The leading Australian CRO for biotechs and Frost & Sullivan Asia-Pacific CRO Market Leadership Award winner Avance Clinical has been invited to present on the future of decentralized clinical trials at the Oracle Health Sciences Connect conference.
Avance Clinical CEO Yvonne Lungershausen, shared the company’s insights on the future of Decentralized Clinical Trials (DCTs) and the technology and patient factors that will determine success. Avance Clinical uses the full range of eClincial technologies to support clients wanting DCTs or a site-based approach while still leveraging advance technology including ePro, eSource and eConsent.
“DCTs are fast becoming the new norm and this is an incredible opportunity for the drug development sector as well as the diverse and remote patient populations that will now have access to clinical trials,” said Lungershausen.
“The pandemic has been the catalyst in speeding up the adoption of decentralised clinical trial methods, as people stopped participating in trials and visiting clinics. Trials have stalled putting lives and significant investments at risk.”
Yvonne Lungershausen said there are considerable benefits to DCT’s including:
– Reduce the scheduling and travel burden on patients – providing care from the comfort of the patient’s home. – Connecting patients to trials on a global scale – patients that were otherwise inaccessible under more traditional trial protocols are now available.
And she said challenges include:
– Missed human-to-human contact and continuity of patient care – Investigational product distribution to more remote destinations – Oversight of compliance and study procedures in the patient’s home
The presentation also covers advances in artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning, cloud computing and blood self-collection devices which are all revolutionising the decentralized clinical trial process.
– Wearable devices are demonstrating enormous potential whether worn as a wrist strap or an adhesive patch on the body. AI-embedded capabilities allow these devices to measure a patient’s heart rate or metabolism remotely. Linked to the cloud through secure networks, clinicians can receive and analyse the data real-time. – Video calling and electronic reminders, can improve patient compliance in trials – prompting participants to take their medication at the right time or to record in their electronic diary development. – Technologies are developing to allow patient-centric sampling (self-collection of specimens) with devices that require the use of a lancet and finger prick whereas others do not, making clinical trials even more convenient.
Australia’s Avance Clinical has more than 20-years of experience and is now one of Australia’s leading Contract Research Organizations. Avance Clinical facilitates quality drug development by aligning people, skills, and expertise in the pursuit of drug development for a healthier world.
Avance Clinical is committed to providing high-quality clinical research services with its highly experienced team. The collective pool of knowledge and experience at Avance Clinical continually grows through the careful selection of experts who also demonstrate passion in their chosen field. Avance Clinical offers high-quality services in an established clinical trial ecosystem, that includes world-class Investigators and Sites able to access specialized patient groups. Learn more at http://www.avancecro.com.
Other benefits include: 1. The Government R&D grant means up to 43.5% rebate on clinical trial spend 2. Telehealth pivot during COVID-19 pandemic – speed and continuity 3. Site Initiation Visit (SIV) and Study Start achieved in 5-6 weeks 4. No IND required for clinical trials 5. Full GMP material is not mandated for Phase I clinical trials 6. Established clinical trial environment with world-class Investigators and sites 7. Established healthy subject databases and specialized patient populations 8. Five independent Phase 1 facilities across Australia including hospital-based units for critical care 9. Major hospitals with world-class infrastructures and dedicated Clinical Trial Units with a long track-record in FDA compliant research 10. Seasonal studies: Northern hemisphere Sponsors can conduct their studies year-round by taking advantage of Australia’s counter-flu and allergy seasons
BIWIN, a leading chip manufacturer for flash storage, reached an agreement with Acer to bring Predator-branded memory and personal SSD storage products to customers in the United States and Canada.
The product offerings will take advantage of BIWIN’s manufacturing capabilities and Predator’s global brand recognition to provide the latest memory and storage solutions for both casual and professional gamers.
The Predator brand is known for providing hardcore PC gamers and esports professionals with high-end gaming solutions that give them a competitive edge. The new high-end flagship memory and storage portfolio under the Predator brand begins with state-of-the-art memory modules and blazing fast solid-state drives.
With a powerful “cyberpunk inspired” design to match the power of its performance, the new Predator Apollo memory module series offers speed, style and special lighting. Its ultra-high frequency, ultra-low timing, and overclocking capabilities will satisfy even the most speed-thirsty gamers.
The Predator Apollo series feature RGB lighting that synchronizes with most mainstream motherboard software to allow eight eye-catching independent lighting areas, 16 million RGB colour values and 10+ light effects.
Built with the best components, the Predator Apollo memory modules come with an impressive 10-layer PCB, aluminium heatsink, 15μm gold-plated contacts and the highest quality B-dies to ensure top-level performance. With Apollo as part of their gear (incorporating Intel XMP 2.0), gamers can now jump to overclocking with one click.
To complement the Predator Apollo series, a range of Predator Talos memory modules are built with an 8-layer PCB, ultra-low timing, and high-efficiency zinc-alloy heatsink to guarantee better performance, higher endurance, and an extremely satisfying experience for users.
In solid-state storage, the new Predator GM3500 delivers faster load times for games, applications, and movies. It’s lighter than regular drives and better able to withstand movement and drops. It also uses less energy, allowing computers to run cooler.
This high-performance GM3500 model is PCIe Gen 3×4, NVMe 1.3 compliant with 3400/3000 MB/s read-write speeds while the Advanced LDPC (Low-Density Parity Check) on-board improves performance using powerful error-correcting code algorithms.
More customers now realize the benefits of solid-state drives and want to upgrade their current desktop and laptop systems. Predator-branded SSDs bring them the speed (and capacity) they need to make their work run faster and their gameplay stress-free.
With the rapid growth in the gaming and esports industry, the Predator high-end storage and memory product lines will expand, providing consumers with even more options to upgrade.
About BIWIN As one of the leaders in the global manufacture of flash storage devices, BIWIN expects exciting results as it brings Predator-branded products into the higher-end memory and consumer storage market.
BIWIN focuses on providing customers with more competitive and high-quality hardware and software storage solutions. BIWIN products and services include SSDs, embedded storage chips, memory cards, memory modules, and customization services.
