ISTANBUL, June 5, 2020 /PRNewswire/ — Adopting sustainability as a business model with its "Respecting the World, Respected Worldwide" vision, Arçelik published its 12th Sustainability Report, announcing short, medium, and long-term targets towards 2030.
Arçelik CEO Hakan Bulgurlu
Arçelik CEO Hakan Bulgurlu spoke about the company’s 12th Sustainability Report, commenting, "A sustainable world is possible in the future with the steps we will take today. Our ‘In Touch Technology’ approach is based on this point of view. With our global reach, broad network of stakeholders, and our technologies that improve our planet, lives and business, we strive to be a part of the solution in tackling environmental and social problems. The COVID-19 outbreak has affected the whole world in a short period of time, and it has once again reminded us that our most important responsibility is to protect our environment, the ecosystem, biodiversity and natural resources. We believe that all companies will adopt sustainability as their business model after the pandemic. People will also encourage companies to take responsibility for environmental and social problems with their purchase decisions."
Energy and water consumption per product will decrease by 45%
Arçelik shared its solutions to combat the climate crisis and other environmental issues under the "In Touch with our Planet" section. By 2030, the company aims to establish 15 MW of renewable energy systems and reduce the energy consumption per product in its South Africa, Russia, Turkey, Romania, China, Thailand and Pakistan operations by 45% compared to the base year of 2015. In 2019, Arçelik reduced its energy consumption per product by 43.5% compared to 2010 in its Turkey, Romania, China, Russia, and South Africa operations. Now it aims to become a carbon-neutral company in its Turkish production plants by 2025 and reduce its water consumption per product by 45% by 2030 compared to the base year of 2015. The company also reached its 2020 targets by reducing its water consumption per product by 52% compared to the base year of 2012 in its Turkey, Romania, China, Russia, and South Africa operations.
The female manager ratio will increase to 30% by 2030
Under the "In Touch with Business" section, Arçelik explained its employee-oriented targets focusing on being a source of inspiration for its stakeholders, to begin with its supply chain and dealers. The company increased its female manager ratio to 18.6% in 2019 and now aims to raise it to 30% by 2030. Arçelik also aims to ensure that over 50% of its employees participate in a minimum of one volunteering activity per year.
Arçelik will help 80 million people gain awareness on healthy living
Through "In Touch with Human Needs" approach, Arçelik, with its Beko brand, aims to raise awareness amongst 80 million people about healthy living by 2030 with ongoing programmes to contribute to healthy, future generations. Arçelik also joins Grundig in the fight against food waste to raise awareness amongst 3.5 million people about responsible consumption and provide 1 million meals to 500,000 people by saving 1,200 tons of food.
The Industry Leader in Sustainability
Arçelik reinforced its leadership in national and global platforms with its sustainability efforts in 2019. Arçelik has been selected as the Industry Leader for the "Household Durables" category in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI). The index represents the gold standard in corporate sustainability and ranks the largest companies based on their sustainability performances. Arçelik has been the first and only industrial company from Turkey to be included in the DJSI Emerging Markets category for three consecutive years.
Arçelik maintained its achievements by being listed in the Borsa Istanbul (BIST) Sustainability Index, MSCI Sustainability Index, and FTSE4Good Emerging Markets Index, and by receiving the Zero Waste Private Sector Award from the Republic of Turkey, Ministry of Environment and Urbanization.
Arçelik has received A- in the 2019 Climate Program of the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP), the world’s most respected environmental initiative with its campaigns against climate change and became one of the Turkish companies to earn the highest score in this program. The company also received B in the CDP 2019 Water Program.
You can download Arçelik’s 2019 Sustainability Report here.
With a Global Year-on-Year Growth of 80.2%, Huami Became the Market Leader in Indonesia, Italy, Spain and India.
SHENZHEN, China, June 5, 2020 /PRNewswire/ — Huami (NYSE: HMI) with its self-owned brand Amazfit, ranked the Top 5 in terms of global watch shipment and market share in the first quarter of 2020, according to data from the International Data Corporation (IDC) Worldwide Quarterly Wearable Device Tracker. With a year-on-year growth of 80.2%, Huami greatly surpassed the overall growth rate of the adult watch market.
2020 Q1 Huami Ranked the Top 5 in both Global Watch Shipment and Market Share
Despite challenging market conditions that have impacted the consumer electronics industry,
Huami ranked No,1 by market share (excluding kids’ products) in Indonesia, Italy, Spain and India. Furthermore, Huami takes a record 58% share in Indonesia; 38% share in Italy; 24% share in Spain; 23% share in India. Huami also entered the top five for the first time in the US, the world’s largest single watch market. Besides, Huami entered the top 3 by shipment (excluding kids’ products) in Thailand; the top 4 in Russis and the top 5 in Brazil, France, Germany, Poland and China[2].
