VANCOUVER, BC, Aug. 26, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — On Saturday, August 16, 2025, the 2025 Vancouver International Financial Summit (VIFS) and the 5th Fudan Forum were successfully held at the Westin Wall Centre. As a premier annual financial event, the summit was co-hosted by FX168 Finance Group, the Fudan University Alumni Association of Vancouver, the Vancouver Liaison Office of the School of Economics, Fudan University, the Canadian Community Service Association (CCSA), the Tongji University Alumni Association of Vancouver, and the Fudan Development Institute. The event brought together distinguished scholars, financial leaders, policymakers, and investors from both China and Canada, filling the venue to capacity.

A High-Level Gathering with a Global Vision

The conference focused on three central themes: global macroeconomic trends, stablecoins and emerging financial innovations, and new directions in global asset allocation. More than just a platform for sharing financial insights, the summit also underscored the deepening integration of Chinese and Canadian financial and cultural exchange.

The summit was co-hosted by Grace from FX168 Finance Group and Kitty from the Canadian Community Service Association, under the theme: “The Era of Financial Fission: Who Holds the Key to the Future?” Their guidance inspired thought-provoking dialogue, capital exchange, and forward-looking discussion.

In his welcome remarks, Mr. Tai Jiang, Chairman & CEO of FX168 Finance Group and CEO of EcoChain Financial Asset Management Group, emphasized that the true essence of finance lies in “connecting to the future.” He noted that this summit transcended East-West boundaries and would provide investors with both deep insights and practical strategies.

Delivering the opening remarks, Mr. Zhi Zeng, Acting Consul General of the Consulate-General of the People’s Republic of China in Vancouver, warmly congratulated the successful convening of the forum. He highlighted that this year marks both the 55th anniversary of diplomatic relations between China and Canada and the 20th anniversary of their strategic partnership. Despite the rise of unilateralism and protectionism, and a challenging global economic environment, bilateral trade remained resilient, reaching CAD 50.73 billion in the first half of 2025, with CAD 11.546 billion contributed by British Columbia, a 9.7% year-on-year increase. He underscored the irreversible long-term positive trajectory of China’s economy, pointing to the rise of new productive forces, AI, and high-tech industries as key drivers of global growth.

Additional congratulatory speeches were delivered by Ms. Shaojun Liang, President of the Tongji University Alumni Association of Vancouver, and Mr. Binqing Fu, CEO of PT. FUYU Aquatic International, a Platinum Sponsor of the summit. Ms. Liang also fondly recalled her student days with Professor Sun, bringing a warm and personal touch to the academic atmosphere.

In his opening acknowledgment speech, Mr. Yongping Yuan, President of the Fudan University Alumni Association of Vancouver, noted that the summit carried special significance, coinciding with the 120th anniversary of Fudan University and the 40th anniversary of the restoration of its School of Economics.

Academic Highlights: Launch of the Fudan-ZEW Economic Sentiment Index Overseas

A major highlight of the summit was the first-ever overseas release of the “Fudan-ZEW Economic Sentiment Index”, presented by Professor Lijian Sun, a renowned Chinese economist, Director of the Fudan Financial Research Center, Distinguished Professor at Fudan University, and PhD advisor, who led a team of experts from Shanghai.

In his keynote speech, “China’s Economy in a Global Perspective and the Release of the 143rd Fudan-ZEW Index,” Professor Sun presented the core theme of “finding certainty amid uncertainty.” Drawing on economic data from China, the U.S., and Europe, he highlighted three key insights:

• Value-Chain Finance to Stimulate Demand: advancing innovation through financial sub-sectors such as technology, green finance, pension finance, inclusive finance, and digital finance;
• New Regional and Supply Chain Dynamics: Chinese enterprises’ international expansion forming a virtuous cycle of overseas production and domestic consumption;
• A New Ecosystem of Openness and Governance: maintaining currency stability, risk prevention, and market vitality to foster global co-responsibility.

He stressed emphatically: “Risk, Risk, Risk—risk prevention is paramount.”

