HONG KONG, June 23, 2020 — TCL Electronics (1070.HK), one of the leading players in the global TV industry and leading consumer electronics company today announce the X915 Android QLED series’ global certification with IMAX® Enhanced for its extraordinary audiovisual features and large display.
“It is our absolute pleasure to gain recognition and partner with such an elite program as IMAX Enhanced. TCL Android QLED TVs have met the highest level of standards, and ensure the best color, contrast, clarity and sound on the market,” said Kevin Wang, CEO of TCL Industries Holdings Co., Ltd. and TCL Electronics.
TCL is one of the few TV brands that have met the stringent performance standards established by IMAX and DTS. The X915 features 8k Quantum Dot (QLED) Display and Dolby Vision® HDR imaging technology, industry-leading sound solutions by Onkyo and Dolby Atmos® immersive audio hardware.
IMAX Enhanced 8K QLED Performance
Powered by the latest Quantum Dot (QLED) Display Technology with measured 95%+ ultra-high color gamut (DCI-P3) and 1.07 billion level color rendering, X915 delivers deeply saturated reds, stunning greens and spectacular blues without the limitations of lower color volume or shorter life found in other color technologies.
X915 also offers amazing 8K picture quality with resolution of 33 million pixels. For non-8K content, X915’s AI 8K Upscaling Technology can optimize it into 8K format automatically, offering true 8K experience. Its Local Dimming Technology enables precise backlight control that enhances contrast and imagery while HDR 10+ and Dolby Vision® optimize picture to boost color saturation limits and beefing up the contrast.
IMAX ENHANCED Audio Hardware
The X915 also comes equipped with an industry-leading sound system, featuring hardware from Onkyo and sound technology supported by Dolby Atmos immersive audio.
*Product specifications, sizes and avaliability may differ by region.
*Dolby, Dolby Atmos, and Dolby Vision are registered trademarks of Dolby Laboratories, Inc.
About TCL Electronics
TCL Electronics (1070.HK) is a fast-growing consumer electronics company and leading player in the global TV industry. Founded in 1981, TCL operates its own manufacturing and R&D centers worldwide with products sold in more than 160 countries. According to Sigmaintell, TCL ranked 2nd in the global TV market in terms of sales volume in 2019. TCL specializes in the research, development and manufacturing of consumer electronics ranging from TVs, audio devices and smart home products.
StaffAny joins the fight against COVID-19 by waiving CICO Global’s download fees till end-2020
SINGAPORE, June 23, 2020 — Singapore start-up StaffAny, which offers workforce management tech solutions, has developed and launched a new mobile app, called CICO Global (Clock-in, Clock-out). As many regional economies are slowly emerging from lockdowns, businesses are carefully reopening. The app helps regional businesses and their employees reopen in an efficient and safe manner by leveraging digital solutions to encourage businesses to easily employ safety measures, such as contact tracing, safe distancing and staggered employee hours. CICO Global is ideal for businesses that require the recording of staff attendance (in particular, part-timers or hourly workers), such as F&B outlets, convenience shops, and retailers like supermarkets.
StaffAny CICO clock in and temperature logs mobile app flow
To help the Asia Pacific business community fight against COVID-19, StaffAny is waiving CICO’s download fees for regional businesses until the end of 2020[1]. CICO is also in line with Singapore’s recently announced Fortitude Budget as it helps businesses use digital solutions to reopen in a safe manner and encourages workers to comply with post-Circuit Breaker measures.
“We first developed CICO as the ‘lite’ version of our original StaffAny solution and launched it in Singapore to help businesses here reopen, providing employers with a peace of mind that their staff was complying with our local Circuit Breaker measures. We were greatly heartened by the number of sign-ups – hundreds in just a short period of time. We wanted to find a way to extend CICO and help the regional community to continue operations smoothly and safely, as we know many companies – especially SMEs – have been badly hit by COVID-19,” said Janson Seah, co-founder, StaffAny.
CICO Global is a workforce management mobile application that employees and their managers can use in the following ways:
Automated timesheets – Employees use CICO Global to verify when they enter and leave the business. After downloading CICO Global on their mobile phones, employees use the app to scan a QR code based at the work premise. CICO Global verifies the individual, time of arrival and departure, as well as the geo-location of their mobile. CICO Global then automatically tabulates the number of hours registered at work, including overtime. This removes the need for manual clock-ins (which can be easily mis-recorded) or outdated punch-cards. The contactless system also reduces the chances of any virus transmission. When employees clock in, they can also make a health declaration to confirm they have not travelled abroad recently or been in contact with a COVID-19 patient[2].
Dashboard for visibility – Managers no longer need to visit each outlet to verify staff have clocked in for work. Using the CICO Global dashboard, they can easily verify attendance and clock-in/out times. By tracking staff properly, managers can ensure staggered hours and that employees are not being cross-deployed to different outlets.
