Author: Asia PEVC

McDonald’s Japan Chooses Adra(R) by Trintech to Simplify and Automate Financial Close Process

McDonald’s Japan Implements Adra Matcher, Balancer and Task Manager

Trintech, a leading global provider of integrated Record to Report software solutions for the office of finance, today announced that McDonald’s Japan has chosen and gone live with its Adra Suite to simplify and automate its reconciliation and financial close processes. By combining effective finance processes with Adra, McDonald’s Japan will see increased ROI, improved accuracy, and greater visibility across their entire financial close process.

“Prior to implementing Adra, our reconciliation process was labor intensive with manual efforts,” said Toru Kobayashi, Manager, Financial Shared Service of McDonald’s Japan. “Since the implementation, the overall efficiency and quality of our processes have increased significantly.”

“There is a vast market opportunity in Japan for a solution to help companies simplify and streamline critical processes in the financial close and we are honored to be partnering with McDonald’s Japan on this front,” said Darren Heffernan, President, Mid-Market at Trintech. “As we continue to expand our global presence, we are committed to providing Japanese companies with a proven software solution coupled with the local presence and resource base of a Japanese company capable of providing immediate value to customers.”

The Trintech and McDonald’s Japan partnership was formed by Finthesize, Trintech’s exclusive reseller partner in Japan that works with businesses looking to simplify and accelerate their financial close process.

“We are excited to support McDonald’s Japan in their financial transformation efforts,” said Hiroyuki Oyama, Chief Executive Officer at Finthesize. “Adra is the ideal solution for a new generation of accountants, and we believe McDonald’s Japan is a best-in-class example for other Japanese companies looking to modernize their financial close process.”

“Congratulations to the McDonald’s Japan and Finthesize teams for a successful implementation of our Adra Suite,” said Fintan Diviney, Director, APAC Sales at Trintech. “The digital transformation efforts they have already been able to achieve with our solution has been truly remarkable and I look forward to continuing our partnership in years to come.”

Currently deployed by over 1,800 companies across the globe, Trintech’s Adra Suite provides cloud-based, financial close and reconciliation solutions for companies looking to quickly increase the efficiency, control and visibility for all key areas of the financial close process including: balance sheet reconciliations (Adra Balancer), transaction matching (Adra Matcher), financial task management and controls (Adra Task Manager), and reporting (Adra Analytics).

About Trintech
Trintech Inc., a pioneer of Financial Corporate Performance Management (FCPM) software, combines unmatched technical and financial expertise to create innovative, cloud-based software solutions that deliver world-class financial operations and insights. From high volume transaction matching and streamlining daily operational reconciliations, to automating and managing balance sheet reconciliations, intercompany accounting, journal entries, disclosure reporting and bank fee analysis, to governance, risk and compliance – Trintech’s portfolio of financial solutions, including Cadency(R) Platform, Adra(R) Suite, and targeted tools, ReconNET(TM), T-Recs(R), and UPCS(R), help manage all aspects of the financial close process. Over 3,500 clients worldwide – including the majority of the Fortune 100 – rely on the company’s cloud-based software to continuously improve the efficiency, reliability, and strategic insights of their financial operations.

Headquartered in Dallas, Texas, Trintech has offices located across the United States, United Kingdom, Australia, Singapore, France, Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands and the Nordics, as well as strategic partners in South Africa, Latin America and the Asia Pacific. To learn more about Trintech, visit www.trintech.com or connect with us on LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter.

Media Contact:
Kristina Pereira Tully
Vested
650-464-0080
trintech@fullyvested.com

SOURCE: Trintech, Inc.

Materials coloured like a peacock

Materials inspired by the colour changes in a peacock’s feather could lead to anti-counterfeit and sensing applications.

Melanin-like compounds can be precisely designed and arranged to colour materials using a mechanism similar to that found in a peacock’s feathers. Chemist Michinari Kohri of Chiba University in Japan reviewed the latest research on these ‘melanin-mimetic materials’ and their potential applications for the journal Science and Technology of Advanced Materials.

Scientists are developing materials inspired by the structural colours in a peacock’s feathers. (Credit: Takashi Tsujino)
Melanin and melanin-like compounds absorb some of the light that is scattered from the microstructures within materials. Scientists are finding ways to control this phenomenon to give a variety of iridescent and non-iridescent colours. (Credit: Michinari Kohri)

Melanin is a dark pigment that gives hair and skin its colour. It is also essential for the bright colours we see in some organisms. When light interacts with the structures of feathers, wings and shells of many organisms, like peacocks, butterflies and jewel beetles, it is scattered, appearing white. But when melanin is interspersed within these structures, some of the scattered light is absorbed, producing various colours. Scientists are looking for ways to mimic these so-called ‘structural colour’ changes of living organisms in synthetic materials.

“Vivid structural colours can be obtained by constructing microstructures containing a light-absorbing black material made of natural or artificial melanin,” says Kohri. “Research in this area is progressing rapidly worldwide.”

A leading contender is a compound called polydopamine. It is made of a material naturally found in the body, so it is biocompatible. It is also dark, so it absorbs light like melanin. Scientists found they could control polydopamine’s iridescence – how much the colour changes as the angle of light hitting it shifts, similar to a peacock’s feather. They achieved this by altering the particle size or by adding compounds that react to a magnetic field.

Scientists are also investigating particles formed of a polystyrene core and a polydopamine shell. Changing the diameter of the inner core, for example, leads to different colours. Making the polydopamine shell thicker causes the particles to be less closely packed, leading to non-iridescent structural colour, which remains the same regardless of the light angle.

Scientists have also toyed with controlling colour and angle-dependence by changing the shapes of polystyrene/polydopamine particles, making them hollow on the inside, and adding multiple coatings to the external shell.

