Quantcast
Channel: ACN Newswire
Viewing all 16968 articles
Browse latest View live

INCJ and Mitsubishi Corporation to Invest in Microalgae Protein Maker Tavelmout

0
0

Venture aimed at meeting rising demand for protein through mass marketing of spirulina

- Spirulina is "Food for a New Era," a protein-rich algae containing over 60 types of nutrients
- Tavelmout will use procured funds towards the construction of a new factory in Brunei Darussalam
- The investment contributes to the diversification of sustainable protein sources to meet growing food demands

TOKYO, May 22, 2018 - (JCN Newswire) - Innovation Network Corporation of Japan (INCJ) and Mitsubishi Corporation (MC) are pleased to announce their joint investment in Tavelmout Corporation (Tavelmout) through the acceptance of a third-party allocation of shares by Tavelmout. The total investment amounts to 1.7 billion yen, evenly split between INCJ and MC.

Tavelmout is a bio-venture company established by the Chitose Group in 2014. After this capital increase, INCJ and MC will join Tavelmout as new shareholders, each with 31.43% ownership of the company. Tavelmout plans to utilize the funds raised towards the construction of a new production site in Brunei.

Algae can grow by photosynthesis alone, and due to its high productivity per unit area, is attracting attention as a vital protein source. Spirulina, with a particularly high protein content (over 65% on a dry weight basis) and nutritional value, and rich in vitamins, minerals, and fibers, figures highly among those dubbed as the "big superfoods."

As the global population grows and dietary habits change in accordance with economic development in emerging countries, worldwide protein demand is expected to increase substantially in the future. There are forecasts of growing food demand exceeding supply, with imbalances occurring as early as 2030.

Through their participation in Tavelmout, a company aiming for mass production and global popularization of Spirulina, MC and INCJ aim to contribute to the diversification of sustainable protein sources.

Spirulina is one of the oldest life forms on Earth originating about 3.5 billion years ago. It has been used as a valuable nutritious source since Maya civilization and has a long history of human consumption. Spirulina is incredibly nutritious containing more than 60 kinds of nutrients. It is characterized by its high protein content among microalgal species, which makes up 65% of its dry weight. Spirulina is typically used as health foods in the form of dry powder or tablet, and is widely known as "the king of superfoods" overseas.

In addition to technologies of strain development and mass cultivation accumulated by the Chitose Group for organisms including microbes, microalgal cells, and animal cells, Tavelmout Corp. has developed a technology to process spirulina biomass, and has succeeded in developing a "Raw Spirulina" product hat makes full use of the characteristics of Spirulina - highly rich in protein and nutrients. As for cultivation, in addition to the open-pond system commonly used for cultivation of microalgae, a novel, economically feasible, and scalable closed flat panel photobioreactor (PBR, an apparatus to cultivate photosynthetic organisms including microalgae) system has been developed. Protein productivity using the present PBR system is about 20 times higher than that of soybeans(1).

(1) Soybeans are said to be the crop of highest protein productivity in present-day agricultural production systems.

About Tavelmout Corp.

Tavelmout Corp. is one business entity of a group of biotech companies, the "Chitose Group". Tasteless and odorless raw Spirulina are produced and commercialized using the efficient cultivation technologies developed by Chitose Laboratory Corp., which is the research entity of Chitose Group. In addition, in order to use Spirulina as a protein source in various food products, original technologies have been developed and applied for product development, commercialization, and marketing.

About Innovation Network Corporation of Japan (INCJ)

INCJ was established in July 2009 as a public-private investment company that provides financial, technological and management support for next-generation businesses. INCJ specifically supports those projects that combine technologies and varied expertise across industries and materialize open innovation. INCJ has the capacity to invest up to JPY2 trillion (approx. US$20 billion).

INCJ's management team is drawn from the private sector with diverse experience in investment, technologies and management. Through its Innovation Network Committee, INCJ assesses investment opportunities that contribute to industrial innovation in Japan in line with criteria set by the government.

About Mitsubishi Corporation

MC is a global integrated business enterprise that develops and operates business across virtually every industry including industrial finance, energy, metals, machinery, chemicals, foods, and environmental business.

MC has been providing a stable supply, mainly to Japan, of LNG produced in Brunei since 1972.

About Chitose Group

Chitose Group is a group of biotech companies devoted to leave next generations a sustainable environment where human can live abundantly up to thousands of years ahead. Our "biotechnologies to understand and manage living organisms for eliciting their maximum potentials" together with our "expertise in applying the accumulated biotechnologies for commercialization" create new values in the fields of agriculture, medical care, food, chemistry, energy and so on.

Innovation Network Corporation of Japan (INCJ)
Communications, Corporate Planning
Telephone: +81-3-5218-7202: +81-3-5218-7202
URL: http://www.incj.co.jp/

Mitsubishi Corporation
Corporate Communications Dept.
Telephone: +81-3-3210-2171: +81-3-3210-2171
Facsimile: +81-3-5252-7705: +81-3-5252-7705

Tavelmout Corp.. / Chitose Group
Group Communication Div.
Telephone: 044-813-3380
Mail: yu.deguchi@chitose-bio.com

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

Central Crypto and Huobi Launch Huobi School of Business Hong Kong (huobischool.io), a New Initiative in Quantitative Crypto-trading

0
0
HONG KONG, May 22, 2018 - (ACN Newswire) - As the digital assets becoming increasingly relevant, many cryptocurrency exchange executives and quantitative financial experts said in a cryptotrading summit on May 19, crypto trading is a better application for quantitative techniques, but the investors are calling for more integrated source of information for further education.

At this conference, seasoned quants and crypto trading experts, including Huobi Vice President Huo Li, Huobi Vice President Lan Jianzhong, Keywin Captial CEO Li Tian, Huobi School of Business Hong Kong cofounder William Bu and Hyde Li, offered analysis in the blockchain projects and crypto market to over 300 financial professionals in Hong Kong, the Asia financial center.

The discourse continues on a large scale. Central Crypto and Huobi founded Huobi School of Business (Hong Kong) (huobischool.io). Powered by global think tanks, the school facilitates communication and consultation on digital assets management and trading and blockchain projects studies.

According to the market information, global volume in cryptocurrency markets has passed $50 billion, close to the average trading volume on New York Stock Exchange. As of last December, Huobi's accumulated trading volume reached $850 billion.

Geographically, Huobi considers that Hong Kong holds strategic importance, as the financial center is densely packed with active traders and financial talents. Under this backdrop, the school of business emerged, to propel and guide the blockchain industry and crypto market developments. Based in Hong kong, the school is aiming at radiating impact worldwide.

Around 1 PM, executives and senior managers from Huobi and Central Crypto partook in the inauguration addressed to Huobi School of Business Hong Kong (huobischool.io). Huobi Vice President Huo Li, Huobi Vice President Lan Jianzhong, Founder of Central Cypto, Co-founder of Huobi School of Business HK, William Bu, Central Crypto Co-founder, Secretary General of Huobi School of Business Li Bei, together with Chief Economist of Huobi Academy of Blockchain Application Yan Si held the kick-off ceremony.

The newly founded school (huobischool.io) tailors to cultivate cryptocurrency trading experts and financial professionals. It tackles the technical and strategy issues of crypto trading, and provides analytical training and consultation on crypto trading opportunities using quantitative techniques.

In his opening speech, Huobi Vice President Huo Li said, "As a forerunner in the digital assets trading service industry, Huobi has gone through 5 year since its starting point ... Our only partner in Hong Kong, Central Crypto, prepared such a fantastic event in less than 10 days."

Later he introduced Huobi Pro's business line, in aspects such as history, customers, industries and future trends. Li said that he hopes the attendees to use the school of business as a networking platform, to reach out and connect, on the journey entering the doorstep of digital currency.

Immediately after, Huobi School of Business HK co-founder William Bu said in his speech, "I think the future is here. We have entered a point of history where the finance industry transform from the traditional to crypto and digital." He encouraged the attendees to embrace cryptocurrency, get trained and involved in the new era of crypto finance.

Hyde Li, the Secretary General of Huobi School of Business mentioned that, soon, the school will establish a global association of professional blockchain investors -- Chartered Blockchain Analyst.

"Together we build the golden standard for the blockchain and cryptotrading industry; a brand serving as a role model," said Hyde Li. "Huobi School of Business Hongkong offers a communication platform for people in the global finance fields, and training programme to bring our blockchain experts. Our aspiration is to become the flagship in blockchain and crypto industry and guide the industry to move forward in an orderly and healthy manner."

Lan Jianzhong, Huobi Vice President, introduced Huobi quantitative cryptotrading services and shared investment strategies, where he mentioned several aspects of quantitative trading -- arbitrage, market making, and trend prediction. He presented the market trends with data, and introduced Huobi API and its best applied scenario.

Coming next, Huobi Marketing Director Yu Xiaomeng said, "Central Crypto is our crucial strategic partner in Huobi's global map. They are our only partner exclusively in Hongkong."


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

Kingsoft Announces 2018 First Quarter Results

0
0

Kingsoft Cloud Strengthens Leading Position; WPS Office Maintains Strong Growth

HONG KONG, May 23, 2018 - (ACN Newswire) - Kingsoft Corporation Limited ("Kingsoft" or the "Company"; HKEx stock code: 03888), a leading Chinese software and Internet service company, has announced its unaudited quarterly results for the three months ended 31 March 2018 ("period under review").

During the period under review, the revenue of Kingsoft increased 4% year-over-year to RMB1,263.7 million. Revenue from the online games, cloud services, and office software and services and others represented 50%, 33% and 17%, respectively, of total revenue. Gross profit was RMB615.6 million. Profit attributable to owners of the parent recorded RMB118.4 million.

Mr. Jun LEI, Chairman of Kingsoft, commented, "The first quarter marks a good start to 2018. All of our businesses are well on their way to achieve the strategic goals of the Company. Kingsoft Cloud strengthened its leading position in video cloud sector. The performance of WPS Office remained robust and the content value-added services saw a good momentum by providing a smarter resources-sharing platform for our users. As for the online games business, we managed to continue to expand the brand influence of our flagship game, JX Online III, and also released the first promotion video for one of our key mobile games of the year, YSYY."

Mr. Tao ZOU, Chief Executive Officer of Kingsoft, added, "In the first quarter, our total revenue increased 4% year-over-year to RMB1,263.7 million, indicating a steady start to the year. Kingsoft Cloud recorded a year-over-year growth of 56% and office software and services and others grew 66% year-over-year in the first quarter. Our operating profit would be under pressure in the first half of the year as we expect our online games business to pick up its growth momentum in the second half of the year.

BUSINESS REVIEW
Online Games
For the first quarter of 2018, the revenue of the online games business recorded RMB632.4 million. Due to the explosion in popularity of the Players' Unknown Battleground ("PUBG") genre, some of the users of the Company's flagship PC game JX Online III were temporarily occupied in the first quarter, which led to year-over-year and quarter-over-quarter decrease in revenue. Nevertheless, Kingsoft managed to continue to expand its brand influence and hosted the third JX Online III expert player competition on 16 March 2018. The number of participants and viewers reached a new record high this year, which helped strengthen the engagement of the core players. In addition, the Company is also working on the development of a TV series and a special episode of animation for JX Online III to maximize its IP value and influence.

With the increasingly fierce competition in the mobile game market, Kingsoft saw the opportunity in the new game genres and meticulously developed a 3D costume-changing mobile game, YSYY. The first promotion video of the game was released during the 2018 Tencent NEO-Culture Creativity Eco-Conference and received great commentaries across the market. It laid the solid foundation for the Company's new game genres development. Kingsoft is looking forward to the official launch of the game and expect it to be the new driving force of the online game business.

