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Bracell Raised US$1.8 billion for World’s Largest and Greenest Pulp Mill

  • Strong support from Brazilian and international banks to finance the largest and greenest pulp mill in the world.
  • The mill produces renewable fibres from sustainable eucalyptus plantations, is fossil fuel free, self-sufficient in energy and provides bioenergy to the community.
  • The largest private investment in São Paulo in the last 20 years, it strengthened the competitiveness of the pulp industry in Brazil and created 6,650 permanent jobs for the local community.
  • The mill was completed on time and on budget despite the pandemic, and started operations in November 2021.

SAO PAULO, BRAZIL & SINGAPORE – Media OutReach – 9 March 2022 Bracell, a global leader in the production of dissolving pulp and a member of the RGE group of companies, received strong support from Brazilian and international banks, raising US$1.8 billion through a syndicated loan facility. The funding financed the establishment of the world’s largest and greenest pulp mill located in Lençóis Paulista, São Paulo. The construction of the mill has been completed on time and on budget, and began operations in November 2021.

Bracellpic.jpg

Bracell is vertically integrated through its supply chain, from renewable fibre plantations to the production of kraft pulp, dissolving pulp and specialty cellulose which are sold domestically and to international markets. Dissolving pulp and specialty cellulose are amongst the main ingredients used to create a wide range of products, from textiles, baby wipes and eyeglass frames to packaging for sausages and pharmaceuticals as well as industrial products such as high-performance tire cables.

Mr. Tey Wei Lin, President, RGE, said: “The funding, representing the largest private investment in São Paulo in the last two decades, demonstrates our continued investments in Brazil. We are proud of the team that has delivered on solid project execution and have the mill up and running despite challenges posed by the pandemic. The largest and greenest pulp mill in the world, this underscores our commitment to sustainable development, conservation and community development, a mandate which underpins our operations globally. With dissolving pulp being both renewable and biodegradable, it caters to the growing trend and customers’ preference towards the use of sustainable products.”

A new generation, sustainable pulp mill, it features the best and latest technology for the sector, without the use of fossil fuels. It is designed with key innovations including a bio-refinery that controls material inputs to maximise recycling, minimise waste, and greatly reduce the environmental footprint, resulting in low water consumption and low emissions. With two production lines, it can produce 1.5 million tons of dissolving pulp per year or between 2.6 million to 2.8 million tons of kraft pulp per year. In addition, it is self-sufficient in energy, and excess clean, high-quality energy will be supplied to the National Interconnected System. The mill employed more than 11.000 employees during the peak of the construction and created 6.650 permanent jobs for the local community.

The seven-year syndicated loan banks are co-led by Banco Bradesco and Bank of China, with participation from Banco Itaú, China Minsheng Bank, Banco do Brasil, Bladex and Safra.

Mr. Pedro Wilson Stefanini, Senior Vice President, Bracell São Paulo, said: “This loan facility and our continued investment in our operations shows the growth potential of pulp in Brazil and in international markets. Our ambition is not only to be one of the largest pulp operations in the world, but also one of the most socially and environmentally responsible companies. We are proud to have constructed a mill that sets the highest standards for sustainable use of renewable resources, and simultaneously creates thousands of jobs and career opportunities for people in Brazil.”

Mr. Bruno Boetger, Executive Director, Banco Bradesco, said: “At Banco Bradesco, we are proud to lead and syndicate the domestic tranche of the financing which supports this project. This is a landmark investment by Bracell, and serves to further drive the competitiveness of the Brazilian and global pulp and paper industry. Banco Bradesco has enjoyed a long term relationship with Bracell, and with the support of other major domestic lenders, our partnership reflects the strong track record of conducting business with a member of the RGE group of companies.”

Mr. Li Fang, Executive Vice President, Global Advanced Corporate Finance Centre, Bank of China, said: “It is a great pleasure for Bank of China to lead such a landmark Brazilian deal to a close, particularly since our country’s 14th five-year plan continues to support Macau to strengthen its status as a platform connecting China and Portuguese-speaking countries. The project signifies a closer economic tie between Brazil and China since its pulp will primarily supply the China market, where it has the highest and most rapidly increasing demand for dissolving pulp in the world.”

