MÖNCHENGLADBACH, Germany, April 8, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Tradewind Finance has expanded an existing client facility from $45 million to $50 million within 48 hours, enabling the exporter to meet rising working capital demands caused by the ongoing disruption to shipping through the Strait of Hormuz. The increase is part of Tradewind’s broader initiative to support exporters trading with and from the Middle East amid the ongoing conflict.

With roughly 30 percent of global hydrocarbon flows normally passing through the Strait, the near-total blockage has forced widespread rerouting, adding weeks of transit time and significantly raising freight and insurance costs. At the same time, credit insurers are reducing political risk coverage in the region, and buyers are increasingly requesting payment terms of 30 to 120 days. The combined effect is a sharp increase in the working capital requirements of exporters active in the region.

In response, Tradewind has accelerated its facility review process for affected clients and is accommodating extended payment terms, providing cash advances within days of shipment so exporters do not have to choose between maintaining trade relationships and protecting their cash flow. The company continues to onboard new exporters from and into the Middle East at a time when many providers are tightening their criteria.

“Our clients require a financing partner that responds at the pace of disruption, not the pace of a traditional credit cycle,” said Ansgar Hütten, Executive Director at Tradewind Finance. “Scaling a facility from 45 to 50 million dollars in this timeframe is exactly the kind of responsiveness this environment demands, and it reflects how our teams on the ground operate when conditions get difficult.”

With more than 25 years of active operations in the Middle East and South Asia, Tradewind’s local teams have long supported exporters across the region. Past experience through volatile periods, including the early days of COVID-19, guides the company’s current response: stay present, stay flexible, and keep underwriting trade when others step away.

About Tradewind Finance
Tradewind Finance is a global trade finance company with over 25 years of experience in export factoring, supply chain finance, and structured trade solutions. With offices and partners in more than 14 countries, Tradewind helps exporters and importers manage cash flow, transfer buyer credit risk, and grow their international business. 

SAN JOSE, Calif., April 8, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — As the AI revolution redefines the creative landscape, Reallusion is proud to unveil its latest technology roadmap, positioning the company at the forefront of the next era of hybrid media creation.

By embedding powerful AI into generative stages while simultaneously pushing the boundaries of traditional 3D workflows—through cinematic RTX Rendering, upgraded image-to-3D in Headshot 3, precision AccuFace 2 capture, CC Mesh Wrapping Tools, Image to Cloth, and realistic Joint Corrective Morphs —Reallusion is empowering artists to bridge the gap between imagination and photorealistic reality.

Evolution of the Professional 3D Workflow

RTX Render: Achieve Cinematic Path-Traced Realism

Elevating render quality has long been a shared desire among our users. Reallusion is proud to fulfill this highly anticipated milestone by introducing RTX rendering as a free update. Developed in close collaboration with NVIDIA, this integration leverages advanced RTX technology to deliver the cinematic quality of path-traced rendering at near real-time speeds.

Harnessing the power of RTX GPU and DLSS technology, artists can showcase their work at its absolute best with exceptional clarity and performance. Highly optimized for Reallusion’s digital human shaders, RTX rendering offers precise control over hair, skin, and subsurface scattering, bringing characters to life with unprecedented realism.

Beyond digital humans, RTX unlocks new possibilities across commercial visualization and industrial design, enabling richer, more immersive visual experiences. With dynamic time-of-day transitions, adjustable cloud density, and natural atmospheric motion, achieving perfect lighting has never been easier.

Headshot 3: Next Level of Lifelike Digital Double Generation

Headshot 3 represents a massive leap in digital identity. Reallusion has developed and trained a proprietary AI model specifically for accurate image-to-3D head reconstruction. Trained on a vast dataset of facial scans, this model better interprets facial landmarks, depth cues, and subtle anatomical features from 2D images. As a result, it produces a more precise head mesh with improved topology, enhanced identity preservation, and more accurate proportions.

