Category: Finance

Bio Farma secures multi-year Purchase Contract from UNICEF for its novel Oral Polio Vaccine type 2 (nOPV2)

PT Bio Farma (Persero), the holding company for pharmaceutical state-owned enterprises (SOEs), will export its novel Oral Polio Vaccine type 2 (nOPV2) having secured a purchase contract with the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) for 2022 & 23. Under the contract, Bio Farma will export its oral polio vaccines based on purchase requests from UNICEF via multilateral contract agreement for the years 2022 & 23.

Indonesian State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) Minister Erick Thohir has said, “In line with the theme of the Indonesian G20 Presidency, “Recover Together, Recover Stronger”, it is important for Indonesia’s state-owned enterprises to lead with concrete actions realized through strategic initiatives and large-scale transformations to create global impacts.”

Honesti Basyir, President Director of Bio Farma, said, “UNICEF procures nOPV2 under a multilateral supply agreement as part of a global effort to prevent spread of the polio disease. Bio Farma will provide its annual production to the global nOPV2 stockpile, which is a contribution to the global health industry, as we are able to manufacture stockpiles that fulfill world needs. In turn, we will fulfill individual deliveries to target countries or regions following UNICEF request.”

The nOPV2 vaccine received an Emergency Use of Listing (EUL) from the World Health Organization (WHO) in November 2020, the first ever vaccine certified for emergency use, adding to Bio Farma’s portfolio of products that were already available globally. It was initially used to combat outbreaks of circulating vaccine-derived polio viruses (cVDPVs) in a number of African and East Mediterranean countries.

Bio Farma’s nOPV2 vaccine is now distributed internationally, ex-Indonesia, as Indonesia has been polio-free since 2014. Target countries in Africa for the vaccine have included Algeria, Cameroon, Kongo, Ethiopia, Gambia, Ghana, Nigeria, Senegal, and Uganda. In Europe, it is administered in Israel and Ukraine, and in the Middle East, in Egypt, Iran, Somalia and Yemen.

According to Honesti, nOpV2 vaccine is a result of collaboration between Bio Farma and several international research institutes, including Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF), PATH, and the WHO. Bio Farma has since become the main supplier of polio vaccines in the world, and currently contributes 67% of the global stockpile, while Bio Farma’s laboratories have become the reference for sampling polio vaccines in the world.

In manufacturing the nOPV2 vaccine, Bio Farma collaborated with world-class institutions like the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF), the PATH, and the WHO. Bio Farma has since become the main supplier of polio OPV vaccines in the world, and currently contributes 67% of the global OPV stockpile.

Bio Farma’s Laboratories have also been widely acknowledged as reference labs for poliovirus testing, while Bio Farma’s success in producing and exporting the nOPV2 vaccines shows the Indonesian company fully contributing to the world health sector, apart from providing the necessary vaccines at home in Indonesia.

In Line with G20
Honesti said Bio Farma’s provision of vaccines is in line with a main pillar of the Indonesian G20 Presidency (2021-22), Global Health Architecture. Through its G20 Presidency, Indonesia has showcased its success in controlling the Covid-19 pandemic and maintaining public health and steady economic growth through vaccination. Bio Farma has been a front liner in the government-initiated vaccination program.

Bio Farma has been ready to mass-produce its IndoVac brand Covid-19 vaccine.* On September 24, an Emergency Use of Authorization (EUA) was granted by the Indonesian Food and Drug Authority (BPOM), following the halal certification from the Indonesian Ulema Council (LPPOM MUI), and the Halal Certification Agency (BPJPH).

With this EUA and certification, mass production of IndoVac is beginning immediately, as preparation work for the first batch was already in place at the company’s facility in Bandung. Bio Farma plans to increase its production capacity to 40 million doses next year, and to 100 million doses by 2024, given demand in the global markets.

Bio Farma hopes that its IndoVac vacciness can contribute to reducing the spread of Covid-19 in the world, much as its nOPV2 vaccine has contributed to reducing the polio spread.

About Bio Farma
PT Bio Farma (Persero), the holding company for pharmaceutical state-owned enterprises (SOEs), offers end-to-end services across the healthcare spectrum – from pharmaceutical research and development, manufacturing and distribution to the operation of retail pharmacies, health clinics and clinical laboratories. Bio Farma’s head office and production facilities are in Bandung, West Jawa, with a representative office in Jakarta, Indonesia’s capital city.

Bio Farma is a leading human vaccine producer with production capacity of 3.2 billion doses per year, and has exported its vaccines to more than 150 countries. Bio Farma recently became the parent through merger of listed state-owned pharmaceutical companies PT Kimia Farma Tbk (IDX: KAEF), PT Indofarma Tbk (IDX: INAF) and PT Phapros Tbk (IDX: PEHA). For further information, please visit www.biofarma.co.id

Media contact:
R. Rifa Herdian
PT Bio Farma (Persero)
Corporate Secretary & Investor Relations
Tel: +62-81-2542-8844
Email: rifaherdian@biofarma.co.id

* 9/11/22: “Bio Farma ready to mass produce IndoVac brand Covid-19 vaccine”
https://www.acnnewswire.com/press-release/english/77878/indonesia‘s-bio-farma-ready-to-produce

Crypto Oasis Hosts 3 pivotal Web3-related Sessions at the Inaugural Dubai Metaverse Assembly

The inaugural Dubai Metaverse Assembly first announced by Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed, Crown Prince of Dubai and organised by the Dubai Future Foundation, took place on September 28 and 29. The Crypto Oasis, the fastest growing blockchain and Web3 ecosystem in the world, hosted the three sessions at the event that brought together regional and international experts in Dubai to shape the future of the metaverse.

The first session featured Meta Decrypt discussing “Design Thinking – Digital Economy in the Metaverse”. This was an enriching and engaging talk about creating a more participatory economy and also discussed a broad range of metaverse use cases from strategy through execution. It is expected that a fully realised metaverse won’t just be a part of the digital economy, but its own quasi-independent economy that may end up reweaving the fabric of the digital world.

The second session was a panel discussion on Venture Capital in the Metaverse. The participants included:

– Valerie Hawley – True Global Ventures
– Jawad Ashraf – Virtua
– Domenik Maier _ iBLOXX
– Saqr Ereiqat – Crypto Oasis

The metaverse is a venture capitalist’s dream. The metaverse represents a real opportunity for cutting-edge innovation and significant startup returns. VCs around the world acknowledge that it has the potential to be a multi-trillion dollar market. With advances made in bandwidth, chips, software, and new (hardware) platforms, metaverse adoption is expected to rise, which is why there is an abundance of capital in this space.

