2019 Hong Kong ESG Reporting Awards Receive Overwhelming Response

More than 70 entries received in 6 categories

Alaya Consulting is delighted to announce that the Hong Kong ESG Reporting Awards (HERA) 2019 have attracted a total of 71 submissions, up approximately 80% over the previous year. The total fees received against nominations, amounting to HKD40,000, have been donated to Greeners Action, a Hong Kong registered charity organisation that has been advocating environmental protection for 26 years.

Tony Wong, founder of Alaya Consulting, stated: “I would like to thank the participating companies. Their participation not only implies the growing focus on the quality of ESG disclosures, but also means the donation is getting bigger. Entering the fifth year of ESG disclosures in Hong Kong, ESG has become increasingly the focal point of the investment community and HERA plays a pivotal role in pushing for more meaningful and investor-friendly disclosure.”

HERA 2019 were kicked off with the call for submissions in early May 2019 and submissions were closed on 31st July 2019. All submissions are currently being evaluated by an independent panel of judges. The winners are expected to be announced on 18th October 2019.

Angus Ho, executive director of Greeners Action, stated: “We are excited to see the number of submissions this year and are grateful for the contribution to our organisation. More stringent disclosure requirements are only a matter of time. Participating in HERA constitutes an ideal litmus test of the level of disclosure as this facilitates benchmarking with other industry leaders.” 

Inaugurated in 2018, HERA promotes ESG reporting in Greater China region. The 6 categories are Best ESG Report, Excellence in GRI Reporting, Excellence in ESG Reporting for Non-listed Companies, Excellence in Environmental Disclosure, Excellence in Social Disclosure and Innovative Front-runner. 

HERA awards are decided by an independent panel of experts that includes (in alphabetic order) Angus Ho, Executive Director of Greeners Action, Jessica Tam, Head of HKCSS-HSBC Social Enterprise Business Centre, Stephen Wong, Deputy Executive Director and Head of Public Policy Institute, Our Hong Kong Foundation, Ir. Vincent Kong, Sustainability Manager of Sun Hung Kai Properties and Prof. Yarime Masaru, Associate Professor, Division of Public Policy at The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. 

About HERA
Hong Kong ESG Reporting Awards recognise excellence in ESG reporting and aim to build trust among stakeholders. The Awards welcome applications from companies in Hong Kong, Macao and China who follow exceptional and effective practices in sustainability reporting. 

Media Contact:
HERA Organiser – Alaya Consulting Limited
Regina Tai / Suki Wong 
Tel: +852 3990 0792 / +852 3702 0024 
Email: hera@alayaconsulting.com.hk

Edvantage Group Announced Historic High in Huashang College’s 2019 Student Enrollment

Enrolled 8,178 Students, Up Substantially by Approximately 36% YOY

Edvantage Group Holdings Limited (Stock code: 382.HK), the largest private higher education group in the Greater Bay Area in terms of total student enrolment of business majors for the 2017/2018 school year and an early mover in pursuing international expansion, is pleased to announce today that, Huashang College Guangdong University of Finance and Economics (“Huashang College”), a private higher education institution the Company operates in Guangdong Province, China, has finished its enrollment and admission works for all kinds of students for 2019 in an orderly and efficient manner. A few days ago, the last batch of admission letters have been sent to students.

Huashang College is an independent college that Edvantage Group operates in Guangzhou, Guangdong province, providing formal undergraduate education. The College is organised into 3 schools and 11 departments, offering 31 bachelor’s degree programmes and over 780 courses. With a mission to “cultivate professional talents for the Greater Bay Area”, the College strategically focuses its programme offerings to cater to market demand fuelled by the growing service sector. As of 28 February 2019, Huashang College had a total full-time student enrolment of 22,639.

2019 Enrollments recorded a historic high, with the College’s admission scores exceeding provincial standard significantly

For this year, Huashagn College enrolls students from 15 provinces and regions, with the number of students outside Guangdong reaching 400, recording the highest for years. In sight of the number of students, the College newly enrolled a total of 8,178 students*, increasing by approximately 36% from 6,021 students for last year. Among all, the enrollments through the National Higher Education Entrance Exam recorded 6,348 students, 5,948 of which are from Guangdong province (up by approximately 3% from 5,761 students last year) and 400 are from other provinces (up by approximately 54% from 260 students last year). The enrollments through the National Entrance Examination for Chinese Students from Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan and Overseas and the enrollments for Taiwan students exempt from admission exam recorded 14 in total, representing an increase of approximately 100% comparing with the 7 students for last year. Moreover, the College has been ranking the first among the universities in Guangdong for several consecutive years, in terms of enrollments for liberal-and-art majored student through the National Higher Education Entrance Exam in Guangdong province.

In sight of admission standards, Huashang College’s admission scores in Guangdong province is higher than the last year, representing a better quality of students. Among others, the College’s admission score for liberal-and-art majored, science majored and fine-arts majored students in Guangdong are 486, 418 and 459 respectively, representing 31, 28 and 39 points higher than the provincial admission line for university respectively. In other provinces, the College also enjoys a high popularity among students. With its admission scores significantly higher than the provincial admission lines in the provinces and regions, Huashang College is able to improve the quality of its students substantially. For example, the College’s admission scores for science majored, liberal-and-art majored, and fine-arts majored students have exceeded the provincial admission lines by 76 points, 56 points and 66 points respectively.

