Tag: Local Business

Olympus to Support Endoscopic AI Diagnosis Education for Doctors in India and to Launch AI Diagnostic Support Application

TOKYO, Oct 20, 2020 – (ACN Newswire) – Olympus Corporation took part in a ground-breaking project as a business promoter, in cooperation with the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications (MIC), entitled, "Survey Study for International Expansion of AI Diagnosis Support System Using Ultra-High Magnifying Endoscopes in India." The project aims to develop advanced endoscopy diagnostics in India, where there are relatively few endoscopists.

In collaboration with CYBERNET SYSTEMS CO,. LTD., Olympus has established an AI diagnostic support system at a major medical institution, the Asian Institute of Gastroenterology (AIG) based in Hyderabad, India. Specialist lecturers and physicians from Showa University Northern Yokohama Hospital provided expert guidance to AIG doctors. In addition to training AIG doctors in techniques for detecting diseases and differential diagnosis by colonoscope, they also trained the doctors on how to instruct the next generation of endoscopists.

The project started on October 12. At the kick-off meeting, Satoshi Hemmi, Deputy Director-General of the Information and Communications Bureau, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications commented, "We hope to contribute to the spread of AI endoscopy systems and the development of medical care in India through training future leaders in AI endoscopy systems in India. We also hope that the cooperation between India and Japan in the field of healthcare ICT will continue to develop."

In addition to the ultra-magnifying scope Endocyto(*1) released last year, Olympus will release endoscopic diagnostic support software equipped with AI in India from December. The endoscopic diagnostic support software EndoBRAIN(*2) and EndoBRAIN-EYE(*3) will be utilized for physician training in India. Olympus intends to assist in the development of physicians and promote the use of endoscopic diagnostics.

(*1) An endoscope that enables observation at the cellular level in real time with up to 520 times optical magnification.
(*2) AI real-time in-vivo analysis of colon lesions taken with ultra-high magnifying endoscopes, numerically indicating the possibility of neoplastic and non-neoplastic polyps to assist physicians in the differentiation and detection of polyps through figures.
(*3) AI endoscopic diagnostic imaging support software that assists physicians in diagnosing lesions by alerting if a polyp or other lesion is detected using regular colonoscope images.

Background of Olympus' Participation

In India, the rate of cancer morbidity is expected to increase as the economy grows. On the other hand, there is a severe shortage of doctors who can conduct precision diagnostics with endoscopes, which are essential for early detection and treatment of cancer. Olympus participated in this project to support trained AIG specialists to train doctors in India and neighboring countries and to contribute to the popularization and development of endoscope diagnostics using the latest AI technology.

Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications Project

– Purpose:
The MIC aims to realize the sustainable development goal and SDG pledges to ensure "no one will be left behind." To this end, the MIC aims to realize a model that contributes to SDG through digitization and to disseminate and promote an SDG + ICT model domestically and overseas between both public and private sectors. This project aims to contribute to the introduction and dissemination of Japan's endoscopic AI diagnostic support system to India and neighboring countries in response to the social issue of increasing cancer prevalence in India.

– Projects:
1) Survey on the Current Status of Policies in the Medical Health Sector in India and the Current Status of the Introduction of Medical ICT in India:
Collecting information from major medical institutions and external research institutions and investigating the spread of medical systems, including endoscopic systems.

2) Verification through proof-of-concept tests in India:
Physicians from the Showa University Northern Yokohama Hospital will train AIG physicians, from the detection of disease utilizing a colonoscope to discriminatory diagnosis, and train them as lecturers to train instructors. MIC provided equipment and training courses.

For questions or additional information, please contact:
Yuka Horimoto
+81-90-2490-1071
yuka.horimoto@olympus.com

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

Woori BMO Group Comments on Finance of America Set for IPO

TORONTO, ONTARIO , Oct 16, 2020 – (ACN Newswire) – Woori BMO Group has today commented on Blackstone Group-backed consumer-leading platform Finance of America Equity Capital LLC as they get set to go public with a valuation of $1.9 billion through a publicly traded special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) merger, the popular way to list this year.

"Finance of America is merging with the special-purpose acquisition company Replay Acquisition Corp. This will give the company a valuation of $1.9 billion. The company will also receive $250 million in investment from institutional investors as part of the deal," commented Christian Harper, Director of EMEA Wealth Management at Woori BMO Group.

As a result of the transaction, the Pennsylvania-headquartered company's founder and CEO Bill Dallas and funds managed by Blackstone will be left with a 70% ownership stake.

This year, SPACs have emerged as a popular IPO substitute for some businesses, offering a route to going public with less regulatory oversight and more clarity about the valuation that will be reached and the funds that will be raised.

"So far in 2020, U.S. SPACs have raised $53.8 billion through IPOs, which is more than the total raised in the last seven years," commented Director of Institutional Equity at Woori BMO Group, Andrew Williams.

Finance of America has generated over $65 billion in loans through its collection of companies since 2017, according to researchers at Woori BMO Group. The company operates in four emerging markets including Commercial Real Estate, Mortgages, Reverse Mortgages and Fixed Income Investing. In recent years, Blackstone has evolved Finance of America through a series of acquisitions, including purchases of Gateway Funding, Pinnacle Capital Mortgage and Skyline Home Loans.

In the third quarter, Finance of America generated over $7.4 billion, the highest of any quarter on record for the end-to-end lending and services platform. Like other mortgage lenders, the Blackstone portfolio company has highly benefited from ultra-low interest rates and a huge demand for refinancing business.

About Woori BMO Group

Founded in 2007, Woori BMO Group is a full-service wealth management company providing both corporate institutions and private clients a tailored financial advisory service from its retail office in Toronto, Canada.

