ACN Newswire

Speaking at the joint opening ceremony for the SmartBiz Expo and Asian E-tailing Summit, Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC) Executive Director Margaret Fong says the SmartBiz Expo aims to get companies up to speed with the latest business solutions, creative ideas and cutting-edge technologies - helping companies to seek out new opportunities and drive their businesses forward.

The Smartbiz Expo has attracted more than 520 exhibitors from 40 countries and regions to provide a range of business solutions and innovative business ideas. The expo runs from 5-7 Dec.

The Pathfinder zone gathers exhibitors from 30 countries and regions to foster opportunities and includes the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Bay Area Pavilion.

Spotlight on Innovation & Enterprise Development Solutions for SMEs

HONG KONG, Dec 5, 2018 - (ACN Newswire) - Organised by the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC), the second edition of the SmartBiz Expo and the fourth Hong Kong International Franchising Show both opened today at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre (HKCEC). The twin events, which run from 5-7 Dec, have attracted more than 650 local, Mainland Chinese and overseas exhibitors to offer enterprise development solutions and innovations that can help to upgrade businesses, improve profitability and enhance franchising opportunities. Various seminars are being held during the event where industry experts will cover topics including Industry 4.0, the development of smart cities, e-commerce and franchising strategies.

The joint opening ceremony for SmartBiz Expo and another HKTDC event, the Asian E-tailing Summit, was held this morning. Paul Chan, Financial Secretary of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR), officiated at the ceremony and delivered the opening remarks.

Welcoming delegates to the expo, HKTDC Executive Director Margaret Fong said: "Global issues such as the ongoing trade conflict between China and the United States make it all the more important for businesses to work in a smarter way, and be more responsive to new developments. The SmartBiz Expo is all about getting companies up to speed with the latest business solutions, creative ideas and cutting-edge technologies - helping you to seek out new opportunities and drive your businesses forward."

Upgrading Businesses Under Industry 4.0

The SmartBiz Expo has attracted more than 520 exhibitors from 40 countries and regions, providing a range of business solutions and innovative business ideas. The expo features three key themes for the business industry, including Industry 4.0. Under Industry 4.0, companies adopt new technologies, such as the Internet of Things (IoT), cloud computing, robotics and automation, to streamline their production processes and reduce costs, boost efficiency and productivity, and help them to launch new products and services that can increase profitability. Various exhibitors at the expo, such as the Logistics and Supply Chain MultiTech R&D Centre, Hong Kong Research Institute of Textiles and Apparel Limited, and the Hong Kong Applied Science and Technology Research Institute, offer AI and automation solutions that can assist different industries in upgrading their business.

On the first day of the expo, seminars have been arranged to explore issues relating to Industry 4.0. Representatives from the Hong Kong Productivity Council and INC Invention Centre joined industry experts to examine the opportunities and challenges presented by Industry 4.0. Other seminars covered issues such as cloud computing, IoT, automation and smart robotics, helping participants to get a stronger understanding of Industry 4.0's potential by learning about the latest developments, applications and supporting solutions on the market.

Smart City Opportunities

All major cities are developing into smart cities and Hong Kong is no exception. Besides large-scale projects involving network coverage, transportation and urban development, there are new opportunities for different industries and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the area of smart city development. The expo features exhibitors showcasing smart products, applications and solutions for household use, office use, and for deployment in the industrial and services sectors.

The second day of the expo (6 Dec) will feature a series of smart city-related seminars. Representatives from the Office of the Government Chief Information Officer and Electrical and Mechanical Services Department of the HKSAR, as well as the HK Wireless Technology Industry Association, will explain the Smart City Blueprint for Hong Kong. In addition, representatives from major technology companies, including Canon, Cisco, Google, Huawei, Microsoft and Siemens, will share their insights on issues such as big data, IoT, and new jobs in the digital era.

E-commerce Market Expands

The e-commerce market has been growing rapidly in recent years, bringing in new distribution channels and revolutionising the retailing ecosystem. The E-commerce Pavilion, comprising the E-Commerce Association of Hong Kong, Hong Kong Cross-border E-Commerce Association, Hong Kong Top 10 E-Commerce Club, Hong Kong Federation of E-commerce, Hong Kong General Chamber of Cross-border E-commerce, Hong Kong Internet & Ecommerce Association, Hong Kong Netrepreneurs Association and the Hong Kong O2O E-commerce Federation, provides support and professional advice for companies looking to develop an e-commerce business. The zone also features various services providers covering market research, branding strategies, online platform choices, sales management, logistics and supply chain management, digital marketing and big data analysis to provide visitors with a one-stop e-commerce support service.

On the third day of the expo (7 Dec), experts will speak at a series of seminars to discuss e-commerce platforms, conversational commerce, e-commerce logistics and last-mile delivery, all of which are aimed at helping SMEs prepare for the new world of e-commerce business.

Themed Zones Spotlight Innovation, Cross-border Opportunities

The expo is divided into several themed zones. Techtopia showcases the latest technological applications that help business innovate and upgrade; Boosters provides comprehensive business solutions to help SMEs stay competitive; while Pathfinder gathers exhibitors from 30 countries and regions to foster opportunities, including the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Bay Area Pavilion, where nine major cities from Guangdong province share their economic developments and priority industries to help SMEs capture Greater Bay Area opportunities. Hatchery features about 50 local and overseas innovation and technology start-ups, showcasing their innovative services and products and enabling them to meet with potential partners and investors. Envision Lot gathers creations from some 140 inventors, with highlights including the first Asia Exhibition of Inventions Hong Kong, organised by the Hong Kong Exporters Association in partnership with Palexpo, showcasing inventions from some 40 local and Mainland Chinese inventors.

Seminars Help SMEs Capture Opportunities

To help provide a one-stop support platform for SMEs, a number of thematic seminars are being organised in response to recent trade situations and market developments. They include "The Way Forward for Hong Kong's SMEs under the China-US Trade War", organised by the Hong Kong General Chamber of Small and Medium Business, which examines the current foreign trade environment; and the "InnoTech for Branding" seminar series, which explains the use of blockchain, inventory management, social media and other innovative technologies in raising brand value. Other seminar topics cover Greater Bay Area and ASEAN opportunities, the Halal food market and brand inheritance.

Franchising Show Fosters Entrepreneurs

Held concurrently with SmartBiz Expo, the fourth Hong Kong International Franchising Show has attracted more than 130 exhibitors from 13 countries and regions. The exhibition features four zones: the Hong Kong Food and Beverage zone, Hong Kong Non-Food and Beverage zone, Chinese Mainland zone and International zone, all of which offer plenty of franchising opportunities across different sectors. Participating brands include Kam Cha, Woo Hong Kong Snacks, Taiwan-style beverage brand Chun Feng Milk House, Subway restaurant, the 7-Eleven convenience store, STEAM education centre TECHBOB Academy, ANVIO VR Gaming Centre and 24/7 Fitness. Franchising consultants and agencies are among the exhibitors offering franchising solutions to help brand owners expand their business.

During the fair period, a series of discussions will provide practical tips for franchising, covering subjects such as kickstarting a franchising business, franchising management technologies, digital word-of-mouth and franchising in Belt and Road markets. The Brand Briefing seminar series allows participants to understand each franchising brand's characteristics and business strategies. Visitors can also join Franchising Demo events to try out the products and services of different brands.

Concurrent Events Explore IP Management and Innovative Design

The HKTDC is holding five events at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre this week -- the Asian E-tailing Summit (5 Dec), the HKTDC SmartBiz Expo (5-7 Dec), the HKTDC Hong Kong International Franchising Show (5-7 Dec), the Business of IP Asia Forum (6-7 Dec) and DesignInspire (6-8 Dec). These events focus on new technology and covers various stages of the value chain, including research and development, design, production, sales and marketing. They aim to help small and medium-sized enterprises enhance their competitiveness and cost-effectiveness and develop new business areas and markets to adapt to the ever-changing economic landscape.

SmartBiz Expo and Hong Kong International Franchising Show (HKIFS)
Date and Time: 5-6 Dec 9:30am-6pm; 7 Dec 10am-6pm
Venue: Hall 1B-E, Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre (HKCEC)
Admission: Free Admission for trade visitors aged 18 or above only. HKIFS is open to members of the public aged 12 and above on 7 Dec.

Fair websites:
SmartBiz Expo: http://www.hktdc.com/smartbizexpo
Hong Kong International Franchising Show: http://www.hktdc.com/hkifs
Photo Download: https://bit.ly/2ARmMm5

About HKTDC

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

Contact:
Billy Ng, Tel: +852 2584 4393, Email: billy.km.ng@hktdc.org

HONG KONG, Dec 3, 2018 - (ACN Newswire) - This week Mobvista became just the latest Chinese tech company with global ambitions to announce its plans to go public, by announcing the listing of its shares on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (1860.HK).

In a year which has seen the biggest number of Chinese tech companies make their stock market debut on the HKEX since 1995, Mobvista is just the latest to seek to raise funding as part of its vision for global growth and success.

From start-up to a global company

Founded in 2013, Mobvista is a technology platform that provides mobile advertising and mobile analytics services to the global ecosystem of mobile app developers. Through its advertising, monetization and mobile analytics technologies, Mobvista helps app creators across the entire lifecycle of launching, promoting and understanding the performance of their apps.

The marketing and monetization of mobile apps are big business. According to iResearch, 192 billion apps were downloaded in 2017 - and that number is set to almost double by 2022. Mobile advertising is the biggest revenue driver of the mobile app ecosystem. Global revenues from mobile ads grew to US$142.5 billion in 2017, and are estimated to reach almost US$316.5 billion by the end of 2022.

Established only five years ago, Mobvista has quickly grown to become the only Chinese company among the world?s top ten third-party mobile advertising platforms. As a key player in a booming industry, Google, Facebook and Mobvista are the three most popular advertising networks with Chinese app companies targeting the global market. According to iResearch, during the five months ended June 30, 2018, 33 of the top 50 Chinese global apps use Mobvista's monetization SDK for monetization services, and 45 of the top 50 Chinese global apps use Mobvista's user acquisition services.

Looking to the future of the mobile advertising industry

With plenty of success already, the company doesn't plan to slow down any time soon. Led by the CEO and Co-Founder, Mr Duan Wei, Mobvista is making strategic plans for both its own future and the future of the global app industry.

Firstly, the company plans to increase R&D investment as a means to consolidate the company's leadership in the market and continue to grow its revenues, which reached US$312 million by the end of 2017. Mobvista has already made significant investments into its own AI and Big Data technologies, and almost 50% of the global employees are involved in research and development. Close to 7% of the company's revenues are spent on R&D.

Secondly, the company will continue to seek high-quality investment and M&A targets that will help it to achieve its strategic goals. In 2016 Mobvista successively acquired the US-based mobile marketing company NativeX, and shortly afterwards acquired GameAnalytics, a well-known SaaS game data analysis platform in Europe. Both businesses have become an important part of Mobvista's end-to-end approach.

Programmatic advertising, Big Data and AI

Two of the key technologies driving the growth of the mobile advertising industry are Big Data and Artificial Intelligence (AI). By using AI to better understand the interests and preferences of consumers, Mobvista is able to better match the right advertising to the right consumer, improving both the performance of marketing campaigns and the revenues of its customers.

Mobvista's Big Data platform captures ad interaction data from 900 million unique mobile devices every day, with a further 330 million consumers a day interacting with the Mobvista via its monetization SDK. In addition, some 49,000 mobile games are using the GameAnalytics SDK, which captures data on up to 88 million Daily Active Users (DAU).

All of this data is used by Mobvista to create a detailed understanding of consumer behaviours which can then be modelled in real time to accurately deliver programmatic ad placements according to those behaviours.

Mobile advertising - a growing global industry

It is programmatic advertising technology which is the key driver of the global advertising industry. Having already become the dominant form of advertising on the web, mobile programmatic advertising is expected to increase from US$27.3 billion in 2017 to US$69 billion in 2022, with a compound annual growth rate of 20.4%. This means that Mobvista is well placed to benefit from this significant market growth.

Another factor in Mobvista's success is the rising cost to app companies of acquiring new users. According to iResearch, User Acquisition costs (UA) now average US$2.64 for every successful install, and will rise by 16% per year from now until 2022. With app companies looking to minimise costs and maximise reach, it is programmatic advertising technology that can match advertisers and media with the greatest speed and efficiency. In every market around the world, developers and publishers are constantly looking for the most cost-effective, accurate solutions for marketing and monetizing their apps.

Today, Mobvista works with advertisers in more than 60 countries across a mix of games, utilities, e-commerce and social media content. In key international and regional markets such as the United States, Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Indonesia and Thailand, Mobvista repeatedly ranks as one of the top 3 advertising platforms used by the top 20 most downloaded apps in those places.

