Joy Spreader Plans to Adopt a Share Award Scheme through a Stock Repurchase Program

HONG KONG, Jun 21, 2021 – (ACN Newswire) – The Board of Joy Spreader (06988.HK), a Hong Kong publicly traded company, made voluntary announcement regarding its plan of adoption of Share Award Scheme through a stock repurchase program on June 21st, 2021.

The announcement says that the Scheme serves the purposes to recognize the crucial and remarkable dedications and contributions of certain directors, employees, consultants and advisers of the Company, as well as to incentivize them to retain longer term tenure with the Company, while to motivate them to endeavor for the future development and expansion strategy.

Analysts credit that the Company has delivered an impressive growth dynamics and positive momentum in the recent years, however, believe the current stock price fails to reflect the intrinsic value of the Company, while signifying the optimal time window to conduct a stock repurchase program for award shares scheme. The announced Scheme demonstrates the Board's genuinely confidence and resolutely determination of the Company's prospect, along with establishment a stable and long-term platform of mutual interests between the Company and selected participants, while further stimulates and enhances the efficiency and effectiveness of management team and all employees, in order to empower the growth engine of the Company to fulfill the long-term missions and visions, and continuously improve the intrinsic value of the Company.




Copyright 2021 ACN Newswire. All rights reserved. http://www.acnnewswire.com

DOU+Traffic Carnival Goes Online, Joy Spreader Utilizes Data Algorithm to achieve “Precise Promotion” of 618 Festival

HONG KONG, Jun 17, 2021 – (ACN Newswire) – The 618 Mid-year Shopping Festival has entered the sprint stage. This year, DouYin, the short video e-commerce platform, takes the first initiatives to influence and participate the festival. Its DOU+ has officially launched the "618 Traffic Carnival" campaign, with three major targeted scenarios, namely promoting traffic for stores, increasing traffic with "small windmills", and promoting preferential products, assisting entrepreneurs in approaching target users "precisely", so as to seize strategic node traffic and generate additional sales.

It is reported that the Traffic Carnival of DOU+ will provide traffic promotion services for businesses, which in turn will provide a broader market for marketing service providers on DouYin ecosystem chain. DOU+ helps merchants expand their compatible traffic pools. In order to take full advantages of DOU+ and achieve final profit realization, sophisticated and powerful algorithm should play the most significant role to achieve the purpose of precise matching, so that the tremendous traffic of 618 can be converted into precise and tangible profits.

Under the scenario of "product recommendation" of the e-commerce, in order to apply DOU+ to "product recommendation" videos, "precise" setting is required by merchants to approach targeted audience to promote their merchandises. In this way, directional promotion of traffic from short videos to Taobao/Tmall/JD stores can be optimized and improved, boosting the efficiency in converting best-selling items and increasing merchandises' traffic. Under the scenario of live streaming e-commerce, merchants require "precise" traffic directing through real-time interaction in order to stimulate and arouse users' consumption interests to promote conversion. Under the scenario of store exploration on DouYin, with the help of DOU+'s "preferential products promotion" to reach targeted customers, local merchants "precisely" position local customers, in order to improve stores' effective rate of reaching users in the same cities through the traffic of 618.

Observers mentioned that the e-commerce shopping festival is shifting towards the "precise" operation, representing the inevitable trend of e-commerce development in the era of data algorithms. It also provides mutual benefits for various parties, such as MarTech service providers with data algorithm capabilities, among which Joy Spreader is an absolute leader. Combination of high-quality traffic of DOU+ and precise algorithm of the service providers can support businesses effectively to match with the consumers' demands and reach more precise target groups to making full use of the traffic, while assisting product distribution of entrepreneurs and precise monetization of content publishers.

According to the data, Joy Spreader is one of the first MarTech companies to obtain sufficient advantages by taking early initiatives in the video e-commerce segment in China. Since January 2019, Joy Spreader became one of the first service providers on DouYin ecosystem with the utilization of data algorithm and interest recommendation technology to promote video content monetization business. By the end of the Q1 2021, Joy Spreader has access to more than 639,000 realizable access points on its new media database, including large proportion of DouYin accounts.