Media Contact
Company: Woori BMO Group
Contact: Mr. Shinsato Masao, Chief Economist
Telephone: +1-647-946-8880
Email: shinsato.masao@wbginternational.com
Address: 25F Exchange Tower, 130 King Street West, Toronto, ON, Canada M5X 1E3

Related Links
Woori BMO Group https://www.wbginternational.com/

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/66036

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

HKIoD Voices Reservations about “Lead INED” but Affirms Room for Improving Effectiveness of INEDs

HONG KONG, Oct 8, 2020 – (ACN Newswire) – Recently, there have been discussions in the financial market about the suggested introduction of a lead independent non-executive director ("Lead INED") on the boards of listed companies. The Hong Kong Institute of Directors ("HKIoD") expresses strong reservations about the suggested introduction and states its views regarding enhancing the effectiveness and accountability of INEDs.

HKIoD's views stem from the legal stipulation that all directors bear equal responsibility as well as the basic principle that INEDs must serve on the board with independent perspective towards protecting the long-term interests of the company and all shareholders. INEDs carry the trust bestowed upon them. HKIoD therefore affirms that INEDs should be effective and accountable in fulfilling their roles. According to HKIoD's observation, there are INEDs who perform their duties well, particularly those who are recognised recipients of Directors Of The Year Awards. However, there is still room for improvement in terms of change in culture and general development.

"There are many measures that can be taken to enhance INED effectiveness and accountability," said Dr Christopher To, Chairman of HKIoD. "However, we do not think the appointment of a Lead INED is the solution. Having a Lead INED may be effective where the majority of the board consists of INEDs. If the majority of board members are executive directors and the major shareholders are holding more than 50% of the issued share capital of the company, appointing a Lead INED does not help the independent shareholders in the decisions of the board, except in the case of a connected transaction, in which the major shareholder is already required to abstain from voting."

"We are concerned with how the appointment of a Lead INED could affect the other INEDs' perception of their roles and responsibilities, and in turn their desire and motivation to perform," added Dr To. "Having a number of INEDs on a board helps to widen the opinion base and generate balanced views. The emphasis on the Lead INED risks disrupting this balance."

Mr Henry Lai, Past Chairman of HKIoD and current Chairman of the Institute's Corporate Governance Policies Committee, has in mind a number of measures for enhancing the system of INEDs, though the introduction of a Lead INED would not be among such measures. "Firstly, we should review the selection criteria of INEDs, such as independence, special roles expected of each INED, board diversity, et cetera, including the procedures for appointing INEDs," said Mr Lai. "In addition, priority must be given to initial and ongoing education and training of INEDs. In some other jurisdictions, it is a developed culture for the INED and the company to seek recognised training in INED practices. Companies should also be encouraged to have more professional and experienced directors appointed as INEDs."

"Secondly, meetings with independent shareholders can be set up for INEDs collectively before every EGM to discuss and explain the resolutions that the EGM seeks to pass, in supplement to the recommendations made by the independent board committee and independent financial adviser ("IFA")," explained Mr Lai. "Such meetings can be arranged in the interest of serving as another bridge between shareholders and the board, in addition to the company's Investor Relations communications. In performing their duties, INEDs should be allowed to choose their own IFAs."

"Thirdly, the inclusion of an INED report in the company's annual report is another measure to enhance the accountability of INEDs," added Mr Lai.

Dr Carlye Tsui, CEO of HKIoD, observed, "INEDs need to be educated continually in order to remain up to date on trends of corporate governance. Currently, many companies do not seem to understand or appreciate the functions and benefits of INEDs; hence, they too need to be educated. Continuing education, for both INEDs and other directors and management, is significant in increasing understanding and in encouraging collaborative working relationships, which ultimately result in bringing the true value of INEDs' contribution to realisation." She further said, "Corporate governance is in continual evolution. While executive directors and management may be preoccupied with business development, INEDs can act as catalyst for championing board leadership in such issues as ESG adoption and board evaluation. This will enhance the effectiveness of INEDs."

Dr To remarked, "In some other listing regimes, the ecosystems are characterised by a market with a high ratio of institutional investors to retail investors. In Hong Kong, the reverse scenario holds true, with retail investors outnumbering their institutional counterparts. Having a Lead INED in dialogue with institutional investors may therefore be unfair to the retail investors."

"In the evolution of corporate governance, HKIoD believes that the number of INEDs in a board can be increased given time, leading ultimately to an INED-majority board," remarked Mr Lai. "Now it may be appropriate to consider the roadmap towards this majority. Then a Lead INED may be able to serve the leading purpose. Otherwise, it is unfair to the Lead INED as enormous pressure would be thrusted solely upon him or her while the other INEDs would remain in the back seat."

Dr Tsui posed a crucial question, "The final question is: Who will be willing to take up the position of Lead INED, given the tremendous responsibility and liability that the role entails? It will be an immensely difficult task, if not impossible, to look for candidates to fill this position. This also brings up the issue of awarding reasonable remuneration to INEDs, particularly a Lead INED to attract the right candidates."

About The Hong Kong Institute of Directors

The Hong Kong Institute of Directors is Hong Kong's premier body representing directors to foster the long-term success of companies through advocacy and standards-setting in corporate governance and professional development for directors. A non-profit-distributing organisation with membership consisting of directors from listed and non-listed companies, HKIoD is committed to providing directors with educational programmes and information service and establishing an influential voice in representing directors. With international perspectives and a multi-cultural environment, HKIoD conducts business in biliteracy and trilingualism. Website: http://www.hkiod.com.