Stablecoins and Bitcoin: Redefining the Financial Landscape

In his subsequent keynote, Mr. Tai Jiang highlighted how the rise of stablecoins is reshaping the global financial order. He noted that the U.S. “GENIUS Act” has, for the first time, provided a legal definition of stablecoins, a move that could profoundly impact the U.S. financial system and pave the way for a blockchain-based global fast payment network, comparable to a “U.S. version of Alipay.” He predicted that stablecoin transactions could even surpass the combined volume of Visa and Mastercard.

He further underscored the evolving role of Bitcoin, which is transitioning from a risk asset to an investment asset, and now to a reserve asset. As “digital gold,” Bitcoin has been recognized in the U.S. as a strategic reserve asset. Major economies, including both China and the United States, have begun to acknowledge its significance and take steps to incorporate it into reserves. Mr. Tai concluded that both stablecoins and Bitcoin will emerge as the most strategically significant financial assets of the future.

Insights on National Development Dynamics

Dr. Qiuyi Yang, Assistant to the Director of Fudan Financial Research Center; Assistant Research Fellow at the Fudan Development Institute, presented a special report titled “Efficiency Analysis of State Development Drivers.” She argued that a nation’s competitiveness hinges on the balanced development of sustainability, dynamism, productivity, growth capacity, and innovation. She emphasized that China is transitioning from a “development-driven” stage toward an “innovation-driven” model, and that special attention must be given to risk-sharing mechanisms and balanced growth dynamics.

Roundtable Discussions: Strategies for an Uncertain Future

The roundtable session sparked dynamic debate among heavyweight guests:

• Professor Lijian Sun analyzed the policy and capital flow implications for major economies;
• Mr. Binqing Fu stressed that “stability is more important than cost”;
• Ms. Christian Xu, Founder and President of Ready Capital Mortgage Investment Trust, explained how funds can maintain resilience amid macro volatility;
• Dr. Qiuyi Yang reiterated the importance of sustainability as a key driver of future economic momentum;
• Mr. Tai Jiang reminded investors to keep learning frontier knowledge and avoid being confined to singular theories or asset classes.

Mr. Zhi Wang, President of Nature’s Financial Group and MDRT Life Member, shared vivid case studies demonstrating how investors can achieve stable returns even in volatile interest rate environments.

Ms. Christian Xu further presented detailed data illustrating how alternative investments provide both resilience and long-term potential in uncertain times. She emphasized that real estate is not solely the game of large capital, but can also offer reliable income paths for individual investors.

Gratitude and Outlook

The summit extended special thanks to its Platinum Sponsors — PT. FUYU Aquatic International, Nature’s Financial Group, and Ready Capital Mortgage Investment Trust — for their long-standing contributions to the Canadian market and dedication to advancing China–Canada economic exchange and integration.

The organizers also expressed heartfelt appreciation to leaders from alumni associations of Peking University ‘s Guanghua School of Management, Renmin University of China, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Beijing Normal University, Xidian University, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Jinan University, Central South University, Zhejiang University, East China Normal University, Communication University of China, South China University of Technology, Henan Normal University, as well as Mr. Jianping Cao, President of the Canada Shanghai Business Association, for their support and participation.

With the summit drawing to a successful close, organizers look forward with anticipation to reconvening in 2026, continuing to foster dialogue, cooperation, and shared prosperity.

New platform empowers brands to reach shoppers directly within Shopee, Lazada ecosystems

SINGAPORE, Aug. 26, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — Xtend, a leading commerce media platform bridging brand discovery and measurable performance across Southeast Asia’s top marketplaces, today announced the launch of its new marketplace-first ecommerce solution. Designed for ecommerce platforms such as Shopee and Lazada and TikTok Shop, the solution enables brands to increase in-platform visibility, connect with high-intent shoppers, and achieve trackable sales growth, addressing key challenges in the region’s ecommerce and performance marketing landscape.

In Southeast Asia, a significant share of online shopping takes place inside marketplace ecosystems rather than on direct-to-consumer websites. According to Statista, the Southeast Asia Ecommerce market is projected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 8.79% between 2025 and 2029, reaching an estimated market volume of USD 187.16 billion by 2029. While Meta and Google dominate digital ad budgets, rising costs and audience saturation are limiting returns. Many brands also struggle to gain mid-funnel visibility and track return on ad spend within these platforms. Xtend’s marketplace-first approach is built natively for this environment, aligning with category behavior, product SKUs, and user intent patterns unique to each platform.

