Malang, East Java, Indonesia, Nov 25, 2020 – (ACN Newswire) – Brawijaya University (UB) in Malang, East Java has developed an initial screening kit for diabetes. The Bioscience Rapid Test GAD65, developed by aresearch team led by Prof. Dr. Aulanni'am, drh, DES, is ready for commercialization and use in early screening for Type I Diabetes Mellitus, before measures and treatment are determined.

The reverse-flow immunochromatography-based detection kit identifies the presence of autoantibodies against GAD65, which indicate damage to beta-pancreatic cells, a marker for Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus and Latent Autoimmune Diabetes in Adults (LADA).

Diabetes is a global health threat which can lead to complications that impact the quality of human life as well as substantially add to health costs for families and countries. Its increasing prevalence has raised concerns globally and prompted prevention efforts. Detecting and managing the condition through appropriate therapy is crucial for preventing deterioration in the condition of people suffering from the metabolic disease.

The Bioscience Rapid Test GAD65 is among the downstream products developed as part of the cooperation between Brawijaya University and state-owned pharmaceutical company PT Bio Farma (Persero). The preparation and production of the kit has involved various levels of research and testing, based on the consensus and regulations set by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Indonesian Health Ministry.

The screening kit, which has a medical device distribution permit and meets the certification requirements for good medical device manufacturing from the Indonesian Ministry of Health, is ready to be produced and widely distributed and has been introduced to potential consumers in Spain, Taiwan, Japan, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Madagascar, the Philippines, and Malaysia.

As part of the collaboration for the downstreaming process of the kit, Brawijaya University has been designated as the producer and PT Bio Farma as the main distributor of the patented product (ID. 0.022.556 B, 2009-Granted and P00201910578, 2019-Registered).

For further information, please contact:
Prof Dr. Aulanni'am, drh., DES
+62 812-3317-600
Public Relations,
Universitas Brawijaya
www.ub.ac.id
www.prasetya.ub.ac.id

Copyright 2020 ACN Newswire. All rights reserved. http://www.acnnewswire.com

Singapore – Swapping cryptos on an exchange can be incredibly inefficient, as no exchange has all the coins in one fold. VaultSwap a project by Jason Wright, which is also the CEO zenomatrix.net, intends to proffer a solution to this problem. It has several high-paying investment schemes that reward investors for their confidence in the project.

What Is VaultSwap?

VaultSwap is a blockchain-powered exchange and Yield Farming where users can swap one cryptocurrency for another. VaultSwap is completely decentralized, as it also supports staking applications. Some of the groups that will receive VAULT after the token sale are Pre-Sale, Staking platform, as well as Exchange listings.

The team behind VaultSwap comprise of technocrats who understand the dynamics in the asset swapping ecosystem. The team has a track record of delivering on their promises.

Where to Buy VAULT Tokens

The VAULT tokens sale is live. The sales started on November 20th and will end on December 20th. The maximum supply is 200,000 VAULT with 5,000 ETH hard cap. The team behind VaultSwap has also announced that VAULT will be listed on P2Pb2b. More listings are expected in the coming weeks.

Token Sale Link

Interested in buying VAULT tokens? Then visit https://vaultswap.io/#token-section to get started.

Steps to Buy VAULT Tokens

Participating in the ongoing token sale is a breeze. Kindly follow the steps below:
– Send ETH to this contract address: 0x8cf4dd7aa26f00d5710b6d1c82bf6647ee2d55a9
– Vault Token allocation is automatic via contract
– Ensure you send ETH from an ERC20-supported wallet.
– Do not send ETH from an exchange
– Minimum buy is 0.1 ETH

VaultSwap Exchange Products

The following are the products offered by VaultSwap:
– Staking: Instead of storing away your VAULT token in a wallet, you can stake it and be rewarded with an APR of 30%.
– Lending: Some investors are seeking funding to scale their businesses. You can lend them your cryptos (USDT, USD, DAI, TUSF, PAX, and BUSD) and get up to 26% APR.
– Yield Farming: Yield Farming gives you the opportunity to earn up to 2,000% APR when you contribute liquidity on the VaultSwap platform.
– Referral Program: Convince your friends or family members to participate in the ongoing token sale, and you would be rewarded with 10% of the total sum that your referee invested.

VaultSwap Tokenomics

– Name: VaultSwap
– Max Token: 200,000 VAULT
– Hard Cap: 5000 ETH
– Price: 1 ETH = 20 VAULT
– Currency: ETH
– Min Purchase: 0.1 ETH / 2 VAULT
– Starts: November 20 (9:00 AM)
– Ends: December 20 (11:59 PM)
– Contract address: 0x8cf4dd7aa26f00d5710b6d1c82bf6647ee2d55a9

Conclusion

VaultSwap is a blockchain-powered crypto-swapping exchange. To achieve a smooth assets-to-assets swapping, VaultSwap does not rely on synthetic assets or wrapped ERC-20 tokens. In fact, the process of swapping assets on the VaultSwap platform is pretty easy and doesn’t exceed 5 steps.

Users don’t need any special wallet or software to swap their coin. The basic thing users need is a strong internet connection, an asset, a wallet address, and a good browser. VaultSwap Exchange does not charge a fee to swap from one crypto to the other.

Media contact
Company: Vault.ltd
Contact: Jason Wright
Support Contact: ceo@vaultswap.io
Telephone: +17026232463
Telegram: https://t.me/VaultSwap
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Vault_Swap
Website: https://vaultswap.io/

SOURCE: Vault.ltd

Copyright 2020 ACN Newswire. All rights reserved. http://www.acnnewswire.com

SINGAPORE / LONDON, Nov 23, 2020 – (ACN Newswire) – A year after delisting from the London Stock Exchange, Millennium & Copthorne Hotels Limited (M&C), a global hospitality leader, disclosed major initiatives that will prepare it for a recovery by as early as 2021 from the recent challenges caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The privatisation granted M&C greater agility and cushioned impact of the pandemic. Lessons learned and operational changes in recent months have helped to lay a much stronger foundation. Properties across the globe have started to show 'green shoots' of improvements in occupancy and Gross Operating Profit (GOP) from the second half of 2020 which are expected to gain momentum in 2021.