Media Enquiries:
Strategic Public Relations Group
Brenda Chan, +852 2114 4396, brenda.chan@sprg.com.hk

The Hong Kong Institute of Directors
Moni Ching, +852 2889 1414, moni.ching@hkiod.com

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

TANAKA Develops “TRuST” Precursor for CVD/ALD Processes; Using Liquid Ruthenium Precursor to Achieve World’s Highest Vapor Pressures

TOKYO, Sep 30, 2020 – (ACN Newswire) – TANAKA Holdings Co., Ltd. (Head office: Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo; Representative Director & CEO: Koichiro Tanaka) announced today that TANAKA Kikinzoku Kogyo K.K. (Head office: Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo; Representative Director & CEO: Koichiro Tanaka), which operates the TANAKA Precious Metals manufacturing business, has developed a new liquid ruthenium precursor named "TRuST" for CVD[1] and ALD[2] processes. The vapor pressure of "TRuST" is more than 100 times higher as compared to that to previous liquid ruthenium (element symbol Ru) precursors[3], which is currently the world's highest vapor pressure value at room temperature as per TANAKA's internal evaluation.
"TRuST" precursor for CVD and ALD processes


Comparison of vapor pressure of precursor



During this precursor development, TANAKA Kikinzoku Kogyo focused on material design and synthesis research, while Professor Soo-Hyun Kim, Ph.D., School of Materials Science and Engineering, College of Engineering at Yeungnam University in South Korea, researched to optimize the film formation characteristics.

Technologies developed through this collaboration will help increase performance and reduce energy consumption for the semiconductor devices used in smartphones, computers, and the data centers where demand is to grow well into the future.

Precursors are metal-organic compounds used in chemical vapor deposition (CVD), atomic layer deposition (ALD) and other processes to form thin metal films or metal wiring on substrates. CVD and ALD processes enable the formation of films with superior step coverage on various types of base substrate. These are useful methods for forming films as semiconductors become increasingly miniaturized, with increased structural complexity, and narrower wires with every new generation.

TANAKA Kikinzoku Kogyo has developed a range of precious metal precursors over the years, including ruthenium precursors. This time, computer simulation and other techniques were used to achieve miniaturization and optimization of the molecular structure. This resulted in the successful development of a precious metal compound in a liquid form, with high vapor pressure, and thermal stability suited for film formation, all of which are important characteristics for precursors. As a result, this compound has the world's highest vapor pressure over 100 times higher than that of previous liquid ruthenium precursors. The higher the vapor pressure of precursors and the smaller their molecular structure, the higher the possible concentration of precursor in the film formation chamber, and the greater the adsorption density of precursor molecules on the substrate surface. Compared to previous precursors, this achieves excellent step coverage and improved film formation speed.

According to research carried out at Yeungnam University, ALD film formation at approximately 1.7 angstrom (A) per cycle is possible, which is the world's fastest of its type using liquid ruthenium precursor. Also, specific resistivity after film formation is approximately 13 microhm-cm, which is close to the value of bulk ruthenium metal (7.6 microhm-cm).

When bulk ruthenium is used for vapor deposition, with a temperature as high as 3000 degrees C. However, if it is converted into an organometallic compound of ruthenium precursor, it can be vaporized at low temperatures (between room temperature to 200 degrees C) under vacuum. As a result, the formation of high-quality ruthenium film with excellent step coverage at high productivity is expected. This has been an issue in the past because it is technically difficult to achieve all these characteristics at the same time. With the development of "TRuST" however, it is now possible.

Samples of Shipments of "TRuST" should begin shipping samples are planned to start in October 2020.

Background and TANAKA Kikinzoku Kogyo's development of precursor for CVD/ALD processes

In the past, the most common wiring materials used for semiconductors were copper, tungsten and cobalt. However, as semiconductors have evolved, there are increasing expectations for the precious metal ruthenium to promote further miniaturization of semiconductors because of its lower resistance and higher durability. With its superior characteristics, ruthenium is also being considered for use in transistor gate electrodes and DRAM capacitor electrodes.

The progress of technologies such as IoT, AI, and 5G over recent years has led to rapidly increasing volumes of digital data used in clouds, smartphones, and computers. Therefore, the need for even greater miniaturization of semiconductors is increasing to enable the creation of devices with higher performance and lower energy consumption. As a specialized manufacturer of precious metals, TANAKA Kikinzoku Kogyo will continue contributing to this evolution of semiconductors through the development of high-quality semiconductor materials.

With the support of Professor Soo-Hyun Kim, from the College of Engineering at Yeungnam University, a researcher from TANAKA Kikinzoku Kogyo will give a presentation of this technology at the "International Interconnect Technology Conference (IITC) 2020", which will be held online from October 5-8, 2020. The title of the presentation is High-growth-rate atomic layer deposition of high-quality Ru Using a Novel Ru metalorganic precursor.

[1] Chemical vapor deposition (CVD): CVD is a chemical film formation method. It is a method of forming thin metal films on the surfaces of base materials or substrates through a chemical reaction induced and accelerated by directing energy, in forms such as heat, plasma and light, at gaseous vapor material fed into a reaction chamber at pressures between atmospheric pressures to medium vacuum pressures (100-10-1 Pa).
[2] Atomic layer deposition (ALD): Both CVD and ALD are film formation methods that use chemical reactions inside reaction chambers to deposit material onto substrates through the vapor phase. The main difference between the two methods is that while CVD continually forms atomic and molecular layers, ALD forms the layers intermittently one layer at a time.
[3] Precursors: Precursors are compounds used as the raw material for forming thin metal films and metal wiring on substrates.