Notifications – When assigned staff does not clock-in, CICO Global notifies the manager so that necessary action can be taken. Notifications are also provided to employees to remind them of an upcoming shift. This helps prevent lateness and no-shows.
Record keeping – All records are within the app and can be easily exported. This eliminates time-consuming paperwork for multiple records, such as health declaration, temperature taking, or clock-in/out times.
“Clocking in for work was previously quite tedious – multiple clock-ins, signing many health declaration forms, and all the messy paperwork that comes with it. A couple of times, an employee would accidentally miss out on something and my team would need to constantly check. Now with CICO, things are simpler, faster, and neater. I have more time to focus on managing operations, in particular, sorting out deliveries and our new take-away initiative,” said Walden Ting, Operations Manager Brotzeit, a German bar and restaurant in Singapore.
See Annex A for details on some of CICO’s pioneering users.
Setting up CICO Global is simple, instant, and does not require any hardware. Businesses simply log on to CICO Global (https://www.staffany.com/cicoglobal) and sign up. Regional businesses that sign up by 31 July can access CICO for free till the end of this year (with StaffAny waiving the regular fee of S$39 per month). After signing up, businesses can start instantly by adding/importing their employees’ details in bulk. Employees will then receive an invitation from their employer via SMS to download the StaffAny CICO app and they would be able to clock in immediately. Businesses that continue using the app will pay the regular fee after the end of this year.
“As economies ease their lockdowns and businesses resume, we want to minimise chances of a surge in the number of cases of COVID-19. Because of this, it makes sense that some measures stay in place, including safe distancing, staggered working hours, no cross-deployment of staff, and contact tracing. This is why StaffAny will keep providing CICO Global for free to regional businesses until the end of the year. Hopefully, this will help everyone to stay safe and efficient at the workplace, as regional economies start to open up for business again,” explained Janson Seah.
Set up in 2018, StaffAny is a Singapore start-up company that aims to connect human resources and operations within organisations, for greater efficiency, productivity, and better communications among staff. The company is supported by NUS Enterprise, the entrepreneurial arm of the National University of Singapore, incubated at BLOCK71 Singapore, and founded by a team of alumni from the NUS Overseas Colleges programme.
[1] Waiver of CICO Global fees until end-2020 is done as long as businesses sign up before 31 July 2020.
[2] The health declaration is optional. Should employees wish, the health declaration form can be removed.
About StaffAny
StaffAny is a workforce management solution for companies who engage hourly workers. The most common way to manage hourly workers today is to do it via clunky spreadsheets. The process is time-consuming and tedious and we believe more needs to be done.
At StaffAny, we make time for businesses to do what matters. We empower today’s connected workforce with a data-driven approach to managing hourly workers. We have brought smiles to hundreds of paying locations via our integrated scheduling and time tracking Software as a Service (SaaS).
Our job today is to connect HR and ops internally within organisations, and our vision is to enable businesses to be connected to the leaner workforce of tomorrow. For more information, please visit https://www.staffany.com/.
Annex A: Pioneering businesses using CICO
Juan Valdez Cafe
Juan Valdez Cafe, a global coffeehouse chain originally from Colombia, South America, has seven outlets with 30 employees in Kuala Lumpur (KL), Malaysia. Since Malaysia’s Movement Control Order (MCO) was imposed on 18 March 2020 to curb the country’s COVID-19 transmission, it has been tough on F&B businesses as they could only do takeaways and deliveries. Although Juan Valdez Cafe’s revenue took a hit, the restaurant adapted its business and took the opportunity to give back to the community. It swiftly got on food delivery mobile apps like Beepit, foodpanda, and GrabFood, expanded its menu offerings, and started its own initiative called “Support Our Local Heroes” to distribute free drinks to frontliners such as healthcare workers, delivery riders, and news reporters. It also launched local favourites at affordable prices to let Malaysians continue enjoying these dishes while supporting local businesses and micro-entrepreneurs during this period of social distancing.
“It is crucial to make sure that our employees comply with all safety measures and come to work healthily, as this in turn helps us fulfill our responsibility towards our customers whose safety is our top concern. Originally, we were using a manual clock-in system where employees had to record attendance, take and log their temperature on a separate form and declare health status manually on paper upon arriving at work. This was time-consuming, inefficient and not hygienic with unavoidable surface contact made. Keeping these paper records was bulky and in order to have full sight of employees’ attendance, we needed to visit each outlet. CICO Global has helped in consolidating real-time data logged from all seven outlets onto a single platform, and gives me full visibility over employees’ attendance and overtime. Furthermore, it digitalises temperature and attendance logs in a contactless manner. CICO Global has saved us time, allowed us to become more efficient and have better control over operations and staff allocation. Although COVID-19 has affected our business, being adaptable and open to innovation has allowed us to improve and keep operations smooth, even with the additional measures that we have to comply with, due to the lifting of the conditional MCO,” said Mr Khalip Latif, Director, Juan Valdez Cafe, Klang Valley, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Starting in 2017 as a cafe based at the National University of Singapore (NUS), Foreword Coffee Roasters had grown to three outlets staffed by a team of 20. The company is a social enterprise, hiring individuals with disabilities and special needs, as the company recognises their potential and provides inclusive employment and training opportunities within the F&B industry. When the COVID-19 pandemic hit Singapore, Foreword Coffee Roasters was forced to close two of its outlets. The remaining cafe only handles take-away orders and is located at the Centre for Healthcare Innovation in Tan Tock Seng Hospital. To boost its business, Foreword Coffee Roasters has expanded its online shop which offers handcrafted bottled coffee and other products.
