ACN Newswire

To counter piracy, the Philippines needs "High quality, convenient and legal content" says CASBAA in its "Philippines in View 2017 Report"

MANILA, Aug 24, 2017 - (ACN Newswire) - The "Philippines in View 2017" Pay-TV conference, hosted by regional industry body CASBAA, on 30 August 2017 at the Marriott Hotel in Manila, will highlight the country's role as a continuing growth market for digital video in all its forms. However, the Philippines is also a market likely to face growing challenges from online video piracy as broadband infrastructure improves.

At the Conference, CASBAA will launch its "Philippines in View 2017" Market Report which encompasses an exclusive of study of younger urban consumers in the Philippines.

The CASBAA study reconfirms that Filipino youth audiences in particular, continue to seek out unauthorised, pirated video content. Some 86 percent of survey respondents admitted to downloading pirated content from flash memory sticks. "But that will change -- and soon", said John Medeiros, CASBAA's Chief Policy Officer "as this is relatively low-tech".

The study revealed that the vast majority of consumers in the Philippines said they would consume more (legal and pirated) TV content as soon as they can secure improved internet connectivity.

"And that's why the TV industry in the Philippines, and around the world, urgently needs to run fast and work hard to place high-quality, convenient and legal content options in front of consumers to prevent the pirate syndicates from easily winning them over", said Medeiros.

As a curtain raiser, the conference will be keynoted by Carlo Katigbak, President & CEO, ABS-CBN Corporation.

The day-long program, features C-Suite speakers drawn from the leading Cable TV and Direct-to-Home satellite TV systems in the Philippines, as well as the most powerful regional satellite operators, fixed line and wireless broadband distributors.

With content creation and distribution at the sharp-end of consumer relationships, discussions on accurate audience measurement will play a central role during the information packed day.

The packed agenda will also include a review of the fast-expanding mobile broadband environment in the Philippines, the development of local-language OTT services and the central role served by satellite services in a country with more than 6,000 islands.

For further information on the "CASBAA Philippines in View 2017" Conference on 30 August and its 2017 findings on Pay-TV piracy in the Philippines contact pr@casbaa.com. For the full programme of speakers, topics and leading event sponsors click here. http://casbaaevent.com/events/casbaa-philippines-in-view/

About CASBAA

Established in 1991, CASBAA is the association for digital multichannel TV, content, platforms, advertising and video delivery across a variety of geographic markets throughout the Asia-Pacific. CASBAA's members reach over 500 million connections within a regional footprint ranging from China to Australasia, Japan to Pakistan. For more information, visit www.casbaa.com.

Contact:
CASBAA
Tel: +852 2854 9913
pr@casbaa.com

Saint Julian's, MALTA, Aug 24, 2017 - (ACN Newswire) - EXANTE, the European fintech firm that made history in 2012 by launching the world's first Bitcoin hedge fund, is once again shaking up the investment industry. Today the Malta-headquartered company launched a dedicated altcoin index, XAI, which reflects the dynamics of the altcoin world (all cryptocurrencies minus Bitcoin). The XAI-Fund, which is available to EXANTE clients immediately, follows the index, to profit from the rise in prices of most altcoins in an easy safe and regulated way. The XAI index is made up of nearly all available popular alternative cryptocurrencies.

Anatoliy Knyazev, co-founder of EXANTE elaborated: "Just a couple of weeks ago we launched separate funds for Ripple, Ethereum, Monero, Zcash and Litecoin - which was a huge success. We did notice an additional demand from clients who don't have the time or the technological means to deep-dive and analyze each currency separately - but do want to profit from the bullish altcoin markets. XAI is the solution to that problem."

EXANTE clients can trade XAI fund shares - they are regular exchange traded instruments and they are accessible via the general trading platform. This platform gives traders direct access to more than 50 thousand financial products and nearly all financial markets. Trading in these products, is regulated by the MFSA and audited by KPMG, adding a layer of security normally missing from the unregulated cryptocurrency market.

Besides the aforementioned altcoins, the XAI-index also tracks Ethereum Classic. "We decided to leave out Bitcoin," said Knyazev, "since it has less fat left on its bone. Ripple and Monero, for example, nearly doubled in value recently. That's what makes investing in the XAI fund so interesting and exciting."

For further information contact:
Thijs Plug
Head of Content
T: +356 2015 0000
E: plug@exante.eu

About EXANTE:
EXANTE is a European investment company established in 2011. Its headquarters are located in St Julian's, Malta. EXANTE is licensed to provide financial services, including trading and investment. The company works with a wide range of products and services - from solutions for retail clients, to tailored offerings for institutional counterparts. Its full-scale trading tool is accessible from desktops, web browsers and mobile applications. EXANTE provides online trading access to over 50 markets worldwide. Clients can invest in more than 50,000 financial instruments. www.exante.eu

New campus offers moderately priced, high quality international curriculum

SINGAPORE, Aug 24, 2017 - (ACN Newswire) - One World International School (OWIS) announced today it will invest more than S$10 million (US$7.4 million) in a first-of-its kind school in Singapore with up to 1,200 places for expatriate children aged three to 18 years, with tuition fees that will be about 60% less than that charged by major international schools in the country.

OWIS recently won a tender, hotly contested by 12 parties, that was awarded by the Singapore Economic Development Board (EDB) to operate a moderate-fee international school based on price and quality of education.

School fees for kindergarten and primary students at the new OWIS Nanyang Campus will start from S$17,000 (US$12,500) per annum and not exceed S$20,000 (US$14,705) for higher grades. These rates are about 60% lower than that charged by other international schools in the country. Optional activities will be available on an additional fee basis.

Expatriates working in Singapore have cited the cost of education - with some parents paying about S$80,000 (US$58,823) per year for two school-going children - as a cause of concern, as many remuneration packages have been scaled back since the 2008-2009 global financial crisis.

OWIS will convert an existing 3.2-hectare school premise at 21 Jurong West for the new Nanyang Campus. This will be the second OWIS school after the first campus in Upper East Coast Road opened in 2008. Both offer the International Baccalaureate programme at the primary level as well as Cambridge's International General Certificate of Secondary Education (IGCSE).

OWIS Nanyang will be a multicultural school with no nationality comprising more than 30% of total student enrolment.

Mr. Gregor Polson, Principal of OWIS, said: "Expatriate education is ripe for disruption globally. The great challenge is how to ensure that we deliver a quality education programme even as we reduce the inefficiencies that have been built into the industry over the last few decades. We will deliver quality by focusing on the core curriculum while leveraging on technology and economies of scale. We are confident of delivering a product with real value at a moderate pricing."

OWIS Nanyang will allow parents to view the campus starting 15 October 2017. Classes for the first academic session will commence on 8 January 2018. Expressions of interest for student admissions can now be filed at www.owis.org, with admissions to be confirmed on a first-come, first-served basis.

About One World International School

Founded in 2008, One World International School ("OWIS") is a non-denominational international school which serves a multicultural student population.

OWIS' mission is to nurture young minds into well-rounded, independent lifelong learners and global citizens through a holistic teaching methodology that seeks to bring out the best in each student.

OWIS is a member of Singapore-headquartered Global Schools Foundation (GSF). Based on high standards of governance and established academic criteria, GSF has consistently been recognised internationally for excellence in education, and has received more than 80 awards over the past 14 years. For more information, please visit: http://www.owis.org/

Media Contact Information

Grace Yew, WeR1 Consultants - graceyew@wer1.net
Jasween Gill, One World International School - gillj@owis.org

Honda RA300

TOKYO, Aug 24, 2017 - (JCN Newswire) - Honda announced plans to hold a demonstration run of the Honda RA300 on race day of the 2017 FIA(1) Formula One (F1) World Championship Italian Grand Prix at the Autodromo Nazionale Monza (Monza Circuit) to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Honda's Italian Grand Prix victory with the RA300, which also took place at the Monza circuit. In addition to the demonstration run, Honda will set up a booth for a special exhibition which will include RA300 in the exhibition area during the Italian Grand Prix.

Honda began participating in the F1 World Championship in 1964. In 1967, Honda RA300 made its debut at the Italian Grand Prix with John Surtees, who passed away in March of this year, behind the wheel starting from ninth on the grid. The RA300 took the lead during the final lap and finished first, by a margin of 0.2 seconds. With this dramatic ending, the RA300 brought Honda its second F1 victory.

RA300 demonstration run
Date/Time: At 12:10 local time (19:10 Japan time) on Sunday, September 3, 2017
Venue: Monza Circuit, Italy (Circuit length: 5.793 km/3.600 miles)
Driver: Nirei Fukuzumi (GP3 driver)

Special exhibition
Dates: September 1 - 3, 2017
Venue: F1 Fan Zone Area at Monza Circuit, Italy

Honda RA300
Debut: 1967 Italian Grand Prix
Engine: Honda RA273E, a liquid-cooled, naturally-aspirated, V12 engine with a 90o V angle
Displacement: 2,992cc
Output: More than 420hp/11,500rpm

Comments

Masashi Yamamoto/General Manager of the Motor Sports Division, Honda Motor Co., Ltd.
"It is our great pleasure to be able to run the same machine on the same circuit on the 50th anniversary year of our victory with the RA300. We hope that fans will enjoy the performance of this machine Honda created with strong passion to "win no matter what it takes" and the Honda sound of this classic V12 engine. Also, I would like to express our sincere appreciation to the FIA and FOM for their support and cooperation for this demonstration run."

Nirei Fukuzumi, the driver
"This will be my first opportunity to drive an F1 machine. It is a great honor to be able to do this at the Monza Circuit in Italy, where this machine won the championship 50 years ago. I will continue to work hard and strive to come back to this circuit in the future as an F1 driver."

(1) Federation Internationale de l'Automobile

http://www.acnnewswire.com/topimg/Low_HondaRA300.jpg
Honda RA300

About Honda

Honda Motor Co., Ltd. (TSE:7267/NYSE:HMC/LSE:HNDA) is one of the leading manufacturers of automobiles and power products and the largest manufacture of motorcycles in the world. Honda has always sought to provide genuine satisfaction to people worldwide. The result is more than 120 manufacturing facilities in 30 countries worldwide, producing a wide range of products, including motorcycles, ATVs, generators, marine engines, lawn and garden equipment and automobiles that bring the company into contact with over 19 million customers annually. For more information, please visit http://world.honda.com.

Contact:
Honda
Media Inquiries
corporate_pr@hm.honda.co.jp
+81-3-5412-1512

Acquisition to bring new range of risk management tools to banks

JERSEY CITY, N.J., Aug 24, 2017 - (ACN Newswire) - Verisk Analytics, Inc. (Nasdaq:VRSK), has signed a definitive agreement to acquire LCI, an industry-leading provider of risk insight, prediction, and management solutions for banks and creditors. LCI is based in Burlingame, California.

"The acquisition will bring together Verisk's unique proprietary data assets from its Argus business and LCI's high-quality proprietary time-series data, including consumer and commercial bankruptcies, consumer behavior, and legal and technical terms associated with debtor settlements. The combination will allow us to introduce a new and exciting range of insights, proprietary decisioning algorithms, and state-of-the-art risk management workflow solutions aimed at addressing a growing need among our banking clients," said Nana Banerjee, group president of Verisk Analytics.

"We're delighted to join Argus and together support the most forward-thinking financial companies in the world with data-driven solutions that can improve matters associated with regulation, bankruptcy, charge-off, and debt collection," said Chris Lundquist, chief executive officer and president of LCI. "LCI is an excellent fit for Argus's sharp focus on advising creditors throughout the account management life cycle."

"Given LCI's unique data assets, first-mover advantage, and deep bankruptcy management expertise, I'm confident LCI is an excellent fit for the Verisk Analytics family of businesses," added Scott Stephenson, chairman, president, and chief executive officer of Verisk Analytics.

The purchase price is $151 million, to be paid in cash to stockholders of LCI. The transaction is expected to close during the third quarter of 2017, subject to the completion of customary closing conditions.

About LCI

LCI delivers bankruptcy data and consumer behavioral data, process automation software, expert services, and research to automate expensive processes in the bankruptcy life cycle. With expertise in the financial industry, specifically its focus on at-risk accounts, LCI innovates, develops, and delivers solutions that provide superior information and improved profitability. LCI's high-tech approach, combining process engineering principles with management information systems, brings a sharp focus on quality control and process efficiency to the development of data processing systems. For more information, please visit www.lciinc.com.

About Argus

Argus is a one-of-a-kind leading provider of information, scoring solutions, and advisory services to financial institutions across the globe. Our client base ranges from financial institutions and their regulators to various companies across the media industry and beyond. We maximize the value of data by transforming it into insightful information and analysis that assist our clients in understanding their market contribution, managing and mitigating risk (default, fraud, funding, and compliance), and capitalizing on their financial objectives. Argus, a Verisk Analytics (Nasdaq:VRSK) business, is headquartered in White Plains, New York, with additional offices in San Francisco, Sao Paulo, Sydney, Melbourne, and London. For more information, please visit www.argusinformation.com.

About Verisk Analytics

Verisk Analytics (Nasdaq:VRSK) is a leading data analytics provider serving customers in insurance, natural resources, and financial services. Using advanced technologies to collect and analyze billions of records, Verisk Analytics draws on unique data assets and deep domain expertise to provide first-to-market innovations that are integrated into customer workflows. Verisk offers predictive analytics and decision support solutions to customers in rating, underwriting, claims, catastrophe and weather risk, global risk analytics, natural resources intelligence, economic forecasting, and many other fields. Around the world, Verisk Analytics helps customers protect people, property, and financial assets.

Headquartered in Jersey City, N.J., Verisk Analytics operates in 29 countries and is a member of Standard & Poor's S&P 500(R) Index. In 2017, Forbes magazine named Verisk Analytics to its America's Best Mid-Size Employers list and to its World's Most Innovative Companies list. Verisk is one of only seven companies to appear on both lists. For more information, please visit www.verisk.com.