London-headquartered M&C was privatised on 19 November 2019 after delisting from the London Stock Exchange at a valuation of GBP2.23 billion (S$3.96 billion). M&C operates 66 hotels (seven of which are managed by third parties) in Asia (12), Europe/UK (21), USA (18) and New Zealand (15) under the Millennium Hotels and Resorts (MHR) global brands; and 79 are under franchise and management contracts.

M&C, with an inventory of over 40,000 rooms and operations in 29 countries, is wholly owned by Singapore Exchange-listed City Developments Limited (CDL), a leading global real estate company with total assets of over S$23.8 billion. CDL is also a Sponsor that holds an effective 37.8% effective stake in CDL Hospitality Trusts (CDLHT), a Singapore-listed Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) with a market value of over S$1.40 billion.

Assessing The Operating Landscape

In 2019, M&C recorded revenue of GBP1.025 billion (S$1.82 billion) (2018: GBP997 million (S$1.78 billion)) and a pre-tax profit of GBP102 million (S$181.2 million) (2018: profit of GBP106 million (S$188.3 million)) and included net valuation and impairment charges of GBP34 million (S$60.4 million) (2018: GBP36 million (S$101.2 million)). Excluding the effects of impairment losses and net revaluation gains, M&C reported profit before tax of GBP136 million (S$241.6 million) in 2019 (2018: GBP142 million (S$252.3 million)).

M&C has assessed as positive recent reports of vaccines against COVID-19, air travel 'bubbles', the recent US presidential elections and plans to hold the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 (postponed from 2020). The signing by 15 countries of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) world trade pact also points to a brighter future for the region.

In Singapore, where M&C operates over 2,000 hotel rooms, several properties will resume pre-COVID-19 activities such as selling rooms, corporate bookings, events and weddings in the next few months.

M&C recognises that in this 'new normal' hygiene is much more important when a customer chooses a hotel, restaurant or consider events; and that brands must look beyond 'personal touch' and ambience to include the promise of safety and to emphasise value for money.

The new business dynamics mean that large hospitality groups such as M&C must have sufficient working capital to weather possible prolonged uncertainty or even fresh lockdowns. Accordingly M&C management has outlined three strategic initiatives:

#1 – Engaging Customers Better; Digital Marketing and New Revenue Streams

Building on the 'We Clean, We Care, We Welcome' campaign launched in February 2020, M&C has chosen to keep as many properties open as possible throughout the pandemic. By staying open, its hotels in several regions have increased market share. Since Q4 2020, there has been a pick-up in individual bookings from small and medium corporate accounts in Singapore, New York and UK.

M&C will scale up digital marketing strategies to reach domestic retail consumers and target potential drive-in consumers residing within 300 km of hotels in certain cities in USA, UK and Europe.

To segment better its customer base, various brands now offer different price-value touchpoints. Reflecting the success of the digital strategy, online channels accounted for 80% of bookings as at end-September, up from 56% in 2019.

In the first 10 months of 2020, M&C booked 163,000 staycation nights (excluding the Middle East and North African region). At least 65% of staycation bookings were made through the M&C brand website by loyalty members. M&C expects that some parts of the corporate offline bookings, upon return, will be handled digitally as well.

In Singapore, two M&C hotels (Grand Copthorne Waterfront and Orchard Hotel) have portioned areas as pay-per-use co-working spaces since September and November 2020, respectively. Utilisation for such use has hovered at around 85%. Building on this success, this service has been launched elsewhere in Singapore in Copthorne King's Hotel and M Social, with Studio M and M Hotel next to roll out. M&C's London hotels have also re-purposed rooms for customers who want the space for work.

F&B menus have been shortened and rotated frequently to support fewer kitchen staff and reduce wastage in Southeast Asia, Taipei and in the UK. In gateway cities in North America M&C hotels offer reduced menus, focusing on signature dishes with 'sweet-spots' that combine turnover and operating margin. Singapore M&C hotels leveraged on signature dishes to compete with F&B operators.

Through these and other efforts, M&C's global occupancy rate in September 2020 has recovered to 40% from a low of 30% in June. M&C expects to close 2020 with an occupancy rate that is at least half the 73% rate achieved in pre-COVID-19 2019. Over the comparative periods, average rate per available room has increased by 23% to GBP25.4 (S$45.1) from a low of GBP20.61 (S$36.6). M&C entities have begun recovering from loss to Gross Operating Profit (GOP) in Asia (since May), New Zealand (since June), UK (since October). Global M&C GOP has been positive since July.

#2 – Lowering Global Cost Structure; Improving Efficiencies

As a major hotel operator, M&C has adopted group procurement, centralised functions and technological innovation for years. While staffing for the industry is unlikely to return to pre-COVID-19 levels, M&C's strategy is to lower the entire cost-structure through group and operational efficiencies, with staff layoffs as a last resort. Current efforts include:

i) Clustering functions such as administration, finance, marketing and communications to handle multiple properties in Singapore and across other regions; and

ii) Doubling of roles (e.g. regional GM doubling up as as a hotel GM; global function head also handling regional roles) and redeploying staff to handle multiple functions. Operations in various countries have been helped by tax relief and other Government efforts to offset wages.

Only after these efforts has workforce rationalisation been undertaken as a last resort. As at end-September 2020, total global headcount has been reduced by 36% compared to the end of 2019.

