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Allianz Trade in Asia Pacific names Regional CEO

Rodrigo Jimenez to pick up Asia Pacific reins from Paul Flanagan

HONG KONG, May 6, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — Allianz Trade in Asia Pacific is pleased to announce that Rodrigo Jimenez will take on the role of Asia Pacific Regional CEO on 1 October 2025. He will succeed Paul Flanagan who is retiring after a 34-year career with the global leader in trade credit insurance. Mr Jimenez will begin a three-month transition period from 1 July 2025 and officially take over the helm on 1 October 2025. This appointment is subject to standard regulatory approval requirements.

Rodrigo Jimenez to take over Asia Pacific Regional CEO from 1 October 2025.
Rodrigo Jimenez to take over Asia Pacific Regional CEO from 1 October 2025.

Mr Jimenez joined Allianz Trade in Brazil as CEO in 2014. Since 2021, he has been Regional Commercial Director for the Northern Europe region and being part of the Regional Management Team. In this role, he has developed and strengthened new distribution dynamics and strong synergies with the Risk department, which have in turn supported new business development and portfolio retention. He is also a keen advocate of digital transformation and has been closely involved in a number of crucial transformation projects in the Northern Europe region. Mr Jimenez holds an MBA degree from the Fundação Dom Cabral and a degree in Economics from the University of Sao Paulo.

On his appointment, Mr Jimenez says, “It is an incredibly exciting time to be joining the Asia Pacific region. I am inspired by the growth Asia Pacific has already achieved and the transformative journey ahead, with plans to extend our presence to Vietnam, the thirteenth market in the region. Paul has set the bar high, establishing a solid foundation for this expansion, based on an unwavering commitment to customer experience and operational excellence. I look forward to continuing this mission, reinforcing our leadership position and driving innovation that delivers lasting value to our clients and partners across the region. I would like to congratulate Paul on an exemplary 34-year career at Allianz Trade and wish him every happiness in his retirement.”

About Allianz Trade

Allianz Trade is the global leader in trade credit insurance and a recognized specialist in the areas of surety, collections, structured trade credit and political risk. Our proprietary intelligence network is based on instant access to data of 289 million corporates. We give companies the confidence to trade by securing their payments. We compensate your company in the event of a bad debt, but more importantly, we help you avoid bad debt in the first place. Whenever we provide trade credit insurance or other finance solutions, our priority is predictive protection. But, when the unexpected arrives, our AA credit rating means we have the resources, backed by Allianz to provide compensation to maintain your business. Headquartered in Paris, Allianz Trade is present in over 40 countries with 5,800 employees. In 2024, our consolidated turnover was EUR3.8 billion and insured global business transactions represented EUR1,400 billion in exposure. For more information, please visit allianz-trade.com

Cautionary note regarding forward-looking statements

The statements contained herein may include prospects, statements of future expectations and other forward-looking statements that are based on management’s current views and assumptions and involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties. Actual results, performance or events may differ materially from those expressed or implied in such forward-looking statements. Such deviations may arise due to, without limitation, (I) changes of the general economic conditions and competitive situation, particularly in the Allianz Group’s core business and core markets, (II) performance of financial markets (particularly market volatility, liquidity and credit events), (III) frequency and severity of insured loss events, including from natural catastrophes, and the development of loss expenses, (IV) mortality and morbidity levels and trends, (V) persistency levels, (VI) particularly in the banking business, the extent of credit defaults, (VII) interest rate levels, (VIII) currency exchange rates including the euro/US-dollar exchange rate, (IX) changes in laws and regulations, including tax regulations, (X) the impact of acquisitions, including related integration issues, and reorganization measures, and (XI) general competitive factors, in each case on a local, regional, national and/or global basis. Many of these factors may be more likely to occur, or more pronounced, as a result of terrorist activities and their consequences.

 

Allianz Trade contact

Hong Kong   

UK

Jason Wong 

Ian Silvera / Ambika Sharma

+852 3665 8946

SEC Newgate

jason.wong@allianz-trade.com

allianztrade@secnewgate.co.uk

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https://www.linkedin.com/company/allianz-trade-apac/

 

Arlo Unveils All-new PoE Adapter With Enhanced Connectivity

Arlo Introduces the PoE Adapter, offering direct connectivity with existing ethernet switches


HONG KONG SAR – Media OutReach Newswire – 6 May 2025 – Arlo Technologies, Inc. (NYSE: ARLO), a leading brand in smart home security, is thrilled to introduce its latest security camera accessory to the Hong Kong market—the Arlo PoE Adapter (VMA 3900-10000s). Designed for continuous power and internet with a recommended price at just R.R.P. HK$268, customers can now experience enhanced security.

The Arlo PoE Adapter keeps compatible Arlo devices; Arlo Essential Outdoor Camera (2nd Generation), Arlo Essential XL Outdoor Camera (2nd Generation), and Arlo Essential Indoor Camera (2nd Generation) powered and connected to the internet. It is easy to install, and customers can have it up and running in minutes. Requiring a PoE switch or injector, customers simply need to connect their device to the adapter and the adapter to the PoE switch or injector for direct, reliable, and continuous power and internet.

Key features of the PoE adapter include:

  • Faster streaming: PoE connection facilitates faster streaming compared to a direct to access point connection, improving overall user experience.
  • Plug and Play: Connects quickly and easily to existing Ethernet to get you up and running within minutes.
  • Continuous Power and Internet: Hardwire compatible Arlo devices for reliable power and internet.

The PoE adapter is available for purchase now via the Arlo website and major retail partners.

