Indonesian SOE Minister Erick Thohir Inaugurates PERTAMINA PRIDE

LAMPUNG, Indonesia, Apr 18, 2021 – (ACN Newswire) – State-Owned Enterprises (SOE) Minister Erick Thohir was at the Port of Semangka Bay, Kota Agung, Tanggamus Regency to inaugurate the PERTAMINA PRIDE, the Very Large Crude Carrier (VLCC) commissioned by Pertamina International Shipping (PIS), the shipping sub-holding of PT Pertamina.

Handover of PERTAMINA PRIDE VLCC model replica to SOE Minister Erick Thohir with PT Pertamina President Director Nicke Widyawati and Board of Directors of Pertamina and Pertamina International Shipping (PIS) at the inauguration, Semangka Bay, Lampung (4/15).

The ceremony was held onboard, the Minister joined by Pertamina President Director Nicke Widyawati and Director of Logistics and Infrastructure Mulyono, PIS President Director Erry Widiastono and PIS President Commissioner A. Junaedy Ganieand, and representatives of Pertamina management in Lampung.

Minister Erick said state-owned enterprises must contribute to maintaining Indonesia's energy security, with its natural wealth and natural products, while Pertamina was expected to help transform its units amid rapid ongoing changes, such as the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. "Pertamina must remember its heyday in the 70s, become a global player and be ready to compete based on good corporate governance," said the Minister.

As a consumer-oriented shipping company, PIS continues to strive to meet energy needs by continuing to produce various breakthroughs. One of these is the PERTAMINA PRIDE. Built at the Japan Marine United (JMU) Shipyard since 2018 and sailing since February 9, 2021, this giant tanker was handed over, able to carry out its duties to distribute energy in Indonesian waters.

The tanker, which has a capacity of 2 million barrels, is a tangible form of PIS's commitment to improving quality and service. The PERTAMINA PRIDE aims to simplify the flow of energy distribution and secure the supply of captive crude to the Pertamina refinery FOB Ras Tanura to Cilacap more efficiently so that it is ready to become the lifeblood of the national energy distribution.

PIS also supports ambitions to become the leading integrated logistics company in Asia, centred on petroleum with new growth industries, integrated logistics and services, and green energy business segments. PIS formed a roadmap strategy of 3 phases, emphasizing the integration of PIS with other Pertamina subsidiaries, becoming an integrated logistics company in Indonesia, and becoming a sustainable and leading energy transportation company in the region.

President Director Nicke said investment in the two new vessels, PERTAMINA PRIDE and the PERTAMINA PRIME (under construction), were in line with shareholder directives to 'go global'. As a shipping company, Nicke continued, PIS was transforming into a globally integrated logistics solution provider as it not only had the ships, but facilities and storage at the port as well. "Thus, the value chain managed by PIS will also get larger," she said.

Energy Needs in Indonesia

There is an upward trend in consumption of the various energy and fuels, with Indonesia's total energy consumption increasing by a 3.5% CAGR from 100.1 million mtoe in 2000 to 185.5 million mtoe in 2018. PIS sees this energy consumption growing each year, from increasing demand for transport fuel to the widespread use of LPG for household needs.

"We see a significant increase in energy consumption in Indonesia, but we are optimistic that we can continue to meet energy needs for the country. The presence of PRIDE in Indonesian waters shows our determination to be a leading shipping company, regionally and internationally. Let's move towards the future together, 'Shipping The Energy Worldwide, Energizing The Nation With Pride, PT PIS Delivering Promises,'" said PIS President Director Erry Widiastono.

About PT Pertamina International Shipping (PIS)

PT PIS, a sub-holding company of PT Pertamina (Persero), was established with a vision of becoming the leading shipping company in Asia, and driving economic growth in Indonesia. To realize this vision, PIS is aiming to be an agent of Indonesia's economic development with safe and sustainable operations, to become a trusted and reliable maritime partner, as well as creating value for stakeholders in running their business.

Media contact:

Roberth MV Dumatubun
E: roberth@pertamina.com
Manager, Stakeholder Relations
Pertamina International Shipping (PIS)
https://www.pertamina-pis.com

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

Indonesia’s State-owned Companies Go Global, Display Innovation at Hannover Messe Exhibition

JAKARTA, Apr 15, 2021 – (ACN Newswire) – As many as 13 Indonesian state-owned enterprises (SOEs) display their latest innovations at the largest industrial technology exhibition, the Hannover Messe 2021, as Indonesia plans to join the top 10 global economies by 2030.