The final session was a thought leadership talk by Crypto Oasis Co-Founder Saqr Ereiqat titled “Web2 is Silicon Valley, Web3 is Crypto Oasis”.

Speaking about the event and the Crypto Oasis sessions, Ereiqat said, “The Dubai Metaverse Assembly is another step towards the United Arab Emirates being the leading digital economy. The ‘Digital Economy Strategy’ aims to double the contribution of the digital economy to the UAE’s gross domestic product (GDP) from 9.7 percent as of April 2022 to 20 percent by 2031. It also seeks to enhance the position of the UAE as a hub for the digital economy in the region and globally as we are already witnessing and supporting an influx of intellectual resources into the UAE.

“We believe an ecosystem consists of Talent, Capital, and Infrastructure, with the UAE bringing those three together. We have therefore coined the MENA region as Crypto Oasis. At the Dubai Metaverse Assembly, we proudly hosted three sessions to educate, inspire, and contribute. Today, the Crypto Oasis, with the UAE at the heart of it, is pushing the frontier in the Web 3 space. While Web 2 was primarily based out of Silicon Valley, events like the Dubai Metaverse Assembly and others will ensure that Web 3 is the Crypto Oasis.”

The metaverse assembly cements Dubai’s position as the world’s metaverse capital as it looks to leverage Dubai’s digital infrastructure and support global transformations and disruptions. The flagship event explores the digital economy and identifies opportunities to help startups, entrepreneurs, communities, investors, and governments unlock the unlimited potential of the metaverse to create a bolder future. The Crypto Oasis is delighted to be part of this first of its kind event that sees the world’s leading metaverse experts converge in Dubai.

About Crypto Oasis

The Crypto Oasis is a Middle East-focused blockchain ecosystem supported by initiators of the Crypto Valley Switzerland. The core elements needed for its development are Talent, Capital, and Infrastructure. The Ecosystems stakeholders include Investors & Collectors, Start-Ups & Projects, Corporates, Education & Research Institutions, Service Providers and Government Entities & Associations. Crypto Oasis’ vision is to be one of the leading blockchain ecosystems in the world. Today it is the fastest growing, with more than 1,100 organisations in the UAE alone. The forecast is to identify over 1,500 established organisations across the region by the end of 2022. www.cryptooasis.ae

For more information contact:
Faisal Zaidi
Crypto Oasis
faisal@cryptooasis.ae
+971552000840

Think Equity: Society Pass (Nasdaq: SOPA) – Initiating Coverage on Digital Commerce Platform for Southeast Asia with Upside Potential

Think Equity, LLC (Think Equity) initiates coverage on Society Pass Inc. (Nasdaq: SOPA) (SoPa).

Click Here (on Society Pass website) to view the full Think Equity research report. https://thesocietypass.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/ThinkEquity_SocietyPass_Initiation_ResearchReport_26Sep2022.pdf

Summary Points:

  • ECommerce Holding Company. Society Pass is an acquisition-focused eCommerce holding company operating six interconnected verticals in loyalty, lifestyle, food and beverage, telecoms, digital media, and travel, connecting millions of registered consumers and thousands of registered merchants in Southeast Asia. The company has on-boarded more than 3.3 million registered consumers and over 200K registered merchants and brands. The company generated $520K of sales in 2021, with a revenue forecast of $9.5 million for 2022 and $42.7 million for 2023.
  • Seasoned and Diverse Executive Team. The company is led by a team of seasoned Asia-based executives who have spent a total of over 150 years on the ground in Asia with operating, marketing, technology and financial experience there. Society Pass is the sixth company that Dennis Nguyen, Group Founder, Chairman and CEO, has taken public. Over half the executives and employees are female. The company’s board of directors brings diverse experiences from technology to finance, to legal, to investment banking/private equity. The company has built a sophisticated technology platform in four years and on-boarded over 3.3 million registered consumers and over 200k registered merchants/brands.
  • Integrated Ecosystem. Society Pass acquires companies in targeted verticals, which include lifestyle, food and beverage delivery, travel, digital media, telecommunications, and loyalty. In the lifestyle vertical, the company acquired Leflair in February 2021 and relaunched in the Vietnamese marketplace in September 2021. In food and beverage delivery, the company acquired Pushkart and Handycart in February 2022 and Mangan in July 2022. In July 2022, the company acquired Thoughtful Media, a Thailand-based digital media company. In August 2022, the company acquired NusaTrip, an Indonesia-based leading Southeast Asia OTA. The business model is to acquire companies in targeted verticals and integrate them into the platform.
  • Society Points. A Virtuous Cycle of Revenue Generation and Loyalty Creation in SEA. The company opportunistically acquires attractively valued companies to synergistically generate additional revenue streams, optimize efficiencies for merchants, and more cost-effectively aggregate consumers and merchants through synchronized marketing campaigns. The company’s loyalty platform, Society Points, drives this revenue generation and loyalty creation processes. The company has launched a beta version of the Society Pass app in June 2022 and expects to fully launch the app in 1Q 2023.
  • Strategies for Digital Commerce in Asia/Pacific. Southeast Asia’s digital commerce revenue is expected to reach a 10-year CAGR of 32% by 2025. Business unit leaders, like Society Pass, carefully select their markets. Based on industry estimates, the expected growth of consumer spending on digital commerce for the Southeast Asian region will exceed $88 billion by 2025. This comes from a low penetration of the total retail market. Southeast Asia presents attractive growth opportunities and challenges for SoPa.
  • Growth Strategies. As the company continues to acquire e-commerce platforms and apps in Southeast Asia, it should dramatically increase its revenue base, registered customer base, and registered merchant base. The company beta-launched its Society Pass loyalty platform in the second quarter 2022. The company is constantly upgrading its HR talent, especially identifying and mentoring female executives. It has built a powerful and integrated technology ecosystem targeting Southeast Asia, and operates in three of the world’s most attractive and fast-growing economies. Its senior executives have spent most of their lives in Southeast Asia running companies.
  • Valuation. Think Equity’s 12-month price target is $6, based on 3.9x FY23 sales per share estimate.
  • Solid Financials. As of June 30, 2022, the company had cash and cash equivalents of $28 million. For the six months ended June 30, 2022, the company’s stockholders’ equity was $35 million.