Unaudited financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2020 showed that Huami revenues reached RMB1,088.5 million (US$153.7 million), representing an increase of 36.1% from the first quarter of 2019. Total units shipped reached 7.6 million, compared with 5.6 million in the first quarter of 2019.
SEATTLE, June 5, 2020 /PRNewswire/ — NeuWave Technology launched ObeEnd, an innovative personal health device that monitors fitness and stimulates the nervous system, with the goal to reduce body weight via appetite control. The company is based in Washington State, and aims to develop safe, effective, and user-friendly healthcare devices to help improve people’s lives.
Background on wearable technology
Wearable technology was first introduced as the watch in the 1600s, in an attempt make the clock a much smaller and portable device for users to tell time.[1] This revolutionary invention, much like the subsequent ones over the centuries that eventually led to the smart watches we see today, constantly improved the user experience and the technology itself. NeuWave Technology pushes the envelope by offering a device with the objective to not only monitor personal health, but to also help improve it.
NeuWave Technology’s Innovations:
ObeEnd™ VS Sports Wristbands
1. More Than a Typical Wristband
The most popular wearable technologies are those worn on the wrist. The wristband, since the inception in wristwatches in the 1800s, only had the purpose to mount the device to the user.
NeuWave Technology integrates functional modules, like sensors, cables, and electrodes on the wristband used by ObeEnd. This distributes the operational hardware from the main unit onto the entire device, giving the main unit much more flexibility in design. Expanding the functional modules from the main unit to the wristband also gives the device a wider range of capabilities, while improving the data collection, nerve stimulation, and battery consumption efficiency.
2. Wearable Treatment
Most modern wearable technologies focus on data collection. NeuWave Technology takes this one step further by integrating targeted neuromodulation into ObeEnd. The objective is to allow the device to target specific medical conditions, namely obesity. Precise electric stimulation of PC6 has been clinically demonstrated to reduce both gastric acid secretion and stomach peristalsis, which are factors that contribute to weight loss.[2] Thus, ObeEnd uses targeted neuromodulation with the objective to reduce these activities, and by extension, obesity.
ObeEnd is designed as a wearable treatment device that allows users to enjoy the normal day-to-day services of a fitness wristwatch, as well as the safe and effective therapies of a healthcare technology. The combination of the two properties makes ObeEnd a user-friendly and cost-effective choice for consumers. NeuWave Technology plans to launch ObeEnd in Fall of 2020.
The Team of NeuWave Technology
The founding team of NeuWave Technology consists of healthcare experts from Harvard University and University of California, Berkeley. The team has previously produced the innovative wearable anti-nausea device, which won the 2017 iF Design Award, received top rankings on Amazon based on user reviews, and gained international recognition for its reputable design and usability. NeuWave looks forward to continue providing innovative healthcare solutions to worldwide users with ObeEnd.
References
[1] Guler, Sibel Deren (2016). Crafting wearables: blending technology with fashion. New York: Apress
[2] Effects of Electro acupuncture on Gastric Myoelectrical Activity in Healthy Humans Neurogastroenterol Motil. 2004 Jun;16(3):293-8.
BEIJING, June 5, 2020 /PRNewswire/ — A news report by China.org.cn:
One emerging lesson from the coronavirus epidemic, in China as well as in the rest of the world, is that while everyone may be affected, those who are already vulnerable are those who are likely to be more severely impacted. People who are already vulnerable have in fact less capacity to cope with the impact of such infection: they have limited access to social services, medical or social protection, and have less capacity to cope economically with the consequences of an outbreak.
A poverty alleviation official helps an impoverished farmer sell ducks amid COVID-19 pandemic in Qinji village, Anhui province.
I. Why caring about the smallholders
The smallholder farmers are most vulnerable group in China. Smallholder farmers, farmers with less than 2-3 ha of land, represent a significant share of the rural population: approximately 230-250 million people. In most cases, poor rural households are smallholders – and, in most cases, smallholders are poor or ‘close-to-poor’ households.
To appreciate how the new coronavirus epidemic has impacted smallholders, we need to look at their main sources of livelihoods. Smallholders depend on the production and sale of agricultural products – although this source of income represent a decreasing share of their income, probably something between 10-20 percent. Increasingly, they depend on informal or seasonal on- and off-farm employment, and – more and more – on the remittances from family members engaged in urban employment (which contribute to an estimated 44 percent of their income).