TANAKA Holdings Co., Ltd. (Holding company of TANAKA Precious Metals)
Headquarters: 22F, Tokyo Building, 2-7-3 Marunouchi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo
Representative: Koichiro Tanaka, Representative Director & CEO
Founded: 1885
Incorporated: 1918*
Capital: 500 million yen
Employees in consolidated group: 5,138 (FY2019)
Employees: 221 (March 31, 2020)
Net sales of consolidated group: JPY 1,149,604 million (FY2019)
Main businesses of the group: The holding company at the center of TANAKA Precious Metals responsible for strategic and efficient group management and management guidance to group companies.
URL: https://www.tanaka.co.jp/english/
* TANAKA Holdings adopted a holding company structure on April 1, 2010.

TANAKA Kikinzoku Kogyo K.K.
Headquarters: 22F, Tokyo Building, 2-7-3 Marunouchi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo
Representative: Koichiro Tanaka, Representative Director & CEO
Founded: 1885
Incorporated: 1918
Capital: 500 million yen
Employees: 2,393 (as of March 31, 2020)
Sales: JPY 992,679,879,000 (FY2019)
Main businesses: Manufacture, sales, import and export of precious metals (platinum, gold, silver, and others) and various types of industrial precious metals products.
URL: https://tanaka-preciousmetals.com

About TANAKA Precious Metals

Since its foundation in 1885, TANAKA Precious Metals has built a diversified range of business activities focused on precious metals. TANAKA is a leader in Japan regarding the volumes of precious metals handled. Over the course of many years, TANAKA has not only manufactured and sold precious metal products for industry but also provided precious metals in such forms as jewelry and resources. As precious metals specialists, all Group companies within and outside Japan work together with unified cooperation between manufacturing, sales, and technological aspects to offer products and services. Additionally, to make further progress in globalization, TANAKA Kikinzoku Kogyo welcomed Metalor Technologies International SA as a member of the Group in 2016.

As precious metal professionals, TANAKA Precious Metals will continue to contribute to the development of an enriching and prosperous society.

The five core companies that make up TANAKA Precious Metals are as follows.
– TANAKA Holdings Co., Ltd. (pure holding company)
– TANAKA Kikinzoku Kogyo K.K.
– TANAKA Denshi Kogyo K.K.
– Electroplating Engineers Of Japan, Limited
– TANAKA Kikinzoku Jewerly K.K.

Press release in PDF: http://www.acnnewswire.com/clientreports/598/20200930.pdf

Press Inquiries
TANAKA Holdings Co., Ltd.
https://tanaka-preciousmetals.com/en/inquiries-for-media/

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

WeR1’s Client SGX-Listed Sasseur REIT Wins Top IR Award For Second Consecutive Year

SINGAPORE, Sep 30, 2020 – (ACN Newswire) – Singapore Exchange ("SGX") Mainboard-listed Sasseur Real Estate Investment Trust ("Sasseur REIT"), a client of investor relations ("IR") specialist WeR1 Consultants Pte Ltd ("WeR1"), has been named Platinum winner for IR at the Asia Pacific Best of the Breeds REITs Awards(TM) 2020. This is the second consecutive year that Sasseur REIT has secured top IR ranking, having won the Gold award in 2019.

Sasseur REIT, which has been a retained client of WeR1 since 2019, secured a total of three awards at the annual event this week. The other two are Platinum Awards for Best Retail REIT and for Best CEO – also for the second year running. All 2019 and 2020 awards received by Sasseur REIT are for REITS under U$1 billion in market value.

The Platinum IR award cited Sasseur REIT's prompt and informative communication of information to stakeholders, media and the community. Listed in March 2018, Sasseur REIT continues to report its financial performance on a quarterly basis. It has maintained a high level of engagement through regular virtual briefings even after the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Sasseur REIT closed its four retail outlet malls in China for several weeks in the early days of the pandemic. The closures coincided with falls in global stock markets in March 2020 and concerns about how retail REITs may be impacted by health concerns and changes to shopping trends.

After the release of Sasseur REIT's Q1 2020 results, WeR1 worked with the management team to explain how it aligned the interests of mall owner, merchants and REIT holders. This mitigated the impact of the temporary mall closures on various stakeholders.

WeR1 worked closely with management to engage sell-side and buy-side (including remisiers serving retail investors) on Sasseur REIT's unique 'A x 1+N x DT' formula which enshrines Sasseur REIT's commitment to refresh mall concepts regularly to keep attracting foot traffic.

KGI Securities issued a fresh research report with an Outperform call, raising the number of sell-side coverage of the REIT to five. WeR1 also organised a virtual briefing between Sasseur REIT's management and over 20 KGI brokers on 15 July 2020, as well as a webinar with Phillip Securities which attracted over 100 participants.

As a result of the efforts to explain the decisive response to the pandemic, Sasseur REIT received significant media coverage in 2020.

Bloomberg ran a commentary which mentioned how Sasseur REIT managed the landlord-tenant relationship differently. The Edge of Singapore carried an in-depth piece on this subject based on interviews with management. The coverage followed a prominent interview in 2019 of Sasseur's founder and Chairman Mr Vito Xu who was featured in the "In Good Company" column of The Straits Times of Singapore.

Anthony Ang, CEO of Sasseur REIT, said: "We were very happy to receive the significant coverage, as well as the awards for the second consecutive year; Sasseur REIT has been working hard to achieve a swift recovery once lockdown measures in China were lifted, and a strong media strategy gave Sasseur REIT's investors and analysts renewed confidence in our recovery."

"We are also pleased to have WeR1 working alongside us to ensure our key differentiators were clearly and swiftly communicated, going the extra mile to offer strong media angles that were in-depth and engaging."

Mr Lai Kwok Kin, Managing Director of WeR1, said: "The COVID-19 presented challenges as well as opportunities to position Sasseur REIT positively to the media and investment community. We are honoured to support the excellent and committed management team of Sasseur REIT, and are elated by successive awards they have secured."

