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Bangalore International Airport Limited Appoints Plaza Premium Group to Reinvent Passenger Services

Enhancing 22 services from customer experience to technology innovation

HONG KONG SAR – Media OutReach – 7 September 2021 – Plaza Premium Group (PPG), the global award-winning airport hospitality services provider, has been appointed by Bangalore International Airport Limited (BIAL) to manage Passenger Services at the Kempegowda International Airport, Bengaluru (KIAB/BLR Airport). This is in line with BIAL’s vision to provide delightful travel experiences at BLR Airport.

 

Bangalore International Airport

 

Create “One Team, One Airport, One Experience, One Platform” Service Model

The 10-year full-service management appointment covers the entire portfolio of BLR Airport’s 22 services.

The 360-degree airport service delivery scope includes: Service Delivery, Control Center, Training Center, Customer Engagement, Marketing Communications, Sales & Distribution as well as Technology. The agreement covers a wide range of services, including Meet and Assist, Porter Services, Luggage Storage and Flower Booking, PRM (Persons with Reduced Mobility) Services, Limo Services, Concierge Services, Valet Parking, Car Spa, Travel Concierge, Pet Care Service, Personal Shopper, Robotic Assistance etc. and more services will be introduced to enable an end-to-end and globally connected passenger journey.

 

The appointment of PPG signifies a timely and significant step in transforming airport experiences, under the concept of “The Power of One” to deliver “One Brand, One Experience, One Service Standards through One Platform under One Team”. BIAL and PPG will collaborate in addressing the desires of “New Travel” – with seamless service delivery, world-class standards and quality, technology and innovation, as well as commercialisation optimisation.

 

“We are optimistic that our timely partnership with Plaza Premium Group (PPG) will bolster our mission to transform passenger experience at BLR Airport. The Power of One concept will ensure optimal service and safety standards, along with seamless airport experience. This partnership is a positive step towards restoring passenger confidence in air travel,” said Hari Marar, Managing Director & CEO, Bangalore International Airport Limited.

 

Taking Airport Service Innovation To The Next Level

As part of the mission and strategy to deliver seamless, optimal and data-driven operation excellence, Plaza Premium Group has teamed up with global IT services leader Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) to develop an end-to-end passenger services technology platform to connect the complexity of reservation, sales & marketing, customer engagement, back-of-house command and control, manpower management, training center and the entire operation information management. The newly developed PPG Passenger Services Technology Platform will be built based on the existing PPG operating platform with tailored architecture that suits BIAL’s passengers needs. The platform will include an Omni-channel Booking Engine which enables worldwide sales & distribution, a Customer Engagement Center with customer profiling & personlisation capabilities, a Service Delivery Platform for dispatch and real-time incident management, and a Back Office System which powers HR, administration, asset and information management.

 

PPG is also partnered with one-stop customer engagement technology service provider oneDirect to ensure passenger interactions are managed through one-single platform via various touchpoints.  Through the “Power of One” concept, Plaza Premium Group will coordinate the standards, data & insights, methodology & efforts, with consultation and input from BIAL’s management and operation teams to further optimize and commercialize customer experience and achieve the vision for unmatched, memorable, world-class passenger journey.

 

“We are beyond grateful to be trusted by BIAL to jointly create world-class airport experience and very importantly, to serve millions of domestic and international travellers in the new era of travel. India is one of the fasting growing air travel markets with Bangalore as the key driving force. PPG is no stranger to the Indian travel market and we see huge potential in the travel market, therefore we have strategized to invest over USD15 million and will deploy a workforce of over 800 staff over the 10 years, supported by our Hong Kong-based headquarter with the hope to grow with BIAL in the years to come. With a strong local alliance with TCS and oneDirect, we are confident that we will be able to take BLR’s passengers service to the next level with data-driven decision-making, advanced technology and very importantly, the PPG team’s love and passion for quality customer service.” shares Song-Hoi-see, Founder & CEO of Plaza Premium Group.

 

Plaza Premium Group has vast experience in the India market in the past decade, delivering airport hospitality services including lounges, transit hotels and meet and greet services across key airports including Indira Gandhi International Airport (DEL), Rajiv Gandhi International Airport (HYD), Chandigarh International Airport (IXC) and Visakhapatnam Airport (VTZ). The Group will also support in enable delightful journeys and experiences of BLR as the “Gateway to a New India”, across its global sales & distribution network leveraging on its presence in over 70 international airports from China, Southeast Asia, the Middle East and the Americas.

