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IFTA Fintech Achievement Awards 2020 Winners Announced Recognizing Outstanding Fintech Enterprises and Professionals

Former HKMA Chief Executive Norman Chan and former MPFA Deputy Chairman and Managing Director Alice Law crowned prestigious Iconic Stars

HONG KONG SAR – Media OutReach – 19 August 2021 – Organized by the Institute of Financial Technologists of Asia (IFTA), the IFTA FinTech Achievement Awards 2020 Presentation Ceremony was held today (19 August 2021) at the Hong Kong Productivity Council. Under Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury Mr Joseph Chan, JP attended as the Guest of Honour of the Ceremony. Former Hong Kong Monetary Authority Chief Executive Mr Norman Chan and Former Mandatory Provident Fund Authority Deputy Chair and Managing Director Ms Alice Law received the prestigious Iconic Star awards.

In its third edition, the IFTA FinTech Achievement Awards of this year was themed “Embracing FinTech amid New Normal and Accelerating Digitization” to celebrate enterprises and individuals that have embraced industry trends emerging amidst new normal with innovative financial technology. Responding to fintech development and market evolution, the “Corporate Achievements in FinTech Awards” were divided into “FinTech Solutions” and “Advanced Technology” categories to honour fintech and technology in multiple sectors. The Awards attracted participation from over 55 companies under 14 award categories, of which the “Regulatory Tech” category received the most entries.

Specially introduced in this edition, the prestigious “Iconic Star” award honours invaluable contribution of long serving fintech industry leaders. The winners are Mr Norman Chan, GBS, former Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, and Ms Alice Law, former Deputy Chairman and Managing Director of Mandatory Provident Fund Authority.

Former Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority Mr Norman Chan, GBS mentions, “Many financial firms have been rather slow to embrace the advance of the digital age, and lost their customers. We should bear in mind that access to the best Fintech is by no means monopolised by BigTech firms.  Instead it is available to any conventional financial firms that have an open mind and willing to make very good use of it.”

Former Deputy Chairman and Managing Director of Mandatory Provident Fund Authority Ms Alice Law says, “Hong Kong in many ways is ahead of the curve in its Fintech evolution, and Fintech application has become more popular amongst users. However, if a new digital economy is our ultimate goal, then efforts will have to be stepped up to broaden our talent pool that is capable of mastering, in an agile manner, business and operational needs of financial services which will be driven mainly by technological applications.”

Officiating guest of the Ceremony Under Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury, Hong Kong SAR Government Mr Joseph Chan, JP mentions, “The Government has launched a Proof-of-Concept (PoC) subsidy scheme so to encourage licensed financial institutions to partner with startups and develop PoC projects applicable in actual business scenarios. The scheme has already received over 160 applications. I am very excited about the projects resulting from the subsidy scheme, and I also look forward to see it being widely adopted by more financial institutions in Hong Kong.”

“Entries of the Award this year were evaluated based on five elements: innovative technology, ethics, professionalism, contribution and teamwork,” IFTA Founder and Chairman Mr Paul Pong said. “We aim to draw enterprises’ attention to the needs of the industry and the society when they develop technology products so that more financial institutions and a wider public can benefit.”

At the FinTech Achievement Awards 2020 Presentation Ceremony today, 44 corporate achievement awards and 14 individual awards were presented.

As an organization representing fintech professionals in Hong Kong, IFTA is committed to following the government policy of promoting the collaboration among the government, industry, academic and research sectors in the innovation and technology industry. At the IFTA FinTech Achievement Awards 2020 Presentation Ceremony, winners of the IFTA Girls in Tech Hackathon were also presented. Successfully held on 7 and 8 August, the IFTA Girls in Tech Hackathon aimed to promote STEM education and encourage female students and youngsters to get involved in innovative technology and FinTech. Five winning secondary school teams received certificates and trophies on stage today. The Hackathon serves as a link between students aspiring to a career in innovative technology and industry practitioners, and promotes the continuity of fintech and innovative technology, while demonstrating IFTA’s devotion to a diversified and equal fintech industry.

Winners of Corporate Achievements in FinTech (for corporates, NGOs, and start-ups)

Award Categories

Awardees Companies

Award Level

FinTech Solutions

Regulatory Tech

Fano Labs Limited

Diamond

Eureka FinTech Limited

Platinum

iFinGate Limited

Platinum

Regtics

Platinum

WIZPRESSO

Platinum

BIBO Limited

Gold

FORMS SYNTRON Information (HK) Limited

(FORMS HK)

Gold

NFC Touch Limited

Silver

Seneca ESG

Silver

Insurance Tech

CoverGo Limited

Platinum

Ignatica

Platinum

Prudential Hong Kong Ltd.

