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Global Blockchain Leader R3 Establishes Innovation Lab at Cyberport to Help Hong Kong FinTechs Seize CBDC Opportunities

HONG KONG SAR – Media OutReach – 1 March 2022 – Enterprise technology and services firm R3 has established an official presence in Hong Kong, opening its “Innovation Lab” at Cyberport. Cyberport has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with R3 to provide Hong Kong’s financial services and FinTech sectors with blockchain technology innovation resources relating to Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs).The collaboration will bring R3’s suite of trust technology – Corda, its distributed ledger platform, and Conclave, its confidential computing platforms, closer to Hong Kong’s FinTech start-ups and enterprises to support the creation of next-generation software applications based on digital trust technologies.

Cyberport-.jpg
International commercial blockchain platform R3 has opened its R3 Innovation Lab at Cyberport to provide complete blockchain platform solutions for Hong Kong’s FinTech companies and start-ups.

The two parties, via R3 Sandbox for Digital Currencies will launch a series of blockchain training programme for technical developers later this year to help all companies within the Cyberport community to seize the transformative opportunities offered by blockchain and CBDCs, as outlined within the FinTech Vision 2025 by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority. Through R3’s sandbox, companies could experiment with CBDCs and interact with a global and a diverse pool of participants to explore how they could incorporate certain forms of CBDCs development within their own businesses.

R3 is a leading enterprise software firm known for its Corda blockchain platform and the Conclave confidential computing platform that are widely adopted by companies from the regulated space of banking, capital markets, trade finance and central bank entities. As part of the launch of the “R3 Innovation Lab”, R3 is proud to welcome several high-profile technology partners including Red Date Technology, which drives the global Blockchain-based Service Network (BSN), HK’s home-grown technology transformative giant Cherrypicks, and The Hong Kong Polytechnic University in joining the lab as the inaugural “Innovation Partners” to foster collaborations in co-researching and co-creating possible new technology solutions based on blockchain and confidential computing.

The R3 Innovation Lab will serve as an agile transformative space where Cyberport, R3 and all the Innovation Partners will come together to offer support resources, training curriculum, technology comprehension, industry expertise; and work closely with ecosystem stakeholders to co-create more fintech innovations within Hong Kong and the Greater Bay Area to contribute to Hong Kong’s long-term success as a prominent global leader in technology innovations.

Peter Yan, Chief Executive Officer of Cyberport, said, “The Central Government has been striving to promote e-CNY. By the end of last year, the usage of e-CNY had reached 87.5 billion yuan of transactions with 261 million individual wallets set up. The Hong Kong Monetary Authority is actively studying CBDC payment and settlement in Hong Kong to help promote mutual access in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, and support the consolidation of Hong Kong’s status as a global offshore RMB business hub. CBDC will drive demand for blockchain applications and create huge opportunity. With blockchain is one of the key technology clusters, Cyberport and its Cyberport Academy organised various seminars workshops and competitions to promote blockchain applications. This collaboration with R3 will further nurture and gather talents of blockchain and relevant technologies and consolidate Hong Kong’s edges in advanced technology.”

Amit Ghosh, Chief Information & Services Officer for R3 said, “The advent of the CBDC will reshape the financial industry. Both central banks and financial institutions will need to build new systems, and even review the financial system’s operating processes. The related financial innovation cannot rely solely on promotion by the government and the financial industry. As Hong Kong’s largest FinTech community, Cyberport is an important asset in promoting the application of Hong Kong’s Central Bank digital currency. R3 is delighted to establish an innovation lab at Cyberport in order to allow outstanding FinTech start-ups and the wider enterprise community to better grasp blockchain and confidential computing technologies, while providing them with convenient tools to develop more advanced CBDC-related applications and other blockchain technology applications.”

R3 collaborated with Cyberport as early as 2020 to launch the “Block AdVenture” challenge to help start-ups build on Corda as well as its global Venture Development program for HK’s local technology community, where it offers a variety of resources and support for every stage of the blockchain journey – from office hours, workshops and educational content to access to an ecosystem of over 200 industry experts, mentors and investors.

About Cyberport

Cyberport is an innovative digital community with around 800 on-site start-ups and technology companies. It is managed by Hong Kong Cyberport Management Company Limited, wholly owned by the Hong Kong SAR Government. With a vision to be the hub for digital technology, thereby creating a new economic driver for Hong Kong, Cyberport is committed to nurturing a vibrant tech ecosystem by cultivating talent, promoting entrepreneurship among youth, supporting start-ups, fostering industry development by promoting strategic collaboration with local and international partners, and integrating new and traditional economies by accelerating digital transformation in public and private sectors.