Contact:
Investor Relations
David Cohen
AVP, Investor Relations and Strategic Finance
Verisk Analytics, Inc.
+1-201-469-2174
david.e.cohen@verisk.com

Media
Rich Tauberman
MWWPR (for Verisk Analytics)
+1-202-600-4546
rtauberman@mww.com

###

This announcement is distributed by Nasdaq Corporate Solutions on behalf of Nasdaq Corporate Solutions clients.
The issuer of this announcement warrants that they are solely responsible for the content, accuracy and originality of the information contained therein.
Source: Verisk Analytics Inc. via Globenewswire

Profit Attributable to the Owners of the Company Up 3.0% to HK$125 Million;
Maintaining Steady Profitability Breaking New Ground in Drug Development

HONG KONG, Aug 24, 2017 - (ACN Newswire) - Lee's Pharmaceutical Holdings Limited ("Lee's Pharm" or the "Group", Stock Code: 950), an integrated research-driven and market-oriented pharmaceutical group in China, today announced its interim results for the six months ended 30 June 2017 (the "period under review").

During the period under review, the Group managed to bring the net profit growth back to the positive territory with the aid of the encouraging momentum in both revenue and net profit growth during the second quarter. The Group's quarterly sales grew in the double digit realm with major products achieving volume growth, which was the first time since first quarter of 2015, in spite of the persistent market headwind brought about by uncertainty in healthcare reform in China.

The Group has recorded revenue of HK$ 248,550,000 during the second quarter of 2017, increased by 10.9 % over same quarter last year. The accelerated growth was driven by increase in sales volume and value in major products the Group have in the market. The revenue growth of the Group's major products such as Carnitene, Ferplex, Zanidip, Livaracine and Slounase in the second quarter were 4.9%, 68.4%, 13.0%, 9.3% and 3.0%, respectively.

As a result, for the first half of 2017, the Group recorded revenue of HK$474,750,000 with 5.6% growth over same period last year. Sales of licensed-in products accounted for 53.3% (30 June 2016: 51.5%) of the revenue while sales of proprietary products contributed 46.7% (30 June 2016: 48.5%).

During the second quarter of this year, the Group's gross profit margin of 68.2% was 2.1 percentage points improved as compared to 66.1% achieved during the first quarter. Nevertheless, the gross profit margin for the period under review dropped by 5.7 percentage points to 67.2% (30 June 2016: 72.9%) due to product selling price pressure and increased production costs of proprietary products. Net profit attributable to the owners of the Company for the period upheld a mild growth of 3.0% and reached HK$125,070,000 despite gross profit margin erosion. The Board of Directors recommended an interim dividend of HK$0.034 per share (30 June 2016: HK$0.033).

Dr. Benjamin Li, Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Group, said, "The decrease in gross profit margin and increase in research and development ("R&D") spending put pressure on the net profit. However, helped by the sustainable cost saving achieved through the optimised cost structure in sales and marketing and by the one-time gained generated from the deemed disposal of CVie Therapeutics Limited ("CVie Taiwan"), the Group successfully brought the net profit growth back to the positive territory. "

The Group's sales and marketing efficiency enhancement program has proved to be sustainable and the selling expenses to revenue ratio has lowered further to 19.9% (30 June 2016: 24.6%). The savings therefrom continued to fund the Group's R&D activities on new drugs. During the first half of the year, R&D expenses increased by 13.4% to HK$36,993,000.

On the quality system, production and manufacturing facilities front, the Group's solid dose production facility in its Nansha manufacturing site is already in operation and the application for a Good Manufacturing Practice certification in the near future is expected. The construction work of the Group's ophthalmic drugs production facility in its Nansha manufacturing site is in good progress and is on target for completion in 2017. It is expected to enhance the Group's manufacturing capability, enabling it to move towards its goal as a fully integrated specialty pharma in China.

Meanwhile, the Group concluded another international partnership deal. In June 2017, the Group has entered into an exclusive license and collaboration agreement with an US company, Windtree Therapeutics, Inc. ("Windtree") for the development and commercialization of KL4 surfactant products in select Asian markets using Windtree's proprietary KL4 surfactant and aerosolization technologies. The agreement includes AEROSURF as well as the non-aerosol products SURFAXIN and SURFAXIN LS. Also, Windtree has granted the Group an exclusive license to manufacture KL4 surfactant in China for use in non-aerosol surfactant products in the licensed territory. Respiratory Distress Syndrome is a life-threatening problem for premature baby and surfactant is the only effective remedy. The estimated market size in China is reportedly more than RMB600 million. As SURFAXIN is the only approved non-animal derived product, it is expected to have a competitive edge over the existing product once it is launched in China.

The Group persisted its commitment to R&D and made measurable progress. There are more than 13 clinical studies in either operational or preparatory stage, such as the phase III clinical study of Adapalene and Clindamycin combination hydrochloride gel for acne vulgaris, Natulan registration study, phase IIb study of Anfibatide and development of two cardiovascular assets, namely Rostafuroxin and Istaroxime, under CVie Taiwan, a non-wholly owned subsidiary of the Group. The Group will go on with new drugs development to facilitate sustainable growth in the future.

Looking forward, the Group maintains its view that the operating environment in the pharmaceutical sector will be challenging. The Group expects regulators will continue to streamline and improve the rules and regulations in pharmaceutical industry which may alter each of the elements therein, such as manufacture, distribution, marketing, compliance, which may create additional burdens on its business operations. Nevertheless, the overall trend towards enhanced governance of the industry and the growing size of the market shall underpin the fundamentals of the market for safe and quality drugs in the long term, from which the Group is confident that sustainable long term growth of its business can be achievable.

Dr. Li said, "In fact, the reform in drug regulations has begun to benefit the Group's development efforts and product's time-to-clinic has been significantly shortened. In August 2017, the Group has obtained two more IND approvals for oncology and ophthalmic product respectively. The acceleration in product development will translate into faster time-to-market for the Group's strong portfolio which in turn will catalyse a new growth trajectory in near future. "

About Lee's Pharmaceutical Holdings Limited
Lee's Pharm is a research-based biopharmaceutical company listed in Hong Kong with over 20 years' operation in China's pharmaceutical industry. It is fully integrated with strong infrastructures in drug development, manufacturing, sales and marketing, it has established extensive partnership with over 20 international companies and currently has 15 products in the market place. Lee's Pharm focuses on several key disease areas such as cardiovascular diseases, oncology, gynecology, dermatology and ophthalmology. Lee's Pharm's development program is lauded with more than 40 products stemming from both internal R&D efforts and collaborations with US, European and Japanese companies and aspires to combat diseases such as liver cancer and pulmonary hypertension. The mission of Lee's Pharm is to become a successful biopharmaceutical group in Asia providing innovative products to fight diseases and improve health and quality of life.

Additional information about Lee's Pharm is available at www.leespharm.com.

Gross Gas Production Elevates by 16% ;
Profit from Operations and EBITDA Surges by 17.9% and 21.5% Respectively;
Growth Momentum Continues with Realized Net Sales Revenue Up by 16.7%

HONG KONG, Aug 24, 2017 - (ACN Newswire) - AAG Energy Holdings Limited ("AAG Energy" or the "Group"; HKEX code: 2686), a leading independent coalbed methane ("CBM") producer in China, announced its unaudited condensed interim results for the six months ended 30 June 2017 ("review period"). Despite the low natural gas price in China and the global Oil and Gas market becoming increasingly competitive, AAG Energy remained strong and continued to deliver business growth.

In the first half of 2017 ("1H2017"), the Group's gross gas production increased by 16% year-on-year ("YoY") to 293 million cubic meters ("MMCM") (10.3 billion cubic feet ("bcf"), comprising of Panzhuang's gross production of 266.7 MMCM or 9.4 bcf and Mabi's gross production of 26 MMCM or 0.9 bcf).

During the review period, AAG Energy realized a higher average selling price of RMB1.26 per cubic meter (1H2016: RMB1.20 per cubic meter) due to increased demand for gas in the winter months. The new wells drilled in Panzhuang in 2016 and 2017 combined with better well design and operation in Mabi led to increased production output in 1H2017.

Realized net sales revenue increased by 16.7% to RMB225.6 million compared with 1H2016. Profit from operations increased by 17.9% to RMB128.8 million. EBITDA increased by 21.5% to RMB176.1 million.

Dr. Steve Zou, Chairman and Executive Director of AAG Energy, said: "2017 has been a terrific year for AAG Energy so far. We focus on increasing natural gas production while driving costs down. In 1H2017, our business remains strong and continues to grow. Panzhuang concession continued to outperform in the industry boasting the highest production concession in China and the lowest cost in the region. Mabi has been focusing on improving pilot well performance and cost control while preparing for full scale commercial development, pending approval of the Overall Development Plan."

AAG Energy has achieved considerable progress towards key operational objectives during 1H2017:

- Health, Safety and Environmental ("HSE")
The Group continues to make excellent progress on HSE performance metrics. Specifically, the employee total recordable incident rate and lost time incident rate were both 0.00, while the preventable motor vehicle accident rate was 0.79 during 1H2017, showing strong performance.

- Panzhuang concession - Continues to outperform with production growth
Panzhuang concession was designated as the leading CBM project in China under the Thirteenth Five-Year Development and Utilization Plan for Coalbed Methane ("Energy Plan") released by the National Energy Administration. Panzhuang gross production increased by 11% YoY to 266.7 MMCM (9.4 bcf). Sales utilization rate was 98% compared with 97.8% in 1H2016. Daily average gas production was 1.47 MMCM per day ("MMCMD") (51.9 million cubic feet ("mmcf")/day), an increase of 11% YoY.

The Panzhuang 2017 work plan focuses on increasing production growth while keeping costs down. In 1H2017, AAG Energy is ahead of schedule with 21 single lateral horizontal ("SLH") wells and 2 and pad drilled wells ("PDW") completed drilling, with only 8 SLH wells left to drill before completing the original drilling plan of 29 SLH wells for the full year. The Group fracture stimulated 3 vertical pad drilled wells ("PDW"). In 1H2017, an addition of 23 wells began production in Panzhuang after dewatering or other work over activities. Drilling costs were down with average drilling cost in 1H2017 for 1 SLH well down to RMB3 million with wells drilled in just 17.2 days, representing an over 25% savings and 4.1days quicker YoY.

The current production capacity of Panzhuang surface facilities is about 2.45 MMCMD, with 6 gas gathering stations, 17 wellhead compressors, 52.4 km of trunk links and 89.0 km of single well pipelines completed. Upgrading of the central gathering station is in progress and a new 35KV transformer station will be added, which will further improve surface compression capacity.

- Mabi concession - Considerable progress towards commercialization
Mabi concession is the leading development stage CBM natural gas project in China designated under the Energy Plan. In 2017, Mabi's focus is on improving pilot well performance and cost control while preparing for full scale commercial development after Overall Development Plan ("ODP") approval is received. In 1H2017, Mabi produced 26 MMCM (917.8 mmcf), a 130% YoY increase. Average daily production in Mabi was 144.2 MCMD (5 mmcf/day), an increase of 130% YoY. In Mabi, there are 93 wells at various stages of pilot production.

AAG Energy completed drilling a total of 16 wells in 1H2017. The low cost PDW, with hydraulic fracturing completion will allow for one well to reach multiple coal seams at the lowest investment. Drilling cost per well for Mabi in 1H2017 is RMB0.3 million lower than budgeted RMB1.2 million. Based on the recent success of Mabi pilot production improvement and development optimization, the Mabi concession is ready for scaled commercial development.

- Mabi exploration program update
For the Mabi exploration program, hydraulic fracturing and testing program continued, with 4 appraisal wells fractured to further test the reservoir potential during the review period. The pilot production test in the Northeastern area continued to show good progress during 1H2017. The exploration focus has been gradually moving to field phasing development preparation.

- ODP approvals - Progress on track
All Mabi Overall Development Plan Phase I ("ODP I") associated pre-approvals have been secured. The revised Mabi ODP I report based on the latest progress made in the Mabi pilot program and changed market conditions passed the internal review by our project partner CNPC during the second quarter of 2017, and the communication with the NDRC is underway regarding submission of Mabi's ODP I.

Looking ahead, AAG Energy is confident the Group will meet the below guidance:

- Panzhuang
With the acceleration of drilling program, the full year plan is updated to include drilling an additional 15 SLH wells for a total of 44 SLH wells and 8 PDWs in 2017. The additional wells to be drilled in 2H2017 will contribute to production in 2018. Surface facility investments will include the continuing central station upgrade, construction of power station and related trunk line for supporting future development.

The full year gross production expectation for Panzhuang is 557 MMCM (19.6 bcf), subject to anticipated project execution and related government approvals.

- Mabi
In Mabi, the Group will focus on fine tuning stimulations of PDWs and developing the Mabi ODP I implementation plan. This includes drilling new wells in core areas, infill drilling in existing development areas, and building a core developed zone where downstream infrastructure already exists. The drilling and completion technology will build off the success in recent years of low cost PDWs while observing longer term performance of SLH wells.

The full year plan includes drilling approximately 60 new PDWs, 36 well completion works and 8 re-fractures. The full year gross production expectation for Mabi is 57 MMCM (2 bcf) subject to anticipated project execution and related government approvals.

To support future business growth, AAG Energy has been actively pursuing new oil and gas opportunities in China and elsewhere which meets the Group's development strategy. Under the current lower oil price environment, valuation of oil and gas assets is very attractive. With a strong balance sheet and its management team's strong technical knowhow, the Group is well poised for expansion through partnering with other oil and gas producers and/or acquiring attractive assets in the near term.

Chinese government has been encouraging coal users to switch to gas. China's total gas consumption was up 12% year on year to 117 billion cubic meters ("bcm") for the period from January to June 2017, according to SIA Energy, an independent China-focused oil and gas consulting firm, owing to the coal-to-gas conversion program which bring out additional gas demand in 2017 as the Chinese government encourages coal users to switch to gas.

"Gas use promotion policy and environmental protection will consistently drive gas demand in the medium and long term. AAG Energy, being a highly effective, low-cost upstream gas producer with a strong balance sheet, is well positioned to expand production in Panzhuang and commercial development in Mabi to satisfy China's growing energy demand. At the same time, we will continue to pursue new oil and gas business opportunities in China and other regional markets to expand our business, supplying clean energy to vicinity communities and realizing continuous satisfactory return to shareholders." Dr. Zou concluded.