In addition, Headshot 3 has included a range of powerful new features designed to achieve significantly higher likeness and precision. This includes 4K AI image generation from text prompts, spline-based head-shape refinement with fully controllable Bézier adjustments for portrait and profile, and built-in lens correction.

Users can also take advantage of texture channel enhancement and intuitive mask brush tools to effortlessly remove shadows and blemishes. For even greater accuracy, new body matching capabilities support full-body image measurements, ensuring accurate proportions for a more faithful digital double.

To celebrate this release, Reallusion is currently offering an exclusive prelaunch offer, allowing users to secure Headshot 3 for free by purchasing Headshot 2 before its official release.

AccuFACE 2: Highly Accurate, Lips and Facial Tracking

With the introduction of the new HD facial profile in Character Creator 5, Reallusion has correspondingly upgraded its motion capture capabilities with AccuFace 2. Adopting a newly trained tracking system optimized specifically for CC5 characters, this major update delivers exceptional accuracy and responsiveness.

The system captures even the most subtle high-frequency lip-sync details for natural expressions and speech. With support for both live webcam input and video-based tracking, AccuFace 2 offers flexible capture workflows without compromising quality.

When combined with video motion capture, you can produce high-quality facial and full-body animation seamlessly within the Reallusion toolset.

Mesh Wrapping: Open The Gateway to the Character Creator Ecosystem

As AI-generated 3D models become increasingly prevalent in the industry, integrating these static assets into professional animation pipelines has become a vital need. To address this, Reallusion is introducing CC Wrap.

This powerful tool allows you to effortlessly wrap any models—alongside traditional 3D models and cloth meshes—into standard Character Creator (CC) topology.

By conforming to CC topology, this technology acts as a gateway to the entire CC & iClone ecosystem. You can seamlessly access Reallusion’s extensive asset libraries and instantly transform static meshes into fully functional characters, completely ready for highly detailed facial expressions and body animations.

In addition, detailed 3D outfits can be created from image references, featuring automatic skin weighting that significantly streamlines the entire character creation workflow.

Joint Corrective Morphs (JCM): Ensure Anatomical Accuracy with Realistic Muscle Deformation

In our continuous pursuit of more realistic animation quality, Reallusion is proud to introduce Joint Corrective Morphs (JCM) as a free update. This new feature delivers enhanced accuracy for body shapes across a wide range of poses.

Built on a joint-based deformation system, this technology goes beyond basic shape correction for extreme poses. It produces more natural and realistic muscle deformation, ensuring characters maintain anatomical integrity during complex animations.

Empowering Creativity with Generative AI

AI Studio:  3D Previs to AI Render – Effective Hybrid Production

AI Studio is a true game changer for iClone and CC users, instantly transforming 3D previs projects into photorealistic images and videos. It also supports stylized rendering, allowing you to tailor visuals to your unique creative vision.

The built-in AI Actor Creator ensures character consistency across every shot while delivering natural, lifelike dialogue and performances.

These AI-powered tools also enable precise character interactions and camera control, guided by iClone motion data and reference footage. Powered by Reallusion AI Cloud services, the entire pipeline is streamlined for maximum efficiency without the need for additional hardware.

Unlocking True Creative Freedom

iClone 9: Rig anything. Animate everything.

Take a first look at how we’re unlocking true creative freedom in 3D character production. No longer limited to human characters, you can add skeletal structures to any model.

You can retarget motion between characters with matching hierarchies to ensure consistent animation transfer. Use custom Control Rigs for precise animation control, apply squash and stretch for expressive deformation, and add spring dynamics and secondary motion with ease.

By enabling collision-aware simulations, artists achieve greater flexibility and control in every stage of animation.

Stay Ahead of the Curve: Choose Your Access

Reallusion is dedicated to keeping our users at the vanguard of the CG-AI transformation, providing the cutting-edge tools needed to ensure peak production efficiency.

To maintain that competitive edge, you now have flexible ways to integrate these upcoming innovations into your pipeline. By joining our Subscription plans, users will automatically receive updates to the latest versions and all these great upcoming features at no additional cost. Alternatively, users can choose to acquire Permanent Licenses upon their official release dates.

