HONG KONG SAR – Media OutReach – 21 March 2022 – Sun Life Hong Kong Limited (“Sun Life Hong Kong”) clinches two grand awards, Sponsor of the Year and Intermediary of the Year at the BENCHMARK MPF of the Year Awards 2021 (“Benchmark”).
The Benchmark “Sponsor of the Year” award recognizes MPF Sponsors who have demonstrated excellence in their product designs, fund manager selection, cost structuring, and engagement and the Benchmark “Intermediary of the Year” award recognizes MPF intermediaries that excel in product knowledge, technology application, relationship building and marketing techniques better than others in the industry.
Sun Life Hong Kong receives a total of nine awards across different categories from BENCHMARK, including Sponsor awards, Trustee Awards and Top MPF Awards as shown below:
Grand Award
Sponsor of the Year
Intermediary Award
Intermediary of the Year
BEST-IN-CLASS
Sponsor Awards – Investor Education Award
Sponsor Awards – Intermediary Support Award
Top MPF Fund Awards – Hong Kong Equity
Top MPF Fund Awards – Lifestyle – (>20-40% Equity)
Top MPF Fund Awards – Lifestyle – (>40-60% Equity)
Top MPF Fund Awards – Lifestyle – (>60-80% Equity)
OUTSTANDING ACHIEVER
Trustee Awards – Member Servicing
Rainbow Pan, General Manager, Wealth & Pensions at Sun Life Hong Kong Limited, said, “It is such an honour to receive Sponsor of the Year and Intermediary of the Year at the BENCHMARK Fund of the Year Awards 2021. We are delighted that our efforts in investor education, intermediary support and high extent of digital client experience are fully recognised by the industry, this will encourage our relentless debut to deepen our commitment to the overall betterment of Hong Kong’s working class.”
Sun Life is a leading international financial services organization providing insurance, wealth and asset management solutions to individual and corporate Clients. Sun Life has operations in a number of markets worldwide, including Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Hong Kong, the Philippines, Japan, Indonesia, India, China, Australia, Singapore, Vietnam, Malaysia and Bermuda. As of December 31, 2021, Sun Life had total assets under management (“AUM”) of C$1.44 trillion. For more information please visit www.sunlife.com.
Sun Life Financial Inc. trades on the Toronto (TSX), New York (NYSE) and Philippine (PSE) stock exchanges under the ticker symbol SLF. Sun Life Financial Inc. is the holding company of Sun Life Assurance Company of Canada.Sun Life Hong Kong Limited is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Sun Life Assurance Company of Canada.
#SunLife
The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.
SINGAPORE – Media OutReach – 21 March 2022 – There is a new global movement in recommerce, which celebrates the trading of preloved items that extend the lifecycle of these items thus promoting sustainable and responsible consumerism.
CompAsia, which is championing the recommerce of mobile gadgets in Southeast Asia with unrivalled success in Malaysia, is inviting more customers to consider purchasing second hand gadgets such as smartphones, laptops, and smartwatches with the opening of new e-stores in Singapore and Thailand, and the promise of high-quality products at affordable prices.
“We have seen an exponential growth of 2,500% in our e-store business in Malaysia over the last two years largely driven by movement restrictions that amplified the convenience of doing business on the CompAsia platform, and the assurance that we only trade in original products and we offer the highest quality second hand gadgets,” said Julius Lim, Founder and CEO of CompAsia, which currently operates in nine markets in the region.
“Customers trust that we are giving them excellent prices both when buying back their devices and selling them preowned ones on our e-stores,” he said, adding that CompAsia’s 32-step quality check that every device goes through, along with the secure data erasure to protect both buyers and sellers alike have also proven to be leading reasons for its growing customer base.
With deep expertise in the device business, CompAsia provides access to high quality devices that are backed by responsive after-sales service support unlike anything you’ll find in regular C2C platforms or second-hand phone retailers. To date, CompAsia has sold over 500,000 devices globally and continues to ramp up sales at a blazing pace.
“The network upgrading from 4G to 5G is further pushing the sales of smartphones and customers are actively looking for the best deals and reliable trade-in options, which is why we are already seeing increasing traffic to our new e-store in Singapore,” Julius said.