Global growth, local expertise

Whilst Mobvista has set its sights on becoming a truly global business, it also understands the importance of local expertise.

The most popular mobile app companies have become successful through understanding the local needs of their users and tailoring their apps accordingly. This is the same approach taken by Mobvista, which calls this its 'Glocal' strategy, enhancing its local service capabilities at the same time as expanding its global business network.

As more and more app companies look to go global, they need to work with partners that understand the different requirements of local markets and how to successfully navigate them. With offices in key markets around the world, supported by world-class technologies, Mobvista has the knowledge and scale to be the ideal partner.

And with the Chinese app market now being one of the biggest, there is a huge opportunity for Mobvista to help companies in established and emerging markets launch in China. At the same time, many Chinese companies are looking for help to go global and reach new markets outside of China. So as a company with a foot in both markets, Mobvista would seem to have a unique opportunity to help app businesses on both sides.

Combined power of Rulebook acquisition and Sequel enhances Verisk's position as a leading provider of insurance software solutions to the global specialty market

JERSEY CITY, N.J., Dec 3, 2018 - (ACN Newswire) - Verisk (Nasdaq:VRSK), a leading data analytics provider, has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Rulebook, an industry-leading provider of business intelligence and software solutions for the London Insurance Market.

Rulebook's proprietary, uniquely distinctive pricing engine can be used for internal pricing and underwriting as well as external distribution for the specialty insurance market through its Rulebook Hub platform. Rulebook also has a data analytics offering that develops business intelligence solutions for clients to enable historical, current, and predictive views of business operations.

Rulebook's pricing engine is used by some of the leading carriers in the London specialty insurance market to build underwriting rules for complex specialty insurance products through a simple, easy-to-use web-based platform. Through its platform, Rulebook provides clients with greater accuracy and better control over the pricing and distribution process, thus facilitating consistency and improving regulatory reporting and compliance.

"The acquisition will expand Verisk's existing offerings to the specialty insurance market by adding Rulebook's proprietary pricing and management information engines to Sequel's specialized software suite," said Ian Summers, CEO of Sequel. "These enhanced offerings will provide our customers with more efficient methods of distribution and significantly improved data analytics capabilities. The complementary applications give us a unique opportunity in our sector to complete the value chain, driving data through the process from broker to underwriter and quote through to claims settlement."

"We're very excited to join Verisk, as this will accelerate our growing business by providing greater access to global markets and Verisk's existing international customers," said Andy Galli, managing director of Rulebook. "We offer a unique value proposition that will be further enhanced by leveraging synergies and collaborating with other Verisk businesses and their data analytics."

Mark Anquillare, chief operating officer of Verisk, added, "Rulebook is a Verisk-like business that furthers our goal of providing leading solutions to the global insurance market, including a comprehensive chain of solutions to specialty insurers for mitigating risk and optimizing total cost of operations."

The purchase price is $87 million in cash, funded through cash on hand and existing bank facilities, subject to typical closing adjustments. The transaction is expected to be accretive to 2019 adjusted EPS. In addition, Verisk expects the acquisition to generate an attractive return in excess of Verisk's cost of capital. The transaction is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2018, subject to the completion of customary closing conditions.

Verisk will discuss the transaction and Rulebook's solutions and business in greater detail at its upcoming Investor Day on December 6, 2018.

About Rulebook

The Rulebook suite of products is the combination of a powerful rules engine and an insurance underwriting and broking desktop, together with a comprehensive analytics capability that enables clients to transact with and learn from their data for even the most complex lines of specialty insurance business. Rulebook supports companies primarily in the London Insurance Market but increasingly internationally. Founded in 2002, Rulebook is headquartered in London. For more information, visit www.rulebook.com.

About Verisk

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

Headquartered in Jersey City, N.J., Verisk operates in 30 countries and is a member of Standard & Poor's S&P 500(R) Index. In 2018, Forbes magazine named Verisk to its World's Best Employers list. For more information, please visit www.verisk.com.

Contact:
Investor Relations
Stacey Brodbar
Head of Investor Relations
Verisk
201-469-4327
stacey.brodbar@verisk.com

Media
Frank Lentini
Edelman (for Verisk)
212-704-4425
frank.lentini@edelman.com

###

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

SEATTLE, WA, Dec 6, 2018 - (ACN Newswire) - via NEWMEDIAWIRE -- CFN Media Group ("CFN Media"), the leading agency and financial media network dedicated to the North American cannabis industry, announces publication of an article discussing Creso Pharma's (ASX: CPH) innovative approach, diverse product portfolio, and why investors may want to take a closer look as it gears up to go public on the Venture exchange in Canada. The listing would make Creso the first public cannabis company listed in both Australia and Canada.

The North American cannabis industry is littered with companies touting global ambitions. There are regular announcements regarding letters of intent to distribute in emerging markets like Europe and Latin America, long on potential and short on concrete details. Many of these announcements are speculative at best, requiring a mix of regulatory approvals, licensing, product development, and funding to make them a reality.

Creso Pharma is an Australian-based company with operations in Switzerland, Canada, Colombia, and Israel along with established product distribution across the globe. The company develops and sells pharmaceutical-grade nutraceutical products for both humans and animals. Utilizing its deep background in pharmaceutical science and international regulatory product approvals, Creso Pharma leverages GMP-certified facilities and partnerships with world-class manufacturing and distribution companies to create a global footprint in key markets.

What Creso Has Now

Creso Pharma was founded by a team of executives set on bringing pharmaceutical rigor to the medicinal and recreational cannabis markets. Co-founder and CEO Dr. Miri Halperin Wernli has more than 30 years of strategic and operational leadership in global pharmaceutical and biomedical industries in Canada, the U.S., and Switzerland. Co-founder Boaz Wachtel is a leading medical cannabis expert, having co-founded the pioneering Australian Medicinal Cannabis company Phytotech Medical.

In addition to its experienced management team, the company is developing cultivation, processing, extraction, and manufacturing operations, partnering with well-established companies where necessary. In 2017, Creso became the first company to import medicinal cannabis to Australia. The company is also in the final stages of completing the acquisition of licensed Colombian company, Kunna Colombia, which will add a low-cost cultivation operation to supply its own product development. Creso has a joint venture in Israel focused on genetic development, cultivation, and R&D.

Its wholly owned, purpose built, GMP state-of-the-art cultivation and production facility in Nova Scotia is built and ready to roll, awaiting licensing under Canada's new Cannabis Act. Called the Global Centre for Edible Cannabis Research and Development, the facility is designed to leverage Canada's leading regulatory environment along with Creso's extensive research and scientific relationships to develop innovative cannabis edibles for the global market.

Creso sells and develops nutraceutical products, backed by scientific research and data that ensures the products will meet and often exceed any regulatory requirements. It's a refreshing approach in comparison to the current and largely unregulated CBD market, where all kinds of potential benefits are claimed without any scientific backing.

Creso Pharma has already developed and commercialized a range of innovative products. For example, the company offers CBD-infused nutraceutical products designed to help reduce stress, enhance sleep or improve mental function that are already commercially-available in Switzerland and select EU countries. Its pipeline contains many more of these products targeting both humans and animals.

Creso very recently launched, in a joint venture, the Old Boy Mary Jane line of infused beer. This type of product is a point of emphasis for the company going forward, as more consumer-oriented edible products gain regulatory and market traction across the industry.

Where Creso Is Headed

Creso believes that there is a much bigger opportunity in next-generation cannabis products that reach into other product categories. While Grandview Research projects the global cannabis industry to reach about $64 billion by 2024, it sees the animal supplements market reaching $96 billion and the human supplements market hitting $278 billion over the same time. Creso is active in all of the above, meaning the company's targeted end markets could exceed $435 billion in just five years.

Creso's products are organized across five businesses:

* Creso Therapeutics - The company's cannQIX(R) 50 is a CBD-based, full-spectrum hemp extract medicinal cannabis buccal lozenge formulation with vitamins, minerals, and capsicum to assist with managing pain. After its launch in New Zealand this year, the company plans to launch in Australia in 2019 before moving on to Europe.

* Creso Nutraceuticals - The company's cannQIX(R) family of brands consists of cannabinoid formulations to help reducing stress, improve sleep, and support metal and nervous function in humans. The company has already launched these products in Switzerland and other European markets (UK, Netherlands).

* Creso Animal Health - The company's anibidiol(R) range of products is a complementary feed for companion animals with CBD full spectrum hemp oil extract and targeted vitamins. After launching in Switzerland and Liechtenstein in November 2017, the company plans to launch in an additional 15 countries later this year with its global partner Virbac.

* Creso Lifestyle - The company is working on a portfolio of cannabis and hemp-derived alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages containing a unique mix of terpenes. The company plans on launching these products in conjunction with CLV Frontiers in Estonia. The first beers were launched in the third quarter of this year.

* Creso Topicals - The company partnered with Frike Technologies to develop cannaDOL(R), a range of organic CBD-based functional topicals. The initial focus is on analgesic needs for sports-related injuries, arthritis, and other issues. The plan is to launch the product early next year.

The company has several distribution partners in place across Switzerland, Australia, the UK, and the Netherlands to help expand revenue over the coming quarters. The partners are generally well established, highly professional firms like Virbac (8th largest animal health company in the world), PharmaCare, and Doetsch Grether AG. Creso intends to greatly expand its product offerings over the coming quarters, utilizing its partners' widespread distribution networks to create significant growth in key international markets.

Looking Ahead

There are many details to cover regarding Creso Pharma (ASX: CPH) and its comprehensive product development and sales strategy. With its pharmaceutical approach, the company has already developed a number of innovative commercial products. Its near-term plans to cultivate in Canada, Israel, and Colombia could open the door to strong revenue growth, while a listing on Canada's TSX Venture stock exchange could draw more investor interest. Look for more developments in this space over the coming months.
For more information, visit the company's website at www.cresopharma.com.

Please follow this link to read the full article:
http://www.cannabisfn.com/creso-pharma-a-truly-global-cannabis-company/

About CFN Media
CFN Media (CannabisFN) is the leading agency and financial media network dedicated to the global cannabis industry, helps companies operating in the space attract investors, capital, and publicity. Since 2013, private and public cannabis companies in the US and Canada have relied on CFN Media to grow and succeed.
Learn how to become a CFN Media client company, brand or entrepreneur: http://www.cannabisfn.com/featuredcompany
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Disclaimer
CannabisFN.com is not an independent financial investment advisor or broker-dealer. You should always consult with your own independent legal, tax, and/or investment professionals before making any investment decisions. The information provided on http://www.cannabisfn.com (the 'Site') is either original financial news or paid advertisements drafted by our in-house team or provided by an affiliate. CannabisFN.com, a financial news media and marketing firm enters into media buys or service agreements with the companies that are the subject of the articles posted on the Site or other editorials for advertising such companies. We are not an independent news media provider. We make no warranty or representation about the information including its completeness, accuracy, truthfulness or reliability and we disclaim, expressly and implicitly, all warranties of any kind, including whether the Information is complete, accurate, truthful, or reliable. As such, your use of the information is at your own risk. Nor do we undertake any obligation to update the items posted. CannabisFN.com received compensation for producing and presenting high quality and sophisticated content on CannabisFN.com along with financial and corporate news.

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TOKYO, Dec 6, 2018 - (JCN Newswire) - Eisai Co., Ltd. and University College London (UCL) announced today that they have commenced preparations for Phase I clinical studies on E2814, the first clinical candidate from their drug discovery collaboration, in Alzheimer's disease patients within fiscal 2018. E2814 is an anti-tau monoclonal antibody which is designed to slow the progression of Alzheimer's disease and other tauopathies(1).

In addition, the research collaboration, agreed in 2012 for an initial period of six years, has been extended for a further 5 years to 2023. It was established as part of Eisai's Open Innovation strategy to collaborate with leading researchers in order to translate new research findings into innovative treatments for patients with neurodegenerative diseases. E2814 is one outcome out of a portfolio of projects established during the first phase of the collaboration with UCL.
Alzheimer's disease is a chronic, progressive, neurodegenerative disease characterized by formation of protein deposits known as plaques (made of amyloid-beta protein) and neurofibrillary tangles (made of tau protein) in patient's brains. Tau "seeds"(2) are believed to spread between different areas of the brain as the disease advances. E2814 is uniquely designed to target the tau "seeds", preventing further build-up of neurofibrillary tangles and thus may slow the course of the disease.

There are an estimated approximately 50 million dementia patients worldwide. As the aging of the global population gathers pace, the number of dementia patients is expected to continue trending upward and increase to approximately 82 million patients in 2030 and approximately 152 million in 2050. Therefore, promoting initiatives to address dementia is a global issue and there are hopes that therapeutic agents that satisfy these unmet medical needs will be developed quickly.