About WeR1 Consultants

WeR1 Consultants is a pan-Asian communications specialist in Investor Relations, Tech PR, Crisis Communications and Litigation PR based in Singapore. Our service is distinguished by a high level of strategy led by senior consultants with decades of experience in media, capital markets and communications. For more information on WeR1, please visit https://wer1.net/

About Sasseur REIT

Sasseur REIT is the first outlet mall REIT listed in Asia. Sasseur REIT offers investors with the unique opportunity to invest in the fast-growing retail outlet mall sector in the People's Republic of China (the "PRC") through its initial portfolio of four quality retail outlet mall assets strategically located in fast-growing cities in China such as Chongqing, Kunming and Hefei, with a net lettable area of 312,844 square metres.

Sasseur REIT is established with the investment strategy of investing principally, directly or indirectly, in a diversified portfolio of income-producing real estate which is used primarily for retail outlet mall purposes, as well as real estate-related assets in relation to the foregoing, with an initial focus on Asia. For more information on Sasseur REIT, please visit https://www.sasseurreit.com

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

WeR1’s Client SGX-Listed Sasseur REIT Wins Top IR Award For Second Consecutive Year

Singapore, 30 September 2020 – Singapore Exchange (“SGX”) Mainboard-listed Sasseur Real Estate Investment Trust (“Sasseur REIT”), a client of investor relations (“IR”) specialist WeR1 Consultants Pte Ltd (“WeR1”), has been named Platinum winner for IR at the Asia Pacific Best of the Breeds REITs Awards™ 2020. This is the second consecutive year that Sasseur REIT has secured top IR ranking, having won the Gold award in 2019.

Sasseur REIT, which has been a retained client of WeR1 since 2019, secured a total of three awards at the annual event this week. The other two are Platinum Awards for Best Retail REIT and for Best CEO – also for the second year running. All 2019 and 2020 awards received by Sasseur REIT are for REITS under U$1 billion in market value.

The Platinum IR award cited Sasseur REIT’s prompt and informative communication of information to stakeholders, media and the community. Listed in March 2018, Sasseur REIT continues to report its financial performance on a quarterly basis. It has maintained a high level of engagement through regular virtual briefings even after the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Sasseur REIT closed its four retail outlet malls in China for several weeks in the early days of the pandemic. The closures coincided with falls in global stock markets in March 2020 and concerns about how retail REITs may be impacted by health concerns and changes to shopping trends.

After the release of Sasseur REIT’s Q1 2020 results, WeR1 worked with the management team to explain how it aligned the interests of mall owner, merchants and REIT holders. This mitigated the impact of the temporary mall closures on various stakeholders.

WeR1 worked closely with management to engage sell-side and buy-side (including remisiers serving retail investors) on Sasseur REIT’s unique ‘A x 1+N x DT’ formula which enshrines Sasseur REIT’s commitment to refresh mall concepts regularly to keep attracting foot traffic.

KGI Securities issued a fresh research report with an Outperform call, raising the number of sell-side coverage of the REIT to five. WeR1 also organised a virtual briefing between Sasseur REIT’s management and over 20 KGI brokers on 15 July 2020, as well as a webinar with Phillip Securities which attracted over 100 participants.

As a result of the efforts to explain the decisive response to the pandemic, Sasseur REIT received significant media coverage in 2020.

Bloomberg ran a commentary which mentioned how Sasseur REIT managed the landlord-tenant relationship differently. The Edge of Singapore carried an in-depth piece on this subject based on interviews with management. The coverage followed a prominent interview in 2019 of Sasseur’s founder and Chairman Mr Vito Xu who was featured in the “In Good Company” column of The Straits Times of Singapore.

Anthony Ang, CEO of Sasseur REIT, said: “We were very happy to receive the significant coverage, as well as the awards for the second consecutive year; Sasseur REIT has been working hard to achieve a swift recovery once lockdown measures in China were lifted, and a strong media strategy gave Sasseur REIT’s investors and analysts renewed confidence in our recovery.”

“We are also pleased to have WeR1 working alongside us to ensure our key differentiators were clearly and swiftly communicated, going the extra mile to offer strong media angles that were in-depth and engaging.”

Mr Lai Kwok Kin, Managing Director of WeR1, said: “The COVID-19 presented challenges as well as opportunities to position Sasseur REIT positively to the media and investment community. We are honoured to support the excellent and committed management team of Sasseur REIT, and are elated by successive awards they have secured.”

About WeR1 Consultants

WeR1 Consultants is a pan-Asian communications specialist in Investor Relations, Tech PR, Crisis Communications and Litigation PR based in Singapore. Our service is distinguished by a high level of strategy led by senior consultants with decades of experience in media, capital markets and communications. For more information on WeR1, please visit https://wer1.net/

About Sasseur REIT

Sasseur REIT is the first outlet mall REIT listed in Asia. Sasseur REIT offers investors with the unique opportunity to invest in the fast-growing retail outlet mall sector in the People’s Republic of China (the “PRC”) through its initial portfolio of four quality retail outlet mall assets strategically located in fast-growing cities in China such as Chongqing, Kunming and Hefei, with a net lettable area of 312,844 square metres.

Sasseur REIT is established with the investment strategy of investing principally, directly or indirectly, in a diversified portfolio of income-producing real estate which is used primarily for retail outlet mall purposes, as well as real estate-related assets in relation to the foregoing, with an initial focus on Asia. For more information on Sasseur REIT, please visit https://www.sasseurreit.com



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

Rykadan Capital Proposes Stock Buy-back of Up to 102,000,000 Shares at Offer Price of HK$0.68 Per Share, Equivalent to 51.11% Premium over the Closing Price on the Last Trading Day

HONG KONG, Sep 29, 2020 – (ACN Newswire) – Rykadan Capital Limited ("Rykadan Capital" or the "Company", together with its subsidiaries the "Group"; stock code: 2288) just announced that Dongxing Securities (Hong Kong) Company Limited will make a conditional cash offer (the "Offer") on behalf of it to the Shareholders to buy back up to 102,000,000 of the Company's issued shares (the "Shares") at an Offer Price of HK$0.68 per share (the "Offer Price"). Upon completion, all Shareholders are expected to benefit from the increase in consolidated net asset value per Share. Following the closing of the Offer, the Group intends to maintain its listing on The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited ("SEHK").