Polydopamine particles are showing potential for a variety of applications. For example, they can be used as inks to dye fabrics or in cosmetics. They could help prove a product is real versus counterfeit by shifting colour with strong light, wetting, or temperature changes. Finally, scientists have found that adding these particles to rubber causes it to change colour when stretched or relaxed, which could be useful for sensing local stress and strain in bridges.

Further information
Michinari Kohri
Chiba University
Email: kohri@faculty.chiba-u.jp

About Science and Technology of Advanced Materials Journal
Open access journal STAM publishes outstanding research articles across all aspects of materials science, including functional and structural materials, theoretical analyses, and properties of materials.

Chikashi Nishimura
STAM Publishing Director
NISHIMURA.Chikashi@nims.go.jp

Press release distributed by ResearchSEA for Science and Technology of Advanced Materials.

Amber Solutions Closes 2020 With Series B Funding Totaling More Than $8.5 Million

Amber Solutions, the young Silicon Valley company that is making the digital control of electricity in solid-state architecture a commercial reality, today announced that its 2020 series B funding round raised more than $8.5 million from new and existing investors, following a successful year of secured patents, partner discussions and multiple industry award wins.

According to Amber Founder and CEO Thar Casey, the company’s progress in 2020 is all the more remarkable given the challenges posed to the business by the COVID-19 pandemic and related lockdowns that prevented most, if not all, in person product demonstrations.

“2020 presented a challenging business climate, but our commitment to revolutionize the world’s building electrical infrastructure helped Amber enter 2021 with increased investment, new patents, as well as multiple industry award wins and nominations,” Casey said. “Amber’s progress is a sign of the accelerating demand from major electrical product manufacturers for solid-state electrification technologies and its ability to completely disrupt and transform the enormous global market for electrical products and services.”

In addition to securing patents related to a digital AC/DC Enabler, an AC switch, a digital method to sense ground faults, and super-efficient LED light fixtures in 2020, Amber started 2021 as a BIG Innovations 2021 Award winner, a CES 2021 Innovations Award honoree, and is currently a 2021 Edison Award nominee.

Amber’s core innovation is a programmable solid-state power system that has a clear path to an even-smaller silicon chip version. Amber’s system controls the flow of electricity digitally, enabling unique integration of modern intelligence into building electrical products and infrastructure. The solution introduces the world to a much safer, more reliable and dramatically smarter alternative to the 1970’s era electro-mechanical components that are used in nearly all modern electrical infrastructure products.

“Amber’s patents and innovations are rapidly driving demand for the development of intelligent solid-state based products including two-wire dimmer switches, ultra-efficient commercial LED light fixtures, smart light switches, smart outlets, smart circuit breakers, and more,” Casey added. “Based on heightened industry interest, growing investments and ever-increasing energy efficiency goals around the globe, we believe 2021 will be the year solid-state electrification moves from validation to commercialization and mainstream productization.”

About Amber Solutions

Amber Solutions is a leading developer of patented, innovative solid-state technologies for the digital control of electricity. The company’s disruptive breakthroughs change the electrical landscape forever for buildings and appliances world-wide. These technologies upgrade power management from 1950’s era electro-mechanical to safer, more reliable solid-state architecture with embedded intelligence. Based in Dublin, California, the company is leveraging the expertise of Silicon Valley professionals to deliver a disruptive enhancement to the value and functionality of the world’s electrical endpoints and infrastructure. For more information visit www.ambersi.com.

Greenbriar Capital Corp. Partners with Ridge Utilities Ltd. to Unlock the Huge Potential of Micro-Generation in Southern Alberta

Greenbriar Capital Corp. is pleased to announce that it has entered into a unique industry leading marketing partnership with Ridge Utilities Ltd. (“Ridge”). The partnership will see Greenbriar support the development of micro-generation capacity for numerous commercial and agricultural sites across southern Alberta, while Ridge Utilities will provide retail customers with access to preferential energy pricing through its “Solar Club”.

Greenbriar will design, finance, build, own and operate the multiple micro-generation facilities and maintain and manage the operation for at least 20 years. Greenbriar and its stakeholders will finance up to the first CDN $120 Million of new solar facilities and is prepared to extend the commitment up to a further $500 Million. Financing will be done at the project level and will be non-dilutive to Greenbriar Shareholders. The Greenbriar leadership team and its advisors have financed and built over 50,000MW of new solar projects in previous companies since 2003.

Ridge Utilities offers exclusive solar club electricity rates for micro-generators who are on a bi-directional cumulative meter. Solar Club members can switch between these two rates at any time with just 10 days notice, penalty free to accommodate seasonal generation fluctuations. Solar club members can also earn 5% cash back on all energy imported from the grid on an annual basis. In 2016, Alberta’s micro-generation Regulation was amended to provide more flexibility for rules on how Albertans can generate electricity. Changes include increasing the size limit of each micro-generation system to 5 megawatts from 1 megawatt and allowing a micro-generating system to serve adjacent sites. Greenbriar will start design and site preparation within 30 days at our first site.

Greenbriar will manage the solar partnership and operations in Alberta, through its executive leader Devon Sandford and supported by a special group within the Greenbriar Board, namely Bill Sutherland, P.Eng, MBA, Clifford M. Webb, P.E and Jeff Ciachurski. Bill Sutherland, recently retired, was Vice President & Senior Managing Director at Manulife Financial where he headed the firm’s Project Finance & Infrastructure Team. Bill is a seasoned corporate banker with over 37 years of business development, relationship management and corporate and project finance experience. Bill and his team at Manulife have been leading arrangers and providers of debt and equity financing to the independent power sector for over 18 years. Devon Sandford has built numerous large scale solar projects in Alberta, on time and always under budget, and Cliff Webb served as a Director of renewable energy procurement for Southern California Edison and was Chief of the Engineering Division of the California Energy Commission and the personal nuclear energy advisor to the Governor. Together with the team at Ridge Utilities, the partnership will construct state of the art facilities using best in breed equipment and best in class practices.

