Tag Archives: FIN

1bill announces strategic investment in Accurassi

Multi-million-dollar investment to transform Australia’s energy landscape and unlock the future of global energy retail

MELBOURNE, Australia, Feb. 7, 2022 — One of Australia’s leading financial technology innovators, 1bill Holdings, has announced a more than $2 million investment in visionary B2B Energy Technology SaaS Provider, Accurassi.

The strategic deal is expected to unlock the future of energy retail with market-first technology to accelerate the easy transition to green energy.

1bill CEO Neil Saligrama said there was a thirst in the Australian and global markets for more sustainable energy solutions, which current digital infrastructure including product and billing capabilities cannot service at scale or speed.

"No transition is easy, unless it’s made easy via technology, and that’s what this is about: using technology to simplify energy acquisition and management and provide clarity for consumers to make a smooth transition to sustainable solutions," Mr Saligrama said.

Accurassi CEO Colin Fraser said 1bill’s significant investment would allow them to build the platform of the future.

"The technology we are building will allow energy retailers to diversify and evolve through the innovation of energy plans and billing capabilities," Mr Fraser said.

"It will empower customers to choose what they want, how they pay, and when they pay for it – things like bundled hardware, energy subscriptions and plans customised to an individual’s needs.

"It’s going to make home de-carbonisation accessible to everyone through intelligent, dynamic energy plans, and greener, cheaper, simpler bills."

Mr Saligrama said the investment strategically aligned both companies by combining the strength of 1bill’s market reach with Accurassi’s revolutionary technology, creating compelling value for both companies and their shareholders.

"At 1bill, we’re very focused on adding technology that is unique to the market and relevant to the customer," Mr Saligrama said.

"Accurassi has been at the helm of energy innovation in the market, and their technology gives us a future-focused and cost-friendly solution that enables us to be the market leader."

Accurassi CEO Colin Fraser said the two companies share a vision for a greener planet.

"Such a vision can only be achieved with partners like 1bill who deeply understand and are aligned with our core purpose and culture," Mr Fraser said. 

"It’s fortuitous that our two businesses and our skill sets match up perfectly in terms of what we each bring to the table."

Mr Saligrama said the investment was an integral part of the company’s ambitious growth strategy.

"We’re always looking for new opportunities that offer the right synergy and support businesses that are innovative in any space that’s relevant – and that includes global opportunities to grow," Mr Saligrama said.

About 1bill

Australia’s most advanced bill management platform, 1bill, is the brainchild of Neil Saligrama and the award-winning team behind Australia’s largest utility connection and comparison platform Compare and Connect. Available as an Android and iPhone app, 1bill puts Australians back in control of their finances, allowing users to consolidate, view and pay household bills, compare and switch to better deals, unlock pay later functions and earn rewards. It provides an end-to-end solution for a range of industries, bringing convenience, control, savings and better data and insights for consumers, retailers and businesses.

For more information, visit www.1bill.com/, email enquiries@1bill.com, or phone 1300 391 320.  

About Accurassi

Accurassi was founded with a passion for the planet, originally providing technology to large organisations and government departments to help track and manage their carbon footprints. Their world-class team of engineers and business minds is now creating the most transformative, consumer-focused energy technology. Their modular Customer Acquisition and Management Platform enables the next generation of energy retailers to completely transform how they supply energy for the distributed, net-zero future.

For more information, please visit www.accurassi.com/, Twitter twitter.com/accurassi, LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/accurassi/, email info@accurassi.com, or phone 1300 070 351.

Media Contacts:

Jazz Rowland
Chief of Staff, Accurassi
jazz.rowland@accurassi.com
+61 432 911 397

Chris Gallichio
Chief Marketing Officer, 1bill Holdings
chris.g@compareandconnect.com.au
+61 413 130 971

100,000 registered attendees see LEAP22 leapfrog into first place in international technology events

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia, Feb. 5, 2022 — The inaugural edition of LEAP has set new records for a debut technology event, attracting over 100,000 registered attendees from more than 80 countries. Over 700 exhibitors including the world’s leading technology companies and 1,500 start-ups, along with more than 500 international speakers joined LEAP22, which concluded yesterday in Riyadh, making it the largest ever first edition for a technology event. Over US$6.4 billion of investments and new technology initiatives were announced at LEAP22.

LEAP22 Rocket Fuel Startup Competition Winners
LEAP22 Rocket Fuel Startup Competition Winners

LEAP22 saw the announcement of multiple investments and funds for start-ups and entrepreneurs of over US$266 million. Among the announcements was the completion of the second round of Khwarizmi Ventures fund with a value of US$69.8 million; investment into the Emkan VC fund of over US$49.8 million and the launch by Saudi Venture Investment Company of a new fund worth over US$134 million, to promote start-ups. A new partnership to build start-ups between Unifonic and TheSpaceKSA, called UnifonicX, was also revealed.

