CLOUDFLARE, DATABRICKS PARTNERSHIP TO BRING MLFLOW CAPABILITIES TO DEVELOPERS

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 29 (Bernama) -- Cloudflare Inc has announced a continued collaboration with Databricks, the Data and artificial intelligence (AI) company, to bring MLflow capabilities to developers building on Cloudflare’s serverless developer platform.

“Together with Databricks we can offer a comprehensive and optimized platform to support a wide spectrum of AI workflows, models and applications,” said Cloudflare chief executive officer and co-founder, Matthew Prince.

Cloudflare is joining the open source MLflow project as an active contributor to bridge the gap between training models and easily deploying them to the company’s global network, where AI models can run close to end-users for a low-latency experience.

In this new phase of partnership and collaboration on MLflow, an open-source platform for managing the machine learning (ML) lifecycle created by Databricks, Cloudflare and Databricks are closing the loop on how AI models are quickly and easily deployed to the edge.

With this new partnership, developers will be able to train models utilising Databricks’ data-centric AI platform, then deploy those models to Cloudflare’s developer platform and global network, where hyper-local inference is deployed on the edge, to complete the AI lifecycle.

Developers building on Cloudflare Workers AI will be able to leverage MLflow compatible models for easy deployment into Cloudflare’s global network, while also able to use MLflow to efficiently package, implement, deploy and track a model directly into Cloudflare’s serverless developer platform.

According to a statement, Databricks and Cloudflare already collaborate to simplify the AI lifecycle by making sharing data simpler and more affordable through Delta Sharing with R2 storage.

Cloudflare’s R2 is a zero egress, distributed object storage offering, allowing data teams to share live data sets and AI models with Databricks, easily and efficiently, eliminating the need for complex data transfers or duplications of data sets, and with zero egress fees.

A connectivity cloud company, Cloudflare empowers organisations to make their employees, applications and networks faster and more secure everywhere, while reducing complexity and cost.

-- BERNAMA

Cloudflare Revolutionises Database Performance With Hyperdrive

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 29 (Bernama) -- Cloudflare Inc, the connectivity cloud company, announced Hyperdrive to make every local database global, turning existing regional databases into globally distributed ones for faster access to data.

According to a statement, developers can easily build globally distributed applications on Cloudflare Workers, the serverless developer platform used by over one million developers, without being constrained by their existing infrastructure.

“Hyperdrive represents the best part of a connectivity cloud, it expands the types of apps that can be built on Cloudflare, and opens the door for developers that previously felt locked into their databases,” said its chief executive officer and co-founder, Matthew Prince.

With Hyperdrive, developers can build globally distributed applications on Cloudflare Workers that are not held back by their existing regional database infrastructure.

Hyperdrive automatically caches the most popular queries within Cloudflare’s network, allowing developers to serve responses within a few milliseconds, not hundreds, as if the database was located close to the end user.

Cloudflare Workers is the only global serverless provider with this built into the application development platform, while Hyperdrive works with the existing database tools developers use today.

Hyperdrive enables database connection pooling to Workers; caches the most popular queries to a database; and supports a wide range of the most popular database providers.

Cloudflare Workers is part of Cloudflare’s global connectivity cloud, a platform that enables any organisation to easily, securely, and reliably connect all of its people, apps, servers, networks, and other clouds, everywhere.

-- BERNAMA

AUTEL ENERGY’S MAXICHARGER DC COMPACT 47KW RECEIVES 3-STAR RATING FROM EGAT

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 29 (Bernama) -- Autel Energy, a leader in electric vehicle (EV) charging industry, has announced its MaxiCharger DC Compact 47 kilowatt (KW) achieved the EGAT Label No. 5 with three-star rating.

This achievement, the highest level of energy efficiency recognition for EV DC chargers below 60KW, demonstrates Autel Energy's commitment to delivering cutting-edge, energy-efficient charging solutions to the EV industry.

Autel Energy APAC Managing Sales Director, Henry He said obtaining the EGAT Label No. 5 with three-star rating for MaxiCharger DC Compact 47KW is a big milestone for Autel.

“We are proud to be a part of EGAT’s Label No. 5 programme dedicated to energy conservation and committed to developing more energy efficient solutions for the Thai market.

“By choosing Autel’s MaxiCharger DC Compact 47KW, consumers and businesses can contribute to a greener, more sustainable future while enjoying the benefits of a high-performance EV charging solution,” he said in a statement.

The recognition is awarded and presented by the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (EGAT) based on stringent energy efficiency criteria outlined in the Energy Efficiency Criteria for EV Chargers 2024.

According to these criteria, DC chargers under 60KW must achieve an efficiency rating exceeding 93.738 per cent to attain the coveted three-star rating.

Hence, Autel MaxiCharger DC Compact 47KW has surpassed these requirements, achieving an impressive maximum efficiency of 95.293 per cent at full load.

The MaxiCharger is designed with a focus on efficiency, speed, and convenience, making it the ideal choice for EV charging solutions which are fast and effective; compact design; as well as smart advertising and communication platform.

-- BERNAMA

Cloudflare Partners Microsoft To Enable AI Model Location

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 29 (Bernama) -- Cloudflare Inc, the connectivity cloud company, has collaborated with Microsoft to make it easier for companies to run artificial intelligence (AI) in the location most suitable for their needs.

“Together, Cloudflare and Microsoft will build the railroad tracks that AI traffic and tasks will move on, to tailor AI inference to the exact needs and demands of every organisation,” said its chief executive officer and co-founder, Matthew Prince in a statement.

Meanwhile, Microsoft General Manager of Data, AI, & Emerging Technologies, Rashmi Misra said: “With Cloudflare’s combination with Microsoft’s experience in training and deploying the world’s most advanced AI workloads through our Azure cloud, businesses will gain access to a new level of flexibility and performance for AI inference.”

As inference tasks become more and more distributed, this collaboration will enable businesses to seamlessly deploy AI models across a computing continuum that spans device, network edge, and cloud environments, maximising the benefits of both centralised and distributed computing models.

By leveraging ONNX Runtime, a cross-platform accelerated machine learning, across these three tiers, Cloudflare and Microsoft can ensure that AI models can be run anywhere. 

AI model training requires significant computational and storage resources in close proximity to one another, making centralised cloud platforms the best environment for the intensive calculations needed in model training.

While training will continue to be centralised, inference tasks will be increasingly performed in more distributed locations, specifically on devices themselves and on edge networks.

Microsoft’s AI capabilities and hyperscale cloud infrastructure combined with Cloudflare’s hyper-distributed edge network will empower businesses to drive innovation and efficiency across the entire AI lifecycle.

As a result, businesses will be able to find the best location for AI tasks; navigate changing needs; and deploy on Cloudflare in a few clicks.

-- BERNAMA

SmartStream Names Akber Jaffer As CEO

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 26 (Bernama) -- SmartStream, the financial Transaction Lifecycle Management (TLM) solutions provider, has appointed Akber Jaffer as its new Chief Executive Officer (CEO), effective Sept 19.

“We warmly welcome Akber Jaffer as our new SmartStream CEO. He brings a distinguished career in financial services and software to our organisation.

“His wide-ranging experience and track record of success make him ideally suited to lead SmartStream. I am confident that under his leadership, our company will continue to flourish,” said Chairman of the Board, Khalifa AlDaboos in a statement.

Meanwhile, Jaffer said: “Together with the talented team of colleagues who have been instrumental in the company’s success, we will continue to deliver market leading solutions and drive value for our customers and partners.”

