HONG KONG SAR – Media OutReach – 7 April 2021 – Vision impairment has become a harsh problem nowadays, and the demand for eye care products keeps rising due to the challenge of young-age vision impairment. To meet the eye care needs of various groups of people such as students, office workers, the elderly, and so on, Gogo Herbs has launched high-quality eye care products from Charenda, Webber Naturals, Jamieson, etc., with various formulations such as the prevention of false myopia, anti-blue light, prevention of AMD, and so on, and help consumers choose the ideal products.

Dietitians Give Tips On Eye Protection For The Challenge Of Young-age Myopia

Due to the heavy burden of study and work, and the easy access of electronic appliances like computers and smartphones, students and office workers are overusing their eyes. Moreover, the decline of outdoor activities and the long-hour screen browsing make the problems of dry eyes, blurred vision, and even decreased vision become the norm. Retinopathy such as myopia, glaucoma, degeneration, and cataract is striking people at a younger age. In addition, some eye diseases, such as diabetic retinopathy, are closely related to factors such as sedentary life, poor eating habits, and obesity.

The Dietitians of Gogo Herbs pointed out that, in addition to the problems of eye using and lifestyle habits, many people still have the problem of nutritional imbalance, and nutrition is also the key to protecting eyesight. They suggest that you could intake these nutrients in an appropriate amount:

A. Lutein and Zeaxanthin: They are antioxidants that help to protect eye tissues, form macular pigment in eye tissues, and filter blue light that may harm the macula. Leafy green vegetables (such as leaves of sweet potato, kale, spinach, etc.) are the best sources of lutein and zeaxanthin.

B. Omega-3 fatty acids: They help to protect the retina and maintain retinal function, improve the eye’s oil film, and relieving symptoms or signs of dry eye. The best sources omega-3 are mackerel, sardines, oysters, salmon, shrimp, etc.

C. Anthocyanins: Anthocyanins are powerful natural antioxidants that help promote blood circulation in the eyes, enhance the function of the photoreceptor cells of the eyes, and enhance visual acuity. Anthocyanins can be ingested from purple-blue fruits and vegetables such as grapes, blueberries, eggplants, cherries, etc.

D. Astaxanthin: Astaxanthin is also a powerful antioxidant substance, which can promote blood circulation, relax the ciliary muscles, and help to remove free radicals in the body, thus it helps to improve the quality of vision. Astaxanthin can be ingested from salmon, crab, and shrimp.

E. Vitamins and minerals: Protecting eyesight requires complete and balanced nutrition, such as vitamins A, B, C, E and dietary minerals such as selenium, zinc, etc., which help to maintain retinal health and protect eyesight, so it is necessary to maintain a balanced diet in your daily lives.

The Demand Of Eye Health Products Continues Rising

According to a WHO report in 2019, more than 2.2 billion people around the world have a vision impairment, of whom at least 1 billion have a vision impairment that could have been prevented or is yet to be addressed. In spite of the rising alarm of the vision crisis, the dependence on electronic appliances continues to grow. What’s more, most office workers need to work on the computer for at least 7 hours. Under these circumstances, the demand for eye health products is accelerating. Persistence Market Research showed that until 2024, the global market value of eye health will exceed 2.55 billion euros.

The CEO of Gogo Herbs said that orders for eye health products from Gogo Herbs are increasing at a rate of about 10% each year, and products with blue light and dry eyes protection formula are loved by youngsters. “For most Hong Kong citizens, suffering visual stress is inevitable, or at least it cannot be changed soon. In addition to the problems of an unbalanced diet and insufficient sleep, more and more people purchased eye health products to keep their eyesight from worsening.”, the CEO of Gogo Herbs said. And he pointed out that the elderly are also a group that urgently needs targeted eye health products. “Hong Kong citizens are getting more conscious about their health than ever before, and there are more people aware of the harm of AMD (age-related macular degeneration), thus the sales of products that protect the macular area of the retina have also increased.”, he said.