II. The impact of movement restrictions on employment, production, and sales
All the three smallholders’ main sources of livelihoods have been severely disrupted by the COVID-19 outbreak. Lockdown and movement restrictions had in fact an impact on employment, particularly for migrant work. Assuming, conservatively, that 75 percent of rural migrants were confined to their villages during the two-month lockdown,a group of researchers from the Rural Education Action Program at Stanford University suggested that possibly 200 million rural individuals have not been working during the lockdown period. If, as reported by Reuters, only 2.3 million people received unemployed benefits so far, the number of workers who have not received a salary for at least two months is extremely high.
Similarly, lockdown and movement (and transportation) restrictions had an impact on the production and sales of agricultural products. Movement and transportation restrictions affected the delivery of agricultural inputs: seeds, fertilizers, animal feed. According to a survey conducted by the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS) in five provinces, this had an impact on spring plowing and spring sowing, and a significant impact on livestock production, since livestock production cycles are short. Movement and transport restrictions also had an impact on farmers’ ability to access markets, affecting the sale of fresh products (fruits and vegetables) and livestock in particular, and had an impact on the agricultural supply chains. Almost 70 percent of the cooperatives interviewed by CAAS reported an impact on sales, and 63 percent on the various stages of the supply chain: purchasing materials, processing, transport, and storage.
III. The resulted impact on income, food security and nutrition
Overall, the main impact of the measures implemented to contain the impact of COVID-19 had an impact on income. According to CAAS estimates, farmers are expected a decrease in income between 10-40 percent. 80 percent of the surveyed farmers by CAAS expected more than 20 percent income decrease. Interestingly, the observed impact on the non-poor (but probably close to the poverty line) was higher than on the poor, possibly because the poor had access to some form of social protection that the non-poor were not eligible to. This makes the non-poor but close-to-poverty households further vulnerable, and at risk of falling into poverty.
The immediate impact of the reduction in income was a reduction in expenditures. According to a survey conducted by the Rural Education Action Program in seven provinces, the experienced reduction in income led to a reduction in expenditures for food consumption. Particularly, it was observed a reduction in the "quality" of the purchased food:frommore nutritious but more expensive food, to low-cost staple food. The immediate implication is that, despite food availability and food prices have overall remained stable during the period of the crisis (although many households reported an increase in food prices), reduced purchasing capacity because of falling income may lead to periods of food insecurity and malnutrition among vulnerable rural households.
The impact of the reduction of income on savings and assets has not yet been analysed – but it isplausible to hypothesize that poor households might have sold their assets and eroded their savings to cope with the crisis, making them more vulnerable.
IV. Key messages
First, while the effect of the measures implemented to contain the Covid-19 hit everyone (the whole economy has contracted by 6.8 percent in the first quarter, according to the National Bureau of Statistics), the impact on smallholders (and particularly on those that are either poor or above but close to the poverty line) seems higher because they are already vulnerable.
Second, with a gradual pick-up of the economy and a gradual "return to normality," the short-term impact of COVID-19 may be contained and absorbed. In fact, what may likely happen is that fewer people may escape poverty than would have in the absence of the outbreak.
However, the longer-term impact may be greater: a large share of the population may have become more vulnerable and at risk of falling (or falling back) into poverty in the event of a new shock – be it a new outbreak, an unexpected drop in commodity prices, or a poor harvest due to unfavorable weather events.
This is no surprise. The Government is aware that one of the main challenges in the years after 2020 will be to reduce vulnerabilities and avoid that people fall (or fall back) into poverty.
IFAD will continue to support China’s strategic focus on rural areas and rural people as an integral part of its rural revitalization strategy. Fostering rural communities that are increasingly resilient to shocks will be one of the main areas of cooperation.
Matteo Marchisio is the Country Director and IFAD Representative (China, Republic of Korea, and DPRK) and Head of East Asia Regional Hub and South-South Cooperation Center.
Opinion articles reflect the views of their authors, not necessarily those of China.org.cn and Chinagate.cn.
BEIJING, June 5, 2020 /PRNewswire/ — A video story presented by China.org.cn on China’s Tibetan people out of poverty by planting precious Rhodiola:
 
In 2015, Bama Chho Dzong, a resident of Tibet’s Shannanluo village, learned that a small, flowering plant-Rhodiola could help impoverished residents of the autonomous region improve their lives.
Rhodiola is a genus of precious perennial plants that are used in traditional Chinese medicine. After China’s Tibet began accepting tourists, demand increased sharply.
