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Microsoft Cloud will accelerate Asia’s post-pandemic economic growth, creating tens of thousands of jobs and billions of dollars in revenue in the next four years

Microsoft launches virtual datacenter tour to enable everyone to experience the foundation of work, life and play

 

SINGAPORE – Media OutReach – 21 April 2021 – As Asia moves out of the pandemic, cloud is not only a critical foundation for business resilience but will also be a key driver of the region’s next wave of economic growth. Recent research by IDC, shows that Microsoft’s most recent datacenter expansions in Malaysia, Indonesia, and Taiwan alone, in partnership with its ecosystem, are set to generate more than $21 billion in new revenues and will create 100,000 new jobs in the next four years[1]. Microsoft is also unveiling an immersive virtual datacenter tour to empower every individual to experience the foundation for today’s work, life, and play – the Microsoft Cloud.

Over the past year, we have seen digital transformation on an unprecedented scale. Entire industries have been reimagined, people have connected differently to work, live, learn and be entertained, resulting in real structural change that will outlast the COVID-19 pandemic. In response, Microsoft has accelerated the growth of its cloud datacenter footprint in Asia, expanding from seven to eleven markets to better support and co-innovate with customers and partners. As part of this expansion, the company announced the addition of cloud regions to four new markets across Asia – Malaysia, Indonesia, Taiwan and New Zealand. This expansion was combined with additional cloud infrastructure investments, empowering customers with faster access to the cloud and allowing for in-country data residency.

“There is no doubt that during the past year we have seen the acceleration of digital transformation efforts across all industries,” explains Ahmed Mazhari, President, Microsoft Asia. “Asia now accounts for sixty percent[2] of the world’s growth and is leading the global recovery with the digitalization of business models and economies. Cloud will continue to be a core foundation empowering the realization of Asia’s ambitions, enabling co-innovation across industries, government and community, to drive inclusive societal progress.”

In Malaysia, Celcom, a leading telecommunications company is embracing Microsoft Cloud in its pursuit towards becoming digital economy powerhouse in the region. “We highly applaud Microsoft’s plans to establish its first datacenter region in Malaysia, providing access to a secure, scalable, highly available, resilient and sustainable cloud services for the government, and across multiple industry verticals. As the anchor telco tenant, we look forward to bringing the benefit of this datacenter to our customers and partners” said Idham Nawawi, Chief Executive Officer of Celcom.

In healthcare, Shobana Kamineni, Executive Vice Chairperson, Apollo Hospitals, India’s leading integrated healthcare services provider which is offering round-the-clock virtual consultations with just 15 minutes notice commented: “Ultimately, all our transformation efforts center around providing seamless and secure healthcare experiences for our patients. With a trusted cloud infrastructure, we can not only improve patient engagements, but also have access to intelligent health insights for better patient outcomes. We are excited to see how this will continue to evolve, and how we can continuously combine our network and capabilities with Microsoft’s technological expertise as we look toward the future of healthcare.”

Building Asia’s cloud foundation for region’s technology-driven future

According to IDC, Microsoft, along with its ecosystem of partners and cloud-using customers, are expected to generate over $21 billion in new revenue and to create more than 110,000 jobs, including nearly 19,900 new skilled IT jobs, in Malaysia, Indonesia and Taiwan during the next four years[3].

  • Microsoft’s first-ever datacenter region in Malaysia, announced on April 19, will help generate up to USD $4.6 billion in new revenues for the country’s ecosystem of local partners and cloud-consuming customers and will create more than 19,000 new jobs[4].
  • Microsoft’s Indonesia datacenter region announced in February 2020 is forecast to add USD $6.3 billion to the revenues of local cloud-using customers and partners, contributing to the creation of nearly 60,000 jobs[5].
  • Microsoft’s Taiwan datacenter region, announced in October 2020, will add more than USD $10.4 billion in new revenues and will add approximately 30,720 jobs to the Taiwanese economy[6].
  • New Zealand’s datacenter region will be Microsoft’s first in the country, and the first by a major cloud provider.
  • A new Azure region in ChinaChina North – will effectively double the capacity of Microsoft’s intelligent cloud portfolio in the country during the coming years.
  • With existing and announced datacenter regions in Australia, China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore and Taiwan, Microsoft has also made a commitment to expand Azure Availability Zones to every country in which we operate a datacenter region by the end of 2021. For instance, last year it launched three Availability Zones in Australia.



