Anunta Tech joins Gartner® Peer Insights™ Customer First program

KUALA LUMPUR, June 29 (Bernama) -- Anunta Tech, a leading Managed Desktop-as-a-Service (DaaS) provider, announced joining the Gartner Peer InsightsCustomer First program for Enterprise DaaS product(s) in the DaaS market.

Gartner defines DaaS Market as “solutions that provide a virtualised desktop or Windows application experience to workers, entirely from a remote hosted location such as the public cloud.”

“We are excited to be part of the Gartner Peer Insights Customer First program. We believe it showcases our commitment to deliver innovative DaaS products to our customers by putting them at the centre” said Sivakumar Ramamurthy, CEO, Anunta Tech in a statement.

“Over the years, we have sought open customer feedback to drive product innovations at Anunta and feedback received on neutral and industry-respected platforms like Gartner Peer Insights will augment our customer-first approach.

We are grateful for all the feedback we receive from our customers in our journey to design innovative DaaS offerings.

Over the last decade, Anunta has become a trusted adviser in the DaaS market, forming long-term partnerships with global enterprises and enabling them in their digital transformation journey with continuous innovation and focus on end-user experience.

More details at https://www.anuntatech.com/

-- BERNAMA

YOUTHS DREAM BIG IN QIANHAI INTEGRATING INTO THE GREATER BAY AREA

SHENZHEN, China, June 29, 2022 /Xinhua-AsiaNet/--

On June 27, "2022 Qianhai Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao-Taiwan Youth Innovation and Entrepreneurship Competition" was officially kicked off, marking the start of series of activities "Shenzhen-Hong Kong Cooperation to Create the Future" to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the return of Hong Kong to the motherland, according to Authority of Qianhai Shenzhen-Hong Kong Modern Service Industry Cooperation Zone. For many ambitious young people, this promises more opportunities and a better start. Sunny Zhou, a young lady from Guangdong, is director of a Macao-funded company. Her project won the silver medal in the finals of the competition last year. "The contest has provided us an opportunity to meet many industry experts and entrepreneurial partners from different places, and has brought us new ideas for entrepreneurship," said Sunny Zhou. To provide greater support to participants, this year's competition is fully upgraded. The winning projects can directly advance to the Industry Finals of China (Shenzhen) Innovation and Entrepreneurship Competition. Professional mentors are introduced to provide one-on-one counseling. Besides, the winners can be given priority to settle in Qianhai Shenzhen-Hong Kong Youth Innovation and Entrepreneur Hub (QSHKYIEH) and enjoy relevant preferential policies. The event will also carry out activities such as Creator Camp, Entrepreneurial Counseling Sessions and Investment Matchmaking Sessions to build a good platform for the youth to communicate, cooperate and advance. The competition has set four sub-regions, with a total prize of more than CNY7 million. The event has been held for six consecutive years since 2016, taking in altogether about 6,000 entries, including nearly 3,000 from Hong Kong, Macao and other places. By promoting the transformation of relevant scientific and technological achievements, Qianhai has become a "dream-big place" for many youths. Lee Jee Bong from Hong Kong, who has once taken part in the contest, is one of such entrepreneurs in Qianhai. Last year, the project of his company was awarded the silver prize in the Enterprise Growth Category of the competition finals. "The technical requirements of our product are high, and we need plenty of professional talents. Qianhai has policies and services appealing to talents, so excellent heads and minds gather. It is easy to get access to the Greater Bay Area and the broader domestic market. That's why we are based here," said Lee Jee Bong.  http://mrem.bernama.com/viewsm.php?idm=43533

VISEO declares acquisition of Asia Anaplan Gold Partner Scanomi

KUALA LUMPUR, June 28 (Bernama) -- VISEO, a global IT company specialising in digital transformation services, and Scanomi, a leading Anaplan Gold partner in Asia, have announced they are joining forces, with the acquisition to enhance the ability of both companies to deploy larger-scale digital projects across the APJ region.

Scanomi is an Anaplan Gold Partner company specialising in managing complex planning & forecasting requirements and delivering exceptional customer success, together with significant contribution in thought leadership.

Headquartered in Singapore, with over 70 clients in Southeast Asia, they have a major presence in Singapore, Malaysia and the Philippines. Their clients are spread across multiple verticals including Pharmaceuticals, CPG & Retail, Telecom, and Hypergrowth among other sectors.

Leveraging on the experience of successfully delivering over 100 implementations, their business consultants implement various business planning & tracking processes for clients, including financial planning, sales & operations planning, workforce planning, and IT projects & portfolio planning.

VISEO has a presence in five continents with more than 2,500 employees worldwide and applies technology as a powerful lever to help its clients transform and innovate.

As a strategic partner of Anaplan since 2014, VISEO has set up a team entirely dedicated to Anaplan implementation projects located both in Europe and Asia. VISEO supports over 50 major retail players on a daily basis in their digital transformation projects as well as their optimisation projects on a global scale.

“We are very pleased and honored to welcome Scanomi to the VISEO Group. We look forward to the positive changes and new opportunities this acquisition will bring as we extend our capabilities and accelerate our business trajectory. It reflects our strong business ambition in APJ and will consolidate our partnership with Anaplan." says Olivier Dhonte, Chairman of the VISEO Group in a statement.

Scanomi Managing Director Umesh Biyani adds: “We are delighted to join forces with VISEO to drive the Connected Planning vision. Scanomi's deep expertise in Anaplan accompanied by VISEO’s business and digital transformation expertise will dovetail the adoption of Connected Planning solutions for Scanomi’s andVISEO’s customers.”

For more information, visit www.viseo.com.

-- BERNAMA

HYTERA HYTALK MC SOLUTION FOR SRI LANKA RAILWAY WINS AWARD AT ICCA 2022

KUALA LUMPUR, June 27 (Bernama) -- Hytera has announced that its Hytera HyTalk MC Solution for Sri Lanka Railway (SLR) won the Best Use of Critical Communications in Transport at the 2022 International Critical Communications Awards (ICCA) held recently in Vienna, Austria, the most prestigious awards in critical communications.

“Hytera considers the contribution it has made as an inspiration and an encouragement for the PMR industry,” said Hytera Chief Marketing Officer, Jim Luo in a statement. 

“We have also won the Best Use of Critical Communications in Utilities at ICCA 2021. All the awards we achieved represent the recognition of Hytera’s convergence communication solutions for various industries.”

Hytera’s integrated HyTalk MC Solution enables train drivers, dispatching controllers and station masters at SLR to easily communicate with each other, thereby ensuring the smooth running of daily operations on trains, in stations, depot areas and control centres.

SLR can interconnect its sites and provide railway personnel with real-time access to critical data, allowing them to better serve passengers and ensure smooth and safe operations for train drivers, to further guarantee the punctuality of trains and reduce railway accidents.

More details on Hytera transport solution at https://www.hytera.com/en/industries/transportation.html.

