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CSMall Group Announces Proposed Listing on the Main Board of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange

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Offer Price Set Between HK$2.28 to HK$3.28 per Share;
To Raise Net Proceeds Up to HK$668.5 Million;
China's Largest Integrated Online and Offline Internet-based Jewellery Retailer;
Revenue and Net Profit Grew by More Than 10 times in 4 years (2014-2017);
With Online and Offline Jewellery Sales Channels;
Efficient and Innovative Crossover Marketing Initiatives

HONG KONG, Feb 28, 2018 - (ACN Newswire) - CSMall Group Limited ("CSMall Group" or the "Company", together with its subsidiaries, the "Group", stock code: 1815), the largest integrated online and offline Internet-based jewellery retailer in China under the New Jewellery Retail Model, today announced the proposed listing of its shares on the Main Board of The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited ("Hong Kong Stock Exchange").

CSMall Group plans to offer 194,183,990 shares (subject to the Over-allotment Option), of which 174,763,990 shares will be international offer shares (subject to adjustment and the Over-allotment Option), representing approximately 90% of the initial offer shares; the remaining 19,420,000 shares will be Hong Kong public offer shares (subject to adjustment), representing approximately 10% of the initial offer shares. Offer price is set between HK$2.28 to HK$3.28 per share. The Hong Kong Public Offering will start at 9 a.m., 28 February 2018 (Wednesday), and close at 12:00 noon, 5 March 2018 (Monday). Dealings in shares on the Main Board of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange is expected to commence at 9:00 a.m. on 13 March 2018 (Tuesday). The shares will be traded in board lot of 1,000 shares each. The Company's stock code will be 1815.

China Merchants Securities (HK) Co., Ltd. is the Sole Sponsor, Sole Global Coordinator and Sole Bookrunner.

The Group sells a wide selection of authentic and quality jewellery products through the platform brand of "CSmall". According to the Frost & Sullivan Report, the Group ranked first among online jewellery retailers and integrated online and offline jewellery retailers in China in terms of sales revenue in 2016. They offer customers convenient online and offline shopping access with offline jewellery fitting and maintenance services, thereby improving customers' shopping experience. The Group has also launched CSmall Gift initiatives, through which it cooperates with CSmall Gift partners, which are non-jewellery retailers and service providers. The Group believes that the CSmall Gift initiatives not only tap into the established customer traffic of its CSmall Gift partners and transform it into sales volumes, but also promote the sales of CSmall Gift partners and form a "win-win" situation.

From 2014 to 2017, the performance of CSMall Group grew rapidly with revenue and net profit both grew by more than ten times. The revenue of the Group increased from approximately RMB290 million in 2014 to RMB3.15 billion for the first ten months of 2017. Its net profit also increased from RMB9.67 million in 2014 to approximately RMB97 million in 2017E (Annual net profit exceeds RMB110 million if the impact of listing expenses is excluded). The growth trend of the Group is expected to continue in the future.

CSMall Group has successfully implemented the New Jewellery Retail Model, which integrates four complementary elements, namely, its comprehensive e-commerce platform, its easily accessible offline sales and service network, its data mining and utilization capabilities, and innovative crossover marketing initiatives. The interaction between the online sales channels and offline sales and service network helps to expand customer reach by driving customer traffic to each other. Leveraging on extensive customer reach, it utilises data analytics to understand customer needs and preferences, and apply them in targeted sales as well as marketing initiatives and product designs and development, so as to stay ahead of trend and the retail market.

Mr. CHEN He, Chairman, Executive Director and Co-CEO of CSMall Group Limited, said, "In the past few years, with the rapid economic growth in China as well as the continually enhanced per person consumption power in the Mainland, the jewellery retail market in China has seen a robust development. Consumers' growing demand for diversified designs and brand value, the government's strong support for "Internet Plus" initiatives and the development of the mobile Internet industry have contributed to industry growth. In addition, consumers' pursuit for comprehensive shopping experience and the growing influence of the China's younger generation who are becoming a leading consumer group of jewellery products have led to the rapid growth of the China's integrated online and offline jewellery retail market. With our leading market position and long-term innovative growth strategy, CSMall Group will be able to capture these opportunties, satisfy unmet demand of consumers, and explore new business opportunities and markets."

As the largest integrated online and offline jewelry retailer in China, CSMall Group's online sales channels and offline retail and service network complement, support and promote each other, and the synergies resulting therefrom contribute to the expansion of its customer base and the growth of its business. The potential growth in the online jewellery retail market is huge, and the market prospects for affordable jewellery products in China is also extensive. The Group's leading market position and extensive customer reach have well positioned it to further expand the volume, width and depth of sources of customer data to generate comprehensive data analytics to support and enhance the business of the Group. In addition, its diversified and innovative sales and marketing initiatives that are designed to differentiate from traditional jewellery retailers have substantially contributed to the growth of its business, such as the multi-brand sales strategy, cooperation with third-party online sales channels and offline retail point, online flash sales launched on self-operated online jewelry platform, and the CSmall Gift crossover sales and marketing initiatives.

The authenticity and quality of its jewellery products have been critical to its success to date. The Group provides customers with authentication certificates issued by jewellery quality inspection centres that are approved by AQSIQ. Apart from that, the Group also guarantees customers that a penalty payment of up to ten times the purchase price for its jewellery products if an AQSIQ-approved jewellery quality inspection centre certifies such products to be inauthentic or defective. The Group has now developed market recognition for its trustworthy product quality. The management team of the Company comprises executives with extensive and diversified industry experience and strong execution capabilities, and they would always lead the Group to grow. The co-founders and management team are committed to building a corporate culture dedicated to the pursuit of excellence and long-term commitment.

Mr. CHEN He concluded, "The application of Internet technology and big data is a general trend of global economic development. In line with this trend, CSMall Group will continue to play a pioneering and innovative role in the jewellery retail market of China, and maintain and consolidate our position as a leading integrated online and offline 'New Jewellery Retail Model' Internet-based jewellery retailer in China. With support from the market, after the listing, the Group will expand and optimise our integrated online and offline retail structure and enhance the online and offline synergies, including the implementation of our CSmall Gift initiatives and other crossover marketing initiatives, and the development of our online sales channels and offline sales and service network. We will also fully strengthen our data collection, mining and utilisation capabilities by upgrading our IT infrastructure and data management systems, expanding our data analysis team and enhancing our software development capabilities. In addition, we will improve our product design and development capabilities and enhance our inventory, order fulfilment and logistics management by expanding our in-house design team and expanding our warehouse and upgrading our order fulfilment facilities commensurate with the business needs. We will continue to pay attention to our brand development and targeted sales and marketing campaigns, so as to seize every opportunity for further development. CSMall Group is ready to make full use of Hong Kong's unique financing platform to create the greatest value for its shareholders."

Fact Sheet

Information on the Shares Offering :
Number of Offer Shares: 194,183,990 Shares (subject to the Over-allotment Option )
Number of Hong Kong Offer Shares: 19,420,000 Shares (subject to adjustment)
Number of International Offer Shares: 174,763,990 Shares (subject to adjustment and the Over-allotment Option
Maximum Offer Price: HK$3.28 per Share (excluding brokerage, SFC transaction levy and Stock Exchange trading fee)
Board Lot: 1,000 Shares
Offer Price per Share: HK$2.28 to HK$3.28 per Share
Start of the Hong Kong Public Offering: 9 a.m., 28 February 2018 (Wednesday)
End of the Hong Kong Public Offering: 12:00 noon, 5 March 2018 (Monday)
Expected Price Determination Date: 5 March 2018 (Monday)
Announcement of Allotment Results: 12 March 2018 (Monday)
Expected Listing Date: 13 March 2018 (Tuesday)
Stock Code: 1815

Use of Proceeds
Assuming that the Over-allotment Option is not exercised, and that the Offer Price is at HK$2.78 (being the mid-point of the Offer Price range), the aggregate net proceeds from the Share Offer will be approximately HK$481.5 million, after deduction of underwriting fees and commissions and estimated expenses in connection with the Global Offering. The Company intends to apply the net proceeds in the following manner:

Intended Use of Proceeds / Amount(HK$ million) / As a Percentage ofTotal Amount (%)
For expanding and optimise integrated online and offline retail structure and enhance the online and offline synergies. / 313.0 / 65%
- CSmall Gift initiatives and other crossover marketing initiatives / 192.6 / 40%
- develop our online sales channels / 72.2 / 15%
- develop our offline sales and service network / 48.1 / 10%
For strengthening data collection, mining and utilisation capabilities, primarily by upgrading our IT infrastructure and data management systems, expanding our data analysis team and enhancing our software development capabilities. / 48.1 / 10%
For improving product design and development capabilities and enhancing inventory, order fulfilment and logistics management, primarily by expanding in-house design team and expanding warehouse and upgrading order fulfilment facilities commensurate with the business needs. / 48.1 / 10%
For brand development and targeted sales and marketing campaigns / 48.1 / 10%
For working capital and other general corporate purposes / 24.1 / 5%

Summary Financial Information of the Listing Segment :

Between January 2014 and March 2016 (the "Relevant Period"), the Group's cost of silver only reflected the historical cost of production of silver ingots incurred by Longtianyong, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Group's controlling shareholder, China Silver Group. The production cost was lower than the cost of procuring silver ingots at their then prevailing market rates. In order to provide investors with a meaningful measure of the overall profit generating capabilities of the Group's business during the track record period and after the listing, the Group adopted the concept of the listing segment as its sole reporting segment during the track record period to account for the cost of silver ingots based on their then prevailing market rates during the Relevant Period.

Issued by Porda Havas International Finance Communications Group for and on behalf of CSMall Group Limited. For further information, please contact:

Porda Havas International Finance Communications Group
Kelly Fung +852 3150 6763 kelly.fung@pordahavas.com
Alex Wang +852 3120 6522 alexsy.wang@pordahavas.com
Mandy Leung +852 3150 6732 mandy.leung@pordahavas.com
Nicole Weng +852 3150 6742 nicole.weng@pordahavas.com
Mila So +852 3150 6726 mila.so @pordahavas.com
Blanca Zhao +852 3150 6752 blanca.zhao@pordahavas.com
Fax: +852 3150 6728


 
Copyright 2018 ACN Newswire. All rights reserved. www.acnnewswire.com

NEC Announces Organizational Changes Aimed at Achieving its Mid-term Management Plan 2020

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TOKYO, Feb 28, 2018 - (JCN Newswire) - NEC Corporation (TSE: 6701) today announced plans to implement organizational changes aimed at achieving its new mid-term management plan, the "Mid-term Management Plan 2020," covering a three-year period from FY2018 to FY2020. These changes are slated to commence on April 1, 2018.

To accelerate the growth of global business, NEC business divisions that are primarily tasked with expanding in global markets will be newly incorporated into the Global Business Unit. This will make it possible to centralize business responsibilities and management authority, resulting in improved speed, concentrated investment in core businesses, and reduced costs. These business divisions include those responsible for the software and service business for service providers throughout the world, the wireless solutions business, the submarine systems business, the global unified communications business, the display solutions business, and the energy business(1).

Additionally, in response to the continuing diversification of network needs as the IoT and 5G era approaches, NEC will rename its Telecom Carrier Business Unit to Network Services Business Unit. This move is being made in an effort to leverage the network strengths and capabilities cultivated in the telecom carrier market across to other industry sectors, including service providers, manufacturers, distribution and service industries, and governments. Leveraging its industry know-how, AI technology, biometric technology, and security technology, NEC will focus on promoting the provision of integrated services covering products ranging from devices and networks to applications.

(1) The Safety business was incorporated into the Global Business Unit in FY2016.

About NEC Corporation

NEC Corporation is a leader in the integration of IT and network technologies that benefit businesses and people around the world. By providing a combination of products and solutions that cross utilize the company's experience and global resources, NEC's advanced technologies meet the complex and ever-changing needs of its customers. NEC brings more than 100 years of expertise in technological innovation to empower people, businesses and society. For more information, visit NEC at http://www.nec.com.

Based on its Mid-term Management Plan 2015, the NEC Group globally provides "Solutions for Society" that promote the safety, security, efficiency and equality of society. Under the company's corporate message of "Orchestrating a brighter world," NEC aims to help solve a wide range of challenging issues and to create new social value for the changing world of tomorrow. For more information, please visit http://www.nec.com/en/global/about/solutionsforsociety/message.html.

Contact:
NEC Seiichiro Toda s-toda@cj.jp.nec.com +81-3-3798-6511

Copyright 2018 JCN Newswire. All rights reserved. www.jcnnewswire.com

SDK Strengthens R&D Function for Aluminum Alloy Materials

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Ribbon-cutting ceremony,(L to R) Kanji Takasaki, Corporate Officer; Jun Tanaka, Director, Managing Corporate Officer; Tetsuo Wada, Corporate Officer
Opens the Facility of Aluminum Product Evaluation Center in Kitakata

TOKYO, Feb 28, 2018 - (JCN Newswire) - Showa Denko ("SDK"; TSE:4004) has decided to newly establish "Aluminum Product Evaluation Center" in its Kitakata Plant located in Fukushima Prefecture, as a laboratory subordinated to the Institute for Integrated Product Development, Business Development Center, in order to accelerate development of aluminum alloy materials. Today, SDK held a ceremony to open the facility of Aluminum Product Evaluation Center.

