Featured Archives - Page 25 of 28

Late-Night #CashDrop: Hunt for $1,000 Cash Every Hour between 7pm and 11pm, 25 to 27 October at Sentosa Island

The folks behind Singapore’s viral cash hunt Hunt The Mouse have partnered Sentosa Development Corporation to bring you a first-of-its-kind, after-dark cash hunt – Late-Night #CashDrop. From 25 to 27 October 2019, a glow-in-the-dark token will be dropped at a random location on Sentosa Island every hour between 7pm and 11pm. Simply be the first to pick up the token and receive $1,000 in instant cash! To kick-off Late-Night #CashDrop at Sentosa, here’s the first hint: Tokens can be found around Fort Siloso, Siloso Beach, Imbiah Area and Palawan Beach.

To play, players simply have to visit ‘Sqkii Land‘ [www.sqkii.land], a brand new augmented reality game on their mobile phone’s web browser, turn on the location service on their mobile phones, and watch as our real-world environment transforms into a treasure hunting ground right on their screens. There is no need to download additional applications. Quick-fire hints will be released in the game every three to five minutes until the coin is found. Whether the players are participating solo or in a group, a sweet bounty awaits the treasure hunter.

Kenny Choy, co-founder of Sqkii, shared, “Late-Night #CashDrop at Sentosa Island will be the very first after-dark cash hunt to be held in Singapore. We hope our players will enjoy the brand new experience, explore what Sentosa has to offer, and of course, find the tokens for the hourly cash drop of SGD1,000!”

“Over the last three years, Hunt The Mouse and Sqkii’s treasure hunting games have brought people and families together, building communities together both online and offline. Many players have shared that the best part of the game, in addition to finding the cash, are the new friendships formed during the hunt and the camaraderie in moving towards a common goal,” he added.

Sqkii’s treasure hunting games have been played by over half a million unique players since 2017. Over $228,000 in cash have been found as prize money for the cash hunts. The newly-launched Sqkii Land(TM) web app will become the permanent home for all of Sqkii’s treasure hunting games, including Chasing Rooster and the viral cash hunt.

Late-Night #CashDrop Event Details

Date: 25 to 27 October 2019

Time: 7pm to 11pm

Venue: Sqkii.Land and Sentosa Island

Inaugural 2019 All-Asia Most Honored Companies Awards-ASEAN names 24 Regional Companies for Investor Relations Excellence

Twenty-four ASEAN-registered companies were honoured for their best-in-class investor engagement at the inaugural 2019 All-Asia Most Honored Companies Awards co-hosted by Institutional Investor (“II”) and Investor Relations Professionals Association (Singapore) (“IRPAS”) at an award ceremony supported by the Singapore Exchange and sponsored by Orient Capital.

Every year, Institutional Investor asks buy-side analysts, money managers and sell-side researchers at securities firms and financial institutions that cover the region to name companies they cover and rate their chief executive officers, chief financial officers, and investor relations. All votes are assigned a rating (five, four, three, two, and one).

Companies’ IR programs are rated on: accessibility of senior executives; whether IR managers are well-informed or empowered to speak; timely and appropriate disclosure; speed and thoroughness of responses; corporate governance; ESG/SRI reporting; corporate documentation (inc. website); execution of strategy. These ratings are aggregated to produce an overall IR Program rank for each company.

The overall rankings in each of the four categories – Best CEO, Best CFO, Best IR Professional, Best IR Company – are based on combined buy- and sell-side votes.

The ASEAN results were calibrated from II’s All-Asia Most Honored Companies survey. They follow a robust process and have high data integrity. Companies were grouped by their registration domicile and 257 companies from ASEAN were nominated by 454 buy-side portfolio managers and sell-side analysts from 320 firms casting over 9,000 votes. The title of “Most Honored Company” goes to companies that secure two or more top-three appearances.

