60% of Malaysian Consumers Buy Local Ahead of Merdeka Day

KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA – Media OutReach – 29 August 2022 – 60% of Malaysian consumers are proactively supporting local sellers ahead of Merdeka Day with #ShopeeSapotLokal, at the live reveal of the platform’s largest marketplace study this year, Celebrating the Heart of Malaysia on E-Commerce*, ahead of the company’s 9.9 Super Shopping Day.

When 3,356 consumers were asked “Why do you think it is important to support local sellers?” during the month leading up to Merdeka Day, 30% endorsed the quality of Made-in-Malaysia goods that cater to their local preferences, 20% stated that they want to keep the economy running for patriotic reasons and 8% were sellers supporting other local sellers in the same boat. 42% preferred shopping local to get their items delivered faster.

Among these respondents, half of them (54%) are working full time, 18% are in-between jobs, 17% are senior citizens, 6% are stay-at-home parents and 5% are university students.

Shopee also examined what Malaysians valued about online shopping. Over 70% of consumers surveyed estimated that their everyday online shopping transactions resulted in savings of over 5% consistently. Economic uncertainty was the primary reason respondents valued every Ringgit saved, with 50% of buyers needing to reduce expenses in this environment, 14% not earning enough to cover essentials, 10% foreseeing major expenses in the coming months and 6% providing for multiple dependents.

“Interestingly, not all buyers prioritise discounts and vouchers exclusively. Seven in 10 Malaysians value peace of mind over lower price,” according to Kenneth Soh, Head of Marketing Campaigns at Shopee Malaysia.

Nine in 10 Malaysians still buy online despite the reopening of physical outlets because it is a learned and adopted habit. The majority value having ‘peace of mind’, with 40% enjoying the convenience of parcels delivered to their doorstep, 17% feeling safe with Shopee Guarantee, and 10% trusting reviews and pictures from other buyers.

For 49% of buyers, Shopee is the top-of-mind shopping destination for lifestyle products, including home decoration items, fashion pieces, and health and beauty products. Apart from that, 24% of buyers purchase living essentials (groceries and diapers) from Shopee, 16% look for tech devices (computers, mobile devices and TV) and the remaining 11% buy automobile parts or work and school supplies.

“When Malaysian consumers express their values through online shopping preferences this way, we truly understand why eight in 10 local sellers started their selling journey online with Shopee. We are humbled to discover that half of our local sellers surveyed say the income earned on our platform is crucial as it enables them to support their families,” said Soh.

The majority of local sellers began selling online with Shopee to overcome existing limitations on their earnings and participation in the economy: 24% because it is their only source of income, 5% can’t get a job, 18% need to supplement income and 24% feel the pressures of higher costs of living. 30% said they became Shopee sellers because of their passion for their business.

Save and Enjoy More with 9.9 Super Shopping Day

To enable Malaysians to stretch their Ringgit even more, Shopee’s 9.9 Super Shopping Day is currently happening till 9 September 2022. More value and joy await shoppers on top of Free Shipping with no minimum spend, daily 95% off deals and a chance to Shop & Win up to RM200,000**.

Malaysians can also look forward to Shopee Live daily exclusive vouchers, worth up to RM6 off with no minimum spend from any livestream on Shopee Live. The Live-exclusive vouchers refresh every day, so users should come back to Shopee livestream daily to claim and use the vouchers on 9.9 Super Shopping Day.

On top of that, users can also participate in the Shopee Live Buy & Win contest to stand a chance to win up to 100,000 Shopee Coins and Gold Bars. This is applicable for purchases made in any livestreams on Shopee Live from 26 August until 9 September.

To top it off, tune in to TV3, Shopee Live or Shopee’s YouTube channel at 9PM on 9 September to get your hands on the best TV deals in town from the Shopee 9.9 Super Show. Full of exciting performances, games and offers, Shopee will be treating Malaysians with Shopee Shake, Vouchers Drop and more during the show for an unforgettable 9.9 Super Shopping Day.

For more information about the Shopee 9.9 Super Shopping Day, visit https://shopee.com.my/m/99.

**Terms and conditions apply.

Notes：
1. Survey Methodology*
The 2022 “Celebrating the Heart of Malaysia on E-Commerce” survey was conducted by Shopee Marketplace, between 19 July to 17 August 2022. Voluntary feedback was obtained from 2,132 Malaysian sellers and 3,356 Malaysian buyers on the platform.

