HONG KONG SAR – Media OutReach – 5 August 2021 – Schneider Electric, the leader in the digital transformation of energy management and automation, and Global Footprint Network (GFN), a research organization that tracks how the world manages natural resources, today launched the “100 Days of Possibility” initiative. The initiative seeks to promote solutions that help address climate change and biodiversity loss.

The launch of the initiative coincides with Earth Overshoot Day – the date when humanity exhausts all ecological resources the planet can regenerate during an entire year.

The 100 days referenced in the initiative’s name mark the time left until the start of the 26^th annual UN Climate Conference (COP26), when government officials from around the globe will gather in Glasgow, Scotland, to try to agree on effective actions to combat climate change.

The solutions highlighted by the project underpin its key message: Companies, governments and individuals can act now –there is no need to wait for decisions to be made at COP26.

Opportunities and solutions across all sectors will be revealed each day leading up to COP26 at 100DaysofPossibility.org These will highlight the many ways that everyone can #MoveTheDate of Earth Overshoot Day. Examples include proposals for 100% renewable power grids, smart homes and food waste reduction.

Schneider Electric, named world’s most sustainable corporation by Corporate Knights Global 100 Index  showed its support of the initiative by submitting six of its climate solutions to the “100 Days” list. Other partners in the project include the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) and Drawdown Europe.

One of the scalable solutions Schneider has contributed is the integration of a microgrid with an electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure in a Maryland-based smart energy bus depot in the US. It will be the first of its kind and help #MoveTheDate of Earth Overshoot Day by reducing carbon emissions by 62% among other benefits.

Another example is with Schneider’s office building, IntenCity, in Grenoble, France. IntenCity demonstrates how public and private sectors have joined forces to build cleaner and healthier communities. The building is designed to consume 7 kilowatt-hours per square meter each year — nearly 10 times less energy than the average European building consumes. Rooftop solar panels, two onsite wind turbines, the use of groundwater, and smart technology solutions enable the complex to consume and produce equal amounts of electricity over one year. A unique microgrid partnership facilitates energy sharing and coordination with the surrounding community.

Another contribution is Schneider’s recent agreement with the Egyptian Electricity Holding Company, the country’s national utility provider. It will be the Middle East’s first ever country-wide smart grid and help Egypt meet future energy demands while advancing its sustainability strategy.

All three solutions will be highlighted during the launch of the “100 days” initiative and Schneider’s remaining three contributions will be featured throughout the project. 

About Schneider Electric

Schneider’s purpose is to empower all to make the most of our energy and resources, bridging progress and sustainability for all. We call this Life Is On.

Our mission is to be your digital partner for Sustainability and Efficiency.

We drive digital transformation by integrating world-leading process and energy technologies, end-point to cloud connecting products, controls, software and services, across the entire lifecycle, enabling integrated company management, for homes, buildings, data centers, infrastructure and industries.

We are the most local of global companies. We are advocates of open standards and partnership ecosystems that are passionate about our shared Meaningful Purpose, Inclusive and Empowered values.

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HONG KONG SAR – Media OutReach – 5 August 2021 –  AXA Hong Kong (AXA) launches “SurgiCare Surgical Insurance Plan” (“SurgiCare”). “SurgiCare” is the first-in-market surgical insurance plan based on the four levels under the existing Voluntary Health Insurance Scheme (VHIS) schedule of surgical procedures – minor, intermediate, major and complex, to provide comprehensive coverage for over 450 types of surgery. “SurgiCare” offers lump-sum benefits up to 100% of the sum insured for complex surgeries and 30% for major surgeries. It also offers unlimited[1] number of claims with a lump-sum payout of HKD2,500 and HKD6,000 for each of the covered minor and intermediate surgeries respectively.

Kevin Chor, Chief Life and Health Insurance Officer of AXA Hong Kong and Macau, shared his insights into the recent survey results on Hong Kong people’s experience with surgery, and introduced the key benefits of the newly launched “SurgiCare Surgical Insurance Plan”.