Professor Alan Thompson, Dean of UCL Faculty of Brain Sciences, said "This unique research partnership brings together UCL's world-class academic research capabilities with the drug discovery expertise of industry. These results highlight the success of bringing together such complementary expertise."

"Significant unmet medical needs exist for neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer's disease due to a lack of effective treatments that can prevent disease progression, and Eisai's mission is to contribute to overcoming these issues." said Teiji Kimura, Chief Discovery Officer of the Eisai Neurology Business Group. "By combining the knowledge of UCL, which conducts world-class research into neurodegenerative disorders and is the operational hub of the UK Dementia Research Institute, together with the knowledge of Eisai, who possesses a rich pipeline for dementia treatments, we are doing our utmost to link the results of joint research starting with E2814 to new medicines in order to contribute to patients who are awaiting curative therapies as soon as possible."

(1) A general term for a group of neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer's disease, progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP), corticobasal degeneration (CBD) and Pick's disease, that show tau protein accumulation in the brain as histopathology
(2) Specially shaped tau aggregates that have the ability to transfer between cells and spread

About E2814

An anti-tau monoclonal antibody, E2814 is being developed as a disease modifying agent for Alzheimer's disease and other tauopathies, Phase I clinical studies are expected to commence within fiscal 2018. The drug candidate was discovered as part of the research collaboration between Eisai and UCL and is designed to prevent the spreading of tau protein "seeds" within the brains of affected individuals.

About University College London

UCL was founded in 1826. We were the first English university established after Oxford and Cambridge, the first to open up university education to those previously excluded from it, and the first to provide systematic teaching of law, architecture and medicine. We are among the world's top universities, as reflected by performance in a range of international rankings and tables. UCL currently has over 38,000 students from 150 countries and over 12,000 staff. Our annual income is more than EUR 1 billion.

www.ucl.ac.uk | Follow us on Twitter @uclnews | Watch our YouTube channel YouTube.com/UCLTV

About the UK Dementia Research Institute (DRI)

Funded by the Medical Research Council, Alzheimer's Society and Alzheimer's Research UK, the UK DRI draws world-leaders in dementia research into a single national institute. UCL is home to the operational headquarters of the UK DRI and forms the hub for research activities across the six national research centres, which are at UCL, the University of Cambridge, Cardiff University, the University of Edinburgh, Imperial College London and King's College London. By convening world-class dementia researchers to bring about ground-breaking approaches to dementia defined by close collaboration and access to exceptional research resources, the UK DRI aims to find better ways to care for patients.

About Eisai

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 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 human health care philosophy by delivering innovative products in various therapeutic areas with high unmet medical needs, including Oncology and Neurology.

As a global pharmaceutical company, our mission extends to patients around the world through our investment and participation in 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.

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

JAKARTA, Dec 6, 2018 - (ACN Newswire) - PT Wijaya Karya (Persero) Tbk. ["WIKA"] booked a net profit of Rp1.06 trillion in the nine months of 2018, according to its financial statement for the period ended 30 September 2018. Compared with the same period in 2017, the Company's net profit in the third quarter grew 38.57% with a net profit margin of 5.03%.

WIKA's net revenue (excluding joint operation projects or KSO) in the nine months of 2018 was Rp21 trillion, a 32.30% jump compared with Rp15.88 trillion recorded in the same period last year.

The largest contributor of revenue was the infrastructure and building sector, followed by industry, energy and industrial plant, and property, respectively.

Another positive achievement was growth in total assets. As at the end of the third quarter of 2018, WIKA's assets grew to Rp56.9 trillion, up 42.05% from Rp40.05 trillion recorded in the same period in 2017.

"WIKA's performance in the third quarter of 2018 showed that we are ontrack and still have the potential for more growth. We are grateful that WIKA has been entrusted to handle various strategic projects, thus giving WIKA ample room to grow," said Tumiyana, WIKA's President Director.

WIKA also continued to build upon its contract portfolio after being selected to develop the Randugunting Dam in Blora, Central Java and package 4 of the Tiga Dihaji Dam in South Sumatra.

WIKA Constructs Temporary Housing in Palu and Lombok

As part of the effort to accelerate disaster recovery in Lombok and Palu, WIKA through its subsidiary, PT Wijaya Karya Bangunan Gedung Tbk. ["WEGE"], has built temporary houses in Sigi and East Lombok.

Although both are similarly temporary housing, WEGE implemented different designs that is suitable with the local soil features in Lombok and Sigi. In Lombok, the temporary housing used a semi-detached design to ensure the houses' robustness and resilience against strong winds.

Because of soil liquefaction that occurred in Sigi, the temporary housing used stilt-house design to reduce the impact of soil movement. The use of strong and lightweight materials, such as concrete and lightweight steel, is among WEGE's strategy to provide temporary housing that is both habitable and safe.

WIKA Strengthens Overseas Presence by Expanding into Asian Markets

Backed by its respectable portfolio of overseas projects, WIKA has made its inaugural expansion into the Taiwanese market. The milestone was marked by the signing of the Joint Operations Agreement with Dong-Pi Co. Ltd. (Dong-Pi) to construct the Kinmen Bridge.

The 5,400 meter long bridge will connect two Taiwanese islands, Greater Kinmen and Lesser Kinmen, both of which are a short distance away from Mainland China.

WIKA's Director of Operations Destiawan Soewardjono remarked that this achievement will have a positive impact on the Company's expansion into East Asia.

"This will be an extraordinary achievement for the Company. Having a footprint in Taiwan is a milestone for WIKA to expand our business in Asia, especially East Asia," said Destiawan.

Prior to the project in Taiwan, WIKA has a number of on-going projects abroad, such as the Clarin Bridge in the Philippines, Limbang Bridge in Malaysia, Lodgement in Algeria, Presidential Palace in Niger, Yangon Circular Railway in Myanmar, and Oecusse Airport in Timor-Leste.

As an Inspirational Company, WIKA Receives Numerous Awards

As a listed company, WIKA maintains transparency in its corporate disclosures based on principles of Good Corporate Governance (GCG), and the Company has implemented such principles since 2012.

WIKA was selected as the Top 5 construction companies in maintaining good corporate governance practices in the Corporate Secretary Award organized by Warta Ekonomi on Friday, 26 October 2018.

In addition, WIKA has also won two prestigious awards in the SOE for the Nation Awards 2017 ( BUMN Hadir untuk Negeri Awards 2017). Organised by the Ministry of State-owned Enterprises, the Awards were part of the Coordination Meeting of State-owned Enterprises (Rakor BUMN) held in Bontang, East Kalimantan, on Monday, 29 October 2018.

WIKA's President Director Tumiyana received the awards on behalf of the Company for its accomplishments in the Special Category, Best in BHUN 2017 Reporting, and Runner-up in the Veterans' Home Makeover (Bedah Rumah Veteran) 2015-2017 in the Under 100 Houses category. The awards were presented by Minister of State-owned Enterprises, Rini M. Soemarno.

Tumiyana expressed his pride for the successes that WIKA had achieved. He expected that the two awards would be able to motivate greater performance in the future.

"We hope that receiving two awards at the same time can motivate us to continue contributing to our Nation and Country," said Tumiyana.

Veterans' Home Makeover (BRV, Bedah Rumah Veteran) is a program under SOE for the Nation (BUMN Hadir untuk Negeri), an initiative led by the Ministry of State-owned Enterprises. The program is a platform for SOEs to recognise veterans' for their service in the struggle for the nation's independence and sovereignty.

Contact Person:
Puspita Anggraeni
Sekretaris Perusahaan
Email: puspita@wikamail.id

- The H3 will start commercial launch services in 2022 -

TOKYO, Dec 6, 2018 - (JCN Newswire) - Inmarsat (LON: ISAT), the world leader in global mobile satellite communications, has today announced that it has entered into an agreement with Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. (MHI) to be the first commercial customer to place an order for the new H3 launch vehicle. The maiden flight of H3 is scheduled for 2020 with Inmarsat planning to deploy the new launch vehicle after 2022.

This is the second agreement entered by Inmarsat and MHI, following the launch services contract awarded to MHI's H-IIA Launch Vehicle in 2017. These agreements underline the growing partnership between the two companies in the area of launch services.

Rupert Pearce, CEO of Inmarsat, said: "Inmarsat is the world leader in global mobile satellite communications; a position we have achieved by building an exceptional ecosystem of partners. As our company grows - expanding into new markets and opening up new opportunities for our customers to develop their businesses - we continually seek new technology partners that display an outstanding commitment to innovation and excellence.

"It was for these reasons that in 2017 we selected MHI as a launch partner and why today we are delighted to be announcing that Inmarsat is the first commercial customer to select MHI's new H3 launch vehicle. We believe that H3 represents a world-class innovation and one that will deliver an effective and efficient service to place future Inmarsat satellites into orbit."

"Today, development of the H3 Launch Vehicle is proceeding steadily forward under the leadership of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), with MHI serving as primary contractor working closely with key component manufacturers," said Masahiro Atsumi, Vice President & Senior General Manager for Space Systems at MHI. "We greatly appreciate the high evaluation made by Inmarsat during this development phase and, working closely with JAXA and government agencies, we will do everything possible to ensure that development results in a new flagship launch vehicle fully meeting the customer's high expectations."

Rt Hon Greg Clark MP, Secretary of State for Business said: "Science and innovation have no borders, as long-term strategic partnerships like this one built on excellence between Inmarsat in the UK and MHI in Japan demonstrate. The space sector is a UK success story and an industry that is growing globally, a year since the launch of our modern industrial strategy, we continue to build on our commitment to space, including through the announcement of the UK's first spaceports and record investment in our world leading science base."

MHI Launch Services enjoys an extremely high success rate of 97.9% and has provided 41 successful consecutive launches since 2005, delivered on-time and to the customer's satisfaction by current launch vehicle both H-IIA and H-IIB.

The agreement with Inmarsat reflects MHI's long-term commitment to supporting a wide range of customers in the space industry. MHI will continue to support the development of the space industry, and will seek further new opportunities in this field both in Japan and globally.

About Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd.

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) Group is one of the world's leading industrial firms. For more than 130 years, we have channeled big thinking into solutions that move the world forward - advancing the lives of everyone who shares our planet. We deliver innovative and integrated solutions across a wide range of industries, covering land, sea, sky and even space. MHI Group employs 80,000 people across 400 locations, operating in three business domains: "Power Systems," "Industry & Infrastructure," "Aircraft, Defense & Space." We have a consolidated revenue of around 40 billion U.S. Dollars. We aim to contribute to environmental sustainability while achieving global growth, using our leading-edge technologies. By bringing people and ideas together as one, we continue to pave the way to a future of shared success.

For more information, please visit MHI's website: https://www.mhi.com
For Technology, Trends and Tangents, visit MHI's new online media SPECTRA: https://spectra.mhi.com

Contact:
Corporate Communication Department
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd.
Email: mediacontact_global@mhi.co.jp
Tel: +81-(0)3-6716-2168
Fax: +81-(0)3-6716-5860

The finalist wins the Toyota Mobility Foundation's and WRI Brasil's InoveMob Challenge and intends to scale the solution to other cities in Brazil

Sao Paulo, Brazil, Dec 6, 2018 - (JCN Newswire) - After almost one year, the Toyota Mobility Foundation (TMF) and WRI Brasil's InoveMob Challenge culminated with the announcement of the big winner: bynd. The bynd team will receive $100,000 to scale their project and will continue their journey, taking the idea to other Brazilian cities. The announcement was made this evening at Unibes Cultural in Sao Paulo in a ceremony that brought together, in addition to the other finalists: startups, investors, media and relevant organizations of the mobility and innovation ecosystem in Brazil. Finalists Bikxi, Carona a Pe, Nina and OnBoard Mobility were also competing for the final award.

The InoveMob Challenge was developed by Toyota Mobility Foundation in partnership with WRI Brasil, and support from the National Front of Mayors (FNP). The Challenge launched in January 2018 with the goal of finding innovative mobility solutions for urban areas with intense transportation activity. Brazilian teams submitted nearly 100 proposals from 13 states and four regions of the country. The final judging panel selected the winner based upon the Challenge criteria of pilot execution, internal capacity, stakeholder and end-user impact, potential to scale, feasibility, and sustainability.

"Participating in InoveMob was a unique opportunity in the path of the bynd. We learned a lot from this first approach to the public sector! We had no idea how involved processes, hiring possibilities, internal communication particularities, support from internal actors in the implementation would be. We left InoveMob with a formatted, tested and validated the model, now we can say that we are prepared to serve the public sector and spread the carpool through Brazil! The prize will be used to invest in technology and make a real leap in the product (code, design, user experience, and interface). In addition, we will also invest in commercial development, to be able to reach more cities and to make the bynd positive impact even bigger. Our goal is to multiply our number of rides by 10 per month in the next years. The prize might shorten our path to there," said Gustavo Gracitelli of bynd.