Cloud Services
Kingsoft Cloud maintained a solid growth in the quarter, and the development trend of each business segment is in line with the Company's strategic planning. For the first quarter of 2018, the revenue of the cloud services business increased 56% year-over-year to RMB418.9 million. Video cloud business saw continuous improvement with high-quality services provided for the customers. Through the promotion of High-resolution Content Delivery Network ("CDN"), Kingsoft Cloud managed to strengthen its leading position in the CDN sector and is striving to establish a diversified business structure over time. Game cloud achieved remarkable results in attracting and retaining strategic clientele and it continued to make the products and services more stable and user-friendly. Kingsoft Cloud also kept on expanding its businesses in public cloud and private cloud sectors and made breakthroughs in finance, smart city, healthcare, and manufacturing services. Looking forward, Kingsoft Cloud will continue to provide customers with quality, tailor-made services and solutions, enhance the business penetration across the market and seek new breakthroughs.

Office Software and Services and Others
In the first quarter of 2018, the revenue of Office Software and Services and Others increased 66% year-over-year to RMB212.4 million. WPS Office continued to maintain strong growth for the first quarter of 2018. With continuous efforts in cloud office services, both consumer and enterprise cloud businesses sustained decent growth. WPS Government Office Cloud made its debut in the quarter as an office solution targeting government and public institutions. Meanwhile, content value-added services have enjoyed good growth momentum, providing users and designers with a smarter platform to share resources. Kingsoft's flagship products, WPS Office and Kingsoft PowerWord, were both ranked among 'Top 10 Best Customer Experience APP' in the 'Top 100 APP/Accounts in WeChat, Weibo and mobile OS' in 2017. WPS Office's content ecosystem strategy was announced in the 'Content Players +' convention in Zhuhai. More than a hundred content creators participated in the event. The content platform, Docer, was officially upgraded to a strategic content brand at the convention. With the leading office technology and a proven business development model, WPS Office will continue to build an easier office style for global users."

Mr. Jun LEI concluded, "We are glad to see the sound overall performance in our businesses in the first quarter. Kingsoft Cloud and WPS Office sustained stable growth in the first three months, with market expanded to more segments and clientele increased in different areas. Though the online games business would experience a little setback in the first half of the year, we expect the performance will catch up in the second half of the year after the debut of our new mobile games, YSYY and JX Online mobile games. We expect to bring more satisfactory results for both our customers and the market with our unceasing effort in product innovation and service optimization."

About Kingsoft Corporation Limited
Kingsoft is a leading software and Internet services company based in China listed on the stock exchange of Hong Kong. It has three subsidiaries including Seasun, Kingsoft Cloud and Kingsoft Office. Following the implementation of its "mobile internet transformation" strategy, Kingsoft has completed the comprehensive transformation of its overall business and management models and formed a strategic platform with interactive entertainment and office software as the pillars and cloud computing as the new growth driver and source. The Company has over 5,000 staff around the world. It has set up R&D centers and offices in Beijing, Zhuhai, Chengdu, Dalian, Guangzhou and Hong Kong and enjoys a large market share in various countries and regions both home and abroad. For more information, please visit http://www.kingsoft.com.

Kingsoft Investor Relations:
Francie Lu Tel: (86) 10 6292 7777 Email: ir@kingsoft.com

For further queries, please contact Hill+Knowlton Strategies Asia:
Sophie Liu Tel: (852) 2894 6318 Email: kingsoft@hkstrategies.com


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

Eisai and Purdue Pharma to Present Latest Phase I Clinical Data on Lemborexant at 32nd Annual Sleep Meeting

0
0

TOKYO, May 23, 2018 - (JCN Newswire) - Eisai Co., Ltd. and Purdue Pharma L.P. today announced they will present the latest data from two key Phase I clinical studies (Study 108 and Study 106) of investigational sleep/wake regulation agent lemborexant, including a comparison versus zolpidem tartrate extended release (zolpidem ER) and placebo on middle of the night awakening and next-morning effects, in poster presentations at the 32nd Annual Meeting of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies (SLEEP 2018) from June 2 to 6 in Baltimore, Maryland in the United States.

Of note, Eisai and Purdue Pharma will present data on a Phase I safety study (Study 108) that assessed the ability to awaken to an auditory stimulus and maintain postural stability (a predictor of risk for falls(1)) and perform on tests of memory and attention in the middle of the night and the next morning. The study demonstrated that postural stability was statistically significantly worse for zolpidem ER 6.25 mg compared with both lemborexant 5 mg and 10 mg in healthy volunteers age 55 and older, and the primary endpoint was achieved. In this study, headache was the only adverse event (AE) observed in two or more people taking lemborexant.

Another Phase I study (Study 106), which evaluated residual next-morning effects via an on-road driving test, also achieved its primary objective, demonstrating no significant difference in next-morning driving performance versus placebo. This study was conducted versus placebo, with zopiclone included as a positive control, to evaluate potential next-morning impairment by measuring healthy adult and elderly participants' driving performance. In this study, the most common AEs observed in the lemborexant arms were somnolence, headache, and dry mouth.

"It is important that a treatment for sleep/wake regulation allows a patient to not only sleep well, but also wake well. Sleeping well includes the ability to fall asleep and stay asleep through the night, and waking well includes the ability to wake in the middle of the night, if needed, or the next day without impairment," said Russell Rosenberg, PhD, D.ABSM, a Principal Investigator in lemborexant studies and former Chairman of the Board of the National Sleep Foundation. "These studies provide important information about how lemborexant affects the ability to awaken after sleep."

"Our aspiration toward sleep/wake regulation is to improve the ability to fall and stay asleep, and address risks related to impairment due to residual effects from many current sleep agents," said Lynn Kramer, MD, Chief Clinical Officer and Chief Medical Officer, Neurology Business Group, Eisai. "These Phase I data provide important, clinically relevant information and strengthen our confidence in our investigational sleep/wake regulation agent, lemborexant, as we continue to work with Purdue Pharma to bring this investigational agent to patients living with sleep/wake disorders."

"Since 2015, Purdue Pharma and Eisai have been working collaboratively on the development of lemborexant, and we look forward to sharing our data with the scientific community at the premier world forum for clinical sleep medicine," said Marcelo Bigal, MD, PhD, Chief Medical Officer, Purdue Pharma.

Lemborexant appears to impact an underlying reason for a patient's inability to sleep well. Lemborexant acts on the orexin neurotransmitter system and is believed to regulate sleep and wake by dampening excessive arousal or wakefulness without impeding the ability to awaken to external stimuli.

About lemborexant

Lemborexant (development code: E2006), a dual orexin receptor antagonist, is Eisai's in-house discovered and developed small molecule compound that inhibits orexin neurotransmission by binding competitively to the two subtypes of orexin receptors (orexin receptor 1 and 2). In individuals with sleep disorders, it is possible that the orexin system that regulates sleep and wakefulness is not functioning normally. During normal periods of sleep, orexin system activity is suppressed, suggesting it is possible to purposefully counteract inappropriate wakefulness and facilitate the initiation and maintenance of sleep by interfering with orexin neurotransmission. Therefore, Eisai and Purdue have been developing lemborexant as a treatment for multiple sleep disorders.

From the topline results of a Phase III clinical study (SUNRISE 1/Study 304) of lemborexant for insomnia disorder, the primary and major secondary endpoints were achieved, and together with the results from an ongoing Phase III clinical study (Study 303), Eisai and Purdue aim to submit applications seeking regulatory approval within fiscal 2018.

In addition, a Phase II clinical study of lemborexant in patients with irregular sleep-wake rhythm disorder (ISWRD) and mild to moderate Alzheimer's dementia is underway.

About Sleep Disorders

Population studies show that sleep disorders affect many more people worldwide than previously thought. Insomnia disorder is characterized by difficulty falling sleep, staying asleep or both, despite an adequate opportunity to sleep, that can lead to daytime consequences such as fatigue, difficulty concentrating and irritability.(2),(3) Insomnia disorder is the most common sleep disorder, with persistent insomnia symptoms experienced by approximately 10 percent of the adult population.(2)

Sleeping well is essential for good health, including brain health. Poor sleep is associated with a wide range of health consequences including an increased risk of hypertension, accidental injury, diabetes, obesity, depression, heart attack, stroke and dementia(4), as well as adverse effects on mood and behavior.(3)

Experimental studies in animals and humans provide evidence of associations between sleep and inflammatory markers(2), and the association between sleep and mortality, as well as many diseases and disease risk factors; studies suggest an optimal sleep duration between seven and eight hours.(5) Women are 1.4 times more likely than men to suffer from insomnia.(6)

Older adults also have higher prevalence of insomnia; aging is often accompanied by changes in sleep patterns, including disrupted sleep, frequent waking and early waking, that can lead to less sleep time.(7)

About Study 108

Study 108 was a randomized, double-blind, four period crossover study to evaluate the effect of lemborexant on postural stability, auditory awakening threshold, and cognitive performance in 56 healthy volunteers 55 years and older. Participants were administered a single dose of placebo, lemborexant 5 mg, lemborexant 10 mg, or zolpidem ER 6.25 mg. The primary endpoint was change from time-matched baseline in postural stability for lemborexant compared to zolpidem ER at approximately four hours post-dose.

About Study 106

Study 106 was a randomized, double-blind, placebo- and active-controlled, four period, crossover study to evaluate the effect of lemborexant in 48 healthy adult and elderly volunteers to evaluate on-road driving performance. Participants were treated at bedtime with two out of three dose levels of lemborexant (2.5, 5 or 10 mg) and placebo for eight consecutive days, and zopiclone 7.5 mg as an active control on days one and eight only, with placebo given for the six days in between. The primary endpoint was to evaluate change of standard deviation of lateral position (SDLP) during an on-road driving test on the mornings following the first and last dose of drug in each treatment period.

About Purdue Pharma L.P.

Purdue Pharma L.P. is a privately held pharmaceutical company headquartered in Stamford, Conn. Purdue Pharma is part of a network of independent associated companies dedicated to providing patients and providers with innovative medicines. The company's leadership and employees are committed to serving healthcare professionals, patients and caregivers by providing quality products and educational resources that make a positive impact on healthcare - and on lives.

About Eisai Co., Ltd.

Eisai Co., Ltd. is a leading global research and development-based pharmaceutical company headquartered in Japan. We define our corporate mission as "giving first thought to patients and their families and to increasing the benefits health care provides," which we call our human health care (hhc) philosophy. With approximately 10,000 employees working across our global network of R&D facilities, manufacturing sites and marketing subsidiaries, we strive to realize our hhc philosophy by delivering innovative products in various therapeutic areas with high unmet medical needs, including Neurology and Oncology.

Furthermore, we invest and participate in several partnership-based initiatives to improve access to medicines in developing and emerging countries.

For more information about Eisai Co., Ltd., please visit www.eisai.com.