About Bracell

Bracell is a global leader in the production of dissolving pulp and specialty cellulose with two main operations in Brazil in Camaçari, Bahia and in Lençóis Paulista, São Paulo. In addition to its operations in Brazil, Bracell has a management office in Singapore and sales offices in Asia, Europe and the United States.

www.bracell.com

#Bracell

About RGE

Headquartered in Singapore, RGE is a group of resource-based manufacturing companies with global operations. We produce sustainable natural fibres, edible oils, green packaging and clean natural gas used to create products that feed, clothe and energise the world. We help improve billions of peoples’ lives through sustainable products they use every day. With more than US$25 billion in assets and 60,000 staff, we are creating a more recyclable, biodegradable and lower carbon future.

Committed to sustainable development, conservation and community development, we strive towards what is good for the community, good for the country, good for the climate, good for the customer, and good for the company. With current operations spanning across Indonesia, China, Brazil, Spain and Canada, we continue to expand and engage new markets.

www.rgei.com

#RGE

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

Thai Government Countering Birth Rate Slump with Incentives, Influencers

Thai birth rate decline

Reuters reports that concern over a sharp decline in the Thai birth rate has led the government to use online influencers to target potential parents, encouraging them to have children.

Police Say Champasack Gold Bracelet Murderer Owed Gambling Debts

Champasack police observe a crime reenactment
Champasack police observe a crime reenactment.

Police say gambling debts may have motivated a Champasack man to murder a woman on 28 February and steal a gold bracelet.

Luang Prabang City and Kuang Si Waterfall Win ASEAN Tourism Awards

Kuang Si Waterfall in Luang Prabang province (photo: Phoonsab Thevongsa)
Kuang Si Waterfall in Luang Prabang province (photo: Phoonsab Thevongsa)

Luang Prabang City has received an ASEAN Clean Tourism Award, while Kuang Si Waterfall received a Sustainable Tourism Award.

De Beers Group Extends Partnership with WomEng to Support Women and Girls in Its Host Countries to Pursue Engineering and Technology Careers

Partnership will play an important role as De Beers strives to achieve its commitment to engage 10,000 girls in STEM

LONDON, UK – Media OutReach – 8 March 2022 – This International Women’s Day, De Beers Group is proud to announce it has extended its partnership with WomEng for a further three years, expanding the reach to cover all four of the countries where De Beers discovers diamonds and placing a greater focus on supporting women and girls to pursue careers in sustainability-related fields.

School students near De Beers’ Venetia Mine in South Africa, participating in a GirlEng workshop.

The partnership will play an important role as De Beers strives to achieve its goal to engage 10,000 girls and women in STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) by 2030, as part of its wider Building Forever sustainability goals.

WomEng is a global, multi-award-winning social enterprise which helps engage and develop girls and women for the engineering and technology industries. The original three-year partnership focused on developing leadership, innovation, well-being and employability skills for women and girls in Botswana, Namibia and South Africa. Despite challenges presented by Covid-19, more than 2,200 students were reached by the end of 2021 through a GirlEng programme for school girls and a Fellowship programme for women studying engineering and technology degrees at university.

The three-year extension will see programmes expanded beyond southern Africa to reach students in Canada and the UK, as well as beyond university courses to include vocational and skilled trades. There will also be a greater emphasis on future-focused sustainable development topics, such as renewable energies and climate solutions.

De Beers will also roll-out WomEng’s Emerging Leader Programme within its own business to help support, retain and promote women in technical roles as it works towards achieving gender parity across its global workforce as part of its UN Women HeForShe Alliance commitment. In addition, De Beers will work with WomEng to support women-founded engineering and technology businesses in the company’s host countries that are focused on addressing critical sustainability challenges.