"We are very pleased with the learnings, growth, and impact that each of the five finalists has had in their respective pilots around Brazil, and we are excited to see how bynd will grow. We want challenges like InoveMob to serve as a bridge to help facilitate how local governments can work with innovative mobility providers to implement new solutions to complicated mobility situations," said Ryan Klem, Director of Programs of the Toyota Mobility Foundation.

"Working on the Challenge, getting to know dozens of innovative mobility projects, and following the pilots' implementation provided everyone--organizers, participants, and cities--a year of learning and knowledge sharing. The five finalists comprise innovative solutions that can help improve mobility in Brazilian cities. Now, bynd has the challenge of scaling its idea to impact and benefit the daily lives of even more people," said Luis Antonio Lindau, Cities Program Director of WRI Brasil.

According to Jonas Donizette, president of the National Front of Mayors (FNP), big cities need to rethink urban mobility based on their current challenges, which are complex and intertwined. "They need creative, multiple and integrated solutions that can provide effective improvements in public service management and expand access for all citizens."

In the second stage of the Challenge, twelve semifinalists attended training workshops and pitched their ideas to over 100 public decision makers to find a city that would host their project. Five finalists were selected and received financial support of $20,000 each to implement their pilot projects.

Finalists Bikxi (a ride-hailing solution on tandem bikes) and OnBoard Mobility (a public transportation fare integration solution) chose Sao Paulo to implement their mobility solutions. With the support from the InoveMob Challenge, Bikxi expanded its operations by increasing its bicycle fleet and starting a new route on the Luis Carlos Berrini Avenue bike path. The changes increased the journeys in the area from 77 in July to 276 in November. OnBoard Mobility extended their service in Sao Paulo--from 451 to more than 1200 recurring users during the Challenge--and also launched their service in the city of Belo Horizonte.

Finalist Carona a Pe (an organized walking group solution for children with adult supervision) implement their mobility solution in the capital of Minas Gerais. With InoveMob support, the startup scaled the solution outside the city of where it originated (Sao Paulo) and implemented in public, rather than private, schools for the first time. In all, eight schools and more than 60 children were engaged in the project in Belo Horizonte.

Finalist Nina (an app for denouncing harassment while using mobility services) had its first opportunity to execute the project in a city. Nina's arrival in the city of Fortaleza led to the creation of a public policy to combat sexual harassment in collective transportation.

The Ministry of Cities and the public company VALEC in the city of Brasilia and the City Hall of the city of Juiz de Fora, Minas Gerais both adopted the proposal from the Winner bynd. The pilot projects were the first bynd experience with the public sector. More than 400 trips were made in each city, totaling more than 1000 km of shared rides.

Now, bynd will have the task and opportunity to show its potential to be replicated in other Brazilian and Latin American cities.

About Toyota Mobility Foundation

Toyota Mobility Foundation (TMF) was founded in August 2014 to stimulate the development of mobility in cities. The Foundation aims to support robust mobility systems, eliminating the imbalances observed in this sector. With Toyota's expertise in technology, safety and environment, TMF works in partnership with universities, governments, nongovernmental organizations, research institutions and other companies seeking mobility solutions around the world. The programs aim to find solutions to urban transport issues, increase the use of personal mobility and develop solutions for the next generation.

About WRI Brasil

WRI Brasil is a research institute that transforms big ideas into actions to protect the environment and foster Brazil's prosperity in an inclusive and sustainable fashion. It is focused on research and applications of sustainable solutions oriented towards climate, forests, and cities. WRI Brasil combines technical excellence with political articulation and works in close collaboration with governments, private companies, universities and civil society. WRI Brasil is part of World Resources Institute (WRI), a global research organization whose work extends to over 50 countries. WRI encompasses the work of almost 700 professionals in offices in Brazil, China, the United States, Mexico, India, Indonesia, Europe, Turkey and Africa.

About Toyota Motor Corporation

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

Ms. Ada Wong (left), Chief Executive Officer of Champion REIT, receives the Directors of the Year Awards 2018 (Listed Companies - Executive Directors) by the Hong Kong Institute of Directors

Ms. Wong delivers speech on stage

Strong Corporate Governance and Innovative Spirit Affirmed

HONG KONG, Dec 6, 2018 - (ACN Newswire) - Champion Real Estate Investment Trust ("Champion REIT") (Stock Code: 2778), owner of Three Garden Road and Langham Place, has won nine awards in all the past year for excellence in corporate governance, social responsibility and investor relations. The honours spoke volumes to Champion REIT's continuous commitment to enhancing operational performance and overall corporate governance at the best of its ability. Champion REIT is also dedicated to giving back to society, creating long-term value for both its business and the communities where it operates.

Among all the awards won, the Directors of the Year Awards 2018 (Listed Companies - Executive Directors) received by Ms Ada Wong, Chief Executive Officer of Champion REIT, from the Hong Kong Institute of Directors was a first. The award recognised Ms Wong for her determination to promote and implement good corporate governance, advocate and put into practice good governance concepts and lead the company in achieving new milestones, making her a model of the award theme "Leadership in Times of Change".

Langham Place, always embracing innovation and change, was a recipient again of the Marketing Excellence Awards from Marketing Magazine. It was credited for tying in innovative marketing with latest market trends. Tapping into the recent so-called "Buddhist-living style", it held an event featuring Sanrio's Gudetama (a popular lazy egg cartoon character) and brought in technology to integrate the real and virtual worlds. Chatbot (a chatty robot) was created to interact with customers, hence succeeded in driving customer flow and shop sales. The excellent performance of Champion REIT itself in the past year was also well-recognised. It received from the Hong Kong Economic Journal "The Listed Company Awards of Excellence 2018", deemed a valuable reference indicator and source of market information for investors. And, boasting outstanding performance in business results, investor relations, sustainable development and corporate governance, Champion REIT was again named the "Listed Enterprise of the Year 2018" by Bloomberg Businessweek/Chinese Edition.

Ms Ada Wong, Chief Executive Officer of Champion REIT, said, "We are very pleased with having received the different awards in 2018, recognising not only our excellent corporate governance standard, but also the fruit of our innovative business tactics and timely response to change. They also reflected the endorsement from investors and the industry for our social responsibility and investor relations endeavours. Looking ahead, we will continue to generate long-term returns for our unitholders, care about stakeholders' wellness and strive to build quality communities."

Accolades in 2018

Jan 2018
BDO
- First BDO ESG Awards

May 2018
Hong Kong Investor Relations Association
- Best IR Company
- Best IR by Chairman/ CEO - Ms Ada Wong
- Best IRO - Ms Amy Luk

Jun 2018
Corporate Governance Asia
- Asia's Best CEO - Ms. Ada Wong
- Best Investor Relations Professional - Ms Amy Luk
- Best Investor Relations Company

Nov 2018
The Hong Kong Management Association
- 2018 Best Annual Reports Awards

Hong Kong Economic Journal
- Listed Company Award of Excellence 2018 (Main Board - Large Cap)

Bloomberg Businessweek/Chinese Edition
- Listed Enterprises of the Year 2018

The Hong Kong Institute of Directors
- Directors of the Year Awards 2018

Marketing Excellence Magazine
- Design & Event Marketing - Langham Place Mall "Gudetama's Comfort Journey"

Metro Finance
- Top Ten Mall of Digital Ex Awards 2018" - Langham Place Mall

About Champion REIT (Stock Code: 2778)
Champion Real Estate Investment Trust is a trust formed to own and invest in income producing office and retail properties. The Trust focuses on Grade-A commercial properties in prime locations. It currently offers investors direct exposure to 2.93 million sq. ft. of prime office and retail properties by way of two landmark properties, Three Garden Road and Langham Place, one on each side of the Victoria Harbour.
Website: www.championreit.com

For press enquiries
Strategic Financial Relations Limited
Vicky Lee Tel: 2864 4834 Email: vicky.lee@sprg.com.hk
Christina Cheuk Tel: 2114 4979 Email: christina.cheuk@sprg.com.hk
Corinne Ho Tel: 2114 4911 Email: corinne.ho@sprg.com.hk
Website: www.sprg.com.hk

The second edition of DesignInspire gathers over 230 exhibitors from nine countries and regions, featuring more than 635 designs and projects

Other exciting interactive events at DesignInspire include design master talks, and STEAM and design workshops

Inspiring Hong Kong through Creative Designs and Innovations

HONG KONG, Dec 6, 2018 - (ACN Newswire) - Organised by the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC), the second edition of DesignInspire opened today at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre (HKCEC). The three-day event gathers over 230 exhibitors from nine countries and regions, featuring more than 635 designs and projects to showcase the latest design concepts and innovations from around the world.

"Under the theme 'Co-create a Happy City', DesignInspire offers a platform for design and innovation elites, trendsetting brands and design associations and institutes to showcase their interactive exhibits and design masterpieces," said Raymond Yip, HKTDC Deputy Executive Director. "Aside from linking creative talents with businesses, we hope the show can enable public visitors to experience how innovative designs can improve the quality of city life."

Melbourne: DesignInspire's Partner City

Melbourne has long been regarded as one of the world's most liveable cities. As DesignInspire's partner city this year, Melbourne is hosting a pavilion - titled "Shared Values" - to showcase how creative talents have helped to shape the city for the better. Curated by the National Gallery of Victoria, the pavilion features designs and innovations from more than 100 designers and five universities under the theme "Think, Collaborate, Create". Exhibits demonstrate how design can enhance people's quality of life through health innovation, architecture and product design, and are displayed under different themes, including Play, Making, Wellbeing, Identity, Invention and Learning. Highlights include the Holden Time Attack concept car by GM Australia Design, nuraphone - the world's first headphones to automatically adapt to a users' unique hearing - and 3D printed ornaments by Alterfact.

A Platform to Promote Young Hong Kong Creative Talents

Sponsored by Create Hong Kong* of the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, the Hong Kong Creative Force Pavilion showcases a series of local design projects, including "Miniature Depicting Unique Hong Kong", "Beauty and Innovation in Traditional Craftsmanship", "Happy.Block.Chain", and "RetroInnovations". The latter features contemporary installations created by 26 young Hong Kong designers that pay tribute to and reinterpret the city's culture and traditional craftmanship such as ironwork, ceramics and rattan weaving.

Meanwhile, the Design Council of Hong Kong and the Federation of Hong Kong Industries have joined hands to present "DesignXcel" at DesignInspire, a project to foster collaboration opportunities between design graduates and leading entrepreneurs. Another highlight of the event is the Rado Star Prize, through which young design talents can turn their ideas into reality. The Public Choice winner will be decided by votes cast by members of the public over the three days of DesignInspire.

Innovation with Technology and Design

Highlights in the "Urbanovation" Pavilion include an interactive wall from OnActivity that allows visitors to experience various interactive media, including touch, motion sensing, virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR). Another exhibitor is INDE, which features its BroadcastAR technology in which an avatar named SEAN will interact spontaneously with the audience via motion and speech.

InnoTalks and Workshops to Promote Design Thinking

The "InnoTalks" series is promoting discussion on the latest global design trends and encouraging creativity that can contribute to a better future for Hong Kong.

In addition, a series of workshops covering everything from traditional craftmanship to subjects related to STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, the Arts and Mathematics) is running throughout the three-day event to enhance public engagement. These cover the craft of making mini-floral banners and hand-painted paper lampshades, as well as coding and robotics, VR, the smart city and more.

Aside from DesignInspire, the HKTDC is hosting four concurrent events at the HKCEC this week, targeting small-and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The events include the Business of IP Asia Forum (BIP Asia Forum), HKTDC SmartBiz Expo, Asian E-tailing Summit and the HKTDC Hong Kong International Franchising Show, which aim to enhance the competitiveness of SMEs through new technologies and by exploring new business opportunities.

*Disclaimer: The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region provides funding support to the project only, and does not otherwise take part in the project. Any opinions, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in these materials/events (or by members of the project team) are those of the project organisers only and do not reflect the views of the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, the Communications and Creative Industries Branch of the Commerce and Economic Development Bureau, Create Hong Kong, the CreateSmart Initiative Secretariat or the CreateSmart Initiative Vetting Committee.

Photo Download: https://bit.ly/2E4RuLG

About HKTDC

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

Contact:
Banbi Chen, Tel: +852 2584 4525, Email: banbi.yc.chen@hktdc.org

The second Asian E-tailing Summit concluded yesterday at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre (HKCEC). Organised by the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC), the one-day event offered a one-stop platform to explore the future development of e-commerce and was attended by more than 1,400 e-tailers and business professionals from various sectors.