In 2015, Shanghai Inoherb Cosmetics Co., Ltd., the Tibet Academy of Agriculture and Animal Husbandry Sciences and the Qizheng Tibetan Medicine Group established Rhodiola cultivation bases, which made it possible for impoverished people like Bama to return to their hometown and begin working there. During the past three years, three Rhodiola cultivation bases were established.
The first Rhodiola cultivation base was established in Luo village and 60,000 Rhodiola seedlings were planted in 2016. Members of 48 households in the area began engaging in irrigation, weed and pest control, and pruning work at the site.
The second Rhodiola cultivation base was established in Suozhu township, Naidong district and 20,000 Rhodiola seedlings were planted in 2018. The staff compared seedlings that grew from seeds with those that were the results of seed culture projects, grew the plants in various soil environments and have continued to explore various cultivation techniques.
In 2019, the third Rhodiola cultivation base was established in the Shigatse Red River Valley National Agricultural Science and Technology Demonstration Zone and a model involving "gardens + enterprises + farmers and herders" was created and implemented.
The plants that the bases grow currently have a survival rate of more than 80 percent. The results that have been achieved have motivated more and more people to participate in the cultivation of plants used in TCM and the management of the bases. Inoherb pays a management fee based on the survival rate that is attained and bonuses are awarded for high rates which helps to stimulate impoverished people’s intrinsic motivation to escape from poverty.
"We have been growing Rhodiola plants for three years. Our hard work has paid off and our cultivation techniques have been improving. Rhodiola cultivation benefits Tibet’s residents, so more and more people are becoming interested in participating in the industry. We also hope that our techniques can be further promoted," said Bama Dorje YudonYuthok, Rhodiola tissue culture expert from Tibet Academy of Agricultural and Animal Husbandry Sciences.
NEW YORK, June 5, 2020 /PRNewswire/ — Zero-commission investing platform TradeUP announced today that it is offering Level 2 market data powered by NYSE ArcaBook for free. Users who open an account with TradeUP will receive free access to NYSE ArcaBook for 3 months. Users can get free access to NYSE ArcaBook for an additional 9 months if they can get 5 likes on their social media post.
Unlike Level 1 data, which shows the best bid and ask, Level 2 data provides a broader range of buy and sell orders for a given security on a real-time basis. NYSE ArcaBook provides the 40 best bid and ask prices as well as their order sizes for more than 8,000 U.S.-listed securities. The continuous feed of quotes gives users detailed insights into the price action, which can help them better determine the current buying and selling interest for a particular stock, as well as the likely future direction of the stock’s price. For easier comprehension, TradeUP also includes a depth chart to visualize the order book so that users can identify supply and demand at a glance.
"With NYSE ArcaBook, TradeUP’s users are able to gain a clearer view of market activity," said Ryan Song, director of TradeUP. "By displaying multiple bids and asks in real-time, Level 2 screens allow investors, especially active traders, to gauge trade signals with intraday pricing and volume. For instance, investors can have a better sense of market liquidity by looking at how quickly buy and sell orders replenish. "
Song added, "Level 2 market data is often offered as a premium subscription service by other ‘zero-commission’ trading platforms, which means users still have to pay for access. TradeUP, on the other hand, makes this free to average U.S. retail investors. At TradeUP, zero-commission does not mean fewer product or service offerings. Instead, our goal is to utterly remove the last remaining barriers to investing for everyone."
Launched in January 2020, TradeUP is a fintech-powered investing platform that quickly drew the attention of young investors due to its intuitive and sleek design. According to Song, TradeUP also plans to upgrade its data provision to provide extra depth to users. Users may access additional, in-depth information and features available on TradeUP from the Discover module such as the economic calendar, most active stocks, and customizable alerts.
Commissions Disclosure
Zero-fee or commission-free trading means $0 commission trading on self-directed individual cash or margin brokerage accounts that trade U.S. exchange-listed stocks and ETFs online. A $0.65 per contract fee applies to options trades. TradeUP also charges commission on Hong Kong stock trading. For more information, see our full pricing details: https://www.itradeup.com/pricing/commissions-us
Brokerage services in TradeUP are offered by Marsco Investment Corporation. Download TradeUP in the Apple App Store or Google Play for free. For more information, please visit TradeUP’s website: https://www.itradeup.com/
About Marsco Investment Corporation
Marsco Investment Corporation is a registered brokerage firm at SEC (CRD:18483; SEC: 8-36754), a member of FINRA/SIPC and a member of DTC/NSCC, regulated by the US Securities and Exchange Commission and Financial Industry Regulatory Authority.