About Bangalore International Airport Limited

Bangalore International Airport Limited (BIAL) is a public limited company – formed under The Companies Act – to build, own and operate the Greenfield Kempegowda International Airport, Bengaluru (BLR Airport) for a 60-year concession period. BLR Airport is the first Greenfield airport in India to be built as a private-public partnership. Private promoters hold 74% (Fairfax 54% and Siemens Projects Ventures 20%) stake in BIAL, while the government holds the remaining 26% (Karnataka State Industrial & Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited – 13%, Airport Authority of India – 13%).

The Airport began operations in May 2008 and plays a key role in driving the economy of the region – offering connectivity to key destinations in India and across the globe. It is currently the busiest airport in South India and the third in the Country, having welcomed 33.65 million passengers in CY 2019.

BLR Airport was recognised as the Best Regional Airport in India & Central Asia at the 2020 SKYTRAX World Airport Awards, for the fifth time in 11 years. It’s the only Airport in the World to win the ACI-ASQ awards for three consecutive years. For more information log on to www.bengaluruairport.com.

About Plaza Premium Group

With a mission to Make Travel Better, Plaza Premium Group is the pioneer and industry leader in innovating global airport hospitality services and facilities in over 250 locations of more than 70 international airports across the world. Established in 1998 and headquartered in Hong Kong, the group comprises four core business segments – airport lounges Plaza Premium First and Plaza Premium Lounge; airport terminal hotels Aerotel; airport meet & greet services ALLWAYS and a range of Airport Dining concepts. The Group has also developed Smart Traveller, a mobile-app based global airport membership programme that is designed for air travellers, offering uniquely-curated perks, benefits and rewards experience through points earning and redemption. In addition to its own brands, Plaza Premium Group provides airport hospitality solutions to leading airlines, alliances and corporates around the world, including but not limited to Cathay Pacific Airways, Singapore Airlines, China Southern Airlines, Virgin Atlantic, Air France, Star Alliance, SkyTeam, American Express, Capital One and many more.

The Group has won more than 60 accolades in the last five years, including “World’s Best Independent Airport Lounge” for four consecutive years from 2016 to 2019 at the Skytrax World Airline Awards, the global benchmark of aviation excellence, and “Best Airport Lounge Operator” for 2018 & 2019 by TTG Asia magazine. In 2020, the Group has successfully been awarded ISO 9001:2015 for Hong Kong Headquarters, proving the quality management in providing airport lounge services. In addition, the group’s Founder and CEO Mr. Song Hoi-see was named Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of The Year and Master Entrepreneur of The Year 2018 Malaysia. Plaza Premium Group currently employs over 5,000 staff and serves more than 20 million global passengers annually. By continuously innovating and striving to surpass travellers’ expectations of airport experiences, the group is growing exponentially across major international airports globally.

To learn more: www.plazapremiumgroup.com

Connect with us: LinkedIn @plazapremiumgroup, Twitter @PPG_worldleader and WeChat @PlazaPremiumGroup

#PlazaPremiumGroup

Sunlight Real Estate Investment Trust (“Sunlight REIT”) Final Results for the Year Ended 30 June 2021

Advancing Sustainability

HONG KONG SAR – Media OutReach – 7 September 2021 – Henderson Sunlight Asset Management Limited (the “Manager“) announces the final results of Sunlight REIT for the year ended 30 June 2021 (the “Year“).

 

While the global economy staged a strong recovery in the first half of 2021 as a result of extraordinary monetary and fiscal stimulus packages launched to relieve the ravages of COVID-19, protracted travelling and social distancing restrictions continued to take their tolls on the commercial real estate sector. Accordingly, net property income (“NPI“) of Sunlight REIT for the Year registered a decline of 6.6% to HK$639.7 million, while annual distributable income was down 6.1% from the preceding year to HK$438.3 million.

 

The Board has resolved to declare a final distribution of HK 13.1 cents per unit. Together with an interim distribution of HK 12.5 cents per unit, the total distribution per unit for the Year would amount to HK 25.6 cents, implying a payout ratio of 97.5% (FY2019/20: 95.2%).

 

The appraised value of Sunlight REIT’s property portfolio was HK$18,341.7 million at 30 June 2021, representing a decrease of 3.0% compared with a year ago. Consequently, its net asset value dropped 4.4% to HK$14,124.3 million, or HK$8.45 per unit.