-- BERNAMA

GLOBAL ASSET-TRACKING SPEND INCREASES TO US$45 BILLION IN 2027 - JUNIPER RESEARCH

KUALA LUMPUR, June 27 (Bernama) -- A new study from Juniper Research has found that global spend on asset tracking by enterprises will increase from US$16 billion in 2022 to US$45 billion in 2027 – a substantial growth of 184 per cent. (US$1 = RM4.399)

According to a statement, the management and security of high-value assets are becoming of increasingly significant importance for many stakeholders, and demand for technologies that provide real‑time monitoring within the supply chain are ever more demanded.

Asset tracking in this context refers to systems that leverage wireless connectivity to remotely monitor asset locations, based on real-time data with the aim of better managing asset condition.

The research predicts that the growing availability and affordability of asset-tracking solutions will drive adoption of managed services amongst the largest enterprises that operate their own supply chains for high-value assets. 

It envisages that the most sought-after solutions will be those which can demonstrate a return on investment by minimising theft and loss of assets during transit.

The report forecasts that the number of assets tracked will reach 24 billion by 2027; increasing from only eight billion in 2022. It urges asset-tracking platform providers to include real-time monitoring solutions that can leverage multiple technologies, including 4G, 5G and GPS. 

The report predicts that this increasing reliance on 5G will present significant opportunities for hardware vendors over the next five years. It anticipates that the growing demand for ‘always connected’ supply chain solutions will drive the interest in 5G-enabled asset-tracking hardware.

In turn, supply chain hardware vendors must focus development on sensors that leverage the data-intensive nature of 5G to provide features such as real-time anti-tampering notifications.

-- BERNAMA

Cloudflare announces new Cloudflare One Partner Program

KUALA LUMPUR, June 24 (Bernama) -- San Francisco, CA-headquartered Cloudflare Inc, the security, performance, and reliability company helping to build a better Internet, has announced the new Cloudflare One Partner Program.

The Program presents a new way for the channel to integrate and extend Cloudflare One, the only cloud-native solution with global network scale, now with direct paths for partners from full enablement to robust incentives.

By building on Cloudflare’s comprehensive Zero Trust, Network-as-a-Service, and Cloud Email Security offerings, the Cloudflare One Partner Program enables partners to provide the architecture needed to keep today’s organisations secure while speeding up their devices, applications, and entire networks.

“In order to keep today’s business environment protected and productive, organisations need a unified solution to secure their distributed workforces and at the same time accelerate employee systems. But another key piece is broad adoption, and that’s why we’ve been working to seamlessly layer this into organisations without interruptions,” said Matthew Prince, co-founder and CEO of Cloudflare in a statement.

“Critical architectures like Zero Trust shouldn’t be complex, yet we hear every day from businesses that don’t know where to start. That’s why we have modernised how partners can fully implement and deliver what organisations of all sizes need most today.”

Legacy systems have involved complex integrations and interruptions to employee workflows. In order to protect organisations, workforces, and networks of all sizes against today’s threat landscape, the Cloudflare One Partner Program delivers a full set of best-in-class Zero Trust capabilities combined with extensive partner services enablement.

Over the past year, the number of Cloudflare One customers has increased 100 per cent and daily average traffic has increased by 6x.

Cloudflare’s deeply integrated approach coupled with direct paths for channel partners, has created one of the most robust incentive programs today to extend Zero Trust, enabling partners to, among others, guide customers at every step; deliver comprehensive solutions; and automatically protect users from phishing attacks.

For more information, visit www.cloudflare.com.

-- BERNAMA

MARY KAY INC. PRESENTS NEW FINDINGS ON POLLUTION AND SKIN HEALTH AT SOCIETY FOR INVESTIGATIVE DERMATOLOGY CONFERENCE

 

DALLAS, June 24 (Bernama-BUSINESS WIRE) -- Mary Kay Inc., a global leader in skin care innovation, continued its ongoing support of the beauty and scientific communities recently by sponsoring the 2022 Society for Investigative Dermatology (SID) Annual Meeting and revealing new, breakthrough research at the event. Mary Kay’s new findings, in conjunction with the NYU Grossman Medical School of Environmental Medicine, found that the antioxidant complex featured in Mary Kay® TimeWise® Miracle Set 3D™ skin care line reduces the harmful effects of rural pollution and UV radiation. 
 

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220623005144/en/  

“Our Research & Development team is always hard at work to develop the next skincare breakthrough or scientific discovery,” said Dr. Lucy Gildea, Mary Kay’s Chief Innovation Officer, Product and Science. “By partnering with NYU Grossman and other scientific and academic teams around the world, we ensure our company—and our products—are in the forefront of skincare innovation and health.”

Air pollution continues to grow as a worldwide health concern. Previously, Mary Kay’s science team partnered with Columbia University and discovered that air pollution’s effects on skin can be particularly dramatic, resulting in aging, dullness, and wrinkling. Air pollution creates free radicals that the skin must fight to maintain its health and youthful appearance.

This collective research indicates that Mary Kay’s topically applied novel antioxidant complex may reduce cellular damage due to stressors from both urban and rural environments - the type of cellular damage that leads to signs of premature aging. This “super” complex includes encapsulated resveratrol to fight aging and improve the look of fine lines. The products also contain Vitamin B3 to assist with water retention. Finally, an age-defying peptide finishes off the formula, packing a punch against pollution. With these benefits documented, it’s the team’s hope that more people than ever can find the correct solutions to combat the effects of pollution on their own skin.

The sponsorship and research revealed at SID are just the latest efforts by Mary Kay to reinforce the brand’s long-standing commitment to advancing skin health research and development. Mary Kay holds more than 1,600 patents for products, technologies, and packaging designs in its global portfolio.

http://mrem.bernama.com/viewsm.php?idm=43505

GENESIS SECURES MAS IN-PRINCIPLE APPROVAL FOR MAJOR PAYMENT INSTITUTION LICENCE

KUALA LUMPUR, June 24 (Bernama) -- Genesis, a digital asset prime brokerage, announced that Genesis Asia Pacific Pte Ltd (Genesis Asia Pacific) has received in-principle approval by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) for a Major Payment Institution licence.

This makes Genesis Asia Pacific one of a handful of Singapore-based digital payment token service providers who have received such in-principle approval, according to a statement.

“MAS has been very transparent and engaged throughout the application process and we appreciate its commitment to prudent and constructive oversight of the industry,” said CEO of Genesis, Michael Moro.

Genesis offers sophisticated market participants a fully integrated platform to trade, borrow, lend, and custody digital assets, creating new opportunities for yield while increasing capital efficiency for counterparties.

Since its founding in 2013, Genesis has aimed to provide institutional investors worldwide with access to industry-leading products and services that address an evolving global regulatory framework.