CompAsia.sg, which promises always affordable prices, is offering customers in Singapore an additional 5% discount on all devices as an opening special till 30 April 2022 that translates to almost S$300 off on its highest priced items. Customers will also enjoy CompAsia’s three-month free warranty (extendable up to 24 months) and next day shipping. Payment options in Singapore are supported by GrabPay, MasterCard, Google Pay, Zip, PayNow and Visa.
“CompAsia is changing customers’ mindsets in buying second hand gadgets as we are giving them the very best quality in each item and making every brand accessible to everyone,” Julius said. “When you buy on a recommerce site, you are not only extending the lifespan of the item, but you are also diverting waste from landfills, which means a healthier planet.”
About CompAsia
CompAsia is leading the recommerce of original high-quality second-hand gadgets in Southeast Asia with a mission to transform smart device ownership by maximising affordability and minimising e-waste.
Established in 2012, CompAsia currently operates in nine markets and collaborates with telcos, mobile operators, manufacturers, retailers, financial institutions, and insurance companies to offer customers a single partner for all their mobile gadget needs. CompAsia offers four strategic solutions in its ecosystem: Buyback & Trade-in, Remarketing, ReNew+ and InstaCover.
SHENZHEN, CHINA – Media OutReach – 21 March 2022 – OPPO’s Find X5 Pro uses the latest lithium battery technology The Battery Health Engine developed by OPPO Institute. The Battery Health Engine is a system-level battery health optimizing solution that came to fruition through three years of research and innovation. It is based on OPPO’s customized battery management chip and includes two key technologies: Smart Battery Health Algorithm and Battery Healing Technology.
Not only is battery life a concern for smartphone users, but the issue of ageing, unused and discarded lithium batteries is also an increasingly worrying topic when it comes to the future and sustainability. It is projected that over the next eight years, the global demand for lithium-ion batteries will increase elevenfold, reaching over two terawatt-hours in 2030. The demand is coming from the rise in electric vehicles and small electronic products such as mobile phones.
Smart Battery Health Algorithm
Smart Battery Health Algorithm tracks real-time electric potential across the negative electrodes inside the battery. It can dynamically adjust the charging currency within a reasonable range, effectively minimizing the occurrence of dead lithium while maintaining the maximum charging current. This helps ensure prolonged battery lifespan and faster charging speed.
To fully understand how this innovation works, we should first explain the charging and discharging behaviour of lithium batteries in mobile phones.
The structure of a lithium battery
– The charging and discharging process can be simply viewed as the movement of lithium ions between positive and negative electrodes.
The movement of lithium ions
– Once the active lithium ions can’t return to the positive electrode under the impact of the excessive current or overcharging, they will become dead lithium, and this leads to a reduction in the capacity of the battery.
Dead lithium appears because of excessive current or overcharging
Dead lithium leads to the battery life reduction
– Therefore, we need to preserve as many active lithium ions as possible so that we can control the charging current. Currently only by controlling the current and voltage in real-time and within a reasonable range can we reduce the occurrence of dead lithium.
– It’s the potential of the negative electrode that’s an important indicator in helping mobile phones monitor real-time current and voltage. In other words, if the negative electrode potential can be monitored in real-time, we can prevent dead lithium from appearing.
In order to obtain the negative electrode potential in real time, OPPO Institute has been exploring potential solutions in its laboratory for three years. Relying on a large amount of battery performance data, the team has been continuously correcting the accuracy of the battery model to develop the Smart Battery Health Algorithm that can track the potential of the negative electrode of the battery in real-time.
With the blessing of this technology, smartphones could be able to match a reasonable charging current for different battery capacities, charging adapters, battery states, and charging stages by accurately judging the negative electrode potential. From here, we can then maximise the maintenance of lithium-ion activity and prolong battery lifespan.
Battery Healing Technology
In addition to a huge breakthrough in the algorithm, OPPO has also optimised the internal chemical system of the battery in Find X5 Pro, applying a healing feature through the use of Battery Healing Technology. By improving the electrolyte formula, the electrodes are continuously repaired during the battery’s charge and discharge cycles, forming a more stable and durable film called Solid Electrolyte Interface.
The forming process of Solid Electrolyte Interface
The Solid Electrolyte Interphase, also known as SEI, is formed by the reduction and reaction of a small amount of polar solvent in the electrolyte. This happens when the lithium-ion battery is charged and discharged after gaining some electrons. It is then distributed on the surface of the positive and negative materials of the lithium battery, which can prevent the damage of the solvent molecules to the electrode materials and improve the cycle performance of the electrodes. Therefore, during the shuttle process of lithium ions between the positive and negative electrodes, the electrolyte can work to repair the SEI – another key factor affecting battery lifespan.
