Earable Neuroscience and Excelpoint Announces Strategic Partnership to Accelerate the Commercialisation of the World’s First AI-powered Consumer Wearable, FRENZ Brainband, to Solve Global Sleep Pandemic

  • Since the COVID-19 pandemic began, researchers around the world have documented a surge in sleep disorders which affect overall health, safety and quality of life
  • Invented by Earable® Neuroscience, FRENZ™ Brainband is the world’s first AI-powered consumer wearable that tracks and stimulates brain activities to enhance mental well-being through improvements in sleep, relaxation and focus
  • With its leading regional B2B business platform that provides quality electronics components with integrated R&D capabilities, Excelpoint will be the exclusive procurement partner for the electronics components used for the production of FRENZ™ Brainband
  • At the same time, PlanetSpark, the entrepreneurial and strategic investment arm of Excelpoint, is currently exploring its options to make an investment in Earable® Neuroscience

Singapore / Boulder, CO, Mar 31, 2023 – (ACN Newswire) – Earable® Neuroscience U.S. (“Earable®“), is pleased to announce a strategic partnership with Singapore-based Excelpoint Technology Pte. Ltd., (“Excelpoint“) to accelerate the commercialisation of the world’s first AI-powered consumer wearable, FRENZ™ Brainband, which tracks and stimulates brain activities to enhance mental well-being through improvements in sleep, relaxation and focus.

Mr. Tam Vu – CEO of Earable Neuroscience U.S. on the left, and Mr. Albert Phuay – Chairman of Excelpoint on the right – shared their visions in making positive impacts for human wellbeing.

The Strategic Agreement Signing Ceremony was presented by the leadership team from Earable Neuroscience U.S. and Excelpoint under the witness of the strategic partner – Analog Devices

FRENZ™ Brainband can precisely tracks vital data points in real-time, provides instant personalized feedback with cognitive behavioral therapy content via the integrated bone-conduction speakers, and leverages AI and machine learning algorithms to continuously evolve and provide meaningful insights to enhance mental well-being for individuals.

Since the COVID-19 pandemic began, researchers around the world have documented a surge in sleep disorders which affect overall health, safety and quality of life.

Powered by proprietary technologies, FRENZ™ Brainband is an invention of Earable® Neuroscience, founded by Dr Tam Vu, a scientist and professor with lifelong research in neuroscience and computer science, is a deep tech company focused on delivering scalable, human-centric neuroscience solutions that improve the everyday experience — from deep sleep to all-day focus.

With eight years of intensive deep tech R&D by scientists from the University of Colorado Boulder and University of Oxford, FRENZ™ Brainband holds 15 global patents in machine learning algorithms, materials science, and electrical engineering. FRENZ™ Brainband has been accorded multiple awards in various international technology and design competitions, marking its position as the world’s first AI-powered consumer head wearable dedicated for improving quality of sleep and cognitive functions.

Singapore-based Excelpoint was established in 1987 and it has grown into a leading regional electronics components distributor providing quality electronic components from leading electronics group such as ADI, Xilinx, NXP, Samsung, Qualcomm, Panasonic, Fujitsu, TDK, and Epson, among others as well as engineering design services and supply chain management to original equipment manufacturers (“OEMs”), ODMs and electronics manufacturing services (“EMS”) in the Asia Pacific region. Excelpoint is also the authorised distributor of Qualcomm in ASEAN, India, Australia and New Zealand.

Strategic Partnership of Earable® Neuroscience and Excelpoint to Accelerate the Commercialisation of FRENZ™ Brainband

Combined with its neuroscience data platform, Earable® Neuroscience is at the final stage of commercialisingFRENZ™ Brainband.

The main goal of the strategic partnership between Earable® Neuroscience and Excelpoint is for both companies to leverage on each other’s capabilities and networks to accelerate the commericalisation of FRENZ™ Brainband, thereby enabling an entirely new world of possibilities for neuroscience applications.

As part of the strategic partnership, Excelpoint will be the exclusive procurement partner for the electronics components used for the production of FRENZ™ Brainband. In addition, Excelpoint will provide favorable procurement terms to support Earable® Neuroscience so as to accelerate the commercialisation phase of FRENZ™ Brainband.

At the same time, PlanetSpark Pte. Ltd., (“PlanetSpark”) the entrepreneurial and strategic investment arm of Excelpoint, is currently exploring its options to make an investment in Earable® Neuroscience.

Commenting on the strategic partnership, Dr. Tam Vu, Founder and CEO of Earable® Neuroscience, said: “Earable® Neuroscience’s vision is to make the daily benefits of neuroscience accessible to billions of people to enhance their cognitive functions and unlock the brain’s potential, improving productivity, mental wellbeing, and quality of life.

Excelpoint’s global expertise and ecosystem in electronic components and supply chain management makes them the ideal partner to help us to secure the scalability of this vision.”

Mr. Albert Phuay, Chairman of Excelpoint added, “We share Earable® Neuroscience aspirations to drive innovation in the field of disruptive sleeptech and we are thrilled with this partnership to accelerate the commercialisation of FRENZ™ Brainband to new levels of growth and expansion.

We believe that Earable®’s advanced neuroscience expertise, combined with our ecosystem will enable us to scale up the production of high-quality and cutting-edge sleeptech products that make a meaningful impact in the lives of people around the world.“

About Earable® Neuroscience U.S.:

Earable® Neuroscience U.S. is a deep tech company building an applied neuroscience ecosystem to improve the everyday experience. Earable® Neuroscience invented the FRENZ™ Brainband – the world’s first AI-powered consumer wearable that can precisely track and stimulate brain activity for better sleep, focus, and relaxation. FRENZ™ holds multiple scientific awards and 15 global patents and patents pending.

MSRP Price is $490. Pre-order now available at www.frenzband.com

Media Contact: media@earable.ai

About Excelpoint:

Excelpoint is a leading regional electronics components distributor providing quality electronic components, engineering design services and supply chain management to original equipment manufacturers (“OEMs“), ODMs and electronics manufacturing services (“EMS“) in the Asia Pacific region. Established in 1987 and headquartered in Singapore, Excelpoint’s business presence spans more than 10 countries across Asia Pacific with a workforce of more than 700 people from different nationalities and cultural backgrounds. For more information on Excelpoint, please visit www.excelpoint.com

Media Contact: Ms Phuay Li Ying
Head, Corporate Development
Direct: +65 6210 6649
Mobile: +65 9688 8898
Email: phuay.li.ying@excelpoint.com.sg



Copyright 2023 ACN Newswire. All rights reserved. http://www.acnnewswire.com

With Innovation-driven Quality, Sustainable Development, Wuling Motors(00305.HK)Returns to Profitability in 2022

HONG KONG, Mar 31, 2023 – (ACN Newswire) – As the global new energy automobile industry continues to experience rapid growth, there has been an acceleration in the R&D and application of new products and technologies. Technological innovation is driving the continuous upgrading of the industry. At the same time, the automotive industry is also ushering in a new round of disruptive changes amidst the wave of digitalization and intelligence.

Amidst changes in its internal and external environments, Wuling Motors Holdings Limited (the "Company" or "Wuling Motors",Stock Code:00305.HK) has shown remarkable innovation in leading the way toward high-quality development. Today, the Company delivered impressive results for 2022, with annual revenue hitting RMB 12.596 billion (UOM in RMB, same below), effectively transforming losses into profits.

Innovation-driven Wuling Motors charts a new growth curve for 2022

Technological innovation, industrial upgrading and the continued impact of the pandemic have brought profound and far-reaching systemic changes to the automotive industry. The implementation of the national "dual carbon" strategy has brought about widespread changes in production and consumption methods.

Faced with innovation and change in the global automotive industry, Wuling Motors actively seeks breakthroughs to achieve high-quality development. On one hand, it persevered in maintaining and advancing its conventional business, leveraging its strengths in existing parts and engines, while also fostering enduring relationships with customers such as GWM and Foton. Additionally, it proactively explored fresh markets, placing a special emphasis on seizing opportunities in promising large markets like BYD, Chery, and Hozon. Through these efforts, the Company was able to maintain consistent performance, culminating in an impressive annual sales revenue of RMB 12.596 billion. In terms of automotive power business, the coordination of whole vehicle project R&D upgrades has driven a significant increase in business volume. This is primarily due to the Atkinson engine with a high thermal efficiency and hybrid powertrain, which achieved mass production status in 2022 and surpassed sales expectations for the entire year. As a result, Wuling Motors has received valuable assistance in transition and upgrading efforts from conventional fuel-powered vehicles to new energy alternatives. The vehicles' power supply system division achieved mild growth with a revenue of RMB 2.896 billion and successfully turned from loss to profit.