Start-up deals included Nana closing an investment round led by FIM Partners and the STV Fund, worth US$50 million; and Quant closing an investment round worth US$800,000 led by VentureSouq with participation by RaedVC and Seedra, and also announced an additional round of investment. Muzn Artificial Intelligence raised an investment round of US$10.1 million, led by Raed Ventures with the participation of Shorooq Partners, VentureSouq, Sukna Ventures and others; while Taffi raised more than US$1.8 million investment, and SIFI and Tamawal closed pre-seed rounds.

Start-ups from around the world went head-to-head in the Rocket Fuel Start-up Competition, promoting their innovative business ideas to win a share of the US$1 million prize fund. Seven winning start-ups took home cash prizes for their new business ideas, scored on creativity, innovation, potential, functionality and impact on people and society.

Apple selected Riyadh for its first Apple Developer Academy headquarters in the Middle East and North Africa region. The academy caters solely to female programmers and developers and is located at the Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University.

Michael Champion, Regional Executive Vice President – MEA, Informa, the event’s organizers said LEAP22 is a breakthrough success, attracting the biggest audience for a technology event in recent years, surpassing even CES, and setting a new record for most attendees to a new platform.

“LEAP22 has been able to bring to Riyadh the leading names in technology with the most exciting new start-ups and creators, to present cutting-edge innovations that will reshape the world around us. We would like to thank our world-class speakers, sponsors and partners and look forward to hosting an even bigger LEAP next year,” said Champion.

 

SK networks seeks to promote blockchain business through joint efforts with Hashed

– MOU with Hashed Ventures on ‘Blockchain Startup Searching & Ecosystem Development’

– 21.7 million USD investment to search promising blockchain players and seek joint business opportunities

… Also acting as an external cooperation partner of SK Group’s blockchain business

– “Blockchain investment will be encouraged to lead the company’s future growth”

SEOUL, South Korea, Feb. 4, 2022 — SK networks has chosen blockchain business reinforcement as a key strategy to ensure future growth, and it is now seeking cooperation with Hashed, a specialized blockchain investment company.

SK networks announced that it has signed an MOU on ‘Blockchain Startup Searching & Ecosystem Development’ with Hashed Ventures, a startup investment company established by Hashed. The announcement included planned execution of 21.7 million USD investment as well. Sung Hwan Choi(on the left), COO of SK networks is celebrating the MOU with Seo Joon Kim, the CEO of Hashed Ventures.
SK networks announced that it has signed an MOU on ‘Blockchain Startup Searching & Ecosystem Development’ with Hashed Ventures, a startup investment company established by Hashed. The announcement included planned execution of 21.7 million USD investment as well. Sung Hwan Choi(on the left), COO of SK networks is celebrating the MOU with Seo Joon Kim, the CEO of Hashed Ventures.

SK networks (CEO: Sang Kyu Park) announced on February 04 that it has signed an MOU on ‘Blockchain Startup Searching & Ecosystem Development’ with Hashed Ventures (CEO: Seo Joon Kim), a startup investment company established by Hashed. The announcement included planned execution of 21.7 million USD investment as well.

Hashed is a leading blockchain firm in Korea, engaged in blockchain technology investment and decentralization projects across the global market since its foundation in 2017. It has offered investment for blockchain teams with innovative technologies and services including Kakao’s Klaytn, Line’s Link, Terra, Axie Infinity and dydx. Seo Joon Kim, the CEO of Hashed, is known as a blockchain expert with high understanding of and insight into the market.

According to this agreement, the two companies agreed to work together on incorporating blockchain technology into the existing business models of SK Rent-a-Car and SK Magic, a subsidiary of SK networks, while seeking investment opportunities in promising global blockchain startups. It has been decided that Hashed Ventures will play the role of a key cooperation partner in carrying out the blockchain business of SK Group affiliates in the future. Through this, SK networks aims to stimulate global investment in blockchain and increase the synergy between promising future areas and company business.

Won Hee Lee, the head of SK networks Blockchain Business Division, said "This MOU with Hashed will allow SK networks to gain an important insight into the company’s future business models in relation to blockchain," and added, "The blockchain ecosystem development will be a win-win for both companies and the blockchain business will be encouraged to drive the growth of SK networks."   

“From customer service to complex banking tasks” DeepBrain AI implements AI human technology into KB Kookmin Bank

– Contactless counseling service tailored to the COVID-19 situation and significant reduction in waiting time

– Provides information on financial products, branch information, weather and instructions on how to use banking devices within the branch

– Maximizing user experience with natural gestures such as hand movements and head nods

SAN MATEO, Calif., Feb. 4, 2022 — DeepBrain AI, a company specializing in artificial intelligence(AI), announced on the 28th that it has signed a technology supply agreement with KB Kookmin Bank, a leading financial company, and implemented Korea’s first kiosk-type ‘AI banker’ and officially introduced it this month.