The new BIWIN Huizhou Science and Technology Zone will offer more than 110,000 square metres of production lines for chip manufacturing and the production of memory modules, memory cards and SSDs. Please visit https://biwintech.com
To celebrate Moonstake’s first anniversary, we’ve conducted an interview with our Founder, Mr. Mitsuru Tezuka, to talk about Moonstake’s past achievements and future business development, as well as discuss the blockchain industry.
Interview video link: https://youtu.be/mAT0q_mLulE The interview was moderated by Shogo Ishida, Senior Advisor at Moonstake. Please see the summary below.
Mr. Ishida: Can you tell us how Moonstake was found?
Mr. Tezuka: Having been in the crypto business for 10 years now, I want to create a horizontal connection as a business while interacting with various people and projects in the crypto industry and community. When proof of stake began to attract attention in recent years, we started the business to create a wallet with staking power for multiple coins. This is a good opportunity to utilize our technical strength and expertise in the industry to meet the demands of the crypto community in the world.
Mr. Ishida: Please share about Moonstake’s 2020 business development.
Mr. Tezuka: When we started Moonstake Wallet in 2020, we wanted to raise awareness of staking. We decided to partner with projects that are connected in the industry and help them utilize staking in order to increase the liquidity of their own token. We are actively working to improve Moonstake’s UI/UX to differentiate ourselves from competitors in the market. With more tokens available on Moonstake, everyone can freely stake without any limitation.
Mr. Ishida: In early 2021, Moonstake was ranked 8th as best staking validator in the world in staking volume. How did Moonstake achieve this result?
Mr. Tezuka: I believe that our active development over the past year is starting to bear fruit and help us achieve industry leading position. We were also supported by the market that was soaring throughout the industry from the end of the year to the first quarter of 2021. I think that this achievement was an opportunity to increase the recognition of Moonstake in the industry. Recently, we have been interacting with our competitors a lot and discussing the possibility of collaborating with them in the future.
Mr. Ishida: Moonstake announced its entry into the DeFi space. What kind of development can we expect from Moonstake in the future?
Mr. Tezuka: Our advantage is having a strong staking wallet that offers support for various blockchain products and DeFi services. Moonstake had considered partnering with other projects to penetrate DeFi. However, the market has yet to reach maturity, as there are not as many well-established projects still. This is why we decided to enter DeFi as a formal project ourselves and take on the challenges of this new frontier.
Mr. Ishida: In the DeFi area, we launched a project called Muse Finance. As its founder, I would like to utilize the assets of Staking, based on the premise of working together with Moonstake. From a user’s perspective, we think it is very important to have more options for financial services by providing access to lending and DEX while having more ways to earn staking rewards. The DeFi market has expanded 66 times last year, so it is definitely an area with extreme growth potential. In this market, Moonstake would like to consider developing services that will allow us to take advantage of the achievements we have made in 2020.
Mr. Ishida: What are your thoughts on the industry in the next year and the next three years?
Mr. Tezuka: I understand that the market is busy in 2021, but personally it is not what I’m focused on. I believe it is more important how much blockchain technology is advancing the connection with society rather than price changes. For now, I think there are cases where blockchain services are implemented in the supply chain and in governance. If this part is realized, I expect that liquidity will increase in line with actual demand and become even greater than the liquidity that is currently centered on investment.
Mr. Ishida: What is Moonstake’s business outlook?
Mr. Tezuka: Currently, no specific product has penetrated the crypto wallet business in Japan. I think it’s a difficult business to conduct on its own. With Moonstake Wallet, we will actively introduce staking and DeFi services that enable customers to grow their assets. In the future, we hope to gain market share as a user-friendly wallet provides liquidity to various assets in the digital payment domain.
Mr. Ishida: What is the meaning of Moonstake to you, Mr. Tezuka?
Mr. Tezuka: Right now we believe that a wallet with ultimate UI/UX is indispensable. In Japan, there is a strong culture of traditional cash payment, but looking at the financial infrastructures in less developed countries, I believe that the existence of digital currencies is very valuable. Currently, we are positioning Moonstake Wallet mainly in Asia. But in the future, I would like to reach into the field of digital payments, which is accelerating worldwide.
Mr. Ishida: Last question, do you have any message for our users?
Mr. Tezuka: We would like to thank all of our users for choosing Moonstake Wallet. Our motto is to actively listen to users’ opinions and suggestions and upgrade our product accordingly. This way, we can continue to improve our service to make it easier for you to use. Together, we can create a better service and the best staking wallet! Thank you for supporting Moonstake and please stay tuned for more updates from us.
About Moonstake Moonstake was recently established to develop a staking pool protocol to satisfy increasing demands in regional and global blockchain markets. Moonstake develops a staking pool protocol and provides business services through partners and companies.
Moonstake aims to be the largest staking pool network in Asia by providing an active environment for crypto asset holders. Establishing a clear partnership roadmap with Moonstake represents another significant milestone for continuing to strengthen ties with leading platforms across Asia’s burgeoning Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) ecosystem. Partnership has been announced with Emurgo, Ontology and NEO to boost staking adoption, Binarystar, Japan’s biggest blockchain hub, OIO Holdings Limited (SGX: OIO), a Singapore Catalist-Listed company. Industry’s reputed advisors, such as Lisk and Lawrence Lim of RAMP DEFI support Moonstake’s innovative journey.
With a full-scale operation launched in August 2020, we expanded our business and as of now, our total staking assets exceeded over USD 900 Million. https://www.moonstake.io/
This April, Moonstake celebrates its 1 year anniversary. We’ve come a long way since our official launch, having established a strong position in the POS market in less than a year. Today, Moonstake total staking assets have reached over $900 Million and are entrusted by core blockchain companies as business partners and crypto users from all over the world. We’ve grown to become one of the top 10 staking providers in the world.
On the celebration of Moonstake’s first anniversary, Founder of Moonstake, Mitsuru Tezuka, says: “2020 was an incredible first year for Moonstake. We achieved over $900 Million in staked assets and earned the trust of investors and businesses worldwide with our staking wallet as well as staking-as-a-service solutions. In just one year, we’ve become one of the top 10 staking providers in the world. We’re very excited to see how the Moonstake ecosystem will continue to grow from 2021 onwards, especially in the DeFi space, and we hope to experience all of it together with you again this year. Thank you for always supporting us!”
