JNTO’S NEW INSIDER GUIDE TO JAPAN FEATURES SOUL SOOTHING TRAVEL SPOTS

Photo courtesy of Moerenuma Park

KUALA LUMPUR, June 30 (Bernama) -- Japan National Tourism Organization (JNTO)’s new insider guide to Japan features things to do and see that will sooth the visitor’s soul.

These contents are associated with the ‘Wellcation’ concept that helps visitors relieve stress and anxiety arising from difficulties of the past year, according to a statement.

Japan is often associated with big cities like Tokyo and Osaka, but 70 per cent of Japan’s topography consists of dense forests and mountainous terrain.

Leveraging this landscape, Japan has long excelled at harmoniously mixing art and nature, with countless open-air art facilities across the archipelago showcasing a cornucopia of sculptures and installations.

Among them is Moerenuma Park, a municipal facility (part of Sapporo City’s Circular Greenbelt Concept) with a landscape dreamed up by artist Noguchi Isamu.

In addition, visiting Upopoy in Shiraoi Town, Hokkaido Prefecture is another way to discover Japan’s beautiful nature. This new national centre celebrates and showcases the culture of the Ainu, the indigenous people of northern Japan and first settlers of Hokkaido.

For those desiring a spiritual experience, Mount Koya may be the perfect place to go. This sacred religious site is the ninth-century birthplace of Japan’s Shingon sect of Buddhism, and home to numerous Buddhist temples.

Among stories featured in the JNTO’s New Insider Guide include All about Ainu at Upopoy; Foodie Hiroshima Region; Echigo Tsumari Art Triennale; Open-air museums across Japan; The Charm of Japanese Tea; and, Magic of Mount Koya.

More details at https://www.japan.travel/en/

-- BERNAMA

SYNCHRONOSS TECHNOLOGIES, INC. ANNOUNCES PRICING OF $100 MILLION PUBLIC OFFERING OF COMMON STOCK

BRIDGEWATER, N.J., June 28 (Bernama-GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Synchronoss Technologies, Inc. (SNCR) (the “Company” or “Synchronoss”), a global leader and innovator in cloud, messaging and digital products and platforms, today announced the pricing of an underwritten public offering of 38,461,538 shares of its common stock at a public offering price of $2.60 per share. The gross proceeds from the offering, before deducting underwriting discounts and commissions and offering expenses payable by Synchronoss, are expected to be $100 million. In addition, Synchronoss has granted the underwriters a 30-day option to purchase up to 3,846,154 additional shares of common stock at the public offering price, less the underwriting discounts and commissions.

All of the shares in the offering are being sold by Synchronoss. Synchronoss anticipates using the net proceeds from the offering, and from the offering of Senior Notes and sale of Series B Preferred Stock (each as described below), to fully redeem all outstanding shares of Synchronoss’ Series A Convertible Participating Perpetual Preferred Stock and repay amounts outstanding under Synchronoss’ revolving credit facility. The offering is expected to close on or about June 29, 2021, subject to satisfaction of customary closing conditions. 

B. Riley Securities, Inc. (“BRS”) is acting as the lead underwriter and sole book-running manager for the offering. Northland Capital Markets is acting as co-manager for the offering. 

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OAG FLIGHT INFO API NOW AVAILABLE IN MICROSOFT AZURE MARKETPLACE

KUALA LUMPUR, June 29 (Bernama) -- OAG, a leading provider of air travel data and insights, has announced the availability of its Flight Info API in the Microsoft Azure Marketplace, an online store that provides applications and services for use on Azure.

According to a statement, OAG customers can now take advantage of the productive and trusted Azure cloud platform, with streamlined deployment and management.

Flight Info API is the latest product launch for OAG Metis, the company’s Azure-powered open platform for enabling a combined and configurable view of high-value flight information.

The API holds the richest version of OAG’s schedules data, including unique seats data derived from a new data model.

The API provides travel technology companies, online travel agencies (OTAs), metasearch, and other stakeholders in the travel management ecosystem access to data that can help them differentiate, react faster, and scale quicker.

“OAG continues to deliver innovative solutions that help our customers access the most current flight information, now available in the Microsoft Azure cloud,” said OAG Chief Technology Officer, Nick Dearden.

Meanwhile, Senior Director, Microsoft Azure Platform at Microsoft Corp, Sajan Parihar said: “Through Microsoft Azure Marketplace, customers around the world can easily find, buy, and deploy partner solutions they can trust, all certified and optimised to run on Azure.”

The Azure Marketplace helps connect companies seeking innovative, cloud-based solutions with partners who have developed solutions that are ready to use.

More details at www.oag.com.

-- BERNAMA

LANTRONIX SMARTEDGE PARTNER PROGRAM AWARDS WINNERS ANNOUNCED

KUALA LUMPUR, June 25 (Bernama) -- Lantronix Inc, a global provider of secure turnkey solutions has announced the winners of its SmartEdge™ Partner Program Awards, with awards given at Lantronix’s 2021 SmartEdge Partner Summit held virtually recently.

According to a statement, Lantronix’s SmartEdge Partner Program Awards were given to winners in three categories: Distribution Partner; StrategicEdge Partner; and, Edge Partner, covering three regions: North America, Europe/Middle East/Africa and Asia Pacific.

North America winners are North America Distributor Partner of the Year: Tech Data; North America StrategicEdge Partner of the Year: SHI; and, North America Edge Partner of the Year: Presidio.

Meanwhile, Europe/Middle East/Africa (EMEA) winners are EMEA Distributor Partner of the Year: Atlantik Elektronik; EMEA StrategicEdge Partner of the Year: Arki Technology; and, EMEA Edge Partner of the Year: Data Equipment.

In addition, Asia Pacific (APAC) winners are APAC Distributor Partner of the Year: Acromax; APAC StrategicEdge Partner of the Year: Rahi Systems, India; and, APAC Edge Partner of the Year: Enthu Technology Sdn Bhd.

“We are pleased to honour the SmartEdge Partner Program winners, all of which have exceeded our programme requirements and expectations in driving sales and building long-term relationships with our mutual customers,” said VP of WW Sales at Lantronix, Roger Holliday.

“With our SmartEdge Program, our channel partners offer Lantronix’s integrated offering of software, hardware and service solutions, providing their customers with everything they need to build robust, secure connectivity-based solutions,” said VP of Strategy at Lantronix, Jonathan Shipman.