[1] IDC Info Snapshot, sponsored by Microsoft, The Microsoft Cloud Dividend 2020: IDC #US46777220 October 2020

[2] IMF Regional Economic Outlook: Asia Pacific October 2018

[3] IDC Info Snapshot, sponsored by Microsoft, The Microsoft Cloud Dividend 2020: IDC #US46777220 October 2020

[4] IDC Info Snapshot, sponsored by Microsoft, The Microsoft Cloud Dividend Snapshot: Malaysia, Doc. #US46918020, October 2020

[5] IDC Info Snapshot, sponsored by Microsoft, The Microsoft Cloud Dividend Snapshot: Indonesia, Doc. # US47443521, February 2021

[6] IDC Info Snapshot, sponsored by Microsoft, “The Microsoft Cloud Dividend Snapshot: Taiwan,” Doc. #US46913920, October 2020

About Microsoft

Microsoft (Nasdaq “MSFT” @microsoft) enables digital transformation for the era of an intelligent cloud and an intelligent edge. Its mission is to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more.

Qumulo Expands Global Presence to Asia Pacific; Expands Strategic Partnership with Hewlett Packard Enterprise

Unprecedented Customer Demand for Managing Enterprise File Data at Scale Fuels Global Expansion

 

SINGAPORE – Media OutReach – 21 April 2021 Qumulo, the breakthrough leader in radically simplifying enterprise file data management across hybrid-cloud environments, today announced the expansion of its global operations to Asia-Pacific (APAC). Driven by increased demand in Australia, India, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand and Singapore, Qumulo also announced an expansion of its strategic partnership with Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) to deliver simplicity and performance to customers across the region including the People’s Majlis, Republic of Maldives.

“The Qumulo and HPE Solution has provided us the ability to seamlessly record live video streaming of our Parliament sessions. With its scale-out architecture, we do not have to worry if we run out of capacity,” said Ibrahim Yashau, CIO of the People’s Majlis, Republic of Maldives. “And thanks to Qumulo and InfoSight Management these tools help us to have real-time insights for both our data and hardware.”

The investment comes less than nine months after Qumulo announced its Series E round of funding, during which the company noted its plan to dedicate a portion of funds toward expanding its global operations. The expansion to APAC builds on the increasing demand for the Qumulo® File Data Platform in each of these countries from customers across major verticals, including healthcare, industrial manufacturing, automotive manufacturing, government, media and entertainment, and research computing.

“Our decision to expand to the Asia Pacific region was in response to strong demand from customers that are quickly building applications that generate enormous amounts of unstructured data to meet the needs of their businesses,” said Bill Richter, CEO of Qumulo. “Together with HPE, Qumulo is rapidly transforming the way customers manage their file data at scale by offering them a radically simple way to modernize their infrastructure through the power of software and the cloud.”

Qumulo and HPE have a long-standing and successful global partnership. Since 2017, the two organizations have worked together to offer the world’s leading file data platform to more than 100 countries worldwide. Today, HPE and Qumulo are further expanding their partnership to provide organizations in APAC unmatched file data management simplicity by combining Qumulo’s NVMe-optimized data platform software with the powerful innovation in HPE Proliant servers. Together, Qumulo and HPE are uniquely able to deliver a simpler way to deploy files at scale, with unmatched performance and security. Customers in APAC can now benefit from the latest data services in the Qumulo File Data Platform and the performance of NVMe leveraged in the latest technologies of the HPE DL325 Gen10 Plus.

“Our relationship with Qumulo allows for creative innovation and advanced modernization for IT infrastructure on a global scale,” said Joseph Yang, General Manager, Storage Sales Asia Pacific at HPE. “We are thrilled to be on the journey to take both of our organizations’ capabilities further within the APAC region through simplified file data deployment.”

The momentum in FY21 was driven by increased customer demand for massive-scale file data management. With more than 68% of customers managing a petabyte of file data, Qumulo customers create over one billion files and perform over 200 billion operations each day, 90 percent of which take less than one millisecond to execute. The heightened demand was further reflected in the company’s record net promoter score (NPS) of 91 for customer satisfaction in Q4 of FY21.

As the world continues to digitize everything and as file data becomes increasingly important across all industries, Qumulo is simplifying how companies store, manage and create with file data at massive scale. Now valued at more than $1.2 billion, Qumulo is focused on global growth and global expansion. The world’s largest organizations are marching toward a digital transformation, but the ability to digitize the workflows needed to create movies, develop vaccines, and enable AI and IoT applications with large-scale file data, is yet to be unleashed. Qumulo is at the intersection of two mega trends impacting IT: the digitalization of our world and the advent of cloud computing. Introducing Qumulo’s solutions creates opportunities for both private and public sectors in APAC to modernize their IT infrastructure holistically.

“The growth of unstructured data is universal. Everywhere data exists, customers will be searching for solutions that capture it and turn it into something that delivers value to their business. Customers all over the world understand the value of cloud adoption and want to embrace solutions that make file data simple,” said Matt Leib, Research Director, Infrastructure Systems, Platforms and Technologies Group at IDC.