About Society Pass Inc
Founded in 2018 as a digitally-focused loyalty and data marketing ecosystem in the fast-growing markets of Vietnam, Indonesia, Philippines, Singapore and Thailand, which account for more than 80% of the SEA population, and with offices located in Angeles, Bangkok, Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Jakarta, Manila, and Singapore, SoPa is an acquisition-focused e-commerce holding company operating 6 interconnected verticals (loyalty, digital media, travel, telecoms, lifestyle, and F&B), which seamlessly connects millions of registered consumers and hundreds of thousands of registered merchants/brands across multiple product and service categories throughout SEA.

Society Pass completed an initial public offering and began trading on the Nasdaq under the ticker SOPA in November 2021. SOPA shares were added to the Russell 2000 index in December 2021.

SoPa acquires fast growing e-commerce companies and expands its user base across a robust product and service ecosystem. SoPa integrates these complementary businesses through its Society Pass loyalty platform and circulation of its universal loyalty points or Society Points, which has entered beta testing and is expected to launch broadly at the beginning of 2023. Society Pass loyalty program members earn and redeem Society Points and receive personalised promotions based on SoPa’s data capabilities and understanding of consumer shopping behaviour. SoPa has amassed more than 3.3 million registered consumers and over 205,000 registered merchants and brands. It has invested 2+ years building proprietary IT architecture to effectively scale and support its consumers, merchants, and acquisitions.

Society Pass leverages technology to tailor a more personalised experience for customers in the purchase journey and to transform the entire retail value chain in SEA. SoPa operates Thoughtful Media Group, a Thailand-based, a social commerce-focused, premium digital video multi-platform network; NusaTrip, a leading Indonesia-based Online Travel Agency; Gorilla Networks, a Singapore-based, web3-enabled mobile blockchain network operator; Leflair.com, Vietnam’s leading lifestyle e-commerce platform; Pushkart.ph, a popular grocery delivery company in Philippines; Handycart.vn, a leading online restaurant delivery service based in Vietnam; and Mangan, a leading local restaurant delivery service in Philippines. For more information, please check out: http://thesocietypass.com/.

Cautionary Note Concerning Forward-Looking Statements
This press release may include “forward-looking statements,” within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. All statements other than statements of historical fact included in this press release are forward-looking statements. When used in this press release, words such as “anticipate”, “believe”, “estimate”, “expect”, “intend” and similar expressions, as they relate to us or our management team, identify forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements are based on the beliefs of management, as well as assumptions made by, and information currently available to, the Company’s management. Actual results could differ materially from those contemplated by the forward-looking statements as a result of certain factors detailed in the Company’s filings with the SEC. All subsequent written or oral forward-looking statements attributable to us or persons acting on our behalf are qualified in their entirety by this paragraph. Forward-looking statements are subject to numerous conditions, many of which are beyond the control of the Company, including those set forth in the Risk Factors section of the Company’s registration statement and prospectus relating to the Company’s initial public offering filed with the SEC. The Company undertakes no obligation to update these statements for revisions or changes after the date of this release, except as required by law.

Media Contacts:
PRecious Communications
sopa@preciouscomms.com

SNS Network Technology Posts 42.4% Rise in Net Profit for 2Q FY2023

  • Group’s quarterly performance supported by higher demand for ICT products from local customers

SNS Network Technology Berhad (SNS), an ICT system and solutions provider, today announced that the Group registered a 19.7% rise in revenue to RM296.93 million for the second quarter ended 31 July 2022 (2Q FY2023) compared with RM248.16 million in the immediately preceding quarter (1Q FY2023).

Managing Director of SNS, Ko Yun Hung

For the quarter under review, the Group recorded a 21.8% gain in gross profit (GP) to RM23.43 million compared with GP of RM19.24 million in 1Q FY2023 while profit before tax (PBT) increased 43.0% to RM11.76 million compared with PBT of RM8.23 million. The Group’s profit after tax (PAT) for 2Q FY2023 rose by 42.4% to RM8.81 million from PAT of RM6.19 million in 1Q FY2023.

There are no comparative figures on a year-over-year basis as the Group was listed on the ACE Market of Bursa Malaysia on 2 September 2022.

Managing Director of SNS, Ko Yun Hung, said, “The Group’s performance for the quarter under review was supported by higher demand for ICT products from local customers under our commercial channel comprising businesses, government agencies and educational institutions following the full resumption of business operations after the reopening of the Malaysian economy.”

“We remain positive for the Group’s outlook given the continuous growth in demand for ICT products supported by rising economic activities and the strengthening of our existing customer base together with expansion of market share. For the immediate future, we will continue to focus on the plans as announced in our prospectus, namely the expansion of our Device-as-a-Service business, the construction of a regional hub in Petaling Jaya, and the setting up of 10 new stores in the country.”

On a geographical basis, Malaysia contributed 86.2% of the Group’s revenue of RM958.08 million for the financial year ended 31 January 2022 (FYE2022), with Hong Kong and Singapore contributing 11.7% and 1.4% respectively. The Group posted revenue of RM721.47 million for FYE2021 and RM675.28 million for FYE2020.

SNS Network Technology: 0259 [BURSA: SNS], https://www.sns.com.my/

HKTDC launches GoGBA Day for the International Business Community

  • HKTDC’s Transformation Sandbox (T-box), Digital Academy and E-Tailing Academy help “go GBA” via Hong Kong

The Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC) and the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Development Office co-organised the inaugural GoGBA Day on Thursday (22 Sept). This support event aims to engage members of the international business community in Hong Kong that are currently underserved in terms of up-to-date business information on the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA). The physical part of the hybrid on-site/online event was held at the HKTDC SME Centre at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre.

The event featured a series of seminars offering practical business tips and updates on the latest developments in the GBA to prepare international enterprises to “go GBA” via Hong Kong. The event received an overwhelming response with more than 160 participants attending the seminars at the venue while 260 participants joined the online webinar. At the same time, 65 business advisory sessions and one-on-one consultation meetings were arranged for 47 companies at the venue to facilitate business partnerships and opportunities.