Let’s revisit Moonstake’s milestone and look forward to the exciting future of Moostake from 2021 onwards with CEO Lawrence Lin and Shogo Ishida, Moonstake’s Senior Advisor.
Lawrence Lin: Hello, I’m Lawrence Lin, the CEO of Moonstake. It has been 1 year since we debuted Moonstake staking business with the aim to create the biggest staking network in Asia. We developed the most user-friendly staking wallets: Moonstake Web Wallet for web browsers and Moonstake Mobile Wallet on iOS/Android with support for over 2000 cryptocurrencies. Now, Moonstake’s staking community can easily earn staking rewards from all the high demand POS coins on the market including Cosmos, IRIS, Ontology, Harmony, Tezos, Cardano, Qtum, Polkadot, Quras, Centrality and most recently, Orbs.
Moonstake has also forged strategic partnerships with leading industry players, including public blockchains such as Emurgo (global blockchain solutions provider and founder of Cardano), NEO, Ontology, Wanchain, and decentralized projects Pundi X, RAMP DEFI, TZ Ventures, RockX, Stake Technologies, Orbs, Unido, and more. These partnerships not only allow Moonstake to enable staking of more PoS coins for our users but also make Moonstake’s technology ecosystem more accessible to the global staking community.
Question: What are the biggest adoption barriers for Proof of Stake and Staking right now and how should we solve them for investors and also blockchain businesses?
Lawrence Lin: Definitely the lack of awareness and the still inaccessible user experience. The public mostly know about “the cryptocurrency with crazy price change” that is Bitcoin, but PoS coins aren’t as prominent to the masses, especially since trading to make a profit is much easier to adopt due to being similar to investing with other asset classes like stocks, real estate, gold, etc. In reality, staking is basically like putting your savings into a bank, but much safer since it’s on a decentralized network instead of the centralized banking system.
However, staking isn’t simply putting money in a safe. It’s an activity that impacts the operations of the blockchain network since it’s essentially selecting the validators (miners) to facilitate transactions. Such added technical complexities might make staking seem too intimidating to the average crypto investor, and even more so for businesses looking to adopt blockchain.
Moonstake works to accelerate adoption of staking by addressing both these pain points for investors and businesses. By hosting initiatives like educational webinars and collaborating both blockchain projects and institutions, we want to help spread awareness of blockchain and decentralized technologies more effectively. At the same time, we develop the user-friendly Moonstake Wallet that supports only the most highly demanded PoS coins through official partnerships with the blockchain projects so that investors can earn well from their idle funds with optimal yield without having to deal with the technical complexities of PoS blockchains. We also offer Moonstake staking pool and node solutions to enterprises so that they can start utilizing and benefiting from implementing blockchain in their business with plug-and-play ease.
Question: You have been professed to enter the DeFi domain, but what kind of development does Moonstake plan to try in the DeFi domain?
Shogo Ishida: Recently, we announced their DeFi project Muse.Finance on March 31st. In addition to creating its own products, Muse.Finance will also be widely accepting applications from DeFi products that wish to connect to Its platform. This is a decentralized platform that allows crypto asset holders to profit from lending through wrapped assets while participating in staking and yield farming at the same time. Its ecosystem design, consisting of Muse Swap, Muse Lending and Muse Wrap, connects the DeFi ecosystem of tokens issued on Ethereum (ERC-20) with Ethereum 2.0 to create a liquidity-generating PoS platform. In addition, by using advanced cross-chain technology, Muse.Finance is expanding its crypto-asset economic zone, starting with Cardano and extending its service offerings to Polkadot, Solana, Oasis, Terra, Centrality and others.
Muse.Finance will launch its first product, a wrap and swap platform, in May. Later in the year, we will gradually enhance Muse DeFi platform with Lending and Yield Farming.
About Moonstake
Moonstake was recently established to develop a staking pool protocol to satisfy increasing demands in regional and global blockchain markets. Moonstake develops a staking pool protocol and provides business services through partners and companies.
Moonstake aims to be the largest staking pool network in Asia by providing an active environment for crypto asset holders. Establishing a clear partnership roadmap with Moonstake represents another significant milestone for continuing to strengthen ties with leading platforms across Asia’s burgeoning Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) ecosystem. Partnership has been announced with Emurgo, Ontology and NEO to boost staking adoption, Binarystar, Japan’s biggest blockchain hub, OIO Holdings Limited (SGX: OIO), a Singapore-listed company. Industry’s reputed advisors, such as Lisk and Lawrence Lim of RAMP DEFI support Moonstake’s innovative journey.
With a full-scale operation launched in August 2020, we expanded our business and as of now, our total staking assets exceeded over USD 900 Million. https://www.moonstake.io/
Today, staking of Orbs’s native token, ORBS, is officially available on Moonstake‘s Web Wallet. ORBS fuel all activities on the Orbs blockchain including smart contracts, transaction fees, and consensus-based storage is currently ranked #5 in the Top 10 trending crypto coins by CryptoCrunchApp. Additionally, Moonstake is now officially a Guardian for Orbs Universe to help facilitate network security.
Now Moonstake’s wallet users can hold, send, receive, and stake their ORBS to receive rewards with the best user experience through one single click. After Cosmos, IRISnet, Ontology, Harmony, Tezos, Cardano, Qtum, Polkadot, Quras, Centrality and Orbs became the 11th available staking coin on Moonstake Wallet.
Moonstake started the staking business last year with the aim to create the largest staking network in Asia. Since then, we have developed the most user-friendly Web Wallet and Mobile Wallet (iOS/Android) with support for over 2000 cryptocurrencies. After a full-scale operation launched in August 2020, Moonstake’s total staking assets has grown rapidly to reach $900 Million, allowing Moonstake to become one of the top 10 staking providers globally.
Moonstake and ORBS entered into a strategic partnership in March, 2021. Through this partnership, Moonstake actively developed support for the staking of ORBS, Orbs’ official token, on Moonstake Wallet, as well as participating further in the Orbs blockchain ecosystem. The two parties will also host community building programs, research, training, events, and conferences with the goal to increase awareness and adoption of Blockchain and Distributed Ledger Technology in the Banking and Finance Industry. Moonstake and Orbs will discuss further potential provision of consulting services to financial institutions in the regions of Southeast Asia and Middle East.