About AAG Energy Holdings Limited (HKEX stock code: 2686)
AAG Energy Holdings Limited is an international energy company and the leader in China's CBM exploration and development sector. It focuses on developing and optimizing the value of unconventional gas resources to supply clean energy to the Chinese economy. AAG Energy's key operating assets, Panzhuang and Mabi concessions, are located in the Southwestern part of Qinshui Basin, which boasts the largest proved CBM geological reserves of any basin in China. AAG Energy's Panzhuang concession in partnership with China United Coalbed Methane Corporation Ltd., is the most commercially advanced Sino-foreign CBM asset in China and the first Sino-foreign CBM cooperative project to have entered full-scale commercial development and production. The Project has a designed annual production capacity of 500 million m3. AAG Energy's Mabi CBM Project in partnership with PetroChina received preliminary ODP Phase I approval from NDRC in November 2013. The designed production capacity of Mabi Phase I is 1 billion m3 per year. With proven ability to commercialize CBM and a highly-respected management team, the Group has attracted support from leading international and Chinese investors including Warburg Pincus, Baring Private Equity Asia, Chinastone and Ping An. For further details, please visit www.aagenergy.com.

Enriches and Optimizes Product Portfolio;
Development Expansion by External Cooperation;
Active Mergers and Acquisitions Boost Growth

HONG KONG, Aug 25, 2017 - (ACN Newswire) - China Resources Pharmaceutical Group Limited ("CR Pharmaceutical" or the "Group") (stock code: 3320), announced its interim results for the six months ended 30 June 2017 ("Reporting Period").

As at 30 June 2017, the Group recorded total revenue of approximately HK$82,737.6 million, representing an increase of 9.4% year-on-year (an increase of 15% in RMB terms). Revenue of its three major business segments, namely pharmaceutical manufacturing, pharmaceutical distribution and pharmaceutical retail, accounted for 13.9%, 83.5% and 2.6% of the Group's total revenue, respectively. The Group's gross profit for the period amounted to approximately HK$12,528.0 million, representing an increase of 6.6% year-on-year (12.1% in RMB terms). Gross profit margin was 15.1%, generally stable when compared to 15.5% in the corresponding period last year, down only by a slight 0.4 percentage points. The change was mainly due to the revenue of pharmaceutical distribution business growing faster than that of the pharmaceutical manufacturing business during the period. Profit attributable to owners of the Company was approximately HK$1,810.4 million, representing an increase of 10.7% year-on-year (16.3% in RMB terms). One-off gains were recorded in the corresponding period last year. Should non-recurring profit and loss be excluded, the growth in profit attributable to owners of the Company for the period would be even more considerable. During the Reporting Period, basic earnings per share were HK$0.29.

Pharma manufacturing business achieved stable revenue growth and better profitability
During the Reporting Period, revenue of the pharmaceutical manufacturing segment amounted to approximately HK$12,692.4 million, representing an increase of 3.8% year-on-year (9.2% in RMB terms). Goss profit margin of the segment was 60.1%, up by 2.2 percentage points when compared with the same period last year, attributable mainly to product mix optimization and continuous improvement of the manufacturing process. The Group sees research and development and innovation as important drivers of its long-term development. During the Reporting Period, it spent HK$397.5 million on research and development and obtained 19 patents. As at 30 June 2017, the Group had 225 projects in progress including researches on innovative drugs, generic drugs and on product improvement. During the Reporting Period, the Group started strategic cooperation on multi-front with partners, including the National Center for Nanoscience and Technology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Tsinghua University, Union Institute of Materia Medica, Fujifilm Corporation from Japan ("FUJIFILM") and Crystec from the UK, covering such therapeutic areas as oncology, auto-immune diseases, anti-infection and respiratory system diseases. A number of major projects were complete and applications for those cooperated with National Natural Science Foundation of China were made. In addition, certain products of clinical and market values were introduced.

Coverage of pharma distribution business network kept growing
During the Reporting Period, the Group's pharmaceutical distribution business recorded a segmental revenue of HK$70,413 million, representing a year-on-year increase of 10.6% (16.3% in RMB terms). Gross profit margin reached 6.4% and the proportion of revenue from direct sales increased. During the Reporting Period, by capitalizing on economies of scale and its channel advantage, the Group was able to seize the opportunities presented by the industry consolidation and market restructuring, that the "Two-Invoice System" policy brought, to strengthen network coverage, optimize business structure and speed up nationwide channel deployment as stated in its 13th Five-Year strategic plan. The Group's distribution business entered into four provinces, namely Jiangxi, Hainan, Qinghai as well as Xinjiang, and it completed deployment of distribution business in these four provinces, thus accomplishing a pharmaceutical distribution network that to date covers 27 provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions. At the same time, the Group also hastened network consolidation in key provinces and penetrated into municipal markets in a bid to strengthen its leadership in those regions.

Competitiveness of pharma retail business gradually strengthens
The pharmaceutical retail business segment recorded revenue of HK$2,117.5 million, representing a year-on-year increase of 10.2% (15.8% in RMB terms). As at 30 June 2017, the Group had in operation 745 retail pharmacies in all.

During the Reporting Period, on top of focusing on developing its own business, the Group also actively sought opportunities to cooperate with external parties. It signed strategic cooperation agreements with including the National Engineering Laboratory for Anti-Neoplastic Protein Therapeutics at Tsinghua University, Protgen Ltd., FUJIFILM and Crystec. The aim of these partnerships in different business areas is to optimize offerings and upgrade products. At the same time, the Group also completed a number of mergers and acquisitions including the acquisition of 65% stake in Jilin Jin Fu Kang Pharmaceutical Limited by its subsidiary China Resources Sanjiu Medical & Pharmaceutical Company Limited, which represented the Group's effort to promote overall sustainable growth of its business via different channels.

Looking ahead, the Group will continue to implement its six key business expansion strategies, which included expanding pharmaceutical manufacturing business and optimizing product portfolio to facilitate transformation and upgrade of pharmaceutical business; optimizing distribution platform and innovating business models to turn into intelligent pharmaceutical service provider; optimizing research and innovation system, strengthening research and development capability and facilitating product development and industrialization; accelerating external development through strategic mergers and acquisitions and industrial funds to consolidate leading position in industry; enhancing international co-operation and expanding international businesses to raise overall competitiveness as well as exploiting the Group's competitive advantages overall superiority, promoting business synergy and enhancing operation efficiency.

With the gradual advancement of healthcare and pharmaceutical reform, the pharmaceutical industry in China has entered into a deepened adjustment and reform stage where supervision is tightened. By relying on its own advantages and following the direction of the policies and the market demand, the Group will speed up the development through strategic mergers and acquisitions and international collaboration. It will improve its intrinsic development potential through optimizing product mix and business model, optimizing the research and development and innovation system and deepening synergy effects so as to achieve the long-term stable and sustainable development in the pharmaceutical manufacturing, distribution and retail segments and continue to reinforce and elevate the Group's leading position in the pharmaceutical industry in China.

Realized Steady Growth in New Vehicles Sales with High Appreciation Gains from FMC

HONG KONG, Aug 25, 2017 - (ACN Newswire) - China Harmony New Energy Auto Holding Limited (China Harmony New Energy Auto or the"Group", Stock Code: 3836.HK) is pleased to announce the unaudited consolidated results of the Company and its subsidiaries (the"Group") for the six months ended 30 June 2017.

RESULTS HIGHLIGHTS:
- Revenue of the Group amounted to approximately RMB5,085.2 million, representing an increase of 3.2% as compared with the same period of 2016, of which revenue from sales of new vehicles increased by 7.6% to RMB4,314.5 million.
- The Group's EBITDA amounted to approximately RMB757.3 million, representing an increase of 36.7% as compared with the same period of 2016.
- Profit for the period of the Group attributable to owners of the parent was approximately RMB564.7 million, representing an increase of 84.5% as compared with the same period of 2016.
- Basic and diluted earnings per share were RMB0.37 and RMB0.37, respectively, representing an increase of 85.0% and 85.0% as compared with the same period of 2016, respectively.

In the first half of 2017, the Group achieved fruitful results in sectors such as dealership business, comprehensive after-sales services and new energy vehicles. Revenue of the Group amounted to approximately RMB5,085.2 million, representing an increase of 3.2% as compared with the same period of 2016, of which revenue from sales of new vehicles increased by 7.6% to RMB4,314.5 million. The Group's EBITDA amounted to approximately RMB757.3 million, representing an increase of 36.7% as compared with the same period of 2016. Profit for the period of the Group attributable to owners of the parent was approximately RMB564.7 million, representing an increase of 84.5% as compared with the same period of 2016. Among which, profit contributed by 4S dealership business amounted to RMB270.9 million, after taking into account the headquarters expenses of the Group, representing an increase of 22.0% as compared with the same period of 2016, while the net gain contributed by comprehensive after-sales business and intelligent Internet electric vehicles company of FMC amounted to RMB36.2 million and RMB253.3 million, respectively.

Accelerated Expansion of Dealership Outlets and Realization of Steady Growth in New Vehicles Sales
In the first half of 2017, the Group recorded sales volume of new vehicles of 11,662 units, representing an increase of 8.9% as compared with 10,710 units of the same period of 2016. BMW, Maserati and Lexus represented an increase of 5.2%, 40.3% and 40.6% respectively over the same period in 2016. At the meantime, the Group strengthened its efforts in accelerating the expansion of dealership outlets, which included newly opened five dealership outlets in cities such as Beijing, Zhengzhou, Wuxi and Changzhou. The Group planned to further increase its efforts in applying for outlets authorization and acquisitions, complement advantages in brands and regional layout, and accelerate the expansion of dealership outlets by way of self-construction, merger and acquisition and so on in the second half of 2017. As of the date of this announcement, the Group had 52 dealership outlets in operation, covering 21 cities across China, and distributed twelve luxury and ultra-luxury brands.

Steady Development of and Reorganization for Comprehensive After-sales Business
As at the date of the announcement, the leading comprehensive after-sales business in China dedicated to the repair and maintenance services of luxury and ultra-luxury automobiles, in which the Group invested, has opened 152 independent comprehensive after-sales outlets, of which, 47 were center outlets and 104 were community stores offering fast repair services, covering 42 cities across the country, and has operated several Tesla Special Stamping Injection Service Centers, forming a service network layout with fast repair stores covering the neighbourhood of each center outlet acting as the core from offline to online. To balance the short-term interests and the long-term interests of the Company's shareholders and to improve the financial performance of the Company, on 29 June 2017, the Independent Aftersales Company announced to introduce a management team and investments from external investors. Upon completion of the transaction, Hexie Automobile Trading will hold 49.28% equity interest in the Independent Aftersales Company. The Company remained as an important investor of the Independent Aftersales Company and the Independent Aftersales Company planned to seek for A-share listing after the adjustment of the shareholding structure and the maturity of the business development. As a result of the restructuring of the Independent Aftersales Company and increase in valuation, the Group recognised investment income of RMB36.2 million in the first half of 2017 and believes that with the great efforts on the development of comprehensive after-sales business and several rounds of financing in the future, the valuation of the Independent Aftersales Company will continue to increase and the Group can continuously receive investment return from comprehensive after-sales business in a long run.

Rapid Progress of Intelligent Internet Electric Vehicles Project (FMC)
In recent years, new energy vehicles have developed rapidly around the globe and in China. The Group invested in the establishment of FMC Cayman ("FMC"), which focuses on the R&D and manufacturing of high-end intelligent electric vehicles. In the first half of 2017, the businesses of FMC have developed steadily with remarkable achievements in research and development and manufacturing. FMC is expected to introduce the first prototype vehicle at the end of 2017 and to present it at the CES conference to be held in January 2018 and to officially launch the first vehicle for mass production in 2019. FMC has conducted two rounds of financing since its inception to introduce investors, with the first round executed in December 2016 and the second round in July 2017. FMC's pre-investment valuation in the second round of financing was USD550 million with the financing scale of USD200 million and the corresponding post-investment valuation of USD750 million, which fully indicated the acknowledgement of the investors to FMC. The investment funds which invested in FMC were comprised of well-known investment management institutions and large enterprise groups. FMC has received very strong interests from lots of investors and will launch another round of financing recently. Due to the appreciation of valuation of FMC, in which the Group invested, the investment returns received by the Group in the first half of 2017 was RMB332.9 million, after deducting the sharing of FMC's losses of RMB79.6 million, the net gain was RMB253.3 million.

With the progressing and completion of FMC's product milestones, it will conduct several rounds of financing, until its listing on a stock exchange. After FMC enters into volume production in the future, Harmony Auto will provide platform supports in new car sales and after-sales services to it, and bring in new revenues to the Group at the same time. The Company believes that it will receive continuous investment returns with the progress of businesses, subsequent financing activities and future listing of FMC.

As we look to the future, Mr. Feng Changge, the Chairman and Executive Director of Harmony Auto, believes that the penetration rate of automobiles in China is still lagging behind that of developed countries and car ownership is far from saturation, hence extensive room still exists for new automobile sales. With the increase of household income growth and upgraded consumer spending, the luxury and ultraluxury automobile markets grow constantly. The Company will continue focusing on luxury and ultra-luxury brands, rapidly expanding the business scale of 4S outlets and accelerating the expansion of dealership outlets by way of self-construction and merger and acquisition; actively supporting the development of chain comprehensive after-sales business and seeking for independent listing in A shares market in the future; actively supporting the development and financing of FMC and introducing more external strategic investors in order to accelerate product launch and seeking for independent listing in the future. proactively enhancing the penetration of automobile finance, increasing commission income and commencing financial leasing business; fully utilizing internet platform, facilitating after-sales services and businesses of pre-owned automobiles and parallel imports of automobiles, realizing online and offline interaction and complementary functions with an aim to further boost its profitability and create greater value for its shareholders.

About China Harmony New Energy Auto Holding Limited
China Harmony New Energy Auto Holding Limited ("Harmony Auto" or the "Company", stock code: 3836.HK) is a leading vehicle dealership group and comprehensive after-sales service group in China that deals exclusively in luxury and ultra-luxury passenger vehicles, with proactive developments in new energy automobile business. Dealership outlets of the Group distribute luxury and ultra-luxury brands including BMW, MINI, Lexus, Jaguar, Land Rover, Volvo, ZINORO, Rolls- Royce, Aston Martin, Ferrari, Maserati and etc., making the Group a leading exclusive luxury and ultra-luxury dealership group in China in terms of number of brands covered. The Group's independent comprehensive after-sales services outlets are operated under the brands of "Harmony Auto Maintenance" and "Harmony Auto Fast Repair", offering aftersales services for mainstream luxury and ultra-luxury automobile brands, and operating one of the largest comprehensive after-sales service networks in China. The company is collaborating with global leading strategic partners to actively develop internet smart electric cars. The Company has introduced world-class entrepreneurial partnership teams, and committed to develop leading internet smart electric cars popular in China and abroad.