The new solution combines multiple capabilities to meet these challenges. SHOPit Brand Discovery offers curated product catalogues that drive qualified traffic to brand pages in various e-commerce platforms, bridging the gap between awareness and conversion. Commerce-backed inventory integrates in-app dynamic listings, native placements, and brand showcases with programmatic audience extension, achieving both intent and scale. Marketplace measurement provides end-to-end attribution from impression to ROAS without requiring additional pixels or SDKs, operating fully within Shopee’s native capabilities. Actionable commerce signals leverage first-party data to reveal category intent, repeat purchase behavior, app usage patterns, and marketplace conversion trends. A performance-based model aligns pricing with results, offering a low-risk option for major campaigns such as 9.9 and 11.11. The plug-and-play onboarding process allows brands already selling on Shopee to activate campaigns quickly without creating landing pages or uploading catalogs. The solution’s effectiveness has already been demonstrated through a recent campaign with Unilever in Indonesia, which concluded with a positive Return on Ad Spend (ROAS).

By integrating brand storytelling with measurable bottom-funnel performance, the solution helps brands stand out earlier in the shopping journey and track sales to completion. This approach enables more efficient targeting of shoppers in an active purchase mindset, improving both conversion rates and long-term brand equity.

The new solution was showcased at the Shopee Super Summit in Indonesia this month, where Xtend participated as an exhibitor and Shopee’s preferred partner. The event, the largest annual gathering of sellers, creators, and partners in the Shopee ecosystem, highlighted innovations that help brands grow within and beyond marketplace advertising, and Xtend presented its marketplace-first solution to industry attendees.

“In Southeast Asia’s marketplace-first ecommerce environment, brands need solutions that operate natively where purchase decisions are made,” said Muralidharan, Chief Commercial Officer at Xtend. “By leveraging real shopping behavior data, we designed this solution to help brands build stronger influence within the platform ecosystem and translate it into sustainable business growth.”

About Xtend
Xtend is a leading digital marketing technology agency. The company offers custom-built AI-powered algorithms to enhance creative effectiveness, precision targeting, and user engagement. Its solutions empower e-commerce, fintech, and travel brands to optimize conversions across dynamic markets. With a global reach spanning 127 countries and a network of over 50 influential partners, Xtend’s solutions drive approximately 10 million purchases monthly. Its versatile capabilities support diverse objectives, including new customer acquisition, re-engagement of dormant users, and targeted upselling strategies.

SEOUL, South Korea, Aug. 26, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — Coway Co., Ltd., the “Best Life Solution Company,” has released its latest sustainability report for FY2024, the 20^th to date. The report provides a comprehensive overview of the company’s progress toward its Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) goals, providing an in-depth look at how it fulfills its social responsibilities while enhancing long-term value for stakeholders.

“Coway has been expanding its R&D investments in order to develop innovative products and secure new technologies, resulting in record-high sales and ongoing growth,” said Coway’s CEO, Jangwon Seo. “We will continue to systematically manage our strategic ESG tasks and strengthen their execution, to deliver genuine environmental and social value.”

First published in 2006, the 2024 iteration of the Sustainability Report highlights Coway’s latest key achievements as guided by its vision of becoming a “Company Caring for Better Earth.”

On the Environmental front, Coway has made headway through the implementation of a closed-loop resource circulation system by applying recycled materials – made from plastic waste collected from returned products – to its mass-produced products. The company is also working to continuously reduce environmental impact in product design and packaging by simplifying its packaging and using eco-friendly materials.

With regards to its Social undertakings, Coway has continued its biodiversity conservation activities in collaboration with local communities, organizing campaigns such as creating classroom forests and collective river and marine ‘plogging’ activities. Furthermore, since 2018, the company has been supporting environmentally vulnerable groups by providing air purifiers and subsequent maintenance services, in recognition of which, Coway received a commendation from South Korea’s Ministry of Environment in 2024.