For more information, please visit www.cyberport.hk

About R3
R3 is a leading provider of enterprise technology and services that enable direct, digital collaboration in regulated industries where trust is critical. Multi-party solutions developed on our platforms harness the “Power of 3″— R3’s trust technology, connected networks and regulated markets expertise—to drive market innovation and improve processes in banking, capital markets, global trade and insurance.

As one of the first companies to deliver both a private, distributed ledger technology (DLT) application platform and confidential computing technology, R3 empowers institutions to realize the full potential of direct digital collaboration. We maintain one of the largest DLT production ecosystems in the world connecting over 400 institutions, including global systems integrators, cloud providers, technology firms, software vendors, corporates, regulators, and financial institutions from the public and private sectors. For more information, visit www.r3.com or connect with us on Twitter and LinkedIn.

#Cyberport

Ariana DeBose, Jessica Chastain and Alexandra Daddario Shine in De Beers Jewellers at the 2022 Screen Actors Guild Awards

LOS ANGELES, US – Media OuReach – 1 March 2022 – De Beers Jewellers natural & responsibly sourced diamonds shined on SAG Award winners Ariana DeBose, Jessica Chastain and Hannah Waddingham and SAG Award Ambassador Alexandra Daddario at the 28th annual Screen Actors Guild Awards.

Dancer-turned-actor Ariana DeBose triumphantly won her first Screen Actors Guild Award for her portrayal of Anita in Steven Spielberg’s adaptation of West Side Story. She looked radiant in a sensationally beautiful diamond necklace and bracelet paired perfectly with classic diamond studs and a selection of rings.

“When I saw the jewellery from De Beers, I knew they were the perfect pieces for this big night. Sustainability is as important to me as the design of the jewellery, so wearing natural diamonds that are both beautiful and responsibly sourced is a dream scenario,” Ariana said of her De Beers Jewellers look for the evening.

Ariana’s styling duo Zadrian + Sarah said of the look, “For Ariana’s incredible SAG look, we wanted jewellery that felt fresh and modern while leaning into the glamour of her gown and De Beers Jewellers had the perfect pieces. The radiance of the natural diamonds and intricate details of the jewellery – from the statement necklace to the ring – popped against Ariana’s hot-pink gown. Her look perfectly embodied a new generation’s take on old-Hollywood glamour.”

Actor, presenter, and SAG Award winner for her role as Tammy in The Eyes of Tammy Faye, Jessica Chastain looked stunning in a metallic suit pared with pieces from one of jewellery house’s latest high jewellery collections, Reflections of Nature. The Namib Wonder diamond climber earrings were perfectly paired alongside two complementary rings.

Actor and SAG Award Ambassador Alexandra Daddario walked the red carpet in a glamourous gold ensemble accented by natural De Beers diamonds. Alexandra’s look included a pair of dazzling floral statement earrings paired with a matching ring to complete her look.

About De Beers Jewellers

Founded in London, with a flagship store on Old Bond Street and a presence in the most exclusive locations around the world, De Beers Jewellers is the pinnacle of luxury diamond jewellery. Building on De Beers’ 130 years of expertise, the House glorifies the world’s most beautiful diamonds through creativity and craftsmanship in bold, distinctive designs.

De Beers is committed to ensuring all the diamonds it discovers create a lasting positive impact for people and the places where they are found. This comes with a pledge to build a better future – one that is fairer, safer, cleaner and healthier, in which communities thrive, ethical practices are maintained, and the natural environment is protected.

De Beers Jewellers has 30 stores globally and ships to 15 markets via www.debeers.com.

FB: @DeBeers
IG: @debeersofficial
https://www.debeers.hk/

About De Beers Group

Established in 1888, De Beers Group is the world’s leading diamond company with expertise in the exploration, mining and marketing of diamonds. Together with its joint venture partners, De Beers Group employs more than 20,000 people across the diamond pipeline and is the world’s largest diamond producer by value, with diamond mining operations in Botswana, Canada, Namibia and South Africa. Innovation sits at the heart of the De Beers Group strategy as it develops a portfolio of offers, including its jewellery houses, De Beers Jewellers and De Beers Forevermark, and other pioneering solutions, such as diamond sourcing and traceability initiatives GemFair and Tracr. De Beers Group is committed to ‘Building Forever,’ a holistic and integrated approach for creating a better future – where safety, human rights and ethical integrity continue to be paramount; where communities thrive and the environment is protected; and where there are equal opportunities for all. De Beers Group is a member of the Anglo American plc group. For further information, visit www.debeersgroup.com.