Media Contact
Atilas Wang, Reallusion Inc., +886289121028, atilaswang@reallusion.com, https://www.reallusion.com/ 

Successful first edition underscores Hong Kong’s importance as Asia’s cross‑industry IP trend‑culture hub

CON-CON^® to return in 2027 and expands overseas for the first time tentative to Thailand

HONG KONG, April 8, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Fully invested by Medialink Group Limited (Hong Kong Stock Code: 2230.HK) and all‑out orchestrated by its wholly owned subsidiary CON-CON (HK) Limited, CON-CON^® HONG KONG 2026 — Hong Kong’s first homegrown flagship Asian cross‑industry IP trend and pop culture mega‑event, led by Hong Kong and rooted in the city’s cultural DNA — concluded successfully on 4–5 April 2026 at AsiaWorld‑Expo, Hong Kong. Over two days, the event generated strong momentum and widespread buzz across IP, trend culture, pop culture, designer toys, music, anime and entertainment, attracting enthusiastic participation and positive recognition from brands, partners, creators and industry professionals. As the first flagship IP cultural event pioneered and driven by Hong Kong, CON-CON^® HONG KONG underscores the city’s role as an originator, creator and cultural tastemaker in Asia’s cross‑industry IP and trend‑culture landscape and further demonstrates Hong Kong’s strategic value as a platform that enables meaningful connections through IP across regions and sectors.

The opening ceremony on 4 April was led by Guest of Honour Dr. Bernard Chan Pak-li, JP, Under Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development of the Government of the Hong Kong SAR, and officiated by distinguished guests including Ms. Lovinia Chiu, Founder, Chairwoman of the Board and CEO of Medialink Group Limited; Ms. Enid Low, Chief Strategy Officer of AsiaWorld‑Expo Management Limited; and VIP guests Mr. Andy Lam Siu-hong, JP, Deputy Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development of the Government of the Hong Kong SAR, and Mr. David Wong Fuk-loi, JP, Director of Intellectual Property of the Government of the Hong Kong SAR. Celebrity guest Mr. Philip Ng, renowned Hong Kong actor, also attended in support.

Dr. Bernard Chan Pak-li, JP, Under Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development of the Government of the Hong Kong SAR said, “Congratulations to Medialink Group on the successful planning and delivery of this Asia‑wide cross‑industry IP trend‑culture event. Through a series of IP cultural activities, the music festival and the Blackbox Theatre, the event brought together cross‑sector collaboration experiences spanning designer toys, music, art, animation, games, fashion, sports and food, enabling creators, industry professionals and on-site audiences to experience the latest pulse of Asian pop culture. The HKSAR Government will continue to promote the development of local IP and enhance Hong Kong’s IP regime, ensuring it remains up to date, aligned with international trends and responsive to Hong Kong’s economic needs. This includes implementing the Copyright (Amendment) Ordinance 2022, which strengthens copyright protection in the digital environment, and conducting a comprehensive review of the local registered designs system, to encourage the sustained growth of Hong Kong’s cultural and creative industries and drive related value chains across different sectors. We will also actively support cultural IP initiatives, helping applicants pursue IP protection for creative products, develop IP agreements, and manage IP portfolios, to assist creators in unlocking business opportunities. The HKSAR Government will continue to adopt innovative thinking and leverage Hong Kong’s strengths in technology, animation, performing arts, and film and television culture to support IP creation, development and collaborations, attracting more members of the public, visitors and potential partners from around the world to experience Hong Kong’s unique cultural essence. We also encourage industries such as catering, retail and tourism to make full use of IP projects to identify business opportunities and promote broader economic multiplier effects.”