Image of an AI Banker in a Kiosk installed in KB Kookmin Bank Donam-dong Branch.
Image of an AI Banker in a Kiosk installed in KB Kookmin Bank Donam-dong Branch.

Since March of last year, DeepBrain AI has been working closely with AI bankers to improve functions and enhance performance by piloting AI bankers in the AI experience zone located at KB Kookmin Bank’s Yeouido headquarters. As a result, it succeeded in commercializing AI human-based kiosk products for the first time in Korea, drawing great attention from the IT industry as well as the financial sector.

DeepBrain AI’s AI human technology is a solution that creates a virtual human capable of real-time interactive communication. It implements AI that can communicate directly with users by fusion of speech synthesis, video synthesis, natural language processing, and speech recognition technologies. As a technology that can realize complete contactless service in various fields, banks have the effect of providing a secure counseling service to customers who prefer non-face-to-face in accordance with the COVID-19 situation, and shortening customer waiting time through faster response.

First, the AI banker greets customers when they arrive at the kiosk and provides answers to their questions. All answers go through the process of deriving optimal information based on KB-STA, a financial language model developed by KB Kookmin Bank, and delivered to customers through the AI banker’s video and voice implemented with DeepBrain AI’s AI human technology.

Specifically, it is possible to guide how to use peripheral devices such as STM (Smart Automated Machine), ATM (Automated Machine), and pre-writing service, introduce financial products, and guide the location of the kiosk installation point. In addition, it is loaded with information on convenience of living such as financial common sense, today’s weather, and surrounding facilities.

In addition, the AI banker, with idle-mode, can make natural gestures such as moving hands, nodding, and tidying up clothes during conversation maximizing user experience from the customer’s point of view. In addition, it is possible to recognize people through the front camera, so if a customer leaves their seat, the kiosk is automatically finished as a thank you.

This time, KB Kookmin Bank’s AI banker modeled and implemented one male and one female model, and utilized their actual audio and video data. In the case of clothes, the main colors of KB Kookmin Bank are yellow and gray, so that the brand image can be recognized by customers while using the kiosk.

DeepBrain AI CEO Eric Jang said, "The AI banker has endless possibilities that can be used for customer service with a variety of devices such as mobile devices as well as kiosks in the future. Based on DeepBrain AI’s recognized AI human technology and business value, we will continue to explore business routes so that it can be applied to more diverse fields."

Nano AA Ltd signs Partner agreement with LoginID®, for integration of FIDO certified Strong Authentication into their banking platforms

NanoB&K will utilize FIDO to lower both One-Time-Password (OTP) costs, and fraud around customer digital banking interactions.

SAN MATEO, Calif. and Mauritius, Feb. 2, 2022 — NanoB&K, the FinTech arm of Anglo African, a technology-focused investment Group, announced today that it has signed an agreement with LoginID, to integrate its FIDO-certified passwordless authentication into NanoB&K subsidiaries. NanoB&K was set up in 2017 with the aim of solving the financial exclusion problem on the African Continent. The integration of FIDO2 biometric authentication as a part of NanoB&K platforms will improve security across multiple services such as their digital banking, payment, lending and KYC offerings.  The partners will initially launch in Mauritius, and then expand into other countries where NanoB&K owns operating licenses, or supports partners who license their platforms.

The African market is a sizable opportunity for emerging technology solutions to help drive inclusion in banking.  As recently as 2019, there was an estimated 1.2B unbanked according to a panel conducted at the World Economic Forum in Cape Town.

"This is very strategic for us on a number of fronts", said Ali Jamaloodeen, Director NanoB&K, and CEO, Anglo African Group. "NanoB&K and its subsidiaries will now be able to ensure that the end customer will be the correct person and not a fraudster who has taken over an account. As we start to offer more banking and nano-lending services, we can secure client accounts upon setup, and ensure the highest level of security any time clients move money or make any important transaction."

"We are very excited about supporting NanoB&K, its subsidiaries and the Anglo African Group at large. Given the market growth of customers on the African continent setting up new banking accounts, right from their initial account creation they will have a simple, very secure experience around any digital payments or services.  It will also be far more economical compared to the costs of using SMS for OTPs", said Thierry Siminger, Head, Telecom Business Unit, GM MEA at LoginID.

About Nano AA Ltd

NanoB&K is the FinTech arm of Anglo African Group. It was set up in 2017 with the aim of solving the financial exclusion problem on the African Continent. NanoB&K specializes, through its various subsidiaries, in developing and operating solutions for the Financial Services Industry, which are Faster, Safer, and Cheaper. The solutions Portfolio includes: Digital Banking, Digital Wallet, Digital Payment, Digital Lending, Digital Onboarding, Fully Automated KYC/AML/Compliance Monitoring, Dynamic Scoring and Robotics Process Automation, currently operational in 6 countries in Africa.