The 102,000,000 Shares proposed in the stock buy-back represents approximately 21.36% of the Shares in issue as at the date of the Announcement. The Offer Price of HK$0.68 per Share represents a premium of 51.11% over the closing price of HK$0.45 as quoted on SEHK on 15 September 2020 (the "Last Trading Day"), or a premium of approximately 55.55% over the average closing price of the Shares during the last 30 consecutive trading days immediately prior to and including the Last Trading Day. The aggregate cash consideration payable under the Offer (if the maximum number of Shares are bought back) will amount to approximately HK$69,360,000.

The price of the Shares has historically been traded at a significant discount to the Group's net asset value attributable to owners of the Company per Share. Taking the closing price of the Shares of HK$0.45 on the Last Trading Day as a reference, the discount to the Group's net asset value attributable to owners of the Company of approximately HK$2.77 per Share as at 31 March 2020 was as high as approximately 83.77%.

Premium valuation: The Offer provides an opportunity for the Shareholders to sell their Shares at a premium to the prevailing market prices of the Shares and receive cash proceeds in return. In particular, the closing price of the Shares has never exceeded the Offer Price after 27 September 2019 for almost 12 months. The Offer Price represents a premium of approximately 55.55% over the average closing price during the last 30 trading days immediately prior to and including the Last Trading Day.

Certain and immediate value: The Shares have been traded on the SEHK at an average daily trading volume of approximately 71,397 Shares for the six months up to and including the Last Trading Day, representing less than 0.02% of the total issued Shares as at the Last Trading Day. The Offer presents an immediate opportunity for the Shareholders to dispose of their Shares, not be constrained by trading liquidity, and exit their investment for cash proceeds.

Mr William Chan, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Rykadan Capital, said, "Over the past years, the shares of the Company have been trading at a steep discount to its consolidated net asset value. By repurchasing such maximum number of Shares from the market, the Offer will enable our Shareholders to immediately realise cash returns."

About Rykadan Capital Limited (Stock code: 2288)
Rykadan Capital Limited is a Hong Kong-based investment holding company. The Group operates and invests in real estate development, real estate investment, distribution of building materials and asset, investment and fund management. For more information, please visit www.rykadan.com.

Media enquiries:
Strategic Financial Relations Limited
Maggie Au +852 2864 4815 maggie.au@sprg.com.hk
Adrianna Lau +852 2114 4987 adrianna.lau@sprg.com.hk
Rachel Ko +852 2114 2370 rachel.ko@sprg.com.hk
www.sprg.com.hk


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

JCB and Banco Santander partner to enable a more diversified e-commerce portfolio in Spain

Madrid & Tokyo, Sep 25, 2020 – (ACN Newswire) – In June 2019, JCB International Co. Ltd., the international operations subsidiary of JCB Co., Ltd., and Banco Santander, through its subsidiary Santander Espana Merchant Services, partnered to support the growth of face-to-face transactions made by JCB cardmembers across Spain. Earlier this year, in March 2020, JCB and Banco Santander pivoted this collaboration to additionally support online exchange between JCB cardmembers and Banco Santander's e-commerce merchants. This extensive merchant list includes those in the retail, hospitality, transportation, travel, restaurant, and education sectors, to name a few.

In the past 4 years, JCB's annual sales volume has increased by approximately 37% globally, with over 140 million cardmembers and around 34 million merchants now accepting JCB cards. This JCB partnership with Banco Santander offers merchants and cardmembers a safe online purchase experience with JCB's J/Secure™1.0 (based on Visa's 3-D Secure Core Protocol Specifications).

This secure platform enhances the online shopping experience, as it identifies cardmembers by requesting a password. J/Secure™ 2.0 (based on the EMV 3-D Secure Protocol and Core Functions Specification) is set to follow the additional expansion in future.

Ruben Justel, Managing Director at Santander Espana Merchant Services, said, "This new step on our fruitful partnership with JCB contributes to our vision to help our merchants increase their sales by accepting the most demanded means of payments, in addition to reaching more international clients from JCB issuing countries."

Tsuyoshi Notani, Managing Director, JCB International (Europe) Ltd. said, "Partnering with Banco Santander has enabled us to further fulfil our promise to provide our card members with as many safe payment methods for international online transactions as possible. We are further delighted to be able to support Banco Santander's merchants, as they welcome e-commerce trade while we have seen a decline in face-to-face sales in recent months. It is our hope that this collaboration will support recovery of the payment industry, especially in Spain, after the global COVID-19 pandemic."

About JCB

JCB is a major global payment brand and a leading credit card issuer and acquirer in Japan. JCB launched its card business in Japan in 1961 and began expanding worldwide in 1981. Its acceptance network includes 34 million merchants in the world. JCB cards are now issued in 24 countries and territories with more than 140 million cardmembers. As part of its international growth strategy, JCB has formed alliances with hundreds of leading banks and financial institutions globally to increase merchant coverage and cardmember base. As a comprehensive payment solution provider, JCB commits to providing responsive and high-quality service and products to all customers worldwide. For more information, please visit: www.global.jcb/en/

About Banco Santander

Santander, with more than 160 years of history, is a retail bank operating in 10 main markets that obtained an attributable profit of EUR 7,810 million in 2018 – which is an increase of 18% on the previous year. Santander's European businesses serve 9.9 million loyal customers and 14.2 million digital customers, with 70,000 employees and 4,900 branches. In the first quarter, the bank achieved more than EUR 100 million in efficiencies with costs falling 5% in real terms year-on-year.

