Baidu Opens Apollo Go Robotaxi Service to the Public in Cangzhou

Users now can hail a robotaxi from train stations, hotels, and other public spaces in one easy click

CANGZHOU, China, August 21, 2020 — Baidu (NASDAQ:BIDU) today opened the Apollo Go Robotaxi service in Cangzhou, Hebei province, extending robotaxi coverage to the downtown area of a city for the first time in China. The launch marks a significant milestone in Baidu’s development of autonomous driving technology and its aim to bring about the era of intelligent transportation.

With Apollo Go, people in Cangzhou can hail a robotaxi ride from train stations and other public spaces.
With Apollo Go, people in Cangzhou can hail a robotaxi ride from train stations and other public spaces.

At first, the Apollo Go Robotaxi service in Cangzhou covers 55 pick-up and drop-off stations across the city, including train stations, schools, hotels, museums, business and industrial areas, and other public spaces. The launch in Cangzhou comes after Baidu opened robotaxi services in a 130 square kilometer region of Changsha, Hunan province, in April this year. By servicing busy areas of Cangzhou, Apollo Go is making autonomous driving technology more accessible—and helpful—to users as they go about their daily lives.

People in Cangzhou can easily hail a free robotaxi ride through one click on Baidu Maps. For example, visitors to Cangzhou could hail a robotaxi after getting off the train to take them to their hotels. With safety a top priority, a human operator is assigned to each vehicle to take control of the autonomous system as a backup.

The launch of Apollo Go in Cangzhou follows years of extensive testing and trial operations across several cities. Technological progress now enables robotaxis to safely operate in busier areas that have more variables for the autonomous driving system to process. In addition to the operations in Changsha and Cangzhou, Apollo continues to conduct manned autonomous driving tests in Beijing, Chongqing, and other cities.

Cangzhou is a strategically important city, located within the BeijingTianjinHebei region and on the BeijingShanghai corridor. In recent years, it has invested heavily in the development of intelligent network technology to facilitate the rollout of autonomous driving. Cangzhou was the first city in northern China to allow manned autonomous driving tests and has built one of the largest road networks for testing autonomous vehicles. Baidu reached a strategic cooperation agreement with Cangzhou to promote autonomous driving in September 2019. In November, the city opened certain road networks for manned autonomous driving testing, and Baidu Apollo’s fleet began testing with passengers shortly afterwards.

The ability of autonomous vehicles to operate in busier areas of a city is a result of Baidu’s continuous innovation. In 2019, Baidu Apollo and FAW Group jointly developed Hongqi EV, the first pre-installed and mass-produced L4 autonomous driving vehicle in China, and launched trial operations in Changsha in September.

Baidu Apollo is the world’s largest autonomous driving open platform. The Apollo fleet includes around 500 autonomous driving vehicles that have driven over 6 million kilometers and safely carried more than 100,000 passengers. Apollo now holds over 150 autonomous driving road test licenses and more than 1,800 intelligent driving patents globally.

About Baidu

Baidu, Inc. is a leading search engine, knowledge and information centered Internet platform and AI company. The Company’s mission is to make the complicated world simpler through technology. Baidu’s ADSs trade on the NASDAQ Global Select Market under the symbol "BIDU". Currently, ten ADSs represent one Class A ordinary share.

Media Contact 

Intlcomm@baidu.com

 

Color Star Technology Co., Ltd. Announces Press Conference for Color World APP to be Held in Beijing, China on September 2

NEW YORK, Aug. 21, 2020 — Color Star Technology Co., Ltd. (Nasdaq CM: HHT) (the "Company", "we" or "HHT"), a company engaged in the business of providing knowledge-paid services, today announced that the upcoming press conference of the Color World APP will be held as scheduled on September 2, 2020.

Independently developed by the world’s top software development team, the Color World APP is a proprietary and comprehensive online entertainment knowledge learning platform. At the same time, the platform has begun to establish a collection of celebrity tutors and materials. These celebrity tutors are teaching entertainment courses in multiple fields and the courses will be gradually launched on the Color World APP.

The Color World APP also departs from the traditional entertainment teaching style in a single field, but covers a variety of entertainment fields. Our courses encompass music production, song creation, film performance, script creation, professional sound engineers, lighting engineers, etc. This APP invites world-renowned stars and directors to interact with users. In addition to their professional knowledge and skills, industry leading professors will also share with you their insights based on years of performing experience. This APP is more than a learning platform but also a means of dialogue with the masters to gain their wisdom and receive unique feedback.

Mr. Biao Lu, CEO of Color Star Technology Co., Ltd. comments "The Color World APP not only delivers cultural and entertainment education quickly and effectively through the Internet, but also provides various commercial platforms to offer investors a wide range of business opportunities and communication channels. More detailed on-site introduction of the APP will be available at the press conference on September 2. We hope you would tune in."

About Color Star Technology Co., Ltd.

Color Star Technology Co, Ltd. (Nasdaq: HHT) offers online and offline innovative knowledge-paid services for music and entertainment industries globally. Its official website is www.colorstarinternational.com. Its business operations are conducted through its wholly-owned subsidiaries Color China Entertainment Ltd. and CACM Group NY, Inc. The Company’s online education is provided through its Color World music and entertainment education platform. The Company also offers after-school entertainment tutoring in New York via its joint venture entity Baytao LLC.