Moreover, with regards to the Governance sector, Coway this year joined voluntary disclosures of corporate value enhancement plans to strengthen transparent communication, setting mid-to-long-term performance indicators and targets to increase shareholder value.

Established in 2021, Coway’s ESG Committee deliberates and makes decisions on key ESG matters based on the expertise and the independence of its Board of Directors. Coway also operates a working-level ESG Council to regularly share its ESG direction with employees and monitor the implementation of key tasks across business areas.

The full text of the Coway Sustainability Report 2024 is available here.

About Coway Co., Ltd.

Established in Korea in 1989, Coway, the “Best Life Solution Company,” is a leading environmental home appliances company making people’s lives healthy and comfortable with innovative home appliances such as water purifiers, air purifiers, bidets, and mattresses. BEREX, the company’s sleep & wellness brand, aims to improve the quality of life through cutting-edge mattresses and massage chairs. Since being founded, Coway has become a leader in the environmental home appliances industry, with intensive research, engineering, development, and customer service. The company has proven dedication to innovation with award-winning products, home health expertise, unrivaled market share, customer satisfaction, and brand recognition. Coway continues to innovate by diversifying product lines and accelerating overseas business in Malaysia, the USA, Thailand, China, Indonesia, Vietnam, and Europe, based on the business success in Korea. In 2025, the company launched Coway Life Solution, a premium elder care platform offering personalized care solutions tailored to different life stages. For more information, please visit https://au.coway.com/ or http://newsroom.coway.com.

SINGAPORE, Aug. 26, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — Step into a new era of travel planning, where stress is replaced by AI-powered foresight. Trip.com introduces Trip.Planner, a revolutionary one-stop travel planning hub, powered by AI to transform complex itineraries into effortless, personalised journeys.

Whether you’re heading off on a weekend getaway or a multi-destination adventure, Trip.Planner acts as your AI-powered travel concierge—assisting you to create hyper-personalised itineraries tailored to your travel style. With real-time transport integration, flexible planning features, and access to over 20 million geo-tagged global points of interest, travellers can plan every detail from a unified intelligence hub.

“Trip.Planner is a cutting-edge tool that combines reliable data with rich itinerary management to redefine how travellers plan their journeys. We will continue to push the boundaries of innovation to create greater value for our users,” said Mr James Liang, Co-founder and Chairman of Trip.com Group.

Key Features of Trip.Planner:

All-in-One Integration

Flights, trains, hotels, restaurants and attractions are all integrated into your itinerary with real-time availability. Travellers can plan and book everything directly from their itinerary view, eliminating the need to switch between platforms.

Built for Trust

Moreover, users can benefit from trusted, real-time travel data. You can view prices, availability and detailed descriptions for travel options. The AI also recommends attractions that are open, seasonally relevant, and accessible, using officially verified opening hours, typical visit durations, and transport estimates for a smooth, realistic plan.

Recommendations are practically tailored to your destination — for example, suggesting relevant airport transfers, car rentals in remote areas, or day tours in urban spots.

For additional expert assistance, Trip.Planner includes expert-vetted recommendations available via the in-app AI chat, perfect for big milestone trips or niche experiences.

Style-Based Itineraries, Tailored to You

Trip.Planner adapts to your personal travel style, whether you’re a culture buff, first-time visitor, or on an inter-generational excursion. You can select from user preferences such as:

• Family-Friendly: Kid-friendly options, like theme parks and wildlife encounters.
• Classic: Iconic sights and must-see highlights, ideal for first-time visitors.
• Elderly-Friendly: Lower-intensity activities with easy access and relaxed pace.
• Cultural: Museums, performances, or experiences that reflect local arts.
• Cityscape: Urban-focused —shopping, dining, nightlife and city walks.
• Nature: Outdoor and scenic spots like parks, beaches, and reserves.
• Historical: Significant landmarks, traditional districts and heritage sites.

Additionally, if you’re travelling on a budget, it can tailor a personalised itinerary that fits your spending preferences too.

Flexible, User-First Interface

Planning starts with just three questions: destination, trip duration, and your travel style. From there, Trip.Planner generates an itinerary for you. You can preview it within the in-platform map and easily visualise routes for your travels.