Gold

Payment Tech

eft Payments (Asia) Limited

Platinum

QFPay Haojin Fintech Limited

Platinum

Asia Top Loyalty Limited

Gold

Oceanpayment Co., Ltd.

Gold

Octopus Cards Limited

Gold

Tips Dollar (HK) Limited

Silver

Trade Financing Tech

Velotrade Management Limited

Silver

Blockchain, Currency and CEP

(Cryptoasset Exchange Providers)

Custonomy Company Limited

Platinum

IX Fintech Group Limited

Platinum

Alpha Finnovate Limited

Gold

Blockchain Solutions Limited

Gold

FORMS SYNTRON Information (HK) Limited

(FORMS HK)

Gold

Genesis Block Limited

Gold

Amigo Tech Limited

Silver

Dragonbite Tech Pte. Ltd.

Silver

Banking Tech

Hang Seng Bank

Platinum

Ping An OneConnect Bank (Hong Kong) Limited

Platinum

FORMS SYNTRON Information (HK) Limited

(FORMS HK) – Credit Card Gamification

Silver

FORMS SYNTRON Information (HK) Limited

(FORMS HK) – Next Generation B2B Banking

Silver

Fuyuan Global

Silver

Wealth Management Tech

CONTRENDIAN

Diamond

Linnovate Partners Limited

Gold

TRANSIN

Gold

ALGOGENE FINANCIAL TECHNOLOGY COMPANY

LIMITED

Silver

Fuyuan Securities

Silver

Lu International (Hong Kong)Limited

Silver

eMPF Tech

BCT Group

Gold

Advanced Technology

Artificial Intelligence

OneConnect Financial Technology (Hong Kong)

Co., Ltd

Platinum

Big Data

DATAGO TECHNOLOGY LIMITED

Platinum

ALGOGENE FINANCIAL TECHNOLOGY COMPANY

LIMITED

Silver

Cloud Computing

FORMS SYNTRON Information (HK) Limited

(FORMS HK)

Silver

Outstanding Financial Technologists of the Year


Award Categories

Awardees

Award Level

Leader of the Year

Jess CHENG

Eureka Holding Limited

Excellence

Lanny YANG

Oceanpayment Co., Ltd.

Excellence

Tomas HOLUB

CoverGo Limited

Merit

LAU Kin Wah, Kenneth

FORMS SYNTRON Information (HK) Limited

(FORMS HK)

Merit

CHAN Wing Fung Raymond Savio

Fuyuan Global

Merit

Rising Star of the Year

TUNG Wing Shan, Sandra

FORMS SYNTRON Information (HK) Limited

(FORMS HK)

Excellence

Charles S.K. WONG

Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited

(HKEX)

Excellence

LAM Fuk Ming

ALGOGENE FINANCIAL TECHNOLOGY COMPANY

LIMITED

Merit

WONG Sin Yi, Elly

FORMS SYNTRON Information (HK) Limited

(FORMS HK)

Merit

Cherrie LIU

ORIX Asia Limited

Merit

Star in the Making

HO Kin Ting David

Hong Kong Baptist University

Excellence

CHAN Wai Yan Vanessa

The Hong Kong University of Science and

Technology

Merit


The Prestige Award (recommended by the organiser and/or jury panel)

 

Iconic Star

Mr Norman Chan, GBS

Former Chief Executive of Hong Kong Monetary Authority

Ms Alice Law

Former Deputy Chairman and Managing Director of Mandatory Provident Fund Schemes Authority

 

Corporate Achievements in 5G

Hutchison Telecommunications Hong Kong Holdings Limited – 3 Hong Kong

 Winners of IFTA Girls in Tech Hackathon

Award

School

Award Winners

Champion

HKUGA College

SO Eliz Bonnie

SHUNG Ka Kiu

WONG Megan

HO Nga Kiu Kelly

1st Runner-Up

Ying Wa Girls’ School

TANG Yui Ying

WANG Jun Wei Serena

2nd Runner-Up

Carmel Pak U Secondary School

FUNG Cheuk Ki

LEUNG Hoi Lun

NG Sea Rain

YEUNG Wun Lam

Merit Award

Cheung Chuk Shan College

LAU Wing Yan

WONG Sze Ting

Merit Award

St. Paul’s Secondary School

TO Hiu Laam

JUEN Hiu Lam

KOON Ho Ching Matty

YAN Tung

 

Click here to download high-res pictures of the event.