(1) Zhou J, et al. The complexity of standing postural sway associates with future falls in community-dwelling older adults: The MOBILIZE Boston Study. Sci Rep. 7: 2924 DOI:10.1038/s41598-017-03422-4.
(2) Ferrie JE et al. Sleep epidemiology--a rapidly growing field. International Journal of Epidemiology, Volume 40, Issue 6, 1 December 2011, 1431-1437,
(3) Institute of Medicine. Sleep disorders and sleep deprivation: An unmet public health problem. Washington, DC: National Academies Press. 2006.
(4) Pase MP, Himali JJ, Grima NA, et al. Sleep architecture and the risk of incident dementia in the community. Neurology, 2017; 89(12):1244-1250.
(5) Trenell MI et al. Sleep and metabolic control: waking to a problem? Clin Exp Pharmacol Physiol 2007, 34, 1-9.
(6) Zhang B, Wing, YK. Sex Differences in Insomnia: A Meta-Analysis. Sleep. 2006; 29(1):85-93.
(7) Rybarczyk B, Lund HG, Garroway AM, et al. Cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia in older adults: background, evidence, and overview of treatment protocol. Clin Gerontol. 2013;36(1):70-93.

Purdue Pharma L.P.
Danielle Lewis
Tel: +1-203-588-7653

Eisai Co., Ltd.
Public Relations Department
Tel: +81-(0)3-3817-5120

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

MHPS Receives Order for Two H-25 Gas Turbines at Standalone Power Plant in Taixing, China

0
0

- 80 MW Class Natural-Gas-Fired GTCC Project being Developed by China Resources Power Group -

- For Hongqiao Industrial Zone; operation to begin in 2019
- Third order (total: 5 units) for China received through HGGT

YOKOHAMA, Japan, May 23, 2018 - (JCN Newswire) - Mitsubishi Hitachi Power Systems, Ltd. (MHPS) has received an order for two H-25 gas turbines for a thermal power station being built by China Resources Power Group, a leading power provider in China, in Taixing City, Jiangsu Province. The units on order will form the core equipment of a double-train 80 megawatt (MW) class gas turbine combined cycle (GTCC) power plant fired by natural gas. It is scheduled to go into operation in 2019. Serving as a standalone power source in a local industrial zone, the new plant will supply power, steam for manufacturing processes, and cooled air for air-conditioning.

The power plant project is being developed by China Resources Power Taizhou Co., Ltd., a wholly owned member of China Resources Power Group. The plant is under construction in the Hongqiao Industrial Zone located around 100 kilometers (km) from Nanjing, Jiangsu's provincial capital. MHPS received the order through Harbin Guanghan Gas Turbine Co., Ltd. (HGGT), a member of China Shipbuilding Industry Group that produces ships and marine machinery.

The GTCC facility uses components such as two H-25 gas turbines, steam turbines, generators and waste heat recovery boilers. MHPS will deliver the gas turbines' main and auxiliary machinery and also dispatch engineers to the site to perform installation and provide guidance in trial operations.

The H-25 is a heavy-duty gas turbine(1) with outstanding reliability, a strong track record, and a high level of operating hours. Since 1987, a total of 206 units of H-series gas turbines have been ordered by domestic and overseas(2) customers. In recent years the H-25 has seen strong demand especially for use as a standalone power source in industrial areas. The latest order is the third received from China through HGGT (a total of five units).

GTCC is the cleanest and most efficient method of fossil fuel power generation. Power is produced by a gas turbine, and also by a steam turbine utilizing the high-temperature waste heat from the gas turbine. Compared to conventional coal-fired plants, GTCC can reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions by roughly 70%. MHPS' gas turbines offer the industry's highest level of efficiency.

MHPS provides total solutions in thermal power generation backed by a full range of products: from high-efficiency, large-capacity power generation systems to energy-saving systems for industrial applications employing small to medium-scale gas turbines. Going forward, the company will continue to proactively market not only solutions for large-scale power generation needs but also energy-saving systems for industrial and standalone power generation, especially the H-25 gas turbine. By responding to user needs of every description, MHPS will contribute to economic development and easing of environmental burdens in countries and regions worldwide.

(1) Heavy-duty refers to gas turbines that offer outstanding reliability while requiring less frequent maintenance.
(2) Including the new order.

About Mitsubishi Hitachi Power Systems, Ltd.

Mitsubishi Hitachi Power Systems, Ltd. (MHPS) was formed on February 1 2014, integrating the thermal power generation systems businesses of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. (MHI) and Hitachi, Ltd. in a quest to further enhance their social response capabilities in all respects. These include the technological strength to create new products of outstanding quality and reliability, the comprehensive strength in engineering to oversee projects in regions across the globe, and finely honed sales and after-sale servicing capabilities. MHPS aims to come out a winner in global competition and achieve a solid position as a world leader in thermal power generation systems and environmental technologies. For more information, please visit www.mhps.com.

Contact:
Joseph Hood, PR Manager Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. Email: mhi-pr@mhi.co.jp Tel: +81-(0)3-6716-2168 Fax: +81-(0)3-6716-5860

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

China Mobile International Limited Establishes Japan Office

0
0

Mr Li Feng, Chairman & CEO, CMI Ltd; Mr Song Yaoming, Minister, Economic and Commercial Office, Chinese Embassy, Japan; Mr Takagi Seiji, Director General, International Affairs, Global Strategy Bureau, Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, Japan; Mr Jian Qin, Executive V.P., China Mobile Communications Group Co., Ltd.; Mr Akira Hamada, Country Head, CMI, Japan Office.
China Mobile International Limited (CMI) hosts the opening of its new Japan office in Tokyo

TOKYO, May 23, 2018 - (ACN Newswire) - China Mobile International Limited (CMI) today hosted the opening ceremony of its Japan office in Tokyo. Attending were Mr. Song Yaoming, Minister of Economic and Commercial Office, Embassy of the People's Republic of China in Japan, Mr. Takagi Seiji, Director General for International Affairs, Global Strategy Bureau, Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, Mr. Jian Qin, Executive Vice President of China Mobile Communications Group Co., Ltd., and Mr. Li Feng, Chairman & Chief Executive Officer of China Mobile International Limited.

Mr. Song Yaoming said, "The 2020 Olympic Games will be held in Tokyo, which will predictably bring many business opportunities to Japan. And the number of tourists from all over the world, especially China, will increase significantly. Communications services are becoming one of the key development priorities in Japan's infrastructure construction. The establishment of the CMI Japan office will not only provide convenience for Chinese and Japanese companies to expand their businesses, but also provide the tourists more preferential roaming charges and better services. I hope that Japanese companies will take the opportunity to learn more about China Mobile and explore cooperation opportunities with China Mobile."

Mr. Takagi Seiji added, "While government support is important, enterprises are principal in strengthening the telecommunications cooperation between two countries. Japanese telecom companies are actively engaged in China and are working globally with Chinese enterprises. Chinese companies have also been active within Japan. We believe that CMI, a subsidiary of China Mobile with the world's largest subscriber base, establishing its Japan office to strive to move forward in Japan is about the right time."

Mr. Jian Qin stated, "This year marks the 40th anniversary of the Sino-Japanese Treaty of Peace and Friendship. During a visit to Japan earlier this month, Prime Minister Li Keqiang indicated that China and Japan now have many new opportunities for mutually beneficial cooperation, as both countries are strongly complementary in economies. We should further strengthen collaboration in key areas such as energy conservation, environmental protection, technology innovation, high-end manufacturing, finance, the sharing economy and health care, and we should positively explore possibilities for cooperation in 'the Belt and Road' and jointly develop third-party markets. Trade and economic relations between China and Japan are inseparable from the connectivity of the Internet. The establishment of the Japan office will promote interrelation of information and communications infrastructure, and strengthen cooperation in emerging technologies such as 5G and IoT. This will not only provide localized and high-quality telecommunications services for overseas Chinese enterprises, but also build a communication bridge for Japanese companies to access China, as well as all Asian and European countries along the 'the Belt and Road'."

Information and communications technology is developing at a breakneck pace in today's hyper-connected world. In view of this, China Mobile is executing on its "Big Connectivity" strategy, which outlines China Mobile's ambition to globalise its business to meet increasing global demands in data consumption. To provide competitive international telecommunication services to the 890 million China Mobile subscribers, CMI is continuously accelerating its pace in expanding global network deployment and scale of connectivity. The company presently owns 40 submarine and terrestrial cables, 138 PoPs, and expects to complete 10 global Internet data centres (IDC) construction in 3 years. In Asia, CMI has launched 41 PoPs, providing transmission, IPVPN and Internet services. CMI also participated in the construction of the NCP and SJC2 submarine cable systems, and facilitated large capacity connection within Asia Pacific. In future, CMI will continue to participate in the construction of international communications facilities, provide high-quality connectivity services for operators and enterprises, and strive to become a trustworthy partner.

About CMI
China Mobile International Limited (CMI) is a wholly owned subsidiary of China Mobile. China Mobile is now the largest telecom operator in the world by network scale and subscriber base and is among the top in terms of market capitalization and brand value. To provide better services to meet the growing demand in the international telecommunications market, China Mobile established a subsidiary, CMI, in December 2010, mainly responsible for the operation of international business. Leveraging the strong support of China Mobile, CMI provides a full range of comprehensive international telecommunications services which includes IDD, roaming, Internet, MNC services and Value-Added Business across the globe. Headquartered in Hong Kong, CMI has expanded its footprint to 20 countries across different regions. www.cmi.chinamobile.com.

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

SmartUp Has Taken USD5 Million Investment from Blockchain Japan

0
0

Mr. Ric Wu, Founder of SmartUp and Mr. Yasutaka Hirao, President of FCO International Limited shook hands after signing the collaboration agreement between SmartUp and ValueCoin.
Mr. Ric Wu, Founder of SmartUp, and Mr. Toshifumi Emoto, President of Blockchain Japan, signed funding agreement in Tokyo, Japan. SmartUp has taken USD5 million investment from Blockchain Japan.
And Announces Its First Incubated Japan Blockchain Project ValueCoin

HONG KONG, May 23, 2018 - (ACN Newswire) - Hong Kong based blockchain project SmartUp brings together investment opportunities in Asia. The project has two major updates over the past weekend: SmartUp announced that it received USD5 million investment from Blockchain Japan, also the project reached an agreement with ValueCoin for being its first incubating blockchain project. A press conference was held in Japan last Sunday (20 May 2018) to announce the business development.

The investment of Blockchain Japan will provide initial funding for early platform operation expenses. Besides money investment, Blockchain Japan will also introduce SmartUp to its members, and match suitable projects with SmartUp.

Mr. Toshifumi Emoto, President of Blockchain Japan, said, "There are numerous quality blockchain projects in Asia. However, it is always challenging for them looking for funding and resources. SmartUp provides projects with technical support as well as one stop incubating service. We also introduced ValueCoin to be SmartUp's first incubatee. We shall work seamlessly with SmartUp and dedicate to bring more quality projects to international market."

Mr. Ric Wu, Founder of SmartUp, said, "We are happy to receive the support and investment from Blockchain Japan, representing their recognition to our vision. We shall match the project with appropriate and quality resources, and eventually bring the project to the global stage. We are looking forward to more collaboration with Blockchain Japan, not limited to incubating more quality projects, but also increase the awareness of regional market on blockchain technology applications."

Mr. Fay Lam, Chief Executive Officer of SmartUp, said, "The investment of Blockchain Japan on SmartUp implies strong funding support on the incubated projects, and also a testimonial to SmartUp's experienced management team and its potential. After the private funding, SmartUp will connect with various Asian investor communities, and grow the incubatees on its transparent and trustful platform."

ValueCoin is invested and distributed by FCO International Limited, with the technical support and funding from Blockchain Japan. Given the increasing opportunities working with different business organizations when the company is getting involved in international trading, the transactions need to be effectively managed and ensure the transaction records are open, authentic and transparent. ValueCoin's blockchain platform will provide convenient and accurate way of transaction to its members.

