SPACE DATA MARKETPLACE LAUNCH CREATES STELLAR VALUE FOR SPACE INDUSTRY

https://www.space-data-marketplace.eu/

 KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 30 (Bernama) -- Today marks the signature of the Space Data Marketplace project whose mission is to facilitate access to space data and create value for the whole space industry in France, Europe and internationally, by offering inspiring use cases.

This brings together the best-in-class technological and industrial expertise in France and Europe to accompany the revolution of the space sector, according to a statement.

Supported by the French Recovery Plan and the French space government agency CNES, the development of Space Data Marketplace will be driven by a consortium led by Dawex and including Airbus Defence and Space, Dassault Systèmes, and Thales Alenia Space.

Also included are Geoflex, VisioTerra, namR, Altametris, Murmuration and Occitanie Data, leveraging improved capabilities for accessing and distributing data and services on the platform.

“It’s an honour to contribute to the development of Space Data Marketplace, empowering the industry to build influential data partnerships,” said Dawex co-CEO, Laurent Lafaye.

“The platform will act as the backbone of the spatial data ecosystem, leveraging space data to optimise mobility and logistics, tackle key climate change challenges thanks to housing renovation and energy compliance upgrades, and so many more fascinating use cases.”

Space Data Marketplace aims at contributing directly to ease access to space data and promote their wider use. It is the one-stop shop for the space industry and all organisations in multiple sectors that are increasingly interested in using space data.

Gathering best-in-class technologies and leading organisations in the consortium, Space Data Marketplace promotes a trusted data exchange and data sharing environment to build strong data partnerships, foster creativity and renew opportunities, boosting the development of the space industry.

-- BERNAMA

MFINE SECURES US$48 MILLION SERIES C FUNDING TO CONSTRUCT INDIA'S LARGEST VIRTUAL HOSPITAL

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 29 (Bernama) -- India’s leading Digital Health startup MFine has announced a US$48 million Series C funding round co-led by Moore Strategic Ventures and BEENEXT, with participation from existing investors, Stellaris Venture Partners, SBI Group Japan, SBI Ven Capital Singapore, Heritas Capital, Prime Venture Partners, Y’S Investment Pte Ltd. and Alteria Capital. (US$1 = RM4.186)

MFine aims to build one of the Largest Virtual Hospitals in the world and make high quality healthcare more accessible and effective with the use of AI and mobile technologies.

Towards that vision, MFine is enabling clinical decision support for doctors using AI and bringing vitals monitoring and health management to consumers’ smartphones.

Since its inception, over three million users have used MFine services with the platform clocking over 300,000 monthly transactions that include doctor consultations, diagnostic tests, e-pharmacy and in-patient procedures.

While over 100,000 users use MFine for booking diagnostic tests every month, MFine grows 15 per cent month on month, amidst exponential adoption of telemedicine and digital health in India since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Over 500 corporates have partnered with MFine to enable wide ranging services covering over 500,000 employees.

In a statement, MFine CEO & cofounder, Prasad Kompalli said: “We will continue to invest in deep tech to transform every smartphone into a health companion for consumers and a decision support assistant to all doctors.

“We will also be looking to expand our network across India and make our services available widely. We are very excited about the future of digital health in India and we look forward to working with our partners, investors and the government to build and scale this further.”

BEENEXT Managing Partner Hero Choudhary said: “MFine’s model, coupling AI technology with a strong provider network, is powerful in providing healthcare services on-demand and changing the way we think about care delivery for millions across the world.”

For details, visit https://www.mfine.co/.

-- BERNAMA

BARCLAYS UNVEILS INAUGURAL GREEN STRUCTURED NOTES PROGRAMME

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 29 (Bernama) -- Barclays, a British universal bank has announced the launch of its inaugural Green Structured Notes Programme, offering institutional and retail investors a differentiated green investment opportunity, with the structured note payoff based on a green index.

The proceeds of the notes are allocated to the financing or re-financing of eligible green activities such as renewable energy, energy efficiency and sustainable transportation loans and contribute to Barclays Net Zero Ambition and providing £100 billion of green financing by 2030. (£1 = RM5.666)

Head of Global Markets and Co-President of BB PLC at Barclays, C.S. Venkatakrishnan, said: “We continue to see increased client demand for sustainable investment opportunities and today’s launch of Barclays’ green structured notes programme provides clients with a new and innovative opportunity to access the green market.

“It’s also a terrific step forward in our innovation journey within Global Markets to offer more compelling and sustainable structured products offerings.”

Meanwhile, Group Head of Public Policy and Corporate Responsibility, Sasha Wiggins, said: “Last year, we announced our commitment to align all of our financing to the goals of the Paris Agreement, on the way to achieving our ambition to be a net zero bank by 2050.”

“We also committed to £100bn of green financing by 2030 and this innovative investment offering to our clients is a new and important part of delivering that commitment in order to help accelerate the global transition to a low carbon economy.”

Both the investment and the use of proceeds will be in line with the Sustainable Finance Framework and Green Issuance Framework, and the index is selected in line with the Green Index Selection Principles, according to a statement.

The portfolio of green projects the proceeds will fund will be originated by Barclays Bank PLC in the regular course of business, and will be verified by a third party verification agent.

The announcement follows the launch of the Barclays Solactive Climate Change Europe BTI index and Barclays’ intention to support climate-related products and initiatives through Green Bonds issuance.

-- BERNAMA

CLOUDFLARE R2 STORAGE WAY BETTER FOR DEVELOPERS TO STORE EVERYTHING NEEDED

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 29 (Bernama) -- Cloudflare Inc, the security, performance, and reliability company helping to build a better Internet, has announced Cloudflare R2 Storage, a better way for developers to store everything they need with automatic migration of data from S3-compatible services to make switching easy.

Cloudflare R2 Storage, designed for the edge, will offer the ability to store large amounts of data, expanding what’s possible with Cloudflare while slashing the egress bandwidth fees associated with cloud provider storage to zero, according to a statement.

Cloudflare co-founder and chief executive officer, Matthew Prince said: “Our aim is to make R2 Storage the least expensive, most reliable option for storing data, with no egress charges. I’m constantly amazed by what developers are building on our platform, and look forward to continued innovation as we expand the tools they have access to.”

In order to build websites and applications, developers need a place to store photos, videos, and graphics that is quickly and easily accessible.

When cloud storage first evolved, it was a huge step forward in terms of providing that fast, flexible, and scalable storage for developers. However, increasingly egregious bandwidth pricing has made cloud storage an expensive headache for some developers, resulting in vendor lock-in.

Cloudflare took the first step to address egregious egress charges in 2018 by creating the Bandwidth Alliance, a group of forward-thinking cloud and networking companies that are committed to discounting or waiving data transfer fees for shared customers.

