Authorities in the Netherlands have arrested six people for attempting to send ecstasy pills to Laos and Vietnam.
Dutch Authorities Arrest Six People for Sending Ecstasy to Laos and Vietnam
Pearl FALCO Launches Its First Sub-brand, MAIKO by Pearl FALCO
SINGAPORE – Media OutReach – 15 December 2021 – Pearl FALCO today announced the launch of its first sub-brand, ‘MAIKO by Pearl FALCO‘ to commemorate the start of new traditions this holiday season and pay homage to the pearl farmers of Ise Shima. Featuring over 50 pieces of lustrous jewelry exclusively made of Baby Akoya Pearls, MAIKO by Pearl FALCO is a carefully curated selection to appeal to younger fashionistas in their quest for personal style.
Inspired by the exclusivity and intricacy of the Baby Akoya Pearls, the brand consists of pendants, rings and earrings that are priced from S$200 to S$3,000 that also adds subtle yet effective finishing touches to any outfit. Pearls have often been revered for its sentimental value as often they are associated with memories young girls have of their mothers and grandmothers. MAIKO by Pearl FALCO goes beyond traditional designs to break away from pearls being treated merely as keepsakes. Instead, the sub-brand is a contemporary and trendy curation that appeals to the younger generation, for them to use pearls as an expression of style and versatility.
While Pearl FALCO has consistently made it a point to advocate for environmental issues and their subsequent impact on pearl cultivation, the sub-brand goes a step further to pay greater homage to the painstaking cultivation process of Baby Akoya Pearls. Ranging from 2mm to 5mm, Baby Akoya Pearls require greater effort and attention leading many pearl farmers to focus on other larger pearls that are far more profitable. Cultivated exclusively in Ise Shima, Baby Akoya Pearls are also very limited in quantity. However, they are gaining popularity as they are easy to maintain and are a symbol of elegance for the youth.
Maiko Makito, Owner and Managing Director of MAIKO by Pearl FALCO said, “My vision for MAIKO by Pearl FALCO has always been very clear as I have a very strong attachment to Ise Shima. I have always felt very strongly about the plight of pearl farmers in Ise Shima and I wanted the MAIKO collection to simultaneously be a platform that can educate customers on the dedication of pearl farmers. I knew the collection had to revolve around Baby Akoya Pearls and highlight a tinge of glimmer for subtle elegance.”
The collection is available exclusively at https://www.maikopearl.com.
High-res images, refer here.
#PearlFALCO
The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.
Advanced Energy’s New Power Meter Improves Accuracy and Performance in Precision RF Power Applications
Integrating power sensor and meter into a single easy-to-use instrument, the new RF power meter simplifies monitoring and enables precise control
DENVER, COLORADO – Media OutReach – 15 December 2021 – Advanced Energy (Nasdaq: AEIS) – a global leader in highly engineered, precision power conversion, measurement and control solutions – today announced the GEMINI™ 5540A RF (Radio Frequency) power meter. The new power meter delivers highly accurate in-line RF power measurement in a flexible and convenient integrated unit for applications requiring precision RF power control in semiconductor, communication, industrial and medical markets. As the leader in RF power solutions in the semiconductor industry, Advanced Energy continues to bring new capabilities for improving plasma power controls and performance of advanced etch and deposition processes.
Combining sensor and meter capability into a single, easy-to-use instrument, the GEMINI 5540A measures at frequencies from 0.2 to 200 MHz and powers from 3 to 5,000 W with 2-sigma accuracy of ±0.5% + 0.5 W. This integrated instrument enables users to replace multiple instruments with a single meter for applications that require precise measurement and control of RF power.
“In demanding semiconductor processes such as high aspect ratio (HAR) plasma etch, precise control and chamber-to-chamber matching of the RF system directly impact process performance,” said Gerry Blumenstock, vice president, critical sensing and control products at Advanced Energy. “With the new GEMINI 5540A, OEMs can accurately calibrate the system and monitor RF power in real time, improving the fidelity and consistency of leading-edge plasma-based processes.”
The GEMINI 5540A incorporates a large, easy-to-read OLED digital display that simultaneously shows forward and reverse power, voltage standing wave ratio (VSWR) and frequency. It automatically senses frequency with no reconfiguration required for forward and reverse power measurements. The meter reduces calibration to every 12 months, compared to six months for conventional instruments. It operates with a 5 V, 500 mA input supplied via a standard USB 2.0 port using either an external battery or AC power outlet and off-the-shelf USB adapter.
In addition to taking measurements directly, the meter can also be connected to a PC for collection, storage and audit of data using Advanced Energy’s GEMINI Tools data visualization software.