-- BERNAMA

CORRECTION - ZOOM UNVEILS PLATFORM EVOLUTION; LAUNCHES NEW PACKAGING AND TRANSLATION FEATURE

• Zoom One is a new offering that brings together options for persistent chat, phone, meetings, whiteboard, and more into a single, secure and scalable package
• All-new translation feature allows meetings to be translated between English and any of the 10 languages, or from those languages into English

SAN JOSE, Calif., June 24 (Bernama-GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Zoom Video Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ: ZM) is updating a press release issued on June 22, 2022 to clarify that Unlimited Regional Calling is an optional add-on feature for Zoom One Enterprise and Enterprise Plus customers. Complete corrected text follows.

Zoom Video Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ: ZM) today unveiled the latest evolution of its communications platform with the introduction of Zoom One, a new offering that brings together persistent chat, phone, meetings, whiteboard, and more into secure and scalable packages. Additionally, Zoom also launched an all new translated and multi-language captions feature.

“Simplicity is at the core of everything we do. As the Zoom platform has evolved from a meeting app to a comprehensive communications platform, it was clear that introducing new packaging like Zoom One was the next step in the company’s evolution,” said Greg Tomb, President, Zoom. “By bringing together chat, phone, meetings, whiteboard, and more in a single offering, we are able to offer our customers solutions that are simple to manage, so they can focus on business issues that matter most.”

“Businesses continue to realize the time and cost saving a single provider can offer. According to Omdia’s latest end user survey, 40% of organizations are prioritizing investments around eliminating multiple cloud-based UC solutions that may be deployed within their organizations,” states Brent Kelly, Principal Analyst, Omdia Research. “The need to simplify business operations is a market trend that we see as being increasingly important, and Zoom One’s tiered bundles and common management console aligns well to this customer demand."

Zoom One’s intuitive experience
Purpose-built to work together, Zoom One’s intuitive experience offers customers the choice between six tiered offerings according to their business needs.

• Zoom One Basic provides free 40-minute Zoom Meetings for up to 100 attendees, persistent Zoom Chat for team messaging, limited Zoom Whiteboard for synchronous and asynchronous work, and real-time transcription.
• Zoom One Pro provides everything Zoom One Basic offers without Meeting time limits, plus cloud recording.
• Zoom One Business provides everything Zoom One Pro offers, plus Zoom Meetings for up to 300 attendees and unlimited Zoom Whiteboards.
• Zoom One Business Plus provides everything Zoom One Business offers, plus Zoom Phone Pro with unlimited regional calling and Zoom’s all-new translation feature.
• Zoom One Enterprise and Zoom One Enterprise Plus are similar to Zoom One Business, with larger meeting capacity and additional features, like Zoom Webinars, to help modern businesses scale. Unlimited Regional Calling is an optional add-on feature for Zoom One Enterprise and Enterprise Plus.

Zoom One Basic, Pro, Business and Business Plus plans are available for purchase online today. To purchase Zoom One Enterprise or Enterprise Plus, customers can speak to an account executive directly. For more information, visit https://zoom.us/pricing.

“If you provide a complete suite of reliable and easy-to-use communication tools that people can use to do their jobs, they are less likely to be using one-off solutions outside of our offerings – which in turn simplifies our support and delivery model,” said Rob Kerr, chief information officer at Cooley, a global law firm with 3,300 employees in 17 offices across the United States, Asia, and Europe. “Zoom’s secure portfolio of unified video, chat, whiteboarding, and telephony solutions aligns our global teams and allows Cooley to better serve its clients.”

For more information on the new, simplified offerings or to find the plan that is best suited for your business, visit the Zoom blog.

Introducing translated & multi-language captions
Launching first in Zoom One Business Plus and Zoom One Enterprise Plus packages, Zoom’s translated captions will allow users to view captions translated into the language of their choice. At launch, translations will be available between English and 10 additional languages, or from any of the 10 languages to English. The ability to translate directly to and from English is known as bi-directional translation. Translated captions display at the base of the screen while in a Zoom Meeting.

The bi-directional translations are available in the following languages: Chinese (Simplified), Dutch, English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Russian, Spanish, and Ukrainian.

To access the translated captions feature, Zoom One customers must upgrade to either the Zoom One Business Plus or Zoom One Enterprise Plus packages (in applicable countries).

Zoom also extended its automated captioning – the ability to caption in real-time what a speaker is saying in the same language as the one spoken – to include 10 additional languages. Automated captions previously were supported in English, but now can be displayed in the additional 10 languages referenced above. Multi-language automated captions are available in Business Plus, Enterprise, and Enterprise Plus packages with additional support for other plans coming soon.

About Zoom
Zoom is for you. Zoom is a space where you can connect to others, share ideas, make plans, and build toward a future limited only by your imagination. Our frictionless communications platform is the only one that started with video as its foundation, and we have set the standard for innovation ever since. That is why we are an intuitive, scalable, and secure choice for large enterprises, small businesses, and individuals alike. Founded in 2011, Zoom is publicly traded (NASDAQ:ZM) and headquartered in San Jose, California. Visit zoom.com and follow @zoom. 

http://mrem.bernama.com/viewsm.php?idm=43503

CATHEON GAMING HIRES MARK AUBREY AS CEO

KUALA LUMPUR, June 23 (Bernama) -- Catheon Gaming (the Company), the fastest-growing integrated blockchain gaming and entertainment company, announced that Mark Aubrey will be appointed as new co-Chief Executive Officer, effective July 11, 2022.

Aubrey will work alongside William Wu, Founder and CEO of Catheon Gaming, to scale the company in the rapidly growing blockchain gaming industry, according to a statement. 

‟I am delighted with the appointment of Mark Aubrey as the CEO of Catheon Gaming and look forward to working alongside Mark to lead Catheon Gaming into its exciting next phase of growth,” said Wu.

“Mark brings deep world-class gaming expertise at the highest level, having led the highly relevant APAC division of the world’s most successful gaming developer and publisher.”

Catheon Gaming partners with leading game developers and IP-holders to incubate and launch ‘best-in-class’ blockchain games and bring them to the widest possible audience.

Aubrey joins Catheon Gaming as CEO from his previous role as Managing Director and Head of Asia Pacific (APAC) at Activision Blizzard, the leading gaming developer and publisher of entertainment software renowned for creating some of the industry’s most critically acclaimed games, including Call of Duty and World of Warcraft.

Aubrey has over 19 years of experience in the entertainment and gaming industry in the APAC region.

At Activision Blizzard, he was responsible for managing all verticals of both Activision Publishing and Blizzard Entertainment’s commercial and go-to-market operations and teams across Australia/NZ, Japan, Korea, India and Greater Asia. 

Wu first founded SolChicks in September 2021 and subsequently Catheon Gaming, launching 20 titles over the course of nine months.

With the appointment of Aubrey, Wu will focus on the company’s long-term vision and strategy, while remaining fully involved in the operations of Catheon and SolChicks.

More details at https://catheongaming.com/.