Cloudflare R2 Storage will push this commitment even further, adding automatic migration of data from S3-compatible services and providing developers a highly performant, object store — minus the egress fees.

Cloudflare’s R2 Storage will allow developers to slash their cloud provider egress and storage bills; take advantage of the performance of object storage built with Cloudflare’s edge network; and, migrate data automatically from other providers to Cloudflare, among others.

More details at www.cloudflare.com.

-- BERNAMA

TELEDYNE TO DISPLAY INDUSTRIAL AND SCIENTIFIC IMAGING TECHNOLOGY COMPREHENSIVE PORTFOLIO AT VISION 2021

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 28 (Bernama) -- Teledyne, a part of Teledyne Technologies and a global leader in machine vision technology, will exhibit newest technologies at Vision 2021 taking place Oct 5-7, in Stuttgart, Germany.

According to a statement, Teledyne will display the world’s most comprehensive, vertically integrated portfolio of industrial and scientific imaging technology including the latest from newly acquired Teledyne FLIR.

Teledyne will participate in the Industrial Vision Days with keynote and technology presentations taking place Oct 6, whereby Teledyne DALSA’s Matthias Sonder delivers his presentation entitled ‘Clarity at High Speed’ and, Teledyne e2v’s Sergio Morillas speaks about ‘Highly reliable 3D imaging for challenging applications with Time-of-Flight’.

New products introduced by Teledyne companies include Linea HS 16K Multifield features charge-domain CMOS TDI sensor technology with 16k x (64+128+64) TDI arrays and a 5x5μm pixel size. It is the industry’s first TDI camera capable of capturing up to three images simultaneously in a single scan.

In addition, Sapera™ Vision Software offers field-proven image acquisition, control, image processing and artificial intelligence functions to design, develop and deploy high-performance machine vision applications.

In this new release, the AI tool AstrocyteTM allows learning at runtime for increased flexibility and performance on deployed systems.

Also introduced are Topaz CMOS Sensors, new 2MP and 1.5MP CMOS sensors featuring a low noise global shutter pixel; and, FLIR Lossless Compression.

From aerospace through industrial inspection, scientific research, spectroscopy, radiography and radiotherapy, and advanced MEMS and semiconductor solutions, Teledyne offers worldwide customer support and the technical expertise to handle the toughest tasks.

-- BERNAMA

PPRO INTEGRATES INTO PAYPAL COMMERCE PLATFORM FOR PAYMENT SERVICE PROVIDERS

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 28 (Bernama) -- PPRO has announced its integration of the PayPal Commerce Platform.

The move further cements PPRO’s market-leading position as one of the go-to providers of local payments infrastructure for payment service providers (PSPs), banks, and gateways.

PPRO’s integration allows customers to significantly reduce the time to integrate PayPal Commerce Platform solutions and give customers access to the PayPal Wallet, giving PPRO’s customers the opportunity to enable their merchants’ access to PayPal's user base of more than 403 million active accounts across 200 markets.

In a statement, PPRO Chief Commercial Officer Claire Gates said: “The benefits for partners of joining PPRO’s platform are clear: we save them time and money, and provide the quality of payment method integrations that lead to high conversion rates.

“With the addition of the PayPal Commerce Platform - and the ability to offer the PayPal Wallet - this offering can’t be ignored by anyone operating in the global e-commerce space.”

By partnering with PPRO, PSPs, banks, platforms, and enterprises with payment platforms not only benefit from access to the PayPal Commerce Platform, but from a vast range of local payment methods (LPMs) globally.

PPRO’s global payment expertise, platform engineered for performance and innovation, value through PPRO’s network of LPMs and PSPs are all accessible with just one contract and one integration, a simplicity which removes complexities surrounding local payments, increases speed to market, and helps boost sales for merchants.

PPRO and PayPal will host a livestream on Oct 7 to discuss their partnership and how companies worldwide could achieve high conversion rates by offering the payment method customers know and trust.

The news of the PayPal Commerce Platform integration comes after PPRO announced earlier this year that it had raised US$180 million, taking the firm’s total value to over US$1 billion. (US$1 = RM4.180)

-- BERNAMA

CLOUDFLARE EMAIL SECURITY ENTRY TO OVERCOME CHALLENGES, GIVING CUSTOMERS MORE CONTROL

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 28 (Bernama) -- Cloudflare Inc, the security, performance, and reliability company helping to build a better Internet, has announced its entry into email security with new offerings to help solve email challenges in an easy-to-use way that gives customers more control. 

Now, users will be able to create custom email addresses, manage incoming email routing, and prevent email spoofing and phishing on outgoing emails—all for free, according to a statement.

Cloudflare also announced that customers can sign up for early access to its Advanced Email Security Suite, tightly integrated with all of Cloudflare’s Zero Trust solutions, for a more holistic way to keep businesses and their employees secure and productive.

“Customers have asked us to address email security for years. Today, we’re announcing new tools that will help close the biggest remaining network security risk that Cloudflare hasn’t already covered, until now,” said co-founder and chief executive officer of Cloudflare, Matthew Prince.

“We want to be the network that businesses of any size can plug into for all of their needs. While today marks our first step into this space, we ultimately hope to become the leader in email security.”

Creating, managing, and securing email services can be complex tasks requiring technical expertise. Cloudflare has announced two features that customers can take advantage of, to help with this.

First, Cloudflare is providing customers with powerful new email routing tools to streamline email management. Second, Cloudflare is providing tools to help anyone with an email address better protect their brand against phishing and spam.

Cloudflare customers can take advantage of these free features to create custom email addresses in a few clicks; consolidate multiple email accounts into one unified inbox; and, help secure their domain from phishing and spoofing attacks, among others.

Cloudflare also announced its Advanced Email Security Suite, tightly integrating email protection with Cloudflare One, including Browser Isolation. 

More details at www.cloudflare.com.

-- BERNAMA

NTHU researchers unveil ultrasonic vortex thrombolytic device for quick thrombosis treatment

 

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 24 -- As COVID-19 vaccination has raised the issue of thrombosis, Dr Chih-Kuang Yeh, Distinguished Professor of the Department of Biomedical Engineering and Environmental Sciences, has led a research team to develop the world's first ultrasonic vortex thrombolytic device and treat thrombosis quickly and safely.

The research has been published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) in 2021. Moreover, US and EU patents are granted, with more applications on the way, according to a statement.

The device is developed to solve two common thrombosis called pulmonary embolism (PE) and deep vein thrombosis (DVT), which have global prevalence of 10 million new cases annually.

Yeh explained the current treatment options included drug delivery catheter and thrombectomy devices, but they were not effective enough or might bring up hemorrhage risks.

Working with industrial partners, his team has developed a 0.2-mm ultrasonic device, which can generate tornado-like ultrasonic vortex and create a strong turbulent around the thrombus, therefore increasing penetration of thrombolytic drugs and resulting in very effective thrombolysis. The residue of the dissolved thrombus is just 0.001 cm.