 

Operating Highlights

 

The entire portfolio of Sunlight REIT recorded an average occupancy rate of 93.7% at 30 June 2021 (30 June 2020: 95.7%). Occupancy rate of the office portfolio was 92.4% (30 June 2020: 95.6%), while the corresponding figure of the retail portfolio was 96.5% (30 June 2020: 95.8%). Average passing rent of the office portfolio was HK$36.7 per sq. ft. at 30 June 2021, up 0.5% from a year ago, while that of the retail portfolio was HK$70.4 per sq. ft., down 5.9% year on year. Average negative rental reversion of the portfolio for the Year was 6.2%.

 

Amidst a challenging operating environment, the Manager is delighted to announce the addition of Dah Sing Bank, Limited as a major tenant of (the renamed) Dah Sing Financial Centre during the Year, which contributed to the 7.8% improvement in passing rent despite a decline in NPI of 9.9%. Meanwhile, NPI of Strand 50 increased by 9.8%, reflecting the property being successfully transformed into an appealing modern workplace in the core of the Sheung Wan district. On the retail front, the performance of Sheung Shui Centre Shopping Arcade was hampered by social distancing restrictions and border controls, causing an 11.8% decrease in its NPI. Gratifyingly, Metro City Phase I Property continued to demonstrate its resilience as a community shopping mall mostly catered to non-discretionary consumption, recording a mild retreat in NPI of 3.8%.

During the Year, Sunlight REIT made initial foray into sustainable finance and medium term notes, successfully raising a total of over HK$1,800 million. This demonstrates the credit quality of Sunlight REIT and its firm commitment to sustainability.

Mr. Wu Shiu Kee, Keith, Chief Executive Officer of the Manager said, “We are cautious but hopeful about the prospects for the macro environment ahead. Both the office and retail markets appear to have seen the bottom, although the extent of recovery critically depends on the pace at which COVID-19 recedes and the effectiveness of the measures implemented by various governments to restore economic vigour. Despite a transitory setback in income performance, the fundamentals of Sunlight REIT remain sturdy.  With a firm foundation established over the course of 15 years, it is well-positioned to ride out the storm and to prudently expand its business, assuring unitholders with a sustainable growth in distributions over the long term.”

 

Remarks: Attached financial highlights of FY2020/21 Final Results of Sunlight REIT.

                 

Financial Highlights of FY2020/21 Final Results:

(in HK$’ million, unless otherwise specified)

 

2021

2020

Change

                                           (%)

For the year ended 30 June:

Revenue

799.3

854.6

(6.5)

Net property income

639.7

684.7

(6.6)

Loss after taxation

(233.7)

(751.4)

           68.9

Annual distributable income

438.3

467.0

(6.1)

Distribution per unit (HK cents)

25.6

26.8

(4.5)

Payout ratio (%)

97.5

95.2

                N/A

 

At 30 June:

Portfolio valuation

18,341.7

   18,918.0

(3.0)

Net asset value

14,124.3

 14,771.2

(4.4)

Net asset value per unit (HK$)

8.45

 8.89

(4.9)

Gearing ratio (%)

23.0

21.6

                    N/A

Disclaimer: The information contained in this press release does not constitute an offer or invitation to sell or the solicitation of an offer or invitation to purchase or subscribe for units in Sunlight REIT in Hong Kong or any other jurisdiction. 

About Sunlight REIT

Sunlight REIT (Stock code: 435) is a real estate investment trust authorized by the Securities and Futures Commission, and constituted by the amended and restated trust deed dated 10 May 2021 (the “Trust Deed“), and has been listed on The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited on 21 December 2006. Sunlight REIT offers investors the opportunity to invest in a diversified portfolio of 11 office and five retail properties in Hong Kong with a total gross rentable area of over 1.2 million sq. ft.. The office properties are primarily located in core business areas, including Wan Chai and Sheung Wan, as well as in decentralized business areas such as Mong Kok and North Point. The key retail properties are situated in regional transportation hubs and new towns including Sheung Shui, Tseung Kwan O and Yuen Long.

About the Manager

The Manager of Sunlight REIT is an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of Henderson Land Development Company Limited. Its main responsibility is to manage Sunlight REIT and all of its assets in accordance with the Trust Deed in the sole interest of its unitholders.

#SunlightREIT

Make the Most of iShopChangi’s 9.9 Promotions and Best Priced Deals this September!