As of 28 February 2019, the College’s top five majors in terms of student enrolment were accounting, English, international economics and trade, financial engineering and Chinese literature. Among all, its accounting major was recognized as one of the “featured key disciplines” and the journalism major was recognized as one of the “key development disciplines” by the Education Department of Guangdong Province. During the enrollment, the College’s featured key disciplines, key development disciplines and other featured disciplines such as Finance and Economics, Commerce, Languages and Arts enjoyed high popularity among students in all provinces. 

Besides, Huashang College is widely recognized for its international education system, which provides a variety of study abroad programmes, ranging from short-term study tour programmes to two-year study abroad mutual credit-recognition programmes, and enabling its students to gain valuable exposure to international communities and markets while developing their professional skills with a global prospective. Such programmes were also deeply loved among the parents and students.

During the enrollment, Mr. Liu Yung Chau, Executive Director and chairman of the Board of Edvantage Group Holdings Limited, said: “It has been over a decade since Huashang College’s establishment, during which we have been pursuing the quality of education and a student-oriented strategy. Focusing on profession-oriented, vocational training and practical skill-based training, we have embraced the enthusiasm and recognition from the market. This year, we are proud to have recorded outstanding performances in terms of enrollment, which is not only a testimony for our education quality, but also a hint for the large growth potential of the private higher educational market in the Greater Bay area. As a leading provider of private higher education in business majors in the Greater Bay, we will spare no efforts in cultivating talents for the society and bringing remarkable returns to our investors.”

About Edvantage Group Holdings Limited
Edvantage Group Holdings Limited (“Edvantage Group” or the “Company”, stock code: 382.HK) is the largest private higher education group in the Greater Bay Area (in terms of total student enrolment of business majors for the 2017/2018 school year), and an early mover in education sector in pursuing international expansion. With a sizeable student base, the Company operates with economies of scale. The Edvantage Group currently operates two private higher education institutions located in Guangdong Province, China, namely Huashang College and Huashang Vocational College. Huashang College and Huashang Vocational College focus their programme offerings on business programmes, such as accounting, finance, economics and business English, and strive to help students to achieve employment prospects when they graduate, and to benefit from the availability of employment opportunities in the Greater Bay Area. The Company also operates a private vocational education institution named Global Business College of Australia (“GBCA”) in Australia, offering vocational education courses and non-formal short-term courses aiming to provide students with competitive advantages and global prospective. GBCA is a registered training organization authorized by ASQA. The Company believes that GBCA represents a replicable example for its future international expansion, and the Company is exploring international opportunities in the United Kingdom and Singapore. 

Sheng Ye Capital Announces 2019 Interim Results

– Income from Factoring and Other Services Surges 30.0% to RMB237.5 Million
– Healthy Financial Position and Excellent Factoring Business Performance
– Makes Application to HKEX for Transfer of Listing to Main Board to Seize Future Opportunities

Sheng Ye Capital Limited (“Sheng Ye Capital” or the “Group”; Stock code: 8469), a specialised enterprise financial services provider offering accounts receivable financing and other related solutions mainly in the energy, construction and medical sectors in the PRC, has today announced its interim results for the six months ended 30 June 2019 (the “Review Period” or “1H 2019”).

The Group continued to record encouraging results in 1H 2019, with income from factoring and other services amounting to approximately RMB237.5 million (1H 2018: RMB182.7 million), representing an increase of approximately 30.0%. The increase was mainly attributable to an expanded factoring business that was supported by a major portion of proceeds generated from the placing exercise conducted in July 2018 as well as bank and other borrowings. The Group’s profit before taxation increased by 46.7% to approximately RMB160.2 million (1H 2018: RMB109.1 million). Profit after taxation also climbed by 67.0% to RMB124.9 million (1H 2018: RMB74.8 million). Basic earnings per share were RMB14 cents (1H 2018: RMB10 cents).

Notwithstanding the slowdown of the global and PRC economies, the Group managed to raise additional working capital for expanding the factoring operation through shares placing, borrowing and bond issuance. The Group’s revenue in 1H2019 increased by approximately 52.3% to RMB201.6 million (1H 2018: RMB132.4 million). In order to improve cash flow as well as to more effectively manage the Group’s factoring receivables portfolio and fund the factoring business, the Group sold the rights of factoring assets and recorded revenue of approximately RMB35.9 million (1H 2018: RMB50.3 million) from the sales of factoring assets, providing financing support to the factoring business. 

Business Review
Sheng Ye Capital has positioned itself as a specialised enterprise financial services provider offering accounts receivable financing and other related solutions to the energy, construction and medical sectors in the PRC. The Group has also sought to strategically expand its factoring service customer base, comprising small and medium-sized enterprises that are suppliers of state-owned enterprises and large enterprises in the abovementioned three sectors. During the Review Period, the Group provided these customers with funds secured by, among others, their accounts receivable, and also offered them accounts receivable management services, including review and verification of documents relating to the accounts receivables, collection of accounts receivable on behalf of customers, and regular reporting to customers on matters concerning their accounts receivable. The Group received interest income and professional fees for the services rendered and also derived income from the sale of rights of the factoring assets.

The Group’s online factoring platform “Easy Factoring” linked up with the enterprise credit reporting system of People’s Bank of China, following which stringent risk supervision will be conducted. This will include examining the background of co-operating enterprises, such as their operation status and credit record, and also implementing risk control on overdue situation as well as examining and verifying customers’ asset information.

Besides, SY Factoring Limited, a subsidiary of the Group, also signed a strategic co-operative agreement with a financial asset trading platform in the PRC, which will combine the strengths of the two parties, leading to resource and system integration and information sharing. 

The Group has been diversifying its financing channels and has achieved notable results. The signing of banking facility agreements with a number of banks this year has also helped the Group to implement an inclusive financial strategy that is promoted by the country.