List of ASEAN awardees:

Indonesia:
Astra International
Bank Central Asia
Bank Mandiri
United Tractors

Philippines:
Ayala Land
D&L Industries
Globe Telecom
Metro Pacific Investments
Universal Robina

Malaysia:
IHH Healthcare
Inari Amertron
Malaysia Airports Holdings
Serba Dinamik Holdings
Tenaga Nasional
ViTrox
Yinson Holdings

Singapore:
BOC Aviation
CapitaLand Commercial Trust
City Developments
Mapletree Industrial Trust

Thailand:
Bangkok Dusit Medical Services
Central Pattana
Kasikornbank
Minor International

Overall ASEAN winner for Best ESG/SRI reporting – Kasikornbank.
In addition, Special Achievement Awards were bestowed upon the top-performing C-Suite executives.
For the full list of published winners, please visit www.institutionalinvestor.com/research

To share your winning position in the 2019 All-Asia Executive Team ranking in your website content, advertisements, communications, marketing collateral, and more, please contact Commercial Lead, Asia at carvin.lee@institutionalinvestor.com

About Institutional Investor
For 52 years Institutional Investor has consistently distinguished itself among the world’s foremost media companies with ground-breaking journalism and incisive writing that provides essential intelligence for a global audience. In addition, Institutional Investor offers highly-respected proprietary benchmark research and rankings on buy-side and sell-side research, hedge funds, corporates, fixed income and asset management. For more information visit institutionalinvestor.com

About IRPAS
Run by IROs for IROs, IRPAS is a voluntary commitment by a team of IR veterans united by the same dedication to build a community for fellow IR practitioners. It aims to empower members through education, professional development and networking initiatives, and to promote the sharing of IR knowledge and practices through internal research and partnerships with leading institutions and IR societies around the world.

IRPAS was established in 2006 by leading IROs, supported by SGX, with the primary objectives of championing IR best practices, enhancing professional competencies and elevating the overall standard of the IR profession in Singapore. Please visit www.irpas.com.

Contact:
IRPAS Secretariat
Tel: +65 6551 2786
Email: info@irpas.com

Institutional Investor Research
Carvin Lee – Commercial Lead, Asia
Tel: +852 2912 8035
Email: carvin.lee@institutionalinvestor.com

Top Three Rating Agencies Gave China State Construction Stable Outlook

On October 11th 2019, Fitch Ratings affirmed China State Construction Engineering Corporation Ltd.’s (CSCE) Long-Term Issuer Default Rating (IDR) and senior unsecured rating ‘A’ and Stable Outlook. Earlier in July, Moody’s Investor Service (Moody’s) announced A2 for China State Construction’s Long Term Rating with Stable Outlook. And S&P Global Ratings (S&P) rated A for China State Construction’s Credit Rating as well as Stable Outlook. The Company won Stable Outlook from all three rating agencies.

Moody’s recognized China State Construction’s leadership position in housing construction and real estate development area. S&P pointed out that China State Construction benefited from stable profit and well-known reputation. In the latest report issued by Fitch, China State Construction was rated A for broad program approach, scale advantage and stable profit ratio. All three agencies believed that there was still room for further development of China State Construction.

China State Construction has got Stable Outlook for five consecutive years. The market shows beliefs in the Company’s bright future as China Construction got positive rating from all top three rating agencies in 2019.

Source: ACN Newswire

DaFa Properties Welcomes First Anniversary of Listing After 23 Years of Fast and Steady Operations

DaFa Properties Group Limited (“DaFa Properties” or the “Company”, together with its subsidiaries, the “Group”; stock code: 6111.HK) is pleased to announce its first anniversary of listing on the Main Board of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange since 11th October 2018. Reviewing the year after listing, the Company had a lengthy parade of highlights in its business results, which included the marked enhancements and increases of its operational capabilities and various profit indicators, and its widening recognition in the international capital markets. In the year, with its united efforts, the Company successfully delivered commendable business results in celebration of its first anniversary of grand listing.

In the first half of 2019, in its first interim report, the Company announced increases in both revenue and profit. As of 30th June 2019, it recorded revenue was RMB3,974 million, representing an increase of 303% over the same period of 2018.Gross profit was RMB961 million, representing an increase of 228% over the same period last year. For the first time, the Company declared an interim dividend of 8.5 HK cents per share, which represented a dividend payout ratio of 20% and indicated a considerable increase in profitability. Compared with the corresponding period last year, the Company’s contracted sales soared 41%, 96.2% of which derived from the Yangtze River Delta region, and contracted GFA grew 133%.

Earn Perennial Recognition from Capital Market with High-quality Development
In 2019, the Company notched up a series of awards including the “China’s Top 5 Fast-growing Real Estate Listed Companies 2019”, “2019 Most Recognised Real Estate Companies by the Capital Market”, “Top 10 Corporate Governance of Chinese Listed Real Estate Companies for 2019”, “Top 100 Comprehensive Strength Listed Real Estate Enterprise of China for 2019”, “Real Estate Companies with Excellent Investment Value for 2019”, “Emerging Outstanding Listed Company Award 2015” and “China’s Valuable Listed Real Estate Company for 2019”, which reflect that the Company has gained market attention and recognition with its capabilities.