-- BERNAMA

CARLO RINO CHANNELS NOSTALGIA WITH THE LOONEY TUNES SPECIAL EDITION COLLECTION

 

_{Product shot of Carlo Rino Looney Tunes Special Edition collection}

KUALA LUMPUR, June 23 (Bernama) -- Meet your childhood favourites once again with the Carlo Rino and Warner Brothers collaboration – Carlo Rino Looney Tunes Special Edition. The fashion-forward street style collection by the contemporary, chic brand features the iconic characters from the beloved Looney Tunes animation, evoking a sense of childhood nostalgia and playfulness with Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck and Tweety Bird featured in the designs of the handbags, wallet and oversized T-shirt. Crafted for the unique and free-spirited, the collection comprises a handheld, cross-body, modular cross-body, two-way shoulder bag, bumbag, three-fold wallet and oversized t-shirt for you to don and channel the iconic characters’ wacky personalities!

Bags
The collection offers bags in four styles – the Modular Crossbody Bag, Modular Bowler Bag, Crossbody Bag and Bumbag. The bags feature the Looney Tunes logo and Bugs Bunny’s iconic catchphrase, “What’s up Doc?”, in a unique monogram complemented by Carlo Rino’s golden metallic accents accentuating a minimalist femininity. Designed to be chic yet functional, the bags allow for movement while keeping your wardrobe effortlessly chic.

Wallet & Wristlets
Carlo Rino designs for every woman and keeping every woman in mind, the collection features wristlets and a wallet for the girl on the go. Convenient, fun, and easy, the wristlets feature Daffy Duck and Tweety Bird graphics with a detachable long chain for two different style approaches. The wallet features the Carlo Rino Looney Tunes Special Edition monogram to match with the handbags.

http://mrem.bernama.com/viewsm.php?idm=43484

MOJALOOP FOUNDATION ANNOUNCES MOJALOOP CBDC CENTER OF EXCELLENCE LAUNCH IN SINGAPORE

KUALA LUMPUR, June 22 (Bernama) -- The Mojaloop Foundation has announced the launch of its Mojaloop Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) Center of Excellence (COE) in Singapore to advance financial inclusion in emerging markets.

In addition, the Mojaloop Foundation announced the appointment of Nick Drury, a seasoned executive with nearly 25 years of experience innovating payments technology to drive inclusion, as the Mojaloop CBDC COE Director.

Drury will oversee the operations and strategic growth of the COE and its initiatives, such as hackathons, workshops, and pilot projects. Through these efforts, the COE will examine how Mojaloop open source software can leverage CBDCs to reduce the costs and inefficiencies of fast payment platforms and cross-border payments.

The COE will extend Mojaloop’s ecosystem engagement, leverage Singapore’s proximity and connectivity to other regions and connect the underserved with financial services firms and government entities in the emerging digital economy.

According to a statement, to help guide the direction of the COE’s initiatives, the Mojaloop Foundation has also formed a Mojaloop CBDC COE Working Group comprising appointees from Mojaloop Foundation members, including the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Coil, Google, ModusBox, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), RedCompass Labs, Ripple and Sybrin.

“The Mojaloop CBDC Center of Excellence will further expand the Mojaloop Foundation’s efforts to advance financial inclusion in emerging markets.

“Led by our COE Director Nick Drury and supported by our Working Group, the COE will examine the ways in which CBDCs have the potential to make a wider spectrum of Mojaloop-enabled push-payment capabilities available to central banks and their citizens, merchants and digital financial institutions,” said Mojaloop Foundation Executive Director Paula Hunter.

Meanwhile, Drury said: “I am excited about the opportunity to lead the Mojaloop CBDC COE’s Working Group members and bring in additional organisations from across the region to investigate the ways that Mojaloop and CBDC technology can solve real-world challenges for emerging markets.”

COVID-19 and the rise of contactless payments have prompted many central banks to consider CBDCs as a way of lowering the cost of settlement. By making digital payments and cross-border transfers seamless, the Mojaloop CBDC COE aims to identify ways to remove the restrictive hurdles and high fees that have been barriers to advancing financial inclusion in the past.

For more information, visit https://mojaloop.io/.

-- BERNAMA

TDCX-SEEDBLINK COLLABORATION HELPS STARTUPS ACCELERATE GROWTH, IMPROVE COST EFFICIENCY

KUALA LUMPUR, June 22 (Bernama) -- SeedBlink has announced a collaboration with TDCX, an award-winning digital customer experience (CX) solutions provider for technology and blue-chip companies, with the aim of helping its portfolio companies accelerate their sales journey and deliver higher customer satisfaction.

Daniel Mereuta, Country Director at TDCX Romania said: “We understand the challenges that startups face and are glad to have been able to support these promising enterprises. 

“We are ready to help other startups build and strengthen their CX capabilities and our collaboration with SeedBlink will enable us to reach more companies and help them in transforming their CX.”

Meanwhile, Andrei Dudoiu, Managing Partner at SeedBlink said: “Our goal is for startups to come to SeedBlink and discover real support for scaling and new opportunities beyond capital - with an array of partners who understand their needs and their stage of growth. 

“Partnering with TDCX, a global CX provider, takes us one step further on our journey beyond crowd investing in tech startups."

According to a statement, the collaboration with TDCX deepens the support that SeedBlink provides its portfolio companies in the post-investment phase. 

By tapping TDCX’s CX expertise, startups can hope to scale their CX teams more quickly and achieve better performance. This in turn enables the startups to use the capital raised through SeedBlink more effectively.

SeedBlink’s portfolio of startups will be able to tap TDCX’s customer experience solutions that span sales and digital marketing, omnichannel customer experience and content moderation.

TDCX is a partner to many of the world’s leading and disruptive brands in sectors such as e-commerce, fintech and technology, providing outsourced solutions in areas including customer service, technical support and inside sales.

Singapore-headquartered TDCX provides transformative digital CX solutions, enabling world-leading and disruptive brands to acquire new customers, build customer loyalty and protect their online communities.

More details at www.tdcx.com.

-- BERNAMA

FOURKITES-FEDEX ALLIANCE TO MAKE SUPPLY CHAINS WORK SMARTER

KUALA LUMPUR, June 22 (Bernama) -- FedEx Corp and supply chain visibility company FourKites have announced a strategic alliance that will provide businesses with new, more robust real-time visibility capabilities to help solve their most pervasive supply chain challenges, become more efficient, and unlock new growth opportunities. 

“We are excited to announce this groundbreaking platform and strategic collaboration with FedEx,” said Mathew Elenjickal, FourKites Founder & CEO.

“Our organisations share an unwavering commitment to customer success through strategic innovation. Together, we are working to pave the future of global supply chains, built on a foundation of data and machine learning to deliver new value to those global supply chains.”

According to a statement, FedEx and FourKites are collaborating to make supply chains smarter by bringing comprehensive and highly granular visibility into multi-modal and multi-carrier operations with the deep network and rich insights of their combined networks.

FourKites’ real-time visibility platform has integrated intelligence at every point of the supply chain, and currently supports 2.5 million shipments a day, connecting the supply chains of 50 per cent of Fortune 500 companies.