How to stake ORBS on Moonstake Wallet
Here’s a simple 3-step process to stake ORBS with Moonstake Wallet: 1. Register your Moonstake Web wallet (https://wallet.moonstake.io) 2. From the wallet screen, select ORBS and click the “Stake Now” button. 3. Confirm the staking information, then click the “Staking” button and enter your wallet password.
How ORBS Staking Works: – Hold ORBS Token and no minimum amount for staking. – Agree to lock in and stake ORBS.
What is Guardians Role: Guardians play a central role in the Orbs PoS model – they are expected to be key participants within the Orbs Universe, who enforce the security of the network, align with the long term Orbs vision and actively work to make this vision a reality. A core role of the Guardians is to review the Validators, monitor their operations and ensure proper network operation and security by approving Validators that follow the protocol correctly.
How to get Rewards of ORBS staking: Token holders that delegate to an active Guardian are rewarded in proportion to their stake. Annual reward is up to 8% of the Delegators staked tokens (subject to an 80M Orbs Token cap on total rewards).
* Delegators are ORBS token holders who assign their voting weight (stake) to Guardians, empowering them to maintain security and uphold the long term vision of the ecosystem.
How ORBS unstaking works: If token holders want to send an asset that is currently staked, they will need to unstake it first. The unstaking of tokens will take a full 14 days before they become available, therefore you will not be able to send the tokens immediately. The period during which the tokens cannot be transferred is called the “lock period”. Moonstake looks forward to deeper cooperation with Orbs to increase our market presence in the key regions of Japan, Southeast Asia, and the Middle East, as well as bring the diverse ecosystem of staking coins to user communities worldwide.
About Moonstake
Moonstake was recently established to develop a staking pool protocol to satisfy increasing demands in regional and global blockchain markets. Moonstake develops a staking pool protocol and provides business services through partners and companies.
Moonstake aims to be the largest staking pool network in Asia by providing an active environment for crypto asset holders. Establishing a clear partnership roadmap with Moonstake represents another significant milestone for continuing to strengthen ties with leading platforms across Asia’s burgeoning Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) ecosystem. Partnership has been announced with Emurgo, Ontology and NEO to boost staking adoption, Binarystar, Japan’s biggest blockchain hub, OIO Holdings Limited (SGX: OIO), a Singapore Catalist-Listed company. Industry’s reputed advisors, such as Lisk and Lawrence Lim of RAMP DEFI support Moonstake’s innovative journey.
With a full-scale operation launched in August 2020, we expanded our business and as of now, our total staking assets exceeded over USD 900 Million. https://www.moonstake.io/
About Orbs
Orbs is a free, open-source, public blockchain infrastructure designed for mass usage applications, providing enterprise-grade scale, security and support. Orbs blockchain network expands the offerings of public blockchains by supporting permissioned applications developed by existing for-profit businesses, while also supporting purely decentralized apps and being a prime platform for launching decentralized finance applications. Founded in 2017, Orbs is being developed by a dedicated team of more than 30 people out of its offices in Tel Aviv, Israel, London, UK, Singapore, and Seoul, South Korea. Orbs was named Gartner’s “Cool Vendor in Blockchain Technology” for 2018. https://www.orbs.com/
The Group’s project book order will increase to RM1.9 billion
Bina Puri Holdings Bhd (BPURI) has successfully secured a new international contract worth Nepalese Rupee NPR 5.2 billion (equivalent RM183 million) for the New Construction Project of Supreme Court Building Complex at Ramshahpath, Kathmandu, a project funded by the Government of Nepal.
A filing to Bursa Malaysia today showed that Bina Puri together with Kalika Construction Pvt Ltd and Samanantar Nirman Sewa Pvt Ltd had entered into a joint venture agreement to form “Bina Puri – Kalika – Samanantar JV” to construct the project.
The construction project is awarded by the Supreme Court of Nepal with a contract period of 36 months. It will consist of 7-storey building including two basements, RCC framed structure building with complete finishing, landscaping and MEP (Mechanical, Plumbing and Electrical Works along with firefighting) works.
Group Executive Director Datuk Matthew Tee said: “We have been actively participating in the tender for projects both local and overseas to further replenish our orderbook. With the latest award mentioned, the Group’s latest project book order will increase to RM1.9 billion.”
Kalika Construction Pvt Ltd is a leading well-known “A” class construction company of Nepal having over 40 years of experience in all types of construction works. It was founded in 1976 and its parent company, Kalika Group operates in five business sectors: Hydropower, Construction, Software Outsourcing, International Trading and FM Radio/Media. The Kalika Group is one of Nepal’s largest and most respected business conglomerates.
Whereas Samanantar Nirman Sewa Pvt. Ltd. was founded in 1993 and is currently one of Nepal’s growing and most reputable construction companies by successfully delivering a range of projects for government and other market sectors. The works completed by the company comprises of government building, hospitals, water supply system, river protection, roads and infrastructures development in different sectors.
According to the management of Bina Puri, the company’s affiliation with Kalika is through both countries’ membership in the International Federation of Asian and Western Pacific Contractors’ Associations (IFAWPCA) represented by the Master Builders Association Malaysia (MBAM) and Federation of Contractors Associations of Nepal (FCAN). IFAWPCA groups together the fraternity of builders from nineteen (19) member countries in the Asia and Western Pacific region.
A dynamic international organization, IFAWPCA plays a critical role in promoting international fellowship and cooperation; in developing beneficial relationships between governments and contractors in the region, and in establishing cooperative working arrangements in the furtherance of civil and building construction projects.
Bina Puri is among the earliest Malaysian construction company to venture overseas since 1995. Bina Puri had previously completed a five-star Hyatt Regency Hotel in Kathmandu, Nepal in April 2000 valued at RM39 million. Among the shareholders of the hotel is the Asian Development Bank (ADB).
To date the Group has successfully carried out numbers of construction projects in several foreign countries.