Join Qumulo and HPE for a free virtual event, “Qonnect: Qumulo & HPE,” featuring an overview of the Qumulo File Data Platform and an interactive session highlighting local APAC customer use cases. Register today to hear more about how the power of a cloud-native file data platform radically simplifies enterprise data management.

Tweet This: #Qumulo expands global presence in Asia Pacific; Expands strategic partnership with @HPE and @HPE_APAC as customer demand for managing enterprise file data grows exponentially. https://bit.ly/3dnemY3

Resources

Qumulo File Data Platform

Qumulo and HPE

Qumulo Blog

About Qumulo, Inc.

Qumulo is the breakthrough leader in simplifying data management in its native file form at a massive scale across hybrid-cloud environments. Its high-performance file data platform is designed to store, manage and create workflows and applications with data in its native file form at massive scale on prem and in the public cloud. Qumulo is trusted by Fortune 500 companies, from major film and animation studios, to some of the largest research facilities in the world, to easily manage the full data lifecycle from ingestion, transformation, publishing and archiving with cost-effective capacity, dynamic scalability, automatic encryption, real-time visibility and an advanced API that enables customers to easily integrate Qumulo into their ecosystem and workflows. www.qumulo.com.

Qumulo, Qumulo Core and the Qumulo logo are registered trademarks or trademarks of Qumulo, Inc. All other marks and names herein may be trademarks of other companies. Copyright © 2021. All Rights Reserved.

Cityneon Raises S$235 Million; Well Positioned for Next Growth Chapter

  • The global experience entertainment company gets a S$235 million shot in the arm, closes its private fund raising in April 2021
  • Investors both new and existing include Singapore’s Pavilion Capital, Seatown Holdings International and EDBI, Qatar’s Doha Venture Capital and financial institutions and family offices in Singapore and China
  • These now join other existing Cityneon shareholders CITIC Capital, veteran entrepreneur and investor Mr. Johnson Ko, and Executive Chairman & Group CEO Mr. Ron Tan
  • Funding comes just after the Group acquired multi-year licensing rights for James Cameron’s AVATAR touring exhibition, and two original artefacts IP on the ancient civilization Machu Picchu from Peru and Ramses the Great (Ramses II) from Egypt
  • Investments position the Group well to bring experiences across the globe, targeting to launch six experiences in China and five in the U.S. by the end of 2021, with more in other parts of the world

SINGAPORE – Media OutReach – 21 April 2021 Cityneon Holdings (“Cityneon”, the “Company”/collectively with its subsidiaries, the “Group”) raised S$235 million in the most recent round of private funding. The latest round of funding adds seasoned investors to Cityneon’s already strong stable of shareholders.

This funding round was led by Singapore’s Pavilion Capital, Seatown Holdings International, EDBI, and Cityneon’s Executive Chairman & Group CEO, Mr. Ron Tan. EDBI and Pavilion Capital are existing shareholders of Cityneon whilst new investors include Seatown Holdings International, Qatar’s Doha Venture Capital, which will now own approximately 4 per cent of the Group, and other financial institutions and family offices in Singapore and China.

These now join other existing Cityneon shareholders CITIC Capital, veteran entrepreneur and investor Mr. Johnson Ko, and Executive Chairman & Group CEO Mr. Ron Tan to form a new and strong shareholder base for the Group. Mr. Johnson Ko and Mr. Ron Tan remain as the largest shareholders of the company via their combined entity, West Knighton Limited.

The Group is now well positioned for its next growth chapter and will use the proceeds for capital expenditure that includes building more of its various intellectual property (IP) exhibition sets, totaling 24 travelling and four semi-permanent sets under the Studio IP partnerships and three travelling sets under the original artefact IP partnerships by the end of 2022.

Already, the Group just signed its fifth IP rights with Avatar from 20th Century Studios last year. Amidst the anticipation from Avatar fans worldwide, Cityneon will debut a multi-sensory Avatar exhibition in Chengdu, China in May 2021, ahead of the Avatar movie sequel which is slated for release in 2022. Avatar is the world’s top grossing film of all time at over US$2.8 billion, and adding millions more after its successful re-release in China in March 2021. Avatar’s director James Cameron has announced that he will be producing four sequels with 20th Century Studios, with the first sequel slated for release next year. Disney acquired 20th Century Studios for US$71 billion in 2019.

The Company also recently entered the original artefacts IPs space and will stage international exhibitions of the treasures of the ancient civilization Machu Picchu from Peru in Boca Raton, Florida and Pharaoh Ramses II from Egypt in Houston, Texas. These two experiences will start welcoming visitors in October and November 2021, respectively.

Other IP rights that the Group holds include partnerships with Universal Studios for Jurassic World: The Exhibition, Marvel for Avengers S.T.A.T.I.O.N., Lionsgate for The Hunger Games: The Exhibition and Hasbro for Transformers Autobot Alliance. All in, Cityneon holds the IP rights for five of the top 10 worldwide box office hits and two artefacts IP from Peru and Egypt. The Group expects to have six sets of its various IP rights travelling across China, and five travelling and permanent sets in the United States, with a few more in other parts of the globe.

