HONG KONG, Jan. 19, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — GS1 Hong Kong (“GS1 HK”) is pleased to share the Hong Kong Monetary Authority’s (“HKMA”) release of the Project Cargo^X Recommendation Report, for which GS1 HK served as a member of the Project Cargo^X Expert Panel. Developed through extensive collaboration among the HKMA, industry leaders, and international experts, the report outlines a strategic roadmap featuring 20 recommendations built on three core pillars—Data, Infrastructure, and Connectivity—to position Hong Kong as a trusted, data-driven global hub for supply chain and trade finance.

GS1 HK strongly endorses the report’s call for the ‘adoption of globally interoperable data and documentary standards‘. Core of trade begins with a product, which then generates logistics and supply chain data. Only by utilizing granular trade data can we build a more transparent and efficient supply chain and provide reliable data for trade finance purposes. The key is that the data complies with international standards and is globally interoperable, forming the cornerstone of seamless cross-border digital trade. GS1, as a globally recognized data standards organization¹, sets a common language for global businesses through standards such as the Global Trade Item Number (GTIN, also known as the barcode) and the Global Location Number (GLN). These standards enable interoperability across diverse systems, facilitating seamless identification, capture, and sharing of supply chain data—from manufacturing and sourcing to retail—which simplifies logistics and enhances traceability.

In addition to providing global standards, GS1 HK has been supporting the Hong Kong industry with EDI-standard based B2B e-commerce platform, ezTRADE, which facilitates paperless trading and the exchange of electronic orders, invoices and shipment notices among trading parties. In fact, as a trade finance data provider, GS1 HK has already been operationalizing ‘the vision’ by connecting ezTRADE Data Management Portal to HKMA’s Commercial Data Interchange (“CDI”), and we have successfully helped SMEs secure credit funding by utilising their transactional data as a reliable alternative data for banks’ credit assessments. We are also pursuing to include GLN as the corporate digital identifier, an alternative data source for supporting banks’ Know-Your-Customer (KYC) processes. This aligns directly with the report’s recommendation to ‘enable access to historical trade transaction data‘ and ‘promote digital identity in trade transactions’.

Furthermore, we support the report’s initiatives to ‘integrate strategic government cargo and trade data sources and infrastructure‘ and ‘strengthen Chinese Mainland connectivity‘. GS1 HK has been facilitating the incorporation of GTINs into the Port Community System (PCS) to enhance accuracy and efficiency in trade declarations and to enable seamless cross‑border data exchange with China’s Single Window system, where GTINs are already required for import declarations.

Ms. Anna Lin, Chief Executive of GS1 Hong Kong, said, “We believe that GS1 HK’s ongoing initiatives and GS1 global standards are foundational to advancing the three pillars of Data, Infrastructure and Connectivity. Moving forward, GS1 HK is committed to supporting the report’s initiatives and exploring ways to broaden CDI-enabled data sets with product and company information, as well as trade insights for banks. We will continue to work closely with the HKMA, government bodies and other stakeholders in the trade ecosystem to realize Hong Kong’s vision of becoming a globally connected trade and supply chain hub.” 

For more information, please visit https://cdi.hkma.gov.hk/wp-content/uploads/Project_CargoX_Recommendation_Report.pdf to learn more about the Project Cargo^x Recommendation Report.

About GS1 Hong Kong

GS1 Hong Kong is the local chapter of GS1®, a global, not-for-profit data standards organization headquartered in Brussels, Belgium and represented in over 120 economies. We help businesses identify, capture, and share trusted data across both physical and digital supply chains. Through global standards like GTIN (barcodes) and standard-based platforms, GS1 Hong Kong empowers companies to improve efficiency and enhance visibility.

In today’s AI-driven economy, data quality is essential. GS1 Hong Kong provides a foundation for data that is accurate, searchable, shareable, and traceable.

GS1 Hong Kong currently supports close to 8,000 corporate members from 20 sectors including retail & consumer goods, food & beverage and food services, healthcare, apparel & footwear, logistics & ICT. By working closely with industry stakeholders and government, we foster a collaborative ecosystem to “Go Digital • Go Green”.