Forward-Looking Statements

Certain statements made herein are "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the "safe harbor" provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements may be identified by the use of words such as "anticipate", "believe", "expect", "estimate", "plan", "outlook", and "project" and other similar expressions that predict or indicate future events or trends or that are not statements of historical matters. Such forward-looking statements include the business plans, objectives, expectations and intentions of the parties following the completion of the acquisition, and HHT’s estimated and future results of operations, business strategies, competitive position, industry environment and potential growth opportunities. These forward-looking statements reflect the current analysis of existing information and are subject to various risks and uncertainties. As a result, caution must be exercised in relying on forward-looking statements. Due to known and unknown risks, our actual results may differ materially from our expectations or projections. All forward-looking statements attributable to the Company or persons acting on its behalf are expressly qualified in their entirety by these factors. Other than as required under the securities laws, the Company does not assume a duty to update these forward-looking statements. The following factors, among others, could cause actual results to differ materially from those described in these forward-looking statements: there is uncertainty due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the impact it will have on HHT’s operations, the demand for the HHT’s products and services, global supply chains and economic activity in general. These and other risks and uncertainties are detailed in the other public filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") by HHT. Additional information concerning these and other factors that may impact our expectations and projections will be found in our periodic filings with the SEC, including our Annual Report on Form 20-F for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2019. HHT’s SEC filings are available publicly on the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov. HHT disclaims any obligation to update the forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

Color Star Technology Co., Ltd.
Contact: Investor Relations
FinancialBuzzIR™
info@FinancialBuzzIR.com
Tele: +1-877-601-1879

 

Related Links :

http://www.colorstarinternational.com/

FarEye Raises USD 37.5 Mn In Series D Funding To Expand Its Delivery Logistics Platform Used By DHL & Amway


  • The Fundamentum Partnership & KB Global Platform Fund Invest In FarEye 
  • FarEye accelerates its global expansion as enterprises move towards customer-centric supply chains  

SINGAPORE, Aug. 21, 2020 — FarEye, a leading logistics SaaS platform for predictive visibility, today announced that it has raised additional USD 13 Mn as an extension to its Series D investment led by The Fundamentum Partnership, the growth-capital fund for mid-stage technology companies in India backed by Nandan Nilekani and Sanjeev Aggarwal and KB Global Platform Fund, one of the leading investment firm of Korea. The investment will accelerate FarEye’s global expansion to address the steepening digital curve for logistics transformation. The need is being further accelerated by enterprises and end consumers demanding a high level of transparency, faster and more convenient delivery experiences. There is also an increased need for flexible supply chains to meet these demands.

FarEye works with its enterprise customers to provide higher control on their supply chains and offer a superior delivery experience to their end customers. The company’s technology platform digitizes the way enterprises dispatch, execute, track, and optimize the movement of goods, enabling enterprises to lower logistics costs while delighting end consumers.

"The support and trust of our investors, customers, and partners underpin our deep desire to make logistics better for brands, their customers, and the environment. We are seeing a surge in the need for real-time visibility in logistics for businesses to build customer-centric supply chains. With recently raised funds, we will continue to invest in the best talent in the Americas, Europe, and APAC to support our hyper-growth in these regions. With a vision to make FarEye one of the most customer-centric organizations globally, we aim to make every delivery delightful for the consumers," said Kushal Nahata, CEO, FarEye.

Commenting on the investment Sanjeev Aggarwal, Co-founder of Fundamentum, said, "Investment in the logistics space is essential for the economic growth of any nation. FarEye has captured the pulse of this industry and has all the ingredients to head towards global leadership. I believe in the founders and the team has the clarity of vision. We are excited to partner with FarEye in its journey to create a global technology leader in the logistics space."

This is the second time this year that FarEye has been able to raise funds to support its hyper-growth in global markets, making it a total of USD 51 Mn investment so far. In April, FarEye had raised USD 24.5 Million in Series D from M12 (Microsoft’s venture fund) with participation from Eight Roads Ventures, Honeywell Ventures, and existing investor SAIF Partners.

With a clear mandate to establish Singapore as their hub for international expansion, FarEye recently named Singapore-based ex-Blue Yonder Veteran Amit Bagga as its Chief Revenue Officer. His appointment comes as FarEye undertakes aggressive plans for global expansion. Bagga has established FarEye’s field headquarters in Singapore with investments in sales, solutions, services, and customer success teams, and continues to accelerate investments in the company’s expansion into Europe and the Americas.

"Logistics is the backbone of any given economy, and yet it has been a difficult space to innovate.  We are excited to partner with FarEye as it paves the way for its enterprise customers such as DHL and Walmart to gain flexibility as well as visibility in logistics by providing the easy-to-use platform to manage all moving parts. The newly raised capital will allow the team to deliver additional value to its enterprise customers by bringing in more global talents who will ultimately contribute to the advancement of the platform’s predictive capabilities and customer services. We look forward to FarEye’s contribution to its enterprise customers around the globe both during and post the current pandemic as seamless logistics has never been more vital to their business. We have been deeply impressed with FarEye’s response during the pandemic as a global leader in the logistics SaaS space," said Chunsoo Kim, Managing Director (Head of Global Investment Group) at KB Investment.

About FarEye- https://www.getfareye.com/

CONTACT:
Ms. Komal Puri
komal.puri@getfareye.com

Logo: https://techent.tv/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/fareye-raises-usd-37-5-mn-in-series-d-funding-to-expand-its-delivery-logistics-platform-used-by-dhl-amway.jpg

Related Links :

https://www.getfareye.com/

JinkoSolar Ranked as Top Solar Brand used in Debt Financed Projects and Most “Bankable” PV Manufacturer by Bloomberg New Energy Finance

SHANGRAO, China, Aug. 21, 2020 — JinkoSolar Holding Co., Ltd. (the "Company" or "JinkoSolar") (NYSE: JKS), one of the largest and most innovative solar module manufacturers in the world, today announced that it was ranked as a top solar brand in debt financed projects and named a most "bankable" PV manufacturer by Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF). Forty-nine global solar module manufacturers were ranked based on BNEF’s global survey of key PV stakeholders assessing which module brands used in projects are most likely to obtain non-recourse debt financing from commercial banks.

Survey respondents included banks, funds, engineering, procurement, and construction firms (EPCs), independent power producers (IPPs) and technical advisers involved in solar projects around the world. The survey addressed product quality, long term reliability, field deployment performance, and the manufacturer’s financial strength. JinkoSolar was considered highly bankable by 100% of the survey respondents. Further confirming JinkoSolar’s high bankability score, BNEF’s data also shows that projects using JinkoSolar modules have secured more term-loan financing than any other Chinese PV brand ever.