The Group will also be reopening experiences that were temporarily closed in 2020, aiming to provide visitors with a safe entertainment option. These include the Marvel Avengers S.T.A.T.I.O.N. in Toronto, Canada that will be re-opening in May 2021; and the Marvel Avengers S.T.A.T.I.O.N. exhibition in Lotte Mall in Seoul, Korea in April 2021; the same exhibition space which previously housed Jurassic World: The Exhibition, another IP experience exhibition by the Group in 2019. In the past month, the Group also witnessed record visitor numbers at their semi-permanent installations in Las Vegas, USA, signaling a strong comeback and demand for their immersive experiences, as they step into the 6th year of operations there.

While there are exciting plans lined up, the Group is not resting on its laurels. More Hollywood IPs and artefact IPs can be expected, and there will be further announcements on new IP verticals in entertainment experiences that the Group is looking to enter.

Mr. Ron Tan, Executive Chairman & Group CEO of Cityneon, said: “It is exciting that the Company is going through such strategic expansion as one of the largest providers of exhibition entertainment experiences globally. The S$235 million funding round sets a solid foundation for us to invest in developing more of our entertainment experiences, to stage even more exhibitions of the five box office hits and two artefact IPs that we hold the rights to all over the world. I’m thankful that our strong investors base, now from Singapore, Hong Kong, China and the Middle East, have trust in our vision, and believe alongside us that this space of big ideas and big experiences will only grow.”

By the end of this year, Cityneon will arguably be the largest provider of exhibition entertainment experiences internationally; with global footprints in more than 50 cities and welcoming 10 million unique visitors across the world by 2022.

Cityneon Holdings

With its global reach and international partnerships, Cityneon has the capability to serve its clients anywhere in the world. Cityneon was listed on the Mainboard of the Singapore Stock Exchange since 2005, and was privatized on February 2019 by West Knighton Limited, a company wholly owned by Cityneon’s Executive Chairman and Group CEO, Ron Tan, together with Hong Kong veteran entrepreneur and investor, Johnson Ko Chun Shun. Johnson is a capital markets veteran and has held controlling interests and directorships in many listed companies. In May 2019, Cityneon welcomed CITIC Capital as a new shareholder, who holds approximately 10% shares in Cityneon. CITIC Capital is part of CITIC Group, one of China’s largest conglomerates, and has over US$25b of assets under its management across 100 funds and investment products globally. Other institutional shareholders of the Group include EDBI – a Singapore government-linked global investor, and Pavilion Capital – a Singapore-based investment institution which focuses on private equity investments, that made strategic investments in August and October 2019 respectively, to support the Group’s further expansion globally. For more information, please visit www.cityneongroup.com.

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Sunlight Real Estate Investment Trust Operational Statistics for the Third Quarter of the Financial Year 2020/21

HONG KONG SAR – Media OutReach – 20 April 2021 – Henderson Sunlight Asset Management Limited (the “Manager“), as manager of Sunlight Real Estate Investment Trust (“Sunlight REIT“), announces the operational statistics of Sunlight REIT for the third quarter of the financial year 2020/21.

At 31 March 2021, the occupancy rate of Sunlight REIT’s portfolio was 92.7% as compared to 91.5% at 31 December 2020. Office occupancy rate increased to 91.2% (31 December 2020: 90.1%), while retail occupancy rate also exhibited a mild improvement to 96.0% (31 December 2020: 94.5%), principally led by new letting activities at Metro City Phase I Property (“MCPI“).

The overall passing rent of Sunlight REIT’s portfolio was HK$48.1 per sq. ft. at 31 March 2021 (31 December 2020: HK$48.7 per sq. ft.). During the quarter under review, the office and retail portfolios registered negative rental reversions of 4.1% and 14.9% respectively, reflecting the still difficult business environment due to COVID-19.

In respect of the office portfolio, Dah Sing Financial Centre (previously known as Sunlight Tower) registered a steady occupancy rate of 88.5% at 31 March 2021 with a negative rental reversion of 1.5% for the quarter. Meanwhile, higher occupancy rates at the office properties in Sheung Wan/Central had been witnessed, illustrating the gradual recovery in demand for inexpensive spaces from local small-to-medium enterprises.

On the retail front, occupancy rates of Sheung Shui Centre Shopping Arcade (“SSC“) and MCPI were 93.4% and 96.7% respectively. The passing rent of SSC recorded a 2.0% quarter on quarter decline to HK$103.5 per sq. ft., mainly reflecting lower committed rents for certain fashion and jewellery tenants, the performance of which were heavily impacted by the absence of tourists’ spending. On the other hand, MCPI maintained a relatively stable passing rent of HK$56.8 per sq. ft..

