Tag: International

Ireland stands out as an ideal investment immigration destination for Hong Kong families, with IDLF recognised as a reliable and reputable option

Higher educated and affluent Hong Kong citizens are increasingly attracted to migrating to Ireland due to a growing recognition of the similarities between Ireland and Hong Kong. Families recognise the English-speaking country’s common law system, vibrant economic prospects and quality education for children. The Irish Diaspora Loan Fund (“IDLF”), one of the approved products under the Immigrant Investor Programme (“IIP”), saw the number of investor applicants increased by 300% in the last six months.

The IIP was established in 2012 to allow wealthy individuals and families from outside the European Union to obtain residency in Ireland in exchange for making an approved investment in the Irish economy. Eligible applicants must have a legally accumulated minimum net worth of EUR2 million and invest EUR1 million in investments approved by the programme. In 2019, IIP received over 420 applications with a growing percentage of those now coming from Hong Kong.

According to Andrew Parish, Chief Commercial Officer of IDLF, the typical profile of an applicant from Hong Kong is a professional working in finance, medicine or law with a couple of children in school. “Many Hong Kong families have identified how familiar Ireland feels, given the many similarities between Ireland and their hometown. Ireland is internationally renowned for the quality of its education and vibrant growth momentum. Our investor families look forward to sending their children to Irish universities to gain world-class degrees and secure exciting careers in some of the top tech companies in the world – all of whom are located in Ireland.” Mr. Parish added.

The majority of the potential applicants in Hong Kong, when making their inquiries, recognised that Ireland’s common law system, English-speaking environment, excellent education system, vibrant economic prospects are all similar to what they see in Hong Kong. These, when coupled this familiarity with the picturesque natural sceneries and clean environment, make Ireland a compelling option. Furthermore, the fact that the Irish scheme does not require the applicant to physically relocate, but to simply visit the country for just one day per year to retain their residency status, is particularly attractive for applicants and families who contemplate to continue their business or career aspirations in Hong Kong. Families are looking for investment products that are well-regulated, highly transparent, low risk with high confidence that they can get their money back at the end of the investment period with their residency rights approved. They see IDLF as a safe and secure option with approvals granted before actually making the investment, implying a 100% approval rate.

IDLF focuses on supporting the hotel sector through collateralized lending to owner-operated hotels for facility improvements and employment of additional staff. It has picked the hotel sector to support because Ireland’s tourism industry is booming with some 11,000 new hotel rooms required to meet demand. Irish hotel occupancy rates are among the highest in Europe. Lending to this sector also boasts attractive security options on the property and assets, providing an extra layer of security for the investors.

“Irish and Hong Kong people share many similar traits, including a strong work ethic, an enjoyment of friends and family, and a zest for life”, says Mrs Joanna Murphy, CEO of IDLF. “Over the last year, we have seen a huge increase in Hong Kong families who recognise these similarities and value the opportunity to secure residency rights in Ireland. In IDLF, we enjoy nothing more than helping these families discover Ireland and build options for the future. We are delighted in providing a bespoke concierge service to these families to help them at all stages of their application process and building a footprint in Ireland, giving them a peace of mind to continue pursuing their business and career ambitions in Hong Kong.”

The European Commission’s Spring 2019 European Economic Forecast predicts GDP growth in Ireland to be at 3.8%, becoming the fastest growing economy in Europe for the fifth year in a row. Underlying economic activity in the country is expected to remain robust, driven by investment in construction and positive labour market developments.

Recognised as “the Silicon Valley of Europe”, due to the extent of Foreign Direct Investment of the world’s top companies into Ireland, including Google, Facebook, Apple, Microsoft and many others. Ireland is now home to the world’s top technology, medical device and pharmaceutical companies. Potential applicants from Hong Kong also count the vibrant economy and friendly investment environment in Ireland as key attributes backing their decisions.

About Irish Diaspora Loan Fund

Irish Diaspora Loan Fund (“IDLF”) is a low-risk investment fund authorised and regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland. It offers the opportunity for foreign investors to invest in Ireland in return for long term residency status.

IDLF is an asset-backed mutualised debt fund which offers a very secure option for investors seeking to access the Irish Immigrant Investor Visa Programme. The fund ensures maximum protection of investor funds, by following a conservative, low-risk loan investment policy. It issues innovative finance to a portfolio of Irish businesses which will each increase employment levels throughout the lifetime.

Its board of directors includes seasoned, successful business and finance leaders and a former Taoiseach (Prime Minister) of Ireland.

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SoftBank Vision Fund Leads $400m Funding in Biotech Firm Relay Therapeutics

SoftBank Vision Fund, a subsidiary of Japan’s SoftBank Group Co, has led the $400-million Series C funding round in US-based biotechnology firm Relay Therapeutics, according to a statement Thursday.