He said animal studies had shown results of 60 per cent thrombus shrinkage in the mice brain after applying ultrasonic vortex for 10 minutes, demonstrating the potential of fast treatment. What’s more, the feedback property of ultrasound can be used for real-time treatment monitoring.

Yeh added his team was also working on using ultrasonic vortex for non-invasive thrombolysis, providing potential to treat embolisms in the brain. 

In addition, while combining with microbubbles for controlled drug release, treatment for neurological disorders such as Parkinson's disease and epilepsy, will become possible.

Yeh’s team is named VorteSonic, a combination of vortex and sonic waves. Core team members include Ph.D. students Wei-Chen Lo and Zong-Han Hsieh, who are in charge of ultrasonic transducers and the driving system; and Dr Chun-Yen Lai, who will be leading the team after spinning off a startup from the university.

-- BERNAMA

FINANCIO ACCOUNTING SOFTWARE GETS MAJOR FACELIFT

Financio v3.0.0 Launched Today, Reinventing the Business Financial Management Workflow of SMEs

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 21 (Bernama) -- Asian Business Software Solutions Sdn Bhd (“ABSS”), a subsidiary of Censof Holdings Berhad, is pleased to announce the major facelift of its SAAS (software-as-a-service) accounting product – Financio, on 20th September 2021. 

Since its first launch in 2017, Financio is known to be feature-rich, yet easy to operate even without any accounting knowledge. In this major release, the redesigned workflow, alongside the all-new UI/UX enhancement, provides greater flexibility within fewer clicks which bring about work efficiency. The fresh new, modern user interface promises an improved user experience navigation design where user can work and switch from multiple tabs without exiting or reopening the items on the menu.

With the increasing demand from the manufacturing, retail and distribution sectors, Financio v3.0.0 comes with an enhanced inventory management module which supports multiple location tracking, multiple units of measurement, auto-build or item assembly tracking. The preloaded comprehensive inventory reports provide instant clarity and useful insights to help businesses to set accurate pricing, accelerates repeat purchases and to quickly respond to changing market dynamics.
 
"We are very excited with the new facelift that we are launching worldwide today as it further defines our role as one of the leading accounting and taxation software providers in the region. We are providing our customers across various business sizes a better, comprehensive and innovative accounting solutions with this latest version of Financio. Its significant facelift with intuitive navigation and a plethora of features are tailored for their various accounting needs," said Rhys Brown, the chief executive officer of ABSS.
 
Financio supports multi-user, multi-lingual and multi-currency. With a wide range of integrated applications like banks, payrolls, e-commerce and payment gateways, businesses can scale up at ease with Financio whenever ready. With all the new features introduced, Financio’s entry level subscription is priced at RM45/month only. Details and information about Financio including its all-new features and functions are available at www.financio.co/malaysia.  

http://mrem.bernama.com/viewsm.php?idm=41054

FPT-HALLIBURTON WELL-OILED COLLABORATION TO ACCELERATE OIL & GAS INDUSTRY TRANSFORMATION

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 24 (Bernama) -- Vietnam’s largest IT firm FPT has announced a strategic collaboration with global oilfield services leader Halliburton to accelerate digital transformation by lowering innovation costs and time to adoption across the E&P sector.

“FPT and Halliburton have a long history of collaboration and a close relationship. In the past decade, FPT has contributed to the success of Halliburton’s various critical programmes, and I believe this exclusive partnership is a testament to our strong IT competencies and industry know-how,” said FPT Chairman Dr Truong Gia Binh.

Building on the deep experience and knowledge of DecisionSpace® 365 and iEnergy® hybrid cloud, FPT has launched a dedicated Landmark practice of over 150 developers, data scientists, and cloud engineers, according to a statement.

This practice will provide customers with a dedicated digital factory development centre to build and deploy customer specific solutions by leveraging artificial intelligence and machine learning (AI/ML) and extending DecisionSpace 365 cloud applications.

It also offers system integration services to connect third party applications using iEnergy and DecisionSpace 365 application programming interface (API) to enable enterprise-wide workflows and solutions.

“We are excited to expand our collaboration with FPT as an innovation provider to design, build, and deploy extensions to DecisionSpace365 applications using the iEnergy hybrid cloud,” said Senior Vice President of Landmark, Halliburton Digital Solutions and Consulting, Nagaraj Srinivasan.

This collaboration also allows Halliburton and its customers to tap into FPT’s highly skilled workforce in 26 countries.

FPT’s mix of on-site, nearshore, and offshore delivery models enables the service company to optimise costs and ensures its customers enjoy localised services and timely support from FPT’s technology professionals worldwide.

More details at https://www.fpt-software.com/

-- BERNAMA

DECOM HOLDINGS MOU WITH KARDIACHAIN TO EMPOWER BLOCKCHAIN DEVELOPMENT COMMITMENT

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 24 (Bernama) -- Decom Holdings Joint Stock Company, a platform specialising in DEFI investment and solution search, announced the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with KardiaChain, the first interoperable blockchain in Vietnam, to leverage strengths of both sides for the development of blockchain community.

With the strategic alliance, Decom Holdings and KardiaChain will boost business opportunities, toward optimising their core competencies to beef up blockchain development in Vietnam and the international market, according to a statement.

Under terms of the MoU, Decom Holdings takes the position as a strategic investor, participating in the restructuring of the financial system, capital structure, and systematising KardiaChain's products in Vietnam and global markets.

Chairman & Chief Executive Officer of Decom Holdings, Phan Duc Trung said: “We cooperate with KardiaChain, one of the few companies specialising in private blockchain that has deeply understood about technology and Vietnamese culture with the goal of boosting blockchain applications, in line with the National digital transformation programme to accelerate the access of Vietnamese businesses to blockchain applications.”

Decom Holdings will support KardiaChain’s ecosystem to be the fastest-growing technology company with competitive advantages.

KardiaChain’s founding members Huy Nguyen and Tri Pham will join strategic shareholders of Decom Holdings and be responsible for developing the company’s technology system and supporting its members.

Moreover, KardiaChain also jointly brings strategic development for solutions and services. These solutions will provide high security, enhance efficiency, transparency, costs saving as well as ensure the blockchain-driven digital transformation solutions.

-- BERNAMA

Kyriba secures access to US$15 trillion payment network with Open API Platform launch

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 23 -- Kyriba, a global leader in cloud-based finance and IT solutions, has announced the launch of its Open API Platform to enable composable technology solutions for CFOs, CIOs and Treasurers, and accelerate the next generation of finance innovation.

