BEIJING, June 25, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — On June 23, two indices gauging prices of yak and Tibetan sheep in northwest China’s Qinghai Province were released to the public to strengthen branding and discourse power of local animal husbandry sector.

The indices, named Xinhua • Qinghai Yak Price Index and Xinhua • Qinghai Tibetan Sheep Price Index, were jointly released by Qinghai Provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Qinghai Branch of Xinhua News Agency and China Economic Information Service (CEIS).

Dubbed the “world’s capital of yaks” and the “hometown of Tibetan sheep in China,” Qinghai is home to about 34 percent of the world’s total yak population and over 40 percent of China’s total Tibetan sheep stock.

Currently, Qinghai’s yak and Tibetan sheep sectors are in dire need of efficient, transparent pricing mechanisms to better bridge production and sales and improve the sectors’ discourse and price-deciding powers, noted Gu Changwei, head of Qinghai Provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Affairs.

Tracking market supply, demand and sector trends in real time, the indices can guide local farmers to schedule their slaughtering pace, stabilize market expectations, and leverage digital and standardized achievements to tell the story of the industry, highlighted Gu.

As a pragmatic means to facilitate digital transformation, the indices are expected to unlock the value of data to benefit high-quality development of Qinghai’s animal husbandry sector, stressed Sun Aidong, head of Qinghai Branch of Xinhua News Agency.

Including sub-indices for live animals and carcasses, the indicators with base periods set on February 27, 2024 and base points at 1,000 points reveal that by mid-June 2026, Qinghai’s closely interrelated yak and Tibetan sheep prices have gone out of a trough and entered a new round of upward trend.

Despite this, shocks from imported frozen meat and insufficient consumer awareness of the value of green plateau food led to poor transmission of prices across the industrial chain and necessitated branding to bolster high-quality development of Qinghai’s yak and Tibetan sheep sectors.

Leveraging the expertise and data of “Xinhua Indices” platform, CEIS is striving to inject new impetus into building Qinghai’s green and organic farm produce and livestock product base by developing a price index regime for local characteristic products, said Yang Mu, vice president of CEIS.

Original link: https://en.imsilkroad.com/p/351088.html

BEIJING, June 25, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — On June 23, two indices gauging prices of yak and Tibetan sheep in northwest China’s Qinghai Province were released to the public to strengthen branding and discourse power of local animal husbandry sector.

The indices, named Xinhua • Qinghai Yak Price Index and Xinhua • Qinghai Tibetan Sheep Price Index, were jointly released by Qinghai Provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Qinghai Branch of Xinhua News Agency and China Economic Information Service (CEIS).

Dubbed the “world’s capital of yaks” and the “hometown of Tibetan sheep in China,” Qinghai is home to about 34 percent of the world’s total yak population and over 40 percent of China’s total Tibetan sheep stock.

Currently, Qinghai’s yak and Tibetan sheep sectors are in dire need of efficient, transparent pricing mechanisms to better bridge production and sales and improve the sectors’ discourse and price-deciding powers, noted Gu Changwei, head of Qinghai Provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Affairs.

Tracking market supply, demand and sector trends in real time, the indices can guide local farmers to schedule their slaughtering pace, stabilize market expectations, and leverage digital and standardized achievements to tell the story of the industry, highlighted Gu.

As a pragmatic means to facilitate digital transformation, the indices are expected to unlock the value of data to benefit high-quality development of Qinghai’s animal husbandry sector, stressed Sun Aidong, head of Qinghai Branch of Xinhua News Agency.

Including sub-indices for live animals and carcasses, the indicators with base periods set on February 27, 2024 and base points at 1,000 points reveal that by mid-June 2026, Qinghai’s closely interrelated yak and Tibetan sheep prices have gone out of a trough and entered a new round of upward trend.

Despite this, shocks from imported frozen meat and insufficient consumer awareness of the value of green plateau food led to poor transmission of prices across the industrial chain and necessitated branding to bolster high-quality development of Qinghai’s yak and Tibetan sheep sectors.

Leveraging the expertise and data of “Xinhua Indices” platform, CEIS is striving to inject new impetus into building Qinghai’s green and organic farm produce and livestock product base by developing a price index regime for local characteristic products, said Yang Mu, vice president of CEIS.

Original link: https://en.imsilkroad.com/p/351088.html

TAIPEI, June 25, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Led by the Department of Economic Development, Taipei City Government, the StartUP@Taipei program brought 10 Taipei-based AI companies to South Korea this month to participate in NextRise 2026, one of Asia’s largest innovation and startup events.