Risk Disclosure:
All investments involve risk, including possible loss of principal. Past performance of a security, market, or financial product does not guarantee future results. Electronic trading poses unique risks to investors. System response and access times may vary due to market conditions, system performance, and other factors. Market volatility, volume, and system availability may delay account access and trade executions. The contents of this article shall not be considered a recommendation or solicitation for the purchase or sale of securities, futures or other investment products.
– An online conference is held, and more actions will be taken to provide favorable conditions for international exhibitors to win more orders.
GUANGZHOU, China, June 5, 2020 /PRNewswire/ — The Canton Fair International Pavilion held an online promotion and communication conference on June 3 to help buyers and business associations in China get prepared for the first-ever online session of Canton Fair held from June 15 to 24.
The Canton Fair International Pavilion held an online promotion and communication conference to help buyers and business associations in China get prepared for the first-ever online session. In addition to the online promotion and communication conference, it will also organize a series of sourcing briefings during the event to equip exhibitors with the knowledge and tools to successfully enter the Chinese consumer market.
Provide Favorable Conditions for Exhibitors to Win More Orders.
To build up a bridge for Chinese buyers to exhibitors of both domestic and abroad, Canton Fair International Pavilion held this conference and will expand the scope of buyer invitation through the domestic trade associations, promote highlights of the event online, and spread the guidelines for visitors, aiming to provide favorable conditions for exhibitors to win more orders.
In addition to the online promotion and communication conference, it will also organize a series of sourcing briefings during the event. To equip exhibitors with the knowledge and tools to successfully enter the Chinese consumer market, it will invite China’s largest e-Commerce platforms — such as JD.com, Lifease, and Suning.com to shed light on the latest industry trends and areas of demand.
The First-ever Online Session with More Possibilities and Opportunities
This session Canton Fair will welcome 25,000 exhibitors from local and abroad including international companies from 28 countries and regions, which will open up more opportunities for highly personalized, real-time marketing and negotiations, promoting barrier-free global selling and buying online. Instead of exhibiting in different phases sequentially, all the international products will be categorized according to the 50 product categories, the same as Chinese mainland exhibitors, which will be displayed online simultaneously.
The power of IT brings new vigor and vitality into this Chinese traditional exhibition with over 63-year history. The new-developed digital platform will be ready for a one-stop trading experience covering online promotion, business matchmaking and negotiation to buyers and exhibitors. Online Exhibitor Center enables exhibitors of the International Pavilion to upload their videos to their own live broadcast rooms, and promote their products to a large number of buyers in different regions and time zones. It also allows exhibitors to arrange a virtual booth for facilitating communication with buyers through a range of instant messaging tools and video presentation solutions.
The Project Leader of Canton Fair International Pavilion noted that they hope to empower more international high-quality brands, products, and services, and support their entry into the Chinese market through the launch of this first-ever online session.
About Canton Fair International Pavilion
Established by Canton Fair in 2007, the International Pavilion has consistently attracted trade promotion agencies and professional associations to participate in the exhibition. After years of development, the International Pavilion has worked as a leading platform for growing international trade.
SHENZHEN, China, June 5, 2020 /PRNewswire/ — The COVID-19 pandemic has unexpectedly raised the sense of urgency in insurance purchase in China, paving the way for industry players to embrace notably ‘half-ready’ users through curated portfolio and user cultivation backed by technology, according to Alan Lau, CEO of Tencent WeSure.
Alan Lau, CEO of Tencent WeSure
Educating the largely under-insured population, building trust among users, and employing technology for accurate pricing are thus the three thrusts to gain an edge in China’s vast yet less penetrated insurance market, Lau addressed a high-profile webinar on innovative insurance practices in China on Tuesday.
The event held online this year due to the novel coronavirus was organized by The Digital Insurer, a trade group focused on accelerating the digital transformation of insurance. Lau was joined by industry peers from ZA Tech Global, Ping An Cloud Accelerator, as well as consultancy Oliver Wyman via a virtual panel discussion, where panelists elaborated on a wide range of topics from China’s ecosystem-driven insurance landscape to the role of technology.
"People often say that insurance is important but not urgent. But the pandemic did create quite a large group of what I would call ‘half-ready’ users, whose risk appetite or sensitivity to risk have grown but aren’t quite ready to buy," Lau said, citing the doubling of WeSure’s quarter-on-quarter revenue during the height of the outbreak in China.
The outbreak confirms the notion that a major public health event could, to some extent, stimulate demand for insurance. With the lockdown of Wuhan on Jan 23 at the height of the outbreak, demand for insurance saw rapid explosion as newly confirmed COVID-19 cases skyrocketed. With the development of the contagion, the number of total newly-added policy holders, the number of visits to WeSure’s mini program site-a critical indicator gauging prospective insurance needs, as well as annualized health insurance premium have all expanded, meanwhile registering substantial jump compared with same period in 2019.