These days, many automotive parts manufacturers adopt aluminum alloys as materials to produce parts with reduced weights, including suspensions and driving gears. Thus the demand for aluminum alloys for automotive parts is expected to show steady growth. To respond to such demand for light-weight aluminum parts for automobiles, SDK produces and sells "Shotic(TM)" continuously cast aluminum stick, products forged from Shotic, large-sized aluminum extrusions, and cooling devices for power semiconductors used in electric vehicles. Shotic especially has homogeneous and fine metal structure, which is realized by SDK's proprietary continuous casting technology, and shows high strength under high temperature, high abrasion resistance, and high corrosion resistance. In addition, forged products made from Shotic also show high strength, high abrasion resistance, and low thermal expansivity. In order to make these products contribute to further weight reduction of automobiles, we believe we should furthermore improve our aluminum alloy production technology, aiming to realize higher strength. Therefore, SDK decided this time to newly establish Aluminum Product Evaluation Center in its Kitakata Plant, which is SDK's main base to develop and produce cast and forged aluminum products.

The Showa Denko Group will make Aluminum Product Evaluation Center have enriched companywide functions to analyze and develop aluminum alloys, and will accelerate the Group's development of alloys to produce aluminum products including cast, forged and extruded products. In addition, the Group aims to propose new multi-material products through composition of organic, inorganic, and metal materials by strengthening the Group's analysis technology, which will be realized by close cooperation among Aluminum Product Evaluation Center, Analysis & Physical Properties Center, and Computational Science and Technology Information Center, the latter two of which are located in Chiba Prefecture and also subordinated to the Institute for Integrated Product Development.

Under its ongoing medium-term business plan "Project 2020+," the Showa Denko Group aims to provide the five target market domains of "Energy," "Electronics," "Infrastructure," "Living environment," and "Mobility" with high-value-added products and services, thereby contributing to the creation of global society where affluence and sustainability are harmonized. The Showa Denko Group will continue striving to give birth to sprouts of new businesses which will contribute to further growth of the Group in the future, through deepening and integration of its R&D activities in various fields.

About Showa Denko K.K.

Showa Denko K.K. ("SDK"; TSE:4004, US:SHWDF) is a major manufacturer and marketer of chemical products serving a wide range of fields ranging from heavy industry to the electronic and computer industries. The Petrochemicals Sector provides cracker products such as ethylene and propylene, the Chemicals Sector provides industrial and high-performance gases and chemicals and high-purity gases and chemicals for the semiconductor industry, and the Inorganics Sector provides ceramics products such as alumina, abrasive, refractory and graphite electrodes and fine carbon products. Today, the Aluminum Sector provides aluminum materials and high-value-added fabricated aluminum, the Electronics Sector provides HD media, compound semiconductors such as ultra high-bright LEDs and rare earth magnetic alloys, and the Advanced Battery Materials Department (ABM) provides lithium-ion battery components. For more information, please visit www.sdk.co.jp/english/.

Contact:
Public Relations Office Phone: 81-3-5470-3235

Copyright 2018 JCN Newswire. All rights reserved. www.jcnnewswire.com

Vietnam Forges New Market for Datacenter and Cloud Services in S.E. Asia

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SINGAPORE, Feb 28, 2018 - (ACN Newswire) - As South East Asia absorbs massive datacenter investments made over the past two years, Vietnam has quietly built out facilities and services, creating a new cloud services market in the region, reaching near parity in terms of capacity with Thailand and Indonesia.

A new report from BroadGroup - Datacenters South East Asia - follows on from previous studies which have monitored sectoral developments in the region since 2012. It suggests that datacenter markets in South East Asia have undergone a period of adjustment and are still absorbing investments made in new capacity across Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam, Brunei, Indonesia and Thailand.

The report estimates that around USD1.4 billion has been invested in building facilities over the past two years alone across the six markets covered. SUPERNAP in Thailand and Global Switch in Singapore feature among the highest spend projects.

Although Singapore remains the dominant market with 54% of capacity in the region, and with the highest percentage of facilities owned by overseas companies, land space for further development is now extremely limited. The report anticipates investors are now assessing alternative locations.

However a concerted attempt to improve Vietnam's infrastructure has been underway over the past two years resulting in an increase of 37% in m2 capacity forecast by the end of 2018. Government backed investment, the need to catch up with the rest of Asia, local demand and telcos seeking to provide cloud and e-commerce services are all contributing factors.

More recent growth regionally has been driven by the international expansion of mainland Chinese players, cloud service providers in Asia, sustained migration by enterprises pursuing a hybrid cloud strategy and mobile communications.

Power challenges persist, and the likelihood of renewable energy supply for datacenters is remote across the next 15 years, with the exception of Thailand which is already on target and has an ambitious re-forecast of 40% for renewables to be achieved by 2030.

"Outside of Singapore and Malaysia, the region's datacenter development is still evolving. However the map is uneven. Where some have good connectivity, challenges emerge with the cost of the local fiber," commented Philip Low of BroadGroup.

"Financing has been problematic for some owners but the main issue remains building highly competitive ecosystems that will attract enterprises from the region and internationally. With the imminence of Edge and further deployment from China, the opportunity remains open and the markets have much to go."

The report is available from BroadGroup and its findings will be discussed at the forthcoming Datacloud Asia forum (www.datacloud.asia) taking place in Singapore March 22nd.

About BroadGroup
Established in 2002, BroadGroup achieved rapid recognition and growth through delivering quality events internationally, and research and insight in the fast moving Datacenter and cloud markets, which has been the main focus of the company. BroadGroup is a member company of FTSE 250 firm Euromoney Institutional Investor PLC. www.broad-group.com.

Press contact:
Julia Vockrodt, VP Communications, +44 7710 942943

 
Copyright 2018 ACN Newswire. All rights reserved. www.acnnewswire.com

Tongda Hong Tai to be Spun Off from Tongda Group (HKE:698), Announces Details of Listing on Main Board of SEHK

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HONG KONG, Feb 28, 2018 - (ACN Newswire) - Tongda Hong Tai Holdings Limited ("Tongda Hong Tai" or the "Group"), a one-stop manufacturing solution provider of casings of notebooks, tablets and other accessories, today announced details of the proposed listing of its shares on the Main Board of the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited ("SEHK").

Tongda Hong Tai has been a wholly-owned subsidiary of Tongda Group Holdings Limited ("Tongda Group"; stock code: 698) before the spin-off. Tongda Group will distribute shares by way of a distribution in specie if the spin-off proceeds and each shareholders of Tongda Group will be entitled to one share of Tongda Hong Tai for every 40 shares of Tongda Group held.

Offering Details
The Group intends to offer a total of 37,822,500 shares, of which 34,040,000 shares will be for Placing (subject to reallocation) and the remaining 3,782,500 shares will be for the Public Offer (subject to reallocation). After deducting the underwriting fees and estimated expenses and assuming an offer price of HK$2.30 per Offer Share, net proceeds from the Share Offer are estimated to be approximately HK$48.5 million.

The Hong Kong Public Offer will commence on 28 February 2018 (Wednesday) and end at 12:00 noon on 5 March 2018 (Monday). The allotment results are expected to be announced on or before 15 March 2018 (Thursday). Dealing in Tongda Hong Tai's Shares is expected to commence on the SEHK on 16 March 2018 (Friday) under the stock code 2363. The shares are to be traded in board lots of 2,500 shares each.

Messis Capital Limited is the Sponsor of the listing. Sinomax Securities Limited is the Sole Bookrunner. Sinomax Securities Limited, Sinolink Securities (Hong Kong) Company Limited, RHB Securities Hong Kong Limited and Changjiang Securities Brokerage (HK) Limited are the Joint Lead Managers.

Corporate Highlights
Comprehensive one-stop manufacturing solutions for notebook and tablet casings
The Group's services encompass design of manufacturing solutions, mould fabrication, plastic injection moulding, surface decoration, metal tooling and stamping and assembly of notebook and tablet casings. The one-stop manufacturing solution by vertically integrating lengthy and complex production processes can lower production cost, enhance efficiency and mass production capacity.

Efficient production facilities, diversified product portfolio and valuable experience in the manufacture of notebook and tablet casings
The Group has a diversified notebook and tablet casings product portfolio. The products mainly include metal or plastic notebook and tablet casings and other accessories and components. In 2015, the Group successfully patented the LMF technology to diversify its surface decoration techniques.

Strong research and development capabilities and stringent quality control
The Group has established a strong research and development team under its engineering department, responsible for the research and development of new production technologies, as well as continuous improvement on product quality and production processes. Furthermore, it has also established quality management systems which conform with international quality standards and has been accredited with ISO9001:2008 certification since August 2010.

Established relationship with OEMs of leading domestic and international brand owners
The Group has well-established relationships with major customers which are OEMs of leading brand owners, including Quanta Computer Inc. and Compal Electronics, Inc., etc . The Group has maintained business relationships ranging from approximately one to six years with each of its top five customers during the Track Record Period.

Strategic locations of the production facilities and cost advantages
Tongda Suzhou's production plants are strategically located in Suzhou, the PRC, which enables the Group to quickly reach most of its customers and benefit from the close proximity to the customers' factories in the eastern region of the PRC. Owing to the relatively lower transportation costs and larger bulk purchase discounts of production materials than those of other smaller manufacturers, the Group is able to purchase production materials at competitive prices and hence maintain better cost controls on its operations.

Future strategies
The Group aims to expand its market share in the notebook and tablet casings manufacturing industry and to enhance its profitability as well as maximise shareholder value. To enlarge its market shares and maintain its competitiveness within the industry, the Group intends to lease a new factory with a gross floor area of approximately 5,000 sq m for a term of ten years to expand its business and to cater for the future expansion of its production capacity. Besides, the Group intends to expand production facilities and upgrade the production equipment, as extending automation can raise yield and reduce labour costs, which, in turn, also improves its productivity.

The Group will continue to place strong emphasis on research and development (R&D) and enhance related capabilities, including but not limited to recruiting additional qualified technical personnel, providing training to the staff of the R&D department and purchase of additional advanced testing and equipment. To enlarge its market share and maintain its industry competitiveness, the Group seeks to continuously strengthen its distribution network by improving its relationship with its existing customers and soliciting new customers by increasing the number of sales and marketing personnel and bolstering its services before, during and after sales.

The gaming notebook market is expected to expand and become a new driver for the overall notebook sector as well as the notebook casing industry due to its relatively high replacement rate. As at 20 February 2018, three of the existing major brand owners of gaming notebooks are using the Group's products. With the growing popularity of the gaming notebooks and subsequent expansion of that market in the near future, the Group is expected to benefit from the potential business opportunities arising thereof.

Use of proceeds
Assuming the offer price is HK$2.3 per offer share, the net proceeds are expected to be approximately HK$48.5 million, and the Group intends to apply the net proceeds in the following manner:

USAGE PERCENTAGE
- Leasing a new factory: 15.1%
- Refurbish the new factory: 19.9%
- Procure additional production facilities and machineries: 46.2%
- Enhance automation of manufacturing processes: 16.1%
- Enhance sales and marketing activities: 0.3%
- Enhance R&D capabilities: 2.4%

Financial performance
For the years of 2014, 2015 and 2016, the revenue of the Group amounted to approximately HK$376.3 million, HK$422.7 million and HK$463.9 million respectively, at the CAGR of 11.0%. The Group recorded revenue of HK$351.5 million for the eight months ended 31 August 2017.

The Group's net profit for the years of 2014, 2015 and 2016 reached HK$26.0 million, HK$25.7 million and HK$24.1 million, respectively; and it recorded net profit for the period of HK$13.0 million for the eight months ended 31 August 2017. If the listing expenses were excluded, the Group would have recorded net profit for the year of HK$26.0 million, HK$26.3 million and HK$36.6 million respectively. The Group would have recorded a net profit of HK$24.4 million for the eight months ended 31 August 2017.

About Tongda Group Holdings Limited (Stock Code: 698)
Tongda Group is the world's leading solutions provider of high-precision components used in smart mobile communication and consumer electronic products. The Group has been listed on the Main Board of The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited since 2000, under the Information Technology - IT Hardware category, and has been selected as a constituent stock in the Hang Seng Composite LargeCap & MidCap Index, Hang Seng Broad Consumption Index, Hang Seng Global Composite Index and the MSCI Global Small Cap Indices - China Index. The Group garners the DHL/SCMP Hong Kong Business Awards 2015 - Enterprise Award and has been selected to the Forbes Asia's 200 "Best Under A Billion" list in 2016. Mr. Wang Ya Nan, Chairman and CEO of the Group has been named the winner in the technology category of EY Entrepreneur of the Year China 2016.

Leveraging its leading In-Mold Lamination ("IML"), metal casing production and rubber parts business technology and first-tier customers in the PRC's robust consumer market, the Group has established a solid presence in the markets for handsets, electrical appliances and notebook computer casings and related products. The Group is dedicated to satisfying customers' needs through establishing global service networks in various regions, with strategically located production bases in Shishi city, Xiamen, Shanghai and Shenzhen, as well as R&D centres in Shanghai and Taiwan.