It does not matter what illness it might be or where the surgery takes place, “SurgiCare” offers customers a lump-sum benefit whenever a surgical procedure is medically necessary and covered by the VHIS. “SurgiCare” offers support to non-medical daily and additional expenses incurred during the recovery journey, which serves as a great supplement to customers’ existing medical insurance plans that can only cover the medical bills. With “SurgiCare”, customers can enjoy a truly comprehensive health protection.

With premium as low as HKD10 per day[2], customers can be well protected by “SurgiCare”. Premium of “SurgiCare” will not be affected by medical inflation. Regardless of any change in health condition and claim history after plan enrolment, renewal of “SurgiCare” is guaranteed up to the age of 100. From now until 30 September 2021, customer who purchases two policies or more with different insured person(s), each policy can enjoy up to 12-month premium rebate.

Major or complex surgeries are common and require financial support and time for recovery

In Hong Kong, over one-third (36%) of people have gone through at least one surgery in their life, according to a joint survey[3] conducted by AXA and YouGov, an international research and data analytics group. Among those who have undergone major or complex surgeries, nearly 20% spent over HKD250,000 during their recovery which can last for over two weeks (66%) or even over 3 months (14%). This may also lead to a loss of income – 62% experienced a surgery-related income loss, of which nearly 10% had no income for more than one year. Furthermore, the data of Hopitial Authority[4] shows that major and complex surgeries are very common. In 2019-2020, over 100,000 operations performed inside operating theatres were major or complex surgeries, which accounted for 57% of the total number of operations.

Kevin Chor, Chief Life and Health Insurance Officer, AXA Hong Kong and Macau, said, “From our survey results and the Hospital Authority data, we can see that surgeries are very common in Hong Kong and many citizens have undergone major or complex surgeries. Apart from medical expenses, post-operative care is essential. Once discharged from the hospital, there might be non-medical needs such as purchase of  nutritional supplements, home medical equipment, or even organising professional caregiving service which can be expensive. However, many of these expenses may not be reimbursed by medical insurance nor covered by critical illness insurance. ‘SurgiCare’ helps fill this protection gap and provides holistic protection to our customers, underscoring AXA’s commitment to being a true lifelong partner to our customers.”

Extra Companion Benefit for parents to take care of their loved ones

AXA also fully recognises that many parents would be very worried if their children are hospitalised, thus “SurgiCare” provides an extra one-off payout amounting to 5% of the sum insured as a Companion Benefit if the insured aged 12 or below undergoes a covered major surgical procedure or complex surgical procedure.

For more information on “SurgiCare”, please visit: https://www.axa.com.hk/en/surgicare-surgical-insurance-plan

The above information is for reference only. For details on premium rebate and product features, content, terms and exclusions, please refer to the product brochure, policy provision and promotional leaflet.

About AXA Hong Kong and Macau

#AXA

Significant gains in profitability growth fueled by AI-enabled transformation from customers across APAC and US

Appier delivered the following results for second quarter of fiscal year of 2021:

• Revenue growth up 50% YoY to a historical high of 2.8 billion JPY
• Gross profit increased 77% YoY
• Annual Recurring Revenue (ARR) growth up to a historical high of 10.8 billion JPY, up 38% YoY
• Significant profitability improvement with EBITDA up 24 percentage point comparing with same period of last year and hit historical high
• Approached EBITDA break even for the whole quarter (-1%)
• June delivered first-time ever operating profit on a monthly basis since 2013 when Appier invested for growth
• Operating income improved by 22 percentage points YoY
• Upward revision of full year forecast from 10.9 billion JPY to 11.7 billion JPY with 7% of increase
• Gained new customers with an increase of 29.4% YoY and 7.5% QoQ, which is the highest quarterly organic increase

TAIPEI, TAIWAN – Media OutReach – 5 August 2021 – Appier Group Inc (TSE: 4180), henceforth referred to as Appier, today announced its Q2 earnings results for its second quarter ended 30 June 2021, which saw strong growth in revenue and profit as its customer base expanded and deepened across Asia-Pacific and the US. Appier’s gross profit increased 77% year-on-year (YoY), with revenue up 50% to hit a historical high of 2.8 billion JPY.  Annual recurring revenue (ARR) hit a historical high of 10.8 billion JPY, up 38% YoY.