For detailed product information and technical specifications, visit www.tegam.com/shop/rf-microwave/power-meters/no-product/gemini-5540a-rf-power-meter
About Advanced Energy
Advanced Energy (Nasdaq: AEIS) is a global leader in the design and manufacturing of highly engineered, precision power conversion, measurement and control solutions for mission-critical applications and processes. AE’s power solutions enable customer innovation in complex applications for a wide range of industries including semiconductor equipment, industrial, manufacturing, telecommunications, data center computing and healthcare. With engineering know-how and responsive service and support around the globe, the company builds collaborative partnerships to meet technology advances, propel growth for its customers and innovate the future of power. Advanced Energy has devoted four decades to perfecting power for its global customers and is headquartered in Denver, Colorado, USA. For more information, visit www.advancedenergy.com.
Advanced Energy | Precision. Power. Performance.
#AdvancedEnergy
Siklus Announces Business Growth And Sustainability Results For 2021
JAKARTA, INDONESIA – Media OutReach – 15 December 2021 – Siklus, an Indonesia-based firm solving economic and environmental issues through its e-commerce and refill delivery solution, is reporting its business growth and environmental impact results for 2021.
Laksamana Sakti (Head of Operations) & Jane von Rabenau (CEO)
Business growth:
After focusing efforts on R&D, pilot testing, and fine-tuning its business model the previous year, Siklus kick-started sales in Jakarta in January 2021. Over the course of the year, Siklus achieved 20X growth in sales, achieving over IDR 11.5 billion (USD 800k) in Annual Recurring Revenue and 15X growth in active users.
Addressing the plastic waste crisis:
Indonesia produces 6.8 million tonnes of plastic waste annually, ranking it the second-largest contributor of ocean plastic waste in the world – second only to China, and more than India (The Borgen Project, 2021). In 2021, Siklus has already managed to save over 1.8 million single-use plastic packaging from being produced.
“Before starting Siklus, I was advised that selling household consumer products as refills would not be feasible. Today, Siklus is now providing refill solutions to thousands of families in Jakarta. We have grown 20X this year, and established partnerships with many of the top FMCGs,” shares Jane von Rabenau, Co-Founder & CEO of Siklus. “And as our business grows, we steadily increase our environmental impact. To date, I’m proud to announce that Siklus has helped save nearly 2 million plastic packages from being produced, replacing them with refills.”
Siklus x FMCGs:
In 2021, Siklus established partnerships with industry-leading FMCGs, allowing the business to sell popular household products via refill to Indonesian consumers. Siklus now works with Nestlé, P&G, Reckitt, Mars Petcare, Godrej, Unza Vitalis, Wings and Total.
“The commitment from the FMCGs to sign on with us this year justifies our business model, and is testament to the combined business and environmental potential of our refill solution,” says Laksamana Sakti, Head of Operations at Siklus. “Early next year, we will be announcing more major FMCG partners into our refill ecosystem.”
Siklus recently started a partnership with Reckitt to sell and deliver its Dettol products to Indonesian consumers via refills:
“Reckitt is passionate about creating positive impacts on consumers’ lives, as well as putting efforts on sustainable initiatives, which include protecting the environment. This new partnership with Siklus, is another way for Reckitt to further develop and scale our environmental mission-driven business in Indonesia,” says Donny Wahyudi, Head of External Communications & Community Affairs Reckitt Indonesia.
2022 outlook:
Siklus recently secured a pilot project in Labuan Bajo, which is set to kick-start in Q1 2022. The pilot is in partnership with the Indonesian Waste Platform (IWP), leveraging Siklus’ refill solution to reduce plastic waste in Indonesia’s Rural & Remote Communities (RRC). IWP has committed to support Siklus expansion to bring its refill business to other rural regions in Maluku, Sumatera, NTT, Bali, Java and Sulawesi. These pilots, along with other upcoming FMCG and commercial partnerships also set to activate in the new year, Siklus’ outlook for 2022 looks promising.
About Siklus
Siklus is reinventing the future of retail by selling everyday necessities without packaging, and at a lower cost. Consumers purchase refills of consumer products using the Siklus mobile app (Android and iOS) after which orders are delivered direct to their homes.
Siklus’ e-commerce and refill technology provides safe and precise dispensing, optimization of supply chains, and collection of rich data, allowing consumer brands to engage and sell to customers in an efficient and sustainable way. For more information, please visit: www.siklus.com
#Siklus
The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.
Laos Confirms 1,245 New Cases of Covid-19 and Six Deaths
Laos has recorded 1,245 cases of Covid-19 across the country today, with six new deaths.
Laos to Play Cocky Cambodia Before Leaving AFF Suzuki Cup
Laos could have its chance to break a losing streak when it faces off against cocky Cambodia later today in the AFF Suzuki Cup 2020.