On the other hand, technological innovation is vital to sustainable development. Wuling Motors is creating a brand new growth curve and striving to capitalize on the golden age of development for China's independent auto parts companies while also restructuring the industry's new model. In 2022, the revenue of the automotive components division reached RMB 6.048 billion. In particular, Wuling Motors continues to upgrade its new energy electric rear axle, motor, electric control, range extender, hybrid power system and other products, increasing product innovation and research and development to create core competitiveness. Equipped with independently developed smart driving system, Wuling "Space Cabin" has been delivered to customers. The Cabin has reached the L4 level of autonomous driving in specific areas and is getting closer to unmanned driving. The "three-in-one" production line of hot-air expansion, liquid-filling forming, and thermoforming has been applied, and multiple innovative projects such as high-performance and low-noise integral insertion bridge have passed acceptance, maximize the use of production capacity and improve production efficiency..

In terms of intelligent products, Wuling New Energy, newly established after the merger and restructuring of various divisions, currently has the most advanced and large-scale production facilities in the industry, covering an area of 550,000 square meters and with an annual production capacity of 200,000 vehicles. Wuling Motors has further increased its transformation from traditional production to intelligent production by introducing new automation technologies. In 2022, Liuzhou Wuling Motors Industrial Company Ltd. carried out independent reconstruction and rebuilding of 4 automatic production lines, established 12 small robot workstations, achieved automated production of 44 products, and increased the utilization rate of approximately 50 robots from less than 30% to over 70%.

Overseas business is also an important area for Wuling Motors to accelerate its layout in 2022. Wuling Motors has extended its products to leading global automotive countries such as Japan and the United States, becoming the first domestic vehicle company to export new energy-type trucks to the United States. In addition, Wuling sightseeing buses rank among the top in market share in Vietnam, and products such as golf carts have also been exported to Southeast Asian countries.

Wuling Motors is quickening its step to become an "NEV manufacturer", with a focus on green and low-carbon technology

With the acceleration of "electrification" in automobiles, Wuling Motors leverages new energy core components and new energy logistics vehicles to promote the entire group's transformation towards a NEV manufacturer.

At the same time, the "green" concept has been deeply ingrained in the development marrow of Wuling Motors, implementing low-carbon production processes and promoting the progress of new energy products, all of which are active explorations in the context of green and low-carbon development.

Specifically, in addition to incorporating green elements in infrastructure construction, management system building and energy resource investment, Wuling Motors continues to practice automation production and intelligent manufacturing, actively developing clean production by using multiple robots on the production line and implementing automated painting; constructing a green supply chain from green production, supplier management, green logistics, green recycling to green packaging; in the product design process, considering the resource, energy consumption, and environmental impact throughout the entire production cycle from raw materials, components and vehicle production to the production waste recycling, to achieve green manufacturing.

The road to green development in the automotive industry, paved by conventional automobile manufacturers, relies mainly on two paths: replacing conventional fuel vehicles with new energy vehicles and utilizing low-carbon energy. These approaches are crucial in reducing carbon emissions in transportation. Wuling Motors' launch of new energy logistics vehicles, pure electric patrol cars, pure electric sightseeing buses and 5G smart driving sightseeing buses exemplifies its commitment to green transportation.

Regarding carbon emission reduction, Wuling Motors achieved a significant reduction in 2022 by using 4,447.64 MWh of clean photovoltaic energy. This resulted in a decrease of 1,779 tons of standard coal consumption, 2,584 tons of carbon dioxide emissions, 133 tons of sulfur dioxide emissions, and 66 tons of nitrogen oxide emissions. As a result, Wuling Motors made history as the first certified enterprise in Guangxi for its carbon emission management system. Wuling Motors aims to jointly promote the construction of a community with a shared future for mankind, creating a new ecology of green, low-carbon development that prioritizes sustainability and environmental protection.


Copyright 2023 ACN Newswire. All rights reserved. http://www.acnnewswire.com

GF Securities Announced 2022 Annual Results

HONG KONG, Mar 31, 2023 – (ACN Newswire) – GF Securities Co., Ltd. ("GF Securities" or the "Company", together with its subsidiaries, the "Group"; HKSE: 1776; SZSE: 000776), one of the most influential securities companies in the Chinese capital market, announced its annual results for the twelve months ended 31 December 2022 (the "Reporting Period"). In the face of the complicated internal and external situation, embracing the working philosophy of "making positive changes and promoting the high-quality development of the Company to a new level" and "firmly focus on principal duties and businesses and improve core business", GF Securities continued to maintain a good momentum with its operating performance at the forefront of the industry, realizing a total revenue and other income of RMB33,256 million and a net profit attributable to shareholders of the Company of RMB7,929 million. As of 31 December 2022, the Group's total asset amounted to RMB617,256 million, representing an increase of15.19% compared to the end of 2021.

Lin Chuanhui, Chairman and General Manager of GF Securities, said, in 2022, the Company actively explored new business development models and made remarkable progress in various areas of work. Through firmly focusing on its principal duties and businesses, the Company improved its core businesses. The Company implemented the "research + N" business model to empower high-quality development of its core businesses through research. Meanwhile, the Company adhered to the principle of customer first, promoted ecosystem construction of ecosystem, continued to expand its customer base, and injected new impetus into the Company's reform and development through continuing to strengthen its foundation. The year of 2023 is the first year to fully implement the spirit of the Party's 20th National Congress. GF Securities will embrace the new development pattern, follow national strategies, strengthen its core capabilities, build a solid customer base, optimize the construction of its platform, effectively serve the real economy, promote common prosperity and the preservation and appreciation of residents' wealth, and embark on a new journey of high-quality development in the tide of serving Chinese modernization.

As one of the first full-service securities companies in China, GF Securities possesses licenses for a full range of services involved in four business segments, including investment banking, wealth management, trading, and institution and investment management. The Company has successively set up futures subsidiaries, public fund subsidiaries, private fund subsidiaries, alternative investment subsidiaries and asset management subsidiaries etc.. With its value concept and pragmatic entrepreneurial style, the Company has built a full business chain with comprehensive layout and strong strength. The Group has maintained top ranking among the securities companies in China for many consecutive years in terms of main operating indicators, established its leading advantages among securities companies in the core businesses of wealth management, asset management and research, and developed its investment banking business steadily.

Wealth Management Business Maintained Leading Position and Continued to Deepen Transformation

GF Securities has taken the lead in proposing wealth management transformation in the country. It is equipped with excellent financial product research and sales capabilities, and professional asset allocation capabilities. GF Securities has more than 4,200 securities investment consultants, ranking No. 1 in the industry (in terms of parent company caliber). By continously deepening transformation in the area of wealth management, GF Securities is committed to providing precise wealth management services for different types of customers and becoming a first-class trustworthy wealth management institution.

In 2022, the Company continued to expand and optimize its customer base and made achievements in the operation management of high-net-worth customers, professional institutions, listed companies and other customer groups, with the net income from agency sales of financial products and the market share in terms of the balance of public and private funds hitting a new record high. The balance maintained by the agency sales of financial products of the Company recorded a year-on-year increase of 0.77%, and the Company ranked third amongst the securities dealers in terms of the balance of public fund maintained in the agency sales of non-monetary market (Source: Asset Management Association of China, 2023). The sales and transfer amount of financial products on the Yitaojin E-commerce platform (including Cash Return and Taojin Market) amounted to RMB216.6 billion.

At the end of 2022, the Company had 338 branches and business departments nationwide, with presence in 31 provinces, municipalities, and autonomous regions across the PRC. The number and coverage ratio of business outlets in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area and in the nine cities of the Pearl River Delta ranked No. 1 in the industry, providing wide market reach for the Company's business and important support for customer accumulation and service.

Meanwhile, in the regions outside of the PRC, the Group's indirectly wholly-owned subsidiary GF securites (Hong Kong) continued its transformation towards wealth management, with a year-on-year growth in both the net sales income and balance of its financial products in spite of the increasing fluctuations in the global market. The number of enterprise customers continued to increase, and the revenue grew gradually.

Investment Management Business Steadily Ranked at the Forefront of the Industry and Brand Influence Improved Continously

In 2022, relying on the advantage of financial group structure, GF Securities has coordinated the superior resources of its asset management institutions, established comprehensive product supply system and provided customers with strategically excellent and diversified products to build a leading asset management brand in the industry. The Company's business includes the three major fields of asset management, public fund management and private fund management, and covers domestic and overseas markets. In respect of asset management business, GF Asset Management continued to consolidate its core capabilities such as active management, product design and innovation, channel marketing, compliance risk control and financial technology, strengthened infrastructure construction, continuously improved its operation mechanism, managed client assets which are invested in various asset categories with various investment strategies, including fixed-income investment, equity investment, quantitative investment and cross-border products.