Having spent several years immersed in both start-up and scaled software and technology businesses, Jaffer is an accomplished leader with a passion for technology and a dedication to execution and client focus.

He recently worked in senior leadership roles at Finastra and Colt Technology Services, making him the ideal candidate to guide SmartStream into its next phase of growth and innovation.

SmartStream expresses its gratitude to former CEO, Haytham Kaddoura for his contributions during his tenure while welcoming him to the Board of the company.

-- BERNAMA

TechTarget Archer Awards Honours Tech Marketing, Sales Leaders In APAC

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 26 (Bernama) -- TechTarget Inc, the global leader in business-to-business (B2B) technology purchase intent data and marketing services, has recognised noteworthy technology marketing and sales leaders across Asia Pacific (APAC) with its 2023 Archer Awards.

According to a statement, each of the winners is fuelling highly successful marketing and sales initiatives leveraging real Prospect-Level Intent data.

TechTarget Chief Executive Officer, Michael Cotoia said Intent data is essential for the modern marketer and sales professional to focus their efforts on the right accounts and to influence all members of the buying team.

“This select group of organisations are taking the smart approach. The winners are using intent data to power a wide array of digital advertising, demand gen, content marketing and sales engagement programmes that are delivering a significant impact to their businesses,” he said.

The 2023 Archer Award APAC winners are CrowdStrike APJ (Digital Marketer of the Year); Cloudflare APJC (Digital Team of the Year); DocuSign APJ (Priority Engine Marketing Team of the Year); Okta APAC (Priority Engine Sales Team of the Year); Palo Alto Networks JAPAC (Best Demand Generation Program); and Hewlett Packard Enterprise APJ (Best Multimedia Program).

Currently in its fourth year, the Archer Awards which developed by TechTarget recognises achievements across North America, Europe and APAC.

By creating abundant, high-quality editorial content across more than 150 highly targeted technology-specific websites and over 1,100 channels, TechTarget attracts and nurtures communities of technology buyers researching their companies’ information technology needs.

-- BERNAMA

CLOUDFLARE TEAM UP WITH META TO MAKE LLAMA 2 AVAILABLE GLOBALLY

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 27 (Bernama) -- Cloudflare Inc, the connectivity cloud company, has partnered with Meta to make the Llama 2 open source large language model (LLM) available to developers building artificial intelligence (AI) applications on its developer platform, Workers.

According to Cloudflare in a statement, Meta’s release of Llama 2, a publicly available LLM, has presented a major shift, allowing developers to run and deploy their own LLMs.

“Meta has been a great contributor to the open source community, and bringing that same approach to AI is going to help ensure that powerful AI is accessible to all developers, and their communities, around the world, with data localisation built in,” said its chief executive officer and co-founder, Matthew Prince.

Now, more than a million developers already building on Cloudflare have access to a leading LLM to enrich their applications.

Cloudflare’s hyper-distributed edge network will enable developers anywhere to build applications with Llama 2, and with Cloudflare’s Data Localization Suite, they will be able to do this while controlling where their data is handled.

The company’s privacy-first approach to application development can help companies earn trust with their customers by ensuring data used for inference is not used for training or improving the LLM.

-- BERNAMA

ANAQUA UNVEILS EXECUTIVE LEADERSHIP CHANGES, HEADQUARTERS OPENING IN JAPAN

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 26 (Bernama) -- Anaqua, the global innovation and intellectual property (IP) management technology provider, has appointed Futoshi Saito as its President & General Manager, effective Oct 10.

According to Anaqua in a statement, Saito will be responsible for driving Anaqua’s ongoing business development and delivering enhanced client solutions in Japan, marking changes to its executive leadership team in Japan.

“His extensive IP and technology experience will enable him to engage quickly with our business and the wider market, forming important relationships with our existing and future clients, and providing strong leadership for our team and our further business development,” said its Chief Executive Officer, Bob Romeo.

Meanwhile, Saito said: “I am honoured to lead Anaqua Japan through its next stage of growth and to help our clients better protect and maximise value from their IP portfolios.”

Saito previously held leadership positions at LexisNexis as Managing Director, Japan and South Korea, and Thomson Reuters (now part of Clarivate) as head of the IP & Science business in Japan.

He holds a bachelor’s degree in international studies from Dokkyo University and studied at the Graduate School of History at the State University of New York at Albany.

On the other hand, the company also announced the opening of its new Japan headquarters in the TOKYO TORCH Tokiwabashi Tower, providing an expanded work space to support its accelerated growth, which has seen further strengthening of the team and a 50 per cent increase in new sales year to date.

The move continues Anaqua Japan’s mission to invest in people, infrastructure and solutions in order to provide clients with the most comprehensive and effective IP management software and solutions in Japan.

-- BERNAMA

Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance, Its Subsidiaries Credit Ratings Affirmed - AM Best

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 22 (Bernama) -- Global credit rating agency, AM Best has affirmed the Financial Strength Rating (FSR) of A++ (Superior) and the Long-Term Issuer Credit Rating (Long-Term ICR) of “aa+” (Superior) of Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance Co Ltd (SFM), South Korea and its subsidiaries.

In a statement, AM Best said the credit ratings, which have a stable outlook, reflected its balance sheet strength, which was assessed as strongest, as well as its strong operating performance, very favourable business profile and very strong enterprise risk management (ERM).

SFM’s risk-adjusted capitalisation is expected to remain comfortably at the strongest level over the medium term, as measured by Best’s Capital Adequacy Ratio, supported by its robust absolute capital base of KRW11 trillion (US$8.7billion) as at year-end 2022. (US$1=RM4.68)

It has a long-term track record of strong operating performance supported by highly stable underwriting performance with a low level of combined ratio compared with its peers and robust investment profits.

The company’s net income increased in 2022, primarily due to an improvement in its largest business line, long-term insurance, as a result of alleviated pressure on medical indemnity profitability and enhanced persistency ratios.

SFM is the market leader in South Korea’s non-life segment with approximately 22 per cent  market share in terms of gross premiums written in 2022 and has superior brand power being a part of the wider Samsung Group.

In addition, AM Best has affirmed the FSR of A- (Excellent) and the Long-Term ICR of “a-” (Excellent) of PT Asuransi Samsung Tugu (AST), with stable outlooks of these ratings.

The ratings of AST reflect its balance sheet strength, which AM Best assesses as strong, as well as its strong operating performance, limited business profile and appropriate ERM, as well as recognise the wide range of support provided by AST’s parent, SFM.

AST is a joint venture between SFM and PT Asuransi Tugu Pratama Indonesia Tbk, which have 70 per cent and 30 per cent shareholding, respectively, focusing mainly on underwriting risks related to Samsung group affiliates and other Korean companies in Indonesia, which AM Best expects to remain largely unchanged over the medium term.

-- BERNAMA

HOP ON BOARD VISTAJET TO DISCOVER FULL MOON EXPERIENCE THROUGHOUT SEPTEMBER

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 22 (Bernama) -- Business aviation company, VistaJet is offering a Full Moon on Board experience to its Members throughout September, curated by world-renowned event-planners Sharky and George.

An extension of VistaJet’s Adventure in the Sky programme designed especially for young travellers, Full Moon on Board will bring creative and engaging activities to families at high altitude, according to a statement.

Its Members will be able to indulge their loved ones in culinary sensations on board their flight, prepared by award-winning chefs and restaurants, as well as taste mooncakes custom-made for VistaJet with premium Chinese tea or pair their favourite mooncake flavours with sparkling tea mocktails using unique recipes created only for VistaJet.