Industry Experts Discuss Trends and Opportunities in Online Retail

HONG KONG, Dec 6, 2018 - (ACN Newswire) - The second Asian E-tailing Summit concluded yesterday at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre (HKCEC). Organised by the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC), the one-day event offered a one-stop platform to explore the future development of e-commerce and was attended by more than 1,400 e-tailers and business professionals from various sectors.

The summit featured two plenary sessions in the morning, the first of which was chaired by Yew Hong Koh, Managing Director and Retail Lead of Greater China at Accenture. Mr Koh was joined by a panel of e-tailing experts from around Asia to discuss how the online retail ecosystem can fuel business growth and help small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) build their brands.

E-tailing Ecosystem

The session began with each speaker explaining the part their company plays in the e-tailing ecosystem. Cassandra Girard, Global Vice President and Head of Consumer and Travel Industries at SAP Customer Experience, explained that she is in charge of both the consumer and travel areas because the two have a strong correlation. She said SAP has a long history of helping businesses transform from physical stores to e-tailing. "This requires a core transformation, not just a move online," she said. Her main theme was that enhancing the customer experience was the new battleground. Her company's goal is to get clients to put the customer first in everything they do. "This will result in improved marketing, sales and service," she said.

Jenny Cheung, Head of Corporate Marketing for Microsoft Hong Kong, focused on how to get a clear picture of customer insights, needs and problems so that e-tailers can offer appropriate solutions. "Identifying customer insights with the help of technology and innovation is the key," she said.

Clay Liao, Mobile Technical Solutions Consultant at Google, explained that Google's role was to be a bridge between Google's clients and their customers regardless of region, language or culture. "Google uses web technology behind the scenes to solve problems for its clients," he said.

Josephine Chow, co-founder and Head of Expansion at ShopBack, explained the ShopBack concept, which involves helping companies market their products and services cost-effectively. They pay ShopBack a commission only when there is a successful transaction. ShopBack then gives part of the commission to the customers to encourage them to keep returning to ShopBack for the benefit of all 1,500 partners on its platform. She used the analogy of a mall, whereby ShopBack, the mall operator, provides expertise for the shops and brings in customers for a 10% commission, and then gives half of the commission back to the shoppers to encourage them to return for the benefit of all mall tenants.

Another speaker at the session was Sherry Zehr, Fashion and Toys Regional Lead for Regional Brand Partnerships at Shopee, a fast-growing online retail channel in Southeast Asia and Taiwan, which provides a platform for both small businesses and large bricks-and-mortar retailers that want to add an online presence. "Shopee provides a full-service lifestyle," she explained. "It is a marketplace with social elements." It is also a channel for e-tailers to attract mass traffic, which they could not possibly do on their own. The platform offers different features, with e-tailers chatting in real time with customers, for example. "The platform translates well from social media," she said.

Online Marketplace Changes and Trends

Discussing the changes that are happening in the online marketplace, Ms Zehr said the key trend was the shift to mobile. In Southeast Asia, many customers skipped the personal computer era and went direct to mobile platforms. "The availability and affordability of smartphones has propelled the market to be mobile-driven," she said. Shopee is a leader in the region because it adds features such as games, quizzes, loyalty programmes and interaction to build customer loyalty, she explained, adding "the mobile trend will continue to grow." Shopee is also helping companies in Mainland China, Hong Kong, Korea and Japan enter the Southeast Asian market with full end-to-end logistics support, which is particularly important in countries such as Indonesia and the Philippines.

Ms Chow discussed interesting data trends in different countries, which e-tailers need to be aware of. For example, the largest volume of daily transactions in Malaysia is at lunchtime; in Indonesia, it is 3-4pm because internet access is better at work at that time; and in Singapore, more transactions take place in the late evening.

Ms Cheung said one growing trend is the use of artificial intelligence (AI) and data analytics to understand the customer. This is revolutionising online searching, she said. For example, customer only need to upload a picture of what they want and the computer will find a retailer of the product. "This streamlines the online shopping experience," Ms Cheung said.

Focusing on Customer Experience

Ms Girard emphasised the importance of focusing on the customer experience. E-commerce is everywhere, so it is important to build a foundation to understand the customer and use this to engage them and respond to their needs and desires, she said. The goal is to transform the experience of the customer. "Being customer-centric is a culture," she said. "It's not simply a question of using tech. Companies must transform their organisations."

In response to the question of how to drive growth, Ms Cheung said: "It's really about understanding the customer." The use of AI and big data allows e-tailers to improve their conversion rate. "When companies can predict what the customer wants, they can increase turnover and reduce inventory."

Ms Chow said that data is useful, but making sense of it can be challenging. It requires an innovative approach. "Companies need to find a product that solves a consumer's problem," she said. It is also important for physical retailers to integrate the online and offline experience, since a lot of people still prefer to visit a physical store. So ShopBack offers cashback offline as well.

Ms Zehr said online channels can help retailers target and segment customers, so it is important to integrate the online and offline experience. "Shopee helps retailers become customer-centric," she explained. With Shopee, they join a marketplace instead of being just one isolated store online. Each seller leverages the others to build and expand their customer base. This allows very small e-tailers to join the platform and leverage the popularity of the larger e-tailers.

Mr Liao shared some very important data on the importance of catching the customer's attention immediately. According to Google's findings, 53% of mobile users lose patience after only three seconds if what they see does not interest them, and every three seconds there is a 70% drop in revenue potential. "It's important to make websites and mobile apps interesting," he said. According to Mr Liao, the internet giants are all looking for the next big trend: for example, using Google Assistant not just to buy and sell things online, but also to run home appliances.

One question from the audience involved concerns about the vast amount of data companies are collecting from online customers. Ms Cheung said it needs to be built on a system of trust and privacy. "We are responsible for safeguarding this information, and if we abuse this trust, we will fail in the long run," she said.

Other Technology-focused Events Create Synergy

The HKTDC is holding a total five events at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre this week - yesterday's Asian E-tailing Summit, the HKTDC SmartBiz Expo (5-7 Dec), HKTDC Hong Kong International Franchising Show (5-7 Dec), Business of IP Asia Forum (6-7 Dec) and DesignInspire (6-8 Dec). These events focus on new technology and cover various stages of the supply chain, including research and development, design, production, sales and marketing. They aim to help SMEs enhance their competitiveness and cost-effectiveness and develop new business areas and markets to adapt to the ever-changing economic landscape.

Fair websites:
HKTDC SmartBiz Expo: http://www.hktdc.com/smartbizexpo
Asian E-tailing Summit: http://www.asianetailingsummit.com
Business of IP Asia Forum: http://www.bipasiaforum.com
HKTDC Hong Kong International Franchising Show: http://www.hktdc.com/hkifs
DesignInspire: http://www.hktdc.com/ncs/designinspire2018/en/main/index.html
Photo download: https://bit.ly/2rlrHrb

About HKTDC

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

Contact:
Sunny Ng, Tel: +852 2584 4357, Email: sunny.sl.ng@hktdc.org

More than 90 companies and organisations are exhibiting at the BIP Asia Forum, offering one-stop IP-business services to participants. They include international IP organisations, technology companies, top-notch research centres, universities and IP service providers.

80+ IP Experts Gather to Foster R&D Commercialisation

HONG KONG, Dec 6, 2018 - (ACN Newswire) - The eighth edition of the Business of IP Asia Forum (BIP Asia Forum) jointly organised by the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR), the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC) and the Hong Kong Design Centre, opened today at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre (HKCEC).

The two-day forum brings together more than 80 intellectual property (IP) experts from leading global companies, including Virgin Hyperloop One, Amazon Web Services, Nestle SA, Procter & Gamble and Ant Financial, to share insights on a range of industry topics and discuss the advantages Hong Kong offers for exploring new business opportunities. With more than 90 exhibitors showcasing their products and services, and backed by the online platform Asia IP Exchange (www.asiaipex.com), the forum provides a valuable one-stop platform to foster cooperation between governments, industry, academia, research institutions and the business sector, and encourage IP trade and wider application of new technologies.

Giving the opening address at the forum, Carrie Lam, Chief Executive of the HKSAR, said: "Two far-reaching national strategies of Mainland China - the Belt and Road Initiative and the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area development - will give rise to immense opportunities for Hong Kong. They certainly include serving as an Intellectual Property trading hub for the Asia-Pacific region."

He Zhimin, Deputy Commissioner of National Intellectual Property Administration of the People's Republic of China (CNIPA) also spoke at the opening session. He said the Administration has introduced new measures this year to further protect IP rights and promote the Greater Bay Area as an innovation and business centre.

Welcoming participants to the forum, Margaret Fong, Executive Director of the HKTDC, said that Hong Kong plays an important role in IP value-chain activities. "As well as being a prominent centre for innovation, commerce, trade and finance in Asia, Hong Kong is a focal point for the generation and trading of IP, including technology transfer, licensing, franchising and copyright trading."

Innovators across the globe filed 3.17 million patent applications in 2017, up 5.8% on the previous year, according to the annual World Intellectual Property Indicators report published by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). The Chinese mainland accounted for 44% of the world's patent applications last year, with a total of 1.38 million patents filed - an increase of 15% on the previous year. The mainland retained its position as the world's biggest filer of patents for the seventh consecutive year.

The other patent applications came mainly from the United States, Japan, South Korea, the European Union, Germany, India, Russia, Canada and Australia. The industry expects to see more patent applications in the future, with Hong Kong acting as a facilitator by offering a range of IP supporting services, including IP portfolio management, technology transfer and legal arbitration.

Look at Emerging IP Trends

Highlights on the first day of the BIP Asia Forum included two plenary sessions featuring key decision makers in the field of international IP. In the first session, Wang Binying, Deputy Director General of WIPO; Antony Taubman, Director of the Intellectual Property Division of the World Trade Organization; Freddy Harris, Chair of the ASEAN Working Group on Intellectual Property Cooperation and Director General of Intellectual Property at the Ministry of Law and Human Rights of the Republic of Indonesia; and Jacqueline Bracha, Deputy Director of the Israel Patent Office, shared insights into the development and socio-technological effects of the global IP regulatory regime.

In the second plenary session, Jack Chang, Chairman of the Quality Brands Protection Committee of China Association of Enterprises with Foreign Investment, was joined by Philippe Lucet, Vice President and General Counsel for R&D and IP, Nestle SA, and David Upite, Senior Counsel of Procter & Gamble, to outline actionable corporate best practices, both online and offline, for building a strong brand identity and crafting a comprehensive brand-protection strategy.

At the keynote luncheon, Benjamin Bai, Vice President & Chief IP Officer of Ant Financial said that IP protection is central to sustainable innovation and stressed that new technology will accelerate financial inclusion and make people's lives easier. "The best patenting opportunities lie in solving the technical bottlenecks that limit blockchain application," Mr Bai said, explaining that these bottlenecks include cross-chain communication, privacy protection and forging a new consensus on algorithms.

He observed that while there is a global race to patent blockchain technology, at this stage no single company is dominating blockchain patenting. As of August 2018, more than 2,600 blockchain patent applications have been filed around the world, with the United States and China accounting for 83% of the total.

"Using technologies such as blockchain, artificial intelligence and Internet of Things, Ant Finance is able to service 80% of customers that are not fully served by regular financial institutions, especially SMEs and individuals," Mr Bai said. Alipay, one of the services provided by Ant Finance, is now available in more than 200 countries and regions in 27 currencies, while its local wallet footprint spans across Asia, covering Korea, Hong Kong, the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, Pakistan, India and Bangladesh.

Hong Kong Launch of IP Incubator Competition

Another highlight at today's forum was the IPHatch Hong Kong Launch, co-organised by the HKTDC and Piece Future. This competition, aimed at encouraging start-ups to identify and convert valuable IP into assets, offers 10 IP portfolios from Panasonic Corporation, Nokia Technologies, the Hong Kong Applied Science and Technology Research Institute Company Limited (ASTRI), and the City University of Hong Kong. The patents cover various sectors including smart city development, advanced manufacturing, IoT, healthcare and wellness, and property technology.

The winners of the competition will be entitled to access these IP portfolios, receive free mentorship on business planning, participate in incubation and networking activities, enjoy three months' free access to Lion Rock 72, the Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks (HKSTP)-owned co-working space at InnoCentre in Kowloon Tong, and a fast pass to HKSTP's "Incu-Tech" programme.

Yoshinori Nakagawa, Chief Intellectual Property Specialist of Panasonic Corporation; Jari Vaario, Head of Asia IP Regulatory of Nokia Technologies; and KC Sum, Head of Intellectual Property & Knowledge Management of ASTRI, kick-started the launch by unveiling some of their latest technologies. Winners from last year's IPHatch Singapore were also on hand to share their experience in incorporating technology portfolios. In the breakout session that followed, George Lam, Chairman of Hong Kong Cyberport Management Company Limited, and Devin Ehrig, co-founder of local start-up Shadow Factory, discussed how start-ups can move their businesses to greater heights by incorporating IPs.