In her welcome remarks, Ms. Lovinia Chiu, Founder, Chairwoman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of Medialink Group Limited said, “As the Founder, Chairwoman and CEO of Medialink Group—and as the ‘Mother of CON-CON’—today is deeply meaningful to me. This is Medialink Group’s first large-scale mega-event, and CON-CON^® is a Mega-Event IP born in Hong Kong. Hong Kong has always been a vital regional hub. We have a unique geographic advantage, an international outlook, and deep-rooted foundations for cultural and business exchange. In the IP sector, Hong Kong also has clear strengths as a regional intellectual property trading hub. The launch of CON-CON^® is precisely about further transforming these advantages into a cultural Mega-Event IP that truly belongs to Hong Kong and sets off from Hong Kong.”

Ms. Chiu added, “One aspect of this edition makes me particularly proud: out of 85 exhibitors, 63 were Hong Kong local brands. This number is especially meaningful because CON-CON^® is not merely a venue for showcasing IP content—it is also a platform for Hong Kong’s next-generation brands and creators to be seen, recognised and supported. Through this platform, I hope more people will discover Hong Kong’s creative energy, while also creating opportunities for local brands to set off from Hong Kong and expand across Asian markets. I would also like to extend my heartfelt thanks to every visitor. We hope everyone found their own inspiration and opportunities at CON-CON^®, and that they will join us in witnessing a new milestone as Hong Kong’s IP culture moves onto the world stage.”

Ms. Chiu continued, “Building on the strong results achieved by the inaugural CON-CON^® and the positive response from all sectors, the Group hereby officially announces that CON-CON^® will continue next year, further strengthening its positioning as a Hong Kong‑original Mega‑Event IP, and testifying that Hong Kong can and will be the regional IP trading centre as the envisioned in China’s 14^th and 15^th five years plan. At the same time, the Group will actively advance CON-CON^®‘s regional development strategy, tentatively expanding to Thailand as the first overseas tour destination. This will extend Hong Kong’s mega‑event model to more markets across Asia, further enhancing CON-CON^®‘s brand influence and regional reach, and progressively realising CON-CON^®‘s long‑term vision, starting from Hong Kong, connecting Asia, and going global.”

CON-CON^® HONG KONG 2026 delivered a content‑rich programme, bringing together multiple highly anticipated Asian IP highlights and cross‑industry experiences. Centred on IP as its core language, the event brought together immersive IP experiences, a music festival, a Public Stage, public appearances by Asian super idols, cosers and VTubers, Blackbox Theatre Asian creators dialogues, and a marketplace featuring more than 80 major brands, exclusive and limited‑edition merchandise, entertainment, and food and beverage offerings, and more — all integrated into a sustainably operated “Mega‑Event IP.” Collectively, these elements showcased the new value and significant development potential created when IP converges with technology, content, retail, live performance and community culture.

Across the two days, the event sustained strong momentum, with consistently high footfall across the exhibition zones, stage programmes, brand activation areas and the music festival—underscoring clear market appetite for a high-quality IP cultural mega‑event with a distinctive original positioning and an Asia‑wide outlook. CON-CON^® not only successfully energised local audiences and spending but also delivered meaningful value for participating brands by driving visibility, enabling commercial partnerships and facilitating cross-industry exchange, further validating CON-CON^®‘s business model and long-term value as a sustainably operated “Mega‑Event IP.”

CON-CON® is also open to the public, especially the younger generation, offering opportunities to experience the power of IP through direct participation and immersive engagement. Through an “edutainment” approach, the event seeks to deepen public understanding of the cultural industries and demonstrate that cultural creativity is not merely a hobby or short-term trend, but a viable long-term professional pathway.

“CON-CON^®” stands for “Convention for Connection.” More than a showcase of IP, the platform is designed to create meaningful connections among IPs and creators, brands and audiences, performers and fans, and wider industry resources. Through the Blackbox Theatre Asian creator sharing sessions and dialogues, CON-CON^® convened leading voices from across the creative and entertainment sectors to explore IP creation thinking, development pathways and cultural value, deepening industry exchange and cross-sector dialogue. By bringing together immersive experiences, content curation, stage performances, creator engagement, marketplace retail and community interaction within a single shared space, CON-CON^® is building a cross-industry cultural platform with sustainable growth potential—pioneering a new Mega‑Event IP model that is born in Hong Kong, connects Asia, and is designed to scale internationally.