Lantronix’s SmartEdge Partner Program has been named to the industry’s leading partner programme guide, the CRN Partner Program Guide.

More details at www.lantronix.com.

-- BERNAMA

CDPQ SECURES BEST PLACE TO WORK CERTIFICATION IN SINGAPORE 2021

KUALA LUMPUR, June 25 (Bernama) -- Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ), was recently recognised as one of the best places to work in Singapore for 2021.

The Canada-based global investment group active in major financial markets, private equity, infrastructure, real estate and private debt, received outstanding scores across several aspects of its workplace, including creating an environment that offers support, hospitality, and sense of pride to all the employees.

According to a statement, Best Places to Work is an international certification programme, considered the ‘Platinum Standard’ in identifying and recognising top workplaces globally.

It provides employers the opportunity to learn more about the engagement and satisfaction of their employees and honour those delivering an outstanding work experience with the highest standards in regards to working conditions.

“In our collaborative and high-performing environment, your talent, drive and creativity will contribute to building sustainable businesses – while also having opportunities for stimulating professional development – over the long term,” said Luli Xing, Associate in the Private Equity team.

For more information, visit www.bestplacestoworkfor.org.

-- BERNAMA

GRADUATE MANAGEMENT ADMISSION COUNCIL ANNOUNCES 4 NEW MEMBERS TO BOARD

KUALA LUMPUR, June 24 (Bernama) -- The Graduate Management Admission Council™ (GMAC™), a global association of leading graduate business schools, has announced the addition of four new members to its board of directors.

Katy Montgomery, Associate Dean, Degree Programmes, INSEAD; François Ortalo-Magné, Dean, London Business School; and, Giuseppe Soda, Dean, SDA Bocconi School of Management, Bocconi University, will begin their terms on July 1, according to a statement.

In addition, Yuan Ding, Vice President and Dean of China Europe International Business School (CEIBS), has been appointed board director in January to fill the seat vacated by Enase Okonedo of the Pan-Atlantic University.

Yuan Ding has been honoured three times with the CEIBS Teaching Excellence Award. He is the author of multiple books on financial reporting and his research appears in leading academic journals.

As the INSEAD Associate Dean of Degree Programmes, Montgomery is responsible for the commercial leadership of the INSEAD Degree Programme portfolio across four campuses: Fontainebleau, Singapore, Abu Dhabi, and San Francisco.

Meanwhile, Ortalo-Magné is the ninth Dean of London Business School (LBS). He has led the relaunch of the LBS brand, the growth of degree programmes and a significant increase in philanthropic support for scholarships.

Giuseppe ‘Beppe’ Soda is the Dean of SDA Bocconi School of Management and Full Professor of Organization Theory and Network Analysis at Bocconi University. Soda’s research investigates the performance consequences of the interplay between organisational architectures and organisational networks.

Besides the aforementioned newly-elected board members, Martin Boehm, Professor of Marketing and former Dean of IE Business School and soon the new Rector of EBS Universität für Wirtschaft und Recht, and Themin Suwardy, Dean of Postgraduate Professional Programmes, Singapore Management University, were re-elected for a second term.

GMAC also recognises its outgoing board members, Leila Guerra, Vice Dean (Education) of Imperial College Business School, and Peter Tufano, Peter Moores Dean and Professor of Finance of Saïd Business School, University of Oxford.

More details at www.gmac.com.

-- BERNAMA

TOSHIBA TEC UNVEILS E-BRIDGE NEXT UPDATES

TOSHIBA MFP, e-STUDIO series (Graphic: Business Wire)

 KUALA LUMPUR, June 25 (Bernama) -- Toshiba Tec Corporation, a Toshiba’s group company, will launch an updated version of its MFP platform e-BRIDGE Next on June 25, adding new features to the current line-up of Toshiba MFPs.

According to a statement, these features are designed to help organisations overall efficiency along with an increase to their security.

The updated e-BRIDGE Next will support new cloud services, such as Universal Print from Microsoft and Native Print from Chrome OS.

Universal Print and Native Print enable users to print directly from the cloud service, allowing users to print from anywhere via the internet.

Cloud Managed Document Service enables the company’s MFPs to directly communicate with cloud services, and e-Bridge Cloud Login allows users to login to cloud services using mobile device or PC for the first time authentication.

The second login becomes automatic and does not require authentication using mobile device or PC, allowing the access to be convenient yet safe and secure.

Remote Assistant Menu is added in case users have an issue on their MFP or just need some assistance. They can ask the Call Center for assistance simply by clicking the icon on the control panel.

The menu features Log Transmission, Remote Service, and Remote Panel Operation enabling the Call Center to access the MFP to investigate the issue or remotely operate the control panel based on customer requests.

More details at https://www.toshibatec.com/

-- BERNAMA

JW PLAYER SECURES US$100 MILLION IN SERIES E FUNDING FROM LLR PARTNERS

KUALA LUMPUR, June 25 (Bernama) -- JW Player, the leading video software and data insights platform, announced it has raised US$100 million in Series E funding from LLR Partners. (US$1 = RM4.155)

The latest investment comes on the heels of record video streaming growth and strong profitability during the previous 12 months, according to a statement.

With this financing, JW Player will accelerate product innovation to meet rapidly changing demands of customers in today’s digital video environment, expand its global go-to-market footprint across sales, marketing and channel partnerships and continue to grow and invest in building a world-class team.

“As we enter this next phase, we are thrilled to partner with LLR. LLR’s team brings decades of unmatched support and expertise in growing industry-changing software companies and will undoubtedly, help us accelerate our success as we pursue this massive market opportunity together,” said JW Player chief executive officer and co-founder, Dave Otten.

Meanwhile, Partner at LLR Partners, David Reuter said: “We look forward to partnering with the JW Player team as they expand their platform and continue to elevate the way brands can host, stream and monetise video.”

The funding round follows JW Player’s recent acquisition of VUALTO, a leading provider of live and on-demand video streaming and Digital Rights Management (DRM) solutions, that deepened the company’s offering to global broadcasters.

In the days following the acquisition, JW Player has seen a material uptick and influx of sales and pipeline, especially in the LATAM and APAC regions.