The joint seminars welcomed officials from various authorities in the GBA, along with industry leaders and market experts from banking and other sectors, to share their insights and business know-how with international medium-sized enterprises and start-ups, helping them get equipped to set up business and succeed in the GBA via the Hong Kong platform. A wide range of topics was discussed, including the business landscape in the GBA and key incentives and subsidies for start-ups and businesses in the areas of tax, banking and investment.

Welcoming participants to the event, HKTDC Executive Director Margaret Fong said: “The GBA plan attracts attention not only because the GBA has China’s highest GDP at US$1.96 trillion, but it offers basically everything a business needs to grow, from the international financial hub of Hong Kong and the world-class manufacturing centres across Guangdong to the advanced innovation and tech clusters across the region – not to mention a huge market of 86 million people and a stepping stone to the vast Mainland China market.”

Ms Fong continued: “We launched our GoGBA support programme last year to help businesses navigate the GBA through Hong Kong by offering information, advisory support and networking and marketing platforms. The GoGBA Day is a highlight of our programme, bringing together the Hong Kong family of organisations under one roof to introduce their GBA support programmes and services, enabling us to hold a GBA event specifically for the international business community for the first time. We hope to give them not only an overview of the latest GBA developments but also offer practical information to help them make decisions and take action.”

Background to the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area
The Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA) promotes Hong Kong’s integration into Mainland China’s national development by accelerating the socio-economic integration of Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao. Hong Kong has been designated as an international financial, shipping, trade and aviation hub, a global offshore renminbi business hub and an international centre for asset management and risk management. As a value-added financial, trading, logistics and professional services centre, supporting technology and innovation, Hong Kong is also a centre for international legal and dispute resolution in Asia-Pacific.

HKTDC’s array of services support enterprises entering the GBA
Over the years, the HKTDC has worked hard to facilitate cooperation between Guangdong and Hong Kong. To support companies in doing business in the GBA, the HKTDC shares useful official information on regulations, procedures and networks through its GoGBA website ( https://www.go-gba.com/en/ ) and WeChat mini-programme, the latter also offering tools such as public health updates, maps, transportation guides and a day counter for individual income tax purposes. As of mid-September 2022, more than 506,700 views of the HKTDC’s GoGBA digital platforms had been recorded.

GoGBA WeChat mini programme (QR Code).
GoGBA WeChat mini programme (QR Code).

On the ground, the HKTDC has established the HKTDC GBA Service Centre in Shenzhen to provide local and international enterprises from Hong Kong with consultation services, industry-related updates and business matching. The Service Centre has so far organised more than 70 activities, with about 3,000 Hong Kong enterprises using its services. Working together with mainland partners, the HKTDC has also set up GoGBA Business Support Centres in Qianhai (Shenzhen), Nansha (Guangzhou), Hengqin (Zhuhai), Dongguan and Zhongshan, with Foshan being added later this year, to provide Hong Kong enterprises with policy and market consultation services.

In addition, the HKTDC’s Transformation Sandbox (T-box) programme will extend its services from Hong Kong to Shenzhen and other cities in the GBA. Together with its Digital Academy and E-Tailing Academy, the HKTDC will provide advisory workshops related to e-commerce and digital business as well as marketing solutions and other digital platforms.

Officials explain GBA business landscape, supporting initiatives and keys to success:

Tommy Yuen, Commissioner for the Development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, said: “The GBA is more than a key national development strategy under China’s reform and opening up. It is also marked a further step towards enriching One Country, Two Systems and promoting coordinated economic development that can turn the region into a world-class area for living, working and travelling. New measures are continually being implemented, including steps to encourage the development of private equity and venture capital funds in Qianhai and improving land boundary crossing facilities to enhance talent mobility between Hong Kong and GBA cities. In the coming decade, the GBA is set to become the world’s most vibrant and rapidly growing economic region.”

Jimmy Chiang, Associate Director-General of Investment Promotion (Business Development) of Invest Hong Kong, said: “President Xi Jinping has emphasised the importance of leveraging and strengthening Hong Kong’s unique advantages as an international financial, shipping and trading centre, as well as its convenient links to international markets. The 14th Five-Year Plan also highlighted the country’s support for Hong Kong in traditional industries as well as four emerging areas, including aviation, innovation and technology, intellectual property trading and international cultural exchange. These specific sectors will see more development opportunities in Hong Kong, and the GBA’s growth will create many attractive opportunities for international companies.”

Kenneth Wong, General Manager, MICE & Cruise, Europe, Hong Kong Tourism Board, said: “The Hong Kong Tourism Board has developed a tourism recovery framework to aid in the recovery, reopening and rebranding of Hong Kong’s tourism industry. We devised a number of publicity and promotion campaigns to maintain Hong Kong’s visibility during the pandemic and to facilitate tourism as well as MICE recovery. This includes bringing back large-scale international events and establishing a dedicated team to provide MICE organisers with one-stop support. Hong Kong can connect international visitors to the GBA’s tremendous business opportunities, generate attendance for organisers, facilitate professional visits and excursions to other GBA cities.”

Raymond Yip, Chief Liaison Officer of the Guangzhou Nansha Service Centre in Hong Kong, said: “The Central Government hopes that Nansha, with its strategic location at the heart of 10 GBA cities, will become a cooperation and collaboration hub for the GBA. Nansha has a broad and diverse industry base with advanced manufacturing, as well as a state-level science and technology forum. With no fewer than 20 policy measures for Hong Kong and Macao, including allowing people from Hong Kong, including foreigners, to pay Hong Kong taxes, Nansha is set to open up a larger hinterland for Hong Kong.”

Witman Hung, Principal Liaison Officer for the Hong Kong, Shenzhen Qianhai Authority, said: “Qianhai has always been a pilot zone to help China open up and deepen its reforms. Promoting and facilitating collaboration between Hong Kong and Shenzhen is high on our priority list. For example, we have incubated 335 Hong Kong start-ups and assisted the city’s professionals such as lawyers, engineers and architects in entering the mainland market. Recently, the Qianhai Authority and the Hong Kong government announced 18 new measures aimed at encouraging venture capital and private equity to enter China via Qianhai and Hong Kong. Hong Kong-based companies will be able to use Qianhai as a shopfront to provide professional services to the rest of the GBA and Mainland China.”