#DeBeers #ADiamondIsForever

The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

Refinitiv Celebrates Achievements of Vietnam’s FX Community

HANOI, VIETNAM – Media OutReach – 1 March 2022 – Refinitiv, an LSEG business , has announced the winners of its FX Trading Awards 2022 for Vietnam’s trading community. The FX Awards aim to promote transparency and liquidity in the Vietnamese foreign exchange market and to recognize its importance to the broader economy. Award winners were determined based on trading activity on Refinitiv’s FX trading platforms.

Refinitiv launched its leading global electronic trading Matching service in Vietnam in 2019, as emerging markets in the Asia region continue to develop their financial markets and digitise FX trading capabilities. The launch represented Vietnam’s first electronic marketplace for the trading of VND.

Foreign exchange remains one of the world’s most actively traded asset classes. The average daily volume (ADV) of foreign exchange trading across Refinitiv’s FX platforms globally totaled $491 billion in January 2022, with the average daily volume for spot trading at $97 billion.

“We would like to extend our congratulations to all the winners recognised at the award ceremony . This marks the second year of our FX Awards in Vietnam and we are delighted to celebrate the strong support we have seen from the local trading community. As one of the world’s largest providers of financial markets data and infrastructure, Refinitiv is committed to the further development of FX markets in Vietnam. We are making significant investments in our trading venues as well as our new generation desktop platform called ‘Workspace for FX Trading’ to help with this journey,” said Nigel Fuller, Sales Director, FX Trading, Asia at Refinitiv.

The 2022 Vietnam FX Award Winners are as follows:

  • Best Market Maker: Vietnam Technological and Commercial Joint Stock Bank
  • Most Active Bank: Vietnam Technological and Commercial Joint Stock Bank
  • Most Volume Traded: Vietnam Maritime Commercial Joint Stock Bank
  • Best Newcomer (new): BNP Paribas – Ho Chi Minh City Branch Vietnam
  • Best FXall Taker (new): Joint Stock Commercial Bank for Foreign Trade of Vietnam
  • Top 5 Volume Traded:
1

Vietnam Maritime Commercial Joint Stock Bank

2

Vietnam Export Import Bank

3

Vietnam Technological and Commercial Joint Stock Bank

4

Ho Chi Minh Development Commercial Joint Stock Bank

5

Tien Phong Commercial Joint Stock Bank

For further information on Refinitiv’s FX solutions, visit here.

About Refinitiv, an LSEG business

Refinitiv, an LSEG (London Stock Exchange Group) business, is one of the world’s largest providers of financial markets data and infrastructure. With more than 40,000 customers and 400,000 end users in approximately 190 countries, Refinitiv is powering participants across the global financial marketplace. Refinitiv provides information, insights, and technology that enable customers to execute critical investing, trading and risk decisions with confidence. By combining a unique open platform with best-in-class data and expertise, Refinitiv connects people with choice and opportunity – driving performance, innovation and growth for its customers and partners. www.lseg.com

#Refinitiv

The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

Philippine Bureau of Customs Adopts Hytera BWC Solution to Improve Border Protection and Trade Facilitation

MANILA, PHILIPPINES – Media OutReach – 1 March 2022 – The Philippine Bureau of Customs (BOC) integrated Hytera Body-Worn Camera (BWC) Solution to their daily operation to modernize and strengthen its enforcement and border protection capabilities, while at the same time further enhancing trade facilitation and improving the collection of the country’s lawful revenues.

A Philippine customs officer is carrying a Hytera body-worn camera during an inspection
A Philippine customs officer is carrying a Hytera body-worn camera during an inspection

The BOC is a Philippine government agency under the Department of Finance. Its main function is to assess and collect customs revenues from imported goods and other dues, fees, charges, and penalties. It is tasked with implementing border control to prevent smuggling and other customs fraud. It also supervises and controls the clearance of vessels and aircraft engaged in foreign commerce.

According to a report made by the BOC, during the year 2000, it dealt with over 566,212 thousand entries and facilitated more than six million arriving and departing travelers. With such a heavy workload, modernization of its workforce became one of the BOC’s top priorities.

