DUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES – Media OutReach – 26 August 2022 – Bybit, the third most visited cryptocurrency exchange in the world, will list OKSE, the utility token of Okse Card and Okse Wallet, on Bybit Launchpad 2.0.
Okse is a DeFi system designed to revolutionize the financial market, powered by BNB Smart Chain, Avalanche, and Fantom. The Okse Wallet allows users to do away with third parties between them and their funds. They can also use the Okse Card to make payments to a variety of merchants worldwide, with complete decentralization until funds reach the payment provider. The card can only be accessed through the Okse Wallet, which requires Know-Your-Customer (KYC) verification.
The Wallet is available for Android and iOS, and the Okse virtual debit card allows users to spend their crypto assets at over 60 million merchants worldwide, with the card being accepted in over 170 countries.
Bybit will host the initial exchange offering for OKSE, which will be available on the Bybit Launchpad 2.0, a revamped platform for groundbreaking blockchain projects, with the full spot listing scheduled for Sept. 05. Bybit users can access the token on Launchpad 2.0, a freshly revamped platform for groundbreaking blockchain projects. Bybit users can commit BIT to subscribe to token allocations, or participate in Launchpad 2.0’s new lottery model where users stake a nominal amount of Tether (USDT) for the chance to win allocations of new tokens. Users can also buy the best performing tokens from previous listings via the Launchpad.
The OKSE token is a crypto asset that is essential in allowing users to upgrade their daily debit card and payment limits, and reap spend to earn rewards. Additionally, staking OKSE tokens gives users governance power in the Okse Wallet.
Okse’s primary investors include Cypher Capital and private investors.
Hashtag: #Bybit
About Bybit
Bybit is a cryptocurrency exchange established in March 2018 that offers a professional platform where crypto traders can find an ultra-fast matching engine, excellent customer service and multilingual community support. Bybit is a proud partner of Formula One racing team, Oracle Red Bull Racing, esports teams NAVI, Astralis, Alliance, Virtus.pro, Made in Brazil (MIBR) and Oracle Red Bull Racing Esports, and association football (soccer) teams Borussia Dortmund and Avispa Fukuoka.
SINGAPORE – Media OutReach – 26 August 2022 – WingsOverAsia, an integrated private aviation service provider based in Singapore, is announcing the rebranding of its membership services ‘ClubWOA’ into two distinct memberships: WOA Flying Club and ClubWOA Social. In addition to the rebranding, it is also introducing enhancements to its private jet handling services.
WingsOverAsia first launched ClubWOA as an exclusive flying network offering members a platform to connect, network, and exchange ideas. The membership network has since grown into a robust social network with members across Asia, with a focus on aviation, travel, and lifestyle. Due to its commercial success, the membership network is separating into two discrete entities to distinguish its services more effectively.
WOA Flying Club is described as an aviator’s club that focuses on flight training and aircraft owner/pilot support services. The club connects aviation enthusiasts, aspiring pilots, corporate flight departments and aircraft owners into a social network.
Latest introductions exclusive to the club include the launch of WingsOverAsia’s Singapore Private Pilot License (PPL) program with a refreshed syllabus, the addition of Diamond DA40 single-engine and DA42/DA62 twin-engine aircraft to the WOA training fleet, and the incorporation of flight instructors with overseas flight training experience into WOA pilot programs. Members will also be able to enjoy private jet charter services at preferential rates. The introductions will allow for a more curated aviation experience for WOA Flying Club members, who can now benefit from a customised journey based on their preferences.
ClubWOA is an aviation-themed social lifestyle club focusing on hospitality and event services. Members enjoy access to all-inclusive perks, leisure experiences, and exclusive content and opportunities ranging from yachting trips to private networking events.
New additions to the club facilities include enhancements to the food and beverage menu and related services, as well as improvements to the environment and amenities of the club lounge. Members may anticipate an elevated enjoyable experience when visiting ClubWOA and greater value from their membership attributable to these upgrades. With the enhancements, ClubWOA will further its role as a premier destination for business and leisure aviation enthusiasts, hosting leading entertainment and networking events in the region.
A twofold increase in demand for its ground handling services has also prompted equipment and hospitality services enhancements. Recent expansions include additional tow tractors for mid-size business jets, additional ground support equipment for more efficient jet handling turnaround time, a new towbar-less tow truck for safely handling large business jets such as Boeing Business Jets and Airbus Corporate Jets, as well as a doubled experienced manpower headcount and VIP passenger and luggage handling vehicles for faster passenger departure and arrival clearance.