Experts predicts that given the exponential growth of short video e-commerce, DouYin, as the most influential platform, entering the fierce competition of 618, will certainly bring a new "precise" vitality to 618 with its interest recommendation technology and unique characteristics. Joy Spreader, one of the major powers forces in the ecosystem of short video e-commerce, the sophisticated algorithm capability as its core competitiveness will be further demonstrated through the 618 promotion, becoming a strong momentum and key driver for continuous development of the ecosystem of short video e-commerce.



Copyright 2021 ACN Newswire. All rights reserved. http://www.acnnewswire.com

New AppsFlyer Report Finds View-through Attribution Impacts Ad Clicks and App Installs

SINGAPORE, Jun 7, 2021 – (ACN Newswire) – AppsFlyer, the global attribution leader, today released its inaugural View-Through Attribution (VTA) Report. From Q4 2020 until February 2021, the report looked at impressions, examined video content, and VTA campaigns performance across 6 SEA countries (Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, and the Philippines) and 9 Industries (Shopping, Travel, Gaming, Finance, Entertainment, Education, Food & Drink, Lifestyle, and Health & Fitness) with the objective to provide marketers with insights into how right attributions could capture true consumer journey, increase optimization and drive benefits.

The report found that ads and videos are so immersive and engaging that users do not necessarily interact with the ad immediately because they do not want to leave the video experience midway. These users said they expect to engage with brands in a meaningful way as they claimed to be 1.5X more likely to purchase an item. Video exposure is impactful and influences purchase behavior. Incorporating VTA can help allocate credit in line with true consumer behavior.

In a study by Nielsen and Teluna, commissioned by TikTok For Business, consumers on video platforms said they will continue browsing content before moving to external websites or apps, with YouTube users supporting 60% of this statement, 58% on TikTok, 45% on Instagram and 40% on Facebook. This means that marketers should look beyond immediate click behaviour to accurately measure brand engagement.

VTA is an important metric to accurately measure the true user journey, since many users will purchase an item or install an app at a later stage. The report found that all SEA markets have at least VTA windows of 24 to 48 hours with up to 83.8% conversion rate.

"Constantly looking to expand our horizons, we are pleased to announce the all-new inaugural view-through attribution report. Southeast Asia's flourishing video content landscape is providing advertisers with novel ways to tap into new opportunities when engaging customers in a rapidly evolving ecosystem. We encourage marketers to use the report to utilise key data and insights on how best to maximise their campaign performances and understand the interconnections between determining metrics, behaviours and trends across Southeast Asian mobile app users," states Ronen Mense, President and Managing Director for APAC, AppsFlyer.

Video ad inventories have become a growing mechanism in Southeast Asia, especially amid Southeast Asia's flight to digital, accounting for 40% of all programmatic ad spends in the region. From this, short video ads of approximately 10 seconds drive installs or post-install events on platforms such as TikTok, making it a popular choice for advertisers to utilise in their campaigns. The rise of video has turned marketers towards using VTA models to best attribute their marketing efforts, compared to when using non-video inventories. The VTA Report also emphasised that marketers still need to incorporate a call to action to encourage conversion – as Impression-to-Install still remains somewhat low.

The report also found that due to the longer consideration process for "high-involvement" verticals, higher VTA is seen. Amongst all verticals examined, Finance in particular showed that despite fewer video impressions, more conversions were accredited to view-through attribution. High VTA rates were also seen in other verticals such as eCommerce and Media & Entertainment, with the lowest VTA rate seen in Gaming – averaging out at slightly less than a day across all countries. Marketers should therefore consider re-calibrating their attribution models according to their vertical and incorporate VTA as an important metric for conversions, as many users may not convert upon their first view.