Kyriba’s Open API Platform streamlines the creation and connectivity of new applications for the company’s trusted network, which connects 1,000 banks, manages over a million bank accounts, and processes over 200 million payments worth US$15 trillion annually. (US$1 = RM4.192)

The Open API Platform is accessible through Kyriba’s newly launched Developer Portal, connecting fintech developers to Kyriba’s 2,000+ global corporate clients who have integrated Kyriba into their treasury processes, enterprise payments systems, and ERP platforms.

“Kyriba Open API Platform will radically unlock fintech innovation for enterprise CFOs and their CIO counterparts,” said Kyriba CTO, Boris Lipiainen in a statement.

“Beyond simplifying and accelerating bank and ERP connectivity, fintech developers will bring new apps to the Kyriba network and empower the next generation of financial technology.”

APIs are transforming the way Finance and IT consume and integrate data, and are the gateway to delivering real-time services, artificial intelligence, and composable digital finance solutions for CFOs and CIOs.

Meanwhile, VP of Open API and Connectivity at Kyriba, Félix Grévy said: “Kyriba’s Open API Platform eliminates the need for internal IT teams to deliver a patchwork of custom interfaces and RPA bots to satisfy the growing need for hyperautomation.”

Kyriba is headquartered in San Diego, with offices in Dubai, Frankfurt, London, Minsk, Paris, Shanghai, Singapore, Tokyo, Warsaw and other major locations. More details at www.kyriba.com.

-- BERNAMA

TOSHIBA UNVEILS 40V/2.0A STEPPING MOTOR DRIVER SUPPORTING CONSTANT CURRENT CONTROL

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 22 (Bernama) -- Toshiba Electronic Devices & Storage Corporation (Toshiba) has added ‘TB67S539FTG’ to its lineup of stepping motor driver IC series that support constant current control, for office automation, commercial and industrial equipment. 

The new driver carries out constant current motor control without a current sense resistor, according to a statement.

TB67S539FTG incorporates Toshiba’s latest DMOSFET device, which allows it to realise a motor output voltage rating of 40V and a motor output current rating of 2.0A.

Use of a current detector for constant current motor control eliminates the need for an external current sense resistor. The H-bridge circuit for motor control has an Nch/Nch configuration, and a built-in charge pump circuit for output stage control.

In addition, the new driver does not require the external capacitor that is generally used to drive the gates on the H-bridge, because it is incorporated in the product. This helps saving the space on printed circuit boards.

TB67S539FTG supports 4.5V to 34V motor drive power supplies, and can be used for applications driven by 24V, and in applications with 12V drivers, including surveillance cameras and projectors.

Toshiba Electronic Devices & Storage Corporation, a leading supplier of advanced semiconductor and storage solutions, draws on over half a century of experience and innovation to offer customers and business partners outstanding discrete semiconductors, system LSIs and HDD products.

-- BERNAMA

CLOUDFLARE BECOMES MICROSOFT INTELLIGENT SECURITY ASSOCIATION MEMBER

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 23 (Bernama) -- Cloudflare Inc, the security, performance, and reliability company helping to build a better Internet, announced it has joined the Microsoft Intelligent Security Association (MISA).

MISA is an ecosystem of independent software vendors and managed security service providers that have integrated with Microsoft Security to better defend against a world of increasing cybersecurity threats.

The collaboration makes it even easier for customers to enable integrations supporting security and performance needs. Now, customers can easily discover integrations with Azure Active Directory, and others, within the MISA partner catalog.

“When we're talking to CISOs—whether at Fortune 500s, startups, or non-profits—we see an opportunity to help them by providing tools that will work together, and not in silos,” said Cloudflare SVP of Special Projects, Alex Dyner in a statement.

“Joining MISA is an opportunity to do just that. Now, we can build even deeper product integrations between Cloudflare and Microsoft that will help equip organisations to tackle today’s rapidly evolving cyber threats.”

Cloudflare provides security, performance, and reliability services through its global network that spans more than 250 cities in over 100 countries and blocks an average of 87 billion cyber threats each day.

On top of this, Cloudflare’s global threat intelligence acts as an immune system for the Internet — employing machine learning models to learn from and mitigate attacks against any customer to protect them all.

Customers can integrate Cloudflare’s Web Application Firewall (WAF) with Microsoft Azure Active Directory B2C to protect web applications using secure custom domains against sophisticated cyberattacks.

MISA members are top experts from across the cybersecurity industry with the shared goal of improving customer security. Each new member brings valuable expertise, making the association more effective as it expands.

More details at www.cloudflare.com.

-- BERNAMA

AVIDBOTS® LAUNCHES DISINFECTION ADD-ON, ENHANCING FLOOR-SCRUBBING ROBOT'S FUNCTIONALITY

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 22 (Bernama) -- Avidbots, one of the world’s leading robotics companies, has announced the launch of its Disinfection Add-On, expanding the functionality of the company’s fully autonomous floor-scrubbing robot, Neo.

With the Disinfection Add-On, customers can now autonomously disinfect high-touch, 3-D surfaces with Neo 2, in addition to floor care, delivering an even more efficient, consistent and measurable clean.

“With the Disinfection Add-On, our customers can disinfect surfaces for a few hundred dollars per month—this is more than 10x savings when compared to having a separate robot or human completing the same task,” said Avidbots CTO, VP of Product, Chairman and Co-founder, Pablo Molina.

“As facilities across the globe reopen and welcome back their employees, customers and visitors, Neo provides disinfection at a low cost to help our customers keep up with the new normal, creating a safe and healthy environment.”

The Disinfection Add-On reallocates labour to value-add activities and, most importantly, creates a healthier and safer environment for customers, according to a statement.

Like Neo, the Disinfection Add-On is powered by the Avidbots AI Platform, and takes the guesswork out of disinfection while delivering full autonomy.

Neo truly understands its operating environment, avoiding anyone or anything, and takes actions to maximise cleaning and disinfection productivity while minimising human intervention.

At the same time, the Avidbots Command Center provides detailed reporting and performance measurement for monitoring, managing and tracking Neo remotely and in real time.

Avidbots robotics solutions are used worldwide in various high-traffic environments such as manufacturing, warehousing, healthcare, education, retail, airports and transit hubs.

-- BERNAMA

FROM COMEDY TO THE CAKERY

 

^{Vinodh Menon, Founder of The Cakery, went from comedy producer to online cakes and has never looked back since. His vision for The Cakery is to expand it across Malaysia.}


- An online bakery born in a pandemic –


KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 21 (Bernama) -- What happens when a pandemic brings a stand-up comedy producer’s business to a grinding halt? He goes on to set-up an online bakery of course!

Vinodh Menon began his entrepreneurial adventure in October of 2016. Within 4 years he grew his fledgling PR agency, into a stand-up event production and online event ticketing company, hosting events for thousands, working with stand-up comics from Malaysia, Singapore, and India. While the going was good, fate had a different plan in mind, and in March of 2020, the first lockdown was announced, and nothing was ever the same again. Forced to look for an alternative source of income, and with very little options at hand, Vinodh decided to set-up his own online bakery, lovingly known as, The Cakery.