Among the notable completed projects are three highways in India including the Vijayawada-Eluru Expressway, Tada-Nellore Expressway in Andhra Pradesh and the Chittorgarh-Mangalwar Highway in Rajasthan, Malaysian Chancery Building and Official Ambassador’s Residence in Beijing, China and Access Road for the New Bangkok International Airport in Bangkok, Thailand.
Bina Puri have also completed about 30,000 units of low cost housing and condominiums in various locations in Thailand; 2 Blocks of 45-storey residential towers in Abu Dhabi, UAE; 174 units Villas for the Defense Housing Authority in Lahore, Pakistan and more than 3,000 houses for the National Housing Scheme of Brunei from the Brunei Economic Development Board. Currently undergoing is the construction of the Malaysian Embassy Complex in Moscow, Russia.
About Bina Puri Bina Puri Holdings Bhd (BPURI) (MY:5932; BIN.MK; BPUR.KL) is a public listed company on the Main Board of Bursa Malaysia with more than 46 years of work experience in civil and building construction both locally and internationally. The Group’s diverse business activities include investment holdings, civil and building engineering management, property development, highway concession, quarry operations, manufacturing of construction materials, utilities and hospitality management.
Bina Puri has successfully completed projects such as roads and highways, bridges and interchanges, waterworks, land reclamation works, residential and commercial buildings, hotels, hospitals, airports and government complexes. The group has international presence in which it has successfully undertaken projects in Cambodia, China, Brunei Darussalam, United Arabs Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, India, Indonesia and Thailand.
Bina Puri’s notable investment portfolios include the 33km toll highway linking KL-Kuala Selangor Expressway, the Main Place Residence and Mall at USJ 21, and power plants in Indonesia. www.binapuri.com.my
The Executive Centre (TEC), the leading premium flexible workspace provider across Asia Pacific and the Middle East, announced that it was ranked in the Financial Times Top 500 Asia-Pacific High-Growth Companies 2021.
“It is a great honour to be placed on the list and is a testament to our robust growth since our founding in 1994. In the last five years, we have doubled our footprint from 76 Centres to 150+ across Asia Pacific and the Middle East and our EBITDA has grown 43% from US$32.3 million in 2016 to US$46.1 million in 2019 across our key markets,” said Paul Salnikow, TEC Founder and CEO. “We have witnessed steady demand throughout the last year as the pandemic has led companies to preserve costs and seek more flexibility from their partners. As the office remains as an essential space to foster creativity and collaboration, we believe that more companies will adopt a flex-and-core strategy to allow greater agility to expand in tandem with business growth.”
TEC, which was ranked 409th on the list, saw its revenue surge from US$140.74 million in 2016 to US$235.75 million in 2019, registering an absolute growth rate of 67.5% and a CAGR of 18.8%.
The Financial Times and Nikkei Asia, in partnership with global data provider Statista, reviewed thousands of companies and ranked the top 500 companies headquartered in 13 countries in the Asia-Pacific region, which generated revenue of at least US$100,000 in 2016 and at least US$1 million in 2019. The enlisted firms were ranked by their compound annual growth rate (CAGR) in revenue between 2016 and 2019.
About The Executive Centre The Executive Centre (TEC) opened its doors in Hong Kong in 1994 and today boasts over 150+ Centres in 32 cities and 14 markets.
The Executive Centre caters to ambitious professionals and industry leaders looking for more than just an office space – they are looking for a place for their organisation to thrive. TEC has cultivated an environment designed for success with a global network spanning Greater China, Southeast Asia, North Asia, India, Sri Lanka, the Middle East, and Australia, with sights to go further and grow faster. Each Executive Centre offers a prestigious address with the advanced infrastructure to pre-empt, meet, and exceed the needs of its Members. Walking with Members through every milestone and achievement, The Executive Centre empowers ambitious professionals and organisations to succeed.
Privately owned and headquartered in Hong Kong, TEC provides first class Private and Shared Workspaces, Business Concierge Services, and Meeting & Conference facilities to suit any business’ needs.
– Boosting local spending through wide variety of global goods – Supporting Hong Kong companies across 8 themed zones
The Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC) is launching a brand-new public fair, the Lifestyle ShoppingFest, which will run from 28 April to 2 May at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre (HKCEC).
The fair features more than 400 exhibitors presenting a broad selection of products and providing local citizens with a unique one-stop shopping experience. The event will also help local companies tap into the retail market and capture new business opportunities during the pandemic.
HKTDC Deputy Executive Director Benjamin Chau, speaking at today’s press conference, said the brand-new Lifestyle ShoppingFest caters to a post-pandemic new way of life for local people. The event encourages local spending and provides small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) the chance to explore new opportunities and build new revenue streams during this challenging time.
Hong Kong General Chamber of Wine & Spirits President JoJo So; Michael Li from Nam Pak Hong Association; the Hong Kong & Kowloon Provisions and Wine & Spirit Dealers’ Association Limited Chairman Harry Yip; HKTDC Deputy Executive Director Benjamin Chau; and Korean Chamber of Commerce Chairman J. J. Na and Director Kim Tae Hyung; Hong Kong Children, Babies, Maternity Industries Association President Eddie Lam [L-R]
The fair presents global delicacies including Japanese NihonshuOendan
With COVID-19 having brought significant changes to people’s daily lives, HKTDC Deputy Executive Director Benjamin Chau, speaking at today’s press conference, said that local citizens have seen a change in their lifestyles, with more emphasis on personal and household hygiene, cooking at home, more stay-at-home time with kids, watching livestreaming videos and shopping online. “Our brand-new Lifestyle ShoppingFest caters to this new way of life for local people. It brings together global delicacies, fine jewellery, trendy accessories, branded fashion, cosmetics and healthcare items, household products and baby products, encouraging local spending and providing an enjoyable shopping experience.”
The fair features eight themed zones, including Glamour & Style, Tasting Journey, Healthy Living, Home Inspiration, Play & Learn, Digital Life, Baby Essentials and Pet Care.
Tapping into the stay-at-home economy, travelling the world from home To help make homes germ-free, the fair features an air steriliser with a three-stage filtration system and a “magic water mop” set featuring technology that separates clean and dirty water. And with cooking at home becoming part of the “new normal”, visitors are offered a wide variety of quality food ingredients, including Italian pastas, cheese and truffle sauce, along with highly practical quality cookware such as titanium pots.