In respect of public fund management business, as of the end of 2022, the size of the public funds managed by GF Fund, a controlling subsidiary of the Group, in aggregate reached RMB1,249.737 billion, representing an increase of 10.63% as compared to the end of 2021, and the total fund size excluding money market funds amounted to RMB705.290 billion, ranking third in the industry (Source: Statistics of the Company, WIND, 2023). The public funds managed by E Fund, an invested subsidiary of the Group, in aggregate reached RMB1,572.810 billion, representing a decrease of 7.83% as compared to the end of 2021, and the total public fund size excluding money market funds was RMB1,025.544 billion, ranking first in the industry (Source: Statistics of the Company, WIND, 2023).

In respect of private fund management business, in 2022, the Group's wholly-owned subsidiary GF Xinde focused on industries as biomedicine, intelligent manufacturing and corporate services. As of the end of 2022, the total size of funds managed by GF Xinde was over RMB15 billion.

In the regions out of the PRC, the Group's indirectly wholly-owned subsidiary GF Investments (Hong Kong) and institutions thereunder have completed investment mainly in fields of high-end manufacturing, TMT, big consumption and biomedical. Several investment projects have exited by way of mergers and acquisitions, or have been listed on the stock exchanges in Hong Kong, the United States and other regions.

"Research+N" Business Model Empowered Entire Business Chain Development with Strengths Gradually Stood Out

The outstanding research capacity of GF Securities enjoys a high reputation in the industry, with equity research covering over 840 A shares listed companies across 28 industries in the PRC, and nearly 160 companies listed in Hong Kong and overseas. From 2017 to 2022, the Company received the "New Fortune Domestic Best Research Team" and the "New Fortune Most Influential Research Institution", and "Top 5 Golden Bull Research Institution" award by "China Securities Industry Analyst Golden Bull Award" for consecutive years. Meanwhile, it ranked in the forefront in the selection of "Sell-side Analyst Crystal Ball Award", "Best Analyst of Shanghai Securities News" and "Golden Kirin Best Analyst of Sina Finance".

To fully uterlize the Company's strengths in research, GF Securities proactively implemented the "research+N" business model and strengthened research on the promotion and support of the Company's core businesses, and empowered the development of the entire business chain of the Company. During the Report Period, by leveraging on its profound insights into the industry and focusing on supporting scientific and technological innovation, the Company coordinated resources to establish an industrial fund to achieve industry researches and promote development of the industry; made efforts to improve its pricing capabilities and facilitate the steady development of the investment banking business; as well as targeted an industrial research institute as a think tank to provide advice and suggestions for regional economic development. Its strengths in research gradually stood out.

Investment Banking Business Developed Steadily with Deployments in Key Industries and Regions

In 2022, GF Securities leveraged the advantages of its platform, reinforced management empowerment, strengthened the quality control of its investment banking business, and made focused deployments in semiconductor, medical and healthcare, new energy vehicle and other industries and the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area to promote specialized and regionalized development. Besides, the Company continued to promote its internal coordination and further improve its comprehensive financial service capabilities to meet the service demands of customers in all aspects. The equity financing business of the Company developed steadily, and the project reserve of the Company increased significantly. In 2022, the Company completed 17 equity financing projects for which the Company acted as a lead underwriter, and the lead underwritten amount was RMB18.407 billion.

In respect of debt financing business, the Company fully integrated its platform resources and put more efforts to develop customers in key regions. As a result, the project reserve of the Company maintained a steady growth and the bond business of the Company grew steadily. By the end of 2022, the Company acted as the lead underwriter for 188 tranches of bonds, representing a year-on-year increase of 370.00%, with a lead underwritten amount of RMB142.076 billion, representing a year-on-year increase of 358.38%. Meanwhile, the Company implemented the concept of green development, proactively served the development strategies of "carbon peaking and carbon neutrality" and the "Belt and Road Initiative" and strengthened the undertaking of responsibility, with a view to making contributions to the high-quality development of the economy and the capital market. During the year, the Company completed the issuance of 15 tranches of green bonds, low-carbon transformation-linked bonds, science and technology innovation bonds, Belt and Road bonds and innovation and entrepreneurship bonds. Among which, the Company underwrote and issued 8 tranches of green bonds and 3 tranches of low-carbon transformation-linked bonds with a total issuance size of RMB121 billion.

Furthermore, the Company adhered to the core principle of discovering value. Leveraging on its outstanding research capabilities, the Company strengthened business synergy and provided highquality integrated services for valued customers. As of the end of 2022, the Company supervised a total of 31 companies listed on the NEEQ as the lead broker, of which 61% were "specialized, sophisticated, distinctive and innovative" enterprises (Source: NEEQ, Statistics of the Company, 2023).

In respect of the overseas investment banking business, the Company's indirect wholly-owned subsidiary, GF Capital (Hong Kong) completed 24 projects in which it acted as lead underwriter (including IPO, refinancing and bond offering) and financial adviser.

With Outstanding Core Competitive Strengths, Introduce Talents And New Impetus Into Corporate Culture

Looking back at GF Securities' development for more than 30 years, it has always been in the forefront of the industry. Among the first batch of brokers established from the end of the 1980's to the early 1990's, GF Securities is one of the few major brokerage companies which have not accepted investment or undergone restructuring due to operating losses. This is inseparable from GF Securities' core competitive strengths such as excellent corporate culture, forward-looking strategic doctrine, stable shareholding structure, scientific business layout, outstanding location advantage, and philosophy of compliance and steady development.

GF Securities always maintains a strong sense of family and country, upholds its mission of "creating values to realize the dream of serving the country with financial services", makes continuous progress in developing its corporate values of "inquisitiveness and integrity" and carries forward its excellent cultural genes of an "army of doctors". With knowledge as the guarantee and professionalism as the cornerstone, the Company will continue to explore new prospects for development, and actively serve the country's real economy to improve both in quantity and quality.

The Company has attached great importance to the construction of the cadre and talent system, insisted on its staff-oriented philosophy and professional development, adhered unwaveringly to its concept, and has been successful in action for a long term. Since 1999 when the Company established the first post-doctoral workstation for financial enterprises in China, the Company has been training and exporting professionals for 24 years. In 2022, the Company initiated a new round of strategic planning for the Company's medium- and long-term development, of which talent team building was an important part.

At the same time, in accordance with the principles of "implementing a sound business philosophy, ensuring the bottom line of compliance, promoting the formation of positive incentives, and enhancing the Company's long-term value", the Company promoted the optimization of the remuneration system, further encouraged deferred compensation, and reflected the internal allocation orientation of giving remuneration resources to frontline employees. Under the premise of complying with laws and regulations, practicing with integrity, and abiding by the bottom line, employee remuneration was related to the performance of individual, team and the Company overall. The Company emphasized the balance between incentives and risks, avoided excessive and short-term incentives, and focused on the combination of short-term incentives and medium- and long-term incentives, material incentives and spiritual incentives, and personal growth and team ability development, to ensure the long-term sustainable development of the Company and business.

As of the end of 2022, the operation and management team of the Company has an average of approximately 26 years of experience in securities, finance and economics-related fields and has served an average term of over 17 years in the Company with extensive experience in business and management.

Looking forward, GF Securities will adhere to the combination of goal-oriented and problem-oriented approaches, focus on bringing breakthroughs in key areas to drive overall progress, promote the development of institutional business and operation reform in key areas and regions, promote domestic and overseas linkages in investment banking business and wealth management business, concentrate resources to deepen its operations in key regions such as the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area and the Yangtze River Delta, enhance industrial investment cooperation to achieve effective breakthroughs, carry out our core businesses with higher standards, deploy a long-term strategy to ensure stability and long-term development, to make contributions in serving the real economy.

About GF Securities Co. Ltd
Established in 1991, GF Securities Co., Ltd. is one of the first, full-service securities companies in China. The Company was successfully listed on the main boards of the Shenzhen Stock Exchange (Stock code: 000776.SZ), and the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (Stock code: 1776.HK), in 2010 and 2015, respectively. With excellent business performance, continual optimised risk management and quality services, the Company has successfully achieved sustainable and steady development, and has become one of the most influential securities companies in China for years. As of December 31, 2021, the Company operated 338 branches and business departments, covering 31 provinces, cities, and autonomous regions throughout China. Its capital strength and profitability remain at the top among all listed securities companies in China. GF Securities has been at the forefront of "Hurun's Top Brands List" amongst listed Chinese securities companies for six consecutive years from 2015 to 2020. The Company actively fulfils its social responsibilities through "GF Securities Social Charity Foundation", with its focus on poverty relief and provision of financial support for education, and practises social responsibilities on a voluntary basis, thus leading to the continuous increase in its reputation and brand influence.