“Baking and me are ‘night and day’, aside from knowing how to wash dishes, there is very little I can offer in a kitchen, let alone a bakery. ‘Necessity is the mother of all inventions’, as my mother would always say, and after noticing several home-baker friends making considerable sales on social media, I realised that if I applied my marketing and public relations experience to the trade, I could do better, and so The Cakery was born,” said Vinodh Menon, Founder of The Cakery.

Within its first 10-days, The Cakery sold an eye-brow raising 33 cakes. In the following 8-months, The Cakery went on to sell over 300 orders per month, and expand its delivery to include, Kuala Lumpur, Selangor, and Penang. Its menu includes cakes, cupcakes, brownies, macarons, and cookies for any and every occasion. Vinodh prides himself with ensuring the customer’s wants are at the heart of every order, which has led to plenty of custom creations that delight the eye, and perfectly represents the uniqueness of every customer.

“Whether it was events or cakes, I always aspire for the customer to have a great time thanks to my show, and now, my cake. Cakes play such a crucial role in any occasion, and allowing the customer to design the cake, makes every cake special,” adds Vinodh.

Sales numbers aside, The Cakery has helped others keep afloat during these turbulent times. Its tasty treats are put together by group of bakers, located in Kuala Lumpur, Selangor and Penang. All of whom have a minimum of 5 years’ experience as home bakers, and some of whom negatively impacted by the pandemic.

While the going has been encouraging, The Cakery aims to grow to Ipoh, Seremban, and Johor Bahru, to a national brand.

For more information on The Cakery, feel free to visit its Facebook and Instagram pages @thecakerymy.

Source: The Cakery

FUSIONEX-ALLIANCE ISLAMIC BANK BERHAD MOU TO IMPROVE SMES’ HALAL BUSINESS GROWTH

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 20 (Bernama) -- Artificial Intelligence and Big Data technology market leader Fusionex recently signed an MoU with Alliance Islamic Bank Berhad to boost the bank’s Halal in One programme.

According to a statement, Halal in One is a halal ecosystem that offers support to business owners venturing into the halal space.

The programme also helps SMEs obtain halal certification, business advisory and matching services, access to market opportunities and customised financing for certification costs, premises renovation, equipment hire purchase or working capital.

“We are pleased to be collaborating with Alliance Islamic Bank on their Halal in One programme to nurture and develop the halal SME segment via digitalisation. I believe that Fusionex’s digital platform will be able to help Halal in One clients with their digital transformation journey,” said Fusionex Group Chief Executive Officer Datuk Seri Ivan Teh.

Fusionex will design, develop and deploy a one-stop digital platform to help halal businesses registered with the Halal in One programme grow and thrive.

Its consolidated digital platform leverages an array of smart AI and Big Data Analytics solutions to help digitally transform SMEs, enabling them to predict market trends, meet customer demand, automate operational processes and scale their business.

The cutting-edge platform also improves accessibility to the halal industry by centralising data to enhance visibility and simplifying procedures, which help save time, lower costs and greatly reduces IT complexity to decrease the number of steps needed to enter the halal market.

With intelligent tools to help gain a deeper understanding of its customers, Fusionex offers local SMEs the opportunity to create personalised shopping experiences to meet ever-evolving consumer demand. 

More details at www.fusionex-international.com.

-- BERNAMA

MINNA BANK BAGS BRAND OF THE YEAR AT THE RED DOT DESIGN AWARD 2021

 

Image of Minna Bank app (Graphic: Business Wire)

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 21 (Bernama) -- Minna Bank was awarded Brand of the Year at the internationally renowned Red Dot Design Award in the Brands & Communication Design category, making history by becoming both the first Japanese company and the first financial institution to receive the award.

According to a statement, Minna Bank was also awarded Best of the Best in Apps, and Red Dot in Brand Design & Identity.

The Red Dot Design Award is one of the biggest design competitions in the world. In three disciplines, participants submit products, communication projects and brands as well as prototypes and concepts.

In 2021, designers, agencies and companies from worldwide registered their creative projects and brands for the Red Dot Award: Brands & Communication Design.

Big players as well as newcomers from across Europe, Asia and America used the platform for the evaluation – and thus the recognition – of their design work.

True to the competition’s guiding principle ‘In search of good design and creativity’, the 24 international jury members expertly, individually and comprehensively assessed each of the submitted communication projects and brands.

In the process, they placed great emphasis on the creative idea, the form and the communicative effect of the submissions. Only those works that impressed the experts with the outstanding quality of their design received an award.

‘The Red Dot: Best of the Best’ is awarded to projects that impress thanks to the excellent quality of their design and their creativity, while ‘The Red Dot: Brand of the Year’ award goes to the best brand in a respective sector.

Minna Bank strives to become a pioneer in the financial services industry, creating and connecting ecosystems including consumer and business customers and various communities. Minna Bank is a wholly owned subsidiary of Fukuoka Financial Group.

-- BERNAMA

MONTRÉAL EXCHANGE TRADING HOURS EXTENDED TO ASIA PACIFIC TIME ZONES

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 20 (Bernama) -- Montréal Exchange (MX), Canada’s derivatives exchange, has launched the next phase of its extended trading hours initiative, offering investors in the Asia Pacific region the opportunity to manage their exposure to Canadian markets and execute cross-market strategies in their local time, almost round-the-clock.

"We are extremely excited to launch this new phase of MX's globalisation strategy, as we continue to push the evolution of our markets and address the increasing global demand for Canadian derivatives," said Luc Fortin, President and Chief Executive Officer of MX and Global Head of Trading, TMX Group in a statement.

“In keeping with the trend of global capital flows, pension funds in Asia have significantly increased their international exposure and we are encouraged by the strong engagement we have seen from investors and participants in the region to date.

“Canada offers a compelling value proposition for investors and around the world: access to highly-liquid, world-class markets and a leading global economy. As we move forward, extended trading hours better aligns MX with our global peers, increases international visibility and connects us to more clients.”

Trading sessions open at 8pm (t-1) ET (with a 7.30pm (t-1) ET pre-open) and close at 4.30pm ET.

Designed as a trading and risk management solution for investors around the world, extended trading hours enables international clients expanded access to MX’s full suite of interest rate derivatives products.

The products range from the three-month CORRA Futures (CRA) and the Three-Month Canadian Bankers' Acceptance Futures (BAX), to the Government of Canada bond futures benchmarks, including the two-Year (CGZ), five-Year (CGF) and 10-Year (CGB) contracts, as well as equity derivatives products such as the S&P/TSX 60 Index* Standard Futures (SXF).