Remarks: Attached operational statistics of Sunlight REIT for the third quarter of the financial year 2020/21.

Operational statistics for the third quarter of the financial year 2020/21

Property

Location

Occupancy Rate (%) 1

Passing Rent (HK$/sq. ft.) 2

at 31 Mar 21

at 31 Dec 20

at 31 Mar 21

at 31 Dec 20

Office

Dah Sing Financial Centre3

Wan Chai

88.5

88.8

44.7

44.9

Strand 50

Sheung Wan

91.3

87.2

32.8

33.2

The Harvest

Mong Kok

100.0

100.0

53.1

53.3

135 Bonham Strand Trade Centre Property

Sheung Wan

89.0

87.3

28.7

29.3

Winsome House Property

Central

88.6

85.8

44.9

45.5

Righteous Centre

Mong Kok

98.5

99.3

33.9

34.4

235 Wing Lok Street Trade Centre

Sheung Wan

88.6

86.8

21.1

21.3

Java Road 108 Commercial Centre

North Point

96.1

96.1

25.3

25.4

On Loong Commercial Building

Wan Chai

98.0

96.0

31.7

32.0

Sun Fai Commercial Centre Property

Mong Kok

100.0

93.1

22.0

23.0

Wai Ching Commercial Building Property

Yau Ma Tei

94.5

94.5

17.6

17.6

Average

91.2

90.1

37.4

37.8

Retail

Sheung Shui Centre Shopping Arcade

Sheung Shui

93.4

92.9

103.5

105.6

Metro City Phase I Property

Tseung Kwan O

96.7

94.3

56.8

57.3

Kwong Wah Plaza Property

Yuen Long

100.0

99.3

53.6

53.4

Beverley Commercial Centre Property

Tsim Sha Tsui

81.9

80.3

34.0

34.5

Supernova Stand Property

North Point

100.0

100.0

57.2

54.5

Average

96.0

94.5

70.0

71.0

Average

92.7

91.5

48.1

48.7

Notes:

1. Calculated on the basis of occupied gross rentable area (“GRA“) as a proportion of total GRA on the relevant date.

2. Calculated on the basis of average rent per sq. ft. for occupied GRA on the relevant date.

3. The property was previously known as Sunlight Tower.

About Sunlight REIT

Sunlight REIT (Stock code: 435) is a real estate investment trust authorized by the Securities and Futures Commission and constituted by the trust deed dated 26 May 2006 (as amended and supplemented by six supplemental deeds), and has been listed on The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited on 21 December 2006. Sunlight REIT offers investors the opportunity to invest in a diversified portfolio of 11 office and five retail properties in Hong Kong with a total gross rentable area of approximately 1.2 million sq. ft.. The office properties are primarily located in core business areas, including Wan Chai and Sheung Wan, as well as in decentralized business areas such as Mong Kok and North Point. The key retail properties are situated in regional transportation hubs and new towns including Sheung Shui, Tseung Kwan O and Yuen Long.

About the Manager

The Manager of Sunlight REIT is an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of Henderson Land Development Company Limited. Its main responsibility is to manage Sunlight REIT and all of its assets in accordance with the Trust Deed in the sole interest of its unitholders.

Disclaimer: The information contained in this press release does not constitute an offer or invitation to sell or the solicitation of an offer or invitation to purchase or subscribe for units in Sunlight REIT in Hong Kong or any other jurisdiction.

TuneCore Expands Operations into Southeast Asia, Spearheaded by Cyrus Chen

The leading digital music distribution service provider for independent artists worldwide continues its global expansion, making its debut in Southeast Asia

 

BANGKOK, THAILAND – Media OutReach – 20 April 2021 – TuneCore, a global leader in digital music distribution for independent artists worldwide has officially launched operations across Southeast Asia (SEA). TuneCore is owned by Believe, one of the world’s leading digital music companies based in Paris. Believe currently operates in 50+ countries and together, the two companies distribute a significant share of the world’s digital music. Earlier this year, TuneCore launched operations in LATAM and Africa, bringing its total presence to 14 countries in 4 continents, and thereby making the company the independent DIY distributor with the largest global footprint.

TuneCore distributes music to a network of more than 150 digital stores and streaming services worldwide, including Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube Music, JOOX, KKBox, Amazon Music, TikTok, QQ Music and Netease. The company boasts 14 localized and fully translated websites, including Southeast Asian languages Thai and Bahasa (Indonesia). The Vietnamese and Mandarin (simplified and traditional) versions of the website are expected to be added later this year, bringing the total to 16 languages for 2021, by far the most of its competitors.

