important resources and innovation is the premier driving force.

To attract more overseas-educated scholars to Shandong, the 10th China Shandong Domestic and Overseas High-end Talents Exchange Fair is slated on 29 to 31 October in Weihai, Shandong.The fair has been held for 9 sessions in a row, a statement said.

With themed "Gathering global talents, promoting quality development", the fair is expected to be a diversified, specialized and well-targeted international event that encompasses factors including talents, ideas, projects, technologies and financial capital.

“We work unremittingly to improve the policies for recruitment, training and use of talents, and upgrade the relevant mechanism and institution so that Shandong can become a fertile ground for talents,” he said in the invitation.

As a platform connecting Shandong with domestic and overseas high-caliber professionals and projects, the event offers an important opportunity for talents across the world to get to know, come and participate in the development of the province.

Shandong is also expected to set an example for rural revitalization, give higher priority to marine industry, and serve as a powerhouse for opening up. Acting upon the important instructions of Chinese General Secretary Xi, Shandong is implementing the major program to foster new drivers of growth and build a modernized economic system with focus on high quality development and supply-side structural reform.

Shandong accounts for nearly 1/10 of the GDP, 1/8 of the industrial output and 1/4 of the agricultural export of China.

In 2017, the GDP of Shandong reached 7.27 trillion yuan; general budget revenue topped 600 billion yuan; foreign trade was nearly 1 trillion yuan; the number of market entities exceeded 8 million. (1 yuan = RM0.60)

--BERNAMA

PureCircle, North Carolina farmers to harvest first stevia in US

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 28 (Bernama) -- PureCircle, the world’s leading producer and innovator of stevia sweeteners and its North Carolina farmer partners will soon harvest its first commercial-scale crop of Starleaf™ stevia grown in the US.

Stevia is a naturally sweet plant native to South America. Today, it is grown around the world, especially in Kenya, China and the US. The sweet-tasting parts of the stevia leaf are up to 400 times sweeter than sugar.

PureCircle’s proprietary Starleaf stevia contains more of the best-tasting stevia sweeteners, such as Reb M, than other stevia plant variants, a statement said.

Following successful Starleaf stevia plot trials in North Carolina in 2017, PureCircle and a number of farmers in the state increased the amount of acreage dedicated to stevia by tenfold this year.

The quality and yield of that Starleaf stevia met PureCircle’s standards and the company plans to increase significantly the acreage used to grow stevia in the US over the next two to three years.

The North Carolina program is enabling PureCircle to broaden and diversify its supply chain by increasing the amount of Starleaf stevia grown in different areas around the globe throughout the year.

This gives food and beverage companies further confidence to launch global brands with PureCircle’s best-tasting stevia leaf sweeteners like Reb M.

PureCircle chief executive officer, Maga Malsagov said: “Our partnerships in North Carolina will significantly increase our supply of Starleaf stevia plants grown in North America and thereby geographically diversify our stevia plant supply.

“We currently have three strong farming partnerships in North Carolina, and we expect to bring many more farmers into our program. We could not be more pleased with this year’s results,” Malsagov added.

Fortunately, the North Carolina farms growing the Starleaf stevia plants were not damaged by Hurricane Florence which tragically ravaged some areas of the Carolinas.

Stevia leaf extract is a natural, zero calorie, high-intensity sweetener, used by global food and beverage companies as a great-tasting zero-calorie alternative to sugar and artificial sweeteners. More details on www.purecircle.com

--BERNAMA

Thursday, 27 September 2018

ABU DHABI'S FUND AGREED FRIENDLY TOB WITH MINDOL

CGAP photo and video contest launched today

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 26 (Bernama) – If you’ve got a striking image or short video on financial inclusion in Africa, the Consultative Group to Assist the Poor (CGAP) would like to invite you to submit it to its 13th annual photo contest.

Up to 20 photos or videos may be submitted at http://photocontest.cgap.org by Dec 14.

CGAP is training its lens on Africa this year because the region is a centre for financial innovation: home to M-Pesa, the mobile money service launched a decade ago and now replicated across markets worldwide; host to vibrant FinTech and e-commerce companies; and a growing off-grid sector that leverages digital finance.

Together these innovators contribute toward lifting many thousands of households from poverty.

“We look forward to submissions that capture in a powerful way both the challenges and opportunities of extending financial services to all,” said CGAP chief executive officer, Greta Bull, in a statement today.

The contest is open to both amateur and professional photographers and videographers who can visually tell the story of how financial services empower poor people and communities in three categories: reaching excluded people, brighter prospects for young people, and digital finance and development.

The grand prize winners -- one each in photo and video -- will be awarded US$2,000 (US$1 = RM4.13) gift certificates for photography or video equipment. Additional winners in each of the three categories will receive gift certificates of up to US$1,000.

For more information, visit http://www.cgap.org.

-- BERNAMA

CONCORD TECHNOLOGIES UNVEILS NEXTSTEP - AI-DRIVEN, CLOUD-BASED PLATFORM THAT SIMPLIFIES PATIENT DATA CAPTURE AND DOCUMENT WORKFLOWS

Travel industry to record 2.4 billion international trips by 2030 - research

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 27 (Bernama) -- The travel industry is set to record strong growth with international arrivals reaching 2.4 billion by 2030, corresponding to USD2.6 billion (RM10.76 billion) in incoming receipts. (USD1 = RM4.14)

The market research company, Euromonitor International in a statement released the new data on the future of the travel industry which China, France and the US are the main beneficiaries of international arrivals.

Travel industry manager at Euromonitor International, Nadejda Popova said the sharing economy and digitalisation are bringing new business models with consumers becoming more sophisticated and demanding.

Therefore it is critical to provide a seamless travel experience for competitive advantage, from the inspiration stage, through search and booking to in-destination services with Artificial Intelligence (AI), big data and cloud computing help to drive for personalised and frictionless travel experiences.

The research reported that global arrivals will grow by five per cent between 2017 and 2018 to reach 1.4 billion trips while low-cost carriers are expected to show a passenger growth rate of six per cent in 2018 to 2023, thus outperforming the scheduled operators.

The travel intermediaries are also forecast to exceed USD2 trillion by 2023 stimulated by digital advances and the shift to mobile sales representing 70 per cent of travel agents’ sales in 2017.

Euromonitor International’s analysts will introduce the ‘Megatrends Shaping the Future of Travel’ report on November 6 at the World Travel Market (WTM) in London. More details about the company at www.euromonitor.com.

--BERNAMA

A.M. BEST WITHDRAWS CREDIT RATINGS OF ECICS LIMITED

BEHAVOX TO HOST "COMPLIANCE IN THE CLOUD" EVENT IN SINGAPORE ON 26 SEPTEMBER

SINGAPORE, Sept 24 (Bernama-BUSINESS WIRE) -- Behavox, a pioneering artificial intelligence data analytics firm, today announced it is hosting an exclusive event in Singapore on 26 September, focusing on the benefits of cloud adoption and its related compliance issues for the financial services industry.
The Behavox event will be held at the Black Swan restaurant and will feature a panel discussion on the benefits of cloud adoption so that financial services organizations can transform the way data can be used across an organization. The panel will be comprised of representatives from Behavox and Standard Chartered’s Cloud Engineering team.

Confirmed guests for the event are financial industry leaders, regulatory figures and other senior representatives from the world of finance in Singapore, comprising senior management, legal, compliance and technology experts from the industry.