Katie Fergusson, Senior Vice President, Sustainable Impact, De Beers Group, said: “Women remain significantly under-represented in engineering and technology fields globally. We are delighted to be building on the success we have already achieved with WomEng, who have been an exceptional partner to work with as we seek to deliver our mutual goals. By extending our partnership, we will provide more talented women and girls access to opportunities, mentorship, and the confidence to pursue rewarding careers. We have an ambitious commitment to achieve gender parity across our global workforce by 2030 and key to achieving this will be fostering greater diversity within the talent pipeline. With the programmes offered being expanded to include an emphasis on sustainability-related fields, we’re working to build both a more equitable and sustainable future in alignment with our ambitious Building Forever goals.”

Naadiya Moosajee, Co-Founder, WomEng said: “We are ecstatic to continue building on the work we have done through our partnership with De Beers. It takes an ecosystem approach to support diversity, equity and inclusion within the engineering industry and it’s incredible to work with a partner who understands this, and who supports us in developing women and girls for bright futures in the sector.”

PROGRESS ON BUILDING FOREVER COMMITMENTS RELATING TO GENDER EQUALITY

To mark International Women’s Day, De Beers is pleased to provide an update on progress to date as it strives to achieve its commitments relating to gender equality, announced in November 2020 as part of the company’s 12 Building Forever sustainability goals. The goals relating to gender equality are as follows:

Building Forever goal: By 2030, we will support 10,000 women entrepreneurs

De Beers will deliver this goal in part through the expansion and scaling of the AWOME (Accelerating Women-Owned Micro-Enterprises) programme, which it has been implementing in Botswana, Namibia and South Africa since 2018 in partnership with UN Women. Despite the challenges of various lockdowns, the programme continued to support women to build their businesses throughout 2021, with more than 1,800 women micro-entrepreneurs having been reached to date. The focus during 2021 was on the immediate need to support businesses impacted by the pandemic and help them gain necessary support. New offerings were also introduced, including a training course to support women as they look to start their own businesses, new digital literacy training courses to enable entrepreneurs to thrive in a digital world, and tailored training for entrepreneurs in certain sectors, such as the appointment of an Agriculture Specialist to support more than 132 women farmers participating in the programme in South Africa.

Building Forever goal: By 2030, we will achieve equal opportunity, including gender parity, for employees across our workforce

De Beers has had a deliberate and focused effort to improve inclusion and diversity across the business, including through the launch of reciprocal mentoring, a focus on talent development and succession planning, unconscious bias training, an Inclusion & Diversity steering group and an all-employee education campaign. This has resulted in considerable progress, with representation of women on De Beers Group’s Executive Committee increasing from zero per cent in 2017 to 31 per cent. In addition, the appointment rate of women to leadership roles is 41 per cent, up from 22 per cent in 2017. The representation of women overall within De Beers Group is 27 per cent, with senior representation at 32 per cent – up from 17 per cent in 2017. Women in STEM-related roles is at 16 per cent, with a target of 21 per cent by 2025 and 30 per cent by 2030[1] .

In 2021, De Beers announced a five-year extension to its global partnership with UN Women which also saw CEO, Bruce Cleaver, appointed a Champion of the HeForShe Alliance. The current focus of the partnership is on increasing the representation of women in technical and leadership roles across De Beers Group through enhancing talent development and succession programmes and extending training and awareness.

In addition, De Beers launched ‘CountYourSelfIn’ to help improve understanding of workforce demographics and support employees in their home and work lives. A ‘Recognising and Responding to Domestic Violence’ policy was also introduced to support colleagues who are survivors of domestic violence.

Further information on the company’s Building Forever commitments and 2030 goals is available here.