TuneCore’s operations in Southeast Asia will be spearheaded by Cyrus Chen, who joined the company in late 2020. Prior to joining TuneCore, Cyrus worked with organizations such as Changi Travel Services and eatigo International, where he was responsible in conceptualising and orchestrating strategic plans that reinforced brand image and helped companies develop integrated business strategies to scale across regions.

Said Faryal Khan-Thompson, Vice President, International, TuneCore to whom Cyrus will report, “In the Southeast Asia market, the music industry is growing at a steady pace, with the number of potential music listeners in Asia exceeding 3.5 billion[1]. With Cyrus at the helm, TuneCore is uniquely positioned to help independent artists in Southeast Asia grow their fan base through the company’s game changing education, best in class tools and wide ranging global reach, all while allowing artists to keep all rights to their music and earn 100% of 100% of their revenues,”

Cyrus Chen, Head of TuneCore, SEA

Commenting on TuneCore’s expansion, Cyrus said, “I am honored to join TuneCore and work with Faryal and the larger team to introduce the company’s services to Southeast Asia. We are an emerging music market with vast potential and a diverse population of varying cultures and languages. TuneCore’s parent company Believe entered the market in 2013 and has since developed a deep understanding of each country’s local music scene. TuneCore is leveraging that deep local industry knowledge to build our offerings, catered to the specific needs of independent DIY artists in the region, with scalable services at a competitve price, while supplying high value.”

Sylvain Delange, Managing Director Asia Pacific, Believe expressed, “TuneCore’s deep commitment to champion independent artists from all four corners of the world is in line with our vision [at Believe] to propel artists’ growth. There is an opportunity for TuneCore & Believe to further contribute to the growth of the thriving Southeast Asia independent artists community and help them take advantage of the exponential growth to come in the digital space while still allowing musicians to continue to maintain control and ownership of their work. Together, we are excited and are confident we’ll provide the most comprehensive set of services and products to artists in the Southeast Asian market.”

The region is ripe for partnerships and activations, as demonstrated by Cyrus’ already robust slew of country-specific initiatives. Highlights are below:

Thailand: Thai-ing things together with FungJai

TuneCore has collaborated with FungJai, a music community that connects musicians and their fans through engaging online platforms and offline activities, such as music streaming, an online magazine, concerts, and seminars. TuneCore and FungJai will work together to develop educational content curated for DIY artists and their unique needs across FungJai’s platforms.

For more information about TuneCore, please visit their website at https://www.tunecore.com/. For additional press materials, please check out this Google Drive link.

About TuneCore

TuneCore is the global platform for independent musicians to build audiences and careers – with technology and services across distribution, publishing administration and a range of promotional services. TuneCore Music Distribution services help artists, labels and managers sell their music through Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, JioSaavn, Deezer, TikTok and more than 150 download and streaming stores worldwide, while retaining 100 percent of their sales revenue and rights for a low annual flat fee. TuneCore Music Publishing Administration assists songwriters by administering their compositions through licensing, registration, worldwide royalty collections, and placement opportunities in film, TV, commercials, video games and more. The TuneCore Artist Services portal offers a suite of tools and services that enable artists to promote their craft, connect with fans, and get their music heard. TuneCore, part of Believe, is headquartered in Brooklyn, NY, with offices in Los Angeles, Nashville, Atlanta, and Austin, and global operations in the UK, Australia, Japan, Canada, Germany, France, Italy, Russia, India, Brazil as well as the LATAM, Africa and SEA markets. www.tunecore.com

About Believe

Believe is a world leading digital music company, helping artists and labels to build their audiences and careers, at all stages of their development, in all local markets around the world with respect, expertise, fairness and transparency. Pioneer in the digital world, Believe has developed an in-house technology & data organization, providing global distribution and digital marketing solutions. With more than 1,500 professionals in 50+ countries, Believe owns several brands, labels and companies including TuneCore, Nuclear Blast, Naïve, Groove Attack and AllPoints. www.believe.com

TuneCore Expands Global Operations into Southeast Asia Region, Spearheaded by Cyrus Chen

The leading digital music distribution service provider for independent artists worldwide continues its global expansion, making its debut in Southeast Asia

 

JARKARTA, INDONESIA – Media OutReach – 20 April 2021 – TuneCore, a global leader in digital music distribution for independent artists worldwide has officially launched operations across Southeast Asia (SEA). TuneCore is owned by Believe, one of the world’s leading digital music companies based in Paris. Believe currently operates in 50+ countries and together, the two companies distribute a significant share of the world’s digital music. Earlier this year, TuneCore launched operations in LATAM and Africa, bringing its total presence to 14 countries in 4 continents, and thereby making the company the independent DIY distributor with the largest global footprint.