"As one of the leading solar module manufacturers, we are proud to be recognized once again by BNEF as a most trusted solar brand by customers, investors, and banks all over the world. This is a testament to the outstanding research, stringent quality checks and world records we have set to revolutionize the solar industry with our advanced technology, reliability, and high-quality products," said Mr. Kangping Chen, CEO of JinkoSolar. "We have invested heavily in R&D over the years and will continue to invest in the quality, proven reliability and long-term performance of our PV modules because we believe this will generate value and better returns for investors."

About JinkoSolar Holding Co., Ltd.

JinkoSolar (NYSE: JKS) is one of the largest and most innovative solar module manufacturers in the world. JinkoSolar distributes its solar products and sells its solutions and services to a diversified international utility, commercial and residential customer base in China, the United States, Japan, Germany, the United Kingdom, Chile, South Africa, India, Mexico, Brazil, the United Arab Emirates, Italy, Spain, France, Belgium, and other countries and regions. JinkoSolar has built a vertically integrated solar product value chain, with an integrated annual capacity of 17.5 GW for mono wafers, 10.6 GW for solar cells, and 16 GW for solar modules, as of March 31, 2020.

JinkoSolar has over 15,000 employees across its 7 productions facilities globally, 14 overseas subsidiaries in Japan, South Korea, Vietnam, India, Turkey, Germany, Italy, Switzerland, United States, Mexico, Brazil, Chile and Australia, and global sales teams in China, United Kingdom, France, Spain, Bulgaria, Greece, Ukraine, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia, Morocco, Kenya, South Africa, Costa Rica, Colombia, Panama, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Vietnam, Poland and Argentina.

To find out more, please see: www.jinkosolar.com 

Safe Harbor Statement

This press release contains forward-looking statements. These statements constitute "forward-looking" statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and as defined in 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 quotations from management in this press release and the Company’s operations and business outlook, contain forward-looking statements. Such statements involve certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. Further information regarding these and other risks is included in JinkoSolar’s filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, including its annual report on Form 20-F. Except as required by law, the Company does not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

For investor and media inquiries, please contact:

Ms. Ripple Zhang
JinkoSolar Holding Co., Ltd.
Tel: +86 21-5183-3105
Email: pr@jinkosolar.com

Related Links :

http://www.jinkosolar.com

Meituan Dianping Announces Financial Results for the Three and Six Months Ended June 30, 2020


HONG KONG, Aug. 21, 2020 — Meituan Dianping (HKG: 3690) (the "Company" or "Meituan"), China’s leading e-commerce platform for services, today announced the unaudited consolidated results of the Company for the three and six months ended June 30, 2020.

Company Financial Highlights

Although the COVID-19 pandemic continued to impact the daily operations of our merchants, including restaurants, hotels and other local services merchants, our businesses demonstrated resilience and recovered at a gradual pace. Total revenues for the second quarter of 2020 increased by 8.9% year-over-year to RMB 24.7 billion from RMB 22.7 billion for the same period of 2019. Operating profit improved to RMB 2.2 billion in the second quarter of 2020, increasing by 95.5% year-over-year, while operating margin increased from 4.9% to 8.8%. Both adjusted EBITDA and adjusted net profit experienced positive year-over-year growth and improved to RMB 2.6 billion and RMB 2.7 billion, respectively. Our operating cash flow also turned to positive RMB 5.6 billion for the second quarter of 2020 from negative RMB5 .0 billion for the first quarter of 2020. We had cash and cash equivalents of RMB 13.9 billion and short-term investments of RMB44.5 billion as of June 30, 2020, compared to the balances of RMB 14.1 billion and RMB 42.4 billion, respectively, as of March 31, 2020.

"Although we continued to see impacts from the outbreak of COVID-19 in the second quarter, our business demonstrated resilience and recovered at a good pace," said Xing Wang, Chairman and CEO of Meituan. "During the quarter, we helped our merchants to weather the storm, which created value for our vast community of consumers and merchants, and, as a result, stimulated the progressive recovery of the local services industry from the pandemic. We further boosted the competitive advantages of our core businesses while enhancing our ecosystem during our business recovery process. In the second quarter, we utilized advanced digital operations tools to enable more merchants, enhanced our on-demand delivery infrastructure to better facilitate the digital lifestyle of consumers, and accelerated the online penetration and digitization of essential local services on both the demand and supply side."

"As the leading e-commerce platform for services, Meituan will continue to fulfill our social responsibilities," Wang said. "We will help to further boost consumption growth and to recover local economies to the best of our abilities despite the uncertainties and challenges in the next few quarters. We believe that our philosophy of focusing on the long-term growth and rewards will continue to yield positive results for all participants in the Meituan ecosystem."

Company Business Highlights

Food delivery

For the second quarter of 2020, GTV of our food delivery business increased by 16.9% year-over-year to RMB108.8 billion. The daily average number of food delivery transactions increased by 6.9% year-over-year to 24.5 million. The average value per order of our food delivery business increased by 9.4% year-over-year. Monetization Rate[i] of our food delivery business decreased to 13.4% for the second quarter of 2020 from 13.8% for the same period of 2019. As a result, revenues of food delivery business increased by 13.2% year-over-year to RMB 14.5 billion for the second quarter of 2020. Operating profit from our food delivery business turned to positive RMB 1.3 billion for the second quarter of 2020, compared to operating loss of RMB70.9 million for the first quarter of 2020, while operating margin turned to positive 8.6% from negative 0.7%. Moreover, operating profit from the food delivery business increased by 65.7% year-over-year, while operating margin improved by 2.7 percentage points year-over-year.

Despite the pandemic’s continuous impact, we further demonstrated the unique competitiveness of our business model and validated the essential needs for food delivery services from both consumers and merchants. Especially, our immediate response to the COVID-19 new cases that occurred in Beijing showcased our increasing experience in managing the recurring outbreaks of COVID-19. To ensure the safety of our delivery riders and consumers, among other measures, we immediately organized nucleic acid testing for all of our delivery riders in Beijing, expanded the use of "intelligent lockers" in the city, and further upgraded our contactless delivery process. For merchants, we rolled out targeted support and commission rebate programs to help them better survive the COVID-19 new cases that occurred in Beijing. We also created a portal for merchants to upload their green COVID-19 testing results so as to provide consumers with extra food safety assurance.