“Healthcare safety has always been paramount for the F&B sector. Previously, employees had to perform SafeEntry whenever they passed any of the entry points at Tan Tock Seng Hospital, log in again later when they reached work, and then log into SafeEntry which was a hassle. Because of this, using CICO was convenient in helping to save time and reduce stress. We have seen a significant increase in our online sales since Circuit Breaker measures came into effect. Due to the popular demand of our bottled coffees, we have just launched a new subscription model, which offers customers discounts when they purchase in bulk. So, using CICO has been a great help for me, as it allows me to monitor who is on-site preparing the drinks, even when I’m not at the cafe,” said Lim Wei Jie, Founder and Director, Foreword Coffee Roasters.
The COVID-19 pandemic has upended the F&B sector, and many companies have had to adapt quickly to the digital era to engage with their customers. Good Luck Beerhouse developed an online website, to allow customers to order take-aways from them, in particular their craft beers, which they sell in a 640ml take-away container. Owner Kevin Ngan realised that many of his F&B neighbours along Haji Lane would be in a similar predicament. He invited them onboard his online platform, and together they provide joint deliveries under the ‘Solidarity on Haji Lane’ campaign, so customers can enjoy a range of food items – from gourmet burgers to oysters, dim sum, and prawn mee – paired with their favourite craft beer.
“We’ve had to completely change our understanding of how the F&B environment operates. We kept our team lean, refined operations and spent hours designing new campaigns and fine-tuning our propositions, so the company could survive. And while the additional revenue generated from our ‘Solidarity on Haji Lane’ campaign has been marginal, the solidarity and support for one another is absolutely priceless! Because of this extra work required to keep the business running, we’re definitely grateful for the time saved with the integration of CICO and SafeEntry. Not only is this time saved, but there is greater peace of mind that we are complying with the various measures to stay safe, as we stay open,” said Kevin Ngan, Owner, Good Luck Beerhouse.
Like most businesses, Phoon Huat – a company that provides baking ingredients and supplies – has been impacted by COVID-19. However, in an unusual turn of events, it has actually led to an increase in B2C sales, as more people are choosing to bake as they stay at home. This has resulted in long queues for certain outlets, and Phoon Huat has had to deploy manpower to help out with queue management. The company currently has 380 employees and began using StaffAny’s enterprise solution mid- 2019 at one of their new outlets, to better manage staff rostering.
“Our employees – in particular their health and safety – are our utmost priority. When Singapore raised our risk assessment to DORSCON Orange, we rolled out StaffAny’s contactless time and attendance taking functions to our headquarters, which also includes our production and logistics operations, to reduce the need for staff to make physical contact when clocking in or out. StaffAny’s solution has been great – we can access all reports, and plan shifts more efficiently. Our original plan was to use StaffAny to get accurate timesheet data, but we are now using StaffAny for data analytics. This is especially useful, as we’ve had to adapt to a change in our business model, after seeing a significant increase in retail sales, and at the same time a drop in B2B sales. In addition, we’ve also had to put in place two teams working at different times in our production and logistics operations, as one of the safe distancing measures in the workplace. And because StaffAny integrates with SafeEntry, it has definitely made checking-in and out much more convenient for our staff. Together with StaffAny, we are doing our best to coordinate efforts, together with the whole nation, to combat COVID-19 together,” said Mr Lee Tjen Chew, CFO, Phoon Huat.
GURUGRAM, India, June 23, 2020 — VVDN Technologies, leading product engineering and manufacturing company in India, and HFCL Limited, leading telecom infrastructure developer, system integrator and manufacturer, have collaborated to deliver HFCL’s next generation Wireless product portfolio. HFCL and VVDN have pioneered in designing, developing and manufacturing wide range of Wireless Access Points, P2P and P2MP connectivity solutions in India for global market.
Harpreet Singh, Networking and Wi-Fi BU Head at VVDN, said, “We are pleased to be a partner of HFCL which is consistently empowering innovation with introducing new technologies by promoting Research & Development for end-to-end wireless solutions for high-performance demanding networks. With our new Global Innovation Park setup, VVDN has already expanded its wireless manufacturing facility with dedicated SMT lines, product assembly floors which has led to the increase in our production delivery by 4 times. Having successfully deployed wireless solutions based on Wi-Fi 5 with MU-MIMO and beamforming solutions, HFCL and VVDN are now eyeing Wi-Fi 6 – a new wave in the wireless technologies and gear towards delivering a whole portfolio of wireless solutions by last quarter of this year.”