“With a multilingual global team of over 4,000 employees from 60 countries, creating memories and special moments is what we do best, and our Members can relax and enjoy a perfect journey with their families and friends,” said VistaJet Chief Marketing Officer, Matteo Atti.

Clients with children flying on a Global 7500 from Asia will receive a complimentary Full Moon on Board hamper full of fun and surprises, which include crafting elegant paper lanterns and decorating delicate mooncakes that pay homage to lunar legends.

A fully interactive workshop will also be available to turn VistaJet cabins into playrooms and party venues to unveil the extraordinary tale of the Jade Rabbit.

Clients will be making bunny ears, meeting Rabbit and Fox and completing a series of challenges with multi-lingual nanny-trained cabin crew, including Chinese-speaking crew Members.

In addition to enjoying Michelin-starred dining on board, VistaJet Members can taste the handcrafted mooncakes custom made for VistaJet by Shangri-La Singapore, filled with premium ingredients and less sugar.

The mooncake tasting experience will be completed with sparkling tea mocktails, Bellini Vista and Night Flight, made with unique recipes created only for VistaJet by Fortnum & Mason for this Mid-Autumn festival.

For this year’s moon festival, clients can count on the Vista Members’ fleet of over 360 aircraft to take them anywhere anytime, whether it is a short-haul flight within the region to visit families and friends, or flying loved ones to the other end of the world for an exotic holiday.

-- BERNAMA

SC VENTURES' AUDAX FINTECH EMPOWERS BANKS TO PURSUE DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 21 (Bernama) -- SC Ventures, the innovation and ventures arm of Standard Chartered, has launched audax Financial Technology (audax), a digital banking technology solutions provider.

According to a statement, audax is designed to empower banks and financial institutions to accelerate their digital transformation, deliver new business models, serve new customer segments and derive new revenue streams.

Providing an end-to-end digital banking platform with modularised capabilities that are designed to efficiently handle millions of customer data concurrently, its plug-and-play solution serves the entire client lifecycle.

Built to complement incumbent banks’ core systems, audax’s infrastructure-agnostic technology also enables banks to pursue modern digital transformation without the need for costly and time-consuming in-house development or migration.

Prior to launch, its solution powered Standard Chartered nexus (SC nexus), a white-label plug-and-play Banking-as-a-Service (BaaS) offering for large ecosystem players, in which Standard Chartered Bank was the first global bank to provide BaaS in Asia, via SC nexus.

The launch follows audax’s successful commercialisation of its BaaS offerings for Standard Chartered with leading Indonesian all-commerce platform Bukalapak.

SC nexus former Managing Director and Global Head, Kelvin Tan will lead audax as its Chief Executive Officer, together with most of his incumbent team, whereby audax will continue to serve Standard Chartered in a commercial capacity by powering its BaaS proposition, SC nexus, for current and future partnerships.

Headquartered in Singapore, audax aims to become a home-grown global technology company, focusing on accelerating the technology ecosystem starting with the Asia Pacific region, with a mission to empower banks and financial institutions to scale and modernise at speed with its digital banking capabilities.

-- BERNAMA

AM BEST AFFIRMS SOMPO JAPAN INSURANCE, ITS SUBSIDIARIES' CREDIT RATINGS

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 22 (Bernama) -- AM Best has affirmed the Financial Strength Rating (FSR) of A+ (Superior) and the Long-Term Issuer Credit Rating (Long-Term ICR) of “aa-” (Superior) of Sompo Japan Insurance Inc (SJ) and its subsidiaries.

In a statement, the global credit rating agency said SJ’s credit ratings, which have a stable outlook, reflected its balance sheet strength, which was assessed as strongest, as well as its strong operating performance, favourable business profile and appropriate enterprise risk management.

SJ’s balance sheet strength assessment reflects the company’s strongest level of risk-adjusted capitalisation, as measured by Best’s Capital Adequacy Ratio (BCAR) with the company’s financial leverage remains conservative with adjusted debt leverage ratios below 25 per cent, although it is higher compared to its domestic non-life peers in Japan.

It has a track record of strong operating performance, mainly supported by its consistent trend of growing premium income and a five-year average return-on-equity ratio of 7.3 per cent (fiscal year 2018 – 2022) on a consolidated basis, as calculated by AM Best.

SJ is the core operating unit of SOMPO Holdings Inc, (SOMPO Holdings), its ultimate parent and one of the largest non-life insurance groups in Japan.

The company maintains a leading market position with approximately a one-quarter share of Japan’s highly consolidated non-life insurance segment, in terms of net premiums written (NPW).

The stable outlooks reflect AM Best’s expectation that SJ will maintain its overall balance sheet strength assessment, supported by risk-adjusted capitalisation at the strongest level, as measured by BCAR, while ongoing strategic initiatives will help maintain its strong and consistent operating performance over the intermediate term.

Concurrently, the credit rating agency has affirmed the Long-Term ICR of “a-” (Excellent) of Sompo International Holdings Ltd (SIH) Pembroke, Bermuda.

In addition, the Long-Term Issue Credit Rating (Long-Term IR) of “a-” (Excellent) on US$335 million seven per cent senior unsecured notes due by 2034 (which is guaranteed by SIH), was also affirmed, with outlooks of these ratings are stable. (US$1=RM4.68)

-- BERNAMA

​BILLUPS ACCELERATES GLOBAL EXPANSION, ACQUIRING TAC MEDIA AND APPOINTING DAVID KRUPP GLOBAL CEO

NEW YORK, Sept 21 (Bernama-BUSINESS WIRE) -- Billups, a global Out-of-Home (OOH) technology and managed services company, today announced the acquisition of TAC Media Sdn. Bhd., (“TAC Media”) a prominent OOH advertising specialist based in Malaysia. The acquisition will integrate TAC Media's regional network and insights with Billups' global footprint and technical acumen. As a result, the company’s brand and agency partners will have direct access to Billups’ award-winning services and proprietary and patented OOH analytics and measurement capabilities throughout Malaysia and Southeast Asia.

“Our entry into Southeast Asia required the right market and the right personnel, and we believe we have found the ideal long-term integration partners in TAC Media,” said Billups co-founder Benjamin Billups. “Angie and her team have created a wonderful legacy and compelling story in the Malaysian market. We couldn’t be more excited about their vision for the region.” 

http://mrem.bernama.com/viewsm.php?idm=47068

CERTIK PARTNERS CROSSANGLE TO ELEVATE WEB3 SECURITY, DATA TRANSPARENCY

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 20 (Bernama) -- CertiK, a leader in Web3 security and CrossAngle, the Web3 data intelligence provider behind the Xangle platform announced a landmark strategic partnership to raise the standards of security and transparency across the Web3 ecosystem.

Through this partnership, CrossAngle will feature CertiK research reports on the Xangle platform, which is available in both English and Korean, providing users with critical insights, deepening their understanding of the crypto landscape and supporting Web3 mass adoption.

“This collaboration not only underscores our mutual commitment to enhancing security and transparency in the blockchain space but also paves the way for a more informed and secure Web3 ecosystem.

“Together, we aim to set new industry standards, ensuring that users and projects have access to the best resources and data-driven insights," said CertiK Chief Business Officer, Jason Jiang in a statement.

Meanwhile, Xangle Chief Business Development Officer, Jake Lim said the collaboration between Xangle and CertiK will contribute to advancing the ongoing mass adoption of Web3.

“We anticipate the synergy that it will create with Xangle's strong on-chain data analysis capabilities,” he added.