In the second quarter of 2020, we continued to launch various promotional campaigns to stimulate the recovery of our food delivery business. For example, we rolled out the "June 18 Food Delivery Festival" and engaged around 4,000 reputable restaurants and brands to provide consumers with a wide variety of attractive promotions in the period. We were also spot-on in identifying consumers’ behavioral changes and used targeted promotions to actively increase the consumption of afternoon tea and late-night snacks. Moreover, we have further stepped up the portion of subsidies allocated to targeted repeat consumers through our effective food delivery membership program. As a result, the order volume of our food delivery business experienced positive year-over-year growth in the second quarter of 2020, with the daily average number of food delivery transactions increasing by 6.9% year-over-year to 24.5 million.

On the merchant side, a further recovery in merchant operation and consumer consumption led to the strong marketing demand from merchants in the second quarter of 2020. Meanwhile, the pandemic has accelerated the restaurants’ online migration, increasing the mix of high-quality merchants on our platform during the period. Notably, the number of newly-onboard branded merchants increased by more than 110% in the second quarter as compared to the prior year period. Their increased demand for online traffic has accelerated their adoption of our online marketing services. As a result, online marketing services revenues experienced rapid growth in the second quarter of 2020, increased by 62.2% year-over-year.

On the delivery front, we further improved our delivery efficiency in the second quarter of 2020, attributable to the refinement of our proprietary dispatching system algorithms and the continuous improvement of the operation of our delivery network. In addition, the sufficient delivery capacity and the favorable weather condition across the country enabled us to reduce the amount of seasonal incentives paid to delivery riders on a quarter-over-quarter basis. These factors together have allowed us to better control delivery cost per order on both a quarter-over-quarter and a year-over-year basis. Meantime, the importance of our on-demand delivery network as a critical component of society’s broader logistical infrastructure has been substantially elevated post the outbreak of COVID-19. Our delivery network helped to ensure continuity in people’s daily lives during the pandemic and served as a stabilizing force for society by creating abundant employment opportunities. We will continue to explore diversified delivery models and invest in the cutting-edge technology for autonomous delivery to further improve our operating efficiency and enlarge our capacity while striving to serve the needs of our merchants and consumers in more service categories.

In-store, hotel & travel

Revenues from our in-store, hotel & travel businesses decreased by 13.4% year-over-year to RMB4.5 billion in the second quarter of 2020. Operating profit of our in-store, hotel & travel businesses decreased by 11.9% year-over-year, but increased by 178.1% quarter-over-quarter to RMB 1.9 billion in the second quarter of 2020, while operating margin increased by 0.7 percentage points year-over-year and by 19.6 percentage points quarter-over-quarter to 41.6%.

During the second quarter of 2020, the in-store segment continued to recover at a slower pace than the food delivery business as consumers needed more time to rebuild confidence in certain discretionary in-store consumptions. In order to stimulate local services consumption and restore local economies, we cooperated with local governments to launch the "Safe Consumption Festival" in more than 60 cities and issued e-Vouchers during this quarter. These e-Vouchers were mainly for in-store dining initially, but we have since expanded them to cover hotels, shopping, and other local services. We also launched a series of promotional campaigns in the second quarter of 2020, including Labour Day promotions, Dragon Boat Festival promotions, and June 18 Marketing Festival promotions. These events covered all the aspects of our in-store services and helped to accelerate our collaborations with popular merchant brands to further improve our merchant base and offer consumers a wider variety of choices in turn. As a result, the recovery of transaction volume and merchants’ marketing demand of our in-store segment was on the right track. The year-over-year decline in commission revenues and online marketing services revenues were significantly narrowed from the first quarter of 2020. Moreover, we published a new 2020 version of our reputable "Must List Series." This series has evolved into a comprehensive and professional local services guide over the years. During the COVID-19 pandemic, we noticed that consumers became more price-sensitive and conscious of hygiene factors, which further compounded the ability of our trusted Must List Series to attract user traffic and guide consumers to quality merchants. It also created a positive feedback loop for merchants to upgrade their services and better meet the emerging needs of consumers.

Our hotel business continued to be significantly affected by the pandemic, with the number of domestic room nights consumed on our platform in the second quarter of 2020 decreasing by 17% year-over-year. Nevertheless, we kept increasing our partnership with more hotels via our "Safe Stay" program to provide travelers with accommodation options that are more conducive to their desires and the quarantine environment. Meantime, in light of the increasing demand for intra-city and short-distance local travel, we also launched the "Safe Travel" program to help expedite the recovery of the industry. More notably, the pace of development for our high-star hotel partnerships also picked up, and we established a significant increase in relationships with these types of hotels in the second quarter of 2020 by increasing their non-lodging revenues through our "hotel + x" program. As a result, the contribution from high-end hotels further increased year-over-year.

New initiatives and others

Revenues from the new initiatives and others segment increased by 22.1% year-over-year to RMB5.6 billion in the second quarter of 2020. On a sequential basis, operating loss from the new initiatives and others segment expanded by 7.0% to RMB1.5 billion for the second quarter of 2020 from RMB 1.4 billion for the first quarter of 2020, while operating margin improved by 6.8 percentage points to negative 25.9% for the second quarter of 2020 from negative 32.7% for the first quarter of 2020. Operating loss from the new initiatives and others segment narrowed by 11.3% on a year-over-year basis, while operating margin improved by 9.8 percentage points year-over-year.