Copyright 2023 ACN Newswire. All rights reserved. http://www.acnnewswire.com

China Risun’s 2022 Revenue Ups 9.6% to RMB43.1 Billion, Profit Attributable to Owners was RMB1.9 Billion

HONG KONG, Mar 31, 2023 – (ACN Newswire) – China Risun Group Limited ("China Risun", or the "Group", stock code: 1907), a leading global integrated coke, coking chemicals and refined chemicals producer and supplier and relevant operation management services provider in China, announced today its annual results for the year ended 31 December 2022 ("the reporting year"). The Group continued its expansion in the annual capacity of all the products and its further refining ability to high-end chemicals products. It has also strategically focused on increasing its market share through nationwide distribution and global expansion initiatives.

Revenue for the year ended December 31, 2022 was up 9.6% to approximately RMB43.1 billion. Profit attributable to owners of the Company was approximately RMB1.9 billion. Basic earnings per share of the Company was RMB42 cents. To share the fruit of its outstanding results performance, the Board determined to declare a final dividend of RMB0.9 cents per share (equivalent to HK1.0 cents per share).

Scale of coke business keeps swelling, Further consolidated industry leadership
During the reporting year, the Group expanded its coke production/processing capacity through various means, such as mergers and acquisitions of existing coke enterprises, setting up joint ventures with other coke/steel enterprises, and managing operations of existing coke enterprises. As a result, its core business continued to grow, further consolidating its industry leadership. The Group's coke production/processing volume reached 10.6 million tonnes in 2022. As of December 31, 2022, the group had eight production bases around the world and was also in the process of developing its ninth production base in Pingxiang, Jiangxi Province, China.

In addition to the expansion plans within China, the Group is also exploring opportunities overseas. The Group has been developing new production bases through two joint ventures and one associate in Sulawesi Province, Indonesia. The gross annual coke production capacity of these three companies in Indonesia will be 13.4 million tonnes, with the equity capacity in production of coke attributable to the group at 4.36 million tonnes per annum.

Chemical output and production capacity increased steadily, Industrial chain extending into new energy and new material realms
Refined chemicals are China Risun's second major business segment, with four main production lines including aromatics, alcohol ammonia, carbon materials, and specialty chemicals. As of the end of 2022, the annual production/processing volume of refined chemicals had reached 3.64 million tonnes, with a management scale (self-built, JV and operation management) of 5.11 million tonnes. Both segments continued to expand. The Group is currently expanding its production capacity of caprolactam in Hebei and Shandong provinces. And expects to have a total production capacity of approximately 0.75 million tonnes of caprolactam per annum when the expansion is completed.

During the year, two new industry's leading position was achieved by the Group as per independent global consulting firm:

Caprolactam (CPL) World's second largest producer
High purified hydrogen Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei's largest producer

Dual-pronged – self-built and operation management – approach drives business volume of asset-light operation
In addition to self-built projects, the Group's light asset business has continued to grow throughout the year. Currently, the group has seven operating and managed projects and has entered into four new operation management agreements for three projects in Shandong Province and one project in Shanxi Province, China, in order to further expand its presence in the coke and coking chemicals, coal tar, and hydrogenated benzene sectors.

Hydrogen production capacity improved substantially, top in Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region
After three years of innovative research and development and strategic planning, the Group's hydrogen production capacity has continued to increase. In 2022, China Risun became the largest hydrogen gas supplier in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region. With a focus on the rapid development of the hydrogen energy industry in this area, the Group is committed to developing the production, storage, transportation, hydrogenation, and usage of hydrogen, as well as providing intelligent hydrogen supply services throughout the country with advanced technology and customer-oriented services.

The Group plans to expand its transportation fleet by using more hydrogen refueling vehicles, enhance the refueling capacity of existing hydrogen refueling stations, and promote the development and construction of the main hydrogen refueling station near Beijing to radiate the storage and supply to the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region. It will also explore new technologies such as liquid hydrogen, green hydrogen, and hydrogen fuel cells, and develop new application scenarios such as co-generation of heat and power, hydrogen energy transportation lines, and more to enrich the scope of hydrogen application.

Looking ahead, the Group will continue its growth and expansion by using different methods of operation management, mergers and acquisitions, and joint ventures with well-known enterprises to increase its market share in the production/processing of coke, refined chemicals, new materials, and new energy products. In the long run, the Group will maintain its leading position in the coke and refined chemicals industry and create significant value for its shareholders.

About China Risun Group Limited
China Risun Group Limited is the world's largest independent producer and supplier of coke by volume in 2022, according to Frost & Sullivan. China Risun is an integrated coke, coking chemicals, refined chemicals and hydrogen energy products producer and supplier and relevant operation management services provider in China and occupies leading positions in a number of refined chemicals sectors both in China and globally. The vertically-integrated business model together with more than 27 years of experience in the coal chemicals industry production chain has enabled China Risun to further tap the downstream refined chemicals markets and hence diversify its income sources and create greater value.

China Risun has been listed on the main board of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange since March 2019 and is now included in various index series, including the Hang Seng Composite Index, Hang Seng Composite Industry Index – Materials, Hang Seng Composite MidCap Index, Hang Seng Stock Connect Hong Kong Index, Hang Seng Stock Connect Hong Kong MidCap & SmallCap Index, Hang Seng SCHK Mainland China Companies Index, Hang Seng SCHK ex-AH Companies Index, Hang Seng Stock Connect Hong Kong Composite Index, Hang Seng Large-Mid Cap (Investable) Index, Hang Seng Large-Mid Cap Low Volatility Comprehensive Index, Hang Seng Large-Mid Cap Quality Comprehensive Index, Hang Seng Large-Mid Cap Low Size Comprehensive Index, Hang Seng Large-Mid Cap Dividend Yield Comprehensive Index, Hang Seng Large-Mid Cap Momentum Comprehensive Index, Hang Seng Large-Mid Cap Value Comprehensive Index, Hang Seng Large-Mid Cap Equal Weighted Factor Mix (QVLM) Index and Hang Seng Large-Mid Cap Risk Parity Factor Mix (QVLM) Index and Hang Seng Shipping Index. China Risun is also included in FTSE GEIS: FTSE Global Small Cap Index, FTSE Global All-Cap Index (LMS) and FTSE Global Total-Cap Index (LMSu).
For more details, please visit http://www.risun.com/En/

Media enquiries
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Website: http://www.sprg.com.hk


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Wintermar Offshore (WINS:JK) Reports FY2022 Results

JAKARTA, Mar 31, 2023 – (ACN Newswire) – PT Wintermar Offshore Marine Tbk (WINS:JK) recorded FY2022 gross profit of US$11.2 million, an 88% YOY growth, on the back of rising utilization and charter rates, and a 510%YOY jump in net profit to US$1.1 million. Higher utilization and rising charter rates contributed to a strong operational performance in FY2022 with EBITDA up 28% to US$17.5 million on total revenue of US$61 million (+44%YOY).

Owned Vessel Division

Offshore upstream activity picked up steadily over the course of FY2022 amidst a sustained rise in oil prices and continued tensions in Ukraine. Demand for OSVs, in particular in the higher value vessels, was stronger towards the second half of FY2022, and utilization of Wintermar's fleet reached 83% in 4Q2022 compared to 61% in 1Q2022.

In 2022, the Company purchased 6 units of mid to high tier vessels, of which 3 units have commenced operations. Including the 2 units of Platform Supply Vessels (PSV) purchased in December 2021, Wintermar has added a total of 8 vessels to the fleet in the past 18months. At the end of December 2022, there were 4 vessels still undergoing reactivation, comprising 2 units of Platform Supply Vessels and 2units of 7000BHP AHTS. These vessels are expected to start operations in 2Q to 2H2023.

Revenue for the Owned Vessel Division grew by 9% YOY to US$ 36.1 million while direct costs for the division only grew by 4% for the same period. Operations and maintenance costs were higher in 2022 as more vessels were prepared for new contracts, and fuel was higher by 88% due to the mobilization and demobilization of vessels working outside Indonesia. Depreciation charges fell 7%YOY to US$12.1 million resulting from changes in fleet composition. The management repositioned the fleet into higher yielding vessels by selling older vessels and purchasing second hand but higher value vessels at lower prices during the past year to improve the average blended charter rate. One older vessel was sold in 2022, albeit at a book loss of US$ 2.6 million, but the reinvestment of the proceeds resulted in an improved return on assets. Crewing costs of US$ 8.8 million were 3% lower YOY as COVID-19 restrictions were lifted in 2022, negating the requirement for quarantines and PCR testing which had inflated crewing costs in the previous two years.

The growth in Owned Vessel revenue was weighted towards the 4th quarter as charter rates started to improve in the latter part of the year. Revenue from Owned Vessels grew 21% QOQ in 4Q2022 as utilization picked up to 83% for 4Q2022, which was the highest quarterly utilization in the past few years. Gross profit from this division jumped by 47%YOY to US$5.7 million.