About Tongda Hong Tai Holdings Limited
Founded in Changshu, the PRC in 2010, Tongda Hong Tai is a one-stop manufacturing solutions provider of casings for notebooks, tablets and other accessories. The Group manufactures and sells a wide variety of casings and components for notebooks and tablets. Its customers are mainly OEMs for leading domestic and international brand owners.

For press enquiries
Strategic Financial Relations Limited
Vicky Lee Tel: 2864 4834 Email: vicky.lee@sprg.com.hk
Angela Ng Tel: 2864 4855 Email: angela.ng@sprg.com.hk
Angela Wong Tel: 2114 4953 Email: angela.wong@sprg.com.hk
Fax: 2527 1196


 
Copyright 2018 ACN Newswire. All rights reserved. www.acnnewswire.com

GAC Mitsubishi Motors to Begin Delivery of All New Plug-in Hybrid SUV in China

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Eupheme to become first plug-in hybrid vehicle offered in China by a joint venture company

TOKYO, Feb 28, 2018 - (JCN Newswire) - Mitsubishi Motors Corporation (MMC) is proud to announce that its joint venture business in China with Guangzhou Automobile Group (GAC) and Mitsubishi Corporation - GAC Mitsubishi Motors (GMMC) - will begin the domestic sale and delivery of the all-new Eupheme Plug-in Hybrid Electric (PHEV) SUV from March 2018.

Designed by GAC and produced by GMMC in Changsha, Hunan, the Eupheme has also become the first PHEV to be launched and marketed by Sino-foreign automotive joint venture firm in China. The new SUV supports both Mitsubishi Motors and GAC's strategic growth goals, as well as the development of an advanced automotive industry and rapid adoption of "new energy vehicle" (NEV)(1) technologies in the world's largest vehicle market.

Five key cities will serve as the initial release markets for the Eupheme in China, including Changsha, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Hangzhou and Tianjin, with additional locations to be introduced across the country this year. Featuring an average fuel economy of 1.8L/100km and a cruising range of more than 600km, Eupheme provides Chinese consumers with an advanced, eco-friendly SUV at a highly competitive base price around USD 33,000 - even before national NEV subsidies are incorporated.

Commenting on the company's ambitions in China, Mitsubishi Motors Chief Executive Officer Osamu Masuko stated "The launch of Eupheme is an important milestone for GMMC, and demonstrates the critical role that PHEV technology will play in meeting Chinese consumers' needs and the government's sustainable development goals. China became the Mitsubishi Motors' largest global sales market during 2017, and we look forward to greatly expanding our position in the country during our DRIVE FOR GROWTH plan."

As a strategic partnership, sales and production platform in China, GMMC will play a key role in supporting Mitsubishi Motors three-year DRIVE FOR GROWTH strategic plan. By 2019, Mitsubishi Motors aims to have further strengthened its operations across China by more than doubling the sale of locally manufactured vehicles as well as its dealer network, compared with 2016 levels. The company will also focus on expanding its vehicle lineup of four-wheel drive and PHEV SUVs in the country.

(1) NEVs in China are defined as full electric, plug-in hybrid or fuel cell vehicles

About Mitsubishi Motors

Mitsubishi Motors Corporation is the sixth largest automaker in Japan and the sixteenth largest in the world. It is part of the Mitsubishi keiretsu, formerly the biggest industrial group in Japan, and was formed in 1970 from the automotive division of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries. From October 2016, Mitsubishi is one-third owned by Nissan, and a part of the Renault - Nissan - Mitsubishi Alliance. For more information, please visit www.mitsubishi-motors.com/en/index.html.

Contact:
Mitsubishi Motors Public Relations Department http://www.mitsubishi-motors.com +81-3-6852-4275

Copyright 2018 JCN Newswire. All rights reserved. www.jcnnewswire.com

Artprice's Annual Report on the Global Art Market in 2017: a genuine alternative to financial markets, with China in first place

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SAINT-ROMAIN AU MONT, FRANCE, Feb 28, 2018 - (ACN Newswire) - Our 20th Global Art Market Annual Report is once again the fruit of an alliance between Artprice, world leader in Art Market information, founded and directed by thierry Ehrmann, and Artron, its powerful Chinese institutional partner, directed by Wan Jie. The result is the only truly global art market report providing reliable insight into both the Western and the Eastern art market.

By pooling their resources to analyse the global Art Market in unprecedented detail, our two structures highlight the intense competition driving the market's global growth as well as its logic and its consequences. No other organisation or team is currently capable of such high quality processing and interpreting of macro- and micro-economic metadata in a Big Data environment.

The Report contains Artprice's now-famous Top-500 ranking of artists by annual auction turnover, the market's Top 100 auction results, our brand new Artprice100 index -a must for trading rooms - a selection of Artprice market indices, and numerous detailed analyses per country, per market-hub, per creative period and per artistic medium. Its 18 chapters provide an uncompromising and unprecedented analysis of today's global Art Market.

The Report can be downloaded in pdf format free of charge at Artprice.com.
https://www.artprice.com/artprice-reports/the-art-market-in-2017

Posting very strong growth in 2017, the Art Market has entered a new era

-Public sales of Fine Art -painting, sculpture, drawing, photography, prints and installation - from 1 January 2017 to 31 December 2017-

General Synopsis:
- Fine Art auction turnover reached $14.9 billion for the full-year 2017
- Global turnover increased +20% versus the previous year
- Measured growth in H1 (+9%) became strong growth in H2 (+32%)
- Worldwide, 502,900 artworks were sold publicly in 2017 (+3%)
- The overall unsold rate was 34% (vs. 36% in 2016)
- Artprice's global art price index ended the year stable versus 2016

The latest spectacular all-time Fine Art auction record at $450 million for Leonardo da Vinci's Salvator Mundi represents the beginning of a new era for the Art Market in which the next big milestone will be the $1 billion threshold. In the meantime, we are bound to see results between $179 million and $450 million in 2018.

Soft Power:
- China remains the world's top marketplace with $5.1 billion in turnover: 34.2% of global total
- The United States ranks second with $4.9 billion
- The world's top 5 marketplaces all posted turnover growth:
- China +7%, USA +42%, UK +18%, France +35%, Germany +12%
- France (in 4th place) accounted for 5.3% of global turnover with $784 million, ahead of Germany's $256 million, but still a long way behind the three leading marketplaces. France's turnover was up +35%, but this growth was essentially generated by the Anglo-Saxon auction firms, Christie's and Sotheby's, which posted +58% and +35% growth respectively in Paris.
- Christie's and Sotheby's domination of Fine Art auctions in France is getting stronger each year: the two houses now account for over half of the country's Fine Art auction turnover (54% in 2017) compared with 47% in 2016.
- Christie's and Sotheby's together generate more Fine Art auction turnover in France than the other 214 French auction operators.
- Christie's is the world's leading auction house with a total of $4.4 billion ahead of Sotheby's with 3.4 billion
- In China, Poly Auction ($1 billion) beat China Guardian ($815 million)
- Phillips took 5th place in 2017 with a turnover total of $471 million
- In Europe, the two non-Anglo-Saxon leaders are the Austrian firm Dorotheum ($78 million) and the French firm Artcurial ($76 million).

Trends:
- Artprice's 2017 global Top 500 index contains 231 European artists, 162 Asians and 82 North Americans
-The Top 10 includes 4 Chinese artists, 3 Europeans and 3 Americans
- 2017 saw new auction records for many high-profile figures in Art History including Leonardo da Vinci, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Qi Baishi, Zao Wou-Ki, Marc Chagall, Fernand Leger and Constantin Brancusi

Financial performances:
- Repeat sales** generate an average annual return of between 5.5% and + 8.3%
- In the longer run, works purchased from $200,000 to $1 million generate the best annual return: 8.3%
** The same work purchased and resold at auction during 2017

Artprice100 - "The Wolves of Wall Street at the gates of the Art Market"
- The Artprice100 shows a progression of +360% since 2000
- +360% since 2000 represents an average annual return of 8.9%
- Revised annually, the new index replaced 4 artists in 2017
- The new index contained 1 Chinese artist (Zhang Daqian) in 2000, versus 18 in 2017

France:
Towards new regulations for France's auction operators...

Many public documents show that French Art Market players, among others the Syndicat des Maisons de Ventes (SYMEV) have taken a stand: against a backdrop of art market globalisation spearheaded by the widespread adoption of internet auction sales, France's share of the global Fine Art auction market - a share that was over 60% in the 1970s - fell back to a dangerously low level of less than 4% in 2016. Aware of this worrying reality, the sector's professionals via the Syndicat des Maisons de Ventes (SYMEV), have been sounding the alarm over the past year. and, it would seem, they have been heard.

This news was clearly expressed at the annual meeting of auctioneers that took place at the end of 2017. The French authorities are working towards a complete overhaul of the much-contested and obsolete regulatory framework that governs public auction sales in France. The Conseil des Ventes Volontaires (CVV) -France's auction market oversight authority- will apparently become an agency of self-regulation, closer to the realities of the market and more in tune with the digital and global issues that have transformed the sector.

At the end of November, in front of the assembled heads of France's auction sector, Sylvain Maillard, the elected representative for the Paris constituency that is home to the the famous Hotel Drouot, and former campaign spokesman for Emmanuel Macron, clearly expressed the government's willingness to act: "all the points you have raised have been taken very seriously by the public authorities (.) and all the possible solutions to these problems are currently being examined and explored."

On March 7 next, the French Senate will be chairing a session entitled The attractiveness and legal competitiveness of the French art market, under the twin council of the Senate's Law Commission and its Culture Commission. There can be no doubt that this initiative is part of a new reform dynamic that will lead to the adoption of a new legal framework as of 2018.

The removal of a major administrative impediment that is unique in Europe would indeed allow the French art market to begin the lengthy process of recovering the position it held for over a century in the global art market. End of quote.

These developments represent a major recognition for Artprice, and should lead to the resolution and satisfaction of all of Artprice's claims & demands during a long and arduous battle.

The new awareness of the sound logic of investing in art, along with other motives such as speculative buying and collecting art as a passion have coincided with an intense level of demand for big-name masterpieces from the world's new museums. Despite a generally lacklustre global economy, these market forces have boosted demand for artworks worldwide with the global auction turnover up +20% in 2017, generating a very impressive total of $14.9 billion.

The drivers of this growth are ease of access to Art Market information, electronic sales (98% of the market's participants are connected to the Internet), the financialization of the market, a growing population of ever-younger art consumers (from 500,000 in the 1950's to 90 million in 2017) and the extension of the market to the entire Asia/Pacific area plus India, South Africa, the Middle East and South America.

The growth of the museum industry is also playing a crucial role. With more than 700 new museums opening every year, the museum industry has become a global economic reality in the 21st Century. More museums opened between 2000 and 2014 than in the previous two centuries, and demand for museum-quality works is one of the key factors in the spectacular growth of the Art Market. The Art Market is now a mature and liquid market offering returns of 8% per year on works purchased over $200,000.

In 2017, the intense competition between China and the USA generated explosive growth in the West, but confirmed China's role as the leading global marketplace for art despite US growth of +42% and the historic new absolute record of $450 million hammered for Leonardo da Vinci's Salvator Mundi at Christie's in New York. China's domination is established with just $0.2 billion over the US. Art clearly represents an essential element in the Soft Power arsenals of the United States and China, and, on a smaller scale, of Qatar and the UAE.

China's supremacy is also once again visible in our ranking of the world's top 500 artists by annual auction turnover. Chinese artists represent 32.4% of the total number compared to just 16.4% for American artists. The rest are Europeans (46.2%) and other nationalities (5%) essentially Latin Americans and South-West Asians.

Considering the macro and micro-economic data, the last 18 years have confirmed the Art Market as a refuge against economic and financial turbulence, generating substantial and recurring returns.

In a context where central banks are effectively implementing negative interest rates, the Art Market has enjoyed insolent health with our new Artprice100 index showing a progression of +360% since 2000. This new index covers the Top 100 artists in all three major segments: Old Masters, Modern and Contemporary, from all over the world. However, this level of return is not restricted to works by star artists. Our analyses show that the average annual yield on artworks purchased above the $20,000 line is around 5.5%.

The Internet (Microsoft estimates over 5 billion people connected worldwide) has now become the principal and definitive forum for auction operators worldwide who are using it to consolidate their market shares on all continents. Of the world's 6,300 auction houses, 98% are today present on the Internet (versus just 3% in 2005).

The Art Market is an efficient, historical and global market whose ability to withstand economic and geopolitical crises is now beyond any doubt. Over the last 18 years it has outperformed most of the world's principal financial markets by a considerable margin.

Copyright 1987-2018 thierry Ehrmann

About Artprice:

Artprice is listed on the Eurolist by Euronext Paris, SRD long only and Euroclear: 7478 - Bloomberg: PRC - Reuters: ARTF.