In addition to exhibiting at NextRise, the delegation met with key players in Korea’s innovation ecosystem, including startup hub MARU 360, the Goyang City Government in Gyeonggi Province, and Z Venture Capital Corporation (ZVC), the investment arm of Naver. The participating companies showcased AI applications across retail, financial services, enterprise operations, data platforms, and brand growth.

According to Jin Sang-hoon, Director of Korean accelerator and investment firm Tap Angel Partners:

“Taipei companies have developed mature technologies that are highly complementary to the Korean market. We welcome more Taiwanese companies to enter Korea and provide their services here.”

The participating companies demonstrated how Taipei’s AI sector is evolving beyond software tools to become critical infrastructure for global business operations.

In the retail and consumer sector, KABOB CLOUD has deployed its smart retail solutions through local partners to major Korean retailers including emart, Lotte Mart, Homeplus, GS25, and Daiso, covering more than 1,000 stores. As Korean retailers continue expanding internationally, replicating operational efficiency and customer experience across markets has become a growing challenge.

Global brand expansion is another priority for Korean enterprises. Awesomeart Digital Marketing has helped international brands achieve over 70% market share of voice within six months and has served more than 500 brands. VGV Media Asia, meanwhile, has worked with more than 700 clients across nine markets, including global brands such as Samsung, UNIQLO, and iHerb.

Giftpack, another company focused on global brand operations, has built a network spanning 42 countries, serving more than 1,400 enterprise clients while connecting over 8,000 factories worldwide. The company’s AI Agent is designed not as a chatbot, but as a business infrastructure layer that helps enterprises manage customer relationships, corporate gifting programs, and cross-border supply chains at scale.

Together, these companies highlight the strong alignment between Taipei’s AI capabilities and the international growth strategies of Korean brands and enterprises.

In enterprise operations, PlusBlocks Technology has deployed its AI Digital Employee platform across more than 800 locations, reducing decision-making time from days to seconds. Enterprise data has also emerged as a critical battleground. Metabiz’s AI Enterprise Data Platform currently serves over 200 corporate clients across Asia while maintaining customer retention rates above 80%.

Another participating company, IHH, focuses on enterprise communications infrastructure, providing video collaboration solutions to organizations in finance, insurance, healthcare, and government sectors. As AI agents and robotics become increasingly integrated into business environments, real-time collaboration between humans, AI systems, and autonomous agents is rapidly emerging as a new growth opportunity.

In the financial sector, NOX AI, which has raised US$3.6 million in funding, has expanded its services across Taiwan and Southeast Asia. The company believes the next stage of fintech competition will be defined not by transaction speed, but by democratizing investment intelligence through AI, enabling institutions and individuals alike to access sophisticated analytical capabilities.

Matthew Cho, Co-CEO of Korean venture capital firm Pacemakers, commented:

“Taipei companies have demonstrated remarkable internationalization capabilities. Some have already established business operations in Korea, while others have successfully expanded into Japan and Southeast Asia. We see strong potential for Taipei and Korean companies to jointly pursue larger opportunities across Asia and global markets.”

The Department of Economic Development, Taipei City Government, noted that Taipei’s innovation ecosystem is increasingly moving beyond technology development toward cross-border business services and enterprise solutions. Through continued partnerships with Korea, Japan, Southeast Asia, and other strategic markets, Taipei aims to help local companies work more closely with international corporations, investors, and local governments, contributing to the next stage of AI-driven growth across Asia.

SYDNEY, June 25, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Great Place To Work^® today released the inaugural Best Workplaces in Finance & Insurance list for Australia, representing the voices of 18,712 employees across the industry. The 15 organisations that made this list prove that when financial services companies invest in culture, the returns show up everywhere.

Bizcap Australia took the #1 spot, followed by EML Group and Jacaranda Finance. The 15 workplaces honoured range from small specialist firms to global names, and from challenger lenders to one of the world’s biggest payments companies.

The surveys sent to nearly 19,000 finance and insurance employees across the country are a clear snapshot of what work-life in these highly competitive industries look like in 2026. The data shows that 93% of employees at the organisations that made the list are proud to tell other people where they work, compared to just 60% at typical Australian companies.

88% agreed that they wanted to stay with their workplace a long time, compared to 56% at typical workplaces. In industries where replacing a single experienced hire can cost upwards of a year’s salary, that kind of loyalty is a financial position as much as a cultural one.

“Every finance and insurance business in the country is fighting for the same people right now, and the companies on this list have worked out that the best way to win that fight is to be somewhere people want to stay,” said Rebecca Moulynox, General Manager, Great Place To Work Australia and New Zealand.