Website: www.gs1hk.org

SINGAPORE, Jan. 19, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — LANDI Global, a world leader in payment and merchant professional solutions, is proud to mark its 20th anniversary by unveiling its most advanced payment portfolio: the P-Series.

Built on 20 Years of Experience, Shaped by Two Years of R&D

This launch is the result of more than two years of intensive research and development, designed to meet the evolving security and performance needs of the global financial and retail sectors.

Deeply rooted in LANDI’s DNA is a fusion of global industrial scale and local intimacy. With 20 years of leadership and over 130 million terminals deployed, LANDI leverages its unparalleled experience to ensure world-class innovation is delivered with the market-specific expertise that only a true local presence can provide.

The P-Series: A Complete Next-Generation Payment Portfolio

The new P-Series bridges two decades of field-proven expertise with cutting-edge technology. Engineered for high-performance and secure transactions, the range features the latest Android 14 operating system and PCI v7.x security certifications. The different product series of the portfolio covers all the needs of modern merchants:

• P10 Series: Unparalleled versatility with wireless and countertop configurations, delivering smart, essential payment capabilities without compromising on best-in-class security and performance.
• P20 Series: Keyboard at its best in an increasingly touch-only world. The P20 combines a crisp 5-inch touchscreen with a physical keypad for the confidence of touch, while the P20-R is engineered for reliability in high-intensity retail environments.
• P30 Series: Where payment performance meets advanced convenience. Built around a stunning 6.5-inch HD display for an immersive experience, or with Dual-Screen version, completed by a 11-inch Tablet variant, all designed to support the convergence of payment and business needs.

One Ecosystem. One Vision.

“At LANDI, our vision extends far beyond hardware,” said Patrice Le Marre, CEO of LANDI Global. “We are committed to empowering the global commerce ecosystem through technology and strong partnerships. By combining integrated solutions with a worldwide partner network, we enable seamless and secure payments at every touchpoint, accelerating the convergence of payments, business applications, and digital services at the checkout.”

About LANDI
Founded in 2005, LANDI is a leading smart POS provider across payment, checkout and mobility, with leadership in China, 700⁺ patents, and 130 million terminals deployed. Since becoming independent in 2022, LANDI has accelerated global expansion to support digital transformation worldwide.

HONG KONG, Jan. 19, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Mu Digital, a Web3 platform bringing Asia’s credit markets onchain, announced the launch of its multi-month incentive campaign, “Infinite Ways to Earn”. The campaign offers a range of incentives, including Mu Digital points and rewards provided by integration partners. The event will begin in January 2026 and will run through 1H2026.

The initiative is designed to bootstrap liquidity across Mu Digital’s product suite while introducing more users to real world assets in decentralized finance.

The campaign is supported by a group of integration partners across the Monad ecosystem, including Curve, Accountable, Sharpbyte, Lagoon, Tulipa, Curvance, Neverland and more to come in the future.

“Our Infinite Ways to Earn Campaign aims to bootstrap liquidity into our products while introducing a new DeFi lego into the ecosystem,” said Patrick Hizon, Co-Founder and CEO. “Users can deploy their preferred DeFi composable yield strategies on top of primitives backed by Asia government and corporate credit.”

What Makes Mu Digital Unique?

Mu Digital is exclusively focused on bringing real world assets from Asia’s US$20 trillion credit markets onchain. These markets consistently deliver a large and diverse pool of real world credit assets suitable for onchain structuring and DeFi integration, creating a structurally superior base for sustainable, uncorrelated risk adjusted returns.

Mu Digital’s product suite includes:

• Asia Dollar (AZND): A senior tranche product backed by diversified Asia credit instruments, designed to provide stable exposure to tokenized Asia credit markets.
• muBOND: A junior tranche product designed for users seeking enhanced exposure to tokenized Asia credit pools through structured risk allocation

Mu Digital is a Monad native protocol designed to integrate natively across the Monad DeFi ecosystem, enabling users to swap, leverage, speculate, and compound their yield. Mu Digital aims to build a unified landscape of institutional grade DeFi products powered by real economic activity. The roadmap includes scaling credit origination and expanding DeFi integrations.