Key Tech specs are as follows:

  • In Box Items: 1x PoE adapter, 1x 3m USB C IP65 cable, 1x Quick Start Guide, 1x Adhesive Strip;
  • Power Input and Output: IEEE802.3af Input 37-57V, max input current 0.35A, power = 12.95W Output 5V 2A:
  • Requires: PoE switch or PoE injector;
  • Compatible cameras: E2 Indoor and E2 outdoor cameras (Direct to access point);
  • Connectors: Input RJ45 port. Output USB C connector;
  • IP Rating: IP65 compliant including the connector plug inserted into the camera. Operating temperature -20°C to 50°C

For more information on the full range of Arlo smart home security products and services, visit https://www.arlo.com/hk/.

Hashtag: #Arlo

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

About Arlo Technologies, Inc.

Arlo is an award-winning, industry leader that is transforming the ways in which people can protect everything that matters to them with advanced home, business, and personal security solutions. Arlo’s deep expertise in AI- and CV-powered analytics, cloud services, user experience and product design, and innovative wireless and RF connectivity enables the delivery of a seamless, smart security experience for Arlo users that is easy to set up and interact with every day. Arlo’s cloud-based platform provides users with visibility, insight, and a powerful means to help protect and connect in real-time with the people and things that matter most, from any location with a Wi-Fi or a cellular connection. Arlo has recently launched several categories of award-winning connected devices, software, and services. These include wire-free, smart Wi-Fi and LTE-enabled security cameras, video doorbells, floodlights, security system, and Arlo’s subscription services: Arlo Secure and Arlo Safe.

With a mission to bring users peace of mind, Arlo is as passionate about protecting user privacy as it is about safeguarding homes and families. Arlo is committed to implementing industry standards for data protection designed to keep users’ personal information private and in their control. Arlo provides enhanced controls for user data, supports privacy legislation, keeps user data safely secure, and puts security at the forefront of company culture.

Asia Pacific Initiative on Reproduction (ASPIRE) 2025 Congress: Fatherhood role models a new focus in filling the gap between actual and desired family sizes

SINGAPORE, May 6, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — Presenting fatherhood as cool, admirable and masculine is likely to headline a new fertility rebound initiative across the Asia Pacific region as birth rates continue to fall at alarming levels.

Renowned reproductive endocrinologist Emeritus Professor Dominique de Ziegler said a “gender revolution” had seen increasing numbers of women delaying motherhood to enter the public sector in pursuit of professional careers.

“The fact is that for many of these women attempts to start a family may be delayed to their thirties and early forties when their fertility is in sharp decline,” he said.

“To address this reality, family building strategies should focus on encouraging men into the private sphere by promoting active fatherhood and recognising that childcare is not only a mother’s job.”

Professor de Ziegler is Co-Chair of a new Population Sustainability action group of the Asia Pacific Initiative on Reproduction (ASPIRE), the peak regional body for scientists, clinicians, nurses and counsellors in assisted reproduction.

Speaking at the ASPIRE 2025 Congress in Singapore, Professor de Ziegler, said fertility decline resulted from two distinct causes.

“Some couples do not want to have children while for others the ultimate family size ends up being smaller than desired,” he explained.

“Numerous social measures are being advocated to increase birth rates by lowering the financial burden of raising a family. 

“Assisted reproductive technology can also help reduce the gap between the desired and actual family size by favouring fertility preservation through egg and embryo freezing.

“But generating a fertility rebound should include redefining the role of fatherhood and including men more centrally in the family.

“This is already happening in Japan where companies are being rewarded for actively supporting fatherhood and fathers are being promoted as role models in enjoying child rearing.”

Professor de Ziegler is based in Cambodia where he has long experience is social and family issues. He is also a reproductive specialist at the Foch Assisted Reproductive Technology Centre in France.

He said the ASPIRE special interest group on population sustainability was harnessing experts in a range of disciplines, including medicine and economics, to consider evidence-based insights and family building strategies with the intention of presenting recommendations to governments and policy makers.

“Countries in the Asia Pacific region will be central to our endeavours because this part of the world is the most severely concerned by issues related to fertility decline and its consequences,” Professor de Ziegler added.

VinFast officially launches VF 6 in Indonesia


JAKARTA, INDONESIA – Media OutReach Newswire – 6 May 2025 – VinFast announces the official launch of the VF 6, a mid-size electric vehicle, in Indonesia, offering attractive incentives for early adopters. With the rapid expansion of its showroom network, service centers, and V-GREEN charging stations, VinFast is accelerating its presence in Indonesia, providing customers with diverse product options and seamless ownership experiences while contributing to the green mobility revolution in the archipelago.

The VinFast VF 6 in Indonesia will be available in two trims, Eco and Plus, with on-the-road prices in Jakarta of 384,995,000 IDR and 439,600,000 IDR, respectively.
The VinFast VF 6 in Indonesia will be available in two trims, Eco and Plus, with on-the-road prices in Jakarta of 384,995,000 IDR and 439,600,000 IDR, respectively.

VF 6 is a B-segment electric SUV, one of the most popular segments in Indonesia. VF 6 comes in two trims, Eco and Plus, with Jakarta On-The-Road prices of 384,995,000 IDR and 439,600,000 IDR, respectively. Deliveries of the first VF 6 units are expected to begin in June 2025.

Following the successful introduction of VF 3, VF 5, and VF e34, VinFast VF 6 comes with attractive incentives, including cashback of 20,000,000 IDR for orders placed before June 30, 2025; free charging at VinFast charging stations operated by V-GREEN until March 1, 2028; and accessory gifts valued at 13,345,000 IDR.

The VF 6 is positioned as an ideal choice for entrepreneurs and young families in Indonesia. This B-segment SUV from VinFast is designed for optimal urban commuting, with dimensions of 4,241 x 1,834 x 1,580 mm. Its 2,730 mm wheelbase provides optimal interior space, comparable to C-segment vehicles.