Minister of State-owned Enterprise of Republic of Indonesia Erick Thohir

"This goal can be achieved by accelerating the fourth industrial revolution, and pursuing not only technological transformation, but the digital transformation of industry, especially during this pandemic," Indonesian President Joko Widodo said.

Indonesia was the first Southeast Asian country to become an official partner of the exhibition, which is being held this week, 12 – 16 April, in a digital edition. Participation at Hannover Messe (HM21) is part of the national policy "Making Indonesia 4.0".

"We expect our state-owned enterprises to 'go global' as we stated in our ministry's road map. Not only through acquisition, but by leading the global competition," said Erick Thohir, Minister of State-owned Enterprises (BUMN).

Some state-owned enterprises have adopted and developed recent technologies to compete with, and even lead the competition in digital technology, specifically in the energy industry, and in the automotive, electronics, chemical and pharmaceutical sectors, and the health equipment industry. All have their innovation on display at MH21.

Indonesia's premier energy holding company PT Pertamina engages 4.0 industry transformation by transitioning energy consumption from fossil fuels to renewable energies. For energizing its sustainable future, Pertamina is converting its refineries to produce green diesel, green jet fuels and green gasoline, optimizing geothermal capacity, and utilizing green hydrogen. It also works with other state-owned companies to develop Indonesian EV batteries and energy storage systems.

The state-owned enterprise in the electricity sector, PT Perusahaan Listrik Negara promotes digital-based products that can acclerate business processes, such as the iCORE Digital Power Plant for electricity generation, Digitally Enabled Distribution Excellence for electricity distribution, PLN Mobile application for customer service and the Charge in application for charging electric vehicles.

A testing, inspection and certification company, PT Surveyor Indonesia is showcasing its drone-powered enhanced solution services for predictive maintenance and remote surveys. Meanwhile, Indonesia's state mint Peruri developed a research institute for authenticity and collaborated with SICPA SA (a Switzerland company) and Giesecke+Devrient (a German company). At the Hannover Messe, Peruri introduces its innovations in digital business solutions with its products Peruri Sign, Peruri Code and Peruri Trust.

PT Pupuk Indonesia, the holding company for state-owned fertilizer producers, has implemented a "Smart Production" system that uses big data and integrates several data including operational data and distributed control systems. The system is expected to increase efficiency of operations and monitors production processes in real-time. The company also implements a 'Smart Distribution' system that integrates data in the warehouse all the way through the ports. Another smart product is the PreciPalm or Precision Agricuture Platform for Palm Oil that provides digital maps on soil condition in oil palm plantation that can give recommendations for fertilization.

Indonesian pharmaceutical holding company PT Bio Farma displays "bio tracking", "bio detect" and an integrated packaging line for vaccine distributions. A thermal sensor and a GPS are installed in vaccine transporting vehicles to monitor temperatures inside the vehicles and their real-time position. Bio Farma hopes to expand to Eastern Europe following HM21. PT Indofarma promotes several premium products and seeks to attract foreign investment in pharmaceutical and herbal products. PT Kimia Farma, another state-owned pharmaceutical company also joins the exhibition, alongside its subsidiary PT Kimia Farma Sungwun Phramacopia.

The largest port operator in Indonesia, PT Pelabuhan Indonesia II is showcasing several of its latest innovations, including i-Hub, an application for one-stop port service and e-government solutions National Single Window and Online Single Submission.

In line with transforming into a digital telecommunications company, PT Telekomunikasi Indonesia brought several digital solutions, including digital connectivity, digital platform and digital service, all being displayed at HM21.

PT INKA, the first integrated train manufacturer in Southeast Asia, presents 'E-Inobus', an electric bus that was produced in a configurable virtual workstation concept. The nation's shipbuilder PT PAL Indonesia introduces a dual fuel (diesel and LNG) barge-mounted plant, a floating power plant that can be operated in shallow waters and remote regions.

Another state-owned company attending Hannover Messe is PT Barata Indonesia, which produces various machinery and components for power plants and trains. The company expects to expand its market and joins the global supply chain for industrial components.

"Leadership and technology transformation will create a momentum that will not only pull us out of this pandemic but will push us to leap further ahead," Thohir said. Indonesia's participation in Hannover Messe 2021 does push state-owned companies in going global, and it opens opportunities in forging business partnerships and investment cooperation with international companies towards building the future of industry 4.0.

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

How China’s Poverty Eradication Work Contributes to the World

BEIJING, Apr 12, 2021 – (ACN Newswire) – Since the reform and opening-up, more than 770 million of China's rural population living below the poverty line have been raised out of poverty, accounting for more than 70% of the global total over the same period by the World Bank's international poverty standard, a white paper on poverty alleviation reads.