In addition, by formulating “Big Finance” construction plans, the Company strictly controls risks, closely monitors various financial indicators, pays attention to cash flow and repayment and increases financing channels using its stable and healthy financial status, in order to maintain the normal and efficient flow of its corporate finances. In the first half of 2019, the Company was assigned a “B2” rating with stable outlook by Moody’s and another “B” with stable outlook by S&P. Between April and July 2019, the Company issued notes worth a total of US$300 million.

Focus on “1+5+X” Strategies and Specify Layout for More Land Reserves
As of the first half of 2019, the Company possessed land reserves totalling approximately 4.32 million sq.m., which included 13 new plots of land and 1.28 million sq.m. newly obtained land reserves. Concurrently, the Company was committed to its prudent investment principles and carried out strict measurement and discussions on all the newly added land.

Under industry trends and its development needs and strategic guidance for deep penetration of the Yangtze River Delta region and presence in the golden metropolitan clusters nationwide, the Company further specified its “1+5+X” layout system by intensively penetrating the Yangtze River Delta region while extending its presence into the five major urban clusters of Chengdu and Chongqing, areas around Xi’an, North China, Bohai Rim and Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao-Greater Bay Region, as well as maintaining its strategic focus on other key cities with high development potential. The Company’s deep penetration of its key target areas and strategic expansion help the sustainable development of its land reserves.

Follow Trend of Pleasurable Home Creation and Lead Industry with Situational Properties
Since its inception, the Company has been persistently committed to innovation; on 19th December 2018, its brand and the “Bliss” product series were launched worldwide. Through technological empowerment, the Company has established the diverse Yue scenes – “Eight Yue Scenario Systems”. By complying with the “80% standardisation + 20% personalisation” principle, the Company integrates regional cultures into its product design concepts to create products in line with the city context and temperament. At present, the concept of a “Yue Lifestyle with Chinese characteristics” has been realised one after another in the “Bliss Series” and “Metropolitan Series” projects.

In the first half of 2019, the Company achieved an average sales percentage of over 80% in its first project, beating its competitors in terms of the prices and sales rate. Apart from that, the Company was awarded the Real Estate Design China Award (Merit) for its Zhoushan Dafa-Bliss Xinjie Residence and Wenzhou Dafa-6 The Metropolis Drive projects. Moreover, it has received recognition from the real estate industry for its operational capabilities, claiming awards such as the “Mall China Golden Mall Awards 2018 Format Innovation Award” and “2018 Most Innovative Enterprise Award” for its innovation and widespread trend influence in the Nanjing IST Mall.

Mr. Ge Yiyang, Chairman of DaFa Properties, said that “After 23 years of continuous efforts, DaFa Properties finally welcomes its first listing anniversary. Looking forward, based on the four major principles of excellent operation, scenario experience, technological empowerment and pleasurable home creation, the Company will continue to be oriented towards national police, follow city development trends and conduct deep penetration and exploration in entering more cities and achieving exponential growth. Besides, in implementing its brand concept of ‘life-driven innovation’ and ‘1+5+X’ strategic layout guidance, the Company will continuously explore new needs for human residences, and fully utilise its competitive and development advantages by way of IP creation for its ‘Bliss’ product series with ingenuity, as well as its forward strategic layout and stable financial policies, so as to realise extensive development and steady growth.”

About DaFa Properties Group Limited
Establiahsed in 1996 and headquartered in Shanghai, DaFa Properties is a real estate developer in the Yangtze River Delta Region focusing on the development and sales of residential properties. Over the years, the group has positioned its brand as “Designing for Life” and adhered to the business philosophy of “Pursuing Excellence with Integrity and Innovation”, providing customers with top quality properties and specific living scenes through the development and construction of premium properties. As of June 30, 2019, the group had a total of 38 projects under construction, completed and acquired in the Yangtze River Delta Region, 2 projects under construction in Chengyu Metropolitan Cluster, and 1 project under construction in the Guangdong Region. As the creator of “Situational Real Estate” and with 23 years of experience in the industry, DaFa Properties has built a solid reputation upon exceptional product quality and product offering. In the future, it will continue to uphold the goal of building a better life for people, improving their living environment and enhancing their living quality.