The VF 6 Eco trim is equipped with a 130 kW (174 hp) electric motor and 250 Nm of torque, delivering a range of up to 480 km per full charge under NEDC standards.

The VF 6 Plus trim offers enhanced performance with a 150 kW (201 hp) motor and 310 Nm of torque, with a driving range of approximately 460 km per charge under NEDC standards.

The exterior design of the VF 6 reflects modern, sophisticated European aesthetics and embodies “The Duality in Nature” design philosophy, crafted by the renowned Torino Design studio. The model’s stylish appeal is highlighted by VinFast’s signature wing-shaped LED lighting, dual chrome trim lines running along the body, and 18-inch alloy wheels.

Inside, VF 6 features a driver-oriented 12.9-inch touchscreen, integrating smart control and entertainment functions. A D-cut steering wheel with multifunction controls and power-adjustable driver seats, together with 18 customizable driving mode combinations enhance comfort and flexibility for users.

In terms of safety, the VF 6 is equipped with an advanced driver assistance system (ADAS) featuring 22 standard safety functions, including Adaptive Cruise Control, Auto Lane Change Assist, Highway Driving Assist, Traffic Jam Assist, Automatic Emergency Brake, Rear Cross Traffic Alert, Blind Spot Detection, a high-definition 360-degree camera and more. IP67-rated high voltage components combining with strengthened chassis and state-of-the-art functional safety concept design provide reliable protection for all occupants.

In terms of after-sales, the VF 6 is backed by one of the best warranty policies in its segment, offering a vehicle warranty of 7 years or 160,000 km (whichever comes first) and an unlimited-mileage battery warranty for 8 years.

Mr. Pham Sanh Chau, CEO of VinFast Asia, shared: “The VF 6 is the next crucial addition to VinFast’s EV ecosystem in Indonesia. By continuously expanding our all-electric product range, we reaffirm our mission to make electric vehicles accessible to everyone. This commitment is also reflected in our comprehensive green mobility ecosystem, particularly the rapidly growing VinFast charging network, ensuring that all customers can easily access, own, and use EVs—contributing to the global electric mobility revolution.”

To bring peace of mind to customers through a demonstration of long-term commitment and confidence in product quality, VinFast is offering one of the most attractive new vehicle exchange and buyback policies on the Indonesian market, applicable to all models, including the VF 3, VF 5, VF e34, and VF 6. After VinFast’s sales/technical teams inspect, evaluate, and confirm eligibility, VinFast will either offer a new vehicle exchange (for customers looking to upgrade) or buy back the vehicle. VinFast’s buyback and trade-in rates are up to 90% after 6 months, 86% after 1 year, 78% after 2 years, and 70% after 3 years.

Customers can explore VF 6 and other VinFast electric vehicles at 21 official showrooms across Jakarta, Bandung, Surabaya, Bali, and more. Additionally, VinFast has recently partnered with strategic dealer Amarta, which plans to open 11 new stores in 2025 and expand to 22 stores by 2027. In addition, owners can access a nationwide network of VinFast-authorized service centers operated by Otoklix and BOS, ensuring maximum convenience throughout vehicle ownership. VinFast aims to establish 500 authorized service workshops throughout Indonesia this year.

Since entering Indonesia just one year ago, VinFast has made remarkable strides by collaborating with leading dealership and service partners, major banks, and launching four electric models – VF 3, VF 5, VF 6, and VF e34, combined with its attractive sales policies, while continuously expanding its sales and service network. The VinFast electric vehicle assembly plant in Subang is expected to commence operations in 2025.
Simultaneously, VinFast is building a comprehensive green mobility ecosystem through strategic partnerships with electric taxi company GSM and global charging network developer V-GREEN. VinFast car owners can currently charge for free at charging stations operated by V-GREEN. The Company aims to develop 30,000 VinFast charging ports in Indonesia by the end of 2025, ensuring a seamless and worry-free transition to electric mobility for consumers while contributing to the region’s green transition efforts.

Hashtag: #VinFast

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

About VinFast

VinFast (NASDAQ: VFS), a subsidiary of Vingroup JSC, one of Vietnam’s largest conglomerates, is a pure-play electric vehicle (“EV”) manufacturer with the mission of making EVs accessible to everyone. VinFast’s product lineup today includes a wide range of electric SUVs, e-scooters, and e-buses.

VinFast is currently embarking on its next growth phase through rapid expansion of its distribution and dealership network globally and increasing its manufacturing capacities with a focus on key markets across North America, Europe and Asia. Learn more at:

IBM Accelerates Enterprise Gen AI Revolution with Hybrid Capabilities

  • Build AI agents in 5 minutes with industry’s most comprehensive set of agent capabilities
  • Drive 176% ROI over three years by automating integration across hybrid cloud
  • Turn enterprise data into the most powerful tool with new watsonx.data, which can lead to 40% more accurate AI agents
  • Accelerate secured, scalable AI with 450 billion inference operations per day on new LinuxONE 5

ARMONK, N.Y., May 6, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — Today at the company’s annual THINK event, IBM (NYSE: IBM) is unveiling new hybrid technologies that break down the longstanding barriers to scaling enterprise AI – enabling businesses to build and deploy AI agents with their own enterprise data.

IBM Corporation logo.
IBM Corporation logo.

IBM estimates that over one billion apps will emerge by 2028, putting pressure on businesses to scale across increasingly fragmented environments. This requires seamless integration, orchestration and data readiness.

A new IBM CEO study shows that business leaders expect the growth rate of AI investments to more than double over the next two years, with most actively adopting AI agents and preparing to scale them. Yet their pace of investments has led to disconnected technology – and only 25% of AI initiatives have achieved the ROI they expected.  

IBM is combining hybrid technologies, agent capabilities and deep industry expertise from IBM Consulting to help businesses operationalize AI.  