For information:
Jeff Ciachurski
CEO, Greenbriar Capital Corp.
Email: westernwind@shaw.ca
Office: 949 903 5906

Scott Donselaar
President, Ridge Utilities Ltd.
Email: CAO@stirling.ca
Office: 403 756 3379

Jeff Ciachurski, CEO of Greenbriar states: “Greenbriar has made an initial commitment of up to $120 million to provide financing for the construction of industrial and commercial micro-generation and community generation projects. Greenbriar is a leading developer of renewable energy and sustainable real estate projects and will bring its collective expertise to accelerate successful solar project development outcomes through its strategic partners in southern Alberta. Greenbriar will become the sole developer and construction partner of Ridge Utilities.

“With solar now having the lowest cost of all forms of energy generation, renewable energy is no longer alternative energy, but instead, finally, mainstream energy. This partnership furthers our drive to also be known as the go-to developer and financier of solar generation in the micro-generation and community generation space. Enabling communities, farmers, and businesses to leverage the renewable advantage, now matters more than ever as the negative impacts of the global pandemic continue to challenge the economy.”

About Ridge Utilities
Ridge Utilities Ltd. was formed as a municipally controlled corporation by the Village of Stirling as an innovative community sustainability initiative. The company markets electricity, natural gas, internet and green generated power to residents, farmers and businesses across southern Alberta. As an Energy Marketer operating under the retailer license issued to Utility Network & Partners Inc., Ridge Utilities will invest profits from its operations back into projects in communities where its customers live. Visit www.ridgeutilities.net for more information.

About Greenbriar Capital Corp
Greenbriar is a leading developer of sustainable real estate and renewable energy. With long-term, high impact, contracted sales agreements in key project locations and led by a successful, industry-recognized operating and development team, Greenbriar targets deep valued assets directed at accretive shareholder value.

On behalf of the Board
“Jeff Ciachurski”
Jeff Ciachurski, CEO
Greenbriar Capital Corp

The TSX Venture Exchange has not reviewed and does not accept responsibility for the accuracy or adequacy of this release. Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Service Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. This press release may contain forward-looking statements. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, constitute “forward-looking statements” and include any information that addresses activities, events or developments that the Company believes, expects or anticipates will or may occur in the future including the Company’s strategy, plans or future financial or operating performance and other statements that express management’s expectations or estimates of future performance.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/72690

VPower Group Announces Positive Profit Alert, Net Profit Expects to Grow Significantly by over 70%

VPower Group International Holdings Limited (“VPower Group”, stock code: 1608.HK) has announced a positive profit alert that the net profit of the company for the year ended 31 December 2020 is expected to increase by more than 70% as compared with that of HK$283.6 million for the year of 2019. The expected increase is mainly attributable to the growth of both the power system integration (SI) business and the Investment, Building and Operating (IBO) business, and the significant contribution from VPower Group’s joint venture, CNTIC VPower Group Holdings Limited (“CNTIC VPower”). VPower Group’s potential should be on investors’ watch.

CNTIC VPower is a 50-50 joint venture of VPower Group and China National Technical Import and Export Corporation (“CNTIC”) established last year to jointly develop Myanmar’s first batch of liquified natural gas (LNG)-to-Power projects, and provide one-stop LNG solution integrating LNG import, logistics, storage and regasification to the country. These projects have an aggregate installed capacity of 1,059.5MW, which exceeded the total capacity of all projects invested by VPower Group in the past few years. Upon entering into the respective power purchases agreements in June last year, these projects, with great growth potential, have commenced operation in phases and have already started to contribute profits to the Group.

VPower Group is the largest independent power producer in Myanmar, with a market share close to 25%. As Myanmar has an electrification rate of only 50%, VPower Group’s introduction of LNG can satisfy the country’s growing electricity demand and broaden its energy mix whilst providing a more environmentally friendly and sustainable power generation source. As such, it is believed that such LNG-to-Power projects in Myanmar will provide sustainable growth to VPower Group.

VPower Group is an integrated expert in distributed power generation (DPG). It principally engages in SI business, covering designing, integrating and sale of gas-fired and diesel-fired engine-based gen-sets and power generation systems, and IBO business, involving investing in, building and operating distributed power stations to supply reliable electricity. Over the years, VPower Group has established a global business presence, investing and operating DPG stations in power-deficient countries in Southeast Asia, such as Myanmar, Indonesia and Sri Lanka. VPower Group is now a leading distributed power station owner and operator in Asia.

Verofax is the Winner of Bahrain Islamic Bank’s ‘BisB Innovation Challenge’

Bahrain Islamic Bank (BisB), a leading Bank in the Arab Gulf region, has announced Verofax as winner of the ‘BisB Innovation Challenge’, a Fintech Competition run as part of the Bank’s partnership with ‘FinHub 973: CBB (Central Bank of Bahrain) Digital Lab’, the Kingdom’s open application programming interface (API) innovation platform. Verofax, a mature and enterprise-ready service provider, was selected after rigorous screening to ensure a solution with the requisite level of feasibility and security to maintain the confidentiality and security of customers’ financial data.

Verofax, founded by Wassim Merheby, and technology partner Turnkey Lender proposed a unique approach in emerging as the Fintech with potential to build the most promising Proof of Concept (PoC) for the sought solution. Verofax offered a PoC for a Credit Scoring solution, incorporating alternative and unstructured datasets, to improve the Banks speed and breadth of its financial services to existing and new clients.

The Credit Scoring solution will constitute a platform that uses adaptive machine learning and sophisticated AI (Artificial Intelligence) to empower the Bank’s financial advisory unit with advanced data insights to enable them to provide a more personalized banking experience for their clients, especially in the wake of a pandemic that is evolving the banking landscape.