About LoginID

LoginID is a San Mateo/Toronto based company focused on bridging the gap around authenticating users and securing their information. This is facilitated through its FIDO2 and UAF certified strong customer authentication, privacy and tokenization platform. The team is funded by strategic investors such as Visa, and is composed of seasoned executives with decades of experience, across global brands, helping commercialize products around security, cryptography, payments and mobile. For further information contact: sales@loginid.io.

Contact: Jim Brown, press@loginid.io; For further information, please contact: contact@nanobnk.com; Contact: Jessen Valaythen, jessen.valaythen@nanobnk.com

ARV partners with IBM to build a national digital corporate identity system for Thailand’s standardized corporate onboarding process


BANGKOK, Jan. 31, 2022 — AI & Robotics Ventures Company Limited (ARV), a subsidiary of PTT Exploration and Production Public Company Limited (PTTEP), announces that it is launching a blockchain-based National Digital Corporate Identity (NCID) platform, developed in collaboration with IBM (NYSE: IBM). 

AI & Robotics Ventures Company Limited (ARV), a subsidiary of Thailand's PTT Exploration and Production Public Company Limited (PTTEP)
AI & Robotics Ventures Company Limited (ARV), a subsidiary of Thailand’s PTT Exploration and Production Public Company Limited (PTTEP)

The platform will reduce the time it takes for corporate onboarding, also known as Know Your Customer (KYC), at banks. By improving the identity verification of corporate authorized signatories, what used to be a paper-intensive process that could take more than four weeks to complete, is reduced to less than a week. The swifter and leaner process will offer more opportunities for banks and corporates to engage in opportunities which otherwise would have been discouraged due to existing KYC processes.

The NCID platform, the first-of-its-kind digital corporate identity system in ASEAN (Association of South East Asian Nations), incorporates Thailand’s Electronic Transaction Development Agency standards of self-sovereign identity on public blockchain and secure cryptographic key encryption. Developed on IBM Cloud and Red Hat OpenShift, the platform is secured by the industry’s highest FIPS 140-2 Level 4 security certification, implementing the Keep-Your-Own-Key concept to support future scale and expansion.

"Today marks an important milestone where multiple parties, from government agencies, regulators to PTTEP and its banking partners, collaborate to uncover and tackle the bottle-neck challenges of the corporate onboarding process with Web3 technology," said Sinthu Satawiriya, Head of Ventures at AI and Robotics Ventures. "In collaboration with IBM, this secured platform will unlock new digital banking opportunities between corporates and banks. We believe that the platform and its system will revolutionize the access to digital finance for the entire juristic community across Thailand’s financial and business ecosystem in the near future, in alignment with the Smart Financial Infrastructure effort and ecosystem currently led by the Ministry of Finance and Bank of Thailand."

"IBM is proud to bring our superior technologies, our proven industry expertise and our hybrid cloud infrastructure to help ARV pioneer the creation and execution of this new digital ID network," said Sawat Asdaron, Managing Director of IBM Thailand and Managing Partner of IBM Consulting. "This blockchain-based digital ID platform will bring transformational impact, as not only does it speed up processing time markedly, but also will lead to the standardization of corporate identity verification process for banks in Thailand and support the journey towards comprehensive digital infrastructure of our country.

The system will go live on the ASEAN’s first-of-its-kind joint sandbox set up by the Electronic Transaction Development Agency and the Bank of Thailand in early 2022 and will be first used by PTTEP and its banking partners for corporate KYC for treasury and bank accounts.

As the anchor of the network, PTTEP has collaborated with Bank of Thailand, Electronic Transaction Development Agency and their more than 11 partner banks to pilot the platform via ARV.

About ARV: AI and Robotics Ventures Company Limited (ARV) is the venture building platform of PTTEP. We leverage artificial intelligence and robotics technologies to unlock value and create business opportunities across industries spanning air, land, and sea. Through innovation, R&D, and partnerships, we aspire to deliver unparalleled value and experiences to the ecosystems we engage with.

For more information about ARV, please visit www.arv.co.th

About IBM:
For more information about IBM, please visit https://www.ibm.com.

Media Contacts:
Atinuj Thongpussa
AI and Robotics Ventures (ARV)
Email: atinujt@arv.co.th

Paranee Reymondon
IBM Thailand
Email: paranee@th.ibm.com

The first-of-its-kind digital ID system in ASEAN by ARV, a PTTEP's subsidiary, developed in collaboration with IBM.
The first-of-its-kind digital ID system in ASEAN by ARV, a PTTEP’s subsidiary, developed in collaboration with IBM.

‘Non Fungible Penny’ A New Gold Penny of Henry III*

SINGAPORE, Jan. 22, 2022 — Metaverse Blockchain Fusion NFT company, Coinllectibles, a wholly owned subsidiary of Cosmos Group Holdings, Inc. (OTC: COSG) is pleased to announce that it has partnered with Spink to offer the First Ever Collectible NFT Coin to be offered by an international auction house. This will also be the first NFT ever issued by Spink, a renowned collectors’ auction house dating back to 1600s.