Additional highlights from the report:

– Key festivities such as Singles' Day and New Year and lockdowns play an important role in peaks in clicks in the Food and Drink vertical, driven by VTA in Singapore and Indonesia.
— Health & Fitness apps in particular saw a spike in Southeast Asian markets in October, especially Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam, mainly as a result of cross-regional awareness campaigns. A similar outcome was seen in December during the transition to the new year with health and fitness, and shopping apps.

– Marketers that are able to measure and optimize a CTA and VTA method have seen success in their campaigns.
— In Southeast Asia, ecommerce, media & entertainment, and finance are the verticals with the highest CTA + VTA and are able to optimize ads by 113% faster with low spend.
— TikTok data shows industries such as Finance, E-commerce and Media and Entertainment recorded at least 22.8% VTA conversions when compared with CTA conversions across Southeast Asia in 2020 and VTA conversions can go up to 90.8%.

– The importance of the VTA model: if the average attribution window for one vertical is one day, an Install registered by a viewer would be accredited as most users in Southeast Asia need access to WiFi to download an app.

– Singapore, being a more developed market, has a longer average attribution window of close to 1.5 days unlike just over a day in Philippines and Thailand as consumers in established economies take a longer time to convert.

– iOS 14.5's Ad Tracking Transparency feature is still being implemented and will change the app economy and ability to measure campaigns. However, Apple's SKAdNetwork, an API for measurement of ad campaigns, continues to provide advertisers with a VTA measurement option, while maintaining the privacy of the users. This emphasises that advertisers should still consider VTA as part of iOS14 dedicated campaigns. TikTok has supported SKAN CTA since the rollout of iOS 14.5 in late April 2021. Starting from June 2021, TikTok has also started to support SKAN VTA via an open beta, with more tests to be conducted before an official general release.

The AppsFlyer report analysed over 14,600 apps, 10.39 billion installs, and 6.3 billion remarketing conversions, and takes into account both click-through attribution (CTA) and view-through attribution (VTA). CTA looks at installs made after clicking on an ad while VTA registers ad impressions that result in an install without the user immediately clicking on an ad. The app may sometimes be installed a day or two later and helps to outline a typical customer's journey.

To view the full report, visit: https://www.appsflyer.com/resources/others/vta-insights-southeast-asia/

About AppsFlyer

AppsFlyer, the global attribution leader, empowers marketers to grow their business and innovate with a suite of comprehensive measurement and analytics solutions. Built around privacy by design, AppsFlyer takes a customer-centric approach to help 12,000+ brands and 8,000+ technology partners make better business decisions every day. To learn more, visit www.appsflyer.com.

Media Contact
PRecious Communications for AppsFlyer
appsflyer@preciouscomms.com

Copyright 2021 ACN Newswire. All rights reserved. http://www.acnnewswire.com

Joy Spreader Secured Investments from Blackrock and State Street Corp, Performance-based Marketing Leader Obtains Recognitions from Global Institutional Investors

HONG KONG, Jun 4, 2021 – (ACN Newswire) – Since Joy Spreader (06988.HK) was incorporated into the MSCI China Small Cap Index with effect upon the closure of the market on May 27, 2021, the Company secured investments from Blackrock Inc. and State Street Group respectively, the two most influential global institutional investors.

According to Bloomberg data, Blackrock and State Street hold 2,560,000 shares and 629,000 shares of the Company, representing 0.12% and 0.03% of total shares outstanding, respectively.

Blackrock Inc. is the largest asset management institution worldwide. By the end of Q1 2021, the total asset under management of Blackrock peak at 9.0 trillion USD.

State Street Corporation is one of the largest financial services and investment groups globally. By the end of 2020, State Street Corporation has $38.8 trillion USD of assets under custody and administration, as well as 3.5 trillion USD of assets under management.

Investments made by Blackrock and State Street demonstrate strong evidence that Joy Spreader receives significant recognitions from top-tier global financial institutions, which will further empower the Company to optimize the shareholding structure and to implement the international expansion strategy.