Through this collaboration, FourKites will use its machine learning and artificial intelligence capabilities with data insights from the FedEx network – which reaches more than 220 countries and territories, linking more than 99 per cent of the world’s GDP, through more than 16.5 million shipments daily – to create a new end-to-end supply chain intelligence platform called FourKites X. 

FourKites X will provide tools and insights to help large shippers and logistics providers mitigate the impacts of sustained challenges via a suite of offerings ranging from dynamic planning and pre-shipment, to enhanced visibility and proactive alerts, to supply chain optimisation insights.

To support this alliance and the launch of FourKites X, FedEx has made a strategic investment in FourKites.

Customers of FourKites X will be able to integrate the platform with existing systems, and they will be able to receive new capabilities in a modular way with support from data engineers, data scientists and user experience experts.

More details at www.fourkites.com.

-- BERNAMA

ON-ROAD HYDROGEN VEHICLES EXCEED 1 MILLION GLOBALLY BY 2027 - JUNIPER RESEARCH

KUALA LUMPUR, June 21 (Bernama) -- A new study from Juniper Research has found the number of hydrogen vehicles in service globally will exceed one million in 2027, from just over 60,000 in 2022 – a substantial growth of over 1,500 per cent.

According to a statement, Juniper Research defines hydrogen vehicles as vehicles that use hydrogen propulsion systems as their onboard fuel. The chemical energy of hydrogen and oxygen reacts with the fuel cell and converts the energy to electricity.

The research identified hydrogen vehicles as an increasingly viable alternative to BEVs (Battery Electric Vehicles). The potential for enhanced range and rapid refuelling compares favourably with BEVs; reducing customer anxieties around BEV ownership. 

These positives have led to significant investment by car manufacturers, including Hyundai, Toyota and BMW, and this will translate into an increasingly popular and available product over the next five years.

The research forecasts that the consumer market will lead the hydrogen vehicle space, with consumer vehicles accounting for over 60 per cent of hydrogen vehicles in service globally in 2027. 

Additionally, the report identified the low availability of fuelling infrastructure as a key challenge for wider adoption, but highlighted heavy industry investment as key to reducing this concern over the next five years. 

The report recommends that infrastructure vendors provide ‘green’ hydrogen, produced using renewable energy sources, to best take advantage of concerns around the environment driving the adoption of alternative fuels.

Juniper Research provides research and analytical services to the global hi-tech communications sector; providing consultancy, analyst reports, and industry commentary.

-- BERNAMA

NIPPON EXPRESS LAUNCHES NEW TRANSPORT SERVICE USING ENVIRONMENT-FRIENDLY ISOTHERMAL PACKAGING

TOKYO, June 21, 2022 /Kyodo JBN- AsiaNet/ --

-First Japanese Logistics Company to Collaborate with EMBALL'ISO, Experienced in Vaccine Transport-   Nippon Express Co., Ltd., a group company of Nippon Express Holdings, Inc., has become the first Japanese logistics company to collaborate with EMBALL'ISO, a French company with a proven track record in vaccine transport, by launching a new international air freight service using environment-friendly isothermal packaging produced by EMBALL'ISO.   Logo: https://kyodonewsprwire.jp/img/202206172666-O3-21gHn0Zz   Environment-friendly isothermal packaging: https://kyodonewsprwire.jp/prwfile/release/M103866/202206172666/_prw_PI1fl_d758x95t.jpg     Background to service development The medical and pharmaceutical industries among others require strict temperature control of their products during transport, and there is growing interest in environment-friendly logistics services across all industries. As a key measure in its growth strategy for core businesses, the NX Group has positioned the pharmaceutical industry as a priority industry in the "NX Group Business Plan 2023 -- Dynamic Growth" and has accordingly been expanding its temperature-controlled transport services.   Nippon Express is the first Japanese logistics company to partner with EMBALL'ISO by developing a new service combining EMBALL'ISO's reusable passive (non-powered) high-performance isothermal packaging with international air transport, thereby enhancing its temperature-controlled transport services. This new environment-friendly service will help reduce its customers' CO2 emissions while strictly maintaining the required temperatures during transport.   Service overview   Service name NX-SOLUTION Temperature-controlled Transport Service Using Environment-friendly Isothermal Packaging   Features -The service uses packaging with high isothermal performance that satisfies the ISTA 7D standard*. -The environment-friendly isothermal packaging can be collected in 80 countries/regions around the world. -Transporting goods in reusable packaging will help reduce supply-chain CO2 emissions.   *An international test standard developed by the International Safe Transit Association (ISTA) and widely adopted around the world for packaged cargo. Packages are exposed for stipulated periods of time to specified temperature environments for summer and winter to test their internal temperature retention time.   Lineup Packaging for three temperature ranges can be selected in the sizes best suited for customers' cargo volume.   Image: https://kyodonewsprwire.jp/prwfile/release/M103866/202206172666/_prw_PI2fl_0ihi4245.png     Going forward, the NX Group will continue enhancing and expanding end-to-end services that meet the need for increasingly sophisticated and diversified pharmaceutical logistics.   About EMBALL'ISO: https://kyodonewsprwire.jp/attach/202206172666-O1-rWQgxhQh.pdf   Nippon Express website: https://www.nipponexpress.com/   NX Group's official LinkedIn account: https://www.linkedin.com/company/nippon-express-group/     Source: Nippon Express Holdings, Inc.   http://mrem.bernama.com/viewsm.php?idm=43465

Qianhai improves business environment to better serve Hong Kong women entrepreneurs

KUALA LUMPUR, June 20 (Bernama) -- An event themed ‘Chinese with the Same Root; Carnival of Shenzhen-Hong Kong Hand-in-hand’ was held recently in Qianhai, South China's Guangdong province, and live-broadcast in Hong Kong and Macao simultaneously.

Attended by Hong Kong female entrepreneurs from Qianhai Shenzhen-Hong Kong Youth Innovation and Entrepreneur Hub (QSHKYIEH), the event was to celebrate the 25th anniversary of Hong Kong's return to the motherland, according to Authority of Qianhai Shenzhen-Hong Kong Modern Service Industry Cooperation Zone.

According to a statement, ‘Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Development Strategy-National Women Entrepreneur and Innovation Base’ was established by QSHKYIEH in 2019 and up until now, the base has incubated a total of 41 female entrepreneurial teams.

To date, the female entrepreneurs from Hong Kong are playing an important role among the Qianhai youth entrepreneurs. 

An example is Sisley Cheng, vice president of the Qianhai's Hong Kong Chamber of Commerce and a leader of the QSHKYIEH-National Women Entrepreneur and Innovation Base. 

“What attracts me here is the beautiful environment, pleasant greenery and modern cityscape. It's also easy to get around. My company in Hong Kong is very close to Qianhai, normally a half-hour drive,” said Cheng who started living in Qianhai in 2018.

In addition, Hong Kong women entrepreneurs in Qianhai are busier than one can imagine. Ruby Fang is among these busy bees.