14 challengers from around the globe participated in the BisB Innovation Challenge, which was powered as the FinHub 973: CBB Digital Lab by Fintech Galaxy. The appointed judging panel comprised of Osama Nasr, Chief Information Officer of BisB; Wesam Baqer, Chief Corporate & Institutional Banking of BisB; and Yasmeen Al Sharaf, Head of Fintech and Innovation Unit at the Central Bank of Bahrain (CBB).

Panel judge Wesam Baqer, Chief Corporate & Institutional Banking of BisB reiterated support for Verofax as the winner, stating, “We are confident that the Credit Scoring solution will bring a level of innovation to the banking industry that is both convenient and safe. The sought solution will ultimately simplify money matters for our customers’ securely, and it will streamline internal operations while providing them with data-backed intelligence, allowing us to deliver an exceptional level of service, which was ultimately the determining criteria in our selection of the winning participant, Verofax.”

Chief Executive Officer of BisB, Hassan Jarrar, said, “The BisB Innovation Challenge and tech-focused Fintech Competitions of this nature are imperative for innovation, especially considering the upcoming challenges facing the financial industry, both in the wake of COVID-19 and in order to effectively bridge the existent gap we have in the market when it comes to innovative Fintech solutions. We want to create better synergies between FinTechs and Banks, and harness the power of technology and AI to solve real issues, and encourage cross-industry collaboration, in order to offer a transformed customer experience.”

Wassim Merheby, CEO of Verofax Limited, added, “AI-based credit scoring solutions are innovative services that draw intelligence from non-linear relationships across a plethora of unstructured and alternative datasets. The service powers banks with unmatched visibility and speed while helping reduce the probability of default and increase financial inclusion. We partnered with Turnkey Lender to provide BisB with exclusive solutions to secure its financial services with simplicity.”

Dmitry Voronenko, CEO and co-founder of TurnKey Lender congratulated Verofax, “We’re extremely excited about helping larger audiences in the Middle East extend fully digital affordable credit to their clients locally and worldwide. We are happy and delighted to be selected by our partner Verofax. We look forward to continued and extended collaboration on new lending automation, credit scoring, and decisioning projects.”

For details, please visit BisB at www.bisb.com or email callcentre@bisb.com.
For technical matters, visit Verofax at www.verofax.com or contact info@verofax.com

About BisB
Bahrain Islamic Bank (BisB) was established in 1979, the first Islamic commercial bank in the Kingdom of Bahrain. The Bank has maintained its leading position in the Islamic banking sector through adopting innovative Islamic investment and financing products, supported by superior retail and corporate banking services. The Bank is listed on the Bahrain Stock Exchange and operates under the supervision of the Central Bank of Bahrain (CBB). Please visit www.bisb.com.

About Verofax
Verofax Limited is an automation, optimization and validation solutions provider for enterprises and financial institutions with a presence in Asia, the Middle East and Africa. The Verofax platform allows enterprises to share operational datasets with Banks to boost their credit scoring. Please visit www.verofax.com.

About TurnKey Lender
TurnKey Lender is an Award-winning AI-based Loan Origination and Management Software firm for Banks and Non-bank Lenders with offices and operations across 50 countries. Turnkey lender’s Unified Lending Management platform delivers innovative and automated credit scoring solutions to minimize risk, increase efficiency and make lending easier for banks. See www.turnkey-lender.com.

About FinHub973
FinHub 973: CBB (Central Bank of Bahrain) Digital Lab, is the region’s first cross-border, digital innovation platform that connects and facilitates collaboration between financial institutions and Fintechs. Powered by Fintech Galaxy, FinHub 973 enables Fintechs to connect seamlessly with Bahrain’s financial institutions and to explore, test and prototype on a centralised digital sandbox. Visit www.finhub973.com and www.fintech-galaxy.com.

BTCST Welcomes Top Bitcoin Mining Partners including BTC.TOP and Genesis Mining

Standard Hashrate Group (SHG), the project team behind the Bitcoin Standard Hashrate Token (BTCST), today welcomed several world-class mining institutions as partners. Joining the SHG project as tokenization miners are Atlas Mining, BTC.TOP, Easy2Mine, Genesis Mining and Hengjia Group, each major stakeholders in the current mining industry.

Alex Zhao, CEO of SHG, said that the partners “share SHG’s vision of bringing exchange-level liquidity to mining power and bridging real-world mining to the DeFi world. Their rich experience and collaborative approaches in industrial scale mining will be greatly complementary to SHG.”

The partners will be working with SHG to tokenize a total of 25 PH/s of Bitcoin hashrate into their BTCST. The institutions will be pooling their expertise to provide assured continuity and the skills needed for BTCST. “As the operator of some of the largest hydropower cryptocurrency mining facilities, we applaud the innovation of the BTCST project,” said Jiwei Zhu, Chairman of Hengjia Group.

With its successful debut on Binance Launchpool, BTCST has become the benchmark hashrate token with deep market liquidity and price premium. BTC.TOP CEO, Zhuoer Jiang, said that “mining is an asset intensive industry. BTCST has turned mining machines into high liquidity assets as Grayscale does to Bitcoin, injecting incremental value into the mining market.”

The partners echoed the positive sentiment towards this new development in mining products.
“BTCST is really exciting,” said Rene Hennen, COO of Genesis Mining, “It is one of the rare inventions which expands the Bitcoin ecosystem with the potential to add a lot of value.” One facet of the BTCST that raises interest is the element of DeFi in mining, which has yet to be seen in bitcoin mining. “

We believe a project like BTCST should focus on decentralization of hashrate sourcing,” said Cathy Yu, CMO of Easy2Mine. This point of view is shared by CEO of Atlas Mining, Tony Ma, who said that “BTCST has connected Bitcoin mining to the DeFi world,” and that “with BTCST, we can earn real BTC via crypto-native staking.”

According to the SHG whitepaper, the team aims to roll out BTCST token issuance in batches, as well as acquire and construct mining facilities within 2021.