The Group was included as one of the constituents of MSCI China All Shares Small Cap Index in 2018, demonstrating the widespread recognition that it enjoys for its financial position and business development. The Group believes the inclusion in the Index will enable it to draw greater attention from investors. On the other hand, Sheng Ye Information Technology Service (Shenzhen) Co., Limited, another subsidiary of the Group, was named “National High and New Technology Enterprise” and “Shenzhen High and New Technology Enterprise” by Shenzhen Municipal Tax Service, State Administration of Taxation, Science and Technology Innovation Committee of Shenzhen Municipality and Finance Commission of Shenzhen Municipality.

Prospects
The Group listed on GEM of Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited (“HKEX”) in 2017, making it the first and only factoring company from the PRC to list in Hong Kong. The listing status and funds raised have undoubtedly enhanced the Group’s brand image, financial position and competitive strength. On 30 April 2019, the Group made an application to HKEX for the transfer of its listing to the Main Board. It considers that the transfer of listing will help raise investors’ awareness and acceptance of the “Sheng Ye Capital” brand and enable it to gain access to more efficient financing channels both locally and abroad to support business growth. 

Looking ahead, the Group will continue to focus on the construction, energy and medical sectors and expand its clientele and factoring assets. With its advanced online factoring platform “Easy Factoring” and professional risk management mechanism, the Group will be able to offer financial products, customised solutions and also integrated factoring services including account receivable financing, account receivable management services and credit evaluation to customers, helping them secure funding during different stages of their development. Meanwhile, the Group will continue to raise its core competitiveness and advance its risk management mechanism and IT system, as well as to explore new and relatively low-cost financing channels so as to drive sustainable business growth in the most cost-effective manner.

About Sheng Ye Capital Limited (Stock code: 8469)
Sheng Ye Capital Limited is a specialised enterprise financial services provider offering accounts receivable financing and other related solutions mainly in the energy, construction and medical sectors in the PRC. It has a strong capital base with its principal operating subsidiary in the PRC having a registered capital of US$100 million. The Group was included as one of the constituents of MSCI China All Shares Small Cap Index in 2018. For more information about Sheng Ye Capital, please visit: http://www.shengyecapital.com/.

Media Enquiries
Strategic Financial Relations Limited
Iris Lee Tel: (852) 2864 4829 Email: iris.lee@sprg.com.hk
Katrina Leung Tel: (852) 2864 4857 Email: katrina.leung@sprg.com.hk
Queenie Chan Tel: (852) 2864 4851 Email: queenie.chan@sprg.com.hk
Fax: (852) 2527 1196

Hi Sun Tech Announces 2019 Interim Results: Net Profit Increases 473% to HK$400 million

Establish a Benchmark for Risk Control and Compliance Operations, Consolidate the Competitive Advantage of Payment Industry

A leading payment & finance solutions provider in China, Hi Sun Technology (China) Limited (the “Company”; Stock code: 818.HK), announced the unaudited consolidated interim results of the Company and its subsidiaries (the “Group”) for the six months ended 30 June 2019 (the “Reporting Period”).

Results Highlights
1. The Company’s payment processing solutions segment continued to grow during the Reporting Period. In 1H2019, the cumulative transaction volume exceeded RMB935 billion, an increase of 36% over the same period of last year. The number of mobile QR code payment transactions increased by more than 12 times over the same period of last year.
2. The Group continued to focus on compliance development, seeking out innovation in payment security and creating an intelligent big data risk control system.
3. Seeking to create greater value and more opportunities in fintech, the Group worked with more enterprises, merchants, financial institutions, third-party payment platforms, and consumers to build a closer, mutually beneficial business ecosystem.

During the Reporting Period, the Group’s consolidated revenue amounted to HK$3,005.8 million, representing an increase of 55% when compared with HK$1,945.1 million for the same period last year. The Group’s operating profit was HK$360.4 million, representing an increase of 1,156% when compared with HK$28.7 million for the same period last year. Profit for the Reporting Period was HK$400.3 million, representing an increase of 473% when compared with HK$69.8 million for the same period last year. The increase in net profit was primarily attributable to the continued growth of the payment processing solutions segment. Basic earnings per share for profit attributable to equity holders of the Company increased by 500% to HK$0.12.

Strengthening Payment Risk Management, Improving Efficiency to Deliver High-quality Solutions
During the Reporting Period, the payment processing solutions segment was in good momentum. The segmental turnover amounted to HK$2,564.3 million, representing an increase of 72% when compared with the same period last year, and the segmental operating profit represents an increase of 690% when compared with the same period last year. In the first half of 2019, the cumulative transaction volume exceeded RMB935 billion and the number of transactions handled was more than 3,950 billion, an increase of 36% and 140% over the same period of last year respectively. The number of transactions increased by more than 12 times over the same period of last year contributed mainly to the rapid growth of mobile QR code payment transactions.

Payment security and compliance have always been a highly concerned issue for the industry. As the regulatory authorities strengthen the industry supervision and the financial payment market is gradually in line with international market, VBill, a subsidiary of the Group primarily engaged in payment processing business further strengthened the investment in risk control. The “Tianjing” risk control system based on expert rules was officially put into use during the Reporting Period, and a comprehensive scan was conducted for all merchants, which optimized the structure of merchants, paid more attention to their quality and reduced their risks. As of the end of June 2019, the accumulated number of active domestic merchants exceeded 3,900,000.