The white paper was released Tuesday morning by China's State Council Information Office.

Against the backdrop of severe global poverty and a widening gap between the rich and the poor in some countries, China has won the battle against extreme poverty and achieved the poverty alleviation goal set on the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development 10 years ahead of schedule.

This has significantly reduced the world's poor population and contributed greatly to "realizing a better and more prosperous world," as envisioned by the Agenda.

– International support and assistance

In the early years after the founding of People's Republic of China (PRC), China used to benefit from the support of the international community.

By cooperating with the UN and the World Bank, the country accepted assistance from some developed countries and carried out cooperation projects in financial input, knowledge transfer, and technical assistance while learning from the advanced concepts and methods.

Those efforts improved China's institutional innovation and management and laid a foundation for sustainable development in certain areas.

– China's role in global poverty management

In return, China has been providing support and assistance to the world. President Xi Jinping has announced on many major international occasions that China's practical measures for international development cooperation have been implemented on schedule or are progressing in an orderly manner.

Firstly, China has supported other developing countries in poverty alleviation since the founding of the country.

For instance, China has launched the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) to expand deep and high-level regional cooperation on economic and social development and to help eligible countries better achieve poverty alleviation.

According to a World Bank study, the initiative will help 7.6 million people out of extreme poverty and 32 million out of moderate poverty in these countries.

Over the past 70 years and more, China has provided assistance in various forms to over 160 countries in Asia, Africa, Latin America, the Caribbean, Oceania, and Europe, and international organizations, reduced or exempted the debts of eligible countries, and helped developing countries in their efforts to achieve the Millennium Development Goals, the paper says.

Secondly, China has launched international poverty alleviation cooperation projects for the benefit of all. In Africa, China has helped countries build facilities including water conservancy infrastructure, vocational and technical schools, government-subsidized housing, set up demonstration zones for agricultural cooperation, and carried out China-Africa cooperation projects such as China-Africa friendship hospitals and the headquarters of the African Center for Disease Control and Prevention.

Thirdly, China has also shared its experience on poverty reduction. It has carried out exchanges and cooperation, including building platforms, organizing training, and conducting think tank exchanges.

Together with UN agencies in China, the Chinese government has convened sessions of the Global Poverty Reduction and Development Forum on the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty.

With the COVID-19 pandemic still spreading around the world, and poverty, hunger and disease undermining people's pursuit of a better life, China says it stands ready to strengthen exchanges and cooperation with other countries on poverty reduction and make a greater contribution to building a global community of shared future that is free from poverty and blessed with common prosperity.

Media contact:
Xiaonan Ma, CGTN
Email: cgtn@cgtn.com
Phone: +86-10-85061422

SOURCE: CGTN, https://news.cgtn.com/news/2021-04-06/How-China-s-poverty-eradication-work-contributes-to-the-world-ZeVWiOgAlW/index.html

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

Australian Beef Companies Become Victims of Australian Government’s Political Crisis

SYDNEY, Mar 27, 2021 – (ACN Newswire) – In the past two years, Australian beef exporters have become victims of the trade war due to the acute worsening of trade relations between China and Australia. China stopped importing beef products from five Australian beef companies, four of which produced and exported 35% of the market from Australia to China. In August 2020, prohibited antibiotics were detected in imported beef, leading Chinese Customs to take action against the fifth beef company to be suspended.

The Chinese market has always been an important market for Australian beef products. Statistics show that in 2019, the exports of Australian beef products to China valued AUD2.87 billion (approximately RMB 13.9 billion), accounting for 24% of total export of Australian beef products. In 2019, China's beef products import amount surpassed the United States by 17.04% of the world's total beef imports and became the world's largest beef importing country. In other words, Australian beef exporters will suffer heavy losses if putting the Chinese market aside, which is however seemingly inevitable in current situation.

Before June 2015, Australia had been China's largest beef products exporting country. In recent years, its market share in China has been declining, to be surpassed by Brazil and Argentina. In 2019, China retained its position as the largest importing country of Brazilian beef products. Uruguay in the meantime is also expanding its market share and has now surpassed Australia to become the fourth largest beef exporting country. Australian media reported the share of Australian beef products imported by China had slumped to 15.8% during the first 6 months of 2020.

According to the AMIC, the decline of beef products exports to China in 2020 was underestimated by Australia at the beginning; instead, Australia once expected to rely on other countries including Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Vietnam and India to reduce its dependency on the Chinese market. However, according to a scholar of the University of Technology Sydney, these countries are not all among Australia's top ten trading partners, many of which have not even concluded a free trade agreement, and there is no other option to be selected to have the trade value closer to that of with China. The fact makes Australian beef exporters worried very much as Australian beef is likely to be ruled out from the Chinese market permanently and completely.