Copyright 2021 ACN Newswire. All rights reserved. http://www.acnnewswire.com

Joy Spreader Included in the MSCI China Small Cap Index

HONG KONG, May 13, 2021 – (ACN Newswire) – On May 12th , Joy Spreader (06988.HK), a Hong Kong-listed company, announced that the Company is incorporated into the MSCI China Small Cap Index, with effect upon the closure of the market on May 27, 2021.

It is reported that the MSCI China Small Cap Index is one of the China market indices launched by Morgan Stanley Capital International (MSCI), which aims to measure the performance of the small cap segment in China's stock market, covering PRC companies with excellent operating results and development potential. It is an important index for global institutional investors to evaluate their investment portfolios.

Joy Spreader is a leading MarTech company engaging in mobile new media performance-based marketing and marketing SaaS services in the PRC. It has achieved outstanding performance for years and has received considerable attention in the Hong Kong stock market since its listing.

According to the financial report, the revenue of Joy Spreader was HK$262 million, HK$538 million and HK$924 million from 2018 to 2020, respectively, and the earnings (net profit) during the year were HK$45 million, HK$77 million and HK$139 million, respectively. Joy Spreader's performance has maintained rapid growth.

The Company's board of directors believes that the inclusion of the MSCI China Small Cap Index shows the recognition of the Company's performance and value by the capital market. It is expected that the inclusion will enhance the confidence of capital market and investors to the Company and increase the liquidity of the Company's shares. At the same time, the inclusion will raise the Company's profile and boost the Company's business and cooperation.



Copyright 2021 ACN Newswire. All rights reserved. http://www.acnnewswire.com

Joy Spreader’s First Quarterly Results: Video E-commerce Business Soars 143.58%

HONG KONG, May 10, 2021 – (ACN Newswire) – On May 10, 2021, Joy Spreader (6988.HK), a MarTech company listed in Hong Kong, released the business update of the first quarter of 2021. According to the announcement, in the first quarter, Joy Spreader achieved revenue of HK$ 248 million, representing an increase of 33.26% over the same period last year, gross profit of HK$77.4 million, representing an increase of 64.16% over the same period last year, and gross profit margin of 31.16%, representing an increase of 5.87 percentages points as compared with the same period last year.

In terms of specific business, the revenue of Joy Spreader's interactive entertainment and other digital products marketing business in the first quarter was HK$220 million, representing an increase of 26.31% over the same period last year, while the revenue from e-commerce products marketing business was HK$28.45 million, representing an increase of 143.58% over the same period last year.

With the emerging short video e-commerce, video e-commerce business is becoming the largest increment of results of Joy Spreader. In the first quarter, the gross profit of the Joy Spreader's interactive entertainment and other digital product marketing business reached HK$54.65 million, representing an increase of 44.96% over the same period last year, while the gross profit of e-commerce products marketing business reached HK$22.76 million, representing an increase of 143.68% over the same period last year, accounting for an increasing proportion of the overall gross profit.

At the same time, marketing SaaS service, another core business of Joy Spreader, is growing rapidly. Currently, Joy Spreader uses its own marketing SaaS platform to access content publishers in order to help their traffic to realize commercial value.

The announcement showed that as of the end of the first quarter, Joy Spreader's marketing SaaS service customers comprised a total of 55,616 WeChat official accounts, representing an increase of 36.01% compared to the end of 2020. A total of 29,828 Douyin accounts in terms of short video, representing an increase of 37.01% compared to the end of 2020. Also, the Company had access to 11,567 clients of WeChat video channels. On the whole, Joy Spreader's mobile new media realizable access points reached 638,950, representing an increase of 35.96% compared to the end of 2020, further consolidating the basis of business growth.