Bhuvnesh Sachdeva, Vice President, New Product Development, HFCL commented, “Our product development capabilities are continuously taking us forward as a technology enterprise where we develop products with latest technologies with futuristic approach which are cost effective and have our own IPRs. HFCL has been working with leading telcos to meet their demands on the Wireless Products and Solutions. Our goal was to launch a highly reliable Wi-Fi technology solutions that are globally competitive and truly “Make in India“, to bridge the gap that currently exists in the market. Our centers for excellence in research along with invested R&D houses at different locations in India and abroad are working on development of new age technologies. In VVDN Technologies, we found a reliable manufacturing and ODM partner who truly had the capability and potential to deliver as per our requirements and also ensured that we continuously evolve the seamless, connected experiences that our customers demand. We have successfully developed and delivered over 50,000 Access Points, P2P and P2MP radio already in the market and look forward to much more.”
“We are proud to partner with VVDN and HFCL as they enable wireless infrastructure products with cutting-edge technologies and are working closely with them to create and deploy wireless solutions based on Wi-Fi 6. This collaboration will cater to both Indian and global markets while helping grow our Make in India ecosystem. This opportunity is a true manifestation of Made in India for the World,” said Uday Dodla, Sr Director, Business Development, Qualcomm India.
About VVDN
VVDN is a Product Engineering & Manufacturing company focused on designing & manufacturing end-to-end products across several technology vertical markets (5G, Data Center, Vision, Networking, Wi-Fi, IoT, Defense, Cloud & Apps). VVDN serves global customers including US, Canada, Europe, India, Vietnam, Korea, and Japan. VVDN’s head quarter Global Innovation Park is located at Manesar, India and has 9 advanced Product Engineering Centers in India, which are fully equipped to design & test the complete hardware & software required to develop a complete product or solution.
HFCL Limited is a leading telecom infrastructure developer, system integrator and manufacturer of high-end telecom equipment and optical fibre cables, having its own manufacturing facilities at Solan and Goa, and its subsidiary i.e. HTL Limited facilities in Chennai and Hosur.
HFCL provides single window solution for telecom projects; offering design, equipment supply, installation, system integration, operation and maintenance services. HFCL is now leveraging its inherent strengths in addressing complex needs of emerging sectors, such as Railway Communication and Signalling, Defence, Homeland Security and also Smart City Projects.
SINGAPORE, June 23, 2020 — Leading international travel services provider Trip.com Group today introduced a range of new initiatives to reinvigorate travel, as part of its online “Travel On” launch event. Trip.com Group was joined by more than 70 representatives from over 200 industry partners for the launch of the industry-wide initiative, which attracted an audience of over 1 million viewers worldwide.
With pandemic control improving and travel beginning to show signs of recovery in some markets, today’s event marks the beginning of a new chapter for Trip.com Group, as it brings together the industry once again to revitalize travel with a range of new safety standards, flexibility guarantees, and promotions.
The “Travel On” initiative was led by Trip.com Group Chairman James Liang (pictured)
“Cherished memories of our previous trips have given us strength throughout this difficult time, and now, as travel becomes possible again, we’re working with our partners to give users the confidence, inspiration and freedom to travel on,” said Trip.com Co-founder and Chairman James Liang.
“At Trip.com, our commitment is to make every trip the perfect trip, and traveller safety is our number one priority,” said Trip.com Group CEO Jane Sun. “We’ve introduced these new measures to make sure that your next trip is as safe and enjoyable as ever.”
Trip.com Group CEO Jane Sun inaugurates the initiative at the “Travel On” launch ceremony.
As part of today’s announcement, Trip.com Group partnered with Google to launch a joint Travel Trends Report, finding that interest in short-haul travel is quickly developing, and that in addition to safety, flexibility was the foremost consideration in planning future travel.
In addition to the sector-specific safety commitments introduced at the event, Trip.com Group announced that it would be responding to the changing demands of consumers by waiving change fees with its “Flexibooking” guarantee.
To incentivize travellers and stimulate consumption, Trip.com Group announced the launch of its international “Travel On Sale”, giving customers access to exclusive discounts of up to 60% on flexible advance reservations with over 30,000 hotels situated in more than 180 countries. In tandem with the promotion, the leading online travel services provider introduced a new marketing model, and plans to hold a series of in-destination livestream broadcasts across the world. Building on its efforts in select pilot markets, the series of livestreams will offer further exclusive discounts to viewers, which have to date achieved over USD 70 million in sales and a viewership of millions.
Building on an initial USD 140 million in financial assistance provided to its partners in a number of pilot markets, the leading travel services provider today announced the expansion of its “Travel On Fund”, to help partners from all over the world revitalize their businesses.