Mr. Zuo Peng, CEO of FCO International Limited, commented on ValueCoin being the first project landing on SmartUp, "Blockchain application is becoming popular in Japan. We share the vision of SmartUp and we are looking forward to apply ValueCoin and its blockchain applications in international trading. The participation to SmartUp incubator will help us getting international resources and partners to promote the said applications to improve business efficiency. Looking ahead, we shall work closely with Mr Wu and his team for bring ValueCoin to the global market."

Mr. Ric Wu concluded, "On behalf of SmartUp, we welcome ValueCoin to join our platform. SmartUp integrates resources for projects and provides accurate funding record for investors, which hugely reduces transaction cost. ValueCoin owns a membership base of more than 56 million, and its participation to SmartUp has provided an ideal choice to investors. Looking forward, we shall bring in more quality projects in the region as well as better value to investors."

Please visit https://www.smart-up.co/ for more information about the project, team and service providers.

Please find the link here for HD event photos: https://goo.gl/8H625i

About SmartUp
SmartUp is a global blockchain incubating platform connecting enterprises and individuals. It connects diversified types of projects, companies, individuals, and services, as a result of irrefutable, transparent and temper-free features. The platform also provides a comprehensive service for startups through SIT, which would help create a complete credit system. For detailed information, please visit: www.smart-up.co

Media Enquiry:
Across Asia Communications Limited
Damon Kwok
Direct: +852 3111 5182
Email: damon.kwok@acrossasia.hk


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

Kingsoft Announces 2018 First Quarter Results

0
0

Kingsoft Cloud Strengthens Leading Position; WPS Office Maintains Strong Growth

HONG KONG, May 23, 2018 - (ACN Newswire) - Kingsoft Corporation Limited ("Kingsoft" or the "Company"; HKEx stock code: 03888), a leading Chinese software and Internet service company, has announced its unaudited quarterly results for the three months ended 31 March 2018 ("period under review").

During the period under review, the revenue of Kingsoft increased 4% year-over-year to RMB1,263.7 million. Revenue from the online games, cloud services, and office software and services and others represented 50%, 33% and 17%, respectively, of total revenue. Gross profit was RMB615.6 million. Profit attributable to owners of the parent recorded RMB118.4 million.

Mr. Jun LEI, Chairman of Kingsoft, commented, "The first quarter marks a good start to 2018. All of our businesses are well on their way to achieve the strategic goals of the Company. Kingsoft Cloud strengthened its leading position in video cloud sector. The performance of WPS Office remained robust and the content value-added services saw a good momentum by providing a smarter resources-sharing platform for our users. As for the online games business, we managed to continue to expand the brand influence of our flagship game, JX Online III, and also released the first promotion video for one of our key mobile games of the year, YSYY."

Mr. Tao ZOU, Chief Executive Officer of Kingsoft, added, "In the first quarter, our total revenue increased 4% year-over-year to RMB1,263.7 million, indicating a steady start to the year. Kingsoft Cloud recorded a year-over-year growth of 56% and office software and services and others grew 66% year-over-year in the first quarter. Our operating profit would be under pressure in the first half of the year as we expect our online games business to pick up its growth momentum in the second half of the year.

BUSINESS REVIEW
Online Games
For the first quarter of 2018, the revenue of the online games business recorded RMB632.4 million. Due to the explosion in popularity of the Players' Unknown Battleground ("PUBG") genre, some of the users of the Company's flagship PC game JX Online III were temporarily occupied in the first quarter, which led to year-over-year and quarter-over-quarter decrease in revenue. Nevertheless, Kingsoft managed to continue to expand its brand influence and hosted the third JX Online III expert player competition on 16 March 2018. The number of participants and viewers reached a new record high this year, which helped strengthen the engagement of the core players. In addition, the Company is also working on the development of a TV series and a special episode of animation for JX Online III to maximize its IP value and influence.

With the increasingly fierce competition in the mobile game market, Kingsoft saw the opportunity in the new game genres and meticulously developed a 3D costume-changing mobile game, YSYY. The first promotion video of the game was released during the 2018 Tencent NEO-Culture Creativity Eco-Conference and received great commentaries across the market. It laid the solid foundation for the Company's new game genres development. Kingsoft is looking forward to the official launch of the game and expect it to be the new driving force of the online game business.

Cloud Services
Kingsoft Cloud maintained a solid growth in the quarter, and the development trend of each business segment is in line with the Company's strategic planning. For the first quarter of 2018, the revenue of the cloud services business increased 56% year-over-year to RMB418.9 million. Video cloud business saw continuous improvement with high-quality services provided for the customers. Through the promotion of High-resolution Content Delivery Network ("CDN"), Kingsoft Cloud managed to strengthen its leading position in the CDN sector and is striving to establish a diversified business structure over time. Game cloud achieved remarkable results in attracting and retaining strategic clientele and it continued to make the products and services more stable and user-friendly. Kingsoft Cloud also kept on expanding its businesses in public cloud and private cloud sectors and made breakthroughs in finance, smart city, healthcare, and manufacturing services. Looking forward, Kingsoft Cloud will continue to provide customers with quality, tailor-made services and solutions, enhance the business penetration across the market and seek new breakthroughs.

Office Software and Services and Others
In the first quarter of 2018, the revenue of Office Software and Services and Others increased 66% year-over-year to RMB212.4 million. WPS Office continued to maintain strong growth for the first quarter of 2018. With continuous efforts in cloud office services, both consumer and enterprise cloud businesses sustained decent growth. WPS Government Office Cloud made its debut in the quarter as an office solution targeting government and public institutions. Meanwhile, content value-added services have enjoyed good growth momentum, providing users and designers with a smarter platform to share resources. Kingsoft's flagship products, WPS Office and Kingsoft PowerWord, were both ranked among 'Top 10 Best Customer Experience APP' in the 'Top 100 APP/Accounts in WeChat, Weibo and mobile OS' in 2017. WPS Office's content ecosystem strategy was announced in the 'Content Players +' convention in Zhuhai. More than a hundred content creators participated in the event. The content platform, Docer, was officially upgraded to a strategic content brand at the convention. With the leading office technology and a proven business development model, WPS Office will continue to build an easier office style for global users."

Mr. Jun LEI concluded, "We are glad to see the sound overall performance in our businesses in the first quarter. Kingsoft Cloud and WPS Office sustained stable growth in the first three months, with market expanded to more segments and clientele increased in different areas. Though the online games business would experience a little setback in the first half of the year, we expect the performance will catch up in the second half of the year after the debut of our new mobile games, YSYY and JX Online mobile games. We expect to bring more satisfactory results for both our customers and the market with our unceasing effort in product innovation and service optimization."

About Kingsoft Corporation Limited
Kingsoft is a leading software and Internet services company based in China listed on the stock exchange of Hong Kong. It has three subsidiaries including Seasun, Kingsoft Cloud and Kingsoft Office. Following the implementation of its "mobile internet transformation" strategy, Kingsoft has completed the comprehensive transformation of its overall business and management models and formed a strategic platform with interactive entertainment and office software as the pillars and cloud computing as the new growth driver and source. The Company has over 5,000 staff around the world. It has set up R&D centers and offices in Beijing, Zhuhai, Chengdu, Dalian, Guangzhou and Hong Kong and enjoys a large market share in various countries and regions both home and abroad. For more information, please visit http://www.kingsoft.com.

Kingsoft Investor Relations:
Francie Lu Tel: (86) 10 6292 7777 Email: ir@kingsoft.com

For further queries, please contact Hill+Knowlton Strategies Asia:
Sophie Liu Tel: (852) 2894 6318 Email: kingsoft@hkstrategies.com

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

Fujitsu Wins Hokkaido University Order for Large-scale, Interdisciplinary Computing System

0
0

Advances computational science research with 4.0 petaflop supercomputer and wide-area distributed cloud system

TOKYO, May 24, 2018 - (JCN Newswire) - Fujitsu today announced that it has received an order from the Information Initiative Center of Hokkaido University for an interdisciplinary, large-scale computing system with a theoretical peak performance of 4.0 petaflops(1), consisting of a supercomputer system and a cloud system. The system is expected to begin operations in December 2018. The system's supercomputer system is comprised of approximately 1,300 of Fujitsu's x86 servers, including the latest model, the Fujitsu Server PRIMERGY CX2550 M4. The cloud system is equipped with x86 servers installed at Hokkaido University as well as multiple remote locations throughout Japan, now from Hokkaido to Kyushu, that connects to the SINET5(2) academic backbone network, making it a nationwide wide-area distributed cloud system. As such, it can be used for research relating to distributed systems, such as networks and the Internet of Things. In addition to using the system for R&D relating to computational science and computer science, the Information Initiative Center of Hokkaido University will use it to provide computing resources to HPCI(3) and JHPCN(4), thereby broadly providing the system to researchers throughout Japan, including those at private companies, and contributing to advancements in all kinds of fields. With Japan's top high-performance computing technology, Fujitsu will provide powerful support for the activities of the Information Initiative Center of Hokkaido University as well as other research endeavors in Japan.

Background to the Deployment of the New System

Hokkaido University, the largest university in Hokkaido, is a national university that is driving education and research. The Information Initiative Center of Hokkaido University provides an academic information platform as a national joint-use facility for academic research by university faculty members, graduate students, and researchers throughout Japan. The Information Initiative Center of Hokkaido University currently operates the Hokkaido University Academic Cloud, which is comprised of an interdisciplinary large-scale computing system that includes a supercomputer system and a cloud system, and petabyte-class data science unified cloud storage.. To upgrade its interdisciplinary large-scale computing system to the Hokkaido University High-Performance Inter-Cloud, it is building both a supercomputer system that will improve the processing performance of the existing system by over 20 times, and a nationwide wide-area distributed cloud system that can also be used for research on clouds and networks. It will further advance uses and research in such existing areas as scientific and technological simulations, AI, big data, and data science, and will provide an environment that can meet an even broader range of needs as people are trained to use the large-scale computing system for groundbreaking research.

Features of the New System

Supercomputer system The new supercomputer system is a massively parallel computer system consisting of subsystem A, which is comprised of 1,004 PRIMERGY CX2550 M4 x86 servers that are equipped with the Intel Xeon Scalable family of processors, and subsystem B, which is comprised of 288 Fujitsu Server PRIMERGY CX1640 M1 x86 servers that are equipped with Intel Xeon Phi processors. Each compute node is connected with Intel Omni-Path Architecture, the latest high-speed interconnect(5), for highly parallel computing performance.

Cloud system The new cloud system has 64 x86 servers, including the Fujitsu Server PRIMERGY RX2540 M4 with NVIDIA Tesla V100, the latest GPU computing card, deployed to Hokkaido University and seven more in remote sites in the Kanto, Kansai, and Kyushu regions of Japan.. Connecting these servers to the SINET5 academic backbone network makes it a nationwide wide-area distributed cloud system that extends from Hokkaido to Kyushu. The cloud platform uses the Mirantis Cloud Platform, with OpenStack at its core, delivering the latest research environment.

Designed to flexibly meet a wide variety of needs With Fujitsu Software Technical Computing Suite(6), Fujitsu's HPC middleware for large-scale systems, the system offers optimal controls and node occupancy for jobs, improving the convenience of a wide variety of anticipated operations. It also provides flexible electric power controls to conserve power by limiting the maximum electric power consumed by each user and turning the power for nodes on or off.
Comment from Dr. Yoshiaki Takai, Director, Information Initiative Center, Hokkaido University

The Hokkaido University High-Performance Inter-Cloud is a transformational research promotion platform for advanced research that uses large-scale computational science simulations, artificial intelligence, big data, and the Internet of Things, leading to the creation of a super-smart society. The deployment of this system, which delivers the dramatically improved peak performance of 4 petaflops, will meet the expectations of universities and research institutions, as well as private sector researchers, throughout Japan, while promoting the further acceleration of academic research in Japan.