Like the yellow petals of the broom plant adorning the cap of the Plantagenets, the powerful immutability of this almost pure gold coin has remained untarnished and unexposed for centuries. That was until a chance signal on Sunday 26 September 2021 rediscovered its beauty, a beauty that has caused a viral media sensation across the globe in the days prior to auction at Spink.

About the ‘Non Fungible Penny’

This specially commissioned virtual moving graphic, to be minted into a similarly immutable Hybrid NFT, commemorates that unique moment, as the Hemyock soil is finally removed after 765 years to unearth the most important single coin find made in Britain for over a decade, and the first time a new coin of this type has been placed in the archaeological record for almost 260 years. Where once the coin fell from the pocket of Lord of the Manor John de Hidon, it lands in all its beauty not just in our hands but our combined consciousness. And why would our embattled and emboldened King Henry, enthroned for centuries not wish to give us a cheery wink as he is once more exposed to the world?

*In 1257 King Henry III of England launched a gold coinage. It was not a success and only seven of the coins are known to have survived, that is until September 2021 when an eighth was discovered by a metal detector in a field at Hemyock in Devon. It is the image of this eighth coin that is the subject of the present auction. Henry’s coinage was the first minted in gold since the Norman Conquest, all the Norman and Angevin kings having confined themselves to minting silver pennies. A series of questions naturally arise. Why did Henry mint his coinage? Where did the gold come from? Why did the coin have a unique design? How many coins were minted, and what happened to them? Why did the enterprise fail? Fortunately, the source material allows at least some answer to these questions. It also permits a suggestion as to how one of the coins ended up at Hemyock. 

Read the full story here: 
https://d3ums4016ncdkp.cloudfront.net/auction/catalogue/22104/22104.pdf  (lot 220 that precedes sale of NFT lot 221)

How to bid for the ‘Non Fungible Penny’ on Coinllectibles’ MetaMall

The h-NFT (Hybrid NFT) contains the ownership title to the private and commercial licences described therein with respect to the video Mp4 4k UHD file. Proceeds from the auction will be split over charities chosen by the vendor and Spink, specifically The Rodney Cook Memorial Fund and the Himal Foundation. 

To bid for the h-NFT, please visit Coinllectibles’ MetaMall, click on the project details and transfer your bids to the digital auction wallet. The details of the digital auction wallet will be made available at 7.00am UTC on http://www.coinllectibles.art/.

Bidders can bid for the h-NFT in either Binance Coin (BNB) or Colligo Tokens (COTK). A bid is considered when someone transfers BNB/COTK to the digital auction wallet and each bidder will be recognised by the unique digital wallet address. To illustrate, if Bidder A makes a bid for 2,000,000 COTK while Bidder B holds 2 wallets and makes bids at 1,600,000 COTK and 1,700,000 COTK respectively, Bidder A will be deemed the winner. While Bidder B made a total bid amounting to 3,300,000 COTK, they are deemed to be separate bidders due to the different wallet addresses.  

There is no limit to the number of bids and/or counterbids each wallet can make. 

To reconcile the different digital currencies, the conversion rates at 5.15pm UTC will be taken.  For the avoidance of doubt the winning bid on the Coinllectibles platform will be integrated in the Spink live auction, minus the 20% buyers’ premium charged by Spink, so all bidders are treated pari passu, and the Coinllectibles winner does not pay more than original bid.

If, in the live auction, no bids exceed the Coinllectibles winning bid, then the NFT will be transferred to the Coinllectibles highest bidder.

If, in the live auction, the winning bid is above the Coinllectibles winning bid (minus the 20% Buyers premium), then the NFT will be transferred to the live auction highest bidder.  Once the winner is announced, the h-NFT will be transferred to the auction winner while the rest of the tokens will be refunded.

Starting price for the h-NFT is GBP5 (USD6.70 or COTK2900, based on current exchange rates). and the auction will close at 5:15pm UTC on Sunday 23 January 2022.

Forward Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements. All statements other than statements of historical fact are forward-looking statements, which are often indicated by terms such as "anticipate," "believe," "could," "estimate," "expect," "goal," "intend," "look forward to," "may," "plan," "potential," "predict," "project," "should," "will," "would" and similar expressions. These forward-looking statements may include, but are not limited to, statements regarding future business activities including the expansion into the decentralized financing space. These forward-looking statements are not promises or guarantees and involve substantial risks and uncertainties. Among the factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those described or projected herein include uncertainties associated with operating a business in Singapore and Hong Kong, risk of interference by the PRC government, ability to compete, that financial resources do not last for as long as anticipated, and that COSG is a holding company that may not realize the expected benefits of NFT’s offered by Coinllectibles™️. A further list and description of these risks, uncertainties and other risks can be found in COSG’s regulatory filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, including in its current report on Form 8-K  filed on September 17, 2021. Existing and prospective investors are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date hereof. COSG undertakes no obligation to update or revise the information contained in this press release, whether as a result of new information, future events or circumstances or otherwise.

