SBC MEDICAL REPORTS 13 PCT RISE IN Q2 REVENUE, NET INCOME JUMPS 335 PCT

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 14 (Bernama) -- SBC Medical Group Holdings Inc (SBC Medical) reported a 13 per cent year-on-year (yoy) increase in consolidated revenue to US$49 million for the second quarter (Q2) of fiscal 2026 ended June 30. (US$1 = RM4.08)

Net income attributable to SBC Medical surged 335 per cent yoy to US$11 million, while adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) increased 32 per cent to US$20 million.

Basic earnings per share jumped 400 per cent year-on-year to US$0.10, while net income margin increased 16 percentage points to 22 per cent and adjusted EBITDA margin climbed six percentage points to 41 per cent.

In a statement, SBC Medical Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Yoshiyuki Aikawa said the company was increasingly confident that its growth reacceleration reflected strengthening underlying fundamentals, with the convergence of healthcare and artificial intelligence (AI) becoming a source of competitive advantage.

He said the company is leveraging more than 26 years of accumulated management data to develop AI-enabled services, including AI-powered call centres, AI-driven marketing and AI-assisted site selection for new clinics.

The company said the quarter marked a reacceleration in growth, supported by the expansion of its points business following a change in operating policy and higher service fees driven by enhanced AI-enabled support capabilities.

The medical corporations supported by SBC Medical also continued to expand, with the number of locations increasing by 34 yoy to 287 as of end-June. Last-12-month patient visits reached 6.9 million, up 10 per cent yoy, while average spending per visit rose nine per cent to US$287.

The company said fee revisions for call centre services provided to five affiliated medical corporations, together with separate fee revisions reflecting expanded support for Rize Clinic and Gorilla Clinic, are expected to increase annual service fees by approximately US$15 million if their impact is realised for a full year.

Looking ahead, SBC Medical said it will deepen its multi-brand strategy in aesthetic dermatology in Japan, expand its non-aesthetic business and accelerate international growth through its collaboration with OrangeTwist in the United States and expansion in Southeast Asia, anchored in Thailand. The company also plans to enter the longevity market.

-- BERNAMA

IHERB MARKS 30TH ANNIVERSARY WITH GLOBAL SALE, PLATFORM EXPANSION

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 13 (Bernama) -- iHerb, a global eCommerce retailer of vitamins, minerals, supplements and health and wellness products, is celebrating its 30th anniversary with its biggest sales event of the year and the addition of 10 newly supported languages to its shopping platform.

In a statement, the company said the milestone comes as it serves well over 16 million customers across approximately 180 countries, reflecting growing consumer interest in proactive health and wellness.

The anniversary promotions will begin on Aug 19 ahead of the company's September anniversary, offering discounts of up to 30 per cent across more than 600 brands, alongside daily flash deals and other customer rewards.

iHerb Chief Executive Officer, Emun Zabihi said the company's 30-year milestone reflects the growth of its customers and team members, adding that it remains focused on improving the customer experience and investing in trust, access and convenience.

The platform's newly supported languages include European Spanish, European Portuguese, Georgian, Bosnian, Azerbaijani, Kazakh, Armenian, Farsi, Hindi and Cantonese, bringing its total language offerings to 46.

iHerb said each language experience is localised to enable customers across the Americas, Europe, the Middle East and Asia to browse products and complete purchases in their preferred language.

Founded in 1996, iHerb has grown from selling its first supplement online from an apartment in Pasadena, California, into a global direct-to-consumer wellness platform, supported by a logistics network of climate-controlled and GMP and/or ISO-compliant facilities.

-- BERNAMA

How India’s automotive rise could reshape competition in Malaysia

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 6 (Bernama) -- As Malaysia’s automotive market becomes increasingly diverse, India’s growing strength in engineering, manufacturing and mobility could introduce another source of global competition, giving consumers more reasons to expect better. 

For much of Malaysia’s modern automotive history, the competitive map was relatively easy to read. National marques occupied a unique position, Japanese manufacturers built deep consumer trust, European brands dominated much of the premium segment, while Korean automakers steadily gained ground through design, technology and value.

More recently, Chinese manufacturers have transformed that landscape, bringing greater competition, accelerating electric vehicle adoption and raising expectations around technology, features and pricing.