The successful conclusion of the inaugural CON-CON^® HONG KONG 2026 marks an important milestone for Medialink Group in advancing an Asia‑wide, cross‑industry IP and trend‑culture landscape. Looking ahead, Medialink Group will continue to leverage its strengths as a cross‑industry IP “super connector” in Asia, further strengthening high‑efficiency linkages among content, brands, creators and markets. The Group remains committed to continuously enhancing CON-CON^®‘s cultural influence, commercial value and international visibility, while opening up broader development opportunities for Hong Kong’s, and Asia’s cultural industries.

-END-

About CON-CON^® HONG KONG

CON-CON^® HONG KONG 2026 is solely invested by Medialink Group Limited and fully conceived and organized by its wholly owned subsidiary, CON-CON (HK) Limited. It is the first mega IP flagship festival in Hong Kong created for a global audience. “CON-CON” stands for Convention for Connection and is designed as a cross-sector platform with intellectual property (“IP”) at its core, fostering collaboration and cultural exchange.

Originating in Hong Kong, CON-CON^® HONG KONG 2026 is the first flagship IP cultural event led and driven by the city, underscoring Hong Kong’s role as an originator, creator and cultural tastemaker in Asia’s cross-industry IP and trend-culture landscape. In a groundbreaking format, CON-CON^® brings together immersive experiences, a music festival, the Public Stage, public appearances by Asian super idols, cosers and VTubers, Blackbox Theatre creator dialogues, a marketplace featuring more than 80 major brands, exclusive limited-edition merchandise, entertainment, food and beverage offerings, and more — all connected through IP and integrated into a new “Mega-Event IP.” Visitors are invited to spark new possibilities in their own way and create their own unique chemistry at the event.

Launching from Hong Kong as its first stop, CON-CON^® points toward a sustainable and extensible future for IP culture. CON-CON^® HONG KONG 2026 is planned as an annual mega-event, beginning in Hong Kong and gradually expanding into other parts of Asia, with the aim of promoting IP, pop culture, ACG culture, and cross-industry collaborations between well-known IPs and brands. The event will take place on April 4–5, 2026 (Saturday and Sunday) at AsiaWorld-Expo, Hong Kong International Airport.

CON-CON^®: https://www.con-con.asia/
CON-CON^® on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/conconhk2026
CON-CON^® on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/conconhk2026
CON-CON^® on Xiaohongshu: 搜尋「CON-CON HK」
CON-CON^® on WeChat: [CON-CON HK]

About Medialink Group Limited

Medialink Group Limited (Stock Code: 2230.HK) is a leading intellectual property (IP) management company headquartered in Hong Kong, with business in Greater China, Japan and Southeast Asia, actively promoting cultural exchanges through its IP, bring high-quality entertainment to the whole of Asia.

Founded in 1994, its business mainly focuses on content distribution and brand licensing, and is also involved in content production, distribution arrangements and animation product development. The Group invests and cooperates closely with media content licensors to distribute media content related to animation, variety shows, TV dramas, animated and live-action movies. At the same time, it also obtains copyright licensing from various brand licensors in the Asia-Pacific region, including merchandising rights and location-based entertainment rights and promotion rights.

The Group has its own animation brand, its various Ani-One^® YouTube channels (including Ani-One^® Asia which is Asia-focused, Ani-One^® 中文官方頻道 which is run in Chinese, and other South East Asia channels – Ani-One^® Thailand, Ani-One^® Philippines, Ani-One^® Vietnam, Ani-One^® Indonesia and Ani-One^® India) have more than 10 million subscribers and more than 2.4 billion views. In addition, the Group also owns two channels broadcasting Asia-produced animations, Ani-Mi^®, and the e-commerce platform Ani-Mall^®, selling animation products and exclusive anime boutique items.