2. Shopee Malaysia held a virtual press conference on the marketplace survey – ‘Celebrating the Heart of Malaysia on E-Commerce’ on 25 August 2022. To view it in full, please contact pr.my@shopee.com.

Hashtag: #Shopee #MerdekaDay

About Shopee

Shopee is the leading e-commerce platform in Southeast Asia & Taiwan. Shopee promotes an inclusive and sustainable digital ecosystem by enabling businesses to digitalise and grow their online presence, helping more people access and benefit from digital services, and uplifting local communities.

Shopee offers an easy, secure, and engaging experience that is enjoyed by millions of people daily. Shopee is also a key contributor to the region’s digital economy with a firm commitment to helping homegrown brands and entrepreneurs succeed in e-commerce.

Shopee is part of Sea Limited (NYSE: SE), a leading global consumer internet company. Sea’s mission is to better the lives of consumers and small businesses with technology through its three core businesses: Shopee, Garena and SeaMoney.

• Revenue increased by 31.0% to approximately HK$583.3 million.
• Profit Attribute to Owners of the Group increased by 8.3% to approximately HK$51.3 million
• The Latin America and Caribbean Segment recorded a segment result of approximately HK$576.2 million
• The Financial Services Segment recorded a segment result of approximately HK$17.0 million
• The Environmental Protection Segment recorded a segment result of approximately HK$12.0 million
• Basic earnings per share was 3.56 cents.

Financial Highlights:

HONG KONG SAR – Media OutReach – 26 August 2022 – Realord Group Holdings Limited (the “Company”, together with its subsidiaries, the “Group”, stock code: 1196) is pleased to present the consolidated results of the Group for the six months ended 30 June 2022 (“Period” or “1H2022”). During the Period, the Group recorded a total revenue of approximately HK$583.3 million, representing a year-on-year growth of 31.0%; Gross profit was HK$137.8 million, representing a year-on-year increase of 4.0%; Profit and Profit attributable to owners for the Period was HK$204.08 million and HK$51.27 million respectively, representing year-on-year increases of 284.2% and 8.1% respectively; Basic earnings per share for the Year was HK$3.56 cent.

Business Review, Outlook and Corporate Strategy

The principal activities of the Group during the Period included the Segments of Property, Financial Services, the Environmental Protection (“EP”), Motor Vehicle Parts (“MVP”), Commercial Printing, Hangtag, Department Store and the Latin America & Caribbean (“LAC”).

The LAC Segment

The Group owns a project (“Grenada Project”) comprising 3 lots of land with admeasurement 450 acres situated at the Mt. Hartman area in the parish of Saint George, Grenada. Grenada Project involves the development of a mixed property project consisting educational facilities, apartments for student, residential properties, hotel and resort facilities, commercial development and shopping facilities and in a longer plan university establishment(s) and related amenities.

Through a Citizenship by Investment Programme of Grenada (“CBI Programme”), the Group is authorised by Grenada Government to raise capital from investors of the Project for funding the construction and development costs. Qualified investors of the real properties will be granted permanent Grenadian citizenship and a passport. The revenue generated from consultancy services under CBI programmer was HK$3.3 million in 1H2022 and the segment profit of LAC Segment was approximately HK$576.2 million, due to a fair value gain on the investment properties in Grenada.

The Group is keen to leverage its experience in the Grenada Project to explore further investment opportunities around the Caribbean economic zone and Latin American region. The Group has further targeted to invest in four other Caribbean countries, namely Antigua and Barbuda, Saint Lucia, Saint Kitts and Nevis, and Dominica. The Group has identified four investment propositions to collaborate with the respective local governments to accelerate economic development of each country. These four areas include (i) the clean energy sector; (ii) the education sector; (iii) the tourism sector; and (iv) the retail sector

The Group is identifying capable and competent business partners with significant track record to participate in the projects. Subject to the planning and the feasibility studies of the projects as well as the requisite approval by the respective local government, it is expected that the Group would kick off the projects in the Designated Caribbean Countries and the Republic of Panama in the near future. To this end, the Group has established a management and marketing team with offices in Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen and Hong Kong and established a local sales network in Vietnam, and the U.S. to implement the marketing strategies formulated for promoting the citizenship investment programmes and investment opportunities of each of the aforesaid countries.