Long recognised as one of the world's largest automotive markets, India is increasingly evolving beyond its reputation as a cost-efficient manufacturing hub. Today, its competitive advantage lies not only in production scale, but also in engineering talent, software expertise, advanced components and a sophisticated supplier ecosystem, positioning the country as a growing source of globally competitive vehicles and mobility solutions.

This matters for Malaysia. A broader pool of credible automotive players has the potential to sharpen competition, raise industry standards and ultimately deliver greater value for consumers.

In the 2024–25 financial year, India exported more than 5.3 million vehicles while passenger vehicle exports reached a record of around 770,000 units. McKinsey also projects strong growth for India's automotive components sector, driven by increasing global demand, skilled talent and shifting international supply chains.

Modern automotive competitiveness is no longer measured solely by the number of vehicles produced. Increasingly, it depends on the quality of engineering, software integration, electronics, safety technologies and the ability to meet diverse consumer expectations across international markets. As Indian manufacturers invest in these capabilities, they are seeking to compete not only on affordability, but also on technology, quality and overall ownership experience.

Companies such as Tata Motors illustrate this broader evolution.

Part of the Tata Group, one of India's largest and most established global enterprises, Tata Motors has grown into an international automotive company with operations spanning passenger vehicles, commercial vehicles and electric mobility. Its presence across multiple international markets reflects decades of engineering development and manufacturing experience rather than a first attempt at overseas expansion.

While speculation occasionally surrounds the company's potential interest in new markets, any future success would ultimately depend on the same fundamentals expected of every automotive brand — products that meet local needs, dependable after-sales support and the ability to build lasting consumer confidence. Its significance lies less in representing a single company than in demonstrating how India's automotive sector has evolved into one capable of producing globally competitive manufacturers.

Malaysia's increasingly competitive automotive landscape has made these considerations more important than ever. As India's automotive industry continues to mature, its manufacturers will increasingly be judged against these same expectations. Engineering capability may attract attention, but lasting success will depend on product quality, customer experience and sustained investment in local markets.

Ultimately, greater competition is rarely about having more brands alone. It is about creating better products, higher standards and more meaningful choices for consumers.

SOURCE: GO COMMUNICATIONS

FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT:
Name: Celine Lau
Tel: 016-292 2111
Email: celinelau@gocomm.com.my 

--BERNAMA 

EMERGINE INTRODUCES AI SEARCH VISIBILITY PLATFORM IN SINGAPORE

 

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 7 (Bernama) -- Emergine has made its global debut at the What'sNEXT 2026 conference in Singapore, marking the international launch of its artificial intelligence (AI)-powered search visibility platform.

The platform evolved from KAWO GEO and was developed by the team behind KAWO, a social media intelligence platform serving more than 500 brands.

In a statement, Emergine said the platform is designed to help brands navigate, monitor and manage the rapidly evolving generative search landscape across leading global and local AI ecosystems.

During the event, the company also previewed its "2026 Overview of GEO Citations for Mainstream AI Models" research report, which was officially released on Aug 5.

The report, jointly produced by Emergine and GrowthBox, analyses thousands of real AI interactions across multiple industries and models to examine how AI engines discover, evaluate and reference brand content.

Emergine aims to help brands navigate the evolving AI-driven search landscape by turning complex algorithmic insights into actionable intelligence.

As more users rely on AI platforms to discover information and make decisions, the platform enables businesses to better understand how their content is identified, evaluated and referenced across global AI ecosystems.

-- BERNAMA

Univar Solutions Acquires H.M. Royal, Expanding Reach in Rubber, Plastics, and Adhesive Additives in the United States

Strengthens service and supply across key U.S. markets by bringing together a century of technical expertise and trusted customers relationships

DOWNERS GROVE, Ill., Aug 4 (Bernama-GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Univar Solutions LLC (“Univar Solutions” or “the Company”), a leading global solutions provider to users of specialty ingredients and chemicals, today announced it has acquired H.M. Royal, a highly respected 101-year-old specialty distributor of rubber, plastics, and adhesive additives. The addition of H.M. Royal strengthens the Performance Materials business within the Ingredients + Specialties from Univar Solutions division, expanding access to specialized products, technical knowledge, and long-standing customer relationships, particularly on the East and West Coasts, where H.M. Royal has a strong presence. As the organizations come together, H.M. Royal customers will gain access to Univar Solutions’ broader scale, logistics network, and digital tools, while continuing to benefit from the technical expertise and trusted relationships that have been central to H.M. Royal’s success.