Mu Digital was founded by former investment bankers who witnessed firsthand how yield products in Asia were typically reserved for institutions and ultra wealthy investors. The company distinguishes itself through a combination of Wall Street level credit underwriting, onchain settlement, and deep origination capabilities. The goal is to deliver institutional grade DeFi products backed by the highest yield RWA assets available today.

Mu Digital is backed by global investors across crypto and traditional financial institutions: UOB Venture Management, CMS Holdings, Signum Capital, Cointelegraph Accelerator and Echo.

Learn More

Web: https://mudigital.net
X: https://x.com/MuDigitalHQ
LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/company/mu-digital
Discord: https://discord.com/invite/MuDigital

• Announced at the World Economic Forum in Davos, the deployment marks e&’s move beyond traditional chatbots to enterprise-grade agentic AI.
• Powered by IBM watsonx Orchestrate, agentic AI is embedded into mission-critical governance and compliance systems across e&.

DAVOS, Switzerland and DUBAI, UAE, Jan. 19, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Global technology group e& and IBM (NYSE: IBM) today announced a strategic collaboration to advance towards an enterprise-grade agentic AI foundation at e&, starting with policy, risk, and compliance. Unveiled at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos, the initiative reflects e&’s move beyond traditional natural language processing (NLP)-based chatbots toward governed, action-oriented AI embedded in core enterprise systems.

IBM_World_Economic_Forum

e& and IBM have introduced an agentic AI solution built on IBM watsonx Orchestrate – a product offering more than 500 tools and customizable, domain-specific agents from IBM and its partners – to help employees and auditors quickly access and interpret legal, regulatory, and compliance information. Integrated with IBM OpenPages and the broader watsonx portfolio, the solution delivers clear, traceable responses aligned with enterprise governance requirements.

A joint proof of concept delivered by IBM, GBM (Gulf Business Machines) and e& within eight weeks demonstrated how agentic AI can operate at enterprise scale under real-world conditions.

IBM’s Client Engineering team led the design and integration of the agentic AI solution, with GBM supporting delivery through project coordination and deep familiarity with e&’s OpenPages and watsonx Assistant environment. The work showcased AI capabilities that move beyond traditional question-and-answer tools, enabling reasoning and action while remaining aligned with e&’s governance, risk, and compliance framework.

“Our ambition is to move beyond isolated AI use cases toward enterprise-scale agentic AI that is trusted, governed, and deeply integrated into how the organization operates,” said Hatem Dowidar, Group CEO, e&. “By collaborating with IBM, we are embedding intelligence directly into our risk and compliance processes, enabling faster decisions, consistent policy interpretation, and a foundation for broader agentic AI adoption across the enterprise.”

IBM watsonx Orchestrate enables agentic AI that goes beyond chat-based interactions, allowing AI agents to reason, orchestrate tasks, and integrate with enterprise systems under governance controls. For e&, it provides a foundation for trusted, explainable AI that can scale across compliance and other enterprise domains. It helps to streamline compliance tasks, reduce response times, and enable 24/7 self-service access across the organization.

The initiative also aligns natively with watsonx.governance, already in use at e&, providing a strong foundation for AI governance, explainability, and compliance by design. By embedding agentic AI directly into the OpenPages governance, risk, and compliance platform, this represents one of the early enterprise-grade agentic AI implementations in the region, demonstrating how AI can support trusted, human-led decision-making under regulatory and operational requirements.

The deployment also demonstrates the flexibility of IBM’s AI and model gateway approach, enabling large language models to run across hybrid environments, including customer-managed infrastructure, while remaining governed under enterprise controls.

“As organizations move from experimenting with AI to embedding it into the fabric of how they operate, governance and accountability become just as important as intelligence,” said Ana Paula Assis, SVP and Chair for Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Asia Pacific, IBM. “Through our collaboration with e&, this proof of concept intends to demonstrate how agentic AI can be designed and validated for enterprise-scale use, deeply integrated into core systems, governed by design, and trusted to support human-led decisions and outcomes.”