MODIFI Announces 145m USD to Power International SME Trade Among Supply Chain Turmoil
AMSTERDAM, THE NETHERLANDS – Media OutReach – 15 December 2021 – Global fintech MODIFI today announced 145m USD in debt financing with existing bank partners Silicon Valley Bank and Solarisbank. The funds will be used to address increasing demand and help more small and medium-sized enterprises trade internationally on MODIFI’s digital platform.
COVID-19 has negatively impacted SME exporters and importers, with the trade finance gap widening to 1.7 trillion USD, 15% higher than 2 years ago. As global trade is booming and consumer demand is on the rise, they are unable to capitalize on new opportunities and navigate through supply chain disruptions.
“2021 has been a challenging year for SMEs, who had to cope with logistics issues and skyrocketing freight rates amid a strong rebound in consumer demand. We were able to step in and help our clients get additional liquidity and risk protection, thus enabling them to fulfil extra orders and grow their business. We are excited to continue our partnership with Silicon Valley Bank and Solarisbank and are honored by their commitment to our mission” says CEO and Co-Founder Nelson Holzner.
Increase in the facility amount will help address growing demand for the MODIFI products in the company’s markets worldwide. MODIFI has quadrupled its business year on year with India remaining the largest single market, and Greater China, UAE and Germany actively picking up pace. 2021 started off with MODIFI’s launch in the Netherlands, the US and Bangladesh.
“We are incredibly excited at Silicon Valley Bank to build on our existing relationship with MODIFI as it continues on its trajectory to become a leading provider of trade financing products. With trade severely affected by the restrictions resulting from COVID-19 and other macroeconomic issues, trade financing has been instrumental in reducing the adverse effects to businesses relating to both exports and imports. Our continued partnership showcases the ability of SVB’s warehouse financing platform to play a pivotal role in the growth of cutting edge fintechs like MODIFI”, says Conor Sheehy, Head of Fintech Warehousing at SVB EMEA.
“We are excited to take our partnership with MODIFI to the next level and help more SMEs manage their liquidity and emerge as winners from the current supply chain crisis. There is a growing need for innovative solutions that remove barriers, increase transparency and enable small and midsize businesses to trade on a par with larger corporates. At Solarisbank, we are committed to empowering our partners to scale quickly and serve more customers through our API-based lending platform”, says Nicolas Knecht, Managing Director Lending of Solarisbank.
MODIFI is the only digital trade finance platform for SMEs that spans the three major trading regions of Europe, Asia and North America – a cluster which encompasses approximately 80% of global imports and exports. It provides SMEs with simple digital solutions to finance and manage their trades, protect them from counterparty risk, and easily track their shipments. Having raised its Series B round in September, the company is now working on major upgrades to its digital platform, which will expand the product offering beyond trade finance and allow MODIFI customers to take care of all trade-related activities in one place.
MODIFI currently operates out of 9 offices in Berlin, Amsterdam, New York, Delhi, Mumbai, Shenzhen, Hong Kong, Dubai and Dhaka.
About MODIFI:
MODIFI is a global fintech company that helps small and medium sized businesses (SMEs) finance and manage their international trades. Serving over 1,000 buyers and sellers across more than 40 countries, MODIFI offers simple digital solutions that enable SMEs to trade like large corporates. Through its digital platform the company empowers businesses to grow, fostering strong international partnerships and benefitting local economies. To see how small and medium sized businesses can grow with MODIFI, visit www.modifi.com or follow us on
LinkedIn and
Twitter.
#MODIFI
About Silicon Valley Bank:
Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) helps innovative businesses and their investors move bold ideas forward, fast. SVB provides a range of financial services and targeted expertise to companies of all sizes in innovation centres around the world, including the UK. With commercial and international banking services, SVB helps address the unique needs of innovators. Learn more at svb.com
Silicon Valley Bank Germany Branch is a branch of Silicon Valley Bank.
Silicon Valley Bank, a public corporation with limited liability (Aktiengesellschaft) under the laws of the U.S. federal state of California, with registered office in Santa Clara, California, U.S.A. is registered with the California Secretary of State under No. C1175907, Chief Executive Officer (Vorstand): Gregory W Becker, Chairman of the Board of Directors (Aufsichtsratsvorsitzender): Roger F Dunbar. Silicon Valley Bank Germany Branch with registered office in Frankfurt am Main is registered with the local court of Frankfurt am Main under No. HRB 112038, Branch Directors (Geschäftsleiter): Phillip Lovett, Dayanara Heisig.
2021 SVB Financial Group. All rights reserved. SVB, SVB FINANCIAL GROUP, SILICON VALLEY BANK, MAKE NEXT HAPPEN NOW and the chevron device are trademarks of SVB Financial Group, used under license.