"We’re proud to welcome H.M. Royal into the Ingredients + Specialties from Univar Solutions family,” said Nick Powell, CEO of Ingredients + Specialties from Univar Solutions. “They bring deep technical expertise in rubber, plastics, and adhesives, along with long-standing customer and supplier partnerships, and together we offer an enhanced portfolio and team of professionals to better support customers in the U.S. Underscored by a shared commitment to service and excellence, this strategic partnership builds on both companies’ legacy of values-first and customer-centric business.”

“H.M. Royal has long been a trusted partner in the rubber, plastics adhesives, sealants, and protective coatings spaces, and this marks an important step forward for our Performance Materials business,” said Matthew Oliver, Senior Vice President of Performance Materials for Univar Solutions. “This combination allows us to create a more connected platform in rubber and plastics, strengthen collaboration, and open new opportunities for growth across the value chain. We are committed to preserving and building on the technical knowledge, supplier relationships, and market focus that have made H.M. Royal successful, especially in applications where consistency, processing performance, and reliable supply matter most.”

The combined organization is expected to deliver broader product access, extended technical support, and greater supply continuity for customers and supplier partners, building on both companies’ century-plus legacy of service and expertise.

“For more than 100 years, H.M. Royal has built its reputation on strong relationships, integrity, technical expertise, and an unwavering commitment to our customers and suppliers,” said Joseph Royal, President of H.M. Royal. “We are excited to join Univar Solutions, a company that shares these core values. Together, we look forward to building on H.M. Royal’s proud legacy and creating new opportunities for our employees, customers, and supply partners.”

About Univar Solutions
Univar Solutions is a leading global specialty chemical and ingredient distributor representing a premier portfolio from the world’s leading producers. With one of the industry’s largest private transportation fleets and technical sales force, unparalleled logistics know-how, deep market and regulatory knowledge, formulation and recipe development, and leading digital tools, the Company is well-positioned to offer tailored solutions and value-added services to a wide range of markets, industries, and applications. While fulfilling its purpose to help keep communities healthy, fed, clean, and safe, Univar Solutions is committed to helping customers and suppliers innovate and focus on Growing Together. Learn more at univarsolutions.com.

About H.M. Royal
H.M. Royal is a long-established distributor of specialty raw materials and chemicals, backed by decades of supplier relationships and 101 years of industry experience. The company offers over 1,000 chemical grades and supports customers with reliable supply, repackaging, and inventory management capabilities tailored to their needs. With 10 strategically located warehouses across the United States, H.M. Royal is positioned to provide timely delivery in quantities ranging from small bags to full truckloads. Its product portfolio serves a wide range of industries, including transportation, electronics, medical, construction, agriculture, mining, and industrial markets. As a family-owned business with third-generation leadership, H.M. Royal emphasizes personal service, dependable support, and cost-effective solutions for North American customers.

Forward-Looking Statements
This communication contains “forward-looking statements” under applicable law regarding financial and operating items relating to the Company’s business. Forward-looking statements generally can be identified by words such as “believes,” "expects," "may," "will," "should," "could," "seeks," "intends," "plans," "estimates," "anticipates" or other comparable terms. All forward-looking statements made in this communication are qualified by this cautionary language.

Forward-looking statements are subject to known and unknown risks and uncertainties, many of which may be beyond the Company's control, that could result in expectations not being realized or could otherwise materially and adversely affect the Company's business, financial condition, results of operations or cash flows. Although the forward-looking statements are based on what management believes to be reasonable assumptions, we caution you that the forward-looking information presented in this communication is not a guarantee of future events or results, and that actual events or results may differ materially from those made in or suggested by the forward-looking information contained in this communication. For additional information regarding factors that could affect the Company, please see the Company's most recent annual report and other financial reports, including the information set forth under the caption "Risk Factors." Any forward-looking statements represent the Company's views only as of the date of this communication and should not be relied upon as representing the Company's views as of any subsequent date, and the Company undertakes no obligation, other than as may be required by law, to update any forward-looking statement.

FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

Media Relations
Dwayne Roark
+1 331-777-6031
mediarelations@univarsolutions.com 

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at
https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/a9bb0270-0253-4491-bae2-351ba1147ad6  

SOURCE: Univar Solutions LLC

--BERNAMA 

KIOXIA GP Series SSD Wins FMS “Best Of Show” Award

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 5 (Bernama) -- Kioxia Corporation announced that its KIOXIA GP Series PCIe NVMe solid-state drive (SSD) has received the FMS: the Future of Memory and Storage ‘Best of Show’ award in the ‘Specialized Storage’ category.