Artprice celebrates its 20th birthday, editorial by thierry Ehrmann, founder and CEO of Artprice. https://www.actusnews.com/fr/soc/ARTPRICE/communiques
Dicover Artprice in video: https://www.artprice.com/video

Artprice is the global leader in art price and art index databanks. It has over 30 million indices and auction results covering more than 700,000 artists. Artprice Images(R) gives unlimited access to the largest Art Market resource in the world: a library of 126 million images or prints of artworks from the year 1700 to the present day, along with comments by Artprice's art historians.

Artprice permanently enriches its databanks with information from 6,300 auctioneers and it publishes a constant flow of art market trends for the world's principal news agencies and approximately 7,200 international press publications. For its 4,500,000 members, Artprice gives access to the world's leading Standardised Marketplace for buying and selling art. Artprice is preparing its blockchain for the Art Market. It is BPI-labelled (scientific national French label).

Artprice's Global Art Market Annual Report for 2017 published in March 2018:
https://www.artprice.com/artprice-reports/the-art-market-in-2017

Artprice's Contemporary Art Market Annual Report for 2017 - free access at
https://www.artprice.com/artprice-reports/the-contemporary-art-market-report-2017

Artprice's press releases:
http://serveur.serveur.com/Press_Release/pressreleaseen.htm and https://twitter.com/artpricedotcom

Artmarket News:
https://twitter.com/artpricedotcom & https://twitter.com/artmarketdotcom
https://www.facebook.com/artpricedotcom & https://plus.google.com/+Artpricedotcom/post
http://artmarketinsight.wordpress.com/

Discover the Alchemy and the universe of Artprice http://web.artprice.com/video,
which headquarters are the famous Museum of Contemporary Art, the Abode of Chaos
http://goo.gl/zJssd
https://vimeo.com/124643720

The Contemporary Art Museum The Abode of Chaos on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/la.demeure.du.chaos.theabodeofchaos999

The Abode of Chaos/Demeure du Chaos Contemporary Art Museum by thierry Ehrmann, author, sculptor, artist, photograph
https://www.flickr.com/photos/home_of_chaos/sets/72157

Contact ir@artprice.com


 
Copyright 2018 ACN Newswire. All rights reserved. www.acnnewswire.com

Lee & Man Chemical Announces 2017 Annual Results

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(Left) Mr. Chris Lam, Financial Controller, (Middle) Mr. Norman Lee, CEO & Executive Director, and (Right) Professor Albert Chan, Chief Strategist & Executive Director
Net Profit Surges 225.2% to HK$703 Million
Ready to Expand Production Line and Strengthen Profitability

HONG KONG, Feb 28, 2018 - (ACN Newswire) - Lee & Man Chemical Company Limited ("Lee & Man Chemical" or the "Group"; HKEx: 746) today announced its annual results for the year ended 31 December 2017, with revenue amounted to HK$2,974 million (2016: HK$1,814 million), up by 63.9% as compared with a year ago. Net profit was HK$703 million for the year (2016: HK$216 million), representing a 225.2% leap, owed mainly to increase in product sales and prices. Net profit margin was 23.6%, up 11.7 basis points as compared with last year.

The Board of Directors declared payment of a final dividend for the year ended 31 December 2017 of HK 20.0 cents per share (2016: HK4.0 cents per share). Together with the interim dividend of HK10.0 cents per share already paid (2016: HK5.0 cents per share), total dividends for the year amounted to HK 30.0 cents per share (2016: HK9.0 cents per share).

Ms Wai Siu Kee, Chairman of Lee & Man Chemical, said, "Benefitting from the increase in infrastructural projects in China last year, demand for chemical products grew. Some of our chemical products, including caustic soda, hydrogen peroxide and polytetrafluoroethylene, were sold at consistently high prices. The Group believes the market will continue to rebound thus is optimistic about the outlook of the Chinese chemical market."

The Group's new production lines for chlorinated polyvinyl chloride, thionyl chloride and styrene-acrylic latex, which commenced operation last year, have been contributing to the Group's profitability. Chlorinated polyvinyl chloride is deemed as a kind of new engineering plastic, which can be used for producing pipes for cold and heated water supply, pipes in chemical plants and for crude oil transportation. As for thionyl chloride, it is mainly used in the pharmaceutical, dyes and pesticides industries to chlorinate chemical compounds, whereas styrene-acrylic latex is mainly used in papermaking, for instance corrugated paper and craft paper. In the coming year, the Group will add a new styrene-acrylic production line in its Jiangsu factory, and expand one of the new caustic soda production lines in the Jiangxi factory.

Furthermore, the Group has already picked the location for building a new plant in the Zhuhai Gaolan Port Economic Zone for producing Lithium battery electrolyte additives. The new plant is expected to commence operation in mid-2019.

The Group's liquidity position remains strong with bank balances and cash of HK$468 million (31 December 2016: HK$228 million). The Group's net debt-to-equity ratio (total borrowings net of cash and cash equivalents over shareholders' equity) as at 31 December 2017 was 55.04% (31 December 2016: 74.33%).

Mr Norman Lee, Chief Executive Officer of Lee & Man Chemical, concluded, "The Group is committed to new product research and development and has devoted more resource in employing scientific research experts who possess rich chemical experience and acquiring more scientific research equipment, to help expand and enhance the internal research and development team. The management expects the Group to be able to develop in the near future new products that agree with the trend of refined chemical development. With our management team, shrewd in unleashing the Group's capability in technical innovation and scientific research and development, the Group has pushed forward with strength its aggressive yet pragmatic approach in growing its business. This approach will enable the Group to gradually gather growth momentum and bring substantial returns to shareholders."

About Lee & Man Chemical Company Limited
Established in Hong Kong, Lee & Man Chemical Company Limited engages in the research and development, manufacture and sale of chlorochemicals, fluorochemicals and polymers. The Group is committed to new product research and development, putting resources into employing scientific research experts with rich chemical industry experience and acquiring more scientific research equipment, to ensure its internal research and development team stays strong. It expects to develop more new products in the near future to meet the growing demand for refined chemicals.

For Media Enquiries:
Strategic Financial Relations Limited
Ms. Iris Lee Tel: (852) 2864 4829 Email: iris.lee@sprg.com.hk
Ms. Cindy Lung Tel: (852) 2864 4867 Email: cindy.lung@sprg.com.hk
Ms. Phoebe Leung Tel: (852) 2114 4172 Email: phoebe.leung@sprg.com.hk



 
Copyright 2018 ACN Newswire. All rights reserved. www.acnnewswire.com

Fujitsu and Kanto Gakuin Establish Joint Venture to Provide IT Systems to Schools

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TOKYO, Mar 1, 2018 - (JCN Newswire) - Fujitsu Limited and Kanto Gakuin School Corporation announced that they have today established Education IT Service Limited to provide planning, development, operations, and maintenance of IT systems for schools.

Education IT Service will combine Fujitsu's latest information and communication technology (ICT) and the knowledge it has gained from its extensive experience in building information systems with Kanto Gakuin's operational expertise in the field of education to create high-quality IT systems that it will provide to Kanto Gakuin University and its feeder schools, as well as more broadly to other universities and elementary and secondary educational institutions.

By jointly operating Education IT Service with Kanto Gakuin, Fujitsu will strengthen its relationship with Kanto Gakuin and provide integrated support for the university's IT systems. In addition, learning from Kanto Gakuin's operational expertise in the field of education, Fujitsu seeks to further enhance its education solutions and raise its profile in the education sector.

Through Education IT Service, Kanto Gakuin will first work to improve Kanto Gakuin University's own information systems, optimize its investments, and foster the development of its employees involved in IT systems, and then broaden this initiative to its junior and senior schools, elementary schools, and kindergartens, with the objective of enhancing IT governance for the institution as a whole.

In the Japanese government's Third Basic Plan for the Promotion of Education (FY2018-2022), deliberations for which are now moving forward, discussions are now underway on putting ICT to active use and creating ICT environments for education. And, going forward, ICT experts with the knowledge and skills to deploy ICT environments and provide maintenance and oversight will be in increasingly high demand. In consideration of these circumstances, Fujitsu and Kanto Gakuin have established a new company to provide services that integrate their respective areas of expertise to promote the deployment of ICT on the front lines of education.

About Kanto Gakuin

Kanto Gakuin traces its roots back to the Yokohama Baptist Seminary which was founded in 1884 in Yokohama, Japan. Currently Kanto Gakuin School Corporation consists of one university, two junior and senior high schools, two elementary schools and two kindergartens. We integrate education and research with other aspects of life, including working with local communities, international exchange and sports, and educate students who will contribute to society and the well-being of others.

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

Copyright 2018 JCN Newswire. All rights reserved. www.jcnnewswire.com

Singapore eDevelopment (SGX:40V) biomedical subsidiary confirms LB2 efficacy against Ebola

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SINGAPORE, Mar 1, 2018 - (ACN Newswire) - Singapore eDevelopment (SGX: 40V; SeD) is pleased to announce biomedical subsidiary Global BioLife, Inc. has completed the initial Zaire Ebola research portion for the study of new anti-viral drug LB2, part of its new universal therapeutic drug platform, Linebacker, which is designed to combat a range of diseases, including neurological, anti-microbial, anti-viral, and oncology.

The first documented outbreak of Ebola was in 1976, with more recent notable outbreaks occurring between 2014 - 2016. With fatality rates of up to 90%, Ebola is a severe viral disease transmitted from wild animals to human beings through physical contact, then spreads through human to human contact. There are very few treatment options for Ebola, making infection prevention and infection control practices the strongest defence against the viral disease.

Global BioLife is building on existing research by Mr. Daryl Thompson, the founder of advanced research company GRDG Sciences, LLC. and Director of Scientific Initiatives at Global BioLife, and leveraging on Daryl's expertise in organic and carbohydrate chemistry and use of pandemic technology in research contributing to the development of LB2. The drug displayed efficacy in a much lower dose than T-705 (Favipiravir), the therapeutic agent currently used for treating the Ebola infection.

T-705 (Favipiravir) has been in use since 2014 as an experimental anti-viral drug for treating Ebola. This drug has been shown as effective in decreasing mortality, but must be administered 48 to 72 hours after the Ebola infection has set in. Testing for Global BioLife's anti-viral LB2 was conducted at a highest-rated biosafety level 4 (BSL-4) laboratory in Galveston, Texas. BSL-4 laboratories are used to study life-threatening diseases, employing state-of-the-art systems to protect researchers, staff and the general public from contamination.

Dr. Roscoe Moore, former Assistant Surgeon General of the United States and who serves as the Scientific Advisor to the Linebacker Project, commented, "The results validate our core belief that the Linebacker platform can be a major entry as an effective small molecule anti-infective - effective, and at the same time, with a good safety profile."

In addition to Ebola, the LB2 drug demonstrates similar broad efficacy against SARS, MERS, H5N1 Avian Bird Flu, MRSA, and Cholera. Global BioLife is moving to complete research efforts, and expects positive results from the LB2 drug against ZIKA, Malaria, and the influenza pandemic.

"Based on the Ebola data alone, LB2 is the leading anti-viral drug candidate, with the lowest toxicity. We have high hopes that the LB2 drug has the potential to make real impact in improving people's health globally," said Dr. Peihong (Peggy) Tang, Global BioLife Director and Chief Executive Officer. Dr. Tang has a Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from Columbia University, and worked for Merck & Co. from 1995-2003 as a Senior Engineer focusing on pharmaceutical process engineering and technical services.

Mr. Chan Heng Fai, Executive Chairman of Singapore eDevelopment, said, "Global BioLife is on the cutting edge of research into real solutions for global health problems."

The Linebacker universal therapeutic drug platform is in final pre-clinical testing against an array of diseases. Global BioLife expects to complete validating laboratory data on the platform, which includes for Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease, within the next four (4) months. Shareholders and potential investors in Singapore eDevelopment are advised to exercise caution when trading or dealing in Company securities, as there is no certainty or assurance that the transactions mentioned in this announcement will materialise, read any further Company announcements carefully, and consult their stockbrokers, bank managers or solicitors if they have any doubts about the actions they should take.

About Singapore eDevelopment Ltd
Incorporated on 9 September 2009 and listed on the Singapore Exchange in July 2010, Singapore eDevelopment Ltd (SeD) is involved in: Property development and investments primarily in the United States and Western Australia; Information technology-related businesses; Development, research, testing, manufacturing, licensing and distribution of biomedical products; and Investment activities. For more information, please visit: www.SeD.com.sg or email: contact@sed.com.sg.

About Global BioLife Inc
Global BioLife Inc. (GBLI) is 70% held by Global BioMedical Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Singapore BioMedical Pte. Ltd., which is directly held by Singapore eDevelopment Ltd, a company listed on the Singapore Exchange. Of the remaing, 20% is held by Global Research and Discovery Group Scientific LLC (GRDGS), while ASX-listed Holista CollTech Ltd holds the remaing 10%.

GBLI leverages its scientific know-how and intellectual property in providing solutions toproblems that have been plaguing the biomedical field for decades. Tapping the scientific expertise of GRDGS and Holista, GBLI pledges effort in R&D and drug discovery and development for the prevention, inhibition and treatment of neurological, oncological and immuno-related diseases. GBLI is also working with partners to develop a DEET alternative, second-generation mosquito defense technology, and protection against mosquito transmitted diseases such as Zika and Dengue. For more information, please visit www.globalbiolife.com.