From studying law overseas to making a complete career change to becoming a professional fashion designer, Fang has never lacked a halo: Hong Kong's Ten Outstanding Young Persons, founder of Ruby Fang haute couture clothing brand, etc.

To better serve Hong Kong entrepreneurial women, Qianhai is said to improve its business environment constantly. Lately, it has carried out the ‘Talent Service and Support Program’, integrating 451 services for international talents in government, business and life, forming a full coverage of public talent services in Qianhai.

 Qianhai's benign business environment and friendly atmosphere give Hong Kong businesswomen who have come to make their dreams bigger more confidence and thinking about the future. 

-- BERNAMA

MYTHICAL GAMES PARTNERING KAKAO GAMES AS PART OF APAC EXPANSION

KUALA LUMPUR, June 17 (Bernama) -- Next-generation blockchain gaming studio Mythical Games has announced a partnership with Kakao Games, South Korea’s leading publisher of online and mobile games.

Moving forward, Mythical will integrate and support the BORANETWORK – an affiliate of Kakao Games and its proprietary blockchain and layer 2 ecosystem – as both entities continue their expansion in Asia.

Rudy Koch, Co-Founder at Mythical Games in a statement said: “We see BORA not only as a next-generation blockchain, but also as a leader in bringing entertainment to Web3 in Korea – giving them a unique edge that no other protocol has. 

“With Mythical's expansion into Seoul earlier this year, we are keen to strategically align with leaders in the region.”

Meanwhile, BORANETWORK CBO Young-joon Lim said: “We're thrilled to be working with Mythical Games and welcome their onboarding on BORA.

“Mythical Games is a pioneer and visionary in Web3 building 'play and own' game economies. We will explore cross-promotion opportunities and potential collaborations in order to create synergy between each platform.”

Mythical Games’ Web3 ecosystem allows players, creators, and artists to enjoy a frictionless gaming experience through ownership of a digital game collection.

Earlier this month, Mythical announced a first-of-its kind partnership with the NFL to release the league’s first blockchain-based game. Its flagship game, Blankos Block Party, recently partnered with fashion brand Burberry and electronic music artist Deadmau5.

In addition to the integration, Mythical will be joining BORA’s node validator and governance committee, a major milestone for both parties as they continue to expand to global markets.

-- BERNAMA

SUMO LOGIC NAMED GARTNER® MAGIC QUADRANT™ CHALLENGER

KUALA LUMPUR, June 17 (Bernama) -- Sumo Logic, the SaaS analytics platform to enable reliable and secure cloud-native applications, announced it has been included for the first time and positioned by Gartner in the Challengers Quadrant of the 2022 Magic Quadrant for Application Performance Monitoring and Observability.

“We believe that our position as a Challenger is a testament to Sumo Logic’s ability to provide enterprises with cloud-native tools to deliver reliable digital experiences at scale,” said Erez Barak, VP of Product Development for Observability at Sumo Logic in a statement.

As a cloud-native SaaS analytics platform, Sumo Logic turns machine-generated data, including logs, metrics, and traces, into real-time insights. 

The platform addresses the complexity of digital transformation, modern applications and cloud migration by helping customers ensure application reliability and manage and optimise multi-cloud infrastructures.

The APM and Observability Challengers quadrant comprises vendors with broad market reach and large deployments.

Vendors in this quadrant typically have strong execution capabilities and a significant sales and brand presence garnered from the company as a whole, if not directly from its APM-related activities.

Some vendors previously may have been among the top performers in the market and, thus, offer broad product portfolios.

Vendors in this quadrant may be transforming their product offerings and market focus. In some cases, their APM offerings are often positioned as elements of a larger solution that may even extend beyond the boundaries of ITOM.

More details at www.sumologic.com.

-- BERNAMA

1st year operation: Minna Bank digital banking service draws over 400,000 accounts

 

image of Minna Bank app (Graphic: Business Wire) 

KUALA LUMPUR, June 16 (Bernama) -- Minna Bank Ltd, Japan's first digital bank, has recorded over one million downloads of its mobile banking app and more than 400,000 accounts have been opened in its first year of commercial operations since May 28, last year.

“The impact we’ve been able to make on the Japanese banking industry has been unprecedented. Based on the success during our first year of operations, we will continue to push the boundaries of traditional banking services,” said Minna Bank Ltd President Kenichi Nagayoshi.

With the world’s first full cloud core banking system, Minna Bank has positioned itself as a leader in digital banking and continues to redefine banking services in Japan, according to a statement.

Minna Bank has successfully grasped the Millennial and Generation Z market via its 24/7 service, casual design, and frictionless user experience, resulting in 70 per cent of its customers representing the 15 to 39 years old age group, a segment traditionally underserved by financial services institutions.

Driven by its mission to ‘Deliver valuable connections to everyone’, Minna Bank, a wholly owned subsidiary of Fukuoka Financial Group, executed initiatives focusing on connection and community.

Among others, Minna Bank has connected with its fanbase by expressing its brand and vision for next generation financial services by leveraging social networks, both through advertising as well as organically.

It has also fostered deeper connections between athletes — including a professional swimming team with Olympic medalist swimmers and eSports teams — and their fans with innovative financial services offerings. 

Minna Bank also partnered with various industry communities by creating dedicated branches through which customers could receive benefits tailored to their specific community.

These innovations spanning financial services, technology, and design earned Minna Bank 11 awards including the Red Dot Award Brand of the Year, a first for a financial services institution.

Minna Bank will offer an innovative personal loan service this summer. It will also make a strong push in embedded finance this fiscal year, and is already in negotiations with 160 potential partners. 

-- BERNAMA

​KYOCERA DOCUMENT SOLUTIONS INC. SELECTS ANAQUA FOR INTEGRATED IP MANAGEMENT

Global document solutions provider to use Anaqua’s AQX platform to help manage and optimize its extensive patent portfolio

BOSTON, June 15 (Bernama-GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Anaqua, the leading provider of innovation and intellectual property management solutions, today announced that global document solutions provider Kyocera Document Solutions Inc. has selected Anaqua’s AQX platform for integrated management of the company’s extensive patent portfolio.

Headquartered in Osaka, Japan, Kyocera Document Solutions Inc. provides customers worldwide with a range of products, business applications, and consultative services to optimize and manage their document workflow, greatly enhancing operational efficiency.

Kyocera Document Solutions Inc. chose Anaqua’s AQX Corporate platform as its primary patent management system with patent annuity payments from Anaqua Services fully integrated to unify patent management and payment management. Through this integrated functionality of the AQX Corporate platform and the availability of detailed, up-to-the-minute data visualization dashboards, Kyocera Document Solutions Inc. will be able to better manage, maintain and optimize the value of its portfolio.