Growing Opportunities in Cross-media Collaboration

Co-organised with China Daily, the breakout session titled "Era of IP Convergence: Maximising Benefits of Cross-media Collaboration" discussed the business opportunities arising from cross-media deployment such as novels, anime, films, TV dramas and mobile games. In 2017, total revenue generated from IP-based mobile games on the Chinese mainland surpassed Rmb70 billion, highlighting the strong potential in the IP market. Joining the session were Leon Gao, President and founder of EntGroup; Leo Huang, General Manager of Creative Power Entertaining Co Ltd and creator of the Pleasant Goat and Big Big Wolf and Happy Heroes cartoon series; Xie Guangcai, Executive Vice President of ChineseAll Digital Publishing Group; Hendrick Sin, co-founder and Vice Chairman of CMGE Technology Group Limited; Sophie Xie, Chief Executive Officer and Director of Shanda Games Limited; and Xu Han, creator of Ali the Fox and founder, Board Chairman and CEO of Dream Castle.

Global Tech Summit Focuses on Artificial Intelligence

Artificial intelligence (AI) will contribute close to US$16 trillion to the global economy by 2030 and is set to be the key source of transformation, disruption and competitive advantage in the world's fast-changing business arena. The Global Tech Summit, being held tomorrow as part of the forum, will feature heavyweight speakers including Anita Sengupta, Senior Vice President of Engineering Systems of Virgin Hyperloop One; Olivier Klein, Head of Emerging Technologies, Asia Pacific, of Amazon Web Services; Shang Hailong, Managing Director of SenseTime Hong Kong; Miles Wen, co-founder and CEO of Fano Labs; Rex Sham, co-founder and Chief Science Officer of Insight Robotics; and Tony Sung, co-founder of NEX Team.

The forum also offers various breakout sessions, one of which is co-organised with the Department of Justice of the HKSAR to discuss issues ranging from IP protection strategies to the mediation and arbitration of IP disputes. The session features a strong lineup of speakers, including Teresa Cheng, Secretary for Justice of the HKSAR, and Zhao Meisheng, Deputy Director-General, Intellectual Property Utilization Promotion Department, National Intellectual Property Administration of the People's Republic of China (CNIPA).

IP Development and Brand Protection

Enterprises from Hong Kong and the mainland are tapping into opportunities arising from the Belt and Road Initiative. A session co-organised with the International Trademark Association tomorrow, titled "Secure the Trust of Your Brands along the Belt and Road", will feature customs officials from Hong Kong, Laos, Sri Lanka and Malaysia, as well as representatives from Johnson and Johnson, Procter & Gamble and the Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry FH, discussing how businesses can protect their brands along the Belt and Road.

Cooperation in the Pearl River Delta region has recently been boosted by developments such as the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link and the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge. As connectivity continues to grow, the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Development plan is set to offer tremendous opportunities for the IP industry. A breakout session tomorrow, co-organised with the Guangzhou Development District Intellectual Property Association, will feature officials from the Greater Bay Area to update participants on the region's IP development, while an expert from Peking University will outline business models and legal rules for IP operations under the global trading environment. Representatives from various organisations and listed companies, including CVTE, will share their experiences in managing IP assets.

Agreement with India Boosts Asia IP Exchange

The HKTDC will sign a cooperation agreement with the National Research Development Corporation of India at the forum tomorrow, taking the total number of strategic partners in the Asia IP Exchange (AsiaIPEX) to 39. The HKTDC has also signed agreements with Australia, Italy and the Czech Republic this year. AsiaIPEX now features more than 28,000 tradable IP listings, ranging from patents and trademarks to copyrights and registered designs, in areas such as biotechnology, medicine, electronics, engineering, film and publications, strengthening the links between global IP owners, intermediary service providers and manufacturers.

The HKTDC is holding five events at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre this week - the Asian E-tailing Summit, HKTDC SmartBiz Expo, HKTDC Hong Kong International Franchising Show, the Business of IP Asia Forum and DesignInspire, aiming to help small and medium-sized enterprises enhance their competitiveness and cost-effectiveness and develop new business areas and markets to adapt to the ever-changing economic landscape.

Business of IP Asia Forum: http://www.bipasiaforum.com
IP Hatch Hong Kong: http://www.iphatchday.com/hongkong
Photo Download: https://bit.ly/2E6jn6q

About HKTDC

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

Contact:
Angel Tang, Tel: +852 2584 4544, Email: angel.hc.tang@hktdc.org
Beatrice Lam, Tel: +852 2584 4049, Email: beatrice.hy.lam@hktdc.org

HONG KONG, Dec 6, 2018 - (ACN Newswire) - Ausnutria Dairy Corporation Ltd ("Ausnutria" or the "Company", together with its subsidiaries, the "Group"; stock code: 1717.HK), a company engages in the research and development, production and distribution of all dairy products (including infant formula) and nutrition products with production facilities principally based in the Netherlands, Australia, New Zealand and the PRC, is pleased to announce Mr. Shi Liang ("Mr. Shi") has been appointed as a non-executive Director, the vice-chairman of the Board, a member of the Remuneration Committee and the Nomination Committee; Mr. Qiao Baijun ("Mr. Qiao") has been appointed as a non-executive Director and a member of the Strategic Committee; and Mr. Aidan Coleman ("Mr. Coleman") has been appointed as an independent non-executive Director, a member of the Audit Committee, the Remuneration Committee and the Nomination Committee. Meanwhile, Mr. Zeng Xiaojun ("Mr. Zeng") has resigned as a non-executive Director and Ms. Ho Mei-Yueh ("Ms. Ho") has resigned as an independent non-executive Director, a member of each of the Audit Committee, the Remuneration Committee, and the Nomination Committee. Each of Mr. Zeng and Ms. Ho has confirmed that he/she has no disagreement with the Board and there is no matter relating to his/her resignation that needs to be brought to the attention of the shareholders of the Company (the "Shareholders") or The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited (the "Stock Exchange").

Mr. Shi, is currently a director, general manager and a member of the fund investment committee of the CITIC Agri Fund Management Co., Ltd. ("CITIC Agri Fund"), a substantial Shareholder. Mr. Shi joined CITIC Securities Company Limited ("CITIC Securities", stock code: 6030.HK and 600030.SH) in 2008. He once served as the senior manager of the research department, the chief analyst in agriculture, forestry, animal husbandry and fishery industries and the director of the research department of CITIC Securities.

Mr. Qiao is currently the deputy general manager and chairman of the investment committee of CITIC Agri Fund. Mr. Qiao joined COFCO Corporation in 2006 and once served as the senior manager of the strategic investment management department, the head of the research department, the general manager of the strategic management department. Prior to joining COFCO, Mr. Qiao was engaged in the research in agriculture, food and beverage industry in China Galaxy Securities Co Ltd (stock code: 6881.HK) and CITIC Securities.

Mr. Colemam, has over 30 years of extensive experience in the manufacturing and marketing of consumer and food-service food and agricultural product. He is currently the managing director of Longpoint Consulting Pty. Ltd.("Longpoint"). Prior to joining Longpoint, Mr. Coleman was the chief executive officer of Bega Cheese Limited (stock code: BGA.ASX) until 2017. He was also the chief executive officer of Tatura Milk Industries Ltd. ("Tatura"), a wholly owned subsidiary of Bega Cheese Limited, from 2008 to 2011 and an executive director of Tatura from 2011 to 2017. Mr. Colemam was the managing director of Fonterra Brands (Australia) Pty. Ltd, an Australian company which manufactures, markets and distributes dairy and non-dairy products from 2005 to 2007.

Mr. Yan Weibin, Chairman of the Group, said "On behalf of the Board committees, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to Mr. Zeng and Ms. Ho for their valuable contribution to the Company during their tenure of services. In the meantime, extending my sincere welcome to the experienced two representatives of CITIC Agri Fund, and an expert in Dairy industry in ANZ region for joining us. The Company successfully introduced CITIC Agri Fund to become the single largest shareholder of the Company. The joining of Mr. Shi and Mr. Qiao to the Board demonstrated the great support and trust of CITIC Agri Fund to the Group, also the Company will be benefitted from the profession of Mr. Shi and Mr. Qiao. In addition, Mr. Colemam's know-how of the industry will definitely help the Group to achieve steady and rapid development. In particular, he will provide good guidance, support and supervision for the business development of the Company in Australia and New Zealand. As one of the leaders in the dairy industry, the Company will strive to provide the best products and services, and head towards the 'Golden Decade' of Ausnutria. At the same time, we will continue to explore the global market, strive for market and consumer recognition with our high-quality products, achieve ever-expanding growth. We dedicate to become the most trustworthy milk formula, nutrition and health-care enterprise in the world and provide better returns to shareholders."

About Ausnutria Dairy Corporation Ltd
Ausnutria Dairy Corporation Ltd is a leading infant milk formula company with production facilities principally based in the Netherlands, Australia, New Zealand, and the PRC. The Company is engaged in the worldwide production, research, and sales of infant formula, adult milk and other dairy and nutrition products. It owns several famous infant formula and milk powder brands, including "Kabrita", "Allnutria" and "Hyproca". Ausnutria's factories in the PRC were among that first batch of factories that had been granted with the National Infant Formula Enterprise Production Permit. The factory in the Netherlands is also one of the first infant milk formula manufacturers to obtain import licenses for overseas products under the new policy in the PRC.

KARIYA, JAPAN, Dec 7, 2018 - (JCN Newswire) - DENSO, the world's second largest mobility supplier, has invested nearly $100 million over a four-year period in startup companies around the world as part of its long-term vision to provide software-based solutions focused on electrification, automated driving, connectivity and shared economy. From cyber security to semiconductors and sensors, DENSO is investing in startup companies working on key technologies that will play a major role in advancing mobility services that are safe, secure and efficient.

"DENSO has traditionally been self-sufficient with its R&D efforts. About five years ago, we realized that to keep pace with the predicted changes in the automotive industry and consumer demand, we needed to embrace an open innovation model that places equal importance on internal and external technology development in all product areas," said Tony Cannestra, Director of Corporate Ventures at DENSO. "DENSO used to be all about spark plugs and air conditioning units, and while those are still important products for us, we are focused on building a strong ecosystem of software, advanced hardware, and other mobility technologies to quickly and flexibly develop unique solutions that meet the needs of our customers, especially in EVs and autonomous driving."

Recent investment areas for DENSO include:

Autonomous Drive: DENSO invested additional dollars into Ridecell's Series B funding round for the development of shared mobility. Its partnership with ThinCI is enhancing deep learning capabilities required for autonomous vehicles.

Cybersecurity: DENSO led Dellfer's initial funding round to help the company develop cybersecurity safeguards for connected and autonomous vehicles.

Electrification: An investment in FLOSFIA is focused on a semiconductor device expected to reduce the energy loss, cost, size and weight of inverters used in electrified vehicles.

Sensing: Along with a handful of other strategic investors, DENSO invested in Metawave Corporation to accelerate the development and improve performance of in-vehicle, "smart" radar sensors for autonomous cars.

Several DENSO-backed startups will join DENSO at the 2019 Consumer Electronics Show (CES). ThinCI, Dellfer, Metawave and Ridecell will demo their technologies for attendees in DENSO's booth, #4619, in Las Vegas, Nevada, from January 8-11, 2019.

Looking ahead, DENSO will continue to invest in startups and entrepreneurs who can help accelerate innovation in the automotive industry. In 2011, DENSO took steps to strengthen and grow its core automotive business and identify and support non-auto technologies that could be used to advance mobility when it opened its Silicon Valley location. In 2014, DENSO expanded that office to further support and promote startup companies and advanced R&D activities in multiple areas of innovation. In 2016, DENSO began opening satellite R&D offices all around the world to create advanced technologies and services.

"DENSO has been around for a long time and we want to be here for another 70+ years for our customers and employees," said Cannestra. "To ensure that happens, we need great partners who are focused on developing technologies to radically advance our mode of transportation now and well into the future."

About Denso

DENSO Corp., headquartered in Kariya, Aichi prefecture, Japan has more than 220 subsidiaries in 35 countries and regions (including Japan) and employs approximately 170,000 people worldwide. Consolidated global sales for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2018, totaled US$48.1 billion. Last fiscal year, DENSO spent 8.8% of its global consolidated sales on research and development. DENSO common stock is traded on the Tokyo and Nagoya stock exchanges.

For more information, please go to www.denso.com.
Visit our media website at www.denso.com/global/en/news/media-center/.