TMX Group operates global markets, and builds digital communities and analytic solutions that facilitate the funding, growth and success of businesses, traders and investors.

For more information on TMX Group, visit www.tmx.com.

-- BERNAMA

Blackstone finalises previously-announced acquisition of Sphera

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 15 -- Sphera has announced that private equity funds managed by Blackstone have completed their previously announced acquisition of Sphera, a leading provider of environmental, social and governance (ESG) software, data and consulting services, from Genstar Capital.

The transaction, which values the company at US$1.4 billion, continues Blackstone’s thematic investment focus on the ESG sector and provides Sphera with capital to help accelerate its growth and product offerings. (US$1 = RM4.162)

Spanning over 80 countries with more than 3,000 customers, Sphera combines its software as a service solution with consulting services, underpinned by proprietary data, to support businesses globally to manage and mitigate ESG risk. This support is delivered through its three product lines: Environment, Health, Safety & Sustainability (EHS&S); Operational Risk Management; and, Product Stewardship.

As part of Sphera’s strategic growth efforts, the company has announced the appointment of Kimberly Kolb as chief human resources officer responsible for developing and supporting Sphera’s global workforce.

She brings over 30 years of human resources, consulting and marketing experience from technology, professional service and financial services firms to the position, having held senior leadership roles at Whittman-Hart, CME Group and XR Trading.

In a statement, Sphera CEO and president, Paul Marushka said: “As we enter this new stage, we are excited to be able to partner with Blackstone. Our achievements to date are a result of the dedication, hard work and effort of the team at Sphera.

“I am proud to collaborate with such a dedicated team as we take Sphera, with Blackstone’s investment and support, to the next level. This partnership with and capital injection by Blackstone will facilitate the next evolution of innovation, cementing our position as leaders and allowing us to push ahead with our vision for ESG software integration with extensive data and world-class consultancy services.”

Blackstone is one of the world’s leading investment firms, with US$684 billion in assets under management including investment vehicles focused on private equity, real estate, public debt and equity, life sciences, growth equity, opportunistic, non-investment grade credit, real assets and secondary funds, all on a global basis.

More about Sphera at www.sphera.com.

-- BERNAMA

‘INNOVATION FOR COOL EARTH FORUM 8TH ANNUAL MEETING’ KICKS OFF OCT 6 - 7

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 17 (Bernama) -- The ICEF Secretariat has announced that Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) and New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO) will host ‘Innovation for Cool Earth Forum 8th Annual Meeting (ICEF2021)’ online from Oct 6 to 7.

Every year since 2014, METI and NEDO have hosted the Innovation for Cool Earth Forum (ICEF) to gather leading international figures in Tokyo to discuss how to combat climate change through technological innovation, according to a statement.

ICEF's mission is to nurture discussion and collaboration among participants and disseminate the industry's latest innovations in energy and environmental technologies by providing a place where experts can share their knowledge on how to tackle the 21st century's greatest environmental challenge.

A distinguished steering committee, consisting of members from worldwide, strives to bring the best minds together to develop a programme which addresses forces of change while ensuring they are based on solid evidence.

In the world, a variety of initiatives across industry, government and academia are being rapidly accelerated toward a Decarbonized Society.

There are many diverse climate change challenges, and all stakeholders in society, including the private sector and governments, are called upon to tackle specific actions from short and long-term perspectives.

Registration is free of charge and available at https://www.icef.go.jp/register/

-- BERNAMA

CLOUDFLARE SPEEDS UP WEBSITES AUTOMATICALLY AND FOR FREE

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 17 (Bernama) -- Cloudflare Inc, the security, performance, and reliability company helping to build a better Internet, has announced it's the first to implement server support at scale for Early Hints, a new Internet standard that can help speed up websites on its network by 30 per cent or more for free.

By working with prominent browsers, Cloudflare will save Internet users time and create faster, more seamless experiences for businesses and their users.

"Everyone should have access to the fastest, most reliable Internet possible and we have built our global network to deliver exactly that," said Cloudflare co-founder and CEO, Matthew Prince in a statement.

"Now, we're taking it a step further and working together with leading browsers like Google Chrome to speed up millions of your favorite websites and applications, completely for free.”

Today, when you visit a website, browsers cannot load it for you until they receive instructions from a server about all of the different elements, like images and text, that need to be displayed.

Now, Cloudflare is working directly with browsers to save an extra step, and time, for websites to load.

Cloudflare will provide early hints to browsers to let them know to start loading critical webpage elements before the server even completes the processing time to load the page.

More details at www.cloudflare.com.

-- BERNAMA

MADISON REALTY CAPITAL ORIGINATES $450 MILLION CONSTRUCTION LOAN FOR 1,098-UNIT MIXED USE DEVELOPMENT IN DOWNTOWN BROOKLYN

NEW YORK, Sept 15 (Bernama-GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Madison Realty Capital, a vertically integrated real estate private equity firm focused on debt and equity investment strategies, today announced it has provided a $450 million loan to The Rabsky Group, one of the largest residential and commercial developers in Brooklyn and Queens, to complete development of a 1,098-unit, 35-story multifamily and retail mixed-use property at 625-635 Fulton Street at the intersection of Flatbush Avenue in Downtown Brooklyn, New York.

Josh Zegen, Managing Principal and Co-Founder of Madison Realty Capital, said, “This transaction represents Madison Realty Capital’s ability to deliver speed, certainty, and execution to top-tier borrowers in highly attractive submarkets. Accordingly, we are pleased to provide The Rabsky Group, a highly sophisticated and experienced developer with significant holdings throughout the New York metropolitan area, with a large and flexible financing solution.
 
Downtown Brooklyn is an ever-expanding neighborhood and new multifamily housing options, particularly of this caliber, will be quickly absorbed. We are glad to support a property under development that will offer significant affordable housing options and look forward to expanding our relationship with The Rabsky Group for additional projects that positively impact New York City.”

Brooklyn is New York City’s most populous borough and is home to one of the most diverse economies in the country. Proximity to major employment hubs and education centers have made Downtown Brooklyn one of New York’s fastest growing residential markets. Moreover, Downtown Brooklyn has also become a technology and innovation hub and is home to 25 percent of New York City-based tech firms. The property is located within the Brooklyn Tech Triangle, an area comprised of Downtown Brooklyn, DUMBO, and the Brooklyn Navy Yard that has emerged as New York City’s largest cluster of tech activity outside of Manhattan and is within two blocks of ten different subway lines.

Designed with two interconnected residential towers atop a five-story podium, the property will offer 590,096 rentable residential square feet across 342 studios, 492 one-bedroom and 264 two-bedroom units and 30% of the units will be affordable through the Affordable New York program. A portion of the affordable units will be part of the Inclusionary Housing Program for lower income tenants. Residents will enjoy top-of-the-line amenities including a fitness facility, spa, recreation areas, in-unit washers and dryers, lounges, and a rooftop outdoor pool with views of Manhattan and Brooklyn. In addition to best-in-class residential units the property will have 25,988 rentable square feet of retail space along Fulton Street, 250 parking spaces and 150 storage units. 
 