He referred to a latest research Tencent WeSure conducted in tandem with Shanghai-based Fudan University, which unveiled a string of demographic changes among insurance buyers as a result of the pandemic. For instance, women have become more risk conscious, with the ratio of the number of men and women purchasing insurance on WeSure slashing from 2:1 to 1:1.
The highest jump in user numbers was witnessed among those in their 30s, a population segment perceived to bear the most family responsibilities. Also, by geographical breakdown, residents from the likes of Beijing and Guangdong, who have relatively stronger memories of SARS in 2003, experienced a noticeable pickup in insurance demand.
"So there’s a lot of work for us to do to cultivate and educate these users that have suddenly arrived in very big numbers," he noted, adding it’s by no means an easy feat given the complicatedness of insurance products even for the most educated population.
To make insurance buying less of a headache, Tencent WeSure has landed on two approaches: First is the adoption of a pre-selection pattern, wherein the platform hand-picks insurance products and tailors offerings based on individual needs. This ‘curated portfolio’ helps streamline the decision-making process, as opposed to the more common insurance marketplace model filled with a dazzling array of offerings that could easily deter prospective buyers.
The other more important gameplay is to employ the power of social "Word of Mouth" to both attract and retain customers. This is best exemplified by the fact that one-third of WeSure’s sales are generated from social referral, three times higher than industry average.
Lau said WeSure has always upheld viral marketing as a ‘very core aspect’ of the business, touting its indispensable role in this trust-based industry. "There’s no better connection and social relationship than what already exists…and no better way to sell when you hear it from your friend’s recommendations."
Apart from driving sales, the social aspect also weighs in on the post-purchase end, when making insurance claims could be a lengthy and troublesome process. Using a combination of artificial intelligence and human intervention, WeSure assigns each customer with a virtual ‘claim concierge’ that would follow through the entire process.
Such investment is paying off: Lau said 79% of claims handled via WeSure are processed within one day, whereas loss ratio is 30 to 80 percent lower than industry average.
The company has also embarked on new ways of customer engagement and education, riding on the knowledge-sharing and livestreaming boom for new sources of revenue. For instance, livestreaming has managed to turn clicks into revenue, with some 36,000 policies being snapped up from one online broadcast session on May 20. Lau said WeSure will expand the livestreaming footprint across major Chinese social media sites, imparting knowledge on real estate, fund and insurance through vivid, interactive story-telling.
Bill Song, CEO of ZA Tech Global, echoed Lau’s view, saying the comprehensive internet ecosystem, the technology to scale, and the regulatory leeway offered by the authorities hold key to success in China’s booming insurance market.
According to Leonard Li, a partner at Oliver Wyman, the four major growth drivers in Asia’s insurance market are the large protection gap, technological readiness, favorable ecosystems that provide one-stop shop to lifestyle needs, and thriving fintech investment activities.
Launched in 2017, WeSure currently boasts over 80 million active users. Four in ten customers would choose to repurchase from the company, a remarkable achievement fueled by algorithm and data-backed recommendations that serve to enhance product relevance for users.
About Tencent WeSure
Tencent WeSure Insurance Ltd. is Tencent’s insurance platform. Leveraging Tencent’s strengths of data-driven and social connection, Tencent WeSure works with well-known insurance companies to provide users with high-quality insurance services. Users can make insurance purchases, inquiries and claims directly on the firm’s vastly popular instant messaging and lifestyle platform, Tencent WeChat and QQ. For more information, please visit Tencent WeSure’s LinkedIn page.
HONG KONG, June 5, 2020 /PRNewswire/ — Despite the heavy blow of COVID-19 on business, many local companies find new opportunities in producing and trading anti-epidemic products to battle against the pandemic, and ride out the challenges by quickly transforming and diversifying their businesses.
Consumers can verify whether a product is genuine simply by scanning the REAL QR Code with “REAL Barcode” mobile app. Consumers can obtain immediate results from REAL Barcode and verify that the product is real. Consumers can access to detailed product information after verifying the product.
Since the outbreak of COVID-19 in February, more than 85 companies have applied for the global barcode from GS1 Hong Kong (GS1 HK). Barcodes not only enable the companies to sell locally and globally, online & offline, but also help them enhance brand value. Among which a brand goes further to adopt GS1 HK’s patented authentication solution to safeguard consumers’ health and build their trust.