[1] All data points as at 31 December 2021

About WomEng

WomEng is social enterprise developing women and girls for the engineering and tech industry. Founded in 2006, WomEng has worked across 24 countries to support partners delivering on diversity and inclusion mandates. WomEng works from attraction of girls into engineering through the GirlEng programme as well as the Ambassador programme to support 1 million girls through STEM education. We work at a university level to support women studying towards engineering and technology qualifications with key employability and innovation ready skills and women in industry to provide leadership development and support. WomEng also runs incubators, accelerators and venture builders to support the development of women who have founded STEM businesses. We are building and supporting the women in STEM ecosystem in Africa and beyond.

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 mining operations in Botswana, Canada, Namibia and South Africa. Innovation sits at the heart of the De Beers Group strategy as it develops its portfolio of brands, including De Beers Jewellers and Forevermark, and other pioneering solutions, such as recently launched diamond sourcing and traceability initiatives GemFair and Tracr. De Beers Group employees are committed to ‘Building Forever,’ a holistic and integrated approach for creating a better future – one that is fairer, safer, cleaner and healthier; where safety, human rights and ethical integrity continue to be paramount; and where communities thrive and the environment is protected. De Beers Group is a member of the Anglo American plc group. For further information, visit www.debeersgroup.com.

Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/DeBeersGroup
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/DeBeersGroupOfCompanies/
Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/debeersgroup
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/company/debeersgroup
YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/TDBGoC

#debeers #naturaldiamonds

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

OPPO Find X5 Pro’s ultra night video mode empowers the story of Joana Pastrana

SHENZHEN, CHINA – Media OutReach – 8 March 2022 – OPPO celebrates International Women’s Day in collaboration with Director Laura Sisteró to produce the story of Joana Pastrana, who is a world-class boxer and held the International Boxing Federation’s mini-flyweight title for three years in a row. Her achievements were hard won through training and self-betterment. Joana Pastrana represents the spirit of OPPO’s Save the Night initiative, which celebrates the empowerment of women who find they have to push harder and train longer in a world that can seem out of sync with their ambitions.

(Shot on Find X5 Pro)
(Shot on Find X5 Pro)

A story of empowerment

Joana Pastrana’s story is told in a short film made in association with OPPO, directed by Laura Sisteró, and shot in part using the new OPPO Find X5 Pro. It shows what the night can be if we choose to make it so:

“In the dark, I just saw an opportunity. While everyone went back home to rest, I was ready to chase my dream,” says Pastrana. For her, the night was a time to work, and push harder.

Competing in a male-dominated sport only made her self-empowerment more crucial. “I didn’t see many women up there,” says Pastrana.

“I had to become my own role model. And from then on, I never stopped. I trained harder and harder. This was the only way to achieve my goals”, she says.

After three years of competing in the amateur circuit, Pastrana made her professional debut in 2016. At the time she was the only professional boxer in Madrid. By the middle of 2018 she was already a global champion in her weight class.

Pastrana is an inspirational figure, an example of what self-motivation through empowerment can bring. Few could, or would even want to, box at a professional level. However, her words can inspire us all. She says, “the night can be the time to dream wide awake.” It’s a reminder that while dreams and aspirations may seem remote, they may be within reach. This is a sentiment worth celebrating.

(Shot on Find X5 Pro)
(Shot on Find X5 Pro)

Behind the camera

The aim of OPPO’s Joana Pastrana short film was to offer a view into her world. She walks through the empty city streets at night towards her boxing gym, capturing images with the OPPO Find X5 Pro.

She straps up her wrists and takes to the ring to train. As she sits at the end of the session, exhausted, Pastrana visualizes the match to come, when all her efforts will be put to the test.

The film-making challenge was to capture the emotional and physical investment here in a 90-second format. Director Laura Sisteró’s tools were the industry standard Arri Alexa camera and a less likely partner, the OPPO Find X5 Pro.

OPPO Find X5 Pro can be the night companion. Its camera is optimized to produce stunning results, for stills or video, even in the most challenging lighting.

An OPPO Find X5 Pro will record night-time memories, challenges, victories and defeats, which can form an important part of a motivational journey.

The phone was put to the test in the shooting of this short film, used to film some of the more difficult scenes in the piece.