 

Event pictures:

 

Photo 1: Winners and guests at the FinTech Achievement Awards 2020 presentation ceremony

 

Photo 2: Speech by IFTA Founder and Chairman Mr Paul Pong

 

Photo 3: Former Hong Kong Monetary Authority Chief Executive Mr Norman Chan and former Mandatory Provident Fund Authority Deputy Chairman and Managing Director Ms Alice Law received Iconic Star awards

 

Photo 4: Winning teams of IFTA Girls in Tech Hackathon


About IFTA

The Institute of Financial Technologists of Asia Limited (IFTA) is an NPO established in Hong Kong in September 2017; to uphold the professional standard of Financial Technologists in Asia and create an ecosystem for global fintech talents to be connected. In the witness of HKSAR Government representatives, and the City of London at the signing ceremony, IFTA entered a collaboration agreement with the Certificate in Finance and Technology (CFT) from the United Kingdom to introduce the first CFT program in Asia. Besides delivering certification, IFTA also organises events including boot camps, seminars, and an annual award to accelerate Fintech education and industry engagement among government, regulators, universities, enterprises, and start-ups.

#IFTA

TÜV Rheinland’s Webinar: Greener Finance’s best friends – ESG ratings and Technical standards

HONG KONG SAR – Media OutReach – 19 August 2021 – The world has agreed to Green/Sustainable Finance as one of the major tools for climate impact mitigation and adaptation, and NOW is the time for the decade of action to take effect. A lot is happening in the Environmental, Social, Governance (ESG) space, and has been for some time. To label a company or an investment fund “green” or “sustainable” is a must nowadays if you want to attract investors.

At this webinar on 1 September 2021 (Wed) 10 am – 11:30 am (GMT+8), organized by TÜV Rheinland Hong Kong, speaking respectively on policy drivers for Green/Sustainable Finance, decision-useful reporting standards & metrics, and converting data/metrics to actionable ratings will be Rakesh Vazirani, Head of Sustainability Services, TÜV Rheinland together with Jennifer Chan, Chairman and Non-Executive Director, DT Capital, Chad Spitler, Founder & CEO, Third Economy, and Katie Schmitz-Eulitt, Director of Investor Relationships – SASB, Value Reporting Foundation.

Government and policymaker interest in sustainable finance and investment has grown dramatically since the start of the century. Of the policies identified by the PRI, 95% have been developed since the year 2000. The pace continues to increase – the PRI identified 124 new or revised policy instruments in 2020, the highest number so far and 32 more than the previous year. As sustainable finance and investment policies are developed, driving investments towards sustainable, inclusive, and zero-carbon economies will require aligning regulatory frameworks globally.

Businesses and investors today face a particular challenge when it comes to sustainability and corporate responsibility. We know that awareness and performance in sustainability writ large correlates to better financial performance, and that higher levels of mandatory reporting of sustainability metrics in various forms are required across the globe in order to provide comparable metrics within and across sectors. Comparable metrics are critical to the policy decisions that need to be made to address global sustainability challenges. To date, ‘best metrics’ selection has been driven in large part through consensus building across stakeholder groups.

Key ESG data can play a significant role in understanding the risks and opportunities likely to influence that potential. Investors are eager to see financially material sustainability data become more readily available and more standardized, and they laud participating companies for contributing to that vision. Investors also prefer that ESG performance be broken out at the function or business unit level to allow for apples-to-apples comparisons.

To learn more about the latest ESG and technical standard developments, please click here to register for the webinar: 

 Agenda

A. Family Offices, Independent Directors – Gearing Up to Excel at ESG

B. Sustainable Finance on Steroids

C. Level Playing Field and Ready to Score

D. Same-Same But Different – Converting Data/Metrics to Actionable Ratings

E. Achieve with Technical Standards

#TÜVRheinland

Virtus Medical acquired International Medical Center – Beijing

HONG KONG SAR – Media OutReach – 19 August 2021 – Virtus Medical Group (Virtus) is pleased to announce that the Group has acquired 70% equity interests in International Medical Center – Beijing (IMC). The acquisition demonstrates Virtus’s commitment to delivering high-quality private healthcare and telemedicine service across Beijing and its neighbouring cities. Acquisition of the remaining 30% equity interests is expected to be completed within 12 months.

 

IMC is conveniently located in the heart of Beijing’s diplomatic and business district, Lufthansa Business Circle, where many foreign embassies and multinational corporations have their headquarters. Established in the early 90s, IMC was among the first group of high-end medical institutions to serve foreigners. It provides a wide variety of medical services, including Preventive Care, Primary Care, Obstetrics & Gynaecology, Women’s Health, Paediatrics, Paediatric Surgery, Stomatology, Dermatology, Emergency Medicine, Psychiatry, medical examination, medical imaging and Traditional Chinese Medicine. With the support of Beijing’s highest grade (AAA) hospitals, IMC provides one-stop services from screening, diagnosis and treatment to rehabilitation to local residents as well as people moving from Hong Kong, Macao, Taiwan and other countries to Beijing. In addition, IMC has been actively expanding the network of overseas partners, providing second medical opinions from international medical experts, and arranging overseas medical examinations and treatments.  Its exemplary one-stop medical service model and medical resources have been well recognized, as evidenced by “The Best Hospital and Clinic Achievement Award” granted by Global Times in 2017.