Copyright 2021 ACN Newswire. All rights reserved. http://www.acnnewswire.com

Media Publishares and VIDY announce partnership to develop NFT platform for fashion, arts and music community

SINGAPORE, Apr 9, 2021 – (ACN Newswire) – Media Publishares, publishers of Vogue, Esquire, Robb Report and Buro in Singapore, announces a partnership with VIDY to launch and develop an NFT platform catering to the fashion, arts and music industry.

VIDY, founded by Singaporean techpreneur Matthew Lim and Harvard University alumni Patrick Colangelo, is a blockchain-powered digital advertising tool that rewards viewers with native cryptocurrency, VIDYCOIN. Having implemented VIDY's technology across Media Publishares' titles, the partnership between the two companies grew organically given their shared 'digital first' approach and innovative thinking.

The NFT platform – slated to launch in Q3 of 2021 – celebrates arts and culture within a 360-degree navigable virtual environment showcasing digital fashion, art, music and design. Key features of the platform include minting, trading and auctioning of NFTs through a tokenised system along with the ability to host social interaction.

Focused on building virtual creativity as a skill set while promoting sustainable consumption, the platform will donate a percentage of NFT sales towards organisations tackling real-world problems to ensure a positive connection between the virtual and physical worlds.

"The NFT market grew over 229% since 2020 to reach over USD500 million. However, it's still in early stages and has a long way to go with regards to infrastructure development. With the metaverse and rise of digital models, people will be able to live in a parallel virtual world where they can own a digital identity and purchase items not just in a digital file, but as any unique asset in their virtual land, similar to their physical world," says Lim.

"For this new NFT platform, VIDY will lead the technology and blockchain development given our unique experience in dealing with traditional businesses and crypto. We are confident we will create the finest platform that will boost the NFT world by allowing seamless participation from the traditional fashion, art and music communities."

The NFT platform will target a digitally savvy audience looking for luxury items with low environmental impact while also engaging creators exploring a virtual identity for their designs and new revenue streams for their craft.

"Media Publishares has always been ahead of the curve with its innovative approach to storytelling as lead by our anchor titles Vogue, Esquire, Robb Report and Buro Singapore", says Michael von Schlippe, President of Media Publishares.

"What we see is a new creative renaissance where creativity and technology are driving change together. By creating an NFT platform, which essentially acts as a virtual marketplace between creatives and users, it allows us to provide a unique shoppable platform coupled with content for the community in the form of education, interaction and entertainment," adds von Schlippe.

Titles under Media Publishares have gained global recognition for their approach to content creation. Notable projects include Esquire Singapore's 'Artificial Intelligence Issue' that won Gold at the Native Advertising Awards in Berlin and Vogue Singapore's digital-only launch in August 2020 with a 360-degree microsite 'Vogue Studio', amongst others.

About VIDY

Established in 2016, VIDY was a San Francisco based video web tech start-up company founded by Harvard Undergrad Patrick Colangelo and former Credit Suisse Investment Banker Matthew Lim. In 2018, VIDY started to incorporate blockchain technology into its product to allow a decentralized reward economy to exist seamlessly across its publishing partners. Today, Vidy's technology is used by over 70 global media publishers such as CNN Indonesia, CNBC Indonesia, Vogue Singapore, and Esquire Singapore among many others, with over 10bn of monthly page views of inventory, and a user exposure of over 150mn monthly. VIDY has two native cryptocurrency tokens; VIDY and VIDYX, both of which are integral to Vidy Rewarding, E-Commerce and NFT Ecosystem. For more information on VIDY, please visit www.vidy.com.