(1) Petaflops Short for peta floating point operations per second. Peta is an SI prefix indicating one quadrillion, or 10 to the power of 15, so this indicates performance of one quadrillion floating point operations per second.
(2) SINET5 SINET stands for Science Information NETwork. It is an information and communications network that is constructed and operated by the National Institute of Informatics as an academic backbone network for universities and research institutions throughout Japan.
(3) HPCI High performance computing infrastructure. A computing environment that connects the K computer and major supercomputers located in universities and laboratories across Japan in a network to meet the diverse needs of users.
(4) JHPCN Joint Usage/Research Center for Interdisciplinary Large-scale Information Infrastructures. A network of joint use and research locations made up of supercomputer facilities at Hokkaido University, Tohoku University, the University of Tokyo, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Nagoya University, Kyoto University, Osaka University, and Kyushu University, with the Information Technology Center at the University of Tokyo serving as the core location.
(5) Interconnect High-speed network connecting computation nodes.
(6) Fujitsu Software Technical Computing Suite HPC middleware that offers high execution performance for massively parallel applications through system management and job operation functionality, compilers, and libraries.

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: +81-3-3215-5259 URL: www.fujitsu.com/global/news/contacts/

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

MHI Thermal Systems Receives Certification for Automotive SPICE Ver. 3

0
0

Electric Compressor for Automotive Air Conditioners
- Electric Compressor for Automotive Air Conditioners Compliant with Standard for In-Vehicle Software Development -

- Enhances MTH's overall competitiveness in Europe and global markets
- More advanced in-vehicle device software development process in line with the rapid computerization of automobiles

TOKYO, May 24, 2018 - (JCN Newswire) - MHI Thermal Systems, Ltd. (MTH), a Group company of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. (MHI), has received certification for its electric compressor for automotive air conditioners as compliant with Version 3 (Level 3) of Automotive SPICE (Software Process Improvement and Capability dEtermination), the industry standards for the in-vehicle software development process jointly formulated by European car manufacturers (finished vehicles). Certification was provided by DNV GL, a third-party certifying body based in Norway, and will enhance MTH's overall competitiveness in Europe and the global market.

The certification for Automotive SPICE Ver. 3 verifies Level 3 compliance for 17 processes, including project management, software requirement analysis, software architecture design, software integration and integration testing, software competency testing, and quality assurance.
MHI Thermal Systems merged with MHI Automotive Thermal Systems, Co., Ltd. (MCCJ), a specialist in automotive air-conditioning systems, effective January 1, 2018. The consolidation of technologies and business resources broadened the business scope and enhanced efficiency, and the company has worked to strengthen its global competitiveness. This certification is a reflection of those measures, and going forward MTH will utilize its objectively verified advanced technology development capabilities to target the automobile manufacturers for whom Automotive SPICE Ver. 3 certification is an essential requirement in a supplier, and uncover demand in Japanese and overseas markets for increasingly sophisticated car air conditioner electronic control technologies.

About Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd.

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. (MHI), headquartered in Tokyo, is one of the world's leading industrial firms with 80,000 group employees and annual consolidated revenues of around 38 billion U.S. dollars. For more than 130 years, the company has channeled big thinking into innovative and integrated solutions that move the world forward. MHI owns a unique business portfolio covering land, sea, sky and even space. MHI delivers innovative and integrated solutions across a wide range of industries from commercial aviation and transportation to power plants and gas turbines, and from machinery and infrastructure to integrated defense and space systems.
For more information, please visit the MHI Group website: http://www.mhi-global.com.
For Technology, Trends and Tangents, visit MHI's new online media SPECTRA: http://spectra.mhi.com.

Contact:
Joseph Hood, PR Manager Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. Email: mhi-pr@mhi.co.jp Tel: +81-(0)3-6716-2168 Fax: +81-(0)3-6716-5860

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

Toyota Moves to Expand Mass-production of Fuel Cell Stacks and Hydrogen Tanks Towards Ten-fold Increase Post-2020

0
0

Artist rendering of the FC stack production building within the Honsha Plant premises
- Newly constructed building at Honsha Plant will house FC cell stack production
- Shimoyama Plant to add new line dedicated to the mass production of high-pressure hydrogen tanks
- Expansion of sales areas planned in Japan and overseas

Toyota City, Japan, May 24, 2018 - (JCN Newswire) - Toyota sees global sales of fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEV) increasing significantly after 2020, to at least 30,000 per year from today's 3,000. To prepare for this growth, the company unveiled plans for two major new facilities today: a brand-new building near its original automobile factory for expanding fuel cell stack mass production, and a new line in an existing plant to manufacture high-pressure hydrogen tanks. The FC stack is what generates the on-board electricity from hydrogen and oxygen which propel FCEVs with zero emissions, and the tanks store the hydrogen fuel. Manufacturing both components at scale is critical to achieving lower system costs and wider availability for further growth and sales of FCEVs.

Expansion of production facilities

To increase FC stack output, Toyota will move production from its current location, within one of the existing buildings at its Honsha Plant in Toyota City, to a brand-new, eight-floor high-tech facility on the same premises, near the original site of the company's very first automobile factory in 1938.

The production of high-pressure hydrogen tanks will be handled by a new, dedicated line to be added inside the nearby Shimoyama Plant (No. 3) in Miyoshi City (Aichi Prefecture). Previously, the hydrogen tanks were assembled at the Honsha plant on a smaller scale. Toyota's hydrogen tanks are made of extra-thick carbon fiber and are built to withstand major impacts.

http://www.acnnewswire.com/topimg/Low_FCStackProductionBuilding%20.jpg
Artist rendering of the FC stack production building within the Honsha Plant premises

The new facilities are expected to help significantly reduce CO2 emissions during the production stage. This is one of the initiatives for the Plant Zero CO2 Emissions Challenge in the Toyota Environmental Challenge 2050 announced in October 2015.

Construction of the new hydrogen tank line at Shimoyama is starting now, while the exterior for the new stack production facility is already finished and work will now begin on the interior. Details of the respective facilities will be announced later with a view to start operations around 2020.

Expanding FCEV sales to more countries and regions

As a technology, fuel cells are mature and ready to scale up. Toyota took the lead in bringing to market the mass-produced fuel cell sedan, the Mirai, in December 2014. Annual production and sales have increased yearly, going from about 700 units in 2015, to around 2,000 units in 2016, and, most recently, approximately 3,000 units in 2017. However, in order to encourage more widespread use of hydrogen-powered zero-emission vehicles, popularization needs to start by the 2020s. Toyota aims for annual sales of FCEVs to top 30,000 units globally from around that time.

At present, Mirai is sold in eleven countries: Japan, the United States, and nine countries in Europe. Toyota is working to develop an environment that will allow FCEVs to be sold in more countries and regions in the future. As part of this, demonstration tests of Mirai are currently under way in Australia, Canada, China, and the U.A.E., and Toyota is examining demand for FCEVs while continuing to help with initiatives to promote hydrogen infrastructure development.

In the Japanese market, Toyota aims to reach sales of at least 1,000 FCEV units per month and over 10,000 units annually, from around 2020. Sales regions within Japan will be expanded further from the current four major metropolitan areas to allow even more customers to enjoy Mirai.

On the commercial side, Toyota started sales of FC buses to the Tokyo Metropolitan Government in February 2017, and introduced the final version, the Sora, in 2018 with three additional units. Toyota aims to sell at least 100 such buses ahead of the Olympic and Paralympic Games Tokyo 2020.

Going forward, Toyota will expand its FCEV product range and continue to strengthen product appeal, aiming to bring the cost down. Also, Toyota will keep working with Toyota Group and other companies to develop a hydrogen supply infrastructure and construct a low-carbon hydrogen supply chain. Through these and other initiatives, the company is actively contributing to the realization of a hydrogen-based society.

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

JCB to offer Google Pay in Japan

0
0

Offering the fast, simple and secure way to pay with Android devices instore, online, and more.

TOKYO, May 24, 2018 - (ACN Newswire) - JCB Co., Ltd, the only international payments brand based in Japan, today announced that it will offer the ability for shoppers in Japan to use Google Pay for in-store payments, later in the year.

JCB will enable Google Pay for instore payments in Japan through its QUICPay(TM), contactless payment solution. At launch, Google Pay users will be able to make payments on their enrolled JCB credit, debit, or prepaid card at convenience stores, supermarkets, drugstores, and other shops where QUICPay is accepted and online wherever JCB is accepted. Credit, debit, and prepaid cards can be enrolled using the Google Pay app on Osaifu Keitai supported devices with Android OS5.0 or higher version.

Card information enrolled for users' Google accounts can also be used for in-app payments and online shopping wherever Google Pay is supported. Payments are easy, with no need to enter contact information, credit card number, or other information every time you make a purchase.

JCB is committed to offering convenient and secure payment services to an even wider range of customers in Japan.

For more information about Google Pay, visit https://pay.google.com/about/

Notes:
1. QUICPay is the contactless payment product developed by JCB for the Japanese market. QUICPay is a registered trademark of JCB for its contactless payment solution.
2. Google Pay and Google are trademark of Google LLC.
3. Osaifu-Keitai is only available to subscribers in Japan. Osaifu Keitai is a trademark of NTT DOCOMO, INC.

About JCB

JCB is a major global payment brand and a leading payment card issuer and acquirer in Japan. JCB launched its card business in Japan in 1961 and began expanding worldwide in 1981. As part of its international growth strategy, JCB has formed alliances with hundreds of leading banks and financial institutions globally to increase merchant coverage and cardmember base. As a comprehensive payment solution provider, JCB commits to provide responsive and high-quality service and products to all customers worldwide. For more information, please visit: www.global.jcb/en/

Contact
Kumiko Kida
Corporate Communications Department of JCB Co., Ltd.
Tel: +81-3-5778-8353
Email: jcb-pr@info.jcb.co.jp

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

Publicis Groupe Unveils Marcel

0
0

Marcel: The Vision
Marcel: The Demo
Marcel to Accelerate the Transformation of Publicis Groupe from a Holding Company to an 80,000-Person Enterprise Platform

PARIS, FRANCE, May 24, 2018 - (ACN Newswire) - Publicis Groupe [Euronext Paris: FR0000130577, CAC 40] today unveiled Marcel - named after Publicis Groupe founder Marcel Bleustein-Blanchet - AI-powered innovation that will accelerate transforming the organization from a holding company to a platform, creating the first truly borderless, frictionless enterprise workforce, comprised of 80,000 employees worldwide, and usher in a new era of creativity and innovation.

Arthur Sadoun, Chairman & CEO, Publicis Groupe, said:

"In June last year, Publicis Groupe announced the creation of Marcel, to connect our 80,000 employees and completely reinvent the way that we work, for ourselves and our clients.

Since then, our industry has gone through unprecedented challenges, demonstrating that incremental change is not a solution. The need for reinvention is stronger than ever.

At Publicis Groupe, we haven't waited to act. We have broken the divide between data, creativity and technology. We have broken our silos through the Power of One. Today, we are breaking the barriers between talent and opportunity with Marcel.