With two exclusive deals on offer at iShopChangi, there has never been a better time for you to go on a shopping spree. From today till the end of September, make the best of your online shopping experience with attractive prices on the latest electronic gadgets, jewellery and more!

SINGAPORE – Media OutReach – 7 September 2021 – Snap up a brand new gadget or stock up your home bar with the incredible 9.9 promotion on iShopChangi. Together with the Best Priced Deals promotion for the month of September, now is the best time to go all out on a shopping spree!

 


Enjoy Up To 10% When You Check Out With ’99SPECIALS’

From 9 to 11 September, get up to 10% off on iShopChangi! With no minimum spend, simply apply the code ’99SPECIALS’ and receive a discount of up to $50. Whether it’s the latest electronics, luxury fashion or branded beauty products you’re after, now is the perfect time to seal the deal and take your order to the checkout!

 

Never Miss Out On The Best Priced Deals

If you’ve already exhausted your redemptions for the 9.9 promo, there’s more with iShopChangi’s Best Priced Deals this September! Enjoy attractive discounts on wine and spirits, food, beauty, electronics, and health and wellness products for a limited time only.

Till 30 September, get up to 30% off on select Moscatos, such as the T’Gallant Pink Moscato Non Vintage, Angas Premium Moscato and Bottego Il Vino Dell Amore. If gin’s your thing, check out Four Pillars for a host of discounted gins from Australia. Meanwhile, those with a hankering for sake can enjoy a tipple of Dassai Junmai Daiginjo 45, with premium bottles of 39 and 23 also available.

Beauty fanatics, fear not: there are fantastic deals for you, too! Till 19 September, get your hands on rejuvenating, beauty-enhancing, pick-me-up tonics by Kinohimitsu. At more than 50% off, you can snap up the Kinohimitsu Bird Nest with Red Dates and Wolfberries at just $35! Alternatively, order an IDS Skincare Skin Rebalance Set complete with C-Plus and Pore Formula before 15 September for just $210, reduced from $300 — a staggering $90 off.

While the 9.9 promo cannot be applied on products with Best Priced Deals, you can still take advantage of these promos by carting out separately!

 

Free Delivery Islandwide!

On all orders over $59, you can enjoy free delivery to Singaporean addresses direct from iShopChangi. These offers won’t last forever, so head on over to the checkout and see what you can take home while stocks last. For those hungry for more savings, explore the Changi Rewards programme, where you can access the exclusive privileges available to all to loyal customers. Sign up for free today and receive 10% off your first purchase! 

About iShopChangi

iShopChangi was launched in 2013 as an extension of Changi Airport’s promise to deliver greater comfort and convenience to travellers in its suite of airport retail offerings. Passengers can browse and purchase tax- and duty-free products across all terminals between 30 days to 12 hours pre-flight on the e-store – and choose to collect their items at Collection Centres within departure, upon arrival or have them delivered free in Singapore. Providing easy access to over 30,000 products across 900 brands and exclusives such as Changi First product launches, the site has since received global recognition with its award for Best Website – Retail Customer Facing at The Moodies: the Airport and Travel Retail Digital Media Awards 2018. In early 2020, the e-commerce store started to retail a selection tax- and duty-absorbed products to Singapore-based residents without the need to fly.

https://twitter.com/ishopchangi

#iShopChangi

Harnessing Technology to Manage Flood, Drought Risks in Lower Mekong Basin

Mekong River in Kratie, Cambodia (Photo - MRC)
Mekong River in Kratie, Cambodia (Photo: MRC)

The Lower Mekong region remains highly vulnerable to increased flood and drought.

Alteryx Study: Improving Analytics Maturity Key for Bridging Gaps Between APAC Enterprises’ Business Priorities and Performance

Organizations demonstrate analytics maturity in strategy and data dimensions, but they lack workforce- and process-related analytics capabilities

SINGAPORE – Media OutReach – 7 September 2021 – Delivering fresh insights into Asia Pacific (APAC) enterprises’ ability to create business value from data analytics, Alteryx, Inc. (NYSE: AYX), the Analytics Automation company, today released findings from its research report titled, “Toward Analytics Automation in Asia Pacific“. The research, conducted by International Data Corporation (IDC) and commissioned by Alteryx, reveals a significant gap between regional enterprises’ business priorities and performance, one that can be bridged by overcoming the lack of workforce- and process-related analytics capabilities.