Vivian Cheung, Executive Director, Airport Operations, Hong Kong International Airport, said: “We have been expanding the capacity and functionality of Hong Kong International Airport in preparation for the resumption of international travel and business. The SKYCITY development is at the heart of this, featuring a new 3.8 million sq ft complex, with recreational facilities and three new office towers. New hotels will also be built and we are revamping services to provide better travel and transit experiences for passengers. Furthermore, we are transforming AsiaWorld-Expo into a 20,000-seat arena, adding new passenger and cargo handling facilities and constructing new infrastructure to make it easier for Hong Kong to connect with the GBA.”

HKTDC SME Centre
Tel: +852 1830 668
Fax: +852 3693 4938
E-mail: smecentre@hktdc.org

HKTDC GBA Centre
Tel: 0755-82280112
Fax: 0755-82280114
E-mail: shenzhen.office@hktdc.org

GoGBA Day website: https://go-gba.com/en/gogbaday.html
“Greater Bay Area, Great Future” promotional video: https://www.bayarea.gov.hk/en/stories/videos.html
(provided by the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Development Office).
More about the GBA: https://hkmb.hktdc.com/en/guangdong-hongkong-macao-greater-bay-area
Photo download: https://bit.ly/3UyJSpU

Media enquiries:
HKTDC Communications & Public Affairs Department
Kate Chan, Tel: +852 2584 4239, Email: kate.hy.chan@hktdc.org

Mediwelcome Announced 2022 Interim Results

  •  Continuously expanding the medical digital marketing solutions and online healthcare platforms
  • Seizing the growth opportunities to create greater value

A China’s leading provider of digital medical service solutions – Mediwelcome Healthcare Management & Technology Inc. (Mediwelcome or the Company, and together with its subsidiaries, the “Group) (Stock Code: 2159), announced the unaudited consolidated interim results for the six months ended 30 June 2022 (the Reporting Period or the “First half of 2022).

In the first half of 2022, Mediwelcome has narrowed in revenue and other aspects to varying degrees due to the continuous lockdown in many provinces in response to the severe pandemic in the PRC. In the first half of 2022, Mediwelcome’s revenue decreased by approximately 49.2% to approximately RMB172.5 million YoY. Gross profit was approximately RMB17.3 million. During the Reporting Period, the Group’s primarily generated revenue from medical conference services, marketing strategy and consulting services, and patient education and screening services, etc.

Continuously expanding the medical digital marketing solutions and online healthcare platforms, and striving for digital upgrading

Although the economic environment is facing great challenges under the epidemic situation, Mediwelcome always insists on continuously expanding and consolidating its integrated healthcare marketing solutions and made a concerted effort to develop its online healthcare platforms and fully implemented digital upgrade for the businesses. During the Reporting Period, medical conference services was the main revenue stream and recorded revenue of approximately RMB111.3 million, accounting for 64.5% of the total revenue. To strengthen the Group’s conference management capabilities, Mediwelcome has launched the Conference+ App for medical NGOs and pharmaceutical companies to submit onsite conference requests and monitor conference implementation. In terms of marketing strategy and consulting services, through this service, the Group assisted pharmaceutical companies in formulating and implementing effective business strategies in enhancing their brands and product awareness among physicians. During the Reporting Period, marketing strategy and consulting services recorded revenue of approximately RMB41.3 million, accounting for 23.9% of the total revenue. Patient education and screening services and CRO services recorded revenue of approximately RMB14.3 million and RMB3.7million, accounting for 8.3% and 2.1% of the total revenue, respectively.

As of June 2022, the Group has developed and iterated multiple medical digital marketing platforms and products to provide customers with customised medical digital marketing solutions, including the Giraffe Smart Medical Platform, Digital Patient Management Platform, E Conference, Giraffe Live, Deer Class, E Creation, E Insight and other products. As at 30 June 2022, the digital platforms have enrolled 384,965 registered doctor users, held 46,518 online education sessions with doctors and 25,687 online education sessions for patients, livestreamed 4,855 times, with 6,319 videos available and viewed by 1,086,328 visitors.

Meanwhile, Mediwelcome has sustained its effort to develop and expand its online healthcare platforms to cater for the increasing needs of various stakeholders in the medical field, including hospitals, doctors as well as pharmaceutical and medical equipment companies. The Group’s online healthcare platform, on top of providing doctors and patients with consistent and quality online medical service solutions, has also actively developed products and services of digital management for patients with chronic illnesses in the out-of-hospital context. As at 30 June 2022, the number of its registered doctor and patient users has reached 45,244 and 200,545, representing an increase of 69.9% and 321.2% YoY, respectively. In addition, due to the increase in the number of active patient users purchasing prescribed medicine through the Group’s internet hospital platform, revenue from internet hospital services increased by approximately 5.6% to approximately RMB1.9 YoY.

Continuously upgrading the digital marketing business, seizing the growth opportunities to create greater value

Looking forward, Mediwelcome will continue to enhance the scale of digital marketing business, and utilize its internal and external strengths and resources and focus more on customer development for digital marketing in the healthcare market. At the same time, the Group will sustain its effort to build a digital platform with precise access targeting doctors and patients, providing customers with integrated digital and intelligent marketing solutions using a digital integrated marketing system synergised by both offline and online channels, so as to create a closed loop for the whole process of digital operation. The Group will continue to upgrade its online healthcare platform and explore the application of AI technology to build a closed-loop business model from inside to outside hospitals. In addition, Mediwelcome will also leverage the favorable health policy environment and its own resources to maintain revenue growth of its professional medicine and marketing services in the traditional cardiovascular and cerebrovascular discipline, with a focus on expanding its business in the fields of oncology and chronic renal diseases to increase the coverage of customers from domestic enterprises.

The Group will continue to maintain its business scale in the traditional dominant therapeutic fields, and actively drive innovation in order to seize the opportunities arising from the rapid growth in demand for medical digital marketing and online healthcare for its steady development. While actively generating profits under its efficient operation, the Group persistently expands and develops its business model and scale to create greater value for more customers, doctors and patients.

Seiryoku Zenyo, Jita Kyoei spirit is fundamental to Value Creation

Kyoto’s Chiseikan Dojo Founder to speak at UN General Assembly Science Summit

Those in power have a choice, whether to use that power for their own benefit at the expense of all others or to use that power to help society constantly improve for the betterment of all. Based on which of these choices they make, the social impact of their efforts will change drastically.

As the world faces increasingly complex challenges, the belief that one country, company or individual should win at the expense of others continues to be at the heart of our collective thinking about competition. But what if there was a different way?