“Travel is such an important force for good. It’s what brings us together, and breaks down barriers between us, and what the world needs most right now is the freedom to travel on safely,” said Trip.com Group CEO Jane Sun. “With the measures for safety and flexibility announced today, and these amazing deals and exciting new products on offer, that moment is now. There’s never been a better time to start planning that next trip, and to travel on.”
About Trip.com Group: Trip.com Group is a leading one-stop travel service provider comprising of Trip.com, Ctrip, Skyscanner, and Qunar. Across its platforms, Trip.com Group enables local partners and travelers around the world to make informed and cost-effective bookings for travel products and services, through the aggregation of comprehensive travel related information and resources, and an advanced transaction platform consisting of mobile apps, Internet websites and 24/7 customer service centers. Founded in 1999 and listed on NASDAQ in 2003, Trip.com Group has become one of the best-known travel brands in the world, with the mission of ‘making every trip the perfect trip’.
Airlines and IT suppliers are investing in distribution, loyalty programs, and supply chain management
SANTA CLARA, California, June 22, 2020 — Frost & Sullivan’s recent study, Analysis of the Global Airline IT Market, Forecast to 2025, finds that the increasing expectations of passengers are compelling airlines to embrace digital enablers and propelling a digital transformation journey that will fundamentally change traditional airline information technology (IT) strategies. Impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, the airline IT market is estimated to generate a revenue of $20.74 billion by 2025, compared to $21.20 billion in 2019. As per the original forecast, by 2025, the market was estimated to reach $25.1 billion from $21.20 billion in 2019.
“Despite the adverse impact of COVID-19 on the industry, airlines are increasingly focusing on adopting next-generation digital solutions such as mobility, machine learning (ML), Big Data analytics, and artificial intelligence (AI) to identify cost-saving and revenue-generating opportunities,” said Abhilash Varkey Abraham, Aerospace & Defense Research Analyst at Frost & Sullivan. “Additionally, a few major airlines have already committed to migrating their entire IT infrastructure to the cloud over the next 3-5 years and this trend is likely to continue and grow, mainly among low-cost carriers.”
Abraham added: “From a regional airline IT market perspective, North American airlines were the highest revenue contributor in 2019 and are expected to remain so during the forecast period. Further, APAC is expected to be the key growth engine over the medium and long terms.”
With global airlines losing $25 billion due to disruptions in operations and with 50% of them addressable via digital solutions, a huge opportunity exists for IT suppliers to innovate and expand their portfolio. Market opportunities include:
Real-time data analytics with an interactive display/graphical user interfaces (GUI) will have higher penetration in the medium term, which will serve as a growth opportunity for suppliers.
With airlines embracing the capabilities of next-gen technologies such as AI and ML, solution providers are encouraged to integrate these technologies into their solutions.
Vendors are encouraged to develop solutions to solve airlines’ disruption pain points, especially in the areas of passenger re-accommodation and compensation.
Adopting Big Data platforms can streamline the operations of airlines, reducing cost and time.
Analysis of the Global Airline IT Market, Forecast to 2025 is the latest addition to Frost & Sullivan’s Aerospace & Defense research and analyses, available through the Frost & Sullivan Leadership Council, which helps organizations identify a continuous flow of growth opportunities to succeed in an unpredictable future.
About Frost & Sullivan
For over five decades, Frost & Sullivan has become world-renowned for its role in helping investors, corporate leaders and governments navigate economic changes and identify disruptive technologies, Mega Trends, new business models and companies to action, resulting in a continuous flow of growth opportunities to drive future success. Contact us: Start the discussion.
Analysis of the Global Airline IT Market, Forecast to 2025
Global leaders including the CEOs of Minerva and Coursera to join the KAIST online forum to discuss how to facilitate inclusive educational environment amidst the ever-growing digital disparities
DAEJEON, South Korea, June 22, 2020 — An international forum hosted by the KAIST Global Strategy Institute will examine how the disruptions caused by the global pandemic will impact the future of education. Global leaders will reflect on ways to better facilitate inclusive educational environments and mitigate the digital divide, especially in an era where non-contact environments are so critical.
KAIST Forum Envisions Education in the Post-Covid Era
The online forum to be held on June 24 from 09:00 am KST will livestream on YouTube, Naver TV and KTV. This is the second forum hosted by the GSI following its inaugural forum in April.
Minerva School’s CEO Ben Nelson and Coursera CEO Jeff Maggioncalda will be among the 15 speakers who will share their insights on the new transformations in the education sector.
The digital transformation of higher education will be the key topic every speaker will highlight to predict the future education in the post-COVID era. According to UNESCO and UNICEF, 1.6 billion students from 192 countries, which account for 91 percent of the student population in the world, have experienced educational disruptions in the past four months. Approximately 29 percent of the youth worldwide, around 346 million individuals, are not online.
KAIST President Sung-Chul Shin’s opening remarks will stress that technological breakthroughs should be used to benefit us all and the private and public sectors should collaborate to facilitate an inclusive educational environment.