Marcel is a journey to shift Publicis Groupe from a holding company to a platform and give creative minds the freedom to progress and thrive in this ever-changing industry.

Marcel is the proof of our commitment to our people. At Publicis, we will put them first in our transformation, and give them the opportunity to learn, share and create more than anywhere else.

Marcel is the proof of our commitment to our clients. They will be able to leverage our incredible diversity of talent to bring to life the ideas they need to grow their business.

And, of course, Marcel is the proof of our commitment to our industry. We will be a force for good, by leading the change.

Tying the development of Marcel to our one-year industry event hiatus was a controversial decision, but a necessary one. It drew a line in the sand and left no doubt that we are determined to do whatever it takes to reinvent an industry that has struggled to evolve over the past 40 years. So I'm grateful to our people, our clients, and our partners at industry festivals around the world for their support and solidarity during this period, which will end in July 2018.

And, last but not least, I'd like to thank everyone at Publicis Groupe who, both directly and indirectly, have contributed to the ideation and production of Marcel. Marcel is the power of all of us, working as one, and we have already begun to prove that."

More About Marcel

People-First Focus: Empowering Every Employee to the Power of 80,000

In a world where people no longer want to work for companies and instead expect companies to work for them, Marcel is the first enterprise platform designed with people-first benefits and experiences in mind.

At its core, Marcel is about empowering every single Publicis employee to the power of 80,000. Founded in a belief that an augmented workforce leads to higher engagement, which in turn leads to better work and results for clients, Marcel is built on the foundation of four key pillars: knowledge, connectivity, opportunity and productivity.

The power of knowledge serves to educate and inspire our people through creative work and illuminating business, industry, account and cultural intelligence.

The power of connectivity finds, matches, casts and suggests the most appropriate people within the Groupe to connect, depending on people's needs, interests, behavioral patterns and desires.

The power of opportunity provides a multitude of ways that each person can contribute, participate and flex their skills and passions on other projects beyond their day-to-day accounts.

The power of productivity turns the often tedious and highly-manual processes like timesheets and expenses into seamless and incredibly easy tasks. Fueled by a live organizational data graph and Microsoft AI technology, Marcel will deliver a fluid, intuitive, intelligent and rich experience for the 80,000-strong workforce.

Enterprise-level Innovation: Introducing the Marcel AI Platform

The bold ambition to transform Publicis Groupe into a platform required that the Groupe take on very significant enterprise business challenges. One important challenge is around data. With more than 80,000 people and over 1,200 entities, spanning 200 specialties and thousands of clients, the Groupe has vast amounts of data. Publicis Groupe estimates well more than five billion data files.

In order to unlock the value of this data, the Groupe created the Marcel AI Platform built on Microsoft AI and Knowledge Graph technologies. This Knowledge Graph connects both structured and unstructured data that has existed in silos across the organization and then maps relationships within it. This centralized, integrated source of our own data will power Marcel as well as other enterprise initiatives. The Groupe will use Microsoft's sophisticated AI tools to process, filter, connect and organize the data to make it useful for its people. Improving the Marcel AI Platform will be an ongoing effort, foundational to transforming the Groupe in to a platform.

Publicis Groupe Agencies Lead User Experience Design & Brand Identity

The creation of Marcel has been a truly transformative initiative in support of Power of One, with technology and consulting arm Publicis. Sapient developing the Marcel user design and experience to build the Marcel platform. Publicis Communications' BBH (Bartle Bogle Hegarty) created Marcel's brand identity. This undertaking brings together the expertise and inputs from a diverse team of more than 100 people across the company including Publicis. Sapient, Publicis Communications, Publicis Media, Re:Sources, IT, legal, data privacy, procurement, and human resources.

Microsoft: Our Technology/AI Partner

Publicis Groupe found in Microsoft a partner with a shared vision to empower every employee with knowledge and the innovation to make the Marcel experience best in class. Microsoft AI is being used to power the knowledge graph behind Marcel, and the conversational AI experience that is bringing this knowledge to every employee. Microsoft's deep technical knowledge and industry-leading cloud capabilities including Azure and Office 365 made them the ideal partner.

Cannes Lions: Our Learning and Inspiration Partner

As part of Marcel's power of knowledge proposition, Publicis Groupe has entered into partnership with the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity to access The Work, a unique digital platform that showcases over 200,000 pieces of award-winning creative work from 2001-2018.

Employee & Client Data Security & Privacy Measures Built In

Data security and privacy were of the utmost importance in creating Marcel. Our data privacy and security offices have been involved in building Marcel from the beginning, thereby ensuring compliance with important privacy requirements including GDPR. Publicis Groupe is committed to its people and clients that their data is confidential and secure. Employees are not required to use Marcel and all of the interaction and data employees provide is fully opt-in.

Using Marcel: Mobile, Rapid-Response, Customized Experience Prompts

Built for today's technology-savvy work force, Marcel is launching as a mobile application for both Android and iOS. Future versions will include a desktop version or other interfaces as the need arises.

Designed to be as user friendly as any consumer app, employees can use Marcel through voice or text input. The AI engine will suggest refinements to queries that provide large returns to help someone rapidly make connections and complete goals.

Marcel will do more than respond to requests. It will also proactively present relevant knowledge, connections and opportunities. Each workday, Marcel will serve six prompts tailored to the person's role and interests in the form of a daily digest. Marcel will refine what it presents each day based on an employee's interaction and feedback.

Rollout Plan:

Today, Marcel is tested by a team of 100 alpha users. In June the Groupe will release a beta version to 1,000 people selected as an exact Publicis Groupe representation, by agency, role and geography. This group, will provide feedback that will help refine the app. As it has been said during the Investor Day, we have the goal to reach 90% of our people by 2020.

This beta phase will include:
- a precise onboarding process defined to ensure beta user profiles are complete
- a training module available to get the individual familiar with the Marcel platform
- a feedback function included for employees to provide real-time feedback

The aim of this real-time exercise will allow Publicis Groupe to:
- refine the app constantly
- course correct as needed
- improve the user's experience
- add functionality along the way

There will be multiple, updated versions until the optimal state-of-the-art product developed for rollout to the entire Publicis Groupe. Publicis Groupe will begin Marcel rollout to 80,000-person workforce in January 2019.

About Publicis Groupe - The Power of One

Publicis Groupe [Euronext Paris FR0000130577, CAC 40] is a global leader in marketing, communication, and digital transformation, driven through the alchemy of creativity and technology. Publicis Groupe offers its clients seamless access to its tools and expertise through modular offering. Publicis Groupe is organized across four Solutions hubs: Publicis Communications (Publicis Worldwide, Saatchi & Saatchi, Leo Burnett, BBH, Marcel, Fallon, MSL, Prodigious), Publicis Media (Starcom, Zenith, Spark Foundry, Blue 449, Performics, Digitas), Publicis. Sapient (SapientRazorfish & Sapient Consulting) and Publicis Health. These 4 Solution hubs operate across principal markets, and are carried across all others by Publicis One, a fully integrated service offering bringing together the Groupe's expertise under one roof. Present in over 100 countries, Publicis Groupe employs nearly 80,000 professionals.

www.publicisgroupe.com | Twitter: @PublicisGroupe | Facebook | LinkedIn | YouTube | Viva la Difference!

Peggy Nahmany
Publicis Groupe
+ 33 (0)1 44 43 72 83

Anita McGorty
Publicis Media
+1 (917) 929 - 4775

Jean-Michel Bonamy
Publicis Groupe Investor Relations
+33 (0)1 44 43 77 88

Lizzie Dewhurst
Publicis Communications
+44 (0) 794 991 8194

Chi-Chung Lo
Publicis Groupe Investor Relations
+33 (0)1 44 43 66 69

Janice Snook
Publicis Communications
+1 (650) 400 - 4448

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

G2H2 Capital Makes a Purchase on the Latest Cryptocurrency of IoT-IOTWs from AnApp

0
0
HONG KONG, May 24, 2018 - (ACN Newswire) - G2H2 Capital ("G2H2") signed an agreement with AnApp Blockchain Technologies Limited ("AnApp") to purchase an undisclosed amount of IOTW tokens (a new cryptocurrency for IoT applications).

G2H2 Capital is a US based digital-asset investment firm with deep Stanford University connections. The majority of G2H2 main funds' portfolio consists of pre-ICOs and ICOs. This strategy attempts to realize the upside potential of early stage investments in this asset class within a relatively restricted time frame. For example, Venture Capital LP cycles stretch 7 to 10 years to capture the early stage exit returns that pre-ICOs can generate in just 6-months' time. G2H2's purchase of IOTWs from AnApp is a confirmation that the upside potential of IOTW tokens is being recognized by the market.

"The General Partner of G2H2 Capital, Dean Patrick, has an academic background from Stanford University and also has strong connections with students working on blockchain related research and having blockchain investment interests. Dean has personally participated in over 40 pre-ICOs and ICOs. I am glad that Dean decided to purchase IOTWs in view of our clearly groundbreaking growth potential. AnApp's micro-mining software can be loaded on and will not increase the hardware costs of IoT devices in most designs, which is crucial for rapid consumer adoption. In addition, AnApp will work with different IoT semiconductor vendors to embed the IOTW mico-mining software into their chipsets for set top boxes, TVs, white goods, wireless LANs, etc to deploy IOTW blockchain in high volume. Many of these single designs can individually deliver over 10 million chipsets," Frederick Leung, co-founder and CEO of AnApp said.

Dean Patrick, General Partner of G2H2 Capital: "The market IOTW enters is among the most exciting growth industries and adds value in the blockchain space. Within the sector, IOTW outpaces competitors in terms of vision as well as execution strategy. IOTW enables IoT devices to receive all blockchain rewards through micro-mining from IOTW network to encourage adoption without adding hardware cost to the IoT devices. This will create end user pull towards adopting IOTW technology. I am very excited to be adding IOTW to our fund portfolio."

AnApp is developing the IOTW (IoT World) cryptocurrency and blockchain software which will run on most IoT devices. The micro-mining software can be embedded into different IoT chipsets and also downloaded into existing IoT systems through firmware updates. AnApp is planning an ICO launch in the near future.

For more information about IOTW, please visit www.IOTW.io


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

Lubrizol Appoints Apta as New Distributor in Brazil

0
0

CLEVELAND, Ohio, May 24, 2018 - (ACN Newswire) - The Lubrizol Corporation announces its Engineered Polymers business has selected Apta, Vinmar Group, as the new distributor for the thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) portfolio of the company's business throughout Brazil. Apta distributes engineering plastics in Brazil with significant territory coverage. They have warehouses and office facilities strategically located in Sao Leopoldo-RS, Joinville-SC and Sao Paulo-SP.

The agreement, which took effect April 17, 2018, includes the following key product lines which are well-suited for today's innovative and demanding applications:

- Estane(R) TPU: Estane TPU products are utilized in film and sheet, extrusion, blow molding, injection molding, over molding, calendaring and solution coating processes.
- Isoplast(R) ETP: Isoplast ETP products are hard and high flexural modulus polyurethane engineering resins with excellent chemical resistance and barrier properties.
- Pearlbond(TM) TPU: The Pearlbond TPU portfolio includes products for Hot Melt Adhesives (HMA) and Reactive Hot Melts (HMPUR), typically used in automotive interior parts, bookbinding, furniture, textile and footwear.
- Pearlstick(TM) TPU: Pearlstick TPU products are designed for use in the manufacture of solvent-based adhesives.