Behavox is winning important contracts with leading financial institutions, including government-affiliated entities, across the Asia-Pacific region. The company’s machine learning software enables firms to search and generate immediate insights from enormous amounts of employee-generated data, including emails, text messages, trade data and voice calls, all tracked in real-time. Behavox has built the first behavioral operating system with an eventual focus extending beyond compliance into areas such as productivity, culture, and revenue generation.

Syafiq Saadi, Behavox’s account management team lead for Singapore, said, “Behavox is delighted to bring together multiple financial industry leaders and technologists in Singapore to discuss how cloud adoption is transforming operations and the business potential in financial services. Machine learning and artificial intelligence cannot be ignored by the most progressive C-Suite leaders.”

Attendance at the 26 September event is limited to the extensive network of professionals that are part of the Behavox Compliance Community. Behavox has developed a thriving community of compliance professionals who meet regularly for roundtables, exchange experience and advice, receive specialist newsletters, and take part in other informative, networking events. These professionals work for brokers, banks and asset managers in advisory as well as within the first and second lines of defense, and other essential risk functions.

The community is active in London, New York and Singapore. It is free to join for anyone with the requisite experience. For more information please visit https://www.behavox.com/expertise.

About Behavox Ltd.
Behavox is the people analytics company that gathers and interprets employee data in a corporate environment to understand the behavior of an organization. By aggregating and analyzing internal and external interactions and using cutting-edge software and machine learning, Behavox can generate previously unidentifiable insights on: compliance and risk; culture and conduct; people performance; and sales and profits. Behavox works with forward thinking, multi-national businesses, financial institutions and investment firms. For more information, visit here.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180923005016/en/

Contact
For Behavox
Rich Myers, 646-538-7904
rmyers@profileadvisors.com

Source : Behavox

--BERNAMA

Wednesday, 26 September 2018

BOMBARDIER DELIVERS FIRST 90-SEAT Q400 AIRCRAFT TO SPICEJET

CT screening reduces lung cancer mortality - study

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 26 (Bernama) -- Recent findings from Europe’s largest running lung cancer screening trial, the NELSON study, demonstrated that the use of computed tomography (CT) screening with a unique nodule management protocol led to a 26 per cent reduction in deaths among lung cancer patients at eight years of study follow-up.

The findings was presented by Harry J. De Koning, M.D., Ph.D., professor of Public Health & Screening Evaluation, Erasmus Medical Centre, Rotterdam, Netherlands, at the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer’s (IASLC’s) 19th World Conference on Lung Cancer (WCLC).

The study was made to assess the effect of CT screening, in combination with increasing screening intervals, on lung cancer mortality, a statement said.

“These findings show that CT screenings are an effective way to assess and manage nodule volume in lung cancer patients, often leading to detection of suspicious nodules and subsequent surgical intervention, and can positively impact survival rates,” said Dr. De Koning.

Meanwhile, recent findings from the PACIFIC trial found that durvalumab demonstrates statistically significant and clinically meaningful improvement in overall survival (OS) compared with placebo for patients with Stage III, unresectable non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) who have not progressed after chemoradiotherapy (CRT).

“Results of PACIFIC provide compelling evidence for the unprecedented benefit of durvalumab treatment as the standard of care in this patient population,” said Scott J. Antonia, M.D., Ph.D., department chair of the Thoracic Oncology Department at the H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center and Research Institute in Tampa and Professor of Oncologic Sciences at the University of South Florida College of Medicine.

“Durvalumab offers the first major advance in this disease setting in many years, offering new hope to patients with Stage III, unresectable NSCLC without progression after CRT,” added Dr. Antonia.

Today’s press conference at the IASLC’s 19th WCLC featured some of the year’s most innovative research in both small cell and non-small cell lung cancer, as well as groundbreaking data which demonstrated an advancement in disease treatment not seen for many years.

More details available at www.iaslc.org and https://wclc2018.iaslc.org.

-- BERNAMA

Qubercomm, Energous unveil new asset tracking solution

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 26 (Bernama) -- Qubercomm Technologies has partnered with Energous Corporation to launch a new asset tracking solution, Locatum with wireless charging capability that is enabled with WattUp.

Qubercomm’s chief technology officer, Senthil Kumar Balasubramanian in a statement said the company’s expertise and IP enabled them to address the challenges of accuracy, latency and manageability to make Locatum the preferred choice for customers.

Locatum represents an innovative approach to asset tracking in decoding the received beacons with Qubercomm’s patent-pending positioning methods to deliver accurate position with near zero latency.

Its cloud portal provides device and tag management, and a detailed analytics platform to make real sense of the data. The Locatum tags leverage WattUp RF charging technology from Energous Corporation, thus reducing the overhead to replace batteries.

The tags also support easy drop-and-charge, orientation-free charging of up to 20 units on a single charging pad, while monitoring battery levels of individual tags and managing the distribution of power across devices.

Qubercomm Technologies is the leading solution provider for asset tracking solutions in healthcare, hospitality, retail and warehouse applications. More details at www.qubercomm.com.

--BERNAMA

WORLD CONFERENCE ON LUNG CANCER MONDAY PRESS CONFERENCE: CLINICAL RESEARCH RESULTS AND GENDER DIFFERENCES IN LUNG CANCER SURVIVAL

A HIGH-STANDARD MEDICAL DEVICE INDUSTRY COMPETITION IS HELD BY EAST CHINA'S XIANJU TO ATTRACT TALENTS

Tuesday, 25 September 2018

PGIM REAL ESTATE HIRES VINCENT CHEW AS PORTFOLIO MANAGER

SINGAPORE, Sept 21 (Bernama-BUSINESS WIRE) -- Vincent Chew has joined PGIM Real Estate as an executive director and portfolio manager for PGIM Real Estate’s core investment strategy in Asia. PGIM Real Estate is the real estate investment business of PGIM, the $1 trillion global investment management businesses of U.S.-headquartered Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU).

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here:https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180920005736/en/

Chew is based in Singapore and reports to Benett Theseira, head of Asia Pacific.

“Vincent brings to PGIM Real Estate more than two decades of Asia Pacific real estate experience. His deep understanding of real estate markets will be highly complementary to our existing platform as we continue to expand our core real estate portfolio in the region,” said Theseira.

Chew joins from Allianz Real Estate, where he spent 10 years as director of Asia Pacific Investment Management and launched the team investing into real estate funds, partnership vehicles and direct assets across real estate sectors and risk profiles. Earlier, he spent 11 years at DTZ Debenham Tie Leung (now Cushman & Wakefield) in Hong Kong, initially in corporate real estate services and subsequently with the investment and corporate finance advisory teams. He began his career in architecture on the U.S. West Coast.

Chew holds a bachelor’s degree in architecture from the University of California, Berkeley. He also earned master’s degrees in business administration and real estate development from the University of Southern California.

PGIM Real Estate is one of the leading real estate investment managers in the Asia Pacific region with over $7 billion of assets under management and a longstanding presence since 1994. PGIM Real Estate’s latest pan-Asia core real estate strategy has begun to deploy capital in the region, including an office building in Seoul, a residential and office property in Tokyo, and two investments in Sydney—a prime office and retail development on George Street and a neighborhood necessity retail center. Chew will lead the effort to continue to drive this strategy in his new role.

PGIM Real Estate is the real estate investment business of PGIM, the global investment management businesses of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU). Redefining the real estate investing landscape since 1970, PGIM Real Estate has professionals in 17 cities in the Americas, Europe and Asia Pacific with deep local knowledge and expertise, and gross assets under management of $69.2 billion ($49.5 billion net) as of June 30, 2018. PGIM Real Estate’s tenured team offers to its global client base a broad range of real estate equity, debt and securities investment strategies that span the risk/return spectrum. For more information, visit pgimrealestate.com.

http://mrem.bernama.com/viewsm.php?idm=32743

KANSAI INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT REOPENS AFTER TYPHOON DAMAGE

First Data, Huifu partner for seamless shopping experience

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 20 (Bernama) -- First Data has signed an agreement with Huifu Payment Ltd to offer a market-leading global e-commerce solution in China.