Ben Nelson believes that global universities are at the point of inflection for making tough choices to reform higher education. He will introduce what will affect the decision-making procedure for investing in the digital transformation and the best recipe for building a successful remote learning environment.
Dr. Paul Kim, CTO and Assistant Dean of Stanford Graduate School of Education, will analyze the ramifications brought about by COVID-19 among both advanced countries and developing countries, and propose an optimal educational model for developing countries.
Phil Baty, Chief Knowledge Officer at Times Higher Education, will present the key survey results the Times Higher Education made with approximately 200 university presidents on how higher education will adapt in the years to come.
As for innovation in higher education, Vice President at Microsoft Anthony Salcito and Professor Tae Eog Lee from the Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering at KAIST will discuss the education innovation solutions they are currently working on and how their projects will continue to develop.
National University of Singapore President Gan Eng Chye will also opine on how education could be more accessible. He will share what is exacerbating educational inequity and how to ensure an inclusive learning environment.
The second session will cover how to cope with the digital inequity.
Director General at the Ministry of Science and ICT Sang Wook Kang will explain the unavoidable online transition that is required to address the educational disruptions. He will also share his ideas on how this crisis can be leveraged to advance the educational environment.
Meanwhile, Rebecca Winthrop, senior fellow and co-director for universal education at Brooking Institution, and Sooinn Lee, CEO and Creative Lead of Enuma, will present on how to reduce the educational disparity during the un-contact era.
Director Joung-Ho Kim at the GSI, who is the organizer of the forum, said that KAIST has been the forerunner in the educational innovation. He hopes that this online forum will provide meaningful momentum to reshape the future of education by addressing the challenges and disruptions this pandemic has caused.
BEIJING, June 22, 2020 — China Distance Education Holdings Limited (NYSE: DL) ("CDEL", or the "Company"), a leading provider of online education and value-added services for professionals and corporate clients in China, today announced that its board of directors (the "Board") has formed a special committee (the "Special Committee") consisting of Ms. Carol Yu and Ms. Annabelle Yu Long, each an independent director, to review and evaluate a previously-announced non-binding proposal that the Board received on June 8, 2020 (the "Proposal") from Mr. Zhengdong Zhu, co-founder, chairman of the Board and chief executive officer of the Company ("Mr. Zhu"), Ms. Baohong Yin, co-founder of the Company, deputy chairman of the Board and the spouse of Mr. Zhu, and their affiliated entity (collectively, the "Buyer Group"), to acquire all of the outstanding ordinary shares of the Company, including ordinary shares represented by American depositary shares (the "ADSs", each representing four ordinary shares), for US$2.27 in cash per ordinary share, or US$9.08 in cash per ADS (the "Proposed Transaction"). The Special Committee has retained Goulston & Storrs PC as its United States legal counsel in connection with its review and evaluation of the Proposal.
The Company cautions its shareholders and others considering trading in its securities that neither the Board nor the Special Committee has made any decision with respect to the Company’s response to the Proposal. There can be no assurance that any definitive offer will be made, that any agreement will be executed or that this or any other transaction will be approved or consummated. The Company does not undertake any obligation to provide any updates with respect to this or any other transaction, except as required under applicable law.
About China Distance Education Holdings Limited
China Distance Education Holdings Limited is a leading provider of online education and value-added services for professionals and corporate clients in China. The courses offered by the Company through its websites are designed to help professionals seeking to obtain and maintain professional licenses and to enhance their job skills through our professional development courses in China in the areas of accounting, healthcare, engineering & construction, legal and other industries. The Company also offers online test preparation courses for self-taught learners pursuing higher education diplomas or degrees, and practical accounting training courses for college students and working professionals. In addition, the Company provides business services to corporate clients, including but not limited to tax advisory and accounting outsourcing services. For further information, please visit http://ir.cdeledu.com.
Safe Harbor Statements
This announcement may contain forward-looking statements. Any such statements are made under the "safe harbor" provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements can be identified by terminology such as "will," "may," "should," "potential," "continue," "expect," "predict," "anticipate," "future," "intend," "plan," "believe," "is/are likely to," "estimate" and similar statements. The Company may also make written or oral forward-looking statements in its periodic and annual reports to the SEC, in press releases and other written materials and in oral statements made by its officers, directors or employees to third parties. Statements that are not historical facts, including statements about the Company’s beliefs and expectations, are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements involve inherent risks and uncertainties. There can be no assurance that the Buyer Group will make any definitive offer to the Company, that any definitive agreement relating to the Proposal will be entered into between the Company and the Buyer Group or that the Proposed Transaction or any other similar transaction will be approved or consummated.
BEIJING, June 22, 2020 /PRNewswire-Asia/ — New Oriental Education & Technology Group Inc. (the “Company” or “New Oriental”) (NYSE: EDU), the largest provider of private educational services in China, today announced the proposed offering of senior notes outside the United States in reliance on Regulation S under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”). The Company intends to use the net proceeds from the offering for general corporate purposes.