Seizes Development Opportunity & Focuses on Tourism and Cultural Industries

HONG KONG, Aug 25, 2017 - (ACN Newswire) - The Board of China Household Holdings Limited ("China Household" or the "Group", proposed name change to "Shenzhou Space Park Group Limited"; Stock Code: 692) announced today the major transaction in relation to acquisition of the China Aerospace-Themed Tourism Township Project was completed on 24 August 2017. This symbolizes the Group is actively seizing the opportunity of China's aerospace technology development, and its relentless efforts in developing tourism and cultural industries.

According to the agreement, China Household acquired the China Aerospace-Themed Tourism Township Project by purchasing the entire issued shares of Shenzhou Aerospace Town Holdings Company Limited ("Shenzhou Aerospace Park") from Zhongheng Investment Holdings Limited at a total consideration of HK$1.35 billion. The consideration shall be paid by way of issuing the Convertible Bonds or Promissory Notes, after the proportion of 1/4 of all the land covering around 750,000 square meters ("Land") relating to the project is injected into Shenzhou Aerospace Park. As there is no such Land being injected to the Shenzhou Aerospace Park at the moment, hence China Household has not become obliged to pay the consideration by way of issuing the Convertible Bonds or Promissory Notes. Meanwhile, the Group requires more time to obtain the approval for the Listing Committee of the Stock Exchange to permit the listing of and permission to deal in the Conversion Shares ("Listing Approval"). After taking the abovementioned issues into consideration, both parties agreed to complete the transaction on 24 August 2017, nonetheless the completion is subject to the Listing Approval.

The acquisition of the China Aerospace-Themed Tourism Township Project is an important strategy of the Group in response to the state's vigorous promotion of the tourism and cultural industries. It allows the Group to expand its income sources and widen business operations by entering into the industries. As one of the national key development projects, China Aerospace-Themed Tourism Township Project is located in Shenwan Town, Zhongshan City, Guangdong Province; from China's achievements in aerospace technology and the product research and development and cultural edges of one of the cooperating parties - the China Academy of Space Technology (the "Space Fifth Institute"), it is poised to be an aerospace cultural-themed base. The Project will adopt aerospace entertainment as its theme and form a business model by integrating the inherent business strengths of Shenwan Town and become a multifunctional complex encompassing technology, arts, education and entertainment; thus becoming the first of its kind in the PRC and the only one in Guangdong, a national 5A tourist spot and a whole-region aerospace intelligent tourism town.

Mr. Luo Jianhua, Executive Director & Chairman of China Household said, "I am most delighted with the completion of the Group's acquisition of China Aerospace-Themed Tourism Township Project. China's aerospace development earned significant achievements internationally after decades of evolution. The State has been persistently emerging aerospace into national economy, to propel technological advancement, to serve social and economic development, and to raise the overall national power. Riding on the development of tourism and cultural industries along with that of aerospace technology, the Group's acquisition of China Aerospace-Themed Tourism Township Project allows us to gain new momentum. In order to better reflect the new business nature of the Group and to build a new corporate image, the Board proposed to change the name of the company from "China Household Holdings Limited" to "Shenzhou Space Park Group Limited" ("Shenzhou Space Park"), and its Chinese name from "China Household Holdings Limited" to "Shenzhou Space Park Group Limited" , demonstrating the Group's determination in the development of the project. We believe China Aerospace-Themed Tourism Township Project will lead us to greater heights."

On 16 August 2017, the Board of China Household proposed a change of company's English and Chinese name to "Shenzhou Space Park Group Limited" and "Shenzhou Space Park Group Limited" respectively. Such proposal is subject to the approval at the Special General Meeting of to be held on 29 September 2017.

About China Household Holdings Limited (Stock Code: 692)
Listed on the Main Board of the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong in 2000, China Household Holdings Limited is a leading household solutions supplier in China. Based on the innovative OAO2C (Online And Offline To Customer) business model, the Group is principally engaged in the sale of wooden products and furniture, as well as exploration, development and exploitation of iron and titanium, and securities investment in China. In 2016, the Group is pleased to announce that it has entered into a cooperation agreement with Zhongheng Investment Holdings Limited in relation to the acquisition of the sale shares of Shenzhou Aerospace Town Holdings Company Limited; to develop the China Shenzhou Aerospace-Themed Park Tourism Township Project and to build the first aerospace themed-park in China, leading to further expansion of its businesses in the cultural industry. In August 2017, China Household proposed to change its name to "Shenzhou Space Park Group Limited". For more information, please visit www.chh.hk.

Toyota City, Japan, Aug 25, 2017 - (JCN Newswire) -

Sales

Lexus International today announced it sold 305,169 vehicles worldwide in the first six months of 2017 (January to June). This sales performance represents a 4.42% decrease compared to the same sales period last year (January to June 2016). The 2017CY sales performance so far reflects challenges in the global luxury market and the continued consumer shift toward crossover products.

"The luxury automotive brands from all over the globe, including Lexus, are involved in a supreme effort to help entice the next generation of luxury consumers with our products, our services, and our brand experience. Lexus has a very clear focus on these pillars globally and expects to enjoy continued long term growth as a luxury brand," said Lexus International President Yoshihiro Sawa.

From a product portfolio standpoint, Lexus Luxury Utility Vehicles were strong performers in the 90-plus markets where Lexus is available with 186,523 total sales globally during the first half of the year versus 118,638 passenger cars sold. This luxury SUV sales drive was led globally by the midsize RX (90,312 units sold globally) and premium compact NX (66,946 units) driving consumers to the brand with their combination of style and utility. Globally, the lineup of Lexus luxury SUVs accounted for 61.1% of the brand's total sales during the first 6 months of 2017.

With LC already hitting showrooms, the remainder of calendar year 2017 will see the Lexus engaged in marketing activities supporting a reborn flagship LS sedan which goes on sale early next year. These two premium models signal the brand direction for Lexus with their passionate styling, performance and visionary technologies.

Yoshihiro Sawa added, "2017 will see us further develop our Lexus brand as the all-new LC coupe and LS sedans arrive to market. The styling language, performance, identity and emotion communicated by these two important models will help better communicate our evolving brand image to global luxury consumers."

Brand Initiatives

Lexus will continue its decade-plus long partnership with the world's largest design event, the Salone del Mobile di Milano (Milan Design Week). The Lexus Design Award is an annual collaboration with world-renowned designers that encourages young designers to create unique installations that express true luxury in unique interpretations of design.

Several weeks ago, the much-anticipated action-adventure epic, Valerian: City of a Thousand Planets, directed by Luc Besson, opened in theaters. The film's hero, Valerian played by Dane Dehaan, pilots a Lexus SKYJET which is a visionary interpretation of future transportation and was the result of collaboration between Lexus Design and the film's creative team.

The Intersect By Lexus luxury culture and cuisine brand experience space and design gallery in Tokyo is celebrating its third anniversary this summer. A second Intersect By Lexus gallery has opened in Dubai UAE for guests to enjoy Lexus experiences outside of their cars, and a third Intersect By Lexus gallery is scheduled to open in New York City this year.

Lexus entered international motorsports in 2016 with active programs racing the RC coupe in Japan's Super GT500 series and in the German VLN endurance racing series at the famous Nurburgring circuit. In North America, Lexus USA has been competing in the IMSA Weathertech series with two GT3-spec RC F coupes entered by 3GT Racing in IMSA's GTD class for production-based racing sportscars.

Honors

In 2017 Lexus revealed a pre-production versions of the coming LS 500 flagship sedan to great acclaim: at the North American International Auto show the LS earned an "Eyes on Design" interior award for Best Interior Design. This award comes on the heels of the two awards won by the LC 500 the prior year: the LC coupe shares architecture and inspiration with the all-new LS.

Product News

The Lexus lineup of hybrid gasoline-electric models will continue to expand in 2017 beyond its current range of ten (10) different high-efficiency, ultra-low-emission, luxury vehicles in markets throughout the world:

1. CT 200h
2. HS 250h (Japan only)
3. ES 300h
4. IS 300h
5. RC 300h
6. GS 300h
7. GS 450h
8. LC 500h
9. RX 450h
10. NX 300h

The year 2017 will offer consumers the opportunity to sample the new Lexus Multi-stage Hybrid technology which first appeared in the LC coupe and then in the LS flagship sedan. This innovative system uses a mechanical multi-speed transmission and advanced hybrid system control software to help maximize the driving experience of the highly reliable power split device used to balance engine and electric motor output on Lexus hybrids. For the driver, the 10 discrete speeds of the new hybrid system help to deliver the sensation, acceleration and reflexes akin to the mechanical 10-speed automatic equipped on the gasoline version.

In 2017, at the North American Auto Show, the all-new LS 500 debuted the brand's 3.5 liter V6 twin-turbo engine. Boasting 415 horsepower this new engine breaks ground in terms of efficiency and per-liter output in the class.

About LEXUS

Since its debut in 1989, Lexus has earned a worldwide reputation for high-quality products and exemplary customer service. Lexus is the hybrid leader among luxury brands, offering hybrids that provide the best in innovative technology and premier luxury. The evolution of Lexus is reflected in the progressive designs of its new vehicles. The grille, dynamic light treatments, and sculptured lines create a distinctive look of luxury for Lexus. For more information, please visit www.lexus-int.com and www.lexus-int.com/news/.

Contact:
Public Affairs Division
Global Communications Department
Toyota Motor Corporation
Tel: +81-3-3817-9926

Completes Business Transformation; Pursues The Strategy of Diversifying Business and Developing Value-added Businesses At Full Strength

HONG KONG, Aug 25, 2017 - (ACN Newswire) - China Goldjoy Group Limited ("China Goldjoy" or the "Group"; HKEX: 1282) has announced its interim results for the six months ended 30 June 2017. The Group has transformed and diversified its business to include high-value service operations that promise abundant business opportunities and continued to perform well in the first half of 2017. China Goldjoy has officially been included as a constituent stock of the MSCI Hong Kong Small Cap Index since 1 June 2017, which reflected its market recognition.

During the period, the Group's revenue increased 2.8% to approximately HK$337.6 million (corresponding period in 2016: HK$328.5 million). The increase in revenue was mainly attributable to the increased revenue from the newly added Financial Services segment, partially offset by the decrease in revenue from the Securities Investment segment. Gross profit was approximately HK$80.0 million (corresponding period in 2016: HK$93.2 million) with gross profit margin at 23.7% (corresponding period in 2016: 28.4%), mainly in relation to increase in commission in the Financial Services segment and decrease in fair value of securities investment. However, profit for the period increased significantly by six times to approximately HK$105.2 million (corresponding period in 2016: HK$15.0 million). The increase was primarily attributed to (i) an increase in fair value gain of the investment properties, (ii) an increase in dividend income from investments, (iii) the gain in the disposal of an associated entity, (iv) an increase in profit generated from the Financial Services segment, (v) reduced loss incurred by Manufacturing segment, and partially offset by the decrease in profit generated from the Securities Investment segment and increase in the net finance costs.

Automation
The automation segment saw a stable increase in revenue of 4.2% to HK$275.1 million (corresponding period in 2016: HK$264.1 million), accounting for 81.5% of the Group's total revenue (corresponding period in 2016: 80.4%). The increase was mainly attributable to the robust development of the smart phone and semiconductor industry in the PRC.

Financial Services
Revenue from the Financial Services segment soared to HK$65.0 million (corresponding period in 2016: HK$1.2 million), contributing to 19.3% of the Group's total revenue (corresponding period in 2016: 0.4%). The notable increase was due to consolidation of the financial statements of the 80%-owned Goldjoy Holding Limited ("Goldjoy Holding") into the Group, after the completion of the acquisition and two rounds of financing in the second half of 2016.

Goldjoy Holding offers comprehensive financial services to its clients and creates better synergies from cross-selling and having an all engaging platform that gives clients convenient access to different financial services. During the period under review, the income from the commission and handling fees of brokerage service of the Group was steady. As the increase in capital had enhanced the lending capacity of the Group, coupled with the active development of customers, revenues of the lending and financing business of the Group grew rapidly.

China Goldjoy Asset Management Limited set up three private funds during the period. Apart from promoting product diversification, the Group's asset management arm has also actively looked for local and overseas partners in developing the fund management business.

Apart from the Hong Kong financial market, the Group also strives to capture the enormous growth potential in the foreign and domestic financial market. China Goldjoy Investment Limited, which wholly owns Shanghai Hunlicar Investment Management Company Limited ("Hunlicar Capital"), set up four private equity investment ("PE") funds during the period. Currently operating five equity investment funds, Hunlicar Capital is one of the few equity investment fund management enterprises in Mainland China active in different asset categories including bonds, currencies, shares, commodities and derivatives.

As at the end of June 2017, the Group managed a total of 11 funds in Hong Kong and Mainland China. In addition, Goldjoy Holding also obtained the Qualified Foreign Limited Partner ("QFLP") license in the Qianhai free trade zone in Shenzhen during the period and thus extended assets management business to equity investment management. Since obtaining the Type 6 License in January 2017, China Goldjoy Securities Limited has completed a number of transactions in the field of equities and debt capital markets, investment and provision of equity loans, becoming the new profit growth driver for the Group.

Manufacturing
After exiting all of its low-margin and low value-adding electronic manufacturing business, the Group has developed high-end manufacturing business. Thus, revenue from the segment inevitably decreased by 27.2% to HK$15.8 million (corresponding period in 2016: HK$21.7 million), accounting for 4.7% of the Group's total revenue (corresponding period in 2016: 6.6%). However, the management believes the transformation was necessary and is conducive to the Group's long-term sustainable development, as evidenced by the narrowing segment loss.

At the same time, the Group is also actively seeking opportunities in manufacturing transformations and upgrading, as well as supply-side reform to step into the high-end manufacturing industry with high added value. Currently, the manufacturing business comprises light-emitting diode ("LED") manufacturing, research & development, and installation. Though the revenue from this business which is at its early stage of development is not significant at the moment, the management sees huge growth potential in it.