It is not difficult to see that the timing between Australia's beef exports to China encountering a series of problems and the Australian government's launching a new coronavirus traceability investigation against China directly coincide with each other. The Australian government's inappropriate remarks on China and the COVID-19 global public health crisis lend reason to the tensions between China and Australia, while the Australian beef exporters have become the latest casualties in this ongoing political crisis.

Author: Scott Albert
Email: tigercbj@163.com
Scott Albert has been working as an editor of Expert feature news. His work covers economic, social, political and legal affairs. He has been recognized for his professionalism and awarded several times. More recently as an independent or working together with researchers he has delivered a number of public and internal reference reports, known as a representative and senior specialist in internet communications.

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

A Challenge for Australia: Can the deep-rooted racial discrimination be eradicated?

SYDNEY, Mar 26, 2021 – (ACN Newswire) – On November 19, 2020, the Australian Department of Defense issued a report that officially recognized the killing of 39 civilians by Australian elite forces in Afghanistan. The 300-page report caused an uproar in the international arena. Killing civilians was named "blooding" by Australian military by word, but under the disguise of such words, killing innocent people has become a soldier's "coming-of-age ceremony" or a "sacrifice" to a certain ritual. However, the "macho" culture under the catalytic action of war is constantly moving towards the extinction of humanity. Such atrocity and brutality against the unarmed and weak also reflect the vulnerability and ignorance of the Australian special forces in the pursuit of their "boyhood".

Regardless the "blooding" or "warrior culture", it is a process of sugaring up the killing culture, of which the logic behind needs to be uncovered from the Australian culture and history. Australia has always advertised itself as a multicultural country, but undeniably its society operates with its inherent "biological chain". Those who stand at the top of the biological chain are naturally the British immigrants with Anglo-Saxon culture, while lying at the bottom are the Middle Eastern ethnicity labeled "Muslims" and "terrorists." Racial discrimination has always been an unavoidable social phenomenon in Australia.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, repeat undisguised discrimination against ethnic Chinese has also put the multiculturalism of Australia to the test. The ultra-right wing has been occupying a place in Australian political landscape since the 1990s. For example, the One Nation Party represented by Pauline Hanson, who as a member of parliament made public speeches against Asian immigrants in the mid-1990s. She established the One Nation Party after being expelled from the Liberal Party. The One Nation is now a representative of populist political parties in Australia. This party believes that multiculturalism will impair the cultural foundation of Australia and now it exaggerates the difficulty of integrating Muslims into mainstream culture. Pauline Hanson once clearly called for banning the burqa throughout Australia (Editor's note: refers to the robes worn by Muslim women), believing that Muslim women should not wear headscarves as well.

Reflecting on racism requires Australia to face up to its own history. In the mid to late 19th century, the "White Australia Policy" came into being. Such policy was to restrict colored races from ports to Australia. The "White Australia Policy" had been implemented in Australia for 100 years and was not abolished until the 1970s, of the 20th century.

Here again, after the Department of Defence's report was made public, the local Australian media focused their attention on the impact that the report might have on the morale of the Australian army, but the pains to the victims of the Afghan civilians were selectively ignored. Especially the feelings of the Afghans living in Australia; it is impossible not to say that this is another replay of Australian racial crisis. Such a solution is regrettable to many parties.

About the author:
Scott Albert, male, has been working as the editor of Expert feature news. His work reports cover economic, social, political and legal affairs. He has been well recognized and awarded many times in terms of professionalism. In recent years, being independently or in cooperation with partners, he has delivered a certain amount of public and internal reference reports, known as a senior specialist in Internet communication.

Author: Scott Albert
Email: tigercbj@163.com

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

HouseAfrica Announces Partnership With Domineum

LAGOS, Mar 10, 2021 – (ACN Newswire) – HouseAfrica, furthering its dedication to making African real estate transactions seamless and transparent, is pleased to announce a strategic partnership with Domineum, an enterprise blockchain technology and back-end services provider.

PropVat by HouseAfrica helps individuals and financial institutions verify and validate properties seamlessly, increasing access to credit.

HouseAfrica's PropVat.com, Africa's largest property technology platform, connects real estate stakeholders, property developers, home buyers, financial institutions, valuers and government regulators, to verify and validate property authenticity before purchase or credit application.