The phone used by Pastrana to visually narrate her journey through the street in photo form. Shots of Pastrana training both in and outside the ring used the OPPO Find X5 Pro’s Ultra Night Video mode. This marks a paradigm shift in the video quality of OPPO phones, bringing the quality associated with enhanced low-light stills to moving images.

“I was quite surprised by the capabilities the phone has to take pictures at night,” says director Laura Sisteró.

A tapestry of software and hardware in the OPPO Find X5 Pro makes this a reality. Its wide and ultra-wide cameras use large, high-quality Sony IMX766 sensors. 5-axis OIS avoids motion blur and allows for longer shutter speeds, and OPPO’s self-developed MariSilicon X NPU fine tunes the camera’s advanced processing algorithms to suit each shooting situation.

To create a night-time short film with the OPPO Find X5 Pro, take some of the creative choices made in the short film as inspiration. Note how Pastrana is not the only character here. The quiet atmosphere of the streets is brought into focus by the use of Pastrana’s footsteps as the primary soundtrack to each exterior shot. This sits in stark contrast to the traffic noise of the first few seconds of footage, shot during the day.

Director Sisteró plays with the shadows and light contrasts of the night-time city, and lets scenes bathe in the warmth of street light and the artificial lighting of neon signs. At night, each shadow can be an outlet for creative expression.

This visual language is a key part of the telling of Pastrana’s story (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g5epW6JpoCw). The phone is available from mid-March. Read more about the OPPO Find X5 Pro at the OPPO website.

#OPPO

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

Quality Property & Facility Management Award 2022 Opens for Nominations

Advocate Forward-Moving Technologies and Advanced Management Applications to Attain the Professional Industry Standard

HONG KONG SAR – Media OutReach – 8 March 2022 – Co-organised by The Hong Kong Association of Property Management Companies (HKAPMC), The Hong Kong Institute of Surveyors Property and Facility Management Division (HKIS PFMD), Quality Property & Facility Management Award (QPFMA) 2022 is now officially open for nominations. With the theme “Quality | Professional | Forward Moving | Advance”, the award recognises outstanding achievements and excellence in upholding quality and professional standards by applying forward-moving technologies and advanced management applications in the property and facility management industry.

The QPFMA is a biennial award which aspires to honour and recognise outstanding developments and professionals in the property and facility management industry in Hong Kong. An Online Award Briefing Session was held with more than 220 attendees on 8 March 2022. During the session, the QPFMA 2022 Organising Committee introduced the overview of the event, and provided detailed explanations of the judging panels, selection criteria and award categories.

As in previous year, there will be three awards categories, with them being residential, non-residential and the newly added award category, titled Refurbishment / Renovation Property Management. Since there are more than 10,000 buildings in Hong Kong that are over 50-year-old and have not undergone any renovation, QPFMA would like to seize this opportunity to advocate the outstanding old building renovation projects, as a mean to resolve the aging buildings problems in Hong Kong. The Refurbishment / Renovation category has been divided into three awards: Large- & Medium-Scale Residential Property and Office Building, this category is now open for local residential and office properties to showcase their renewal strategies in property and facility management.

“The award recognises high-quality and professional property and facility management, and to strengthen a better industry through mutual enrichment in the meantime. A new Refurbishment / Renovation award category is established this year with the intention to encourage more urban renovation projects. With the application of smart technologies and advanced management system, I am confident that we will be able to address the housing shortage problem in Hong Kong.” said QPFMA 2022 Organising Committee Chairman, Prof Johnnie C K CHAN, SBS, BBS, JP.

“The implementation of the property management licensing system is the key to uphold the professional development in the property and facility management industry with the highest quality standard. We believe that by applauding the phenomenal property management projects through the awards will not only help to promote the industry development, but to raise the public awareness of the importance of property management services in our society.” said QPFMA 2022 Head Juror, Hon Tony TSE Wai-chuen, BBS, JP.