This collaboration marks an important milestone in e&’s enterprise AI journey, establishing a scalable and governed foundation for agentic AI adoption across the organization. By embedding action-oriented AI directly into core governance and compliance workflows, e& is reinforcing its commitment to responsible innovation and setting a new benchmark for trusted, enterprise-grade agentic AI in the region.

About IBM

IBM is a leading provider of global hybrid cloud and AI, and consulting expertise. We help clients in more than 175 countries capitalize on insights from their data, streamline business processes, reduce costs and gain the competitive edge in their industries. Thousands of governments and corporate entities in critical infrastructure areas such as financial services, telecommunications and healthcare rely on IBM’s hybrid cloud platform and Red Hat OpenShift to affect their digital transformations quickly, efficiently and securely. IBM’s breakthrough innovations in AI, quantum computing, industry-specific cloud solutions and consulting deliver open and flexible options to our clients. All of this is backed by IBM’s long-standing commitment to trust, transparency, responsibility, inclusivity and service.

Visit www.ibm.com for more information.

About e&

e& is a global technology group committed to advancing the digital future across markets in the Middle East, Asia, Africa and Europe. With the group’s financial performance in 2024 showing a consolidated revenue of AED 59.2 billion and a net profit of AED 10.8 billion, e& continues to maintain its position as a financial powerhouse, reflected by its strong credit rating and solid balance sheet. 

Founded in Abu Dhabi over 48 years ago, e& has evolved from a telecom pioneer into a technology group. Its footprint now spans 38 countries, offering a comprehensive portfolio of innovative digital services ranging from advanced connectivity, entertainment, streaming and financial services to AI-powered solutions, cloud computing, ICT, cybersecurity and IoT platforms. 

The Group is structured around five core business pillars: e& UAE, e& international, e& life, e& enterprise and e& capital, each catering to distinct customer and market needs. These pillars empower e& to lead in various sectors, from telecom and digital lifestyle to enterprise services and venture investments. The ongoing strategic investments in AI, IoT, 5G and cloud services reinforce its leadership in the global technology landscape, driving the future of smart connectivity and innovation. 

Driven by innovation, sustainability and a commitment to digital empowerment, e& is set on creating a smarter, more connected future for individuals, businesses and communities. 

To learn more about e&, visit eand.com.

Media contact:
Sherry Italia
IBM
Sherry.Italia@ibm.com

IBM_LOGO_1

DUBAI, UAE, Jan. 19, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Bybit, a leading global cryptocurrency exchange, today announced the upcoming support for XAUT (Tether Gold) deposits and withdrawals on Mantle, expanding user access to tokenized gold while strengthening cross-chain asset functionality across the Mantle ecosystem.

XAUT is a tokenized representation of physical gold issued by Tether, the world’s leading stablecoin issuer, with each token backed 1:1 by one troy ounce of gold held in secure vaults. With this deployment, Mantle integrates XAUT as part of its growing real-world asset (RWA) ecosystem, while Bybit enables seamless on- and off-ramps for users to manage gold-backed digital assets more efficiently.

Bringing Tokenized Gold to a Scalable RWA-Focused Network

The integration of XAUT on Mantle reflects a broader industry trend toward bringing high-quality real-world assets on-chain in a way that is scalable, cost-efficient, and composable with DeFi applications. Mantle’s modular Layer-2 architecture offers significantly lower transaction costs and faster settlement compared to Ethereum mainnet, making it well-suited for RWAs that require reliability and capital efficiency. For users, this means the ability to hold and transfer gold-backed assets on-chain with improved user experience without sacrificing the stability associated with physical gold.

Supporting Real-World Asset Distribution at Scale

Mantle’s integration of XAUT aligns with its long-term strategy to become a leading execution and distribution layer for real-world assets. As investor interest increasingly shifts toward yield-bearing and asset-backed instruments, Mantle aims to provide the infrastructure that allows RWAs to move seamlessly across DeFi protocols, vaults, and structured products.