The collaboration will bring about the integration of Huifu’s technology platform with First Data’s payment gateway.

The technology delivers an integrated processing solution which allows international merchants to seamlessly enable multicurrency transactions from a single platform on a real-time basis across markets.

“Huifu provides First Data the ability to route transactions and settle domestically in China, offering a seamless e-commerce solution to the global merchant base of the largest acquirer in the world,” said Huifu board chairman, executive director and chief executive officer, Ye Zhou, in a statement.

The solution integrates local Chinese language and local payment methods including China UnionPay, Alipay and Wechatpay into merchants’ websites.

“Making consumers’ shopping experiences as seamless as possible and offering familiar local payment methods is key to reducing shopping cart abandonment and driving successful cross-border commerce,” said First Data executive vice president and head of Asia-Pacific, Ivo Distelbrink.

“As we continue to expand across the Asia-Pacific region, we will extend coverage to new markets and collaborate with carefully selected partners to deliver the solutions that meet our clients’ ever-changing needs,” he added.

First Data, a global leader in commerce-enabling technology, serves 6,000,000 business locations and 4,000 financial institutions in more than 100 countries around the world.

For more information, visit www.firstdata.com

-- BERNAMA

Monday, 24 September 2018

HARD ROCK CAFE TO OPEN AT DXB WITH GREAT MUSIC, DELICIOUS FOOD AND ICONIC APPAREL

WESTERN UNION ANNOUNCES RELIEF FOLLOWING TYPHOON MANGKHUT

Team Toread winners in China Mountain Race

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 24 (Bernama) -- Team Toread came out first in the 2018 China International Mountain Quest and 2018 China Mountain Outdoor Sports Series in Wulong, Chongqing.

A statement from the Publicity Department of Wulong District Committee of Chongqing Municipality said the team finished the 250km, four-section race in 19 hours, nine minutes and five seconds.

Team Aliexpress was in second place by finishing the race in 19 hours, 56 minutes and 47 seconds, while Beijing Koosa came in third, finishing the race in 20 hours, 37 minutes and 59 seconds.

The race route designed in line with Wulong's major scenic spots offered players a memorable trip combining sports, including kayaking and swimming, with tourism experience.

The top 25 teams will be awarded by the organiser.

--BERNAMA

Sharjah facilitates investment with Investors Services Centre

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 20 (Bernama) – Sharjah, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) third largest emirate, has announced the launch of the Investors Services Centre.

Its investment and development authority, Shurooq, has partnered with Injazat Services to develop the high-end facility which will offer an exhaustive list of fully-integrated business consultancy services which will benefit new players in the UAE.

Through the centre, investors will be directly connected to the emirate’s regulatory entities and will be able to access all departments responsible for issuing commercial licenses and conduct other official dealings required to set up a business in the emirate.

Sharjah’s economy has been diversifying rapidly with steep growth experienced by non-oil sectors like tourism, healthcare, transport and logistics, light manufacturing, publishing and others.

Foreign direct investments into the emirate’s economy grew to US$1.63 billion (1US$ = RM4.13) last year.

-- BERNAMA

Rocket keen to accelerate growth in APAC

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 24 (Bernama) -- Rocket Software announced through a statement today the addition of Paul Lin to the company’s senior sales leadership team, today.

An accomplished business leader with more than 20 years of professional experience, he will oversee the company’s reseller and sales operations in Southeast Asia.

It is the latest move in Rocket’s strategic expansion into the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region where the company has already struck major deals with financial institutions such as CIMB Bank, Erste Group Bank, Westpac Banking Group and PT Bank Central Asia Tbk.

“With his broad cultural knowledge and proven experience in managing channels and strategic alliances, Paul is helping us forge new and important connections. I look forward to working with him and the rest of the APAC team to accelerate business growth in this crucial region,” said Chip Salyards, Rocket international sales vice president.

“I am excited to be a part of Rocket’s fast-growing APAC team. Every day, companies and governments around the world use Rocket solutions to reliably, efficiently and securely power the IT infrastructure behind many of the world’s most critical financial, healthcare, retail and manufacturing applications. There is a large and growing need in the APAC market for these kinds of technologies,” said Lin, who is fluent in English and Chinese.

Rocket is currently working on a broad range of initiatives in APAC, including projects to leverage technology to better connect citizens with government and to help banks deliver more personalised services for their customers.

For more information, visit www.rocketsoftware.com.

--BERNAMA

A BLOCKCHAIN PROJECT THAT HAS IGNITED AN ENERGY REVOLUTION - ELONCITY SECURES 20 MILLION USD IN INVESTMENT

SINGAPORE, Sept 18 (Bernama-BUSINESS WIRE) -- The rapid growth of the earth's population and the industrialization of developing countries are driving global energy demands to unprecedented levels. The world’s energy dependence on fossil fuels such as coal, oil, and natural gas pose significant risks to the environment and are one of the leading drivers of detrimental climate changes.

The majority of scientists around the world agree that based on our current trajectory, the world is heading towards a series of irreversible ecological disasters. One possible pathway to alter this course is to decrease our dependence on fossil fuels drastically. The need for “GHG-free renewable energy” has become a pressing issue, concerning all of humanity.

Combining Blockchain and Energy Technologies

With these challenges, new approaches to energy production and distribution are needed. The solutions must support vibrant and sustainable global growth. Andy Li founded the AI Grid Foundation, a non-profit organization based in Singapore. The AI Grid Foundation advocates for the employment of decentralized renewable energy as a viable solution to the problems of our existing energy system. The AI Grid Foundation has collaborated with organizations and communities around the world to develop the ELONCITY Model, a community-based and consensus-driven approach that employs decentralized renewable energy resources as a means of removing barriers to universal, safe, secure, reliable, affordable, healthy, and equitable electricity services.

In the ELONCITY ecosystem, the energy consumers play a critical role in the planning and implementation of their energy future.

The blockchain smart contract platform and crypto utility token enable energy consumers to exchange locally produced energy, creating cost-benefit incentives for energy asset deployment within their communities.

http://mrem.bernama.com/viewsm.php?idm=32697

Friday, 21 September 2018

European R&D Center in China upgraded

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 14 (Bernama) -- The European Research and Development Center – overseas research and development center with the highest specification in China – has been upgraded to European Innovation Center recently.

The announcement was made by the chief executive officer of Yili Group, Zhang Jianqiu. Yili Group and Wageningen University in the Netherlands jointly established the center in 2014.

Deputy secretary general of China Chamber of International Commerce, Zhang Yi said the center covered different fields, built bridges between countries and continents and integrated different cultures, which can be used to not only satisfy technological demand of the enterprises, but also directly transfer innovation of the research institute.

Yi added the center can be regarded as an excellent example of non-governmental cooperation between China and foreign countries – setting a new benchmark for the development of the enterprises under the situation of world economic integration in the future.

In the ‘List of World Top-20 Enterprises in the Global Dairy Industry’ issued by RABOBANK, Yili listed among the top ten in the global dairy industry and first rank in Asia for many years.

Chief executive officer of Wageningen University, Fresco said: "Wageningen University is one of the best agricultural universities in the world and Yili is the biggest dairy company in Asia.