Kioxia said in a statement that the award recognises product and solution excellence, honouring companies and technologies shaping the future of the memory and storage industry.

Purpose-built for artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure, the KIOXIA GP1 PCIe 6.0 SSD is part of the GP Series, which Kioxia describes as the industry's first Super High Input/Output Operations Per Second (IOPS) PCIe SSD optimised for graphics processing unit (GPU) direct access.

Powered by KIOXIA XL-FLASH generation 2 low-latency flash memory, the SSD delivers up to 10 million random-read IOPS with 512-byte data access, enabling flash memory to serve as a high-performance memory extension tier that can improve GPU utilisation for AI workloads.

“As AI infrastructure evolves, storage is becoming a critical enabler of next-generation system architectures. The KIOXIA GP Series reflects KIOXIA's continued innovation in flash memory and AI storage technologies,” said Future of Memory and Storage Conference Director, George Mullins.

Kioxia said the GP1 Series extends high bandwidth memory (HBM) with a high-performance flash tier, allowing AI systems to access larger datasets more efficiently without relying solely on costly in-node HBM or dynamic random-access memory (DRAM) expansion.

The company added that evaluation samples of the KIOXIA GP1 Series will be made available to select customers by the end of 2026.

-- BERNAMA

Tokenized Equities Surge 140% in 2026 as New DeFiLlama Research Maps the Market

VICTORIA, Seychelles, Aug 6 (Bernama-GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Bitget, the world's largest Universal Exchange (UEX), today highlighted key findings from a new independent DeFiLlama research report examining the rapid growth and evolving market structure of tokenized equities. According to the report, tokenization’s active market capitalization has grown by more than 140% in 2026, increasing from $814 million at the beginning of the year to nearly $2 billion at the time of publication. The research explores how leading tokenized equity platforms are evolving across market structure, liquidity, settlement, and execution quality as adoption continues to accelerate.

The report evaluates leading tokenized equity platforms across brokerage integration, reserve verification, dividend treatment, settlement mechanisms, and trading infrastructure. It also benchmarks quoted liquidity and execution quality across multiple venues, providing an independent assessment of how the tokenized equities market is evolving.

DeFiLlama's analysis found that Bitget recorded the lowest median bid-ask spread at 0.83 basis points and the deepest top-of-book liquidity across all five tokenized equity markets evaluated. In its broader execution benchmark covering 36 stock perpetuals and eight metals and commodity perpetuals, Bitget led 32, 34 and 33 contracts across the 5, 10 and 50 basis point depth measurements respectively, while also recording the greatest aggregate order-book depth across all measured depth ranges. The findings suggest that as tokenized equity infrastructure matures, execution quality and liquidity are becoming increasingly important differentiators between platforms.

“A tokenized stock is only as good as the market behind it. Investors don't care how the asset is packaged if they can't trade it efficiently,” said Gracy Chen, CEO of Bitget. “That's why liquidity and execution matter. DeFiLlama found Bitget recorded the lowest median bid-ask spread and the deepest top-of-book liquidity across the markets they evaluated. As this market grows, those are the things investors will increasingly expect.”

The report also examines adoption trends within Bitget's Reality rTokens, which generated more than $1.16 billion in cumulative trading volume between June and July. Semiconductor and technology-linked assets accounted for the majority of activity, underscoring continued demand for tokenized exposure to innovation-driven public companies.

For more information, read the full DeFiLlama report here.

About Bitget

Bitget is the world's largest Universal Exchange (UEX), serving over 125 million users and offering access to over 2M crypto tokens, 500+ tokenized stocks, ETFs, commodities, FX, and precious metals such as gold. The ecosystem is committed to helping users trade smarter with its AI agent, which co-pilots trade execution. Bitget is driving crypto adoption through strategic partnerships such as MotoGP™. Aligned with its global impact strategy, Bitget has joined hands with UNICEF to support blockchain education for 1.1 million people by 2027. Bitget currently leads in the tokenized TradFi market, providing the industry's lowest fees and highest liquidity across 150 regions worldwide.

For more information, visit: Website | X | Telegram | LinkedIn | Discord

For media inquiries, please contact: media@bitget.com

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A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/9e07fe00-fe20-4588-a783-9681ef299933 

SOURCE: Bitget Limited

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