Award Categories:

Residential Category Non-Residential Category Refurbishment / Renovation Category
Large-Scale Residential Property Management Shopping Centre Management Large-Scale Residential Property Management
Medium-Scale Residential Property Management Office Building Management (Small- & Medium-Scale Office Building) Medium-Scale Residential Property Management
Small-Scale Residential Property Management Office Building Management (Large-Office Building) Commercial Property Management
Subsidised Housing Property Management Industrial & Car Park Building Management
Institutional Facility Management

Judging Panel (Sequence of Jurors is arranged in the alphabetical order of members’ English surnames):

This year, we are honoured to invite an esteemed judging panel of industry leaders and diversity advocates to undertake the judging role:

Head Juror
Hon Tony TSE Wai-chuen, BBS, JP

Chairperson of Property Management Services Authority

Jurors
Prof Albert P.C. CHAN

Dean of Students

Associate Director of the Research Institute for Sustainable Urban Development

Able Professor in Construction Health and Safety

Chair Professor of Construction Engineering and Management

The Hong Kong Polytechnic University

Prof Johnnie C K CHAN, SBS, BBS, JP

Chairman, QPFMA 2022 Organising Committee

Ms Peggy CHAN

Head of Facility Services, West Kowloon Cultural District Authority

Dr Edmond CHENG Kam Wah

President, Hong Kong Association of Property Management Companies

Prof HE, Shenjing

Head of Department

Department of Urban Planning and Design, The University of Hong Kong

Sr Prof HO Chi Wing, Daniel

Associate Dean, Faculty of Design and Environment, THEi

Mr HO Siu Kin Francis

Vice-President, The Hong Kong Institute of Housing

Sr HUNG Chuen Ka, Charles

Chairman of Property & Facility Management Division,
The Hong Kong Institute of Surveyors

Dr KWONG Tsz Man

Head of College of Humanities and Law, HKU SPACE

Mr LEUNG Kin Man, Stephen

Deputy Director, Housing Department, HKSAR

Mr PANG Yiu Hung, JP

Director of Electrical and Mechanical Services Electrical & Mechanical Services Department, HKSAR

Mr POON Yuen Fong, Sanford

Vice President

The Hong Kong Association of Property Management Companies Limited

Mr TSE Cheong-wo, Edward

Deputy Director of Architectural Services, Architectural Services Department, HKSAR

Sr WONG Kwok Leung, Paul

Senior Vice-President, The Hong Kong Institute of Surveyors

Sr Gary YEUNG Man Kai

President, Hong Kong Institute of Facility Management

Prof YIP Ngai Ming

Professor, Department of Public Policy, City University of Hong Kong

Schedule:

Nomination Period: 8 March 2022 – 6 June 2022, 12nn
Site Visits: 30 – 31 July 2022
Finalists Presentation to Judging Panel cum Conference: 27 – 28 August 2022
Award Presentation Ceremony: 2 November 2022

For further information, please visit our website at www.qpfma.com

Please download the photos here

Photo captions

001 – QPFMA2022
002 – Dr Edmond CHENG Kam Wah, President of Hong Kong Association of Property Management Companies
003 – Sr HUNG Chuen Ka, Charles, Chairman of Property & Facility Management Division, The Hong Kong Institute of Surveyors
004 – Prof Johnnie C K CHAN, SBS, BBS, JP, QPFMA 2022 Organising Committee Chairman
005 – Hon Tony TSE Wai-chuen, BBS, JP, QPFMA 2022 Head Juror

About The Hong Kong Association of Property Management Companies

The Hong Kong Association of Property Management Companies, Limited (the Association) was founded in January 1990 with the aim of maintaining the standards of professional property management, and to provide its members with the benefit of a representative negotiating body in discussions with government or other bodies relating to the interests, rights, powers and privileges of the members, or other matters of common interest. The Association promotes continuing education to its members and other interested parties, to cooperate with similar organizations to uplift the service standards, while establishing the Codes of Conduct and management procedures to safeguard the owners and public interests. The Association has 99 members who provide quality service for over 70% of the resident units, various commercial buildings, car parks, and private and government facilities in Hong Kong among those that hire property management companies.