Additionally, CertiK will integrate Xangle’s comprehensive application programming interface (API) data, which encompasses market prices, weighted indices, project profiles and research reports.

In return, CertiK will offer Xangle access to security data from Skynet, an all-in-one security insights dashboard for over 10,000 Web3 platforms.

This partnership underscores both entities' mutual dedication to fostering a sustainable, reliable and user-friendly Web3 ecosystem, with a focus on data-driven insights and top-tier security.

-- BERNAMA

Winners Announced in 2023 Stevie Awards for Great Employers

Bank of America and Globe Telecom Among Top Winners

FAIRFAX, Va., Sept 21 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Winners in the 2023 Stevie® Awards for Great Employers, an international competition, were announced on Monday, September 18 during a gala event in New York City. The awards recognize the world's best employers and the human resources professionals, teams, achievements, and HR-related products and suppliers who help to create and drive great places to work.

A complete list of Gold, Silver, and Bronze Stevie Award winners by category is available at http://www.StevieAwards.com/HR.

A diverse group of organizations and individuals around the world are among those recognized. The organization that won the Grand Stevie Award for Most Honored Organization of the Year is Bank of America of Charlotte, NC, with seven Gold, seven Silver, and seven Bronze Stevie Awards wins totaling 45.5 points. Organization of the Year goes to the organization with the most award points, with each Gold Stevie win counting for three points, each Silver Stevie win for two points, and each Bronze Stevie for one-and-a-half points.

The Grand Stevie Award for the Highest-Rated Nomination of the Year goes to Globe Telecom Inc. of Taguig City, Philippines for their nomination of Ato Jiao for Chief HR Officer of the Year, which received an average score from the judges of 9.5 out of a possible 10.

Leading winners of Gold Stevie Awards include Bank of America (7), Cathay United Bank (5), IBM (4), Tata Consultancy Services (4), Tech Mahindra (4), Dimes Sanayi ve Ticaret A.Ş. (3), Enerjisa Enerji (3), TELUS International (3), Akbank T.A.S. (2), American Systems (2), Ayala Land Inc. (2), BlueSky Personnel Solutions (2), Borusan (2), DHL Global Forwarding, Freight (2), FedEx (2), Globe Telecom (2), GoHealth (2), Golden Hour Veterinary Telemedicine (2), Kordsa Teknik Tekstil A.Ş. (2), Saint-Gobain North America (2), Siemens AG (2), and Top Hat (2).

More than 1,000 nominations by organizations from 28 nations were evaluated in this year's competition. Winners were determined by the average scores of more than 125 professionals worldwide acting as judges.

Stevie Award winners in the 31 Employer of the Year categories were determined by a unique blending of the ratings of professionals and the votes of the general public.

The Stevie Awards for Great Employers recognize achievement in many facets of the workplace. Categories include:
Employer of the Year Awards
HR Achievement Awards
HR Individual Awards
HR Team Categories
Solution Provider Awards
Solutions, Implementations, and Training Programs or Media Awards
Thought Leadership Categories
COVID-19 Response Awards

The awards are presented by the Stevie Awards, which organizes eight of the world’s leading business awards programs including The International Business Awards® and The American Business Awards®.

About the Stevie Awards

Stevie Awards are conferred in eight programs: the Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards, the German Stevie Awards, the Middle East & North Africa Stevie Awards, The American Business Awards®, The International Business Awards®, the Stevie Awards for Women in Business, the Stevie Awards for Great Employers, and the Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service. Stevie Awards competitions receive more than 12,000 entries each year from organizations in more than 70 nations. Honoring organizations of all types and sizes and the people behind them, the Stevies recognize outstanding performances in the workplace worldwide. Learn more about the Stevie Awards at http://www.StevieAwards.com.

A sponsor of the 8th annual Stevie Awards for Great Employers is HiBob.

Marketing Contact
Nina Moore
Nina@StevieAwards.com
+1 (703) 547-8389

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at: https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/06939e25-fba1-4760-aacd-ed60700c9173

Source: The Stevie Awards

AI-Media Showcases Subtitling Innovation At IBC Show 2023

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 18 (Bernama) -- AI-Media, the leader in technology-driven live captioning & subtitling, transcription and translation solutions, announced its presence at the IBC Show 2023, from Sept 15 to 18, in Amsterdam.

According to AI-Media in a statement, its Chief Sales Officer, James Ward is leading the company’s delegation and represent its commitment to excellence in delivering cutting-edge solutions to clients and partners.

The event promises to be a gathering of industry experts, thought leaders and innovative companies in the broadcast and media technology sector.

“We are delighted to participate at the IBC show once again. This tradeshow is an exceptional platform for us to showcase our latest innovations and demonstrate how we continue to push the boundaries of what is possible in the broadcast industry,” said Ward.

AI-Media is showcasing several key broadcast solutions at the event, the cornerstone of which is its artificial intelligence (AI)-Powered live automatic captioning solution, LEXI.

LEXI consistently delivers accuracy rates of over 98 per cent, identifies speaker changes, uses AI to ensure captions do not interrupt onscreen content and all at a fraction of the cost of human captions.

The recently launched AI-powered LEXI Captioning Tool Kit also featured at IBC2023, featuring six key solutions each designed to address different captioning needs.

LEXI Tool Kit transforms content creation and captioning, offering complete end-to-end solutions for media companies, broadcasters, event producers, educational institutions and content creators worldwide.

With IP video production at the forefront of innovation in the broadcasting landscape; broadcasters can look to AI-Media’s ALTA solution for their IP compatible closed captioning and subtitling encoding solution.

-- BERNAMA

5G Satellite Networks To Generate US$17 Bln For Operators - Juniper Research

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 20 (Bernama) -- Operators will generate US$17 billion of additional revenue from Third-generation Partnership Project (3GPP)‑compliant 5G satellite networks between 2024 and 2030, according to a new study from Juniper Research. (US$1=RM4.69)

According to a statement, it urges operators to sign partnerships with Satellite Network Operators (SNOs) which will enable operators to launch monetisable satellite-based 5G services to their subscribers.

SNOs possess capabilities to launch next-generation satellite hardware into space, as well as being responsible for the operation and management of the resulting networks.

The research predicts the first commercial launch of a 5G satellite network will occur in 2024, with over 110 million 3GPP‑compliant 5G satellite connections in operation by 2030.

To capitalise on this growth, the research urges operators to prioritise immediate partnerships with SNOs that can launch Geostationary Orbit (GSO) satellites.

Additionally, operators must leverage their pre-existing billing relationship with mobile subscribers and enterprises as a platform to grow 5G satellite connectivity revenue over the next seven years.

The report anticipates this existing billing relationship will enable operators to rapidly drive the adoption of satellite connectivity by integrating satellite services into existing terrestrial networks.

However, the research predicts operators will increasingly rely on SNOs for service provision as 6G development accelerates.

-- BERNAMA

WEMADE UPDATES EXTENSIVE SKILL BALANCE FOR MIR4

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 20 (Bernama) -- Wemade Co Ltd announced an extensive skill balance update for its blockbuster massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) MIR4 on Sept 19.

In a statement, Wemade said the update contained adjustments for combat skills of all classes, including added HP recovery effect for the Warrior class, increased invincible time for the Lancer, and added vitality recovery for the Sorcerer.

Along with these adjustments, the highest floors for Magic Square and Secret Peak have also been expanded to the 10th floor, in which this floor can be entered through expedition, and features monsters of up to level 175.