Exploring Value in Data to More Precisely Match Customer Needs
VBill has been focusing on offline-based scenarios for the past years, accumulating experience and deepening the value of its offline payment data. The fintech online micro-leading business further optimized the risk control model and cautiously controlled the lending scale for the micro-lending business. In the future, the Group will continue to explore more values in fintech by means of partnering with more enterprises, merchants, financial institutions, third-party payment platforms, and consumers to build a closer, more mutually beneficial business ecosystem.

During the Reporting Period, the Group came to an agreement with a private fund investor in relation to the conditional subscription of new VBill shares, and it is expected to bring strategic benefit to the Group. The subscription will provide funding for further developing the Group’s business network, thereby contributing to business expansion, and reinforcing comprehensive strength and growth potential, as well as creating more future funding opportunities.

Facing fierce market competition and a complex external environment, the Group also focused on its other fundamental business segments. During the Reporting Period, the performance of the Group’s information security chips and solutions segment remained similar to the same period last year. Research and development projects are progressing smoothly and cost reduction initiatives of various products are rolling out in an orderly manner. For the platform operation solutions segment, the Group continued to provide operational support services for three of China Mobile’s bases, and expected to follow the vigorously development in integrated payment, featured e-commerce, and fintech business of China Mobile, and awaited to gain more business opportunities. Meanwhile, the Group will spend utmost effort to expand outside communications industry. For its financial solutions segment, while ensuring the stability of traditional business with domestic banks and their overseas branches, the Group also increased the investment in new product research and development, particularly worth mentioning that winning the relevant bid for the business system construction project of Guizhou Bank during the Reporting Period. Besides, the overseas business layout has been proceeding positively.

The Group commented, “With the continuous expansion and improvement of digital payment technology, China’s third-party payment industry has entered a critical period of transformation. Facing a new round of industry regulations and changes, the advantages of payment institutions with their own unique strengths have become much more significant. At the same time, the Group also believes that compliance development remains critical for the success of the entire industry. As such, the Group will continue to focus on strengthening its safety and compliance systems and precision risk control, while investing in new technologies to help create a more convenient and inclusive fintech ecology, and greater value for shareholders, customers, and the society.”

*For identification purpose only

Niche-Tech Group Limited Announces 2019 Interim Results

Revenue increased by 22.5% to HK$102.4 million 
Sales of LED epoxy recorded significant increase

Niche-Tech Group Limited (“Niche-Tech” or the “Company”, with its subsidiaries collectively re-ferred as the “Group”; HKEx Stock Code: 8490.HK), a leading semiconductor packaging materials manufacturer, announced the interim results of the Group for the six months ended 30 June 2019 (the “Period”) yesterday. 

Performance Highlights
– Revenue of the Group increased by 22.5% to approximately HK$102.4 million for the Pe-riod (1H2018: approximately HK$83.6 million). 
– Gross profit of the Group grew by 15.9% to approximately HK$19.9 million for the Period (1H2018: approximately HK$17.2 million).
– Profit attributable to owners of the Company for the Period was approximately HK$0.2 million (1H2018: loss of approximately HK$7.7 million (net profit after tax of approximate-ly HK$2.7 million excluded the effect of the non-recurring listing expenses)).

During the Period, the growth of semiconductor product industry had continued, which had driven the constant growth of the demand for semiconductor packaging materials. By devotedly implementing its core business strategies and catching up to industry growing demand of the LED epoxy and metal alloy (gold and silver) bonding wires, the Group had achieved satisfactory business performance dur-ing the Period. The Group recorded outstanding growth in its revenue and gross profit, with an in-crease of approximately 22.5% and approximately 15.9% respectively. 

The Group recorded a net profit after tax of approximately HK$0.2 million during the Period, as compared with a loss of approx-imately HK$7.7 million (net profit after tax of approximately HK$2.7 million excluded the effect of the non-recurring listing expenses) in the corresponding period last year (“1H2018”).

In light of the growing demand from the semiconductor packaging market, especially the large de-mand of packaging materials of LED products for various applications, the Group had enhanced its production capability during the Period by acquiring more machineries and upgrading its facilities. The Group’s two new encapsulant production lines have commenced production and enhanced the production capability of the Group significantly. In addition, the Group has continued to develop and launch its new products to meet the requirements of customers, among which, the new products for mini-LED packaging has already gained a wide recognition from its customer during the Period.

Business Review

Revenue
The Group’s revenue principally represents income derived from its main products, namely bonding wire and encapsulant. During the Period, the Group recorded a revenue of approximately HK$102.4 million, increased by 22.5% from approximately HK$83.6 million recorded in 1H2018. 

The revenue of encapsulant products recorded an increase of 14.6% to approximately HK$12.3 mil-lion during the Period (1H2018: approximately HK$10.7 million), mostly due to an increase in sales of LED epoxy. The revenue of bonding wire products recorded an increase of 20.0% to approximately HK$81.3 million during the Period (1H2018: approximately HK$67.7 million), mostly due to the in-crease in sales volume. 

Cost of Sales and Gross Profit 
The Group’s cost of sales mainly comprised direct material costs, direct labour costs and manufactur-ing overhead. During the Period, the Group’s cost of sales increased by 24.2% to approximately HK$82.5 million (1H2018: approximately HK$66.4 million) which was in line with the increase in rev-enue.

The gross profit of the Group increased by 15.9% to approximately HK$19.9 million for the Period (1H2018: approximately HK$17.2 million). Gross profit margin was approximately 19.5% for the Peri-od (1H2018: 20.6%), remained similar with that of 1H2018. 