The COVID-19 pandemic was a catalyst for several of our new initiatives, and we saw a noticeable shift in the online shopping behavior on the consumer side and accelerated online penetration of traditional offline service businesses during the pandemic. During the second quarter of 2020, we maintained the rapid expansion of our key businesses, especially grocery retail business. Our marketplace model "Meituan Instashopping" achieved stellar revenue growth during the second quarter of 2020 on a year-over-year basis as we expanded our product variety and SKU categories to significantly grow our merchant base. "Caidaquan," our relatively nascent fresh produce-focused brand under "Meituan Instashopping," enabled more than 300 traditional wet markets to sell online and operate digitally. Our self-operated model, "Meituan Grocery," not only significantly expanded its coverage in key cities, such as Beijing and Shenzhen, but also began operations in new cities, such as Guangzhou, in July 2020. During the second quarter of 2020, we also established a new business division for community group purchase services, rolling out the "Meituan Selected" service brand accordingly in Jinan, Shandong in July 2020, which offers carefully selected fresh produce and daily necessities at attractive prices for local consumers living in different communities. Group leaders are appointed by us in each community to promote our discounted grocery products via WeChat groups. Group members can place orders through our WeChat Mini Program and pick up their products the next day at self-pickup points located in nearby convenience stores.

For bike-sharing services, we replaced around 1.5 million old bikes with new "Meituan Bikes" during the second quarter of 2020. The average turnover rate per bike improved incrementally and the unit economics also improved. Additionally, we launched more than 290,000 electric bikes. During this period, the average turnover rate per electric bike achieved better unit economics as compared to traditional bikes and demonstrated a clear path to independent profitability.

For the full announcement of Meituan 2020 interim results, please visit:
http://meituan.todayir.com/attachment/202008211704561761848748_en.pdf

About Meituan Dianping

Meituan Dianping (HKG: 3690) (the "Company" or "Meituan") is China’s leading e-commerce platform for services. With the mission of "We help people eat better, live better," the Company’s platform uses technology to connect consumers and merchants. Service offerings on the platform address people’s daily needs for food, and extend further to broad lifestyle and travel services. Meituan is the world’s leading on-demand food delivery service provider and China’s leading e-commerce platform for in-store dining services. Meituan helps consumers discover merchant information, make informed decisions, complete online and offline transactions and enjoy on-demand delivery. The Company currently owns several household brands in China, including Meituan, China’s leading online marketplace for services, Dianping, China’s leading online destination for discovering local services, Meituan Waimai for on-demand delivery services, and Meituan Bikes for bike-sharing services. Meituan has 457.3 million Annual Transacting Users and 6.3 million Annual Active Merchants as of June 30, 2020. The Company operates in over 2,800 cities and counties in China.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements relating to the business outlook, forecast business plans and growth strategies of the Company. These forward-looking statements are based on information currently available to the Company and are stated herein on the basis of the outlook at the time of this press release. They are based on certain expectations, assumptions and premises, some of which are subjective or beyond our control. These forward-looking statements may prove to be incorrect and may not be realized in future. Underlying the forward-looking statements is a large number of risks and uncertainties. Further information regarding these risks and uncertainties is included in our other public disclosure documents on our corporate website.

For media inquiries, please contact:
Meituan Dianping
pr.global@meituan.com   
ir@meituan.com

Edmond Lococo
ICR Inc.
Email: Edmond.Lococo@icrinc.com
Tel: +86 138-1079-1408

[i] Monetization rate equals the revenues for the period divided by the Gross Transaction Volume for the period.

Related Links :

https://www.meituan.com/

EMAS Fintech’s First Regional Support Centre in Malaysia

Confident in Malaysia’s favourable economic conditions, infrastructure, capitalises on abundance of multi-lingual and diverse talent

MANILA, Philippines, Aug. 21, 2020 — EMAS Fintech Inc CS201953873 (EFI) today announced the opening of its first Regional Support Centre in Malaysia to support its expansion and capitalise on the full potential of investment trading in the region.

Jason Kellady, Chief Executive Officer of Emas Fintech Inc.
Jason Kellady, Chief Executive Officer of Emas Fintech Inc.

Located in Malaysia, the EFI South East Asia (SEA) Regional Support Centre will support and offer the benefits of EFI’s cross-industry digital investment trading platform to regional investors. The centre will assist to integrate and aggregate investments, right size portfolios, provide access to wider industry data, apply predictive analytics to generate insights which can improve investment performance and productivity.

Logo, Emas Fintech Inc.
Logo, Emas Fintech Inc.

EFI chief executive officer Jason Kellady said, "This regional support centre is the first of six planned regional support centres. It represents the first phase of our business plan. In the next 24 months, we will gradually expand and increase our presence from Southeast Asia to East Asia, South Asia, Europe, Oceania and North America with an aim of 20 countries and regions," he said. These countries and regions include Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam in Southeast Asia; Mainland China, Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea and Taiwan, in East Asia; India in South Asia; Austria, Denmark, France, Greece and Switzerland in Europe; Australia in Oceania; and Canada in North America. 

He said Malaysia is a suitable host to support its expansion plans. "We have evaluated different countries and decided to house our first regional support centre in Malaysia. We have started our talent acquisition programme," said Kellady.

"We plan to recruit a core team of 15 to 30 specialists and account managers, then gradually expand to cope with demand from our subscribers," he explained. "Malaysia has an abundance of qualified talent that is used to dealing with a multi-lingual, multi-cultural environment. We are capitalising on this advantage, which owes to this nation’s history of being the crossroad of global trade," he said during the unveiling of EFI’s first Regional Support Centre on August 21, 2020 to EFI supporters and community.

He added EFI has started implementing plans to apply for regulatory approval at every market that it intends to pursue. "Despite the Covid-19 pandemic, we think the opportunities in the digital currency or eFiat market is growing. It was valued at USD1.03 billion last year and we agree with projections that it will exceed USD1.40 billion in five years, growing at a CAGR of 5 per cent to 8 per cent during this period," he said. "The shifts in global markets must be carefully scrutinised, monitored and we have assigned this task to our regional support centre."  

With regulatory approval in hand, EFI intends to aggregate like-minded investors to benefit from its unique trading methodology, optimised to generate small but consistent interests. "Our proprietary Intelligent Calculation System or ICS will guide investors venturing to tap the global Fiat Currency. Our aggregation model will hopefully enable EFI to deliver responsible and sustainable returns for every investor." 