Appier completed its listing on the Tokyo Stock Exchange on March 30, 2021 and turned a monthly operating profit in June for the first time since 2013 when they started to invest for growth. Appier’s gross margin climbed from 42% to 50% YoY, while its EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization) margin rose 24 percentage points from -25% to -1% YoY. Existing customers and new customer acceleration were instrumental for this upward trend as the LTM NRR (last twelve months net revenue retention rate) shot up to historical high of 120.2% in Q2.

“We attribute our substantial growth this quarter to our ability to help our customers capitalize on opportunities in the new digital economy as the global pandemic continues to accelerate digital growth across Asia. Our customers are recognising the benefits brought about by elevating their business performance with artificial intelligence (AI) technologies,” said Dr. Chih-Han Yu, Appier’s CEO and co-founder. “Many companies are still at the start of their AI-powered digitization and we help them make sense of the entire customer journey, from prospecting and acquisition to retention using AI-informed analytics. The post-pandemic digital-first environment is only going to become more complex but technology allows business leaders to cut through that complexity and make informed decisions. Appier is well-positioned to help customers continue their AI-enabled digitization as demonstrated by this quarter’s strong results.”

Enterprise demand for sharper insights fuels growth

Increased customer demand for services that support transformation efforts has driven Appier’s strong results, with customer growth at 29.4% YoY. The ecommerce sector continues to see accelerated growth in the face of the global pandemic. Geographically, Appier posted revenue gains in each region across Asia-Pacific with more than 40% increase. In the US, Appier is witnessing a steady growth trajectory as revenue grew 100% QoQ, having established its presence only a year ago.

Appier witnessed strong customer growth at 29.4% YoY and 7.5% QoQ with the highest organic increase in number of customers. The need for businesses to elevate their marketing performance and improve customer satisfaction in a digital-first environment, which is especially dynamic in Asia Pacific, gave Appier a boost this quarter. The AI-native SaaS company is uniquely positioned to help enterprises tackle the customer journey from end to end with the aid of machine-learning and advanced analytics.

Conversational marketing play seen as key strategic move

Appier made its debut into the conversational commerce and marketing space in June, following the acquisition of BotBonnie, an omnichannel chatbot platform announced in May. Conversational commerce is a global phenomenon that will continue to accelerate as total spend over conversational commerce channels will reach $290 billion by 2025 globally (rising from $41 billion in 2021). This is a 590% increase over the next four years. With the addition of BotBonnie to Appier’s suite of AI solutions, customers can now add conversational marketing to their commerce and stay on top of the ever-evolving customer expectations underpinned by the need for instantaneous service, answers and information. Gartner expects that by 2023, 40% of enterprise applications will have conversational AI embedded in their functionality, up from a current 5%.

Market-driven innovation continues to play a big part in Appier’s product strategy as witnessed in the number of product updates during Q2. These include the addition of a predictive actions feature to AIQUA, which helps businesses deliver personalized messages to their customers; the launch of Creative Studio, which enables easy, coding-free online store creation and website tailoring; and the acquisition of BotBonnie in May, an omnichannel chatbot platform, which it is combining with its own solutions such as AIDEAL, a tool to predict purchase intent and motivate hesitant buyers. Appier’s AI-native products support customer engagement and acquisition, deliver customer insights and drive purchase.

With its uniquely Asia-first approach in the competitive SaaS industry, Appier sees large enterprises and small businesses competing on an increasingly level playing field where customers are won and lost based on quality of service, and customer experience. 

About Appier

Appier is a software-as-a-service (SaaS) company that uses artificial intelligence to power business decision-making. Founded in 2012 with a vision of democratizing AI, Appier now has 17 offices across APAC, Europe and U.S., and is listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange. Visit www.appier.com for more information.

#Appier