Chartering and Other Services

During 2022, the Chartering Division saw a jump in revenue from a project in Brunei involving several vessels. Gross Profit from Chartering jumped 165%YOY to US$2.4 million from US$0.9 million in 2021. These contracts have durations of below a year and are scheduled to complete by end 2022- early 2023. In view of the robust demand, management is optimistic to win more contracts in the coming months. Gross profit from the Other Services Division increased to US$3.2 million for FY2022, +162%YOY from US$1.2 million in FY2021.

Total Gross Profit for FY2022 stood at US$11.2 million, a substantial 88% increase from the previous year, reflecting the turnaround in the offshore vessel industry.

Indirect Expenses and Operating Profit

Management continued to exercise tight cost control and indirect expenses rose by only 11%YOY at US$ 5.9 million. The largest cost increase was higher salary expenses of US$4.2 million (+23%YOY) due to the end of a hiring freeze and a reinstatement of salary for some senior management who had agreed to voluntary salary reductions in the past years.

Operating Profit for FY2022 was US$5.3 million, which was over 8 times the previous year's operating profit.

Other Income, Expenses and Net Attributable profit

Net interest expenses were 35%YOY lower at US$1.4 million as management reduced debt by US$11.6 million during the year, bringing net gearing down to 8.8% by 31 December 2022.

Equity in net earnings of associates was lower at US$0.4 million in FY2022 compared to US$0.6 million the previous year as several vessels underwent docking in the year. There was a book loss on sale of vessels of US$2.6 million as part of the fleet repositioning exercise and a net impairment on receivables of US$0.2 million in FY2022.

The net profit attributable to shareholders for FY2022 amounted to US$1.1 million, an increase of 510%YOY.

EBITDA for FY2022 jumped by +28%YOY to US$17.5 million.

Outlook for Oil and Gas Exploration

2022 saw a convincing rebound in upstream oil and gas investments, reversing several years of lackluster capital expenditure in global upstream oil exploration and production (E&P). A confluence of factors – including the prolonged E&P under-investment due to the COVID-19 pandemic and a focus on energy security by North American and European governments amidst heightened geopolitical tensions – led to a global resurgence of investments in upstream E&P projects around the world.

The charts below illustrate the rising capital expenditure over the course of 2022 which resulted in a higher activity in the offshore supply vessel (OSV) space.

Business Outlook

There has been a notable rise in requests for proposals and new tenders issued for OSVs in the second half of 2022. Indonesian charter rates have lagged the global market in adjusting to higher demand, but there are limited vessels available in the higher tier vessel space, so we expect the tighter supply conditions in 2023 to result in rate increases. In the past year, Wintermar has won some work in Myanmar, Brunei and Thailand where the charter rates are higher.

Several vessels had been locked in on longer term contracts for the past years, but more than half of these contracts will be completed by 1H2023 and new contracts should attract higher charter rates. There are still 4 vessels which are being prepared for operations which will come onstream between April to July 2023 which will provide growth in 2023.

With a stronger balance sheet and low net gearing, the Company continues to seek opportunities to invest in additional fleet in the current year.

Contracts on hand as at end February 2023 amounted to US$66 million.

About Wintermar Offshore Marine Group

Wintermar Offshore Marine Group (WINS.JK), developed over nearly 50 years with a track record of quality that is both a source of pride and responsibility that we are dedicated to upholding, and sails a fleet of more than 48 Offshore Support Vessels ready for long term as well as spot charters. All vessels are operated by experienced Indonesian crew, tracked by satellite systems and monitored in real-time by shore-based Vessel Teams.

Wintermar is the first shipping company in Indonesia to be certified with an Integrated Management System by Lloyd's Register Quality Assurance, and is currently certified with ISO 9001:2015 (Quality), ISO14001:2015 (Environment) and OHSAS 18001:2007 (Occupational Health and Safety). For more information, please visit www.wintermar.com.

For further information, please contact:
Ms. Pek Swan Layanto, CFA
Investor Relations
PT Wintermar Offshore Marine Tbk
Tel (62-21) 530 5201 Ext 401
Email: investor_relations@wintermar.com

Copyright 2023 ACN Newswire. All rights reserved. http://www.acnnewswire.com

Austar Lifesciences Announces 2022 Annual Results

HONG KONG, Mar 31, 2023 – (ACN Newswire) – Austar Lifesciences Limited ("AUSTAR" or "Company") (HKEX Stock Code: 6118.HK), a technology-based pharmaceutical engineering solution provider, together with its subsidiaries (collectively the "Group" or "AUSTAR Group"), announced its audited annual results for the year ended 31 December 2022 ("Reporting Period"). Although the Group was affected by the requirements for epidemic control causing challenges to its supply chain, manufacturing, and project execution, the Group recorded a growth of approximately 10.6% in revenue as compared to the corresponding period in 2021. Thanks to the Group's capacities to offer modular and innovative solutions with digitalisation and robotic technologies based on excellent containment-based engineering and contamination control practices, the Group's product lines in the sectors of active pharmaceutical ingredients (API) and oral solid dosage (OSD) in chemical drugs have still been recorded a significant growth in order-in-take and revenue.

RESULTS OF OPERATIONS BY BUSINESS SEGMENT

Liquid and Bioprocess System
During the Reporting Period, through effective management of supply chain and project execution, the Group's revenue from the business segment of Liquid and Bioprocess System increased from 2021 by approximately RMB67.3 million or 7.6% to approximately RMB950.3 million for the Reporting Period. With completion of construction of a production site, this business segment is believed to have upgraded its manufacturing condition, with more space for new product research and development and more optimised production processes, which will definitely improve its competitiveness in terms of cost efficiency and quality standard.

Clean Room and Automation Control and Monitoring System
The Group's revenue from the business segment of Clean Room and Automation Control and Monitoring System increased from 2021 by approximately RMB34.4 million or 7.2% to approximately RMB514.1 million for the Reporting Period. The revenue increased along with that of order-in-take due to ever increasing market potential and recognition of the Group in the market in terms of technology and execution efficiency. The Group has been gaining good market reputation and share, with new technology of integrated space sterilisation system, dust particle online monitoring, floating bacteria monitoring, energy saving control and etc., which provides customers with computerised system confirmation and validation documents, and cost-effective solution. The fast growth of research and development for innovative drugs in mainland China had led to a much larger demand for the business of this segment, with a higher requirement on quality, cost efficiency, and effective project execution. On top of that, with the emerging innovative medical treatment, more capital is pursuing cell therapy commercial production. All these trends constitute a huge business opportunity for the Group, as a knowledge and technology leader in this area.

Powder and Solid System
The Group's revenue from the business segment of Powder and Solid System increased dramatically from 2021 by approximately RMB107.5 million or 77.7% to approximately RMB245.8 million for the Reporting Period. The revenue of this business segment has been increasing constantly, due to enlarged market share of the Group by dedicated investment of new products. The increase in revenue was in line with that of order-in-take and the increased backlog balance at the end of 2021 also contributed to this growth. The Group's adoption of modular design increases the flexibility of products, which was well acknowledged by the market and thus drove the business increase, to a large extent. At the same time, the business potential, in terms of market share and technical advantage, was greatly enlarged with integration of material and formula management system, integrated process equipment, automatic equipment, including automatic transfer equipment, robots and automatic guided vehicles (AGV), and etc.

GMP Compliance Service
The Group's revenue from the business segment of GMP Compliance Service increased significantly from 2021 by approximately RMB28.2 million or 42.7% to RMB94.3 million for the Reporting Period. The business revenue of this segment has been increasing constantly attributable to the new business stimulated by new international standards and other requirements. Along with its business scope extension to the entire life cycle of pharmaceutical production process, GMP Compliance Service is believed to keep pace of a rapid growth in the future.

Life Science Consumables
The Group's revenue from the business segment of Life Science Consumables decreased by approximately RMB32.8 million or 7.8% to approximately RMB388.3 million for the Reporting Period as compared to 2021. The decrease in revenue was caused by the decline from the business related to COVID-19 vaccine production. The Group is investing into the area of sterile chemical drugs and cell therapy, which is believed to be a new business and profit margin generator in the revised long-term business strategy.

Distribution and Agency of Pharmaceutical Equipment
The Group's revenue from the business segment of Distribution and Agency of Pharmaceutical Equipment increased by approximately RMB8.9 million or 33.2% to approximately RMB35.8 million for the Reporting Period as compared to 2021. The Group will continue to engage in the distribution of various types of high-end pharmaceutical equipment together with its joint ventures and overseas business partners providing clients with the most intimate and timely service.