About Media Publishares

Media Publishares is a dynamic media company that specialises in impactful storytelling characterised by creativity, captivating visuals and the engagement of innovative technology. Headquartered in Singapore, Media Publishares, previously Indochine Media, has over 10 year's experience in digital communication, luxury print publishing, and events across Southeast Asia. A full-service publisher with over 80 employees in the region – from editorial and events to video and design production – Media Publishares operates in Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam, Thailand and Philippines and is continuously expanding its portfolio to further strengthen its presence in the publishing industry. Anchor brands currently include Buro, Esquire, Robb Report, Luxury Guide and Vogue Singapore. For more information on Media Publishares, please visit www.mediapublishares.com.sg

Media contacts:

VIDY, Singapore
Matthew Lim
matthew@vidyasia.com
+65 9238 0988

Media Publishares, Singapore
Natasha Damodaran
n.damodaran@imv.com.sg
+65 8322 8851

Copyright 2021 ACN Newswire. All rights reserved. http://www.acnnewswire.com

UREEQA Advisory Board Welcomes Music Industry Leader Kevin Leflar

ONTARIO CA, Mar 30, 2021 – (ACN Newswire) – His roster of clients is impressive and includes the likes of James Taylor, Santana, Mark Knopfler and Dire Straits, and the list goes on. Kevin Leflar, co-founder, president and CEO of officialCOMMUNITY – has seen it all. Spending 30+ years straddling both the music and technology worlds, Leflar has become one of the best-known authorities on the impact of digital technology on the music industry.





Leflar's List of Clients



Launching his career as a band manager in his early 20s, sending demo tapes to music labels and ultimately representing a Juno award-winning artist, Leflar spurred a bidding war landing him one of the biggest deals in Canadian history. By his mid-twenties, he had his own label, was offered bands and musicians to manage and could have written his own ticket in the industry.

Leflar's interests and career took a turn into the tech sector pre-Y2K, working on what he describes as "Web 1.0," where software developers were considered somewhat rock stars – in their own right. After igniting his passion for all things Internet technology, contributing to the growth of a company from five to 350+ employees in only four short years, he ventured off on his own – bringing his two interests together with the birth of officialCOMMUNITY. officialCOMMUNITY is an online event-driven brand management agency that uses technology to empower established recording artists to acquire, serve and connect with their fans as lifelong, direct customers and community members.

Considered a rock star by his programmers and a self-described nerd to his rock star clients, Leflar landed on the world stage by working with legends Elton John, Bob Dylan, George Michael, Roger Waters and Sam Smith.

Recognizing that artists' fame can be a double-edged sword, he felt compelled to become involved with organizations dedicated to improving Canadian musicians' profile and rights. He subsequently represented a collection of recording artists before the Canadian Copyright Board and worked with international consulates as a Canadian ambassador of music.

"Leflar's background is certainly unique," commented UREEQA CEO Harsch Khandelwal. "It's not every day that an individual spends his days thinking up events like golfing with Alice Cooper, and then spends his evenings thinking about intellectual property rights and how technological advancements could impact the industry and his clients' livelihood."

It is here that his passion, values and interests align with UREEQAs vision – that by leveraging technology, and blockchain, UREEQA can protect a Creator's Work, Rights and Revenue. "UREEQA understands that this is an international problem and we're assembling a team that we think can make a difference, that can change Creators' lives," Khandelwal added.

"The music industry has its flaws," noted Leflar. "Creators need a way to protect what's theirs and it's clear to me that UREEQA is on the right path. That's why I'm excited to join their team as a member of the UREEQA Advisory Board."

Khandelwal echoed Leflar's excitement about joining the Advisory Board, adding that "It's clear to me that Kevin is there for the music industry, he's dedicated his life to the interplay between music and technology, and most importantly, he cares about the recording artists. Kevin is a perfect fit as the latest member of the UREEQA Advisory Board."

About Kevin Leflar

Kevin Leflar is the co-founder, president and CEO of officialCOMMUNITY. officialCOMMUNITY empowers established recording artists including James Taylor, Santana, Jackson Browne, Bonnie Raitt, Sarah McLachlan, Mark Knopfler and Dire Straits to acquire, serve and connect their fans as lifelong, direct customers and community members.

officialCOMMUNITY conducts direct sales in each artist's name through their official website using only their brand. Our artist's teams manage the official social media presence and operate as stewards of the artist's brand online.