Other products that will also be distributed by Apta are: Pearlcoat(TM) TPU, Pearlthane(TM) TPU, Pearlthane(TM) ECO* TPU and Carbo-Rite(TM) Conductive Compounds and Sheet Products.

Rogerio Colucci, Lubrizol engineered polymers business manager for Latin America comments, "It is exciting to work with Apta, as they have excellent in-depth knowledge of the engineering plastics markets in Brazil. When combined with Lubrizol's innovative and durable TPU solutions for specialized wire and cable, adhesives, consumer, industrial and footwear applications, this will further enhance our ability to work closely with customers, helping them solve valuable problems and drive innovation and growth in Brazil."

Eduardo Cansi, business director Apta/Vinmar, comments "We are proud of having been selected as Lubrizol's new distributor. We are impressed by the company's wide portfolio of products and the quality of the products, as well as Lubrizol's commitment to market development."

About Lubrizol Engineered Polymers

Lubrizol Engineered Polymers offers one of the broadest portfolios of engineered polymers available today including resins that are bio-based*, recyclable**, light stable, flame retardant, adhesive, chemically resistant, optically clear and fast cycling. Our technology crosses many industries and applications, including surface protection, power and fluid systems, sports and recreation, wearable devices, electronics and automotive. For more information, visit www.lubrizol.com/engineered-polymers or contact engineeredpolymers@lubrizol.com.

About The Lubrizol Corporation

The Lubrizol Corporation, a Berkshire Hathaway company, is a market-driven global company that combines complex, specialty chemicals to optimize the quality, performance and value of customers' products while reducing their environmental impact. It is a leader at combining market insights with chemistry and application capabilities to deliver valuable solutions to customers in the global transportation, industrial and consumer markets. Lubrizol improves lives by acting as an essential partner in our customers' success, delivering efficiency, reliability or wellness to their end users. Technologies include lubricant additives for engine oils, driveline and other transportation-related fluids, industrial lubricants, as well as additives for gasoline and diesel fuel. In addition, Lubrizol makes ingredients and additives for home care, personal care and skin care products and specialty materials encompassing polymer and coatings technologies, along with polymer-based pharmaceutical and medical device solutions.

With headquarters in Wickliffe, Ohio, Lubrizol owns and operates manufacturing facilities in 17 countries, as well as sales and technical offices around the world. Founded in 1928, Lubrizol has approximately 8,700 employees worldwide. Revenues for 2017 were $6.3 billion. For more information, visit Lubrizol.com.

*Bio-based content as certified in accordance with ASTM D-6866.
**Recyclability is based on access to a readily available standard recycling program that supports such materials. Products may not be available in all areas.

All marks are owned by The Lubrizol Corporation.

https://hugin.info/143680/I/2108550/118228.jpg

Media Contacts
Michael Priola
+1 216 447-5697
The Lubrizol Corporation

Web Sites
www.lubrizol.com/engineered-polymers
www.lubrizol.com

###

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

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

Power trading among neighbours per Blockchain: innogy and Conjoule make it possible

0
0

Conjoule: We are the peer-to-peer market place for locally produced energy.
Essen, May 25, 2018 - (ACN Newswire) - The energy provider innogy and the startup Conjoule are focusing on digitization and are jointly launching the "Community Network" future project in Mulheim an der Ruhr.

Conjoule's community network platform, designed specifically for this purpose, allows owners of private photovoltaic systems and neighborhood consumers to share renewable energy. The electricity from next door strengthens the local structures and leads to cost advantages due to the proximity.

Consumers include non-self-powered neighbors, local businesses, supermarkets and schools. The blockchain technology allows the exchange of locally generated electricity between the neighbors and creates transparency about the source of each kilowatt-hour generated.

"We are excited to work on this future project "Community Network" in order to deepen our know-how on platform users and technology," says Sam Warburton, Managing Director of Conjoule GmbH.

The prosumer households participating in the project will be equipped with modern measuring devices (smart meters) that measure energy flows in real time. If more electricity is generated within the Mulheim community than can be consumed, the excess green electricity is sold to environmentally conscious customers outside the community. Conversely, the participants are supplied with green electricity from innogy, if the weather does not allow sufficient generation of solar power.

Conjoule.de : We are the peer-to-peer market place for locally produced energy.

The Conjoule team includes leading tech, energy, and blockchain experts and engineers. To find out more about our unique approach and energy solutions, please email us at info@conjoule.com.

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

Eisai and Merck & Co. Provide Update on Supplemental New Drug Application (sNDA) for Lenvatinib

0
0

In First-line Unresectable Hepatocellular Carcinoma

TOKYO, May 25, 2018 - (JCN Newswire) - Eisai Co., Ltd. and Merck & Co., Inc., Kenilworth, N.J., U.S.A. (known as MSD outside the United States and Canada), announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has extended the action date for the supplemental New Drug Application (sNDA) for the multiple receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitor LENVIMA (generic name: lenvatinib mesylate) for the potential first-line treatment of patients with unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).

The FDA has indicated that the extension of the Prescription Drug User Fee Act (PDUFA) date is needed to allow additional time for review of the application. The agency expects to complete the review on or before August 24, 2018, thus extending the target action date by a standard extension period of three months from the original PDUFA action date of May 24, 2018.
Eisai, as the marketing authorization holder, is working closely with the FDA to support the continued review of this application.

LENVIMA is approved by the U.S. FDA for the treatment of locally recurrent or metastatic, progressive, radioactive iodine-refractory differentiated thyroid cancer (DTC). LENVIMA is also approved by the U.S. FDA in combination with everolimus for the treatment of patients with advanced renal cell carcinoma (RCC) following one prior anti-angiogenic therapy.

About LENVIMA (lenvatinib mesylate)

Discovered by Eisai, LENVIMA is an orally administered multiple receptor tyrosine kinase (RTK) inhibitor with a novel binding mode that selectively inhibits the kinase activities of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) receptors (VEGFR1, VEGFR2 and VEGFR3) and fibroblast growth factor (FGF) receptors (FGFR1, FGFR2, FGFR3 and FGFR4) in addition to other pathway-related RTKs (including the platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF) receptor PDGFRalpha; KIT; and RET) involved in tumor angiogenesis, tumor progression and modification of tumor immunity.

Currently, LENVIMA is approved as a treatment for refractory thyroid cancer in over 50 countries, including the United States, Japan, in Europe and Asia. Additionally, Eisai has obtained approval for the agent in combination with everolimus as a treatment for renal cell carcinoma (second-line) in over 40 countries, including the United States and in Europe. In Europe, the agent was launched under the brand name Kisplyx for renal cell carcinoma.

LENVIMA is approved as a monotherapy for unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma in Japan (March 2018).

Eisai has submitted applications for an indication covering hepatocellular carcinoma in the United States and Europe (July 2017), China (October 2017), Taiwan (December 2017) and other countries.

About the Eisai and Merck & Co., Inc., Kenilworth, N.J., U.S.A. Strategic Collaboration

In March 2018, Eisai and Merck & Co., Inc. Kenilworth N.J., U.S.A., through an affiliate, entered into a strategic collaboration for the worldwide co-development and co-commercialization of LENVIMA. Under the agreement, the companies will develop and commercialize LENVIMA jointly, both as monotherapy and in combination with Merck & Co., Inc. Kenilworth N.J., U.S.A.'s anti-PD-1 therapy. In addition to ongoing clinical studies of the combination, the companies will jointly initiate new clinical studies evaluating the combination to support 11 potential indications in six types of cancer, as well as a basket trial targeting six additional cancer types. The combination is not approved in any cancer types today.

About Eisai

Eisai Co., Ltd. (TSE:4523; ADR:ESALY) is a research-based human health care (hhc) company that discovers, develops and markets products throughout the world. Eisai focuses its efforts in three therapeutic areas: integrative neuroscience, including neurology and psychiatric medicines; integrative oncology, which encompasses oncotherapy and supportive-care treatments; and vascular/immunological reaction. Through a global network of research facilities, manufacturing sites and marketing subsidiaries, Eisai actively participates in all aspects of the worldwide healthcare system. For more information about Eisai Co., Ltd., please visit www.eisai.com.

Contact:
Eisai Co., Ltd. Public Relations Department +81-(0)3-3817-5120

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

Famed Chinese Director Zhang Yimou Signs Long Term Deal with Huanxi Media

0
0

Plans to Make Three Series of Online Drama

HONG KONG, May 25, 2018 - (ACN Newswire) - Internationally renowned Chinese movie director Zhang Yimou has signed an agreement with Huanxi Media Group Limited ("Huanxi Media" or the "Group;" stock code: 1003) to make three series of online drama in the next six years, uniting with a growing list of auteurs such as Wong Kar Wai, Peter Chan and Jia Zhangke in one single company.

Huanxi Media announced today that Mr. Zhang has entered into long-term cooperation arrangement with the Group to produce internet drama series or films. The Group has signed a cooperation agreement with Unique Swift Limited ("Unique Swift") which owns the exclusive investment rights of internet drama series by Mr. Zhang. Under the agreement, Mr. Zhang has agreed to provide production services, investment and other rights related to his internet drama series or films to Huanxi Media, and the Group is to allot and issue 150,000,000 shares to Unique Swift and pay RMB100,000,000 to Mr. Zhang and his team as operating expenses. After completion of the share allotment, Mr. Zhang is to become a shareholder of the Group and a member of its Artistic Advisory Committee to provide advice and counsel for the creative production, film and TV projects of the Group.

In the coming six years, Huanxi Media has the exclusive investment rights for three internet drama series directed by Mr. Zhang and may convert the exclusive investment right of one of them into the preferred investment right of a film directed by him (without any limitations of existing third party contracts), and the investment amount shall not be less than 60% of the total investment amount of that film. Subsequent to the initially stipulated six-year period, the cooperation may be extended for another four years.

Director Zhang Yimou is a world-renowned film director. He has been number one ranked director in many recent Chinese film director rankings with his many international award-winning films and recent productions such as The Great Wall and Shadow in 2018. His films have been highly successful both aesthetically and at the box office. His first martial arts masterpiece Hero directed in 2002 established a milestone for the blockbuster era of Chinese film industry, and significantly advanced the development of the commercial film industry in China. The important and widespread influence of his productions includes the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympics in 2008 where he acted as the chief director.

Mr. Dong Ping, Chairman of Huanxi Media, said, "Director Zhang Yimou is not only a pioneer in the modern film industry of China, but also one of the world-renowned directors from China. We are pleased to have the opportunity to produce more high quality masterpieces with him for audiences around the world in the coming six-to-ten years of his golden production period."

Mr. Steven Xiang, CEO of Huanxi Media, said, "It is truly exciting news for audiences in China and around the world that Director Zhang Yimou is making internet drama series. The cooperation with Mr. Zhang reinforces our established strategy, which is to produce quality TV and film content with both commercial and artistic value, as well as facilitate the expansion of our online video platform 'huanxi.com'."

Zhang Yimou
Zhang Yimou is an internationally-renowned Chinese film director. He was the chief director of the opening ceremony for the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympic Games. He was awarded an honorary doctorate degree by Boston University and Yale University in the U.S. Among the notable movies directed by Zhang Yimou include Red Sorghum, Raise the Red Lantern, To Live, Not One Less, The Road Home, Hero, House of Flying Daggers, Curse of the Golden Flower, The Flowers of War, Coming Home and The Great Wall. Mr. Zhang has won numerous awards and recognitions, with Best Foreign Film nominations and prizes at international film festivals, and set annual box office records among Chinese films.