About GRDG Sciences, LLC
GRDG Sciences, LLC is an advanced research team formed in Florida by natural product discovery and drug research scientist Daryl Thompson. For more information, please visit www.globalrdg.com.

 
Copyright 2018 ACN Newswire. All rights reserved. www.acnnewswire.com

NTT DOCOMO and Panasonic Collaborate on Pilot Experiment for Full Time Connected IoT Home Appliances Using LPWA Wireless Communication Technology

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TOKYO, Mar 1, 2018 - (JCN Newswire) - NTT DOCOMO, INC. and Panasonic Corporation today announced that they have agreed in principle to collaborate on a pilot experiment aimed at creating a business model and developing and verifying technologies towards realizing IoT-based home appliances utilizing Low Power Wide Area (LPWA) technologies. Tests are scheduled to start this fall, with a total of about 1,000 units of LPWA-enabled home appliances deployed in Tokyo, Osaka and Shiga Prefecture, located northeast of Osaka. This will be the first trial in Japan(1) that envisions a large number of home appliances connected to LPWA networks on a nationwide scale.

Because LPWA enables long-distance and low power communication, it is attracting a lot of attention from a wide variety of industries as the best suited wireless technology for the Internet of Things (IoT). DOCOMO, Japan's leading mobile operator, is actively promoting services using LPWA technologies. Panasonic has already introduced IoT-enabled home appliances that connect to cloud services via a smartphone or the internet. At present, customers need to individually set up network connectivity to use cloud services. IoT-enabled home appliances with LPWA technologies would allow users without internet connection at home to access cloud services through LPWA technologies, simply by switching on the appliance.

Panasonic, in September 2017, started offering services using DOCOMO's natural language dialogue engine(2) that enable users of its Blu-ray recorders and portable TVs to search and schedule programs from their smartphone. The two companies will work together to plan and examine home appliances that are more safe and secure to use equipped with LPWA, as well as devising convenient and user-friendly home appliances powered by artificial intelligence (AI). The companies will also work on cloud services for IoT-based home appliances, eyeing the use of DOCOMO's AI Agent Service(2) due this spring in order to respond accurately to the individual needs of each user through dialogue.

Once DOCOMO and Panasonic establish a business model and technology for IoT-enabled home appliances with LPWA communication technology in the trial, they will proceed to the commercial phase. Going forward, they aim to create new experiences and values for customers in the IoT era by connecting millions of Panasonic's LPWA-enabled IoT home appliances per year to the cloud services of DOCOMO and Panasonic via DOCOMO's nationwide wide-area communication network.

(1) As of March 1, according to Panasonic data
(2) Services for smartphone and tablet users that use NTT DOCOMO's "AI Agent API" consisting of a proactive support engine and a multipurpose dialogue engine, which are part of the NTT Group's AI called "corevo," and an IoT access control engine. "corevo" is a registered trade mark of Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation. http://www.ntt.co.jp/corevo/e/about.html

About Panasonic

Panasonic Corporation is a worldwide leader in the development of diverse electronics technologies and solutions for customers in the consumer electronics, housing, automotive, and B2B businesses. Celebrating its 100th anniversary in 2018, the company has expanded globally and now operates 495 subsidiaries and 91 associated companies worldwide, recording consolidated net sales of 7.343 trillion yen for the year ended March 31, 2017. Committed to pursuing new value through innovation across divisional lines, the company uses its technologies to create a better life and a better world for its customers. To learn more about Panasonic: http://www.panasonic.com/global.

About NTT DOCOMO

NTT DOCOMO provides innovative, convenient and secure mobile services that enable smarter living for each customer. The company serves over 65 million mobile customers in Japan via advanced wireless networks, including a nationwide 3G network and one of the world's first commercial LTE networks. Leveraging its unique capabilities as a mobile operator, DOCOMO is a leading developer of cutting-edge technologies for NFC mobile payments, mobile GPS, mobile TV, intuitive mobile assistance, environmental monitoring, smart grids and much more. Overseas, the company provides technical and operational expertise to eight mobile operators and other partner companies. NTT DOCOMO is listed on the Tokyo (9437) and New York (DCM) stock exchanges. Please visit https://www.nttdocomo.co.jp/english/ for more information.

Contact:
NTT DOCOMO International PR Public Relations Department Tel: +81-3-5156-1366 Fax: +81-3-5501-3408 URL: www.nttdocomo.com Contact: https://nes.nttdocomo.co.jp/PINQ01/showinquiry.do

Copyright 2018 JCN Newswire. All rights reserved. www.jcnnewswire.com

Hong Kong International Jewellery Show Opens at HKCEC

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The 35th Hong Kong International Jewellery Show, organised by the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC), began its five-day run (1-5 March) today at the HKCEC. The show features more than 2,580 exhibitors from 39 countries and regions, showcasing a diverse range of exquisite fine jewellery pieces.
The Hall of Fame displays the collections of nearly 40 style-leading jewellery brands.
Together with Diamond, Gem and Pearl Show, Twin Events Form the World's Largest Jewellery Marketplace

HONG KONG, Mar 1, 2018 - (ACN Newswire) - Organised by the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC), the 35th Hong Kong International Jewellery Show starts its five-day run (1-5 March) today at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre (HKCEC).

This year's show welcomes more than 2,580 exhibitors from 39 countries and regions, including new exhibitors from Lebanon, Sweden and Ukraine, showcasing finished fine jewellery such as top-tier jewellery pieces, internationally celebrated brands, new designer collections, antique jewellery and bridal jewellery.

The fifth Hong Kong International Diamond, Gem and Pearl Show opened on Tuesday (27 February) at the AsiaWorld-Expo, where an assortment of jewellery raw materials is on offer until Saturday (3 March). Together, the twin shows feature a record of more than 4,550 exhibitors from 52 countries and regions, forming the world's largest jewellery marketplace.

- Buying missions to boost business opportunities

"With improving global economic conditions, the jewellery industry has also steadily recovered," said Benjamin Chau, Deputy Executive Director of the HKTDC. "Consumers increasingly look for product diversity. To help industry players meet demand, this year's Hong Kong International Jewellery Show has launched an IT Solutions for Jewellery zone, showcasing the latest technology and solutions for inventory management, design, production and e-commerce.

The new zone aims to help industry players leverage new technologies and applications to develop innovative designs and services to enhance competitiveness." Mr Chau added that in order to help industry practitioners capture more business opportunities, the HKTDC has organised 115 buying missions comprising more than 8,000 companies from 75 countries and regions, including department stores, specialty stores, retail chains and e-tailers.

- Thematic zones for different needs

Catering to buyers' various sourcing needs, the Jewellery Show is organised into various thematic zones to showcase products in different categories. Apart from the new IT Solutions for Jewellery zone, the Hall of Fame returns this year featuring the collections of nearly 40 style-leading jewellery brands, including Lao Feng Xiang (Booth: CEC 3B-F14) and Frank Wu (Booth: CEC 3B-E06) from the Chinese mainland, and GIORGIO VISCONTI (Booth: CEC 3B-D14) from Italy.

Highlight exhibits include a limited-edition necklace from MAGERIT, a brand of Spanish exhibitor Vitral Group 1994 SL (Booth: 3B-E15). Inspired by the Greek goddess Gea, the necklace is made of 18K Gold, white diamonds, green diamonds, sapphires and tanzanite.

Japan's Kuwayama (Booth: CEC 3B-E08) used 3D technology to create an award-winning jewellery to depict the transformation of wild grapes from a natural shape to abstract form. The piece was named the "Champion of the Champions" of the International Jewellery Design Excellence Award 2017.

For Pak Wui Jewellery (Booth: 3B-F06), its Petory animal jewellery innovatively fuses traditional and creative elements to present a love story with different animal-shaped decorative objects, with the canine-themed accessories especially in the Year of the Dog.

The Hall of Extraordinary gathers nearly 100 top international jewellers to showcase the most exquisite, valuable and unique jewellery pieces in elegantly designed surroundings. Hong Kong exhibitor, Jadmily Jewelry Corporation Ltd (Booth: CEC GH-D17), presents a set of jadeite cabochon jewellery worth approximately HK$100 million, comprising a necklace of nine translucent jadeite cabochons, a jadeite cabochon ring and a pendant.

Another Hong Kong exhibitor, Dawn Jewellery (HK) Ltd (Booth: CEC GH-A20), is showcasing an 18K white gold ring set with a 26.86-carat brilliant diamond, worth HK$31.7 million. US exhibitor Art Creations (Booth: CEC GH-B32) is featuring a US$300,000 platinum ring set with magnificent Colombian emerald and diamond.

Other exhibitors include Hong Kong's Belford Jewellery Company Ltd (Booth: CEC GH-L01), Crossfor Co Ltd (Booth: CEC 3B-B02), Dawn Jewellery (HK) Ltd (Booth: CEC GH-A20), Lili Jewelry (booth: CEC 3B-C02), Novel Collection (booth: CEC 3B-C06), Oriental Gemco (booth: CEC 3B-C14), Sze Youssoufian Enterprises Ltd (Booth: CEC GH-A19); and the United Arab Emirates' Renee Jewellers (Booth: CEC GH-A15).

- Expertise and artistry of Hong Kong's fine jewellery sector on display

At the World of Glamour, exhibitors are showcasing the expertise and artistry of Hong Kong's fine-jewellery makers, which includes Karp Jewellery Mfg HK Ltd (Booth: CEC 1C-E24), Hodel (Booth: CEC 1B-C02), Hong Kong Universal Jewellery Ltd (Booth: CEC 1CON-036) and Osatina Jewellery Company (Booth: CEC 1CON-006). Aaron Shum Jewelry Limited (Booth: CEC 1D-D02) launches its patented, Coronet-branded diamond handbag today.

Buyers looking for creative and up-and-coming brands should visit the Designer Galleria, which features youthful, trendy and high-quality collections by young designers from Hong Kong and overseas. Exhibitors include Sarah Zhuang Jewellery Ltd (Booth: CEC 1CON-036), which is showcasing the "East Meets West" ring, an 18K white gold and diamond piece that recreates Hong Kong's beautiful skyline by using famous landmarks such as the Tsing Ma Bridge, the Bank of China Building and the Chi Lin Nunnery to highlight Hong Kong's vibrancy and multicultural character.

Other highlights include the Wedding Bijoux zone featuring bridal jewellery; the Treasures of Craftsmanship zone showcasing decorative objects made from precious and semi-precious stones and metals; the Antique & Vintage Jewellery Galleria zone, which exclusively caters for dealers in treasures from bygone eras; and the Hall of Time zone, which is dedicated to luxury watches and timepieces.

This year's Jewellery Show features 20 group pavilions, including those of the Chinese mainland, France, Germany, Italy, Israel and Peru, as well as the Japan Pearl Exporters' Association and the Gems & Jewelry Trade Association of Liaoning, which are first-time participants. The Hong Kong Jewellery & Jade Manufacturers Association and the Italian Exhibition Group SpA have again joined hands to present the "T-GOLD + METS" Pavilion, featuring international exhibitors of professional jewellery and watchmaking machinery, equipment, technology and supplies.

- Two design competitions to showcase local creativity

To promote local jewellery design, the HKTDC has joined forces with four major jewellery associations to organise the 19th Hong Kong Jewellery Design Competition, whose winners have already been announced. Meanwhile, the awards presentation for the biennial Chuk Kam Jewellery Design Competition 2018 is held today. The theme of the competition is "The Age of Distinctively Gold: Capture the spirit of our time to revitalize gold jewellery". The winning pieces of the two competitions will be displayed at Hall 1D Concourse during the Jewellery Show to demonstrate Hong Kong's creative jewellery designs to global buyers.

- Gala Dinner facilitates networking building

A gala dinner sponsored by the Tanzanite Foundation will be held tonight. Under the theme "Roman Constellation," the dinner will feature a menu curated by award-winning chef, Gianni Favro of the Virtual Group of Italian Chefs. Coupled with performances, local and international guests of the evening will have ample opportunities to network.

- Multiple seminars and forums to promote industry exchange

In addition, the HKTDC will organise several seminars and forums during the Jewellery Show to examine such topics as jewellery technology, marketing strategies, jewellery craftsmanship and quality management.

The Responsible Jewellery Council and the Hong Kong Jewellery & Jade Manufacturers Association co-organised a seminar this afternoon to examine the role of responsible business practices in the jewellery industry. Multiple jewellery parades and networking receptions will be held throughout the five-day event to promote industry exchange.

- "Two Shows, Two Venues" for synergy

Under the "two shows, two venues" format, the fifth Hong Kong International Diamond, Gem and Pearl Show opened at the AsiaWorld-Expo on Tuesday and will run until Saturday. The Show gathers a record of 1,970 exhibitors from 40 countries and regions, including new exhibitors from Belize and Turkey, to showcase an array of exquisite diamonds, precious and semi-precious stones, pearls and raw materials. Please refer to this press release for details (http://bit.ly/2GClzjP).

To facilitate sourcing at the two shows, from today until Saturday, a complimentary shuttle bus service will run between the AsiaWorld-Expo and various downtown areas (including the HKCEC). Please visit the fair websites for details.