Contact:
Sadayoshi Yokoyama, Toshiko Watanabe 
DENSO CORPORATION 
Phone: 81-566-25-5594 
Fax: 81-566-25-4509 
sadayoshi_yokoyama@denso.co.jp 
toshiko_watanabe@denso.co.jp

Figure 1: A diagram simulating human behavior and predicting congestion in an airport

Figure 2: Discovering comprehensive congestion causes based on attributes, cognition, and actions

Figure 3: Cause discovery and countermeasure examples gained from this technology

Newly developed predictive simulation technology discovers the causes of congestion throughout an airport in a matter of minutes, providing effective suggestions for alleviation

TOKYO, Dec 7, 2018 - (JCN Newswire) - Fujitsu Laboratories Ltd. and Professor Shingo Takahashi of the Department of Industrial and Management Systems Engineering at Waseda University today announced the development of a new technology that automatically analyzes the factors leading to congestion based on the results of human behavior simulations. Human behavior simulations, which model the behavior of people as "agents" based on their various attributes and goals, are currently used to predict how people behave when evacuating during emergencies or to review the flow of people in urban planning. As a subset of these simulations, experts use the results of large numbers of congestion prediction simulations to analyze the root causes of congestion, but there have been issues with this process because the simulations must be evaluated one by one, which not only takes a great deal of time, but may also lead researchers to overlook some potential causes. Now, Fujitsu Laboratories and Professor Takahashi have developed a technology to discover the causes of congestion. The new technology groups categories that have a certain degree of commonality, and expresses the characteristics of respective agents in a small number of combination categories, without listing the results of movements and routes of tens or hundreds of thousands of agents individually through simulation-based modeling. This approach makes it easier to extract characteristics of agents linked to the causes of congestion, while enabling the creation of measures appropriate to their particular attributes and movement patterns. This technology enables a quick evaluation of measures to ameliorate congestion in commercial facilities, event venues and other locations that deal with congestion due to high attendance or urban centralization, and ultimately contributes to achieving of the goal of improving safety and comfort in society. Aspects of this technology will be detailed at the Winter Simulation Conference (WSC) 2018, an international conference held in Gothenburg, Sweden, beginning December 9.

http://www.acnnewswire.com/topimg/Low_FujitsuWasedaFig1.jpg
Figure 1: A diagram simulating human behavior and predicting congestion in an airport

Development Background

Event spaces, airports, and shopping malls where crowds gather often deal with problems of congestion, which can lead to lower customer satisfaction and sales. Currently, beyond increasing the number of staff assigned to and supporting at places such as entrances, exits, and points of sale, a number of additional methods exist to alleviate congestion. These include installing signs and maps, and diverting people to less crowded spaces or times with incentives such as coupons. In order to implement more effective congestion alleviation measures, however, it is important to understand what types of people will take what types of actions in response to what types of information. To gain such an understanding, "human behavior simulations" are now garnering attention. Such simulations model the attributes, cognition and actions of diverse groups of people as "agents," and with computer-based virtual modeling of congested situations it is possible to analyze causes and evaluate solutions to congestion. Fujitsu Laboratories and Fujitsu Limited have been conducting research for some time on the modeling of agents, which enables highly refined simulation, and they have applied for 16 patents both inside and outside Japan stemming from this research. Additionally, Takahashi Laboratory, Waseda University, has also developed an agent-based simulation for solving various issues involving social systems such as organization systems, consumer behavior, and corporate strategy.

Issues

In human behavior simulation, the agents may number over several thousand, and each have attributes such as age, gender, and a purpose in visiting a location. The agents refer to information on routes and congestion from sources such as signs, and choose a route to their destination. The action of following that route results in varied levels of congestion in different locations throughout the simulated venue. Conventionally, experts repeat a process of trial and error, analyzing large volumes of data from simulations, proposing hypotheses for the reasons behind congestion and possible countermeasures based on their insight and expertise, and then repeating the simulation to evaluate those hypotheses. Consequently, it might take several months to analyze proposed causes and determine appropriate countermeasures, and in some instances when analysts overlook certain causes there may also be problems finding effective measures to reduce it.

About the Newly Developed Technology

Now, Professor Takahashi and Fujitsu Laboratories have developed a new congestion cause discovery technology that can comprehensively extract the characteristics of agents as they relate to congestion. Previously, because data relating to an agent's attributes, cognition, and actions (e.g. the agent's goal being "eating lunch" or the agent having seen a sign at location A), which get expressed in the form of dozens of database entries, would all be combined to form the agent's characteristics, this process would generate a massive number of combinatorial patterns. With this new technology, which creates logical groups that include similarities in traits and generates clusters of agent characteristics for each group, it becomes possible to reduce the number of combinatorial patterns (Figure 2). This enables the discovery of causes that are directly connected to countermeasures, and answers the question of what sort of measures would be effective in changing the cognition or actions of people with specific sets of attributes.

http://www.acnnewswire.com/topimg/Low_FujitsuWasedaFig2.jpg
Figure 2: Discovering comprehensive congestion causes based on attributes, cognition, and actions

For example, with regard to congestion occurring at store A and store B in a shopping complex, by taking note of "cognition" it could be determined that the congestion in store A was caused by people who had seen signage, and looking at "actions," the congestion in store B was caused by people that finished eating at a restaurant and all came to the store together (Figure 3). This means that the congestion at store A can be effectively dealt with by setting new signage to guide users for other goals, such as use of ATMs, and the congestion at store B could be handled by increasing staff or transaction speed.

http://www.acnnewswire.com/topimg/Low_FujitsuWasedaFig3.jpg
Figure 3: Cause discovery and countermeasure examples gained from this technology

Effects

In 2015, Fujitsu and Professor Takahashi applied this technology to a human behavior simulation developed for analyzing congestion amelioration measures at an airport(1) and evaluated its effectiveness. As a result, they were able to discover about four times as many causes of congestion as analysis by experts. For example, in an analysis of congestion at security screening, the system was able to newly discover that passengers piling up at a specific check-in counter caused sudden congestion at the security screening area. It was confirmed in simulation that implementing measures based on the cause of congestion discovered with this technology would have the effect of reducing the number of people waiting at security by one sixth more than with the measures suggested as a result of expert analysis. On the other hand, the number of staff required for measures would be limited to one third that of the expert's measures. In addition, the time required for this analysis was massively reduced, from several months to a few minutes.

Future Plans

Fujitsu and Waseda University will move forward to conduct field trials using this technology, applying it to congestion at locations like event spaces, airports, and shopping malls, and evaluate its effectiveness, including with such measures as digital signage and the placement of commercial tenants. Fujitsu will also leverage its Human Centric AI Zinrai artificial intelligence and supercomputer technologies, and together with its Fujitsu Technical Computing Solution GREENAGES Citywide Surveillance software, which enables a real-time understanding of urban conditions, will aim to quickly realize a future predictive solution for congestion. Waseda University aims to establish simulation technologies to solve problems, not limited to congestion, by modeling and analyzing complex phenomena in society, markets and organizations, with human behavior included as an essential component.

(1) Using simulations created in a field trial at Fukuoka Airport

About Fujitsu Laboratories

Founded in 1968 as a wholly owned subsidiary of Fujitsu Limited, Fujitsu Laboratories Ltd. is one of the premier research centers in the world. With a global network of laboratories in Japan, China, the United States and Europe, the organization conducts a wide range of basic and applied research in the areas of Next-generation Services, Computer Servers, Networks, Electronic Devices and Advanced Materials. For more information, please see: http://www.fujitsu.com/jp/group/labs/en/.

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 140,000 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 4.1 trillion yen (US $39 billion) for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2018.

For more information, please see www.fujitsu.com.
This release at www.fujitsu.com/global/about/resources/news/press-releases/.

Contact:
Fujitsu Laboratories Ltd.
Artificial Intelligence Laboratory
E-mail: abss@ml.labs.fujitsu.com

Fujitsu Limited
Public and Investor Relations
Tel: +81-3-3215-5259
URL: www.fujitsu.com/global/news/contacts/

Completion ceremony

(left to right) Mr. Sathien Setthasit, Chairman of CBG and Mr. Hideo Ichikawa, Chairman of SDK

TOKYO, Dec 7, 2018 - (JCN Newswire) - Showa Denko (SDK; TSE:4004), Showa Aluminum Can Corporation (SAC), a consolidated subsidiary of SDK, and Carabao Group PCL (CBG), a leading beverage maker headquartered in Bangkok, jointly held a ceremony on December 6 for the completion of a new aluminum can factory owned and operated by Asia Can Manufacturing Co., Ltd. (ACM). ACM is a can manufacturing company established in June 2017 as a joint venture among SDK, SAC and CBG, and had been conducting the project to construct the new factory since then.

The Showa Denko Group positions its aluminum can business as "Growth-accelerating" business in its ongoing medium-term business plan "Project 2020+," and has been promoting business expansion strategy targeted at Southeast Asia. As a result of the completion of the new aluminum can factory of ACM, Showa Denko Group's capacity to manufacture aluminum cans in Southeast Asia has been expanded to 3 billion cans a year, including that of Hanacans Joint Stock Company of Vietnam.

After the start-up of operations of the new factory, ACM will mainly manufacture aluminum cans for CBG's beverages for export from Thailand. CBG aims to expand its overseas sales, centering on Southeast Asian countries, China and the United Kingdom. ACM will support CBG's overseas operations through stable supply of high-quality aluminum cans manufactured by leading-edge technologies and quality management system built up by SAC over many years.

Outline of the joint corporation
Company name: Asia Can Manufacturing Co., Ltd.
Scope of business: Production and sale of aluminum cans
Construction site: Bang Pakong, Chachoengsao Province, the Kingdom of Thailand
Establishment: June 15, 2017
Capital: 700 million bahts
Shareholders: CBG (74%); SAC (24%); SDK (2%)

About Showa Denko K.K.

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

Contact:
Showa Denko K.K.  Public Relations Office, Tel: +81-3-5470-3235.

TOKYO, Dec 7, 2018 - (JCN Newswire) - In conjunction with the capital-related measures affecting its Group company Mitsubishi Aircraft Corporation (Mitsubishi Aircraft) described in the Press Information of October 31, 2018 ("MHI Increases Capital in Mitsubishi Aircraft Corporation"), Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. (MHI) has canceled 50 billion yen of the total debt owed to it by Mitsubishi Aircraft and taken over the company's subscription shares in their entirety. As a result of these measures, effective today a capital increase in Mitsubishi Aircraft has been completed in the amount of 170 billion yen.

After the capital increase, Mitsubishi Aircraft's paid-in capital and capital reserve each now stand at 135 billion yen. The capital-related measures indicated above will strengthen Mitsubishi Aircraft's business foundation and drive development of the MRJ forward.

About Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd.

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) Group is one of the world's leading industrial firms. For more than 130 years, we have channeled big thinking into solutions that move the world forward - advancing the lives of everyone who shares our planet. We deliver innovative and integrated solutions across a wide range of industries, covering land, sea, sky and even space. MHI Group employs 80,000 people across 400 locations, operating in three business domains: "Power Systems," "Industry & Infrastructure," "Aircraft, Defense & Space." We have a consolidated revenue of around 40 billion U.S. Dollars. We aim to contribute to environmental sustainability while achieving global growth, using our leading-edge technologies. By bringing people and ideas together as one, we continue to pave the way to a future of shared success.

For more information, please visit MHI's website: https://www.mhi.com
For Technology, Trends and Tangents, visit MHI's new online media SPECTRA: https://spectra.mhi.com

Contact:
Corporate Communication Department
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd.
Email: mediacontact_global@mhi.co.jp
Tel: +81-(0)3-6716-2168
Fax: +81-(0)3-6716-5860

Yancoal Australia Ltd. Listing Day

HONG KONG, Dec 7, 2018 - (ACN Newswire) - Yancoal Australia Ltd ("Yancoal" or the "Company", Stock code: 3668.HK) successfully listed on the Main Board of The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited ("HKEx") yesterday ("HK Listing"). With the HK Listing, Yancoal, Australia's largest pure-play coal producer, now has a dual primary listing on both the HKEx and the Australian Securities Exchange ("ASX").

As part of its HK Listing, Yancoal also conducted a global offering and has issued 59,441,900 shares yesterday at an offer price of HK$23.48 per share (before the exercise of the over-allotment option). Yancoal will receive net proceeds of approximately HK$1.183 billion. Yancoal is also undertaking an Australian entitlement offer which is anticipated to complete at the end of this year. Morgan Stanley Asia Limited, CMB International Capital Limited and BOCI Asia Limited are the joint sponsors.

Offering Investors a Differentiated Investment Positioning

Yancoal listed on the ASX in 2012. With its dual-primary listing on the HKEx, the Company becomes the largest HKEx-listed exporter of high quality seaborne thermal coal.