 

Benefits of China-Hong Kong Cooperation

The prosperous development of personalized precision medicine, differences in medical systems, verbal communication and different personal experiences all make patients have higher requirements for medical services. The impact of geographical restrictions is even more significant in the post-epidemic era. Dr Manson Fok, Chairman of Virtus Medical Group, is confident that the acquisition will achieve synergies that allow IMC to develop more green channels for domestic referrals, relying on Virtus’s experience in developing diversified high-end medical services and IMC’s mature service packages. Samuel Poon, CEO of Virtus Medical Group, believes that IMC can leverage the advanced knowledge, expertise, technology, and professional ethics of the Hong Kong medical industry to boost patients’ confidence about Mainland China healthcare services.

 

Hong Kong residents living in Beijing will benefit

On the other hand, a robust multidisciplinary specialist team from Virtus is preparing to provide IMC patients with telemedicine services. Telemedicine service benefits patients who need a second opinion from medical experts and facilitates medical knowledge exchange between Beijing and Hong Kong. More than 30 specialists are ready, covering Internal Medicine, Paediatrics, Paediatric Immunology, Allergy & Infectious Diseases, Metabolism and Genetics, Paediatric Respiratory Medicine, Paediatric Surgery, Paediatric Endocrinology, Metabolism and Genetics, Cardiology, Neurology, Otorhinolaryngology, Gastroenterology & Hepatology, Orthopaedics & Traumatology, Nephrology, Respiratory Medicine, Clinical Oncology, Haematology & Haematological Oncology, Surgery, Cardiothoracic Surgery, Neurosurgery and Urology. The telemedicine service overcomes geographical and speech barriers and increases access to quality healthcare services. It is expected to benefit more than tens of thousands of Hong Kong residents living in Beijing.


About Virtus Medical Group

Established in early 2018, Virtus Medical Group upholds the vision of developing an evidence-based healthcare practice with a patient-first culture. Virtus brings together more than 80 doctors of different disciplines and a large group of allied health professionals to offer a multidisciplinary medical approach across different stages of a complete health cycle – Prevention, Diagnosis, Treatment and Rehabilitation. Virtus provides its services from Virtus Medical Tower, a 15-storey medical facility located in the heart of Central, together with 15 specialist centres and two multidisciplinary medical centres across Central and Tsim Sha Tsui in Hong Kong.

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/VirtusMedical/

LinkedIn: hk.linkedin.com/company/virtus-medical

YouTube: www.youtube.com/c/VirtusMedical尚至醫療

Instagram: www.instagram.com/virtus_medical_group/

#VirtusMedicalGroup

NTT and i-CABLE announce strategic alliance to address the evolving network demands of Hong Kong enterprises

Major initiatives include managed network services, call-center-as-a-service (CCaaS) and managed data center offerings

HONG KONG SAR – Media OutReach – 19 August 2021 – NTT Ltd., a global technology and business solutions provider, and i-DATA, a wholly owned subsidiary company of i-CABLE Communications Limited, a Hong Kong leading internet and pay-TV service provider, today announced the signing of a strategic alliance, addressing the increasing demand for network reliability, business continuity and cybersecurity in Hong Kong. The collaboration will explore initiatives including managed network services to accelerate enterprises’ performance.

Taichi Hiramatsu, CEO, North Asia and Hong Kong, NTT Ltd. and Tan Sri Dato’ David Chiu, Chairman, i-CABLE Communications Limited sign Memorandum of Understanding (MoU).

(from left to right) Taichi Hiramatsu, CEO, North Asia and Hong Kong, NTT Ltd., Tan Sri Dato’ David Chiu, Chairman, i-CABLE Communications Limited and Tsang On Yip, Patrick, Non-executive Director, i-CABLE Communications Limited at the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) Signing Ceremony.

 

An increasing number of Hong Kong enterprises have adopted digital business models, with the wide adoption of cloud, distributed workplace and disruptive technologies. According to the IMD World Competitiveness Centre[1], Hong Kong is ranked second in Asia and fifth in the world in terms of Digital Competitiveness. This is an indication of Hong Kong’s rapid adoption of new digital technologies, which requires robust, secure and seamless connectivity to keep business always-on and competitive.  