For more information on BTCST and Standard Hashrate Group, please visit the official website.

About Standard Hashrate Group
The program team of Standard Hashrate Group consists of mining veterans who have accumulated years of experience constructing and managing mining sites in the greater China region, including some of the largest cloud mining providers in the world, as well as institutional miners. Standard Hashrate Group introduced the Bitcoin Standard Hashrate Token (BTCST) to bring exchange grade liquidity, and increase participation in Bitcoin mining. By collateralizing real Bitcoin mining power, Standard Hashrate Group paves a new path in mining Bitcoin the DeFi way. Official Website: https://www.1-b.tc

Media Contact
satoshi@1-b.tc

Citicode Ltd. Shareholders Approve Reverse Takeover of Homegrown Multi-Disciplinary Healthcare Specialist Livingstone Health Holdings Limited

Shareholders of Citicode Ltd., today approved the reverse takeover (“RTO”) of homegrown multi-disciplinary healthcare specialist Livingstone Health, marking the start of a new chapter of growth in Singapore and across the Asia Pacific region. At the extraordinary general meeting (“EGM”), shareholders of Citicode approved the RTO and the transfer of the Company’s shares from the SGX Mainboard to the Catalist Board and change of corporate identity to Livingstone Health Holdings Limited (“Livingstone Health Holdings”).

Livingstone Health Holdings has 15 medical doctors practising at 12 medical clinics and one medical spa located at various Singapore locations. It offers tertiary healthcare services such as aesthetics and wellness, anaesthesiology and pain management, internal medicine, orthopaedic surgery, and primary healthcare service such as family medicine, as well as other paramedical products and services including physiotherapy. It has formed a joint venture in Cambodia to provide aesthetics and wellness services, and also offers healthcare design consultancy services.

With a capital market platform, Livingstone Health Holdings plans to tap into the fast-growing healthcare sector by exploring other healthcare-related fields to complement its multi-disciplinary approach, and regional expansion via mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures and/or partnerships.

The successful EGM capped a combined new chapter for both Citicode and Livingstone Health. Citicode, under the leadership of its Executive Chairman and CEO Mr Teh Wing Kwan, had been seeking to transform the former Advance SCT Limited by evaluating growth strategies that led to a partnership with the medical group to offer integrated healthcare and engineering services. The partnership, in turn, led Mr Teh to consider the RTO, before negotiations commenced in late 2019.

Livingstone Health, previously known as Ardmore Medical Group Limited, had in 2019 withdrawn its proposal to list on the Catalist Board, citing developments related to its business operations at that time and changing market conditions. Under a new CEO, Dr Wilson Tay, it changed its name, increased specialisations and ventured into primary healthcare by acquiring a majority stake in homegrown family medicine service provider Phoenix Medical Group.

The reverse acquisition of Livingstone Health will be satisfied by a base and deferred consideration of S$47.0 million and up to S$25.0 million, respectively, of which up to S$2.0 million and up to S$1.5 million, respectively, will be in cash. New shares will be issued at S$0.20 per Consolidated Share.

The pro forma revenue and pro forma adjusted net profit after tax (“NPAT”) of Livingstone Health were S$14.3 million and S$3.2 million, respectively, for FY2019. Unaudited revenue and net profit for the six months ended 30 June 2020 (“6M2020”) were S$6.5 million and S$0.9 million, respectively.

Prior to the RTO, Citicode shares will first be consolidated on a 500-to-one basis, reducing its issued share base to approximately 82.6 million new Consolidated Shares from approximately 41.3 billion shares. After the RTO, Citicode share base will immediately be enlarged to approximately 315.9 million and up to 433.4 million by FY2022 upon issuance of base consideration shares and deferred consideration shares, respectively.

Voluntary trading suspension of Citicode shares is expected to start on 2 February 2021 to facilitate the expected completion of the RTO on 5 February 2021. Thereupon, the vendors comprising senior management and key doctors of Livingstone Health Holdings will be the new controlling shareholders of the Company.

Dr Wilson Tay will serve as Executive Director and CEO of Livingstone Health Holdings, while Mr Teh Wing Kwan, Citicode’s current Executive Chairman and CEO, will be redesignated as Non-Executive and Non-independent Chairman and will remain as a substantial shareholder. The board of directors of the Livingstone Health Holdings will also include the existing Independent and Non-Executive Directors Mr Fong Heng Boo and Mr Chan Yu Meng and the newly appointed Mr Lim Jun Xiong Steven. The continued appointments of the existing board further underscore their confidence in the RTO.

Dr Tay said: “We thank Citicode’s shareholders for supporting this transformation. The Livingstone Health team is excited by the growth opportunities. We are committed to delivering shareholder value through expansion in Singapore and the region, leveraging on our combination of primary and tertiary healthcare on a single platform which emphasises medical outcome and good governance.”

Mr Teh Wing Kwan said: “The successful EGM marks the beginning of a new chapter of growth as a fast-growing healthcare services company poised to capture new opportunities at home and abroad with its brand of integrated healthcare. I thank shareholders of Citicode for their support of this corporate transformation.”

SAC Capital Private Limited is the Financial Adviser in respect of the RTO and Sponsor of the Company upon the transfer to the Catalist Board.

Trading of the Company’s shares, post-consolidation, is expected to resume trading on 8 February 2021, 9:00 am.

About Livingstone Health
Livingstone Health Ltd. (“Livingstone Health” and together with its subsidiaries, the “Group”) is a Singapore-based multidisciplinary healthcare group whose core competencies include Aesthetics & Wellness, Anaesthesiology & Pain Management, Family Medicine, Internal Medicine and Orthopaedic Surgery.

The name “Livingstone” is inspired by the succulent plant Lithops, also known as “living stones”. They symbolise the Group’s resilience, growth and determination to be recognised as a trusted integrated healthcare provider for patients, as well as a centre of excellence of growth opportunities for medical professionals.