"We are expediting our plans to seek approval from regulators in three countries: Malaysia, Japan and Vietnam, and expect to be operational by the end of this year. In the meantime, we need to recruit and train adequate talent to support our ambitions," said Kellady, a 10-year banking and capitals markets veteran, who himself is multi-lingual and fluent in Mandarin and English.

EFI is ready to comply and meet regulatory criteria and has enacted its Disaster Recovery Plan due to the Covid-19 pandemic. "The safety of our employees is paramount. We have proactively been monitoring the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic and applaud tough measures adopted by the Malaysian Government. We are confident Malaysia will have a shorter recovery period. In the meantime, we have curtailed our employees from travelling and taking necessary precautionary measures to protect our clients, employees and stakeholders involved in our operations."

"We have been working remotely to implement our plans. This is the best time to explore and invest in infrastructure and talent, especially in Malaysia, as costs are lower than average, and the job market is on our side. We are continuing our operations while taking necessary steps to minimise the contagion risks of this outbreak. As such, we wish to assure everyone that we will continue to abide by established procedures like social distancing and implement additional measures as deemed necessary. EFI is contributing to keep our communities safe and help break the chain of infection for Covid-19." 

ABOUT EMAS FINTECH INC. 

Emas Fintech Inc CS201953873 EFI is a Philippines-registered investment fund operator targeting private investors and communities of investors. It offers investors with better market access, higher responsiveness and investment returns. EFI has established its first of six regional support centres starting with South East Asia in Malaysia on August 15, 2020 and seeking regulatory approval where needed in countries that it intends to operate. EFI plans to be active in Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam in South East Asia; Mainland China, Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea and Taiwan, in East Asia; India in South Asia; Austria, Denmark, France, Greece and Switzerland in Europe; Australia in Oceania; and Canada in North America.  www.emasfintech.com 

TO EDITORS 

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Bithumb Global Launches Learning Platform to Allow Users to Earn While They Learn

SYDNEY and SINGAPORE, Aug. 21, 2020 — Starting out in finance is often not easy and inexperienced investors are bound to make mistakes. As a result, they either make sure to attend a business school to learn these skills before delving into the sector or hire experts to do it on their behalf through mutual funds or directly.

Crypto Markets Suffer from Lack of Proper Educational Resources

It is difficult to learn these skills for crypto assets as there are very few institutions developed around them. The metrics for judging crypto projects are also very different from other projects, making this skill even more complex.

The courses which are available to teach interested learners about cryptocurrencies are mostly theoretical and focused on particular aspects of investment. Inevitably, investors often are not able to integrate these theories with the practice of investing in real ongoing projects. All this makes the courses boring that, to begin with, had no incentives for these learners to focus diligently on the process of investments.

It is for these reasons that investors are hardly motivated to continue learning and there is attrition in terms of learning over the period of the courses. This has created a lot of amateur investors who are willing to dive into the crypto investment sphere without an adequate understanding of the process of decision making and investing in crypto projects. This has, in turn, led to a rise in the number of fraudulent and incompetent projects which have been leveraged by these amateur investors, leading to the degradation of the whole crypto community.

Bithumb Global is Again Leading the Change

It is to deal with this lack of expertise among prospective investors, Bithumb Global has come up with a platform called "BG Learning" to leverage the capacity of new investors in the crypto community to make more informed and properly thought out decisions while making investments. This is meant to provide better outcomes in the long run for the whole crypto market, as more informed investors will be able to promote better projects and will add more value and stability. In other words, Bithumb Global is trying to give back to the community in the form of knowledge.

The platform works on a simple model. Anyone who signs up for the BG Learning program will get access to several handpicked projects. And based on the understanding of these projects the users will get rewarded in the form of tokens of these projects.

However, this is more than a simple publicity campaign for the said projects. It is a full-fledged interactive learning platform that allows the users to learn about projects, associated risks, and the opportunities of investing in these particular projects. There will be scope for discussions among peers as well as communication and clarification from experts from the field of crypto and tech investment in general.

The platform operates on the basis of a voting system and a mechanism for rewarding the more competent dedicated learners. It has voting events hosted periodically for its users. The number of votes for each user is determined on the basis of the number of assets held and the quantum of transactions carried out by the user.

However, all votes are not accounted for. The votes of users for specific projects will be accounted for only when the user is able to answer questions about the project correctly, demonstrating an understanding of the various aspects of the project. If the user answers the questions about the projects correctly, then he/she is rewarded in the form of tokens of the crypto projects that he/she had voted for. This is a way of incentivizing continued dedication towards learning for the users. The number of reward tokens airdropped to the users is calculated by taking into account the total number of votes in the event, the individual number of votes allocated to the user, and the total amount of project tokens airdropped.

This system, therefore, allows learners to get a practical hands-on investing experience without a certain degree of buffer against inaccurate understanding about the projects. Continued learning is ensured through constant incentivization. This gives them a great deal of knowledge about the crypto sector and the important aspects of projects that need to be understood before investing.

All this knowledge will help the new investors not only make investments on the already handpicked projects within the Bithumb Global platform but it will enable them to invest on other exchange platforms more effectively without falling for any hoax claims or any other such traps. They will also learn how to effectively diversify their portfolio to maximize their returns on their investments.

Bithumb Global Learning’s first season had featured a very stable investment opportunity for the learners on the platform. The platform had launched, Mantra DAO- an organization that tends to create a staking based financial institution where the users and stakeholders are able to collectively govern and drive the outcomes of the organization. As a gem of a DeFi project, Mantra DAO (OM) has a very eye-catching performance – rocketing 4x after listing on BG. Meanwhile, 100,000 OM rewards have been distributed to participants of BG Learning.

Therefore, being part of the Bithumb Global Learning platform not only helps the users build knowledge but opens up their opportunity to participate in voting events featuring such attractive projects.