“The collaboration between Wageningen University and Yili is not only beneficial for the Chinese market, but more importantly, for the global market,” added Fresco.

In recent years, innovation has been regarded by Yili as the ‘core’ power for the development of the enterprise; different ways of innovation have been established for the primary, secondary and tertiary industry in the industry chain; multiple innovation institutions have been established at home and abroad for the organization structure, in order to coordinate global wisdom and plan for the future, a statement said.

-- BERNAMA

HANGZHOU HELD A PROMOTION MEETING IN HONG KONG TO DEEPEN ECONOMIC AND TRADE EXCHANGES BETWEEN THE TWO CITIES

HANGZHOU, China, Sept. 20, 2018 /Xinhua-AsiaNet/--

The "New era, New cooperation, New development -- Glamorous Hangzhou" promotion meeting was held in Hong Kong on September 17th. The event aims to promote the deepening of economic and trade cooperation between Hangzhou and Hong Kong and jointly promote the construction of the Belt and Road.

At the promotion meeting, Zhou Jiangyong, the secretary of the CPC Hangzhou Municipal Committee, said that Hangzhou, the capital of east China's Zhejiang Province, is a beautiful, historical, vibrant and open city. Hong Kong is a world-famous modern metropolis. The relationship between Hangzhou and Hong Kong is deep and long. And they have complementary advantages and close cooperation. By the end of 2017, more than 6000 Hong Kong enterprises had invested in Hangzhou with a total investment of more than 520 billion US dollars, making it the largest source of foreign investment in Hangzhou.

At present, Hangzhou is facing a major historical opportunity for the "post summit, Asian Games and modernization". Zhou Jiangyong said that Hong Kong is an important node of the Belt and Road. He expected that Hangzhou and Hong Kong to strengthen exchanges and cooperation in Belt and Road construction, deepen cooperation in industrial development, science and technology education, innovation and entrepreneurship, tourism and other fields, and to cooperate in more fields in future time.

Chen Baili, deputy director of the Commerce and Economic Development Bureau of the Hong Kong SAR Government, who attended the meeting, said that Hong Kong and Hangzhou cooperate closely in economic, culture, education, youth development and many other fields.

http://mrem.bernama.com/viewsm.php?idm=32733

TELEDYNE DALSA EXPANDS ITS AREA CAMERA SERIES WITH THE INDUSTRY'S FIRST 5 GIGABIT, GIGE VISION MODELS

FUSIONEX SUPPORTS MEDICAL OUTREACH PROGRAM TARGETING 500,000 MALAYSIANS

SmartStream appoints Chinese partner as official distributor in mainland market

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 12 (Bernama) -- SmartStream Technologies - the financial Transaction Lifecycle Management (TLM) solutions provider - has appointed TGT Chibo Data Service as an official distributor partner for SmartStream’s TLM solutions in the mainland market.

The addition of SmartStream’s solutions will enable TGT Chibo to provide a full suite of back-office operational capabilities to the Chinese banking market and enable the SmartStream to extend its value to the market and to strengthen its position in Asia.

TGT Chibo Data Service is one of the leading technology services and payment solution providers in China, a statement said.

“The strategic partnership with TGT Chibo Data Service is a natural one which complements our work in the region, we are already working together to play an important role in supporting the local banks,” said regional director Asia Pacific, SmartStream, Mark Taylor.

The new agreement will allow TGT Chibo Data Service to initially market SmartStream’s reconciliations solutions to the financial sector in China, including banks, asset managers and third party administrators.

TGT Chibo Data Service will provide the local infrastructure and local representation, whilst SmartStream will provide proven post-trade processing technology for the local market.

-- BERNAMA

MEDIA ALERT: ATTEND FIDO AUTHENTICATION SEMINAR IN SINGAPORE: MOVING BEYOND PASSWORDS

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., Sept 20 (Bernama-GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The FIDO Alliance is making significant progress in its mission to reduce the world’s reliance on passwords with simpler and stronger authentication. Join the FIDO Alliance on October 8 in Singapore to learn about the latest trends in strong authentication, including key updates on newly released FIDO2 specifications being supported in leading browsers such as Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge and Mozilla Firefox.

Attendees will hear about the uptake of FIDO Authentication in the APAC region with case studies on real world deployments from leading companies such as BC Card, Tradelink Electronic Commerce, Ltd. and LINE. Speakers will also cover the technical details of FIDO standards, FIDO Certification programs, and FIDO’s role in the global regulatory landscape for strong authentication.

Why Attend: FIDO standards offer a simple, low-cost way to improve security and user experience. Attend this seminar to learn more about FIDO specifications and the benefits of deployment.
When: October 8, 2018; 9am – 2pm
Where: Pan Pacific Hotel, Singapore
Who Can Attend: The event is free and open to anyone to attend, but registration is required.
Agenda & Registration: https://fidoalliance.org/events/fido-authentication-seminar-singapore/

About The FIDO Alliance
The FIDO (Fast IDentity Online) Alliance, www.fidoalliance.org, was formed in July 2012 to address the lack of interoperability among strong authentication technologies, and remedy the problems users face with creating and remembering multiple usernames and passwords. The FIDO Alliance is changing the nature of authentication with standards for simpler, stronger authentication that define an open, scalable, interoperable set of mechanisms that reduce reliance on passwords. FIDO Authentication is stronger, private, and easier to use when authenticating to online services.

http://mrem.bernama.com/viewsm.php?idm=32738

Football dominates global sports

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 20 (Bernama) – The Global League Attractiveness Index introduced by Euromonitor International today has highlighted football as the most prominent global sport.

Besides the Premier League, Bundesliga, Major League Soccer (MLS) and La Liga also claim spots in the top 10 leagues, with nine football leagues listed in the top 20, making football the world's most popular sport.

Index results show North America as the global powerhouse in domestic league performance, securing four of the top five places in the index with the National Football League (NFL) on top, outpacing runner-ups including the National Basketball Association (NBA), Major League Baseball (MLB) and the National Hockey League (NHL).

“Legacy sports leagues in the United States and Canada -- such as the NFL -- claim the top spots in the Global League Attractiveness Index with popularity sustained annually by the Super Bowl, drawing in millions of fans globally,” said Euromonitor International sports industry manager, Alan Rownan.

“The dominance of North American juggernauts isn’t to be ignored, nor is the performance of the Premier League in European football, however, we do not expect the index results to remain static as we update it annually,” he added.

The guide analyses a range of key metrics directly and indirectly influencing league performance and index positions, from physical and digital fan base behaviour to broader economic context.

-- BERNAMA

Thursday, 20 September 2018

Token sale for rural renewable energy projects in Asia, Africa

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 19 (Bernama) -- Entrade IO Pte Ltd intends to launch a token sale to raise funds for development of the Entrade Energy Platform, a blockchain-based platform for global social impact and renewable energy projects in Asia and Africa.

Entrade IO is a new company founded by the chief executive officer (CEO) of Arensis and Entrade Energiesysteme AG, Julien Uhlig.

Uhlig said: “For the past 10 years, I’ve had the vision of powering small villages through renewable microgrid systems. Advanced hardware, software and blockchain technology is now making it a reality.”

The platform is for the global pre-sale of renewable energy units called cWh (Crypto-Watt-Hours).

Entrade IO’s tokens have the symbol ‘ENTR’ and these tokens will be utilised for the development of the Entrade Energy Platform. The tokens may have the ability to be traded on exchanges that will be confirmed in the future.