 

According to the research, APAC enterprises’ top business priorities include customer experience, productivity enhancement, cost reduction, new product development and business model innovation. Currently, while more than 90 percent of business executives believe that data analytics are important for their organizations to remain performant, less than one in five (19 percent) enterprises across the region have achieved high analytics maturity. Enterprises that are ‘Analytics Experts’ tend to outperform their peers across all major business priorities, especially in areas like cost reduction (56 percent), business model innovation (28 percent), new product development (17 percent) and market expansion (12 percent).

 

To help APAC enterprises to determine their analytics maturity level, IDC designed a framework that assesses their standing across four key dimensions – strategy[1], data[2], workforce[3] and process[4], before providing an aggregated score that identifies Beginners, Practitioners, or Experts. In addition, the framework describes the journey to becoming an Analytics Expert by achieving maturity in strategy, data, workforce, and process.

 

The research found that enterprises across the region are more mature in strategy and data dimensions, with 48 percent having achieved buy-in and alignment amongst key stakeholders regarding analytics initiatives, but only 38 percent having established policies and practices to ensure data integrity. A large majority, however, lack the necessary workforce (86 percent) and process capabilities (93 percent), which are the most crucial for driving data-driven transformation at scale and deriving long-term business value.

 

It also suggests that enterprises need to build workforce or process-related capabilities to derive business value from data analytics. In their daily roles, executives across the region currently struggle with hard to use tools (55 percent), scattered and unmanaged tools (49 percent), lack of timely access to data (44 percent), data lineage and integrity (44 percent) and lack of data literacy (43 percent). These challenges are exacerbated by increased complexity and organizational demands for data analytics to be delivered at greater speed and scale, with the average APAC enterprise currently facing internal requests to include 26 new data sources and 30 new data types per month.


“In today’s volatile, uncertain and challenging business environment, enterprises have expressed the need to invest in mission-critical business areas. In addition, with the evolving needs of customers, enterprises must innovate their business models to meet new needs,” said Julian Quinn, Senior Vice President, APJ, Alteryx. “The findings show a consensus towards the critical role that analytics plays in driving business performance. Yet, organizations are grappling with multiple challenges in using data analytics, uncovering the need to improve workforce and process analytics capabilities. To deliver breakthrough outcomes, organizations need to automate processes and democratize data analytics, elevating workforce’s ability to gain on-demand insights for thriving in their roles.”

 

“Despite the rapid rate of digital transformation and data generation, many organizations in Asia Pacific are not yet experts in data analytics. They are at the Beginners stage in their workforce and process dimensions which are critical for empowering employees to do their jobs better, faster and with greater impact,” said Dr. Chris Marshall, Associate Vice President, APAC, IDC. “In the face of workforce and process challenges, organizations today can close the gaps with advanced analytics tools. Analytic process automation is a low-code solution that has emerged as a way forward to remove friction, enabling analytics capabilities to scale quickly across the entire organization.”

 

The research findings also highlight the potential of a self-service, human-centric analytics automation platform to bridge existing workforce and process capability gaps, address analytics challenges faced by executives, and put organizations on a path to become Analytics Experts.

 

The Alteryx Analytic Process Automation (APA) Platform™ delivers end-to-end automation of analytics, machine learning and data science processes. As a result, organizations can automate analytics and data science, embed intelligent decisioning, empower its employees to deliver faster, better business outcomes and ultimately, enable the agility needed to accelerate digital transformation.

 

“Data should no longer sit idly in an organization. With the help of analytics automation, an organization can leverage its best assets – people, processes and data – to empower their workforce to increase overall organizational performance and efficiency so that decision-making is faster and more reliable,” said Quinn.

 

To access the full IDC Infobrief: Toward Analytics Automation in Asia Pacific Report, please click here.  

To assess your organization’s analytics maturity with IDC’s APA Assessment Tool, please click here.



[1] The strategy dimension assesses the presence of a carefully planned data and analytics strategy. Without a strategy in place, the interdependencies amongst stakeholders responsible for different initiatives will become a stumbling block to generating consistent returns from analytics investment.

[2] The data dimension assesses how data, the raw material, is systematically governed across the organization.

[3] The workforce dimension assesses whether productivity tools and automation has enabled and empowered people to do their jobs better, faster and with less effort.

[4] The process dimension assesses whether definition, standardization, and automation of process management are in place.