Fair Websites:
Hong Kong International Diamond, Gem and Pearl Show: http://hkdgp.hktdc.com/
Hong Kong International Jewellery Show: http://hkjewelleryshow.hktdc.com/
Enhanced Security Measures for Buyers: http://bit.ly/2EIxhJa
Photo download: http://bit.ly/2FflWUo

About HKTDC

Established in 1966, the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC) is a statutory body dedicated to creating opportunities for Hong Kong's businesses. With more than 40 offices globally, including 13 on the Chinese mainland, the HKTDC promotes Hong Kong as a platform for doing business with China, Asia and the world. With 50 years of experience, the HKTDC organises international exhibitions, conferences and business missions to provide companies, particularly SMEs, with business opportunities on the mainland and in international markets, while providing information via trade publications, research reports and digital channels including the media room. For more information, please visit: www.hktdc.com/aboutus. Follow us on Google+, Twitter @hktdc, LinkedIn.
- Google+: https://plus.google.com/+hktdc
- Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/hktdc
- LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/company/hong-kong-trade-development-council

Contact:
HKTDC Comms & Public Affairs Agnes Wat, +852 2584 4554, agnes.ky.wat@hktdc.org Sunny Ng, +852 2584 4357, sunny.sl.ng@hktdc.org

Copyright 2018 ACN Newswire. All rights reserved. www.acnnewswire.com

China Goldjoy Increases Shareholding in LID, Underscoring Optimism in Its Prospects

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HONG KONG, Mar 1, 2018 - (ACN Newswire) - China Goldjoy Group Limited ("China Goldjoy" or the "Group"; HKEX: 1282) has announced that it is increasing its shareholding in Landing International Development Limited ("LID"; HKEX: 582).

China Goldjoy has been actively developing diverse businesses in recent years and has become an integrated investment holding company. Currently, it is principally engaged in integrated financial services, automation, manufacturing, securities investment as well as property investment and development. In terms of securities investment, its portfolio includes shares of financial, property, energy and tourism companies. While its investments span a wide range, it focuses on those industries related to people's livelihood and rising consumer spending. With a well-established reputation in the market and outstanding capabilities, many Mainland companies consider introducing China Goldjoy as a cornerstone investor when they launch an IPO in Hong Kong.

LID is a developer and operator of integrated leisure and entertainment resorts and entertainment facilities, as well as a property developer. Its flagship project Jeju Shinhwa World occupies an area of 2.5 million square meters in Jeju, South Korea. As LID's first world-class integrated resort in Asia, it features catering, accommodation, leisure and entertainment. Jeju Shinhwa World is to be developed in phases, with Shinhwa Theme Park, Somerset Jeju Shinhwa World, Landing Resort, Landing Convention Centre, YG Republique, Marriott Resort, Shinhwa Shoppes and Jeju Shinhwa World Landing Casino already open for business. The entire project is expected to be completed by 2020.

On 21 February 2018, LID announced its consolidated revenue increased 147% year-on-year to approximately HK$896 million in 2017. Profit attributable to the owners of the Company was approximately HK$505 million, a turnaround from the loss recorded in 2016.

Mr Li Minbin, Executive Director of China Goldjoy, said, "With economic development and escalation of consumer spending in the PRC as well as the rapid growth in China's cultural tourism industry, the Group is optimistic about the future of that industry and is actively exploring domestic and foreign investment opportunities. We appreciate LID's rich experience and expertise in the construction and operation of world-class cultural tourism projects and theme parks, and we are positive about its development prospects as its results have turned from loss to profit in 2017 and many of the resort projects developed and operated by LID have commenced operation and contributed profit. We may also cooperate with LID to develop cultural tourism projects and theme parks in Mainland China should suitable opportunities arise."

About China Goldjoy Group Limited (HKEX: 1282)
China Goldjoy Group Limited, established in 2009, was listed on the Main Board of The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited on 15 December 2010 (Stock code: 1282). The Group has been successful in transforming its business achieving high value enhancement and diversification in the past few years, with main emphasis on integrated financial services, asset management, emerging industries and investment in and development of properties.

Through its subsidiaries, the Group offers securities, futures, precious metals trading, asset management, wealth management, corporate finance and credit financing services in Hong Kong, and asset management, investment management and financial leasing services in Mainland China. Property investment and development is also one of its major businesses, so it can make better use of existing resources to expand income source and improve its financial status. At the same time, to grasp business opportunities in emerging industries, the Group is actively developing new energy and energy-saving lighting, automation and smart manufacturing businesses.

China Goldjoy made it into the MSCI China Small Cap Index in 2017 and is also a constituent of several Hang Seng indexes, including the 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. The Group is also one of the eligible equities in the Shanghai-Hong Kong Stock Connect and Shenzhen-Hong Kong Stock Connect schemes.

Corporate website: www.hk1282.com


 
Copyright 2018 ACN Newswire. All rights reserved. www.acnnewswire.com

More judges named for WARC Prize for MENA Strategy 2018

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LONDON, Mar 1, 2018 - (ACN Newswire) - WARC, the international authority on advertising and media effectiveness, has today announced more judges for the WARC Prize for MENA Strategy 2018, a search for the best strategic marketing thinking that has driven results in the region.

As well as senior agency leaders, also joining the judging panel are senior marketers from global brands including Emirates, IBM, Nissan, Tetra Pak and Unilever. The jury will be chaired by Wasim Basir, Director - Integrated Marketing Communications, Coca-Cola MENA.

The additional judges named are:

- Remie Abdo - Head of Planning, TBWA\RAAD Dubai
- Jori Bindels - VP Corporate Communications, Marketing & Brand, Emirates
- Hussein M. Dajani - General Manager - Digital Marketing and Customer Experience, Africa, Middle East, India and Turkey, Nissan
- Khaled Ismail - VP Communications, Middle East & Africa Region - Tetra Pak
- Victoria Loesch - Regional Client Leadership Director, Mindshare MENA / UAE
- Jeremy Paul - Regional Strategy Director, MAGNA
- Asma Shabab - Marketing & Communications Leader, Watson Internet of Things, IBM MEA
- Pragya Sharma, Director, Marketing, Personal Care, Unilever, MENA
- Ziad Skaff - Managing Director of Hall & Partners MENA

Lucy Aitken, WARC's Case Study Editor, says: "Strategy is integral to the success of a campaign, so it's important to recognise and honour the best work that overcomes challenges and solves clients' problems. This high-calibre jury are well-placed to do that and we're looking forward to working with them."

Now in its second year, the WARC Prize for MENA Strategy is free to enter and is open to agencies and brand owners in any marketing discipline.

As well as Gold, Silver and Bronze accolades, the Grand Prix for the best overall paper will receive USD$7,000 and three Special Awards will be presented with USD$1,000 each in recognition of specific areas of excellence:

The Research Excellence Award for the best use of research in the development of strategic ideas.
The Brand Rebel Award for the best example of a campaign departing from category norms.
The Local Hero Award for the best example of a challenger brand from the MENA region using smart marketing strategy to take on bigger competitors.

The full jury line-up and biographies are available at www.warc.com/menaprize/2018judges.info.

The deadline for entries is 5 April 2018. For more information on the WARC Prize for MENA Strategy 2018 visit www.warc.com/menaprize.prize.


About jury chair: Wasim Basir - Director, Integrated Marketing Communications, Coca-Cola MENA

Wasim joined Coca-Cola's India Business Unit in mid-2010 and the Coca-Cola system in China in September 2009 as the Marketing Activation Director, Coca-Cola (China) Beverages Limited. As part of his 13-year career at the company, he has worked on some of Coca-Cola's most exciting and successful endeavours, including the Beijing Olympic Games, Shanghai World Expo and Coke Studio India.

Wasim has more than fifteen years' experience in advertising and consumer activation. Prior to his current position, he was Group Executive VP for Re-diffusion Y&R in India, Managing Director for Red Lounge in China, Group Business Director for McCann Erickson in China and Group Brand Director for Leo Burnett in India.

About WARC

- your global authority on advertising and media effectiveness

warc.com is an online service offering advertising best practice, evidence, insights and data from the world's leading brands. WARC helps clients grow their businesses by using proven approaches to maximise advertising effectiveness. WARC's clients include the world's largest advertising and media agencies, research companies, universities and advertisers.

WARC runs four global and two regional case study competitions: WARC Awards, WARC Innovation Awards, WARC Media Awards, The Admap prize, WARC Prize for Asian Strategy and WARC Prize for MENA Strategy.

Founded in 1985, WARC is privately owned and has offices in the UK, U.S. and Singapore.

Contact:
Amanda Benfell PR Manager +44 20 7467 8125 amanda.benfell@warc.com

Copyright 2018 ACN Newswire. All rights reserved. www.acnnewswire.com

FDG's Guizhou Production Base Delivered The First Batch of "Made in Guizhou" Electric Vehicles

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HONG KONG, Mar 1, 2018 - (ACN Newswire) - FDG Electric Vehicles Limited ("FDG", "the Group" stock code: 0729.HK) is pleased to announce that 75 vehicles from the first batch of the "Guizhou-made" pure electric buses were successfully delivered to a bus operator known as Lingbi County Yifu New Energy Vehicle Operation Ltd. Lingbi County is a county of Anhui Province in China and is under the administration of Suzhou city.

The successful delivery of "Lingbi County Public Transportation Project" marked the initial success of FDG's New Energy Vehicle Industry Project in Guizhou. This project was a one-of-a-kind opportunity to explore the integrated sales and operation business model of "Vehicle + Charging Stations + Interconnectivity". This enables the new energy vehicle industry to develop in a new level of smart, digitalized and low-carbon environment. With this project, it is expected to speed up the development of the new energy vehicle industry in Guizhou province.

Guizhou Changjiang Automobile is a joint venture established by FDG Electric Vehicles and the Gui'an New District. It is the sole manufacturer of pure electric vehicles in the province in the passenger and commercial segment. The electric vehicle production base does not only have the whole vehicle development capabilities, it also combines integration, control, calibration and performance development technology, as well as the ability to manufacture the body, chassis, electronics, electricals and other subsystems of the electric vehicles. This is also coupled with smart interconnection system with advanced testing and design capabilities, all in one production base. The production base commenced construction in the first half of 2016 and the first pure electric commercial passenger vehicle was produced by the base on 29 December 2017.

About FDG Electric Vehicles Limited
FDG Electric Vehicles Limited ("FDG", stock code: 0729.HK) is a vertically-integrated pure electric vehicle manufacturer. FDG aims to become a globally recognised producer of more economical, greener and more energy-efficient pure electric vehicles. The Group's core businesses include ground-up research, design and development, and manufacturing and sales of pure electric vehicles; manufacturing and sales of lithium-ion batteries and cathode materials for lithium-ion batteries. FDG Kinetic Limited ("FKL", stock code: 0378.HK) is an indirect non-wholly-owned subsidiary.

For further information about FDG Electric Vehicles, please visit FDG's website at http://www.fdgev.com.


 
Copyright 2018 ACN Newswire. All rights reserved. www.acnnewswire.com

Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Accelerates Convergence in Key Functions to Support and Deliver Mid-Term Plan

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Project Leaders Appointed to Drive Increased Cooperation and New Synergy Opportunities as Part of Alliance 2022

Highlights of the new project initiative include:
- Extended convergence in Purchasing, Engineering and Manufacturing & Supply Chain
- Two new converged functions in Quality & Total Customer Satisfaction as well as Aftersales
- Alliance organization strengthened with the creation of a Business Development function

TOKYO, Mar 2, 2018 - (JCN Newswire) - Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi today announced the launch of multiple projects to accelerate convergence in key operational areas including Engineering, Manufacturing, Purchasing, Quality & Total Customer Satisfaction (TCS), Aftersales and Business Development at the world's largest automotive alliance.

The initiative comes four years after Renault and Nissan - the founding members of the Alliance - converged their activities in areas such as Engineering, Manufacturing & Supply Chain Management (SCM). It follows the announcement, in September 2017, of the Alliance 2022 mid-term plan targeting increased annual synergies of more than EUR10 billion by the end of the plan, up from EUR5 billion in 2016. Additionally, the Alliance member companies are forecasting sales of 14 million units by the end of the plan, compared to 10.6 million units in 2017.

Carlos Ghosn, chairman and chief executive officer of the Alliance, said: "We are accelerating convergence to support our member companies with rising synergies. The Alliance will turbo-charge the performance and growth of its member companies, while preserving the autonomy and distinct strategies of Renault, Nissan and Mitsubishi Motors."

Alliance project leaders have been appointed to identify new synergies and reinforce convergence. They will focus on optimizing revenues and global spending, maximizing areas of commonality; sharing technologies and resources, and simplifying decision-making processes to accelerate growth.

The projects are expected to lead to a new organizational structure to be reviewed and finalized following consultations with the appropriate employee representatives. Detailed project recommendations will then be submitted to the corporate decision-making bodies of Renault, Nissan and Mitsubishi Motors. This process is expected to lead to the implementation of the convergence plan beginning April 1st, 2018.

Upon conclusion of the projects, it is expected that Mitsubishi Motors will join the Alliance Purchasing, Business Development, Quality & TCS organizations in April 2018. Mitsubishi will then gradually move towards full participation in Engineering, Manufacturing & SCM and Aftersales starting in 2019.