Started as a hugely-popular open source video player, JW Player’s API-driven video platform now empowers hundreds of thousands of customers to independently control and operate their mobile, OTT and Web video applications at global scale.

More details at http://www.jwplayer.com.

-- BERNAMA

AMINVEST SCOOPS THREE BEST OF THE BEST AWARDS FOR FUND MANAGEMENT EXPERTISE

KUALA LUMPUR, June 24 (Bernama) -- AmInvest has scooped up three fund management awards, namely, Best Pension Fund Manager (for the third consecutive year), Best Institutional House and Best Bond Manager for Malaysia awards at Asia Asset Management’s Best of the Best Awards 2021 (“Awards”).¹ The Awards recognise the most outstanding fund management players for their excellence in managing investments in the Asia-Pacific region.¹
 
Commenting on the wins, Dato’ Sulaiman Mohd Tahir, Group Chief Executive Officer of AmBank Group, said, “To receive these acknowledgements is a huge honour for us as it is a testament to our 40 years’ experience in managing funds and highlights the expertise, as well as, the capabilities of our people. Currently (as at May 2021), we manage Assets Under Management (“AUM”) of around MYR48 billion with the support of our retail and institutional clients.”
 
As Malaysia’s Best Pension Fund Manager, AmInvest was commended for registering the best returns for its domestic pension mandates and its Private Retirement Scheme (“AmPRS”) funds against relevant benchmarks, and the size of these mandates over three-year and five-year periods.¹ Over the last three years (as at May 2021), AmPRS-Islamic Equity Fund and AmPRS-Islamic Balanced Fund were ranked among the top ten best performing PRS funds in the market with total returns of 37.1% and 32.3% respectively, or annualised returns of 11.1% and 9.8% accordingly.² AmInvest offers one of the most diverse ranges of retirement solutions in the market for Malaysian investors to choose from according to their respective retirement needs, goals and risk tolerances. The fund management house is also the only PRS Provider in the country to offer conventional bond and Shariah-compliant sukuk fund offerings, i.e., AmPRS-Tactical Bond and AmPRS-Dynamic^# Sukuk.³
 
The Best Institutional House, Malaysia award recognises AmInvest for its performance on market share, client retention, new business won, stability of the senior management team, new initiatives, thought leadership and growth of institutional assets over three years.¹
 
In addition, AmInvest was lauded for its best investment and research process, navigation of the local market conditions, value add to clients and performance and size of its bond assets over one-year and three-year periods under the Best Bond Manager, Malaysia category.¹
 
“Our team’s ability to apply appropriate investment strategies in order to capitalise on the best investment opportunities was instrumental in cushioning the impact to our investors’ investment portfolios during the volatile market conditions throughout 2020. AmInvest’s AUM has increased by 9% over the year with the growth on an uptrend throughout the years. We would like to express our gratitude to our investors for their continued trust in our capabilities to be their investment partner of choice,” said Ms. Goh Wee Peng, Chief Executive Officer of AmInvest.
 
Asia Asset Management is a publication based in Hong Kong which provides news on the Asian asset management industry.¹

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THE MDRT ACADEMY CONTINUES TO GROW WITH NEW MEMBERS FROM SUN LIFE ASIA

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia, June 23 (Bernama) -- The MDRT Academy — a new association helping financial professionals accelerate their careers — recently welcomed more than 670 advisors from Sun Life Asia to its membership ranks.  The addition of Sun Life advisors from Hong Kong, the Philippines, Indonesia, Vietnam, and Malaysia will make Sun Life the MDRT Academy’s largest membership company to date. The Academy will supplement Sun Life’s Brighter Gen and Brighter Pro training and development program, and together support Sun Life’s ambition to be a market leader in quality financial advice.

“Sun Life’s goal is to have the most respected advisors in the industry, known for the quality of their advice and their professionalism,” said Leo Grepin, Sun Life Asia President. “The MDRT Academy is a valuable addition to our Brighter Academy advisor development programs, which build the skills and capabilities to guide advisors along their career journey from rookie, to MDRT, and then leading agency manager. With access to the best training and experience, Sun Life advisors can achieve their career ambitions and deliver the best experience to our clients,” said Leo.
 
The MDRT Academy was launched in 2017 to help financial services professionals reach greater production levels and join MDRT. The MDRT Academy was designed as a fully digital experience meaning at any time and from anywhere, members can access the association’s tools, resources and community through an intuitive website and mobile app. 
 
“We’re excited to work with Sun Life and there is no doubt that the MDRT Academy will help their advisors increase their production, improve their client service skills and learn best practices from experienced MDRT members,” said Ian Green, MDRT President. “The tools for building a successful career in financial services are literally at their fingertips.”
 
The MDRT Academy features an assessment that helps members better understand and identify their strengths and growth areas – and personalizes content to a member’s needs and areas of interest. It also offers goal setting and performance-tracking tools, monthly webcasts featuring MDRT members, Performance Guides, as well as hundreds of MDRT-approved articles, videos and podcast episodes. MDRT Academy members also have the opportunity to attend MDRT’s Annual Meeting.
 
“We, at Sun Life Malaysia, are extremely proud to have our financial advisors be a part of the MDRT Academy,” said Raymond Lew, Chief Executive Officer and President/Country Head, Sun Life Malaysia. “This partnership will be monumental in providing significant training and mentorship for our advisors at all stages, giving them additional resources to hone new skillsets needed to deliver the best client experience. We look forward to reaching new levels of success with the MDRT Academy.” 

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​A EUROPEAN LEADER IN RETAIL FOR AUTOMOTIVE LAUNCHES ITS DATA EXCHANGE PLATFORM POWERED BY DAWEX

 Our customer takes leadership in the orchestration of Data Exchange in the retail for automotive sector


PARIS, June 24 (Bernama-BUSINESS WIRE) -- Dawex, the leading data exchange and data marketplace technology company, today announced a European leader in retail for automotive has chosen Dawex technology to deploy its Data Exchange Platform to distribute, exchange and commercialize data products securely, in compliance with regulations. Relying on Dawex technology, the Data Exchange facilitates access to data products, accelerates data circulation and monetization, and orchestrates a data ecosystem. This data hub enables the entire sector to propose new services, improve productivity and efficiency, mitigate risk, and generate new revenue streams.