The streamlined administration and monitoring platform offers a new level of cost efficiency through its automated smart contract technology, limiting fluctuating currency value and allowing the ability to donate to renewable energy projects in developing countries.

The delivery of affordable electricity, heating, cooling and distillation of water to remote rural areas will be possible through blockchain technology and leaders in decentralised energy systems.

The platform will utilise blockchain technology developed by Schneider Electric, in partnership with Arensis. The blockchain Application Programming Interface (API) platform will be licensed exclusively to Entrade IO and its related corporations. More details at www.entrade.io

-- BERNAMA

Wednesday, 19 September 2018

Kyriba sees rapid expansion in APAC with addition of Grab, Danone

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 19 (Bernama) -- Kyriba Corp, a global provider of cloud treasury and financial management solutions, envisages rapid expansion in the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region with the addition of Grab, Danone and other multinationals.

Chairman and chief executive officer of Kyriba, Jean-Luc Robert said, “Kyriba serves as a catalyst for digital finance transformation at many organisations, where automation, centralisation, visibility and secure controls give CFOs and their treasury teams a compelling advantage over the competition.”

Grab -- Southeast Asia’s leading online-to-offline (O2O) mobile platform -- and Danone Asia Pte Ltd -- one of the largest food and beverage companies -- join major industry leaders in the APAC region who are switching to Kyriba to accelerate growth opportunities, protect against loss and enhance fraud protection and compliance.

They include CWT, LIXIL, TransferTo, Tan Chong Motor Holdings, Konica Minolta, JVCKENWOOD, Yokohoma, Nissin and many others.

This summer, Kyriba has announced a 48 per cent increase in global sales booking in the first half of 2018 compared to last year, a statement said.

The company now has more than 100 clients in the APAC region, including Japan as the company continues to see strong demand for its enterprise platform worldwide.

Kyriba empowers financial leaders and their teams with award-winning solutions for cash and risk management, payments and supply chain finance. More details at www.kyriba.com.

-- BERNAMA

NODLE.IO RAISES $1.5M SEED FUNDING TO BRING IOT CRYPTOCURRENCY TO APP DEVELOPERS

Tuesday, 18 September 2018

Vista Global Holding to spearhead and expand the business aviation market

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 12 (Bernama) -- Thomas Flohr has launched Vista Global Holding (Vista Global) - the world leader in business flight solutions - to spearhead the consolidation of the fragmented and expanding business aviation market.

The launch of Vista Global is backed by longstanding supporters of Thomas Flohr’s enterprises, the global private equity firm Rhône Group which is investing an additional $200 million to strengthen Vista Global’s balance sheet.

“It is a historic moment for aviation and is the first of its kind. Vista Global is unrivalled in its service to offer all clients the full range of business aviation services on a global scale - flights, technology, finance,” said Thomas Flohr.

Vista Global is headquartered at the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC). The company is the world’s most comprehensive business aviation group and is built on four pillars with complementary services for consumers and trade.

To serve each pillar of customer needs, three companies which are VistaJet, Vista Lease and TechX are part of Vista Global today and the group is well positioned to make further acquisitions, a statement from VistaJet Ltd said.

Vista Global’s premier flight service offer is VistaJet. The company pioneered an innovative business model where customers have access to an entire global fleet whilst paying only for the hours they fly, free of the responsibilities and asset risk linked to aircraft ownership.

Meanwhile, Vista Lease will hold several options for Global 7500 aircraft, as well as having the capitalisation to act as principal buyer in the pre-owned segment and then offer its inventory for lease directly to its customers, who seek a dedicated aircraft solution.

TechX will build off and further enhance existing proprietary technology. The company’s mission is to create end-to-end services to allow companies to find customers, manage bookings, track flights and plan trips directly with operators, all on one platform.

Vista Global plans to expand its fleet within the next three years, further strengthening its current global coverage and infrastructure to serve every customer’s needs around the globe.

-- BERNAMA

Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance Company expands leadership team in Dubai

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 18 (Bernama) -- Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance Company (BHSI) has expanded its leadership team in Dubai with the appointment of seven executives to fill key product line and service posts.

The BHSI appointees include Aisling Malone (Head of Executive & Professional Lines), Emir Erdur (Head of Casualty), Carlos Beltran (Head of Commercial Property), Meenakshi Srinath (Head of Marine), Kapil Palathinkal (Head of Energy and Construction), Pruthviraj More (Senior Risk Engineer) and John Lewis (Head of Claims).

“Our new teammates in Dubai embody the excellent capabilities and strong character that is so valued by BHSI and by our customers. They will lead our efforts to bring BHSI’s long-term focus, multi-line underwriting and service excellence to customers throughout the Middle East ,” said Senior Executive Officer (SEO), BHSI Middle East, Alessandro Cerase.

Earlier this year, the company announced the appointment of Alessandro Cerase as SEO and Neeraj Yadvendu as Deputy SEO and Head of Third Party Lines for the Middle East, both based on Dubai, a statement said.

Alessandro also leads First Party Lines for BHSI’s broader Asia Middle East region, which includes BHSI’s other regional hubs of Hong Kong and Singapore as well as BHSI operations in Malaysia and Macau.

Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance Company provides commercial property, casualty, healthcare professional liability, executive and professional lines, surety, travel, programs, medical stop loss and homeowners insurance. More details at www.bhspecialty.com.

--BERNAMA

Call to climate action and use of latest emission reduced diesel engines

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 18 (Bernama) -- World’s leaders should embrace greenhouse-gas-reducing technologies and consider policies that increase the adoption of the latest diesel engines, vehicles and equipment to accelerate emissions reductions and carbon-cutting climate benefits.

“We should all embrace innovation and opportunity in every form and at the same time not lose sight of technologies that deliver climate progress today on a wide scale,” said executive director of The Diesel Technology Forum, Allen Schaeffer.

“Making progress on global climate commitments requires a mix of proven and existing technologies, working alongside new technologies. Among these must be the new generation of diesel power,” added Schaeffer.

Diesel powers one out of every two sectors in the global economy. At work on the streets, on jobsites, and in farm fields, mines and beyond, greenhouse gas emissions reductions are not a prospective goal but are a daily reality, driven by the increased use of more advanced diesel engines, vehicles and equipment around the globe.

While technology demonstrations or small-scale releases of alternate technologies may take place, in many sectors no other fuel or technology options are expected to be commercially available on a wide scale nor be able to deliver the unique combination of benefits that diesel possesses for the foreseeable future.

The continuous improvement in efficiency and performance in the newest generation of diesel engine – when deployed in conjunction with ultra-low sulfur diesel fuel – offered a proven, cost-effective, energy-efficiency and near-zero-emission power choice.

New renewable diesel and biodiesel fuel options – drop-in replacements for conventional fossil-based diesel – mean that the newest diesel technologies can cut greenhouse gasses and other emissions even further.

“We encourage world leaders to consider policies to encourage the greater adoption of the latest clean diesel technologies out on the road, in the fields and on jobsites so as to accelerate progress today,” said Schaeffer in a statement.

The Diesel Technology Forum is a non-profit organisation dedicated to raising awareness about the importance of Diesel engines, fuel and technology. More details on http://www.dieselforum.org.

--BERNAMA

41 CITIES REUNITE IN SHENYANG DISCUSSING GREEN DEVELOPMENT AT THE 18TH WORLD WINTER CITIES ASSOCIATION FOR MAYORS CONFERENCE

MPM HOLDINGS INC. ENTERS INTO AGREEMENT TO BE ACQUIRED BY INVESTOR GROUP CONSISTING OF SJL PARTNERS, KCC CORPORATION AND WONIK QNC CORPORATION

Innosight, Inventium consultants collaborate to expand reach and impact

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 18 (Bernama) -- Innosight, a Boston-based growth strategy consultancy and Australia’s innovation consultancy, Inventium – announced a strategic partnership to leverage their complementary capabilities to expand their reach and impact.