Source: ACN Newswire

Mr. Philip Heah, Singapore IMDA, to Deliver Opening Address at Cloud Expo Asia & CloudAsia

SINGAPORE, Oct 8, 2019 – (ACN Newswire) – The 7th edition of Cloud Expo Asia will take place on 9th-10th October at Marina Bay Sands, Singapore, and is expected to receive over 18,000 senior decision makers from across the APAC region in attendance.

Co-located with leading enterprise technology events, Cloud & Cyber Security Expo, Big Data World, Smart IoT Singapore, Data Centre World, eCommerce Expo Asia and Technology for Marketing Asia, the event stack has grown at an unprecedented rate to cover two entire levels of the Expo and Convention Centre.

In this unique congregation of technology expertise, attendees will get to source from over 400 global exhibitors, and learn from over 600 top-notch industry leaders boasting expertise in varying fields including cloud computing, cybersecurity, big data, data centres, ecommerce and marketing.

Leading Tech corporations exhibiting at the event include Huawei, Equinix, Oracle Corporation, TIBCO, SAP, Telstra, Seagate, Schneider Electric, McAfee, Nokia, NTT, Tencent Cloud and more. Together with the other industry players, exhibitors will be showcasing new and improved solutions and products’ ranging from edge computing to smart technologies across the two days.

The event will officially commence after the GOH address on 9th October, 9.45 a.m. at the Techerati Keynote Theatre, which will be delivered by esteemed Guest-of-Honor, Mr. Philip Heah, Assistant Chief Executive, Technology and Infrastructure Group of the Infocomm Media Development Authority of Singapore (IMDA).

About CloserStill Media

CloserStill Media specialises in international professional events chiefly in the technology markets, across five global territories. Its portfolio includes some of the UK’s fastest-growing and award-winning events including Cloud Expo Europe and Data Centre World. Having delivered unparalleled quality and relevant audiences for all its exhibitions, CloserStill has been repeatedly recognised as a leading innovator with its teams and international events winning multiple awards in Europe and Asia including Best Marketing Manager – four times in succession – Best Trade Exhibition, Best Launch Exhibition, and Rising Star – two years in succession – among others.

For more information, visit www.closerstillmedia.com.
For media enquiries and to register for a press pass, kindly contact Nic-cole Chia at n.chia@closerstillmedia.com.

Wanxiang Global Blockchain Summit Successfully Held in Shanghai

SHANGHAI, Sept 30, 2019 – (ACN Newswire) – The 5th Global Blockchain Summit, organized by Wanxiang Blockchain Labs, took place on Sept 17 & 18 at W Shanghai – The Bund. Since 2015, Wanxiang Blockchain Summit has been widely recognized as one of the most influential blockchain events of the year.

The presence of vanguards and industry leaders from across the globe in Shanghai made the summit something. Hot topics such as adoption challenges, privacy, scalability, blockchain innovation and more took center stage as experts and pioneers gave voice to the new developments and innovations occurring around the globe.

This year, it was expanded to Shanghai International Blockchain Week 2019, which included two more segments: Wanxiang Blockchain Hackathon and Demo Day.

Wanxiang Blockchain Hackathon 2019

Over 120 participants joined the hackathon on the first day and 28 teams were formed, varying in member size, with themes to choose. With a specific focus of “blockchain and the automotive industry”, competitors spent 26 hours creating projects from zero to one. Finally, six teams won the grand prizes offered by Wanxiang Blockchain Labs and one team won the special $10,000 prize offered by Qtum. The one winning team also went on stage the next day for Demo Day, demonstrating their project before one thousand people.

As the first chapter of Shanghai International Blockchain Week, Wanxiang Blockchain Hackathon served as an open platform where developers were able to make the best of their creativity and imagination. It also provided an opportunity for enterprises to understand the possibility of combining blockchain technology with their own businesses. It is also the underlying goal of Wanxiang Blockchain Hackathon to enable more blockchain solutions for real-world issues.

Demo Day

With the rapid developments in the industry, we have seen blockchain technology and its applications changing the way we conduct business and participate in social processes. On Demo Day, 18 blockchain-oriented startups and projects, including bloXroute Labs, CovenantSQL, Beosin-Blockchain, KeyShard, dRoute, Chainlink, Banquanjia, zkPoD, dfuse, MYKEY, Tassat, aitos.io, AlphaWallet, PCHAIN, Taraxa, KILT, SKALE Labs, Lightnet, with their respective fields of application, presented their progress and development to industry participants, offering a unique opportunity for attendees to understand the promise and potential value of blockchain technology.