"We are particularly excited about our partnership with Domineum, as it helps us toward our goal of unlocking trapped real estate value in Nigeria, estimated at $300-900 billion dollars. We believe in collaboration. PropVat, our cutting-edge solution for unlocking Nigeria's and Africa's huge dead asset pool, is built on blockchain and collaboration," says Uba Nnamdi, Co-Founder and CEO HouseAfrica.

"Domineum is excited to partner with HouseAfrica to deliver its bespoke products and services to the government sector, land departments and other agencies, and the services sector, to real estate and financial businesses. Real estate investment is a real deal and blockchain can be seen as the game changer," says Mohammed Ibrahim Jega, Co-founder, Domineum.

PropVat works in partnership with key stakeholders in the real estate sector, including the Nigerian Institute of Estate Surveyors and Valuers (NIESV), Nigerian Bar Association and Nigeria Mortgage Refinance Company (NMRC), building a data-driven ecosystem for fast and easy means of processing interactive and transparent real estate transactions.

About PropVat
Using PropVat.com for verification helps to reduce the risk of fraudulent misrepresentation of ownership and valuation information. The PropVat platform generates a PVN (Property Verification Number) for quick access to a Verification Report, E-deed (powered by blockchain), and detailed property quality analysis. Major Financial Institutions are already using PropVat for their verification needs. Visit https://propvat.com, twitter.com/propvat, linkedin.com/company/propvat/ and facebook.com/propvat.

About HouseAfrica
HouseAfrica is building the largest African property platform using technology to connect real estate stakeholders to verify and validate property authenticity before purchase or credit application, helping to make convenient, secured, fast, transparent, and affordable property transactions. In 2019, HouseAfrica won the Best African Blockchain Startup at the AfricArena Conference Fantom Blockchain Challenge. Visit https://houseafrica.io.

About Domineum
Domineum is a software development company and consultant that aims to disrupt several sectors in the emerging markets, and leap-frog the current infrastructure with distributed ledger (blockchain) technology and Blockchain-as-a-Service (BaaS) solutions for governments and businesses. Domineum provides efficient back-end solutions to verify and authenticate Land and Property Registry, Mortgage, Identity Management, Cargo Tracking and Supply Chain systems. Visit https://www.domineum.io.

Contact: hello@houseafrica.io

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

InvestHK encourages Australian companies to leverage Hong Kong’s business advantages in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area

HONG KONG, Mar 2, 2021 – (ACN Newswire) – Invest Hong Kong (InvestHK) hosted a hybrid symposium entitled "Hong Kong: Your Greater Bay Area Partner in Expanding Your Global Business" in Sydney today (March 1), attracting over 400 participants from Hong Kong and Australia.

The Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development, Mr Edward Yau, speaks via video on the huge potential of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area and encourages Australian enterprises to seize the abundant opportunities in his keynote speech during the symposium "Hong Kong: Your Greater Bay Area Partner in Expanding Your Global Business" hosted by Invest Hong Kong in Sydney today (March 1).

The Director-General of Investment Promotion at Invest Hong Kong (InvestHK), Mr Stephen Phillips, delivers welcoming remarks via video during the symposium "Hong Kong: Your Greater Bay Area Partner in Expanding Your Global Business" in Sydney today (March 1), revealing the vast business potential and the composite advantages of Hong Kong in the emerging market of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.

The Commissioner for the Development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, Mr Tommy Yuen, gives a keynote speech via video during the symposium "Hong Kong: Your Greater Bay Area Partner in Expanding Your Global Business" in Sydney today (March 1).

The symposium focused on the attractiveness of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA) as well as the strategic role of Hong Kong in the overall development of the GBA. It brought together the Director of the Australian Chamber Business Leaders Council, Mr Paul Nicolaou, and other speakers renowned in their respective fields to share insights.

The Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development, Mr Edward Yau, talked in his online keynote speech about the huge potential of the GBA and encouraged Australian enterprises to seize the abundant opportunities. He said that, as quoted in studies, while the GBA constitutes only 1 per cent of land in the entirety of China and has 5 per cent of the country's population, it produces 12 per cent of the nation's GDP, and exports 37 per cent of national trade.

"Connectivity through extensive efficient railway systems plus world-class airports and container ports and telecom networks within the GBA provides a solid foundation for it to thrive as a major economic engine of the country. While the 11 cities pursue a common goal of building the GBA into the best bay area in the world, they play different functions as a holistic cluster. Green and sustainable development will be another driver of the GBA in attracting international businesses. By various estimates, the GBA's GDP will grow to top US$4.7 trillion by 2030, presenting growth potential that Australian companies should not be missing," Mr Yau said.