For media queries, please contact:

Ms Rachel Lim
Director, Marketing & PR
Rachel.Lim@Coinllectibles.Art 

About Cosmos Group Holdings Inc

Cosmos is a business group that operates in two business segments:

  • Arts and Collectibles  
  • Financing

Through Coinllectibles, the group provides authentication, valuation and certification (AVC) service, sale and purchase, hire purchase, financing, custody, security and exhibition (CSE) services to art buyers through traditional channels, as well as through leveraging blockchain technology through the creation of non-fungible tokens (NFTs).

With subsidiaries licensed under Hong Kong’s Money Lenders Ordinance, the group currently primarily provides unsecured personal loan to private individuals, with a small portfolio of mortgage loans.

The group is integrating the two business segments by offering secured financing services to prospective art and collectibles purchasers to provide a one-stop arts and collectibles purchasing and financing experience.

About the Company – Coinllectibles

Coinllectibles is an ACT (Arts and Collectibles Technology) company, which is redefining how the world thinks about art and collectible ownership in the digital age. 

Their minted curated Fusion NFTs, capture all the rights and independent valuation and ownership of physical arts and collectibles securely underpinned by smart contracts stored on the blockchain.

Coinllectibles™️ Fusion NFTs bridge the physical and virtual dimensions of the arts and collectibles market, providing a pleasurable, transparent, and frictionless experience to customers from all walks of life.

About Coinllectibles Fusion NFT
Coinllectibles prides the Fusion NFT as the industry "Gold Standard".  Being a Gold Standard, a Fusion NFT contains the following on the blockchain – (1) a sale and purchase agreement reflecting the purchase, by the person minting the Fusion NFT, of the underlying asset at a fair value with all rights and restrictions clearly detailed, (2) bailment terms governing the rights to possession whilst the underlying asset remains with Coinllectibles, (3) a transfer deed reflecting the transfer of the ownership of the underlying asset (together with all rights and restrictions) by the transferor to the holder of the Fusion NFT™️, (4) ownership title deed written into the description of the Fusion NFT and (5) the unequivocal identification file of the underlying asset, whose ownership is reflected in the title deed represented by the Fusion NFT. In summary, a Fusion NFT is a Digital Ownership Title (DOT) to the physical collectible it represents.

About Spink
Spink is the world’s leading auctioneer of Stamps, Coins, Banknotes, Medals, Bonds & Shares, Autographs, Wine & Spirits, Books and Handbags & Accessories. Since its foundation in 1666, the Spink name has become synonymous with tradition, experience and integrity. Holder of royal warrants and numerous records for prices achieved at auction, Spink offers an unparalleled range of services to collectors worldwide. Headquartered in London, with offices in New York, Hong Kong, Singapore and Switzerland, Spink holds over 70 auctions a year. Catalogues can be accessed through the Spink website (www.spink.com), Spink Live online bidding platform (www.live.spink.com) or via the Spink App for mobile phones and tablets.

Happiness Development Announces $10 Million Private Placement to Support Its International Expansion

NANPING, China, Jan. 21, 2022 — Happiness Development Group Limited ("HAPP" or the "Company"), (NASDAQ: HAPP) a China-based company engaging in the business of production of nutraceutical and dietary supplements, providing e-commerce sales and e-commerce marketing solutions, and the sales of automobile today announced it has entered into certain securities purchase agreement with several non-U.S. strategic investors to sell total 12,500,000 Class A ordinary shares at a per share purchase price of $0.80, with over 45% premium to the market price of its Class A ordinary shares.

The Company intends to use the gross proceeds to expand its international e-commerce sales for its current products and potential addition of new products overseas as well as for working capital and general corporate use.

"We are very grateful to these strategic investors for their support to our international expansion, especially with a premium price. We look forward the expertise and resources in the international market these investors will bring to our Company. We have successfully exported about US$2 million of Lucidum products in 2021, which gives us great confidence to expand our international sales. In 2022, we will further expand and seek development and breakthroughs in international business. At the same time, we will further increase the scope of export products and will not rule out the possibility of overseas acquisition or participation in planting and R&D of new products. As a NASDAQ listed company, we will seek to further internationalize the company and make our products accessible to people all over the world. We believe with the contribution of the strategic capital from investors, this process will be greatly accelerated," Mr. Xuezhu Wang, CEO of the Company, commented.