“The era of AI experimentation is over. Today’s competitive advantage comes from purpose-built AI integration that drives measurable business outcomes,” said Arvind Krishna, Chairman and CEO, IBM. “IBM is equipping enterprises with hybrid technologies that cut through complexity and accelerate production-ready AI implementations.”

Build AI agents in watsonx Orchestrate that work with 80+ leading business applications

AI agents are shifting from AI that chats with you to systems that work for you, yet many enterprises will struggle to integrate them across diverse environments, apps, and data. IBM is providing a comprehensive suite of enterprise-ready agent capabilities in watsonx Orchestrate to help businesses put them into action. The portfolio includes:

  • Build-your-own-agent in under five minutes, with tooling that makes it easier to integrate, customize and deploy agents built on any framework – from no-code to pro-code tools for any kind of user.1
  • Pre-built domain agents specialized in areas like HR, sales and procurement – with utility agents for simpler actions like web research and calculations.2
  • Integration with 80+ leading enterprise applications from providers like Adobe, AWS, Microsoft, Oracle, Salesforce Agentforce, SAP, ServiceNow, and Workday.
  • Agent orchestration to handle the multi-agent, multi-tool coordination needed to tackle complex projects like planning workflows and routing tasks to the right AI tools across vendors.
    Agent observability for performance monitoring, guardrails, model optimization, and governance across the entire agent lifecycle.3

IBM is also introducing the new Agent Catalog in watsonx Orchestrate4 to simplify access to 150+ agents and pre-built tools from both IBM and its wide ecosystem of partners, which includes Box, MasterCard, Oracle,Salesforce, ServiceNow, Symplistic.ai, 11x and more. For example, the catalog will include a sales agent for discovering and importing prospects that works with and is available in Salesforce’s Agentforce and a conversational HR agent that can be embedded in Slack.

Forrester TEI projects 176% ROI over three years by automating integration of apps, APIs, events, and more across hybrid cloud

As AI adoption accelerates, integration remains a major challenge. Most enterprises rely on a patchwork of APIs, apps, and systems spread across on-prem and multi-cloud environments – many of which weren’t built to work together.  

IBM is introducing webMethods Hybrid Integration5, a next-generation solution that replaces rigid workflows with intelligent and agent-driven automation. It will help users manage the sprawl of integrations across apps, APIs, B2B partners, events, gateways, and file transfers in hybrid cloud environments.

An independent Forrester Consulting Total Economic Impact (TEI) study found that a composite organization representative of interviewed customers who adopted multiple webMethods integration capabilities realized over three years6:

  • 176% ROI, plus unquantified benefits such as ease of use, reduced training costs, and improved visibility and security posture
  • 40% reduction in downtime
  • 33% time savings on complex projects
  • 67% time savings on simple projects

This complements IBM’s broader automation portfolio, which spans application development and integration, infrastructure automation and technology business management. Integrations with HashiCorp – including Terraform for infrastructure provisioning and Vault for secrets management – will enhance automation across hybrid environments to support secure configuration, consistent policy enforcement, and scalable operations. Tools like IBM Concert Resilience Posture, along with watsonx and Red Hat technologies, give organizations an intelligent, unified way to manage operations and accelerate AI across hybrid clouds.

Unlocking unstructured data for generative AI

Unstructured data – buried in contracts, spreadsheets, and presentations – is one of the most valuable but underutilized resources in the enterprise. IBM is evolving watsonx.data to help organizations activate this data to drive more accurate, effective AI.7

The new watsonx.data will bring together an open data lakehouse with data fabric capabilities – like data lineage tracking and governance – to help clients unify, govern, and activate data across silos, formats, and clouds. Enterprises will be able to connect their AI apps and agents with their unstructured data using watsonx.data, which tests show can lead to 40% more accurate AI than conventional RAG.8

IBM is also introducing watsonx.data integration, a single-interface tool for orchestrating data across formats and pipelines, and watsonx.data intelligence, which uses AI-powered technology to extract deep insights from unstructured data.9 They will be available as standalone products, with select capabilities also available through watsonx.data – maximizing client choice and modularity.

To complement these products, IBM recently announced its intent to acquire DataStax, which excels at harnessing unstructured data for generative AI. With DataStax, clients can access additional vector search capabilities. Further, watsonx is now integrated as an API provider within Meta’s Llama Stack, enhancing enterprises’ ability to deploy generative AI at scale and with openness at the core.

IBM’s new content-aware storage (CAS) capability is now available as a service on IBM Fusion, with support for IBM Storage Scale coming in 3Q. This provides ongoing contextual processing of unstructured data to make extracted information easily available to RAG applications for faster-time-to-inferencing.

Infrastructure for AI scale

IBM is launching IBM LinuxONE 5, its most secure and performant Linux platform for data, applications, and trusted AI – with the ability to process up to 450 billion AI inference operations per day.10 IBM LinuxONE 5’s innovations include: 

  • IBM’s State-of-the-art AI accelerators, including IBM’s Telum II on-chip AI processor and the IBM Spyre Accelerator (available 4Q 2025 via PCIe card), to enable generative and high-volume AI applications such as transactional workloads.
  • Advanced security offerings with confidential containers to help clients protect their data and new integrations with IBM’s pioneering quantum-safe encryption technology to address quantum-enabled cybersecurity attacks.
  • Significant reductions in costs and power consumption, moving cloud-native, containerized workloads from a compared x86 solution to an IBM LinuxONE 5 running the same software products can save up to 44% on the total cost of ownership over 5 years.11

IBM has also expanded its GPU, accelerator and storage collaborations with AMD, CoreWeave, Intel, and NVIDIA to provide new solutions for compute-intensive workloads and AI-enhanced data.

To see all THINK news, visit the IBM Newsroom.