Battery Healing Technology helps the battery to continuously repair the SEI during the charging and discharging cycle, making the SEI more stable and durable in real time. It also reduces the damage inflicted to the electrodes due to charging and discharging, therefore enhancing the battery performance and extending battery lifespan.
In OPPO’s latest laboratory test results, we’ve found that the Battery Health Engine is able to keep a battery at 80% of its original capacity after as many as 1,600 charge cycles. This effectively doubled the lifespan of batteries under current industrial standards.
The battery lifespan of Find X5 Pro is doubled
Since the battery lifespan of the Find X5 Pro is double that of the industry standard, it can maximise the protection of the battery while improving the way people experience their handsets.
Achieving ultimate battery performance
It is OPPO’s constant focus and development in battery technology that has enabling the company to transform users’ charging experience and increase the power of smartphones.
As the leader of charging technology, OPPO knows that the future development of fast charging can not only stop at high power – it should also consider aspects such as safety, portability, compatibility, and battery lifespan.
Here at OPPO, the company is taking big steps towards upgrading the world of smartphone charging to completely revolutionise the user experience of smartphones while contributing to the future sustainability of lithium battery technologies.
DUBAI, UAE – Media OutReach – 18 March 2022 – Bybit, the fastest growing cryptocurrency exchange, won the Best Crypto Exchange Award at Crypto Expo Dubai (CED) 2022 on Thursday. Now the third most visited exchange in terms of web traffic, Bybit has more than doubled its user base since it last participated in CED six months ago.
The award is testimony to Bybit’s meteoric rise from a niche but formidable derivatives trading platform in 2018 to a fully fledged exchange for all crypto traders — all 6 million of them — of varying risk appetites and skill levels. Backed by its powerful matching engine and robust infrastructure, the platform sailed through the high seas of crypto’s historic trading frenzy in May 2021 unscathed with an up rate of 99.9%.
Bybit joined hundreds of speakers, founders and crypto fans at CED 2022 connected by a colorful vision for the future of blockchain technology.
“The original promise of the internet was to create a level playing field for all,” and somehow web 2.0 was led astray from that vision, said Igneus Terrenus, head of communications at Bybit. “What web3 and the metaverse could do is to give power back to the individual,” he shared at a panel on what the future holds for crypto after the metaverse.
According to him, blockchain could also help us save the world from an impending climate disaster. Existing carbon credit models have a greenwashing problem, and distributed ledger technology could plug the loopholes.
“This is where blockchain can come in to monitor and assess real progress in carbon reduction and carbon capture. And NFTs are about ownership and bragging rights as much as they are tradable assets and financial instruments. These technologies can play a role in addressing the biggest problems of our generation. And if we don’t, we are kicking the can down the road at our own peril,” said Igneus Terrenus.
Bybit also recreated part of its NFT universe in physical form at CED 2022, showcasing interactive metaverse creations, select artists and projects from the Bybit NFT Marketplace.
Crypto Expo Dubai 2022 drew to a successful close on March 17 after an action-packed two days featuring blockchain projects and crypto units from around the world.
About Bybit
Bybit is a cryptocurrency exchange established in March 2018 that offers a professional platform where crypto traders can find an ultra-fast matching engine, excellent customer service and multilingual community support. The company provides innovative online spot and derivatives trading services, mining and staking products, an NFT marketplace as well as API support, to retail and institutional clients around the world, and strives to be the most reliable exchange for the emerging digital asset class. Bybit is a proud partner of Formula One racing team, Oracle Red Bull Racing, esports teams NAVI, Astralis, Alliance, Virtus.pro and Oracle Red Bull Racing Esports, and association football (soccer) teams Borussia Dortmund and Avispa Fukuoka.
TAIPEI, TAIWAN – Media OutReach – 18 March 2022 – Benchmark is proud to announce the Providers of the Year to its 6th Fund Awards for Taiwan!
The Awards represented a meticulous, methodical process and characterized the diligence of more than 60 jurors coming from Private Banks, Family Offices, Consultants, and EAMs. The 51 judges and gatekeepers occupying 235 seats over three days were involved in 47 sessions delivered by 57 senior fund house representatives and supported by a thorough due diligence questionnaire focused on the five key pillars, 48 KPIs, and 438 attributes, with independent sustainability data supported by BlueOnion. 51 jurors have attended the annual Gatekeepers Forum, where 5 to 6 jurors will meet the CIO or Portfolio Manager face to face to drill down into their investment process and ESG performance.