Research and Development, and Production Lines
With regards to the research and development, the Group obtained 384 patents. During the Reporting Period, the Group obtained 76 registered patents, and applications for 83 patents are currently in progress. Based on the SIEMENS software platform, a report system about Utility Automation System and Process Control system was developed in 2022, which improves the automation system functions and shortens the research and development period of projects. The Group developed a data analysis system, through a series of mathematical algorithms to achieve multivariate data analysis and prediction and help clients achieve analysis and prediction in the process of biological reaction, which could be used at both research and commercial manufacturing phases of the client's product lifecycle.

In addition, the Group's stainless-steel bioreactor series entered the stage of large-scale manufacturing and execution in 2022. The inline conditioning system ILC based on process analytical technology (PAT) developed in 2021 has completed the comprehensive upgrade of recipe management and control system and has been trialed by target clients. It is expected to achieve a breakthrough in 2023.

The Group has completed the development of cell preparation isolator and cell culture system at the end of 2022. This development achievement supplemented AUSTAR's ability in cell therapy process system and services, and increased brand recognition in the field of Advanced Therapy Medicinal Products (ATMP).

AUSTAR's management said, "The Group has been developing 12 technology applications in our competence and knowledge model, and individual specific technology application teams have been established step by step over the past years. The Group has set up 12 technology application teams, namely: (1) Pharmaceutical Automation & Digitalization, (2) Cleaning, Sterilization & Disinfection, (3) Clean Utilities, (4) Biopharma Process and Technology, (5) Containment Technology, (6) Clean Room/HVAC/EMS/BMS, (7) Freeze-drying, Filling & Inspection, (8) Biosafety Technology and Facilities, (9) Laboratory Technology & Facilities, (10) Pharmaceutical Formulation Technology, (11) Regulatory Compliance & Operation Excellence, and (12) Analytics Measurement Technologies, where regular workshops were held for the purpose of better unification of the technology capability of individual product lines into comprehensive technology solutions."

Exploring Business Growth Drivers through Acquisitions
During the Reporting Period, the Group continued to seek business growth through acquisitions. In February 2022, the Group successfully acquired the business of an expertise in sterile liquid and powder filling line ("BOSTA Business"), which has further enhanced the Group's business portfolio in the integration of the filling line system and freeze-dryer system and increased the capability of providing integrated solutions for the filling and freeze-drying of aseptic products. In 2022, the Group also successfully completed the acquisition of a minority shareholding of a company which provides complete and high-end solutions used in nanomedicine and inhalation preparations. It is expected that the Group and the said company are able to benefit from this transaction through upcoming strategic business collaboration.

Future Growth Drivers
Looking forward, with the rapid development trend of cell and gene therapy sector, Car-T drugs were approved, which represents that the ATMP products has entered the stage of rapid development. The Group is dedicated to helping clients to build a compliant, lean and flexible cell therapy facilities, providing engineering and process solutions from conceptual design, clean engineering to core cell therapy process equipment, and building traceable cell therapy automation and information solutions. More cell-related equipment and systems in the ATMP sector would be launched in 2023 including some products developed and manufactured by the Company with its own intellectual property rights. Strong pipelines of products and services under development through the corporate level Innovative and Research Centre and through business unit research and development teams can support further growth in the Group's business.

To improve the quality and yield of drugs, API manufacturers are paying more attention to advanced technologies such as continuous-flow micro-reactions, continuous crystallisation and crystal form control, and process analysis in the production process to increase the stability of drugs in order to increase the market share through new technologies. This will further promote the digitalisation transformation of API companies. Our clients' business extension from formulations to API manufacturing, and their business extension from existing API to formulations manufacturing, was one of the key trends of pharmaceutical industry development in China in 2022. Modular design application reduces production cost and improves operation flexibility, which has successfully helped securing orders. This modular technology would be one of the key technologies for API manufacturing in the coming years.

Moreover, the core competence of the Group's Powder and Solid system engineering business would be accelerated by its application of automated devices like robots and AGV integrated by automation control system together with customised production information system. Demand from some emerging countries for establishment of API facilities and chemical compound product technology transfer as supply chain back-up and cost pressure will further drive growth in this business segment.

Due to the release and enforcement of EU GMP new regulations and process requirements of cell and gene therapy, the sterility assurance in the whole manufacturing process become stringent and key considerations in equipment and system engineering. It is believed that with AUSTAR UK, Cape Europe Joint Venture in France and the Group's manufacturing facility for sterile transfer and isolation technology in China working closely with a strategic goal to offer most competitive sterile protection and assurance scheme globally, it will contribute substantial growth in revenue and profit to the Group."

About Austar Lifesciences Limited
Founded in 1991 and headquartered in Shanghai, PRC, AUSTAR is a technology-based pharmaceutical engineering solutions provider with its business covering more than 50 countries and regions, partnering with world-leading pharmaceutical companies to protect and promote human health. AUSTAR employs approximately 2,000 staff in different regions to deliver technically guaranteed pharmaceutical engineering solutions that assist clients to set up drug production facilities and contribute to the world's drug safety and efficacy.

With the full spectrum of pharmaceutical technology knowledge, the company has leading technical application capabilities and high-quality equipment & systems in the areas of Clean Utilities, Pharmaceutical Automation & Digitalization, Pharmaceutical Formulation Technology, Biopharma Process & Technology, Regulatory Compliance & Operation Excellence, Laboratory Technology & Facilities, Biosafety Technology & Facilities, Cleaning, Sterilization & Disinfection, Clean Room/HVAC/EMS/BMS, Quality/Measurement & Analytics, Filling, Freeze-Drying & Inspection, Containment Technology. The Group has a number of leading business and product brands in its portfolio including H+E Pharma, BIOSYSTEC, STERIS-AUSTAR, ROTA-AUSTAR, Pharma LeanTec, Pharma LeanDigital, AUSMILL, Aunity, and Purvita. AUSTAR was listed on the Main Board of the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited on 7 November 2014 (Stock code: 6118).

For more information about AUSTAR, please visit www.austar.com.cn


Copyright 2023 ACN Newswire. All rights reserved. http://www.acnnewswire.com

Rxilient Biotech and Junshi Biosciences form Joint Venture to develop and commercialize Toripalimab in Southeast Asia

HONG KONG, Mar 31, 2023 – (ACN Newswire) – On 28th March 2023, Rxilient Biotech (a portfolio company of Legend Capital) and Junshi Biosciences made a joint announcement that two parties will form a joint venture to develop and commercialize toripalimab in Thailand, Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, and Vietnam[1].


From left to right: CEO of Junshi Biosciences, Dr. Li Ning; Managing Director of Legend Capital, Executive Director of Rxilient, Mr. Hong Tan; Chairman, Chief Executive and President of CMS, Mr. Lam Kong; Chairman of Junshi Biosciences, Mr. Xiong Jun; CEO of Rxilient, Dr. Lee Ker Yin


Toripalimab is an anti-PD-1 monoclonal antibody independently developed by Junshi Biosciences. Junshi Biosciences has conducted over 30 clinical trials globally (in China, the USA, Southeast Asia, and Europe) covering more than 15 indications, including cancers of the lung, nasopharynx, esophagus, stomach, bladder, breast, liver, kidney, and skin. Six of these indications have been approved in China, and multiple marketing applications are currently under review by regulatory agencies in the US, EU, and UK.

"Cancer patients need toripalimab. We are confident that the highly professional and experienced Rxilient team will drive quick access to this valuable drug, toripalimab to patients in Southeast Asia," said Mr. HONG Tan, MD of Legend Capital.

"This collaboration is a good case example of Chinese pharmaceutical companies venturing overseas to help improve access to important novel drugs in emerging markets. Southeast Asia has a thriving innovative pharmaceuticals market, harmonized drug registration system, and diversified healthcare systems. Hence, it has great potential for innovative drugs. Legend Capital will continue to pay attention to investment opportunities in the healthcare industry of Southeast Asia, actively promote and assist Chinese pharmaceutical companies to enter the international markets, thus facilitating innovative drugs from China to benefit patients around the world," said Mr. HONG Tan.

Through this collaboration, Rxilient will introduce Toripalimab, a novel anti-PD-1 monoclonal antibody, into Southeast Asia. This joint venture leverages the strengths of Rxilient and Junshi Biosciences in drug registration and commercialization, and the R&D capabilities respectively. Rxilient plans to continue collaboration with Junshi Biosciences to introduce more high-quality innovative drugs into Southeast Asia.

JUNSHI BIOSCIENCES
Founded in December 2012, Junshi Biosciences (HKEX: 1877; SSE: 688180) is an innovation-driven biopharmaceutical company dedicated to the discovery, development, and commercialization of innovative therapeutics. The company has established a diversified R&D pipeline comprising over 50 drug candidates, with five therapeutic focus areas covering cancer, autoimmune, metabolic, neurological, and infectious diseases. Junshi Biosciences was the first Chinese pharmaceutical company that obtained marketing approval for anti-PD-1 monoclonal antibody in China. Its first-in-human anti-BTLA monoclonal antibody for the treatment of various cancers was the first in the world to be approved for clinical trials by the FDA and NMPA and has since entered Phase Ib/II trials in both China and the US. Its anti-PCSK9 monoclonal antibody was the first in China to be approved for clinical trials by the NMPA.