#3 – Review of Global Footprint To Align With Objectives of Parent Company

As a 100% subsidiary of CDL, M&C is able to tap the strengths of a parent with strong balance sheet and deep corporate experience. CDL exercises financial prudence such as stating investment properties in its accounts at cost less accumulated depreciation and impairment losses. CDL had grown the hospitality division over the last 25 years by acquiring entire portfolios, such as the Copthorne chain in 1995 and the Regal chain in 1999, as well as individual properties.

Land values of many M&C properties are now significantly higher than acquisition cost. However, in line with CDL's prudent strategy, assets held as investment properties have not been revalued to market. M&C recognises that while capital values of many properties have increased even amid the COVID-19 uncertainty, return on equity of such assets (from hospitality revenue and profits) is not likely to recover to pre-COVID-19 levels in the near term. Accordingly, M&C intends carry out the following:

i) As an international hotel operator, it will focus on key gateway cities globally including Singapore, London and New York. M&C will also focus on the four-star category under three brand collections – M Collection, Millennium Collection and Copthorne Collection – while maintaining several prized assets in the five-star and luxury categories under Leng's Collection;

ii) M&C has been and will continue to review and fine-tune the upgrade of its portfolio to better suit future market conditions. In 2020, M&C closed Copthorne Penang (since July) and deferred renovation for Millennium Hilton Downtown in New York which it announced before COVID-19; and

iii) Having received expressions of interest for various assets globally, M&C is assessing at least three offers. Some offers are subject to re-zoning and regulatory approval for change of use from hospitality. The sale of any of these assets, if concluded, is likely to result in significant gain on disposal. A case in point, M&C recorded gain on disposal of equivalent of S$26.4 million (GBP14.3 million) from the sale of Millennium Cincinnati, completed on 14 February 2020, for equivalent of S$49 million (GBP27.6 million). Based on current offers, M&C expects to conclude at least one such sale in 2021.

The outcome of these initiatives may reduce slightly M&C's global room inventory of over 40,000 at the end of 2019. But the revised footprint and inventory will sharpen focus and conserve human and financial resources to position M&C better for recovery from as early as 2021. Hotels which can return to sustained levels of profitability may also be seeded for acquisition by CDLHT (whose shareholders approved in January 2020 the acquisition of W Singapore – Sentosa Cove hotel from CDL at a valuation of S$324 million).

"M&C is strengthening its foundations to prepare for a recovery in hotel operations from as early as 2021. Our product has been refined to offer new revenue streams. We have improved processes, cost structure and digital marketing, amongst other efforts, as we prepare for improvements in business sentiment and confidence to travel. By streamlining our global portfolio in line with the strategy of our parent, M&C will emerge stronger and better positioned to benefit from a post-COVID-19 environment," said Mr Lee Richards, Vice-President Operations, South East Asia, Millennium Hotels and Resorts.

ABOUT MILLENNIUM & COPTHORNE HOTELS

Millennium Hotels and Resorts (MHR) is the global brand of Millennium & Copthorne Hotels Limited (M&C), a global hotel company which owns, manages and operates over 145 hotels across some 80 locations worldwide. It has four distinct hotel collections – Leng's Collection, M Collection, Millennium Collection and Copthorne Collection – throughout Asia, Europe, the Middle East, New Zealand and the United States. Its properties are in key gateway cities such as London, New York, Los Angeles, Paris, Dubai, Beijing, Shanghai, Seoul, Tokyo, Singapore and Hong Kong. Occupying the best locations around the world, MHR has the perfect address for business and leisure travellers. M&C is the hotel arm of Singapore-listed global real estate company City Developments Limited, and is a member of the Hong Leong Group. Visit www.millenniumhotels.com for more information.

For media enquiries, please contact:

Gerry De Silva
Head, Group Corporate Affairs
Hong Leong Group
T: +65 6877 8538
E: gerry@cdl.com.sg
M: +65 97317122

Joanne Koh
Manager, Group Corporate Affairs
Hong Leong Group
T: +65 6877 8537
E: joannekoh@cdl.com.sg

Copyright 2020 ACN Newswire. All rights reserved. http://www.acnnewswire.com

Oceanside, California, Nov 20, 2020 – (ACN Newswire) – Promptlink Communications, Inc., a leading provider of software applications for broadband network management and customer premise equipment testing, today announced that it has been chosen by First Media, one of the leading cable TV and fixed broadband internet providers in Indonesia, operated by PT Link Net Tbk (LINK), to provide Proactive Network Maintenance (PNM) and Network Noise Localization solutions to help First Media optimize customer's broadband experiences.

Promptlink's network monitoring and diagnostics suite will assist First Media to direct network technicians to specific network components affected by network noise and other issues that impact First Media's customers. Utilizing patent-pending algorithms to analyze data, Network NoiseHawk accurately pinpoints network noise and geographically displays it for First Media, allowing for quick correction of noise issues. The addition of Proactive Network Maintenance tools and Network NoiseHawk to Promptlink's Cable Plant Monitoring (CPM) reinforces First Media's commitment to provide its customers with the highest-quality broadband services.

"Promptlink, together with our local partner in Indonesia, PT Multipolar Technology Tbk, is committed to help Link Net's First Media in their mission to deliver the highest performance, most dependable network possible," said Dr. Foad Towfiq, President and CEO of Promptlink Communications. "By choosing Promptlink's advanced network diagnostic tools, First Media is demonstrating their pledge to find and correct network impairments as they occur."