 

To address market needs, the alliance will leverage NTT’s enterprise-grade IP connectivity and i-DATA’s local network capabilities for its managed network services initiative. This will provide resilient network infrastructure with redundant backup, dedicated bandwidth and cybersecurity applications – all delivered with NTT’s managed services. Backed by NTT’s Tier-1 Global IP backbone, enterprise clients can also enjoy low latency connections to mainland China, Asia, US, Europe and Australia with a 100% service level guarantee.

 

Other initiatives of the strategic alliance between NTT and i-DATA include call-center-as-a-service (CCaaS), which aims to help enterprises optimize customer experience by integrating and managing their entire customer experience (CX) ecosystem, and managed data center services.

Taichi Hiramatsu, CEO, North Asia and Hong Kong, NTT Ltd., said, “NTT has had a long-term business relationship with i-CABLE in Hong Kong since 2012. We are excited to further strengthen our collaboration with this strategic alliance, working hand in hand with i-DATA to enable a secure and connected future. Moving forward, NTT will continue its dedication to helping enterprises advance business agility, transformation and automation through hybrid network connectivity solutions.” 

 

Tan Sri Dato’ David Chiu, Chairman of i-CABLE Communications Limited, said, “The pandemic has changed the world and uncovered new business potential with digital transformation. Never before has technology and network played a more critical role for organizations. Business leaders have had to reimagine their business models, leveraging innovative technology as well as secure and seamless networks to stay resilient. We are confident that our strategic alliance with NTT, our credible technology partner, will maximize our business potential across different markets.” 

 

 



[1]Information and Communications Technology Industry in Hong Kong“, Hong Kong Trade Development Council, 18 March 2021

About NTT Ltd.

NTT Ltd. is a leading global technology services company. Working with organizations around the world, we achieve business outcomes through intelligent technology solutions. For us, intelligent means data driven, connected, digital and secure. Our global assets and integrated ICT stack capabilities provide unique offerings in cloud-enabling networking, hybrid cloud, data centers, digital transformation, client experience, workplace and cybersecurity. As a global ICT provider, we employ more than 40,000 people in a diverse and dynamic workplace that spans 57 countries, trading in 73 countries and delivering services in over 200 countries and regions. Together we enable the connected future.

Visit us at hello.global.ntt

Twitter: https://twitter.com/GlobalNTT

About i-CABLE Communications Limited

i-CABLE Communications Limited (stock code 1097) is an integrated communications services provider in Hong Kong, commanding a large and influential TV viewer and communications service user base in town.

The Group owns and operates a near universal wireline telecommunications network in Hong Kong to provide media and telecommunications services to over two million households.

The Group is also one of the producers of television and multimedia content based in Hong Kong for distribution over conventional and new media, with a particular focus on news, information, sports and entertainment.

About i-DATA

i-DATA is a wholly owned subsidiary company of i-CABLE Communications Limited. It was formed in 2021. i-DATA aims to provide reliable and cost effective telecommunications solutions to enterprises, in order to enhance enterprise business development. i-DATA provides Data Centre Interconnect (DCI), agility access to Cloud applications, as well as a flexible and price competitive DIA platform, intending to meet the increasing demand of data service in Hong Kong. It is dedicated to enhancing the international telecommunication hub position in Hong Kong.

#NTT #iCABLE #iDATA

CPA Australia: Technology integration a boon for Malaysian Businesses

KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA – Media OutReach – 19 August 2021 – Over 80 percent of Malaysian businesses surveyed by CPA Australia, one of the world’s largest professional accounting bodies, undertook a major technology project in the last 12 months. CPA Australia found that technologies such as data analytics and business intelligence software delivered a boon for the nation’s businesses.

 

Bryan Chung FCPA: By using technology, Malaysian businesses were able to adapt to rapidly changing conditions and needs of consumers and employees

 

We surveyed 725 professionals in different industries in Australia, Mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau, Malaysia and Singapore. Respondents were asked about their businesses’ past and expected technology use. The findings are reported in our 2021 Business Technology Report.

We found that over the past 12 months, Malaysian businesses focused on upskilling their employees’ technology capabilities, looked for opportunities to improve their existing technology, and developed long-term technology or digital strategies.

CPA Australia Malaysia Division Digital Transformation Committee Chairman, Bryan Chung FCPA, said that improving the technology they deployed in the past 12 months contributed to many Malaysian businesses’ strong performances in a difficult environment.

“Malaysian businesses in our survey used technology to improve their operational efficiency, reduce costs and improve customer experience. This is a prudent approach given current market conditions and placed them in a good position to adapt to rapidly changing conditions and needs of consumers and employees,” he said.

Our report reveals that businesses with a positive outlook on growth are looking to invest in data analytics and visualisation software, business intelligence software and cloud technology in the next 12 months than other businesses.