“We were looking for an integrated approach that would enable us to manage our patent portfolio more efficiently and holistically,” said General Manager of Legal and Intellectual Property Division, Seitaro Yoshida of Kyocera Document Solutions Inc. “AQX’s comprehensive intellectual property management platform enabled global IP management for us. During implementation, Anaqua and Kyocera Document Solutions Inc. worked closely together to build up a new workflow. Anaqua listened and were responsive to our needs, enabling us to achieve the best fit for our operations.”

“We are delighted to have been selected by Kyocera Document Solutions Inc. to help them manage their IP as the company continues in its goal of helping other organizations around the world put knowledge to work to drive change,” said Bob Romeo, CEO of Anaqua. “The agreement not only reflects our strength in the business solutions sector, but also our increasing role in the Japanese market, where more and more companies are entrusting Anaqua with their IP management.”

About Anaqua
Anaqua, Inc. is a premium provider of integrated intellectual property (IP) management technology solutions and services for corporations and law firms. Its IP management software solutions, AQX and PATTSY WAVE, both offer best practice workflows with big data analytics and tech-enabled services to create an intelligent environment designed to inform IP strategy, enable IP decision-making, and streamline IP operations, tailored to each segment’s need. Today, nearly half of the top 100 U.S. patent filers and global brands, as well as a growing number of law firms worldwide use Anaqua’s solutions. Over one million IP executives, attorneys, paralegals, administrators, and innovators use the platform for their IP management needs. The company’s global operations are headquartered in Boston, with offices across the U.S., Europe, and Asia. For additional information, please visit anaqua.com, or on LinkedIn.

About Kyocera Document Solutions Inc.
Kyocera Document Solutions Inc. is a global leading provider of total document solutions based in Osaka, Japan. The company’s portfolio includes reliable and eco-friendly MFPs and printers, as well as business applications and consultative services which enable customers to optimize and manage their document workflow, reaching new heights of efficiency. With professional expertise and a culture of empathetic partnership, the objective of the company is to help organisations put knowledge to work to drive change.

Kyocera Document Solutions Inc. is a group company of Kyocera Corporation (Kyocera), a leading supplier of semiconductor packages, industrial and automotive components, semiconductor packages, electronic devices, smart energy systems, printers, copiers, and mobile phones. During the year ended March 31, 2022, the Kyocera Group’s consolidated sales revenue totaled 1.8 trillion yen (approx. US$15.1 billion). Kyocera is ranked #665 on Forbes magazine’s 2022 “Global 2000” list of the world’s largest publicly traded companies, and has been named by The Wall Street Journal among “The World’s 100 Most Sustainably Managed Companies.” 

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CRYOGENIC INDUSTRIES: ANKUR ARORA NAMED PRODUCT & BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT MANAGER

KUALA LUMPUR, June 14 (Bernama) --  Nikkiso Cryogenic Industries’ Clean Energy & Industrial Gases Group (Group), a part of the Nikkiso Co Ltd (Japan) group of companies, announced that Ankur Arora has been named Product & Business Development Manager for Nikkiso Cryogenic Services serving Southeast Asia, New Zealand and Africa.

He will be responsible for the launch, sales and solutions related to Waste Heat Recovery and Organic Rankine Cycle Power Generation, Pressure Letdown Power Recovery and more. 

Arora will report to Emile Bado, Executive Vice President, Marketing, and Dr Reza Agahi, Vice President of Turbo, according to a statement.

“Ankur’s industry and global market experience will be of great benefit to the Group, as we work to develop the opportunities in these regions,” said Bado.

Arora has broad global experience in over 30 countries and worked for nearly 20 years with Atlas Copco. 

His responsibilities included Business Development Manager and Global Sales & Marketing reporting to Germany, based in Auckland, New Zealand, Regional BDM & Application/Product Managers based in Shanghai. 

With this addition, Nikkiso continues their commitment to be both a global and local presence for their customers.

More details at www.nikkisoCEIG.com.

-- BERNAMA

YOUTH GAMERS TO BATTLE IT OUT AT GAME ON EXPO

KOTA DAMANSARA, June 13 (Bernama) -- SEGi University & Colleges, one of the largest education providers in Malaysia with over 18,000 students across five campuses, has launched the Game On Expo, an event to showcase Malaysian youths’ talent in Esports.

The Game On Expo, to be held on 2 and 3 July 2022, will take place in Pavilion Bukit Jalil and SEGi College Penang. 
 
“SEGi has always been supportive and takes eSports seriously. We have seen that eSports improved students’ communication, strategic thinking and time management,” said SEGi University & Colleges Managing Director Stella Lau.
 
Lau expressed that eSports require a tremendous amount of teamwork. “Players need to react and perform immediately. These are the values needed for the future when they work with colleagues. We want to build those skills when they are young,” Lau added.
 
SEGi students and Malaysian youth can compete in the team-based multiplayer online battle arena game, Wang Zhe Rong Yao. 
 
The preliminary round will start on 20 June, while Semi-finalists and finalists will battle it out live in the Main Atrium of Pavilion Bukit Jalil and SEGi College Penang.
 
For those in Selangor and Kuala Lumpur, there will be a Cosplay Competition, an exhibition booth of SEGi Partners, the launch of SEGi Metacampus, as well as a surprise by SONY.
 
Simultaneously, those in Penang, SEGi’s Partners will exhibit their products and services at their booth. There will be talks and workshops conducted by Penang Youth Development Corporation (PYDC) and a streaming party to witness the launch of SEGi Metacampus and the games.
 
The event’s partners and sponsors include SEGi University & Colleges, Pavilion Bukit Jalil, PYDC, Banpresto, Celsius, Dadi Cinema, Google Malaysia, KC Distribution, Bushiroad, Magnus Games Studios, Malaysia Airlines, Neutrovis, Sony, ToyGarden, Ticket2u, TTRacing and Putien.
 
There will be lucky draws with prizes worth up to RM30,000 up for grab. The Game On Expo is from 10 am to 10 pm in Pavilion Bukit Jalil, or 10 am to 5 pm at SEGi College Penang.
 
About SEGi University & Colleges
First established in 1977, SEGi University & Colleges has undergone tremendous growth to meet tertiary and professional education demands. With a population of 18,000 local and international students, SEGi stands as one of Malaysia’s most established private higher education institutions. Today, SEGi stands proud of its flagship campus in Kota Damansara (College and University) and four other campuses in Subang Jaya, Kuala Lumpur, Penang, and Kuching.
 
As a higher education institution, SEGi University and Group of Colleges have provided affordable quality global education to school leavers and working adults in the fields of Accounting, Finance and Business Management, Medicine, Dentistry, Optometry, Pharmacy, Allied Health Sciences, Engineering, Information Technology, Creative Design, Communications, Hospitality & Tourism Management, and Early Childhood.
 
SEGi University & Colleges is committed to adopting a global benchmark in grooming highly skilled students and academics via world-class curricula, prominent industry linkages, futuristic facilities and high-value engagements that create future-proof. 
 