Enabling Omni-channel Commerce with Barcodes
GS1 Hong Kong has sped up the barcode application process for more than 85 companies supplying anti-epidemic items, so their products can roll out to market faster to aid the city’s fight against COVID-19. Among the newly registered companies, 32 of the them are manufacturers, and the majority are making face masks for local market. Li Hung International Company Limited, a garment manufacturer of 20 years, is one of them. They started mask production in their dust-free workshop in early May, under the company "Hong Kong Mask Co. Ltd." newly registered in February. They are now offering EN14683 Type II certified (BFE>99%) disposable face masks, supplying the city with an estimated 2.5 million pieces per month.
Their spokesperson acknowledges that barcodes help them "inside and out". Externally, the barcode prefix "489" supports them sell in both domestic and overseas markets, as it’s a prerequisite for products to be listed on retail stores and e-commerce platforms like Amazon, and worldwide consumers would recognise and be assured of the "Made in Hong Kong" quality. Internally, barcodes help in a number of ways in terms of inventory management, pick & pack, distribution and sales management, etc.
"GS1 international barcode is every product’s ID. It allows products to be uniquely identified, and serves as the basis for authentication and verification," said Anna Lin, Chief Executive of GS1 Hong Kong. "Besides widely used in physical stores, leading e-commerce platforms like Alibaba, Amazon, eBay and Google also require or call for GS1 product standards identification, Global Trade Item Number (GTIN), to be used, which facilitate consumers to easily search for products, providing detailed, accurate & reliable information, building trust in the heads & minds of consumers."
"489" Barcode on Mask Package Increases Consumer Confidence
There are some dishonest merchants who have taken advantage of the circumstances by selling unscrupulous masks, and it’s often hard to distinguish the reliable ones from the wide array of masks in the market. Barcode prefix (the first 3 digits of a barcode) can give a hint to consumers about the products’ owner origin, as it indicates the area in which the company is registered. For example, barcode prefix "489" represents companies registered in Hong Kong, "471" stands for Taiwan, "450-459" and "490-499" means Japan.
GS1 Hong Kong members can upload their product information onto GS1 HK’s BarcodePlus, a product information repository, for free, which is accessible by potential buyers or consumers from all over the world. The platform helps increase product visibility and raise awareness among consumers.
Simply by entering the barcode numbers issued by GS1 HK on www.barcodeplus.com.hk, consumers can easily obtain detailed product information and the contact information of the registered company. In case of need, consumers can reach the company directly to enquire more details about the product, offering a peace of mind. BarcodePlus is also connected to WeChat’s database: With a simple barcode scan using WeChat, consumers can gain instant access to the trusted information provided by the registered companies.
Authenticating Products with a Simple Scan
BarcodePlus is also connected to GS1 HK’s authentication solution to validate products and protect brand image. To prevent consumers from buying counterfeits, a reusable masks maker that first used wearable healthcare technology in Hong Kong adopts GS1 HK’s REAL Barcode solution on its more than 500 types of masks. They include the ACCAPI far-infrared energy masks series, the ultra-breathable and antibacterial XMask series, and the handmade artistry Queen Mask series. Consumers can verify whether the product is genuine simply by scanning the QR code with "REAL Barcode" mobile app.
Using state-of-the-art technologies, REAL Barcode integrates patented anti-forgery micro printing, multi-layered digital encryption and GS1 standards to prevent the barcode from forgery. Other features include:
Can be applied onto packaging items of different materials, such as cards, fabrics, aluminum cans, etc;
The REAL Barcode printed on the woven fabric label attached to the reusable masks is durable, can be washed for 30 times;
Can be printed as barcodes or QR codes, allowing brands to provide more detailed product information to consumers via the codes.
Maria Chui, Chief Operating Officer of Gold Pine International Holdings Limited, highlighted that the patented far-infrared material exclusively used on their ACCAPI FIR mask series, is a result of 13 years of evidence-based clinical practice around the globe, with CE Marking Class I medical devices compliance. Their Xmask series is the first to incorporate Coolmax and silver fabric technology, and even though they are one-of-a-kind, consumers cannot identify the uniqueness with naked eyes. She believes there could be risk of copycats so the company decided to adopt REAL Barcode, a trustworthy and cost-effective solution that helps in preventing counterfeits. Please visit the webpage for details of the masks: http://ii2.me/-FQJ2YEDIIOU18H.
Building Consumer Trust and Protecting Brand Image
In addition, REAL Barcode solution also empowers brand owners with real-time visibility on scan activities. If counterfeit goods are scanned, brand owners will be alerted and receive the location and other information of the counterfeits.
The solution also helps businesses in consumer engagement, channel management and traceability:
Besides obtaining trusted product information after scanning, consumers will be connected to the online store or other promotional channel;
Brand owners can identify suspicious suppliers by tracking the scanning activities and combat parallel goods;
Integrated with cloud-based track-and-trace platform "ezTRACK", end-to-end traceability from product origin to point of sale is enabled.