The joint bookrunners of the offering are BofA Securities and UBS AG Hong Kong Branch.
The notes will be offered outside the United States in reliance on Regulation S under the Securities Act. The notes have not been and will not be registered under the Securities Act or the securities laws of any other place, and may not be offered or sold in the United States absent registration or an applicable exemption from registration requirements.
This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to purchase any securities, nor shall there be a sale of the securities in any state or jurisdiction in which such an offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful.
This press release contains information about the pending offering of the notes, and there can be no assurance that any of the offerings will be completed.
About New Oriental
New Oriental is the largest provider of private educational services in China based on the number of program offerings, total student enrollments and geographic presence. New Oriental offers a wide range of educational programs, services and products consisting primarily of language training and test preparation, primary and secondary school education, online education, content development and distribution, overseas study consulting services, pre-school education and study tour. New Oriental’s ADSs, each of which represents one common share, currently trade on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol “EDU.”
For more information about New Oriental, please visit http://www.neworiental.org/english/.
Safe Harbor Statement
This announcement contains forward-looking statements. These statements are made under the “safe harbor” provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements can be identified by terminology such as “will,” “expects,” “anticipates,” “future,” “intends,” “plans,” “believes,” “estimates” and similar statements. Among other things, the description of the proposed offering in this announcement contains forward-looking statements. New Oriental may also make written or oral forward-looking statements in its reports filed or furnished to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, in its annual reports to shareholders, in press releases and other written materials and in oral statements made by its officers, directors or employees to third parties. Statements that are not historical facts, including statements about New Oriental’s beliefs and expectations, are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements involve inherent risks and uncertainties. A number of factors could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statement, including but not limited to the following: our ability to attract students without a significant decrease in course fees; our ability to continue to hire, train and retain qualified teachers; our ability to maintain and enhance our “New Oriental” brand; our ability to effectively and efficiently manage the expansion of our school network and successfully execute our growth strategy; the outcome of ongoing, or any future, litigation or arbitration, including those relating to copyright and other intellectual property rights; competition in the private education sector in China; changes in our revenues and certain cost or expense items as a percentage of our revenues; the expected growth of the Chinese private education market; Chinese governmental policies relating to private educational services and providers of such services; health epidemics and other outbreaks in China; and general economic conditions in China. Further information regarding these and other risks is included in our annual report on Form 20-F and other documents filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. New Oriental does not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statement, except as required under applicable law. All information provided in this press release is as of the date of this press release, and New Oriental undertakes no duty to update such information, except as required under applicable law.
SINGAPORE, June 22, 2020 —Acronis, a global leader in cyber protection, and Minterest, a leading Singapore-based online financial services solutions provider, have joined forces to launch Acronis #CyberFit Financing, Powered by Minterestto provide Singapore-based businesses with financing support to remain resilient and #CyberFit with the COVID-19 pandemic.
Acronis #CyberFit Funding platform powered by Minterest
The unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic has forced businesses globally to operate remotely and people – to work from home. Very often, they work with unsecured digital networks and are vulnerable to cyber-attacks.
As a cyber protection company, Acronis is dedicated to helping organizations safeguard their data, applications, and systems so they can remain productive and avoid costly downtime. During the COVID-19 outbreak, essential services such as supermarkets, drug stores, medical services, mechanical services, police, and governmental agencies will need cyber protection to be #CyberFit so their IT infrastructure remains protected and operational.
Serguei Beloussov, Founder and CEO of Acronis, said:“Cybercriminals are ruthless – they see the coronavirus pandemic as an opportunity to target new vulnerabilities such as those caused by many staff migrating to home offices. Now more than ever, cyber protection should be a key concern for every business, as a data breach that costs a company valuable data can cripple even large organizations. Acronis Cyber Protect Cloud is a solution we have developed to combat this global threat. Acronis is dedicated to doing our part to help businesses both in the digital and the real world. With support from our capable partners at Minterest, we hope to provide streamlined access to vital funding to ensure business continuity for as many Singapore businesses as possible.”
Beyond the heightened cybersecurity risk, with the coronavirus outbreak slowing down economies and disrupting supply chain networks, many managed service providers, hosting companies, SMEs and home businesses are also faced with urgent cash flow issues. Through this partnership, Acronis and Minterest hope to empower businesses by providing easy access to customised financing solutions to tide them through this difficult period and to build their cybersecurity capabilities to ringfence their businesses. Minterest is able to bring speed to lending, as it is able to process and approve loan applications within 48 hours, upon full submission of necessary documents.
Charis Liau, CEO of Minterest, commented: “The COVID-19 outbreak has sent shock waves throughout the global economy and many companies are facing deteriorating business conditions and cash flow liquidity crunches. We are pleased to partner with Acronis to accelerate the access to financial aid for Singapore-based firms. We want to be here for them; not just get through the pandemic, but beyond that as well.“
Founded in Singapore in 2003 and incorporated in Switzerland in 2008, Acronis now has more than 1,500 employees in 33 locations in 18 countries. Its solutions are trusted by more than 5.5 million personal users and 500,000 businesses, including 100% of the Fortune 1000 companies. Acronis’ products are available through 50,000 partners and service providers in over 150 countries in more than 30 languages.