About Huanxi Media Group Limited (Stock code: 1003)
Huanxi Media Group Limited is principally engaged in the media and entertainment, advertising agency, property agency and related services and securities trading and investment businesses. Mr. Dong Ping, the Group's Chairman and the producer of Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, the Academy Award winner for Best Foreign Language Film, is among the first film producers within the movie investment sector in China. Devils on the Doorstep and Peacock produced by Mr. Dong won the "Grand Jury Prize" and the Silver Bear Award at the Berlin International Film Festival respectively. Mr. Dong has accumulated extraordinary experience in the investment and management of film, TV and cultural industry. His recent movies included Let the Bullets Fly, Dearest, Journey to the West, Breakup Buddies, Lost in Hong Kong and Us and Them have set new highs in box office records in their respective year of premiere. Huanxi Media's director shareholders include renowned directors such as Mr. Xu Zheng, Mr. Ning Hao, Mr. Wong Kar Wai, Mr. Peter Chan, Mr. Zhang Yibai and Mr. Gu Changwei. Huanxi Media has also signed contracts with famous directors and producers such as Mr. Jia Zhangke, Mr. Manfred Wong, Mr. Wang Xiaoshuai, Mr. Liu Xingang, Mr. Li Yang and Mr. Chen Daming. Huanxi Media is to work closely with these well-known directors to present top-notch films and TV productions to domestic and global audiences.





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

Eisai: Potent New Mechanism of Action for Treatment of Inflammatory Bowel Disease

0
0

Orally Active Small Molecule with Anti-Inflammatory Effect due to Suppression of Infiltration by Leukocytes into Inflamed Sites

TOKYO, May 25, 2018 - (JCN Newswire) -
Key Points of Research
- Through research on the small molecule analogue of E6007 which is under clinical development as a treatment for inflammatory bowel disease (IBD)(1), a novel mechanism of action was revealed in which this analogue inhibited the adhesion and infiltration of various leukocytes through the blockade of the interaction between calreticulin (CRT)(2) and the leukocyte adhesion molecule integrin(3) alpha (ITGA) by associating with CRT.
- When this compound was orally administered to IBD model mice, remarkable anti-inflammatory effects were demonstrated through the suppression of the adhesion and infiltration of leukocytes into the inflamed sites.
- This novel mechanism of action elucidated is expected to lead to value enhancement and acceleration of the development of E6007 which aims to provide a new remedy for IBD patients.

Professor Fukamizu's research group of Life Science Center for Survival Dynamics (Tsukuba Advanced Research Alliance, TARA), University of Tsukuba, Eisai Co., Ltd. (Eisai) and its gastrointestinal business subsidiary EA Pharma Co., Ltd. (EA Pharma) have revealed a mechanism in which an analogue (ER-464195-01) of Eisai's in-house discovered E6007 inhibits integrin activation by dissociating interaction between calreticulin (CRT) and integrin alpha 4 (ITGA4), suppressing adhesion and infiltration of leukocytes overall. This mechanism was revealed through the use of a biomarker developed by University of Tsukuba that visualizes protein-protein interaction. E6007 is currently under investigation by EA Pharma in ongoing studies as a treatment for IBD.

IBD refers to a group of intractable diseases which lead to repeated inflammation in the mucus of the large or small intestines, resulting from an unidentifiable cause, and is generally classified as ulcerative colitis (UC) or Crohn's disease (CD). This joint industry-academia research group found that increased CRT-ITGA interaction influences cell adhesion and inflitration of leukocytes at the inflamed sites in large intestines affected by UC, and discovered that ER-464195-01 suppresses this protein-protein interaction using cultured cell line. Furthermore, it was demonstrated that oral administration of ER-464195-01 in IBD model mice induces anti-inflammatory effects through the suppression of infiltration by leukocytes into the inflamed sites. In addition, from transcriptome analysis(4) of the colonic structure of IBD model mice, the genetic information for programming the healthy-inflammation-recovery process was made clear.

With the continuing increase in the number of IBD patients in recent years, there is a need for an orally active treatment with a novel mechanism of action that has superior efficacy and makes it easy to comply with treatment. It is hoped that the results of this joint research on this point will lead to the provision of a new option for treating IBD.

This research is being conducted under the Japan Science and Technology Agency's Newly extended Technology transfer Program (NexTEP) for "Treating inflammatory bowel disease using small molecules and biomarkers" (Principal Investigator: Professor Akiyoshi Fukamizu, period of research: 2014-2020)

Background to Research

IBD refers to a group of intractable diseases which lead to repeated inflammation in the mucus of the large or small intestines, resulting from an unidentifiable cause. According to a survey by the Japan Intractable Diseases Information Center (http://www.nanbyou.or.jp (Japanese only)) in 2013, IBD had the greatest incidence among young people (in their 20's and 30's), and among IBD, it is reported that the number of patients with UC and CD was 166,060 and 39,799, respectively, which means IBD is the intractable disease with the greatest number of patients. Currently, in addition to observing infiltration of various leukocytes into the inflamed sites of IBD, ITGA4 is strongly expressed, and therefore treatment consists of leukocyte apheresis therapy or monoclonal antibody treatment targeting ITGA4. However, with the number of IBD patients increasing year after year, development of a small molecule treatment that makes it easy to comply with treatment and has superior efficacy is highly anticipated.

Eisai and EA Pharma are engaged in development of the small molecule compound E6007, as a new IBD treatment with a mechanism of action for inhibiting integrin activity (Reference document 1), and using an analogue of this E6007 (ER-464195-01), the joint research group utilized a biomarker technology developed by University of Tsukuba which visualizes protein-protein interaction in an attempt to reveal the mechanism expressing anti-inflammatory effects.

Outline and Results of Research

CRT, a molecular chaperone(5), binds to integrin subunits and promotes cell adhesion (Reference document 2). Using a biomarker to investigate CRT and ITGA4 interaction in the colonic structure of UC patients, the joint research group found that interaction at inflamed sites significantly increases compared to healthy areas. Given that dissociation of CRT and ITGA4 interaction could suppress activation of leukocytes, high-thoughput screening assay was conducted on Eisai's compound library. Consequently, ER-464195-01 was identified as a small molecule that suppresses leukocyte adhesion by binding to CRT and inhibiting CRT-ITGA4 interaction.

When mice were orally administered ER-464195-01 as a prophylactic treatment, in addition to exhibiting remarkable anti-inflammatory effects in dextran sodium sulfate (DSS)-induced colitis, from a comprehensive analysis of gene expression using RNA sequencing found that inflammatory cytokines and expression of inflammatory response signaling factors were significantly suppressed. Furthermore, when ER-464195-01 was therapeutically administered to mice with DSS-induced colitis, it was interesting that mucosal barrier injury(6) as well as infiltration of inflamed cells was remarkably improved. This novel mechanism of action revealed through this joint research is expected to lead to the provision of a new IBD treatment option.

Future Development

ER-464195-01, which possesses this mechanism of action revealed through this joint research, is an analogue of E6007, and it is believed that E6007 also has the same novel mechanism of action. Therefore, our finding is expected to lead to value enhancement and acceleration of the development of E6007 which aims to provide a new treatment method for IBD patients.

(1) Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD)
Referring to ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease, IBD leads to ulcers and inflammation in the mucosal membrane of the large intestine, and causes symptoms such as bleeding, diarrhea, weight loss and fever, without any identifiable cause.
(2) Calreticulin (CRT)
CRT is a molecular chaperone binding to calcium ions (Ca2+) that are located in the endoplasmic reticulum. It is a protein with diverse biological functions within cells including cell adhesion, homeostatis of calcium ions, information signaling between cells, gene expression, and glycoprotein synthesis.
(3) Integrin
Integrins are adhesion molecules comprised of heterodimers for alpha and beta subunits. From the combination of 18 types of alpha subunits and 8 types of beta subunit, there are 24 different types of integrins known. CRT binds to amino acid sequences within cells of integrin alpha subunits.
(4) Transcriptome analysis
The transcriptome is the set of all mRNA (messenger RNA) within a cell. In recent years, with the development of next generation sequencing technology, it has become possilble to rapidly analyze gene sequences and expression. Among these developments, it has also become possible to rapidly analyze a large volume of RNA sequence information through the development of RNA sequencing methods.
(5) Molecular chaperon
Within cells, proteins are folded into their structural arrangement. A molecular chaperon is a protein that assists with this folding so that various proteins can acquire functionality.
(6) Mucosal barrier injury
Intestinal mucosal barriers are made of intestinal epithelium, and their function is to block pathogens, toxic substances, viruses ingested through the mouth and other substances from being absorbed into the body through the intestinal wall. If the intestinal membrane experiences severe inflammation, the mucosal membrane will be damaged, causing injury to the mucosal barrier.

About Eisai

Eisai Co., Ltd. (TSE:4523; ADR:ESALY) is a research-based human health care (hhc) company that discovers, develops and markets products throughout the world. Eisai focuses its efforts in three therapeutic areas: integrative neuroscience, including neurology and psychiatric medicines; integrative oncology, which encompasses oncotherapy and supportive-care treatments; and vascular/immunological reaction. Through a global network of research facilities, manufacturing sites and marketing subsidiaries, Eisai actively participates in all aspects of the worldwide healthcare system. For more information about Eisai Co., Ltd., please visit www.eisai.com.

Contact:
Eisai Co., Ltd. Public Relations Department +81-(0)3-3817-5120

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

Trillium Announces Vehicular GDPR Assurance Platform

0
0

Service enables companies that use vehicular data to comply with EU regulation

SUNNYVALE, CA and TOKYO, May 25, 2018 - (ACN Newswire) - Trillium Secure, the global leader in cybersecure automotive platforms, today announced enhanced privacy functionality to its SecureIoT platform that ensures compliance with the European Union's General Data Privacy Regulation (GDPR).

"GDPR focuses on those who control and process personal data of European citizens. Fleet owners that collect and store customer and vehicular data from connected vehicles are scrambling to comply or face significant penalties. Trillium's SecureIoT platform provides the requisite data protection needed to ensure compliance with this pioneering legislation," said Dr. Sachio Semmoto.

GDPR mandates that people have the right to know about the data that has been collected about them, its purpose and request its destruction. Individuals must be given the opportunity to opt out of having their personal information gathered and potentially shared. The legislation has especially severe impacts on the transportation domain where a data breach can have life threatening consequences.

"Trillium is spearheading the movement toward protecting the human behind the technology. Our platform ensures that customer data gathered from connected vehicles is kept away from prying hacker eyes," said Trillium Secure President and CEO, David Uze.

About Trillium Secure, Inc.
Trillium Secure provides a multi-layered solution for hardening connected and autonomous vehicles against cyber-attacks. Trillium's SecureIOT platform provides authenticated operational and threat management data from fleet vehicles that preserves privacy, confidentiality and anonymity of data while at rest and in motion. Value-added service providers rely on secure and authentic data from Trillium for digital forensics, UBI, preventive maintenance, telematics, car sharing and other services. Trillium design centers and fleet security operation sites are located in Silicon Valley, Ann Arbor, Ho Chi Minh City and Tokyo. For more information, please visit www.trilliumsecure.com.

Trillium Secure, Inc. products and services are marketed under the Trillium, SecureIoT, SecureCAR, SecureIXS, SecureOTA and SecureSKYE trademarks.

For Media Enquiries, please contact Robin.lori@trilliumsecure.com.

 
Copyright 2018 ACN Newswire. All rights reserved. www.acnnewswire.com
Viewing all 16968 articles
Browse latest View live




Latest Images