The Group has 15 medical doctors practising at 12 medical clinics and one medical spa located at convenient and accessible locations throughout Singapore. In addition, the Group has also ventured into other paramedical products and services, such as physiotherapy. It has a joint venture to provide aesthetics and wellness services in Cambodia and also offers healthcare design consultancy services. For more information, please visit: www.livingstonehealth.com.sg

About Citicode Ltd. (SGX:5FH)
Listed on the Mainboard of the Singapore Exchange since 2004, Citicode Ltd. is the result of the business transformation and corporate rebranding of the former Advance SCT Limited in 2018. Citicode reflects the reimagined corporate identity composed by the new Board and management team.

Citicode has diversified into new business segments including M&E for mission critical functions, as well as civil and structural engineering for land transport infrastructure, with a view to form an ecosystem to support smart city applications while evaluating other strategic application plans.

Media & Investor Contact Information
WeR1 Consultants Pte Ltd
1 Raffles Place
#02-01 One Raffles Place Mall Suite 332
Singapore 048616
Isaac Tang, livingstone@wer1.net (M: +65 9748 0688)

Heathrow Covid Chaos British Tech Co Has Solution

BRITISH TECH COMPANY HAS
GLOBAL COVID & VACCINATION
SECURE PASSPORT SOLUTION
FIRM WARNED OF SERIOUS RISKS TO AIR TRAVEL IN DECEMBER
FROM FAKE COVID 19 TEST & VACCINE CERTIFICATES
HEALTH PASSPORTS WITH UNSECURE QR & BAR CODE TECHNOLOGY
https://v-healthpassport.co.uk

British tech company VST Enterprises (VSTE) warned airlines and the travel industry in December of last year of ‘Covid related security threats’ prior to the chaotic scenes that unfolded at Heathrow airport (Monday 18th Jan).

Tech boss and CEO Louis-James Davis warned of the very real and serious threats facing airlines, airports and passengers from fake Covid 19 test certificates, vaccination record cards, social distancing breaches and the use of health passports with ‘un safe’ QR and bar code technology. He also warned of the serious implications of potential data breaches using ‘unsecure’ code scanning technology in health passports.

Passengers arriving into the UK this week (Monday) were faced with unprecedented scenes at Heathrow airport with long delays, social distancing rules breached, altercations between passengers and border officials, GBP500 on the spot fines and passengers being refused entry to flights for holding invalid Covid 19 certificates. The chaos came as the British Government put in place tough new measures for entry into the UK in a bid to get a grip of the pandemic and prevent the further spread of infection. Passengers were required to provide verifiable proof of their Covid 19 negative test result.

VSTE developed and launched the worlds first secure digital health passport called V-Health Passport(TM) in April (2020) both for passengers and airlines which authenticates a persons health status including Covid test status and their vaccination records all within a secure digital passport. The V-Health Passport(TM) ‘cross border’ technology can be used across all air, land and sea transport infrastructure. The V-Health Passport(TM) has over 200 clinics across the UK where a person can book a Covid test – including a PCR based test – and be recognised as ‘FIT TO FLY’ by all International airlines. VSTE believes its solution can solve the global airline and travel issue.

V-Health Passport(TM) will shortly start its roll out program of secure health passport across number of airlines and airports globally. In the UK it has already started this programme and is available through its healthcare testing partners Salutaris People www.salutarispeople.com and Akea Life at www.akealife.co.uk both at Newcastle and Liverpool John Lennon airports.

Both healthcare partners also offer full airline travel Covid testing at their own clinics with PCR based testing for airline travel with a V-Health Passport(TM). They also supply ‘home test kits’ which are supervised over Zoom calls.

It is the first company in the world to have a fully functioning and secure LIVE health passport that carries a persons Covid test status and vaccination record in one secure app. Most importantly the technology is GDPR compliant and was built on a privacy framework of ‘Self Sovereign Identity’ where the person – or airline passenger – can choose what information they want to share, when they want to share it and with who. Privacy by design is at the forefront of the V-Health Passport(TM) framework unlike other health passport technologies.

V-Health Passport(TM) is a test and vaccine agnostic platform working with all Covid 19 protocols from PCR to rapid antigen and antibody tests which can also authenticate a persons vaccine immunisation record. V-Health Passport(TM) is also the most secure passport technology in the world unlike bar codes and QR codes which are subject to a process called ‘Attagging’ where a QR code can be cloned and faked. Using the VCode(R) cyber coding, it works on a ‘closed loop’ system with ‘end-to-end’ encryption and has over 2.2 Quintillion variations of codes that are subject to many scanning permissions making it impossible to hack the front or back end.

V-Health Passport(TM) is 10 seconds faster than any code scanner and can also be scanned within and outside of the safe social distancing of 2 metres, whereas bar codes and QR codes have to be scanned in close proximity of inches. In other circumstances it can also be scanned upto 100 metres away, allowing for easier crowd and queue ingress and egress.

In addition to the security flaws and close proximity of QR code scanning, another downfall of using QR Code for this type of passport solution is that a user may have to carry hundreds of different QR codes for the same identity use case. Companies who wish to add any form of extra security to the QR code would also have to offer their own app to scan a QR code which may lead to a consumer having to carry 100’s of apps or codes due to the QR codes open source nature (not being generated from a central source).

Commenting on the chaos around the events at Heathrow, VSTE CEO Louis-James Davis said;
“The scenes at Heathrow could have been easily avoided by using a secure system such as V-Health Passport(TM). Both airports and the airlines need to move to a secure digital platform technology to ensure the security and faster processing of passengers to verify their Covid status and vaccination records. We have that technology now and it is available for airline passengers and the airlines to download and use today. By using the V-Health Passport(TM) technology a passengers valid Covid 19 test certificate could have been scanned further than the 2 metre safe social distancing protocols and upto 100 metres away. This would have allowed for a smooth ingress of passengers coming through border control into the UK verified against their identity. This would have also helped the passengers to maintain safe social distancing and a much quicker processing through border control thus avoiding the social breaches which occurred.