Different Requirements For Eye Care Should Be Taken Into Consideration

Although there is a huge demand for eye health products, the requirements for eye care are various. Therefore, eye care products are becoming diversified. Take Gogo Herbs as an example, it provides different formulas of eye health supplements on its online store to meet the needs of different people:

A. Students who suffer from vision stress: The online store provides eye care concentrated essence tablets with ingredients such as anthocyanins and lutein. These eye care supplements help to prevent pseudomyopia and strengthen the immune system, such as Charenda – Lutein 30 + Blueberry 10000 Concentrated Essence Tablets and so on.

B. Office workers who work on electronic appliances: Products with comprehensive anti-blue light and dry eye formulas can help reduce the damage of electronic appliances to the eyes and relieve eye strain, such as Webber Naturals – Blue Light & Dry Eyes Protection Formula Lutein, Zeaxanthin & Omega-3 softgels and so on.

C. Elderly people: Many elderly people need to take lutein and zeaxanthin to prevent AMD, and the online store provides lutein and zeaxanthin supplements to help them protect their eyes, such as Webber naturals – Lutein Extra Strength softgels and so on.

D. People who want to remain nice eyesight: There are other eye care supplements on the online store that can help to relieve eye strain, such as Webber Naturals Blueberry Plus with Bilberry Capsules and so on.

For each product, the online store of Gogo Herbs is also listed detailed information about the product’s benefits, ingredients, recommended dosage, warning, and so on. The CEO of Gogo Herbs said, “Although many consumers have already known some nutrients and their benefits, they often confused about which formula of supplements is best for them, and these measures will help them purchase the most suitable products”.

Although there is a bright future of the eye care market, winning the long-lasting trust and love of consumers requires the unremitting efforts of health care product companies. In this regard, the CEO of Gogo Herbs said that they will continue to “counter changes with consistency” in the future. In order to meet the real needs of consumers, they will continue to focus on the ingredients and formulas of the products, to provide consumers with the most matching products.

About Gogo Herbs

Gogo Herbs is a Hong Kong health product platform that gathers natural and high-quality health products from the globe. In addition to the symbol of healthy living, Gogo Herbs also represents the attitude of healthy living. https://gogoherbs.com/en/

• Net income increased to USD115 mn despite fallout from COVID-19 pandemic
• Balance sheet grew by 7.5% to USD7.89 bn
• Corporate Banking and Treasury & Capital Markets portfolios up 6% and 13%, respectively
• Improvement in key financial and risk metrics, including highest ever liquidity ratio (349%) and capital adequacy (31%).

DAMMAM, SAUDI ARABIA – EQS Newswire – 7 April 2021 – The Arab Petroleum Investments Corporation (APICORP), a multilateral development financial institution, announces that its Board of Directors recommended to the General Assembly the approval of its financial results for the year ended December 31, 2020. Continuing its record performance, the Corporation posted a 3% year-on-year (y-o-y) rise in net income despite the fallout of the unprecedented COVID-19 global crisis – from USD112 mn in 2019 to USD115 mn in 2020.

The key drivers include a 6% y-o-y growth in APICORP’s Corporate Banking portfolio to reach USD3.9 bn, as well as a 13% y-o-y growth in its Treasury & Capital Markets portfolio, which also netted USD46 mn in capital gains, a 488% increase from the prior year.

Moreover, the Corporation’s balance sheet increased from USD7.34 bn to USD7.89 bn in 2020, a 7.5% y-o-y uptick which is higher than the 5% CAGR recorded over the past five years. Key financial and risk metrics also continued their steady improvement, as the Corporation recorded its highest ever liquidity ratio at 349% and increased its capital adequacy ratio to 31% (+1% y-o-y), as well as reducing its leverage level from 2.5x in June 2020 to 2.23x in December 2020.

Apart from demonstrating the strength and resilience of APICORP’s financial position, the robust financial and risk metrics enabled APICORP to retain its ‘Aa2’ rating with a stable outlook from Moody’s and earned its inaugural ‘AA’ rating with a stable outlook by Fitch – the only regional financial institution in MENA to hold two ‘AA’ ratings.