Another keynote speaker, the Commissioner for the Development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, Mr Tommy Yuen, said via video, "Hong Kong, under 'one country, two systems' and armed with the GBA development plan is ideally placed to contribute to and benefit from both. Hong Kong will focus on better integration into the country's domestic market, taking the GBA development as an entry point, and will proactively strengthen our role as a facilitator to link up the domestic circulation and the international circulation. Playing the dual role well will bring continuous impetus to Hong Kong's economy. Businesses that operate in Hong Kong will hence be able to take full advantage of not just what Hong Kong has to offer but what the GBA market can offer."

The Director of the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in Sydney, Ms Winnie Chan, and the Director-General of Investment Promotion at InvestHK, Mr Stephen Phillips, delivered welcoming remarks. Mr Phillips, speaking via video, revealed the vast business potential and the composite advantages of Hong Kong in the emerging market of the GBA. "The GBA in my opinion is the most exciting economic development plan in this planet. It is home to 72 million consumers and many of the country's most innovative companies, and backed by the leading international financial centre status of Hong Kongas well as all other dynamic economic clusters. The intra-regional trade and investment flows, especially between the GBA and ASEAN, present many new opportunities ahead," he said.

Other speakers at the symposium included the Managing Director and Group CEO of the University of Wollongong Global Enterprises, Ms Marisa Mastroianni, who discussed her experience on how to leverage Hong Kong to extend the university's global network of higher education institutions. The CEO and Founder of AirTrunk, Mr Robin Khuda; Partner in Tax of KPMG Hong Kong and Head of Alternative Investments of KPMG China Mr Darren Bowdern; the National President of Australia China Business Council, Mr David Olsson; and the Director of Philanthropy and Government Relations of the Fred Hollows Foundation, Mr Michael Allen, also talked about the unparalleled opportunities in Hong Kong during the panel discussion moderated by the Chairman, Global Engagement of the Business Council of Australia, Mr Warwick Smith.

About InvestHK

InvestHK is the department of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government responsible for attracting foreign direct investment and supporting overseas and Mainland businesses to set up or expand in Hong Kong. It provides free advice and customised services for overseas and Mainland companies. For more information, please visit www.investhk.gov.hk.

For photos of the symposium, please visit: www.flickr.com/photos/investhk/albums/72157718478324988.

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

InvestHK of the HKSAR encourages Australian companies to leverage Hong Kong’s business advantages in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area

HONG KONG, Mar 2, 2021 – (ACN Newswire) – Invest Hong Kong (InvestHK), a department of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government (HKSAR), hosted a hybrid symposium entitled "Hong Kong: Your Greater Bay Area Partner in Expanding Your Global Business" in Sydney today (March 1), attracting over 400 participants from Hong Kong and Australia.

The symposium focused on the attractiveness of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA) as well as the strategic role of Hong Kong in the overall development of the GBA. It brought together the Director of the Australian Chamber Business Leaders Council, Mr Paul Nicolaou, and other speakers renowned in their respective fields to share insights.

The Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development, Mr Edward Yau, talked in his online keynote speech about the huge potential of the GBA and encouraged Australian enterprises to seize the abundant opportunities. He said that, as quoted in studies, while the GBA constitutes only 1 per cent of land in the entirety of China and has 5 per cent of the country's population, it produces 12 per cent of the nation's GDP, and exports 37 per cent of national trade.

"Connectivity through extensive efficient railway systems plus world-class airports and container ports and telecom networks within the GBA provides a solid foundation for it to thrive as a major economic engine of the country. While the 11 cities pursue a common goal of building the GBA into the best bay area in the world, they play different functions as a holistic cluster. Green and sustainable development will be another driver of the GBA in attracting international businesses. By various estimates, the GBA's GDP will grow to top US$4.7 trillion by 2030, presenting growth potential that Australian companies should not be missing," Mr Yau said.

Another keynote speaker, the Commissioner for the Development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, Mr Tommy Yuen, said via video, "Hong Kong, under 'one country, two systems' and armed with the GBA development plan is ideally placed to contribute to and benefit from both. Hong Kong will focus on better integration into the country's domestic market, taking the GBA development as an entry point, and will proactively strengthen our role as a facilitator to link up the domestic circulation and the international circulation. Playing the dual role well will bring continuous impetus to Hong Kong's economy. Businesses that operate in Hong Kong will hence be able to take full advantage of not just what Hong Kong has to offer but what the GBA market can offer."