“The Japanese martial arts, or “Bu-do” in Japanese, are different from traditional sports, because their ultimate goal is to build the character of those who practice,” says Yoshie Sugai, Founder of Chiseikan Dojo in Kyoto, Japan. “In doing so, Budo was created to nurture leaders who can lead society toward prosperity and peace, rather than dominating others for individual gain.”

Yoshie Sugai will present these ideas as part of a larger panel discussion on value creation and sustainability, convened by the Value Research Center (VRC) at Doshisha University for the United Nations General Assembly 77 (UNGA77) Science Summit on Monday, September 26th from 09:00 – 11:30 AM EST.

Sugai will speak in the final panel of the “Valuing Value: How any organization can measure stakeholder value” session. She will include insights into the role of “Do” within Japanese culture, and how the actual application of “Seiryoku Zenyo, Jita Kyoei” principles by Minoru Mochizuki-sensei led to unexpected positive results for hundreds of thousands of people. She hopes to spark similar applications of the philosophy, and the fullest use of our energy for the mutual benefit of our communities, societies and countries globally.

“The idea that those in power have a responsibility to foster prosperity across all of their stakeholders is at the heart of what the VRC will be presenting at this year’s UNGA Science Summit,” said Dr Masato Yamazaki, Professor Emeritus at Aquinas College in Michigan.

“Yoshie Sugai-sensei’s introduction of the philosophy of ‘Seiryoku Zenyo, Jita Kyoei’ from Jigoro Kano, the founder of Judo, and his student and founder of Yoseikan Budo, Minoru Mochizuki, is critically important to anyone who is serious about value creation in business or government. Without the moral and ethical foundation that Yoshie will introduce, value creation efforts are bound to fail.”

Free registration for the UNGA77 Science Summit, and further information on the Valuing Value workshop are available at https://sched.co/1AWkD.

About Chiseikan Dojo (Aikido in Kyoto)
Chiseikan Dojo was founded in Kyoto Japan in April 2021. It is built upon a foundation of Aikido which integrates techniques and forms from other Japanese martial arts including karate, judo, jujutsu, and iaido. Chiseikan Dojo also teaches the underlying philosophy of the Japanese martial arts to all students, including children and adults.

Chiseikan Dojo teaches the Nenshinryu Budo style which was founded by Toru Kinefuchi-sensei, a live-in student of Minoru Mochizuki-sensei, who held advanced black belts in multiple Japanese martial arts styles and was awarded the French Legion d’Honneur for spreading the martial arts throughout France.

Visit online www.aikidoinkyoto.com, or Email: info@aikidoinkyoto.com.

HKTDC launches GoGBA Day

  • Strengthening support to help the international business community in Hong Kong access Greater Bay Area opportunities

The Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC) and the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Development Office co-organised the inaugural GoGBA Day on Thursday (22 Sept). This business support event aims to engage members of the international business community in Hong Kong that are currently underserved in terms of up-to-date business information on the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA). The physical part of the hybrid on-site/online event was held at the HKTDC SME Centre at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre.

GoGBA Day was launched yesterday (22 Sept) at the HKTDC SME Centre. The event began with welcome remarks from HKTDC Executive Director Margaret Fong (fourth from left, front row), followed by speeches delivered by the honourable speakers.
GoGBA WeChat mini programme (QR Code).

The half-day event featured a series of seminars offering practical business tips and updates on the latest developments in the GBA to prepare international enterprises to “go GBA” via Hong Kong. The event received an overwhelming response with more than 160 participants attending the seminars at the venue while 260 participants joined the online webinar. At the same time, 65 business advisory sessions and one-on-one consultation meetings were arranged for 47 companies at the venue to facilitate business partnerships and opportunities.

The joint seminars welcomed officials from various authorities in the GBA, along with industry leaders and market experts from banking and other sectors, to share their insights and business know-how with international medium-sized enterprises and start-ups, helping them get equipped to set up business and succeed in the GBA via the Hong Kong platform. A wide range of topics was discussed, including the business landscape in the GBA and key incentives and subsidies for start-ups and businesses in the areas of tax, banking and investment.

Welcoming participants to the event, HKTDC Executive Director Margaret Fong said: “The GBA plan attracts attention not only because the GBA has China’s highest GDP at US$1.96 trillion, but it offers basically everything a business needs to grow, from the international financial hub of Hong Kong and the world-class manufacturing centres across Guangdong, to the advanced innovation and tech clusters across the region – not to mention a huge market of 86 million people and a stepping stone to the vast Mainland China market.”

Ms Fong continued: “We launched our GoGBA support programme last year to help businesses navigate the GBA through Hong Kong by offering information, advisory support and networking and marketing platforms. The GoGBA Day is a highlight of our programme, bringing together the Hong Kong family of organisations under one roof to introduce their GBA support programmes and services, enabling us to hold a GBA event specifically for the international business community for the first time. We hope to give them not only an overview of the latest GBA developments, but also offer practical information to help them make decisions and take action.”

Officials explain GBA business landscape, supporting initiatives and keys to success:
Tommy Yuen, Commissioner for the Development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, said: “The GBA is more than a key national development strategy under China’s reform and opening up. It is also marked a further step towards enriching One Country, Two Systems and promoting coordinated economic development that can turn the region into a world-class area for living, working and travelling. New measures are continually being implemented, including steps to encourage the development of private equity and venture capital funds in Qianhai and improving land boundary crossing facilities to enhance talent mobility between Hong Kong and GBA cities. In the coming decade, the GBA is set to become the world’s most vibrant and rapidly growing economic region.”

Jimmy Chiang, Associate Director-General of Investment Promotion (Business Development) of Invest Hong Kong, said: “President Xi Jinping has emphasised the importance of leveraging and strengthening Hong Kong’s unique advantages as an international financial, shipping and trading centre, as well as its convenient links to international markets. The 14th Five-Year Plan also highlighted the country’s support for Hong Kong in traditional industries as well as four emerging areas, including aviation, innovation and technology, intellectual property trading and international cultural exchange. These specific sectors will see more development opportunities in Hong Kong, and the GBA’s growth will create many attractive opportunities for international companies.”