The year also witnessed a landmark capital increase by which the Corporation increased its authorized capital from USD2.4 bn to USD20 bn, subscribed capital from USD2 bn to USD10 bn, paid-up capital from USD1 bn to USD1.5 bn, and callable capital from USD1 bn to USD8.5 bn.

Commenting on APICORP’s results, Dr. Aabed bin Abdulla Al-Saadoun, Chairman of the Board of Directors said: “The strong 2020 financial results despite the uncertain economic landscape that clouded most of the year illustrates APICORP’s exceptional steadfastness and resilience. The fact that we ended the year with a 3% increase in net income points to the Corporation’s strong and solid fundamentals. As the region, and indeed the world, begins to recover from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, we are confident that we will continue to ably support the MENA energy sector, including the proactive advancement of the energy transition agenda.”

Dr. Ahmed Ali Attiga, Chief Executive Officer of APICORP, said: “We are immensely proud to close yet another successful financial year for APICORP. The milestones we achieved in 2020 were made more remarkable given the shockwaves of the unprecedented triple crisis stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic that severely impacted the financial results of peer financial institutions and affected all sectors. Complemented by the resolute support from our Member Countries, deep partnership base, and the hard work of all staff members, our positive results underscore the soundness of our long-term investment and funding strategy, as well as our agile and efficient approach to tackle the challenges of 2020.”

“Looking ahead, we will continue to solidify our position as the trusted financial partner to the MENA energy sector. In line with our development mandate, we aim to focus on supporting the growth of the private sector – particularly in the clean and renewable energy space – to accelerate the energy transition and build a more sustainable future for the Arab region,” Dr. Attiga added.

Business Line Highlights

Corporate Banking

APICORP increased its corporate banking assets by 6% y-o-y in 2020 to reach USD3.9 billion, booking 1.6 bn in drawdowns over the year. Notably, 6 of the 11 project finance commitments in 2020 were in green energy or within the category of sustainable utility projects, and all were part of the USD500 mn countercyclical package the Corporation launched in April to help the MENA energy sector mitigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and oil price volatility. The gross NPL ratio, meanwhile, remained very low at just 0.59%.

Investments

Although the 2020 crisis affected the revenues of some investee companies, it also opened opportunities for APICORP to pursue quality investments in high-potential well-run companies alongside like-minded investors seeking to maximize long-term value creation and impact. The year witnessed the Corporation making its first-ever equity stake in a wind energy company, while at the same time progressing on a number of exits from current investments to optimize the balance sheet as well as capitalize on the positive long-term growth prospects of its equity portfolio.

Treasury & Capital Markets

By following a more active approach to managing the Corporation’s assets and liabilities of APICORP, Treasury & Capital Markets was able to not only optimize the risk-adjusted returns of the Corporation’s high-quality liquid portfolio (including USD 46 mn in capital gains), but also further bolster its strong funding profile. On the funding front, APICORP increased its medium-term financing by 26% y-o-y while decreasing short-term financing by 12% as a safeguard against prolonged market volatility. Moreover, the year saw the Corporation raising its profile as a debt issuer in the sovereign, supranational and agency (SSA) space through the USD 750 mn benchmark bond issuance in June, which achieved the lowest ever yield and spread in the Corporation’s history, and attracted high-quality SSA investors from across the globe (more than 50% of the order book were from central banks and official institutions. The success of the transaction was further cemented with the USD 250 mn tap in October that brought the total size of the issuance to USD 1 bn.

• Download Image: Dr. Ahmed Ali Attiga, CEO, APICORP
• Download Image: Dr. Aabed bin Abdulla Al-Saadoun Chairman, APICORP

About APICORP:

The Arab Petroleum Investments Corporation (APICORP) is a multilateral development financial institution established in 1975 by an international treaty between the ten Arab oil exporting countries. It aims to support and foster the development of the Arab world’s energy sector and petroleum industries. APICORP makes equity investments and provides project finance, trade finance, advisory and research. Headquartered in Dammam, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, APICORP is rated “Aa2” by Moody’s and “AA” by Fitch, both with a stable outlook.

More information can be found at: www.apicorp.org

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