"Continuous network improvement and technological advancement are part of our commitment to our customers. In selecting Promptlink's NoiseHawk and PNM tools, First Media is investing in the network to guarantee a better experience," according to Edward Sanusi, Chief of Technology & Product Officer PT Link Net Tbk. "During this situation where everybody works and learns from home, it is crucial to have the technology that will provide significant insights from our network performance and health status. With this technology, we can proactively monitor our network and, if there is a problem, we can rectify it faster."

About Promptlink Communications

Promptlink Communications has been providing software and system integration solutions to the broadband industry since 1994. Promptlink Communications is an innovative company with a focus on the development and deployment of tools for broadband network service providers. Promptlink customers have included all major Cable Operators in the Americas, and around the world.

Promptlink Communications is a privately held company headquartered in Oceanside, California. Promptlink offices can be found in North America, Latin America and Europe. Learn more at www.promptlink.com.

About Link Net – First Media

PT Link Net Tbk ("Link Net"), established in 2000, is the leading cable service provider in Indonesia, providing superior-quality pay television services, high-speed broadband internet, and data communications under "First Media" brand for retail customers and "First Media Business" brand for corporate customers.

Link Net owns and operates a network of Hybrid Fiber Coaxial cable ("HFC") and Fiber-to-the Home ("FTTH") that provides high-speed internet access services. Link Net also operates a subscription television channel in collaboration with PT First Media Television ("FMTV"), its subsidiary. Learn more at www.linknet.co.id, www.firstmedia.com or https://business.firstmedia.com/.

About PT Multipolar Technology Tbk

PT Multipolar Technology Tbk (MLPT) is Promptlink's exclusive reseller in Indonesia. PT Multipolar Technology Tbk is a reliable partner in the design and development of innovative digital technology. Our areas of expertise cover Hybrid Infrastructure Platforms & Services, Hybrid Integration Platform & Services, Business Solution Platform & Services, Security, Big Data & Analytics, Consulting Services Capability, Digital Customer Experience Platform Services, and other services through our subsidiaries – Total IT Managed Services through PT Visionet Data Internasional (VisioNet) and Data Center Operations & Management Services through PT Graha Teknologi Nusantara (GTN). Learn more at www.multipolar.com.

Media Contacts

Christopher J. Boring
VP, Sales & Marketing
Promptlink Communications, Inc,
chris.boring@promptlink.com

Duma Grace
Public Relations
PT Link Net Tbk (First Media)
duma.grace@linknet.co.id

Susi Marlon
Dept Head PR & Marcom
PT Multipolar Technology Tbk (MLPT)
susi.marlon@multipolar.com

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/68569

Copyright 2020 ACN Newswire. All rights reserved. http://www.acnnewswire.com

TORONTO, Nov 5, 2020 – (ACN Newswire) – RIWI Corp. (TSXV: RIWI) (OTC: RWCRF) (the "Company" or "RIWI"), a global trend-tracking and prediction technology firm, today publicly released all of the U.S. Election reports that the Company prepared for global finance clients since September 8, 2020.

In contrast to almost all public polling and mainstream media forecasts that predicted a "Blue Wave" and blowout victory for former Vice President Joe Biden, RIWI's final client report on November 2, at 10 am Eastern Standard Time, showed a different story: the much tighter race that we see in today's results. RIWI's randomly engaged forecasters represented a continuous evaluation of the views of 100,584 different Americans.

RIWI's approach is unique. "For RIWI technology, one truly random forecast from one randomly engaged, anonymous person is worth far more than 10 non-randomly engaged, non-random traditional survey respondents who habitually offer their personal opinions, sometimes even in exchange for incentives," said Neil Seeman, RIWI's Chief Executive Officer. "Ensuring the anonymity of any respondent, without ever collecting personally identifiable information, is essential to both accurate and ethically responsible data collection," said Mr. Seeman.

"For our continuous surveys, risk monitoring and message testing in any country, RIWI's machine-learning tools and predictive power remove human biases," added Mr. Seeman. "RIWI prides itself on its unique capacity to hear the real opinions of quiet voices who do not, or choose not to, participate in human-manipulated polling techniques which are increasingly non-scientific and non-random," said Mr. Seeman.

All RIWI's reports for the U.S. 2020 Presidential election are available here. https://www.newsfilecorp.com/redirect/AnyxSaaP3

About RIWI

RIWI is a global trend-tracking and prediction technology firm. On a monthly or annual subscription basis, RIWI offers its clients tracking surveys, continuous risk monitoring, predictive analytics and ad effectiveness tests in all countries – without collecting any personally identifiable data. https://riwi.com

RIWI CORP.
Signed: "Neil Seeman"
Neil Seeman, Chief Executive Officer

For media inquiries, please contact:
Neil Weitzman, Chief Revenue Officer
neilweitzman@riwi.com

For more corporate information, please contact:
Daniel Im, Chief Financial Officer
danielim@riwi.com | +1-416-205-9984 ext. 2

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

CAUTION REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION:

Information and statements contained in this news release that are not historical facts are "forward-looking information" within the meaning of Canadian securities legislation that involves risks and uncertainties. Forward-looking information included herein is made as of the date of this news release and RIWI does not intend, and does not assume any obligation, to update forward-looking information unless required by applicable securities laws. Forward-looking information relates to future events or future performance and reflects management of the Company's expectations or beliefs regarding future events. This forward-looking information is based, in part, on assumptions and factors that may change or prove to be incorrect, thus causing actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from those expressed or implied by forward-looking information.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/67470

Copyright 2020 ACN Newswire. All rights reserved. http://www.acnnewswire.com

To Develop a Decentralized Protocol to Facilitate Secure Cross-Border Investments for Investors, Asset Owners and Property Developers in a Post-COVID-19 World

– RACE™ (Real Assets Community Economy), a digital real estate ecosystem to facilitate asset and real estate capital transactions for Owners and Developers.