TuneCore distributes music to a network of more than 150 digital stores and streaming services worldwide, including Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube Music, JOOX, KKBox, Amazon Music, TikTok, QQ Music and Netease. The company boasts 14 localized and fully translated websites, including Southeast Asian languages Thai and Bahasa (Indonesia). The Vietnamese and Mandarin (simplified and traditional) versions of the website are expected to be added later this year, bringing the total to 16 languages for 2021, by far the most of its competitors.

TuneCore’s operations in Southeast Asia will be spearheaded by Cyrus Chen, who joined the company in late 2020. Prior to joining TuneCore, Cyrus worked with organizations such as Changi Travel Services and eatigo International, where he was responsible in conceptualising and orchestrating strategic plans that reinforced brand image and helped companies develop integrated business strategies to scale across regions.

Said Faryal Khan-Thompson, Vice President, International, TuneCore to whom Cyrus will report, “In the Southeast Asia market, the music industry is growing at a steady pace, with the number of potential music listeners in Asia exceeding 3.5 billion[1]. With Cyrus at the helm, TuneCore is uniquely positioned to help independent artists in Southeast Asia grow their fan base through the company’s game changing education, best in class tools and wide ranging global reach, all while allowing artists to keep all rights to their music and earn 100% of 100% of their revenues,”

Cyrus Chen, Head of TuneCore, SEA

Commenting on TuneCore’s expansion, Cyrus said, “I am honored to join TuneCore and work with Faryal and the larger team to introduce the company’s services to Southeast Asia. We are an emerging music market with vast potential and a diverse population of varying cultures and languages. TuneCore’s parent company Believe entered the market in 2013 and has since developed a deep understanding of each country’s local music scene. TuneCore is leveraging that deep local industry knowledge to build our offerings, catered to the specific needs of independent DIY artists in the region, with scalable services at a competitve price, while supplying high value.”

Sylvain Delange, Managing Director Asia Pacific, Believe expressed, “TuneCore’s deep commitment to champion independent artists from all four corners of the world is in line with our vision [at Believe] to propel artists’ growth. There is an opportunity for TuneCore & Believe to further contribute to the growth of the thriving Southeast Asia independent artists community and help them take advantage of the exponential growth to come in the digital space while still allowing musicians to continue to maintain control and ownership of their work. Together, we are excited and are confident we’ll provide the most comprehensive set of services and products to artists in the Southeast Asian market.”

The region is ripe for partnerships and activations, as demonstrated by Cyrus’ already robust slew of country-specific initiatives. Highlights are below:

Indonesia: Elevating local voices with HOOKSpace

TuneCore has partnered up with HOOKSpace, an Indonesian music media company which focuses on up-and-coming local talent. Through this partnership, TuneCore and HOOKSpace will provide independent artists with education on marketing, promotion and best ways to navigate their careers in order to reach the widest audiences.

For more information about TuneCore, please visit their website at https://www.tunecore.com/. For additional press materials, please check out this Google Drive link.

About TuneCore

TuneCore is the global platform for independent musicians to build audiences and careers – with technology and services across distribution, publishing administration and a range of promotional services. TuneCore Music Distribution services help artists, labels and managers sell their music through Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, JioSaavn, Deezer, TikTok and more than 150 download and streaming stores worldwide, while retaining 100 percent of their sales revenue and rights for a low annual flat fee. TuneCore Music Publishing Administration assists songwriters by administering their compositions through licensing, registration, worldwide royalty collections, and placement opportunities in film, TV, commercials, video games and more. The TuneCore Artist Services portal offers a suite of tools and services that enable artists to promote their craft, connect with fans, and get their music heard. TuneCore, part of Believe, is headquartered in Brooklyn, NY, with offices in Los Angeles, Nashville, Atlanta, and Austin, and global operations in the UK, Australia, Japan, Canada, Germany, France, Italy, Russia, India, Brazil as well as the LATAM, Africa and SEA markets. www.tunecore.com

About Believe

Believe is a world leading digital music company, helping artists and labels to build their audiences and careers, at all stages of their development, in all local markets around the world with respect, expertise, fairness and transparency. Pioneer in the digital world, Believe has developed an in-house technology & data organization, providing global distribution and digital marketing solutions. With more than 1,500 professionals in 50+ countries, Believe owns several brands, labels and companies including TuneCore, Nuclear Blast, Naïve, Groove Attack and AllPoints. www.believe.com

Two New Cases of Covid-19 Confirmed in Laos Involving Illegal Entrants

Covid-19 update in Laos

Laos has confirmed two new cases of Covid-19 today involving illegal entries from Thailand.

Cyrus Chen Leads TuneCore’s Expansion Into Southeast Asia

The leading digital music distribution service provider for independent artists worldwide continues its global expansion, making its debut in Southeast Asia

 

KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA – Media OutReach – 20 April 2021 – TuneCore, a global leader in digital music distribution for independent artists worldwide has officially launched operations across Southeast Asia (SEA). TuneCore is owned by Believe, one of the world’s leading digital music companies based in Paris. Believe currently operates in 50+ countries and together, the two companies distribute a significant share of the world’s digital music. Earlier this year, TuneCore launched operations in LATAM and Africa, bringing its total presence to 14 countries in 4 continents, and thereby making the company the independent DIY distributor with the largest global footprint.