The Rabsky Group is led by Simon Dushinsky, Yadler Rabinowitz, and Joel Gluck, who also contributed significant cash equity for the construction. 

Henry Bodek of Galaxy Capital served as broker for the transaction.
 
About Madison Realty Capital 

Madison Realty Capital is a vertically integrated real estate private equity firm that manages approximately $6 billion in total assets on behalf of an institutional global investor base. Since 2004, Madison Realty Capital has completed more than $15 billion in transactions in the U.S. providing reputable borrowers with flexible and highly customized financing solutions, strong underwriting capabilities, and certainty of execution. Headquartered in New York City, with offices in Los Angeles and Miami, the firm has over 60 employees across all real estate investment, development, and property management disciplines. Madison Realty Capital has been frequently named to the Commercial Observer’s prestigious “Power 100” list of New York City real estate players and is consistently cited as a top construction lender, among other industry recognitions. To learn more, follow us on LinkedIn and visit www.madisonrealtycapital.com.


Nathaniel Garnick/Grace
Cartwright Gasthalter & Co.
(212) 257-4170
madisonrealty@gasthalter.com

Source: Madison Realty Capital

--BERNAMA

ZOOM UNVEILS PLANS FOR INNOVATIONS TO IGNITE THE NEXT ERA OF COMMUNICATIONS

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 15 (Bernama) -- Zoom Video Communications Inc has kicked off Zoomtopia 2021, unveiling plans for innovations across its platform designed for today’s dynamic working environments, and to ignite a new era of connection and collaboration

According to a statement, Zoom is developing new products, features, and partnerships designed to empower and engage the modern workforce with connected workstreams.

“We have released hundreds of new features, enhancements, and capabilities this past year alone and we have exciting new features in our development pipeline,” said Founder and Chief Executive Officer at Zoom, Eric S. Yuan.

Zoom’s recent study on the role of video communications in daily life examined people’s preferences for how they envision using this technology in a future world. Globally, the majority of respondents agree that everything will have a virtual element – including celebrations and events.

Zoom Events Conference is a new event type that Zoom plans to make available this fall on Zoom Events, which will allow hosts to organise multi-track and multi-day events in a sophisticated format, with rich functionality, including, event lobby, chat and networking.

Zoom is also working to arm customers with innovative technology solutions designed to create new opportunities for business growth. Future potential projects include Zoom Video Engagement Center (VEC); Zoom Whiteboard; and, Zoom Rooms Smart Gallery.

In addition, Zoom is virtually replicating the various ways users interact in real life, and beyond. Zoom Meetings, Chat, Webinars and Phone all work together as one unified communications solution, with the ability to navigate between them.

Zoom Apps; Zoom Chat Huddle View; Zoom Phone Video Voicemails; Zoom Continuous Collaboration; and, Zoom Widget are planned innovations that will help to create a more efficient, collaborative, and engaging user experience, while also simplifying processes by connecting and organising workstreams.

Every year at Zoomtopia, the company highlights the creative and unique ways its customers are using Zoom with the Zoomtopia Innovation Awards. The contest recognises the Zoom customers that most embody innovation, inspiration, and creativity in using Zoom solutions.

Founded in 2011 and headquartered in San Jose, California, Zoom is an intuitive, scalable, and secure choice for individuals, small businesses, and large enterprises alike.

-- BERNAMA

TELEDYNE GEOSPATIAL WITH OPTECH AND CARIS BUSINESSES UNIFICATION DELIVERS LAND, SEA SOLUTIONS

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 15 (Bernama) -- Teledyne has announced the launch of a geospatial group with the unification of its Optech and CARIS businesses.

The new Teledyne Geospatial group will offer holistic solutions to seamlessly map land and sea through the integration of industry-leading lidar sensors combined with world-renowned software workflows, according to a statement.

Teledyne Optech has been a world leader in the design, development and manufacture of advanced lidar instruments for more than 45 years, while for over four decades, Teledyne CARIS has developed market-dominating software for the marine GIS community.

This collaboration provides customers with a competitive edge in mapping and delivering data products inside of one complete workflow.

Ease of collection and processing, through to final product, is enhanced with efficiency-driving AI algorithms and real time quality control. Ongoing collaborations with other Teledyne businesses extends the geospatial capabilities even further.

The CZMIL SuperNova, the first product from Teledyne Geospatial, integrates Optech’s bathymetric lidar with CARIS’ comprehensive processing software providing the highest performing bathymetric lidar system in the world.

Teledyne Geospatial Vice President, Sales and Marketing, Andy Hoggarth explains: “Bringing Optech and CARIS together allows us to leverage the world-leading expertise of both companies, ensuring customers can fully realise the competitive advantages provided by our ability to deliver holistic solutions for land and sea.”

-- BERNAMA

PUTTING COMPETITORS IN THE SHADE, TERABOX EXCEEDS 10 MILLION GLOBAL DOWNLOADS

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 15 (Bernama) -- TeraBox, a cloud-based storage solution provider, announced it has reached 10 million global downloads.

Outperforming competitors, TeraBox gives each of its users 1TB of free cloud storage space, which is equivalent to the storage space of 64 16GB phones, or approximately 256,000 pictures (4MB each), according to a statement.

Creating a seamless user experience, TeraBox automatically syncs files across devices and backs up photos and videos, as well as saves the local storage on their devices, to protect users’ memories in the event a device is damaged or lost.

TeraBox offers users the features including ability to upload files up to 4GB in size, or 20GB in size with the paid subscription; easily share files of any size with friends and family; online photo and video previews; and, compatibility with Android, iOS and desktop computers for peak convenience.

Available for download on Android and iOS devices, data can also be accessed online at www.terabox.com.

TeraBox for Windows will be available on Sept 16, and will support five languages, including English, Russian, Thai, Japanese and Korean — making big file uploading even easier.

-- BERNAMA

CLOUDFLARE EXPANDS NETWORK BY 25 PER CENT TO SPEED UP, SECURE THE INTERNET

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 15 (Bernama) -- Cloudflare Inc announced it has grown its network to span more than 250 cities in over 100 countries, more than tripling its overall network capacity to 100Tbps and increasing the cities in its network by 25 per cent in the last two years.

“We will continue to invest in bringing our network closer to as many people as possible because we believe in providing security, privacy, and reliability for all. On top of expanding our network, we’ll soon share more on how we are creating the fastest modern network,” said Cloudflare co-founder and chief executive officer, Matthew Prince.

By continuously expanding and optimising its network, Cloudflare, the security, performance, and reliability company helping to build a better Internet, is able to deliver a faster and more reliable Internet experience to users and businesses anywhere in the world.