Our customer’s Data Marketplace empowers participating organizations to build strong data partnerships where data providers and data acquirers benefit from the appropriate governance models to ensure participants remain in full control over the data they share, with whom they share it with, and for which usage.

Dawex Data Exchange technology brings the technical, contractual, financial, and regulatory compliance conditions for secure data sharing and monetization, bringing flexibility, traceability, and trust over the circulation of data.

“The Data Exchange will enable our customer to offer new services, and fuel data-powered innovations, turning the company’s data ecosystem into the essential place where data partnerships in the retail for automotive industry happen.” says Fabrice Tocco, co-CEO at Dawex.

Through Dawex Data Exchange Advisory Services, the organization defined a comprehensive data exchange strategy and roadmap. Dawex experts identified company-generated data sets and over 100 associated data products, segmented and prioritized use cases to address the data exchange needs of the retail for automotive ecosystem.

“Data Exchange technology transforms yet another industry, fulfilling its role as a major innovation driver and propelling organizations into the data economy.” concludes Laurent Lafaye, co-CEO of Dawex.

About Dawex

Dawex is the leading data exchange and data marketplace technology company. Dawex mission is to facilitate and accelerate secure data circulation between economic stakeholders, institutions and private organizations contributing to the development of the data economy. Awarded Technology Pioneer by the World Economic Forum, Dawex is a member of GAIA-X and a co-founding member of the Data Exchange Association. Created in 2015, Dawex has offices in France and Canada, expanding business operations to Asia, North America and the Middle East.

View source version on businesswire.com:
https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210623005604/en/

Contact

Press
Rawan El Halabi
rawan.el-halabi@dawex.com

Source : Dawex

Grand Prize Winner Announced in $5M IBM Watson AI XPRIZE Competition

 

Winning technology from Zzapp Malaria will demonstrate how humans can work with AI to tackle global challenges

LOS ANGELES, June 24 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- XPRIZE, the world’s leader in designing and operating incentive competitions to solve humanity’s grand challenges, and IBM Watson, IBM’s AI technology for business, today announced the Grand Prize Winner in the $5M IBM Watson AI XPRIZE Challenge. First launched in 2016, the five-year global competition looked to accelerate adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies and spark creative, innovative and audacious demonstrations of the technology that are truly scalable to solve societal grand challenges.

Winning first place honors is Zzapp Malaria, in second place is Aifred Health, followed by Marinus Analytics. These finalists were selected out of a pool of 10 semifinalists following presentations of their solutions to a panel of judges during an event held at TED headquarters in New York City last year. A $3 million grand prize, $1 million second place prize, and $500k third place prize will be awarded to the teams. In total, over 150 teams throughout the world joined the competition.

"After five years of hard work and dedication, XPRIZE is thrilled to announce Zzapp Malaria as the grand prize winner of IBM Watson AI XPRIZE,” said Anousheh Ansari, CEO of XPRIZE. “Zzapp Malaria, Aifred Health and Marinus Analytics are on the forefront of AI advancement, and we are looking forward to seeing firsthand the positive impact they will have on our future.”

"Each of the three finalists of the IBM Watson AI XPRIZE showcase what's possible when the power of AI is used to address some of the world’s toughest challenges,” said Daniel Hernandez, General Manager, IBM Data and AI. “It’s inspiring to witness how the AI technologies we developed at IBM help these organizations realize and scale their good tech solutions to drive positive societal change.”

Based out of Tel Aviv, Israel, Zzapp Malaria is committed to malaria elimination. The team’s AI technology is geared towards tackling the main challenges faced by malaria elimination campaigns by creating custom models, built with tools like IBM Watson Studio for Cloud Pak for Data, to predict the number of small water bodies caused by weather, enabling it to optimize the timing for launching larviciding operations.

• Marinus Analytics (based out of Pittsburgh, PA): A woman-owned company founded in 2014 out of Carnegie Mellon Robotics that is driven by a single social mission: To fight human trafficking. Their solution, Traffic Jam, is a suite of analytics tools that saves hours and sometimes days of investigative time to find traffickers and recover victims by quickly turning big data into actionable intelligence. Marinus Analytics has used IBM Watson Discovery and IBM Watson Assistant to extend their Traffic Jam application, aiding investigation into financial fraud and the illicit flow of proceeds to international crime groups.

• Aifred Health (based out of Montreal, Canada): A digital health company focused on clinical decision support in mental health, starting with depression. The team’s solution uses AI to learn from thousands of patients to help tailor treatment, reducing the time it takes for a patient to reach remission. IBM Watson Health is providing Aifred Health with millions of records of observational depression data to improve their ML models.

To determine the winner, XPRIZE AI convened a global jury of representatives from around the world. The jury evaluated each team based on their performance in the following four dimensions: achieved technical impact, evidenced real-world impact, scalability of real-world impact, and ethics and safety.

The winning teams were announced today in partnership with WIRED during the IBM Watson AI XPRIZE’s AI For Good fireside chat featuring Anousheh Ansari, CEO of XPRIZE, and Seth Dobrin, IBM’s Chief AI Officer. The two discussed the challenge and the importance of AI for the future of humanity. As part of their partnership with WIRED, XPRIZE opened up a public vote for the Most Inspiring Team, and Zzapp Malaria was selected as the winner. You can watch the full fireside chat and view additional content via WIRED’s content hub linked here.

About XPRIZE

XPRIZE, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, is the global leader in designing and implementing innovative competition models to solve the world’s grandest challenges. Active competitions include the $100M XPRIZE Carbon Removal, $15M XPRIZE Feed the Next Billion, $10 Million XPRIZE Rainforest, $10 Million ANA Avatar XPRIZE and $5 Million XPRIZE Rapid Reskilling. For more information, visit xprize.org.

About IBM Watson

Watson is IBM’s AI technology for business, helping organizations to better predict and shape future outcomes, automate complex processes, and optimize employees’ time. Watson has evolved from an IBM Research project, to experimentation, to a scaled, open set of products that run anywhere. With more than 40,000 client engagements, Watson is being applied by leading global brands across a variety of industries to transform how people work. To learn more, visit: https://www.ibm.com/watson.