While overseas leisure travel continues to remain off limits, the fair features onsite photo spots of popular travel destinations, including a life-size Le Little Prince model from France. “Korean Street” highlights popular cosmetics, along with snacks, anti-epidemic supplies and Korean music performances. Global delicacies are another big focus at the fair, including Korea’s Haenam organic GABA rice, instant abalone porridge from Japan, and NihonshuOendan “KAKEYA” Sake – with only limited stocks. European gourmet choices include Extra Brut Champagne from France, XO cognac in an Eiffel Tower-shaped bottle, Italian sparkling wine, Spanish frozen suckling pig, and much more. “Jade Street” offers luxurious jade jewellery, South Sea pearl jewellery and a range of diamond and gems, while popular cosmetic brands such as Dior, Estee Lauder, LA MER, SK-II, Sulwhasoo and TOM FORD BEAUTY will also be on sale.
Supporting local brands The Hong Kong People and Brands Pavilion showcases products from leading local brands such as Abalone King, Luk Yu Chinese tea bags and Nutzen, along with items as diverse as tea leaves, rice, home appliances and bedroom supplies. The Hong Kong and Kowloon Provisions, Wine & Spirits Dealers’ Association Limited and Nam Pak Hong Association together present 45 food exhibitors, with four “flash sale” promotional campaigns being held each day during the fair period.
In addition, about 20 Hong Kong fashion brands are participating in the fair including winning designers from various editions of the Hong Kong Young Fashion Designers’ Contest (YDC), such as Arto Wong, Charlotte Ng, Jason Lee and Wilson Choi, who will present locally designed fashion items and accessories. Chill Market will also feature local original designs and let the public know more about Hong Kong brands.
Fun-filled activities and shopping privileges The HKTDC will stage a number of fun-filled activities during the fair including a demonstration of Chinese cooking by Chef Wong Man-chung from the Full House Seafood Chinese Restaurant. Representatives from the Centre for Food Safety will share tips on how to enjoy a healthier diet with less salt and sugar, while experts from the Hong Kong Jewellery and Jade Manufacturers’ Association and the Diamond Federation of Hong Kong will give tips on how to buy and appreciate jade and natural gems. Rope-skipping demonstrations and making STEM educational toys will be among the fun activities offered for parents and kids.
Various products will be sold at special prices at the fair. Lucky draws will be held to encourage shoppers to buy more and win more. Customers may redeem one lucky draw coupon for every HK$200 spent. Prizes on offer include staycation packages from Hong Kong Ocean Park Marriott Hotel, and F&B coupons from Hotel Alexandra, Novotel Hong Kong Century, Outback Steakhouse, SOHO East and The St. Regis Hong Kong. Other prizes range from gourmet items to lifestyle fashion accessories and healthcare products. Visitors can also bid for products including fashion jewellery and watches, home appliances and household products at low prices.
To help SMEs grasp new business opportunities and overcome the impact of the pandemic, the fair will strengthen its online-to-offline promotions. The HKTDC is partnering with Bonjour Hong Kong to introduce a range of products. All the livestreaming shows will be broadcasted at Bonjour and the HKTDC Exhibition Channel on Facebook. In addition, the HKTDC is collaborating with e-commerce platform Boutir to offer exhibitors the chance to open an online shop with a three-month free service to help them get established as an online operator. Furthermore, representative from Carousell, a large-scale e-commerce platform, will share online shopping tips for visitors to the event.
Ensuring your safety for an enjoyable visit The HKTDC has always put the safety of exhibitors and public as a top priority. The HKTDC will be working closely with the HKCEC to implement a series of anti-pandemic measures to safeguard the health and safety of everyone joining the fair, including:
– Onsite staff and exhibitors are required to take the COVID-19 nucleic acid test and present the SMS notification containing a negative result in order to perform duties at the fair.
– All visitors are requested to scan the QR code via the “LeaveHomeSafe” Mobile App at the fair entrance or complete the registration form provided (guest’s name, contact number, date and time of visit will be collected) which will be kept by the organiser for 31 days, to facilitate contact-tracing by the Centre for Health Protection (CHP) if necessary.
– There will be no paper tickets or ticketing offices at the fairground. Visitors can pay directly by Octopus card at major hall entrances to gain admission.
– Eating or drinking, including sample tasting, are not allowed at the fairground (including booth areas). Visitors cannot bring in and consume any food or drinks at the venue. Catering service will be provided at designated places in HKCEC.
The Lifestyle ShoppingFest opens next Wednesday (28 April) at 10:30am and runs until 2 May. Adult tickets are priced at HK$10 per person; child tickets are priced at HK$5 per person (for children under 1.22m tall or primary school students). Visitors aged three and under or 65 or over will be admitted free of charge.
About the HKTDC The Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC) is a statutory body established in 1966 to promote, assist and develop Hong Kong’s trade. With 50 offices globally, including 13 in Mainland China, the HKTDC promotes Hong Kong as a two-way global investment and business hub. The HKTDC organises international exhibitions, conferences and business missions to create business opportunities for companies, particularly SMEs, in the mainland and international markets. The HKTDC also provides up-to-date market insights and product information via trade publications, research reports and digital news channels. For more information, please visit: www.hktdc.com/aboutus. Follow us on Twitter @hktdc and LinkedIn
Media enquiries Please contact the HKTDC’s Communications & Public Affairs Department: Janet Chan, Tel: +852 2584 4369, Email: janet.ch.chan@hktdc.org
World AI Show is gearing up to virtually connect the most influential voices in Australia’s AI space this April. Notable speakers include the likes of Dr Kate Harrington, Head of Strategic Digital Initiatives, NSW Government Chief Information & Digital Office; Edward Santow, Human Rights Commissioner, Australian Human Rights Commission; Manohar Esarapu, CIO, City of Port Phillip & more.
Monday, 19 April 2021: Having hosted multiple high-level conferences across the world, World AI Show (WAIS) has established itself as the world?s biggest and elite AI show series. While it has proven itself as the quintessential AI event, World AI Show has a reputation of consistently getting global experts, investors, and cloud entrepreneurs – all under one roof.