Hytera BWC solution was selected by the BOC for its complete process of evidence collection, data storage and management as well as its GPS positioning and voice features which enable real-time monitoring, dispatching and coordination.

“Having a robust design, powerful audiovisual data recording capabilities and a lot of other features.” praised SpCapt. Rodolfo Gonda, ESS-QRT Head Officer,” Hytera VM780 is easily the best overall body-worn camera available.”

Equipped with Hytera BWC solution, recorded data is transferred through the docking stations deployed in the 17 BOC offices and can be monitored remotely by the Customs Operation Center (COC). Thus, transparency and efficiency of law enforcement are enhanced.

As international trade increases, customs offices worldwide are faced with issues brought by diversified duties and mounting workloads. BWCs that are capable of fast evidence collection, live video streaming and voice dispatching can be a powerful addition for the customs industry and law enforcement agencies alike.

About Hytera

Hytera Communications Corporation Limited (SZSE: 002583) is a leading global provider of professional communications technologies and solutions. With voice, video and data capabilities, we provide faster, safer, and more versatile connectivity for business and mission critical users. We enable our customers to achieve more in both daily operations and emergency response to make the world more efficient and safer.

Official website: https://bit.ly/3M7bgHgWebsite

#Hytera

The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

Chubb Life Hong Kong wins Whole Life Product Category at the Benchmark Wealth Management Awards 2021

HONG KONG SAR – Media OutReach – 1 March 2022 – Chubb Life Hong Kong has won the “Outstanding Achiever” award in the category “Whole Life Product” at the Benchmark Wealth Management Awards 2021. They’re the sole winner in the category this year.

Chubb Life Hong Kong received the award presented by Ms Elsa Pau, Group CEO of WealthAsia Media (center)
Chubb Life Hong Kong received the award presented by Ms Elsa Pau, Group CEO of WealthAsia Media (center)

The winning product, Chubb MyLegacy Insurance Plan (Chubb MyLegacy), is a savings insurance plan that provides long-term financial growth combined with flexibility in choosing how to design the plan, to help people at different stages of life with wealth accumulation and legacy planning. With this plan, Chubb Life introduced a first-in-market1 feature that allows the policyholder to convert their Partial Surrender Value to another insured person in a Split Policy and they can do this for a unlimited number of times. This is in addition to the unlimited flexibility to change the insured person in the plan and assign a new insured person to help with legacy planning if the insured person passes away.

“Our jurors found Chubb Life’s Whole Life product attractive, especially with a breakeven period of eight years2. Chubb also has a good governance structure in place, which is critical in providing long-term products”, says organizer, Elsa Pau, Group CEO of WealthAsia Media.

Kean Hah, Chief Financial Officer of Chubb Life Hong Kong says, “We are extremely proud to be the winner of this award. This is a great testament to our commitment to meet our customers’ evolving needs to build wealth and make legacy planning with solutions that offer great flexibility and value in the long-term. We would like to thank all our customers for placing their trust in Chubb Life and our agents, partners and brokers who made this award happen.”

Further product information can be found at: https://www.chubb.com/hk-en/personal/chubb-mylegacy-insurance-plan.html

Remarks:
1. Based on available market information as of 31 December 2020.
2. The number of years to reach breakeven point is for reference only and it is subject to the amount of premium, premium payment mode, as well as the actual amounts of non-guaranteed benefits which are determined by us from time to time.

About Chubb Life Hong Kong

Chubb Life is the international life insurance division of Chubb. In Asia, Chubb Life operates in Hong Kong SAR, Indonesia, Korea, Myanmar, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam, and participates in a joint-venture in China. Chubb Life has been in Hong Kong since 1976. To meet the financial protection and wealth management needs of its broad range of customers, Chubb Life Hong Kong (Chubb Life Insurance Company Ltd.) offers a range of life protection, savings, accident and health insurance solutions through agents and brokers. Additional information can be found at: http://life.chubb.com/hk

#ChubbLifeHongKong

About Chubb

Chubb is the world’s largest publicly traded property and casualty insurance company. With operations in 54 countries and territories, Chubb provides commercial and personal property and casualty insurance, personal accident and supplemental health insurance, reinsurance and life insurance to a diverse group of clients. As an underwriting company, we assess, assume and manage risk with insight and discipline. We service and pay our claims fairly and promptly. The company is also defined by its extensive product and service offerings, broad distribution capabilities, exceptional financial strength and local operations globally. Parent company Chubb Limited is listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: CB) and is a component of the S&P 500 index. Chubb maintains executive offices in Zurich, New York, London, Paris and other locations, and employs approximately 31,000 people worldwide. Additional information can be found at: www.chubb.com

About the Awards

The 12th Annual Benchmark assesses insurance companies by highly qualified industry veterans across six pillars: Value for Money, Client Support, Digital, Brand Strength, Governance, and Sustainability. In conjunction with BlueOnion, Benchmark’s sister company in ESG data aggregation and analysis, Benchmark undertakes a mission to expose Green, Blue, SDG, and Sustainability washing. Insurers who have scored the highest over 22 Environment, Social, Governance, and Climate KPIs are recognized for their contribution this year.