The financing round was also participated by Foresite Capital, Perceptive Advisors, and Tavistock Group. Existing GV, Casdin Capital, BVF Partners, EcoR1 Capital, Alexandria Venture Investments, and an affiliate of D.E. Shaw Research also backed the round.

Proceeds from this financing are anticipated to be used to accelerate the implementation of Relay Therapeutics’ long-term strategy. Relay said the fresh funds will support the expansion of the company’s discovery efforts, advance existing programs into the clinic and bolster its broad platform and diverse team.

Relay Therapeutics said it combines “unprecedented computational power” with leading-edge experimental approaches across the fields of structural biology, biophysics, chemistry and biology.

The integration of these disparate disciplines, tools and cultures enables Relay Therapeutics to overcome challenges that prior attempts have failed to solve and to design therapies against validated but previously intractable targets.

The company’s initial discovery programs in cancer have led to the development of highly selective inhibitors of disease-causing proteins in genomically defined patient populations.

“We are at a unique moment in the evolution of drug discovery where we can realize the promise of integrating ever more powerful experimental and computational discovery tools to tackle previously undruggable protein targets. The success of our early programs validates the potential of our platform to create breakthrough therapies that address a broad range of diseases,” said Sanjiv Patel, M.D., President and Chief Executive Officer of Relay Therapeutics.

The latest funding round brings the company’s total funding amount to $520 million. It first raised $57 million in September 2016 for its Series A. In December 2017, the company raised another $63 million for its Series B.

“A financing of this magnitude allows Relay Therapeutics to significantly scale and advance both its platform and its pipeline. We are thrilled by the strong support of our investors for our mission, vision and strategy,” said Alexis Borisy, Chairman of Relay Therapeutics and Partner at Third Rock Ventures.

SoftBank Vision Fund, according to its latest amended SEC filing, raised a total of approximately $98.58 billion from 14 investors since its first sale on May 20, 2017. The fund has become one of the primary funding vehicles for technology companies around the world. Saudi Arabia provided $45 billion for the fund. – AsiaPEVC.com

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SoftBank’s Vision Fund Leads $121m Funding in Camera Firm Light
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SoftBank’s Vision Fund Leads $121m Funding in Camera Firm Light

Advanced computational imaging firm Light has secured $121 million in Series D funding led by SoftBank Vision Fund and backed by consumer camera giant Leica Cambera AG.

The latest funding round brings Light’s total amount raised from investors to date to $186 million. The SoftBank Vision Fund investment will be made in tranches, subject to certain conditions.

Light’s groundbreaking imaging platform enables machines to see like humans do, using sophisticated algorithms to combine images from multiple camera modules into a single high-quality image and enabling highly-accurate 3D depth extraction.

The company said the new funding will allow it expand the reach of its imaging platform beyond consumer photography and into security, robotic, automotive, aerial and industrial imaging applications.

Later this year, the first mobile phone incorporating Light’s technology will be available to consumers around the world. It will shatter the expectations of mobile photography.

“Light’s technology is a revelation, showing that several small, basic camera modules, combined with highly powerful software, can produce images that rival those produced by cameras costing and weighing orders of magnitude more,” said Dave Grannan, Light CEO and Co-founder.

Grannan added that the support of SoftBank Vision Fund as a strategic investor means “this technology will see more of the world sooner than we could have ever imagined”.

Light’s foundational technologies, including its Lux Capacitor camera control chip and its Polar Fusion Engine for multi-image processing, are licensed for use in applications like smartphones, security, automotive, robotics, drones, and more.

“Light’s highly accurate depth mapping can be used to create rich and complex environments for a wide-range of applications including augmented reality,” the company said in a statement.

Also Read:
PE-backed Aviation Technical Services Acquires Ranger Air
Israel: AI Vision Firm AnyVision Raises $28m in Bosch-led Series A

Akshay Naheta, Partner, SoftBank Investment Advisers, describes Light as a world leader in computational imaging.

“By replacing mechanical complexity with digital sophistication, they have been able to drastically reduce the size, weight, and cost of traditional cameras. This has paved the way for a whole new era of intelligent imaging applications,” Naheta said.

PE-backed Aviation Technical Services Acquires Ranger Air

Aviation Technical Services (ATS), a technical services provider backed by New York-based private equity firm JLL Partners, has acquired Ranger Air, a supplier of aircraft airframe and engine accessories to international customers.

Financial terms of the acquisition were not disclosed. The deal launches ATS into the parts trading business and provides Ranger Air with access to ATS’s comprehensive repair capabilities to enable a quick return-to-service.

Headquartered in Everett, Washington, ATS provides a broad and growing portfolio of technical services in MRO (maintenance, repair and overhaul), Engineering, Component Repair and Parts Development world-wide.

It supports both narrow body and wide body aircraft operators in the commercial and military aviation markets.