At the end of Demo Day, HAO Yukun, Executive of New Chainbase, introduced New Chainbase to all attendees. New Chainbase, part of Wanxiang Blockchain, is a blockchain-featured innovation platform for FinTech startups, providing guidance and support with open work spaces, technology planning, industry salons, roadshows, financing services, start-up trainings and related services.

The 5th Global Blockchain Summit

This year marks the beginning of a new decade for blockchain, and explains how the summit was presented around the theme ‘New Decade, New Beginning’, and tried to explore new trends for blockchain technology in the decade ahead. Over 1200 people joined the summit and more than 50 vanguards and industry leaders attended, including Vitalik Buterin, Founder of Ethereum, Gavin Wood, Founder of Polkadot, Jae Kwon, Founder of Cosmos, Dawn Song, Professor at UC Berkeley & Founder and CEO of Oasis Labs. Topics and focus included Libra, blockchain and financial infrastructure, DeFi, investment trends, distributed business, staking economy and more.

In addition, Wanxiang Blockchain announced a strategic partnership with Karma Automotive at the summit. Vincent Wang, CIO of Wanxiang Innova City, shared his views on how blockchain is helping to shape the next generation smart city. He also explained how Wanxiang Innova City is an enabling ecosystem open to all projects and enterprises, and why it should be built by different collaborators.

Wanxiang Blockchain Summit is also an open platform where industry players are able to exchange their ideas and discuss how to promote the development of blockchain. Blockchain is an open community, noted Dr. Feng Xiao, President and CEO of Wanxiang Blockchain in his closing speech, and a self-organization and an activity in which everyone can participate. “It is such an honor to bring so many industry partners together to promote the development of blockchain technology.”

History of Wanxiang Blockchain Summit

– October 2015: The 1st Global Blockchain Summit, with over 300 participants.
– September 2016: Shanghai International Blockchain Week 2016, including Devcon2 and 2nd Global Blockchain Summit, with over 700 participants.
– September 2017: The 3rd Global Blockchain Summit, with over 1200 participants.
– September 2018: Shanghai International Blockchain Week 2018, composed of Wanxiang Blockchain Hackathon Shanghai, Tech Open Day, 4th Global Blockchain Summit, with over 2000 participants.

Media contact:
ZHANG Rongfang
Wanxiang Blockchain Labs
U: http://www.blockchainlabs.org
E: zhangrongfang@wxblockchain.com

CloserStill Media’s Enterprise Technology Event to Occupy Two Levels of Marina Bay Sands Expo and Convention Centre in October 2019

SINGAPORE, Sept 26, 2019 – (ACN Newswire) – Asia’s largest technology event stack, Cloud Expo Asia, Cloud & Cyber Security Expo, Big Data World, Smart IoT Singapore, Data Centre World, eCommerce Expo Asia, and new launch event, Technology for Marketing Asia, will return for its seventh edition on 9-10 October 2019.

2019 will see the event stack expand to two levels of Marina Bay Sands Expo and Convention Centre (Basement 2 and Level 1) in preparation for the 18,000 international industry professionals expected to attend.

Event features this year include a suite of new content & highlights, including the newly launched Channel Partner Programme – a platform designed to support the commercial growth and regional market penetration of IT vendors and solution providers; a laser-focused DevOps workshop that will explore ways to improve engagement between IT professionals, engineers and solution architects; an actual Data Centre built within 48 hours onsite; and the premier CloudAsia conference, a unique collaboration between SGTech and the organisers of Cloud Expo Asia.

“We’re delighted to present the APAC region with the opportunity to access some of the industry’s best technology and expertise in one location, and look forward to this exciting two-day congregation of the industry’s finest individuals,” said Andy Kiwanuka, CloserStill Media’s Managing Director.

A Congregation of Technological Advancements from Different Regions

The annual free-to-attend event will also allow attendees to source from over 400 tier-1 solution leaders, including Huawei, Adobe, China Mobile, Digital Realty, IBM Cloud, NTT, Oracle, SAP, Schneider Electric, Telstra, Tencent Cloud, TIBCO and more.