– RACE™ plans to provide investors’ access to institutional-grade assets while adhering to local and international regulations, and global security standards.

– RACE™ expects to facilitate timely rescue capital and private debt to Asset Owners, Developers, and Businesses.

London, U.K – November 5, 2020 – With The United States hitting an all-time high of 99,321 new coronavirus cases on Oct. 30, surpassing the previous high-water mark, and cases rising rapidly again in parts of Europe, it seems to be a foregone conclusion that technology will continue to play an accelerating and almost irreversible adoption in all aspects of domestic and cross-border transactions. Additionally, prolonged socioeconomic disturbances have undoubtedly affected some sectors within the global real estate market quite negatively. As an example, barring certain niche hotels, the overall hotel sector as an example may soon be faced with an unprecedented wave of distressed properties that were doing well prior to the outbreak. The retail real estate sector will only accelerate its slide with new asset closures. Thus, repurposing these above-affected assets to new uses will be the mantra of 2021 and 2022.

Rescue Capital and Private Debt on the RACE™ Ecosystem

The reduction in population mobility worldwide due to COVID-19 has led to fewer or no patrons in retail shops, thus leading to the unstable financial health of tenants of many commercial properties and, consequently, their landlords. Thus, many commercial property owners and hotels are gradually being incapacitated as their reserves run out, and are unable to pay their monthly mortgage payments to their lenders. These property owners thus need critical rescue capital to survive. These owners’ immediate reaction is to mitigate losses and reduce risk exposure caused by “indirect impacts of slower economic growth and financial market volatility”. Private debt allows distressed property owners to refinance their loans and to explore asset-backed property loans, which could be the solution to keeping their properties in this environment. Since 2008, private debt has always been a more attractive investment asset compared to public debt due to the former’s higher annual returns. Now, the extended low-interest environment is expected to further open up investors’ appetites and, consequently, turn them towards private debt. Investors’ interests are expected to help supplement the demand for private debt.

The RACE™ Protocol

RACE™ plans to facilitate secure cross-border transactions on its platform to cushion the impending economic impacts by providing timely rescue capital and private debt to owners and developers of real estate and commercial assets. The platform aims to accomplish this by allowing qualified investors to buy into rescue capital private debt opportunities, thus supporting stressed commercial property owners and business owners in a timely fashion. Making private debt financing available on the platform to qualified users is expected to connect demand and supply directly and more efficiently across the globe, relieving global economic implications of the virus. To further relieve stressed property owners, specialized compliant instruments are expected to be made available on RACE™, with functionally akin to Optionally Convertible Debentures (OCD). The platform is expected to provide an avenue by which commercial property owners can have access to rescue capital and private debt. RACE™ is expected to smoothen capital flows between owners and general partners, and, concurrently, between investors and limited partners. RACE™ intends to use the latest technologies such as AI and blockchain to build software that enables cap table automation and other key features.

In the current buyer’s market, demand is still apparent as investors’ interest remains high for stressed assets. While the concerns of recovering from the economic downturn are valid, real estate assets remain attractive due to its stability and less risk in the long term, both of which are crucial factors in such an economy. The high demand for stressed real estate now also echoes the overarching trend from previous crises that increased allocations to real estate investment assets can be expected.

RACE™ is being designed to fulfill market needs as a secure and reliable decentralized platform and protocol. Pursuant to and in compliance with applicable regulations and jurisdictional restrictions, it aims to facilitate seamless long-distance investments and create more efficient transactions over time. These are accomplished through direct deal processes between stakeholders in a global community, effecting reduced layers and friction costs. Through the planned integration of novel technologies such as blockchain technology, combined with Web 3.0 and Machine Learning technologies, the platform’s vision is to disintermediate the existing real assets and real estate finance ecosystem. Instead of having many layers of processes and friction, the platform plans to enable developers’ listing projects for consideration by community-vetting and allows the global community access to institutional-grade investment projects, subject to proper regulatory compliance. The dependable and secure transactions that are soon to be enabled on the RACE™ platform are expected to support general partners and owners of commercial property amidst the pandemic period and beyond.

The RACE™ platform aims to be focused on the growth of the entire community, from investors and real estate developers to service providers such as accountants, brokers, and custodians. The ecosystem plans to provide ease of investments, deal transparency, reduction of layers and friction costs, and a sheer collaborative digital momentum of moving investments online.

Fintech, proptech and online wealth management have been growing and evolving at a rapid pace even before COVID-19, and now the virus has given additional impetus to accelerate digital transformation, even in the most conservative of industries.

RACE™ is expected to release its whitepaper later this year. For more information, please reach out to pr@raceconomy.com or go to www.raceconomy.com.

Social Links
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/raceconomy
Twitter: https://twitter.com/RACEconomy
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/raceconomy

Media Contact
Company: RACE (Real Assets Community Economy)
Contact: Jeremy Khoo, Saurabh Rai
Email: pr@raceconomy.com
Website: https://www.raceconomy.com/

Copyright 2020 ACN Newswire. All rights reserved. http://www.acnnewswire.com

SINGAPORE, Nov 3, 2020 – (ACN Newswire) – Raffles Financial Pte Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of Raffles Financial Group Limited (CSE: RICH) (FSE: 4VO) (OTC: RAFFF) ("Raffles", "the Company" or "RF"), today announces that the Company has entered into a Joint Venture Agreement with Raffles Infrastructure Investment Pte Ltd. ("RII"), a subsidiary of Raffles Infrastructure Holdings Limited listed in Singapore under symbol LUY. The Parties intend to collaborate in a joint venture company ("JVC"), MFUND Limited, which upon completion shall be renamed into "Raffles Infrastructure Capital Limited", a company incorporated in Hong Kong.

The joint venture is in line with the Company's long-term objective of seeking opportunities and growth of its business and operations.