Mr. Chow Bok Hin Felix, Executive Chairman and Executive Director of the Group concluded, “Looking ahead, we remain confident about the industry and the Group’s future development. We be-lieve, the continuous support from the PRC government, together with the emerging markets of au-tomotive electrification, industrial automation, Internet of Things and artificial intelligence, will drive the further growth of semiconductor industry in the PRC and bring new opportunities to the semicon-ductor packaging materials industry. Under this condition, we believe that the Group’s established position in the PRC bonding wire industry, would allow the Group to pursue more business opportuni-ties.”

Mr. Chow added, “In light of the positive industry outlook and market potential, the Group is putting more efforts to develop new products, especially in the packaging of LED products for various appli-cations, such as agriculture and medical lighting. We believe these new products will become another growth momentum for the Group in the near future.”

About The Group

The Group was established in 2006 and was successfully listed on the GEM of Hong Kong Stock Ex-change in 2018. Niche-Tech is a manufacturer of semiconductor packaging materials and new mate-rials in the High and New Technology field, specializing in the development, manufacture and sales of bonding wire, encapsulant and special metal materials. Since 2010, the Group has become a High and New Technology Enterprise in the PRC. In 2016, Niche-Tech was recognised as a National Intellectual Property Outstanding Enterprise by the State Intellec-tual Property Office of the PRC and obtained the recognition as Guangdong Academic Experts (Cor-porate) Workstation in 2017.

This press release is disseminated by TNG Financial Services Limited on behalf of Niche-Tech Group Limited.

Goal Rise Logistics H1 Revenue Rises 15.3% to RMB109 Million; The Company Has Applied to Transfer Its Listing to The Main Board

An established logistics service provider in the PRC, Goal Rise Logistics (China) Holdings Limited (“Goal Rise Logistics” or the “Company”, stock code: 8457, together with its subsidiaries, the “Group”) announced its unaudited revenue for the six months ended 30 June 2019 (the “Period”) surged by 15.3 per cent year-on-year to approximately RMB108,571,000. The profit attributable to owners of the Company was approximately RMB5,892,000 (2018 corresponding period: approximately RMB7,429,000). During the Period, basic earnings per share were RMB0.74 cent (2018 corresponding period: RMB0.93 cent). 

The Group achieved satisfactory results during the Period mainly due to year-on-year increases in the revenue of transportation services and in-plant logistics services. The Group derived its revenue mainly from the transportation, warehousing, in-plant logistics and customisation services segments, which accounted for 50.5 per cent, 17.8 per cent, 31.3 per cent and 0.4 per cent of the revenue respectively. During the Period, revenue generated form the transportation services was approximately RMB54,818,000, representing a year-on-year increase of approximately 30.6 per cent. The increase in the transportation services was mainly attributable to the increased customers’ orders for the international freight forwarding agency services during the Period. Moreover, the Group also recorded additional revenue generated from the expansion of transportation business overseas in Egypt during the Period. Revenue generated from the Group’s in-plant logistics services during the Period was approximately RMB34,044,000, up by 9.9 per cent year-on-year, which was mainly contributed by the increase in orders from customers. Due to the decrease in leasable storage area owing to the expiration of the lease of one of the Group’s warehouses which had not been renewed since the end of 2018, revenue generated from the warehousing services was adjusted by approximately 6.6 per cent and reached approximately RMB19,306,000. On the other hand, customisation services recorded a revenue of approximately RMB403,000 during the Period. 

In connection with upgrading one of the warehouses to strengthen the provision of quality logistics services to our customers, the Group had completed initial upgrade works on the construction of infrastructure facilities and contracted with service providers for the design and installation of automated storage facilities and software systems enhancement in one of the warehouses. The Group had participated in the tendering process of potential customers in North China and East China, including several large customers from various industries (including beverage, textile and pharmaceutical businesses). The Group had also set up a sales and marketing department to oversee the Group’s existing and potential customer base as well as visit customers’ operation plants in both the PRC and overseas. In late 2018, the Group set up a company in Egypt aiming at expansion of its logistics business overseas and currently the Group offers local logistics management services and international freight forwarding agency services in Egypt. 

Looking ahead, Mr Li Jianxin, the Chairman of Goal Rise Logistics, said: “The Group will continue to enhance its competitiveness and strengthen its market position in the logistics industry in the PRC, by capitalising on the continued expansion and development of automated storage facilities and systems in its warehouse. In addition, we will continue to provide quality services to our current customers and actively explore new customers, The Group will also fully leverage the strengths of the company in Egypt to provide freight forwarding agency services to more Chinese enterprises in the region. On the other hand, we are committed to diversifying the logistics services of the Group to a broader spectrum of industries, while exploring and accommodating customers’ development needs to grasp the business opportunities in the logistics market.”

On 26 April 2019, Goal Rise Logistics submitted a formal application to The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited (“the Stock Exchange”) for the proposed transfer of listing of shares from GEM to the Main Board of the Stock Exchange pursuant to Chapter 9A and Appendix 28 of the Rules Governing the Listing of Securities on the Stock Exchange.

Mr Li said: “We are of the view that the transfer of listing will help enhance the Group’s profile and the attractiveness of the Company’s shares to institutional and retail investors. We expect that the Main Board trading platform will lead to greater trading liquidity of the Company’s shares, and that the listing of the Company’s shares on the Main Board will be beneficial to the future growth, business development as well as financial flexibility of the Group.”

About Goal Rise Logistics
Goal Rise Logistics is an established logistics service provider in the PRC. Founded in 1996, the Group offers a wide range of logistics services, including transportation, warehousing, in-plant logistics and customisation services. The Group serves customers from various industries, including pharmaceutical, fast-moving consumer goods, packaging, health and beauty and other industries. The shares of Goal Rise Logistics were listed on the GEM of the Stock Exchange in October 2017.