Joining Big Data World for the first time is Global Victoria (Pavilion S10). The State Government of Victoria, Australia is strongly committed to connecting with its South East Asian neighbours to open new doors for two-way trade and investment. As the nation’s hub for technology and innovation, Victoria is home to more than half of Australia’s top 20 technology companies.

“Global Victoria is proud to sponsor Big Data World 2019, and are delighted to bring twenty world-class Victorian companies to showcase their technology solutions across a diverse range of industries. We look forward to creating new international partnerships through the event,” said Mr. Gönül Serbest, Chief Executive Officer of Global Victoria.

TIBCO Software Inc. (booth R70), a global leader in integration, API management, and analytics, and Big Data & Analytics Keynote Theatre and Platinum sponsors, will focus on its partnership with Mercedes-AMG Petronas by showcasing a F1 simulator within their booth, enabling delegates to experience first-hand the crucial role that data analytics plays in sports.

“As enterprises in Singapore and the region gear up to be more data driven, education and providing the avenues of support is crucial,” said Alan Ho, Senior Director of Marketing, APJ of TIBCO. “Through our participation and sponsorship of this event, we want to showcase the possibilities of data analytics and how it is instrumental in the quest of enterprises to stay ahead of the competition.”

Within Cloud Expo Asia, Huawei (booth E10) will showcase its CLOUD product line-up, ranging from cloud infrastructure, cloud rendering and intelligent computing. Distilling 30+ years of accumulated technology, innovation, and expertise in the ICT infrastructure field, attendees can learn how to grow their enterprise in the best environment with stable, secure, and ever-improving HUAWEI CLOUD services and affordable, inclusive AI.

Premium Content that Delivers – Expert Opinions from Practitioners in Leading Organisations

Situated within the event halls are 21 conference theatres that will host over 240 hours of premium content on the most pertinent technological issues and strategies in the ever-evolving tech industry.

As technologically-driven businesses evolve at a rapid pace through transformation of their processes and competencies, DevSecOps has been in the limelight as the tool to help continuously address security threats more effectively.

At the DevOps, Containers and Agile Methodology Theatre on 9th October, Speaker, Mr. Chee Yong Lee, Principal Technologist at Singapore Airlines will share the common challenges organisations face when integrating DevSecOps to improve business capabilities. Through a lively skit, Mr. Lee and his team will depict how various teams can break down the departmental silos to work together to achieve continuous delivery, scalable microservices onto a public cloud infrastructure.

For organisations looking to leverage new technologies such as blockchain, AI and Machine Learning to protect their assets, Mr. Steve Ng, Lead, Digital Platform Operations at Mediacorp will share his expertise on driving such initiatives at the Cloud & Cyber Security Keynote Theatre on 9th October.

Said Mr. Ng, “As technology evolves at a rapid pace, we have to understand the trends and evaluate new technologies such as artificial intelligence and machine learning to plan our technology adoption roadmap. More importantly, we have to upskill our workforce to ensure success of the implementation and operations of these technology solutions.”

Don’t miss other thought leaders from leading organisations including Facebook, Target Corp, Royal Bank of Scotland, Hotels.com, Mastercard, NTUC Enterprise, PayPal and more, who will also be sharing their expertise across two exciting days at Marina Bay Sands, Singapore.

About CloserStill Media

For more information, visit www.closerstillmedia.com.

For more information on Cloud Expo Asia and its co-located events, visit www.cloudexpoasia.com
For media enquiries and to register for a press pass, kindly contact Nic-cole Chia at n.chia@closerstillmedia.com.

World’s First Digital Asset Bank, Sygnum, Goes Operational

Twenty days after becoming the world’s first digital asset bank, Sygnum announces that it has digitally onboarded its first customers and banked its first digital assets, bitcoin and ethereum. Sygnum’s new operational status is a major landmark as it represents a concrete first step towards the mainstream adoption of digital assets into regulated finance.

On September 18th 2019, Sygnum’s first customer transactions were publicly recorded on the two most important public blockchains, Bitcoin and Ethereum. With this, Sygnum has proven that digital assets are bankable, can be managed in a convenient, non-technical way in one account, and that its customers can invest in the digital asset economy with complete trust.

“Being able to entrust your bitcoin and ethereum, and soon also a digital CHF token as well as other asset tokens, to a regulated Swiss bank is no longer an aspiration; with Sygnum it’s now a reality – and all in one account”, states Mathias Imbach, Sygnum Co-Founder and CEO Singapore.