About The Hong Kong Institute of Surveyors

Established in 1984, The Hong Kong Institute of Surveyors (HKIS) is the only surveying professional body incorporated by ordinance in Hong Kong. The HKIS has a membership of over 10,000 members, including more than 6,700 professional surveyors. The Institute’s work includes setting standards for professional services and performance, establishing codes of ethics, determining requirements for admission as professional surveyors, and encouraging members to upgrade skills through continuing professional development.

The Institute has an important and responsive consultative role in government policy making particularly on issues affecting the profession. The HKIS has advised the Government on issues such as unauthorized building works, building safety campaign, problems of property management, town planning and development strategies, construction quality and housing problems.

#HongKongAssociationofPropertyManagementCompanies #HongKongInstituteofSurveyors #HKIS #QPFMA

Appier to celebrate International Women’s Day with announcement of employee well-being and gender equality toward a diverse workforce

TAIPEI, TAIWAN – Media OutReach – 8 March 2022 – Appier Group Inc (TSE: 4180), Appier, an artificial intelligence software-as-a-service (SaaS) company today announced Appier’s approach to employee well-being and gender equality toward a diverse workforce, in a celebration of International Women’s Day.

Since its founding in 2012, Appier has had a female member of the management team: Winnie Lee, the Chief Operating Officer and Co-founder of Appier, and a key decision maker who has helped make the AI company successfully go public on the Tokyo Stock Exchange in March 2021. At a time when women are still underrepresented in the tech industry, Lee represents how companies can benefit from having more women–and more women in charge.

Last year, Winnie was also recognized as one of 20 outstanding female leaders by Forbes Asia’s annual Power Business Women list. In her role as COO, Appier has been devoted to fostering a more gender-equal workplace where women can thrive, pursue their career goals and make achievements. According to Appier’s latest global workforce data, 42% of employees in Appier are female, higher than the average ratio of female employees in the overall workforce. Looking into the R&D function alone, 29% of employees are female, also higher than the average ratio of large tech companies.[1]

In Appier, we believe a healthy workplace is where everyone actively contributes to the work environment by promoting and protecting the health, safety and well-being of all employees. Therefore, Appier launched the “Global Employee Assistance Program,” a free professional counseling program to offer Appier employees and their families necessary emotional, practical and physical support. This program also operates virtually, allowing all Appiers across 17 offices worldwide to benefit from this program, especially when most countries still wait for the Covid-19 threat to pass.

Furthermore, Appier has maintained and supported a work from home policy since the pandemic outbreak in 2020. If employees need to adjust their working hours to adapt to the local emergency situation or take care of their families, the company provides an appropriate level of flexibility, as long as employees can proficiently carry out their roles & responsibilities remotely. Appier is a firm believer that employees should be afforded the respect of a flexible working option when needed.

The name of Appier comes from “AI makes you happier”. Appiers are happier because the camaraderie is built on a set of common beliefs and values that unite all members as a team: open-mindedness, direct communications and ambition are Appier’s core values. These three values guide everything Appier does and strive the company to be a listening organization.

“The company is healthiest when the group of the people in the company is diverse,” said Winnie Lee, Appier’s COO and co-founder. “Open-mindedness is the antithesis of bias, which is so aligned with this year’s campaign theme for International Women’s Day #BreaktheBias. Appier approaches its hiring process, R&D process, and day-to-day work with an open mind, giving people the best support resources they need to grow, ultimately to build an organization with diversity that will help drive innovation continuously.” she concluded.

About Appier

Appier (TSE: 4180) is a software-as-a-service (SaaS) company that uses artificial intelligence to power business decision-making. Founded in 2012 with a vision of democratizing AI, Appier now has 17 offices across APAC, Europe and the U.S., and is listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange. Visit www.appier.com for more company information and visit ir.appier.com/en/ for more IR information.

#Appier

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