The Financial Services Segment

The Financial Services Segment generated a revenue of approximately HK$63.1 million in 1H2022, representing a slightly decrease of 5.0% from the previous year. The decrease in revenue of the Financial Services Segment was mainly resulted from the decrease in services provided to its customers, including placing services and underwriting services for certain initial public offering (“IPO”) projects. The aforesaid effect was partially offsetted by the margin interest income, margin financing services and interest from the money lending.

During the Period under Review, the segment recorded a segment profit of approximately HK$17.0 million. The segment profit was improved by decrease in commission expenses by approximately HK$2.3 million due to the decrease in placing services and decrease in provision for impairment losses on the loan receivables.

The Financial Services Segment will continuously develop various investment products to meet the market’s demand. At the same time, the Segment is also proactively preparing to launch dark pools and US stock trading systems; and expand the sales and business teams to support our business development. Therefore, the Segment is expected to achieve stable business growth in the second half of 2022.

The EP Segment

With the steady growth of copper price and continuing increased scale and established suppliers’ network of during 1H2022, the EP Segment generated revenue of approximately HK$356.1 million, representing an increase of approximately 38.7%. The segment profit for the EP Segment in 1H2022 was HK$12.0 million.

Looking forward, amidst the market uncertainties, the Group will continue to exercise extreme cautions in the operations of the EP Segment with a view to controlling operating costs, minimising the credit risk exposures, and expanding the customers base of the segments by strengthening their competitive edges among their competitors. The Group is looking into alternatives such as deploying additional operation points in Kyushu, Japan to meet the economy recovery after the COVID-19 pandemic for sustain growth of the EP business.

Mr. Bryan Lin Xiaohui, Chairman of Realord Group said, “Grenada project has now initially achieved results and the Group believes the promising prospects in Latin America and the Caribbean Region. Thus we will actively utilise the market synergy to fortify our leading position of the Group in the region, in order to maximise the return to our Shareholders and Investors.”
Hashtag: #RealordGroup

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

About Reaload Group Holdings Limited

Realord Group Holdings Limited (“Realord Group) is principally engaged in various segments including Property Investment, Financial Services (including corporate finance advisory, asset management, securities brokerage services, margin financing and money lending), Environmental Protection (mainly dismantling and trading of scrap materials), Distribution and Sale of Motor Vehicle Parts, Department Store. In recent years, the Group has commenced the Latin American & Caribbean Segment, in which is carrying out a development project in Grenada. The Project involves the development of a mixed property project consisting educational facilities, apartments for student, residential properties, hotel and resort facilities, commercial development and shopping facilities and in a longer plan university establishment(s) and related amenities. The Group plans to commence property development and investment business in the Republic of Panama.

• Recorded revenue of HK$10,402.8 million, representing a growth of 111.1% YOY
• Recorded a profit of HK$214.9 million, the turnaround in the Group’s profitability was primarily attributable to the operating profits generated by NTEC, the Group’s wholly owned Canadian oil and gas subsidiary, and higher energy commodity prices during the period
• Earnings per share were HK2.45 cents
• Operates over 800 active wells in Canada with current average daily oil and gas production of over 12,700 boe per day (95% natural gas)
• The Group has set up vertical farming operations at Discovery Park and it is expected to commence operations in 2023
• The Group is exploring ways to work with local authorities and governing bodies to achieve the common goal of net zero emissions, through eco-investment opportunities such as Blue & Green Hydrogen and Carbon Capture, Utilization and Sequestration

Financial Highlights

HONG KONG SAR – Media OutReach – 26 August 2022 – New Times Energy Corporate Limited (“the Company” or “New Times Energy”, together with its subsidiaries, the “Group”, HKSE stock code: 166) announced its annual results for the six months ended 30 June 2022. During the period, the Group recorded total revenue of HK$10,402.8 million (2021 first half: HK$4,928.6 million), representing a growth of 111.1% year-on-year, and recorded a profit of HK$214.9 million (2021 first half : loss of HK$21.7 million). The turnaround in the Group’s profitability was primarily attributable to the operating profits generated by NTE Energy Canada Ltd. (“NTEC”), the Group’s wholly owned Canadian oil and gas subsidiary, and higher energy commodity prices in the first half of 2022.