Australian Army Pushes Metal 3D Printing to Extremes in Latest Field Trial

DARWIN, Australia, Aug. 21, 2020 — Building on the success of its world-first field trial in June this year, a "WarpSPEE3D" 3D metal printer has again deployed and been put through its paces by the Australian Army during a two-week field exercise in the extreme heat and humidity of the Northern Territory.

WarpSPEE3D is the world’s first large-format metal 3D printer to use patented cold spray technology that enables significantly faster and more cost-effective metal part production than traditional manufacturing. Developed by SPEE3D, Australian award-winning manufacturer of metal additive manufacturing technology, the printer is capable of printing large metal parts up to 40kg at a record-breaking speed of 100grams per minute.

The printer arrived in Darwin in early June and forms the backbone of the Army’s developing 3D printing capability.

Having received a number of upgrades and modifications in the two months since its first deployment, the WarpSPEE3D print cell deployed, as part of 1 CSSB’s larger Brigade Support Group, to various field locations in temperatures up to 38 degrees Celsius and 80% humidity, whilst printing and machining genuine military metal parts.

SPEE3D printers make metal parts the fastest way possible, leveraging metal cold spray technology to produce industrial quality metal parts in just minutes, rather than days or weeks. This process harnesses the power of kinetic energy, rather than relying on high-power lasers and expensive gasses, allowing 3D metal printing in the field, at affordable costs.

The Australian Army announced a $1.5 million investment in a pilot of SPEE3D technology in February 2020 with a 12-month trial designed to test the feasibility of deploying 3D metal printers both on-base and in the field. SPEE3D partnered with the Advanced Manufacturing Alliance (AMA) and Charles Darwin University (CDU) to deliver the program with soldiers from the Australian Army’s 1st Brigade training in 3D printing at CDU since February.

The program aims to significantly increase unique parts available to the Army compared to what the regular supply chain can provide.

SPEE3D CEO Byron Kennedy said, "This second field deployment proves our technology is a genuine solution for expeditionary metal 3D printing. This two-week trial demonstrates the WarpSPEE3D is a robust workhorse that is capable of printing real parts and solving real problems in the field. It also proves that soldiers can take control of the whole workflow of creating the spare parts they need, from design to printing and post-processing, right here where they need them."

About SPEE3D

SPEE3D, based in Darwin and Melbourne, Australia, is an innovative supplier of metal-based additive manufacturing technology. SPEE3D focuses on the development, assembly, and distribution of machines and integrated system solutions based on the patented supersonic 3D deposition (SP3D) technology. The products enable significantly faster, lower-cost, and more scalable production than traditional metal printing techniques for copper and aluminium.

Media Contact:
Byron Kennedy

SPEE3D
Telephone: +61 410 656 936
Byron.kennedy@spee3d.com
www.spee3d.com
Australia

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Tactical 3D printing by the Australian Army
Australian Army Lance Corporal Sean Barton, from the 1st Combat Service Support Battalion, prepares the WarpSPEE3D printer for part assembly during Exercise Buffalo Run at Mount Bundey Training Area, NT.

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Hitachi Elevator takes part in World Elevator & Escalator Expo 2020 with smart elevator solutions for the IoT era

SHANGHAI, Aug. 21, 2020 — The World Elevator & Escalator Expo 2020 is being held in Shanghai from August 18th to 21st. Hitachi Elevator is taking part in the event with cutting-edge solutions for the 5G IoT era: intelligent buildings manned by smart elevators powered by big data- and cloud services-based command and control systems.  

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Hitachi Elevator at World Elevator & Escalator Expo 2020
Hitachi Elevator at World Elevator & Escalator Expo 2020

Supporting ongoing COVID-19 prevention and control efforts

Following the outbreak of the pandemic, the elevator became a focal point of public health concerns as it is, by nature, a vehicle meant to transport several people within a compact space. Hitachi Elevator showcases its latest touchless elevators alongside a lineup of sterilization and disinfection devices for escalators at the event.

Hitachi Elevator showcases its new contactless elevator solution
Hitachi Elevator showcases its new contactless elevator solution

The touchless elevators can be summoned by means of gestures, voice, face recognition, a mobile app and a WeChat mini-app, avoiding the need to press or, in any way, make contact with the surface of an elevator button.

As for the voice option, the control system of the touchless series is able to understand and respond to voice-activated commands, including summoning the elevator and indicating the desired floor, not only in Mandarin and multiple Chinese dialects but also in many of the world’s languages, removing barrier to installation and deployment of the elevators worldwide.

The face recognition option goes the furthest in empowering COVID-19 prevention and control efforts, as it enables passenger registration while checking the temperature of every person before they are allowed to board the elevator via mobile infrared thermometry.

Based on years of experience with smart buildings as well with the R&D and application of elevator IoT, Hitachi Elevator took only one week to complete the development and design of the touchless elevators and has already installed several of the units in some of their clients’ buildings, making the elevator maker one of the earliest and most comprehensive providers of the conveyances in China. The company has also set an example in providing several feasible cases for COVID-19 prevention and control in a short period of time.

Boosting on-demand maintenance services

This April, China’s State Administration for Market Regulation issued a circular with the aim of enhancing smart regulation and social oversight of elevators. According to the circular, a coordination system for the standardization of elevator IoT, together with a unified approach to elevator IoT systems, is recommended as the path to achieving the data interconnection of elevator IoT.

Hitachi Elevator’s on-demand maintenance solution attracts the attention of visitors and professional buyers
Hitachi Elevator’s on-demand maintenance solution attracts the attention of visitors and professional buyers

Hitachi Elevator, one of the industry’s earliest providers of elevator IoT, showcases its latest on-demand maintenance solutions, each of which achieves data interconnection between clients, the big data system, maintenance facilities and spare parts centers via its cloud service center, ELECLOUD®, while supporting a remote monitoring terminal on each elevator to ensure safe operation.