Players can compete against players from other servers in the same region and complete newly added missions to obtain various items including "Epic Moonlight Stone" and "Legendary Darkened Enhancement Stone".

Furthermore, the 13th boss raid "Frothing Sagittarion" has also been updated for all players within the same region to enjoy.

In celebration of this update, MIR4 will be holding the "Hunting Hour 7-Day Check-in" event until Oct 3 whereby players will be given items such as "Legendary Hunting Potion" and "Legendary Precision Potion" in this event.

Meanwhile, items like "Legendary Blue Dragon Statue" and "Epic Divine Dragon's Enhancement Stone" will be available from the "Yiun’s 14-Day Martial Art Log" event, until Oct 16.

-- BERNAMA

FREEDOMPAY ANNOUNCES STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIP WITH PAX TECHNOLOGY, INC. FOR ENHANCED GLOBAL COMMERCE SOLUTIONS

The collaboration unleashes a Next Level customer experience enriched with loyalty and value-added services for millions of global customers.

PHILADELPHIA, Sept 18 (Bernama-GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- FreedomPay, the preferred commerce technology platform for global industries including hospitality, lodging, retail and more, today announces its collaboration with PAX Technology, Inc., one of the largest electronic payment solution providers in the world.

Available in Q2 2024, FreedomPay will introduce PAX Technology devices to enable a secure, seamless, and unified checkout experience for consumers while empowering merchants with FreedomPay’s robust loyalty programs and data analytics capabilities. This partnership reinforces FreedomPay’s commitment to fostering an open and accessible ecosystem for its merchants and industry partners.

“FreedomPay is dedicated to delivering an unparalleled consumer experience by prioritizing speed, security and personalization,” said Chris Kronenthal, President of FreedomPay. “By teaming up with PAX Technology, merchants worldwide can now offer merchants and consumers a Next Level commerce experience.”

The partnership signals a new era of commerce excellence for merchants and consumers globally. With the inclusion of cutting-edge 4G wireless connectivity, merchants can now enjoy seamless and rapid transactions. PAX Technology’s all-in-one devices, integrating both point-of-sale and payments, streamlines operations and simplifies the checkout experience.

“This collaboration with FreedomPay combines cutting-edge commerce technology with industry-leading payment acceptance hardware solutions, driving global commerce by facilitating secure transactions for both consumers and businesses,” said Andy Chau, PAX Technology, Inc. President & CEO. “Our Android line of terminals will provide an extremely flexible payment solution for FreedomPay, and their customers.”   

About FreedomPay
FreedomPay’s Next Level Commerce™ platform transforms existing payment systems and processes from legacy to leading edge and enables merchants to unleash the power of pay. As the premier choice for many of the largest companies across the globe in retail, hospitality, lodging, gaming, sports and entertainment, foodservice, education, healthcare and financial services, FreedomPay’s technology has been purposely built to deliver rock solid performance in the highly complex environment of global commerce.

The company maintains a world-class security environment and was first to earn the coveted validation by the PCI Security Standards Council against Point-to-Point Encryption (P2PE/EMV) standard in North America. FreedomPay’s robust solutions across payments, security, identity, and data analytics are available in-store, online and on-mobile and are supported by rapid API adoption. The award winning FreedomPay Commerce Platform operates on a single, unified technology stack across multiple continents allowing enterprises to deliver an innovative Next Level experience on a global scale. www.freedompay.com

About PAX Technology, Inc.
PAX Technology, Inc.is one of the largest electronic payment solution providers in the world, with 70 million terminals located in over 120 countries. As a leading global manufacturer of payment solutions, we are committed to delivering innovative, high-quality, and secure payment solutions to businesses, large and small, worldwide. To learn more visit www.pax.us. 

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UNAUDITED CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE SIX MONTHS ENDED JUNE 30, 2023 AND 2022

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia, Sept 15 (Bernama-GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- CBL International Limited (Nasdaq: BANL) (the “Company”) has filed with Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) the Form 6-K Account Report for the unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements for the six months ended June 30, 2023 and 2022. Please see below the financial highlight. 

FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHT

· Net income increased by approximately 5.9% or $64,000 from approximately $1,089,000 for the six months ended June 30, 2022, to approximately $1,153,000 for the six months ended June 30, 2023.

· The Group’s consolidated gross profit for the six months ended June 30, 2023 was approximately $4,006,000, representing a slight decrease as compared to the six months ended June 30, 2022 of approximately $4,043,000, such slight change was mainly due to the combination factors of the gross profit per ton of marine fuel sold and the partially offset effect by the increase in sales volume. The increase in sales volume was mainly attributable to the comparative lower average marine fuel prices for the six months ended June 30, 2023 as compared to the corresponding period last year and coupled with the increase in the financial resources available, which, in turns, strengthened the Group’s ability to purchase additional marine fuel (in dollar amount) as a result.

· Due to the decrease in marine fuel price which was partially offset by the increase in sales volume, the Group’s consolidated revenue decreased by approximately 18.6% or $43,741,000 from approximately $235,696,000 for the six months ended June 30, 2022, to approximately $191,956,000 for the six months ended June 30, 2023.

· Basic and diluted earnings per ordinary share is approximately $0.05.

· Total shareholders’ equity of the Company increased by approximately $13,202,000 from approximately $12,112,000 as of December 31, 2022, to approximately $25,314,000 as of June 30, 2023. 

For details of the account report for the unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements for the six months ended June 30, 2023 and 2022, please refer to https://investors.banle-intl.com for Form 6-K filed with SEC on September 14, 2023. 

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Deriv Group To Unveil Institutional Arm At IFX Expo Cyprus 2023

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 13 (Bernama) -- Deriv Group has announced it will launch its institutional arm, Deriv Prime at the upcoming IFX Expo in Limassol, Cyprus, from Sept 19 to 21.

The venture aims to reshape the landscape of liquidity access and trading dynamics by offering comprehensive liquidity solutions to meet the needs of brokerage firms, corporations, startups and other financial entities, regardless of their business scale.

According to a statement, Deriv Prime marks an advancement in institutional liquidity solutions, presenting a compelling proposition for institutions seeking to navigate the complex trading world.

“Deriv Prime does not just provide liquidity. It is a strategic response to the challenges faced by institutions in today's ever-changing financial landscape,” said Deriv Prime Head, Alexandros A. Patsalides.

With its cutting-edge technology, extensive network and institutional-centric approach, Deriv Prime addresses liquidity needs and ushers in a new era of trading possibilities.

This disruption could spark a broader trend of reimagining liquidity solutions, ultimately fostering a more dynamic and competitive environment.

Deriv Prime’s ecosystem is underpinned by cutting-edge technology, delivering seamless operations with minimal latency or disruptions.

This infrastructure boasts several key features including effortless integration with existing systems, ultra-low latency facilitated by intelligent order routing, reliable access to deep liquidity pools for competitive price feeds, as well as dedicated support.

-- BERNAMA

ROARING BACK TO LIFE: HK'S LEGENDARY TAI HANG FIRE DRAGON DANCE RETURNS - WITNESS THE REVIVAL OF AN INTANGIBLE CULTURAL HERITAGE WITH OVER 140 YEARS OF HISTORY

 

Tai Hang Fire Dragon Dance will feature more than 300 performers parading a 67-metre-long dragon through the grid-like streets of the charming Tai Hang district. (Photo: Hong Kong Tourism Board)  

HONG KONG, Sept 13 (Bernama-BUSINESS WIRE) -- Hong Kong’s legendary Tai Hang Fire Dragon Dance roars back to life this Mid-Autumn Festival, reigniting the flames of this revered ritual for the first time since 2019. Scheduled to take place on three consecutive nights from 28^th to 30^th September 2023, the flamboyant dance will feature more than 300 performers parading a majestic 67-metre-long dragon through the grid-like streets of the charming Tai Hang district.
 