View source version on businesswire.com: 

https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210623005848/en/

Contact

Media Contacts:
Sunshine Sachs
xprize@sunshinesachs.com

Katerina Stamatiou, XPRIZE
prcontact@xprize.org

IBM Watson
Zachery Bishop
zachery.bishop@ibm.com

Source : XPRIZE

NIPPON EXPRESS (CAMBODIA) SECURES GDP CERTIFICATION FOR DOMESTIC TRANSPORT SERVICES

KUALA LUMPUR, June 24 (Bernama) -- Nippon Express (Cambodia) Co Ltd (NE Cambodia), a local subsidiary of Nippon Express Co Ltd, recently obtained Good Distribution Practice (GDP) certification for its domestic transport services in Cambodia.

This evidenced its compliance with standards for the proper distribution of pharmaceuticals, according to a statement.

Cambodia presently relies in large part on imports for the pharmaceuticals used in its hospitals, clinics, etc.

As the country has few transport companies equipped with refrigerated trucks or capable of providing properly controlled frozen storage, NE Cambodia opened the Phnom Penh Logistics Center, fully equipped with refrigerators and freezers, in December 2019.

This Logistics Center has garnered attention from government officials and others as one of the country's leading pharmaceutical storage facilities.

In April this year, NE Cambodia began offering storage services for medical equipment and pharmaceuticals to be used at Japanese hospitals in Cambodia.

With increasing demand for pharmaceuticals anticipated, the company will be developing services that provide customers with safer and more secure delivery and help improve Cambodia's healthcare environment.

Nippon Express will continue endeavoring to enhance its services to meet increasingly sophisticated and diverse pharmaceutical transport needs, and provide high-quality transport services tied into the company's global network that constitutes one of its key strengths.

More details at http://www.nipponexpress.com/

-- BERNAMA

FINANCIO CONNECT MOBILE APP RELEASED GLOBALLY

 PETALING JAYA, June 23 (Bernama) -- Asian Business Software Solutions Sdn Bhd (ABSS), a subsidiary of Censof Holdings Berhad, announced the launch of CONNECT mobile application (mobile app) on APPLE App Store, for its Financio Premium subscribers.
 
Dubbed as a next-generation mobile app, Financio CONNECT facilitates and provides convenient business accounting transactions where subscribers will be able to instantly access their data, anytime, anywhere by merely using a smartphone. CONNECT permits business owners’ real-time access to transactions, recording of expenses, quotation creation and invoicing, which automatically synchronizes to the cloud across all devices. The mobile app is efficient, easy to navigate and facilitates a secured collaboration across departments with information security settings that enable a business owner to assign role-based access to empower personnel to perform their job efficiently.
 
Financio, a cloud accounting software by ABSS, which helms the small business accounting automation in Malaysia, Singapore, Hong Kong and other countries, has been redefining how the over 25,000 small business and SME owners handle their accounting and tax tasks. The launch of the CONNECT mobile app allows Financio Premium subscribers to manage their business accounts in a seamless and integrated platform while on the go. Financio users claim that the software has helped improve productivity. It is believed that CONNECT mobile app will transform how SMEs manage business accountings by enabling accounting operations executable through smartphones.
 
ABSS Chief Executive Officer, Rhys Brown elaborated, "Small business owners work hard and are often on the move. Along with their business’s growth and expansion, there is a rising need for a reliable and efficient mobile accounting app. Therefore, we built CONNECT mobile app to fill the gap. Made available on all the three major app stores to ensure the ease of managing business accounting, Financio CONNECT provides business owners the flexibility they need to manage business accounting and perform necessary financial administration while on the go. Our app users will be able to record expenses, send invoices, see what is owed, chase payments, reconcile accounts and more with just a smartphone."
 
The Financio CONNECT mobile app is currently available for download from Google Play Store, Huawei App Gallery and Apple App store. Details and information about CONNECT including its features and functions can be found at financio.co/malaysia/connect. 


ABOUT CENSOF HOLDINGS BERHAD  

Censof Holdings Berhad (“Censof” or the “Group”) was established in 2008 as a technology holdings company that provides an extensive financial management solution for the government and commercial segments, small and medium enterprises, as well as start-ups. The Group was listed on the Main Market of Bursa Malaysia Securities Berhad in January 2011.

Through its subsidiaries, Censof is involved in providing (i) financial management solutions on the government front, (ii) financial management solutions to the SMEs and micro-SME segments, (iii) wealth management solutions, (iv) payment aggregation solutions and (v) embarking into emerging technologies. The Group is listed under the Technology Sector (Name & Code: CENSOF & 5195).

For more information about Censof Holdings Berhad, please visit https://censof.com. 


SOURCE : Censof Holdings Berhad

NIPPON EXPRESS (CHINA) NEW LOGISTICS LOCATIONS IN JIASHAN, HANGZHOU, CHANGSHU OPENED

KUALA LUMPUR, June 22 (Bernama) -- Nippon Express (China) Co Ltd (NE China), a local subsidiary of Nippon Express Co Ltd has opened and begun operations at new logistics locations in Jiashan, Hangzhou and Changshu in the Yangtze River Delta.

As part of China's national strategy, integrated development has been pursued in the Yangtze River Delta, comprising 16 cities in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River in Shanghai, Jiangsu Province and Zhejiang Province.

This has drawn in numerous companies not only from the electric appliance, electronics, automotive, equipment and other industries but also from the domestic demand-oriented retail and apparel industries that serve local consumers.

Taking a holistic approach to the Yangtze River Delta, NE China has set up the three new logistics centres in Jiashan, Hangzhou and Changshu to handle automotive parts and general consumer goods.

This is also to develop high-quality logistics services offering uniform operational quality across all locations with an eye to beginning handling medical equipment, according to a statement.

Moving forward, NE China will be looking to actively introduce automated transport equipment and other cutting-edge technologies to save on labour.

It will also establish a forklift training centre to improve handling techniques and safety, aimed at establishing model warehouses in China that represent an ideal fusion of hardware and software.