Mr. Leflar has an extensive background as a technologist and consultant, musician and music industry innovator. https://www.officialcommunity.com

About UREEQA

The UREEQA platform strives to protect creators' work, their rights and their revenue by harnessing the power of blockchain technology.

Established in Canada in 2020, UREEQA will modernize the inefficient and bureaucratic systems currently in place for copyright, patent, industrial design and trademark protection. By building a robust and compelling Package of Proof for source creative work, UREEQA only mints Validated NFTs to represent creative rights. This helps keep buyers safe by giving them confidence that the work they are purchasing was minted by the smart contract approved by the creator of the work and is therefore authentic.

UREEQA provides value and opportunities for its Creators, Validators and Tokenholders via URQA, the token at the heart of the UREEQA ecosystem.

For more information on UREEQA and upcoming announcements please visit our website UREEQA (https://www.ureeqa.com/), join our Telegram channel here (https://t.me/UREEQA), and follow us on Twitter here (https://twitter.com/UREEQA_Inc).

Copyright 2021 ACN Newswire. All rights reserved. http://www.acnnewswire.com

Maps.me to Launch Financial Services of the Future to Millions of Users

ZUG, SWITZERLAND, Mar 24, 2021 – (ACN Newswire) – Maps.me today announced that it will add next-generation financial capabilities to its navigational services, aiming to enrich the lives of hundreds of millions of people around the world by providing them with an easier way to pay, transfer, earn passive income and invest. From generating attractive investment returns in a low-interest world to making instantaneous payments across 35 currencies, Maps.me 2.0 will integrate convenient financial services with the world's most popular off- line mapping platform.

"We're excited to be building a holistic travel and financial platform that will be a trusted companion to our highly-engaged community of users as they explore the world and go about their daily lives," said Alex Grebnev, Co-founder of Maps.me. "Maps.me has enhanced people's ability to navigate, wherever they are going. Now, the same platform will offer financial services that are cheap, secure and highly relevant to the needs of Maps.me users."

From maps to money

Maps.me is used to discover and navigate places – from the streets of Barcelona to the African savannah – and bookmark them for future use. The app's open-source technology provides greater agility and choice for users, fueling an ever-increasing network that has enriched Maps.me itself. Over the last nine years, the app has been downloaded 140 million times, with 60 million people using it to navigate 195 countries in 2020.

Pilots, magazine photographers, professional cyclists, aid workers and everyday travellers love using its turn-by-turn routing, travel guides, and detailed mapping – which are all available without using often- costly mobile data. Maps.me is particularly popular with millennials in Europe: roughly 60% of users from are from the region, and more than 70% are between the ages of 18 and 40.

A recent survey conducted by Maps.me indicated that roughly half of its users are interested in accessing financial services via the app. More than 140,000 users have already joined the waiting list for a digital wallet that will allow them to:

– Earn yields of as much as 8% on stored value;
– Make payments via a linked credit card; and
– Transfer money instantly to friends and family globally and in 35 different currencies

The value in Maps.me wallets is invested in AAA-rated assets and held in a Swiss trust structure that is administered by TMF Services, a regulated entity in Switzerland. TMF is the largest corporate service provider in the world, trusted by over 60% of Fortune Global 500 and FTSE 100 companies. Users enjoy this security as well as the convenience of accessing these services via a platform they know and love – all for zero or low fees.*

A new approach to finance

The financial services offered via Maps.me will draw on a new approach to financial services: decentralized finance. DeFi is a user-driven financial system that uses smart contracts to allow people and institutions to transact directly with each other, rather than via a large financial institution.

Unnecessary middlemen are eliminated, cutting costs, increasing speed and certainty.

Since its inception, Maps.me has been open and community-driven, with users contributing to its development using the OpenStreetMap Project. Maps.me users are a substantial part of the OSM contributor group. Maps.me 2.0 builds upon that same spirit and DeFi makes this possible by allowing many to connect with many.

The roll-out of these financial capabilities with Maps.me 2.0 follows the platform's acquisition last November by Daegu Limited, a member of the Parity.com Group.