If you have prior bookings on the Trip.com platform, you can import them to into your itinerary or adjust plans easily with the canvas-style editing, where you can rename, reorder attractions, replace and delete activities and add on notes. A floating AI button stays active at all times, offering real-time, on-demand suggestions as users edit their trips.

A One-Stop Travel Planning Hub

Trip.Planner replaces spreadsheets, bookmarks, and endless tabs. It combines trip building, bookings, and curated inspiration in one place.

Beyond efficiency, it’s also built for trust. Recommendations are drawn from millions of data points across Trip.com, including Trip.Best picks, Trip.Pulse, and Trip.Events data — top-rated and timely experiences trusted by a global user base—ensuring each suggestion is reliable and grounded in what travellers actually love.

“With Trip.Planner, we are offering a truly smart assistant that adapts to user preferences, simplifies decision-making, and puts joy back into trip planning,” said Bonnie Bao, Director of Product for Itinerary & Map, Content Center, Trip.com Group. 

Trip.Planner is currently available on English-language Trip.com sites in select regions*, with access expanding progressively to users in the coming months.

*Full list of supported regions as of date: United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Israel, Thailand, Indonesia, the Philippines, India, Pakistan, Belgium, Ireland and general English-language markets.

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About Trip.com

Trip.com is an international one-stop travel service provider, available in 24 languages across 39 countries and regions in 35 local currencies. Trip.com has an extensive hotel and flight network consisting of more than 1.5 million hotels and flights from over 640 airlines covering 3,400 airports in 220 countries and regions around the globe. Trip.com‘s world-class 24/7 multilingual customer service, as well as additional centres in Edinburgh, Tokyo and Seoul, help to ‘create the best travel experience’ for its millions of customers worldwide. To book your next trip, visit Trip.com.

Singtel earns triple recognition for its innovation, execution, and customer-first approach in delivering advanced networking, connectivity, and quantum-resilient solutions across Asia.

SAN ANTONIO, Aug. 26, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — Frost & Sullivan is pleased to announce that Singtel has received the 2025 Singapore Company of the Year Recognition in the Managed SD-WAN and SASE Service Provider industry, the 2025 Southeast Asia Company of the Year Recognition in the IoT Connectivity Service Provider industry, and the 2025 Singapore Company of the Year Recognition in the Quantum Safe Network Service Provider industry. These recognitions highlight Singtel’s consistent leadership in delivering measurable outcomes, strengthening its market position, and driving customer-centric innovation in an evolving competitive landscape.

These recognitions highlight Singtel’s consistent leadership in delivering measurable outcomes, strengthening its market position, and driving customer-centric innovation in an evolving competitive landscape.

Guided by a long-term growth strategy focused on innovation, strategic partnerships, and scalable deployment models, Singtel continues to lead in three critical technology areas:

• Managed SD-WAN & SASE – Delivering unified platforms with integrated security and real-time orchestration to simplify enterprise transformation.
• IoT Connectivity – Operationalizing complex IoT deployments through a unified service architecture, strong regulatory fluency, and local infrastructure advantage.
• Quantum-Safe Networking – Deploying advanced quantum-safe cryptographic solutions through strategic collaborations, enabling cost-effective and interoperable security at scale.

Innovation remains central to Singtel’s approach. Its portfolio addresses the full spectrum of enterprise connectivity and security needs, offering flexibility, scalability, and measurable business outcomes.

Singtel’s commitment to customer experience further strengthens its market position. By streamlining service delivery, enabling self-service through advanced portals, and maintaining high service availability, Singtel continues to meet the needs of its expanding regional and global customer base.

Frost & Sullivan commends Singtel for setting a high standard in competitive strategy, execution, and market responsiveness. The company’s vision, innovation pipeline, and customer-first culture are shaping the future of enterprise connectivity and security in Asia.

Looking ahead, Singtel is positioned to accelerate its leadership across managed networking, IoT, and quantum-resilient infrastructure by leveraging 5G capabilities, cloud-native architectures, and an expanding partner ecosystem. These investments will enable enterprises to navigate increasing network complexity, strengthen security postures, and achieve faster time-to-value in their digital transformation initiatives.