About the Toward Analytics Automation in Asia Pacific Report:

IDC reached out to 500 organizations in Australia, Hong Kong, India, Japan and Singapore across various industries in May to June 2021 to understand how different aspects of data analytics and insight creation drive business results. The industries surveyed include financial services; manufacturing, construction, and resources; and government and education.

About Alteryx

Alteryx, the Analytics Automation company, is focused on enabling every person to transform data into a breakthrough. Alteryx unifies analytics, data science and business process automation in one, end-to-end platform to accelerate digital transformation and shape the future of analytic process automation (APA™). Organizations of all sizes, all over the world, rely on Alteryx to deliver high-impact business outcomes and the rapid upskilling of their modern workforce. For more information visit www.alteryx.com.

#Alteryx

Alteryx Study: Improving Analytics Maturity Key for Bridging Gaps Between Hong Kong Enterprises’ Business Priorities and Performance

Organizations demonstrate analytics maturity in strategy and data dimensions, but they lack workforce- and process-related analytics capabilities

HONG KONG SAR – Media OutReach – 7 September 2021 – Delivering fresh insights into Hong Kong enterprises’ ability to create business value from data analytics, Alteryx, Inc. (NYSE: AYX), the Analytics Automation company, today released findings from its research report titled, “Toward Analytics Automation in Asia Pacific“. The research, conducted by International Data Corporation (IDC) and commissioned by Alteryx, reveals a significant gap between enterprises’ business priorities and performance, one that can be bridged by overcoming the lack of workforce- and process-related analytics capabilities. The study surveyed 100 organizations in Hong Kong across a range of industries.

 

According to the research, Hong Kong enterprises’ top business priorities include productivity enhancement, new product development, cost reduction and customer experience. However, major gaps exist between business priorities and business performance in cost reduction and new product development. Currently, while more than 90 percent of business executives believe that data analytics are important for their organizations to remain performant, 26 percent enterprises have achieved high analytics maturity. APAC enterprises that are ‘Analytics Experts’ tend to outperform their peers across all major business priorities, especially in areas like cost reduction (56 percent), business model innovation (28 percent), new product development (17 percent) and market expansion (12 percent). Hong Kong has the highest number of organizations who are ‘Analytics Experts’ among the countries surveyed.

 

To help enterprises to determine their analytics maturity level, IDC designed a framework that assesses their standing across four key dimensions – strategy[1], data[2], workforce[3] and process[4], before providing an aggregated score that identifies Beginners, Practitioners, or Experts. In addition, the framework describes the journey to becoming an Analytics Expert by achieving maturity in strategy, data, workforce, and process.

 

The research found that enterprises are more mature in strategy and data dimensions, with 53 percent having achieved buy-in and alignment amongst key stakeholders regarding analytics initiatives, but only 41 percent having established policies and practices to ensure data integrity. A large majority, however, lack the necessary workforce (80 percent) and process capabilities (88 percent), which are the most crucial for driving data-driven transformation at scale and deriving long-term business value.

 

It also suggests that enterprises need to build workforce or process-related capabilities to derive business value from data analytics. In their daily roles, executives across the region currently struggle with hard to use tools (55 percent), scattered and unmanaged tools (49 percent), lack of timely access to data (44 percent), data lineage and integrity (44 percent) and lack of data literacy (43 percent). These challenges are exacerbated by increased complexity and organizational demands for data analytics to be delivered at greater speed and scale, with the average enterprise currently facing internal requests to include 26 new data sources and 30 new data types per month.

 

“In today’s volatile, uncertain and challenging business environment, enterprises in Hong Kong have expressed the need to invest in mission-critical business areas. In addition, with the evolving needs of customers, enterprises must innovate their business models to meet new needs,” said Julian Quinn, Senior Vice President, APJ, Alteryx. “The findings show a consensus towards the critical role that analytics plays in driving business performance. Yet, organizations are grappling with multiple challenges in using data analytics, uncovering the need to improve workforce and process analytics capabilities. To deliver breakthrough outcomes, organizations need to automate processes and democratize data analytics, elevating workforce’s ability to gain on-demand insights for thriving in their roles.”

 

“Despite the rapid rate of digital transformation and data generation, many organizations in Hong Kong are not yet experts in data analytics. They are at the Beginners stage in their workforce and process dimensions which are critical for empowering employees to do their jobs better, faster and with greater impact,” said Dr. Chris Marshall, Associate Vice President, APAC, IDC. “In the face of workforce and process challenges, organizations today can close the gaps with advanced analytics tools. Analytic process automation, in particular, is a low-code solution that has emerged as a way forward to remove friction, enabling analytics capabilities to scale quickly across the entire organization.”