The ELECLOUD service center can perform over 600 AI-based pre-diagnoses of the components of an elevator. At the expo, engineers demonstrated how a proactive approach to maintenance by monitoring the status of an elevator with a focus on the number of rides within a certain period, the operating environment and the life cycle of the components can prevent riders from getting stuck in the elevator due to an unanticipated halt or breakdown. The presentation showed that the pre-diagnosis technology reduced unanticipated breakdowns by 65% while allowing customers to reduce monitoring costs associated with improper and unsafe use of elevators by over 90%.

The company has completed the construction of an IoT service platform for elevator maintenance in collaboration with over 20 government offices in prefecture-level cities and property management firms across China, paving the way for further adoption of its on-demand maintenance services throughout the country.

Building an intelligent building transportation system

With the increasing adoption of AI, IoT and 5G technologies, the traditional elevator industry has embarked on a digital transformation backed by smart technologies. Elevator IoT technology is poised to create a better human-machine interaction experience.

Hitachi Elevator creates an intelligent building transportation system
Hitachi Elevator creates an intelligent building transportation system

During the exhibition, Hitachi Elevator showcased the next-generation smart product platform HPES, which empowers passenger, freight, hospital and sightseeing elevators, among other application scenarios, with intelligent operation control and safety technologies in tandem with a smart passenger-oriented solution designed to deliver a comfortable and safe experience.

During the elevator ride, passengers are kept informed of the status of the elevator, a key factor in ensuring a high-quality travel experience. In view of situations that may occur when passengers are in an elevator, Hitachi Elevator leverages a combination of text, photos and voice alerts delivered by a color LCD display to convey necessary information about diverse changes in the status of the elevator, the building and the external environment in real time, while providing timely and necessary tips on best practices for elevator safety.

The company also displayed a visual escalator management solution enhanced by smart devices, cameras and big data technologies. Taking into account the need to handle high passenger throughput while maximizing the uptimes required by urban rail transit systems, Hitachi Elevator provides a visual safety management system designed to intelligently detect and analyze people flow. A key feature of the system is the cameras on the site that constantly monitor the movement of people on the escalator and analyze the data derived from the monitoring to quickly identify potential safety risks. In the event that the monitoring equipment detects hazardous overcrowding, or a passenger having gotten stuck or fallen, the safety management system will instantly link with the escalator control system to initiate safe operation mode and avoid harm to any rider.

In the 25 years since Hitachi Elevator entered the Chinese market, the firm has played a part in the country’s urbanization process in line with the growth of the economy. Looking ahead, the company plans to leverage its integrated urban management solution to further promote the development of Chinese cities by facilitating the construction of smart cities and accelerating the next stage of economic development based on enhancing the quality of life for all.

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Pantum Launches Facebook Campaign Inviting Indian Users to List Down Favourite Features of the Bestselling Printers

ZHUHAI, China, Aug. 21, 2020 — Aiming to optimize user experience for Indian customers, Pantum has launched a social media campaign on the Pantum India Facebook page to invite Indian users to list out their three most beloved features of Pantum M6502NW laser printer and M7102DW multi-function laser printer (MFP). Almost two thousand platform users shared and engaged with the post within days, and here is the round-up of their thoughts about which features have made the two printers the ideal printing solutions for enterprise and home office setup:

M6502NW – a compact three-in-one printer suitable for small business and home

With Pantum one-step driver installation, users can enjoy the simplest way to instantly set up and connect the printer to a computer with just one click. For the fans of Pantum M6502NW laser printer, the versatile connectivity and streamlined setup steps have made it a great working companion in both business and home scenarios. It features intelligent connection mode which enables users to automatically identify the nearby printers via Pantum App. Users can also connect the printer to multiple computers through Wi-Fi or network.

Coming in at a cost-effective price, Pantum M6502NW’s powerful functionality packed in a compact design takes its place as the second most favourite feature cited by its users. Capable of scanning, photocopying and printing, the affordable three-in-one laser printer is designed to maximize productivity for the start-up and home office while offering a more space-saving printing solution.

The high-performance and efficiency of Pantum M6502NW have also opened up more possibilities for the users who have to work from home during the pandemic. With a monthly page volume of up to 2,000 pages and the rate of 22 pages per minute, the printer is more than capable of handling whatever you might need to throw at it.

Pantum M6502NW Multifunction Laser Printer
Pantum M6502NW Multifunction Laser Printer

M7102DW – a perfect budget MFP printer that corporate users are looking for

For corporate users who are looking for a budget multi-function laser printer (MFP) with maximum features, Pantum’s fans might tell them that M7102DW is an unmissable choice. The all-in-one printer sports a clean and professional look and operates without noise and heating problem. But the most mentioned feature that has made this device hard to beat as an MFP printer at this price point is automatic duplex printing, also known as double-siding printing, an ideal function for the companies that wish to keep the operational costs down during the COVID-19 pandemic.

For businesses demanding high-productivity and fast workflow, printers equipped with incredible print speed and convenient operation are highly sought-after, and M7102DW has made its reputation among users for these two features. The MFP printer comes with an Automatic Document Feeder (ADF) that can scan up to 24 A4 pages per minutes and copies 33 pages per minutes, meeting the daily printing need of medium and large enterprises.

Pantum M7102DW Multifunction Laser Printer
Pantum M7102DW Multifunction Laser Printer

"At this unprecedented time, we have seen a drastic shift to remote working, and the technology remains a critical assistant helping people adapt to this challenge. Through this campaign, we are so glad that our India users on Facebook once again reminded us that Pantum’s technology continues to make a difference for them in adjusting to this difficulty," said Mr. Abhra Das, Pantum India Sales Head.

"With the pandemic continue to escalate around the world, we are striving to create more powerful and affordable printing solutions in a hope to enable everyone to easily set up their working and learning space at home during this global health crisis," he added

About Pantum

Founded in 2010, Pantum is a printer manufacturer, with its business covering printers, printing materials, and printing solutions and services. In 2011, Pantum began its overseas expansion with current global footprints in more than 50 countries. With its patented technology, Pantum is committed to meeting the evolving printing needs by offering economical, user-friendly, and energy-efficient products as well as reliable printing solutions. Today, Pantum is now also bringing greater value to Indian customers through its cost-effective products, premium services.

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