About Happiness Development Group Limited

Headquartered in Nanping, China, Happiness Development Group Limited currently has three business lines: nutraceutical and dietary supplements, e-commerce and automobile sales. The nutrition and dietary supplements business is focusing on the research, development, manufacture and marketing of various products made from Chinese herbal extracts and other ingredients. Over the past 17 years, we have established a product portfolio consisting of 23 PRC National Medical Products Administration registered "Blue-Cap" SKUs of nutraceutical and dietary supplements products. Our e-commerce business focuses on offering e-commerce solutions, including advertising and information technology services to small and medium-sized enterprises in China. We also run our online stores which carries our products of dietary supplements and other selected products sourced from the small and medium-sized enterprises in China. Our mission for the e-commerce business is to enable small and medium-sized enterprises to fully leverage the power of e-commerce to grow rapidly. Our automobile sales adopts the B2B business model and is committed to optimizing the auto supply chain by connecting car dealers on our online automobile sales platform and offering the overall services for purchasing automobiles. For more information, please visit: www.happ.org.cn

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements as defined by the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements include statements concerning plans, objectives, goals, strategies, future events or performance, and underlying assumptions and other statements that are other than statements of historical facts. When the Company uses words such as "may, "will, "intend," "should," "believe," "expect," "anticipate," "project," "estimate" or similar expressions that do not relate solely to historical matters, it is making forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks and uncertainties that may cause the actual results to differ materially from the Company’s expectations discussed in the forward-looking statements. These statements are subject to uncertainties and risks including, but not limited to, the following:  the Company’s goals and strategies; the Company’s future business development; product and service demand and acceptance; changes in technology; economic conditions; reputation and brand; the impact of competition and pricing; government regulations; fluctuations in general economic and business conditions in China, the COVID-19 outbreak and its impact on our operations and assumptions underlying or related to any of the foregoing and other risks contained in reports filed by the Company with the Securities and Exchange Commission. For these reasons, among others, investors are cautioned not to place undue reliance upon any forward-looking statements in this press release. Additional factors are discussed in the Company’s filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, which are available for review at www.sec.gov. The Company undertakes no obligation to publicly revise these forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances that arise after the date hereof.

Too early to bottom-fish in China’s property bonds, Greifenberg Digital says


NEW YORK, Jan. 20, 2022  — Greifenberg Digital, a member of the IMTE Group, commented today on the risks to Chinese property bonds as gauged by its suite of quantitative models. 

"Large parts of China’s property bond market are still too risky for investors," Jerry Lucas of Greifenberg Digital said after the bulk of US dollar bonds of Chinese property companies closed at new lows. The Bloomberg Index of high-yield Chinese bonds denominated in US currency (Bloomberg ID I36616 Index) closed January 18 at 53.7, down from a March 2021 peak of 120. "Although bonds of some property companies with stronger balance sheet have risen in price today [January 19], more leveraged developers remain subject to very high default risk, according to our models."

US dollar bonds of Country Gardens, one of the stronger developers, rose in Hong Kong January 19 on hopes of easier regulatory and monetary policy, according to financial news reports.

"For most developers, the equity buffer for creditors remains extremely thin, and default risk remains elevated. More clarity is required both from issuers and regulators before the riskier part of the property market becomes attractive," Lucas added.

Greifenberg Digital recently released Credit AI, a suite of risk analytics that applies Artificial Intelligence/Big Data technology to a universe of 30,000 Chinese corporate bonds. Credit AI models forecasted the crisis in China’s property bond market last year, according to a Greifenberg White Paper released on December 7.

"The equity buffer on the balance sheets of the stronger property companies is shrinking as they sell assets and raise equity at a discount," said Lucas, a managing director at Greifenberg. "The shrinking equity buffer in turn leaves the property sector closer to default."

China’s high yield market lost ground in the second half of 2021, and continued to show losses during the first two weeks of January 2022.


Sunac China Holdings Limited (1918.HK) January 12 issued equity in Hong Kong at a 15% discount to the previous day’s close, and its stock led the property market down.

Credit AI uses four models, including a contingent claims analysis module that prices the issuer’s option to default. Less equity on the balance sheet and higher equity volatility increase the probability of default in this model, based on the work of Nobel Prize winner Robert Merton.

The Greifenberg models also analyze sentiment via Natural Language Processing of news and social media and apply machine learning to balance sheet analysis.

"The Merton approach gives us a real-time indicator of credit risk," Lucas added. "What we observe from the equity price and volatility of the more vulnerable property companies tells us that default risk remains elevated."

"In the case of Fantasia Holdings Group Co., Limited (1777.HK), distance to default as calculated by the contingent claims analysis model had fallen for six months before Fantasia’s bond price fell in July 2021. That’s been true for most of the distressed property companies. One or more of the Credit AI models sent out a warning signal well in advance of the event," Lucas added.


"If we look at where Fantasia’s default risk is trading today, we see that there has been no real improvement, and its bond price continues to bounce along the bottom."

"We see a nearly identical pattern in the case of Kaisa Group Holdings Ltd (1638.HK). For example, Kaisa’s distance to default had been shrinking since the middle of June 2021, but the bond price didn’t react until October.


"Now we see that distance to default remains extremely low, and Kaisa’s bond price is following it down."