 

The research findings also highlight the potential of a self-service, human-centric analytics automation platform to bridge existing workforce and process capability gaps, address analytics challenges faced by executives, and put organizations on a path to become Analytics Experts.

 

The Alteryx Analytic Process Automation (APA) Platform™ delivers end-to-end automation of analytics, machine learning and data science processes. As a result, organizations can automate analytics and data science, embed intelligent decisioning, empower its employees to deliver faster, better business outcomes and ultimately, enable the agility needed to accelerate digital transformation.

 

“Data should no longer sit idly in an organization. With the help of analytics automation, an organization can leverage its best assets – people, processes and data – to empower their workforce to increase overall organizational performance and efficiency so that decision-making is faster and more reliable,” said Quinn.

 

To access the full IDC Infobrief: Toward Analytics Automation in Asia Pacific Report, please click here

To assess your organization’s analytics maturity with IDC’s APA Assessment Tool, please click here.



[1] The strategy dimension assesses the presence of a carefully planned data and analytics strategy. Without a strategy in place, the interdependencies amongst stakeholders responsible for different initiatives will become a stumbling block to generating consistent returns from analytics investment.

[2] The data dimension assesses how data, the raw material, is systematically governed across the organization.

[3] The workforce dimension assesses whether productivity tools and automation has enabled and empowered people to do their jobs better, faster and with less effort.

[4] The process dimension assesses whether definition, standardization, and automation of process management are in place.

About the Toward Analytics Automation in Asia Pacific Report:

IDC reached out to 500 organizations in 5 markets (100 organizations in Hong Kong) across various industries in May to June 2021 to understand how different aspects of data analytics and insight creation drive business results. The five markets include Australia, Hong Kong, India, Japan and Singapore. The industries surveyed include financial services; manufacturing, construction, and resources; and government and education.

About Alteryx

Alteryx, the Analytics Automation company, is focused on enabling every person to transform data into a breakthrough. Alteryx unifies analytics, data science and business process automation in one, end-to-end platform to accelerate digital transformation and shape the future of analytic process automation (APA™). Organizations of all sizes, all over the world, rely on Alteryx to deliver high-impact business outcomes and the rapid upskilling of their modern workforce. For more information visit www.alteryx.com.

Alteryx is a registered trademark of Alteryx, Inc. All other product and brand names may be trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners.

#Alteryx

Laos to Produce Herbal Medicine in Capsule Form for the Treatment of Covid-19

Herbal medicine in capsule format will be used to treat Covid-19 patients in Laos

Pharmaceutical producers in Laos are to begin the production of herbal treatments for Covid-19 in capsule form.

Cube O Discovery Park, Hong Kong’s First City-centre Ocean Experience Opens at Plaza 88 in Tsuen Wan

HONG KONG SAR – Media OutReach – 7 September 2021 – Covering an area of over 10,000 feet, Cube O Discovery Park will feature a combination of real marine life displays and exciting interactive multimedia games, together with a variety of recreation, education and dining opportunities.

Ideal for family visits and social media photo posts, Cube O is located in the new landmark mall Plaza 88 in Tsuen Wan and it’s Hong Kong’s first marine experience destination in the city centre.

 

A collaboration of experts

 

Cube O is the first project in Hong Kong from Cube Oceanarium – a world renowned aquarium brand – and is the result of a successful collaboration between a top aquarium architect, a professional aquarium aquaculture operation team, a senior marine conservation consultant and a technical consultant who has won two Best Visual Effects Awards at the Hong Kong Film Awards.

 

The idea behind Cube O is to create a unique marine experience featuring the underwater world and real marine life, combined with interactive multimedia effects, to promote the message of marine protection.

 

A marine experience for all the family

 

Cube O is divided into several themed zones with different attractions including Hong Kong’s first acrylic window projection. This integrates views of real marine life with projected light and shadow effects. For example, jellyfish are shown in a kaleidoscope of colours, while Virtual Reality (VR) takes visitors on a journey into the deep sea. There is also a Mixed Reality (MR) jellyfish classroom, a playhouse for children and a dining area. These exciting experiences offer an ideal family-oriented day out, and a perfect Instagrammable spot for young people.