RXILIENT
Rxilient Biotech, established in November 2021, is a subsidiary controlled by China Medical System Holdings Limited ("CMS", (00867.HK)). Rxilient Biotech and other companies related to CMS that are involved in Southeast Asian businesses (together with Rxilient Biotech, "Rxilient", promoted and cofounded by CMS and Legend Capital) have formed an open platform integrating innovative R&D, formulation contract development, and manufacturing organization (CDMO), manufacturing, marketing, and promotion. Leveraging CMS's capability in acquiring high-quality products and strong financial position, Rxilient aims to bring innovative solutions from leading pharmaceutical companies in the USA, Europe, Japan, and China, to meet medical needs in Southeast Asia. Rxilient is operated independently by professional and experienced local teams in Southeast Asia.

[1] Junshi Biosciences's related license to the joint venture is subject to the fulfillment of the conditions precedent as agreed under the Shareholders Agreement.


Copyright 2023 ACN Newswire. All rights reserved. http://www.acnnewswire.com

The Latest Book on Educating the Girl Child in Africa by the Renowned Beauty Queen, Jennifer Ephraim, Has Received Global Acclaim Upon Its Launch

ABUJA, NG, Mar 31, 2023 – (ACN Newswire) – Queen Jennifer Ephraim, a renowned beauty queen, humanitarian, and fundraising expert, recently launched a highly anticipated book titled "DILEMMA OF THE NIGERIAN GIRL CHILD" on Amazon.com through the Jennifer Ephraim Foundation. The book is aimed at providing innovative solutions to issues faced by the girl child in Africa, such as early marriages, child abuse, and sex trafficking.


Jennifer Ephraim Launches New Book "The Dilemma of the Nigerian Girl Child"


Unlike traditional fundraising methods like cookie sales and car washes, the book suggests ideas to direct money into classrooms, schools, and districts continuously. It is written in an intelligent and concise manner to save readers' time and keep them up-to-date with the latest fundraising innovations in Africa.

Queen Jennifer Ephraim has been involved in humanitarian activities for many years and holds a B.S. degree in International Relations, Project Management, and Human Resource Management. She is available for speaking engagements and can be contacted through her email at jenniferephraim88@gmail.com, Instagram handle @queen_jennifer_ephraim, and her Foundation website https://jenniferephraimfoundation.org.

About the Jennifer Ephraim Foundation

The Jennifer Ephraim Foundation is a non-profit organization that is dedicated to creating hope and opportunities for the younger generation. With a focus on education, the foundation provides scholarships and financial aid to students from low-income families, helping to ensure access to the resources they need to succeed. The foundation also works to improve the quality of education in under-served communities by providing educational resources and supporting literacy and lifelong learning programs.

Contact Information
Ken Smith
Manager
jenniferephraim88@gmail.com
+2347035030390

SOURCE: Jennifer Ephraim Foundation

Copyright 2023 ACN Newswire. All rights reserved. http://www.acnnewswire.com

Yunkang Group Announces First Annual Results Since Listing

HONG KONG, Mar 31, 2023 – (ACN Newswire) – Yunkang Group Limited ("Yunkang" or the "Group"; Stock Code: 2325), a leading medical operation services provider in China, has announced its first annual results for the year ended December 31, 2022 (the "Reporting Period") since its listing.

Driven by the promotion of health care policies in mainland China, the Group has made steady progress in service network expansion, operational efficiency improvement and lean management, and achieved quality growth under the annual goals of "in-depth service, lean management and achieving quality growth". In particular, in the field of diagnostic testing services for medical institution alliances, the Group has developed a set of medical institution alliance construction and operation support solutions with the advantages of "professionalism, standardization and intelligence", which effectively enhanced the diagnostic capabilities and service efficiency of medical institution alliances and continued to have a positive impact on the Group's profitability. During the Reporting Period, the Group's revenue reached RMB3,756 million, representing a year-on-year increase of 121.4%, and its gross profit increased by 45.4% to RMB1,307 million. Profit attributable to owners of the Company reached RMB377 million for the year. The Board of Directors resolved to recommend the payment of a final dividend of HK$ 0.22 per share for the year ended December 31, 2022.

Three main businesses maintained rapid growth with in-depth services
The Group achieved rapid growth in scale in the provision of diagnostic testing services for medical institution alliances. During the Reporting Period, revenue generated from this segment reached RMB1,680 million, representing an increase of 171.3% compared with the same period in 2021. The number of on-site diagnostic centers increased from 275 as of December 31, 2021 to 398 as of December 31, 2022, providing over 840 medical institutions with diagnostic testing services for medical institution alliances and helping medical institutions enhance diagnostic testing capabilities at all levels in the medical institution alliances and improve the efficiency of diagnostic testing services as a whole. The expansion of capabilities and service scope of on-site diagnostic centers after the initial construction and operation, resulting in a rapid growth of 90.9% in the average revenue of the unit on-site diagnostic centers to RMB 4.2 million. As a key business for the Group, diagnostic testing services for medical institution alliances accounted for an increasing proportion of the Group's total revenue, rising from 36.5% for the year ended December 31, 2021 to 44.7% for the year ended December 31, 2022.

During the Reporting Period, revenue from diagnostic outsourcing services amounted to RMB1,944 million, a growth of 89.8% when compared with the same period of 2021. The Group's product lines in key areas such as infectious diseases and blood diseases maintained stable growth during the Reporting Period, driving further growth in outsourcing services revenue. As a professional medical diagnostic testing service institution, the Group has continuously improved its diagnostic testing capabilities and developed competitive products to provide customers with more precise medical solutions. It has established nearly 10 new provincial comprehensive laboratories and regional rapid response laboratories in order to respond to customer demands more quickly and efficiently.

Diagnostic testing services for non-medical institutions are mainly provided through the Group's outpatient clinics, serving the general public and other individual customers such as employees of the Group's non-medical institution clients. During the Reporting Period, due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the demand for COVID-19 testing from individual customers and non-healthcare customers increased significantly, and the diagnostic testing services for non-medical institutions recorded revenue of RMB131.5 million, representing a growth of 147.5% compared with the same period of 2021.

Expand network to guide the allocation of quality medical resources to move downwards
The Group has basically built four models for the development of medical institution alliances, namely urban medical institution alliances, county-level medical alliances, specialist alliances and telemedicine collaboration networks, and has matched them with specific schemes to create various iconic joint projects and help to guide the sharing and allocation of quality medical resources to move downwards, so as to enhance the service capabilities of medical institutions at all levels.

Pursue technological innovation to improve precision diagnostic technology
During the Reporting Period, the Group embarked on a number of domestic and international industrial collaborations in pursuit of an internationally competitive industry position. In 2022, the Company's investment in R&D reached RMB94.7 million, accounting for representing a year-on-year increase of 115.6%. Through external cooperation, the Group continued to develop in a healthy manner and offer competitive products and services to the market.

Achieve lean operations to strengthen operational capabilities
During the Reporting Period, the Group's laboratory lean operation project achieved initial results. The lean operation project mainly consists of two parts, namely the 7S management of self-built labs and the establishment of a management system for collaborative projects.

Digitalization of operations to establish a standardized operation system
In terms of digitalization, the Group successively launched 10 digital operation systems, including "Tengyun", in 2022, to fully integrate the Group's sales management system, human resources system, training system, settlement system, general ledger system, fixed asset system, warehousing system, logistics system and customer service system. Consequently, Yunkang's digital operation model has taken shape.

Prioritizing quality to raise product and service standards
By adhering to the strategic concept of "Quality is the lifeline", the Group has actively promoted the lean management of production and operation, established world-leading laboratories that meet international standards and continuously improved product quality and service quality to provide customers with professional, precision, efficient and convenient medical and health services. As one of the first medical service companies to establish medical laboratories that meet international standards, the Group has built independent medical laboratories with ISO15189 quality control system certification and CAP dual certification in Southern, Eastern and Southwestern China. As at the end of the Reporting Period, the Group had obtained various domestic and overseas quality certifications, including CAP, ISO15189, ISO9001, CMA, CMMI and ISO27001, of which the Guangzhou laboratory has even obtained the ISO15189 certification for 12 consecutive years.