"Asia infrastructure spending is forecast at US$5.3 trillion by 2025*. Raffles Infrastructure's core competency is in the planning and developing of infrastructural projects in Asia, particularly China, while Raffles Financial is focused on the global fund raising and corporate finance advisory. The JV can provide a complete suite of infrastructure development solutions to governments and their developers," comments Dr. Charlie In, Chairman of Raffles Financial.

* Source: PWC APEC Infrastructure Development

The principal activity of the JVC will be to provide advisory and management services such as:
A. Funding of infrastructure projects commissioned by government and/or developers
B. Appointment & appraisal, including payment approvals, of EPC contractors and suppliers
C. Marketing and leasing of the projects to secure buyers and tenants
D. Sale of developments to REITS, Business Trusts and Funds

The key targets are Asian governments and developers of infrastructure projects such as highways, rail systems, air/sea ports, logistic hubs, clean energy stations, telecommunication towers, cloud & data centres, and government facilities like hospitals, schools, national parks, water plants, energy grids.

The JVC will not invest in these developments; it will provide advisory and management services.

Raffles Financial Group Limited

Terms of the Joint Venture Agreement

The Parties shall procure that JVC is incorporated with an initial issued and paid up share capital of HKD 200 divided into 200 shares. The number of shares and the respective shareholding held by each party are set forth below:

Number of Shares – Percentage of Enlarged Share Capital
RII: 100 Shares, 50%
RF: 100 Shares, 50%

The Board shall comprise up to three Directors. RII shall be entitled to appoint two Directors to the Board and RF shall be entitled to appoint one Director to the Board.

About Raffles Financial Group Limited (CSE: RICH) (FSE: 4VO) (OTC: RAFFF)

Raffles Financial Pte Ltd (a wholly owned subsidiary of Raffles Financial Group Limited) is an exempt corporate finance advisory firm, registered with the Monetary Authority of Singapore, which provides public listing advisory and arrangement services. Raffles Financial serves as advisor for family trusts, family offices and investment funds. Please visit www.rafflesfinancial.co for more information.

For more information, please contact:
Cathy Hume, Investor Relations
Phone: 416-868-1079 x 231
Email: cathy@chfir.com

Neither the Canadian Securities Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the Canadian Securities Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Certain statements contained in this release may constitute "forward-looking statements" or "forward-looking information" (collectively "forward-looking information") as those terms are used in Canadian securities laws. These statements relate to future events or future performance. The use of any of the words "could", "intend", "expect", "believe", "will", "projected", "estimated", "anticipates" and similar expressions and statements relating to matters that are not historical facts are intended to identify forward-looking information and are based on the Company's current belief or assumptions as to the outcome and timing of such future events. Actual future results may differ materially. In particular, this release contains forward looking information relating to the business of the Company, the anticipated partnerships with financial institutions worldwide and the growth potential through Province Representatives. The forward-looking information contained in this release is made as of the date hereof and the Company is not obligated to update or revise any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by applicable securities laws. Because of the risks, uncertainties and assumptions contained herein, investors should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information. The foregoing statements expressly qualify any forward-looking information contained herein.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/67290

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SINGAPORE, Oct 22, 2020 – (ACN Newswire) – Singapore's Energy Market Company (EMC) announced that organisations committed to environmental sustainability can now conveniently purchase electricity and offset their electricity consumption with Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs) through EMC's PowerSelect platform.

RECs are an additional offering on the PowerSelect platform, which helps businesses efficiently source the best electricity packages across a large number of electricity retailers in Singapore. With this new service, organisations can access a wide range of RECs from local and overseas energy providers, across different renewable energy sources. Increased choices for both electricity packages and RECs translate into more competitive prices for customers.

RECs are financial instruments that certify the purchase by an investor of units of electricity generated from renewable energy sources. Once the renewable energy is fed into the national power grid by the power generator, the REC can be traded as a separate energy commodity (1,2,3, RECs Fact Sheet, below).

Sound sustainability practice and corporate reputation go hand in hand

RECs support businesses towards environmental sustainability goals. In addition to enhancing corporate reputation, studies have shown that good sustainability practices can be a competitive advantage and support business growth. Organisations that have already purchased RECs from EMC include City Developments Limited (CDL), Singapore Exchange (SGX) and the Sharjah Electricity, Water and Gas Authority (SEWA) in the United Arab Emirates.

Loh Boon Chye, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of SGX, said: "A commitment to Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) practices is seen as increasingly important by customers, employees and shareholders of companies, who want their investments to not only deliver a financial return, but also contribute to social goals including environmental sustainability. We are delighted that our subsidiary EMC has launched a RECs offering that helps support organisations in their sustainability goals. SGX is pleased to be EMC's first customer, offsetting the electricity consumption of our offices in FY2019/20 using locally-produced RECs, which will support the adoption of solar panels in Singapore."

Convenience and benefits of purchasing electricity and RECs through EMC

Toh Seong Wah, CEO of EMC, said: "PowerSelect is a one-stop marketplace where businesses in Singapore can competitively purchase electricity and offset their electricity consumption with RECs. While customers can purchase either product independently, they gain additional savings when they purchase both electricity packages and RECs."

"EMC is neither a buyer nor a seller of electricity or RECs. This fully independent role means EMC is able to serve as a trusted advisor to our customers, helping them navigate the electricity and RECs markets and obtain the best value for their transactions," added Mr Toh.

RECs customers benefit from EMC's large pool of local and overseas suppliers, as well as the full range of renewable energy sources including solar, wind and hydro power. Customers that require a large quantity of RECs, which individual sellers may not have, can also rely on EMC to aggregate supply.