Unveiling an ocean wonderland

By combining real marine life with artistic light and shadow effects that transform plain jellyfish into a colourful bubble show, Cube O hopes to enchant people with the majesty of the ocean. The dancing jellyfish seem like they are engaged in an undersea ocean ballet and make for extraordinary photo opportunities for visitors.

 

The interactive multimedia technology will also enable visitors to observe the marine life up close and learn more about nature, environmental protection and sustainable patterns of living. The fantastic visual effects will create the feeling of being transported to an ocean wonderland filled with amazing views.

 

A kaleidoscope of infinite fantasy spaces

The jellyfish kaleidoscope subtly combines the images of real jellyfish, with mirror shadow illusions, while the colourful lights reflect countless jellyfish shadows in all directions. This creates an infinitely mysterious space that visitors will feel they are totally immersed in.

 

The jellyfish institute

 

Afterwards, visitors can visit the jellyfish research institute and learn how jellyfish develop from babies into adults, and find out more about jellyfish ecology and the characteristics of different jellyfish species. In addition to watching jellyfish feeding, visitors will also be allowed to contact them from a safe zero-distance and thus get closer to the ocean.

Multimedia edutainment

The interactive multimedia games will further boost the overall experience, as visitors can “become” small fish, swimming under the protection of a jellyfish in an ocean exploration tour. The “small fish” has to hide under the jellyfish while being wary of being grabbed by tentacles or attacked by predators lurking nearby.

 

In the MR jellyfish classroom, visitors can become “guardians of the ocean” and rescue a stranded green sea turtle, which requires careful treatment and a lot of effort to help the turtle recover and swim back to the sea.

 

The rescue operation follows real turtle rescue procedures. Visitors who participate will be able to learn about the work of professional conservationists, think about the effect of human beings on the ocean and gain a sense of mission with respect to marine conservation.

Ocean-themed family playhouse and five-star dining

 

The children’s Playhouse features Hong Kong’s first ocean-themed play space where children can gain marine knowledge while having fun with mastering physical challenges.

 

The walls of the Playhouse are painted with child-friendly paint to create a clean and heathy environment, so parents can dine on fine cuisine nearby with peace of mind.

 

The park has invited a Head Chef and his team from a local five-star hotel to prepare a selection of mouthwatering delicacies. In addition, Corner Cone, a famous Asian ice cream brand, has prepared a range of limited edition ocean-themed ice creams specially for the Cube O. The uniquely shaped ice creams provide especially yummy social media photo opportunities.

High resolution images can be downloaded via: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1ElDOHrIPguuiCUlWf66KBJ26svJPDXyw?usp=sharing

About Cube O Discovery Park

Cube O. Discovery Park makes it possible to discover the infinite mysteries of the ocean. When you step into Cube O, amazing ocean views unfold literally before your eyes.

As Hong Kong’s first city-centre marine experience destination, Cube O Discovery Park not only presents the underwater world and marine life in a new way, but also subtly condenses the vast ocean into a limited cubic space that brings the ocean close to hand and connects visitors to nature in new and entertaining ways.

Cube O aims to inspire more people to respect and protect the inhabitants of the ocean and get involved in marine conservation, by enjoying and admiring beautiful views of marine life, observing their characteristics, and mentally entering into the underwater world through a variety of multimedia interactive games.

Cube O is designed to be a place for recreation, relaxation and education for individuals and families, as well as school groups who can discover the diversity of life in the ocean through immersive interactive adventures.


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About Cube Oceanarium

Based in the national 5A tourist attraction spot of Chengdu Seaside City, the Cube Oceanarium offers integrated services covering sightseeing, marine science education and scientific research.

Its main exhibit tank has a 40-meter-long viewing panel certified by the Guinness Book of World Records as the world’s largest acrylic window. In addition to viewing marine life through this window, visitors can also participate in scuba diving activities or enjoy an underwater ride in a semi-submarine.

More interactive activities are also available, such as night camping in the aquarium tunnel and aquarium science and conservation classes. The Cube Oceanarium features a large variety of aquatic life, and zero-distance contact with the ocean through multimedia games and interactive education courses as well as high-tech supporting facilities.

In 2021, it was listed as the 5th best aquarium in the world by the World Cities Ranking website and ranked 16th in a selection of the 50 best aquariums by the Tour Scanner website.

Supporting Unit (listed in no particular order)

Nippon Paint BenQ iPurifi Environment PICO

Ximmerse Wild Lens Entertainment Development

Education Partner

A Plastic Ocean Foundation