SEGi emerged in the top 44% of the 2021 QS World University Rankings: Asia and awarded a 5 star Plus rating by QS Rating for obtaining the highest 5 Star rating in Teaching, Internationalisation, Online Learning, Arts & Culture, Employability, Academic development, Special Criteria: Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) and Inclusiveness. The award is valid for three years (2022 to 2024). SEGi was one of 19 universities worldwide and one of only two Malaysian universities that awarded the QS 5 Stars Plus rating. This makes SEGi the first university to receive such strong recognition for prioritising society’s needs in Malaysia.
 
Recently, SEGi was awarded 5 Stars For SETARA and 3 Stars in the 2019 Malaysia Research Assessment (MyRA) exercise to add credibility to its research capabilities. 
 
The institution has achieved 6 Stars in the 2018/2019 Malaysia Quality Evaluation System (MyQuest) for its outstanding educational excellence. SEGi also bagged the 2017 and 2018 Putra Brand Awards in the Education and Learning category.
 
Since its establishment over four decades ago, SEGi is proud to acknowledge that it has produced over 130,000 alumni worldwide who are now professional leaders in their respective fields.

SOURCE: SEGi University Sdn Bhd 

FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT: 
Name: Ameena Siddiqi
Tel: 03-6145 1777   ext:3698
Email: ameenasiddiqi@segi.edu.my  

Name: Goh Thean Howe
Tel: 03-6145 1777   ext:3771
Email: gohtheanhowe@segi.edu.my 

--BERNAMA

HDC BRIDGES GLOBAL HALAL MARKETS WITH PARTICIPATION IN INTERNATIONAL PROGRAMS

PETALING JAYA, June 14 (Bernama) -- The Halal Development Corporation Berhad (HDC) is bridging the global halal markets with physical and hybrid participation in two international expositions and business meetings in both the Arab Republic of Egypt and the Republic of Korea.
 
HDC, as the central coordinator of the Malaysia’s halal ecosystem, aims to increase the market penetration rate of Malaysian halal products in Middle East and North Africa (MENA), Africa’s largest food and beverage market and the region’s most dynamic consumer goods market, with their participation in Fi Africa in Cairo from 29 - 31 May, 2022.
 
The newest member of the Fi Global portfolio and launched in 2021 as part of Africa Food Manufacturing and co-located with ProPak MENA, Fi Africa is a dedicated show for food and beverage ingredients sector, offering a 365 marketplace for the African community to interact, network and build knowledge around the latest industry trends through online and physical opportunities.
 
The HDC Pavilion in Fi Africa showcased a variety of Malaysian-made halal products and services from 12 Malaysian halal-certified companies. Three major Malaysian companies were present physically at Fi Africa, including F&N Dairies Malaysia Manufacturing Sdn Bhd, Munif Hijjaz Marketing Sdn Bhd, and Koon Brother Sdn Bhd.
 
Visitors to HDC Pavilion also had the opportunity to access virtually over 350 Malaysian halal-certified products from 100 local companies, via HDC’s Digital Augmented Reality Showcase of Halal Malaysia (DASH) app. These include products from various key halal retail segments including Food & Beverage, Halal Ingredients, Cosmetic & Personal Care, Pharmaceuticals, even Modest Fashion.
 
HDC anticipated more than MYR6.55 million worth of potential sales from the 22 companies participated in the “Business-to-Business” (B2B) meeting sessions held during the expo with potential buyers from five (5) countries including Qatar, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Egypt, United Arab Emirates and Iran.  
 
After Cairo, the HDC team traveled an hour south of Egypt to Sharm El-Sheikh, to attend the Islamic Development Bank’s (IsDB) Group Private Sector Forum (PSF 2022). This is an annual gathering of IsDB’s Group private sector development representatives from multiple sectors, to network and establish business relations and partnerships between IsDB Group member countries.
 
HDC’s Chief Industry Development Officer Hanisofian Alias, delivered a keynote address and acted as a panelist during a session on “Rejuvenating Halal Industry, Creating Economic Opportunities” which was held on 4th June 2022.
 
An exhibition has been organised for three days, with HDC given the opportunity to further showcase Halal offerings and services and to promote Malaysia’s halal industry potentials and opportunities to IsDB Group members.
 
“Through both our participations in Egypt, HDC had sought to increase the penetration of Malaysian halal products and services within the MENA and global markets and also to improve the competitiveness of local halal manufacturers and businesses.” said Hairol Ariffein Sahari, Chief Executive Officer of HDC.
 
“We also wanted to explore the potential of recognizing Egypt as a one-stop halal sourcing hub for the latest and most innovative packaging, processing, ingredients and logistics solutions for the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, as well as  Africa continent. ” he added.
 
As for the East Asia region, the HDC team continued its outreach through participation in Seoul Food & Hotel (SFH 2022), happening from 7 - 10 June, 2022. in Seoul, Republic of Korea.
 
The SFH is an annual event co-organized by KOTRA and Informa Markets with a long history of success stories connecting the key domestic and international business together in Korea.
 
This is HDC’s third (3rd) outing in SFH, having achieved MYR3.83 million and RMYR13.38 million in value of potential sales in 2020 and 2021 respectively. HDC also facilitated a total of 23 companies in SFH 2020 and improving to 32 companies SFH 2021.
 
“HDC’s continued participation in SFH is mainly to continue to provide market development and export facilitation to our Malaysian halal companies. This is also part of HDC’s International Cooperation strategy to implement the Hub-and-Spoke concept by considering the Republic of Korea as the hub for East Asia and its neighbouring markets,” said Hairol Ariffein.
 
“We need to create more opportunities for market access to potential or even untapped countries to keep on encouraging our halal exporters to penetrate any international markets. It also helps us to understand global buyers’ expectations and Malaysia exporters and products competitiveness in penetrating the global market with new norms via the virtual platform,” he added. 
 
A total of eight Malaysian halal-certified companies are featured and showcased in the trade exhibition physically, in addition to some 104 Malaysian companies that are featured virtually within the DASH app.
 
“We are exposing their halal products in a total of 120 meeting sessions during the four-day event, to some 40 buyers from seven countries including Korea, China, Taiwan, Thailand, Vietnam, Philippines and India. We hope to be as successful as our last program here, if not more,” added Hairol.
 
HDC is targeting to achieve at least MYR 20 million via pre-arranged virtual B2B meeting sessions and physical meetings between the participating Malaysian companies and international buyers at HDC’s Pavilion at SFH 2022.

For further information and inquiries, please contact International Cooperation Department at international@hdcglobal.com.
 
ABOUT HALAL DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION BERHAD (HDC)

Halal Development Corporation (HDC) spearheads the development of Malaysia’s integrated and comprehensive halal ecosystem and infrastructure to position Malaysia as the most competitive country leading the global halal industry.

Established on 18 September 2006, HDC is also known as the central coordinator that promotes participation and facilitates growth of industry players in the development of Malaysia’s Halal ecosystem.  An agency under the Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI); it is the world’s first Government-backed halal industry development corporation. For more information, please visit HDC at - www.hdcglobal.com  

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