The ATS group of companies offers Component Services, Airframe Maintenance, Engineering Support, and Alternate Solutions in ten locations across the United States. Ranger Air is the fourth acquisition for ATS in the Dallas-Fort Worth area over the past five years.

Headquartered in Everett, Washington, ATS has over 1.2 million square feet of aviation maintenance facilities with additional operations in Moses Lake, Washington; Kansas City, Missouri; and Fort Worth, Texas.

This broad North American footprint supports our customers with advanced MRO capabilities across the full spectrum of aftermarket products and services in operationally convenient locations. With our two separate hangar facilities in Everett and Moses Lake, ATS is the largest MRO on the U.S. west coast.

Also Read: Israel: AI Vision Firm AnyVision Raises $28m in Bosch-led Series A

Ranger Air, on the other hand, is a premier supplier of aircraft airframe and engine accessories and components and provider of repair management services for a growing list of international customers.

Since 2002, Ranger Air has introduced innovative inventory management programs and has stocked and traded parts for virtually every commercial airframe and engine platform in the world.

Cushman & Wakefield Completes Acquisition of Australia’s Inc RE

Global real estate services firm Cushman & Wakefield has finalized its acquisition of Inc RE, an Australian capital markets firm specializing in commercial sales, acquisitions, and investment advisory.

With the acquisition, Inc RE will join Cushman & Wakefield’s Capital Markets Australian platform and be part of the company’s global Capital Markets network.

In a statement, Cushman & Wakefield said the acquisition bolsters its capital markets platform in the region and globally.

With the combination of our global Capital Markets professionals and the recent acquisition of Inc RE, Cushman & Wakefield is placed to deliver superior results for clients in key markets across the globe,” said Matthew Bouw, Chief Executive Officer, Asia Pacific at Cushman & Wakefield.

Cushman & Wakefield’s Australian Capital Markets practice will be led by Josh Cullen, Inc RE principal.

The team will comprise 14 brokers focused on institutional sales, international investments, acquisitions and investment advisory. Cullen will be supported by Rick Butler and leading brokers Steve Kearney and Mark Hansen.

“The acquisition complements our local Capital Markets platform and creates momentum for us in the Capital Markets landscape nationally. It provides us with opportunities to accelerate the growth of the company’s broader commercial real estate business, particularly in Asset Services and Agency Leasing,” James Patterson, Chief Executive, Australia and New Zealand said.

Also Read: Philippines: Pilmico Acquires Singapore’s Gold Coin for $334m

In addition to Josh Cullen, Rick Butler, Steve Kearney and Mark Hansen, Claire Zouroudis, Charles Long and Lisa Lee also will join the Cushman & Wakefield Capital Markets practice based in Sydney. Inc RE’s total transactions completed in the span of 18 months total $2.25 billion.

Cushman & Wakefield is among the largest real estate services firms with 48,000 employees in approximately 400 offices and 70 countries. In 2017, the firm had revenue of $6.9 billion across core services of property, facilities and project management, leasing, capital markets, valuation and other services.

Israel: AI Vision Firm AnyVision Raises $28m in Bosch-led Series A

Israel-based AnyVision, a developer of artificial intelligence and computer vision technology, announced that it has raised $28 million in Series A financing led by German multinational technology group Bosch.

In a statement, AnyVision said the latest funding round also saw the backing of two US private equity groups, which the company did not identify.

“The new capital will allow the company to meet global demand and enhance product innovation, research, and development,” AnyVision said in a press statement.

Founded in 2015, AnyVision has created a software technology that the company said learns on the feed, is customizable, and runs on multiple platforms, including existing CCTV infrastructure.

“We built AnyVision to be a core technology that solves fundamental problems in the computer vision industry and that can operate on any sensor, any time,” said Eylon Etshtein, AnyVision’s CEO and Co-Founder.

The team behind the company has over 20 years of experience in artificial intelligence and computer vision and has developed proprietary AI solutions for the HLS/Police, airports, sports/entertainment, smart cities, critical infrastructure, banks, transportation and retail verticals.

Its solutions are oriented around real-world applications relating to faces, bodies, and objects. Through seamless integration and plug and play technology, AnyVision enables any camera to smarter by indexing and analyzing everything the sensor sees.

“Our customers around the world are increasingly asking for ways of integrating person and object recognition software into our cameras; collaboration with AnyVision will allow us to fulfill this customer wish even better and offer an enhanced package of solutions,” Bernhard Schuster, SVP at Bosch Building Technologies, said.

Also Read: South Korea’s ProtoPie Raises $3.5m in KIP-led Series A

AnyVision has shown significant growth in the three years since it launched in 2015. Today, the company has more than 130 employees globally and recently launched its first North American office in New York City.

Later this year, AnyVision will launch three new offices globally in Los Angeles, London and Singapore. AnyVision’s global customers and world class business partners include Microsoft, Google, Johnson Controls, Telefonica and Genetec.