Jinmao Hotel and Jinmao (China) Hotel Investments and Management Limited Announces 2019 Interim Results

Adopt Localized Measures and Deeply Tap Business Potential;
Continue to Maintain Market Leadership

Jinmao Hotel and Jinmao (China) Hotel Investments and Management Limited (“Jinmao Hotel” or the “Company”, together with its subsidiaries, the “Group”, stock code: 6139.HK) today announced its interim results for the six months ended 30 June 2019 (the “Review Period”).

During the Review Period, in the context of Sino-US trade frictions, the Chinese economy faces a difficult external environment. Together with the inadequacies and imbalance problems in respect of China’s own development, the difficulty of stabilising growth and preventing risk has been increasing. Under the pressure of gloomy macroeconomy, the Group directly confronted the crisis by constantly improving the quality of its properties and services, actively integrating resources, and deeply tapped into its business potential so as to maintain market leadership. The Group generated total revenue of RMB1,219 million, with a profit attributable to Holders of Share Stapled Units of RMB166 million and the basic earnings per Share Stapled Unit of RMB0.08. Excluding the fair value gains on investment properties, profit attributable to the Holders of Share Stapled Units amounted to RMB85 million. The Boards have resolved to declare an interim distribution of HK16.60 cents per Share Stapled Units, based on the total Trust Distributable Income of RMB287 million (equivalent to approximately HK$332 million) for the Review Period.

For the hotel operations segment, in the first half of 2019, due to the combined effects of the overall economic downturn and the increase in market supply, the occupancy of high star-level hotels in Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen and Lijiang have shown a year-on-year decline. The occupancy in Sanya’s overall market recorded a slight increase, but the occupancy in Yalong Bay decreased by almost 9%. The room rates of high star-level hotels in the abovementioned cities have all dropped except for the hotels in Lijiang. 

Faced with the tough market environment, the Group’s hotels adopted localized measures, and deeply tapped into their business potential. Striving to increase revenue by adjusting the customer mix externally, and changing their operating philosophy to create differentiated products internally, the hotels adopted flexible sales strategies to optimise their customer mix, while controlling costs and expenses, improving floor efficiency, and stabilising the profit level, thus maintaining their leading market positions within their respective Comp Set in the same region. During the Review Period, revenue from the hotel operations segment amounted to RMB882 million and EBITDA amounted to RMB284 million.

In relation to property leasing, affected by factors such as domestic and international economic conditions and the decentralisation of enterprises, the demand for leasing in the central business district continued to weaken with a net outflow. The vacancy rate reached a new high in recent years. The business situation was grim. With high quality of the property and professional services, the Company’s leasing team withstood the pressure and pulled back the occupancy to a high of 93% through a flexible leasing strategy, deep internal potential tapping and active external cooperation, far exceeding the average level of surrounding competitor buildings. During the Review Period, for the commercial leasing segment, revenue amounted to RMB231 million and EBTIDA amounted to RMB227 million.

Despite a sluggish tourism economic environment and intensifying market competition, the Observation Deck on the 88th floor of Jin Mao Tower, through measures such as optimising the customer mix, increasing efforts in market development, strengthening IP alliances and continuously improving media exposure, generated revenue of RMB35 million in the first half of this year, representing an increase of 9% as compared to the same period of last year.

During the Review Period, the Group accelerated business innovation and successfully held the first Culture Week of Jinmao Hotel Sojourn and Brand Launch celebration in Jade Dragon Snow Mountain, Lijiang, Yunnan in January 2019. The Company also officially launched its own Jinmao Hotel brand. With the theme of “A Stop, A Start”, the Company let each traveler experience a new definition of hotel and another possibility of the sojourn platform, demonstrating the strategic innovation of the Company’s sojourn ecology. 

Adhering to its strategy of “balance between asset-light and asset-heavy businesses combined with long-term and short-term investments”, the Company steadily developed its asset-light business with contracts successfully signed for a number of projects. Jinmao Hotel Xi’an Central was opened on 28 July, marking the launch of Jinmao’s first self-operated hotel. In the future, Jinmao Hotel Xi’an Central will strive to maintain the “Jinmao” quality and establish itself as the most distinctive boutique hotel in Xi’an. What is more, Jinmao Baoshan Executive Apartment is expected to open by the end of this year.

Looking to the second half of 2019, in relation to hotel operation, the Company will maintain its high-performance orientation and enhance the profitability of stock asset hotels with floor efficiency as a key measure, so as to maintain its market leadership. Meanwhile, it will accelerate the pace of the maturity of incremental assets, shorten the performance ramp-up period, and quickly provide the Company with stable cash flow contributions. The Company will continue to build its direct sales platform, enhance product availability in the online shopping mall, conform to the market promotion trends, actively expand distribution channels for its hotels and tap into the potential customer source markets. In relation to the office premises, the Company will continue to focus on the principle of occupancy first. On one hand, the Company will continue to increase the marketing efforts towards quality customers in the building, stimulate the demand for lease expansion, stabilise tenants and increase the rented spaces, and reduce commission expenses. On the other hand, it will further implement channel segregation for vacant spaces in the building, and carry out precision marketing to improve the customer capture ratio. At the same time, the Company will continue to maintain close cooperation with government authorities, make good use of the platform for government-enterprise cooperation, attract more high-quality enterprises to take up leases, and achieve effective linkage between building leasing and regional efforts to attract investors. In respect of the Observation Deck on the 88th floor of Jin Mao Tower, it will continue to focus on word-of-mouth promotion, service improvement and product upgrade, seeking to improve business and operations results by increasing the share of contribution from individual visitors.