Properties Investment and Development
In recent years, the Group has been active in identifying suitable property investment and development opportunities in Hong Kong and Mainland China. In 2016, the Group acquired 75.5% equity interests of (for identification only, Shenzhen B&K New Energy Co., Ltd.) ("Shenzhen B&K"). Apart from providing the Group with additional resources to develop LED lighting business, and strengthened its research and development ("R&D") capacity, Shenzhen B&K also provides the Group with an opportunity to involve in the property investment business in Mainland China. Shenzhen B&K holds a piece of land with area of approximately 120,000 square meters in the core area of Guangming New District in Shenzhen. Construction of properties of approximately 100,000 square meters on the land was completed and the remaining undeveloped land is reserved for the development of a science and technology industrial park.

The Group acquired several properties in Admiralty, Hong Kong at the end of 2016. Part of the acquired spaces are being used as the head office of the Group and offices of its subsidiaries, and the rest are for investment purpose. In view of the prime location and continuous market demand in Grade A office buildings in Hong Kong, the investment properties are expected to bring impressive return on investment to the Group. With property investment added as a principal business activity, the Group will look for appropriate properties around the world for investment purpose.

Securities Investment
Consisting of investment in listed shares at both Hong Kong and Mainland China, the Securities Investment segment recorded a loss of HK$27.5 million (corresponding period in 2016: gain of HK$41.4 million). Despite the decrease of investment revenues, the dividend income increased by HK$52.2 million as compared with the same period of last year.

Business Outlook
Based on the macroeconomic figures of the first half of 2017, the economy of China and the world continued to grow. The Group remains positive about the capital market in the second half year. With the business transformation completed, the Group will pursue the strategy of diversifying its business and developing value-added businesses at full strength.

In terms of financial services, to capture the enormous growth potential in the financial services market in the Greater China region, efforts will be committed to expanding the number of high-end customers, enriching and optimizing business portfolio, enhancing sales and trading capacity, and providing customers with more comprehensive financial services. With an experienced management team, the Group will actively develop asset management and wealth management business in Hong Kong and Mainland China.

The Group will put more efforts in the operation of fund products, enhancing the investment and R&D capabilities of financial products, continue to diversify its products portfolio and expand local and overseas cooperation opportunities. As Goldjoy Holding has obtained the QFLP license, the Group plans to set up its first equity investment fund in Shenzhen in the second half of 2017 which will invest in intelligent manufacturing, biomedicine and other emerging industries for providing overseas investors with a channel to participate in equity investment in Mainland China.

The Group's wealth management arm will enhance its service quality, and product development and risk management ability. It will provide extensive training to both frontline and back office staff, introduce MPF, insurance service and immigration consulting service. It will also recruit more senior compliance personnel to enhance its internal risk surveillance and monitoring system to ensure the Group can meet the standards prescribed by regulatory authorities in Hong Kong.

Meanwhile, as the management sees potential of the bond market, the Group will put more resources in financing services business of institutional clients to better serve its corporate and government clients in Mainland China and Hong Kong. The Group has built a team of professionals in the debt capital market. The Group is committed to building a competitive investment banking team and will cater closely for customers' needs by providing services in equity and debt financing, and mergers & acquisitions transactions.

Regarding the Automation segment, the Group actively explored the new business direction of combining the leasing industry and financial market, and providing the financial leasing services of high-end manufacturing and large-scale equipment to continue speeding up developing the equipment finance leasing business to diversity its revenue stream. In addition, the Group will monitor investment opportunities in smart manufacturing and smart production system, with the aim of enhancing its competitiveness.

Since 2016, the Group has been directing efforts into establishing the new energy including the LED lighting business. Apart from the LED lights installation works at the private sector that it is currently engaging in, the Group has been actively seeking opportunities in the LED lighting projects at the public sector of Mainland China. Boasting leading-edge R&D and manufacturing capabilities, the Group plans to expand this business to overseas market and is studying the feasibility of setting up a factory in India.

With the implementation of a diversified development strategy in recent years, the Group has been looking for property investment opportunities in major cities and regions with development potential, so as to seize the business opportunities in the booming real estate market. With the properties of Phase I in operating leasing and Phase II of construction in progress, the entire science and technology industrial park on the land owned by Shenzhen B&K is expected to be completed by the end of 2018.

The Group is optimistic about the real estate market prospects in Hong Kong and Mainland China. The Group acquired a number of properties since 2016, and adopted property investment and development as one of its principal business activities. On 4 August 2017, the Group entered into an agreement to acquire LaiHua TaiSheng Limited ("LaiHua TaiSheng") at a consideration of RMB1,720,000,000. Laihua Taisheng is a company that is principally engaged in real estate property sale and development, and holds a property development project Century Plaza, which is located at Zhangjiang New District, Ganzhou City, Jiangxi Province, the PRC with a total gross area of 128,461.20 sq.m. and saleable area of 635,071.78 sq.m. It is believed that the Group will benefit from the sale and leasing of the properties and the anticipated growth in the value of the project. In the future, the Group will continue to seek investment and development opportunities in the property markets in the PRC and Hong Kong.

China Goldjoy will continue to look for investment opportunities in financial services, properties investment and development, the high-end manufacturing industry, as well as new energy and new technologies so as to generate optimum returns for shareholders.

About China Goldjoy Group Limited (HKEX: 1282)
China Goldjoy Group Limited and its subsidiaries together currently engages principally in automation, financial services, manufacturing, property investment and development businesses, and securities investment, etc. Financial services business is a major development focus of the Group. Currently, the Group provides asset and wealth management, securities, futures, precious metals trading and credit financing services in Hong Kong and operates private equity funds in Mainland China. Through its subsidiaries, the Group holds major financial service licenses under the Securities and Futures Ordinance ("SFO"), namely Type 1 (dealing in securities), Type 2 (dealing in futures contracts), Type 4 (advising on securities), Type 6 (advising on corporate finance) and Type 9 (asset management) for regulated activities. And its manufacturing business currently comprises light-emitting diode ("LED") manufacturing, research & development, and installation.

China Goldjoy is a constituent of several Hang Seng indexes, including the Hang Seng High Beta Index, Hang Seng Internet & Information Technology Index, Hang Seng Global Composite Index, Hang Seng Composite Index Series - Hang Seng Composite Index, Hang Seng Composite Industry Index - Information Technology, Hang Seng LargeCap & MidCap Index, Hang Seng MidCap & SmallCap Index and Hang Seng MidCap Index. It is also a constituent of the MSCI Hong Kong Small Cap Index, and one of the stocks for trading in Mainland China under the Shanghai-Hong Kong Stock Connect and Shenzhen-Hong Kong Stock Connect schemes.

Corporate website: www.hk1282.com

To Design and Build Water Supply Facilities for The World's 10th Fastest Growing Economy

HONG KONG, Aug 25, 2017 - (ACN Newswire) - Asia Allied Infrastructure Holdings Limited ("Asia Allied Infrastructure" or "the Group") (stock code: 00711) is pleased to announce that it has, together with two independent third parties, entered into a contract with Manila Water Company, Inc. to design and construct the Novaliches-Balara Aqueduct 4 (the "Project") in the Philippines.

Mr. Dominic Pang, Chairman of Asia Allied Infrastructure, said, "We are glad to have made our first mark in the Philippines market this year. Supported by strong government spending and construction projects, the Philippines economy has been growing healthily in recent years. Strong inflow of foreign direct investments also added to the country's development in other sectors such as services and industries. The country's GDP grew at an impressive 6.5% in the second quarter of 2017, ahead of all South East Asian nations, making it the 10th fastest growing economy in the world in 2017. We look forward to winning more infrastructure and development projects in the country moving forward."

The water supply project involves the design and construction of water conveying facilities connecting Novaliches and Balara in Quezon City, the Philippines. The value of the contract is approximately 5.4 billion Philippine Pesos (equivalent to approximately HK$800 million), and is expected to be completed in 2021.

Mr. Pang concluded, "The Project represents an important step for tapping 'Belt and Road' related opportunities. It will build a solid foundation for us to explore other government related infrastructure opportunities in the Philippines and countries/cities around the region. We are confident that the Project will be executed according to the highest industry standards, which will enable us to further build up our industry reputation in other overseas markets."

Asia Allied Infrastructure Holdings Limited (stock code: 00711.HK)
Asia Allied Infrastructure Holdings Limited ("the Group") (stock code: 00711.HK), formerly "Chun Wo Development Holdings Limited, was founded in 1968. The Group initially in construction business was listed on the Main Board of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in 1993. After years of hard work and rapid development, the Group has become a reputable construction expert and property developer in Hong Kong. In recent years, the Group has reinforced its business in Hong Kong and business development in Greater China and overseas. Its original construction, property development and property management businesses in Hong Kong have been integrated and expanded to cover also construction management, project consultancy, construction finance and investment. In the future, the Group will explore development opportunities in the Asia Pacific region, with Hong Kong and China as the main focus, and also in overseas markets.

For press enquiries:
Strategic Financial Relations Limited
Cindy Lung (852) 2864 4867 cindy.lung@sprg.com.hk
Isabel Kwok (852) 2864 4824 isabel.kwok@sprg.com.hk
Sophie Du (852) 2114 4901 sophie.du@sprg.com.hk

HONG KONG, Aug 26, 2017 - (ACN Newswire) - GF SECURITIES CO., LTD. ("GF Securities" or the "Company", stock code: 1776.HK; 000776.SZ) is pleased to announce its interim results for the six months ended June 30, 2017 (the "Reporting Period").

In the first half of 2017, the Chinese economy operated within a reasonable range and supply-side structural reform had received remarkable effects, GDP grew by 6.9% on a year-on-year basis, while the growth rate of the tertiary sector was 7.6%. With the intensive progress of the strategy of "One Belt, One Road", research and formulation of the development and planning of Guangdong - Hong Kong - Macao Bay Area, new opportunities will be brought to promote the national economic development status and future regional economic development.

As of 30 June 2017, total assets of the Group amounted to RMB358,328 million, operating revenue amounted to RMB13,536 million, total expenses were RMB7,941 million.

Facing complicated capital market conditions and the industry regulatory environment that emphasizes "lawful, stringent and comprehensive supervision", GF Securities consistently adhered to the basic principle of "Making Progress While Maintaining Stability" and managed to achieve good results in the market condition characterized by strict supervision and increasing competition. The various main businesses of the Company have achieved relatively balanced development and ranked among the top in the industry. Total revenue and other income from the investment banking business segment was RMB1,346 million; total revenue and other income from the wealth management business segment was RMB5,298 million; total revenue and other income from the trading and institution business segment was RMB3,290 million, representing a year-on-year increase of 9.31%; total revenue and other income from the investment management business segment was RMB3,280 million, representing a year-on-year increase of 18.77%. Various major operation indicators of the Company continued to rank among the top in the industry, which created good returns for its Shareholders.

Implement onshore and offshore operations in the investment banking business, and rank among the top in the industry
During the Reporting Period, in order to adapt to economic structural transformation and policy changes, GF Securities made greater efforts to develop large customers on the basis of solidifying the advantages of emerging industries and potential small and medium business customers. Meanwhile, onshore and offshore connected operations continued to be implemented in the investment banking business, to enhance the international business competitiveness of the Company. During the Reporting Period, the Company acted as a lead underwriter for 35 equity financing projects, ranking 2nd in the industry. The lead underwritten amount was RMB21.346 billion, ranking 4th in the industry. Among these projects, the Company acted as a lead underwriter for 20 IPOs and the lead underwritten amount was RMB10.566 billion, ranking 1st in the industry, respectively. During the Reporting Period, the Company's commission and fee income from stock underwriting and sponsorship was RMB867 million, representing a year-on-year increase of 56.55%.

During the Reporting Period, in order to cope with regulatory changes and changes in the market environment, the Company continually optimized its bond business quality control and management system, and its quality control center kept moving forward. The Company continually expanded and reserved quality products, grasped the market opportunities to actively make greater efforts to issue corporate bonds. During the Reporting Period, the Company acted as the lead underwriter for 52 bonds, with a total underwritten amount of RMB49.366 billion. The Company recorded commission and fee income from the bond underwriting business of RMB225 million.

During the Reporting Period, the overheated market of the M&A and restructuring of listed companies was cooling down. GF Securities acted as a financial advisor for 12 material asset restructurings (including the CSRC M&A and Restructuring Committee projects and non-administrative material asset restructuring projects), ranking 2nd in the industry, the transaction amount completed was RMB 81.382 billion, and ranking 1st in the industry. The Company, acting as the independent financial advisor, completed the large scale cross border acquisition of C2 Aviation Capital LLC by Bohai Financial Investment Holding Co., Ltd. in an amount of approximately USD10 billion, which further enhanced the Company's brand influence.

Implemented wealth management, scientific finance and integrated operation
In the first half of 2017, GF Securities focused on the strategic task of the transformation of retail business and implemented wealth management, scientific finance and integrated operation. The Company strengthened cooperation with banks and security companies, promoted the building of broker team, established customer demand-driven wealth management products system, built customer service system of private banks and fully promoted transformation development towards wealth management.

In respect of science and technology finance, the Company continued to maintain its leading position. The Company increases its own R&D and technology innovation efforts in aspects such as big data, artificial intelligence, platform and client terminal. The Company rolls out technology financial platforms with its completely independent research and development, such as big data cloud services platform, micro-service platform, Online Trading Easy version, Yitaojin App and robot investment adviser platform. The Company also launches the first big data-based full-chain quantitative trading cloud platform of the industry by cooperative research and development, which lays the foundation for the subsequent development of technology finance orientation. Among them, the smart investment advisory system, Beta Bull phase II was launched during the first half of this year. Beta Bull has obtained several awards including the 2017 Smart Investment Advisory Pioneer Brokerage Award by the International Finance News, the 2016 Significant Contribution Award for Product Innovation by the Financial Computerizing magazine and the 2016 Best Innovation Award for Financial Technology Product by the American Institutional Investors. As of the end of the Reporting Period, the number of mobile-phone securities users exceeded 12 million, representing a year-on-year increase of 125%, which gradually became an important account opening channel. The Company continued to maintain its leading position.