More details at http://www.nipponexpress.com/

-- BERNAMA

INTELLIGENT WAVE INC. PROVIDES FINLAND'S BROADCASTER YLE WITH IP FLOW-MONITORING SOLUTION "EOM"

 TOKYO, June 23, 2021 /Kyodo JBN-AsiaNet/ --

- Vital Real-time Monitoring Solution in Next-generation IP Broadcasting -   Intelligent Wave Inc. ("IWI" hereinafter), based in Tokyo, announced on June 23 that it has provided Yleisradio Oy ("Yle" hereinafter), a national public service media, with "EoM," an IP flow-monitoring solution.   EoM Implementation Backstory Yle has implemented EoM in a plan to monitor and analyze IP flows in an upcoming renewed MCR Control Room. Below are the points highly evaluated during the POC.   EoM Evaluation Points - Compatible with 100GbE, and supports a variety of protocols - Expectation on higher availability without additional cost with 24/7 monitoring - Detailed troubleshooting made possible with past data analysis - Integration with third-party network management system - Software-based solution utilizing OSS allowing flexible configuration   About EoM EoM is an IP flow-monitoring solution (*1) co-developed with Japan's public broadcaster NHK aimed towards the broadcasting industry. EoM combines IWI's high-speed data-processing technology from its payment system development business and the power of FPGAs (*2). With the spread of 4K/8K broadcasting, it is becoming vital for broadcasters to shift to IP transmission, which calls for a tool to monitor IP flows in detail in order to maintain/increase the quality. EoM supports standard IP broadcasting protocols, such as SMPTE ST2110, ST2022, etc., contributing to drastically cutting down operation cost for IP studios by analyzing/monitoring data in real time as well as analyzing past data. IWI will continuously develop features and functions that will contribute to supporting and maintaining the quality of IP broadcast.   Notes: (*1) Patent pending (*2) FPGA (Field-Programmable Gate Array): an integrated circuit designed to be      configured by a customer or a designer after manufacturing   EoM Functions / Features Below are some functions / features of EoM. (New functions/features will be continuously added.) - Monitoring of 12 protocols with a supported speed of 10GbE / 25GbE / 100GbE - Items such as bitrate, packet drop count, latency, jitter, etc. can be monitored - Alert according to user-set threshold - Decoding of audio and video packet - Integration with third-party network management system   More information on EoM: https://www.iwi-marketing.com/en   About IWI IWI is a leading company in online network infrastructure development in the finance industry, with strengths in handling an immense amount of data precisely and in real time. IWI has a growing business in the security industry, developing and reselling packaged software for information security and cybersecurity. IWI supports corporate DX by providing fast, reliable, and safe infrastructure based on the company's management philosophy "Creating safe and reliable information society."   https://www.iwi.co.jp/en   *All product names and company names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners.     Source: Intelligent Wave Inc.  http://mrem.bernama.com/viewsm.php?idm=40348

Tessa, A*STAR's Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology collaborateforming cell therapy laboratory

KUALA LUMPUR, June 23 -- Tessa Therapeutics Ltd (Tessa), a clinical-stage cell therapy company has announced a collaboration agreement with the Agency for Science Technology and Research’s (A*STAR) Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology (IMCB) in Singapore to form a research laboratory.

Jointly operated by Tessa and IMCB, the facility will harness new preclinical technologies and provide capabilities to accelerate the discovery and development of the next generation of cell therapies.

“We, at Tessa are excited to have this opportunity to work with A*STAR and IMCB in advancing our efforts to bring much-needed novel treatments to cancer patients globally,” said Chief Medical Officer and Chief Scientific Officer of Tessa Therapeutics, Ivan D. Horak, M.D.

“This collaboration will allow Tessa to leverage IMCB’s considerable expertise in developing and harnessing new research tools, as well as A*STAR’s state-of-the art facilities, to enhance our preclinical pipeline development and discovery efforts, and by doing so, further strengthen our research and development pipeline.”

The collaboration is focused on IMCB’s research expertise, including new humanised patient-derived-xenograft (PDX) and patient-derived-organoid (PDO) models, according to a statement.

These models will be used to screen Tessa’s novel cell therapies and accelerate clinical development as well as enable the discovery of potential new therapeutic targets against cancer.

In addition, the laboratory will contribute other preclinical and clinical work, including product characterisation studies and compiling data required for Investigational New Drug (IND) applications with the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and other regulatory submissions.

The agreement marks Tessa’s second collaboration with IMCB, a research institute within A*STAR, Singapore’s lead government agency spearheading scientific discovery and innovation in the region.

-- BERNAMA

EIG-LED CONSORTIUM CLOSES $12.4 BILLION INFRASTRUCTURE DEAL WITH ARAMCO

Consortium comprised of a cross-section of renowned investors from North America, Asia and the Middle East

WASHINGTON, June 21 (Bernama-BUSINESS WIRE) -- EIG, a leading institutional investor to the global energy sector and one of the world’s leading infrastructure investors, today announced the closing of its previously announced transaction with Saudi Arabian Oil Co. (“Aramco”), under which a consortium of investors acquired a 49% equity stake in Aramco Oil Pipelines Company (“Aramco Oil Pipelines”), a newly formed entity with rights to 25 years of tariff payments for oil transported through Aramco’s stabilized crude oil pipeline network.

The EIG-led co-investment process in Aramco Oil Pipelines attracted a global group of leading institutional investors from China, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Korea, the United Arab Emirates and the United States including, amongst others, Mubadala Investment Company, an Abu Dhabi Sovereign Investor, Silk Road Fund, Hassana and Samsung Asset Management.

R. Blair Thomas, EIG Chairman and CEO, said: “We are pleased to have completed this transaction with Aramco, a preeminent global energy supplier. The caliber of this marquee global infrastructure asset is further evidenced by the leading investors that have invested alongside EIG. We are honored to be working with this world-class consortium and look forward to a long-term, fruitful partnership.”

HSBC Bank plc acted as financial advisor to EIG in connection with the transaction, and Latham & Watkins served as EIG’s legal advisor. 

About EIG

EIG is a leading institutional investor to the global energy sector with $21.7 billion under management as of March 31, 2021. EIG specializes in private investments in energy and energy-related infrastructure on a global basis. During its 39-year history, EIG has committed over $37 billion to the energy sector through more than 370 projects or companies in 37 countries on six continents. EIG’s clients include many of the leading pension plans, insurance companies, endowments, foundations and sovereign wealth funds in the U.S., Asia and Europe. EIG is headquartered in Washington, D.C., with offices in Houston, London, Sydney, Rio de Janeiro, Hong Kong and Seoul. For additional information, please visit EIG’s website at www.eigpartners.com. 