Kenneth Wong, General Manager, MICE & Cruise, Europe, Hong Kong Tourism Board, said: “The Hong Kong Tourism Board has developed a tourism recovery framework to aid in the recovery, reopening and rebranding of Hong Kong’s tourism industry. We devised a number of publicity and promotion campaigns to maintain Hong Kong’s visibility during the pandemic and to facilitate tourism as well as MICE recovery. This includes bringing back large-scale international events and establishing a dedicated team to provide MICE organisers with one-stop support. Hong Kong can connect international visitors to the GBA’s tremendous business opportunities, generate attendance for organisers, facilitate professional visits and excursions to other GBA cities.”

Raymond Yip, Chief Liaison Officer of the Guangzhou Nansha Service Centre in Hong Kong, said: “The Central Government hopes that Nansha, with its strategic location at the heart of 10 GBA cities, will become a cooperation and collaboration hub for the GBA. Nansha has a broad and diverse industry base with advanced manufacturing, as well as a state-level science and technology forum. With no fewer than 20 policy measures for Hong Kong and Macao, including allowing people from Hong Kong, including foreigners, to pay Hong Kong taxes, Nansha is set to open up a larger hinterland for Hong Kong.”

Witman Hung, Principal Liaison Officer for the Hong Kong, Shenzhen Qianhai Authority, said: “Qianhai has always been a pilot zone to help China open up and deepen its reforms. Promoting and facilitating collaboration between Hong Kong and Shenzhen is high on our priority list. For example, we have incubated 335 Hong Kong start-ups and assisted the city’s professionals such as lawyers, engineers and architects in entering the mainland market. Recently, the Qianhai Authority and the Hong Kong government announced 18 new measures aimed at encouraging venture capital and private equity to enter China via Qianhai and Hong Kong. Hong Kong-based companies will be able to use Qianhai as a shopfront to provide professional services to the rest of the GBA and Mainland China.”

Vivian Cheung, Executive Director, Airport Operations, Hong Kong International Airport, said: “We have been expanding the capacity and functionality of Hong Kong International Airport in preparation for the resumption of international travel and business. The SKYCITY development is at the heart of this, featuring a new 3.8 million sq ft complex, with recreational facilities and three new office towers. New hotels will also be built and we are revamping services to provide better travel and transit experiences for passengers. Furthermore, we are transforming AsiaWorld-Expo into a 20,000-seat arena, adding new passenger and cargo handling facilities and constructing new infrastructure to make it easier for Hong Kong to connect with the GBA.”

Background to the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area
The Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA) promotes Hong Kong’s integration into Mainland China’s national development by accelerating the socio-economic integration of Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao. Hong Kong has been designated as an international financial, shipping, trade and aviation hub, a global offshore renminbi business hub and an international centre for asset management and risk management. As a value-added financial, trading, logistics and professional services centre, supporting technology and innovation, Hong Kong is also a centre for international legal and dispute resolution in Asia-Pacific.

HKTDC’s array of services support enterprises entering the GBA
Over the years, the HKTDC has worked hard to facilitate cooperation between Guangdong and Hong Kong. To support companies in doing business in the GBA, the HKTDC shares useful official information on regulations, procedures and networks through its GoGBA website ( https://www.go-gba.com/en/ ) and WeChat mini-programme, the latter also offering tools such as public health updates, maps, transportation guides and a day counter for individual income tax purposes. As of mid-September 2022, more than 506,700 views of the HKTDC’s GoGBA digital platforms had been recorded.

On the ground, the HKTDC has established the HKTDC GBA Service Centre in Shenzhen to provide local and international enterprises from Hong Kong with consultation services, industry-related updates and business matching. The Service Centre has so far organised more than 70 activities, with about 3,000 Hong Kong enterprises using its services. Working together with mainland partners, the HKTDC has also set up GoGBA Business Support Centres in Qianhai (Shenzhen), Nansha (Guangzhou), Hengqin (Zhuhai), Dongguan and Zhongshan, with Foshan being added later this year, to provide Hong Kong enterprises with policy and market consultation services.

In addition, the HKTDC’s Transformation Sandbox (T-box) programme will extend its services from Hong Kong to Shenzhen and other cities in the GBA. Together with its Digital Academy and E-Tailing Academy, the HKTDC will provide advisory workshops related to e-commerce and digital business as well as marketing solutions and other digital platforms.

The GBA presents enormous opportunities for businesses from Hong Kong and around the world and the HKTDC will continue to devote efforts to support local and international enterprises in the city, helping them seize business opportunities in the GBA and other mainland markets through its network of 13 offices in the mainland. It also plans to organise the Hong Kong-Guangdong Co-operation Week this year, including the annual SmartHK and Chic HK flagship events in Shenzhen and Guangzhou, along with a series of roadshows related to financial management, legal services, infrastructure development and real estate, as well as participating in key trade fairs in the mainland.

HKTDC SME Centre
Tel: +852 1830 668
Fax: +852 3693 4938
E-mail: smecentre@hktdc.org

HKTDC GBA Centre
Tel: 0755-82280112
Fax: 0755-82280114
E-mail: shenzhen.office@hktdc.org

GoGBA Day Website: https://go-gba.com/en/gogbaday.html
“Greater Bay Area, Great Future” promotional video
(provided by the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Development Office):
– https://www.bayarea.gov.hk/en/stories/videos.html
About Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area:
– https://hkmb.hktdc.com/en/guangdong-hongkong-macao-greater-bay-area
Photo download: https://bit.ly/3UyJSpU

About HKTDC
The Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC) is a statutory body established in 1966 to promote, assist and develop Hong Kong’s trade. With 50 offices globally, including 13 in Mainland China, the HKTDC promotes Hong Kong as a two-way global investment and business hub. The HKTDC organises international exhibitions, conferences and business missions, particularly small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), in the mainland and international markets. For more information, please visit: www.hktdc.com/aboutus. Follow us on Twitter @hktdc and LinkedIn

Media enquiries:
HKTDC Communications & Public Affairs Department
Kate Chan, Tel: +852 2584 4239, Email: kate.hy.chan@hktdc.org

HKIoD Organises Directors’ Conference 2022 – “From Resilience to Sustainability”

The Hong Kong Institute of Directors (HKIoD) hosted Directors Conference 2022 yesterday at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre. With the HKSAR and also HKIoD both celebrating their 25th anniversary, the conference this year extended to a full day, featured 11 sessions including power talks and in-depth panel discussions held physically and online with 430 attendees in all.