In addition, customers save significant time and effort as EMC does all the groundwork – like liaising with RECs suppliers, obtaining and comparing prices – before recommending the RECs that best meet their requirements. Furthermore, with EMC as its contract counterparty, customers face negligible counterparty risk compared to them entering contracts with RECs sellers directly. This is especially so with overseas sellers who usually require that buyers make payment before they receive the RECs.

Customers trust EMC's experience and reputation

With almost 20 years' experience in the power sector and backed by SGX, EMC ensures its customers can buy with confidence. The RECs offered by EMC are accredited by either the International REC Standard Foundation (I-REC) or the Tradable Instrument for Global Renewables (TIGR) Registry, the two key independent global RECs accreditations that ensure verification of trades and adherence to best practices in the sector.

As awareness grows of the need to mitigate global warming and climate change, EMC's customers are recognising the importance of RECs as instruments to help demonstrate their commitment to environmental sustainability.

Esther An, Chief Sustainability Officer, City Developments Limited (CDL), said: "As a sustainability pioneer and green building champion, CDL has remained steadfast in tackling the climate crisis and reducing our carbon emissions. As the world navigates this new normal, sustainability, energy efficiency and the reduction of our carbon footprint will remain our top priorities in the way we design, build and manage our assets. Committed to embracing innovative technologies and solutions that reduce environmental impact, CDL is glad to support EMC's initiative to accelerate Singapore's transition towards a low-carbon economy increasingly powered by renewable energy."

His Excellency Dr. Rashid Al Leem, Chairman of the Sharjah Electricity, Water and Gas Authority (SEWA), said: "Sustainable growth and carbon neutrality are important pillars in SEWA's Vision 2025, which is our blueprint towards a globally successful, innovative and sustainable tomorrow. EMC is the ideal partner for us, as we develop our plans to show our commitment to sustainability through the use of RECs."

Governments and enterprises around the globe are increasingly taking action to reduce their carbon footprint. EMC's entry into the RECs market demonstrates its commitment to the market's growth and evolution, and the development of renewable energy at large.

– RECs, Fact-Sheet : http://www.acnnewswire.com/clientreports/598/FactSheet.pdf
– PowerSelect platform : https://www.powerselect.sg
– EMC, the Energy Market Company : https://www.emcsg.com

About Energy Market Company

Energy Market Company (EMC) operates the wholesale market of the National Electricity Market of Singapore (NEMS), which is Asia's first liberalised electricity market. EMC completes the connection between those who make electricity in Singapore and those who use it.

As the exchange for wholesale electricity trading, EMC provides a transparent and competitive trading platform and its key activities include calculating prices, scheduling generation, clearing and settling market transactions as well as supporting governance of the market.

In line with its mission of building successful energy markets, EMC also provides training and consultancy services to promote the development of competitive electricity markets in countries that are embarking on the path of market liberalisation. EMC is a subsidiary of the SGX Group. For more information on EMC, please visit www.emcsg.com.

For media enquiries, please contact:
Winnie Tan
Vice President, Communications
Mobile: +65 9782 9705
Email: winnie.tan@emcsg.com

Carol Chong
Senior Executive, Communications
Tel: +65 6871 1857
Email: carol.chong@emcsg.com

1. PowerSelect is the most comprehensive electricity procurement portal for businesses in Singapore. It offers different procurement options (including 'live' auctions which drive prices down), access to data from the wholesale and futures electricity markets, and is supported by a good mix and number of electricity retailers in Singapore.
2. RECs were created as a means of tracking and recording the amounts of energy from renewable sources such as biomass, biogas, hydro-, solar- or wind-generated power that is fed into national power grids.
3. Clark, G. L., Feiner, A., & Viehs, M. (2015, March). From the Stockholder to the Stakeholder – How Sustainability can Drive Financial Outperformance. University of Oxford and Arabesque Asset Management Ltd.

Copyright 2020 ACN Newswire. All rights reserved. http://www.acnnewswire.com

BEIJING, China, Oct 15, 2020 – (ACN Newswire) – Holography comes from the Latin vocabulary, and its meaning is: all, compound. According to the current common knowledge in mainstream technology filed, holography specifically refers to "holographic technology", which is a technology for reproducing diffracted light emitted by objects. Holographic technology uses the principle of interference to record the light wave messages of the object, and uses the principle of diffraction to reproduce the light wave messages of the object, helping users to store all the light information of the object. Thus, the observer can observe the different positions of the object in all directions, and the stored light information records all the light distribution in the three-dimensional space. Therefore, holographic technology is also a kind of optical storage and reproduction technology.

The earliest holographic technology was discovered by Denise Gabor (1900-1979), a Hungarian physicist, who won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1971. However, this technology was first used in electron microscopes to record and display electronic holograms. The earliest use in the field of optics was after the invention of laser technology in 1960.

The holographic recording is different from ordinary photography. An ordinary camera only records the intensity of the object's light field. The hologram records the intensity of the reference light and the object light after interference. When it needs to be reproduced, it is only necessary to use the reference light to show the amplitude of the object light that fully characterizes the object information.

The hologram production process uses a laser. The laser beam is strictly split 1:1 by a beam splitter. One beam of light shines on the surface of the object to be photographed, and the other beam directly shines on the photosensitive film (holographic dry plate). Moreover, this light is also called the reference beam. When the object beam is reflected by the object, its reflected beam is also irradiated on the film, completing the hologram shooting process.

There are several major characteristics of holograms: 1. Omni-directional information recording. The holographic picture records the omnidirectional and comprehensive illumination information of the object, so that the object can be observed from different angles during observation. 2. Learning the whole picture from the parts. When part of the holographic picture is damaged, the whole picture of the object can still be seen from the remaining part. 3. The amount of stored information is huge, and multiple holographic photos can be recorded hierarchically on the holographic film. Moreover, they will not interfere with each other when displaying the picture.