Innosight is the growth strategy practice of professional services firm at Huron and the leading authority on disruptive innovation and strategic transformation.

Through training, assessment and consulting, Inventium works with many of the world’s most successful organisations that want to use an evidence-based approach to drive innovation.

Innosight in a statement said the focus of the partnership is to accelerate commercial relationships in each organizations’ respective geographies and to leverage complementary capabilities to deliver services to client organizations.

Both companies will also pursue opportunities to collaborate on new intellectual property in areas of mutual benefit.

Managing partner of Innosight, Patrick Viguerie said: “Australia is an important management consulting hub, and the partnership will open up new opportunities to serve and create lasting impact for client organizations there.

“Inventium’s expertise and passion for an innovation culture and benchmarking is a powerful complement to Innosight’s leadership in growth strategy, transformation, and business model innovation,” Viguerie said.

Founder and chief executive officer of Inventium, Dr Amantha Imber said: “We are also particularly looking forward to working together to develop new IP and ways to help our clients, and bringing our respective evidence-based views to challenges that our clients are facing.”

More details on www.innosight.com and www.inventium.com.au

-- BERNAMA

KONICA MINOLTA TO IMPLEMENT ROBOTICS SOLUTION FOR LEADING ELECTRONICS MANUFACTURING TECHNOLOGY PROVIDER

Friday, 14 September 2018

Asia Lifestyle Expo 2019 in Bangkok

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 14 (Bernama) -- Asia Lifestyle Expo 2019 will take place at BITEC Bangkok, Thailand from Aug 21 to 23, 2019 – organized by COMASIA Limited and co-organized by N.C.C. Exhibition Organizer Co Ltd.

In line with the One Belt One Road initiative, Asia Lifestyle Expo 2019 will shine a spotlight on ASEAN products and provide a platform to support ASEAN businesses within the competitive global market.

Director of COMASIA Limited, Peter Cheung said the emphasis of Asia Lifestyle Expo 2019 is firmly focused on ASEAN trading, providing an opportunity for ASEAN firms to ride on the One Belt One Road initiative by making new ties and trade partners within the region and beyond.

The expo will also give retailers, trading companies, e-commerce and online sellers an opportunity to import lifestyle products to ASEAN and to export ASEAN-made products regionally and globally, a statement said.

Five-hundred booths will showcase products ranging from gifts, consumer electronics, toys, accessories, kitchenware, arts, crafts and homeware.

President of N.C.C. Exhibition Organizer Co Ltd, Sakchai Pattarapreechakul said the expo will showcase a huge range of lifestyle products and will offer a huge potential to the region’s firms to break into the competitive global market of imports and exports.

Asia Lifestyle Expo 2019 is the sister show of Hong Kong’s October Show, a hugely popular series of the largest and most important sourcing trade events in Asia. More details on https://www.asialifestyleexpo.com

--BERNAMA

UPDATE -- CISCO ACCELERATES GROWTH FOR SERVICE PROVIDERS WITH NEW SILICON AND SOFTWARE FOR THE 5G AND MULTICLOUD ERA

XRESEARCH (XRES), A CRYPTO INVESTMENT RESEARCH FUND AND MEDIA PLATFORM, ANNOUNCES TOKEN HOLDER EQUITY AND REGULATION S ICO IN Q4 2018

SONOS RELEASES THIRD FISCAL QUARTER 2018 FINANCIAL RESULTS

BIMAN SIGNS ORDER FOR THREE NEW BOMBARDIER Q400 AIRCRAFT

ALIBABA GROUP ANNOUNCES EXECUTIVE CHAIRMAN SUCCESSION PLAN

Wednesday, 12 September 2018

KORE announces approach to simplify the complexity of IoT

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 12 (Bernama) -- KORE Wireless Group (KORE) announced a significant expansion of its IoT capabilities, driven by the needs of its customers to maximise their return on IoT investments by introducing new corporate brand identity and website, reflecting the evolution of the company and its vision for future.

KORE president and chief executive officer, Romil Bahl said KORE has made significant investments to enhance current and bring forward new capabilities to holistically serve as a trusted advisor and partner-of-choice to solve the most complex customer challenges.

Businesses in every industry struggle with the complexities of planning, deploying and managing IoT solutions which often resulted in delayed time-to-market, missed revenue opportunities, technology incompatibility, competitive disadvantages and issues surrounding customer loyalty, a statement said.

KORE’s unique understanding of IoT enable the company to deliver customer-specific solutions that reduce friction and accelerate the production of measurable results. Its strong partnerships across the IoT ecosystem ensure customers benefit from the best possible technology and services to meet their unique needs.

The company is also pivoting towards vertical-specific solutions, delivering solution bundles at the industry use case level to deliver exceptional value to customers in verticals such as fleet, healthcare, logistics, industrial and more.

KORE helps businesses to assess IoT readiness and develop a comprehensive IoT strategy including security and deployment considerations. Its flexible capabilities allow companies to deliver their own branded, unique business applications to maximise value.

KORE empowers organisations of all sizes to improve operational and business results by simplifying the complexity of IoT. More details at https://www.korewireless.com.

-- BERNAMA

WEX partners with Troovo for virtual cards uses in Asia Pacific

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 12 (Bernama) -- WEX Inc -- a leading provider of corporate payment solutions -- partnered with Sydney-based Troovo Technologies to unlock travel and B2B spend using Troovo Payments and WEX virtual cards in the Asia Pacific region.

Director, Market Development APAC Corporate Payments for WEX, Justin Cross said Troovo is a leading innovator in the travel technology space and partnering with them is a step forward in improving WEX service for its mutual and prospective customers.

Under the partnership, Troovo will provide WEX customers the ability to streamline virtual payments with no development effort, costs or changes to existing workflows, a statement said.

The initial phase of the partnership will be focused on empowering travel businesses in APAC to realise the full benefits of virtual payments.

Troovo has developed intelligent Robotic Process Automation (RPA) solutions that enable industries such as travel, payment and procurement to fully automate their workflows and processes.

As these businesses typically transact across borders and process high volumes of data, RPA solutions are optimal to improve operational efficiencies, boost capabilities and reduce processing costs.

WEX operates in more than 10 countries and in more than 20 currencies through more than 3,500 associates around the world. More details at www.wexinc.com.

--BERNAMA

World's first driverless on-demand vehicles arrive in Perth, West Australia

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 12 (Bernama) -- One of the world's first driverless, on-demand vehicles -- RAC Intellicar -- has arrived at Perth in Western Australia after the official unveiling recently.

“The arrival of the prototype vehicle was a significant transportation milestone for both Western Australia and Australia,” said RAC Group chief executive officer, Terry Agnew in a statement.

“How we move around is rapidly evolving and being able to test emerging vehicle technologies right here in Western Australia will help us adapt to these changes in the safest way possible,” added Agnew.

It is highlighted that human error is the cause of the vast majority of road deaths and serious injuries. Therefore, if Western Australia and Australia could safely transition to driverless vehicles sooner, hundreds of Australian lives could be saved.

Over coming years, vehicle automation will become more prolific within the transport network whereby it is important to conduct trials to better understand the potential impacts and opportunities.

“Having a robust understanding of the technology and what it means for Western Australia will help develop a roadmap for the safe transition to our driverless future,” the statement said.