Diversified Development of the Trading and Institution Business
The Company executes fixed income derivative instruments (such as interest rate swaps and government bond futures) to hedge the risk arising from trading transactions and market-making activities. The Company vigorously expands the FICC business and builds an overseas FICC investment platform mainly through GF Global Capital, its indirect wholly-owned subsidiary, with the assets allocated to 20 countries and regions including Asia, Europe and the United States of America, covering the diversified investment fields including bonds and structured products. The Company is one of the four securities firms granted with market-maker qualification of the interconnection and interworking between the PRC and Hong Kong bond markets (the "Bond Connect") in 2017.

Since 2017, the Company has been actively developing its OTC derivatives business and conducted OTC options transactions linked with domestic A shares and overseas underlying assets. In addition, the Company continued to develop customized structured notes. Institutional client customization for this year accounted for more than 70% of the total volume of the new additions. Diversity of floating income products continued to increase; underlying assets of linked customized structured notes had coverage over various domestic and overseas assets types since 2017, including individual stocks, indices, commodities, private equity fund, etc., to satisfy the customized investment and risk management demand of investors. During the Reporting Period, the size of bilateral OTC transfer transactions was approximately RMB22.4 billion, which continued to maintain a leading position in the industry. Over the years, the Company is committed to provide a diversified capital pattern and industrial transformation service for the high-quality NEEQ enterprises. As of June 30, 2017, the Company provided market-making services for 195 NEEQ enterprises, of which there were 93 innovative enterprises; and the industries mainly cover TMT, biological medicine, huge consumption, high-end manufacturing industry and others.

Public fund management and private fund management achieved a good momentum of development
During the Reporting Period, the total revenue and other income from the investment management business segment was RMB3,280 million, representing a year-on-year increase of 18.77%. The management size of collective schemes under GF Asset Management ranked first among the peers and the active management size ranked second among the peers. The Group carries out fund management services through its controlled subsidiary, GF Fund, and associate company, E Fund. As at the end of June 2017, the publicly offered funds managed by E Fund reached RMB484.241 billion, increasing by 13.06% over that at the end of 2016 and ranking third in the industry.

In terms of the private fund management services, the private fund management business operated by the wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company, GF Xinde, has also achieved a good development. As at the end of the Reporting Period, GF Xinde and the funds under its management completed 189 equity investment projects, of which 19 projects were listed on China's A share market through initial public offering. GF Xinde exited seven projects through merger of listed companies. In addition, GF Xinde set up and managed 20 private equity funds and seven mezzanine funds. The total size of customers' assets under management amounted to RMB7,978 million. During the Reporting Period, leveraging on its past successful experience, GF Xinde further attracted more FOF of the financial institutions and the capital guided by the government to act as the limited partnership contributors of private equity funds, thereby laying the solid foundation for the transition towards high-end asset management. It also newly established the venture capital department and the M&A investment department, realizing the diversified development of the Company.

About GF Securities Co., Ltd.
Established in 1991, GF Securities Co., Ltd. ("GF Securities") is one of the first, full-service investment banks in China. The Company has become one of the most influential securities companies in the capital markets of China after developing for 25 years. The Company was successfully listed on the Main Board of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (stock code: 1776.HK) in 2015. The Company is a provider of comprehensive capital market services focused on serving China's quality SMEs and affluent individuals. The Company possesses industry-leading innovation capabilities and has built a diversified business serving the varying needs of corporations, individuals, institutional investors, financial institutions and government clients. GF Securities is an industry leader across the entire spectrum of its core business lines, including investment banking, wealth management, trading and institutional client services, and investment management.

Industrial Income Growth Achieved Historical Breakthrough, Multiple R&D Projects Achieved a Number of Milestones

HONG KONG, Aug 28, 2017 - (ACN Newswire) - Shanghai Pharmaceuticals Holding Co., Ltd. ("Shanghai Pharmaceuticals" or the "Company" and, together with its subsidiaries, the "Group"; stock code: 601607.SH; 2607.HK), the integrated pharmaceutical company in the PRC that has leading positions in both pharmaceutical products and service markets, today released its interim results for the first half of 2017 (the "Reporting Period"). According to the data, from January to June 2017, Shanghai Pharmaceuticals' operating income was RMB65.779 billion (Unit: RMB, following the same), up by 10.19% on a YOY basis. Net profit attributable to the shareholders of the listed company was RMB1.925 billion, representing an increase of 11.12% on a YOY basis. Net profit attributable to the shareholders of the listed company after deduction of non-recurring profit or loss was RMB1.772 billion, representing an increase of 10.62% on a YOY. Earnings per share amounted to RMB0.7159; and basic earnings per share after deducting non-recurring profits and losses were RMB0.6589. During the Reporting Period, the Company's net cash flows from operating activities amounted to RMB1.260 billion, up by 56.49% on a YOY basis. The budget target for the first half of 2017 was fulfilled.

In respect of pharmaceutical manufacturing business, Shanghai Pharmaceuticals achieved operating revenue of RMB7.503 billion in the first half of 2017, representing an increase of 17.03% on a YOY basis; its gross profit margin was 52.31%, an increase of 0.57 percentage point on a YOY basis. The operating profit margin after deducting sales and administration costs was 13.50%, representing an increase of 0.37 percentage point on a YOY basis. During the Reporting Period, the industrial sales income of the Company achieved a historical breakthrough and a number of products achieved an increase that higher than the industry average growth. The increase of industrial sales income was mainly benefit from the implement of key product focus strategy and the improvement of "one product one policy". The sales revenue of 60 key species was RMB3.958 billion, representing an increase of 12.82% on a YOY basis, sales accounting for 52.76% of industrial proportion, the gross profit margin of key species was 70.16%, representing an increase of 1.13 percentage points on a YOY basis. Meanwhile, the Company constantly accelerated the innovation and optimization of R&D model, and actively promoted the operation and mechanism adjustment of R&D management center, and achieved a number of milestones for R&D projects. The Company's seven major research and development projects are planned to advance, of which SPH3127 pre-clinical data is better than the same target drugs that has been marketed. Phase I clinical proceeded smoothly, and has completed single ascending dose (SAD) tolerance trial; Phase I of Lei Teng Shu have shown efficacy and safety in patients with rheumatoid arthritis, and clinical applications that are potentially used to suppress chronic immune activation in AIDS clinical trials have also been accepted by CFDA. Besides, the Company gathered the advantages of resources to push forward the work of quality and efficacy consistency evaluation for generic drugs and species involved in both the number or progress are at the forefront of the country. The Company set up a total of 99 species, 125 varieties and specifications (of which 36 species and 43 varieties and specifications are not included in catalog 289), and 15 products entered into the clinical stage.

In respect of pharmaceutical circulation, the sales revenue from pharmaceutical distribution business in the first half of 2017 was RMB58.521 billion, representing an increase of 9.64% on a YOY basis; its gross profit margin was 6.06%, representing an increase of 0.04 percentage point on a YOY basis. The operating profit margin after deducting the sales and administration expenses was 2.74%, representing a decrease of 0.05 percentage point on a YOY basis. During the Reporting Period, the Company's sales revenue from the pharmaceutical retail business was RMB2.714 billion, representing an increase of 9.00% on a YOY basis; its gross profit margin was 16.00%, representing an increase of 0.36 percentage point on a YOY basis. The operating profit margin after deducting sales and administration costs was 1.11%, representing a decrease of 0.35 percentage point on a YOY basis. The implementation of "two-invoice" policy will benefice large pharmaceutical distribution enterprises in expanding market share in the next three to five years. The Company's direct sales proportion in those provinces is thus expected to further enhance, which, in the long term, will strengthen the Company's profitability in distribution business.

During the Reporting Period, the Group's subsidiary, Shanghai Pharma Co., Ltd., acquired Xuzhou Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. and Xuzhou Huaihai Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. , completing the Group's basic layout in the Suzhou North area. The Group continued to manage its stock equity by acquiring 31.593% equity interest in Guangzhou Z. S. Y Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd held by Guangzhou Zhongda Industry Group Co., Ltd., which enhanced the Group's competitiveness in the Guangdong area. Meanwhile, the Group also participated actively in the Shanghai's reform project of "prescription extension" to propel the grading diagnosis and treatment, which has already covered 128 community hospitals and health services centers free of charge in Shanghai. As the Company's prescription retail business development platform, Shanghai Pharma Health Commerce Co., Ltd. promotes the strategy cooperation of electronic prescription and health insurance online payment together with Tencent, so as to build a closed-loop ecological chain from WeChat registration and treatment to hospital online payment, and further to the supplying of drugs. "Yiyao-Electronic Prescription" has successfully docked more than 100 medical institutions and has handled over a million electronic prescriptions

Shanghai Pharmaceuticals says that in the second half of the year, as an integrated pharmaceutical company in the PRC that has leading positions in both pharmaceutical products and service markets, it will continue to adhere to intensive development, innovative development, international development and integration of financial development. It will further optimize the R&D model and mechanism, adhere to the strategy of focusing on key products, strengthen its academic marketing-oriented strategy, build a professional marketing team and channel management team, and enhance product sales and market share. The Company will also grasp the opportunities of industry consolidation, speed up the implementation of key merger and acquisition projects, continue to improve the national network layout, as well as set up a Hong Kong investment management platform, and continue to focus on the opportunities of merger and acquisitions of overseas high-quality assets.

Fujitsu cloud solutions powered with VMware cloud solutions to accelerate the enterprise customer's journey to the hybrid cloud

TOKYO, Aug 29, 2017 - (JCN Newswire) - Fujitsu Limited and VMware, Inc. (NYSE: VMW) today announced that they have expanded their global partnership in cloud to empower the digital transformations of enterprises.

Fujitsu plans to partner with VMware to deliver VMware cloud solutions as a service on the Fujitsu Cloud Service, K5(1). Fujitsu is scheduled to commence worldwide rollout in the fourth quarter of its fiscal 2017 (January - March 2018). Fujitsu and VMware plan to expand solutions coverage to VMware Cloud Foundation as well.

VMware Cloud Foundation is the next-generation VMware cloud infrastructure platform that provides a complete set of software-defined compute (VMware vSphere), storage (VMware vSAN), network and security services (VMware NSX) in a single, integrated stack that is easy to operate thanks to the built-in lifecycle management automation (VMware SDDC Manager) and is ready for traditional and cloud native applications.

In recent years, there has been an increasing demand for the extension of on-premises resources to the public cloud using VMware's virtualization technology, in addition to the creation of hybrid environments that combine on-premises with the public cloud. To meet such demand, Fujitsu is expanding its collaboration with VMware.

These services will be able to empower mutual customers operating VMware software on-premises to create an optimal hybrid environment centered on K5 cloud services, while limiting the risks associated with changes in system environments. These cloud services will be offered as part of K5's service offering enabling customers to make use of the wider K5 portfolio, such as OpenStack based IaaS, Cloud Foundry based PaaS, IoT platform and an AI service platform. On top of this, Fujitsu will offer services that comprehensively support customers using VMware virtualization technology in everything from validating a system environment to migrating systems to K5.

In addition, with Fujitsu Integrated System PRIMEFLEX(2), a vertically integrated virtualized cloud platform for private cloud systems, mutual customers will be able to rapidly create a seamless hybrid environment combining the private cloud using VMware virtualization technology with the public cloud.

Masahiro Ota, Head of the Digital Business Platform Unit, Fujitsu Limited

"Customers will be able to migrate their on-premises VMware environment to cloud services quickly with minimal risk, while reducing costs. I believe that customers can add value to their business by converting cloud applications into native cloud services as necessary, or making them more sophisticated by combining them with other cloud services. This partnership expansion is extremely meaningful, as it was essential to incorporate VMware technology into K5 in order to help mutual customers achieve digital transformation."

Ajay Patel, Senior Vice President, Cloud Provider Software Business Unit, VMware

"Fujitsu and VMware share a common vision for accelerating digital transformations for our mutual customers. This collaboration with Fujitsu has been very successful, and we're pleased to expand our relationship so organizations will be able to quickly deploy VMware software-defined solutions to Fujitsu K5 Cloud, or to a hybrid cloud environment, with all the sophisticated workload automation they have within their own data centers."

(1) K5
Cloud Service K5 is Fujitsu's global cloud platform, currently deployed 9 regions, that combines IaaS and PaaS offerings for customers. Provides customers with a range of service options and deployment modes including Public Cloud, Virtual Private Cloud, Dedicated Cloud Hosted at Fujitsu and Dedicated Cloud Hosted at the Customer Site.
(2) PRIMEFLEX
PRIMEFLEX is a pre-defined, pre-integrated and pre-tested combination of servers, storage, network connectivity and software. PRIMEFLEX solutions are delivered ready-to-run, or as customizable reference architectures, which can be easily adjusted to customer-specific requirements.

About VMware

VMware, a global leader in cloud infrastructure and business mobility, helps customers realize possibilities by accelerating their digital transformation journeys. With VMware solutions, organizations are improving business agility by modernizing data centers and integrating public clouds, driving innovation with modern apps, creating exceptional experiences by empowering the digital workspace, and safeguarding customer trust by transforming security. With 2016 revenue of $7.09 billion, VMware is headquartered in Palo Alto, CA and has over 500,000 customers and 75,000 partners worldwide.

About Fujitsu Ltd

Fujitsu is the leading Japanese information and communication technology (ICT) company, offering a full range of technology products, solutions, and services. Approximately 155,000 Fujitsu people support customers in more than 100 countries. We use our experience and the power of ICT to shape the future of society with our customers. Fujitsu Limited (TSE: 6702) reported consolidated revenues of 4.5 trillion yen (US$40 billion) for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2017. For more information, please see http://www.fujitsu.com.

* Please see this press release, with images, at:
http://www.fujitsu.com/global/about/resources/news/press-releases/

Contact:
VMware Global Communications
Ken Lotich 
Phone: (916) 740-4335
E-mail: klotich@vmware.com

Fujitsu Limited
Public and Investor Relations
Tel: +81-3-6252-2176
URL: www.fujitsu.com/global/news/contacts/

TOKYO, Aug 29, 2017 - (JCN Newswire) - UNIQLO today announces that it will launch the Fall/Winter 2017 Uniqlo U collection at stores around Japan and through the uniqlo.com online store from Friday, September 29. This is the third Uniqlo U collection from the design team at the UNIQLO Paris R&D Center, led by Artistic Director, Christophe Lemaire. The new range stems from a drive to make clothing an ideal expression of its wearer, taking LifeWear toward the future through design, pattern, fabric development, and stitching innovations as part of a commitment to reinventing wardrobe basics.