The integration of financial services with the Maps.me platform is moving ahead quickly. Closed beta testing of the Maps.me wallet will be finalized in the next few weeks. Waitlisted users will start to be offered access to the wallet after the testing process is completed, followed by a broader launch in due course.

More about Maps.me

Maps.me is the world's leading off-line mapping application for travelers. Launched in 2012 it has been downloaded more than 140 million times. More than 60 million users worldwide were active in 2020 planning and navigating their excursions in 195 countries. Maps.me users can download maps for their intended travels and then access their maps without the need for expensive roaming connectivity. An open-source advocate, Maps.me users are a primary contributor to the OpenStreetMapping Project globally. Beginning in 2021, the app will integrate payment, currency exchange and passive income services in 35 currencies to further enable explorers worldwide.

Media contacts:

Asia:
Adam@CaliberCorporateAdvisers.com
+852 3569 2275

North America:
ScottK@CaliberCorporateAdvisers.com
+1 917 647 1810

* https://www.tmf-group.com/en/about-us/

SOURCE: Maps.me

Copyright 2021 ACN Newswire. All rights reserved. http://www.acnnewswire.com

Certain Shareholders of Joy Spreader Extend Lock-up Undertakings for 15 months to Demonstrate Their Confidence in the Long-term Development Prospect of the Company

HONG KONG, Mar 23, 2021 – (ACN Newswire) – On March 23, Joy Spreader Technology. Ltd (HK: 06988) listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange announced that the Company has recently received undertaking letters from certain shareholders holding approximately 69.16% of the shares in aggregate, including the controlling shareholders of the Company. In view of their confidence in the long-term development prospect of the Company, the above shareholders voluntarily undertook that without the prior written consent of the Company, they will not dispose (including but not limited to sell or pledge) the shares of the Company beneficially, directly or indirectly, owned by them or their controlled entities for a period of 15 months from the date of the Undertaking Letters in accordance with the terms of the Undertaking Letters.

The announcement shows that those shareholders who have voluntarily given the lock-up undertakings include:

(1)ZZN. Ltd., ZZD. Ltd. and Laurence mate. Ltd., being the controlling shareholders of the company, of which ZZN. Ltd. and ZZD. Ltd. are wholly owned by Mr. Zhu Zinan and Mr. Zhang Zhidi, respectively. Laurence mate. Ltd. is owned as to 90% by Mr. Zhu Zinan and 10% by Mr. Zhang Zhidi, respectively. Under the concert party agreement, Mr. Zhu Zinan and Mr. Zhang Zhidi in aggregate hold approximately 42.34% of the shares of the Company as at the date of this announcement.

(2)Shenzhen Nanhai Growth Win-win Limited, NT Balance Capital Ltd., Jiaxing Baozheng Investment Partnership Enterprise (Limited Partnership), DYD Holding. Ltd., Balance Capital Ltd. and Jack Chen. Ltd., holding approximately 5.70%, 5.44%, 4.98%, 4.73%, 3.33%, and 2.64% of the shares of Joy Spreader, respectively, as at the date of this announcement. The aforesaid shareholders in aggregate hold approximately 26.82% of the shares of Joy Spreader as at the date of this announcement.

Joy Spreader was listed on September 23, 2020. The company's restricted shares have been lifted today after being listed for half a year. On this special day, voluntary lock-up undertakings from the controlling shareholders and several third-party shareholders have shown their confidence in the long-term development prospect of the company as well as the industry of performance-based marketing on new media.

In recent years, benefiting from the rapid development of text-based we-media and short-video platforms, as well as core advantages of its own data and algorithm, Joy Spreader has achieved a high-speed annual average growth of over 80% for consecutive years. The shareholders' choice to voluntarily lock up their holdings this time has fully demonstrated their high recognition of the investment value of Joy Spreader.


Copyright 2021 ACN Newswire. All rights reserved. http://www.acnnewswire.com