Mr. Zhang Yong, Chairman and Executive Director of Yunkang Group Limited, said, "The overall demand for public health services from the public has become stronger after the COVID-19 pandemic. This, coupled with the aging population, has led to increased health awareness and demand for health services among the public. In light of this, the government has introduced a series of policies to promote the upgrading of medical service demand and the four models for the construction of medical institution alliances, namely urban medical groups, county-level medical alliances, specialist alliances and telemedicine collaboration networks. On the technology side, the rapid development of biotechnology has facilitated the expansion of the bioeconomy into many other sectors. Driven by multiple favorable factors, the universal health care industry, especially the third-party testing sector, which places high emphasis on quality, cost and efficiency, is bound to see tremendous development opportunities. Looking ahead, the Group will continue to execute "in-depth service and lean management" to enhance its products and co-built solutions through in-depth service marketing; supported by a lean operation system, it will continuously enrich its in-depth service content and optimize the cost structure of the entire value chain. The Group will continue to leverage on its own value, committed to improving people's livelihood and health, and striving to provide more professional, accurate, efficient and convenient medical and health testing services to the medical institutions and general public."

Yunkang Group Limited (Stock Code: 2325)
Yunkang Group is a leading medical operation service provider in China, which started to provide standardized medical diagnostic services to medical institutions at all levels as early as 2008. Leveraging its own professional diagnostic capabilities and the nationwide service network of integrated healthcare systems, Yunkang has gradually grown to become a medical operation service platform. Meanwhile, Yunkang is a medical operation service provider in China offering a full suite of diagnostic testing services which are diagnostic outsourcing services and diagnostic testing services for medical institution alliances. Yunkang provides diagnostic services through on-site diagnostic centers to collaborative hospitals in the integrated healthcare systems in China, and assists them in improving their clinical diagnosis capabilities through co-developing diagnostic centers. As of December 31, 2022, Yunkang has successfully provided professional services to 398 medical institution alliances and the hospitals we collaborated with were located across 31 provinces and municipalities in China.

Media Enquiries
Yunkang Group Ltd
Venus Zhao General Manager of Hong Kong Office, General Manager of Capital Markets and Corporate Communication
E-mail: zhaohui@yunkanghealth.com
Website: www.yunkanghealth.com

Strategic Financial Relations Limited
Angelus Lau / Yan Li / Holly Szeto
Tel: 2864 4805 / 2114 4320 / 2864 4859
E-mail: angelus.lau@sprg.com.hk / yan.li@sprg.com.hk / holly.szeto@sprg.com.hk
Website: www.sprg.com.hk


Copyright 2023 ACN Newswire. All rights reserved. http://www.acnnewswire.com

Ocumension Therapeutics Announces 2022 Annual Results

HONG KONG, Mar 30, 2023 – (ACN Newswire) – Ocumension Therapeutics ("Ocumension" or the "Company", together with its subsidiaries, collectively the "Group", stock code: 1477), a leading China ophthalmic pharmaceutical platform company, announced its annual results for the year ended 31 December 2022 today.

2022 was a year full of challenges and opportunities which the Company survived the ups and downs of the COVID-19. Courageous without hesitations is always the mission Ocumension Therapeutics committed to stick with. Given that, the Group achieved remarkable results during the year. It was attributable to the successful commercialization of multiple companies' core products which boosted the sale, plus the increase of revenue generated from the sales of ophthalmic products. During the year, operating revenue surged 183.1% to RMB159.0 million, as compared to RMB56.1 million in 2021. Consolidated gross profit margins was approximately 64.7%, total R&D expenses for the year amounted to RMB184.3 million, an increase of 9.0% as compared to 2021. Loss for the year attributable to the owners of the company was RMB402.6 million, mainly because no one-time gain was generated from the transaction with third parties, and the increase in share-based payments which the Group has further granted options, awards and RSUs under the share incentive schemes to our employees and consultant during the Reporting Period.

The Group continued to accelerate the penetration of the drugs in hospitals in the PRC ophthalmology market, achieving a coverage of 8,171 hospitals nationwide, 1,384 of which are Grade III hospitals, and a commercialization team of 191 people, thereby having completed the national commercialize network coverage. During the Reporting Period, the sales of Ou Qin and Emadine increased by 64% and 199%, respectively, as compared to the year ended December 31, 2021.

The Group continued to promote research and development progress during the year, the NDA for the Company's Core Product, Youshiying (OT-401), was approved by the NMPA in June 2022 for the treatment of chronic NIU-PS and commercialization in the PRC, ahead of the expected schedule. Youshiying was subsequently launched officially in December 2022 and completed the first patient injection, this is the first drug approved in China fully based on real-world study data and overseas clinical data, marked a milestone achievement in the history of drug registration in China and demonstrated the Company's research and development capabilities. At the same time, which in turn is also expected to boost the sales performance of the Company in 2023.

In addition, the phase III clinical trial of ZERVIATE (OT-1001), a potent and highly selective histamine-1 receptor antagonist with anti-allergic properties, has achieved its primary clinical endpoint and received positive results. The Company received approval from CDE for the phase III clinical trial of ILUVIEN (OT-703) for the treatment of diabetic macular edema (DME), having increased the total number of drug candidates in the stage of phase III clinical trial to six, giving the Company a significant lead over other competitors. OT-202 being one of the in-house developed new chemical entity (NCE) ophthalmic drugs with whole new targets and the fastest clinical progress in China for many years has drawn extensive attention from the medical community. As of now, the Company has successfully completed the phase I clinical trial of OT-202, and has initiated its phase II clinical trial on a researcher conference. The smooth progression of the project OT-202 served as concrete proof of the Company's solid innovation and research and development capabilities.

The research and development of the other pipeline products of the Company has also been continuously advancing in 2022. The completion of patients enrollment in China for the global phase III clinical trial of OT-101 (0.01% atropine sulfate eye drop), a self-developed new drug to treat the progression of myopia, signified the achievement of the milestone event of OT-101, which is expected to greatly accelerate the R&D and registration process of the such drug candidate, enabling patients in China suffering from myopia to have the opportunities to receive timely treatment.

The Company has established a comprehensive marketing and promotion system within the year. With the support of the system, Ocumension has met its aggregated sales goal of revenue of over RMB100 million in the fourth year since its inception. Meanwhile, the Company's sales efficiency has also further improved. Benefitting from its powerful commercialization network in the field of ophthalmic drugs, During the Reporting Period, the Company obtained the promotion right of all the ophthalmic pipeline products of Viatris in the hospitals nationwide in the PRC, further fortifying its leading position in the key fields such as glaucoma and antiallergy in the PRC, as well as increasing the number of commercialized pipeline products of the Company to 14.

Besides, our Suzhou manufacture site started pilot-scale and process validation batch production in May 2022. With the highly automated production lines, the production standard of our Suzhou manufacture site was able to reach the world-class manufacturing level and thus to ensure the quality and production efficiency of the products of the Company. The inauguration and start of operation of our Suzhou Xiaxiang manufacture site have not only firmly assured the Company's further improvement in sales, cost reduction, stable supply and enhanced profitability, but also demonstrated the manufacturing capabilities of the Company, lay a solid foundation for potential opportunities for international cooperation on the production of drug products in the future.

Looking forward to 2023, the Company will further advance and accelerate the process for registration and commercialization of the drug candidates under research and development, introduce more in-house developed products into clinical trial stage and maintain a wholesome product portfolio, so as to sustain its leadership among the peers in terms of the product pipeline. Pivoting the launch of the Core Product, Youshiying, the Company's commercialization team will further widen the scope and deepen the level of its promotion in the academic aspect, and strive to maintain the Company's exponential growth in sales.

In terms of research and development, at least two new products of the Company will enter the registration stage in 2023, keeping the pace of the continuous launch of new products. In terms of manufacture and production, our Suzhou Xiaxiang manufacture site will achieve commercialized mass production to ensure the stability of supply and the quality of products. At the same time, as the team stability and cohesion were finally achieved, be committed to building a unique corporate culture catering to Ocumension to safeguard our sustainable development and growth in the next stage in 2023.

Mr. Ye LIU, CEO and Executive Director of Ocumension, said: "As a young biopharma, Ocumension is marching into the fifth year since its inception. Leveraging the ameliorative market trend and favorable business environment in 2023, the Company will continue to grow at an exceptional pace as a pioneer, so as to repay the Shareholders' trust in and support to the Company. "

About Ocumension Therapeutics
Ocumension Therapeutics is a Chinese ophthalmology platform company dedicated to identifying, developing and commercializing pioneering or best-in-class ophthalmic therapies. The company's vision is to provide world-class drug solutions to meet the huge demand for ophthalmology treatments in China. We believe that our ophthalmology platform with its obvious first-mover advantage will give us a leading position in the ophthalmology industry in China. Up to now, the company has 24 kinds of drug assets in front of the eye and back of the eye, and has established a complete ophthalmic drug product line, six of which have entered phase III clinical trials in China. On July 10, 2020, Ocumension was listed on the main board of the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited (stock code: 01477).

More information about Ocumension Therapeutics: https://www.ocumension.com/


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