Statements regarding IBM’s future direction and intent are subject to change or withdrawal without notice and represent goals and objectives only.

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 a 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.

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1 Planned availability for agent builder capabilities in June 2025
2 HR agent now generally available. Planned availability for sales & procurement agents in June 2025.
3 Planned availability for agent observability capabilities June 2025
4 Planned availability for agent catalog June 2025
5 Planned availability for webMethods Hybrid Integration in June 2025
6 Forrester Consulting, The Total Economic Impact™ of IBM webMethods, a commissioned study conducted by Forrester Consulting on behalf of IBM, 2024
7 Planned availability for new watsonx.data in June 2025
8 Based on IBM internal testing comparing the answer correctness of AI model outputs using watsonx.data Premium Edition retrieval layer to vector-only RAG on three common use cases with IBM proprietary datasets using the same set of selected opensource commodity inferencing, judging and embedding models and additional variables. Results can vary.
9 Planned availability for watsonx.integration and watsonx.data intelligence in June 2025.
10 Performance result is extrapolated from IBM internal tests running on IBM Systems Hardware of machine type 9175. The benchmark was executed with 1 thread performing local inference operations using a LSTM based synthetic Credit Card Fraud Detection model to exploit the Integrated Accelerator for AI. A batch size of 160 was used. IBM Systems Hardware configuration: 1 LPAR running Red Hat® Enterprise Linux® 9.4 with 6 cores (SMT), 128 GB memory. Results may vary.
11 IBM® internal performance tests for the core consolidation study targeted a comparison of the following servers. IBM Machine Type 9175 MAX 136 system consisting of three CPC drawers containing 136 configurable processor units and six I/O drawers to support both network and external storage. The x86 solution used a commercially available enterprise server with two 5th generation Intel® Xeon® Platinum 8592+ processors, 64 cores per CPU. Both solutions had access to the same storage. Results may vary. The test results were extrapolated to a typical, complete customer IT solution that includes isolated from each other production and non-production IT environments. TCO included software, hardware, energy, network, data center space, and labor costs. On the IBM z17 side the complete solution requires one IBM z17 Type 9175 MAX 136, and on x86 side, the complete IT solution requires 23 compared servers.

Media Contact: 

Amy Angelini
IBM
alangeli@us.ibm.com 

IBM client and partner testimonials: 

Avid Solutions, Malcolm Adams, CEO  
“As labor markets tighten and skills gaps widen, agentic AI will help advance the intelligent workforce and have a profound impact on ecosystems and economies. We’ve used watsonx Orchestrate on AWS to automate repetitive tasks for customer service, project management and accounting, but we’re most excited about the enormous impact agentic AI and networks of agents working together will have on large scale challenges such as global supply chains. Watsonx provides the foundation for trustworthy AI while AWS provides the power to scale globally to transform entire industries.” 

Banco de Brasil, Paulo Andre, Chief Technology Officer 
“By leveraging IBM Z, LinuxONE, and Red Hat Openshift as part of our hybrid cloud strategy, Banco de Brasil has transformed how we serve our customers. With accelerated data processing, real-time insights, and resilient infrastructure across two separated data centers, we can deliver faster, personalized services while strengthening operational efficiency and business continuity to mitigate risk.” – Paulo Andre, Chief Technology Officer, Banco de Brasil 

BNP Paribas, Jean-Michel Garcia, Group Chief Technology Officer
“At BNP Paribas, building resilient and secure cloud foundations is key to supporting the bank’s digital transformation and delivering reliable services to our clients. Our extended partnership with IBM Cloud contributes to this effort and helps us accelerate our cloud-native strategy. These solid infrastructures are also an essential enabler for scaling generative AI use cases, across our businesses.” Jean-Michel Garcia, Group Chief Technology Officer, BNP Paribas

Cencora , Pawan Verma, Executive Vice President and Chief Data and Information Officer
“In today’s increasingly complex and ever-changing healthcare landscape, Cencora plays a vital role in advancing pharmaceutical innovation and access, helping our healthcare customers and their patients have timely and reliable access to the medicines they need,” said Pawan Verma, Executive Vice President and Chief Data and Information Officer, Cencora. “Our strategic digital transformation, powered by collaborations with technology leaders like IBM, will help streamline, improve, and digitize end-to-end business processes, supporting our continued growth and enabling us to deliver an enhanced ‘high-touch and high-tech’ customer experience.” 

Dynamiq , Vitalii Duk, Founder & CEO  
“At Dynamiq, we’re helping AI builders move faster from idea to deployment by using IBM watsonx capabilities alongside our platform. With the latest Granite models in watsonx.ai and embed tools and vector databases in watsonx.data, AI engineers using Dynamiq platform can rapidly prototype and deploy RAG systems, AI agents, and LLM applications. And with watsonx.governance, we’re giving teams the power to move fast – with built in trust and transparency.” 

EY, Martin Fiore, EY Americas Deputy Vice Chair – Tax  
“Tax compliance is a critical yet complex function for corporations that has long been associated with time-consuming and manual processes. Our collaboration with IBM connects the organization’s leading technology with EY’s deep domain expertise to deploy distinct AI-enabled tax solutions that enable workflow automation and unlocks data-driven insights for tax teams. We look forward to working with IBM to continue enhancing these solutions, using emerging technology to expand to other tax processes and ultimately helping businesses improve efficiency, cost and quality.” 

Honda, J Schumacher, Global Lead, Enterprise Architecture 
“At Honda, we are committed to scaling AI in a way that is responsible, human-centered, and deeply rooted in our core values of safety, trust, and respect for individuals,” said J Schumacher, Global Lead, Enterprise Architecture, American Honda Motor Co., Inc. “We are collaborating with IBM Consulting to help us shape the strategy and governance needed to scale AI responsibly and deliver lasting, meaningful impact across our organization.” 