"The market is telling us that the underlying assets of the highly levered property companies are still subject to price discovery. There are a lot of unknowns, including the extent to which state-owned banks will lend to distressed property companies, and the terms on which state-owned enterprises will buy assets from weak hands. The Chinese government is likely to favor homebuyers who have already made down payments for apartments and suppliers over bondholders. Net, we think investors should wait for clarity before bargain hunting."

About Greifenberg Digital Limited ("Greifenberg")

Greifenberg is a Canadian company engaged in the business of the credit research on China’s fixed income market.  Greifenberg has developed an innovative AI/Big Data suite of corporate bond analytics focused on the Chinese market. For more information, please visit www.greifenbergcapital.com.

About Integrated Media Technology Limited ("IMTE") 

IMTE is an Australian company engaged in the business of the manufacture and sale of nano coated plates for filters, the manufacturing and sale of electronic glass, operating a platform on trading in digital assets and financial research.  For more information, please visit www.imtechltd.com.

Safe Harbor Statement

This press release contains certain statements that may include "forward-looking statements." All statements other than statements of historical fact included herein are "forward-looking statements."  These forward-looking statements are often identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "believes," "expects" or similar expressions, involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties.  Although the Company believes that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are reasonable, they do involve assumptions, risks, and uncertainties, and these expectations may prove to be incorrect. You should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this press release. The Company’s actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements as a result of a variety of factors, including those discussed in the Company’s periodic reports that are filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission and available on its website (http://www.sec.gov). 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.

CooTek Announces Receipt of NYSE Non-Compliance Letter

SHANGHAI, Jan. 15, 2022 — CooTek (Cayman) Inc. (NYSE: CTK) ("CooTek" or the "Company"), a global mobile internet company, today announced that it has received a letter (the "Letter") from the New York Stock Exchange (the "NYSE") dated January 5, 2022 and further e-mail communication on the same date, notifying the Company that (i) it is below compliance standards due to the Company’s total market capitalization and stockholders’ equity, (ii) the due date for the Company to submit a business plan that demonstrates compliance is April 5, 2022 and (iii) the applicable cure period for the Company to regain compliance expires on July 5, 2023.

Pursuant to applicable NYSE continued listing standards, a company would be considered "below criteria" by the NYSE if its total market capitalization is less than US$50 million over a 30 trading-day period and its stockholders’ equity is less than US$50 million. A review of the current financial condition of the Company by the NYSE shows that, as of January 4, 2022, the Company’s 30 trading-day average market capitalization was approximately US$44.2 million and its last reported stockholders’ deficit as of June 30, 2021 was approximately US$(14) million. Accordingly, the Company is now subject to the procedures as set forth in Sections 801 and 802 of the NYSE Listed Company Manual, and is required to respond within 90 days of the Letter with a business plan that demonstrates compliance with the continued listing standard within 18 months of receipt of the Letter. The business plan will be reviewed for final disposition by the Listings Operations Committee of the NYSE. The Company’s stockholders’ deficit as of September 30, 2021 was approximately US$(11) million.

To address this issue, CooTek intends to comply with the applicable procedures and is still considering its options to regain compliance.

About CooTek (Cayman) Inc.

CooTek is a mobile internet company with a global vision that offers content-rich mobile applications, focusing on three categories: online literature, scenario-based content apps and mobile games. CooTek’s mission is to empower everyone to enjoy relevant content seamlessly. CooTek’s user-centric and data-driven approach has enabled it to release appealing products to capture mobile internet users’ ever-evolving content needs and helps it rapidly attract targeted users.

For more information on CooTek, please visit https://ir.cootek.com.

Safe Harbor Statement

This press release contains forward-looking statements made under the "safe harbor" provisions of Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and 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," "confident," "optimistic" and similar statements. CooTek may also make written or oral forward-looking statements in its reports filed with or furnished to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, in its annual report to shareholders, in press releases and other written materials and in oral statements made by its officers, directors or employees to third parties. Any statements that are not historical facts, including statements about CooTek’s beliefs and expectations, are forward-looking statements that involve factors, risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. Such factors and risks include, but not limited to the following: CooTek’s mission and strategies; future business development, financial conditions and results of operations; the expected growth of the mobile internet industry and mobile advertising industry; the expected growth of mobile advertising; expectations regarding demand for and market acceptance of our products and services; competition in mobile application and advertising industry; relevant government policies and regulations relating to the industry and the development and impacts of COVID-19. Further information regarding these and other risks, uncertainties or factors is included in the Company’s filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. All information provided in this press release is current as of the date of the press release, and CooTek does not undertake any obligation to update such information, except as required under applicable law.

For investor enquiries, please contact:

CooTek (Cayman) Inc.
Mr. Robert Yi Cui
Email: IR@cootek.com

ICA Investor Relations (Asia) Limited
Mr. Kevin Yang
Phone: +86-21-8028-6033
E-mail: cootek@icaasia.com