In recent years, gold has demonstrated notable price resilience and outperformance during periods of macroeconomic uncertainty. This trend has driven renewed interest in gold-backed instruments, including tokenized formats that enable greater accessibility and liquidity. Mantle expects this dynamic to translate into organic demand for XAUT across its DeFi ecosystem, particularly within vault-based strategies and capital-efficient yield markets.

“Real-world assets are a core focus for Mantle, particularly assets with proven global demand and long-term value,” said Joshua Cheong, Head of Product of Mantle. “Gold’s strong performance in recent years reinforces the case for tokenized exposure, and integrating XAUT allows us to support that demand across DeFi, vaults, and structured on-chain products with lower costs and greater efficiency.”

Bybit Expands Access to Gold-Backed Onchain Assets

Bybit’s support for XAUT deposits and withdrawals on Mantle enhances user flexibility by enabling more efficient movement of gold-backed assets between centralized and decentralized environments. Users can now access Mantle-based applications while benefiting from Bybit’s established trading and custody infrastructure.

This integration also contributes to deeper liquidity across the Mantle ecosystem, supporting a broader range of trading, lending, and yield-generating use cases involving real-world assets.

Key Benefits of XAUT on Mantle

• Gold-Backed Stability: Each XAUT token is secured on a one-to-one basis by physical gold held in reserve.
• Reduced Transaction Costs: Mantle’s Layer-2 infrastructure significantly lowers fees compared to Ethereum mainnet.
• Faster Transfers and Settlement: Improved transaction finality enables more efficient deposits and withdrawals.
• Expanded DeFi Accessibility: XAUT can be utilized across Mantle-based protocols, enabling new use cases that combine real-world stability with on-chain liquidity.

Advancing the Next Phase of Onchain Real-World Assets

The launch of XAUT deposits and withdrawals on Mantle highlights the accelerating convergence of traditional assets and decentralized finance. By combining Tether’s tokenized gold, Mantle’s RWA-focused infrastructure, and Bybit’s global distribution, this integration represents a meaningful step toward more accessible, efficient, and liquid on-chain markets for real-world value.

About Mantle

Mantle is the premier distribution layer and gateway for institutions and TradFi to connect with on-chain liquidity and access real-world assets, powering how real-world finance flows.

With over $4B+ in community-owned assets, Mantle combines credibility, liquidity and scalability with institutional-grade infrastructure to support large-scale adoption. The ecosystem is anchored by $MNT within Bybit, and built out through core ecosystem projects like mETH, fBTC, MI4 and more. This is complemented by Mantle Network’s partnerships with leading issuers and protocols such as Ethena USDe, Ondo USDY, OP-Succinct and EigenLayer.

For more information about Mantle, please visit: mantle.xyz

For more social updates, please follow: Mantle Official X & Mantle Community Channel

For media enquiries, please contact: contact@mantle.xyz 

About Bybit

Bybit is the world’s second-largest cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume, serving a global community of over 80 million users. Founded in 2018, Bybit is redefining openness in the decentralized world by creating a simpler, open, and equal ecosystem for everyone. With a strong focus on Web3, Bybit partners strategically with leading blockchain protocols to provide robust infrastructure and drive on-chain innovation. Renowned for its secure custody, diverse marketplaces, intuitive user experience, and advanced blockchain tools, Bybit bridges the gap between TradFi and DeFi, empowering builders, creators, and enthusiasts to unlock the full potential of Web3. Discover the future of decentralized finance at Bybit.com.

For more details about Bybit, please visit Bybit Press

For media inquiries, please contact: media@bybit.com

For updates, please follow: Bybit’s Communities and Social Media

Discord | Facebook | Instagram | LinkedIn | Reddit | Telegram | TikTok | X | Youtube

About Tether Gold (XAUT)

Tether Gold (XAUT) gives tokenized exposure to physical gold, with each token equal to one fine troy ounce on an LBMA Good Delivery bar. The bars are held by a Swiss custodian and are traceable to specific onchain addresses. XAUT token operates on public blockchains for digital transfer and settlement.