About Solarisbank:
Solarisbank is Europe’s leading Banking-as-a-Service platform. As a technology company with a full German banking license, Solarisbank enables other companies to offer their own financial services both rapidly and compliantly. Using our simple APIs, we enable partners to integrate Solarisbank’s modular banking services directly into their own product offering at a much more efficient cost. The platform offers digital bank accounts and payment cards, identification and lending services, digital assets, including custody and brokerage, as well as services provided by integrated third-party providers. In 2021, Solarisbank launched in France, Italy, and Spain to offer local IBANs, providing access to local financial ecosystems in Europe’s four largest markets. Headquartered in Berlin, over 450 Solarians representing over 60+ nationalities are working together to transform the financial services industry.
The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.
ARISTA Biotech Confirms Antigen Test Effectiveness Against Omicron and other COVID variants
SINGAPORE – Media OutReach – 15 December 2021 – ARISTA Biotech Pte Ltd (“ARISTA”), manufacturer of COVID-19 antigen & antibody diagnostics, confirms that its COVID-19 antigen rapid test, which tests for the presence of SARS-CoV-2 virus in clinical specimens, is able to detect the recently identified B.1.1.529 (Omicron) variant.
On 26th November 2021, the World Health Organization (WHO) announced and designated variant B.1.1529 named Omicron, a newly identified variant first identified in Botswana and South Africa, as a Variant of Concern. Early indication suggested this variant may have higher transmissibility and has already spread to over 30 countries in an accelerated manner.
Sequence study of the Omicron variant confirmed that it harbors more than 30 mutations across its genome with the majority of mutations in the Spike protein. The Omicron variant possesses three replacement and one deletion mutations in the N-protein compared to the original viral strain (Table 1).
The ARISTA TM COVID-19 Antigen Rapid Test is designed to identify the presence of SARS-CoV-2 virus in clinical specimens by detecting the nucleocapsid protein (N-protein) in the core of the virus. ARISTA has conducted studies using recombinant variant N-proteins to validate and confirm the ARISTA COVID-19 Antigen Rapid Test is able to detect over 400+ variants, including B.1.1.7 (Alpha), B.1.351 (Beta), P.1 (Gamma), B.1.617, B.1.617.2 (Delta), AY.1/AY.2/AY.3 (Delta Plus), B.1.617.3, C.37 (Lambda) and B.1.1.529 (Omicron) with similar sensitivities (Table 2).
Our preliminary laboratory results indicate that the sensitivity of the ARISTA COVID-19 Antigen Test remains similar for all variants tested to date – including the Omicron variant. Further performance validation results and clinical studies on the Omicron variant are underway and will be made available in due course.
Letter of Statement
ARISTA™ COVID-19 Antigen Rapid Test is designed to detect the presence of SARS-CoV-2 virus in a clinical specimen by identifying the nucleocapsid protein (N-protein) of SARS-CoV-2 viral antigen and is used as an aid in rapid screening of COVID-19 infection. As the product manufacturer, ARISTA Biotech Pte Ltd (“ARISTA”) is responsible for the performance of the product and ensures it can be effective against all key emerging variants.
On 26th November 2021, the World Health Organization (WHO) announced and designated variant B.1.1529 named Omicron, a newly identified variant from Botswana and South Africa, as a Variant of Concern. Early indications suggest this variant to have higher transmissibility and has already spread through multiple countries in an accelerated manner.
Sequence study of the Omicron variant confirms that it harbors more than 30 mutations across its genome with the majority of the mutations in the Spike protein. The Omicron variant possess three replacement and one deletion mutations in the N-protein compared to the original viral strain.
ARISTA continues to monitor and validate the product’s performance against all major emerging variants, and we hereby confirm that the ARISTATM COVID-19 Antigen Rapid Test product continue to detect the Omicron variant with no loss in sensitivity.
ARISTA has conducted studies using recombinant variant N-proteins to validate and confirm similar detection sensitivity on B.1.1.7 (Alpha), B.1.351 (Beta), P.1 (Gamma), B.1.617, B.1.617.2 (Delta), AY.1/AY.2/AY.3 (Delta Plus), B.1.617.3, C.37 (Lambda) and B.1.529 (Omicron).
ARISTA will conduct further molecular validation and field clinical studies to demonstrate the clinical performance of the ARISTA product towards the Delta and Omicron variants. We will continue to monitor the emerging variants and evaluate the performance of ARISTA™ COVID-19 Antigen Rapid Test against new important variants as they emerge. Further information will be shared when available.
Dr. Eric Tang
Chief Scientific Officer
ARISTA Biotech Pte. Ltd.
1st December 2021
About ARISTA Biotech Pte. Ltd
Arista is a global biotech company that provides innovative diagnostic technologies, strategic products and “big data” analytics for novel disease management, including the COVID-19 pandemic and other infectious or critical illnesses.
For more information, please visit https://aristabio.com
#ARISTABiotech
The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.