Designed as a shared mobility service, the RAC Intellicar will become the newest addition to RAC's automated vehicle program, supported by the Western Australian Government and vehicle manufacturer, NAVYA.

The RAC Intellicar detects obstacles and makes decisions which allow them to operate autonomously. It also features two Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) antennae to determine the precise position of the vehicle at any given time. More details at rac.com.au/intellicar.

--BERNAMA

Grab provides Axonify Microlearning Platform for driver-partner in Southeast Asia

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 12 (Bernama) -- Grab Inc (Grab) -- the leading online-to-offline (O2O) platform in Southeast Asia -- has implemented the Axonify Microlearning Platform to provide comprehensive driver-partner onboarding and continuous learning for millions of driver-partners across the region.

“Axonify helps us to deliver onboarding training to new driver-partners as well as refresher training to current driver-partners in a more scalable and consistent way. It enables us to focus on continuously improving driver efficiency and satisfaction, as well as safety and service levels to passengers,” said head of Regional Operations for Grab, Russell Cohen.

Grab currently operates in Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. It provides Southeast Asia consumers with safe and affordable transport, food and package delivery, mobile payments and financial services.

Grab selected Axonify based on its scalable solution and dynamic, interactive and gamified approach to training and to support its 'Better 365' driver-partner welfare campaign, a statement said.

Through Axonify, Grab will be able to seamlessly incorporate new driver training and assessment into the online driver acquisition process while driver-partners have access to an on-demand content hub as Grab to deliver training modules and learning reinforcement activities based on the specific driver's needs and profile.

The platform also reduce significant training costs as interactive training videos and short assessments can be completed on mobile devices instead of on-site location. Driver-partners will be alerted by Axonify when new training content is available.

Axonify is the leading microlearning platform trusted by global business leaders to drive performance. More details at Axonify.com.

--BERNAMA

Alton Aviation Consultancy broadens global reach to Dublin

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 12 (Bernama) -- Alton Aviation Consultancy -- a specialised aviation consulting firm with offices in New York, Hong Kong and Beijing -- has opened a new office in Dublin and appointed Enda Clarke as managing director with leadership responsibilities for the Dublin, Ireland operation.

“We are excited to establish our new Dublin office to be closer to many of our clients and to enhance our around-the-clock responsiveness with our existing offices in New York, Hong Kong, and Beijing,” said managing director of Alton Aviation Consultancy, John Mowry in a statement.

“We are equally delighted that Enda has joined the team. His leadership capability, seasoned advisory experience and depth of subject matter expertise are highly complementary to our broad range of capabilities across the entire aviation ecosystem, allowing us to bring even more value to our clients,” added Mowry.

At Alton, Clarke leads a wide range of commercial and technical advisory engagements throughout the investment and asset life cycle, ranging from due diligence and aircraft purchase / lease negotiations to aircraft asset management and transition programs.

He also delivers management consulting engagements to airlines, lessors and MROs with specific strengths in benchmarking, process design, process improvement and project management.

Alton Aviation Consultancy provides specialist advisory services across the entire aviation value chain. More details at https://altonaviation.com.

--BERNAMA

Friday, 7 September 2018

SCHOOL IS BACK IN SESSION! HARRY POTTER: HOGWARTS MYSTERY LAUNCHES YEAR 5, DEBUTS NEW CHARACTERS, CLASSES AND ADVENTURES

LOS ANGELES, Sept 7 (Bernama-BUSINESS WIRE) --

Who: Jam City, a Los Angeles-based mobile games studio, in partnership with Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment’s Portkey Games, a label dedicated to creating new Wizarding World mobile and videogame experiences that place the player at the center of their own adventure, inspired by J.K. Rowling’s original stories.

What: In the hit mobile game Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery, fans receive their acceptance letter, create a character and attend Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Taking part in the rituals and routines of student life, from collecting their textbooks at Flourish and Blotts, to attending classes with venerable professors like McGonagall, Flitwick and Snape, players have taken to life at Hogwarts. Today, players head back to school with the commencement of Year 5 content in the game, beginning the most exciting year at Hogwarts yet, with a host of new mysteries to unravel.

In Year 5, players return to Hogwarts for their most rigorous year of studies yet, and important milestones in the curriculum. Players that earned their prefect badge in Year 4 will take on the responsibilities of the role, while enjoying access to a new location in the game, the prefect’s bathroom. But all Year 5 students are faced with an even bigger test than earning the badge: taking their Ordinary Wizarding Levels (O.W.L.) exams.

As Year 5 unfolds, players will head into new territory - and mischief - exploring decidedly dodgy areas like Knockturn Alley. Back on school grounds, players will learn from new professors like the lauded, but legendarily long-winded History of Magic Professor, Cuthbert Binns and the identity of the new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor will be revealed. Outside of classes, players will cross paths with more members of the Weasley clan and other familiar characters from the Wizarding World.

For more details on Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery and to connect with other fans, visit www.facebook.com/HPHogwartsMystery/, www.twitter.com/HogwartsMystery, and for more information visit www.HarryPotterHogwartsMystery.com/.

Quote: “Year 5 is a pivotal year for any student at Hogwarts, with the O.W.L. exams looming, new professors to navigate, and for some, a prefect badge on their robes,” said Amanda Heaton, Executive Producer at Jam City. “We wanted to reflect the rigors of this year in the mobile game, balanced of course, with the core extra-curricular activity at Hogwarts: unraveling mysterious with your school mates. Year 5 brings the most robust year of content yet to the game, and we’re excited for players to start this new chapter.”

Background: Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery is the first mobile game where players can create their own character and experience life as a Hogwarts student. In the narrative adventure with RPG elements, players will create a personalized student avatar, attend classes, learn magical skills, and form friendships or rivalries with other students. In the game, players make pivotal decisions that influence their character’s story arc at Hogwarts. The game features a new encounter system where player decisions and actions impact their quests, allowing Harry Potter fans to create their own legacy as a witch or wizard.

Editor’s Note:
To download supporting assets for Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery, including a new video celebrating the start of a new year at Hogwarts, please visit: https://app.box.com/v/HPHogwartsMystery-Year5

http://mrem.bernama.com/viewsm.php?idm=32632

BIT ONE HONG KONG : "MADE IN JAPAN" CRYPTOCURRENCY EXCHANGE IS NOW COMING!

TOKYO, Sept 7 (Bernama-BUSINESS WIRE) -- BitOne Trade HK, which is a cryptocurrency trading platform operated via Bit One Hong Kong Limited, an affiliated company of Bit One Group Co.,Ltd., a Japanese listed company (TOKYO: 2338), (Director：Kimura Junichi, Location：Flat A, 25/F, Block 3, Golden Dragon Industrial Centre, 182-190 Tai Lin Pai Road, Kwai Fon Kowloon, Hong Kong), will be officially rolling out the cryptocurrency trading platform beginning in September 2018.

BitOne Trade HK https://bitonehk.com

[ Features ]

1. A cryptocurrency trading platform of “Made in Japan” is operated via an affiliated company of a listed company in Japan.

2. With 30 cryptocurrencies on offer and more than 100 coins will be listed in future.

3. Plans to issue own Token by the end of this year.
Our platform is launched in Hong Kong which is Asia’s international financial center and we provide customers with stable and secure services. Mainly for the Asian market, our goal is to achieve a monthly transaction volume of US$ 5 billion.

[ Opening Campaign ]

We offer highly competitive low commission trading and more opening campaign! Start Trading Today! For more information, please visit our website.