Acronis #CyberFit Financing aims to help provide Acronis’ cyber protection services to as many in need of it as possible – providing access to the financial aid small businesses need to weather the economic downturn, and ensuring the managed service providers that support these essential services will be able to continue delivering the cyber protection they need.
The Minterest Group is a Singapore-based online financial services solutions provider that connects borrowers with investors. Established in 2016, it is a leading non-bank fintech group with dual licences in Singapore enabling the group to facilitate, by leveraging on technology, corporate loans through marketplace lending and personal loans at customised interest rates. It has a cumulative deal origination volume of over S$88 million in Singapore.
Backed by ARA Asset Management and regulated by the Monetary Authority of Singapore, Minterest aims to bring funding to businesses that are constrained by various requirements of conventional finance providers. To help small businesses stay afloat during this COVID-19 pandemic, Minterest has been administering a S$8 Million SME Help Fund set up by John Lim’s family office (JL Family Office), ARA Asset Management and The Straits Trading Company.
Minterest is founded on the belief that everyone is entitled access to financial solutions to meet their corporate and individual requirements. Using the team’s deep financial experience and expertise, Minterest offers relevant financial and investment solutions to both borrowers and investors through the use of technology.
As part of AI/ML advancement in Singapore, Kantar was granted a patent in the Quantum Machine Learning field in Singapore.
Kantar Brand Growth Lab continues experimenting in the Quantum Machine Learning field.
SINGAPORE, June 22, 2020 — Kantar, the world’s leading data, insights and consulting company, announced today the first patent on Quantum Machine Learning as part of AI/ML advancement in Singapore. With the continuous support and partnership of Singapore’s Economic Development Board (EDB), Kantar established its Brand Growth Lab in Singapore in 2018 to develop AI/ML solutions. The Lab, an advanced analytics hub, is dedicated to discovering new ways to leverage big data to drive strategic decision-making for business.
Kantar awarded patent in the Quantum AI field
On January 2nd of this year, Kantar was granted its first patent by the Intellectual Property Office of Singapore for a method of optimising AI/ML predictions from a classical data feed with a hybrid simulator generated from classical and quantum model structures. Some of the other organizations with a patented invention in the Quantum technology field in Singapore are Oxford University Innovation, D-Wave, IBM and Google.
“Quantum technology will revolutionize Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning. This patent indicates our commitment to lead in this field. We are proud to have been awarded this patent as it demonstrates our advancement in the field of data science,” commented Hernan Sanchez, Managing Director, Kantar Brand Growth Lab.
Kantar Brand Growth Lab experiments in the Quantum Machine Learning field
In collaboration with Professor Angelakis, Principal Investigator and the leader of the Quantum Simulation and Computation Group at the National University of Singapore’s Centre of Quantum Technologies, two quantum experiments using real consumer behavioral data from Kantar’s panels were conducted during the last 6 months.
Experiment 1: Customer segmentation using quantum machine learning
In the first experiment, the goal was to develop quantum-inspired machine learning segmentation algorithm that exploits the concept of quantum interference and work in the classical hardware to improve the results of the current machine learning approach. Comparing the traditional technique with a quantum and a quantum genetic algorithm developed for this experiment, we observed that the Quantum versions showed better results.
Experiment 2: Customer Segmentation based on Media consumption patterns using an IBM quantum computer
The objective of this experiment was to establish the feasibility of using a quantum computer to address a real-life segmentation problem. The quantum algorithm was run using 2 qubits on the IBM’s 5-qubit quantum computer. 4 relevant consumer segments were identified. Next steps in our research will be about proving the superiority of the quantum approach and explore the potential of more advanced quantum hardware.
“In the field of Data Science, it is always crucial to be aware of the new techniques and methodologies in order to stay relevant and have that competitive edge. By venturing into Quantum field early and experimenting with different Quantum machine learning techniques, we hope to have an early mover advantage that could bring great business value in the long run,” commented Shilpa Jain, Principal Data Scientist, Kantar Brand Growth Lab.
“With the support of EDB, the Lab keeps on researching and developing advanced analytics solutions to help institutions and corporations maximize the productivity of their efforts. The post COVID-19 economy requires a new level of innovation and in today’s data-driven economy, AI will play a key role,” added Yee Mei Chan, co-managing director of the Kantar Brand Growth Lab.
About Kantar
Kantar is the world’s leading evidence-based insights and consulting company. We have a complete, unique and rounded understanding of how people think, feel and act; globally and locally in over 90 markets. By combining the deep expertise of our people, our data resources and benchmarks, our innovative analytics and technology, we help our clients understand people and inspire growth.
Further information about Kantar can be found at www.kantar.com