Why Australia?
Intending to fund the development of the national AI Ethics Framework, technology roadmap, and set of standards, the Australian government has earmarked US$ 29.9 million in its 2018-19 budget for over four years to enhance the country?s efforts in artificial intelligence and machine learning.
The Victorian All-Party Parliamentary Group on Artificial Intelligence (VAPPGAI) was launched in Australia at the Parliament House on March 7, 2018. The AI parliamentary group aims to discuss the critical and transformative nature of AI from all sides of the political spectrum. AI and automation are already considered under the National Innovation Strategy and are also featured in several more recent initiatives.
“We generally talk about emerging technologies and how they impact society. But we have never seen a technology move as fast as AI and its impact on society and technology. In today’s world, the playing field is poised to become a lot more competitive. Businesses that don’t deploy AI and data to help them innovate will be at a huge disadvantage,” said Mithun Shetty, CEO of Trescon.
Taking place on 22 April 2021, World AI Show will feature keynotes from thought-leaders and industry experts, private networking sessions, private video meetings and more.
The show will be hosted on the virtual events platform Vmeets to help participants network and conduct business in an interactive and immersive virtual environment. Participants can also engage with speakers in Q&A sessions and network with solution providers in virtual exhibition booths, private consultation rooms and private networking rooms.
A ground-breaking collaboration of experts
Eager to keep the momentum from its previous editions, World Cloud Show will feature prominent experts such as Dan Jermyn, GM Chief Decision Scientist, Commonwealth Bank of Australia; Kshira Saagar, Chief Data Officer, Latitude Financial Services; Ruby Wolff, COO, Aramex; Ashwin Sinha, Chief Data Officer, Macquarie Bank; and Neal Cross – Co-Founder & Chairman, PictureWealth; to name a few.
#WorldAIShow – Australia will cover current topics including AI-driven digital transformation for enterprise, Accelerating and Operationalizing AI deployments within your organization, Enterprise analytics: Managing and making the most out of big data, Data visualization bringing business intelligence to life, AI & ML use cases across industries and more.
World AI Show – Australia is officially sponsored by Platinum Sponsor – Dataiku and Bronze Sponsor – Tiger Analytics.
About World AI Show
World AI Show is a thought-leadership-driven, business-focused, global series of events that takes place in strategic locations across the world. It connects top AI experts, enterprises, government representatives, data scientists, technology leaders, startups, investors, researchers, academicians, and global AI innovators – to discuss the impact of AI on commercial applications and the revolutionary ways it can transform businesses and government functions.
China Brilliant Global Limited (8026.HK) Re-sharps its Development Strategy under Several Factors
Recently, China Brilliant Global Limited(8026.HK) (CBG) voluntarily announced that its subsidiary Brillink Bank Corporation Limited (Brillink) was granted by Astana Financial Services Authority (AFSA) in Kazakhstan Astana International Financial Centre (AIFC) for an official full banking licence.
According to announcement made earlier, Brillink was granted an In-Principle Approval Letter (the AIP Letter) on 4 December 2020 to be formed for a licence to carry on banking services. The issuance of official licence to Brillink has demonstrated regulator’s confidence in Brillink’s development of banking business.
Since last year, the “black swan” COVID-19 has swept the world and has made a huge impact on various countries. Hence, new trends have emerged. The penetration of digitization and intelligence has accelerated. As for financial sector, the development of digital banking is booming, which brings incredible business opportunities and becomes a new battlefield in the financial industry.
CBG combines the existing real economy business with the new digital bank to build a new scenario for the digital bank focus on supply chain. According to the company’s previous announcement, the bank is expected to start trial operation in the second half of 2021, and may own the world’s first digital bank focusing on supply chain finance.
In addition, the latest review result of Morgan Stanley Capital International (MSCI) shows that CBG has been included in the MSCI Hong Kong Micro Index in November 2020. Such relevant adjustment was made and be effective on 30 November 2020, after the market closed.
Statistics show that the MSCI Hong Kong Micro Index is constructed in a comprehensive and consistent manner and is one of the most widely used stock benchmarks used by institutional investors to measure the performance of investment portfolios. The index is currently covering thousands of stocks with good operating performance and potential from different regions and different market capitalizations. In other words, being included in the market benchmark index reflects the capital market’s full confidence in CBG’s development and prospects.
You can never imagine CBG’s business development strategy before reading the news mentioned above. Now, how should we view the real investment value hidden behind it?
Obtained A Full Banking License to Create A New Imagination
First, let’s sort out the basic situation of the proposed digital bank so that you can clarify its business positioning and audience.
According to an announcement made by CBG, it acquired the issued share capital of CBG Fintech Holdings Limited twice in 2020 through its wholly-owned subsidiary CFSG, and finally obtained 80% of the issued share capital of CBG Fintech Holdings Limited in order to expand its banking business.
According to public information, Kazakhstan is striving to build AIFC into a leading financial centre in Asia, and through China’s “One Belt, One Road” initiative to develop AIFC into an important offshore RMB centre. As a result, the digital bank for supply chain financing will have significant location investment advantages and market competitive advantages after its landing.
From the perspective of market competition, leading financial institutions such as China Development Bank, China Construction Bank, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, Bank of China, and China International Capital Corporation have all settled in AIFC. Shanghai Stock Exchange and Silk Road Fund have also jointly invested in AIFC stock exchange (AIX), and owns 25% and 5% of AIX respectively. Possessing a full bank license issued by AIFC enables Brillink to become one of the formal, and global-oriented international financial institutions, and enables it to provide customers with one-stop supply chain financial services.
Besides, according to related research reports, the average online channel usage of global digital bank users has increased by more than 35% in the past three years, especially in Asia, where online transactions are well developed with digital bank customers reaching 1.7 billion in 2020. Moreover, after the outbreak of the epidemic, powerful companies continued to promote digital transformation and upgrading. In addition, with the booming of “New Infrastructure” led by national policies, the novel form of digital banking has been accelerated in the B-end and C-end at the same time.
However, the current market situation is that most of the leading companies have concentrated on the C-end market, while few companies will really focus on the B-end market and have the ability to take the lead in the B-end market.