We also found that most businesses are planning to investment in technology tools in the next 12 months, which signals a shift from cost savings to revenue growth. However, not all businesses may be in a position to seize this opportunity. Small businesses in our survey cited financial constraints as their main challenge to technology adoption.

Chung said that there are actually many funding opportunities available to Malaysian businesses to help them access technologies that high growth businesses are much more likely to use.

“The Malaysian Government has committed to making Malaysia a nation of entrepreneurs and innovators by the end of the decade. To better compete, small business in Malaysia should fully embrace the 5G rollout by Digital Nasional Berhad over the next few years. This will enable them to participate in upskilling initiatives to grow their businesses, especially in the technologies that high performing businesses are using or investing in.

“Small business owners would benefit from accessing upskilling initiatives that enable them to grow their businesses over the next year, especially in the technologies that high performing businesses are using or investing in,” he said.

Currently, the Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC) is offering several initiatives to help build digitalisation knowledge such as the SME Business Digitalisation Grant, 100 Go Digital and Smart Automation Grant.

To read the full report, click CPA Australia 2021 Business Technology Report.

About CPA Australia

CPA Australia is one of the largest professional accounting bodies in the world, with more than 168,000 members in over 100 countries and regions, including more than 10,500 members in Malaysia. CPA Australia has been operating in Malaysia since 1956 and opened our Malaysian office in 1994. Our core services include education, training, technical support and advocacy. CPA Australia provides thought leadership on local, national and international issues affecting the accounting profession and public interest. We engage with governments, regulators and industries to advocate policies that stimulate sustainable economic growth and have positive business and public outcomes. Find out more at cpaaustralia.com.au

#CPAAustralia

JY Grandmark 2021 Interim Results Announcements

  • Contracted Sales and GFA Increased Significantly
  • Steady Growth in Revenue
  • Successful Implementation of Development Strategy on Urban Renewal
  • Forged New Business Driver

HONG KONG SAR – Media OutReach – 19 August 2021 – JY Grandmark Holdings Limited (“JY Grandmark” or the “Company“, which together with its subsidiaries, is referred to as the “Group“, stock code: 2231), a property developer and operator and property management service provider based in the People’s Republic of China (the “PRC”), is pleased to announce the interim results of the Company for the six months ended 30 June 2021 (the “Period”).

JY Grandmark positions itself as an “Eco-friendly and People-oriented Property Developer” and acquired land reserves in strategic locations with abundant natural resources, rich culture and potential for growth. The Group takes into account the natural and cultural resources of its project site in the design of properties to develop homes and communities that the Group considers to be truly liveable for buyers. This accurate positioning differentiates the Group from other property developers in the PRC.

 

During the Period, the Group’s revenue amounted to approximately RMB1,042.8 million (1H2020: RMB924.7 million), representing a period-on-period increase of 12.8%. The Group’s gross profit amounted to RMB412.1 million (1H2020: RMB404.5 million), representing a period-on-period growth of 1.9%. Core net profit amounted to RMB167.5 million (1H2020: RMB193.8 million), representing a period-on-period decrease of 13.6%. Profit attributable to owners of the Company amounted to RMB170.8 million(1H2020: RMB196.9 million), representing a period-on-period decrease of 13.3 %.

 

The Group’s board of directors declared payment of an interim dividend of RMB3.63 cents per ordinary share (1H2020: RMB3.59 per ordinary share), which accounts for approximately 35% of the profit attributable to owners of the Company.

 

New Projects Meet Market Demand, Boosting Sales Significantly

 

During the first half year of 2021, the Group’s properties across China recorded approximately 197,000 sq.m. of contracted sales GFA, representing a significant year-on-year growth of 97.0%, and approximately RMB2,486.4 million of contracted sales, representing a significant year-on-year growth of 128.2%. The growth was attributable to the two new projects launched by the Group in the market, first phase of both projects boosted the overall sales performance.

 

The Group targeted urban residents of rigid demand and highlighted transmit-oriented development and houses of high utilization rate to construct the new project located in Zengcheng Guangzhou, Jinke JY Grand Garden (金科景業雍景園). It was the first key project for the Group’s layout in eastern Guangzhou, all the units of the project were sold out on the debut day of the first phase with the single-day order amount reaching RMB350 million. Another new project, JY Logan Jiuyun Mansion (景業龍光玖雲府) in Liuhe Districtof Nanjing, also had the superior location of core area in the downtown and enjoyed comprehensive facilities of metro, parks, commercial centers and medical services. In the first round of launch, the project offered fine decoration residence of 115-140 sq.m. floor area per unit to first-time home buyers and up-graders, and recorded satisfactory sales performance, with the single-day order amount reaching RMB454 million.