Over the years, Cloudflare has built a network of highways across the Internet so that each additional data centre brings content closer to Internet users worldwide, according to a statement.

Currently, Cloudflare’s network interconnects with over 9,800 networks globally, including major ISPs, cloud services, and enterprises to reduce the unpredictability and speed blocks of traffic flowing across multiple networks.

Cloudflare now has a presence in three new locations across Europe: Cork, Ireland; Palermo, Italy; and, Ekaterinburg, Russia. In total, Cloudflare has data centres in all 47 cities across 30 countries across Europe.

The company is in 84 cities across Asia, including 37 locations in Mainland China and new additions in: Adelaide, Australia; Chittagong, Bangladesh; Thimphu, Bhutan; Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei; Kolkata, India; Jakarta, Indonesia; Vientiane, Laos; and Johor Bahru, Malaysia, among others.

More details at www.cloudflare.com.

-- BERNAMA

GTJAI RECEIVES 9 AWARDS FROM HKIRA FOR ITS INFORMATION DISCLOSURE

HONG KONG, Sept 15 (Bernama-BUSINESS WIRE) -- Guotai Junan International Holdings Limited (“Guotai Junan International”, the “Company” or “Group”, stock code: 1788.HK) is please to announce that at the 7th Investor Relations Awards organized by the Hong Kong Investor Relations Association (HKIRA), a renown industry organization, Guotai Junan International won nine awards, including the “Best IR Company”, following the awards granted by Institutional Investor in June 2021, demonstrating Guotai Junan International's leading capabilities in investor relations management, corporate governance and information disclosure in Hong Kong and international capital markets.

Awards include:

• Best IR Company
• Best IR by Chairman / CEO – Dr. Yim Fung
• Best IR by CFO – Mr. Li Guangjie
• Best IR Team – Ms. Feng Zhengyao, Mr. Yan Yili, Ms. Wu Weiyi
• Best ESG (E)
• Best ESG (S)
• Best ESG (G)
• Best Investor Presentation Material
• Best Annual Report

The HKIRA Investor Relations Awards are prestigious investor relations awards granted to recognize the outstanding performance of Hong Kong listed companies and their professional management members in investor relations practices. Companies must be nominated by the public and then voted on by fund managers and sell-side analysts in mainland China, Hong Kong and worldwide.

Dr. Yim Fung, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Guotai Junan International, said, “I would like to thank the HKIRA for recognizing GTJAI and myself for our efforts in Company’s investor relations activities. As a listed company, we have always insisted on maintaining good communications with investors, carefully listening to every investor and shareholder's suggestions and opinions, prioritizing the overall interests of shareholders and maximizing shareholders' interests through prudent and stable operation. Since 2018, we have demonstrated to the capital market our commitment to transforming to wealth management business. As reflected in the 2020 results, in particular, the Company’s revenue from wealth management business grew by 27% year-on-year, and in the first half of 2021, revenue from wealth management business grew by 49% year-on-year. With practical actions, we have delivered on our promises to investors and successfully demonstrated to the capital market the results of our transformation to wealth management business. Along with the high growth, the Company's dividend has increased over the years, bringing stable and sustainable returns and investment value to the Company's long-term investors. In the future, we will continue to maintain high quality communications and interaction with the capital market and reward our shareholders for their trust and support with growing results.”

About HKIRA

Hong Kong Investor Relations Association (HKIRA) is a non-profit professional association comprising investor relations practitioners and corporate officers responsible for communications between corporate management and the investment community. Since established in 2008, HKIRA advocates the setting of international standards in IR education, advances the best IR practices and meets the professional development needs of those interested in pursuing the investor relations profession. HKIRA is dedicated to advancing the practice of IR as well as the professional competency and status of our members. To date, HKIRA has about 1000 members. For more information, please visit https://www.hkira.com/

About GTJAI

Guotai Junan International (“GTJAI”, Stock Code: 1788.HK) is the market leader and first mover for internationalization of Chinese Securities Company as well as the first Chinese securities broker listed on the Main Board of The Hong Kong Stock Exchange through initial public offering. It has also been included in FTSE4Good Index by London Stock Exchange of the United Kingdom. Based in Hong Kong, GTJAI provides diversified integrated financial services. Core business includes seven categories of brokerage, corporate finance, asset management, loans and financing, financial products, market making and investments, which cover three dimensions including individual finance (wealth management), institutional finance (institutional investor services and corporate finance service) and investment management. GTJAI has been assigned “Baa2” and “BBB+” long term issuer rating from Moody and Standard & Poor respectively. The controlling shareholder, Guotai Junan Securities Company Limited (Stock Code: 601211.SS; 2611.HK), is the comprehensive financial provider with a long-term, sustainable and overall leading position in the Chinese securities industry. For more information about GTJAI, please visit http://www.gtjai.com

View source version on businesswire.com: 
https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210914005687/en/

Contact

Jason Yan, CFA
jason.yan@gtjas.com.hk
+852 2509 5487

Mia Wu
mia.wu@gtjas.com.hk
+852 2509 2138

Source : Guotai Junan International Holdings Limited

--BERNAMA

OAG RESEARCH UNVEILS NEARLY THREE QUARTERS US TRAVELLERS SUPPORT INTERNATIONAL VACCINE PASSPORT INTRODUCTION

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 14 (Bernama) -- Travellers are taking to the skies again, but the immediate future of air travel remains highly turbulent, according to OAG’s survey of 1,800-plus US travellers in July and August. 

According to a statement, domestic capacity in the US is up 81 per cent from June – August 2021, compared to the same period last year. The increase is being fuelled by strong consumer demand; 70 per cent of consumers surveyed by OAG have booked flights for the future.

“Vaccine mandates are a polarising issue. Many airlines, governments and destinations are actively considering mandating vaccines to fly or enter, and the majority of travellers support the use of vaccine passports,” said OAG Head of APAC, Mayur Patel.

The large majority of consumers surveyed by OAG report being fully vaccinated. However, OAG found that only 15 per cent of non-vaccinated individuals plan to get vaccinated before their next trip.

Many airlines and destinations are considering vaccine mandates to strengthen confidence and fight transmission.

Sixty-eight per cent of all survey respondents said they were interested in or want domestic vaccine passports, and 70 per cent believe vaccine passports should be required for international travel.

Other takeaways from OAG’s research include continued COVID-19 concerns keep some travellers grounded; the business travel outlook remains cloudy; holiday travel expected to bounce back; and, booking behaviour remains erratic. 

For the full survey insights, view the report at https://www.oag.com/us-traveler-survey.

Headquartered in the UK, OAG is a leading global travel data provider, that has been powering the growth and innovation of the air travel ecosystem since 1929. More details at https://www.oag.com/.

-- BERNAMA