Lockheed Martin, John Clark, senior vice president of Technology and Strategic Innovation  
“Through our Lockheed Martin AI Factory, we closely collaborate with leaders in commercial technology like IBM to deploy powerful AI solutions at scale for our national security customers,” said John Clark, senior vice president of Technology and Strategic Innovation at Lockheed Martin. “At the same time we are transforming our internal operations through AI tools to channel the ingenuity of our 70,000 engineers, scientists and technicians in ways that rapidly accelerate our innovation and efficiency, to get solutions out of the lab and into the field, helping create a safer, more secure world.” 

Lumen, Kate Johnson, president and CEO  
“Our edge network spans the U.S., giving businesses fast, direct access to their critical data and major cloud providers,” said Kate Johnson, president and CEO at Lumen Technologies. “By teaming up with IBM, we’re making it possible to run powerful AI applications without the added costs or risks of relying solely on the public cloud. It’s a faster, safer way for companies to bring generative AI and other groundbreaking digital tools into their everyday operations.” 

PepsiCo, Magesh Bagavathi, SVP, Global Head of Data, Analytics & AI
“PepsiCo is leading the AI transformation in the CPG industry, integrating it across the value chain to deliver meaningful impact for both our people and our customers. In collaboration with IBM Consulting, we’ve developed a robust generative AI platform designed to accelerate business value. By leveraging the full power of our ecosystem, this capability drives smarter decision-making, faster innovation, and a more connected, intelligent future.”
 
Slack, Peter Doolan, Chief Customer Officer  
“Every employee requires more agile solutions so they can get their work done at peak efficiency,” said Peter Doolan, Chief Customer Officer of Slack at Salesforce. “By working with partners like IBM to bring AI-powered solutions and agents into Slack, we’re delivering a seamless employee support experience that empowers users to focus on the high-impact work that truly matters.” 

State Street, Mostapha Tahiri, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer 
“At State Street, we continue our transformation to a more robust, data-led, global financial services leader and are seeing the tremendous potential AI provides to shape investment services and investment management for the future,” said Mostapha Tahiri, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer at State Street. “Unlocking the full value of AI begins with a strong, enterprise-wide data foundation, and we share a commitment with IBM to responsible innovation in the AI and data landscape.” 

UFC, Alon Cohen, Senior Vice President, UFC Research and Development  
“IBM’s deep expertise in data and technology made them a clear choice to serve as UFC’s Official Enterprise AI Partner and help bring the UFC Insights Engine to life. Using watsonx, we’re transforming years of fight data into compelling storylines – creating a newer and more dynamic layer of engagement between UFC’s global viewing audience and the action in the Octagon, taking the UFC experience to the next level.” 

Uptok , Kashif Zaman, CEO  
“The reality is, enterprise buyers aren’t just evaluating AI—they’re evaluating judgment. IBM gives us the foundation to demonstrate both. In AI, getting to eighty percent is fast. But in the enterprise, the final ten percent—performance, reliability, control—is where trust is made or lost. We didn’t pick IBM because it had the flashiest model—we picked it because it fits how we build AI.” 

USAA, Ramnik Bajaj, Chief Data Analytics and Artificial Intelligence Officer  
“At USAA, our unrelenting focus is on serving our members with excellence, and we are always looking for opportunities to implement the power of AI and data to further that goal,” said USAA Chief Data Analytics and Artificial Intelligence Officer Ramnik Bajaj. “In collaboration with IBM, we are working on ways to integrate structured and unstructured data at scale, to enable intelligent automation in processes like underwriting, claims, member feedback analysis and others that involve complex documents and require extensive processing. This will allow us to provide faster, more personalized service to our members and create more efficient workflows for our teams.” 

IBM Think 2025
IBM Think 2025

 

MALAYSIA’S BLOCKCHAIN ECOSYSTEM TO “LIFT OFF” TO GLOBAL HEIGHTS WITH MYBW RETURN

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia, May 6, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — The highly anticipated Malaysia Blockchain Week (MYBW) is back in 2025 to drive our blockchain ecosystem towards global prominence. The inaugural event returns after its successful debut last year, this time with a bold theme of “Lift-Off”, signifying a pivotal moment for Malaysia’s blockchain ecosystem to grow bigger, better, and badder.

Malaysia’s Blockchain Ecosystem To “Lift Off” To Global Heights With MYBW Return
Malaysia’s Blockchain Ecosystem To “Lift Off” To Global Heights With MYBW Return

“The theme ‘Lift-Off’ reflects our ambition to accelerate Malaysia’s role within the global sphere. MYBW aims to be the movement that brings together visionaries from across various sectors and industry to build real change.” – Dr Ian Tan, Lydian Labs.

Now in its second year, MYBW 2025 promises to once again serve as the launchpad in Malaysia for innovation, education, investments, and regulatory progress in the decentralised era.

Malaysia is well-poised to jet set into the future, with blockchain technology firmly backed by industry leaders as well as the national government.

“It’s clear that government leadership is essential in driving blockchain adoption—such as through digitisation and exploring tokenisation of financial instruments and other use cases. With the right steps, Malaysia can position itself at the forefront of this global digital transformation.” – Prime Minister Dato’ Seri Anwar bin Ibrahim on X.

UPLIFTING CONNECTIONS

With Malaysia’s growing prominence in the global blockchain landscape, MYBW 2025 aims to bring together industry leaders, policymakers, project founders, venture capitalists, and Web3 pioneers to drive further growth.

MYBW’s focus is to bridge emerging blockchain opportunities with real-world applications to reinforce Malaysia’s burgeoning digital landscape in the global blockchain movement. From Web3 veterans to grassroots freshies, the Web3 playground has limitless potential for everyone.