Furthermore, Singtel’s ongoing commitment to R&D ensures it remains at the forefront of next-generation technologies. By fostering collaboration with technology partners, research institutions, and regulatory bodies, the company is laying the groundwork for an interconnected ecosystem capable of supporting emerging applications — from autonomous systems and immersive digital experiences to mission-critical industrial operations — across Asia and beyond.

Each year, Frost & Sullivan presents its Company of the Year Recognition to organizations that demonstrate outstanding strategy development and implementation, resulting in measurable improvements in market share, customer satisfaction, and competitive positioning. These recognitions honor forward-thinking organizations reshaping their industries through innovation and growth excellence.

About Frost & Sullivan

For six decades, Frost & Sullivan has been world-renowned for its role in helping investors, corporate leaders, and governments navigate economic changes and identify disruptive technologies, Mega Trends, new business models, and companies to action, resulting in a continuous flow of growth opportunities to drive future success. Contact us: Start the discussion.

Contact:
Tarini Singh
E: Tarini.singh@frost.com 

SUZHOU, China, Aug. 26, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — Recently, Suzhou Basecare Medical Co., Ltd. achieved a major breakthrough—its globally leading Gems culture medium (embryo handling solution VitBase) has officially received registration approval from the National Medical Products Administration (NMPA). This marks not only a milestone event in China’s assisted reproductive field but also signifies that domestically produced high-end culture media have officially entered the top international tier, completely breaking the monopoly of imported brands that has lasted for over 30 years.

VitBase belongs to the star product series GEMS developed by Basecare’s international brand BMX (formerly Genea Biomedx, a globally renowned IVF center in Sydney). This approval represents a historic leap, elevating Basecare Medical to become one of the very few leading companies in assisted reproductive fluids to simultaneously obtain four major authoritative certifications—CE, FDA, TGA, and NMPA—fully realizing a strategic layout from international acquisition to local transformation, and from R&D to commercialization.

For a long time, China’s embryo culture medium market has been highly monopolized by international manufacturers, creating significant uncertainty in the supply chain. The emergence of Basecare’s Gems culture medium has completely reshaped the industry landscape. This product incorporates over 30 years of gold-standard clinical practice data from the Sydney IVF Center. Through localized intelligent manufacturing and stringent quality control, its quality rivals top international standards while achieving unprecedented improvements in supply stability and accessibility. Currently, 11 products in the series have received EU CE certification, 8 have been approved by the U.S. FDA, and 11 comply with Australian TGA standards, covering the entire assisted reproductive process. This provides a reliable and trustworthy choice for Chinese embryologists and patients.

It is worth emphasizing that the Gems culture medium had previously gained widespread recognition in China through Cook Medical’s local registration and promotion, earning the reputation as the “gold standard for embryo culture.” Basecare’s newly approved VitBase not only represents the first major achievement in the localization of the full GEMS series of 11 products but also signifies the formal rooting of globally leading culture medium technology in China.

This breakthrough will bring three major transformative impacts to China’s assisted reproductive industry: first, completely eliminating import dependency and achieving independent and controllable supply chains; second, significantly reducing treatment costs, allowing more families to benefit from accessible reproductive medical services; and third, leading the upgrade of the entire industry chain, building a complete domestic ecosystem from equipment and consumables to culture media.

A representative of Basecare Medical stated: “We are not just launching a product—we are reshaping the new standard for embryo culture in China. The localization of Gems will greatly enhance the success rate of IVF, making the conception of every new life safer and more stable. In the future, Basecare will continue to lead the wave of domestic substitution and promote high-end reproductive medical products made in China to the world.”

Currently, national policies are strongly supporting the development of the assisted reproductive field. The approval of Basecare Medical’s Gems culture medium at this pivotal moment not only sets a new benchmark for domestic substitution but also demonstrates the increasingly strong competitiveness and influence of Chinese companies in this field globally. The market expects that this product will soon trigger a new wave of procurement and cooperation, leading the domestic reproductive medical industry into a phase of accelerated development.