Market Opportunity Arise for “Urban Renewal Business”

 

The Group believed that the urban renewal business based on city planning and redevelopment will remain on an upward trend, and the Group will develop the urban renewal business as an important driver of land bank expansion and business growth. Currently, the Group takes the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area as the core region to actively explore the development of quality urban renewal projects.

 

In April 2021, the first urban renewal project the Group participated in, Zhujiang Village Redevelopment Project in Huangpu District of Guangzhou, was inaugurated. Located in Huangpu District of Guangzhou, a district where the government offered strong policy support to the urban renewal, the project is at the core position of the eastern Guangzhou’s urban development, has a total of approximately 785,800 sq.m. floor area and approximately 265,000 sq.m. financing area within the overall redevelopment scope, and, expectedly, will stimulate the Group’s business.

 

While acquiring the land of core position in the Group’s first urban renewal project of smooth progress, the Group will actively promote the materialisation of the other ten projects under research, further leverage its local advantages, consolidate the professional advantages of cooperation partners, and acquire property projects in core areas within reasonable costs, so as to boost the balanced growth of sales volume and operating profit in the future.

 

Diversified Business Portfolio Combined with the Concept of “Eco-friendly and People oriented Property” to Exploit Long-Term Advantages

 

The Group continuously developed its long-term advantages in home upgrading and vacation property sectors and market segments. During the first half year of 2021, the Company further developed target markets by seizing the right marketing opportunities, applying the strategy of “internal consolidation and external expansion” and promoting projects to “go out”, and stimulated the sales of home upgrading and vacation property projects in Guangdong, Hainan and Yunnan provinces by improving the community experience and the added value of products with the in-depth research of residents’ demands and the innovative idea of creating the community culture. JY Uniworld in Zhaoqing and JY Gaoligong Town in Yunnan province achieved improvement in both sales and brand reputation, and brought strong branding effect to the Group.

 

Based on the development concept of “Eco-friendly and People-oriented Property”, the Group expanded the layout of core regions and urban projects in 2021, enriched the product portfolio and offered the market diversified choices. It also broadened the horizon and further developed the market to improve the capital turnover efficiency.

 

Sound Financial Position Gained Recognition in the Capital Market

 

The Group continuously perfecting its financial structure and further broadening its financials channels, its stable financial situation and diversified financing channels enable the Group to achieve sustainable and high-quality development under the tightening industry background. In February 2021, the Company successfully issued 7.5% senior notes in an aggregate principal amount of US$155 million, including completion of the exchange offer of the existing senior notes amounting to US$137.5 million.

 

Mr. Michael Chan, Chairman and Executive Director of JY Grandmark said, “In the first half of 2021, a series of policies including “three red lines” and “centralised land supply” have been introduced in China with the aim of achieving stable land prices, stable home prices and stable price expectations, a new long-term property market mechanism has gradually taken shape, that regulates the supply side, the demand side and the financing side, maintains stability in the market and at the same time raises the requirements of the financing, development and capital position of real estate companies.

 

In such market environment, while sticking to the principle of “stability and progress”, the Group continued to meet the requirements of “three red lines” in the first half of 2021, promoted targeted marketing actions in different markets, and accelerated the sales conversion of existing land reserves. It further expanded the reserve of quality lands through diversified channels, actively sought business breakthrough, enhanced the brand effect by cooperating with strong enterprises, took effective measures to advance the upgrading of all business segments on the basis of improving the property business, and ultimately achieved the objective of quality improvement and accelerating the speed of development.

 

Looking into the future, the Group will further adjust and improve operation strategies, and ensure reasonable economic trend prediction and market forecast from the macro perspective; from its own perspective, it will stick to the prudent financial strategy, focus on cash flow management, improve the capital turnover efficiency and lower the leverage. In the meantime, the Group will refine the land strategy, improve the product strategy and innovate the business strategy, to build a good brand reputation and maintain the long-term development objective of “high growth, high quality and high profit”.

About JY Grandmark Holdings Limited

JY Grandmark is a property developer, operator and property management service provider based in the PRC. It runs four principal businesses, namely (i) property development and sales, (ii) hotel operations, (iii) property management and (iv) commercial property investment. The shares of JY Grandmark have been listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange since December 2019 and the Group has been included as a constituent of the MSCI China Small Cap Index since May 2020.

JY Grandmark has land resources in Guangdong, Hainan, Yunnan, Jiangsu and Hunan provinces for its future development. The Group positions itself as an “Eco-friendly and People-oriented Property Developer” and acquired land reserves in strategic locations with abundant natural resources, rich culture and potential for growth. The Group takes into account the natural and cultural resources of its project site in the design of properties to develop homes and communities that the Group considers to be truly liveable for buyers. This accurate positioning differentiates the Group from other property developers in the PRC.