“This is a sector that talks a lot about trust with customers. What these companies show is that it starts on the inside, with the people who turn up every day.”

Best Workplaces™ in Finance & Insurance 2026

1. Bizcap Australia
2. EML Group
3. Jacaranda Finance

SEE WHICH 15 WORKPLACES MADE THE FULL LIST HERE

To qualify, a company first has to earn Great Place To Work Certification™ by surveying its employees and meeting the trust threshold. The ranking reflects what staff report about their day-to-day experience, along with a short culture audit.

About Great Place To Work^®
Great Place To Work^® measures workplace culture in more than 170 countries through its Trust Index™ survey and Certification™ programme. Its Australian Best Workplaces™ lists cover industries including technology, healthcare, and biotechnology and pharmaceuticals, with finance and insurance added this year.

Applications Open June 25 for Early-Stage Biotech Companies Developing Next-Generation Therapeutics and Platform Technologies

SHANGHAI, June 25, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — ATLATL Innovation Center (“ATLATL”), a global innovation platform for life science research and development, and Samsung Bioepis Co., Ltd., today announced the launch of the Samsung Bioepis Innovation Prize C-Lab Outside (Innovation Prize), an open innovation initiative designed to identify and support promising early-stage biotech companies across the Asia-Pacific region.

Applications for the Innovation Prize will open on June 25, 2026.

The program seeks innovative startups and emerging biotech companies working in the following therapeutic areas:

• Oncology
• Immunology & Inflammation (I&I)
• Metabolic Disease

Areas of particular interest include:

• Novel/New Mechanisms of Action (MoA)-based Antibody-Drug Conjugate (ADC)/ X-Drug Conjugates (XDC) (i.e., Payload, Linker, Conjugation)
• Antibody Engineering Technology
• New Modality (Biologics)
• Peptide (Design Engineering, Long-acting Peptide)
• Novel Target Discovery Platform

Selected companies will gain access to ATLATL’s world-class laboratory infrastructure, entrepreneurial resources, and industry mentorship. In addition, awardees will have the opportunity to engage with Samsung Bioepis through its open innovation platform, enabling scientific collaboration, technology assessment, and potential future partnership opportunities. Together, these resources are designed to accelerate innovation and support the translation of promising technologies toward commercialization.

“Innovation thrives when visionary science is matched with the right support and opportunities,” said Min Jeong Seo, Vice President and Leader of Open Innovation Team at Samsung Bioepis. “Through the Innovation Prize, we are seeking to empower promising biotech entrepreneurs and researchers who are advancing novel approaches to address unmet medical needs. By fostering collaboration across the Asia-Pacific region, we hope to help accelerate scientific innovation and contribute to a strong ecosystem for the development of future medicines.”

“Great science alone does not create successful biotech companies,” said Dr. PC Zhu, Founder and CEO of ATLATL. “Innovators need access to world-class infrastructure, R&D ecosystem, experienced mentors, strategic partners, and capital to move forward. By bringing together Samsung Bioepis’ global development expertise and ATLATL’s innovation ecosystem, we hope to provide early-stage biotech entrepreneurs with the resources and support needed to accelerate innovation and deliver meaningful impact to patients.”

The Samsung Bioepis Innovation Prize C-Lab Outside reflects both organizations’ commitment to advancing open innovation and supporting the next generation of biotechnology entrepreneurs. By bringing together scientific talent, development expertise, and critical infrastructure, the program aims to accelerate the translation of breakthrough research into transformative therapies for patients worldwide. The Innovation Prize is also part of Samsung Bioepis C-Lab Outside, Samsung Bioepis’ open innovation program designed to discover, nurture, and collaborate with competent and prospective biotech ventures and startups in and outside of Korea.

About ATLATL

As a global innovation platform for life science research and development, ATLATL has established research centers in Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen, Singapore, Hong Kong, and other strategic locations.

ATLATL provides clients with comprehensive research and development services covering various stages, including in vitro drug screening, in vivo disease model establishment, and efficacy evaluation. ATLATL also supports key applications such as large molecule, small molecule, nucleic acid drugs, gene and cell therapy, drug delivery, as well as cutting-edge fields like multi-omics, gene editing, organoids, and organ-on-a-chip. Additionally, ATLATL provides an outstanding experimental environment and professional operational management for scientific researchers.

Through in-depth cooperation with leading global enterprises and research institutions, ATLATL continuously integrates research and development resources and promotes the sharing of new technologies. With advanced systematic research and development models, ATLATL accelerates the engineering process of life sciences, enabling scientific research results to be rapidly and efficiently translated into clinical practice, and contributing to life science innovation and public health on a global level.