The V-Health Passport(TM) would not only provide border officials and airports with authentication of an airline passengers Covid 19 test status – with both a digital and printed PCR test certificate – but also their vaccination records. The technology also verifies a persons genuine identity against their existing Government ID adding another layer of security. There has been a phenomenal rise in the sale of ‘Fake Covid’ certificates, with both Russia and the Middle East seeing the greatest activity and posing a serious threat to global aviation security.

Using any open-source technology such as RFID, bar code or QR code with any form of health passport or vaccine card/certificate leads it wide open to being hacked or cloned with a person effectively making themselves ‘permanently Covid negative’ and ‘permanently vaccinated’ and allowing them to travel freely. By moving towards a secure ‘one for all’ technology based solution that passengers can use with their phones, will not only protect the data of passengers but also the safety of their health. It will ensure that a passenger who is travelling has a valid Covid test result or vaccine immunisation record and ensuring other fellow passengers are safe.”

The V-Health Passport(TM) technology has a complete audit trail of a persons Covid testing, their vaccination records and the clinics where those tests or vaccinations have been conducted. This information is also protected under the ‘Self Sovereign Identity’ data framework allowing only the passenger to view this information, with officials only able to see a current and valid Covid 19 test or vaccine status in the GDPR display of the app.

With the alarming increase and black market trade in fake Covid 19 test certificates and also vaccination cards and certificates this also puts a very real threat and risk to passenger safety. It poses a threat to airlines and international borders with the potential for a passenger carrying a fake Covid test certificate or vaccination card – who may be asymptomatic – to board an aircraft and infect other passengers. This poses a very real threat to the aviation sector and to Governments around the world as they try to arrest the rate of infection.

It is well documented that bar codes and QR codes can be hacked so any airline who considers using a health passport for Covid 19 testing and vaccination using this method of authentication risks a serious potential breach of its passenger data. In 2018 British Airways was fined a record GBP20M for a data breach on 400,000 of its customers which affected their personal and credit card data. It now faces one of the biggest ever group privacy claims in UK legal history as reported in the Financial Times. It comes at a time when security over the use of bar codes and QR codes in airline travel has come under intense scrutiny following the cyber attack last year on the former Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbot. The former PM had his Qantas airline boarding pass hacked. Details including his passport, mobile phone and messages between Qantas staff about him were intercepted.

VSTE CEO Louis-James Davis added;
“We are the first technology company in the world to have developed a secure, multipurpose, cross corporate & cross government digital health passport that does not rely on using bar codes or QR codes as its authentication technology. Both bar codes and QR codes have huge potential security implications as they can be cloned and hacked with the latter being subject to a process called ‘Attagging’. Therefore any suggestion of using this type of technology in a health passport for air travel has very real security risks. Not only is a citizen’s personal information at risk, but their Covid test status, vaccination records and also their credit card information. All of this can lead to the very real potential of a massive data breach and a persons personal information and data hacked and stolen. This is of particular concern when using a bar code or QR code technology designed for use to authenticate a persons Covid 19 testing and/or vaccinations records.”

Unlike other health passports, V-Health Passport(TM) has been designed with a citizens privacy front and centre. The technology does not track your live location and provides all data in a secure GDPR compliant framework giving citizens a unique ‘self sovereign identity’ style technology putting them in control of who, when and how they share their data.

Louis-James Davis went on to state that both bar codes and QR codes – which represent first and second generation technology – are unsecure and vulnerable to hacking.

“QR codes were originally developed as a scanning technology for close proximity car parts tracking, a world away from identity and banking use cases and now digital health passports. It was then used to skip the input of websites in marketing and promotional purposes. They were never designed with security or privacy in mind… they are simply not fit for purpose and should not be used at all in any form for delivery of sensitive information, travel or event tickets or health passport.”

QR codes can be subject to a process called ‘Attagging’ or ‘cloning.’ The process of ‘Attagging’ is where a ‘genuine QR code’ is replaced by a ‘cloned QR code’ which then redirects the person scanning that code to a similar website where personal data can be intercepted and breached. The problem is that serious that in India alone there are over 1BILLION fraudulent financial transactions each day using QR codes. As the scanning user journey is the same, it is only tech savvy individuals that may notice the domain name has changed.

QR codes can be cloned and redirected to other information points or websites. Often criminals and hackers will exploit this by putting a fake QR code over a genuine QR code. So a QR code for example on scanning would link to the genuine website www.similardomain.com but a fake QR code can be made up printed off and placed over the genuine code to redirect to www.similar-domain.com at this point the member of the public is tricked into entering their personal information, private data and financial information. The rogue website looks and feels exactly like the genuine one and is made to mirror it precisely.

VCode(R) which is the ultra secure digital code which powers the V-Health Passport(TM) cannot be cloned. Even if it was printed off, or a photograph was taken and placed over a VCode(R) or V-Health Passport(TM) it simply won’t scan as it works on a call and response system of information between the code and web platform to verify location of the code, user ID and time and date and much more.

V-Health Passport(TM) is making a significant contribution to the safety, mobility and return to work of the UK economy, helping businesses and employers return their staff to offices, factories and warehouses.

VSTE is working with the UK Government and a number of other Foreign Governments around the world to use its technology. The company is active in multiple industries and sectors including the maritime and aviation industries, construction and major infrastructure projects, as well as major national and international sporting events. V-Health Passport(TM) is also being used by a number of private Covid testing clinics, manufacturers and healthcare practices.

V-Health Passport(TM) is available on the Apple App Store and Google Play by searching for ‘VPassport’ and downloading to your device.