#JYGrandmark

Zi.Care’s Successful Closure of Seed Round to Boost Growth

HONG KONG SAR – Media OutReach – 19 August 2021 – As one of the pioneering Health Technology Startups which aims to digitalize Indonesian Healthcare, Zi.Care aims to alleviate the underlying problems with the healthcare system through digitalization. Given the severe strain on medical resources in Indonesia, it gives rise to a plethora of further healthcare issues which threatens to cripple Indonesia’s entire healthcare system. With average waiting time in hospitals being at least 2 hours, it highlights the inefficiencies that lies within the Indonesian healthcare system. The lack of feasibility and accuracy in medical records, long waiting times and complicated administrative processes reflects the inequality towards healthcare access within the country.

Zi.Care aims to rise to the forefront of Indonesia’s Health Technology Startup market, serving as a simple solution to target Indonesia’s pressing healthcare needs. Through adoption of Cloud-based Electronic Medical Records (EMR) and Electronic Health Records (EHR), Zi.Care hopes to digitize all Health Information Systems (administrative, clinical support and claim management) while developing patient personal health record apps and health passports. Such would facilitate the streamlining of healthcare development for patient centric care and improve hospital administrations and enhance the experience of digital insurance claims.

Established over 4 years ago, Zi.Care was spearheaded by three co-founders, Jessy Abdurrahman, Sanjaya I Mayluddin and Jodi P. Susanto. Chief Executive Officer Jessy has over 10 years of experience in designing HIS for three of the largest hospitals in Indonesia (RSUP Fatmawati, RSCM and RSUP Persahabatan); Chief Design Officer Sanjaya has been developing systems for well-known institutions such as Nokia and Pertamina Hulu Energi for more than 15 years; and Chief Strategy Officer Jodi has more than 12 years under his belt in capital markets and financial advisory positions across various industries and companies including BDO, Bank Mandiri and DBS Bank.

Zi Care currently adopts two revenue models, the B2B (Business to Business) and B2B2C (Business to Business to Customers), to accommodate all segments irrespective of tiers. Such models offer higher flexibility in pricing options, which aligns with Zi Care’s ultimate goal in making its service accessible to all.

Having just closed their seed series (supported by Southeast Asia Venture Capital, Iterative VC; a state-owned enterprise venture arm, TMI through Telkomsel Corporate Accelerator Program named Tinc; and one of Asia’s largest revenue-based financing platform, Choco Up) with an amount of more than USD500,000. Zi.Care’s technology and product has attracted many high-level leading professionals in the industry to join their Board of Advisory. Among the many include Chairman & CEO of Stratez Venture, JS Chong, who has more than 34 years of experience in healthcare and venture capital industry. Also, Wiji Rahayu, ex-investment banker and Indonesian-based private equity (Sentra Investa Prima) founder that invests in various emerging start-ups in Indonesia; and Prof. Budi Wiweko, Sp.OG, MPH from University of Indonesia and Vice Chairman of IMERI (Indonesian Medical Research Institute) that has researched heavily on the EMR adaptation.

Co-Founder and Chief Strategy Officer Jodi P. Susanto says the pandemic has highlighted the growing needs for healthcare facilities to digitalise their processes. He also emphasized that Zi.Care actively participated in the Covid-19 response team through their CSR program. Given that private practitioners, telemedicine, hospitals and clinics are now able to better leverage technology via Zi.Care, they strive to take medical data to the next level and to facilitate access via Health Information Exchange with different stakeholders.

 

We are committed to support the adaptation of EMR and digitalization of healthcare facilities in Indonesia, so the patient can have better and faster services through our platform. We will always support our government to enable our medical personnel reach more patients through our apps Sehatpedia that collaborate with Ministry of Health,” Susanto added.

 

Indeed, the Covid-19 pandemic has rendered Indonesia, the world’s fourth most populous nation, as a major epicenter of the pandemic, with more than 3.5 million cases to date. Zi.Care plays a role as a viable solution in reducing inefficiencies of the country’s healthcare system. Given the current healthcare system inefficiencies and the rising needs for medical services resulting from Covid-19, Zi.Care’s technology would be the bridge in mitigating the pressure on Indonesia’s healthcare system.

About us

Zi.Care, launched in 2017, was created to alleviate the inefficiencies identified in the current healthcare system. With its expertise in healthcare technologies, it aims to provide a unique healthcare experience for all its’ users to revolutionise healthcare.

https://zicare.id/

#Zi.Care

Covid Restrictions Extended as Laos Records 284 New Cases of Covid-19

Laos extends covid restrictions until September

Laos has extended Covid restriction measures until 2 September after confirming a further 284 cases of Covid-19 today.