We believe that digital banks with the abilities to develop B-end business are more likely to stand out in the market. Undoubtedly, it is a good timing for Brillink to intervene at this moment.
Specifically, Brillink’s B-end business covers the entire supply chain, mainly for high-quality customers in the IC and 5G industries, and has certain differences between the inclusive financial model that combines with the more common individuals and SME audiences in the market. Digital banks with such a background are even rarer. Under the wave of empowering the real economy, they are more likely to seize market opportunities.
As mentioned before, Brillink is the one of the few fintech company that will start digital banking at AIFC and obtains full license for deposits and loans. In view of this, the company’s digital banking business is likely to give priority to seizing the market, rapidly expanding the company’s sources of income, and opening up a new imagination for CBG to the market.
Strategic Planning and Resources Create High Synergies, Resulting in Strong and Promising Future
As we all know, to provide financial digital banking services for related companies by focusing on the supply chain can better serve the real economy and promote more efficient trade operation and circulation. The development path of focusing on advanced and technology-led high-end manufacturing or smart manufacturing industry chains such as 5G communications and electronic consumer product manufacturing, will conforms to the general trend of national development and the huge market of independent and self-controlled semiconductors. With its technical and capital barriers, and the threshold of high efficiency, the financial supply chain digital banking business have important characteristics, including irreplaceable and large-scale output.
Other than the competitive environment of the industry, investors also need to focus on the synergies brought by the supply chain resources of CBG.
Mr. Zhang Chunhua, the actual controller of CBG, is also the actual controller of China Brilliant Supply Chain Services Co. Limited(“CB”). CB, founded in 2006, is one of the first supply chain companies in the country to position on industrial supply chains. CB is the first batch of advanced technology service enterprises in Shenzhen. In recent years, it has won the honour of the best innovative enterprise in China’s supply chain management. It has won the China IC market supply chain service award for four consecutive years. It has also been recognized as a national service-oriented manufacturing demonstration platform, which has fully affirmed CB’s value and outstanding performance in serving the industry, and demonstrated CB’s position as a leader in the supply chain field.
In the past 15 years since CB’s establishment, its cumulative revenue has exceeded 113 billion dollars, cumulative tax payment has exceeded 40.5 billion dollars (including tariffs), and the total import and export of general trade has exceeded 55.6 billion US dollars. Its business covers more than 200 large and medium-sized cities in China, and reaching North America, South America, South Asia, Africa and other countries and regions. It has served over 10,000 high-quality customers in the upstream and downstream of the 5G, IC manufacturing, mobile phone manufacturing and other multi-industry chains, by providing one-stop supply chain services including cross-border comprehensive management services, global logistics solutions, meticulous industrial storage and financial supply chain.
It is worth noting that with such a large business scale and an operation mode of high proportion of supply chain financing, CB has an extremely low rate of bad debts since its opening, and its risk management and control capabilities are evident. These excellent customers and valuable business experience will be passed on to Brillink and its digital banking business with great probability. These above key points can be reasonably deduced, and the more important ones can be reflected in the following aspects.
On the one hand, the digital banking business can give full play to CB’s ability of transforming high-end B-end customers, including Xiaomi, Samsung, Siemens, Panasonic, ASM, Transsion, Huaqin, CVTE, Changhong, Cambrian and other top customer resources.
On the other hand, the bad debt rate of import and export loans has always been low, which is 65 times lower than the bad debt rate of general corporate loans. The cloud computing technology and the analysis ability of corporate credit rating big data that CB has accumulated for 15 years can provide the basic support for its digital banking business. From the top to the bottom of the capital supply end, to the capital demand end, it has formed a closed loop of the supply chain financial industry, and thus the risks of engaging in this type of loan business are relatively more controllable.
From the above points of view, CB’s strategic planning of digital bank business can create a high synergy development effect with the Group’s existing supply chain business. It is not just a simple coincidence of customer groups. The Group’s past import and export supply chain business also involved a large amount of supply chain financing. CB has mature experience in trade settlement, risk control, and specific operations. These are all available for reference for Brillink, and attain its business transformation smoothly.
In addition, there are bound to be a large number of potential customers in the customer resource network that the company has built, such as the many upstream and downstream suppliers of high-end industrial giants. Under such “direct and indirect” conversion model, the company’s future customer volume and market space will be immeasurable.
With the support of a good front-end business platform like CB, the digital banking business of CBG will never lack the stamina for development.
Core Assets Support High Valuations and Reveal Market Investment Value With reference to the previous performance of financial platforms driven by technology, there have always been giants and unicorns, and no “dwarfs”.
We have sorted out the valuations of a number of digital banks with financing records, where we can see that many companies have the characteristics of good profitability and super high valuations, especially Chinese companies that operate online business like WeBank.
Looking back at the fundamentals of Brillink. In terms of business logic, its parent group’s supply chain business gathers high-quality customers in fast-growing and highly professional industries such as 5G, IC manufacturing, and mobile phone manufacturing, with huge conversion opportunities. These can allow Brillink lower customer cost, sufficient customer stickiness and considerable room for growth. Furthermore, the purely online business model can effectively reduce service costs, eliminate high investment on offline branches and fixed asset, and reduce cost-to-income ratios. With the company’s low bad debt rate under effective risk control, and high gross profit margins, the return on business investment (or return on net assets) is expected to be quite impressive.
Looking ahead, Brillink has a clear development path and high visibility. It will benefit from tides of the times and national policies, such as the increasingly active investment in the “Belt and Road” initiative, New Infrastructure, the trend of autonomous control of 5G and semiconductors, as well as its parent company’s improving supply chain business services, with the increasing types and numbers of vertical industries and the re-expansion of service boundaries.
Therefore, we believe that CBG, to a certain extent, has the possibility of transferring to the Main Board and owns basic strength, due to its high-value core assets. As the first global/ Hong Kong stock with the concept of financial supply chain digital bank, it has a certain degree of scarcity, together with the imagination brought by its long-term development potential, there are many good reasons to judge that CBG’s digital bank assets will eventually enjoy a valuation premium. Compared with its current valuation level, the premium space appears to be quite sufficient. Investors can follow up to the timing and announcement of continuing to attract strategic investors and the trend of smart money.