For more information on VCode(R) and VPlatform(R) technology please visit
https://www.vstenterprises.com

For more information on V-HEALTH PASSPORT(TM).
https://v-healthpassport.co.uk

For all media enquiries
Please contact Gerard Franklin – Head Of Communications & External Relations
M: 07885 388398 e: gerard@vstenterprises.com
VST Enterprises Ltd | The Lexicon | Mount Street | Manchester | M2 5NT

NOTES TO EDITORS
About the V-Health Passport(TM)
Search ‘VPassport’
Apple App Store & Google Play
www.v-healthpassport.co.uk

Available on the Apple App Store and Goole Play by searching for ‘VPassport’ and downloading to your device.

– V-Health Passport(TM) can be scanned at a safe social distance of 1-2 metres and upto 100 metres away. QR code and Barcode technology has to be scanned inches away and as such breaches social distancing protocols.
– The V-Health Passport(TM) can authenticate a persons genuine Covid 19 test certificate – held in the secure health passport app and a printable version. The ultra-secure platform can now also hold vaccination records of all the major vaccination manufacturers which will be crucial in a person validating they have been vaccinated, the vaccine type, batch, dosage and date.
– V-Health Passport(TM) uses a persons official Government ID such as drivers licence, passport and cross matches against databases. It is then paired against a facial recognition ‘Live Likeness’ test to verify the persons genuine status.
– V-Health Passport(TM) is a test agnostic platform meaning it works with all Covid testing protocols from PCR based tests to rapid antigen and antibody. It has over 200 clinics across the UK on its app for passengers to book a Covid 19 test including a PCR based test approved for International airline travel.
– V-Health Passport(TM) can be scanned in a 170 degree arc, whilst a person is moving and thus ensures smooth ingress and egress,
– V-Health Passport(TM) It uses the worlds most secure cyber coding technology which works from a close loop system with end to end encryption and has over 2.2 Quintillion combination codes making it impossible to hack the front of back end of its system.
– V-Health Passport(TM) is a GDPR compliant technology built around self sovereign identity, allowing the airline passenger or member of the public to choose what data they want to share, with whom and when.
– V-Health Passport(TM) is available now and can be downloaded from the Apple App Store or Google Play by searching for ‘VPassport’ or by visiting www.v-healthpassport.co.uk.
– V-Health Passport(TM) also has its own unique contact tracing capability ‘True Contact(TM)’ built within the technology designed for travel, sports stadiums, venues, factories, offices and construction sites.
– V-Health Passport(TM) is the only health wallet and cross border platform in the world that is multi-functional and GDPR compliant. It allows acts like ‘self sovereign identity’, meaning a citizens personal data is protected and they choose what they want to share and with whom they want to interact or authorise.

SOURCE: VST Enterprises Ltd

Moonstake Enters Into MOU to Commence Negotiations with SGX-listed OIO Holdings to Become a Subsidiary

As of 20th of Jan, Moonstake announced that it signed an MOU with OIO Holdings Limited (OIO), a Singapore Stock Exchange (SGX) listed company, to begin negotiations for OIO to make Moonstake a wholly owned subsidiary.

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is Low_Moonstake20210121.jpg

Moonstake debuted its staking business last year with the aim to create the largest staking network in Asia. Since then, it has developed the most user-friendly staking wallets for both Web wallet and Mobile Application Wallet (iOS/Android) that are compatible with over 2,000 top cryptocurrencies. After a full-scale operation launched in August 2020, Moonstake’s total staking assets grew rapidly to reach USD 50 Million. By December, staking assets grew to USD 100 Million and currently, over USD 200 Million. Within a year since its establishment, the company was ranked in the top 20 of the world’s 1,692 providers of staking services, and it continues to expand its business strongly.

Moonstake has partnered with more than 10 public blockchains such as Emurgo (one of Cardano’s constituent corporations), NEO, Ontology and QTUM, collaborated with reputable DeFi projects and added leading Blockchain experts as advisors. Moonstake’s advanced products centered on staking wallets attracted a great deal of attention from the market and rapidly increased a number of users all over the world. Based on the continuous growth, Moonstake has successfully closed its seed round funding and has raised $1.04 Million in Oct 2020.

Moonstake announced its full-scale entry into DeFi, a notable breakthrough in the blockchain industry in 2020, and will use its strengths in staking to make DeFi more usable and accessible for users.

OIO is a company listed on the Singapore Stock Exchange whose main business is providing M&E engineering services, blockchain-related agencies and consulting solution services. OIO has recently expanded into blockchain-related businesses which include sales agency, software development agency and blockchain-related consultancy. In February 2020, Moonstake entered into a strategic business alliance with DLF Holdings Limited (later renamed to OIO) for marketing, software sales, and explore market needs for the staking pool business in Singapore and other Southeast Asian countries.

OIO’s vision is to be the best service partner and provider of innovative technology solutions to power the growth of enterprises in Asia and is looking to expand its business not only in the traditional areas but also in the investment and incubation areas. Now, Moonstake and OIO, which have been business alliance partners and are growing rapidly together have started negotiations about acquisition.

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 200 Million. https://www.moonstake.io/

About OIO

OIO Holdings Limited (“OIO”) is a Singapore Exchange-listed firm whose core businesses are the provision of mechanical and electrical (“M&E”) engineering services, and blockchain-related agency and consulting solution services.

Over the years, OIO has developed extensive expertise as an M&E engineering services and solution provider. It has built up a strong network with well-established customers who are often engaged in luxury resorts or well-known projects in Singapore and the region such as Sengkang General Hospital and Sheraton Towers Singapore Hotel.

OIO has recently expanded into blockchain-related businesses which include sales agency business, software development agency business and blockchain-related consultancy businesses.

OIO’s vision is to be the best service partner and provider of innovative technology solutions to power the growth of enterprises in Asia. https://oio.sg/