The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

Restaurant Delivery Software Provider VROMO Partners with Restaurant SaaS and Host Kitchen Tech Start-up KBOX Global

KBox Global chooses VROMO as premier delivery software provider as it expands its host kitchen model into the U.S. market

PERTH, AUSTRALIA – News Direct – 1 March 2022 – Restaurant operators and host kitchens looking to make their delivery operations more efficient and profitable can now take full advantage of a lucrative new partnership between the restaurant delivery software provider VROMO and KBOX Global, a UK-based startup that turns underused commercial kitchen space into takeout delivery hubs. Together, the companies will optimise digital sales and create a more efficient delivery model for host kitchens, generating much-needed new revenue streams for restaurant operators.

VROMO automates the entire delivery solution with a wide range of features including route optimisation, order stacking, driver ETA and live order tracking. The solution seamlessly integrates delivery service providers with restaurant operations for the fastest, most efficient delivery resulting in exceptional customer experience.

The system is designed for in-house delivery but offers a hybrid solution. This means that restaurant brands can ‘overflow’ orders to a range of third-party fleets such as DoorDash drivers when volume exceeds their driver capacity. Operators never have to reject an order, third-party fleet partners receive additional volume, and all parties benefit from the VROMO ecosystem of cohesive restaurant and food delivery operators.

“Our goal is to become the No.1 delivery management software for restaurant brands and we’ll do this by offering the best software solution and the most comprehensive range of third party delivery fleets to our partners around the globe. We look forward to growing this partnership with KBOX because of their unparalleled focus on the operator’s experience. Their tech solutions were built by operators for operators and we look forward to them bringing these insights to the US market” said VROMO CEO Brian Hickey.

Salima Vellani, CEO of KBOX Global commented: “We are delighted to partner with VROMO ahead of our rollout to hundreds of new locations across the UK, Australia and the US. Having looked at several delivery software tools, we found VROMO to be the stand out product and we are confident we can create the most efficient delivery model possible for our operators”.

This partnership marks a major milestone for both companies and aligns with the increasing popularity of digital ordering for both in-restaurant and off-premise.

Throughout 2021 and early into 2022, VROMO signed several international-partnership deals to enhance its offering for both restaurant and third-party delivery partners. In recent months, the company has announced partnerships with Doordash, Deliverect, Square, Stuart and the RMDA.

About VROMO

VROMO provides a customisable delivery management solution for the restaurant sector. The software automates the entire delivery management operation and enables restaurants to use a combination of in-house delivery staff, drivers from marketplace platforms and/or drivers from local Delivery Service Partners. Visit http://www.vromo.io/ for more information. You can also find VROMO on LinkedIn.

About KBOX
Built by operators for operators, the KBOX suite of software enables any food service operation to be digitised for off-premise and on-premise ordering. In one easy-to-use solution, KBOX provides customer-led in-venue, takeaway, first party and third party delivery solutions for any foodservice operator. With machine learning powering the platform, KBOX’s proprietary menu optimization solution enables operators to increase revenues, reduce wastage, improve labor efficiency and potentially even add additional revenue streams through virtual brands. The KBOX solution is powering kitchens in the UK and Australia and is now bringing its industry-leading solution to the US. More on how KBOX works, including a tech demo, is available here. Say goodbye to multiple devices, manual entry, mistakes and lengthy admin processes.

#VROMO

The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

Government of Laos Steps Up Road-building Initiative

Third Lao-Thai Friendship Bridge
Third Lao-Thai Friendship Bridge.

The government is stepping up its road development program in the provinces in order to improve travel and fulfill the country’s goal of becoming land-linked.

Bombings In Myanmar Displace Thousands

Myanmar renews bombing and air strikes, displacing thousands.

The military of Myanmar has launched renewed air and ground strikes in the east of the country, displacing thousands.