Yancoal believes that it offers an attractive investment proposition relative to its HKEx-listed peers. Yancoal owns a portfolio of world-class coal assets in Australia (a comparatively low-risk jurisdiction) with supporting rail and port infrastructure. Yancoal's export-oriented business model combined with its ability to produce high value quality coal allows the Company to secure favourable pricing and be better able to access the PRC market as the government restricts coal production and imports that do not meet their increasingly strict requirements on energy content and trace element levels. Yancoal also retains state-owned enterprise support, in particular through its major shareholder Yanzhou Coal Mining Company Limited, and access to attractive funding resources, and is well capitalised and is deleveraging further using strong operating cashflow.

Yancoal is committed to continuing its strategic growth and maximising new opportunities to build its business as a leading low-cost coal producer in the global seaborne market with a focus on creating long-term value for its shareholders. The management team remains focused on investing in the Australian resources sector, implementing operational efficiency, reducing costs, exploring new market opportunities and providing customers with the certainty of product quality and delivery.

Product Portfolio Optimisation to Grasp Opportunities in Coal Industry

Sectoral analysts expect the demand for coal will grow in Asian markets such as India, which will continue to rely on seaborne thermal coal and have significant shortfalls in supply. The seaborne thermal coal market has entered a period of transition with supply becoming more constrained when compared to demand. It is expected that Australia will continue to be an alternative and competitive coal source for this growing market, bringing Yancoal more opportunities for market development.

With a strong focus on exporting to key Asian markets, Yancoal intends to continue to develop its core thermal coal and coking coal market business. The Company's operating scale and asset diversity enable it to provide suitable blended coal to meet the emerging needs of customers across Asia. The acquisition of Coal & Allied completed in September 2017 provided Yancoal with a broader range of coal grades, enabling it to achieve hybrid synergies on several contracts. Given the continued emergence of HELE power stations in major Asian markets, Yancoal is well placed to supply mixed coal to meet the high energy, low emission requirements and specifications of such power stations.

Yancoal's Chairman Baocai Zhang comments: "Yancoal's dual-primary listing on the HKEx and the ASX allows the Company to increase diversity of its investor base and increase share liquidity. The dual-listing will also enable Yancoal to obtain better access to a wider range of private and institutional investors, increase its exposure to the Hong Kong and PRC markets, enhance the Company's profile in the Asia region and better position the Company for organic and inorganic growth in the future."

HONG KONG, Dec 7, 2018 - (ACN Newswire) - Aptorum Group Limited ("Aptorum", or the "Company"), a Hong Kong based pharmaceutical company currently in the preclinical stage, dedicated to developing and commercializing therapeutic projects and diagnostic technologies to tackle unmet medical needs, today announced that on December 3, 2018, its registration statement on Form F-1, relating to a proposed initial public offering ("IPO" or the "Offering") of its Class A Ordinary Shares, par value US$1.00 per share (the "Shares"), at a price to the public of $15.80 per share, for gross proceeds of a minimum of US$10 million and up to US$30 million, has been declared effective by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC"). The Company is offering up to 1,898,734 Shares and up to 51,990 underwriter warrants while certain selling shareholders are offering up to 1,595,235 Shares (collectively, the "Registered Securities"). None of the gross proceeds will be used to purchase the selling shareholders' securities. The Shares are expected to begin trading on The NASDAQ Global Market on December 18, 2018, under the symbol APM. This Offering is expected to close on or before December 12, 2018, subject to customary closing conditions.

The Offering will be sold on a best-efforts basis. Boustead Securities, LLC, China Renaissance Securities (HK) Limited, and AMTD Global Markets Limited are acting as Co-Underwriters for the Offering.

As stated above, a registration statement relating to the Registered Securities (File No.: 333-227198) has been filed with the SEC and was declared effective on December 3, 2018. The Offering is made only by means of a written prospectus forming part of the effective registration statement. A copy of the prospectus may be obtained for free by visiting EDGAR on the SEC's website at www.sec.gov. Alternatively, copies of the prospectus relating to this Offering may be obtained from: Boustead Securities, LLC, email: offerings@boustead1828.com or by calling +1 (949) 502-4409 or standard mail at Boustead Securities, LLC, Attn: Equity Capital Markets, 6 Venture, Suite 265, Irvine, CA 92618, USA.

This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell, or the solicitation of an offer to buy any of the Company's securities, nor shall such securities be offered or sold in the United States absent registration or an applicable exemption from registration, nor shall there be any sale of such securities in any state or jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation, or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such state or jurisdiction.

About Aptorum Group Limited
We are a Hong Kong based pharmaceutical company currently in the preclinical stage, dedicated to developing and commercializing a broad range of therapeutic and diagnostic technologies to tackle unmet medical needs. We have obtained exclusive licenses for our technologies. In addition, we are also developing certain proprietary technologies as product candidates. We are pursuing therapeutic and diagnostic projects (including projects seeking to use extracts or derivatives from natural substances to treat diseases) in neurology, infectious diseases, gastroenterology, oncology and other disease areas. We also have projects focused on surgical robotics. In addition, we opened a medical clinic, AML Clinic, in June 2018. Its initial focus is on treatment of chronic diseases resulting from modern sedentary lifestyles and aging population. For more information about the Company, please visit www.aptorumgroup.com.

About Boustead Securities, LLC
Boustead Securities, LLC ("Boustead") is an investment banking firm that executes and advises on IPOs, mergers and acquisitions, capital raises and restructuring assignments in a wide array of industries, geographies and transactions, for a broad client base. Boustead's core value proposition is the ability to create opportunity through innovative solutions and tenacious execution. With experienced professionals in the United States and around the world, Boustead's team moves quickly and provides a broad spectrum of sophisticated financial advice and services. For more information, visit www.boustead1828.com.

About China Renaissance Securities (Hong Kong) Limited
China Renaissance ("CR") is a leading financial institution that combines private placement advisory, M&A advisory, securities underwriting, research, sales and trading, investment management and other financial services. Providing one-stop financial services across mainland China, Hong Kong and the United States, CR operates a competitive and unique international network that connects China's capital markets with the rest of the world, serving new economy entrepreneurs and investors globally. CR has offices in Beijing, Shanghai, Hong Kong and New York, with approximately 600 employees. As of March 31, 2018, CR had advised on approximately 700 transactions worth over US$100 billion since the inception, and CR had AUM of approximately US$4.1 billion in new economy investments. For more information, visit www.huaxing.com.

About AMTD Global Markets Limited
AMTD Global Markets Limited ("AMTD") is a Hong Kong-based comprehensive financial institution dedicated to serving and bridging capital and resources across mainland China, Hong Kong and the globe. As one of the largest Hong Kong-based non-bank financial institution, AMTD has been widely recognized as a pre-eminent capital markets player with leading cross-border investment banking capabilities in Asia. Founded in 2003, AMTD has a long history of promoting technological innovations and the development of New Economy sectors, especially in the fields of FinTech, Artificial Intelligence and Healthcare. For more information, visit www.amtdgroup.com.
Safe Harbor Statement

This press release contains forward-looking statements as defined by the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements include statements concerning plans, objectives, goals, strategies, future events or performance, and underlying assumptions and other statements that are other than statements of historical facts. When the Company uses words such as "may, "will, "intend," "should," "believe," "expect," "anticipate," "project," "estimate" or similar expressions that do not relate solely to historical matters, it is making forward-looking statements. Specifically, the Company's statements regarding listing on the NASDAQ Global Market and the completion of the IPO are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are not guarantee of future performance and involve risks and uncertainties that may cause the actual results to differ materially from the Company's expectations discussed in the forward-looking statements. These statements are subject to uncertainties and risks including, but not limited to, risks and uncertainties related to the satisfaction of the customary closing conditions related to the IPO and the listing on NASDAQ . For these reasons, among others, investors are cautioned not to place undue reliance upon any forward-looking statements in this press release. Additional factors are discussed in the Company's filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, which are available for review at www.sec.gov. The Company undertakes no obligation to publicly revise these forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances that arise after the date hereof unless required by the applicable laws, regulations or rules.

HONG KONG, Dec 7, 2018 - (ACN Newswire) - Ping An of China Asset Management (Hong Kong) Co., Ltd. ("Ping An Asset Management (HK)" or "the Company"), one of the leading asset managers in the region, is pleased to announce that the Company launches two exchanged-traded funds (ETF) - Ping An Nasdaq 5HANDL ETF (Stock Code: 3198) and Ping An Nasdaq AI and Robotics ETF (Stock Code: 3023) listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange today.

Leveraging on Systematic, Quantitative and Scientific investment methodologies, Ping An ETFs are meant to offer investors transparency, consistency, low fees and passive management. Ping An Nasdaq 5HANDL* ETF is the first multi-asset ETF in Hong Kong market that aims to offer exposure to a balanced portfolio, and Ping An Nasdaq AI & Robotics ETF is the first Hong Kong-listed ETF with AI and robotics theme that allows investors to ride on the global AI and Robotics trend.

Ping An Nasdaq 5HANDL* ETF tracks the Nasdaq 5HANDLTM Index, which tracks a diversified, multi-asset portfolio of low-cost ETFs and combines exposure to multiple asset classes like equity, fixed-income, mortgage-backed securities and real estate investment trusts. The objective of Nasdaq 5HANDLTM Index is to maximize risk-adjusted returns while supporting a targeted (but not guaranteed) 5% annual distribution rate.

Ping An Nasdaq AI & Robotics ETF tracks the Nasdaq CTA Artificial Intelligence and Robotics Index, which is designed to track the performance of companies engaged in the artificial intelligence and robotics segment of the technology, industrial, medical and other economic sectors.

As a low-cost asset allocation tool, ETFs allow investors to pursue different investment objectives. The new ETFs bring the total number of Ping An ETFs to six, as Ping An strives to offer product diversity both in asset classes and performance.

"Artificial Intelligence is increasingly integrated into every realm of our lives," said Chi Kit Chai, Head of Capital Markets and CIO at Ping An. "Thematic based investing can provide an effective platform to invest in a basket of stocks in the AI & Robotics sector. The 5HANDLTM Index targets investors with an aim for distribution of income for longer term horizon."

"The trend for increasing adoption of ETFs by asset managers is expected to gain traction in Asia due to efficiency and cost awareness. Ping An Nasdaq 5HANDL* is also the first multi-asset ETF that offers an easy way for asset-class diversification," said Mona Chung, Head of ETF and Cross Asset Investment at Ping An.

"The Nasdaq CTA Artificial Intelligence and Robotics Index and the Nasdaq 5HANDLTM Index are landmark indexes that demonstrate our industry's ability to drive economic growth and create new areas of opportunity, which is happening with a particular intensity in the APAC region" said Dave Gedeon, Vice President and Head of Research and Development for Nasdaq Global Indexes. "Nasdaq CTA Artificial Intelligence and Robotics Index serves as an important benchmark for tracking the adoption of AI across a broad range of economic sectors. The Nasdaq 5HANDLTM Index represents a first for Nasdaq in China as an ETF of ETFs, and this model proves how sophisticated investors can leverage indexing to create unique income opportunities."

Table 1: Key fund facts
ETF Name Ping An Nasdaq 5HANDL* ETF Ping An Nasdaq AI & Robotics ETF
Stock Code 3198 3023
Underlying Index Nasdaq 5HANDLTM Index Nasdaq CTA Artificial Intelligence and Robotics Index
Management Fee 0.55% (per annum) 0.55% (per annum)
Exchange The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong

About Ping An
Ping An of China Asset Management (Hong Kong) Co., Ltd. ("Ping An Asset Management (HK)") was established in May 2006, and is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Ping An Group (2318.HK). Ping An Asset Management (HK) is licensed under the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) in Hong Kong to carry on Type 1 (dealing in securities), Type 4 (advising on securities) and Type 9 (asset management) regulated activities.

Ping An Asset Management (HK) accepts investment mandates from a diverse group of private and institutional clients, including other subsidiaries of the Ping An Group as well as external clients. Ping An Asset Management (HK) manages exchange-traded funds (ETFs) listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange and unit trust for the retail market. Ping An Asset Management (HK) also provides Qualified Domestic Institutional Investors (QDII) and Qualified Foreign Institutional Investors (QFII)/ Renminbi Qualified Foreign Institutional Investors (RQFII) advisory services to institutions.

Disclaimer
The information contained in this material is for reference only and do not constitute any investment advice or solicitation. You shall not make any investment decision relying on this material. Investments involve risks, and securities prices may go down as well as up; past performance is not indicative of future performance. The author has endeavored to ensure the accuracy and reliability of all information (including data) provided, but the information shall not be interpreted as a guideline for consumers. The Company accepts no responsibility or liability for any loss or damages suffered by any person due to any inaccuracy or omission in respect of any information provided in the material.

Investors should read the prospectus and Product Key Facts Statement ("KFS") of the investment product (the "Offering Document") carefully for further details including product features and risk factors, and consider their own investment objectives and other circumstances before investing in the investment product.

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