The Director of the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in Sydney, Ms Winnie Chan, and the Director-General of Investment Promotion at InvestHK, Mr Stephen Phillips, delivered welcoming remarks. Mr Phillips, speaking via video, revealed the vast business potential and the composite advantages of Hong Kong in the emerging market of the GBA. "The GBA in my opinion is the most exciting economic development plan in this planet. It is home to 72 million consumers and many of the country's most innovative companies, and backed by the leading international financial centre status of Hong Kongas well as all other dynamic economic clusters. The intra-regional trade and investment flows, especially between the GBA and ASEAN, present many new opportunities ahead," he said.

Other speakers at the symposium included the Managing Director and Group CEO of the University of Wollongong Global Enterprises, Ms Marisa Mastroianni, who discussed her experience on how to leverage Hong Kong to extend the university's global network of higher education institutions. The CEO and Founder of AirTrunk, Mr Robin Khuda; Partner in Tax of KPMG Hong Kong and Head of Alternative Investments of KPMG China Mr Darren Bowdern; the National President of Australia China Business Council, Mr David Olsson; and the Director of Philanthropy and Government Relations of the Fred Hollows Foundation, Mr Michael Allen, also talked about the unparalleled opportunities in Hong Kong during the panel discussion moderated by the Chairman, Global Engagement of the Business Council of Australia, Mr Warwick Smith.

About InvestHK

InvestHK is the department of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government responsible for attracting foreign direct investment and supporting overseas and Mainland businesses to set up or expand in Hong Kong. It provides free advice and customised services for overseas and Mainland companies. For more information, please visit www.investhk.gov.hk.

For photos of the symposium, please visit: www.flickr.com/photos/investhk/albums/72157718478324988 .

Media contact:

Mr Antoine So
Head of Public Relations
Tel: + 852 3107 1035
Email: ASo@investhk.gov.hk

Ms Eva Chan
Senior Manager, Public Relations
Tel: + 852 3107 1071
Email: EChan@investhk.gov.hk

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

NextGen Blockchain Platforms Self-Organize to Win Government Contracts

Washington, D.C., Feb 26, 2021 – (ACN Newswire) – Over the past year, blockchain development communities have turned their attention towards winning government contracts.

There is a huge opportunity presented by increased government spending on blockchain projects. According to Bloomberg Government BGOV200 Report, federal government spending reached $597 Billion in 2019. However, since new businesses face barriers gaining direct access to government contracts, many have joined the Government Blockchain Association (GBA) to introduce their cutting-edge blockchain platforms to the public sector.

Traditionally government program managers choose to work with the same few legacy companies. For example, there are currently over 4.1 million US Federal government contractors but of the $597 billion in prime contracts awarded in FY19, the top 10 government contractors received $173.4 billion according to Bloomberg Government. However, the COVID-19 Global Pandemic was a catalyst that necessitated governments from around the world look at bold and innovative new ways to solve problems from a more diverse community.

In March of 2020 the US Department of Health and Human Services hosted a virtual Pandemic Response Hackathon. This hackathon idea completely changed the former process of government acquisitions. The slow pattern of the past was rewritten to adopt to the chaos, uncertainty, and urgency of COVID. Government contracts went from a centralized channel to open and decentralized solutions coming in from completely new sources. A new way of doing business was introduced to the world stage, and in November 2020 the Indian Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), National Informatics Centre (NIC) held their own up a GovTech Hackathon. Throughout 2020, countless examples of crowdsourcing solutions contested the traditional procurement processes.

Along with new paradigms in acquisitions, 2020 brought explosive growth of decentralized development communities and platforms. Decentralized communities operate on independently run servers, rather than on a centralized server owned by a business. Initially, most blockchain solutions were private-permissioned blockchains dominated by a single vendor. One of the most popular government blockchain solutions is Hyperledger Fabric. Though it is technically an open-source project, almost 80% of software changes to Hyperledger Fabric came from IBM, demonstrating an ongoing dependence on IBM to maintain the code.

Lately, next gen blockchain solution providers have been self-organizing into working groups and communities to compete in the contracts space. The largest and most engaged of these decentralized communities is the Government Blockchain Association, with members in over 500 Government Offices, thousands of public and private sector members in 120 Chapters, and more than 50 Working Groups, and 25 Communities of Interests. They also host regular online and in-person events to introduce blockchain solution providers to government officials, promoting this new diverse community.