Mr. LI Congrui, Chairman and Non-executive Director of Jinmao Hotel, said: “Generally, China’s macroeconomic policies have seen effects in terms of countercyclical adjustments, but still there is room for ‘further’ follow-up improvement. The domestic tourism market is currently undergoing an active transformation from traditional sight-seeing tourism to leisure- and vacation-oriented tourism. The increase in the spending sentiment of tourists will continue to promote the positive development of the domestic tourism market and bring new growth opportunities to the hotel industry. The Group will persist in being customer-oriented and facilitate the integration of mobile Internet and traditional business to provide convenient and thoughtful high-quality services to customers so as to enhance consumer satisfaction, and develop the most outstanding and leading hotel portfolio in the industry. With the hotel business as its core, the Group will deeply tap into the potential values of its assets and continue improving its asset management business. Meanwhile, the Group will continue to seek out commercial properties with strategic values, and proactively improve its asset-light and asset-heavy business with a combination of long-term and short-term investments to ensure the steady growth of the Company’s performance. We are determined to create greater value for all Holders of Share Stapled Unites with more remarkable performance.”

About Jinmao Hotel and Jinmao (China) Hotel Investments and Management Limited
Jinmao Hotel and Jinmao (China) Hotel Investments and Management Limited (“Jinmao Hotel”, stock code: 06139.HK), formerly known as Jinmao Investments and Jinmao (China) Investments Holdings Limited, is a fixed, single investment trust with an initial focus on the hospitality industry in the PRC. Jinmao Hotel primarily owns and invests in a portfolio of hotels with diversified income sources and customer mixes from a portfolio of high quality hotels and commercial properties, comprising 8 hotels and Jin Mao Tower, a mixed-use development. The properties are all located in prime, strategic locations in top-tier cities or tourist hot spots across the PRC, and comprise high quality hotels and commercial property. Adhering to its high-end, boutique positioning, the Jinmao Hotel has been investing in and operating hotels in Shanghai, Beijing, Sanya and other regions, enjoying strong brand recognition and a market leading position, and will continue to improve the operational efficiency of its properties and seek asset enhancement opportunities for further development. Jinmao Hotel’s portfolio of hotels includes: Jin Mao Tower (Level 53-87 being Grand Hyatt Shanghai), Hilton Sanya Yalong Bay Resort & Spa, The Ritz-Carlton Sanya, Yalong Bay, The Westin Beijing Chaoyang, JW Marriott Hotel Shenzhen, Hyatt Regency Chongming, Renaissance Beijing Wangfujing Hotel, and Lijiang Jinmao Hotels.

Introducing the All New Blockpass Marketplace and a Chance to Win $1000USD!

On the Blockpass website you can now find the all new Marketplace (http://www.blockpass.org/marketplace), which provides an easy route for users to find and sign up for campaigns, exchanges, wallets and other services that have integrated with Blockpass.

The Marketplace is designed to be a one-stop shop for those looking to use their Blockpass identity to access services and opportunities where they remain in control of their personal information. Blockpass is a one-click compliance gateway to financial services, regulated offerings and virtual banking. Companies such as Tokenomica, Glenbit and Korporatio are featured, with a short description and links to more detailed information to allow users to quickly and clearly see the opportunities opened to them by using their Blockpass identity. In the future, the marketplace will introduce even more partnerships and campaigns as Blockpass continues to grow, and additional functionality will be added to provide simple sign-up options and facilitate participation in special events.

To celebrate this milestone, and following great public demand, Blockpass is happy to announce the return of the Blockpass Quiz! Those familiar with the original quizzes will note that the format will be slightly different this time, though the prize is much larger.

The Blockpass Quiz will consist of a number of questions which will be sent out via email to those that register to participate using their Blockpass identity. Once the registration period concludes on 15 August 2019 at 10 am GMT, an email containing the questions will be sent out to those that registered. The first person to reply to the email with the correct answers to all of the questions will be awarded $1000USD in PASS!

Questions will vary from general crypto knowledge to the history of blockchain, and from technical questions to those on current crypto events. You can expect a number of questions to focus around Blockpass and its partners, so keep the whitepaper and the website at hand.

Make sure you have created your Blockpass identity in order to register for the quiz. You can find the registration link here (http://www.blockpass.org/quiz). For additional information join the Blockpass Telegram or follow Blockpass on Twitter. Good luck!

The Blockpass Quiz is subject to the Quiz Terms and Conditions and by submitting your answers you are accepting to be bound by them. For more information on data use please read our Privacy Policy. The Blockpass Quiz is not available for US persons. Registrations close at 10am GMT on 15 August 2019, and an email containing the quiz questions will be sent to the email address used to register at 10am GMT on 16 August 2019. Please be sure to check your spam folder and add quiz@blockpass.org to your address book.

About Blockpass IDN

Blockpass offers digital identity verification for businesses that participate in regulated industries, including crypto wallets and exchanges, virtual banks, traditional financial institutions and gaming. Blockpass provides an alternative process to cumbersome, repetitive and expensive Know Your Customer (KYC) and Anti-Money Laundering (AML) verification through an easy-to-use mobile application and seamless merchant dashboard. For individuals, Blockpass is a secure, user-centric gateway to financial services and other regulated offerings, allowing one click KYC submission. Blockpass alleviates the pain of opening new accounts and redoing KYC over and over. Registered in Hong Kong, Blockpass IDN is a joint venture of Infinity Blockchain Labs and Chain of Things. Blockpass IDN licenses its technology from the non-profit Blockpass Foundation, registered in the Isle of Man.