About Aramco

Aramco is a global integrated energy and chemicals company driven by its core belief that energy is opportunity. From producing approximately one in every eight barrels of the world’s oil supply to developing new energy technologies, Aramco’s global team is dedicated to creating impact in all that it does. The Company focuses on making its resources more dependable, more sustainable and more useful. This helps promote stability and long-term growth around the world. www.aramco.com.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210618005526/en/ 

Contact 
 

EIG
Sard Verbinnen & Co.
Kelly Kimberly / Brandon Messina
+1 212-687-8080
EIG-SVC@sardverb.com 

Aramco
International Media Relations: international.media@aramco.com
Investor Relations: investor.relations@aramco.com 

Source : EIG  

--BERNAMA 

SKINCARE SALES TARGET US$181 BILLION BY 2025 WITH CONSUMERS ON 'SKINIMALISM' QUEST

KUALA LUMPUR, June 22 (Bernama) -- The global beauty and personal care market is expected to rebound in 2021, with a three per cent growth largely driven by Asia Pacific, according to global market research company Euromonitor International.

In its latest webinar 'Beauty in recovery: going green and clean', Euromonitor delves into the industry's future outlook, exploring the key themes that will shape the beauty sector in the coming years.

By 2025, skin care will steal the brightest spot of the global beauty industry, as the category is estimated to reach US$181 billion sales, mostly led by Asia Pacific, as consumers are increasingly self-educating on active ingredients and will continue their quest for ‘skinimalism’ happening in the form of simplified brand messaging, formulations and routines. (US$1 = RM4.142)

“Fifty-one per cent of beauty companies surveyed stated that they would implement digital strategies to embrace new ‘phygital’ reality, from contactless experiences to deployment of AR/VR to integrate virtual processes in physical spaces,” said Consultant at Euromonitor International, Gabriella Beckwith, in a statement.

Meanwhile, Beauty and Fashion Consultant at Euromonitor International, Kayla Villena said: “Brands that play on trust and transparency, as well as those with science-backed credentials and ‘clinical’ efficacy will continue to resonate well.”

The e-commerce acceleration predicted to take course over the next five to 10 years occurred in one single year, as the pandemic boosted consumers' adoption of online platforms for their everyday needs.

E-commerce sales of beauty and personal care increased by 23 per cent over 2020-2021, while virtually enabled at-home experiences will remain an imperative to drive e-commerce sales.

-- BERNAMA

PRESTIGE BIOPHARMA FIRST-IN-CLASS PANCREATIC CANCER TREATMENT RECEIVES FRANCE CLINICAL TRIAL APPROVAL

KUALA LUMPUR, June 21 (Bernama) -- Prestige BioPharma Limited (PBP) announced that French National Agency for the Safety of Medicines and Health Products has approved a Phase 1/2a clinical trial of its first-in-class anti-PAUF monoclonal antibody, PBP1510, for pancreatic cancer treatment.

The trial will be conducted in the Research Institute against Digestive Cancer (IRCAD) based in Strasbourg, France, in pancreatic cancer patients who have an overexpression of a gene called Pancreatic Adenocarcinoma Up-regulated Factor (PAUF) found in majority of pancreatic cancers.

According to a statement, PBP’s affiliate, Prestige Biologics will be providing drugs for the trial.

Specialising in the development of antibody therapeutics, PBP is also in the process of preparing for the conduct of this trial in other countries such as the US, Australia and Belgium.

In addition, Korea’s Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (MFDS) is currently reviewing PBP’s application for conduct of this clinical trial in Korea, as well.

“We are very pleased to initiate the Phase 1/2a clinical trial of PBP1510 in France. PBP will accelerate the development of PBP1510 to provide better treatment for pancreatic cancer, an extremely difficult to treat indication with a poor response to the currently available treatments,” said Prestige BioPharma Chief Executive Officer, Lisa S. Park.

Pancreatic cancer is a highly aggressive malignancy originating in the exocrine or endocrine pancreatic cells suspected to be caused by poor diet, smoking, and genetic factors.

Limited efficacy of treatment modalities and rapid progression of pancreatic cancer can be partly explained by PAUF and it plays an important role in disease progression, but no targeted molecular therapy against PAUF currently exists.

Prestige BioPharma’s anti-PAUF antibody PBP1510 is envisioned to provide significant benefit in all patients affected by PAUF-positive pancreatic cancer.

More details at www.prestigebiopharma.com.

-- BERNAMA

BANDAI NAMCO Group deploys ‘GUNDAM’-powered sustainability project

KUALA LUMPUR, June 17 -- BANDAI NAMCO Group has established a sustainability policy that, together with its fans, promotes activities for the realisation of a long-term and sustainable society by utilising its core IP axis strategy.

Through BANDAI NAMCO Group's transversal project, the ‘GUNDAM Project’ which is spearheaded by its Chief GUNDAM Officer, the Group has begun ‘GUNDAM UNIVERSAL CENTURY DEVELOPMENT ACTION (GUDA)’.

GUDA is a sustainability project using the ‘GUNDAM’ brand, according to a statement.

As part of this initiative, it will launch ‘GUNDAM Open Innovation’ where new ideas and technologies can come together to face various societal concerns stemming from the human population and the environment.

BANDAI NAMCO Group believes that the messages brought up in ‘GUNDAM’ that touch upon the human population and the environment resonates with many current-day concerns. 

Hence, the Group will be taking action for children of the future as it works with fans and external partners in bringing about a better world by learning from the fictional era in GUNDAM in preparation for a real-world ‘Universal Century’.

Leading the initiative, BANDAI NAMCO Holdings, BANDAI SPIRITS, BANDAI NAMCO Amusement, and BANDAI LOGIPAL together launched the ‘Gunpla Recycling Project’ in April.

The project seeks to gather from fans the empty runners that remain after building Gunpla models, and to recycle them into new plastic model products by using the latest chemical recycling technology. 

With the help of its fans, the BANDAI NAMCO Group companies are committed into realising a sustainable society.

BANDAI NAMCO Group will announce further details on its project later on official website, and look forward to seeing everyone's comments and ideas from worldwide.

‘GUNDAM Open Innovation’ official website at http://www.bandainamco.co.jp/guda/goi/en.