Some of these next gen blockchain leaders include:
– DragonChain – DragonChain is an enterprise and start-up-ready platform to build flexible and scalable blockchain applications. It has business-ready applications and developer-friendly integrations that support many applications including learning management systems, decentralized identity, and anti-fraud and compliance solutions.
– NEM – A community that has developed two blockchains. They are NEM NIS1 and Symbol. NEM NIS1 is the original blockchain offering from NEM, created by the community, and optimized to be a developer's sandbox. With zero downtime or major outages since 2015, NIS1 is the blockchain you can trust for all your project needs. Symbol is the next-generation enterprise-grade blockchain solution from NEM, purpose-built to help businesses cut costs, reduce complexities, and streamline innovation. With major upgrades in flexibility, security, speed and ease of use, the Symbol platform is the best-in-class blockchain enterprise solution.
– Simba Chain – SIMBA Chain is a cloud-based, blockchain-as-a-service (BaaS) platform, enabling users across a variety of skill sets to implement decentralized applications (dapps). These apps allow secure, direct connections between users and providers, eliminating third parties. The easy-to-use platform is tailored for users, developers, government, and enterprises to quickly deploy blockchain dapps for iOS, Android, and the web.
– TON Labs – TON Labs is the core developer of Free TON, comprised of a decentralized team focused on developing the infrastructure and free software for TON OS. TON OS is a full-fledged, vertically integrated technology stack that helps developers work easily with the blockchain and makes it simple and intuitive for users.

Decentralized blockchain projects include the Government Business Blockchain Platform (GBBP). This multi-blockchain platform allows solutions built on any blockchain to connect and become available to governments around the world. Sub-set eco-systems include Emergency Management, Healthcare Delivery, and Citizen Services. Blockchain applications can interconnect on the GBBP, providing identity management, logistics, asset management, payments, and many other blockchain services.

These examples demonstrate how blockchain providers are working together, self-organizing into decentralized entities to build public-facing blockchain solutions. GBA groups regularly host online meetings to discuss their projects. Anyone interested in joining the discussion can find out more on the GBA Events Calendar or Events List. Later this year the GBA will be bringing World-Class Leaders to Washington, DC for Government Blockchain Week on Sept 27 to Oct 1, 2021.

For more information to attend a free online event called NextGen Blockchain Platforms (https://www.gbaglobal.org/government-business-blockchain-platform/) on March 17, 2021 or send an email to support@GBAglobal.freshdesk.com.

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

Longhua District Carries out Future City Scenes Experiment

SHENZHEN, CHINA, Feb 13, 2021 – (ACN Newswire) – On the morning of February 4, a press conference themed 'Foreseeing the Future in Longhua, Shenzhen' was held in Shenzhen Citizen Center. Longhua District will launch an all-round future city scenes experiment, make every effort to build a future city development experimental field and ideal society showcase window, and take the lead in exploring the system and path to adapt to the future development of high-density urban areas.

This year is the opening year of the 14th Five-Year Plan. With the new starting point, Longhua District is launching the all-round future city scene experiment, another important innovation building Shenzhen into a socialism pilot demonstration area and global benchmark city.

Longhua District will promote the application and integration of future city scenes in a comprehensive and systematic manner based on the following five strategic positionings: Firstly, it will focus on the positioning of a leading area with high-quality development and build a new scene of digital economic empowerment; Secondly, it will focus on the positioning of a law-based demonstration city and building a scene of advanced grassroots rule of law; Thirdly, it will focus on the positioning of an urban civilization model and build a new scene of digital culture and innovation; Fourthly, it will focus on the positioning of a benchmark for people's livelihood and happiness and build a new scene of intelligent public service; Fifthly, it will focus on the positioning of a pioneer for sustainable development and build a new scene of integration of "ecology, production and living". Li Junqi, chairman of Foxconn Industrial Internet Co., Ltd, a listed company located in Longhua District, said, "Longhua is our birthplace, and we will continue to lead innovation in Longhua."

Longhua District has announced the global launch of its eight themed clusters of application scenes for the experimental scenes of the future city: the overall "smart" governance scene of the North Station International Business District, the public life scene of the Heron Lake Central City, the future industrial innovation scene of the Jiulongshan Digital City, the future ecological scene of the Guanlan River Basin, the future traffic scene of Longhua Avenue, the digital fashion scene in the Dalang Fashion Town, the talent service scene in the Talent District, and the digital culture scene in the Guanlan Culture Town.

Lei Weihua, Chief Executive of Longhua District, indicated that Longhua will carry out the all-round future city scene experiment with stronger confidence and greater determination, and also sincerely invite all entrepreneurs and friends to actively participate in and make contributions to the building of the "twin districts" and the implementation of comprehensive reform pilot in Shenzhen.

Media contact:
Longhua District People's Government
Email: fzhggj@szlhq.gov.cn
From: www.szlhq.gov.cn/ydmh/xxgk/xwzx_138039/gzdt_138040/content/post_8538875.html

SOURCE: Longhua District People's Government

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