Project leaders have been appointed to monitor and coordinate the project initiatives in connection with the following functions:

- Engineering: Tsuyoshi Yamaguchi, Alliance executive vice-president (EVP), will oversee increased convergence in engineering across the Alliance. For four years, we have developed common technologies, common platforms and powertrains. The Alliance will seek larger-scale cooperation including all engineering activities, especially all product development, under a single head to ensure effective execution of the respective companies' mid-term plans. Single Alliance executives would be responsible for product development for member companies on their respective segment.

- Manufacturing & Supply Chain: John Martin, Alliance EVP, will lead the Alliance Manufacturing and Supply Chain Management (SCM) convergence project. He will be responsible for maximizing synergies through delivery and efficiency improvement, full utilization of Alliance assets and by optimizing the management of capital expenditures and the manufacturing footprint of our member companies.

- Purchasing: Veronique Sarlat Depotte, Alliance EVP, will take leadership of the Purchasing convergence project focused mainly on integrating Mitsubishi Motors. Building on a 17-year history, the project will drive purchasing synergies, leverage activities of R&D, Manufacturing and other functions and help to deliver greater economies of scale for the Alliance member companies and their suppliers globally.

- Quality & TCS: Christian Vandenhende, Alliance EVP, will be the Quality & TCS convergence project leader. The new Alliance Quality & TCS project will develop a common Quality Strategy, recommending measures to harmonize the processes for quality assurance in projects developed by Alliance engineering.

- Aftersales: Kent O'Hara, Alliance senior vice-president (SVP), will lead the Alliance Aftersales convergence project. As part of Alliance 2022, the member companies are targeting increased synergies and cooperation in aftersales activities such as accessories, parts, engineering, purchasing and connected services. Areas of convergence are expected to include the adoption of common data-management systems, customer-relationship management best practices and economies of scale in parts logistics, inventories and purchasing.

- Business Development: Hadi Zablit, Alliance SVP, will focus on future activities and breakthrough innovation including the development of the Common Module Family A-segment platform, partnerships with OEMs, Alliance Connected Mobility Services, new technology and product planning synchronization and Alliance Ventures. Additionally, we will seek convergence in other activities including information management and digitalization as well as customer experience.

Increasing convergence in these areas will contribute to the goals of Alliance 2022. Under the six-year plan, the Alliance member companies will increase their use of shared vehicle architectures, with nine million units expected to be derived from four common platforms, up from two million vehicles on two platforms in 2016. The plan will extend the use of common powertrains from one third in 2016 to three quarters of total volumes by the end of the plan.

Alongside continued commonality in areas such as manufacturing, quality and engineering, Alliance 2022 will also see increased convergence in new technologies and mobility services. This will include the launch of 12 new pure electric models by 2022, which will utilize new common electric vehicle platforms and components for multiple segments. During the plan, 40 vehicles will be introduced with different levels of autonomy, leading to fully autonomous capabilities that will enable the Alliance to offer new mobility services including robo-vehicle ride-hailing operations.

Mr. Ghosn concluded: "I am confident that these projects to strengthen and accelerate convergence in key functions will sustainably boost the growth and profitability of our member companies. With Alliance 2022 we will grow with three companies, or more, performing increasingly as one."

About Mitsubishi Motors

Mitsubishi Motors Corporation is the sixth largest automaker in Japan and the sixteenth largest in the world. It is part of the Mitsubishi keiretsu, formerly the biggest industrial group in Japan, and was formed in 1970 from the automotive division of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries. From October 2016, Mitsubishi is one-third owned by Nissan, and a part of the Renault - Nissan - Mitsubishi Alliance. For more information, please visit www.mitsubishi-motors.com/en/index.html.

Contact:
Mitsubishi Motors Public Relations Department http://www.mitsubishi-motors.com +81-3-6852-4275

Copyright 2018 JCN Newswire. All rights reserved. www.jcnnewswire.com

Helsinn Healthcare S.A.: Eleven finalists have been chosen for the first ever Lyfebulb-Helsinn Innovation Summit & Award in Oncology

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MONACO, PRINCIPALITY OF MONACO and NEW YORK, NY, Mar 2, 2018 - (ACN Newswire) - Helsinn Healthcare SA / Helsinn Healthcare S.A.: Eleven finalists have been chosen for the first ever Lyfebulb-Helsinn Innovation Summit & Award in Oncology. Processed and transmitted by Nasdaq Corporate Solutions. The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

Eleven finalists have been chosen for the first ever Lyfebulb-Helsinn Innovation Summit & Award in Oncology

- Eleven finalists have been selected from a strong roster of talent to compete at the inaugural Lyfebulb-Helsinn Innovation Summit, March 26-27, Monaco
- The Award recognizes Patient Entrepreneurs' innovations for cancer and cancer supportive care using drugs, medical devices, consumer products, or healthcare information technologies
- The award will be presented to the finalist demonstrating outstanding science and entrepreneurial potential to bring their ideas to the market

Lyfebulb, a patient empowerment platform that connects patients, industry and investors to support user-driven innovation in chronic diseases, and Helsinn, with activities focused on early-stage investments in areas of high unmet patient need, today announce the names of the eleven companies launched by patient entrepreneurs who are chosen as finalists for the Lyfebulb-Helsinn Innovation Summit & Award in Oncology. The finalists are invited to compete at the Lyfebulb-Helsinn Innovation Summit & Award, which will be hosted on 26-27 March 2018, by Lyfebulb and Helsinn at the Monte-Carlo Bay Hotel and Resort, in Monaco, Principality of Monaco.

Due to the high quality and quantity of applications this year, there will be 11 finalists:

- Samuel Wagner of Batu Biologics, Inc
- Massimo Bocchi of Cellply Srl
- Walid Al-Akkad of Engitix Ltd
- Gitte Pedersen of Genomic Expression, Inc
- Lorenzo Pradella of GreenBone Ortho srl
- Samir Housri of TheMednet, Inc
- Till Erdmann of Myelo Therapeutics GmbH
- Christian Apfel of SageMedic, Inc
- Aaron Horowitz of Sproutel, Inc
- Thierry Desjardins of Surgisafe Ltd
- Boaz Gaon of Wisdo Ltd

The Award will recognize outstanding potential among entrepreneurs who have demonstrated an ability to develop and bring to the market innovation designed to improve the quality of life of people with cancer using drugs, medical devices, consumer products and healthcare information technologies. The finalists represent companies of all sizes that have been founded by cancer patients, cancer survivors, or those with close relatives with cancer.

The finalists will be contending for a $25,000 monetary grant in recognition of the best ideas to advance business ideas which leverage their personal experiences to help manage the burden of cancer.

The finalists were selected by Karin Hehenberger, MD PhD, CEO and Founder of Lyfebulb, Leslie Brille, Chief Investment Officer, Lyfebulb, Riccardo Braglia, Helsinn Group Vice Chairman and CEO and Roberto De Ponti, Head of Corporate New Ventures and Strategic Investments, Helsinn International Services. The Innovation Summit has been founded upon Lyfebulb's concept of Patient Entrepreneurship and Helsinn's determination to provide the best supportive care for cancer patients and to improve the health and quality of life of every person affected by cancer. A "pitch session" will be held at the summit, where a winner will be selected from the eleven finalists by a panel of experts.

"At Lyfebulb, we interact with numerous individuals who are using their own experiences with chronic disease to originate and develop effective solutions to help others. The level of innovation demonstrated by people who submitted their ideas to the first Lyfebulb-Helsinn Innovation Award were of a very high caliber and we commend all of them. Core to Lyfebulb's Mission is to empower individuals living with chronic disease, and by embracing patient entrepreneurs and furthering their ideas and businesses, we are doing exactly that," says Dr. Karin Hehenberger.

Riccardo Braglia added, "I know from experience how a cancer diagnosis can often be a spur towards greater dynamism and entrepreneurship and have seen many examples of great innovation from people who have first-hand experience with the disease. I am looking forward to learning more about the potential of their concepts and am confident that the expertise and industry experience of the judging panel will help choose a finalist who can innovate to improve the lives of people with cancer."

About Lyfebulb

Lyfebulb is a chronic disease focused, patient empowerment platform that connects patients, Industry (manufacturers and payers) and investors to support user-driven innovation. Lyfebulb promotes a healthy, take-charge lifestyle for those affected by chronic disease. Grounded with its strong foundation in Diabetes, the company has expanded disease states covered into Cancer and Inflammatory Bowel Disease.

See www.lyfebulb.com, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Karin Hehenberger LinkedIn, and Lyfebulb LinkedIn.

About Helsinn International Services sarl

Helsinn International Services sarl is the Helsinn subsidiary which provides a range of advisory services and strategic activities to the Group and its specific companies. In particular, it acts as the advisory company to Helsinn Investment Fund.

About Helsinn Investment Fund S.A., SICAR

The Helsinn Investment Fund is focused on early-stage investments in areas of high unmet patient need. Backed by the Helsinn Group, and guided by Helsinn's core values of quality, integrity and respect, Helsinn Investment Fund aims to help companies with innovative technologies to transform new ideas into commercial solutions with the potential to impact health-related quality of life of patients.

Drawing on Helsinn's over 40 years of investment into research and development and commercial expertise, the investment fund selects companies with technologies in a range of areas including cancer therapeutics and diagnostics, cancer supportive care, metabolic and gastrointestinal disorders, and dermatology conditions.

For more information, visit www.helsinninvestmentfund.com

About the Helsinn Group

Helsinn is a privately owned pharmaceutical group with an extensive portfolio of marketed cancer care products and a robust drug development pipeline. Since 1976, Helsinn has been improving the everyday lives of patients, guided by core family values of respect, integrity and quality. The Group works across pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, medical devices and nutritional supplements and has expertise in research, development, manufacture and the commercialization of therapeutic and supportive care products for cancer, pain and inflammation and gastroenterology. In 2016, Helsinn created the Helsinn Investment Fund to support early-stage investment opportunities in areas of unmet patient need. The company is headquartered in Lugano, Switzerland, with operating subsidiaries in Switzerland, Ireland, the U.S., Monaco and China, as well as a product presence in approximately 190 countries globally.

To learn more about Helsinn Group please visit www.helsinn.com

For more information:
Helsinn Group Media Contact
Paola Bonvicini
Group Head of Communication
Lugano, Switzerland
Tel: +41 (0) 91 985 21 21Info-hhc@helsinn.com

For more information, please visit www.helsinn.com and follow us on Twitter, LinkedIn and Vimeo.

Press Contact for Lyfebulb:
Karin Hehenberger, MD, PhD
CEO & Founder, Lyfebulb,
Phone: + 00 1 917-575-0210
Email: karin@lyfebulb.com

Please visit www.lyfebulb.com
We are on Twitter. Follow us @Lyfebulb

###

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: Helsinn Healthcare SA via Globenewswire

 
Copyright 2018 ACN Newswire. All rights reserved. www.acnnewswire.com

Seamless interoperability between farm machines and software is a step closer

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365FarmNet, Aarhus University, AGCO, AgroIntelli, CNH Industrial, GRIMME, Kverneland, and Wageningen University and Research are proud to announce important steps forward towards real interoperability between farm machines, sensors and software. Interoperability is a key issue in the advancement of digital farming.

LONDON, Mar 2, 2018 - (ACN Newswire) - The Internet of Things (IoT) has great potential to increase the efficiency of agriculture. Currently, products from different manufacturers do not speak the same language and therefore cannot exchange information, thereby limiting their value. If, for example, the data collected by a combine harvester cannot be read by the farm's computer system, it is of no value in terms of supporting their management decisions. The companies and organizations listed above have teamed up to work together on the Internet of Food and Farm 2020 Project to overcome this problem and design the future of connectivity in agriculture.

Using the ADAPT framework, the partners have demonstrated how data can be exchanged between agricultural equipment and software platforms from different brands in a standardized format. This is an important enabler for the flow of data required to make "digital farming" or "Agriculture 4.0" a success. With a simple software plug-in, software companies and equipment manufacturers will be able to read data from different sources, drastically reducing development time while at the same time increasing available data streams. Easier data exchange will ultimately lead to improved decision making and more productive farming.

ADAPT is an open source software toolkit from AgGateway, based on a universal data model that enables translation between different proprietary data formats. The proof of concept has been demonstrated today, March 1, at the IoF2020 stakeholder event in Almeria, Spain.

With this demonstration, the partners confirm their commitment to an open and interoperable system, where data can flow seamlessly between different value chain participants. For farmers, it will be possible to use different types and brands of equipment with a wide variety of software or services, regardless of manufacturer.

The next step in the process of increased interoperability includes real time and bi-directional vehicle-cloud communication. For this, the team will build on existing standards and work together with the AEF, the Agricultural Industry Electronics Foundation.

The AEF is an independent organization with more than 200 member companies. The main goal is to improve cross-manufacturer compatibility of electronic and electric components in agricultural equipment, and to establish transparency about compatibility issues.