As title sponsor of MYBW 2025, IOTA brings global credibility and nearly a decade of blockchain innovation to the event. IOTA stands out as one of the few projects in the industry that has consistently prioritized real-world adoption over short-term hype, delivering trusted infrastructure for governments, enterprises, and developers worldwide.

With the recent launch of its new Mainnet built on the Move programming language, IOTA delivers a secure, scalable, and programmable Layer 1 infrastructure that enables fast, cost-efficient transactions and advanced smart contract capabilities. As the first organization registered under the DLT Foundations Regulations of Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) and recognized as Shariah-compliant by the Cambridge Institute of Islamic Finance, IOTA brings a unique blend of regulatory credibility and ethical alignment – making it an ideal partner to help elevate MYBW 2025 as a global hub for blockchain innovation.

“IOTA is proud to be the title sponsor of Malaysia Blockchain Week 2025, marking a shared commitment to inclusive innovation and responsible technology. With our new Mainnet, we offer a secure and efficient foundation for a truly decentralized digital economy – and we look forward to connecting with builders across Malaysia who are ready to build their solutions on IOTA,” says Dominik Schiener, Co-Founder and Chairman of the IOTA Foundation.

MYBW is working hand-in-hand with the digital collective ARC, while also being proudly supported by Tourism Malaysia and Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC).

Other official partners joining this cause include new L2 blockchain Titan Chain, AI-platform Aimazin, crypto investment platform Luno, accessible blockchain solutions provider Masverse, digital currency trading platform Tokenize Xchange, open metaverse activation blockchain The Root Network, and more. Stay tuned for more official information from our media partners Etherscan, bitcoin.com, and more.

With all the right people in the right place, this launchpad will create a powerful platform for meaningful dialogue, strategic collaboration, investment opportunities, and forward-thinking solutions.

READY, SET, GO

This year, visitors can look forward to stacked activities and opportunities to network with both local and international names.

Keep an eye out for exclusive airdrop giveaways, keynotes, and various activations that truly bridge the gap between Web3 and reality. MYBW 2025 also welcomes the return of their popular Hackathon, Demo Day, VC Pitch Sessions and more than 100 side events to make the week a truly accomplished one.

Early bird tickets for MYBW are already available on the official website. There are a limited number of discounted tickets, so grab yours today!

EVENT DETAILS:

Date: 21 – 22 July 2025
Location: World Trade Centre Kuala Lumpur (WTCKL)
Website details: https://myblockchainweek.com/

About Lydian Labs

Lydian Labs is a full stack Web3 solutions provider focused on the APAC region and China, providing 3 main pillars of services: Advisory, Tech, and Marketing.

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To know more about Lydian Labs, visit https://bit.ly/LydianLabs or find them on X (formerly known as Twitter).

 

 

 

IBM Study: CEOs Double Down on AI While Navigating Enterprise Hurdles

  • CEO respondents say they expect the growth rate of AI investments will more than double over the next two years
  • 50% of surveyed CEOs report that rapid investment has resulted in disconnected technology within their organization

ARMONK, N.Y., May 6, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — A new global study by the IBM (NYSE: IBM) Institute for Business Value found that surveyed CEOs are committed to advancing AI solutions across their organization even as they face challenges from accelerating technology adoption.

IBM CEO study
IBM CEO study

The IBM CEO study,* which surveyed 2,000 CEOs globally, revealed that executive respondents expect the growth rate of AI investments to more than double in the next two years, and 61% confirm they are actively adopting AI agents today and preparing to implement them at scale.

According to the findings, 68% of surveyed CEOs identify integrated enterprise-wide data architecture as critical for cross-functional collaboration, and 72% view their organization’s proprietary data as key to unlocking the value of generative AI. However, the research indicates organizations may be struggling to cultivate an effective data environment: half (50%) of respondents acknowledge that the pace of recent investments has left their organization with disconnected, piecemeal technology.

In the foreword of the study, IBM Vice Chairman Gary Cohn writes, “As AI adoption accelerates creating greater efficiency, and productivity gains, the ultimate pay-off will only come to CEOs with the courage to embrace risk as opportunity. Meaning, focusing on what you can control, especially when there is so much you can’t. When the business environment is uncertain, using AI and your enterprise data to identify where you have leverage is a competitive advantage. At this point, leaders who aren’t leveraging AI and their own data to move forward are making a conscious business decision not to compete.”

“CEOs are balancing the pressures of short-term ROI and investing in long-term innovation when it comes to adopting AI,” said Mohamad Ali, Senior Vice President and Head of IBM Consulting. “But we know that organizations that keep innovating, especially during periods of uncertainty, will emerge stronger and be better positioned to capitalize on new opportunities.”

Other key findings include:

CEOs face competing pressures of short-term ROI and long-term innovation

  • Surveyed CEOs report that only 25% of AI initiatives have delivered expected ROI over the last few years, and only 16% have scaled enterprise wide.
  • To accelerate progress, two-thirds (65%) of CEO respondents say their organization is leaning into AI use cases based on ROI, with 68% reporting that their organization has clear metrics to measure innovation ROI effectively.
  • Just over half (52%) of CEO respondents say their organization is realizing value from generative AI investments beyond cost reduction.
  • 64% of CEOs surveyed acknowledge that the risk of falling behind drives investment in some technologies before they have a clear understanding of the value they bring to the organization, but only 37% say it’s better to be “fast and wrong” than “right and slow” when it comes to technology adoption.
  • 59% of surveyed CEOs admit their organization struggles to balance funding for existing operations and investment in innovation when unexpected change occurs, as 67% say more budget flexibility is needed to capitalize on digital opportunities that drive long-term growth and innovation.
  • By 2027, 85% of surveyed CEOs expect their investments in scaled AI efficiency and cost savings to have returned a positive ROI, while 77% expect to see a positive return from their investments in scaled AI growth and expansion.