Provider of the Year – companies are assessed by the breadth of winnings across different investment and operational capabilities rather than simply hindsight returns. Weights are allocated to four award categories: House 40%, Sustainability 30%, Manager of the Year 20%, and Quantitative winnings 10%.
Franklin Templeton Investments (” Franklin Templeton”) has been crowned Provider of the Year (Mutual Fund) 2021. The two runners-up for this grand award were Allianz Global InvestorsTaiwan (“AGI”) and FSSA Investment Managers (“FSSA”). Franklin Templeton is applauded for its consistency of styles, risk control, and governance across a well-diversified range of asset classes, bringing investors excellent risk-adjusted returns. ESG is of high emphasis and nicely integrated across the board. The committee also praised Franklin Templeton for their continuous effort in advocating investor education, especially for the younger generation. AGI is commended for its commitment to investors’ rights and voluntary disclosure and actively implementing ESG to the teams across the continents. FSSA is praised for having an exemplary stewardship team, putting investors’ interests first, and successfully integrating ESG across all groups managing various asset classes.
CathaySecuritiesInvestment Trust (“Cathay Securities”) is crowned Provider of the Year (ETF) 2021. Cathay Securities is praised for its top-of-the-line stewardship and ESG implementation, and for committing to an active voice although being a passive investor with an active voice. The teams have demonstrated exemplary disclosure to investors and engagement with investees on key issues, including achieving net-zero, while delivering excellent performance, being innovative, and keeping tracking errors low as expected.
“I am excited to see more asset managers in Taiwan taking a more serious approach to Sustainable Investing, and by adopting a more responsible investing approach, despite business disruptions under an ongoing pandemic. While some managers are still studying whether ESG is financially material, our platform, BlueOnion, tells us that higher returns and higher ESG are getting more correlated and convincing by the day,” said investor activist organizer Elsa Pau.
About Benchmark Fund of the Year Awards
The 18th Benchmark Fund of the Year Awards organized by WealthAsia Media (“WAM”) has gained a solid industry reputation for running distinguished awards safeguarded by powerful gatekeepers from global institutions. The awards can be interpreted as a buy-side driven and a client-centric initiative. Banks’ gatekeepers and service users such as asset owners will dominate the awards’ decision-making process. The awards also raise awareness of responsible investing and drive better practices in responsible and sustainable investing. Benchmark Fund of the Year Awards
About BlueOnion BlueOnion is Benchmark’s research tool that empowers institutional investors, asset owners, and private banking gatekeepers to find, screen, and monitor the sustainable performance of over 290K mutual funds covering 40K+ issuers in 99 countries, with over 300 key indicators spanning 22 sectors and 130 industries. It uses the three-lens approach by peeling back the funds’ layers in their investment returns, Sustainability performance, and forward-looking Qualitative capabilities. BlueOnion holds managers accountable for their ESG strategies by analyzing their sectors, industries, and investment/divestments actions to validate that they follow their stated ESG integration philosophies. The data-driven process for outcomes reflects how they have taken materiality issues of specific ESG issues into their investment processes. www.BlueOnion.today
#Benchmark #BenchmarkAwards #BlueOnion
About the Gatekeepers Forum
The virtual event in 2021 involved 47 sessions delivered by 57 senior fund house representatives, with 51 judges and gatekeepers occupying 235 seats over three days. The Gatekeepers’ Forum is a sub-set of the judging process, with four to six jurors holding a two-way conversation with the Manager of a contesting strategy. The Forum allows the contestants’ CIO or Portfolio Manager to showcase how they are running a profitable system and respond to technical questions raised by the gatekeepers. The Gatekeepers’ Forum is a highly curated platform that connects both the buy and sell-side of funds and empowers gatekeepers from Private Banks, Institutions, Foundations, Single and Multi-Family Offices to look under the hood before they invest. The Gatekeeper Forum 2021
About WealthAsia Group
WealthAsia Group is a profit-for-purpose organization – a purpose-driven organization with a mission to drive best practices in the finance community by emphasizing social responsibility and advocating for investors’ protection. Our business model focuses on industry benchmarking, assessment, and ranking to help financial institutions improve.
The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.