Note to editors
IoF2020 fosters the large-scale uptake of IoT technologies in the European food and farming sector. With EUR 30-million co-funded by the EU, the project has the potential to drastically improve the sustainability and productivity of the European farming and food sector, while demonstrating the added value of smart webs of the connected objects in 19 use cases, covering 5 trials (e.g. arable crop, dairy, meat, vegetables and fruits) throughout Europe. More information can be found on www.iof2020.eu.

CNH Industrial N.V. (NYSE: CNHI /MI: CNHI) is a global leader in the capital goods sector with established industrial experience, a wide range of products and a worldwide presence. Each of the individual brands belonging to the Company is a major international force in its specific industrial sector: Case IH, New Holland Agriculture and Steyr for tractors and agricultural machinery; Case and New Holland Construction for earth moving equipment; Iveco for commercial vehicles; Iveco Bus and Heuliez Bus for buses and coaches; Iveco Astra for quarry and construction vehicles; Magirus for firefighting vehicles; Iveco Defence Vehicles for defence and civil protection; and FPT Industrial for engines and transmissions. More information can be found on the corporate website: www.cnhindustrial.com

365FarmNet is Europe's largest, multi award-winning cloud-based software for the entire farm management, independent of farm size and type of operation. The 365FarmNet platform is manufacturer-independent and cross-segmental and includes partner Apps to cover all functions required for operational farm management. From crop rotation planning to nutrient planning, from sowing to harvesting, from field to farm, from documentation to operational analysis. The basic version of 365FarmNet is free of charge. Using the free 365FarmNet Apps for iOS and Android, farmers can document their activities outside in the field or barn, via their mobile devices meeting cross compliance regulations. 365FarmNet together with 35 European partners develops innovative applications for users from more than 20 countries. At present, the platform is available in five languages: German, English, French, Polish and Bulgarian.

Aarhus University (AU) is a globally-oriented university with a commitment to excellence in research and education. AU cover the entire research spectrum, and specifically, the Department of Engineering/Operations Management Unit carries out research and teaching in the fields of Biosystems Engineering as well as innovative technologies to be applied in industrial production and bio-production system. Specifically, the researching and application of advanced ICT systems (standards, interoperability, web-services, etc.), user-centric design and requirement analyses, information modelling, logistics optimisation, route planning and optimisation, sensor fusion, machine vision, stereo vision, signal processing, GNSS, autonomous navigation, motion planning and scheduling, manipulator mechanics, spatial statistics, spatial data infrastructure, telematics, communication networks, IoT and wireless IP networks, and smart grid communication) are at the forefront.

AGCO (NYSE: AGCO) is a global leader in the design, manufacture and distribution of agriculture equipment and solutions and supports more productive farming through its full line of equipment and related services. AGCO products are sold through five core brands, Challenger(R), Fendt(R), GSI(R), Massey Ferguson(R) and Valtra(R), supported by Fuse(R) precision technologies and farm optimization services. Founded in 1990, AGCO is headquartered in Duluth, GA, USA. In 2017, AGCO had net sales of $8.3 billion. For more information, visit http://www.AGCOcorp.com. For company news, information and events, please follow us on Twitter: @AGCOCorp. For financial news on Twitter, please follow the hashtag #AGCOIR.

AGROINTELLI is a Danish development company with focus on navigation, automation and vision for arable farming. AGROINTELLI creates revolutionary and radical innovation, in terms of products and services for B2B partners with a high focus on reliability, sustainability and profit. By using the latest technologies in machine vision, machine learning, automation, robotics, sensor technologies and decision support systems, AGROINTELLI develops new solutions for the professional farmer. More information can be found on the company's website: www.agrointelli.com

GRIMME - The world leader in potato technology - The name GRIMME stands since decades for innovative potato technology. No matter if separating, planting, cultivation, harvest or storing of potatoes for more than 70 years are the red machines well-known for high quality and output in the potato section. And since 2003 belongs also the innovative sugar beet technology to the product range in our traditional company in Damme, Germany. Over 150 years ago GRIMME has developed from a small forge, to a leader in potato and sugar beet technology. GRIMME works for decades' close together with the local dealers and partner in over 120 countries around the world, with own service and sale subsidiaries in more than 20 countries. Over 2,200 employees work for GRIMME around the world, 1,600 of those working in Damme. Our aim is to offer all root crop farmers around the world, the best solution for their operation.

Kverneland Group is a leading international company developing, producing and distributing agricultural machinery and services. With a strong focus on innovation, the Group provides a unique and broad product range with high quality. Kverneland Group offers an extensive package aimed at the professional farming community, covering the areas of soil and seeding equipment, forage and bale equipment, spreading, spraying and electronic solutions for agricultural tractors and machinery. The Group was founded in 1879. Kverneland Group's factories are located in Norway, Denmark, Germany, France, The Netherlands, Italy, Russia and China. The Group has own sales companies in 17 countries and exports to another 60 countries. At the end of 2016, Kverneland Group had 2,260 employees, of which 74.2% worked outside Norway. In 2012 Kverneland Group was acquired by the Japanese company Kubota Corporation. Kverneland Group offers the following brands of equipment: Vicon and Kverneland. More information can be found on the corporate website: www.kvernelandgroup.com

Stichting Wageningen Research (WR) consists of a number of specialised institutes for applied research in the domain of healthy food and living environment. WR collaborates with Wageningen University under the external brand name Wageningen University & Research. The research institute involved in this proposal is Wageningen Environmental Research (WENR), a research institute within the legal entity Stichting Wageningen Research.

Wageningen Environmental Research (formerly known as ALTERRA WUR) is a leading research institute on 'our green living environment'. We offer a combination of practical, innovative and interdisciplinary scientific research across many disciplines related to the green world around us and the sustainable use of our living environment. WENR focuses on aspects such as land cover and land use, the use of geo-information and remote sensing in agriculture, landscape and spatial planning, forestry, flora and fauna, soil, water, climate, vegetation, recreation and its governance. WENR engages in integrated research to support design processes, policy-making and management at the local, national and international levels. WENR has about 400 staff members and combines a wide range of expertise for integrated agri-environmental assessments, climate change impact assessment and for studies related to rural areas and their sustainable use.

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Media contact:
Laura Overall
Corporate Communications Manager
CNH Industrial
Tel. +44 (0)2077 660 338
E-mail: mediarelations@cnhind.com
www.cnhindustrial.com

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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: CNH Industrial N.V. via Globenewswire

 
Copyright 2018 ACN Newswire. All rights reserved. www.acnnewswire.com

Toyota Research Institute-Advanced Development (TRI-AD) Established in Tokyo to Provide Fully-Integrated, Production-Quality Software for Automated Driving

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- Toyota will establish a new company to further accelerate its efforts in automated driving
- TRI-AD to be led by Dr. James Kuffner, current Toyota Research Institute CTO
- Targeting 1,000 staff, external recruitment, English as business language
- Toyota Group companies Aisin and Denso to participate in the capital of TRI-AD and conduct joint development within the start-up
- Combined investment of over 300 billion yen


Toyota City, Japan, Mar 2, 2018 - (JCN Newswire) - Toyota will establish a new company in Tokyo in the latter part of this month named "Toyota Research Institute-Advanced Development" (TRI-AD) that will accelerate its efforts in advanced development for automated driving.

To enable the new efforts at TRI-AD, Toyota Motor Corporation (TMC), Aisin Seiki Co., Ltd. (Aisin), and Denso Corporation (Denso) have concluded a memorandum of understanding on joint development of fully-integrated, production-quality software for automated driving. Going forward, the three companies will hold further discussions, aiming to conclude a concrete joint development contract.

Together, TMC, Aisin and Denso plan to invest more than 300 billion yen in TRI-AD. The new company is targeting a staff of approximately 1,000 employees, including external recruitment and staff from TMC, TRI, and Toyota Group Companies Aisin and Denso. Toyota is in the process of selecting a location in Tokyo that is competitive in terms of accessibility and recruitment.

Dr. James Kuffner, currently TRI Chief Technology Officer, will lead TRI-AD as its CEO.

"Building production-quality software is a critical success factor for Toyota's automated driving program," said Dr. Kuffner. "This company's mission is to accelerate software development in a more effective and disruptive way, by augmenting the Toyota Group's capability through the hiring of world-class software engineers. We will recruit globally, and I am thrilled to lead this effort."

The automotive industry is now in an era of profound transformation. High-quality software development and big data from connected vehicles will be crucial to success. To respond to such changes, Toyota established Toyota Research Institute, Inc. (TRI) in North America in 2016 to conduct research in the areas of artificial intelligence, automated driving, and robotics.

Aiming to strengthen its competitiveness even further, Toyota, together with Aisin and Denso, decided to establish the new company announced today. TRI, TRI-AD and TMC will have a streamlined relationship, resulting in a fast-track, truly integrated development model. The key objectives of the new company include the following:

1. Create a smooth software pipeline from research-to-commercialization, leveraging data-handling capabilities.
2. Strengthen coordination with TRI and efficiently link research results to product development.
3. Strengthen the collaboration within the Toyota Group in the domains of research and advanced development.
4. Recruit and employ top-level engineers globally, while cultivating and coordinating the strong talent within the Toyota Group.

"Toyota is known for the quality and efficiency of the Toyota Production System (TPS). I have no doubt that we can translate the fundamental ideas of TPS from the production of hardware to the production of software, and dramatically enhance Toyota's software capabilities," said Dr. Gill Pratt, TMC Fellow, TRI CEO and Chairman of the new TRI-AD Board of Directors. "That's what TRI has been working for, and that's what the new company will push even further."

About Toyota

Toyota Motor Corporation (TMC) is the global mobility company that introduced the Prius hybrid-electric car in 1997 and the first mass-produced fuel cell sedan, Mirai, in 2014. Headquartered in Toyota City, Japan, Toyota has been making cars since 1937. Today, Toyota proudly employs 370,000 employees in communities around the world. Together, they build around 10 million vehicles per year in 29 countries, from mainstream cars and premium vehicles to mini-vehicles and commercial trucks, and sell them in more than 170 countries under the brands Toyota, Lexus, Daihatsu and Hino. For more information, please visit www.toyota-global.com.

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

Copyright 2018 JCN Newswire. All rights reserved. www.jcnnewswire.com

The Holy Grail of Digital Evolution: Accelerate, a Digital growth initiative by Capillary, is now a Google Premier Partner

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SINGAPORE, Mar 2, 2018 - (ACN Newswire) - Capillary Technologies, whose solutions help businesses get ahead of the digital evolution and stay consumer ready, has announced that their Accelerate initiative is now a Google Channel Partner and Google Premier Badge holder. Amidst the increasing inclination of businesses to unify their multiple sales channels to derive greater ROI out of their digital marketing efforts, this recognition will help brands to drive increased conversions and better spend optimisation through intelligently targeting the right consumer at the right time.

The Accelerate team envisions this as a means to drive more relevant and targeted results for online as well as offline businesses by driving the right customers through the right channel. Being a Premier Badge holding Channel Partner, Accelerate benefits with dedicated account management for efficient turn-around timings, exclusive industry vertical insights, competitor data and Beta access to new products for associated clients to implement in their digital strategies. This will help brands better orchestrate their customer's journeys and drive better conversations.

Soumajit Bhowmik, Director at Accelerate stated - "The increase in digital media consumption has made it an important channel for brands to engage their consumers. Around 10% of brand marketing spends are invested in the digital medium. In the current scheme of things, data sits in silos across the channels - both online and offline. We're solving just this!"

In relation to the partnership with Google, Soumajit added, "This recognition is a testimony to our uncompromising commitment towards client success through a sustainable and profitable e-commerce ROI. In a short span of time, we are working with more than 40 premium brands globally like HUL, W, Fair & Lovely, LuLu Webstore, Bata, amongst others and delivering cost-effective and ROI driven cutting edge performance marketing. We look forward to a greater market share of digital marketing spends of online/offline retailers and helping them make e-commerce profitable."

Capillary Technologies is looking at this as a means to help accelerate partner businesses while working together to create a more targeted, strategic, and revenue driven approach for marketers across the world.

Abhijeet Vijayvergiya, VP and Business Head Asia Pacific, Capillary Technologies, commented on what this means to Capillary's business in Southeast Asia, "This recognition from Google is a testimony to our steadfastness on developing revolutionary products and reinforces our goal to make brands always consumer ready. Southeast Asia is undergoing an incredible transformation thanks to digital technologies. And with Capillary Accelerate, we will push this transformation in the direction that delights both the retailers and the customers."

About Capillary Technologies

Capillary's technology solutions help businesses get ahead of the digital evolution and stay 'Always Consumer Ready'. Over 300 marquee brands across 30+ countries, including Pizza Hut, VF Brands, Kanmo Retail Group, Bata, KFC, McDonald's, Charles & Keith, Starbucks, Courts and Samsung, trust Capillary to enable easy and seamless consumer experiences. With over 300 million consumers and 25,000 stores on the platform, Capillary is Asia's leading SaaS product company. Over 700 Capillary associates across 11 global offices are continually innovating to find new ways for brands to make their consumers' lives easier, and experiences memorable. Explore more at https://www.capillarytech.com/

Media Contact
PRecious Communications for Capillary Technologies
+65 3151 4760
capillary@preciouscomms.com

 
Copyright 2018 ACN Newswire. All rights reserved. www.acnnewswire.com
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