The full collection will be available at 62 UNIQLO stores and online in 19 countries and territories. All domestic stores will sell parts of the range. The line will comprise 46 women's and 27 men's items in S through XXL sizes, as well as 11 accessories. XL through XXL pieces will be available only online.

Enhancing fit and comfort with 3D U-Knit
The new collection features items created with 3D U-Knit, a three-dimensional knitting technique that employs WHOLEGARMENT technology to enhance fit and comfort. 3D U-Knit is developed at Innovation Factory, a joint venture that UNIQLO's parent company, Fast Retailing, established in 2016 with Shima Seiki Mfg., Ltd., a leading Japanese manufacturer of knitting machines. WHOLEGARMENT uses special machines to produce knitwear three-dimensionally in one entire piece, eliminating seams. Another advantage of this technology is that it is so flexible, empowering designers to perfectly materialize their visions.

3D U-Knit is the first stage in the UNIQLO quest to redefine quality knitwear. While WHOLEGARMENT has primarily been the domain of knitwear from fashion houses, employing this technology will help UNIQLO to offer unprecedented refinement at prices that are affordable for all. For this season, three dresses, one women's sweater, and one skirt have been created with this technique. A highlight of that range is a 3D Merino Ribbed Mock Neck Dress. The ribbing of this fit and flare piece accentuates natural femininity by following body contours. The skirt offers delightfully pleated drapes for a sophisticated and elegant look.

Coat and jacket range brimming with features and new ideas
Noteworthy additions to the Uniqlo U lineup this season are a women's BLOCKTECH trench coat, men's BLOCKTECH coat, and a men's BLOCKTECH mods coat. This stylish town wear combines a matte cotton surface with advanced BLOCKTECH technology that has become so popular with UNIQLO sportswear for outstanding wind proofing, waterproofing, and breathability.

Also debuting this season are men's and women's seamless down track jackets that incorporate new technology developed with Toray. The outer fabric employs double-weave polyester, reducing the number of stitches for outstanding wind proofing. The lightness and streamlined fit of this outerwear enables it to double as innerwear. Women's items can also serve as vests by unzipping the sleeves.

Pricing (in Japan, excluding consumption tax) *
- Outerwear 5,990 - 14,900 yen
- Pants 3,990 - 5,990 yen
- Skirts 2,990 - 5,990 yen
- Shirts 2,990 - 5,990 yen
- Cut & Sewn items 1,000 - 4,990 yen
- Knits 2,990 - 5,990 yen
- Dresses 4,990 - 5,990 yen
- Socks 590 yen
- Shoes 3,990 - 4,990 yen
- Bags 1,990 - 3,990 yen
- Accessories 1,500 - 1,990 yen
*Pricing is subject to change. Visit the following website for details: www.uniqlo.com/UniqloU

Images for the Uniqlo U Fall/Winter 2017 collection
https://www.acnnewswire.com/topimg/Low_17FW_UniqloU.jpg

Download link for 17FW Uniqlo U logo, product photos, and collection images.
https://pd.fastretailing.com/access?key=6gOrgm_vYDR2yejBbxek4A

About the UNIQLO Paris R&D Center
This facility complements UNIQLO's other research and development units in Tokyo, Shanghai, New York, and Los Angeles. These centers gather information on local fashion trends, lifestyles, and new materials and innovate for product development, concepts, and designs. The world-class designers and pattern makers in the Paris design team contribute significantly to the ongoing evolution of LifeWear through their advances with Uniqlo U.

About Christophe Lemaire
1965 Born in France
1991 Established his own brand
2000 Appointed Artistic Director at Lacoste
2007 Opened a boutique in Paris and re-launched his own brand
2011 Appointed Women's Artistic Director at Hermes
2016 Appointed Artistic Director of UNIQLO Paris R&D Center

About UNIQLO LifeWear
Apparel that comes from the Japanese values of simplicity, quality and longevity. Designed to be of the time and for the time, LifeWear is made with such modern elegance that it becomes the building blocks of each individual's style. A perfect shirt that is always being made more perfect. The simplest design hiding the most thoughtful and modern details. The best in fit and fabric made to be affordable and accessible to all. LifeWear is clothing that is constantly being innovated, bringing more warmth, more lightness, better design, and better comfort to people's lives.

About UNIQLO and Fast Retailing
UNIQLO is a brand of Fast Retailing Co., Ltd., a leading global Japanese retail holding company that designs, manufactures and sells clothing under seven main brands: Comptoir des Cotonniers, GU, Helmut Lang, J Brand, Princesse tam.tam, Theory, and UNIQLO. With global sales of approximately 1.7864 trillion yen for the 2016 fiscal year ending August 31, 2016 (US $17.31 billion, calculated in yen using the end of August 2016 rate of $1 = 103.2 yen), Fast Retailing is one of the world's largest apparel retail companies, and UNIQLO is Japan's leading specialty retailer.

UNIQLO continues to open large-scale stores in some of the world's most important cities and locations, as part of its ongoing efforts to solidify its status as a truly global brand. Today the company has around 1,800 stores in 18 markets worldwide including Japan, Australia, Belgium, Canada, China, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Russia, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, U.K. and the U.S. In addition, Grameen UNIQLO, a social business established in Bangladesh in September 2010, currently operates several Grameen UNIQLO stores in Dhaka. UNIQLO manages an integrated business model under which it designs, manufactures, markets and sells high-quality, casual apparel. The company believes that truly great clothes should be supremely comfortable, feature universal designs, are of high quality and offer a superb fit to everyone who wears them.

With a corporate statement committed to changing clothes, changing conventional wisdom and change the world, Fast Retailing is dedicated to creating great clothing with new and unique value to enrich the lives of people everywhere. For more information about UNIQLO and Fast Retailing, please visit www.uniqlo.com and www.fastretailing.com.

For media queries, please contact:
UNIQLO Global PR
Hoyu Sha or Megumi Endo
Tel. +81 3 6865 0600

Gemalto's SafeNet Encryption and Key Management Solutions secure both data in motion and at rest for a comprehensive cloud security strategy

AMSTERDAM, Aug 29, 2017 - (ACN Newswire) - Gemalto, the world leader in digital security, today announced its SafeNet data encryption and key management solutions are now available to customers of VMware Cloud(TM) on AWS.

VMware Cloud on AWS brings together VMware's enterprise-class Software-Defined Data Center (SDDC) software and elastic, bare-metal infrastructure from Amazon Web Services (AWS) to give organizations consistent operating model and application mobility for private and public cloud. Gemalto's SafeNet solutions enable VMware Cloud on AWS customers to deploy client-side encryption, centralized key management and tokenization to simplify security operations such as data visibility, compliance auditing and policy execution and enforcement.

Gemalto's SafeNet data encryption and key management solutions help organizations protect their data in the cloud, applications, data centers, networks and virtual environments. VMware customers running workloads in AWS can easily integrate Gemalto's cloud-ready security technology to:

- Boost cloud security - customers can store and manage keys in central, hardened appliances, and gain the visibility and control they need to consistently and effectively enforce security controls.
- Ensure key ownership - through secure key storage, high availability, and scalability, organizations ensure they retain total control of their encryption keys and data.
- Streamline key management - administrators can centrally manage keys, permissions and policies with more speed, ease, and efficiency.
- Simplify compliance - the centralized platform enables customers to ensure and demonstrate compliance with stringent security policies and compliance mandates.

VMware Cloud on AWS technology partners enable customers to deploy the same proven solutions seamlessly in both the public and private cloud. VMware simplifies the deployment and eliminates the need for partners to refactor solutions for VMware Cloud on AWS. If a partner solution works on-premises in a VMware vSphere(R) environment, it will easily support VMware Cloud on AWS. VMware technology partners complement and enhance native VMware Cloud on AWS service and enable customers to realize new capabilities.

For more information, visit the VMware Cloud on AWS marketplace (https://aws.amazon.com/vmware/) or try a 30-day free trial of Gemalto's SafeNet KeySecure (http://bit.ly/2xGvsbW) and SafeNet ProtectV (http://bit.ly/2vxLQdY) for VMware.

Executive quotes:

"Companies gain elasticity and speed to market with the cloud, but often want to maintain control over the security of their data. With Gemalto, VMware Cloud on AWS customers have one data protection solution making it easier to monitor and track all of their activities," said Todd Moore, senior vice president of Encryption Products at Gemalto. "Working across multiple cloud services is becoming the norm. Using a centralized system helps companies take a preventative approach to security instead of reactive one by getting a better understanding of where the data resides, how it is being used and the current threats to privileged users."

"VMware Cloud on AWS provides customers a seamlessly integrated hybrid cloud offering that gives customers the SDDC experience from the leader in private cloud, running on the leading public cloud provider, AWS," said Mark Lohmeyer, vice president, products, Cloud Platforms Business Unit, VMware. "Solutions such as SafeNet KeySecure and connectors enable IT teams to reduce cost, increase efficiency and create operational consistency across cloud environments. We're excited to work with partners such as Gemalto to enhance native VMware Cloud on AWS capabilities and empower customers with flexibility and choice in solutions that can drive business value."

More information on Gemalto's VMware Cloud on AWS products:

- SafeNet KeySecure - centralizes the management of encryption keys used for the protection of sensitive data in virtualized and cloud environments.
- SafeNet ProtectV - unifies encryption and control across virtualized and cloud environments, improving business agility and lowering your costs.
- SafeNet ProtectApp - provides application-level encryption for a broad range of Web application servers and enterprise applications hosted on virtual machines and in the cloud.
- SafeNet ProtectFile - Encrypt unstructured data and control access to sensitive folders and files.
- SafeNet ProtectDB - delivers database encryption for sensitive corporate and customer information stored in cloud-based databases
- SafeNet Tokenization - protects sensitive information by replacing it with a surrogate value to help organizations comply with industry standards like PCI-DSS and HIPAA

About VMware Cloud on AWS

Delivered, sold and supported by VMware as an on-demand service, and running on elastic, bare-metal AWS infrastructure, VMware Cloud on AWS is powered by VMware Cloud Foundation(TM), the unified SDDC platform that integrates vSphere, VMware vSAN(TM) and VMware NSX(R) virtualization technologies. With the same architecture and operational experience on-premises and in the cloud, IT teams can quickly derive business value from use of the AWS and VMware hybrid cloud experience. For more information on the VMware Cloud on AWS partner ecosystem, visit: http://cloud.vmware.com

About Gemalto

Gemalto (Euronext NL0000400653 GTO) is the global leader in digital security, with 2016 annual revenues of EUR 3.1 billion and customers in over 180 countries. We bring trust to an increasingly connected world.

From secure software to biometrics and encryption, our technologies and services enable businesses and governments to authenticate identities and protect data so they stay safe and enable services in personal devices, connected objects, the cloud and in between.

Gemalto's solutions are at the heart of modern life, from payment to enterprise security and the internet of things. We authenticate people, transactions and objects, encrypt data and create value for software - enabling our clients to deliver secure digital services for billions of individuals and things.

Our 15,000+ employees operate out of 112 offices, 43 personalization and data centers, and 30 research and software development centers located in 48 countries.

For more information visit www.gemalto.com, or follow @gemalto on Twitter.

Gemalto media contacts:

Philippe Benitez
Americas
+1 512 257 3869
philippe.benitez@gemalto.com

Kristel Teyras
Europe Middle East & Africa
+33 1 55 01 57 89
kristel.teyras@gemalto.com

Shintaro Suzuki
Asia Pacific
+65 6317 8266
shintaro.suzuki@gemalto.com

Press release (PDF): http://hugin.info/159293/R/2129183/813546.pdf

Providing Strong Impetus to the Paralleled Development of Real Estate Development, Internet Financing and Real Estate Fund Business

HONG KONG, Aug 29, 2017 - (ACN Newswire) - Greenland Hong Kong Holdings Limited ("Greenland Hong Kong" or the "Company", stock code: 337.HK), a subsidiary of Greenland Holdings Corporation Limited ("Greenland Holdings"), which is a leading global real estate company, today announced its unaudited interim results for the period ended 30 June 2017 (the "period under review").

Business Highlights (As of 30 June 2017)
- Profit amounted to approximately RMB411 million, an increase of 856% from 1H2016
- Profit for the period attributable to owners of the Company reached approximately
RMB227 million, an increase of 125% from 1H2016
- Basic and Diluted EPS increased by 75% to RMB0.07
- Contracted sales hit approximately RMB16,250 million with 77% growth
- Issued US$400 million of 4.5% bonds due 2018 in July 2017
- "Greenland Guangcai:, the self-developed online wealth management platform, launched and promoted wealth investment products that totaled RMB4,857 million. Number of registered users surpassed 1 million, with turnover totaled over RMB10 billion and daily highest sales volume over RMB100 million
- Held a land bank of approximately 14,600,000 square meters as of 30 June 2017

For the period under review, the Company recorded a total revenue of approximately RMB4,754 million. Gross profit rose to approximately RMB994 million, gross margin rose from 9% to 21%, mainly driven by the delivery of projects with higher margin. The profit for the period amounted to approximately RMB411 million, a sharp gain of 856%. Net profit attributable to owners of the Company reached RMB227 million, representing an increase of 125% year-on-year.

Mr. Chen Jun, Chairman of the Board of Directors and Chief Executive Officer of Greenland Hong Kong, said, "The real estate market continued to maintain strong growth during the first half of 2017, especially in land purchase. Despite the influence of purchase limit policy, various indicators of first-tier and second-tier core cities have shown a slowdown in performance, the overall real estate market still sustained its general upward trend. During the period, total real estate inventory reduced considerably, in particular, the first-tier and second-tier cities made significant progress in trimming inventory. With the continuous growth of the real estate market, the overall performance of the Group was beyond expectations. Contracted sales achieved a 77% growth during the period under review."

During the period under review, the contracted average selling price of Greenland Hong Kong was approximately RMB12,625 per square meter while the revenue derived from property sales was approximately RMB4,510 million.

Sustaining the cultivation of real estate major business and proactively exploring new projects

The Group leveraged the well-established brand image, abundant resources, massive scale and system as well as the advanced management standard of its parent company, Greenland
Holdings, to carry out a comprehensive consolidation of resources closely in line with its overall strategy by fully utilizing the advantages of the capital platform in Hong Kong in order to promote high-end projects proactively.

During the period under review, the total contracted sales GFA surged by approximately 85% to 1,287,098 square meters.