Contacts:

JCB International/Europe
Contact: India Stone
Email: istone@jcbeurope.eu
Phone: +44 020 7087 4754

JCB (Head Office in Japan)
Contact: Kumiko Kida, Ayaka Nakajima
Email: jcb-pr@jcb.co.jp
Phone: +81 3 5778 8353

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

HKTDC Export Index 3Q20: Exporter confidence rises for second consecutive quarter

HONG KONG, Sep 14, 2020 – (ACN Newswire) – The HKTDC Export Index has risen for the second consecutive quarter, indicating that exporter sentiment continues to improve. The Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC) announced the index for the third quarter of 2020 today with a reading of 25.1 – up 6.9 points from the previous quarter, and 9.1 points from the record low in the first quarter of this year. HKTDC Director of Research Nicholas Kwan noted that export indexes across all major industries remain in contractionary territory despite the recent rebound, stressing that times will remain tough for Hong Kong's exporters.
HKTDC Director of Research Nicholas Kwan (centre), Assistant Principal Economist (Greater China) Alice Tsang (L) and Economist Samantha Yim (R) announced in today's press conference that all HKTDC indexes rebounded in the third quarter of 2020.



As the initial shock of the Covid-19 pandemic begins to wane, the number of exporters having orders cancelled, payments deferred or logistics and distribution disrupted showed a significant drop compared with the previous quarter. Mr Kwan noted that 60.5% of respondents indicated that reduced orders from buyers was the biggest challenge they faced, up 3.5 percentage points from the second quarter of 2020. A number of exporters (23%, up 4.9 percentage points) said they had to downsize their companies and in some cases lay off workers.

"Fewer respondents (51.5%, down 13.1 percentage points) regarded the continuation of the pandemic as the biggest threat to their export performance over the next six months, with more of them concerned about softening global demand (21.5%, up 2.5 percentage points) and trade tensions between the United States and China (15%, up 4.2 percentage points)," Mr Kwan said.

Trade indexes pick up in third quarter

The HKTDC conducted its latest business confidence survey in August, interviewing 500 local traders from six major industry sectors including electronics, jewellery, timepieces, toys, clothing and machinery. The HKTDC Export Index reflects the prospects of the city's near-term export performance. Readings above and below 50 indicate an optimistic or pessimistic outlook respectively.

"Export indexes for all major sectors rose from their lowest readings in the first half of 2020, especially the machinery sector (29.0), toys (27.5) and electronics (25.3), followed by timepieces (21.6), clothing (21.0) and jewellery (20.1). Exporters' perception on the performance of major markets remained largely unchanged, with Japan (46.1) and Mainland China (42.9) regarded as the most promising markets for Hong Kong exports, followed by the United States (41.2), the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) bloc (41.0) and the European Union (36.0)," HKTDC Economist Samantha Yim said.

Ms Yim added that the Procurement Index, Offshore Trade Index and Trade Value Index all began to stabilise in the third quarter whereas the Employment Index dropped by 2.3 points to a four-year low of 39.8. "Compared with other industries, recruitment intentions in toys (38.0) and timepieces (35.6) were notably downbeat, suggesting the probability of headcount losses within these sectors."

Capturing new opportunities in the Greater Bay Area

As a highly open and internationalised city in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, as well as a hub for international finance, logistics and transportation, professional services, trade and aviation, Hong Kong plays an important role in the region under the "one country, two systems" principle. A recent survey showed that senior business executives generally recognise Hong Kong's advantages as an international business hub for the Greater Bay Area, including its robust legal regime, open business environment, free-market economy, robust infrastructure and transportation systems as well as its quality pool of international talent.

The survey was commissioned by the HKTDC and conducted by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) to get detailed insights into Hong Kong's role in the Greater Bay Area. PwC conducted in-depth interviews and questionnaire surveys of close to 500 senior executives from the area to gauge their views on how six major industries, including financial services, logistics and transportation, trade services, manufacturing, legal and dispute resolution and innovation technology, can leverage Hong Kong's advantages in business operations. The consultancy firm also made suggestions on how to reinforce the city's position as an international business hub in the Greater Bay Area, assessing the potential opportunities and likely challenges.

The survey showed respondents as believing that the five trends most important to Hong Kong in the next five years are: increasing application of emerging technology; integration of Hong Kong with the Greater Bay Area, including capital connectivity; increasing cross-boundary transactions due to the Belt and Road Initiative; extending global value chains out of the Greater Bay Area; and industrial upgrading and transformation in the area.

Respondents believed that to further enhance Hong Kong's position as the international business hub for the Greater Bay Area, the five most important measures the city has to take are: facilitate the free flow of capital within the area; improve data privacy protection; improve the research and development (R&D) capability of Hong Kong by encouraging R&D activities and the adoption of emerging technologies; promote tax simplification/harmonisation in the Greater Bay Area; and promote regulatory transparency in the area.

New measures to enhance Hong Kong's key roles

HKTDC Assistant Principal Economist (Greater China) Alice Tsang said that, according to the findings of the PwC report, Hong Kong should implement a range of measures to reinforce the city's key roles as an international financial centre, legal and dispute resolution centre, logistics and transportation hub, trading centre, innovation and technology centre, and location for business headquarters.

"For the sake of the financial sector, Hong Kong should facilitate cross-border capital flow, take the lead in reforming its financial regulatory system and financial products and services, and develop sustainable and green finance," Ms Tsang said, citing the report. "In the area of professional services, those who have completed professional training programmes should be allowed to practise in specific areas within the Greater Bay Area. Hong Kong should also enhance its position as an international arbitration centre and establish itself as a protection base and trading platform for intellectual property in the area."