Directors’ Conference 2022 held physically and online with 430 attendees in all.
Opening address by The Honourable Michael Wong, GBS, JP, Deputy Financial Secretary
In his closing speech, Mr Christopher Hui, GBS, JP, Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury thanked the HKIoD for organizing this meaningful conference.

Welcoming participants to the event, Dr Christopher To, Chairman of HKIoD, said, “In the last five years, Hong Kong has continued to rank high in competitiveness or as a global financial centre in the world, suggesting that Hong Kong is somewhat resilient amid adversities including the pandemic. However, as there are still many looming uncertainties, we must not be complacent. We should learn the true meaning of resilience and gain skills in implementing sustainability initiatives and engaging stakeholders in developing sustainable business practices in such VUCA times.” Citing the HKIoD Corporate Governance Scorecard, Dr To noted that Hong Kong listed companies have been improving in corporate governance over the past 16 years while the demands have been increasing as per global trends.

The conference brought together 21 world-class business and community leaders, scholars and policy makers to share their insights on a spectrum of topics, including (1) Fusion of People, Ideas and Technology; (2) Roadmap of Driving for Excellence; (3) Hong Kong’s Role as an IFC in RMB Internationalisation; (4) Non-profits’ Business Purpose; (5) Driving a Top-notch Financial Market; (6) The Board to Lead in Climate Governance; (7) Leading to Survive and Thrive in Challenges; and (8) The Rule of Law in Doing Business Going on to 2047.

Dr Carlye Tsui SBS JP, Chief Executive Officer, HKIoD, said: “Crises can make an organisation stronger and more resilient when its leaders have the determination, foresight and wisdom to turn the tide and triumph over turbulence. We should all be seeking proven measures to help our organisations fend off challenges and achieve true sustainability.” Learning from COVID-19, Dr Tsui noted the global director perspective that the top items on board agenda are broader risk-set, enhanced ESG and greater stakeholder communication. She also advised that in this digital age, boards should regard technological change with a strategic perspective, continuing learning and assessment of the leadership and culture readiness for it.

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

Media Enquiries:
Strategic Public Relations Group
Brenda Chan +852 2114 4396 brenda.chan@sprg.com.hk
Chak Yau +852 2114 4395 chak.yau@sprg.com.hk

The Hong Kong Institute of Directors
Odessa So +852 2889 4988 odessa.so@hkiod.com
Joanne Yam +852 2889 1414 joanne.yam@hkiod.com

Restricted Shares Will be Lifted on 22 September, and the Management and Investors of Arrail Group are “Hoarding”, Release High Growth Signals

The restricted shares of Arrail Group Limited (Arrail Group or the Company, HKG: 6639), a leading dental services group in China, will be officially lifted and listed for circulation on 22 September 2022. In this regard, the Company’s management and investors clearly presented the idea of being “hoarding” and their current confidence.

Arrail Group is a leading dental services group and have established a nationwide footprint in China, operating both Arrail Dental, a leading premium dental services brand, and Rytime Dental, a middle-end dental services brand. According to Frost & Sullivan Report, the Company is the largest dental service provider in China’s premium private dental service market and the third largest dental service provider in China’s entire private dental service market based in terms of total revenue in 2020.

Institutional shareholders’ confidence in long-term development is demonstrated by “not to reduce its shareholding”
Based on the confidence in the industry prospect and the future development of Arrail Group, the major investors of the Company said that they would continue to hold shares. Meanwhile, as disclosed in the prospectus of the Company, approximately 31.55% of the shares held by Mr. Zou Qifang, the founder of the Company, and his management team will remain locked for 6 months until the end of March 2023.

It is understood that prior to the public offering, Arrail Group has carried out several rounds of financing from January 2010 to January 2021, with the Pre-IPO Investors including KPCB China Fund, Qiming Venture Partners, OrbiMedAsia, Temasek, Goldman Sachs, Hillhouse Capital, etc. During the listing period, the Company also introduced five cornerstone investors, namely Abax, Harvest, Hudson Bay, OrbiMedAsia OrbiMed and Modern Dental, with subscribed amount of approximately HK$507 million of shares, accounting for approximately 74.66% of the offering shares as per the IPO Price with a lock-up period of 6 months. The “no reducing shareholding” idea of the management of Arrail Group and major investors will not only help stabilise the share price of the Company, but also promote the long-term stable development of the Company and enhance investors’ confidence.

The scarcity and uniqueness of national chain are recognised by the market
It is worth mentioning that few institutions can achieve the nationwide coverage with the distinguishing regional characteristics of the dental service market. The Company is the only national chain dental institution listed on the market at present. Its business is distributed in four core regions domestically, namely North China, East China, South China and West China, and 15 cities. The scarcity and uniqueness of Arrail Group are gradually being recognised.

Since entering the Hong Kong Stock Connect on 5 September, both the share price and liquidity have improved significantly. On 9 September, the trading volume reached approximately 7 million shares, with over HK$63 million. The share price has increased by nearly 100% since early September. The Company’s business expansion prospects and development potential are promising.

The solid fundamentals and outstanding performance also added confidence for “not to reduce its shareholding”. As disclosed in the financial report, affected by the news and the improvement of comprehensive strength, for the financial year ended 31 March 2022, the total number of visits of Arrail Group reached 1.559 million, representing a year-on-year increase of 13.7% from 1.371 million in the financial year 2020/2021; The total revenue was RMB1.624 billion (the same below), representing a year-on-year increase of 7.16% as compared to the financial year 2020/2021; The adjusted net profit for the year amounted to RMB66 million, up 18.0% year on year, with strong profitability.

The next step of the Company’s development is also worth the market’s expectation. In early July, Arrail Group announced a strategic cooperation with Wuxi Tongshan. The project was completed on 1 September. In addition, the two new hospitals and six clinics in this financial year were also basically completed. It is expected that 268 chairs will be added in this financial year, representing an increase of 20% as compared to the previous financial year. The management of the Company stated that the new chairs will lay a solid foundation for the long-term development of the Company in the future.

In the long run, with the implementation of the centralised purchase policy, the market gradually returns to the rational cognition of the health care service sector. As the only listed national dental chain medical institution in the market, Arrail Group is undoubtedly the first one to enjoy the market bonus. In the future, Arrail Group will continue to improve its operational capabilities and service quality, and enhance its core competitive advantages. It is expected that the results and valuation of Arrail Group will be improved, thus promoting the further development of its dental services.