Earlier in the day, Sygnum’s customers verified their identities by presenting their documents to a customer services agent over a secure video-link. Their digital assets were digitally onboarded using Sygnum’s proprietary digital asset Anti-Money Laundering (AML) solution, which meets institutional standards of regulatory compliance. It combines proven, traditional AML techniques with tools leveraging the inherent transparency and immutability of blockchain, with each transaction undergoing a risk classification, customer-related identifications and a risk analysis of the source and destination. Sygnum’s digital asset AML solution is also bolstered by a three-level internal review process and a future-proof modular system that anticipates market and technology trends.

These digital assets are not held in collective wallets, but in personalised, segregated wallets with institutional-grade security. These are accessed via an easy to use e-banking portal with state-of-the-art security features. Sygnum’s solution also manages the private keys within its secure, regulated infrastructure, eliminating the need for customers to interact with their private keys directly.

“We must be laser-focused on what our customers want and provide that bridge connecting the world of regulated banking with the future of finance with digital assets”, Imbach added.

Sygnum received its Swiss conditional banking licence on August 26th 2019, and became the world’s first digital asset bank days later on August 30th when it fulfilled all secondary criteria and its licence gained full legal force.

About Sygnum

Sygnum is the world’s first digital asset bank. With its Swiss banking licence, Sygnum empowers institutional and private qualified investors, corporates, banks and other financial institutions to invest in the digital asset economy with complete trust. The company is the first to offer an independently controlled, scalable and future proof regulated digital asset banking solution. Sygnum’s interdisciplinary team of banking, investment and Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) experts is shaping the development of a trusted digital asset ecosystem. The company is founded on Swiss and Singapore banking heritage and operates globally. To learn more, please visit www.sygnum.com.

Media Contact:
Timothy Han
T: +65 9190 1665
E: sygnum@trestle.sg

Corporate Contact:
Claire Ong
T: +65 6914 9530
E: claire.ong@sygnum.com

Disclaimer
This document was prepared by Sygnum Pte. Ltd. This document may contain forward looking statements and may be subject to change. The opinions expressed herein are those of Sygnum Pte. Ltd., its affiliates and partners at the time of writing. The document is for informational purposes only and contains general material. It is for use by the recipient only. It does not constitute any advice or recommendation, an offer or invitation by or on behalf of Sygnum Pte. Ltd. to purchase or sell assets or securities. It is not intended to be used as a general guide to investing and should be used for informational purposes only. When making an investment decision, you should either conduct your own research and analysis or seek advice from an expert to make a calculated decision. The information and analyses contained in this document have been compiled from sources believed to be reliable. However, Sygnum Pte. Ltd. makes no representation as to its reliability or completeness and disclaims all liability for losses arising from the use of this information.

Xiao-i empowers Contact Centers with Cognitive Intelligence

HONG KONG, Sept 20, 2019 – (ACN Newswire) – Shanghai Xiaoi Robot Technology Co. Ltd (Xiao-i), a leading developer of AI technologies and applications, was asked to represent the AI industry at the annual Contact Center APAC conference on September 9-10 in Jakarta. The conference was attended by some 300 contact center representatives who gathered to discuss issues related to building next generation contact centers in the digital age.

Xiao-i was pleased to represent the AI industry at the annual Contact Center APAC conference on Sept 9-10 in Jakarta.

“Cognitive intelligence is helping to transform traditional customer service centers, from cost centers to knowledge management and data operation centers, while creating multiple layers of value for the enterprise as well,” said Yiya Xu, Senior Vice President of Xiao-i. Cognitive AI technology enables companies to explore and apply data to business advantage. Xiao-i actively encourages cognitive enterprise, and upgrading contact centers is an important part of this digital transformation.

With the maturity of technologies such as AI and cloud computing, contact centers across various industries have improved their customer service experience with the innovative technology. AI technology can effectively solve the problems of traditional customer service, such as difficulties of data collection, low business growth, high service homogeneity, and poor cost control. Based on its leading natural language processing, intelligent voice, machine learning and other AI technologies, Xiao-i seeks to create diversified solutions, and helps companies build a knowledge base, the hub of AI, while upgrading the contact center.

Ms. Xu predicts the model of human-machine collaboration will continue to exist for the next five to ten years. The three elements of machine learning, human operation and expert supervision complement each other in the operation of AI systems.