TuneCore distributes music to a network of more than 150 digital stores and streaming services worldwide, including Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube Music, JOOX, KKBox, Amazon Music, TikTok, QQ Music and Netease. The company boasts 14 localized and fully translated websites, including Southeast Asian languages Thai and Bahasa (Indonesia). The Vietnamese and Mandarin (simplified and traditional) versions of the website are expected to be added later this year, bringing the total to 16 languages for 2021, by far the most of its competitors.

TuneCore’s operations in Southeast Asia will be spearheaded by Cyrus Chen, who joined the company in late 2020. Prior to joining TuneCore, Cyrus worked with organizations such as Changi Travel Services and eatigo International, where he was responsible in conceptualising and orchestrating strategic plans that reinforced brand image and helped companies develop integrated business strategies to scale across regions.

Said Faryal Khan-Thompson, Vice President, International, TuneCore to whom Cyrus will report, “In the Southeast Asia market, the music industry is growing at a steady pace, with the number of potential music listeners in Asia exceeding 3.5 billion[1]. With Cyrus at the helm, TuneCore is uniquely positioned to help independent artists in Southeast Asia grow their fan base through the company’s game changing education, best in class tools and wide ranging global reach, all while allowing artists to keep all rights to their music and earn 100% of 100% of their revenues,”

Cyrus Chen, Head of TuneCore, SEA

Commenting on TuneCore’s expansion, Cyrus said, “I am honored to join TuneCore and work with Faryal and the larger team to introduce the company’s services to Southeast Asia. We are an emerging music market with vast potential and a diverse population of varying cultures and languages. TuneCore’s parent company Believe entered the market in 2013 and has since developed a deep understanding of each country’s local music scene. TuneCore is leveraging that deep local industry knowledge to build our offerings, catered to the specific needs of independent DIY artists in the region, with scalable services at a competitve price, while supplying high value.”

Sylvain Delange, Managing Director Asia Pacific, Believe expressed, “TuneCore’s deep commitment to champion independent artists from all four corners of the world is in line with our vision [at Believe] to propel artists’ growth. There is an opportunity for TuneCore & Believe to further contribute to the growth of the thriving Southeast Asia independent artists community and help them take advantage of the exponential growth to come in the digital space while still allowing musicians to continue to maintain control and ownership of their work. Together, we are excited and are confident we’ll provide the most comprehensive set of services and products to artists in the Southeast Asian market.”

The region is ripe for partnerships and activations, as demonstrated by Cyrus’ already robust slew of country-specific initiatives. Highlights are below:

Singapore: Roaring it live with SGMUSO

Earlier this year, TuneCore celebrated its 15th anniversary by donating to SGMUSO‘s Musician Support Fund (MSF), which supports the Fund-A-Gig program. This is the 3rd edition of Fund-A-Gig in the last 12 months, and was created to support Singapore’s musicians and artists who have lost performance opportunities and revenue due to the prolonged effects of COVID-19 on the nightlife and live music industry.

For more information about TuneCore, please visit their website at https://www.tunecore.com/. For additional press materials, please check out this Google Drive link.

About TuneCore

TuneCore is the global platform for independent musicians to build audiences and careers – with technology and services across distribution, publishing administration and a range of promotional services. TuneCore Music Distribution services help artists, labels and managers sell their music through Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, JioSaavn, Deezer, TikTok and more than 150 download and streaming stores worldwide, while retaining 100 percent of their sales revenue and rights for a low annual flat fee. TuneCore Music Publishing Administration assists songwriters by administering their compositions through licensing, registration, worldwide royalty collections, and placement opportunities in film, TV, commercials, video games and more. The TuneCore Artist Services portal offers a suite of tools and services that enable artists to promote their craft, connect with fans, and get their music heard. TuneCore, part of Believe, is headquartered in Brooklyn, NY, with offices in Los Angeles, Nashville, Atlanta, and Austin, and global operations in the UK, Australia, Japan, Canada, Germany, France, Italy, Russia, India, Brazil as well as the LATAM, Africa and SEA markets. www.tunecore.com

About Believe

Believe is a world leading digital music company, helping artists and labels to build their audiences and careers, at all stages of their development, in all local markets around the world with respect, expertise, fairness and transparency. Pioneer in the digital world, Believe has developed an in-house technology & data organization, providing global distribution and digital marketing solutions. With more than 1,500 professionals in 50+ countries, Believe owns several brands, labels and companies including TuneCore, Nuclear Blast, Naïve, Groove Attack and AllPoints. www.believe.com