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230911793495/en/ 

This year’s event will feature a number of exciting new elements, including a special performance by next-generation dragon performers, a LED giant flower plaque with a dragon head near the entrance for photo opportunities, and an extended viewing zone to accommodate more spectators along Wun Sha Street and Tung Lo Wan Road. The history and significance of the event can also be discovered during the daytime at the recently opened Tai Hang Fire Dragon Heritage Centre, which provides a fascinating insight into the 143-year-old tradition.

The dragon’s intricate construction requires over a month of dedicated hard work by a team of skilled and experienced craftspeople, who create the dragon by hand using pearl straw, rattan and hemp rope. Comprising 32 segments, the body of the dragon is adorned with 12,000 illuminated incense sticks, with the head alone weighing 50 kilograms. This smoky, fiery spectacle is found uniquely in Hong Kong, making it a one-of-a-kind display.

Keeper of the Ancient Flame

Originating over 140 years ago, the Fire Dragon Dance emerged as Tai Hang grappled with the hardships of plague within its farming and fishing communities. In an inspirational dream, a village elder was instructed to create a dragon adorned with smoldering incense sticks and parade it through the streets to save the village.

Since then, the ritual has been performed every year with its distinctive character and has established itself as one of Hong Kong’s most important cultural celebrations, with the dance included on the National List of Intangible Cultural Heritage.

“We are thrilled that the Tai Hang Fire Dragon Dance is returning this season after a four-year hiatus, and look forward to welcoming local and global visitors to join the celebrations. The dance is more than just a performance – it is an inseparable part of our lives and we are proud that traditions like ours will always live on as we pass the legacy on to the next generation,” shares Cheung Kwok Ho, Almon, Acting Commander in Chief of the Tai Hang Fire Dragon Dance and a Tai Hang local.

 

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Prax Caps US$300 Mln Private Credit Facility

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 13 (Bernama) -- The Prax Group (Prax) has announced the successful closing of a new privately placed approximately US$300 million (equivalent) Term Loan Facility. (US$1=RM4.67)

In a statement, Prax said the facility achieved a substantial oversubscription and was upsized from an original US$250 million, with four institutions participating in the transaction, including three new lenders. 

Prax Group Chief Financial Officer, Ben Lahnstein said: “The success of the transaction highlights the confidence our lending groups have in Prax and the depth of our banking and investor relationships.

“This latest funding has diversified our funding sources and strengthened our balance sheet. It provides us with a solid financial platform from which to execute future M&A activities, and deliver sustainable, profitable growth.” 

The Private Credit team at HSBC Bank plc (HSBC) acted as Sole Mandated Lead Arranger of the transaction. Funds managed by institutional investors including Chimera Abu Dhabi and Orchard Global Asset Management acted as lenders alongside HSBC.

The new facility will be used to refinance the maturing five-year term loan tranche from 2018, as well as for strategic acquisitions.

Headquartered in the United Kingdom, Prax is an independent global energy conglomerate dealing in crude oil, petroleum products and biofuels, with a complete integration across the oil value chain, from upstream to midstream and downstream.

-- BERNAMA

BOOMI COLLABORATES WITH SAZAE JAPAN TO TACKLE INTEGRATION ISSUES

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 13 (Bernama) -- Boomi, the intelligent connectivity and automation leader, announced a new partnership with Sazae Japan Inc (Sazae), a prominent digital transformation consulting service provider.

According to a statement, Boomi is Sazae’s first integration platform as a service (iPaaS) partner in Japan.

As the Japanese subsidiary of Sazae Pty Ltd, Sazae holds a strong presence in Japan, Singapore and Vietnam. It will incorporate the low-code, intuitive Boomi platform into its comprehensive upstream information technology consulting service offerings across all industries.

“As demand for iPaaS continues to grow in Japan, we plan to work with Sazae on their global projects and help their customers connect data, applications, processes, and people to achieve better business outcomes and their digital transformation goals,” said Boomi Director of Japan, Kazunori Hori.

Meanwhile, Sazae Pty Ltd Director and Founder, Ayumu Mizojiri said: “We expect the partnership with Boomi will enable us to quickly and efficiently migrate our existing customers’ data infrastructures to a digital transformation (DX) platform.”

The partnership will initially be focused on assisting Sazae Japan's customers in integrating content management systems, such as ServiceNow and Drupal.

Sazae has been involved in numerous global projects that require integration between applications and systems across multiple countries.

Following a successful collaboration with Boomi on a ServiceNow project, Sazae was impressed with the Boomi platform’s ease of use, full development cycle support, stability and scalability.

-- BERNAMA

LRN'S ENHANCED SOLUTIONS SHAPE ETHICAL WORKPLACE CULTURE

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 13 (Bernama) -- LRN Corporation, the leader in ethics and compliance solutions, has launched two new solutions namely Smart Code and Ethics & Compliance (E&C) Culture Assessment.

In a statement, LRN said both solutions can significantly enhanced the ability of businesses globally to assess their culture and the usability of their code of conduct.

Smart Code simplified employees’ engagement with their organisation’s code of conduct through a web-based microsite that is intuitive to use, centrally located and WCAG 2.1 accessible.

Meanwhile, for employers, powerful new Smart Code analytics provide rich data and insights, such as information on user visits, page interaction and search terms.

Using this data, businesses can now spot and interpret employees’ priorities, allowing teams to understand gaps in their code of conduct and identify risk hotspots, enabling easy benchmarking against other companies as well as best practices and regulatory expectations.

In addition, LRN’s new Ethics & Compliance Culture Assessment provides an ongoing 360-degree snapshot of a company’s ethical culture, an important tool in the context of the Department of Justice’s tightening of corporate compliance guidelines and increased focus on holding companies and individuals, accountable for having poorly established E&C programmes.

The new solution enables E&C leaders to regularly and intentionally assess the organisation’s ethical culture via a flexible combination of comprehensive surveys and sorter pulse checks, measuring 10 key dimensions and using a market-tested series of questions.

Since 1994, LRN has worked to propel organisations forward with the partnership, knowledge and tools to build ethical culture, with its mission and purpose to inspire principled performance and help people worldwide do the right thing.

-- BERNAMA

NSE MD & CEO INSIGHTS: NIFTY 50 CROSSES 20,000 MILESTONE

Celebration at NSE office upon crossing the landmark 20k milestone (Photo: Business Wire)

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 13 (Bernama) -- Managing director and chief executive officer of National Stock Exchange of India (NSE), Shri Ashishkumar Chauhan has shared his perspective on the historic achievement of Nifty 50 crossing the 20,000 points for the first time.

Chauhan in a statement said the progress of Nifty 50, India’s favourite stock index, over the last 27 years, from its initial number of 1,000, showed the trust local and foreign investors have in India’s capital markets and its regulatory, legal system.

He added its ability to provide a fair, efficient, transparent, low-cost, always available, orderly market place that is better than the best in the world and thought as well as execution leaders in the world, not only in trading technologies but also in corporate governance.

“More than 7.5 crore direct unique PAN numbers having investors are now registered with us suggesting that five crore households now directly invest a portion of their savings in equities market via the best in class, most automated, highly regulated markets provided by NSE consistently for several decades since its inception,” he said.