“AI is not only a technology or a solution; for a company, it can also be a means of transformation, and developing the business culture.” Xu said that when upgrading the contact center, top management must be fully supportive and gradually promote the new business step-by-step, analyze business needs and combine strategic planning with practical requirements, set quantitative indicators to test the results of intelligent solutions, and build intelligent customer service systems that often involve multiple departments, or require close inter-departmental cooperation.

Ms. Xu addressed several cases of successful smart customer service systems. In the first, a commercial bank’s credit card center was transformed over 5 years from limited smart customer service to effective marketing, with a doubling of customers and significant profit growth. At the same time, around 10% of the card center staff transitioned to AI practice. In the second, a technology giant active in more than 160 countries and regions used the AI+ Contact Center with precise and unified knowledge services to handle the internal office needs of the company’s global employees.

Ms. Xu emphasized how the success stories show that innovations realized by AI technology are developed by both supply and demand. Xiao-i and these innovative industry leaders create a win-win situation. The former provides technology, the latter provide demand, and the cooperation is tailor-made for the business needs. Ms. Xu called on corporate decision makers to be especially innovative in this era of artificial intelligence.

The audience were inspired by the examples and the changes brought about by AI technology, and expressed interest in combining AI technology with their existing contact center businesses.

About Xiao-i
Shanghai Xiaoi Robot Technology Co. Ltd (Xiao-i) is a leading AI company, specializing in multilingual natural language processing, deep semantic interaction, speech recognition, machine learning and other cognitive intelligence technologies. A pioneer in industrial AI applications, Xiao-i was established in Shanghai in 2001 and has developed into a market leader. Xiao-i serves over 1,000 large enterprises and government organizations and provides its open platform to over 100,000 small and medium-sized enterprises and developers.
Xiao-i has R&D centers in Shanghai, Guiyang & Nanjing, launching APAC headquarters in Hong Kong in 2018. Major investors include Alibaba Group, China Everbright and Haiyin Capital. Learn more at www.xiaoi.com/en/ and LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/xiaoi/.

Business Collaboration and Media Enquiries:
Ms. Tracy Law, tracy.law@xiaoi.com
Ms. Malina Yao, malina.yao@xiaoi.com

Suprema ID Receives FBI PIV/FAP30 Certification for BioMini Slim 3 Fingerprint Authentication Scanner

SEOUL, KOREA – (ACN Newswire) – Suprema ID, a leading global provider of biometrics and ID solutions, today announced that the company’s BioMini Slim 3, the world’s slimmest FAP30 optical fingerprint authentication scanner, received FBI PIV (Personal Identity Verification) and Mobile ID FAP30 certification, tested under the FBI’s Next Generation Identification (NGI) Image Quality Specifications (IQS).

The new BioMini Slim 3 features an array of cutting-edge technologies including 15mm ultra-slim FAP30 optical sensor with wider platen, Suprema ID’s proprietary Multi-dynamic Range (MDR) technology and IP65-rated dust and waterproof structure ensuring robust operation over time under harsh environments. BioMini Slim 3 provides state-of-the-art Live Finger Detection (LFD) technology by applying machine learning based AI (Artificial Intelligence) which can be upgradeable by BioMini Slim 3 SDK.

“BioMini Slim 3 is designed to provide the best reliable performance over dynamic conditions such as outdoor and mobile environments. In addition, we have responded to the increased market demand for FAP30 fingerprint scanners,” said Bogun Park, CEO of Suprema ID. “With the range-leading performance and usability, BioMini Slim will lead the emerging FAP30 scanner segment. We will keep focus on providing the best product beyond market expectation with the highest convenience and security,” Park added.

BioMini Slim 3 is now available for shipment from September 2019.
Please contact sales_id@supremainc.com for further inquiry.

About Suprema ID

Suprema ID is a leading global provider of biometrics and ID solutions. By combining the world’s renowned biometric algorithm with superior engineering, Suprema ID continually designs and develops industry-leading products and solutions. Suprema ID’s extensive range of portfolio includes fingerprint enrollment scanners, fingerprint authentication scanners, fingerprint embedded modules and ePassport readers. Suprema has provided national ID projects in more than 20 countries and over 1 billion people in the world are using Suprema ID’s fingerprinting technology. For more information, please visit www.suprema-id.com.

Press Contact:
Andy Ahn
Head of Marketing, Suprema Inc.
Email: andyahn@suprema.co.kr