[ Bit One Hong Kong Limited and Bit One Group Co.,Ltd. ]

Bit One Hong Kong Limited is an affiliated company of Bit One Group Co.,Ltd., which is listed on Tokyo Stock Exchange (Tokyo Stock Exchange Code 2338) (CEO: Hideyuki Takahashi, Location: 4-32-4 Yotsuya, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo Postal Code: 160-0004).

http://mrem.bernama.com/viewsm.php?idm=32638

Sunshine Coast delivers Australia's fastest communications to Asia

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 7 (Bernama) -- Australia’s fastest telecommunications connection to Asia and second fastest to the United States will occur from the Sunshine Coast, thanks to a new international submarine cable contract that has been agreed between Sunshine Coast Council and RTI Connectivity Pty Ltd (RTI-C).

Sunshine Coast Council was the first local government in Australia to secure an investment in an international submarine cable; and in an increasingly digital world, the value of this investment for the region's future could not be understated, a statement said.

The project includes a 550km undersea fibre optic cable which will connect the Sunshine Coast to the 9,600km Japan-Guam-Australia South (JGA-S) submarine cable that is currently being delivered by a consortium involving RTI-C, Google and AARNet.

At Guam, the JGA-S cable will connect to the SEA-US Cable System, a highly efficient Trans-Pacific cable which will forge connections between South-East Asia and the United States for more than 1.5 billion people.

The investment of up to AUD$35 million (RM103.8 million) in the undersea cable connection from the Sunshine Coast to the JGA-S cable plus supporting land-based infrastructure is being jointly funded by the Sunshine Coast Council and the Queensland Government. (AUD$1 = RM2.97)

The Sunshine Coast will provide the fastest, most affordable international connection point for Queensland and Australia to Asia, providing a significant step-change in Queensland's attractiveness as an investment location.

The landing of a submarine cable on the Sunshine Coast will not only diversify the landing locations for telecommunications traffic, but will also provide speed, reliability and capacity improvements for the whole of the state.

The cable – which would connect to a new cable landing station near the Maroochydore City Centre – would increase data transmission speed, provide greater redundancy and should, over time, lead to a reduction in international communications costs for business and consumers.

Ratepayers will also benefit from the agreements reached with RTI-C, as the council will receive a revenue stream from customers accessing the JGA-S cable network through the Sunshine Coast cable connection.

The new path will deliver traffic into and out of Australia faster than the Sydney route as it is geographically closer to mainland China, Hong Kong and Japan besides west coast of the United States where big companies such as Facebook, Google and Amazon are located.

The international submarine cable will also benefit small business as it will provide better connectivity, speed and redundancy and encourage new companies to look at the Sunshine Coast to take advantage of the connectivity to international communications infrastructure.

The submarine cable will be supplied and installed by Alcatel Submarine Network (ASN). It is expected to be completed by the first half of 2020, the statement said.

-- BERNAMA

Beneficial Insurance Ltd proclaimed stable by A.M. Best

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 7 (Bernama) – In a statement today, A.M. Best – a global credit rating agency -- affirmed the financial strength rating of B++ (good) and the long-term issuer credit rating of ‘bbb’ for Beneficial Insurance Ltd (BIL) New Zealand.

It further added that the outlook of these ratings is stable and reflects BIL’s balance sheet strength, which A.M. Best categorises as adequate, as well as its strong operating performance, limited business profile and appropriate enterprise risk management.

BIL’s balance sheet strength is underpinned by its risk-adjusted capitalisation, which is currently at the strongest level, as measured by Best’s Capital Adequacy Ratio (BCAR).

Over the medium term, A.M. Best expects the company’s planned high level of underwriting growth to drive a notable increase in net required capital, however, strong internal capital generation is expected to enable it to maintain at least very strong risk-adjusted capitalisation.

Offsetting balance sheet factors include the company’s small absolute capital base, which increases its sensitivity to shock events and adverse changes in prospective performance, growth or dividend payouts.

BIL – which is 100 per cent New Zealand owned and operated – has a track record of strong operating performance, with the company having reported a five-year average return on equity of 18 per cent (fiscal years 2014-2018).

Profitability over this period has been driven by underwriting operations and a good five-year average combined ratio of 90 per cent.

Prospectively, A.M. Best expects strong underwriting performance to be supported by continued low loss ratios and from a gradually improving expense ratio, as the company benefits from economies of scale as it executes planned business growth.

BIL’s largest line of business is pet insurance, which currently accounts for more than 90 per cent of gross written premiums. The other lines are motor breakdown insurance and consumer credit insurance.

--BERNAMA

Thursday, 6 September 2018

Malaysians 96 per cent users in Southeast Asia downloading COSCOI´s educational apps

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 5 (Bernama) -- Malaysians are among 96 per cent of users in Southeast Asia downloaded educational apps for children featuring cute characters of ‘Go East’ developed by COSCOI -- an animation character development and digital contents company in South Korea.

The users also includes those from Vietnam, Indonesia and Thailand whereby Vietnam and Indonesia take up 80 per cent of total sales. The apps have been downloaded about 40,000 times in a month after released, a statement said.

“I expect the apps to succeed in the global market without difficulty thanks to their strong showing in Southeast Asia. We plan to release 11 more educational apps this year,” said Coscoi vice-president, Ja Keun Kim.

The company recently released smart edutainment apps ‘Go East! Coloring’ and ‘Go East! Xylophone’ as part of ‘Coscoi Friends’ series using ‘Go East’ -- its typical intellectual property in animation. The app series have been distributed to 135 countries.

It also has signed a contract with Zalo -- a famous messenger app of Vietnam -- to supply ‘Go East’ emoticons soon and it is in consultation with other Southeast Asian companies over license for ‘Go East’ and other emoticons.

The company has developed Mobile App Service (MAS) -- a content management platform -- to launch and manage apps for an effective distribution and utilisation of ‘Go East,’ its intellectual property.

‘Go East’ is an animation content adapted from ‘Journey to the West’ -- a 15th century classical Chinese novel which deals with the adventures and exploits of a monkey named Sun Wukong.

Characters in the story also received positive responses in global character, animation and IP exhibitions including the LIMA 2018 in Las Vegas, USA, the Beijing International Film Festival in Beijing, China and the Mifa 2018 in Annecy, France. More details at http://www.coscoi.net.

-- BERNAMA

TCL Flagship Products Win Gold Awards

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 6 (Bernama) -- Two TCL Corporation flagship products at IFA Berlin 2018 recently won awards jointly issued by Deutscher Industrie- und Handelskammertag (GIC/AHK) and International Data Group (IDG).

The TCL QLED TV X8, which received the Display Technology Gold Award, provides users the ultimate visual experience with primary colour quantum dot display technology with up to 157 per cent colour gamut and Dolby Vision HDR technology.

The X8 also features the hardware resources of Onkyo and is equipped with the Dolby Atmos acoustic algorithm.

Additionally, the AI series can be triggered by far field voice which allows the audiovisual and interactive experiences of X8 to complement each other.

On the strength of integrated variable frequency air-cooling, negative oxygen ion preservation, smart frost-free and space divisions, the TCL Inverter No-Frost Refrigerator was awarded the Full DC Inverter Technology Gold Award.

To prepare for the in-depth integration of cutting edge technologies and products, TCL has been actively enhancing its presence in the fields of AI, big data, 5G telecommunications and display technology.

At IFA Berlin 2018 -- a leading trade show for consumer electronics and home appliances --TCL Research Europe in Poland was officially unveiled. This research centre will play a critical role in developing AI technology among TCL’s worldwide footprints.

--BERNAMA