Chauhan stated that India will continue to progress and markets will continue to reflect that progress as seen in Nifty 50 index despite the challenges ahead.

He affirmed NSE's commitment to providing fair, efficient, transparent, orderly, low-cost and highly automated markets for India's future.

-- BERNAMA

RCS Active Users Exceed 1 Bln In 2024 - Juniper Research

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 12 (Bernama) -- A new study from Juniper Research has found that the global number of active Rich Communications Services (RCS) users will reach 1.1 billion in 2024; rising from 930 million this year, with 75 billion business messages delivered.

In a statement, Juniper Research said it anticipated that increasing adoption of communications platforms, such as Communications‑Platform-as-a-Service (CPaaS) will be the primary driver in enterprises leveraging operator‑led RCS channels for rich business messaging.

RCS is a protocol for rich media messaging over operator networks providing advanced business messaging services, such as chatbots and payments.

Despite a continued lack of support over iOS devices, the report predicted that 50 per cent of mobile subscriptions globally will be capable of receiving RCS business messages next year.

The research predicted that the growth in RCS business messaging will not cannibalise existing short message service (SMS) traffic, but instead, will drive new messaging use cases, such as conversational commerce.

This new traffic will generate over US$15 billion in additional messaging revenue for operators between 2024 and 2028. (US$1=RM4.67)

It identified North America as a high-growth region; accounting for 36 per cent of global RCS revenue by 2028, hence a high reliance on mobile messaging for communication will drive adoption of RCS amongst enterprise users in the country.

To capitalise on user growth, RCS vendors must develop a call-to-action model in which they receive revenue per purchase via RCS to maximise messaging revenue beyond termination.

To achieve this, the report urged RCS vendors to form partnerships with the largest online retailers and promote RCS as an alternative online retail channel to end users.

This new market research suite offers the most complete assessment of the RCS business messaging market currently available; providing analysis and five year forecasts across 60 markets.

-- BERNAMA

PLANVIEW RECOGNISED AS LEADER IN GARTNER MAGIC QUADRANT FOR APMR

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 12 (Bernama) -- Planview was named a Leader in the September 2023 Gartner Magic Quadrant for Adaptive Project Management and Reporting (APMR) for the second year in a row, based on its Completeness of Vision and Ability to Execute.

Planview Chief Product Officer, Louise K. Allen said teams become agile and resilient to evolving challenges, fostering collaboration and the ability to pivot plans and strategies that remain aligned with overarching business objectives, with Planview.

“Our data-driven platform facilitates real-time insights, accelerating the ability to prioritise initiatives that drive maximum business value.

“We equip companies to navigate complexities and achieve sustainable innovation efforts in today's ever-changing business landscape,” she said in a statement.

According to Gartner, leaders have a demonstrable understanding of the wide range of customer needs in the APMR market, largely responsive to the more advanced levels of APMR methodology maturity within their customer base.

Leaders actively engage in the market as thought leaders, and help to drive customer success with strong foundational project and work management capabilities coupled with well-defined implementation plans.

These vendors have a Completeness of Vision exhibited by their product, marketing and sales capabilities required to drive market acceptance on a global scale.

A leader in Portfolio Management and Value Stream Management, Planview empowers enterprises to improve time-to-market and predictability, increase efficiency to unlock capacity, and ensure their most strategic initiatives deliver the desired business outcomes.

-- BERNAMA

WEB3 LEADER XTERIO LEADS US$8 MLN SEED FUNDING ROUND FOR GAMEPHILOS

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 12 (Bernama) -- Massively multiplayer online and strategy game experts GamePhilos Studio has raised US$8 million in seed funding from Xterio Ltd, Animoca Ventures, SevenX Ventures and Chain Hill Capital, with participation from Hashkey Capital, Sanctor Capital, Game7, Bas1s, GSR Markets and GSG Ventures. (US$1=RM4.67)

The funding will be used to develop and distribute its upcoming mobile and PC strategy game Age of Dino by the studio team, which is helmed by game industry leaders at Netease, Zynga, FunPlus, ByteDance, Longtech, Blizzard Entertainment and other major industry players.

“We are thrilled to be partnering with such a proven team of expert strategy game developers, most of whom yield from FunPlus, and have led multi-billion dollar properties.

”Age of Dino is a flagship title for the Xterio platform that will demonstrate how we successfully launch and operate massive free-to-play PC and mobile games with on-chain assets,” said Xterio chief operating officer, Jeremy Horn in a statement.

By blending elements from the web 3.0 ecosystem and traditional gaming platforms, the title aims to redefine digital ownership and how strategy players can earn, use and trade collectibles and resources.

The title will leverage the Xterio Foundation platform, specialising in free-to-play games with meaningful web3 integrations, in which the platform will provide critical blockchain-related technical support and a Software Development Kit (SDK) for Age of Dino.

The Xterio Foundation and its ecosystem partners jointly have raised more than US$65 million to date in funding to create engaging, immersive gaming experiences driven by player ownership.

Age of Dino places the player amid a war for survival between conflicting factions that have mastered genetic manipulation to create dinosaur war machines.

With deep city, characters, and armies customisation set in a visually stunning universe, Age of Dino delivers a rich and unique game experience to strategy fans.

Age of Dino is scheduled to launch in selected countries early next year on mobile devices.

-- BERNAMA

TVBS ASPIRES TO ACT AS MEDIA HUB CONNECTING GLOBAL, LOCAL SPHERES

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 11 (Bernama) – TVBS, the Taiwanese broadcasting network, celebrated its three-decade anniversary with a significant exhibition themed "TVBS30: Bonding the World, Empowering Taiwan."

The exhibition aims to serve as a media nexus that bridges the global and local spheres through a blend of visuals, information, narratives, interactivity, and cutting-edge technology, positioning itself as a catalyst for Taiwan and a conduit to the world.

According to a statement, the exhibition offers a retrospective view of Taiwan's historical journey through the lens of TVBS, envisioning the network's potential to guide Taiwan and the global community.

The inauguration of this interactive exhibition was accompanied by an opening press conference attended by Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen and Vice Premier Cheng Wen-tsan, as well as various local officials.

Numerous leaders personally explored the exhibition area, which seamlessly integrates innovative applications of augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) digital technology, subsequent to the press conference.

The immersive exhibition experience allowed them to witness firsthand the digital media breakthroughs and innovations spearheaded by TVBS.

Within three days, the exhibition attracted nearly 2,500 visitors, from all across Taiwan and even from overseas tourists, demonstrating the magnetic appeal of TVBS30's interactive exhibition.

Since its founding in 1993, TVBS has achieved series of pivotal innovations, including pioneering the 24-hour news broadcasting model, redefining the immediacy of news reporting, sparking the call-in trend in Taiwanese television, and launching Taiwan's first-ever entertainment channel, thus ushering in a new era for the entertainment information industry.

Looking ahead, TVBS remains committed to its media responsibilities, concentrating on content intellectual property management, expanding its global news presence, and playing a pivotal role in connecting Taiwan with the rest of the world.

-- BERNAMA

POLYPLASTICS UNVEILS NEW OFFERING FOR TRANSFORMATIVE EV SEGMENT

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 12 (Bernama) -- The Polyplastics Group has launched DURAFIDE (R) PPS 6150T73, a high-performance material which delivers outstanding heat resistance and exceptional thermal and electric insulation properties for electric vehicle (EV) lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries.

According to Polyplastics in a statement, DURAFIDE (R) PPS 6150T73 is the company’s latest offering for the transformative electric vehicle segment.