With these enhancements to its prestige aviation membership clubs and jet handling operations, WingsOverAsia aims to provide both private aviation members and business jet operators with a richer experience, add value across its service delivery platform, and transform the aviation experience with enhancements at every customer touchpoints. The business has already experienced some early success with its offerings and intends to keep extending its reach throughout Asia.
Established in 2009, WingsOverAsia (WOA) is the first integrated private aviation service provider and developer in Asia, located at Seletar Airport in Singapore. It shares years of history prior to its inception, dating back to 2003. After returning from the USA with a Private Pilot License, the founder Yeow Meng began using his social networking technology skills to launch Asia’s first online private aviation blog to share his leisure flying adventures all over Asia. The blog further morphed into an interactive social networking portal, and offline membership services such as flying tours, aviation lifestyle events, and aircraft sales cum delivery support began to emerge. Decades later, it expanded into what is now known as WingsOverAsia.
From its fixed base operator (FBO) headquarters in Singapore, WOA offers a fully integrated suite of private aviation services in-house, including aircraft sales, flight training, ground handling, membership services, private jet charter and management, and worldwide trip support services for jets. The rebranding of its regional membership network and enhancements to its private jet handling services are part of WOA’s culture of relentless pursuit of innovation and continuous improvements in serving the general aviation community. Having pioneered the aviation lifestyle concept and business model, WingsOverAsia has established itself as a leading partner in the aviation sector.
The Group posted a consolidated revenue of approximately RMB196.1 million for the six months ended 30 June 2022, representing an increase of approximately 14.1%
Gross profit increased by 9.9% to RMB86.4 million
Net profit increased by 13.1% to approximately RMB49.9 million
The increase in revenue was primarily driven by the surge in revenue generated from the sales of Vigour and Vitality Supplement Pill, Fever-removing and Detoxification Pill and Additional Ingredient Huoxiang Zheng Qi Pill
Northeast, the PRC remained as the largest contributor (55.7%) to the Group’s total revenue
The Group has currently established a distribution network for 83 distributors covering about 40 cities in the PRC
HONG KONG SAR – Media OutReach – 25 August 2022 – Modern Chinese Medicine Group Co., Ltd. (“the Company” or “Modern Chinese Medicine”, together with its subsidiaries, the “Group”, HKEX stock code: 1643) announced its Interim results for the six months ended 30 June 2022 (“the Period”). The Group has risen to the challenges brought by the COVID-19 pandemic and recorded remarkable growth. The Group posted a consolidated revenue of approximately RMB196.1 million for the six months ended 30 June 2022, representing an increase of approximately 14.1% as compared to the corresponding year in 2021. The gross profit was approximately RMB86.4 million, representing an increase of approximately 9.9% while the overall gross profit margin decreased slightly to approximately 44.0%. Profit attributable to the owners of the Company increased to approximately 49.9 million for the six months ended 30 June 2022, representing an increase of 13.1%.
BUSINESS REVIEW
In the first half of 2022, the PRC struggled to contain the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic through lockdown cities. The implementation of dynamic zero-COVID policy, especially in Shanghai, in particular, has exerted a significant adverse impact on the economy at large. While the COVID-19 pandemic may have posed difficulties to the production and operation of some pharmaceutical companies, the industry, overall, is still experiencing solid growth with favourable support from various government policies for the promotion of the proprietary Chinese medicine (“PCM”) industry. The COVID-19 pandemic has also brought the outstanding contribution of the traditional Chinese medicine (“TCM”) to the limelight.
The Group is principally engaged in the production of PCM, in particular over-the-counter and prescribed medicines intended for use by the middle-aged and the elderly in the PRC. As one of the leading companies, the Group currently has about 60 types of PCM products, with intended therapeutic effects for the treatment and/or alleviation of qi – deficiency and blood-stasis condition, cardio-cerebrovascular condition, digestive and gastrointestinal condition, gynaecological condition, respiratory system condition and nervous system condition, etc. Some of the Group’s major products are believed to be having the intended therapeutic effect for the treatment of the symptoms of COVID-19 and/or similar illness.