CEOs see strategic leadership and specialized talent as essential to unlocking AI value, amid expertise and skills gaps

  • 69% of CEO respondents say their organization’s success is directly tied to maintaining a broad group of leaders with a deep understanding of strategy and the authority to make critical decisions.
  • 67% of CEOs surveyed say that differentiation depends on having the right expertise in the right positions with the right incentives.
  • CEOs cite lack of collaboration across organizational silos, aversion to risk and disruption, and lack of expertise and knowledge as top barriers to innovation in their organization.
  • Surveyed CEOs say roughly one-third (31%) of the workforce will require retraining and/or reskilling over the next three years, while 65% say their organization will use automation to address skill gaps.
  • 54% of CEO respondents say they are hiring for roles related to AI that did not exist a year ago.

To view the full study, visit: https://www.ibm.com/thought-leadership/institute-business-value/en-us/c-suite-study/ceo

*Study Methodology
The IBM Institute for Business Value, in cooperation with Oxford Economics, surveyed 2,000 CEOs from 33 countries and 24 industries between February and April 2025. Survey questions covered several key areas, including organizational performance, strategic priorities and innovation challenges. The survey also explored how companies manage change, adopt technology like AI, make decisions, leadership approaches, talent strategies, cultural readiness for transformation, collaboration efforts and regulatory concerns.

The IBM Institute for Business Value, IBM’s thought leadership think tank, combines global research and performance data with expertise from industry thinkers and leading academics to deliver insights that make business leaders smarter. For more world-class thought leadership, visit: www.ibm.com/ibv. To receive more insights, subscribe to the IdeaWatch newsletter: https://ibm.co/ibv-ideawatch

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.

Media Contact
Marisa Conway
IBM Communications
conwaym@us.ibm.com

IBM Corporation logo.
IBM Corporation logo.

Northern Thai Capital, Chiang Mai Shines Selected Host City of 6 International Conferences in 2025

CHIANG MAI, Thailand, May 6, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — The northern Thai capital of Chiang Mai enhances its performances as a MICE destination when the city wins trust to host 6 international conferences in 2025 and makes another stride in securing at least 1 international conference for 2026.

Northern Thai Capital, Chiang Mai Shines Selected Host City of 6 International Conferences in 2025
Northern Thai Capital, Chiang Mai Shines Selected Host City of 6 International Conferences in 2025

While Bangkok is mostly selected to stage international conferences, a sign of the diversification of host destination is now emerging. This year, Chiang Mai, a MICE City and economic center in northern Thailand, is a prime example when it is chosen to host 6 international conferences of various fields – engineering, medicine, environmental science and social science.

Each conference will take place in different venues, showing rich choices of properties in Chiang Mai. From Chiang Mai International Exhibition and Convention Centre to convention halls of five-star hotels.

Mr. Chiruit Isarangkun Na Ayuthaya, President of Thailand Convention and Exhibition Bureau (TCEB) stated: “We are proud that Chiang Mai, one of Thailand’s MICE Cities in the destination competitiveness plan of TCEB, has earned international confidence. The totally different venues chosen to host each conference speak volume of how organisers can maximise the capacity of Chiang Mai. What’s special is that while it offers comfort and convenience of modern-day city life, Chiang Mai features the setting of unique “Lanna” culture, beautiful ecological attractions and wealth of activities contributing to local communities. The city, thus, can ensure memorable and meaningful experiences of international delegates.”

The 6 international conferences which are expected to bring in 3,600 delegates are:

  • The 25th Asia-Australia Conference of Radiological Technologist (AACRT 2025) during 5-7 June at Chiangmai Grandview Hotel & Convention Center
  • The 7th International Conference on Public Policy 2025 (ICPP) during 2-4 July at Chiang Mai International Exhibition and Convention Centre
  • The 15th International Conference on Precision Engineering and Sustainable Manufacturing (PRESM) during 6-11 July at Chiang Mai Marriott Hotel
  • The Society of Instrument and Control Engineer Annual Conference (SICE) during 9-12 September at The Empress Hotel and Convention Centre
  • The 39th International Conference on Information Networking (ICOIN 2025) taking place during 15-17 January at Kantary Hills Hotel
  • The 2nd International Conference on Materials for Green Future taking place during 28 April – 1 May at Shangri-La Chiang Mai

The most updated win of Chiang Mai is that the city was chosen in March 2025 by International Festivals & Events Association – Asia (IFEA-Asia) to host IFEA Asia Pinnacle Awards & Asia Festival City Conference 2026 which is due between 4 and 6 February. This follows the success of the city in winning Asia Festival Award 2025 – Asia World Heritage City and Festival Asia Pinnacle Awards – Best Event Program & Best PR & Marketing for Yi Peng Festival.

Chiang Mai can be reached by 1.15 hrs flight from Bangkok and its international airport also operates direct flights to and from Phuket and Krabi in the South and Khon Kaen in the Northeast. For international flights, Chiang Mai is accessible from Mainland China, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar and Taiwan.

For more information, contact TCEB at: pr@tceb.or.th

Thailand MICE – Meet the Magic

About TCEB

A LEADING AGENCY AT THE FOREFRONT OF THAILAND’S MICE INDUSTRY

Established in 2004, Thailand Convention & Exhibition Bureau (Public Organization) or TCEB – the government agency under the supervision of the Prime Minister – has been assigned a role to promote, support and develop business events industry – corporate meetings, incentive trips, conventions, exhibitions, mega events and world festivals. Serving as a strategic partner, TCEB helps deliver creative ideas and solutions to bring success and fulfill the requirements of business events. The overarching goal is to drive Thailand to become a global MICE and mega events destination that can drive the country’s strategic industries and national economy.