Ms Tsang added that to reinforce Hong Kong's position as a logistics, transportation and trading hub, the city should facilitate the flow of people and goods to and from other cities in the Greater Bay Area. "Hong Kong should also establish a unified product quality certification mechanism with other cities in the area for innovative services and products yet to gain international certification. This could reinforce the city's position as a centre for testing and certification," she said.

Suggestions were also made for capitalising on Hong Kong's advantages as an innovation and technology centre by supporting the industry's development, creating an ecosystem in which Greater Bay Area cities' relative advantages can complement each other and develop in concert, and attracting venture capital institutions to the city. Hong Kong should also extend preferential policies for setting up businesses in the city to further attract Greater Bay Area enterprises to expand their business. This would help to make Hong Kong more attractive as a location for business headquarters.

References
– HKTDC Research website: http://research.hktdc.com/
– Hong Kong Export Index 3Q20: Exporter Confidence Rallies Moderately While Spectre of Covid-19 Still Looms Large: https://bit.ly/2GKKiYx
– Hong Kong as the International Business Hub for the Greater Bay Area (Executive Summary): https://bit.ly/2Rm1ky9
– Photo download: https://bit.ly/3htY1Q4

About HKTDC

The Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC) is a statutory body established in 1966 to promote, assist and develop Hong Kong's trade. With 50 offices globally, including 13 in Mainland China, the HKTDC promotes Hong Kong as a two-way global investment and business hub. The HKTDC organises international exhibitions, conferences and business missions to create business opportunities for companies, particularly small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), in the mainland and international markets. The HKTDC also provides up-to-date market insights and product information via trade publications, research reports and digital news channels. For more information, please visit: http://www.hktdc.com/aboutus. Follow us on Twitter @hktdc and LinkedIn

Contact:
Leslie Ng, Tel: +852 2584 4239, Email: leslie.ss.ng@hktdc.org
Beatrice Lam, Tel: +852 2584 4049, Email: beatrice.hy.lam@hktdc.org



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

AppsFlyer Launches Xpend to Provide Marketers Accurate Cost Data at Scale in One Holistic Platform

SINGAPORE, Sep 10, 2020 – (ACN Newswire) – AppsFlyer, the global attribution leader, today announced the launch of Xpend, the company's new cost aggregation product that supports complex schema and data mapping to help alleviate the pain points marketers face due to fragmented cost data. With the industry shifting towards a more aggregate way of measuring marketing efforts, the importance of having an accurate, complete, and actionable cost aggregation solution has become paramount. Xpend covers 100% of marketers' spend data from any source, and provides access to granular data enabling them to act fast on their spending goals, accurately optimize ad spend, and ultimately make smarter and more informed decisions.

"Over the past few years, we've worked with thousands of customers and partners measuring tens of billions of dollars in ad spend through our cost aggregation product. Everything we learned was used to create its next generation – Xpend," said Gal Brill, General Manager – ROI360, AppsFlyer. "We see this product as part of a holistic approach to help our advertisers and partners keep their marketing stack working seamlessly. "Providing aggregate cost data via APIs has become more important than ever before. Through years of experience working with performance marketers, we've built Xpend to solve the data aggregation and normalization challenges that marketers face today. AppsFlyer is well known for providing reliable and accurate attribution data; tying in cost is only a natural next step."

Marketers are familiar with the tedious setbacks associated with fragmented data such as manually entering in weekly spend reports for hundreds of channels and sources, pulling together endless spreadsheets, filling in missing gaps, and correcting wrong data. As marketers strive to keep up with growing scale and data complexity, Xpend allows them to access all of their data in one innovative in-house solution to accurately optimize their marketing spend.

With industry updates focused around privacy and security ahead, using cost data tied to attribution links alone may no longer be considered a reliable solution on its own. This is why combining privacy centric attribution with aggregating cost data directly through API integrations with partner networks is a critical solution for marketers.

"At the core of our customer-centric strategy is keeping our ear to the ground: listening and responding to the industry's pulse. We should know what marketers want and need before they even realize it," said Ronen Mense, APAC President & Managing Director, AppsFlyer.

The exponential expansion of data, coupled with the challenge of managing thousands of channels and networks, has become the number 1 pain point for every marketer. On top of this, the inclusion of currencies has also created an expensive and wasteful problem of information overload. From that point on, we knew we had to develop an industry-first solution.

With Xpend, all of these data points are being pulled into one place, seamlessly housing attribution and cost under one control center. This latest AppsFlyer product offering delivers an accurate, mobile-first compatible, and fully optimized cross-channel experience."

Xpend provides marketers a comprehensive way to access all cost data and streamline it into an ETL (Extract, Transform, Load) process, which aligns various schema of data into a single model that makes the data easy to aggregate, analyze, and optimize. Additionally, Xpend is integrated with 60+ APIs, including Facebook, Google, AppLovin, and recently added Twitter & Tencent Marketing Solutions.

For more information on Xpend, please visit https://www.appsflyer.com/cost-aggregation/.

About AppsFlyer

AppsFlyer, the global attribution leader, empowers marketers to grow their business and innovate with a suite of comprehensive measurement and analytics solutions. Built around privacy by design, AppsFlyer takes a customer-centric approach to help 12,000+ brands and 7,000+ technology partners make better business decisions every day. To learn more, visit www.appsflyer.com.

Media Contacts
Ishina Sakhrani
PRecious Communications on behalf of AppsFlyer
appsflyer@preciouscomms.com
+65 6303 0567

Press Contact For AppsFlyer in APAC
Nico Marco
nico.marco@appsflyer.com

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