As in the past, the bulk of contracted sales derived from projects in Yangtze River Delta, including those in Jiangsu, Shanghai and Zhejiang, which accounted for 19%, 17% and 9% of the total contracted sales respectively. Other contracted sales included those derived from core projects in Hainan, Jiangxi and Guangxi, accounting for 27%, 11% and 11% respectively.

In the near future, the Group will persist in exploring key regions and cities through its differential strategy, increasing residential land reserve and developing more competitive products.

Exploring light asset transformations through strategic cooperation for mutual benefit

As a listed platform in Hong Kong under Greenland Holdings, the Group aggressively sought diversified opportunities for strategic cooperation and mutual benefit, and managed to make substantial progress.

In June 2017, the Company entered into the strategic cooperation on project regarding the Greenland Spring City Dian Lake International Model Town in Kunming, which involved a diversity of industries such as international health check, medical treatment and aesthetics, resort hotel and venture capital base for health research. The cooperation does not only echo with Greenland Holdings' nationwide strategic layout of "themed town" as well as its commitment to innovation and transformation, but also conforms to the requirements of "stabilizing growth and promoting investment" of the central government, and Shanghai and Yunnan governments, and is expected to become another example for mutually beneficial cooperation between local government and enterprises.

Making significant progress in Internet financing business with turnover totaling over RMB10 billion again

Since its establishment, Shanghai Greenland Financial Information Services Co., Ltd ("Greenland Financial Services") has been focusing on the three strategic directions - "Online Wealth Management, Assets Management and Information Services"for two years. The Company has become the leading player in the real estate internet finance sector.

In terms of assets management, during the first half of 2017, the size of the assets managed by Dao Kun Asset, a subsidiary of Greenland Financial Services, has reached nearly RMB10 billion. The stock assets amounted to RMB5,976 million. The model of Dao Kun Asset's real estate fund further transformed from a mono bond investment fund to the diversified model of acquisitions and mergers etc.

In terms of online wealth management platform, Greenland Guangcai, an online wealth management platform self-developed by Greenland Financial Services, has shown steady growth. It released and issued financial products in the aggregate amount of RMB4,857 million in total, with over 1 million registered users and over 10 billion total transaction volume. The platform's daily highest sales volume has surpassed RMB100 million while the monthly highest figure has already passed the RMB1 billion mark. Greenland Guangcai continuously optimized and innovated its platform construction and launched the pioneering "Coupons Search Function", which enhanced the concept of social wealth management. Greenland Guangcai has always adhered to strict supervision and promoted construction according to rules and regulations. It became a formal member of National Internet Finance Association of China in April and entered into a bank deposit agreement with China CITIC Bank in June. Under strict risk control, Greenland Guangcai has been free from penalty for breach of contract, bad debt or deferred payment.

In addition, building on the foundation of big data, Greenland Financial Services has fully realized the value of CRM platform developed with its immense technological strength, covering over 90% of the new cases of the Company. Meanwhile, registered users have increased by 130%, fully demonstrating the success of precision marketing.

Possessing huge land bank, ensuring sustainable development

To further focus on key regions and to optimize investment structure, the Group continued to expand land reserves to ensure its sustainable development. As at 30 June 2017, the Group held a land bank of approximately 14,600,000 square meters, strategically located in the prime zones of major cities in the Yangtze River Delta and Pan-Pearl River Delta regions.

In January 2017, Greenland Hong Kong entered into an equity transfer agreement with Wuxi Metro Group Co., Ltd. to acquire 90% equity interest in Wuxi Guangcheng Metro Above-Station Property Development Co. Ltd. at a total consideration of approximatelyRMB2,340 million. Meanwhile, the Group successfully bid for a land parcel located in Nanning, Guangxi at a total consideration of approximately RMB535 million with Guangxi Baota Industrial Park Development Investment Company Limited and Haixia Capital Management Co., Ltd.

In May 2017, the Group acquired the property development projects situated in Wujiang city in Suzhou at an aggregate consideration of approximately RMB601 million. In June, the Group bid for a land parcel located in Jiangnan District, in Nanning, Guangxi at a total consideration of RMB904 million. In August, the Group successfully acquired a project in Foshan, Guangdong province at a total consideration of RMB1.18 billion, aiming at developing it into a high-end town with special characteristics, featuring with enrich eco-logical resources for developing tourism property. This marks the Group's first successful step to enter into the Guangdong market.

On top of the land reserve, which is sufficient to support its development over the next 3 to 5 years, the Group will continue to seek additional high-quality land projects with promising potential of development.

Looking ahead, China will experience a more solid economic recovery as the market adaptability of corporates becomes even stronger and the economic structure continues to improve.

Greenland Hong Kong has always paid high attention to Yangtze River Delta and Pan-Pearl River Delta and is highly confident in the market potential of the area. It especially attaches high importance to the investment opportunities in core cities. The Group will stick to its active and steady project reserve strategy, under which the Group will focus on core factors such as economic development, population and industrial development to further allocate resources to key areas, key cities and key projects as well as gearing up its development efforts in Yangtze River Delta and Pan Pearl River Delta.

Meanwhile, the Group will continue to selectively replenish its land bank with quality land plots with promising development potential, further optimize its investment structure, effectively control costs and investment risks, make strenuous effort to develop regional strength and increase regional value with a view to achieving win-win.

In terms of finance business, Greenland Financial Services will constantly revolve around its core corporate development strategies, improving customers' investment experience incessantly integrating the Group's resources on a high level, enriching and innovating product design; building talent pool in a continuous manner, enhancing risk control and post-investment management. Our ultimate mission is to create an appealing and warm finance ecosystem characterized by "full online, light assets, personalized and socialized features". Greenland Financial Services believes that the continuous optimization of the operation and management of online wealth management platform will provide strong impetus to the development of the three pillars of the Company - "the principal real estate business, internet finance and real estate fund".

Greenland Hong Kong Holdings Limited
Greenland Hong Kong Holdings Limited (Stock Code: 337.HK) is the subsidiary of Greenland Group, a Fortune Global 500 company.

Greenland Holding Limited ("Greenland Holdings", Stock Code: 600606) is a large state-owned mega enterprise under the management of the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of Shanghai Municipal Government. Founded on July 18, 1992, the company was headquartered in Shanghai, China.

For a development history of 25 years, Greenland Group has created the diversified development pattern of "focusing on the development of real estate market and placing an equal stress on the emerging sectors like Big Infrastructure, Big Finance and Big Consumption", and implemented the strategy of capitalized, popularized and internationalized development. Greenland Group has secured its market presence across over 80 domestic cities including Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou, and across 12 cities of nine countries including the United States, Britain, Germany, Australia, Canada, South Korea, Thailand and Malaysia. Now Greenland Group has got listed at China Mainland's A-share market (600606.SH) and partially listed at Hong Kong's H-share market (00337.HK 01365.HK), building a capital platform which integrates domestic and overseas resources into one whole. Greenland Group ranked the 277th place in 2017 Fortune Global 500.

With the overall listing as a good opportunity, Greenland Group will fully utilize the function of capital market and grow into a China-based multinational enterprise with outstanding principal operation, diversified development, global presence, industry-finance combination, and leadership in multiple sectors like real estate, finance and subway, working hard to transform from "China's Greenland" to the "World's Greenland". As Greenland Group's international capital operation channel and brand display window, Greenland Hong Kong will boost the innovation, transformation and upgrading of capital platform and industry when Greenland Group's overall strategy is treated as the guideline to offer the vigorous supports for the company's sustainable development.

When further exploring the real estate market, Greenland Hong Kong spares no effort to push forward the "Big Finance" strategy by establishing Greenland Financial Information Services Limited ("Greenland Financial Services") in Shanghai. By leveraging big data, cloud platform and mobile internet, Greenland Financial Services pumps much efforts into the vertical field of real estate market, adopts the innovation of services and products as the guiding principle, and works hard to build the Internet platform which covers wealth management and investment, social finance and community finance, so that Greenland Group can create an internet-based financial eco-system.

Based on Greenland Group's mature brand image, abundant resources, large-scale system, advanced management level and passionate corporate culture, Greenland Hong Kong will comprehensively integrate all the existing resources, fully utilize the advantages of capital platform in Hong Kong, and actively carry out its first five-year plan, i.e., striving to grow into the real estate pacesetter at Hong Kong's capital market.

Business Maintained Steady Growth; Transformation and Upgrading Showed Performance

HONG KONG, Aug 29, 2017 - (ACN Newswire) - Jilin Jiutai Rural Commercial Bank Corporation Limited ("Jiutai Rural Commercial Bank" or the "Group" or the "Bank", Stock Code:6122) is pleased to announce its Interim results of the Group and its subsidiaries for the six months ended 30, June 2017 (the "Reporting Period") recently.The Group's strategic goal is to position itself as a professional financial services provider with unique values and strong competitive advantages.

In the first half of 2017, the global economy continued to recover moderately, and the Chinese economy continued to develop steadily in a favourable momentum, and stabilized within a reasonable range. Supply-side structural reform achieved remarkable results. The GDP of China recorded a year-on-year growth of 6.9%. In the face of the complicated external situations and increasingly fierce peer competition, Jiutai Rural Commercial Bank maintained steady growth.

During the Reporting Period, the Group recorded a total operating income of RMB2,868.3 million, representing an increase of 8.2% as compared to the six months ended June 30, 2016. The Group's total assets amounted to RMB195,661.4 million, representing an increase of 2.2% as compared with the beginning of the year. Net profit was RMB900.2 million. Net loans and advances to customers amounted to RMB72,020.4 million, representing an increase of 19.5% as compared with the beginning of the year. The non-performing loan ratio remained at a reasonable level of 1.59%, which was lower than the average rate of National Agricultural Bank. According to the main indicators of 2017 in the first half of the year, the non-performing loan rates of large commercial banks, joint-stock commercial banks and urban commercial banks were 1.60%, 1.73% and 1.51% respectively, while the rural commercial banks The loan rate was 2.81%. Total deposits from customers amounted to RMB130,503.1 million, representing an increase of 2.4% as compared with the beginning of the year. Net interest income amounted to RMB 2,188.3 million, representing an increase of 6.1% as compared with the same period of last year. Net fee and commission income amounted to RMB334.3 million, representing an increase of 28.2% as compared with the same period of last year..

As of June 30, 2017, the Group had an aggregate of 423 outlets, of which 129 outlets, including three branches in Changchun, Songyuan and Tonghua, were operated by the Bank and the rest by the Group's subsidiary banks under their own names. The focus of the Group's business outlets is to serve the three rural and small and medium enterprises. The Bank was the first rural commercial bank in China and first financial institution in Jilin province to provide robot bank lobby managers and 3-D printing, and was also the first financial institution in Jilin's rural credit bank system to offer 24-hour automatic safe deposit boxes and remote video self-service loan application machines.

Corporate Banking Business Encouraged the Growth of SMEs
As of June 30, 2017, the Group had approximately 2,238 corporate borrowers. The Group had loans totalling RMB55,984.2 million, representing an increase of 23.6% compared to the end of 2016. During the Reporting Period, operating income from the Group's corporate banking business accounted for 43.5%, representing an increase of 6.4% compared to 37.1% of the end of 2016.

The Group seeks to grow with its corporate customers, especially SMEs with strong growth potential, and the Group focuses on developing long-term customer relationships. As of June 30, 2017, the Group had 2,217 SME customers with loans totaling RMB52,003.2 million.

Specialized Retail Banking Provided Comprehensive Financial Services
As of June 30, 2017, the Group had 82,741 retail borrowers with total loans and advances to customers of RMB18,268.1 million, increasing 8.8% compared to the end of 2016.

As of June 30, 2017, the Group had issued approximately 2.868 million debit cards. The Group' s debit cards are classified into platinum,gold and basic cards based on customers' daily average financial asset balances.The Group also issues specialized debit cards with added features such as theme cards for different market segments and co-branded cards offering preferential value-added services. The Bank cooperates with Changchun Federation of Trade Unions to offer trade union member cardholders comprehensive financial services, including membership management, subsidies and allowances. In addition, the Group has cooperated with well-known domestic third-party payment companies to develop Internet payment services to enhance cardholder experience.

The Bank' s private banking department provides one-stop financial services tailored for individual customers. These products and services primarily include wealth planning and customized wealth management products. For the six months ended June 30, 2017, the Bank' s sales of wealth management products to private banking customers totalled RMB3,520.9 million. The Bank also provides private banking customers with various value-added services, primarily including priority banking services, one-on-one consultancy services, bank fee discounts, and health consultancy services offered in cooperation with third parties.

In addition, the Bank was selected as one of the Top 100 Trading Banks in the Interbank RMB Market by the China Foreign Exchange Trade System and National Interbank Funding Center in 2016, and one of the Top 100 Banks in the Interbank RMB and Foreign Exchange Market by the China Foreign Exchange Trade System and National Interbank Funding Center in 2016. In 2017, the Bank was named the "Active Dealer in Interbank RMB Market in 2016" by the China Foreign Exchange Trade System and National Interbank Funding Center.

Looking forward, Jiutai Rural Commercial Bank is facing with opportunities and challenges. It shows that the PRC economy is well-prepared to enter the stage of rapid growth in the mid-to-long run. From the perspective of provincial economy, the Jilin economy has picked up its growth momentum. Benefitted from the favourable policies including the revitalization of Northeastern China and the development of Changjitu and Changchun New Area, development advantage of the Bank has been further enhanced. Nonetheless, despite the challenges and difficulties inherent in the economic cycle and the new policy stage of the financial industry, the PRC economy is expected to maintain steady growth with more consolidated and expanded foundation as the supply-side structural reforms continue to deepen.

In the second half of 2017, to achieve its goal, the Group plans to reinforce advantages in banking services for the "three rurals" and small and medium sized enterprises; To exploit the growth potential of personal financial services to promote the growth of its retail banking business; To develop emerging businesses to promote the transformation of the growth model; To further strengthen the Group's risk management and internal control, and to attract, develop, retain and motivate high-quality talent.

Leveraging on the economic, financial and regional development trends, the Bank will seize the new opportunities arising from various policies and the new growth potential from the industry upgrade with focus on the new consumption pattern to facilitate steady growth and transformation, in order to achieve better operating results and new growth points through differentiating its development advantage and cultivating new momentum.

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