During the periord, earnings per share were HK2.45 cents (2021 first half: loss of HK0.25 cents per share).

BUSINESS REVIEW

CANADA

Greater Sierra Area, Horn River Basin, Wapiti and Willesden Green

The Group’s Canadian oil and gas assets, consisting over 800 active wells and spanning approximately 761,000 acres (3,080 km2) of land. During the six months ended 30 June 2022, NTEC’s average daily oil and gas production was approximately 12,700 boe per day (95% natural gas) and the average realized price was C$38.7 per boe. Optimization programs to enhance production rates of NTEC’s existing wells have demonstrated positive results in the first half of 2022, with the Group anticipating continued material increases in production, revenues and profits in the coming year. Drilling of NTEC’s 6 development wells commenced in June 2022 which will further enhance the financial performance of the Group towards the fiscal year end of 2022.

Meanwhile, the Group is exploring ways to work with local authorities and governing bodies to achieve the common goal of net zero emissions, through eco-investment opportunities such as Blue & Green Hydrogen and Carbon Capture, Utilization and Sequestration (“CCUS”).

Discovery Park

The Group operates Discovery Park at Campbell River, British Columbia, providing industrial land parcels, buildings, and warehouses for businesses to lease. The multi-use site is currently leased to tenants in industries including but not limited to green data centres, modular construction, marine services, and steel fabrication. The Group has already engaged the services of a world-renowned consulting group, Stantec Inc., to provide a master plan for a complete redevelopment of Discovery Park into a green-tech hub to attract new tenants that align with the Group’s ESG mandate. The site is an ideal candidate for aquaculture as well as green hydrogen, given the low-cost electricity on site and ample supply of ocean and fresh water. The Group is actively exploring ways to bring such projects to fruition through support and cooperation from local and federal government.

On 25 June 2022, the Group signed a definitive agreement with CubicFarm Systems Corp. (TSX:CUB) to set up vertical farming operations at Discovery Park. When the vertical farming commences operations in 2023, the Group anticipates that over a million kilograms of green vegetables will be produced monthly.

ARGENTINA

In Argentina, the Group is experiencing a significant positive cash flow from operation of approximately HK$40.5 million, although the financial statements at local level still reflect a net deficit of approximately HK$17.7 million, due primarily to the effects of depreciation, foreign exchange losses and deferred tax charges. Monthly cash surpluses from the Argentina operation are being repatriated.

COMMODITIES TRADING

During the six months ended 30 June 2022, the Group’s physical gold and silver trade business managed a total trading volume of HK$9,813.7 million. However, net margin for the period was reduced by the fixed costs incurred from the delayed opening of the Group’s new precious metals refinery in Hong Kong. Due to global supply chain issues, hindering the timely delivery and installation of specialized equipment at the plant, the target commencement date of operation for the Group’s refinery of gold, silver and other precious metals is now deferred to October 2022.

The Group believes that the business of commodity trading of precious metals will restore to profitability, once the new gold and precious metals refinery is operational. By bringing the refining process in-house, the Group anticipates higher margins in the long term.

Looking ahead, Mr. CHENG, Kam Chiu Stewart Chairman of the Group said, “As recent global events have demonstrated, the necessity for stable energy sources like oil and gas while the world transitions to renewables will remain strong. NTEC has an inventory of no less than 12 highly economic drilling locations within its lands that will augment existing cashflow. The optimization program of the NTEC’s existing wells will also have positive effects on the profitability and cashflow in the Group’s oil and gas segment. The Group is particularly optimistic about the potential for involving in activities that will significantly reduce carbon emissions with a goal of achieving net-zero. We are prepared and excited about our ability to create long term value for our shareholders. ”
Hashtag: #NewTimesEnergy

About New Times Energy Corporation Limited

New Times Energy Corporation Limited (HKSE stock code: 166), headquartered in Hong Kong, is an international resource company that operates natural gas weighted assets in Alberta and British Columbia and is taking steps to transform its business model into clean and sustainable energy, in its effort to be a part of the global “Energy Transition” that is underway, with social responsibility towards the environment and climate change at the forefront.