-- BERNAMA

D'ADDARIO & CO CO-FOUNDER, JANET D'ADDARIO, 72, DIES

KUALA LUMPUR, June 18 (Bernama) -- Janet D’Addario, a prodigious creative and philanthropic force worldwide, and wife of D’Addario Chairman, Jim D’Addario, died June 14 at her home, surrounded by family.

According to a statement, the 72-year-old succumbed to complications from gall bladder cancer, said Jim.

Janet Marie D’Addario was born on Dec 10, 1948 in Nassau County. Her education circumnavigated Long Island: St Brigid in Westbury; St Dominic’s High School in Oyster Bay, and Nassau Community College in Garden City.

When D’Addario & Co was founded in 1973, Janet used her creative talents to design the company’s advertising as well as the packaging design for all of their products.

As a fledgling organisation, Janet’s vision and compassion had a tremendous influence on the development of the culture that guides the organisation today.

She would go on to wear many hats, including head of Artist Relations and co-founder of the D’Addario Foundation, which continues to provide music education to young children in underserved communities.

Janet served as the Managing Director of the Foundation for 20 years, helping to raise awareness for the cause by producing classical music concerts in cities worldwide.

The one charity that held a particularly special place in her heart was Providence House, a New York institution that provides transitional housing for homeless women and children.

Janet is survived by her loving husband of over 50 years, Jim, and their three children: Julie (Pat); Amy (Marcus) and Robert (Gina).

In lieu of any gifts or flowers, the family asks anyone wishing to pay their respects to consider a modest donation to Providence House.

-- BERNAMA

SYNCHRONOSS UNVEILS CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER TRANSITION PLAN

KUALA LUMPUR, June 17 (Bernama) -- Synchronoss Technologies Inc has announced a CFO transition plan with current Chief Financial Officer (CFO) David Clark stepping down from his role on Aug 9, to pursue other personal and career interests.

Clark’s transition is unrelated to the Company’s financial reporting and business performance, and the Company is reaffirming 2021 guidance previously provided on May 10, in parallel with the announcement. 

According to a statement from the global leader and innovator of cloud, messaging and digital products and platforms, Clark was appointed CFO in August 2018.

Commenting on Clark’s departure, President and Chief Executive Officer of Synchronoss, Jeff Miller said: “I’ve enjoyed working alongside David and thank him for his commitment to the Company.

“David joined Synchronoss to make enhancements to our operational controls and reporting. During his tenure, he has helped Synchronoss navigate successfully through significant improvements in management of operating expenses and implementation of financial governance and controls.

“I firmly believe his contributions have positioned us for future growth and success. On a personal note, I wish him only the best with his future endeavors and appreciate his support during this leadership transition.”

An executive search for Clark’s replacement is currently underway. He will remain in his current role until his departure date and will support Synchronoss as it transitions the CFO role to a successor.

More details at www.synchronoss.com.

-- BERNAMA

VORTEXA NEW FREIGHT ANALYTICS BRINGS UNPARALLELED MARKET EDGE TO CHARTERERS, TRADERS, SHIPOWNERS

KUALA LUMPUR, June 18 (Bernama) -- Vortexa, a leading energy and shipping analytics platform, has announced the launch of a suite of brand new Freight Analytics screens providing a past, present and future views of the supply and demand across all tanker classes globally.

Vortexa Chief Executive Officer, Fabio Kuhn said: “Our next-generation of freight analytics will be a major source of competitive advantage to charterers, ship owners and traders.

“We are very excited to level up the shipping markets to the frontier of what’s possible today, with deep technology and advanced industry expertise.’’

The highly intuitive screens, including Vessel Availability, Congestion, Fleet Distribution and Fleet Utilisation surface clear, reliable and accurate data analysis and insights in real-time, allowing charterers, traders and ship owners to make high-stake decisions in the shipping markets with confidence, seizing market opportunities before others.

According to a statement, Vortexa clients can instantly understand changes in global freight supply and demand in real time to significantly strengthen their hand in the market.

Charterers can accurately make time chartering decisions, capture the best vessels in the market, minimise demurrage costs and optimise operations.

Shipowners can evaluate supply and demand market dynamics to enhance fleet positioning and identify emerging freight trading opportunities.

In addition, traders can quickly identify early indicators of physical movements that will inevitably impact prices and influence time-sensitive decisions ahead of the energy markets.

-- BERNAMA

EARTH WIND & POWER: EXCESS ENERGY FROM WIND, SOLAR AND GAS WILL BE UTILIZED FOR HPC AND DATACENTERS

 

Earth Wind & Power and CEO, Ingvil Smines Tybring-Gjedde (picture) will create a sustainable bridge between the excess power in the energy industry and the power deficiency in the High Performance Computing (HPC) datacenter industry (Photo: Business Wire)

Earth Wind & Power (EWP) announced today a solid ESG solution for powering datacenters by utilizing excess energy from wind, solar and gas to cater for the increased computing power demand - without any negative impact on existing grids.

OSLO, Norway, June 16 (Bernama) -- With this new practice EWP creates a long-awaited sustainable bridge between the excess power in the energy industry and the power deficiency in the High Performance Computing (HPC) datacenter industry while maintaining strong ESG-standards. Earth Wind & Power`s modular HPC datacenters utilize the most energy-efficient technologies worldwide.

The company positions scalable modular datacenter units at local power production facilities around the world. The excess energy on the site is then utilized for HPC when no other offtake is commercially viable, or when demand and energy prices are low.

The EWP-solution can be deployed in extremely hot climates without compromising the service levels and can provide financial incentives to initiate new renewable projects which otherwise wouldn’t be financially viable.

The CEO, Former Norwegian Minister of National Public Security and Deputy Minister of Petroleum and Energy, Ingvil Smines Tybring-Gjedde, states that: “I am proud to lead a company with strong ESG standards that is taking use of the excess energy available to power the exponentially growing demand for data processing.”

EWP is currently collaborating with several energy companies to enhance their ESG-footprint by finding solutions for their excess energy.

EWP is founded by pioneers from wind and solar industries and international E&P of which several are listed at the Oslo Stock Exchange.


Contact

For further information contact:
Ingvil Smines Tybring-Gjedde, CEO
e-mail: post@earth-wind-and-power.com
Website; www.earth-wind-and-power.com

Source : Earth Wind & Power