"Pirated goods are everywhere. News about Hong Kong Customs seizing counterfeits are heard from time to time, posing serious threats to brand owners, distributors, retailers and consumers," said Dr. Stephen Lam, Chief Operating Officer of GS1 Hong Kong. "With patented, multi-layered anti-forgery printing technology, the solution can be adopted in product categories like health supplements, personal care products, consumer electronics, jewelry, etc., effectively preventing counterfeits and enhancing consumer confidence. It is crucial for brand protection."
Grow Stronger as One
GS1 Hong Kong has stayed vigilant and proactive to the health and wellbeing of our 8,000 members and staff during the pandemic. They have implemented all-round measures to protect their staff, visitors, members, and ensured their services are accessible to all members as usual while offering flexible options to members in times of adversity. Please visit here for details: https://www.gs1hk.org/zh-hk/Anti-Covid-19-Support-Updates.
Founded by the Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce in 1989, GS1 Hong Kong is the local chapter of GS1®, a not-for-profit, standards organisation that develops and drives adoption of global standards for business to uniquely identify, accurately capture and automatically share vital information about products, locations and assets. Headquartered in Brussels, Belgium, GS1 has over 110 national chapters in 150 countries.
GS1 Hong Kong’s mission is to empower business to grow and to improve efficiency, safety, authenticity and sustainability across multiple sectors and facilitates commerce connectivity through the provision of a full spectrum of platforms, solutions and services based on our global standards. We provide a trusted foundation for accurate, sharable, searchable and linkable data. Our EPC standard lays the foundation for IoT, powering a range of IoT-based services and applications. We are helping industry to meet the challenges of omni-channel commerce and create a seamless customer experience. By engaging with communities of trading partners, industry organisations, government, and technology providers, we are fostering a collaborative ecosystem and aiming for "Smarter Business, Better Life".
Currently, GS1 Hong Kong has around 8,000 corporate members covering close to 20 industries including retail consumer goods, food and food services, healthcare, apparel, logistics as well as information and technology.
BarcodePlus is a product and location information portal that provides companies, brand owners in particular, with a B2B information exchange tool. This keeps their trading partners updated about new product information in an accurate and cost effective way. It also offers a one-stop solution for businesses to enhance product data visibility to consumers for stronger brand awareness and integrity.
This trusted source of product data ensures that all product information is uploaded by authorised and registered brand owners or distributors of particular products. With this huge product data pool, it enables consumers to obtain extended packaging information using GS1 barcodes via the Internet, mobile phone or smart kiosk.
CHARLOTTE, North Carolina, June 5, 2020 /PRNewswire/ — BNI® (Business Network International) is celebrating its Members’ success in generating over $1 billion of new business in April alone. As the world’s leading networking organization, BNI creates billions of dollars of opportunity for its Members each year to keep their businesses strong and growing.
To celebrate the amount of business generated in BNI, the organization is hosting Worldwide Visitor WeekJune 14th-20th and inviting growth-oriented businesses to join one of its BNI Online™ meetings compliments of BNI. BNI will also be showcasing its contemporary refreshed brand design with a dynamic new red BNI logo and multiple design elements that symbolize BNI Member growth. Visitors will also learn about the tools, training, and technology available to BNI Members that come with their membership at no extra cost.
"While many businesses have come to a complete stop, BNI Members around the world are helping each other. Without a doubt, every business out there should visit a BNI Online™ meeting during Worldwide Visitors Week," says Graham Weihmiller, BNI Chairman and CEO. "When businesses join the BNI network, they’re instantly surrounded by a supportive an energetic group of like-minded businesses who are there to help every BNI business grow in any environment."
Year to date, BNI Members have generated more than $6 billion in business and passed nearly 5 million referrals. BNI is currently holding meetings online with its BNI Online™ platform, so it’s easy to experience BNI from the convenience of your home or office. Business owners and entrepreneurs around the globe can easily visit a BNI Chapter online for free during Worldwide Visitor Week by going to BNI.com and getting an invitation.
About BNI BNI is the world’s largest and most successful business networking organization in the world. BNI has over 270,000 Members who attend one of over 9,500 weekly chapter meetings in more than 70 countries around the globe. BNI’s proven business networking platform provides its Members the ideal environment, technology, training, and support to help them build strong businesses. BNI Online™ is an advanced online platform that helps Members connect in a structured virtual environment and has generated billions of dollars in business for BNI Members.
To see the new look and learn more about BNI, go to www.bni.com