Significantly improves thermal and electric insulation properties during thermal runaway without the use of inorganic insulative sheet structures, the material maintains the insulation properties of busbars and module covers even after being left in environments of 1,000 celsius (°C) for 30 minutes.

With the shift from engine-powered vehicles to EVs, current’s Li-ion batteries (LIBs) can generate excessive heat due to thermal runaway when accidents and other disturbances occur, thus ultimately leading to a potential fire.

During a thermal runaway event, a LIB cell can reach temperatures of 800 °C to 1,000 °C, and the gas it ejects can reach 700 °C to 800 °C. If thermal runaway occurs in one cell, energy transfer to neighbouring cells must be reduced.

In addition to greater heat resistance, DURAFIDE (R) PPS 6150T73 has optimal properties for components such as module covers and busbars.

The high-purity linear PPS also provides high toughness and excellent impact strength while also exhibiting low ionic impurities (extracted components). The material's colour is close to white, and it can be tinted.

A global leader in the development and production of engineering thermoplastics, Polyplastics is backed by a strong global network of research and development, production, and sales resources capable of creating advanced solutions for an ever-changing global marketplace.

-- BERNAMA

IOT ROAMING SURPASSES 600 MLN BY 2028 - JUNIPER RESEARCH

 

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Juniper Research Competitor Leaderboard for IoT Roaming (Graphic: Business Wire)

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 11 (Bernama) – There will be over 600 million roaming Internet of Things (IoT) connections by 2028; rising from 145 million in 2023, according to a new study by Juniper Research.

In a statement, Juniper Research said this will necessitate the implementation of new roaming standards to detect and monetise IoT roaming.

To capitalise on this substantial growth in connections, the report identified Billing & Charging Evolution (BCE) as a critical technology that will enable operators to identify new roaming connections. In turn, this will allow operators to fully maximise inbound roaming revenue.

The research suite included the latest edition of Juniper Research’s Competitor Leaderboard covering the IoT roaming market. It analysed the comprehensiveness of offerings across 18 key IoT roaming vendors, as well as the innovation and future prospects of vendors.

The top five vendors are Vodafone Roaming Services, Telefónica, Tata Communications, TNS and BICS.

Vodafone Roaming Services’ continued expansion of its global IoT roaming network results in the company retaining its market-leading position.

Its comprehensive portfolio of IoT management solutions and significant coverage places the company as the leading IoT vendor to enable operators to maximise future inbound roaming revenue.

Meanwhile, Telefónica has moved up six spots in the ranking. Crucial in driving Telefónica’s progress in the IoT roaming market over the last year has been its innovation with solutions that simplify the roaming monetisation process.

Juniper Research has, for two decades, provided market intelligence and advisory services to the global telecommunications sector, retained by many of the world’s leading network operators and communications platforms.

-- BERNAMA

EXP REALTY ACCELERATES AGENTS' POTENTIAL EARNINGS

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 8 (Bernama) -- Independent real estate company, eXp Realty has launched Accelerate, an incentive programme focused solely on helping eXp agents build for their future by maximising their revenue share earning potential during their first year with the company.

“In the lifespan of an agent, a critical component of long-term success is the ability to build for their retirement, so we launched Accelerate to help catalyse their potential earnings and create momentum in the first year and build for their future.

“We continue to be relentlessly focused on delivering a model that puts agents first,” said eXp Realty Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Glenn Sanford in a statement.

Available in all 24 countries where eXp Realty operates, Accelerate is applied to agents who joined on or after March 1, this year. The programme automatically opens revenue share tiers two and three for 12 months beginning Sept 7, creating the opportunity to have 10 front line qualifying agents (FLQA) immediately.

This can open up the eXponential components of eXp’s revenue share programme in that first year, whereby after the 12-month period, standard revenue share criteria will apply.

This launch comes on the heels of the company’s June announcement that, for the first time, was refining revenue share criteria for its agents, reducing the current FLQA tier seven threshold from 40 to 30 FLQA.

As part of its efforts to continually enhance its model, the company also launched Boost, a programme designed to financially incentivise qualifying independent teams and brokerages to join eXp Realty.

Revenue share is just one part of eXp Realty’s aligned compensation model, which also includes competitive commissions and stock equity programmes designed to enable its agents to build for their future.

-- BERNAMA

OTC MARKETS EXPANDS COLLABORATION WITH TRADING PLATFORM MOOMOO

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 7 (Bernama) -- OTC Markets Group Inc announced an expanded agreement with moomoo, a trading platform by Moomoo Technologies Inc, that provides professional trading experience with advanced technical analysis, in-depth market data and an active online community.

According to OTC Markets in a statement, this collaboration increases the availability of data on OTC equity securities to moomoo investors in the United States (US).

“We are excited to see our collaboration with moomoo and its sister companies expands across other key markets in Asia, the US and Australia.

“OTC Markets real-time data provides moomoo users with actionable information on more than 12,000 equity securities, including more than 3,000 Asian cross-traded securities, during US market hours,” said OTC Markets Executive Vice President of Market Data and Strategy, Matthew Fuchs.

Meanwhile, Moomoo Technologies Inc Vice President of Strategy, Justin Zacks said: “Collaborating with OTC Markets Group, we are able to provide investors with timely and comprehensive information, lower the barrier of investing and fulfill the demands of various investors.”

OTC Markets first collaborated with moomoo’s sister brand in Hong Kong in 2018 and then the collaboration deepened as it expanded to include business with more of moomoo’s affiliates in Australia, Singapore, Japan and Malaysia.

With this new agreement, moomoo’s US users now have convenient access to Real-Time Level 1+ top of book quote data for OTCQX, OTCQB and Pink securities to assist in trading and investment decision-making.

The group’s Market Data business provides mission-critical data to broker-dealers, compliance and risk management teams, in which as the primary market operator, it delivers the most comprehensive, contextual, real-time and analytical data.

-- BERNAMA

TELLURIAN TEAMS UP WITH BAKER HUGHES TO SUPPLY EQUIPMENTS FOR DRIFTWOOD LNG PROJECT

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 6 (Bernama) -- Tellurian Inc and Baker Hughes have signed an agreement to supply eight main refrigerant compression packages for phase one of the Driftwood liquefied natural gas (LNG) project.

According to Tellurian in a statement, the agreement secures a delivery schedule for the eight LM6000PF+ gas turbines, main refrigerant compressors and control units required for phase one, supporting Driftwood’s ability to achieve initial LNG production in 2027.

Tellurian President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Octávio Simões said Bechtel has done a tremendous job preparing the site and has already completed the piling and compressor foundations for plant one of Driftwood LNG.

“This agreement with Baker Hughes firms up our plans to secure the critical technology for Driftwood phase one. We value our continued, long-term relationship with Baker Hughes for delivering industry leading manufactured equipment and technology solutions to enhance our ability to deliver clean energy to the world,” he said.

Meanwhile, Baker Hughes chairman and CEO, Lorenzo Simonelli said: “This agreement builds on the established collaboration between Baker Hughes and Tellurian as we continue to execute on our scope for the Driftwood Pipeline 200.

“Leveraging our 30 years of experience in LNG and broad portfolio of technologies for the natural gas value chain, we are pleased to support Tellurian also for the Driftwood liquefaction plant with our gas technology solutions.”

Based in Houston, Texas, the United States, Tellurian intends to create value for shareholders by building a low-cost, global natural gas business, profitably delivering natural gas to customers worldwide.

-- BERNAMA