This press release is distributed by Above The Line PR on behalf of CON-CON (HK) Limited. 

SHANGHAI, April 8, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — On March 12, 2026, the first implant of the ProStyle M^® Transcatheter Mitral Valve System (ProStyle M^®) was successfully completed under pure ultrasound guidance as part of its confirmatory clinical study. The device is independently developed by KingstronBio Technology (Changshu) Co., Ltd. (KingstronBio). The procedure was performed by Professor Wang Chunsheng and Professor Wei Lai of the Department of Cardiac Surgery, Zhongshan Hospital Affiliated to Fudan University, marking the official launch of the national multicenter confirmatory clinical study for ProStyle M^®. 

Prior to this, ProStyle M^® had undergone a two-year First-in-Man (FIM) study involving a total of 10 patients with a mean age of 71 years. The study results demonstrated excellent anchoring performance with no regurgitation observed in all cases.As the clinical study progresses, further evidence will be generated to verify the product’s safety and efficacy.

KingstronBio takes innovation as its core driving force and has long been deeply engaged in the heart valve field. The company owns a number of patented technologies at home and abroad, including the Micro-Ex™ anti calcification treatment technology and AirBo™ dry storage technology for heart valves.

With a long-term focus on the R&D and manufacturing of products for structural heart diseases, KingstronBio’s product portfolio covers artificial bioprosthetic heart valves, valve annuloplasty rings, cardiac surgical biopatches, and preloaded dry transcatheter aortic valves, among others. KingstronBio aims to provide safer and more reliable treatment options for patients with moderate to severe mitral regurgitation.

Challenges and Breakthroughs
Mitral Regurgitation (MR) is the most common valvular heart disease in China. Transcatheter Mitral Valve Replacement (TMVR) is a cutting-edge field in interventional therapy for structural heart disease, but it has long faced technical challenges, including complex anatomical structures, the risk of left ventricular outflow tract obstruction, and difficulties in artificial valve anchoring and sealing.

About ProStyle M^®
Addressing key clinical challenges: Adopting an eccentric structural design to reduce the difficulty of surgical operation and the risk of left ventricular outflow tract obstruction, while achieving stable anchoring performance and good hemodynamic performance.

Continuation of core patented technologies: The exclusive Micro-Ex^™ anti-calcification treatment process is adopted to remove residual cell debris, phospholipids and glutaraldehyde active groups in the pericardium, which can effectively delay leaflet calcification and improve the long-term durability of leaflets. At the same time, the AirBo^™ valve dry storage technology further enhances the durability and biocompatibility of the valve.

About KingstronBio
KingstronBio focuses on the R&D and production of products in the field of structural heart disease. With innovation as the core driving force, it deeply cultivates the valve field and aims to provide high-quality innovative medical devices for Chinese cardiac doctors.
R&D-Driven Innovation
The company’s research team, led by Beijing Distinguished Experts, holds numerous patents both domestically and internationally in the fields of biomaterial processing and dry-valve technology.

Micro-Ex^™ Anti-Calcification Treatment Technology: The use of patented microemulsion extraction technology to deeply remove cell debris and phospholipids in tissues, along with the modification and elimination of aldehyde groups, significantly reduces valve calcification, as has been validated in animal studies

AirBo^™ Dry Membrane Treatment Technology: Realizes dry preservation of bovine pericardial tissue through special ionic liquid, retaining molecular water to maintain the flexibility of fibrous collagen.

The above-mentioned Micro-Ex^™ anti-calcification technology and AirBo^™ dry preservation technology work synergistically, which can significantly improve the anti-calcification performance and long-term durability of bovine pericardial patches.

Full Product Line Layout
Relying on patented technologies and productivity, the company has realized the localization and commercialization of products such as artificial bioprosthetic heart valves, annuloplasty rings, cardiac surgical biopatches and preloaded dry transcatheter aortic valves, and will also strive to provide more reliable treatment options for Chinese patients.

PASSION FOR LIFE, INNOVATE FOR HEALTH