Based on the characteristics of holograms mentioned above, the application prospects of holograms are quite broad, but it is not an easy task to collect light fields to form a hologram in the early stage of technological development. Early technical methods were either expensive, such as using the aforementioned laser to irradiate objects, or using camera arrays; or collecting information was limited and inefficient, for example, the light field acquisition systems based on a fixed turntable. After 2000, with the development of digital camera shooting technology and light field shooting technology gradually attracted the attention of researchers, the light field collection technology of the single camera came into being. Until now, the light field collection technology has truly reached the civilian level.

The common light field shooting techniques are divided into two categories: integral imaging and aperture coding imaging.

Integral imaging is achieved by adding a microlens array or a micromirror array in front of the sensor to realize the collection of images of the light field viewpoints in different directions. There are more well-known integral imaging devices, including the lens array lens launched by Adobe, the Pelican lens array camera on the mobile phone, the Lytro light field camera, the R series light field camera of Raytrix, and so on.

The shooting based on the compressed light field is to add an optical mask between the camera lens and the sensor to achieve compression encoding of the light entering the camera aperture. The more well-known equipment is the prototype of the light field camera developed by Babacan et al. They proposed to use the method of encoding mask and programmed aperture to capture light field viewpoints in different directions, which can obtain light field with high spatial resolution.

The microlens array has the advantages of low cost and small size, but its disadvantage is that the image resolution loss is serious. The coding imaging technology has the advantages of small size, no loss of resolution, but its advantages are low signal-to-noise ratio and low light field quality.

From the perspective of the development of light field cameras, encoding-based light field acquisition equipment breaks the mutual restriction between angular resolution and viewpoint image resolution. The redundant information in the light field can be removed through machine learning, and the light field can be restored from a small amount of information. In the future 4K era, the advantage of not losing resolution will be the focus of this technology.

In the near future, when light field acquisition equipment develops to a sufficiently high resolution, as well as has fast enough acquisition speed, and cheap, the light field data, as a kind of rich media data, is stored in a large amount of non-overlapping data that can be passed through a single point. The complete picture of data information will become a new data treasure house for data scientists to research and mine. In particular, unexpected achievements may be obtained in many fields, such as holographic recognition, holographic payment, holographic authentication, and so on.

Guo Songrui:
Doctor of Computer Science and Technology Engineering from Hunan University, studied mixed reality and augmented reality technology at the State Key Laboratory of Scientific Computing of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and participated in the research and development of multiple key projects.

About WIMI Hologram Cloud Inc.

WiMi Hologram Cloud, Inc. (NASDAQ: WIMI), whose commercial operations began in 2015, operates an integrated holographic AR application platform in China and has built a comprehensive and diversified holographic AR content library among all holographic AR solution providers in China. Its extensive portfolio includes 4,654 AR holographic contents. The company has also achieved a speed of image processing that is 80 percent faster than the industry average. While most peer companies may identify and capture 40 to 50 blocks of image data within a specific space unit, WiMi collects 500 to 550 data blocks. For more information, please visit http://ir.wimiar.com/.

WIMI Hologram Cloud Inc.
Name: Tim Wong
E-mail: pr@wimiar.com
Tele: +86 10 89913328

Copyright 2020 ACN Newswire. All rights reserved. http://www.acnnewswire.com

LOS ANGELES, CA., Oct 10, 2020 – (ACN Newswire) – Beginning on October 12th, 2020, Triller users will have the ability to livestream content, further expanding Triller's capabilities as the social platform's user-base grows. This new feature will offer creators a new way to monetize their content.

With a paywall feature and donate now, creators will be able to go live at any time opening up additional monetization routes.

"We always want to put our artists first. Go live was one of the first things our influencers wanted. In response, we designed a program that is the best and most sophisticated go live technology there is. This will be game-changing for influencers," said Bobby Sarnevesht, Chief Triller Officer and Executive Chair. "We find it disturbing that TikTok takes such a big share of the artists work," he continued.

While other social platforms do give creators the opportunity to monetize their live-streams, a majority of the money raised often goes to the platform itself. Triller, however, continues to be an artist-first application. With the well-being of creators being at the core of its business model, Triller will make sure that 70% of all money raised during live streams goes directly to the artist. Triller has also designated $5 million in 'go live' backlog that has been pre-purchased for influencers on a first-come, first-serve basis. The first 10 influencers who hit 100,000 concurrent viewers will each get 50K donations directly from the company. This is the first of many up and coming monetization programs for influencers. "We have already done internal tests, and if influencers use their IG and other social to encourage their followers to join their go live, this is a relatively easy metric for them to hit," said Mike Lu, CEO of Triller.

"This generation has a huge appetite for live-streamed content, as we see how live-streamed events across social platforms have accumulated millions of viewers simultaneously. We want our users to know that we continue to update our app and add new features based on what we know will improve the experience for them based on their feedback," continued Bobby Sarnevesht.

This latest development is the final integration of Halogen Networks into the platform, which Triller acquired this June with the intention of giving Triller users the opportunity to watch live events, including sports, musical acts, and more.

ABOUT TRILLER

Triller is an AI-powered music video app that allows users to create professional-looking videos in a matter of seconds. Pick a song, select the portion of the song you want to use, snap a few takes, and with the tap of a button, you have a celebrity-quality music video starring you and your friends. Triller relies solely on organic growth and has more than 250 million downloads, with celebrities like Alicia Keys, Cardi B, Marshmello, Roddy Ricch, and Eminem regularly using the app to create their own music videos. Triller recently was acquired by Proxima Media. For more information, visit www.triller.co and follow @trillervids on Instagram.

CONTACT:
press@triller.co

SOURCE: Triller

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