For more information and updates, please visit and sign up to the following:
Promotional video: https://youtu.be/SvO2cw3e-SI
Website: http://www.blockpass.org
Medium: https://medium.com/@blockpass
Twitter: https://twitter.com/BlockpassOrg
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/blockpassorg/
Telegram: https://t.me/blockpass

Contact: Caitlin Fargo, +852 9733 4935, press@blockpass.org

DOHOME celebrates opening day, rising 6% on the SET

  • Strengthening its position as leading Thai provider of home furnishings and building materials with new business model targeting countrywide expansion

Dohome PCL (SET: DOHOME), a leading retailer of home furnishing products and building materials, saw its shares rise by more than 6% today, its first day of trading on the Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET). This follows an initial public offering (IPO) of 465.04 million ordinary shares, with 56.16 million over-allotment, at an offering price of THB 7.80 per share. DOHOME seeks to employ the new capital to open new stores, having introduced a new business model with a smaller format ‘Dohome To Go’.

Mr. Adisak Tangmitrphracha, Chief Executive Officer of DOHOME, said: “We are very pleased and very proud of the successful listing of DOHOME on the SET (ticker: DOHOME). We had received strong feedback from both institutional and retail investors, reflecting their high confidence in DOHOME’s solid fundamentals and its position as a leading Thai ‘One-stop Home Products Destination’ “.

Mrs. Saliltip Ruangsuttipap, Deputy President, Accounting and Finance at DOHOME, added: “We made an IPO of 465,040,000 ordinary shares, or approximately 25.1% of DOHOME’s issued and paid-up capital. There was an over-allotment of 56,160,000 shares for the stabilization of DOHOME’s stock price during the first 30 days after its first day trade. In total, we allotted a total of 521,200,000 ordinary shares, or approximately 28.1% of DOHOME’s issued and paid-up capital.

“The capital increase and the listing on the SET will enable us to secure necessary business support, as well as strengthen our financial position to create growth in the future. We are ready to launch new stores in all regions of Thailand, targeting our newly designed large store format while still keeping our concept, ‘Complete, Cheap, and Good… at DOHOME’.

“Moreover, we have introduced ‘Dohome To Go’, a small format model that offers greater access to retail customers and better flexibility for store network expansion. As of today, we have launched ‘Dohome To Go’ stores at Makros Charansanitwong and Sathorn. In addition to our distribution centre at Pathum Thani, we now operate 11 stores, nine of which are large stores and two of which are Dohome To Go stores”, said Mrs. Saliltip.

DOHOME’s total IPO offering of 521.2 mm shares (inclusive of over-allotment) at an offer price of THB7.80 per share gives DOHOME a market capitalisation of more than THB14,400 mm (based on the IPO price). In this regard, DOHOME has the largest capitalization of any IPO so far this year (as of the first trading day). The lead underwriters are Kasikorn Securities PCL and Phatra Securities PCL.

Distributed by MT Multimedia for Dohome PCL:
Pipop (“Top”) Kongwong
Mobile: +66 8 1929 8864
Email: pipop.k@mtmultimedia.com

LiquidX Partners with DBS, Leading Asian Bank; Expands Singapore Office

– DBS Bank, leading financial services group in Asia, joins LiquidX network
– DBS / LiquidX partnership to focus on the use of digital ecosystems
– LiquidX rapidly expanding presence in Singapore to support Asian clients

SINGAPORE / HONG KONG – (ACN Newswire) –  via NEWMEDIAWIRE – LiquidX, the global network for illiquid assets, is pleased to welcome DBS Bank to its network. DBS, a leading financial services group in Asia, successfully completed a primary receivables transaction with one of its key relationship clients via the LiquidX network in the second quarter of 2019.

“Our partnership with DBS marks another step towards building digital ecosystems that enable businesses to deliver efficient and easily scalable solutions to its customers across borders. DBS’ strong digital agenda also makes the bank an ideal partner as they share a common vision that digitisation will play a key role in transforming the transaction landscape for trade finance and other adjacent working capital asset classes,” noted Jim Toffey, CEO of LiquidX.

“We are excited to be working with LiquidX to bring new working capital solutions for our clients,” said Sriram Muthukrishnan, Managing Director and Group Head of Trade Product Management at Global Transaction Services, DBS Bank. “We believe DBS’ and LiquidX’s innovative technology platform, streamlined legal framework, client network and digitisation strategy will be complementary and deliver superior and scalable solutions across multiple customer segments. We welcome such partnerships, where focus is placed on improving the overall customer journey.”

LiquidX has also expanded its Singapore office, and hired a team of seven to round out its origination, legal and product teams. “Asia is a key growth market for LiquidX and we see a tremendous amount of opportunity across our entire product set. Singapore has a vast and vibrant Fintech community, which coupled with governmental support for trade and commerce makes it a strong hub for our business” commented Rohit Goyal, head of Asia at LiquidX. 

“We have hired an exceptional team who bring a wealth of experience across asset management, commodities, trade finance and working capital. Our presence in Singapore positions us to benefit from the growth of digital trade networks in Asia.”

About LiquidX

LiquidX is the global network for illiquid assets, providing an efficient and flexible platform for participants to transact across the trade finance, working capital and trade credit insurance asset classes. Its leading technology platform and streamlined legal framework enables a diverse network of global participants, including major corporations, banks, institutional investors, and insurance providers, to transact more effectively. LiquidX has executed over $20 billion of trade volume and processed $80 billion in post trade settlements since 2016. For more information about LiquidX, please visit www.liquidx.com.

Contact:
Brad Tabor
T: 973-714-4022
E: btabor@liquidx.com