Well-established distribution network
Despite the complicated and difficult situation in the first half of the year, thanks to the experience gained in coping with the pandemic as well as difficulties and challenges in the past two years,the Group still managed to strategically expand its distribution network. The Group has currently established a distribution network for 83 distributors covering about 40 cities in the PRC, which are in turn served and administered by over 37 marketing staff members with relevant experience in the TCM industry.
The distribution network would not only help to develop the business operations geographically from Northeast and Huanan to other areas in the PRC, but also allow the Group to penetrate in reasonably extensive width and breadth both in Northeast and Huanan, the PRC, where the Group is strategically targeting at in view of the Group’s established footprint and the large population there. For the Period, the revenue contribution from Northeast and Huanan amounted to approximately RMB109.2 million and RMB32.1 million respectively (six months ended 30 June 2021: approximately RMB92.3 million and RMB30.0 million respectively). The Group’s distribution network and distributorship model will continue to support further development of the Group’s business operations in the foreseeable future.
Stable Profitability
The Group posted a consolidated revenue of approximately RMB196.1 million for the Period, representing an increase of approximately RMB24.3 million or 14.1% as compared to the six months ended 30 June 2021. The increase in revenue was primarily driven by the surge in revenue generated from the sales of our major products, namely Vigour and Vitality Supplement Pill, Fever-removing and Detoxification Pill and Additional Ingredient Huoxiang Zheng Qi Pill due to the improved marketing tactics adopted by existing distributors. The Last two products are believed to have intended therapeutic effect for the treatment of the symptoms of COVID-19 and/or similar illness.
Vigour and Vitality Supplement Pill and Circulation Enhancement Pill were the two top selling products for both of the Period and the six months ended 30 June 2021. These two products contributed approximately 45.5% and 46.4% of the Group’s total revenue for the Period and the six months ended 30 June 2021, respectively.
The Northeast remained as the largest contributor to the Group’s total revenue for the Period. It contributed over 50.0% of the total revenue of the Group for both of the Period and the six months ended 30 June 2021. The increase in total revenue of the Group by approximately 14.1% during the Period as compared to that of the six months ended 30 June 2021 was mainly due to the sales growth in the Northeast and Huadong by approximately RMB16.9 million and approximately RMB2.5 respectively.
The Group manages the overall gross profit margin to ensure the profitability of the Group while allowing flexible price adjustments for individual products. The overall gross profit margin for the Period decreased slightly to approximately 44.0% as compared to approximately 45.7% for the six months ended 30 June 2021. It was mainly due to the relatively lower gross profit margin of Vigour and Vitality Supplement Pill, the sales revenue of which increased by approximately RMB12.7 million during the Period. On the other hand, the production costs for other products also augmented due to the increased purchase prices of certain major ingredients during the Period, which exerted a negative impact on the overall gross profit margin.
Looking ahead,Ms. Zhang Hongli, Executive Director of Modern Chinese Medicine Group Co., Ltd. said, 「Looking ahead, the recurrent COVID-19 pandemic remains to be one of the most unstable factors in the course of world economic recovery, yet TCM and the medical, health and hygiene forces of various countries still carry the mission of safeguarding the common destiny of human health. Along with the consumption upgrades in China and the continuous release of benefits from favorable government policies, the TCM industry will head into a golden era. The Group shall adhere to our the development strategies and exploit the favorable government policies, in order to further promote the diversity of our product portfolio, boost the revenue and create value for shareholders.」
Hashtag: #ModernChineseMedicine
The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.
About the Group
Modern Chinese Medicine principally engages in the production of proprietary Chinese medicine and offers both over-the-counter and prescribed medicines intended for use by the Middle-aged and the Elderly in the PRC. According to the Euromonitor International Report, the Group was one of the leading non-listed companies engaged in the production of PCM in 2019 in terms of the sales of Qi-deficiency and blood-stasis (補氣補血) PCM pills and cardio-cerebrovascular (心腦血管) PCM capsules in Northeast, the PRC.
HONG KONG SAR – Media OutReach – 25 August 2022 – A.S. Watson Group has gained widespread and overwhelming recognition in the retail industry in Asia, winning eight regional and local accolades, including Health & Beauty Retailer of the Year – Asia Award and Omnichannel Strategy of the Year Asia Award, by Retail Asia. The Group’s flagship brand Watsons has also been voted Asia’s No.1 Pharmacy/Drugstore Brand by Campaign Asia for 13th consecutive year. Meanwhile, it is recognised as Digital Transformation Pioneer Company by WeChat in Mainland China last year. At the recent interim results announcement of CK Hutchison, parent company of A.S. Watson, the world’s largest international health and beauty retailer reported 22% increase in revenue in its Asia operation and 13% in Europe. What’s behind the resilience of A.S. Watson in tackling the pandemic challenges in retail in the past two years while gaining in competitive position?
React to Challenges with Laser Focus on People
Malina Ngai, CEO of A.S. Watson (Asia & Europe), reflected on the key lessons learned, “There is no instruction manual for how to lead at a time like the COVID-19 pandemic. We are fortunate that what we believe in – loving our people and customers, and the offline and online (O+O) platform strategy we have been building – plays its most critical role during the crisis.”
“We believe in loving and caring for our people. We have 130,000 colleagues globally with majority of them work in our physical stores. From the beginning of the crisis for over 30 months now, we assured them we prioritized our efforts on their health and safety, proactive communications, and provided financial security even during market lockdowns. This has helped to keep our people together to fight the pandemic in high spirits.”
As part of the company’s focus on people amid the ongoing pandemic challenges, A.S. Watson has strengthened its commitment to inclusion and diversity and sought to expand its understanding of women’s needs, so as to improve the lives of its people as well as customers. It has also recently announced its plan to offer 200,000 job opportunities worldwide for young people by 2030, enabling them to gain valuable experience to develop their career in retail.
USD400m Investment in Supply Chain Transformation Pays Off
Since 2012, A.S. Watson Group has been driving its digital transformation with anticipation of evolving customer needs in shopping for health and beauty products. Besides investment in digital technology, retail systems and automation, big data, cloud technology and cyber security, the transformation in building O+O retail supply chain pays off during the pandemic.
Ngai explains, “Supply chain is the backbone for us to deliver seamless O+O customer experience. During the pandemic, we were able to quickly adjust our global operations to handle the surge of online orders through activating fulfilment in over 50%, and pick-up in almost 100% of our 16,000 physical stores network, multiple delivery options with 30-mins delivery being the fastest standard.”
“We do not have a crystal ball on a crisis outbreak like the pandemic. But we have a vision a decade ago to build our business into an integrated O+O platform to serve our customers hence we know we need to create a customer-centric supply chainnetwork. We now have a network of close to 90 main warehouses and invested over USD400m in the past decade to transforming planning and demand forecasting tools, capabilities in real-time inventory visibility, improving supply chain productivity and capacities. It enables our agility to operate and pays off during the challenging pandemic period to keep us in business in a competitive way.”
Customer Love is an Important KPI in O+O Strategy
In a retail business, how important is customer love, and how can this be measured?
“Like any business, measuring traffic, transactions, conversion, active shoppers, and ultimately sales and profit is a must. But there is more,” Ngai continues.
“We’ve been working to build a lasting and close relationship with our billions of customers who shop with us every year, amongst which 142 million of them are loyalty members. Customers are more emotionally demanding for relevance, care, and personalization, so we need to show them that we understand, we care, and we want to stay connected to them.”
“We no longer use traditional mystery shoppers. Why not ask our real customers! We conduct monthly customer survey in all operating markets, called Customer Love Score. The feedback on our O+O experience has improved from 87 to 90.5 out of 100 in the last 3 years. Last year alone we received over 4 million responses from customers who shopped with us offline and online. Over 60% of them rated us 100. We have added Customer Love Score as a KPI in all businesses to reinforce our company purpose to put a smile on our customers’ faces today and tomorrow.”
Looking ahead, online retailing will continue to stay as part of customers’ shopping habit. At the same time, the pandemic underlines the desire among customers for human connection. Physical retail must evolve to serve customers with human touch, friendly services, and interactive experiences of products; while fully integrated with online and relevant digital experiences to provide relevant O+O choice for customers.
“Our focus on further strengthening the O+O platform strategy at A.S. Watson stays solid in the very volatile and complex world. We will further accelerate our supply chain transformation to support our growth, specifically in warehousing capacity and automation technologies, last mile delivery experience, AI in inventory management and demand forecasting. And we are keen to build international partnerships with companies who have expert experience, products and solutions in supply chain.”
HONG KONG SAR- Media OutReach – 25 August 2022 – Award-winning Singapore telecommunications, network and security solutions provider, ViewQwest, and Hong Kong’s fastest growing telecom and technology solutions provider HKBN Enterprise Solutions (“HKBNES”) has formed a strategic partnership to elevate their regional capabilities in providing ICT and digital transformation (DX) services to customers in the Asia Pacific (APAC) region, especially for large regional retailers. By combining ViewQwest’s extensive regional network and HKBNES’s one-stop digital solutions, the two companies have further strengthened their capabilities in the region to create win-win-win outcomes with customers.
Singapore’s ViewQwest and HKBN Enterprise Solutions join hands for a strategic win-win-win partnership focused on developing APAC market opportunities. (From left – HKBNES: William Ho, CEO; Juliana Lam, Head of Business Solutions; Mikron Ng, Chief Commercial Officer – Business Market & China Business. ViewQwest: Joel Goh, Head of Product and Service Delivery and Benjamin Tan, CCO)
Leveraging HKBNES’s competitive ICT and digital solutions capabilities, ViewQwest will work with HKBNES in deploying digital transformation services in Hong Kong and Macau. Both companies will be establishing a colocation facility in HKBN’s data centre; providing on-ground technical and engineering support to ViewQwest’s customers in Hong Kong and Macau, including for software and hardware installation and troubleshooting services.
“Businesses globally are being swept up by the digital transformation wave, none more pronounced than in the retail sector especially enterprises with extensive multi-market coverage. Our partnership with HKBN leverages their deep knowledge and experience in the Hong Kong and Macau market. The collaboration will enable us to better serve our customers with regional operations,” said Vignesa Moorthy, Chief Executive Officer of ViewQwest. “This combined play marks a significant milestone in our journey and mission to help our customers build and transform their network and security architecture with confidence, streamlining operations, driving cost-savings, and enabling business agility.”
“This is a unique growth opportunity to further enhance our position as one of the most trusted ICT and digital transformation solutions providers, as we can more dynamically meet our customers’ diverse business & strategy needs – like expanding into overseas markets,” said William Ho, Co-Owner-to-be and HKBNES CEO, “This world-class partnership will strengthen HKBNES’s footprint in Singapore, and provide us with a solid foundation for accelerated development and growth in the Southeast Asia and APAC markets.”
Hashtag: #ViewQwest #HKBN
About ViewQwest
Established in 2001, ViewQwest is an award-winning telecommunications service provider of global and local Connectivity, Managed SASE and SD-WAN, and Managed Security solutions. Consistently recognized as Singapore’s Fastest Fixed Network from 2018 to 2022 by Ookla Speedtest Intelligence, ViewQwest is a trusted partner of global MNCs and top enterprises in SEA, helping to build and transform their network and security infrastructure with confidence.
With headquarters in Singapore, ViewQwest expanded into Malaysia in 2016 as a fully-licensed operator serving the enterprise and residential market with its full suite of connectivity and managed network and security services. In 2019, it commenced commercial operations in the Philippines and in 2022 it expanded into Hong Kong further extending its market coverage for Managed SASE, SD-WAN, and cybersecurity solutions.
About HKBN Enterprise Solutions
HKBN Enterprise Solutions (“HKBNES”) is the enterprise solutions arm of HKBN Group (“HKBN” or the “Group”). Headquartered in Hong Kong with operations spanning across Asian markets including Hong Kong, Macau, mainland China, Singapore and Malaysia, the Group is a leading integrated telecommunications and technology services provider. The Group provides a full range of one-stop, high-quality information and communication technology (ICT) solutions and an unlimited services portfolio. HKBN’s extensive tri-carrier fibre infrastructure covers around 2.5 million residential homes and around 8,000 commercial buildings and facilities across Hong Kong. Committed to creating a lasting positive impact to wherever it operates, HKBN embraces a core purpose to “Make our Home a Better Place to Live” and has received a rating of AA in MSCI’s 2021 ESG Ratings assessment in environment, society and governance. Since 2016, HKBN has been a Constituent Member of the Hang Seng Corporate Sustainability Benchmark Index, with AA ratings for the past two consecutive years (2020 and 2021) – the highest in its industry. The Group is managed by hundreds of Co-Owners (supervisory and management level Talents in the Group) who invested their savings to buy shares of HKBN Ltd. (SEHK Stock Code: 1310). For more information about HKBN Enterprise Solutions, please visit www.hkbnes.net/en.